What I will be doing today...

Hey there, friends. I am heavy in the throes of photo editing. As I mentioned yesterday, the husband and I went to see Mogwai. And it was FANTASTIC! One of the best shows I have ever seen! I ended up getting a photo pass--thanks Brian!! I had such a blast shooting them. The lights were ALL over the place. Quite the challenge. I've got about 600 shots to go through, which I will throw up on Flickr as soon as I'm finished.

Until then, why don't you stop by my Flickr page and check out some of the other bands and people and things and places I've photographed?


Just click...Morgan Jones Johnston's Flickr.

See you guys in a bit. And I hope you're enjoying this BEAUTIFUL day!

SECRET HISTORY PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS MOGWAI

Hey Everyone,If you are in Birmingham tonight (or in the driving radius) come to Workplay to see MOGWAI!!

To get tickets, visit their web site (linked above) or call: 205.380.4082
Tickets are $20 and it's an all ages show.
Workplay is located at 500 23rd St. S.
Birmingham, Al 35233.

Our good friends at Secret History Productions are putting on the show and it is sure to phenomenal!


Don't believe me? Just watch their video for "Stanley Kubrick."

Rhinestone Cowboys.

My husband played a huge role in my exposure to the amazing tailoring of Nudie and Turk and Manuel. He has an original Nathan Turk shirt that I think he was wearing the first time we met. They're exquisitely crafted and utterly dazzling.

Here's a history in images, beginning with Rodeo Ben. Opening his business in the 1920's, Rodeo Ben went on to design the cowboy jean for Wrangler. Rodeo Ben was a Polish born Philadelphian who clothed stars like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.



Succeeding Rodeo Ben was Nathan Turk, a Van Nuys, California-based tailor during the 1940s and 50s. His clients included Patsy Cline, Elvis, and Dale Evens.


This burgundy colored shirt is my husband's Turk shirt from the 50s.



Shortly following Turk was the great Rodeo Tailor Nudie Cohn. While country singers were well into the ornamental cowboy suit, it was Nudie's relationship with Gram Parsons that introduced the style to rock and roll. However, it was Nudie's successor Manuel, who designed all of Gram's own suits.

Here are some of Nudie's greatest pieces...

left: Porter Waggoner's suit
right: Hank Williams' most famous suit


The following photos are Nudie himself in one of his most famous suits. This is my favorite suit ever.


These Nudie photos come from the official web site, Nudies Rodeo Tailors Official Website.



Next came Manuel, who moved from his native Mexico to Los Angeles in the 50s. In the 1960s, Manuel joined Nudie as his head tailor. A marriage to and divorce from Nudie's daughter prompted Manuel to break away and start his own business. In the late 1980's Manuel moved his business to Nashville--Manuel's Exclusive Clothier's. Manuel has clothed everyone from Johnny Cash to John Lennon. Here are some of his pieces...

Amazingly, it's pretty hard to find a good selection of photos of Manuel's work.

Here's Gram Parson in his 1969 Nudie Suit, designed by Manuel and the suits Manuel made for the Beatles' Sgt Pepper.


You can visit the Manuel~The Legend web site to find out more about him.

Or, if you're in Nashville, you can stop by the store,
Manuel's Exclusive Clothiers
1922 Broadway
Nashville, Tennessee 37203

It's a Bob Dylan day.

A hard rain's a gonna fall today in dear old Bama. And there's something about the low hanging sky and Spring-scented air that makes me think of Dylan. I think today is going to be a day of laying in the floor, staring out the picture window at the stormy skies, listening to Dylan. I'm feeling a little folky myself.

Here are some great images of Dylan. Just because.

Women of the Rolling Stones.

Everybody loves the Stones.
They should also love the women that the Stones themselves loved.
These are some of my favorites!

ANITA PALLENBERG...





CHRISSIE SHRIMPTON...



MARIANNE FAITHFUL...




MARSHA HUNT...

RPM Challenge 2009.

Driving to lunch yesterday, listening to NPR, I heard a segment on the RPM Challenge 2009. (RPM means February is Record Producing Month.) This is such an amazing project!

Essentially, you get 28 days (the whole month of February) to record 10 songs or a 30 minute record. The purpose is to push artists to break out of the confines that prevent them from creating their art on a daily basis. What an amazing thing?!

I called my husband to listen to the NPR segment, and last night before going to bed he signed up for it! (I'm so thrilled; this will be perfect for him--he has taken well over a year working on his second solo album, which, by circumstance, has come to a bit of a standstill. He needs to create something else in the meantime. This is the perfect challenge.) Today, his mission is to find some gear to record it all himself, a personal project to push his own limitations. I will be documenting the whole thing in Polaroids and sketches and with my Yashica T4.

This morning, my husband looked at me and said, "February. Gotta lot to do. Kind of scares me."

And I say, GOOD. That's what this is all about. It's already happening.