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

Sunday...again... Where we pause for a few sparse moments and catch our breath before the onslaught of another week charges full throttle at us and we go "over the top" into it once again...

Now I've got that philosophical tripe out of the way... Daisy Buttons got my sleazy backside out of the bed late today and bummed around a little. Read the BBC website for a while to get a truthful look at the news, went out to see Rodney for a trim at the groomers...even got a little pink bow in my hair when he finished ;O)

Proceeded to get stuck into backlogged pics that had been waiting in the editing wings. I just started using the latest Photoshop CS3 version this week as my older version corrupted and my hand was forced... Forced to release $642 for a frickin' CD and a Booklet! Bleedin' Adobe are Nazis!! Gouging Swines that they are! Great program to work with but you sure as hell need the butt salve after buying that one! Spent most of the afternoon catching up on emails and answering voicemails. Re worked a few favorite pics for kicks and giggles. Check 'em out below...
  

Have some shoots coming up and something big in the early summer. Doing a shoot in Austin this coming weekend for Modern Drummer magazine, should be a nice little trip. I always enjoy Austin. Been talking on the phone with Steve Lukather about doing more photos out LA way and also yakking with Mr. "Oklahoma Crude" over at Fender about some forthcoming photo needs and possibilities. It's looking like a busy summer is coming...must buy a back up camera!

Here are a few pieces of my work from the latest various presses. One's the cover and inside feature of the May Illinois Entertainer Magazine featuring...yes...Ministry! A UK magazine ad for Squire featuring my pic of Pete Wentz and his custom bass. Finally a nice couple of pics by my mate Dustin of me shooting...some band.
  

Shooting........zzzzzzzzzz.........oh nevermind.....It was tiresome.

Cheers me dears!

ASH

Christ! What a whirlwind couple of days! So Monday pm I finally got the word from Metal Hammer magazine in the UK that they had tied down a date this week for me to go hang out and shoot Ministry for a big feature...VEGAS...UGH! Not my favorite place to be at all. For those Brits amongst you it's like Blackpool on steroids...for those of you here in the US...IT'S SHITE! Did I mention that it's not my kind of town? They had the right idea for Vegas in resident Evil 3!!

So! 6am with backache and eyes like peeholes in the snow I'm in the air bound for the shimmering city of lights, tranny hookers and nocturnal everyone's. Cut to midday and I touch down rather heavily in Vegas...so heavily that the huge woman in front of me complains that the pilot hurt her "roids"...no kidding... She should eat more fiber!

Hop in a cab and skip over to the House of Blues located inside the massive and very smokey Mandalay Bay. Flash my laminate and make my way through to the Ministry dressing room where I'm greeted by a very sober Al Jourgensen along with Burton Bell and Syn Quirin. It's midday and Al's on the vino, very tired but sober! Egads!! They've just done six shows in a row and Al was bottled three times the night before and are playing behind their own portable chicken wire fencing on stage! I'm not making this up! I'm informed that they're all wiped out and don't want to go far to do photos...say...no further than the stage door type distance! I had scouted out a couple of locations inside the House of Blues but due to their less than accommodating policies I can shoot the guys basically nowhere that shows it's inside the House of Blues... I had no idea that the third Reich wrote their rule book but...okay!

Grab some shots of Al and the guys relaxing in the dressing room etc and his wife/manager Angie says he's gonna take a nap for a few hours. I ditch my gear and check in to my suite at the Mandalay bay, 28th floor with a view of the strip... The excess of this place is nuts. Order room service, re fuel, take a shower and head downstairs for a coffee and a wander around the lobby. The place is full of just about every demographic you can think. LOTS of Japanese folks chain smoking and constantly yanking the bandit machines, bachelor parties wasted at 1pm, old ho's on the pull and everything in between throwing their money away... Jeez!



6pm and I set up in a hallway where the bouncers eject the troublemakers from the venue. Get some great shots of all the band, individuals and then ones of Al who was really co operative and did everything I asked him to short of dressing in a pink tutu...only 'cos we didn't have one otherwise I think he'd have done it for me. Uncle Al likes Ash dear readers ;O)

The live show is something else... Packed house, loud enough to loosen your fillings and jingle yer private parts and more difficult to shoot than any other show I can remember shooting. The lighting is shite for photos but that's the way Al likes it. Add that to the chicken wire in front and it's impossible to shoot through it... Bugger It! I walk onstage and crouch in front of Al and start snapping... Even up close the lights are so erratic and the strobes are going off constantly so I'm struggling... I love Ministry but shooting them live is a pain in the arse!



Hang out after the show backstage and on the bus. The legendary music journo "Mr. Morat" is interviewing Al, Nick Oshiro from Static X pops in for a while and my film director buddy Dean Karr is there hanging. Great guy but the fool likes to go diving with Great White Sharks! Dunno about you but I like my fishes little and on a friggin' plate! Still, you should check out Dean's Myspace and see some of his awesome shark photography...it'll make you wet the bed for sure!



Cue 5am Thursday morning and I'm up and out of the hotel for a 7am flight back to Texas... A short, hectic trip but with good results...and thankfully less than 24 hours in Vegas. I'm happy to be back home and hear Daisy squeak and ask where the hell I've been!

ASH
 

Sunday...the usual day of blog updates. Sorry for the lack of input the last week. It's been a bit of a bugger as they say what with the rigors of various and sundry tripe getting in the way. That plus magazine assignment dates being shuffled around and re organized. I was meant to be in sunny Los Angeles this weekend but instead I'm sat on my arse at home working instead although yours truly should be on the move to get a few new snaps again very shortly...

In the meantime my illustrious webmaster John or "Fifi" as he's known in certain circles (okay I made that up!) has posted a new gallery of my work for you to ogle. Don't ogle too long though as you might turn to stone and then we're all buggered! SO! New pics from the recent trip to the Ministry camp located in the dusty depths and outer rim of Old El Paso town, Texas ya'll!! Behold the frightening sights of the very last Ministry line up. You'll find them in the "Studio" section of the galleries.

On a different note I'd like to thank those of you that emailed with your kind remarks regarding my previous two blogs. Warmed my cockles a fair bit I have to admit! I'm always a tad glum at this time of year but your words hit the spot ;O) Aye!

Still working on those t-shirts and a selection of photographic prints for the Sales dept here. I'm hoping to have more of a chance to exercise my Landscape Photography muscles this year as well if I can ever take a break from music.

Well, back to the proverbial grindstone as they say.

Luv and muffin top!



ASH