HAPPY B'DAY MICK JAGGER!!!

 

Mick Jagger 1977/photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot

Mick Jagger will celebrate his 70th birthday Friday, his ecstatic reception last month at the Glastonbury Festival still ringing in the ears, as just one of a generation of wrinkly rockers determined not to go quietly.

The Stones raised the roof at the British music festival on June 29 with a two-hour performance featuring hits from their 50-year back catalogue, including “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”.

Still athletic thanks to a rigorous health and fitness regime, Jagger doesn’t have any problems belting out the numbers either.
Pensionable they may be — Jagger’s birthday will bring their combined age to 277 — but superannuated they are not.
The Glastonbury show was so popular one reviewer said a circus contortionist would have been hard pressed to get within 500 yards (metres) of the stage, and it garnered rave reviews as well as affectionately mocking headlines.
“Glastonbury’s night of the living dead”, said the Daily Mail newspaper, joking that while “Mick looked ready for more, Keith looked in need of a warm malt drink”.

Last year, Jagger and fellow pensioners Keith Richards — 70 later this year — Charlie Watts, 72, and Ronnie Wood, 66, also played to packed houses on their “50 and Counting” tour to mark the group’s 50th anniversary.
“I don’t see why there shouldn’t be a 60th anniversary,” said Richards at the time.
And the Stones — creaking hips and knees permitting — are far from alone.

Many of those who started off with them in the sixties are still performing — alongside musicians who grew up listening to their music and are young enough to be their grandchildren.
The Who, with Roger Daltrey, 69, and Pete Townshend, 68, still tour and last year closed the London Olympics with crowd pleasers Baba O’Riley and “My Generation”.
Earlier this year, David Bowie, 66, surprised the music world with a new album, “The Next Day”, his first in a decade.
His wife Iman hinted that a tour might be in the pipeline despite earlier denials.
Last year, Bob Dylan, 72, Leonard Cohen, 78, and Patti Smith, 66, also recorded new albums, dispelling any lingering sense that pop music is the exclusive territory of the young.
All three continue to criss-cross the world to appear on stage.
Brian Wilson, 71, last year reformed the Beach Boys for the group’s 50th anniversary and released an album, and Paul McCartney, also 71, continues to compose and perform to packed houses.

                       photo by Mark Seigler

A documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year saw forgotten 1970s folk musician Sixto Rodriguez rediscovered.
The “Sugar Man” of Detroit, 71, has since undertaken a sell-out world tour and also put in an appearance at Glastonbury.

But if artists are happy to carry on long beyond what many would have once considered their sell-by date, others wonder if such geriatric rock could stifle younger talents.

“We live in a pop age gone loco for retro and crazy for commemoration. Band re-formations and reunion tours, expanded reissues of classic albums and outtake-crammed box sets, remakes and sequels, tribute albums and mash-ups,” British writer Simon Reynolds said in his 2011 book “Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to its Own Past”.
“But what happens when we run out of past? Are we heading toward a sort of culturalecological catastrophe where the archival stream of pop history has been exhausted?”

by Taboola/The Raw Story

Morrison Hotel Gallery

                                                                                                 (photo by Katarina Benzova)

Two Morrison Hotel Galleries exist in New York — at 124 Prince St.in SoHo and at 313 Bowery, next to the site of punk's most sacred dump, CBGB.

 The company's other attempts to sustain galleries in the last decade, in San Diego and L.A., foundered.

"There just isn't the street traffic there," Diltz explains. 

"One hundred people walk by a minute in the summer in New York. They see these photos and they're drawn in."

It's no wonder why. The galleries , which now represent some 80 photographers , lure us in with images that tug at our memories by framing candid expressions of stars we've long fantasized about.
At their most routine, they're objects of nostalgia — no more artistic than a poster. But at their best, they're works of insight. Through their light, composition and the star's preserved expression, they crystal lize an icon's central allure.

Morrison Hotel's images range from Herman Leonard's muscular shots of jazz stars in the '40s and '50s (a young Miles Davis, a sensual Lena Horne) to Diltz and Joel Bernstein's woodsy portraits of the seminal '60s singer-songwriters, Mick Rock's in-your-face shots of glam rockers from the '70s, Janette Beckman's animated take on hip-hop artists of the '80s and Merri Cyr's rapturous shots of Jeff Buckley in the '90s.

The idea that birthed the galleries began in a place that has inspired many a musical notion — the road. In the '90s, Diltz began traveling the country selling prints of his photos in make shift spaces — with some success. Together with Blachley, a former record executive, and Rich Horowitz, an independent record store owner, he hit on the notion of finding a permanent space — preferably in New York, and ideally in SoHo.
The spot they found, on Spring St ., came with a rent of $35,000 a month, an impossible levy for the trio at the time. So they proposed a reduced fee to lease it on a short-term basis. In time, they bounced to another SoHo space, on Greene St., before building up enough business to sign their current long term lease at Prince. (The Bowery outlet opened in 2006.)
Before Morrison Hotel took over the Prince space, the previous renters hosted a widely covered show of 9/11 photography. Once the rockers occupied the space, "American Photography magazine said we were taking on the spirit of 9/11," says Diltz. "We weren't leaving downtown no matter what. Also, we were bringing back the spirit of So Ho, before the artists left."
As a marketing hook, Diltz says, the gallery started hawking its pieces as fine art music photography, " as opposed to other web sites and galleries which went for fistpumping tags like ‘photos of the legends of rock,' " which he felt "cheapened it."
Blachley says the galleries' location in New York made it inevitable that their most popular subject would be Bruce Springsteen (particularly Danny Clinch and Frank Stefanko's images from the "Darkness on the Edge of Town" period). Also big have been shots of Keith Richards, Jim Morrisonand Bob Dylan.
To Diltz, the central allure of these works lies in their casual intimacy. The Joni Mitchell shot came spontaneously during a long afternoon's rambling conversation.
"They're ‘hang out' photos," Diltz says. "They weren't at all set up."

That contrasts with most of today's musician photos, which have the formality and self-consciousness of fashion shoots.
The documentary quality of the vintage pieces has earned increasing respect of late. In 2009, theBrooklyn Museum featured its first show presenting music photography as art, mimicking similar events at London's National Portrait Gallery and the Tate. Blachley says the Smithsonian has approached his company to help with a music -theme d show of its own in 2014.
Meanwhile, the value of these photos has been appreciating, aided by the glow of history and the widening wallets of baby boomers. Shots by Jim Marshall (the great lensman of '60s San Francisco fl ower power) "gained an extra zero" in their prices after his death in 2010, according to Diltz.
Still, Blachley says most people purchase these shots "not because of their monetary value but because of their memories. When they see these images, it reminds them of a time in their lives that they still want to be a part of. Every morning, they want to get up and see that beauty."

(article by jfarber@nydailynews.com )

B&W power

                

                                                                                                                       photo by Katarina Benzova

In the early days of photography, photographers had no choice but to shoot in black and white, as it was the only available medium. Then, in 1936, the invention of kodachrome gave colour photography to the world. But black and white photography didn’t die off, instead it flourished. Modern black and white photography at it’s best is art, and many photographers regard it as the purest form of photography.

So why does black and white photography command such acclaim? One reason is that colour is a distraction. It takes attention away from the visual building blocks of a great photo; texture, tonal contrast, shape, form and lighting. A photographer shooting in black and white has to learn how to use all these elements to create a memorable image.

Another reason is that color photography, much of it mediocre, is so abundant that black and white makes a refreshing change.

From an artistic viewpoint; color depicts reality. Black and white is an interpretation of reality.

(Andrew Gibson /Photo tuts)

Mötley Crüe pictures from show in Sydney

I wanted to share some pics I did of Mötley Crüe during their show in Sydney with Thin Lizzy and KISS. Enjoy:)

Aerosmith and The Dead Daisies New Zealand and Aussie tour 2013

I'm back in Aussieeee and first time for me in New Zealand:) This time with The Dead Daisies as a support for Aerosmith:)

Super excited about this run. 

We have 4 shows :  24/04/13    Dunedin, NZ

                   28/04/13    Melbourne,AU

                   01/05/13    Brisbane, AU

                   04/05/13    Melbourne, AU

Whohooo..Let's rock it:)))

Soon will be posting pics of KISS, Motley Crue, ZZ Top from last tour so keep on checking up my blog even that it takes me a while to write it:)

Happy 81st bday Johnny Cash!!!

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space." -Johnny Cash

A look at the life of rock and roll and country music legend Johnny Cash, who toured with Elvis and had his biggest hit with Ring of Fire.

Johnny was born into a family of sharecroppers. They were very poor, and Cash claims that he almost died of starvation as a child.

Sadly, his older brother Jack died in a tragic accident while working a table saw in 1944.

His early memories were dominated by gospel music and radio. Taught by his mother and a childhood friend, Johnny began playing guitar and writing songs as a young boy. By the age of twelve he was performing songs on local radio.

After a stint in the Air Force, Cash married Vivian Liberto and signed with Sun Records in 1955. In 1956, Cash recorded his signature hit Folsom Prison Blues, which he was inspired to write after seeing a powerful film about Folsom Prison. That same year, I Walk the Line marked his first No. 1 country hit. The following year, Cash released his debut album, Johnny Cash with His Hot & Blue Guitar.

Although he was Sun's most consistently best-selling and prolific artist at that time, Cash felt constrained by his contract with the small label. As a result he left the label to sign a lucrative deal with Columbia Records, where his single "Don't Take Your Guns to Town" would become one of his biggest hits.

Unfortunately, he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. In 1965, a violent outburst in Nashville had him banned from the famous Grande Old Opry venue. His addictions also caused the break-up of his marriage to Libreto, with whom he had four daughters - Rosanne, Kathleen, Cindy and Tara.

However, in the late 1960s Cash discovered God and met his future wife, June Carter, who offered him support and inspiration. The couple collaborated on a succession of acclaimed duet recordings, including Jackson and Long-Legged Guitar Pickin' Man (both 1967), before marrying in 1968.

The following year he won two Grammy awards for 'Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison'. Cash also presented his own variety program - The Johnny Cash Show - on the ABC television network for three years.

Cash reached a second peak of popularity in 1970. In addition to his television show, he performed for President Richard Nixon at the White House, acted with Kirk Douglas in The Gunfight, sang with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra, and he was the subject of a documentary film.

His record sales were equally healthy as "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and "Flesh and Blood" were number one hits. Throughout 1971, Cash continued to have hits, including the Top Three "Man in Black." He also became more socially active in the early '70s, campaigning for the civil rights of Native Americans and prisoners.

In the mid-'70s, Cash's presence on the country charts began to decline, but he continued to have a series of minor hits and the occasional chart-topper like 1976's "One Piece at a Time," or Top Ten hits like the Waylon Jennings duet "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" and "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky."

Man in Black, Cash's autobiography, was published in 1975. In 1980, he became the youngest inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. However, the '80s were a rough time for Cash as his record sales continued to decline and he ran into trouble with Columbia. Cash also teamed up with Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis to record The Survivors in 1982, which was a mild success.

In 1991 he was presented with a Grammy Legend Award and, in 1992, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (adding to his place in the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls). He then collaborated with U2 on their 1993 album 'Zooropa'. His 1994 album, 'American Recordings' earned him a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He was also invited to appear at rock festival Lollapalooza.

In 1997, another autobiography, Cash: The Autobiography, was published. It was around this time that Cash disclosed that he was suffering from Shy-Drager Syndrome, a progressive nervous disorder characterized by tremors, stiffness, and weakness. He was hospitalised several times with pneumonia and other illnesses.

Tragically, June Carter Cash died of complications following heart valve replacement surgery in May 2003. She was 73. Less than four months after his wife's death, Johnny Cash himself died at the age of 71. The cause was given as complications stemming from diabetes.

source: www.thebiographychannel.co.uk

GN'R in Beirut

I cannot lie.Im super excited about this show.I've never been in Lebanon and I've heard amazing stuff about it. So its time to rock it and have some fun:)