it's alive

seriously. this life of mine. i'm blessed.

not only do i get to make music everyday with a group of people i love as my own family, but booking for THE ANNA LEE has proven time and again to be the adventure i've always dreamed of. i've met musicians from all over the county, playing their songs in my old living room/bed room. it's wild.

oh and then there are my freaking talented friends playing shows around town all the time too.

blessed i tell you. please come to madison and play a show with me or sit around our fire pit with your instrument of choice. i mean it.

photos//
1-3: chicago sweethearts, ODD FOLK at the anna lee
4-6: world travelers, LOBO MARINO at the anna lee
7-9: on of my favorites, and not just because my guitar player and bass player also jam in this band, THE SIGOURNEY WEAVERS at the high noon
10-12: madison favorites, SEXY ESTER, who we shared our roof top gig with last friday at the overture center

the shitty barn ain't shitty at all

does summer get any better than ROGUE VALLEY at the SHITTY BARN?

seriously, my friend chris is just getting better and better at this. and the shitty barn is incredible. if you are in the midwest, you need to meet rogue valley and you need to get yourself to spring green for the shitty barn sessions. they have grills for you and FURTHERMORE beer and lots of nice folks taking in the cool summer nights in a barn.

and rogue valley's music is reasonably priced at "pay what you want" for the albums. hurray!

home field advantage

i can't believe all the live music that's been in my life lately. THE ANNA LEE has had two amazing nights of music with SHILOH (by way of chicago) and portland gents WALTER MITTY AND HIS MAKESHIFT ORCHESTRA.

i can't believe i get to help these nights happen. connecting a madison band to other musicians, and friends to a night of beer and cheap entertainment. we usually end up around the fire, sharing stories, smokes and drinks.

the last set of photos are from CROAKER's last show at the high noon, which seems like forever ago. we'll be back in the swing of things this month, though. 

hopefully you check out those boys' music. new sounds for the new season. what have you guys been listening to?

shutting the city on down

the majestic theater kicked off their LIVE ON KING STREET summer concert series with one of my all time favorite bands, cloud cult. i couldn't have been happier. a cool band from new york, ms mr, opened the show.

i had 9 friends with me who had never really listened or seen cloud cult, so it's quite the moment when the music begins and the crowd gets quiet - their music and energy is extremely powerful, it always hits people different ways. i've seen people cry, dance like no one is watchin' and put their arms around complete strangers.

miss odette pulled me into a big hug and said,
"thank you for sharing this moment with me."
cloud cult makes people talk like that, they are that good.

i always grab one or two shots right away, no matter what the outcome is and then i just put my camera away. i truly believe being a good photographer also includes knowing when to put the camera down and when cloud cult performs, i just have to be there with them.

midwest tour // part 4

some musical shots from our tour. i love grabbing the camera when i'm on stage, it becomes a musical instrument in my hand.
part 1 & 2 & 3

live at the anna lee // caroline smith and jesse schuster

some of my favorites from monday's performance at the anna lee. so lucky to snag caroline and jesse for a night of their living room tour.

please listen and love their music, here. they are truly talented story tellers and all around wonderful people. maybe they are coming through your town?

we should have some video and a live interview from the show soon from our friends, murfie. so cool.