Music
Freeway Music Fall Showcase
This past Sunday, Freeway Music held their Fall Music Showcase at the new Music Farm here in Columbia. All told, there were over 100 different performers, with students and instructors singing, playing guitar, bass, drums, violin, mandolin, keyboards, saxophone, ukulele, and most likely some other things that I’ve forgotten. It was awesome. First off, the Music Farm is a fantastic venue. I’m so glad that Columbia finally has a great mid-sized music venue with fantastic sound. Last year when we photographed the showcase, I got up and played bass on Counting Crows’ “Hanginaround”. This year, I opted out of playing so that I could focus solely on the photography, but after seeing the venue (and how much fun everybody was having), I’m kind of wishing I’d gotten on stage.
In case you’re not familiar with Freeway Music, they offer a wide range of music lessons (see above) to a wide range of folks, from wee rockers to folks who decided it was finally time to take up the drums after the kids moved out. I’d been playing bass for almost ten years when I started taking lessons from Don a couple of years ago and I’m sure I’ve grown more musically in those two years than in the ten before that. The point is, wherever you are in your musical journey, I highly recommend the teachers at Freeway.
That said, on to  a small selection of the many, many photos from Sunday!
Freeway Music Fall Showcase
This past Sunday, Freeway Music held their Fall Music Showcase at the new Music Farm here in Columbia. All told, there were over 100 different performers, with students and instructors singing, playing guitar, bass, drums, violin, mandolin, keyboards, saxophone, ukulele, and most likely some other things that I’ve forgotten. It was awesome. First off, the Music Farm is a fantastic venue. I’m so glad that Columbia finally has a great mid-sized music venue with fantastic sound. Last year when we photographed the showcase, I got up and played bass on Counting Crows’ “Hanginaround”. This year, I opted out of playing so that I could focus solely on the photography, but after seeing the venue (and how much fun everybody was having), I’m kind of wishing I’d gotten on stage.
In case you’re not familiar with Freeway Music, they offer a wide range of music lessons (see above) to a wide range of folks, from wee rockers to folks who decided it was finally time to take up the drums after the kids moved out. I’d been playing bass for almost ten years when I started taking lessons from Don a couple of years ago and I’m sure I’ve grown more musically in those two years than in the ten before that. The point is, wherever you are in your musical journey, I highly recommend the teachers at Freeway.
That said, on to  a small selection of the many, many photos from Sunday!
Freeway Music Fall Student Showcase
Welcome back!
Hopefully you’ve already seen Tuesday’s post with the first set of Freeway Music‘s Fall Student Showcase. If you haven’t, you can check it out here. The second set of the showcase continued to impress with diverse musical styles as students showed off their skills on guitar, drums, bass, and vocals. Enjoy!
Freeway Music Fall Student Showcase
Nietzsche wrote, “Without music, life would be a mistake,” but Wendy tells me I need to stop quoting him or else people are going to think I subscribe to his philosophy. (I don’t, but I do admire his intellect and, of course, his mustache.)Â Nietzsche, though, neglected to point out that the music ought to be good, and that good music requires musicians who strive to master their art. That brings us to Freeway Music, Columbia’s place to learn how to rock…or play other styles of music that don’t have their own verb.
I take bass at Freeway from Don Russo. Don runs the Northeast branch of Freeway and plays guitar, bass, mandolin, and I strongly suspect many other instruments as well. Don is a fantastic player and a fantastic teacher as well–I’ve grown tremendously as a bassist under his tutelage. In addition to bass and guitar, students at Freeway can take private lessons for piano, drums, voice, woodwinds, strings, horns, mandolin, and banjo. This Sunday, myself and dozens of other students got to show off our progress at the Fall Student Showcase. The show was divided into two sets, so today we’re just featuring the first one. Come back on Thursday to see images from the second set.
Divided by Friday: Santa ain’t the only one who flies
In May of 2009, I photographed a young band from North Carolina called Divided by Friday. They were on a tight schedule and I was in the middle of a very busy week, so they skipped class (shhhh!) and I came straight from school (still wearing a button-up shirt and khakis) and we had a shoot that I blogged about last year. Well, 2010 has brought great things for the guys in Divided by Friday. Earlier this year they released their first video and in November they announced that they’d signed with Hopeless Records. With the signing came the need for new pictures, and we were thrilled that they called us up.
Shooting a band is oh-so-slightly different than shooting a wedding, and it gives us a chance to play in ways we normally don’t. We love the playful aspect of shooting musicians, but the other side is that there are a lot of clichés to avoid (think railroad tracks and brick walls). For this shot, we decided to draw inspiration from the same source that the band did. The title of Divided by Friday’s new EP, The Constant, is a reference to Lost–specifically the fact that Penny (the one whose boat it isn’t) is Desmond’s constant–the thing that keeps him anchored in time/reality/whatever was going on. If you haven’t seen Lost, go ahead and watch all seven seasons. The rest of us will wait.
Okay, I guess you’re back. Wasn’t that great? Well, yeah, maybe not the last episode, but otherwise, awesome!
Anyway, Wendy and I were discussing the idea of a constant–something that draws you back to a central point, like home. We decided that food is something that draws people together (think holidays like Thanksgiving), and it could be cool to see the guys drifting away, yet pulled back together by the fellowship of a shared meal. Admittedly, I also liked the idea of putting a rock band in my mom’s kitchen (thanks, Mom!). This is what we got:
If you have some free time, feel free to use this like a Highlights magazine and circle all the floating food in the image.
If you prefer your band pictures with more gravity and fewer calories, here’s another from the shoot:
Now, the event that actually inspired this post is the release of Divided by Friday’s latest video, their version of “O Holy Night”. Are you looking forward to Christmas? Do you like to rock? Yes? Then check it out!
After that, go check out the rest of their music on Myspace.
Lunch Money at RCPL
Last weekend, I joined the groupies of the coolest kids’ rock band around at one of the hippest locations in town. I’m talkin’ about Lunch Money, and I’m talkin’ about the Richland County Public Library. Seriously, how many single locations can you think of where your kid can (1) get story and sing-a-long time, (2) watch a play put on by local actors, and (3) hear an indie-rock concert all in one morning before you pick up your favorite brain candy on the way out? Oh yeah – and all of this is essentially for free, not to mention the bonus of a child ready for nap time once the excitement has come to an end. J.P. and I don’t have kids yet, but I’m taking notes.
Here’s Lunch Money. They will rock your socks off!
