Dennis Casey of Flogging Molly's GUEST BLOG for AP Magazine!

One of my favorite people in the world, Dennis Casey of Flogging Molly, is doing a tour diary/blog for AP Magazine. He shares his tour experiences including sold out shows, parties, last-minute guest list situations, and even sitting in a bar where the guy playing guitar covers one of their song - unaware that the guys are sitting there watching. Check it out! www.altpress.com

You can sure bet you'll see me at the Shamrock Festival on Saturday! If you go, be sure to check out The Aggrolites while you're there. You will NOT be disappointed!

Cradle of Filth, Satyricon, and Septic Flesh at Ram's Head Live (Baltimore)

Cradle of Filth:




Satyricon:



Septic Flesh:


Cradle of Filth, Satyricon, and Septic Flesh rocked Ram's Head Live Thursday night. I find this scene fascinating, I like watching, and LOVE shooting the bands of this genre. The crowd went crazy for all of the bands and everyone got a kick out of the one lonesome crowd surfer girl who must have passed through the crowd a minimum of 100 times.

I sat in on an interview that a fellow photographer and friend, Courtney Campbell - www.EarPlugsRequired.com, conducted with Charles from Cradle of Filth. He was very interesting and her write up will be a great read. Be sure to check it out!

Take Action Tour featuring Cute Is What We Aim For, Breathe Carolina, Meg & Dia, Every Avenue, and Anarbor at Ram's Head Live (Baltimore)

Cute Is What We Aim For:




Breathe Carolina:



Meg & Dia:




Every Avenue:


CUTE fans with their sock puppets:

Tonight I shot the Take Action! tour at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore featuring Cute Is What We Aim For, Breathe Carolina, Meg & Dia, Every Avenue, and Anarbor.

Proceeds from the shows this year - as well as the Take Action! Volume 8 CD is (available for purchase at HopelessRecords.com) - are benefiting a very worthwhile organization: DoSomething.org.

Meg & Dia were the highlight performance for me. They are absolutely amazing live performers. The crowd was very responsive to all of the acts - especially Breathe Carolina and Cute Is What We Aim For. Unfortunately I missed Anarbor because they were on stage 1/2 hour earlier than the venue listed on their schedule.

Escape The Fate, Black Tide, and Burn Halo at Recher Theatre (Towson, MD)

Escape The Fate:




Black Tide:




Burn Halo:



I had the pleasure of shooting Escape The Fate, Black Tide, and Burn Halo at Recher Theatre in Towson on Feb 19. I had never seen any of these bands before and was pleasantly surprised. All of the bands were very high energy and a lot of fun.

The line for this show was insane. I'm sure the show was sold out. Luckily there's a bar right next door to the venue, so I was able to hide out from the bitter cold for the hour it took the line to die down and enjoy some $2.25 vodka sodas. The price still shocks me - they're so cheap it's like they're free.

Although the lighting at this venue is a bit underwhelming, I got a few shots I'm pleased with and met some super friendly local photographers whom I'm sure I'll be seeing regularly in the barricades.

Look for Escape The Fate and Black Tide this summer on the Vans Warped Tour!

Botanica Chango in Fell's Point (Baltimore)

"Gigi," the store guardian. She's super cute, but don't try to pet her. She may bite!

San Lazaro: Info/History

A huge selection of candles for everything including: love, luck, protection, and success.


While killing time in Fell's Point before the show last night I stumbled into an awesome Santaria supply store: Botanica Chango. Places that might scare the shit out of most people are fascinating to me. I've always rejected the prominent religions, but have always been fascinated with the religions that are considered "alternative" for the typical American white girl who was raised in a Christian (although laid-back) family. I find the ancient Earth religions to be the most interesting.

The girl running the store was very sweet and kept asking if I had any questions - as most items were in Spanish. I was thrilled that she was cool with me taking some photos so I could blog on the store.

This store carries a huge selection of a wide variety of Santeria items - the items listed on their business cards are incense, candles, Orisha
supplies, seashells, and earth. They also offer readings. In my research I've found that Botanica Chango exists in many other cities - San Diego, Philadelphia, El Paso, San Jose, etc. Unfortunately the Baltimore location doesn't have a website that I can link here.

I couldn't resist buying a Tabaco Indio (Indian Tobacco) candle for Luck, Prosperity, and Success. It smells amazing!

Botanica Changa is located at 516 South Broadway in Fell's Point (just above Fleet). They're open 7 days a week from 10am - 8pm. (410)558-1711

Thursday's Common Existence (attempted) Review

(This photo is NOT by me. This is the album artwork)

I was given the opportunity to review the latest release from Thursday, Common Existence. While struggling with how to review an album I stumbled across a 'guest review' in Rolling Stone by Patrick Stump of Fall out Boy where he says he sees a strong connection between songwriting and rock criticism and stated that "Any songwriter should be able to review a record... and all reviewers should be able to write a song." Agreed.

Although I've played many instruments, I've never known how to read music. I have this crazy ability to hear something once and mimic it and essentially faked my way through band - and keeping my first chair status. I've never written a song in my adult life. I have always loved music and got into band photography because of this love and my background in photography.

But I do know this...

I have always loved Thursday. They're amazing live and do the best cover I've ever heard - The Buzzcocks' Ever Fallen in Love - on the Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Soundtrack.

This latest Epitaph release, Common Existence, is amazing and is everything I expected from this compassionate, talented bunch of musicians.

Thank you, Epitaph, for this opportunity. I should probably stick to photography and leave the album reviews to musicians. : )

Look for my photos of Thursday from the upcoming Taste of Chaos show on this blog site soon!

Coheed and Cambria

I was super stoked to attend the Coheed and Cambria show at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore where they were supporting Slipknot. Because my photo pass was for Coheed only I, unfortunately, only got to see the 1st 3 songs of their set - through my camera. I then had to take my cameras out to the car so I could hang out for the rest of the show. Those first 3 songs were incredible, as always. With all of the talent in that band, how could the performance be anything short of amazing?! Slipknot also put on a great show. I don't think I had ever seen them live before, and I'm definitely looking forward to shooting them in the future. What a crazy (in a good way) stage presence!

I've been to a LOT of shows and have to say that the people who work at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore were seriously the most pleasant bunch of which I've come into contact. Sure... it was a big arena and the security rules were a bit ridiculous, but none of the people enforcing those rules had the "holier-than-thou" attitude I'm used to experiencing at shows. How refreshing!

Parrot Rescue

I spent the last 2 days volunteering for the Wilson Parrot Foundation. They typically have about 30 birds in-house who are available for adoption, but recently rescued an additional 80 birds from a breeder/hoarder and needed all the help they could get breaking up breeding pairs and cleaning cages.

Because I can't go anywhere without my camera I was able to capture some images of the beautiful birds who are looking for homes.

If you live in the Washington, DC area and are willing to make a commitment to rescuing a bird who will live a minimum of another 50 years please get a hold of them! Remember - many of these birds can live to be over 80 years old.