Had a quick run up the road to San Antonio today.  Only a couple of hours drive, grateful for no flights this time.   Am shooting Mike Dirnt, bassist for Green Day for Fender Guitars.   Being that the heat index is 110 degrees today I am also grateful that the AT&T Center is an indoor venue and that I don't have to fart around outside with myself and an artist dying in the blistering Texas heat. 

Get to the backstage gate and am directed underground and into the belly of the venue which proves extremely convenient as I park the Jeep right behind the backstage load in area.  Meet up with the production manager who has already kindly sorted out a large room backstage for me to do the shoot.   Get the lighting gear loaded in and set up, Mike stops in to introduce himself and we chat a little. Turns out he's a big fan of The Who so he's alright with me for sure.  Go out and watch the sound check, the music isn't really my kind of thing but they certainly know what they're doing.

The photo shoot goes well, Mike turns up in a bright red blazer and brings his Squier and Fender basses.  He's very easy to work with and most cooperative and knows the drill giving me the look that's needed.  Shoot him bursting through a white paper backdrop with his bass first of all and then some high contrast shots of him backed up into the corner of the room.  I got the impression that he knows something about photography as he seemed to know what he was talking about when it came to cameras and various lenses.  It certainly made my job easier that he had an interest in what we were doing and the fact that he picked out all of his favorites for me right there and then saved me a lot of time in the editing process.

Grabbed some dinner in catering and then went out to shoot the show.  Saw my photographer mates Gary and Jay down in the pit, good guys and real hard workers who are at all the shows.   From where I was it looked as though all of the 15,000 seats were taken in the place and it certainly sounded that way.   Mike hammed it up for me and stayed pretty much on my side of the stage getting low to the camera.  Got some great shots of him jumping and caught him mid air as well which I was pretty pleased with considering that the stage lights weren't really burning that bright so early in the show.  Stayed a little while longer and got what I needed and then bailed out of the gig before the masses all piled out and gridlocked the area.   Treated myself to a caffeine laced smoothie on the way home so I could stay awake for the tediously long drive back home through the back country.  Late at night here you've got to watch the road for Coyotes, Wild Pigs (I kid you not) and Deer or you could end up with a rather messy additional hood ornament on your vehicle.  Made it back home and crashed into the ether.

Ladies and Gentlemen.....Mike Dirnt.