Category Archives: Uncategorized

lars
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

“It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice.” said Lars Fredricksen in a recent interview with Jamie O’Meara for Hour.ca
In person he is true to his quote. I met Lars last night during the Social Distortion show and he was as polite, genteel and sweet as could be. I had heard he was there– somewhere. In the balcony area I sidled up to a man with a sliver of space to his right and asked if I could share. “Please do” he said with a smile. We talked about the band playing etc. and I saved his spot when he went out for a smoke. After a few minutes Kevin taps me on the shoulder and says “That’s Lars!” I really had no idea. With all his leather and tatts I just figured he was with the Hells Angels group just behind us. His band is hardcore punk and very well known. He’s in Rancid too. Don’tcha just love some of the band names?

Paul shoots Charr shooting Peja
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Here I am photographing Peja Stojakovich who is posing for a series of Paradyme ads I had the honor to shoot. It so happens that The Sacramento Bee did a story on the new alliance– Peja and Paradyme– and sent staffer Paul Kitagaki to document the ad shoot. Little did he know I would be there as one of his subjects. I used to work with Paul (a fantastic photographer) so it was wonderful seeing him… I was in the groove shooting and forgot he was there until I get up on the bed for the perfect angle and I hear “Oh man, I gotta shoot this!” and then a million shutter clicks later here it is. It’s running with another story in tomorrow’s paper about the concern Paradyme has about the ad campaign now that Peja has expressed a desire to leave the Kings.

I caught some good natured flack from a pal about my less than flattering visual description of Patti Smith. I pondered this awhile because I thought they may have had a valid point. I was unusually honest. I generally want to be nice but lately a part of me wants to be more real and free in what I show and tell so the bottom line came down to these three things–

First, my father gave me advice about writing a news story when I was a teenager. He said always determine what the most surprising or alarming thing you saw or heard was and tell it, tell it first.

The second thing– and I will quote one of my favorite movies “Almost Famous”, the seasoned rock writer gives this sage advice to the young man about to do his first piece for Rolling Stone Magazine… “Be honest and unmerciful”. Those are powerful words.

The third– It’s a personal web log, full of fluff and occasional opinions wise or silly– all viewed through my own personal filter of life.

Part of the issue here is Vanity (one of the seven deadly sins). It’s the tricky underbelly some of us deal with on a daily basis so we want/need to be careful. I still respect the notion of honesty though as long as it’s not meant to hurt anyone. Someone like Patti Smith is remarkable, able to express herself with exquisiteness. What I admire beyond measure about all entertainers and artists is that very courage to spill their insides out and share who they really are. I may not have painted a flattering visual picture of Patti but the point was that her inner beauty transcended all the outer trappings. If by some impossible chance Patti ever reads this then I want to say here and now– Patti, you rock.

rocker thing
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

So, what is this anyway? This devil horns, goat horns thing? What does it symbolize exactly? People I see and photograph at the metal shows do it ALL THE TIME. Does anyone actually know what it means specifically? Just curious….

Patti Smith
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Patti Smith, a rock and roll legend in many ways, performed at The Empire last night. She’s a remarkable songwriter and artist/poet. In fact, Gilda Radner did a takeoff on Patti Smith on Saturday Night Live as “Candy Slice,” a rock singer who belched and spit her way through a song before collapsing on the stage in a heap. She was also a close friend and roommate of controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Smith was wonderful on stage last night (and didn’t spit even once… ;).
The promoter let me know somewhere mid-show that there were certain restrictions. First he was told no pro photogs at all but when he explained we were the house photographers her people acquiesced. Ok, we could shoot from the sides only, not upfront or up close, and only during the second song. Hmmmm, well, since we were about five songs into the show by then I figured oh well, headed up to the balcony, shot some stage overalls and enjoyed the show.
This photo was shot during the second song… She had such a welcoming and appreciative manner as she stood on that stage. She has masculine features, a bit of a mustache, her hair hung loosely in a tangle and her clothes were weathered and sagging on her thin frame– but she was truly beautiful. The kind of beauty that permeates a being, and invites you in to bask for awhile.

drowningpoolsp
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Went to the heavy metal show Drowning Pool show last night at The Empire. My project “101 horrible photos of myself with famous (or nearly famous) people” continues as you can see from this cute foursome– me and the band in question– Drowning Pool.
There were four bands in all and it was a solid show. Turns out the sound guy from the club has his own band too and they were the opening act. The mosh pit was large but also largely uneventful, even if I was a bit too close and got stepped on a few times. ouch….
You know, these guys were totally cool, chatty, sweet even. They had massive amounts of equipment. This was a huge production from all appearances. I have yet to edit everything so expect to see more one of these days.

Eddie Van Halen
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Eddie Van Halen, the rock god. The beautiful thing about Eddie is the glowing smile that comes across his face when he plays, like he’s having the best time of his life in that very moment.
What I saw of the show I loved, though frankly when you are working, which I was, it’s hard to enjoy because you are stressfully working the camera, the variables, lighting, who’s doing what and shooting like mad to make sure you get something good since you have hardly any time at all. It didn’t help that the third song featured Eddie on a solo at the start with a very dim blue light on him and all I could do was groan and hope they kicked in quick. With a photo pass and the rules are strict. three songs and in this case– from the soundboard– substantial distance from the stage. So, we got escorted to our spots (me standing on a chair to see above the crowd) and then promptly at the end of the third song we were escorted back out to the backstage area. No ticket, no stay for show. Worth it all anyway to see living legends in action.

Sammy Hagar
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Yay Sammy! What a cutie, what a fun guy to see performing. Strutting up and down the stage, smiling and gesturing and drinking it all in, flowing it all right back out again to the adoring public.

Shinedown Drummer
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Wow, the Shinedown drummer kicking ass. The stage show started in strobe mode, which made exposures a nightmare for me (and the other photogs) and then it seemed to change again every two seconds. Tough one. It stabilized after a time but let me tell you, it took a bit to get a handle on it. Yes, only other photographers will care about my lighting and exposure issues but I felt the need to vent. 🙂