Got back to the hotel after last nights gig and sat in the bar for a couple of hours yakking with Joe and going over photos from the concert with him. Check out of the hotel mid morning with the band and head over to the airport to catch the flight for Birmingham. Get checked in and go through security which is considerably easier than how we fart around in the US airports. Find the gate and then the hankering for English chocolate gets the better of me and I break down and get two Mars Bars which I proceed to devour not just one but both of them! I was doing so good eating healthy as well... Shite!

After a 2 hour delay we take off and arrive in sunny Birmingham. The tour bus picks us up at the airport and takes us over to the NEC. Have a scout around the venue and see the Def Lep tour book/poster on the merch stands. It's a big fold out double sided thing with a huge band pic of mine and the other side is all of my live shots of the guys from last year. They did an excellent job with the layout and remembered to put my name on there as well! The Lepps know how to look after ya ;O) One of the big time Def Lep fans than the band has known for years is backstage. His name is Nori, a very polite Japanese fella who happens to be one of Mr. Ross Halfin's assistants. He brings gifts for all the guys and is just a really nice fella.

The crew set up a little area backstage again for Phil to do his martial arts workout and I grab some shots of him pounding the crap out of himself and Jean again. Joe comes along and we take a couple of mock scrapping shots of him and Phil in a standoff...too funny! Grab some pics of him later posing with one of his new Jackson guitars before he goes on.

Great show tonite but the crowd are considerably less lively than the one in Glasgow...must be something about the Midlands here in the UK... it was raining and it is a Wednesday so they're excused a little I guess but hell, come to a rock show and let your hair down folks!

Dinner after the show in the dressing room. We are in Birmingham so a very hot curry it is!! Phew! A ring stinger! Hang out a while afterward for a little with my chums in Black Stone Cherry. A couple of weeks back I got a copy of their new cd that is due out in August and was blown away... The first one was great...this one runs circles around it!! The feedback from WS and Def Lep on these boys is great and the audiences approve most enthusiastically... Give 'em a try!

The band splits up between a couple of buses, I'm with Jean, Malvin, Mark and Joe as we head up the road to Manchester. Sit up front with Joe and Malvin and get to work uploading pics to my laptop and start reviewing and choosing images. I tell you, traveling with Joe is great, he's a one man comedy routine of one liners and innuendo! It's just like listening to my mates and I...Priceless! And Malvin and Mark are top blokes! Get to the hotel, check in and crash about 4am... Tomorrow's a day off. Gonna need it methinks!
        

So after a sore arse from all that flying (quiet in the peanut galleries!) and the time change I arrive in Glasgow a couple of hours late. Get through immigration quicker than I ever have I'm very relieved to find that ll my luggage and gear has made it on through to the right place and everything is intact. Grab a cab and head to the hotel. Got checked in, showered and got a couple of hours sleep. Saw Viv Campbell and Rick Allen and said hi. Was feeling a little shagged out so I went out for a walk around Glasgow and took advantage of the cold June weather. I haven't had to wear a jacket in June in years! We're burning our asses off in Texas by mid April so I'm VERY grateful for the cooler climate of the UK. Got caught up on a few emails, checked my cameras and went downstairs for a meal in the hotel restaurant and bar. Couple of hours and a few Guinness' later Malvin, Def Leps tour manager and Mark come into the bar for a beverage or two and we put the world to rights and they give me a brief education on some of the characters I'll encounter in the music industry... Great guys and very funny. It was a good start to the first day of being here back in the UK.



Head off to the venue mid afternoon with Malvin, Rick and Viv and meet up with the rest of the guys except Joe who's late as his flight is delayed. Get sorted out and get a space in the dressing room for my gear and head down to the stage to check out the venue. It's strange being there actually as this is the first time as a music photographer that I've officially worked outside of the US. The venue is a little smaller but the staff and security are a whole lot more organized than stateside. The band starts sound check and still no Joe... Walk around onstage and get some great shots of the guys sound checking... About 30 minutes into the check I'm on the runway and I turn around and Joe's walking on... He gives me a big hug and goes straight into the song the guys are halfway through. They sound great! Get some dinner and hang with the guys in the dressing room as they prepare for the show. Phil and Viv have their trainer "Jean" with them and he sure puts them through their routines. I head downstairs to an area behind the stage with Phil and Jean. Get some photos and video footage of Phil training doing his martial arts workout... At 50 Phil punches and kicks harder than someone half his age. I'm pretty fit but don't have anything on him! See my mates in Black Stone Cherry and hang for a while. Tell them that I think the crowds are gonna love what they do, turns out later judging by the crowd reactions and the other bands that I was right... They are a powerhouse of energy and sound. Love those Kentucky boys! The Whitesnake boys are happy to see me and give a warm welcome... Bump into "The Cov" in the hallway who gives a huge squeeze. He invites me into his dressing room and we catch up a little before I get back to the Def Lep room and start shooting the guys doing their show prep.
  

Well the Lepps filled up the arena in Glasgow and the crowd were electric! Saw one of the Whitesnake forum members I knew and her husband which was very cool. Anyhow, the guys went out and did their thing. Shot the whole set pretty much about half from the photo pit area and then from onstage with the guys for a different perspective. Had to get my timing right when onstage though as they more around so much and I almost got clobbered by Savs bass. Viv likes to flip me off and swear at me and Joe just likes to swear... Too funny! I couldn't be working for a cooler band! They added a couple of new ones into the set list, 9 Lives, C'mon C'mon and Bad Actress. I think I like C'mon C'mon mostly out of the three. When they did the encore they headed to the end of the thrust stage to thank the crowd and I ran out and got them with the audience in the shot as well, quite a rush being out there in front of thousands! Here's a few shots.

ASH

So it's been a bloody long time since I posted a blog here... Lots and lots of things have been happening and lots of things planned and organized. My apologies for the absence but hopefully the blogs will be a little more frequent than previously.

As I sit here and write this my arse is numb, I'm hungry and my flight to Glasgow has just left 3 friggin' hours late out of Newark, New Jersey... They ran through a crap load of pathetic excuses for the delay this time from poor weather, luggage problems to pixies jigging on the runway!



Anyhow, after placating Daisy Buttons this morning I'm now well on my way to Bonnie Scotland to kick off a couple of weeks out on the UK tour with My mates Def Leppard who kindly asked if I would be their photographer whilst they pay a visit home and play to the home crowds... Of course I obliged, I'd be mad not to as I grew up listening to them and as well as them being fine musicians they're all a jolly nice bunch of chaps from just down the road from my hometown in Yorkshire. Now if the pilot would just put his bloody foot down and get on with making up for lost time instead of feeding us excuses... By the way, the new Def Lep single "C'Mon C'Mon" is being released as a special 12" Vinyl featuring my pics of the guys on the cover... Check it out below...



So! What's been happening recently? Well...of course apart from the planning of me being on tour with the Lepps I've been busy setting other stuff up also. Took a short trip up to Austin a few weeks back and paid a visit to Todd Sucherman's home and studio for a cover shoot for an upcoming issue of Modern drummer magazine. For those of you that might not know, Todd is the very accomplished drummer for STYX, a fine band known for many 80's hits who are still going strong to this day. As well as being one of the finest drummers and rhythm technicians out there Todd like myself happens to be one of the biggest Keith Moon fans. Of course this meant an instant connection and barrage of Moonie trivia and quotes... A few hours later and several set ups in Todd's more than adequate home studio at his beautiful home we're done with the shoot and quite pleased with the results... Time for a quick bevy and a few personal pics and I'm back down the road for a short 4 hour drive home... 4 hours is a quick run out for us Texas folks y'all ;O)
 


Al Jourgensen and the Ministry boys are still out there doing their farewell tour and have now invaded the European shores with their volley of Industrial Metal and mayhem. Check out a couple of my pics below that have been used recently.



Popped up to San Antonio a couple of weeks back to shoot and hang out with my mates in Hatebreed and Type O Negative. The Hatebreed fellas layed it on thick and heavy as usual and worked the crowd up into what can only be described as a sweaty spumescent froth of enthusiasm whilst Type O Negative continued to secure their place in my top 5 favorite bands of all time... I love these guys on and off stage. They're all so different personality wise but their music bonds them into a brotherhood of gothic metal that just keeps their fans coming to shows. Got to spend time hanging and catching up with Pete Steele before and after the show. It was nice to see him again and he seems to be in a bit better place than when we last spoke. By the way, ol' Pete is not stood on a box or anything for that matter�he is that tall!!
 


Here's a full page EMG Pickups ad that's running in Guitar player magazine this month. This pic is from a session I did in January with the legendary guitarist Steve Lukather at his home in the Hollywood Hills. Smashing bloke with a wicked sense of humor and he laughs at my stupid jokes and limericks so he's alright in my book...hehehehehe...If you ever get bored then Google Steve Lukather and look up his discography and be prepared to be amazed at just how many well know songs and albums that he's contributed to in his colorful career...VERY impressive!


Total Guitar Magazine (UK) feature on my buddy Marcus Henderson, the man behind the guitars on the Guitar Hero games that everyone loves to play... Pics by yours truly in this feature.



Well, they just served dinner here on the plane... Folks are nodding off to sleep and turning out their lights for now. We land in Glasgow in a few hours and I get to check in to the hotel before the Lepps arrive this afternoon. Must get some rest for a couple of hours before and then clean my sleazy ass up a bit.

ASH

Hey folks. Sorry I've not been around a lot recently....been having a lot of stuff to organize. I'll be heading to the UK to meet up with the Def Lep guys and be their photographer for the UK tour so I'm gonna be kinda busy... I'm hoping to do a daily blog when I'm away though. Hopefully that should be entertaining with some exclusive piccies.

Thanks for your ongoing support and patience with us farting around at this end.

ASH