Random Photo Tuesday - Music Man

Johnnie, who co-owns JJ's Blues with his wife is often recognized as one of the people keeping the blues alive in San Jose. He's less known for being a really great piano and keyboard player, even though he's incredibly talented. He was concentrating so hard on playing this song, in b flat which he tells me is the hardest key to play in, that he didn't even see me take this photo

A Bride and Groom Visit JJ's

Since I've been working at JJ's Blues, there have been several occasions where I photographed a wedding then the second music set at the club. Before today, I'd never photographed a couple on their wedding day at the club.

Tonight Rachel and Pete walked into our club for a post-reception party, so I photographed a few of them, and their maid of honor and best man as well.

A Special Thanks to Endre Tarczy

Today's blog entry is a shot out to friend and musician, Endre Tarczy, who created a great track of his song, "Your Serenade" for my web page.

Endre is very expressive onstage, and at JJ's Blues, I've shot him playing with Max Cabello, Jr., in the first two shots, and his own band, W.H.aT. (Wedemeyer, Hayes and Tarczy).

Thanks again, Endre.

Ron Thompson + A Special Guitar

When Ron Thompson came to JJ's Blues this Friday club owner Johnnie Perkins did something he's never done before, let a musician use a guitar that had belonged to his father.

Johnnie asked me as House Photographer to get a lot of him using the guitar, so he could email some back to his mother. Ron used the guitar for two songs which he played sitting down, so I had to crawl up the stps leading to the stage, and be leading into, and at some points be on the edge of the stage to capture Ron.

Here are two of my favorites, one with the exit sign in the background, the "proove this was at JJ's detail", and another showing his own guitars, which happened to be lit another color by the stage lighting.

Amy Lou's Blues at JJ's Blues

As part of the recently passed Women in Blues week at JJ's Blues, one of the peformers was Amy Lou who plays with her band Amy Lou's Blues.

When Amy first came out in this hat and sang a slow drawly song, she reminded me of several actresses from the 1920's, so I completed the transformation with this photo into black and white:


As the next pictures will show, she's quite a colorful, in all senses of the word, performer. In her red dress, with her beautiful red hair and awash in the red lights on the bar, Amy got up and gave those seated at the bar a personalized song.




Amy is a great performer in that she makes everyone feel as if she is singing literally to them, which was actually the case for this last one when she saw me there with my camera.

Happy Birthday Johnnie!

Happy Birthday to Johnnie, owner of JJ's Blues. He's been great to work for this year and two months and a great friend.

As his passion as music, how better to celebrate than to have his employees sing to him.
From left, Luna, Gina and Dave.


After singing they brought him a cake that he brought over to the bar. Since it's chocolate (my favorite), I won't list his age. ;)

JJ's Recap

I got to photograph some great musicians at JJ's the last two weeks. Here are some of my favorite shots, and a little about each.

Last Thursday was a special Harmonic Red show. I've looked forward to hearing him since finding out he's played a lot with Jason Ricci, another talented harmonica player I have enjoyed capturing in images.


JC Smith brought a new trumpet player last week, playing with him for the first time, and they still meshed together musically and visually as if they'd played together for years.

Alan Iglesias, who also played last week, is a great friend. A serious amateur photographer, we've had great discussions about my work and his own. He once called me "only the second musician in all my years of playing to get me onstage."


I've waited a year to see Joe Louis Walker who came on this Saturday. He was amazing and worth the wait. He has such a great stage performance.


One really neat thing that happened was that he played the harmonica during the first set. His roadie had told me that he would do it only during the second set (which I don't shoot for the club), but he surprised us all by doing it during the first.

When I asked why later he just said he had a sense that he should. I'm glad he did, I got a lot of great images including my favorite below.

Shane Dwight and Chris Cain at JJ's Blues

One of the regulars at JJ's Blues reminded me on Friday that I haven't put up some music photos in a while on my blog. It was a great weekend for talented musicians, and not surprisingly a very packed club both nights. I really had to dodge people to get some shots at both shows.

First on Friday was Shane Dwight. He wore his trademark sunglasses for both sets, but I did get one of him without as he was warming up.


With the trademark glasses, playing hard and showing attitude to the crowd.

Last night Chris Cain rocked the house. Chris has a very expressive face, and great sense of humor, even joking about being the warm-up guitar player for the night.

Becoming one with the music

As House Photographer for JJ's Blues, I've photographed a lot of different musicians, many of whom play in several bands. (Hi Randy and Dennis!)

I shoot photos of the band as a group, two or three members jamming with each other, and individual musicians.

The job involves listening a lot, for solos, changes in tempo, and waiting for the moment when the musician and the music all come together so they are completely focussed with playing a specific note at that time.

A lot of my favorite pictures thus I think of the musician becoming one with the music. Here are two of my favorites.

In this one, "Gin" (as he prefers to be known) of Jake Mackey and the Muddy Suns looks serious and motivated as the drumsticks frame him and set a tempo around him.

This one I anticipated happening as I watched the musician, Max Cabello Jr. play. Maxx always puts the guitar just out of his reach at times during the show, behind his head, behind his back, this time it was just ahead of him, and as he reaches around his whole body was enveloped by the music and the mood.

JJ's owner, Johnnie Perkins, said he watched me photograph Maxx, saw the camera come up, and hoped I'd gotten just this particular second.

New Counter, and Plans

Sean Mackin, above, from Yellowcard , is amazing. Not only is he a classically trained violinist (he plays electric violin on stage) in a rock band, but he does literal back flips while performing. (None during the first three songs though, and that's all I got to shoot with my media pass last year.)

At JJ's Blues I can shoot the whole first set and at the beginning when I started working there, I did. Now I can shoot all the pictures I need in three songs, media pass at a concert style, some bands I can do in two depending on how many people are in the band (Johnnie likes several good, different individual ones as well as group ones), how fast their songs are, and how expressive they are. Most bands that come even have solos in the second or third song, which makes getting them at their most expressive that much easier.

The energy shooting at a concert (not to mention the adrenaline from knowing I have only three songs in which to shoot) is amazing, also. I felt something akin to that yesterday after Zach and I finally got my counters on my page to work. Scroll down to the bottom and you will see country and city counters. They're counting, at least most of you, and since the city and country titles differ, perhaps some of you more than once.

Since it started working it's counted many people from CA, someone from Atlanta, someone from Richmond, and even Norway, wow and welcome. By the way the counter sees some people so far just as generic United States (I know for certain at least one in Florida is being shown that way) and some at the wrong city. A friend listed as Walworth, NY is indeed in NY, but has never heard of Walworth and I tried logging in at work to see if it would display Hollister and got counted as Morgan Hill, which is a good half hour or so away by car),

After I volunteered for part of Thanksgiving at City Team ministries, (there are several locations including one in San Jose) Colleen had said she'd like to try it sometime. We decided to make sometime yesterday and helped out with dinner:

Colleen had fun and even suggested we try doing it more often. I'd already decided to try and give more this year, things like helping out really make me realize how much I have compared to others, but I had been thinking money not time. It does make sense though, even with wedddings and events we could both help out maybe once a month or so. It's definitely something to work on.

My hair was tied back in that one (so as not to get in the food), here's one closer to the current length:

Wall of Flame up at JJ's Blues

This New Year's Eve will be my one year anniversary as the club photographer for JJ's Blues in San Jose, CA. I photograph the main acts there on Fridays and Saturdays, often after having spent the day and part of the evening photographing a wedding or other special event.

I've heard some wonderful music, and photographed musicians including Chris Cain, Tommy Castro, John Lee Hooker, Jr., Sugar Pie Desanto, Jason Ricci and many other artists of great talent.

One of the musicans, Alvin Draper, a blues legend who had been playing there every Sunday, was recently hospitalized with blood clots. Though he has been moved from ICU, a very good sign, he still has a long way to go in his recovery.

Alvin has been a great friend to the club and I (always giving out hugs, and asking people how they are and geniunely caring about them), and I wish him a speedy recovery.

Alvin is a huge fan of black and white, so I'll convert this one for him:

Alvin playing at the club with legendary "proove-it-was-really-at-JJ's" exit sign behind him.

This has been an exciting month for me as the back room has been finished. (I keep trying to get people to call it the Blueseum, but so far that isn't catching on.) If you follow the length of the bar all the way down to the left is a little room with a few tables, a large screen showing the action onstage, and walls filled with photos I shot at the club.

The room has lots of red lights up (and now strings of blue Christmas lights), so the photos (which also have lots of red in them as the club uses a lot of red stage lights) look almost black and white. The musicians have nicknamed it the Wall of Flame.




The musicians who come in are used to signing promotional posters for us. Some of them started spontaneously signing their photos also, and now club owner Johnnie Perkins encourages them all to sign.

Last nights musicians Gary G. and Sammy Varela signing: