Through the Sparks Photo Shoot

Last night I had the pleasure of taking some new promo shots of Through the Sparks, featuring their newest lineup and in anticipation of their new release, Worm Moon Waning. With Duquette Johnston as my assistant, we threw the six guys in the back of a pickup truck, beer and cigarettes in hand, and head towards a hidden baseball field. Jumping the padlocked fence and racing the golden light, here are a few of my favorite shots!

You can see the rest of the shots here...

And be sure to check out Through the Sparks--you can download their new album FREE right here.

SXSW Recap.

We officially made it back to Birmingham late Monday night. The drive from Austin took sixteen hours and two days, and nearly drove us both insane! It was so easy to drive down there, yet the same path on the way back was excruciating.

I hate that I had so many Internet problems and couldn't blog. It was one of the many things to learn from for next year.

The whole experience was nothing like I could've imagined. Ever. I expected to be tired and run ragged, but I couldn't anticipate the festival aspect of the whole thing. Thousands and thousands of people are hyped up on music and adrenaline (and probably more than a few on illegal substances), wandering around, driven to find the best place to be/the best show/the best cupcake or taco/the best free beer.

I was super thankful to have a badge that granted me immediate access to any show/party I wanted to be at...I couldn't imagine having to wait in those excruciating lines that flowed down 6th Street like it would never end. That badge also saved me about 5 hours a day. I could pop in to the Billions Party, stay long enough for the husband to say hellos, and then run over to Maggies Mae's Gibson Room, Mohawk to see Richard Swift (and catch J. Mascis on the street), and still make it to Volume to see Beach House. If you're ever going to SXSW, yes, it IS do-able without a badge or wristband, but it's a LOT better of a time if you just throw down the $500-700 for the badge.

My husband played two phenomenal shows--one Wednesday night at the Tap Room and another as part of the Birmingham Day Party. His current lineup is really fantastic, and the new songs are really a whole new thing. On Wednesday, The Austin Chronicle chose Duquette Johnston and the Rebel Kings as a top pick for the night, describing them as "psychedelic Southern rock." I think that's an incredible way to capture the music.

Here's exactly what the Chronicle had to say...

"Psychedelic Southern rock isn't done any more authentically than by Duquette Johnston. The Alabama native takes a personal look at a troubled road amidst loud guitars itching for a Drive-by Truckers session. Currently in the studio working on a follow-up to 2006's Etowah, Johnston and his recent "Nothing to Fear" demonstrate a digestion of Lucinda Williams. " – Chase Hoffberger

The Saturday BHAM Showcase was an unofficial party and took place at the Creekside Lounge, luckily right next door to the 40 Watt party. It made it pretty easy for several people to jump back and forth between the two. My husband got stuck with what I considered to be a rather shiteous time slot, but it ends up not really mattering in the end. Whoever was there, was supposed to be there right then. Chip Midnight from Atomic Ned, an old friend of my husband's from back in the Verbena days, came out to see the set. He wrote a nice little bit on him at his blog's SXSW recap:

"Started out at the Creekside Lounge to see Duquette Johnston and the Rebel Kings at the Birmingham, Alabama showcase. I met Duquette when he was in Verbena many years ago (’96-ish) and we’ve traded a rare e-mail or two every couple of years up until the last two or so years where he’s shown up on MySpace. His live show was more rocking than his debut Etowah - kind of Neil Young / My Morning Jacket / Drive-By Truckers-ish. Good ol’ rock from the South. Been listening to his acoustic CD-R that he gave me a copy of that afternoon - hopefully you’ll have a chance to hear it soon."--Chip Midnight.

Out of the whole SXSW, I have to say that my favorite moments were:
1) Seeing the Delta Spirit play a CRAZY show at the Radio Room on Wednesday night and then stumbling upon an outdoor honky-tonk set of theirs at a morning party with free tacos. I love this band so much. And they're some of the sweetest guys ever. I'm so happy for their growing success. They deserve it because the songs deserve it.


2) Lou Barlow and Imaad Wasif at the Merge Records Party at the Parish. It was entirely acoustic and while I'm not an enormous fan of Lou Barlow's solo stuff, I was absolutely mesmerized by Wasif. I managed to get right up front to shoot (thank you, Fire Marshall for limiting the crowd that night!) and I have some incredible photos of him looking directly at me. It kind of freaked me out. He looks like a really beautiful ghost.





3) Watching Beach House at Volume. I've never been a fan of their recordings, but to watch them live was really hypnotic. The space was really cool--stage was low and the back wall was lined with mirrors. There was a great balcony with cages along the stair rails. The light was all green and spacy. I loved it.





Check back later and through the week for more picture posts!!

Or, go visit my Flickr...there are hundreds of photos there!
Now, for even more rest...

SXSW--Live from Dallas

(Jonathan Purvis, David Swatzell, and Duquette Johnston synchronizing watches)


It's 12 am and we just pulled into Dallas for the night. We're picking up bass player Greg Slamen at the DFW airport in eight hours. We braved the ten hour drive today like true road warriors!

We hit the road at 9.30am after meeting up with Valerie McLean, Trak Shak lady extraordinaire!! She jumped into last minute action upon realizing that the Trak Shak trailer (so graciously loaned to the Birmingham SXSW effort) had an expired tag. We piled the gear in, piled the passengers in the truck, and met up with a car load of BHAM people to hit the road.


The ten hour drive passed quickly, thanks to frequent stops awarded to the sole girl in this particular caravan.
.

The highlight of the trip thus far has been the four or five stops we made in search of beer, only to realize that every single town we chose to exit at was in a dry county--in Louisiana and Texas. Too good. However, at one of these dry gas stations in the middle of nowhere, was a casino. Fifty cents were lost in this venture.



Oh, and then there were these birds. Like 500 of them--cackles, I think. They dive bombed us all. It was beyond a Hitchcock moment.

And now we're in Dallas. I'm exhausted and can't hardly think to blog. We've piled in six people in a little hotel room near the airport. Sardines. Comfy sardines.

Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day--we head into Austin after picking up Slamen at the airport. We go to check in and get our badges. We go to check in to the hotel. We go to load in for Duquette Johnston and the Rebel Kings show, which he will play at 10pm at the Tap Room at Six. Later that night, we will be going to check out the Delta Spirit at the Radio Room at 1.30am.

Good night, people. Or good morning. Or whatever...

Taking an early weekend, sort of...

Hey Everyone!
This week's blog schedule is a little off as the preparation for South by Southwest is in full gear! I am working on photo shoots today and tomorrow. Tonight is the second Gas Money: Birmingham goes to South by Southwest fundraiser at Workplay in Birmingham.

I hope it's a phenomenal turnout--eight Birmingham bands are heading to Austin to play an unofficial day party at the Creekside Lounge on Saturday the 21st. This is a first for Birmingham, and we are all hoping that it will establish this city as a contender in incredible music.

The bands playing are:
O+S (that's Orenda Fink from Azure Ray and Little Red Rocket and Scalpelist AKA Cedric LeMoyne of Remy Zero and Gnarls Barkley)
Duquette Johnston and the Rebel Kings (headed by Daniel Duquette Johnston, founding member of Verbena, Cutgrass, touring bassist of the Blake Babies, Brother Cane, etc.)
Vulture Whale (including Les Nuby of Verbena)
Taylor Hollingsworth (of the Mystic Valley Band)
13 Ghosts
Through the Sparks
The Grenadines
Kate Taylor

Now, a little profiling of Duquette Johnston...

Duquette Johnston and the Rebel Kings are also playing SXSW on Wednesday March 18th at 10PM at the Tap Room at Six. It's sure to be a great show, featuring band mates Greg Slamen of Through the Sparks, Michael Shackleford of Through the Sparks, The Grenadines, King Carnivore, Maria Taylor, and David Swatzell of Mt. St. Mtn. and Last Flight In.


Here are a couple links to a couple SXSW interviews--from Les Enfants Terribles and another from Atomic Ned-- and a recent review--from Omniplug-- of the Duke's latest record, It Sings Because It Has a Song, that was written and recorded in 28 days for NPR's Record Production Month Challenge.

Also, if you're in the Birmingham area this Saturday, March 14th, Duquette is playing a special acoustic set at The Urban Standard, debuting the songs from It Sings Because It Has a Song. The show starts at 7.30 pm, and will also feature the music of Jon Black and Neil Couvillion.


Anyway, surrounding these thrilling events is the feat of packing everything I could possibly need for a week at a music conference/festival, scheduling an 8am-4am existence for five straight days, figuring out carpool/caravan, and making sure my husband (the Duke himself) does the same.

I will check back in Monday, before we depart, and, remember, I will be blogging daily from SXSW!!

Snow fell on Alabama...

What a weekend we had here in Alabama!! It seems like when I was a child, my memories of growing up in Alabama were framed by winters of light snows, sledding, snowball fights, and hot chocolate by a fireplace. However, it's been around ten years since we have seen more than an inch or so of that beautiful white fluff. Our meteorologists haven't come off as the brightest people this year, interrupting hours of regular programming over the past few months with the promise of hail, tornado, flood, frost, and snow--and it never ever happens. So when Saturday rolled around and every news station urged people to prepare for a snow storm, I just did not believe them. In the early hours of Sunday morning, as the husband and I caught up with old friends on the patio of the Garage, there was still no snow. I still did not believe. We got home around 2AM and fell asleep, stifling our secret desperate hope for snow just so we wouldn't be disappointed in the morning.

Well, along comes morning...and the most snow that I've seen in years!! We quickly bundled up and took to the neighborhood streets with our dogs, Pagoda and Blue. They played for a bit with the new neighbors' baby Husky. All of a sudden it was white out conditions; the snow was falling so hard and fast and the wind was blowing so fiercely, Pagoda got lost. We found him shortly thereafter, but I was soaked through.

We took a break, warmed up in the comfort of our toasty living room, ate coffee cake, and bundled back up to do it all over again--with leashes on the dogs, of course.

D
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Everything was fabulous! I even joked to our neighbor about my amazement that our neighborhood (notorious for power loss) still had electricity. And then we walked home...and our power went out!!! Normally, we would brave the loss. But my husband was on his last day of recording an album for NPR's Record Production Month challenge. He had to record 10 songs...and we HAD NO POWER. After breaking down and loading up all the recording gear about ten times, trekking to several different locations to find a quiet, well-powered room, two minor mental breakdowns, and one exploding car (seriously, I saw a car BLOW UP), he finished the record!! It was 1 in the morning, but it was recorded, dumped from the four-track, and mastered (thanks to record producer extraordinaire, Les Nuby).

It was a wild weekend and fabulous just the same. The snow is long gone, and we are sad. But I'm sure we will see it again...in the year 2019.