Getting painterly

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Things have slowed a teeny tiny bit during the holidays and I've been enjoying a much needed breather... however nothing stops me from spending creative juices in new ways everyday. I've become particularly interested in how to turn my photos into paintings and have been teaching myself a new software program to do just that... here is an example.
What I discovered is that something my talented artist mom once told me is remarkably true-- Painting takes a lot of courage. I never understood that until recently. It's very hard to let go and be bold with the brush strokes and letting the image go to the next level. I'm working on it, trying to get braver, shaking things up and not being so timid. So Watch Out!

The Devil made me do it!

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Chanukah, Joyeux Noël etc. to our loved ones who enjoy getting photos as gifts. She tells me she thinks she might like to do a devil thing... Oh yes, sounds great! And I just happend to have the coolest red feathered wings to steer it into a bit of a fallen angel thing too. We had such a good time!

Beyond the obvious

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Portraits are my thing, always have been. I shoot a lot of them for people, businesses, families. It's just part of how I pay the rent but also how I feed my soul artistically when I get subjects who enjoy having fun and lend themselves to something beyond the obvious. I shot this little girl's family last week, the loveliest people. And when it was her turn to be the subject she was just darling! I put some spin on this to make it a bit more arty...

Hellooo Dolly!

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

"Like no one ever thought of that before" K told me when I said I already knew the headline for this blog entry. Yup. Turns out it's called "Hello I'm Dolly" AND the show starts out with her band playing a lively rendition of the song "Hello Dolly" while pictures of her growing up, album covers and lively studio pics of her in wild costumes fade in and out on the big screens high above the stage. Suddenly she appears in the spotlight wearing this glittery one piece outfit, a fluffy ostrich feather fan like something out of a burlesque show and a matching feather headpiece to top it all off.
Dolly is chatty too. Between each song she has LOTS to say, usually telling the story behind the song she's about to sing. She's charming, sweet and scripted. I know because I saw the monitor (gigantic type) just behind me at the sound board, which is where we had to shoot from. Wish I had been at the meet and greet where I am told she was equally chatty!
We got to stay a bit longer just to sit back and enjoy the show though. Dolly sang a song called Little Sparrow accompanied by a lone fiddle. The fiddle faded out for a short time leaving only her voice to fill the air and it was exquisite.

A Monumental Bosom

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

There are some who may think it's just rude of me to point out that Dolly Parton has a monumental bosom above the tiniest waist. However it is indeed worth mentioning.
As I watched her perform so many things went through my head, oddly relating it to how people find their way in this world. Dolly came from the poorest of the poor in an unsophisticated world yet somehow something clicked just right about her and made her a superstar. She is beautiful, has the sweetest voice with a delicate trill that she can control so well. She also has a brilliant mind, which allows her to find the perfect words to tell her stories in tunes so lovely. Somehow she found her way and I wondered as I listened to her sing how many other people out there are filled with musical skill and talent that may never stand on a stage and sing for people like she can. You know thay are out there... but I am certainly glad Dolly found her way through life to stand on that stage tonight.

Dolly

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Dolly Parton onstage at Arco Arena surrounded by a bevy of super talented musicians who opened up the show as The Grascals-- kind of a bluegrass country band-- who also tour as her backup band.

Thank you!

Lacubrioustempo... Need I say more?

Jacoby Shaddix

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Jacoby Shaddix, frontman for Papa Roach, is a dynamic force onstage. Thousands of hands were in the air as they performed, and as the lights passed over them from time to time it was almost an unbelievable sight. It's not like I haven't seen that before, but it's beautiful... the warm tones of the waving hands and arms, highlights glistening, people reaching out to touch something they adore... and the music going going going.

It's all fun and games until...

It's all fun and games until...
Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

...someone get's hurt.
Thousands of people swelled towards the front, literally breaking one of the barricades up front of the stage before the sold-out Twisted Xmas show even began. Dozens of people were crowd surfing and this one poor woman got a bloodied nose in the process.
Security, KWOD people and even one of the bandmembers kept talking to the crowd asking them to move back or they wouldn't start the show. The crowd took awhile to comply but finally the show went on.
In the pit, during the show, I got smashed too by the incoming surfers and my camera banged hard onto my mouth causing it to swell up... It was pretty intense trying to shoot while all the chaos was happening behind us-- just trying to get the job done, get good pics, and stay the heck out of the way!!!

Papa Roach

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Papa Roach headlined the Twisted Xmas show at Arco last night and blew the roof off! Here they are posing for me in an elevator before heading off to their dressing room to chill out before their show.

LIVE! on Capitol Public Radio

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Here I am at my desk about to participate in a discussion about blogging on the Capitol Public Radio program, Insight, hosted by Jeffrey Callison. You can listen to it live on 88.9 KXJZ in Sacramento.
Well, it's over now and my heart is still pounding! It was a very interesting show, mainly talking about the journalistic aspect of blogging. My segment was a bit different because it's such a personal point of view and mainly relating to my photos.
But being interviewed on the radio... How cool is that? Sherie says cool things happen in three's... so what's next?

There's no one like Gwen Stefani!

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Gwen Stefani , displaying her singular uber-sophistication, has become quite the fashion maven too with her own clothing and accessories line. For this show she wore white leggings, platform shoes, a ruffled mini skirt and lace collar falling over a bra-like top. As great as it was being in the pit-- literally so close I could reach out and touch her-- I have to admit this was one performance I would also like to have seen from the audience point of view. It was rich, colorful, full of texture both musically and visually. But to really appreciate the production value you had to take a step back to drink it all in.

Surprise!

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The big surprise of the night was an appearance by the spectacular Gwen Stefani who absolutely stole the show. Her three song set opened with a marching band drumline in full regalia followed by the appearance of wickedly talented dancers, her Harajuku girls, doing cutting edge dance routines. Harajuku, according to one website I found is defined it as a "strange mixture of Hello Kitty, hip-hop and the infamous British punk." The entire set was fast-paced and riveting to watch. Stefani is a powerhouse performer who put on a show that thrilled all who were there. Stefani has been showing up as the special guest to the radio shows, probably to promote her new album. It was a secret kept fairly well under wraps. I only learned about it from someone working at the arena minutes after I arrived. See more of my show pics here.

Avril Lavigne

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Avril Lavigne, seen running across the stage, was the headlining act at Jingle Ball, which I shot tonight for eMusiConnect.com. Great show. Also performing was Switchfoot, A Simple Plan, Hillary Duff and a special guest.... ;)
During the show everyone was waving glow sticks too. It was quite a sight.
The arena was filled to the max with what mostly appeared to be teenage girls, many accompanied by their loving and indulgent mothers. One mom spoke to K about getting someone behind the scenes to have Happy Birthday sung to her daughter by one of the acts. She wrote her phone number on an Arco Arena receipt-- She had already spent $400 on souvenirs.

E oh!

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

Ran into the adorable E the other night at the Hannon show. Received muchos besos tambien...
But here's the rest of the story.
After one very long but sweetly innocent kiss I turned to see a woman staring squarely at me, an unusually steady gaze. Very seriously she says to me "Look at him, he is sooo sexy, I bet that just made your entire night." I said, "Oh yeah, he's a good friend of mine, a real sweetheart-- and he's got a girlfriend." She said. "He does? Wow, A kiss like that could hold me for two months!" she sighed.
THEN, as E and I continued to chat we turn to see another woman moving in with a sharpee extended towards him-- the universal sign for 'autograph please'-- and a handful of laminates. She was so shy, just looking up at him with such awe. He leaned over to her and said, "Oh sweetie, I'm not a rock star, I'm nobody really, I'm just a guy". "I don't care" she said and handed him the laminates. "Okay, which one do you want me to sign?" he asked "Anyone you want to" she said in a near whisper. And so he sweetly did.
I wonder if this stuff happens to him all the time...

Shameless Self-Promotion

Karin wondered why I didn't put a link to the Sacramento News & Review 15 Minutes piece they did on me, specifically relating to my blogging activities. I guess I didn't want to brag even though I was absoultely delighted. However I have since re-thought it and have decided that shameless self-promotion is just the ticket after all. You gotta put it out there, right? "Charrming!", SN&R link And the picture of me with my kitty Sheila is really cute too.

Groupie wannabe

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

I admit it! John Kottak, The Scorpions drummer made me wanna be a groupie! Holy smoke did he smoke. Most drummers have the disadvantage of sitting behind the huge drum sets, hardly visible. Of course, the old adage 'The cream always rises to the top' is a belief I personally hold dear and in this case the drummer rose straight to the top of my intense attention. Personality, skill, energy, showmanship all combined to create one of the coolest drum solo's I have had the pleasure to experience. On the bands set list it's listed as Kottack Attack... And if I had been lucky enough to meet him and get a return sparkle I would have turned groupie in a heartbeat! Thank you very much!...
See more of my show pics at eMusiConnect.com .

Frank in Action

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

The first thing you notice about Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon is his massive mane of hair. The reason you remember him is his mastery of the guitar, which was thrilling to the hometown crowd last night at Arco when Tesla opened for The Scorpions.
His hat reads: Long-haired freaky people need not apply, lyrics from the song Signs, a cover Tesla had a hit with.
I was shooting this show for eMusiConnect.com, a great informational website dedicated to musicians, music, events and entertainment all over the metropolitan area... check it out!

Opportunity knocks... again

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Originally uploaded by Charrmer.

As K would say, the "Celebrity Whore" strikes again. But how can I resist? After the Scorpions and Tesla show last night at Arco, Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon played a set at the Roadhouse with his other band Kaleidescope, so of course the hardcore had to be there.
An unexpected bonus was when Scorpion bassist Pawel Maciwoda walked in, and was mostly unrecognized so I had the opportunity to pose (top) and chat a bit with him. Pawel, who is polish, has the yummiest accent too. He's been with the Scorpions for a year now and says it feels like much longer because it's such a good fit.
That's Frank posing with me, bottom.