Decorated Youth Magazine #6

DECORATED YOUTH ISSUE #6

LIVE PHOTOS: CHIODOS. BLESSTHEFALL. NEON TREES. SMALLPOOLS. SARA BAREILLES. SHINY TOY GUNS.

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JOE BRADY PUP ALEX RESIDE SARA SCOGGINS ALEX JOHNSON DEREK BREMMER SYLVAN ESSO GLAMOUR KILLS + NEW FOUND GLORY 1 | Decorated Youth

DECORATED YOUTH

STAFF:

EDITOR’S NOTE

Heather Hawke Founder | Editor & Writer | Layout & Design | Photographer

Sometime in between the release of our fifth issue and this issue we got inspired to do a little redesigning, to both our issue covers and our website. We wanted a cleaner, simpler look and feel.

SITES: www.decoratedyouth.com Facebook: facebook.com/DecoratedYouth Twitter: @decoratedyouth

EMAIL: General Info@decoratedyouth.com Press heather@decoratedyouth.com

THANK YOU’S Mark Capicotto, Leslie Brown, Mitch Wojcik, Jered Scott, Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory, Dayna Ghiraldi, Becca Wilson, Jonathan Weiner, Alex Reside, Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso, Kip Kouri, Elizabeth Weinberg, Derek Bremmer, Alex Johnson, Graeme, Dom, Joe Brady, Steve Sladkowski of PUP, Jamie Coletta, Yoshi Cooper, Shervin Lainez, Sara Scoggins, Erica Lauren, and to all the readers we couldn’t do this without all your support!

This issue’s photo contributors:

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Glamour Kills- Mitch Wojcik and Jered Scott New Found Glory – Jonathan Weiner Alex Reside - himself Sylvan Esso – Elizabeth Weinberg Derek Bremmer - himself Alex Johnson - Heather Hawke Joe Brady - himself PUP - Yoshi Cooper, Shervin Lainez Sara Scoggins – Erica Lauren

We have also gotten rid of all of the categories on our website, there only remains an archive. We deleted all of the categories because we felt it unfair to post certain people / features on our website and others in our issues.

For this issue we have our first shared cover, Glamour Kills and New Found Glory.

The fifth annual Glamour Kills Tour starts on Oct. 3 in which New Found Glory (who are releasing their eighth studio album on October 7th) are headlining so we figured that this would be the perfect first shared cover opportunity. We have interviews with both the founder of Glamour Kills, Mark Capicotto as well as Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory.

This 82 page sixth Decorated Youth issue also includes interviews with; three other musicians (Alex Johnson, Sylvan Esso, and PUP), a journalist (Sara Scoggins), three photographers (Derek Bremmer, Alex Reside, Joe Brady) and six live photo galleries that we think you all will love. We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed putting it together!

cover photo galleries other features

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chiodos ďƒ

July 30, The Knitting Factory (Reno, Nevada) Photos by Heather Hawke

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blessthefall ďƒ

July 30, The Knitting Factory (Reno, Nevada) Photos by Heather Hawke

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smallpools ďƒ

June 13, The Knitting Factory (Reno, Nevada) Photos by Heather Hawke

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neon trees ďƒ

June 13, The Knitting Factory (Reno, Nevada) Photos by Heather Hawke

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sara bareillies ďƒ

August 8, Silver legacy (Reno, Nevada) Photos by Heather Hawke

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shiny toy guns ďƒ

September 5, Cargo (Reno, Nevada) Photos by Heather Hawke

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________ sites http://www.puptheband.com/ @puptheband

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________ photos Press: Shervin Lainez Live: Yoshi Cooper

________ written by Heather Hawke

PUP INTERVIEW WITH STEVE SLADKOWSKI

A majority of the members that make up the Toronto, Ontario band PUP grew up and played in punk bands together. The newest of the band members, lead singer Stefan Babcock, met the others through Nestor Chumak (bassist) when they attended high school together and when Stef played shows with their bands with his then current band. Stef eventually asked Nestor, Zack Mykula (drumer), and Steve Sladkowski (guitarist) if they wanted to record an album together.

Since Nestor, Zack, and Steve basically played in the same bands together all of the chemistry was there when Stef came into the picture, it was almost like he was walking into an already formed band and because Stef was already like them it was easy to work him into the band. About three years, numerous weekend tours, and a few band name changes later we have the band PUP. Although the band name is in all caps, it’s not intended for the band name to be seen as an acronym. The origin is that Stefan’s grandmother had sat him down and basically told him that he’s smart, he worked at a label and had done all of this stuff and then told him that she thought this music career is a pathetic use of potential. When Stef heard her say that, he let the words sink into his head and thought about the acronym and told the guys. Since it was a name that wasn’t yet taken by a band and none of the members hated it, they took it up and owned it.

Now that the members in PUP have been playing music together for a few years, Steve says that the biggest change that their songwriting process has seen has been because of not having day jobs to limit themselves, and giving them more time to write in between tours. “It’s a lot more constructive to the creative process when you start jam at 10 AM on a Wednesday with a full pot of coffee and an empty whiteboard.”

Steve says music was never a “path” per se for any of the band members, because none of the members thought the idea of becoming a musician ever seemed like a legitimate opportunity, even though they’ve all been playing in bands for over a decade now. ”It still feels totally surreal.”

This last year has seen them do extended tours across Canada, tours in the US and UK, and, of course, the release of their self-title debut LP.

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Steve mentions that the moment he realized his whole life had changed was when Dave Schiffman agreed to produce their self-titled debut album.

Since Dave Schiffman has previously worked with artists including Mars Volta, Biffy Clyro, Cass McCombs, and Weezer, he was a perfect match with their ever contrasting sounds themselves.

For this album, the members in PUP wanted their record to sound like the best show they have ever played, because of this philosophy they recorded mostly live off of the floor. All they have ever wanted out of a punk rock record is to be able to hear the mistakes, because it means it’s real and it sounds like them playing their songs.

Since the songs were honed for live performances Steve says that instead of hearing new in the songs when playing them live they actually learned a lot about the songs when they had to sit down and commit them to a studio hard drive. “Certain songs have always worked live and others still aren't quite up to our standards. It's something we're constantly tinkering with in order to refine our live show.”

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Their standards, being that they are very self-critical and nitpicky Steve says, saw them toss out half of their songs they had from the beginning, which would have gone on their self-titled LP, and rewriting entirely new and different songs. “We were very perfectionist with these songs to a point of neurosis because they were written over such an extended period of time. That can be great because the songs are definitely stronger for it, but it is emotionally-taxing to be thinking so in depth about every bar and note for such a long period of time.

Overall, I think the entire process was worth it - we feel like we've made the best album we could have with the material and time we had.”

The members feel very lucky to be surrounded by an environment that is their hometown of Toronto, ON. “We are lucky to live in one of the most fruitful and creative music scenes of anyplace in the world that we know. There are so many bands and artists making and supporting interesting work; because of this, it drives others to work harder in an endless loop of creativity. Punk has always been a strong part of the Toronto underground but it's really having its moment now - bands like Fucked Up, Metz, The Flatliners & Cancer Bats are paving the way for bands like ours and our friends PKEWX3, The Dirty Nil, and Greys (to name but a few).”

Since they are perfectionists when it comes to creating music, Steve says his favorite part about the album creation process was “releasing it and not controlling/obsessing over the music anymore.”

For the album artwork they enlisted Jason Bartell (a Fang Island band member) who provided a hand drawn piece of work that they felt communicates a lot of what they were going for. Steve says that to them good artwork achieves both representing the sound and the lyrics of an album and also having an aesthetically cool package.

Steve says that with their music, like any art form, places have a fundamental impact. “You'll hear a lot of that throughout our record if you listen closely. There are shoutouts to Montréal, Toronto rivers, and other stuff that we experience in our everyday environment.”

The album was released in Canada by themselves in October 2013 via Royal Mountain Records / Universal, as part of a label that includes them, some other bands and their manager. It was released worldwide via SideOneDummy Records this past spring.

On August 21 they opened up for the Hives at the Brixton Academy and that same month NME Magazine called them one of the best new bands to see at the Reading & Leeds. This fall will see PUP head out on their first ever headline tour which is presented by Noisey.

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derek bremmer Decorated Youth | 20

________ sites http://www.derekbremner.com/

@Del_Photos ________ photos Derek Bremmer ________ interviewed by Heather Hawke

GETTING STARTING IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY “At the time I started going to shows it was around the time internet forums were incredibly popular and I met a load of friends through them.

I ended up moderating a bands forum and through that I met a load of people from their record label. They gave me a bit of an insight into what went on behind the scenes with regards to management, PR and all that sort of thing. Lora Richardson who used to do A&R for Music For Nations was the first person to give me a photo pass (when I was still using a point and shoot) which was for Melissa Auf Der Maur with one of MFNs bands supporting. I very much wouldn't be where I am now without her kindness.”

SUBJECT MATERIAL “I started with shooting live music which is pretty easy to get started with as a lot of the time you just need a ticket into small shows to be able to start taking shots. The more I did it the more I was interested in everything that went with music and bands/artists. The music photography that always stood out to me was the backstage photos as that is far less common/less easy to organize. I just wanted to do and shoot everything.”

DECIDING TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHY A PROFESSION “I've been taking photos for a long time but it's been in the last 6 years that I started to push myself to develop and then within the last 3 years that it's become serious and I made some big steps forward with regards to the level of work I was producing and the type of jobs I was working on. I never actually thought I could do it for a living. I just didn't really think I had what it took but I turned 30 this year and had a period of "What the fuck am I doing with my life?" leading up to that. I felt like time was/is running out and if I ever wanted to get to achieve what I had dreamed of then now was the time to do it. I took the leap and quit my jump 4 months ago to do it full time.”

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LIFE CHANGING MOMENT “I went through a very bad period in my life about 5/6 years ago and during that time I decided I needed to get away. As a kid growing up and living in the UK I'd always dreamed of going to the one of the Warped Tour shows. I managed to arrange my own photo pass for one of the dates by begging a website to let me shoot for them. Bought and paid for everything myself and off I went to New York. I'm a huge Gallows fan and they were playing the year I went. Frank Carter who was the singer at the time sang in the crowd for most of their set and I followed him in. I was taking photos of Frank with a massive circle pit going round us and it felt like a perfect moment. That was pretty much when I knew this was something I had to do.”

VISON OF PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGED SINCE BEGINNING “I think as I have developed the type of work I aim to produce has definitely changed and I am pushing myself to be better and improve more than I ever have. It started as a bit of fun and has become pretty engrained into who I am as a person.”

HOW GROWING UP IN LONDON IMPACTED HIS CREATIVITLY “Living in London my whole life has definitely had an impact on my work.

It's a big city and there's a lot of other photographers. It's harder to get passes than in other cities but that's balanced out by the fact that more bands tour through here, there's more shows and venues than compared to other areas of the UK.”

PROTECTING PHOTOS – RIGHTS GRABBING RELEASES “It's a complicated subject and I think for me it all comes down to what type of work you are doing. I've not yet been in a situation where I've been made to sign an unfair release, all the ones I've signed have pretty much said that I can use the photos for the publication/company that’s commissioned me and if I'm lucky I can use them on my website but my priority is getting the job done for my employers. I think it impacts agency photographer’s more than editorial photographers. Sometimes I understand the reasoning behind bands wanting to protect themselves but also think they can go too far to do that.”

ART - EXPOSE, PROTECT OR HEAL “My photography definitely does all three. I've struggled with depression, anxiety and self-esteem issues and for me, photography has given me a sense of self-worth that was lacking before. Sharing my work and putting myself out there for people to see can feel quite exposing. At times it's been my reason to live and carry on and others it's been a form of escapism. I love getting lost in the process of taking photos. If I'm at a show, there's a million and one things that might be running through my mind (both good and bad) but the minute a band takes to the stage and all of that disappears and everything is shut out. The only thing I think about is what's happening through the viewfinder on my camera.”

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OUTLOOK - CONFIDENCE AND HUMILITY “Confidence in my work is something that has only really come through experience. It can very easily turn to arrogance but I try and keep myself grounded by not taking anything for granted and being grateful for any and all opportunities I get. I also try and be critical of my own work, thinking about where I can improve and what I can learn from the jobs I do.”

TAKING PHOTOS – SPONTANESOUS VS VISON “Where possible I try and visualize before I take any photos how and what I'm going to do and then all the ways it could go and things that could possibly go wrong. Quite often situations aren't how I imagined, plans change or unexpected things happened and you have be spontaneous with it.”

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WORKING WITH CLIENTS – WHO APPROACHES WHO “The vast majority of the commissions I do is brief based but that could be anything from "we want a landscape full length shot of the lead singer" to "this band throw themselves about on stage, try and convey their energy and performance". There are times where I can take ideas to them but a lot of the time the brief is open interpretation and I can try and bring something to it.”

BUGGEST HURDLE WHEN SETTING UP / WORKING A PHOTOSHOOT “Location for me is probably the biggest hurdle or the element that can very much make or ruin a shot. A lot of the shoots I do then to be in places where I don't have much say in the location and you have to problem solve with what you have around you to make the shot interesting.”

MAKING PRESS SHOTS LOOK NATURAL “A lot of making press shots look natural is to do with your interaction with your subjects. It's about talking to them and making them relaxed. I try and work quite low key and keep things simple.”

LOCATION SCOUTING ROUTINE “I just try and find somewhere simple and without too many distracting elements and then just work within that.”

FAVORITE STORY BEHIND A PHOTOGRAPH “There's a shot of Frank Carter from Gallows (which is probably my most well-known photo) that was taken when I was at Warped and ties into that story but I would say anytime I've photographer Letlive or The Dillinger Escape Plan there's always a good story. Normally it would involve me getting hit/kicked/jumped on by either the band or someone in the crowd, getting covered in drinks and bodily fluid. I always come out from those shows feeling like I've earned every single one of my shots. I've photographed Jason from Letlive hanging from the a pole on the ceiling of a venue directly above me and then had him fall directly on top of me and my gear. Thankfully my camera and face were all ok but it was fun!”

MENTORS “Steve Prue was the first professional photographer to treat me like a peer rather a dumb kid with a camera.

Andrew Kendall gave me my first big photography opportunity and everything that has happened since has really spiralled out of that one chance. Since then I've had a lot of help and guidance from Andrew Whitton and Danny North (both are photographers who are constantly pushing their work and others forward).”

MOMENT HE REALZIED THIS IS HIS PERFECT JOB “I pretty much end up having one of those moments a year. The stand out moments for me are things like working with Alexisonfire during their last ever UK shows, photographing a headliner at Download festival for the first time and most recently I was stood on stage at Wembley in front of 80,000 people photographing Pharrell and Miley Cyrus.”

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WATCHING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY EVOLVE “There's just more of everything. There's more venues, festivals, shows and bands. With regards to photography, it's more accessible than ever before so theres more photographers and more competition. It's definitely harder to make a living in the industry but I think in a way thats healthy. From a creative point of view it pushes people to stand out and raise the bar.”

FURTURE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY “It used to always feel like artists toured to promote albums whereas now it's more along the lines of you do albums to promote tours. I think big record labels despite their grumbling about the death of the music industry will be fine. They always find away.

Independent labels are doing more to make physical copies of music important with vinyl becoming more accessible again. I think a lot more artists will switch to crowd funding models to produce music and that done right, it's a great way to connect with your audience.”

NOT SO OBVIOUS SKILLS BEING A PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY REQUIRES “I think patience and anticipation are important especially in music photography. You need to need to be prepared for things that might happen and react to what does. Also research helps, google photos of bands and venues to get a feel for what you might be in for. It seems obvious but I have a few friends who always say "don't be a dick" is their best advice.”

DREAM PHOTOGRAPHY SCENARIO – ONE PERSON/ BAND, ONE VENUE/ STUDIO/ LOCATION, GEAR, ONE CITY “I think I have a couple of different extremes of situations that I would kill to be in. I would love to shoot something like a Jay Z show in Madison Square Gardens with full access or I've always dreamed about shooting at Red Rocks.

The flip side of that is that I fantasise about shooting bands like Letlive or The Dillinger Escape Plan playing a house party or a tiny floor show. Outside of music, one of my dreams is to shoot a high end fashion catwalk show during a fashion week.”

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alex johnson Decorated Youth | 28

________ sites http://alexjohnson.bandcamp.com/ album/warriors-ep

@alexscjohnson ________ photos Heather Hawke ________ written by Heather Hawke

His dad took him to his first “meaningful” concert when he was 16, that memorable concert being Damien Rice. It was when Damien Rice sang “Cannonball” completely acoustic, without even a mic to 20,000 people, that Alex knew he wanted to be a musician. Another concert that inspired him was when he saw the legendary Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen at the age of 17.

As a songwriter, Alex has become aware that art can expose, protect and also heal people. “It can do all three - it depends on the moment and it depends on the song. I have songs that are explicitly revealing and I have some that are quite cryptic but they're all a level of self-exploration which is quite exposing. I think all the best songs are like that anyway, a three minute window into someone’s world.” As a songwriter from England he is naturally very influence by the British weather, which makes the perfect breeding ground for melancholic songwriting.

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When people listen to his music he hopes that, although his lyrics are personal to him, his audience can draw a parallel with a feeling in their own lives. “The themes in my songs are feelings everybody experiences at some point in their lives and if my music can make someone listening to it feel something then I've succeeded.”

When Alex looks back on the previous songs he’s written over the course of eight years, he likes to think that his lyrical subjects have matured over time. “My writing style tends to depend a lot to what I'm into at the time - I remember when I was about 14/15 the first Arctic Monkeys album had just come out and all I wanted to do was write songs about nights out, I don't think that was my best phase.”

Like most songwriters Alex’s lyrics come from events that happen throughout his life. “I believe you can put so much more passion into a song when it's about something very personal to you. I wouldn't say that I've experienced a specific event, it's an ongoing process.”

Just as his lyrical subjects have evolved, so have his writing methods. Only instead over the course of years, it varies from song to song. “Every single song's writing process is different. I think if I had a set way of writing, the songs would be a little less creative. I've never wanted to have a template to writing a song. ‘Birds & Bees’ for example was written in about 15 minutes and then other songs can take me weeks of not really being sure where I want it to go or what I want it to say.”

When songs aren’t working out the way that he wants them to, when they don’t sound right and don’t flow properly, he tries to rack his brain to try and work out what would sound better there. Mentioning that he knows when he gets it right.

His song ‘Birds & Bees’ was actually written after he had listened to one of Ryan Adams songs called ‘Lucky Now’ and had misheard some lyrics. “I misheard a lyric thinking it said 'Love can break your heart, but only if you're lucky now'. That feeling spoke to me at the time, the thought that you'd rather love somebody and have your heart broken than not love them at all, and so that feeling became ‘Birds & Bees’.”

One of his newer songs ‘Lover's Ode’ was written after he and a friend had been out drinking all evening and when they returned to Alex’s flat at about 5am they sat down and tried to write a song that 'sounded like Mumford & Sons'. He recalls that although they didn’t get anywhere near the sound they were going for, he woke up in the morning quite liking what they came up with.

Although he has been interested in performing music since at a young age, this past year has lead him to pursuing music as a career. “I went to University and sort of realized that wasn't for me and all I wanted to do was play my guitar and perform.” He says the moment he made the decision to drop out of college was the moment his whole life had changed. “Dropping out of University was a big decision, but you've just got to make sure that you turn it into the right one and the only way to do this is to work hard making my music a success. All I want from life is to make a living from doing something I love.”

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His music career is now leading him to New York City in November to play five shows over the course of five nights. “I don't think I've ever been as excited for anything before! When I started working with my new manager it became possible due to his contacts over there and I only had to be asked once. I just love the city I've been lucky enough to go before and can't wait to spend a week there being a tourist during the day and singing at night.”

As his career is evolving so are his live shows. His friends Graeme and Dom round out the live band performances. Alex mentions that his two friends completely get his songs and what he wants from adding a band to the live shows. “They're both really talented musicians and we really get along when we're just having some down time which I think is the most important thing. We've just finished our first UK tour as a band and when you're sharing a hotel room for a week with someone you've got to be comfortable with them.”

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Coming from a singer/songwriter background, where he wasn’t used to playing with a stable unit, he says that the fact that he can rely on these bandmates has been really liberating. “I found myself writing songs that were bigger than just what I could do on my guitar, so to be able to finally perform the songs as I intended is a lot more satisfying. Also it's 10 times more fun being on the road with two mates rather than doing gigs on your own.”

This new material has taken them into the studio to record a new EP that, although is currently untitled, Alex is very excited about. “We've been playing them live which is the best test of them a lot of the time, and they've been going down really well.”

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JOE BRADY Decorated Youth | 34

________ sites http://www.joebrady.co.uk/ @joebradyphoto ________ photos Joe Brady ________ interviewed by Heather Hawke

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SUBJECT MATERIAL “I started with landscape photography when I first got my SLR. HDR photos really grabbed my attention so I spent a while learning how to do those. As I mentioned in the previous question, music photography came next purely by accident and that's where I found my passion. Music has always been a huge part of my life so being able to capture live shows is something that really interests me. Live music photography is still my favorite to this day there's nothing quite like the feeling of nailing a photo of an insane and unique moment during a show!”

FIRST JOB AS A TOURING PHOTOGRAPHER “My first tour was with a band called The Ocean's Eyes back in December 2011. My friend Charlie was their bassist and asked me if I'd come along with them.

Touring had always been on my bucket list so there was no way I was turning that opportunity down! It was a week long tour around the UK in fairly small venues - but I'll never forget that experience and the feeling of living on the road for the first time. This was just after I'd left my job in TV, so the timing worked out perfectly!”

DECIDING TO MAKE PHOTOGRAPHY A PROFESSION “I remember one particular evening I had a photo pass to shoot one of my favorite bands at the time (Young Guns) but just as I was about to leave work, I got a huge delivery of QI tapes which needed to be logged in urgently.

There was absolutely no way I could get out of staying late at work, so I was forced to miss shooting the show. It was at this moment I started to realize where my passion really was, and soon after I decided to take the risk of leaving TV and taking a shot at photography full time.”

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VISON OF PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGED SINCE BEGINNING “It hasn't ever changed. I take photos which I enjoy taking and looking at. If I think a photo looks cool, then I'm happy. If other people enjoy looking at those photos too then that's an added bonus.”

HOW GROWING UP IN THE KENT COUNTRYSIDE IMPACTED HIS CREATIVITLY “I'm lucky enough to live in the middle of the Kent countryside in a beautiful house my dad built himself - I wouldn't have wanted to grow up anywhere else in the world. Being surrounded by such natural beauty when I was younger helped me to appreciate it, and perhaps that's why I eventually started taking photos of landscapes and sunsets.”

PROTECTING PHOTOS – RIGHTS GRABBING RELEASES “I'm yet to shoot a show which asks me to sign over all my usage rights for the photo to the artist/management, but if I was ever in that situation I would probably turn down the opportunity. Unless they are offering to pay well for the privilege, I'm not going to bend over and take that. I don't go to any extraordinary lengths to protect my photos - if someone is going to steal your work they'll find a way, you can't really do very much to stop them. I put my watermark on most of my photos but I always leave it in the corner because I wouldn't want the image to be spoiled. I find my images being used all over the internet, but as long as I'm credited it doesn't really bother me anymore - I'm happy for the free exposure!”

ART - EXPOSE, PROTECT OR HEAL “I'm actually quite a shy person, but I feel like I can hide behind my camera - it helps to give me confidence to walk into situations I'd otherwise feel self-conscious and potentially awkward in. I suppose it exposes me too, because my work is on display for anyone to see and criticize, but as time goes on I've got more used to people seeing my photos so I don't really think about that anymore when I hit upload.”

OUTLOOK - CONFIDENCE AND HUMILITY “I feel like I've really just started on my photography career, so I have no right to be arrogant and I don't think I ever will be. What I'm doing isn't really that special, I'm just lucky enough to have had some great opportunities so far. I always try to stay as humble as possible, we are all only human - I don't see any reason why anyone should treat anyone else differently because of what they do for a living.”

PRESSURE BECAUSE OF A CAPTIVATED AUDIENCE – STAYING INSPIRED “To be honest, I don't really think too much about how many people are looking at my photos. I recently passed 1 million views on Flickr which is absolutely ridiculous to me. I'm just doing what I love and if other people enjoy that too then I'm very thankful! It's easy for me to stay inspired because what I do never feels like work to me - if the offers to shoot keep rolling in then I'm happy to continue on this path. I have a huge backlog of photos from past shows (especially from Warped Tour) so there is no shortage of new shots for me to be posting every day!”

TAKING PHOTOS – SPONTANESOUS VS VISON “With live music there's not really much you can predict. Sometimes I'll just watch the band I'm shooting for the first half of a song to see what their movements are like, then go from there. Occasionally I'll know vaguely what a certain band tends to do (members of Enter Shikari playing guitar in the crowd, for example) so I'll have a vision in my head of how I'd want that photo to look, which sometimes helps me know where I need to be to capture that certain moment. Most of the time it's a case of being in the right place at the right time, and being fast enough to react!”

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WORKING WITH CLIENTS – WHO APPROACHES WHO “Most people who approach me have looked through my portfolio and know what to expect.

Generally I get told "just do what you do" and I'm given freedom to shoot however I want to. With band promo shoots, bands tend to have an idea of the look they are after, so we will discuss together a suitable location and theme for the image. Every photographer has a different style and you should be hiring a person who suits the look you're after.”

BIGGEST HURDLE WHEN SETTING UP / WORKING A PHOTOSHOOT “I've not really had any big hurdles, but security at shows tend to be a thorn in my side. Despite being hired directly by a band and being told I have permission to shoot the whole show from wherever I want to, some security will still do their very best to tell me otherwise. Many times I've had to spend a few minutes getting a security guard to radio his superior to get him to stop bothering me. On a couple of occasions I've had security get pretty physical with me despite me not doing anything wrong. It's not cool to abuse your power and be a bully.”

MAKING PRESS SHOTS LOOK NATURAL “When shooting press shots I try to make the band as relaxed as possible.

I keep things friendly and light-hearted, which helps to break the tension.

Usually our shared interest in music is a big factor in this - talking about bands we all like and shows we've recently been too. I've yet to have a shoot which has been awkward from start to finish - I think it's very important to have a laugh during these shoots! Another great way to make things easier is to take some "silly" photos before getting down to the serious stuff. These shots make for great outtakes too!”

LOCATION SCOUTING ROUTINE “In most cases, the band already have location ideas in mind, which makes life easier for me. Sometimes the band will know roughly the type of location they are after (an abandoned building or in the middle of a field, for example) so we will look for something suitable online which is easy for us all to travel to. Occasionally we will all head to a certain place and scout around together at the time for something which looks cool.

Often, the final photos we end up using are from somewhere we found by accident, rather than the originally planned location!”

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FAVORITE STORY BEHIND A PHOTOGRAPH “It's not a particularly crazy story, but the photos I took of Mallory Knox and WATIC at Reading Festival last year mean a lot to me. I've been attending Reading Festival as a fan every year since 2006 - on my first ever day there I ran from the gate when it opened to be on the barrier. I remember watching the photographers in the pit and thinking they have the best job in the world, and how awesome it must be to be in their position. Some of my fondest memories are from that festival; having the best time with my friends and seeing countless bands I love - so being stood on the main stage, looking out at the enormous crowd and being able to capture that moment was very special indeed. It's funny how things work out in the end!”

MENTORS “I've never had anyone mentoring me, but there are a few photographers I look up to and take inspiration from. Marianne Harris, Danny North and Paul Harries especially! Their work is incredible and regularly makes me want to give up when I see it.”

MOMENT HE REALZIED THIS IS HIS PERFECT JOB “Usually these moments happen when I'm on tour, far from home, making new friends and seeing new places I would've otherwise never discovered. I take nothing for granted and am very fortunate for all the opportunities I've been given these last few years. I think this job suits me very well because I've never really been one for routine - I prefer to work on my own schedule and be flexible.

Being freelance gives me the freedom to do that - I can take my laptop and edit wherever I like, I'm not forced to the confines of an office I have to be at by 9am every morning. I don't think I could ever return to a "regular" job after this.”

WATCHING THE MUSIC INDUSTRY EVOLVE “Technology has inevitably changed things.

Streaming music is now the norm and there seems to be considerably less money in the industry than in the past. There is no use complaining about this though, it's how things are now as we just have to adapt and evolve with this.”

DREAM PHOTOGRAPHY SCENARIO – “I think it would have to be Muse at Wembley Stadium. Muse have been my favorite band since I was in school, and I've always wanted a chance to shoot them. I attended both Wembley Stadium shows back when they first played there and it still goes down as one of my favorite live shows ever. I'll keep hoping for that opportunity!”

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SA RA SC OG GI NS

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________ sites http://idobi.com/show/lets-talkmusic/

@LETSTALKMUZ @SaraScoggs ________ photos Erica Lauren ________ written by Heather Hawke

Although Sara parents really loved music, which had a great impact on her, she didn’t have a particular overly creative childhood because she was more focused on sports. “I didn't spend a lot of time on art or playing music, and looking back I do wish there had been more of an emphasis on that -but, I'm happy I've found my way to all of that as an adult.”

Her first real experience in the industry was nearly seven years ago when she was in college working at the top 40 station in Rhode Island (where she grew up). It was that job that completely motivated her to keep pursuing the path.

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In 2010 Sara packed up all of her belongings and moved to Los Angeles with the goal of cultivating a voice in music journalism. Moving from Rhode Island to Los Angeles Sara saw the contrast between both cities as far as art and culture were concerned.

“Moving out of RI was the best thing for my creativity, but also my ability to feel immersed in the culture. In RI we only had a few venues and here in LA I can see a live show each day of the week if I wanted to.”

One of those shows that changed her life was her first Coachella experience. “I didn't expect everything to be so magical. I am such a music purist that I totally ignored all of the other stuff that is associated with that festival. I got to see Refused, At The Drive-In, The Shins, Radiohead -- the list keeps going. It was incredible and I soaked it all in.”

Since moving to LA she has worked at Hollywire.com as a journalist and as the Music Editor of Buzznet.com, in both print and video. On July 8th, 2014 Sara’s idobi Radio show Let’s Talk Music had its world premiere. “The show has been amazing. I met Matt Vogel, Idobi's music director, at SXSW a few years ago and we became fast friends. Matt is really one of the nicest people in this industry and he thought of me when an opportunity came up. I was approached in April to develop a show and I was incredibly honored. idobi has never had a female hosting her own show before, so I was thrilled to be brought on board. Everyone at idobi has been so supportive and I am so lucky to be working with such amazing people.” For her the show has felt like “hanging out listening to music with my friends” and she hopes that it translates over the air.

Over the years she has learned that if you really take care of the relationships you make, they in return will take care of you. “One of the most important things to keep in mind while building your career is to maintain good relationships with people. I don't mean that in a phony way, but really be kind and thankful for those who help you and pay it forward as much as possible. It's a small world and how you treat each other is incredibly important.”

Out of all the moments, one of them she says, that has made her realize how perfect this job is for her happened after the Monumentour (Fall Out Boy & Paramore tour) went through Southern California this summer. “After Paramore's set a very sweet and shy young lady named Celynne approached me and shared that she loved the show and has been following me. I was awestruck by how sweet she was and it made me really feel like I maybe I am on to something here. We took a photo and I hugged her several times out of my appreciation for her sharing how she felt about me and the show. I made me feel really good to have someone want to come tell me to my face how much she appreciates the show and what I am trying to accomplish with it.”

From her experience in the music industry she has found the industry as a whole to be a lot kinder than she thought it would be. “Just from the aspect of the internet, it's been really a really supportive and empowering experience. I've met some really wonderful people who have really been supportive, and I guess I assumed it would be more of a "dog eat dog" world.”

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What Sara’s trying to accomplish (with both her show and her social media presence) is to inspire young music fans to really love the music and what it can provide for them. “To start a genuine, positive and empowering conversation about music -- and to give back to something I love. I hope my work can expose fans to new music that they can support and I hope to help cultivate a group of young listeners (especially female) that they can love a band simply for their music.”

One of the band’s that Sara loves simply for their music is Paramore, which also happens to be the band that one of her favorite writing pieces is about.

“I wrote a really honest piece about my connection to Paramore's "Last Hope" when I was working at Buzznet, and it caught Hayley Williams' attention.

She tweeted her appreciate for it and that was very emotional for me. I didn't write that piece thinking anyone outside of the community would see it, I just wanted to share how it made me feel. It was awesome that she saw it.”

As for what her favorite interview has been she says that getting to do the only video interview for The Starting Line's "Say It Like You Mean It" 10 Year Anniversary tour was amazing. “That album was (and still is) one of my favorites and getting to reflect back on it with the guys was amazing.” She also says that anytime she’s gotten to interview All Time Low has been just as fun as they have shown on camera.

“Those guys are so fun and have always been so kind to me. On and off camera, they are really great boys and the Halloween interview with them was my favorite. “ As a fan of music herself, she thinks that the way fans consume, talk and share music have greatly changed the music industry. “When I was in high school Napster and all the file sharing sites started to explode. We were all constantly burring CDs for each other and exposing each other to new bands. Now, it's as simple as me tweeting about a band, and someone then clicking the mention and BOOM -new band. It's really powerful how social media, and how we use it, has made it seamless for fans to promote what they love.”

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Just like fans promote music so do, of course, the journalists like Sara. “The age of social media has made it easier than ever for me to share what song, album or band I am digging at the moment. It's so fun to have someone reply and say they checked it out and they are also a fan. You're instantly connected to that person, it's such a cool feeling.”

Every music journalist has a perspective, which leads to journalists sometimes getting a bad reputation, and Sara’s is that she loves music. “I want to promote what I love and help share that with other fans. Some people want to really dig in and critique things, and there is a place for that. I think people forget that just like ice cream flavors, there are a variety of outlets you can follow and chose to influence you.”

Out of everything that music can do for people, expose, protect and heal, Sara says that it mostly empowers her. “There is always a song to help you feel less alone, allow you to accept your feelings or that helps you release something you've been holding on to. Art can have such a profound impact on anyone that allows it to. A painting, a photography, a song -- any of it can make you feel what you may be hiding -- and I find that so powerful.”

Besides doing her Let’s Talk Music show she also has been writing and posting her own creative writing pieces, mostly poetr, these past few months. “I have been collaborating on a writing/photography project with my friend Erica Lauren. It's called Deep Down and you can see it on my Tumblr.” She says that someday she’d love to put it all in a book.

Since the music comes first, we couldn’t end this without asking her what the current albums on rotation are. “The Hotelier - Home, Noplace Is There, Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - Slingshot To Heaven, Manchester Orchestra – Cope, and Seahaven - Reverie Lagoon: Music For Escapism Only.” As for albums she’s looking forward to hearing “LIGHTS, From Indian Lakes, Sucre, and have my fingers crossed for a new album from Brand New.

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ALEX

________ sites http://www.alexreside.com/ @AlexReside

________ photos Alex Reside ________ interviewed by Heather Hawke

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LIFE CHANGING MOMENT “I feel like everything changed when I took my mom's Kodak point and shoot camera to a concert in Peoria, Illinois.

It was at a Knights of Columbus hall, I remember using the flash and holding the shutter open on manual so it would catch the flash and then I dragged the camera to capture the light from the stage, creating colorful lines across the image. I came home so proud of this discovery, and even though other people do that type of photography, I realized that Music photography was where I wanted to focus my love of creating. Maybe it has something to do with not actually being good at making music of my own, but being up against the stage, feeling the energy of the crowd and the musicians felt like it was the closest I could get.”

HOW GROWING UP IN ILLINOIS IMPACTED HIS CREATIVITLY “I think that it greatly impacts your creativity. I grew up in rural Illinois and growing up I felt like there was always nothing to do, but as I got older I started spending my weekends going on trips to small towns and taking photos the whole way. Although Illinois doesn’t have the nightlife or the amount of concerts as New York or other big cities, it feels comfortable to me.”

ROLLING STONE INTERNSHIP “They say “luck favors the prepared”. I definitely got lucky, but at the time I had a good enough portfolio to get myself noticed. I applied for about 20-30 internships in New York and Chicago, and the ONLY one that I heard back about was Rolling Stone. I got a call that literally woke me up one day during my junior year of college. I had prepared for every place I had applied for, I knew who was on the last 5-6 covers and what I would say that I liked about each magazine. So I rattled off all that I knew. After a few more phone interviews, I flew from Normal, Illinois to New York and spent the summer at Rolling Stone. The internship didn’t pay, but it allowed me to get a press pass to photograph any concert I wanted to go to. I shot 30+ concerts in less than 3 months. Often times sleeping for just a few hours after editing and going right back into the office. I love that internship and learned how hard you have to work to make it in this industry, but how fun and rewarding it can be.”

SUBJECT MATERIAL “I started out shooting documentary and journalistic work at my College Newspaper, The Daily Vidette. I was very strictly a journalist when I was in college. I worked there for 3 and a half years and I rose my way up the ranks and became Photo Editor. I believed in capturing your subject in its natural environment, and only presenting things as they are. I try to take those same ideas to music and portrait photography. Often times my portraits are done at music festivals and I have at the most, 4 minutes with an artist, so I do what I can with what I have. I think that is the spirit of photojournalism and I believe very strongly in that. Sure I do some light retouching but very rarely anything that alters the environment or the integrity of the image. I still consider myself a journalist. These types of natural images are my favorite thing to capture, whether that is music performances, quick portraits or documenting something on assignment; I try to capture it as naturally as possible.”

MAKING PRESS SHOTS LOOK NATURAL “I think my best advice for this is when you have as little time as I often to take portraits, don’t ask much of your subject. I try to keep them posed naturally. I am not one of those photographers that yells at their model or subject to turn this way and that way. If I do ask the subject to do something different it’s usually something I will make changes once or twice, anything more makes the subject start thinking, “what am I doing wrong?” To avoid making the image seem awkward, I try to keep it simple and let them be themselves.”

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COMPLEX MAGAZINE NAMED HIM “#11 GREATEST MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHER RIGHT NOW” IN 2012 – HIS MENTORS “Photographers haven’t mentored me, I was mostly influenced by photo editors.

John Gara who is now the Art Director at Buzzfeed and Sacha Lecca of Rolling Stone both have helped me out a lot when I first moved to New York.

Now I look back and realized how annoying I must have been with all the questions I asked, but they were both very influential on me. Though I don’t really have a photographer who sat me down and mentored me, I was very inspired by the work of Elizabeth Weinberg, RogerKisby, and Day 19.”

PHOTOGRAPHING PHOENIX FT DAFT PUNK AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN FOR CMJ MUSIC MARATHON “Oh yeah, I know Kyle very well. We shot alongside each other a lot in 2009 and 2010. Our clients were direct competitors (Rolling Stone and Spin), but we became kind of friends because we were always in the same places and at the same shows. That night was one of my most memorable moments as a photographer.

We were ushered in to shoot the opening acts and then the first 3 songs of Phoenix, but the publicist pulled us aside and said, you two are the only photographers that will be allowed back into the pit to photograph the “special guest” and encore. I think it was Kyle who correctly guessed Daft Punk as the guest, and that concert goes down as one of the best shows I ever saw and shot. I ended up getting my image of Thomas Mars crowd surfing ran as a full 2 page spread in Rolling Stone for their big feature on Phoenix that month. It hangs in my office today.”

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LOCATION SCOUTING ROUTINE “Location scouting is one of my favorite things. I love living in New York and having so many spaces and environments to choose from. For a lot of the music festival shoots that I do, the biggest challenge is making everything look different. At Lollapalooza, for example, you could shoot every artist against a fence and call it a day, but that isn’t interesting. I move around the backstage area and plan everything in advance sometimes making notes. I love when a publicist tells me to meet them at any location outside the press area, because the press area is the common meeting point and getting away from the norm is what will make your images diverse.”

TAKING PHOTOS – SPONTANESOUS VS VISON “I think for most photographers it’s a bit of both. I often go into assignments with an ideal image in mind. I try to get it, but 9 times out of 10 something more interesting happens and I go with what I am spontaneously inspired by rather than what I set out to create.”

SIX YEARS SPENT PHOTOGRAPHING THE BAND THE GRADUATE “My friendship with the guys of The Graduate goes way, way back. I actually used to play in a bad punk rock band in high school and we played a few shows with their first band called J.A.C.K. My band broke up and I sold my guitar for a Canon XTI and realized that I’m much better at taking photos. I loved the culture and the music so I hung out with them a lot and went to their shows. I was always the guy trying to get a photo pass, but at some point after my internship at Rolling Stone there was a shift and I was the guy they wanted to take their photos. We kind of grew professionally together, and all the while we supported each other and helped each other out. I got a great portfolio piece out of it and they had images to advertise themselves with.

PHOTO FROM THAT SERIES THAT MEANS THE MOST “I think the photo that means most to me is the photo I have titled “Kiss 2009.” It’s a photo that I took at a toga party during my senior year of college. I remember I was taking photos of my friend Colin upstairs and I turned to walk down the steps and I saw my friends Micheal and Michela taking and she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, and I snapped the shot and knew immediately that I caught the strobe light behind them perfectly. My internship supervisor at Rolling Stone told me that photo was the reason he picked me. It felt great to know that being the nerd who takes their camera to every party in college finally paid off. It was validating.”

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BEING IN A SPECIFIC STATE OF MIND WHEN DOCUMENTING PEOPLE DURING TIMES OF PLEASANT AND NO SO PLEASANT EMOTIONS “I think it helps. I am not struggling the way I used to. I don’t think you need to be struggling to understand and capture something best, but I think what most of documentary photography is about is empathy. The reason you take these photos isn’t for yourself, otherwise you’d never show them to people. What I love most about photography is showing them to other people and a good documentary photographer captivates you and provides a window into the world that they haven’t seen before or maybe something they have seen, but never in this light.”

ART - EXPOSE, PROTECT OR HEAL “I don’t think I am the type of artist that exposes myself or shows some deeper meaning about me. I am a journalist using images to explore a topic or understand or showcase the human aspect behind those images is healing to me. Photos of a performance or a musician isn’t world changing but it does show that they are real people, often real talented people, that give up any sense of normalcy, (9-5 jobs, seeing their friends/families regularly, etc) to make music for people. I think I almost always photograph musicians that I actually like, and when I get the perfect image of them I feel like that is healing and rewarding for me. I know that so many people want to be rock stars and make music but just like any art form, it’s hard. But when you do it right, everybody knows and it’s validating and healing, and for me at least, that is what I get out of my own work.”

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PROTECTING PHOTOS – RIGHTS GRABBING RELEASES “This is something that I should probably be better at. When I am on assignment I typically sign artist releases because I know that I am getting paid to be there and cover the artists for my job. If I was to not sign it and say “sorry I refused to sign the release.” I don’t think it speaks very highly of my reliability on the job. The way that I look at it is, if I’m getting paid for it one time, great. If I can’t resell the images later on down the line, it’s ok. It has already served its original purpose and I can be ok with that. I don’t protect my images very strictly because I don’t want to watermark my images, and I don’t want to constantly be searching out illegal uses of my images. If it is something extremely egregious I will say something of course, but if someone Tumblrs my image even with my credit, I am annoyed but know that this is the nature of being a photographer in the digital age.”

OUTLOOK - CONFIDENCE AND HUMILITY “Confidence is necessary in all creative fields, but the level to which you show it can affect your friendships and reputation. I always say to be humble around other photographers, but be confident about your work.”

WORKING WITH CLIENTS – WHO APPROACHES WHO “I think that since there are so many photographers these days, most clients pick you because they like YOUR specific style, but sometimes the less educated clients will pick you and try to shoehorn you into their assignment. If that happens I think it’s important to speak up and try to be genuine and true to your style and your art. That being said, some of the most fun assignments for me have been ones that allow me to step outside of my comfort zone and blend my style with the client’s ideas in mind.”

FAVORITE STORY BEHIND A PHOTOGRAPH “My favorite story has to be the time that I had my “Almost Famous” moment while interning. I went to photograph a musician, which I will keep nameless. I actually went to the show the day before the performance I was scheduled to photograph. Anyway, I figured out who his manager was and I stalked him down and asked if I came early the next day if I could shoot them getting ready in the dressing room backstage.

He said yes and the next day I arrived early and photographed the lead singer doing his hair and having a beer and meeting some old friends. Then right before I left it was just me and him in his room and he turned to me and almost line for line from ‘Almost Famous’ he told me to just make him look cool. I nodded and went down the stairs feeling very much like William Miller.”

PRESSURE BECAUSE OF A CAPTIVATED AUDIENCE – STAYING INSPIRED “I don’t think I’ve quite hit the social penetration to have dedicated fans, so I will just keep on creating and making things that feel good to me. I recently partnered with Herschel Supply Co. and did a ‘Well Traveled’ piece with them and it was way out of my normal realm of photography, but I think it was refreshing and inspiring to work outside of your comfort zone and put your spin on it.”

DREAM PHOTOGRAPHY SCENARIO – ONE PERSON/ BAND, ONE VENUE/ STUDIO/ LOCATION, GEAR, ONE CITY “Oh man, if I had one perfect scenario it would be a band that I loved growing up and have never photographed before. I think it would be Blink 182 in 2001 at that show in their music video for “Rock Show” where they had the 250,000 check and they blow all the money and perform in this high school or something. My 13-year-old self would have loved that.”

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS “Be tough, it can be a tough business you just have to be tougher. And always be nice, your reputation goes a long way. OH and also, take your camera everywhere!”

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SYLVAN

INTERVIEW WITH NICK SANBORN ________ sites http://www.sylvanesso.com/ @SylvanEsso

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________ photos Elizabeth Weinberg

________ written by Heather Hawke

ESSO

While in the process of remixing the song he felt like every time he added something he was subtracting by addition. All of a sudden he saw the light and the whole thing happened in one afternoon. He knew what he wanted to emphasize and he felt like he could hear what it was going to be before he did it.

The whole process showed Nick how he could apply the stuff he was already doing in an entirely different way. With the remix he really felt like he was adding something to make the song what it wanted to be in the first place, he had never felt that way before. He still hasn’t felt that way even after doing twenty other remix’s since.

With their writing style, Amelia prefers to write about the grey areas of human relationships, situations that are neither good nor bad. She finds that she’s much more interested in writing songs that are questions and not statements.

Both of the members are fans of each other and say that whatever they create together is better than what they could create separately. That’s why they set forth to create the music project they always wanted to pursue.

Their album was released on Partisan Records in May 2014 and they made their network television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon shortly after, performing their single "Coffee."

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PATH TO BECOMING A MUSICIAN The short version is that I've known it was what I wanted to do since I was a kid but I didn't really see it as an actual possibility until much later in my adulthood. I've been lucky enough to be on tour at least half of every year for the last eleven years or so, but (like most musicians) it was rarely a living - I'd save up money at my day jobs so I could go on tour and lose money or break even. So I guess I've been focusing on it pretty much full time as a losing (but essential) game for my whole adult life. It's always been slowly getting better, and I'm very grateful that I'm in a phase of my life where I get to do this as my job.

CREATIVIE UPBRINGING I think everyone must be affected by their upbringing on every level. My dad is an amazing musician and really shaped how I experienced and understood music as a child - he'd play songs for me and get me to point at the guitar just before each chord change, stuff like that.

REALIZING HIS WHOLE LIFE HAD CHANGED Whew, that's a big one. I'm not sure there was a single moment, since the arc for both Amelia and I has been so long and winding. It's more like a series of small steps, and suddenly a few years have passed and you stop and look around and think "How did I end up HERE??"

SYLVAN ESSO’S ORGANIC FORMATION – TURNING INTO SOMETHING SERIOUS I think the moment we realized we needed to take it seriously happened when we got on stage for the first time together. Amelia had flown down during a break from her tour with Feist to record vocals on all the stuff we had been trading via email and it happened to be during this festival where I had booked a solo set. I had been closing my sets with my remix of play it right anyway, so I asked her if she'd want to come up and sing it. Something just clicked in a really intense and unexpected way for both of us during that one song. There were probably six people there.

ART – EXPOSE, PROTECT OR HEAL All of the above. Most importantly, it helps me connect. Isn't that the whole point?

FAVORITE PART OF CREATING THE ALBUM Tough to say. I love recording and writing, especially in a home studio. It's probably my favorite part of being in a band. My favorite moments are always when something that's been frustrating you suddenly comes into focus.

You're wandering around in the dark and then boom! A light switch.

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FINDING NEW IN THE SONGS Of course, I'm guessing that happens with every band. Even in a pretty structured, on-the-grid electronic show the songs go through phases and we change how we perform them. I'm on a big "sample Amelia on the fly and pitch shift her down an octave" kick right now.

SONG BACKSTORIES "Dress" started out with me setting Amelia up with a little handheld mic and a loop pedal, and I had her just record a bunch of improvised loops. I took those and cut them into these tiny pieces and made most of the track out of that. We were a little stuck writing-wise at the time and just wanted to remind ourselves that a whole song could just arrive out of thin air if you gave it enough space.

SONG TO LISTEN TO, TO GRASP WHAT SYLVAN ESSO IS ABOUT Tough one, since I think what we're about is the through-line of all the different sounding songs. Maybe "Play It Right"? That one definitely has the sentiment behind what we do.

ALBUM ARTWORK - DEISGNER I (Nick) did all the design, so it was mainly just a conversation between Amelia & I. We're pretty generally on the same page about most things.

ALBUM ARTWORK – REPRESENTING THE MUSIC VS HAVING AN AESTHETICALLY COOL PACKAGE Oh, it's huge. I'm not sure you have to pick between an aesthetic victory or a conversational one. The cover is going to be what most people associate with your record, so you have to be cognizant of the fact that you're making the identifying image while you're making those decisions.

For us, we had a two main goals.

Since it was our debut and we knew we wanted to self-title it, we wanted it to be a stark, clean statement. We also wanted to play on the idea of branding, since everything we were working on started to feel like a reflection of how we saw pop music today. Hopefully we got close.

PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY We play with that too. We tend to like oscillating back and forth between hyper-stylized, impenetrable shots and very casual, no-makeup ones. Just like in our videos, we like playing with the idea of peeking behind the curtain, showing you that anyone can do this.

COLLECTION OF INFLUENCES – DYNAMICS WHEN MAKING A TRACK It's the most collaborative band I've ever been in. We don't have a formula, and everything tends to bounce back and forth between us many times before we're ready to show it to anyone.

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GLAMOUR

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KILLS INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDER MARK CAPICOTTO

________ sites http://www.glamourkills.com/ @glamourkills @markygk ________ photos Portraits of Mark: Mitch Wojcik Glamour Kills photos: Jered Scott ________ written by Heather Hawke

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The following year, in 2001, although he had attended local shows he went to his first official concert that showed him what it was like to be a part of the music community. It was at a place called The Chance in upstate New York where he’s from and the show was a Drive Thru records-ish show with the bands Allister, the Benjamin's, RX Bandit’s and a band called The Getaway that later became Matchbook Romance.

The day of the show he and his friend got dropped off at the venue by Mark’s sister, when the show was over and neither of their parents were outside waiting to pick them up, they realized that they had some confusion about who was going to ask whose parents to pick them up. By then it was after midnight on a weekday and it was only them and the bands who performed that were left. Since each of their parents thought the other parents were going to pick them up they were left with no choice, but to decide on who’s to call.

When members of the bands who played earlier on noticed them waiting they came over and asked what was going on, once the members were filled in they waited with then and signed their ticket stubs from that night and gave them some free merch. It was then that Mark knew that the music scene was for him. “I remember watching and seeing the community and all the bands and all the fans and how it was such a tight knit real honest music you were listening to and you were listening to bands who themselves were also fans of this culture and Ii just felt like such an accepting place for me to be. That's really when my eyes first opened up and I was like, "Wow. I love music and I want to be a part of this and be a part of this culture and be here.”

When he was still in Junior High, his school had a guy from the High School come in to pitch the different departments in which students could study when in High School. The different departments allowed students to almost major or get a focus in a certain area. When the teacher talked about the Visual Communications area, that was basically technology and art mixed into one, Mark was instantly interested.

“I don't have any real classic technical training. I didn't go to college, I didn't go to design school. I remember my friend had an illegal downloaded version of Photoshop when I was fifteen or sixteen and he was like, "Do you want it?" I was like, "What is it?" He's like, "You can do graphics on the computer." I was like, "Oh sure. Yeah I'll give it a go." When high school came around he signed up for Visual Communication.

The guy who came in to talk to the Junior High students, Mr. Gephart, later became his teacher and biggest influence for what he does now. The advice that Mr. Gephart gave Mark back then, he stills uses to this day. One of those things he was taught is that you can’t teach creativity, it’s just not something feasible. You can get taught everything, but in the end if you don’t have the knack for creativity it’s just not going to work out. “I'm twenty eight now and I try to think about my teacher's names and I don't really remember everybody, but he's somebody that I'll never forget. He was the guy that initially taught me everything I know and showed me how to actually design stuff.” From there Mark self-taught himself everything he knows otherwise.

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At the age of fifteen Mark’s interest in music and design began to meld into one passion when he started designing merch and album covers for his friends who were in bands. He knew that since he wasn’t talented musically, but had always loved music, that he wanted to be in the behind the scenes operations. “I was always around all my friends and all my friends growing up were in bands and I was never really good at music, but I was good at graphics and begin artistic in different ways and all my friends needed. Growing up they needed Demo CD's, artwork made or their flyer for their upcoming show made or you know, if they later were getting screen printed tee shirts made than I was the guy that was designing it for them, it was pretty cool.

That’s really how I got my foot in the door and started designing tee shirts and stuff with the bands.

It was such an innocent way to get into it and I never thought it would get to where it is or where we are today.”

When high school ended and Mark realized his entrepreneur's spirit and passion for design he created a clothing company. The clothing company, called Glamour Kills, was founded in 2005 with only $300, three t-shirt designs, and a Myspace page and made its debut at The Bamboozle Festival in the spring.

For the first three years of Glamour Kills, Mark set up shop in his parent’s basement and slowly began to build the brand from the ground up, starting with the launch of the brands website and five t-shirts that he would sell at the local shows that would serve as the template for the company. The design that started it all was Glamour Kills’ signature flying pig. It was the first design and it was called “When Pigs Fly,” which the phrase to Mark meant that anything can happen and that's what he based his life and the company around.

When Mark launched his website he found himself in the first generation of people to build their brand from web only. “It wasn't until I want to say three years into the company that stores even thought about carrying us.”

Like design, Mark self- taught himself how to build and code websites. “I learned how to build my own online store and set up PayPal button links to buy products. I was just a kid who was nineteen and I had no money to spend. For all my marketing it was MySpace, I remember early on, the power of social media and what it was if you had something cool, and if you had a cause, and you had a purpose, and you had a message. Now it's not MySpace but Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr. These are all great tools to get your voice heard for free. If you have something worthwhile for people to listen or want to hear, they're going to come.”

In Mark’s perspective, a lot of aspiring brand owners get wrapped up in the aesthetic and want to be like other companies, they get caught up in emulating something that's already happened. “What was great about Glamour Kills starting out was I understand MySpace, and the internet, can provide a connection to anybody you want it to and for free.

For no money. I was so involved with music and this music scene I was accepted. That it was true that Glamour Kills was a part of something and stood for something and I think having the online store and an online social media presence was everything.”

The company began to grow immensely in the music scene and it was not too long before the company moved from a basement to its own warehouse.

In those early years Mark wanted to keep Glamour Kills 100% homegrown, with no third party company having a hand in anything, from designing the shirts to running the warehouse, shipping and logistics; with his friends at American Icon proudly print all of their clothing.

It was in these recent years that Mark realized they weren’t running a clothing company anymore, they were running a warehouse. The entire Glamour Kills staff (himself included) would be counting boxes and mailing packages. Their marketing department was filling and packaging retail orders and it was during this time that Mark knew that it was for the benefit of the company to move their warehouse to a third party.

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Mark was always against outsourcing anything Glamour Kills, but as a result of adding on a third party, the clothing company got back to its roots.

Orders started reaching customers faster and they started seeing a huge increase in positive feedback from customers.

As the clothing brand has grown over the years so has the design process. Nowadays Mark has two other full time in house designers and he’s the vocal voice that's guiding the direction of the brand and the art work and what they're coming up with as far as new designs or new design direction.

When he does design, he says that his routine can vary. “It's understand what's cool or what's going to be cool or what is it we can create that's going to be the new cool thing and I always get inspired at different times. Most of the time is at night or when I'm driving, I tend to zone out and you never know when a good idea is going to come. On my iPhone I have the Notes app and literally I write down everything. Whether it's for design or even a marketing campaign I'll write down an idea and build it from there.”

When Mark was just starting to build up the company, the one thing that made them stand out in the music community was that a lot of the other clothing brands had very dark or all black clothing and Glamour Kills wanted to introduce clothing that was bright, colorful and fun, but not overbearing.

As a company that’s based around music, Mark’s biggest inspiration comes from the community and it wasn’t long after that bands started to support him too. “I grew up in this music scene and a lot of my friends were in bands and I was just the guy designing shirts for them. I remember when I made my first batch of tee shirts, I was like, "Okay, I got to get my name out there somehow." I built a MySpace and I built a web store and it was the first year that Skatefest became Bamboozle and I put a booth up out over there. I remember, " I should have some of my friends in bands wear some of these shirts." If there's twenty people going to their shows, those twenty people might be like, "Hey what's that awesome tee shirt design that guitarist in that band is wearing. I wonder what it is."

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Mark followed the principle of if you put it in enough people’s faces, they start to see it and they start to recognize the brand. “They see the logo. The flying pig. That repetition really helped build our fan base.

With fans we've always looked at it because even from such an early age it was always like friendships.

It was always my friends who were in bands and I made a lot of friends along the way from bands, from my friends who toured.”

One of the bands the Mark regularly works with, All Time Low, he met for the first time around seven years ago. He recalls that the band was on their first tour and Mark was just starting the company and they just happened to hit it off. Mark could say the same story with how Glamour Kills collaborates with other bands as well. “We look at it as a mutually beneficial thing where they love to wear the clothes because we always design the clothes with them in mind. It's like, what would I want to wear? What would my friends in bands want to wear? In turn, what would everybody who loves going to concerts just as much as I love going to concerts, what do they want to wear? It's as simple as that not to over complicate it. It’s a tee shirt that everybody can wear to show that they're a part of something.”

Glamour Kills not only works with musicians in the industry, but also music photographers. Recalling when he first staring working with some of the photographers he works with like; Jered Scott, Tom Falcone, and Adam Elmakias he says that he has to be very selective over who they work with on an artistic level, because he’s very artistic and he likes to make sure that the brand visually looks just as cool as the statements of what they stand behind.

“Jared Scott we met about two years ago through mutual friends. I think he was touring with different bands and I was like, "Oh who was that guy photographing?" And somebody was like, "Jared. His stuff is so awesome." And I think Jared and I traded business cards and he was like, "Yeah. Check out my stuff." A lot of people will hand me business cards and I meet a lot of photographers, but I was blown away with Jared's style and how he shot.”

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“Tom, it’s so funny. He's actually from our home town and the first time I remember him actually shooting for us was a Christmas card that we used to do for the brand. We would do these staff Christmas holiday cards and it was like, nine or ten people at a warehouse and I think I dressed up as Santa Claus and we needed somebody quick to shoot a photo for us and he was the only person available last minute and we never worked with him. I think at the time he was seventeen, sixteen. He was really young. We’ve worked with Adam Elmakias and a ton of people. I love the craft of photography and I love working with young and up and coming artists that deserve to be seen by the world and deserve to get a break because I think those young guys are doing just as cool stuff as some of the huge name photographers.”

One of the ways that Mark tries to help out these photographers is to run some of their photos as a Glamour Kills ad on the back of Alternative Press Magazine. “The back of the ads, that was something that I consciously made a decision to do. It's a cool thing that people can look and actually check out and invest in the artistic end of stuff.”

The partnership with Alternative Press came about after years, and years of working together. “We used to do stuff like cool events together and we were in their magazine. We would give away an Alternative Press subscription. Even for a while we did, this is way long ago, but Alternative Press / Glamour Kills tee shirts just for fun a couple of times. About three, or two years ago this brand Hurley used to own the back cover of Alt Press and they used to be the big advertiser of the magazine and they called us up and they were like, "Hey like, Hurley isn't doing any more with music and would you guys want to take over the back cover?" They asked us first and I was like, "Heck yeah we would.” It's such a cool placement for the brand where, if you're not looking at the front cover of a magazine you're most likely looking at the back cover, because its' face down or flipped over on a magazine rack and it was just an awesome opportunity.

Next year they plan to make the feature on the back cover more about younger unsigned artists that they think everybody should hear and listen to. They are also going to offer free downloads of songs.

Over the years Glamour Kills has gone from just a t-shirt company to a company that also releases sweatshirts, jackets, patches, beanies, swimwear and skateboards. As a brand that have always wanted to push the envelope just this year they have released their denim collection.

Their merchandise sells online on their website as well as some retail stores including Zumiez, Urban Outfitters, Tilly's and internationally through D-Tox in Canada and many other retailers in the UK, Japan, Brazil, and throughout Europe and Asia.

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This brand is more than a clothing company though, besides releasing the clothing they also host their own Glamour Kills Tour’s (the fifth annual one starts on October 3rd), film live sessions, release free music samplers and even release special limited zines.

Glamour Kills is a lifestyle and Mark wants people to recognize it as so. “I talk about it a lot where we are technically a clothing company and a fashion company but at the core of it, we're a lifestyle. It just so happens that the clothing is the vessel in which we're spreading our message and who we are and I'm so lucky that people are receptive to that and they want to buy and be a part of Glamour Kills and be a part of us and everything that we're doing. We represent a certain type a person. A niche of people that want to march to their own beat and people that are quote/unquote "weird" you know? Or people who like to be different. And we've always prided ourselves on that. I've always prided myself on that and that's always been the mantra in who we are as a brand.”

Out of all the things that Glamour Kills represents the fact that they stand for people to be themselves, and march to their own beat, is the one thing that he wants people to take away from the brand. “One thing that I've learned is it's not easy to create a brand, but it's easy to create something that's cool. I think anybody who's got a following, whether you're a musician, an artist, a clothing company, a magazine, you have something of a social responsibility to do cool stuff, but also promote a good social stance and promote something that's positive. We very much stand by a "Be unique and care about nothing else." Our tagline is "March to your own beat or not at all."

“We want our customers to realize that individuality is not something you figure out or you earn it or whatever.

Everybody's an individual and to be okay in your own skin and be okay being yourself and that's, at the end of the day what we're trying to promote. I hope whether it's our tee shirts or any of our clothing or the ads we take away or the ads we put out, we want everybody to feel like they're a part of something. A group of other like-mined misfits and rebels and dreamers so to speak. We're all different and that's okay. Everybody has quirks. Everybody's got different interests. We're not all the same people and that's okay because that at the same time is what makes us all human. That’s the stance of the brand and who we are.”

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NEW FOUND

GLORY Decorated Youth | 72

________ sites http://www.newfoundglory.com/

@newfoundglory ________ photos Jonathan Weiner ________ interviewed by Heather Hawke

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You guys signed with Hopeless Records not too long ago. How has it been working with them?

“It's been very easy. It's been nice. We’ve always been a very sort of independent, creative band even though we've been on major labels, we’ve always had a lot of faith from our record labels where they believe in our ideas and Hopeless has been that, where they've just been very supportive.

New Found Glory's a band where we feel we still haven't even reached out potential. I don't mean like in size, popularity-wise, but in writing our best album.

For me you get better with experience and I think that going into this record it was nice that they weren't treating it as sort of a band that has been around for a while. I really believe the label has treated us like we were a brand new band.

I really think that's what it is anyway with Resurrection. I think it's the rebirth of New Found Glory. The resurrection of our band and back and better than before I think.”

The album title, Resurrection, how long did you guys have that title in mind when you were creating the album?

“Well the song came first. “So long, thanks for nothing, I'm gone, watch my resurrection.” I think that came first and I was like you know what? That name is just, it's too perfect for everything that's going on with the band. Can't not have it as the album title.

I love it as the album title because I think that we always try to be as real as possible. We always have with our band and I think the title Resurrection is acknowledging that there was a change.

Its saying, it's not trying to ignore anything. It's saying hey, you've known a band for one way for a long time. We’re acknowledging that yes, that was one way, but now the resurrection of this band is we're not settling and we want to be bigger and better for our fans than we were before.

I don't even mean bigger as in like popular, but just bigger as in like what we stand for, how much we're putting into this band and just sort of our drive.

That's why I love Resurrection, the title. I feel like it's bold. We're different, but we're fine with that and it's going to be awesome.

It's our little mark in history. I feel like if there was this big timeline like you see in history books and you're a kid like for the creation of man, if it was like New Found Glory, with albums and records and you see this point with Resurrection and everything after that.

So I feel like there's going to be 10 more albums. After that point and people who are now, won't even care about the change in a year. Once we prove ourselves.

I feel like if you record the same record and give your fans the same album, I almost feel like that's a little insulting to their intelligence too. Saying, Oh you only can handle this.

I feel to completely abandon everything you stand for and your sound completely, yeah, I would be pissed. As a fan of music, it's nice to hear a record from band that's a little different every time.”

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How do you guys want to be represented through your press photograph?

“It's weird. Confident may be the best word. Not afraid to be confident. We try to be lined up evenly in our photos as four people, so people can see plain and clear that there's four people in this picture.

We're not afraid of that and also that these four people are tighter than they've ever been and will stand sort of before anything to do what we love and what we work so hard for.

I think that's what we try to portray with all of us kind of side by side in the photos.”

Is your whole album going to be in all black and white?

“Yeah, it's all black and white. The packaging is black and white and it just really represented the songs. Just saying things are black and white.

There's so many parallels that went into the cover and we're on the surface and people might have thought that it was some basic thing, but once they open the album and go through it and see everything, it will be like Oh. It really all makes sense with each other. There's a greater point to everything.”

I heard that this album was the first time you guys had all the songs in before the first day of production. How did that feel? Was it easy going into the studio? More freeing?

“Yeah. It really was. Before when we made records there was sort of always an ego that we had to battle and this time it just didn't exist.

Where we all were working together as a family and not as individuals and people were very, we were listening to each other and working together where we were able to complete stuff, where there wasn't an ego keeping us from finishing it because they had to make sure that their word was heard.

It was just like we just are really a tighter unit now, so when writing, it was fun, like how it was when we did our first few records.”

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I heard that Ready and Willing is one of your favorite songs lyrically that you've written so far. Is that true? “Yeah. I love Ready and Willing.

With that song you sort of get lost along the way in life and your journey, when you've been doing something that you love for a really long time, it sort of becomes a little blurry, it's hard in life not to second guess yourself.

When you've been a band for 17 years you look back and you're like, Oh my gosh. I wasn't there for when my mom got remarried. I wasn't there when my brother had his kid. There's all these moments, there's all these crazy things that you sort of sacrificed for this band.

Ready and Willing is sort of a breakdown of that where the first verse you're talking about the odds of you becoming successful are slim to none, but you're ready and willing to take that risk.

You're ready and willing to face it all to follow your dream. Then you get that. Then the second verse comes and now its years later and you're looking back and you're sort of looking at where pop culture is now and you're watching TV and you're seeing where things have gone and you're like, Oh man, just feeling not inspired anymore by anything.�

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“Sort of second guessing and then going back and listening to your old records, not your own, but old records that made you want to be in a band in the first place.

Finding that inspiration. Then the bridge sums up why you did it in the first place, and that is to be an example, so that by example once you do something you love in hopes that it's going to make other people do the same and not waste their lives.

That's why I love Ready and Willing. I think it really teaches a lesson, or it talks about a life lesson and I think a lot of the lyrics on Resurrection are like that.

There's not your typical New Found Glory girl songs anymore.

It's like we kind of had been trying to get away from that for a long time and again, this time without there being sort of a battle in the studio, it was just a bunch of people writing together as a family, it was very easy to get away from that.

There's still relationship songs on Resurrection, but they're relationship songs that are from a place of I feel like they sound more real. They're not like, Oh, what's the catchy lyric to make it sound fun and cute or something. It's more of wow, this guy has lived. This band, these members, they've lived through some real stuff and they're singing about it.�

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Did you find yourself or the band as a whole breaking out of a certain comfort zone to make the record?

“Yeah, I definitely think so. We never doubted it. We never doubted we could make an awesome record because our records say all songs by New Found Glory for a reason.

We were never worried on the song side, that would come naturally. It was more of the anxious, the anxiety of getting in there and recording and it coming out already because we were just more excited because we loved what we were writing and with this sort of new way of writing as a four piece, it just was coming out better than we'd even hoped for. Just excitement. “ Are you going to be playing a lot of the album on the Glamour Kills Tour?

“I don't know if it will be a lot of the album. I think we'll be playing some of the songs. It's always hard on the first tour when the album just comes out, because no one really has it yet. I feel like these songs, a lot of them, you know them by the first chorus and so we'll definitely be showcasing a bunch of them.

I'm unsure how many yet, but I will tell you that's one thing about this album more than ever is we have not been nervous about releasing songs. Where in the past we've had albums where we'd be like all right, this is like, will our fans dig this? Will they not?

We'd been like man, these songs are badass. We want to release them all right away. Playing them live is going to be so fun that I think we will play them live because I think they'll make people want to buy the record. I think when we play them, the feedback won't be people like Oh, all right. This is boring.

They'll be like whoa, that's a new song? That sounds sick.”

What do you hope that fans (new and old), take away from this new album?

“I hope lyrically they can relate it to their lives in the sense that I feel like if our band and the people in this band can get through what we've been going through and still come back stronger, I hope that inspires other people in their lives to not take challenges as punishment, but challenges in their lives as sort of a gift because when you're stuck in a certain way, if you're not ever challenged and you're sort of stuck in this safe zone and you never really know what you can do in your life if you're not pushed.

I think that's what I want this record to do is sort of hopefully be an example to people that being pushed isn't always a bad thing. Ultimately I want people to be able to like always, relate it to their lives. Listen to it, enjoy it, listen to the lyrics and hopefully they can encourage you to do something one way or the other.”

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QUALITY QUANITITY

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ISSUE #6