• Research Society
• Clan Dragonas

Pass it on!

I’ve been listening to Story of the Year‘s latest album, “The Constant,” for the past week. They’ve made it accessible through their Myspace for the last week or so.

Now, it’s officially out.

I won’t lie. I really dig it.

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer.swf/album=189076077/size=venti/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=990000/

November 12, 2009 — A photo I took of the Rx Bandits rocking out at The Glass House (Pomona, CA). More to come, of course.

Thanks to Cathy and Chase from Sargent House for the photo pass (again)!

View on Flickr

August 30th, 2009 — A photo I took of the Rx Bandits rocking out at the El Rey Theatre (Los Angeles, CA).

This is just a teaser. I’m working on ‘em.

Thanks to Cathy and Chase from Sargent House for the photo pass!

I first heard Anberlin years ago when attending a Finch concert. (Or was it Story of the Year?)

Lagwagon, Weezer, Blink 182, Thrice, Glassjaw…all through friends.

Lastly, I think I heard Norma Jean and Haste The Day through Pandora Radio.

So, why do I want to know how you find new music to listen to?

I’m in a band (The Scarlet Paradigm) and we’d like more exposure. I know it’s not clear cut and simple. But, it’ll help us figure out what to focus on when we talk about our future as a band.

If you have additional comments on how to go about this, speak out in the comment form after you vote.

Of course, if you like what you hear at our website, please tell some friends — we could use the encouragement and additional ears. Thanks!

How do you hear about new artists and/or bands?(polls)

At the Glass House, I was able to say hi to Grizz[1. He was running merch at the time.] and Nate. Then, I bumped into Randy. He recognized me and handed me a wrist band (photo pass). Score! A few minutes later, I saw Daniel. Good times.

Will I ever meet their drummer, Drew Marcogliese?

They had an awesome show and I got a few snaps for them.

My favorites:

Rancy (I mean, Randy) comes out wearing a motorcycle helmet. Hilarious!

The epic shot of Nate screaming

Thanks for the photo pass, guys! I hope our band gets to open for you someday.

*****

You can see the photos from the concert at my main photography website, or my favorite five at Flickr.

• Finch (Myspace)
• Twitter (@OfficialFinch, @drewmarcogliese)
• Finch (Modlife)

A couple weeks ago, I met Andrew Swanson[1. Andrew Swanson also on Twitter (@swansonswanson) and Flickr.] running merchandise for The Ready Set. It was good times.

They first played at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood. After some trouble waiting for the box office to receive the list that would have my name on it, all was well.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a photo pit at the Knitting Factory. I didn’t mind too much because I hung out with Andrew at the merch table!

So, what did I learn about Andrew?

Becoming the merch guy for The Ready Set (on this tour) — Andrew was introduced to Jordan Witzigreuter (The Ready Set) by his photography. After taking photos at some of their shows, they became friends.

Travel — Until now, Andrew hasn’t been away from home for this long.[2. I was fortunate to have been able to travel a lot in junior high and high school, so you can imagine the excitement.] His blog and Twitter account tell his adventures.

The downside? You’re away from home. No home-cooked meals, your own bed, or family.

Andrew’s photography — He used to photograph with a Canon EOS 40D. He had the 50mm f/1.8 and the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lenses. But, he was depressed with the lack of fast lenses, so he sold it and bought a Canon G10.

After The Ready Set finished their set, most of them hung out at the merch table to meet fans, sign autographs and take photos. All of them were really cool and laid back.

When I talked to Matt, their tour manager, I found out that I could make their set the next day. So, he got me on the list again! Very cool, especially since I wanted to get some decent photos for them.

I fared better at the House of Blues in Anaheim. After signing some contract for the HoB[3. More on that in a future post.], I got in right away.

I talked to a few other photographers in the pit, including Mike McDougal (@mikemcdougal on Twitter). They were all really nice, too. Of course, I got some pretty sweet concert photos, plus some fan photos afterward.

• Tuesday, June 30, 2009 — Photos from The Knitting Factory in Hollywood, CA
• Wednesday, July 1, 2009 — Photos from the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA

Photos are also on Flickr: Knitting Factory, Hollywood / House of Blues, Anaheim

Thanks to Andrew Swanson, his infamous dad, Jon Swanson, and The Ready Set!

1. take photos for The Ready Set[1. Also, Never Shout Never and Boys Like Girls. Perhaps you've heard of that last one?], and
2. hang out with Andrew Swanson (@itsswanny) at their merchandise table.

The kicker: I don’t know Andrew.

But, his dad is Jon Swanson (Levite Chronicles). We’ve been following each other on Twitter since I met Chris Marsden.

Jon told me that Andrew would be coming to my area, so I got in touch with him.

While I’m stoked to get a photo pass for the night, the main excitement is that I’m meeting Andrew through Twitter. And no, my goal isn’t to gain a million followers. Give value, or find a few nuggets of awesome and share.

I’ll do my best to write more on that (whatever that means) after the concert.

P.S. I’m 99% sure nobody reading this will coincidentally be going to the concert. But if you’re the 1%, tap me on the shoulder and say hi.