Anna K, Hanzel und Gretyl

thegrandshow001
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Hanzel und Gretyl put on a great show. This is Anna K, the wonderful Norwegian woman with a deep voice and cool accent, who got us into the show. She was fierce on stage and super sexy.
John, the drummer for the band put on quite a show by climbing up and over his drumset several times to greet and grimace at the crowd. We had a fun chat after the show. He's a big guy with loads of tattoos and can't wait dreams about the big new drum riser he'll have one day.

Ministry

thegrandshow003
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

If you asked me two years ago what I thought I would be doing now I would never have imagined that I would be a rock and roll photographer on such a constant basis shooting industrial metal bands like Ministry. It was intense, loud and great musically. I'm not into metal at all but I can appreciate any genre at it's best. Visually it's a feast.

Get your freak on!

thegrandshow006
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

After fighting the crowds for awhile I found a seat, a cold drink and sat back to people watch. I really only shot these two (and not seen here, the racy nurse)-- but I could have spent the entire night just shooting candids of the concert goers. 80% of the crowd was in a costume of sorts... leather, boas, chain, massive boots, bras, corsets, torn fishnets, latex, gloves, dreads of every color imaginable, punk spikes in every shape, height and color too. Black, black, black, black and one fabulous girl in a long pink dress with long pink hair to match.

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult

thegrandshow002
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The band My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult was second on the bill and have their own dedicated following. I'm told that they definitely have become "heavier" and I know that to be true because I have one of their CD's, which I adore, but has a very different feel. This is the bassist and the lead singer smooching-- perhaps trying to add a little shock value to the show, but somehow, considering the crowd, it seemed quite normal... ;)
The bassist, who also plays with Pigface on occasion, is great and I heard and felt his musical presence throughout their entire set-- it was the driving force and enticing backbone of every song. His efforts really floated to the top for me. I met him after the show and he's a pretty amazing guy in general.

The Grand SF

thegrandshow004
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Last night was a big show for the industrial metal and goth crowd in San Francisco and thanks to K's connection to Anna K of Hanzel und Gretyl we arrived to find tickets waiting for us at the door. Yay! The headliner, Ministry, was on during this photo. The whole place was packed like a can of sardines. I never saw more black clothing than I saw last night in one place-- EVER. The blur in the middle is the mosh pit in full force.

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Wiiiiillllllliiiiieeeeeee! The man looks EXACTLY like he looked 20 years ago! We were allowed to shoot the first two songs (but they stopped us at three, whew!) and then we had to move on. It was just me and a woman with the River Cats. You'd think other shooters would have been there. It was a great show, a very long set, filled with new songs, old songs, the great standards and toe tapping fun all the way through.

Raley Field

Rivercatsvenue
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Willie Nelson performed at Raley Field tonight to kick off the Rib Fest. I needed to get an "atmospheric" shot of the venue and this seems to do it... it shows off the Sacramento skyline-- yes, we have a skyline ;)-- and just looks pretty. The place was nearly full. they did have a bit of trouble down front early on because the VIP section, where people had paid up to $125 per reserved seat, had some serious obstruction for those in the corner seats. One concerned ticket holder got to the stage and convinced one of the roadies to solve the problem by moving the offending equipment boxes out of the way so they could see Willie perform! For a moment there I thought the roadie might blow him off but he didn't. He took charge, talked to the lead dog, made it happen and made a lot of people very happy in the process.
I met a super girl (also shooting pics) that works for the venue who took me along with her to the control booth and one of the suites for a couple of different views too.

TICHA

TISCHA
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Ticha Penicheiro, is a guard for the Sacramento Monarchs basketball team and one of their most popular players. I photographed her to publicize an upcoming charity event called Getta Cue, a billiard event she is hosting along with Peja Stojakovich.
We went to her house to do the photo shoot and she has this gorgeous billiard table in an area just off the kitchen that worked perfectly for the pictures-- an unexpected bonus. The light in the room was bright and even with crystal white walls so we set up a seamless backdrop and it made the job so much easier to light. Meanwhile in the opposite corner she was getting her hair and make up done... I would love having a pro do my hair and face all the time! Decorating-wise Ticha has great taste. She has such beautiful, colorful and comfortable furniture everywhere.

Flock Fans

IMG_0192
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The crowd for Flock of Seagulls was substantial and enthusiastic. They sang along, they tried to grab the guitarist, they took pictures. NO ONE had funny hair, well, there was this one girl....a tiny blonde with a hint of the swoop...

Flock of Seagulls

IMG_0179
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Went to the Flock of Seagulls show at The Roadhouse the other night. No offense to the band but when you mention their name the one thing most people will remember is the hair do-- swooping, crested, silly hair-- and giggling ensues. So with some amusement in mind I half expected to see some big hair... of course that's idiotic because it's soooo many years later and people change, as did these guys. They wandered around the club, mostly unnoticed, and then took the stage for a very good show. I think these guys had two big hits in their day. Most people will only remember "I Ran", which is really a great song!

The crazy storm!

IMG_0073
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

It's Sacramento for goodness sakes! This is the scene next to my house after a tremendous storm yesterday. It seemed to pour relentlessly for the longest time and left behind buckets of water and pea-sized hail. Finally the downpour stopped and the sun came out as did all the neighbors on the street, many like me with their cameras, to see and record what had happened.

Go Sacramento Monarchs

monarchs0047
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The Sacramento Monarchs basketball team, in conjunction with SMUD, hosted a BBQ yesterday at a lucky SMUD customers home. These women are so amazing.
In front is Edna Campbell bear-hugging Ruthie Bolton... Go get'em in the playoffs ladies!!!

Circle of 5ths and migraine relief

IMG_0130
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Singing "One Last Time" Circle of 5ths frontman Steve Mahoney sings the last song of their set during the 98 rock show at the State Fair. Normally he's rocking out on guitar but due to a broken string he chose to continue sans guitar. What a pro!
Steve, who suffers from frequent migraines, tells me that in addition to a darkened room his neurologist recommends sex as a stress reliever, which helps reduce the amount of pain. He swears by the treatment. ;}

By Impazdor Dali

By Impazdor Dali
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Here it is-- Received this photo from Drew Letchworth, aka Impazdor Dali...

Impazdor Dali

impazdordali
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

People are just different in San Francisco.
I went to this amazing reception at the MOMA Saturday night and one of the perks of being there-- in addition to the free run of the museum exhibit with mind-boggling works by Paul Klee, Andy Warhol, Rauschenberg, Mondrian and Miro to name just a few, the delicious food and a talented, melodic musical group performing memorable world beat/reggae/jazz/fusion music-- was this incredible caricaturist who titled himself Impazdor Dali. He had quite a schtick and a computer station set up in the corner where he would shoot a quick digital image of you and them make some kind of wacky art on the computer out of it. You never knew where he would go with it and the images were totally wild and fun when he was finished. He did a cute one of me, but his printer had broken down so he promised to email it. If and when I get it I will be posting it here!

San Francisco View

San Francisco View
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

An interesting aside... I was in SF for a gigantic conference over the weekend and this is the view from my room. I couldn't help but think of Mark Twain repeatedly-- "The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco." Truth is the weather was unusually spectacular for the most part, though it did get quite cold at night. The view at left is the night I checked in, the view at right is the morning I checked out. The fog burned off quickly so our farewell jaunt around town was lovely. Walking around SF is so cool. We encountered this interesting guy who makes copper wire sculptures and sells them on the street. Obviously a bit down on his luck but he's found a way to make real art out of wire that is only going to be thrown away. We took the time to stop and talk to him, then he began making something for us and soon there was an enthusiastic crowd gathered. I hope he made lots of money! Between the two of us we bought several things and I would have photographed him but I had decided to set the camera down for the day and didn't even have it with me. I need a tiny pocket digital now! Sheesh, It's always something!

Ruthie Bolton

ruthie
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

I am such a lucky photographer because I get to meet and photograph wonderful and amazing people all the time. This is Ruthie Bolton who recently allowed me to photograph her in her home using unusual lighting effects. She is an awesome basketball player for the Sacramento Monarchs-- her stats include: All-WNBA First Team (1999, 1997), Two-time WNBA All-Star, Scored over 2,000 career-points, WNBA's fourth all-time leader in 3-pointers made.
Ruthie is an inspiration to young people all over.
We had such a fun time, even shooting her with the many nieces and a nephew that were visiting with her that evening, during which the sounds of high-spirits, laughter and giggles filled the air.
While working with her I discovered much to my delight that Ruthie has an extraordinarily creative and artistic soul too.

A MIGHTY 49'ER

BUBBAPARIS
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Meet Bubba! In 1982, William "Bubba" Paris was the San Francisco 49'ers first draft choice. and he stayed with them for nine years, mostly at left tackle. During those nine years, they won three Super Bowl Championships, eight Western Division Titles and played in five NFC Championship games! Now he's a well-known and admired motivational speaker who I got to meet today and do a self-portrait with.

The Surgeon General

surgeongeneral
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona was sworn in as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service on August 5, 2002 and here he is posing with me September 9th, 2004 at The Moscone West Center in San Francisco where he was addressing a gathering of dentists.
The man does 500 push ups after waking up at 4:30 am evey single day! That's impressive, but of course he is the ultimate health representative for our nation so it stands to reason he would be fit, active and very self-disciplined-- and he's quite handsome with the loveliest eyes-- ;)

Greetings from Chris Stein

Chris Stein
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Who would guess this one! My current obsession with the devil horns hand gesture has a life of it's own!
So, Chris Stein of Blondie sees me photographing him and he suddenly thrusts his devil horns hand gesture at me! Yowza, how perfect is that!?!
Blondie opened up with Atomic and closed the obligatory encore with Heart of Glass.

Blondie!

Debbie montage
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Blondie, featuring Debbie Harry, the amazing Blondie herself, performed tonight at The Radisson during a near sold-out show. As she left the stage she yelled out "See you in another 25 years." Because it's been 25 years since they came to Sacramento. They played all their big hits of course. At the very start of the show everyone was fairly well-behaved and sitting in their seats. But as the band appeared and Debbie Harry strutted on the crowd rushed the stage. I got caught up in the rush and stayed pressed up against the stage for the duration of the show, barely able to move my feet even an inch!

Fixed performing

Fixed performing
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Here they are!

Fixed

fixed
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Meet Fixed.
The deeper I get into the whole music community the deeper the music rabbit hole seems to be and it's a bit mind-boggling. Thursday night I shot the band Fixed at The Boardwalk. I ran into many people I know from outside the music scene-- parents with kids seriously pursuing music as a career. It seems that the youth community, much of it centered around Skip's Music, is vast and intertwined. Everyone knows everyone and has played in a band with everyone at some point!
These guys on stage have boundless energy, real skills and real songwriting abilities. They were bouncing all over the stage with such confidence and commanding the kind of attention I could only dream about when I was 14 like they are.

Key to Arson

keytoarson
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Key to Arson headlined this show and were definitely a powerhouse on stage. They are all Sacramento natives and have opened for acts like Kid Rock and Lit so they are definitely on their way up the rock and roll food chain. The lead singer is a tiny thing wearing tiny clothes. This is only significant because his tiny butt crack showed even without bending over. So damn cute!
The show was running long so everyone's set got cut. According to the stage manager Key to Arson may not have been too thrilled but they were so professional in the negotiation that he gave them an extra five minutes and was impressed that they played their set to the second!
They also had the largest assortment of girlfriends/groupies I've seen backstage recently. I don't meant to disparage anyone at all. One of the girls was darling-- the girlfriend of the bassist-- cute, nice and helpful as could be.

Honeyspot

honeyspot
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The 98 Rock show at the State Fair Friday night was great. Too bad attendance was not that big. The mosh pit was full but the seats remained mostly empty. Four bands played-- Nu-clear, Circle of 5ths, Honeyspot and Key to Arson. A lively show all around. Honeyspot is definitely one of my favorite local bands and if they don't get some real attention I'll be shocked. Their songs are catchy, fun, memorable and the lead singer, Adam, has incredible charisma.

Fabuloso

hats
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

More Wow, fabulous hats! Pimp hats galore! A little slice of strange americana at the fair. It took three balloon pops to win one, not an easy feat!
There was another booth where you could actually have your hand sculpted in wax. It was gross and captivating simultaneously. I almost did it-- and guess what gesture I would have chosen... Yes, horns of course!

Ozomatli

ozomatli
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The coolest thing, and the real reason for this picture, is that they had a sign-language interpreter there for any hearing impaired folk in the audience. He's the guy on the far right. Ozomatli played the main stage of the fair and was amazing. They had a gigantic crowd, dancing, undulating bodies everywhere, and the bandmembers were so musically impressive. The music was a mix of latin, rock, hip-hop and world beat cleverly melodic and rich. I counted ten people performing on stage. They had so much energy that half the time their feet didn't even seem to touch the ground. One of the percussionists kept throwing a gourd instrument through the air and catching it, so skillfully it seemed like an extention of his being. I wish I could dance as well as those guys too! The trombone player got most of my attention because he was so happy, so into the movement of the music-- his footwork was riveting to me. They ended the show by parading deep into the audience, playing all the while. Wow.

K and C do the Photo Booth

photobooth
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The photo booth still remains one of my all time favorite things to do. The pictures are hardly ever really good, or well exposed but there is this honesty to them, a sense of fun in the moment, a sweet silliness. And it's kinda fun to squeeze into the little booth and sit on the teeny tiny stool. Then there is the scary anticipation of when the flash will go off and will you be making a stupid face when it does... meanwhile you get to stare at yourself and make all these faces in the reflection searching for the right one. The you wait and wait until you hear the internal dryer just before the photo strip drops into the slot-- it's all very exciting. Voila, immortalized!

Blonde on Blonde

goldenbear
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Kevin, seen here riding the Golden Bear, and I had such a fun time at the State Fair watching Ozomatli, teasing the carnies, watching the fireworks, ragging on some of the art in the exhibition center and of course, chowing on a Texas twisted doughnut. I can't find any history on the significance of the Golden Bear, which is surprising! Here is an odd little aside... The only U.S. President to ever visit the fair was in 1880-- Rutherford B. Hayes, the great great grandfather of Lauren Hayes, my old junior high chum. That's only four degrees of separation! Of course, one has to go back generations but... ;)