Head out to the Rio Grande Valley for the kick off date of the Def Leppard summer tour. The concert is being held in an area just outside McAllen called Hidalgo... Basically when translated it means "you have entered hell at the US/Mexico border". Not a particularly pleasant part of the State to be in especially as the poor folks down there are still dealing with scattered power loss and bad flooding of some parts. All courtesy of Hurricane Dolly. Saying that though the arena where the show's being held is alright and there's plenty of space backstage and in the dressing rooms.

None of the band are there when I arrive so I pop out to the stage area and see everyone who are setting up the show... Get a very warm welcome from everyone and catch up. Look for a couple of places to shoot the guys later on.

The guys arrive at 3:30 looking well rested and are all smiles and energy. Spend some time chatting with Rick about various things and get some shots of him for a British Drum Magazine that's going to run a feature on him. Sound check goes really well and they do a practice run of "Go". Of course Joe hams it up a little for the benefit of my camera during all of this. Sometimes he seems real serious and then unexpectedly just drops funny shite in right in your lap.



Head back to the dressing room with the guys to sit and show them some of the photos I took of them on the UK tour... To say they were pleased with them is a little understated. Of course I was even more pleased and relieved at their positive reactions to what I had shot. Right now the pics are under wraps but you'll be seeing them soon enough. I'm especially pleased with the way my new camera, the Canon EOS 1Ds MK III performed while on tour, tough, ergonomic and easy to use.



Later on Rick has a meet and greet with about a dozen injured soldiers that are just back from Iraq. The particular soldiers are burns victims who have been injured in the line of duty and are a great bunch of guys. Rick guides them around backstage and shows them all the going ons and how things work behind the scenes etc. I get them all to line up and do some shots of them all with Rick. For some of the guys this is their first ever concert and they are a little in awe. I thank the guys for their service to us and I think it catches them off guard a little that I said that... I personally find it incredibly sad and selfish that more people don't stop and thank a military member for their service. No matter what your politics, they're out there doing the job so we can be at home making our own free choices.

To see more and make donations to Rick's Raven Drum Foundation or the Wounded Warrior Project then please click the links:

http://www.RavenDrumFoundation.org

http://www.WoundedWarriorProject.org



Grabbed the guys for a few minutes backstage just before they were due onstage and did a quick shoot of the band together. Great thing is that they need very little in the way of direction. They've all been doing this for so long that it's second nature. They played well tonight to another sold out show and the energy levels were certainly up as the guys tore it up once again. Load up some gear after the show and meet some really cool fans waiting at the backstage fence. Hang out for a while after the show with the guys who want me to go back to the hotel and party for a while but I wuss out after an hour or so and head back up to home on a nice three hour drive.... Luvverly!!

Hurricane Dolly has been spinning her fat ass out in the Gulf of Mexico and gaining strength the last couple of days. Yesterday we discovered that it was heading Southwards into Southern Texas and North Mexico... The downside to that.....torrential rain as we get the upsweep of the storm.



Today's my birthday... Woke up to 5 inches of rainwater flooding my courtyard and my fridge clapped out in the middle of the night. Smashing! Everything in the damn fridge is ruined so I can't even have a cup of tea! Work throughout the day and go out for a nice birthday dinner in the early evening and then.......the joy of appliance shopping at Lowes!

Got this from Joe Elliott in my email today and thought I would share......

"Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Idi Amin in a dustbin
Happy Birthday to you"

Think he luvs me...Hehehe...

June 26^th- Today is the final gig in the UK tour that I'm doing with Def Lep. See well known music journalist Peter Makowski in the hotel lobby and introduce myself. We chat a while and I tell him I've been reading and enjoying his scribblings for years. He's a really nice guy and has interviewed just about everyone. He's here to do an interview with Joe before he leaves for the venue. Hang around for a while before leaving in the bus with Viv and Rick for the venue at Wembley. Get to there and scout out a place to shoot the guys before they go on. They're so cool about doing little impromptu shoots and never seriously complain. I wish all bands were this easy and fun to work with.

Phil and Sav Make it in and Joe a little later. Do some shots with Phil in the long narrow hallway outside the dressing rooms with the wide angle lens, get a couple of great shots from that and then do the same with Viv who despite flipping me off at every opportunity rather seems to enjoy doing pics.

Pop my head round the Whitesnake dressing room door and go hang with the snakey lads for a while. Poor Uriah is distracted by being in the middle of changing out his laptop screen as Chris Frazier sat on the other one and buggered it up. He manages to slice his finger open in the process which wasn't really that good for a bass player to do.... Wish the guys a good gig and rest of the tour. I'll catch up with Doug and Timothy again soon in California, especially Doug as it's his turn to buy dinner!

Head back to the dressing room and Phil is outside talking to Ross Halfin who he introduces me to. Ross was very cordial although he seemed perplexed by my Texas/Yorkshire accent. Get a chance to talk a little more with him later and get a pic together of the old and new rock photographer generation. He later smarts off about me in his blog which makes me laugh, he'll cut himself being so sharp... Great stuff Napoleon!

Could hardly believe my eyes when I see Jimmy Page and Richie Sambora backstage. I get a chance to speak with both for a while and tell Jimmy how proud my dear mate Spencer would be if he were alive. Jimmy is very gracious and looks upwards, raises his hand and says "hi Spencer"... It sounds sappy but I had to fight tearing up at that moment knowing just how surreal and blessed that moment was. Jimmy said he was impressed when I told him I'd done a shoot recently with his hero Buddy Guy, not often you impress one of the most famous guitarists ever! I take a couple of shots of Jimmy with Rick Allen and his wife Lauren and Rick reciprocates by doing the same for me. What a nice and very humble guy.

The Black Stone Cherry boys tear it up at Wembley tonight and get a raving crowd reaction. Whitesnake do the same. I'm glad Whitesnake are adding new material into the set as it pumps new life into the bands live show and set list.

Hang out in the dressing room while the guys get ready and do their vocal warm ups. Joe is on form again tonight and full of his usual humor and funny one liners. I tell them ten minutes until shoot time and soon enough and on time which never happens with other bands they head down the hall to line up for a quick pre show shoot. I'm using a ring flash for the shoot and to be honest it's a bugger on the eyes as it's so bright and leaves you seeing circular lights for a while. Poor Sav is most susceptible to this so I keep it short and after a couple of minutes we're done.

Showtime! Head out to the stage area and the crowd is buzzing out there...Tons of energy tonight. There's a plethora of photographers waiting in the pit and it kind of takes me by surprise but I guess it should be expected being that it's London. Three songs in and it's just Ross Halfin and I left to shoot. Ross stays in the photo pit for the whole show as I move between the pit and moving around on the stage and behind and next to Rick on the drum riser. He's gotten used to me being there and hams it up for the camera which produces some great shots. It's truly amazing to be so close and watch how he plays and has adapted considering he has one arm. The pedals and triggers that he uses work great and seamlessly.

It was hotter than hell up on the stage but the guys didn't lose their game once. Joes vocals were on form and the guitars spot on. At the end of the encore they guys head down the ramp again. Joe is wrapped in a Union Jack flag which makes the shot look different from the others I've done. It's been a really good time and I'll miss being onstage working with the guys.

Head back to the dressing room to eat and have a beer with the guys and hang out for a while. There are a lot of guests and some family backstage so I star saying my goodbyes etc. Later on Joe, Sav, Mark, Malvin and I get our ride back to the hotel and I say see ya to the guys. I'll see them again soon though, this time on my turf as they kick off their summer US tour in Texas!

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!

June 20^th- Catch up on a few messages and get some breakfast. Head down to the hotel gym again and get going into a good workout. My Ipod is running on shuffle and Whitesnakes "Still of the Night" comes on. A few seconds into the intro part of the song the gym door swings open and Mr. Coverdale makes a grand entry....."Ash Baby". Un frickin' Canny!! Spend some time catching up with DC whilst we work out. It's good as we haven't seen each other in quite some time and he fills me in on the latest happenings. See Uriah from Whitesnake for a little while, he's wearing a pink t shirt that shows a Unicorn shagging a Dolphin! Something tells me that he didn't have regular mushrooms with his cooked breakfast this morning......



Get my gear ready later and the tour bus picks us up from the hotel to go to the venue, the Manchester M.E.N. Nice big dressing rooms for us and a big white wall in the bathroom for doing photos of Phil and Sav for Jackson guitars. Take some shots of the guys onstage at sound check, Viv continues his ongoing tradition of flipping me off as I walk around and shoot. I have to snap myself out of it sometimes, the band sounds incredible. My Mom and two best mates are coming to the concert tonight. Mom has never been to a concert before so I'm kinda wondering what her reaction is going to be.



Head out to the box office at 6pm to take Mom her tickets and passes. I wait around a little while and see some of the folks from the Whitesnake forum that I know but haven't met. It was really nice to meet them in person. I see Mom and my mate Staffy turn up and greet them, they both did a double take like they had to be sure it was me. Was kind of funny seeing that. My mate Kev couldn't make it as he got caught up at work having to fire someone or something very thrilling. It disappointed me for him as I know he's a big fan of Whitesnake and Def Lep. I walk them both past security and into the venue and up to their seats. They're at stage right on Phil's side with a great view of the stage. I come back later on and take them both backstage where I introduce them both to the Def Lep guys. She's gushy over Phil and thinks he's dishy. I introduce her to Joe and he says "So you're responsible for him!" as he points to me! Love it! Take them both around to the Whitesnake dressing room and get The Cov to come out and say hello. He's his usual charming self and full of hospitality. We pop into the band dressing room and see Doug, Timothy, Reb and Uriah. Timothy and Doug come on over and give her a big hug and we do some pics... Staffy is unusually quiet and I don't think he can believe it all., I'm surprised his thumbs aren't steaming away as he's the king of obsessive texting.

They head back to their seats and I head back to the dressing room while the guys are getting ready. Find a white wall and set up some lights and do a photo shoot with Joe, then Phil, Sav and lastly Rick. Right in the middle of shooting Rick I have a major Dejavu moment which really throws me off my game for a moment. Strange how that happens where the exact moment is something you've had before. I seem to have had quite a few of those this year....strange. Joe is in a great mood and we exchange filthy limericks whilst we shoot. He graciously poses for the Peanut Gallery on my website and we get some great shots! I'll post the outcome in the Peanut Gallery real soon.

Shoot some video of them warming up and then head out to the stage to shoot the show. The audience are a lot more alive than in Birmingham and the band clearly feed off this with a performance that is the best one yet! Get offstage and pick up dinner in the dressing room before we're due to leave. Mom and Staffy really enjoyed the show and are still buzzing from it all when they leave. Meet some sweet Def Lep fans from the website forum outside the venue gates before we jump on the bus and head back to the hotel. Hang out and unwind in the hotel bar for a couple of hours with Joe and Uriah from Whitesnake before the day catches up and knocks the crap out of me. It's been a great one!
 

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

I just wanted to drop a quick post to let you know I have added a new Def Lep gallery to the site. And yes, by popular demand, there are shots of Joe by himself. Go have a browse for yourself and don't forget to rate and comment on your faves. You can find it in the LIVE category with a yellow "New Gallery" banner on it. Enjoy and cheers mates!