As I write this the Lepps and Snakes should be tearing it up in Tokyo about now. Spoke to Rick Allen on Skype earlier, the jet lag was hellish apparently but I know both bands were chomping at the bit to get out there and show 'em how it's done!

Here's a couple of photos I took of Joe Elliott and "The Cov" during the UK summer tour. These were done for promotion for the Japan tour that's happening right now.... hope you like 'em.

ASH

 

Headed up to San Antonio today for a quick endorsement shoot for EMG. This one was with Rich and Chuck who play guitar and Bass in Toby Keiths band. Really nice guys, easy to work with and fun to talk to. I wish every job was as straight forward as this one. The only challenge of today was the heat which was 110 degree heat index and finding power outlets to power my strobes. Sat the guys on a grass bank outside near catering and did our thing. Chuck said the venue staff killed a rattlesnake there earlier in the day so we were watching out! Pics came out good though so the sweat and sunburn were worth it. Sat down in the dressing room after the shoot with the guys and had them pick out the ones they liked best. I didn't even have to stay and shoot the show so I was back home by 8pm which made a nice change.
  
  

Wake up early after a surprisingly good nights sleep. Head on down and grab a hearty breakfast that a Lumberjack would be proud of. The gift shop to the hotel is open..... HA! Run in and ask the lady in there if she sells Mars Bars. I realize then that I must have looked like an excited five year old asking her. She kindly points to the Holy Grail of chocolate and I buy five of them. One is gone already by the time the elevator reaches the 11th floor and a second is opened by the time my room door closes. Grab my gear and head downstairs and Daniel meets me and helps load the gear into his truck. Stop off for a Starbucks and then he tells me we're heading off up the road to Whistler and towards the Rockies. Vancouver seems like a nice place. It certainly has a nice vibe and the Canucks seem a lot more laid back than their uptight city dwelling American counterparts. I think it's the fresh air that does it.

As we get up in elevation the views get more spectacular along highway 99 along Horseshoe Bay and Howe Sound. Anvil Island sits out in the middle of the water looking beautiful. As we go along we start looking out for good locations to shoot Daniel in the great outdoors. He stops the truck at a place called Furry Creek and looks at me waiting for the filthy comments to start....... The bugger knows me! Hehehe... Of course I don't want to be a bad guest and disappoint my most generous host so I start the mucky commentary about Furry Creek and he does his best to join in. A little further up the mountains we get to a place name "Squamish" which I predictably rename "Squeamish". We see a big river running alongside the road and decide to take a side country road and see if we can find a turn off and trail to the river. Further down we're on a trail road and are thinking of getting out when we see a bloody great Black Bear run across the trail in front of us... It was an adolescent bear which meant that Mama was around. This means that you stand a very good chance of being gnawed on by Mama so we let our asses stop twitching and decide to move on to safer locales.
 


We eventually find a trail down to a beautiful section of clear and very cold river that's fed from glacial flow. We grab the gear. Danny boy helps me carry a big heavy box of lights down the trail to the waters edge and has a whine about his hands hurting......... if he had to play drums and really use his hands he'd really be in trouble....hehehe..... As we're going down the trail there are several old male and female fogeys in front of us heading down to a bend in the river hidden by a bunch of reeds and shrubs.. One is carrying booze, one food, and the others firewood.... We both have a chuckle about the old dudes getting trashed by the rivers edge, think nothing of it and head downstream and set up and proceed to do the photo session. Shoot Daniel sitting on a rock at the waters edge, with a beautiful orange Drum Workshop snare drum and then his Regal Tip sticks. I set up a little rock platform to squat on whilst I shoot him and his wonderous soul patch in various poses etc. It's not until I get the shots up on the laptop later that realize just how beautiful the scenery is. You kind of get caught in the moment of the shoot and have tunnel vision of a sort when you're focusing on the job at hand. I have to go back and do some landscapes there though...



Get done with the shoot and we fart around and take some silly pics and video then we pack up and head back to the truck. The wind has gotten up and we walk right by the bushy area the old folks are behind. Their fire is putting out some great smoke we notice and we hear them laughing etc. Not until we walk right by and see through the gaps in the foliage do we notice that they're all completely frickin' naked! It's a veritable drunk pink wrinkle fest behind the bushes!!! We have a good chuckle about the nudists and head on up the road further into the mountains. Stop at an absolutely amazing scenic overlook with snow capped mountains in the background. Set up a light and get Daniel up standing on a stone wall with the amazing backdrop. A couple of girls come over to see what's going on and they recognize Daniel so I grab a shot of them together then we finish up the shoot and head back down the road.

By this time we're feeling rather esurient. Daniel pulls off at a place called Tim Hortons and tells me I have to try their great coffee and sandwiches. We go inside and Daniel order me a coffee called a "Double Double" and a BLT sandwich that beats the ass off any Subway sandwich I've had. What's hilarious is that there can't be a single member of staff over about 15 years old in the whole place. Daniel laughs and says he has a creepy oomph Loompah feeling but what's even scarier is that they have their crap together and are running the place like clockwork! You ask an American kid of 14 to do that and they'd be LOST! Too funny!

We head back nearer into Vancouver and nearer to Daniels home and find a railway track that runs between a forest. Shoot him in between the tracks running and doing his kung fu moves in mid air. The pics come out really good and we have a great laugh in the process not to mention the laughs we have singing alternative and filthy lyrics to Nickelback songs. I have video that I'll post when I can but don't expect to hear those "special lyrics"...hehehehehe.....

We get back to the house and set up and shoot him in his home studio in the basement. A really neat drum room that has free floating insulated walls to soundproof everything. Anyway, we get a load of playing shots on the drums etc and head out to dinner along with his lovely missus Britney. A few Guinness later and I'm previewing the pics on my laptop at dinner..... Can't wait to show you the pics when the magazine hit's the shelves!!         

Looks like there's another bloody hurricane out in the gulf once again. Living on the coast can be perilous at times but being inland can suck just as equally what with quakes and tornados. At least we can see hurricanes coming and have some warning I guess but the results can be just as dangerous and destructive. As It looks today ol' Gustav seems to be heading towards the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico so Texas may yet be spared albeit at the expense of some other poor sods. We shall see.

Once again the raspy tongue returned this time to my forehead and wouldn't let me sleep in. She'd already been fed so she was doing this out of pure boredom.... Today I am going to Vancouver... EH? Vancouver, yes Canada... I've had all my shots and did a quick refresher course in colonial ways. It'll be nice to see some hills and mountains again. The only bumps in the earth that I've seen recently was a bad boob job at the grocery store last week. I'm off to see my old mate Daniel.... drummer extraordinaire for rock sensations Nickelback. Now Daniel is a man who truly appreciates the filth of my limericks and humor although I'll tell you that he enjoys it whilst still on guard.... hehehehe... I think he's not sure of what will happen and is a little scared of what I'll do or say next.....Poor Lad! A most capable sticksman and dashingly handsome chap with a legendary soul patch that's admired by oodles of male fans everywhere.

So I get to the airport and they put me on an earlier connecting flight to Dallas which I happily accept as spending time at my local airport is about as much fun as rubbing ones particulars with a rusty cheese grater. Get to security where I'm asked to step aside as I've been chosen for a random security check and pat down. I don't get the nice brunette for the pat down though, I get the sweaty chubby bugger with the rubber gloves who takes his sweet time with the wand and patting me down with his sausage fingers. He finally finishes and they call me over as they open my camera bag. The young girl opens my bag, and turns to me "are you a photographer?" she asks. Inside are two cameras, four lenses, two flashes, three remote flash triggers, cleaning cloths and a small compact digital camera. I reply that I'm a Gynacologist, smile and wait for her response. I may be wrong but I think that my accent convinced her that I actually was a gyno... Smashing!



Get to the airport in Dallas, grab some lunch and an ale, thank some soldiers being deployed for their service and head to the departure gate. The flight is late...... No plane......the plane arrives an hour late....the flight crew arrive from another flight another hour late.... We're over two hours late, crammed in I have some stupid woman in the seat in front of me that can't bloody well sit still. I can't even put my drink down she's fidgettng that much... Folks, American Airlines are in financial trouble not because of high fuel prices but because they are shite. They're terrible domestic and even worse international..

Get to Vancouver and email Daniel who informs me that he's polishing his kit... OO-ER! Filthy chap. Check in to my hotel and ol' Daniel stops by and we go for a few pints and a good catch up on happenings. I perk up when he tells me that they have Mars Bars in Canada. Shite! The hotel gift shop is closed and I KNOW they have candy!



He drops me off, pats me on the bottom (kidding!) and I head off for a good nights kip. Big day tomorrow.

Ahhhh....Sunday.....day of rest right? Wrong! With a paw on the head and a lick on the nose with a raspy little tongue Daisy Buttons spoils my one chance of laying in today.

Head off up the road later to San Antonio for a photo shoot with the mighty Judas Priest. Actually it's with the three guitarists KK Downing, Ian Hill and Glenn Tipton for an EMG Pickups ad. Am kinda worried though as the rain has been bad the last few days and is threatening to drench us yet again in this afternoon. It's not a bad drive there, only a couple of hours but the South Texas landscape between where I live and San Antonio leaves a great deal to be desired.

Get to the venue and pick up my pass and call up Weasel who's KK and Glenn's tech. He arranged for me to park backstage by the tour bus and meets me as I pull in. Really nice guy who took pity on me not having an assistant by helping haul my gear from the Jeep. Usually at this venue I set up and shoot outside by the tour buses but being that the sky is slate grey and mocking us with beads of precipitation I set up under a big tent that's backstage. It's not ideal by far but when you're faced with no other option and a shoot with some rock legends then you have to pull the odd white rabbit from your camera bag from time to time....

Weasel is an old hand at this business. I ask him when he started in the biz to which he replied "1971".... hey, the year I was born! Needless to say he knows what he's doing and all of the guitars were tuned and ready hours ago so he continues to help me out setting up and posing for test shots. Super bloke! I've been very fortunate to work with some great folks that work behind the scenes for various bands. All too often they're the unsung heroes that save the day and the concert more often than not.

I'm supposed to get 15-20 minutes with guys so I know I have to work fast today... This is pretty much standard when a band doesn't know you and I've only ever shot them live once before back in �05. Ian Hill comes out first and we chit chat a little and get started. He's a really nice guy, not at all as I imagined. I ask him if he still lives in England and it turns out he does and not far from his roots... Get what I need of Ian with his Spector bass and KK and Glenn appear with their guitars at the ready. Shoot the three of them together which is really quite hard on this shoot as I can't back up any further. My mate and fellow photographer Gary takes a few shots of me working with guys, he's a rare breed is Gary, one of those photographers you meet in the pit that doesn't look down their nose at you because of what kind of camera you're using or even worse...just because you're there! Those types, and they are there at all levels are wankers... Ones that give photographers a bad name. Anyway, I try giving directions to the fellas but Heaven and Hell who are mid set as I work are so bloody loud that they can't hear a word I'm saying. They're good sports about it though and know what they're doing and I know when I have what I need so Ian departs and I finish off shooting KK and Glenn. All done in almost ten minutes, this has got to be a record for me so far! That and I didn't make a band groan with one of my limericks :O)



The admirable Weasel appears once again and starts helping me break down my gear and load it into the Jeep. People outside are being eaten alive by mosquitoes the size of sparrows! Everyone is being nibbled on and bitten except me... Some girl walks up and asks why they don't bite me.... I tell her that they don't like foreign food and she looks blankly at me... Humor bypass surgery will do that you kids ;O) Truth is that I made a humongous chicken curry the night before with two huge white onions and tons of garlic..... The mossies HATE both... My curries are legendarily hot.... So lip burningly hot and twice the heat coming out..... Hehehehe... More for me!

My old mates Hinder roll into town today. They're on tour as main support with Staind. I didn't have anything set up other than shooting them live and hanging out with some mates but I did bring along some studio lights and ended up doing an impromptu shoot with them by the buses. Had a great laugh with the guys telling them dirty limericks during the shoot as I had them leaping in the air and working up a sweat. You can check out the pics in the "Studio Gallery".

As usual they put on a great live show although the stage was a pain in the arse to shoot bands on as it's so high. A lot of the times you end up with "Booger Shots" when a stage is too high and mostly what you get are shots angled looking up the artists noses... I get up onstage with the guys and get some nice shots of Cody on the drums and looking out to the crowd. I end up staying and shooting Staind who put on a good performance. The music isn't really my cup of tea but the band do perform well and the crowd are more than pleased.

See the Hinder guys on the bus afterwards and then head home for a spot of Aberfeldy.....OO-ER!

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!!

Pop up the road to San Antonio for a little jaunt to the Mayhem tour. I'm shooting Phil Demmel from Machine head for Jackson Guitars. Phil's a great guy to work with, always friendly and talkative. Actually all the Machine Head fellas are nice and easygoing. Phil meets me at the backstage entrance to the venue and helps me get through so I can scout out a suitable place to do photos.....there really isn't anywhere so we make do with Phil atop a pallet of Monster Energy drink and we use the sky as a backdrop. The heat is pretty bad and the humidity is making it suck even more.. The heat index ended up being about 110 that day I think.. 20 minutes and a very drenched Phil and Ash later and we're done. I stow my gear under the bus and get onboard to cool off and have a drink with the guys from the band.

See my photographer buddies Jay and Gary backstage and Jay shoots me hauling my gear. They've been there all day and were there until Slipknot closed the show..... The heat was too much for me already. Shot Machine Head live as they closed the second stage show to a pretty wild and drunk crowd. Got right on the stage next to Phil Demmel and got some great close ups of him. Ended up staying a little while and hanging out a little before a splitting headache arrived and cued me to leave....

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 25^th- Arrive in London early on.... Traffic Jams... The hotel is in Knightsbridge and the traffic is utterly horrible. I worked in and around London many years ago and hated every single moment of it! Stinky, polluted, expensive, congested, noisy and just not me at all.... Like Houston, only with a mass of British history..... Check in to the hotel, shower and sleep.

Wake up later in the day, check my emails, and edit a few pics... Eat three Mars Bars, sleep some more, wake up with cabin fever and then head downstairs to the hotel bar and order a meal and a Guinness... They have a soccer match on in the bar full blast and there's a bunch of noisy fans who collectively feel the need to scream together every time there's a near goal. I give up after about an hour of this, finish up my pint and stop off by the hotel shop to stock up on Mars Bars and a Crunchie and head to my room and the land of nod..... zzzzzzzzz The less I see of London the better.