Took a drive up the road to San Antonio yesterday to see my mates in Black Stone Cherry and hang out of for the day and evening.  Hadn't seen the boys since last year when we were in England and the trip was long overdue.  Black Stone Cherry are one of the few bands of the last few years that have had a big imact on me.  They're great on disc but are a band that you have to see live to realize the energy that they hold.  Plus they're four of the nicest guys met and worked with.....Ever! 

Get up to San Antone mid afternoon and the guys were just getting up.  There was an abandoned house next door to the venue so we ended up jumping the fence and setting up a shoot right there.  I kept the boys entertained with some mucky limericks and general tomfoolery as I layed in long grass shooting I put myself at the mercy of ticks, chiggers and snakes probably as I "suffered" for my art....yeah right...  The lads had a laugh about it anyway.

  

Later on our buddy Mark from Roadrunner Records turned up and we all took off for a radio station visit, interview and live spot.  Got some pics of the guys crammed in to a small recording booth as they belted out some acoustic numbers.  They even mentioned and included me in their interview....Bless 'em!

  

       

The live show later was superb.  Loud, hard and faultless.  John Fred is probably one of the hardest hitting drummers that I've ever seen and is dangerous to be next to when he's playing.  Still, I braved the danger and got shots right next to him although I felt a stick "whoosh" dangerously close by my head a couple of times.  Great show in a smaller club but a healthy and enthusiastic crowd.  My friend Sandy and her husband even came out to see the boys.  Great night!

     

June 24^th- Wake up pretty early get some breakfast. Recently I reconnected through Facebook with an old old workmate from my days as a sales rep for Cadbury when I lived in England. It had been over 13 years since I saw Lee last when I left the company to emigrate. He saw on Facebook that I was on tour in the UK and was in Sheffield today. I got a call to the room that he stopped by the hotel to see me so I headed down to the lobby to meet him. I was great to see Lee again and we caught up over coffee and tea on what had been happening in our lives. He'd been promoted and had a family, I moved away and became a rock photographer...... a huge contrast in lifestyles yet we both still gelled and reminisced about old times. It made me feel great that he took the time to come by and say hi. It's the little things in life like this that really matter more than the material. I intend to stay in touch with Lee, he's a great genuine guy that doesn't change. The hour that we caught up has been a highlight to this trip.

2pm and we're on our way on the bus up the road to sunny Newcastle. As we get further up the A1 it gets darker and more grim. By the time we arrive in Newcastle it's characteristically raining and overcast. Newcastle was one of those places that just made me feel depressed at the mere mention of it's name and time away seems not to have changed that. The venue is kind of dreary and out of date. I'm supposed to do a shoot with Joe and David Coverdale but there's nowhere decent to set up a shoot. Pop in to the Cov's dressing room and we decide to shoot him and Joe in there later on.

Set up a light in DC's dressing room and am offered a nice vintage whisky whilst setting up and as Lord Coverdale gets ready. Joe comes on in and the banter and innuendo between the two starts as I begin shooting. It's hilarious and reminds me of a cross between Blackadder and Monty Python, Classic!! The two of them together are like a couple of rude school boys. After I get done with the comic duo Viv Campbell and I find a spot in the stairwells of the building and do a quick shoot with his silver sparkle Gibson guitar. The walls and flooring in the stairwells is a nice vivid blue which makes the pics pop with the ringlight. It's like a bloody rabbit warren backstage and the Def Lep Dressing room, Hospitality and Production are each on a different floor! Ray Charles designed this layout I'm sure, not a whole lot of fun with a bunch of heavy photo gear up and down the stairs.

Each show we've done the Black Stone Cherry boys have gained momentum and added hundreds of new fans. They're on fire! Whitesnake go on after and hit it hard and nail it spot on! By the time they're off the stage the venue is a blistering steam bath of humidity and frothy fans. They're wound up and primed for the Lepps and as the intro music and video rolls they start going wild. Start off the first couple of songs down in the pit and it's so hot that it feels like I'm back in Texas. Run around the back of the stage and up on to the drum riser next to Rick where he plays up to the camera for me. Stand right behind him and get some great wide angle shots looking out into the audience. It's a full house and looks great but the place is so hot. Joe says later that it was the hottest gig he's played ever which is something considering they've played just about everywhere. Great crowd tonight and the loyal superfans are on the front row again showing their support. They keep stopping me to talk about my work. Great to be appreciated and told good things about what I do. Seems that the fold out Def Leppard tour book/poster is going down well with the fans as I am asked to sign several of them tonight. Nice to have fans too I guess.

After the show the band splits up between the two tour buses. I'm on board with Phil and his girlfriend and Joe and his wife Kristine. Poor Kristine is having trouble getting in and out of the bunk and I get some pics of her comical struggles whilst Joe is in the one above me. I tell him "No Spooning" tonight and he just smiles and winks. I'm actually ready to get my head down and rest as the last several days have caught up with me and I'm drained. A long drive down the road to London from Newcastle........ About seven hours.. I think our bus driver bought a sack of coal in Newcastle and decided to store in it my mattress, wonderful!

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!