PUBLISHED IN ROLLING STONE!!

An image I shot of Dave Grohl at The Foo Fighters's secret show at the Roxy has been published in the March 2011 edition of Rolling Stone Magazine!! (Page 26). More of my images, a slideshow and a recap from the show (along with a recap of the secret show held at Spaceland) can be found at LAWeekly.com.

I can't even begin to explain how surreal it is to have shot an image I know I would have clipped in high school and hung in my locker, haha. I'm 26 now, but the 16 year-old-me vividly recalls forcing my parents to play "Foo Fighters", "The Colour and the Shape" or "There is Nothing Left to Lose" in the car on the way home from school AND to and from the movies AND to and from our weekly visits to our favorite Chinese restaurant, haha. And of course, I had to skip a lot of the songs because my mother thought Dave Grohl "screams too much" (She loves The Foo Fighters now, by the way), but songs like "My Hero", "February Stars" and "Everlong" were always welcome.

I never considered concert photography as a viable career option until it fell into my lap two weeks ago when L.A. Weekly's music editor contacted me and gave me an opportunity to cover the show. I have always taken cameras into venues, but never had a legitimate purpose which merited photo pass access. The irony here is... I couldn't get a photo pass for that Foo Fighters show at the Roxy and had to use my Canon PowerShot to cover the concert. I set everything to manual and convinced the camera it could shoot well. Securing an amazing spot in front of the stage helped too. I was able to capture the entire concert, not just the first three songs a photo pass would permit. I'm covering two concerts this week (Cake at The Troubador and 311 in Anaheim) where I will finally be able to use my 5D. Can't wait!!

I'm looking forward to attending concerts, shooting photos and writing for L.A. Weekly. (BONUS: I'm finally able to put my Journalism and writing degrees to use!!) I hate the word 'Serendipitous' (because it reminds me of that cheesy John Cusak movie), but that's the perfect word to describe how 2011 is shaping for me. :)

Can't wait for Summer!!

Things I am looking forward to:

JUNE
-Selling prints on Getty Images
-Secret 311 Concert :)
-The release of 311's new album Uplifter.
-311 hosting LOVELINE radio on Tuesday June 2nd
-Spending three days in Coronado with my friend Margot and her family
-Going to see The Wallflowers at House of Blues with Rick
-Midnight showing of Almost Famous with Adam
-Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale... yes, it's actually something I look forward to, haha.
-Chilling with my friend Kevin who will be in CA with his girlfriend

JULY
-A week down the Jersey Shore (feat. Rick on the East Coast!!)
-Being a part of APW Gallery's "Something Different" Group Exhibition in Long Island, NY. Opening night is July 17th!!
-KKP weekend full of antique/thrift shopping and Thai food
-Photoshoots, photoshoots, lots of photoshoots!!
-Taking my grandmother to an Elvis impersonator concert
-Making scrabble tile pendant necklaces with my grandmother
-Beating my mother at scrabble
-Helping Lindsay decorate her new apartment
-Seeing Justin's new apartment

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER
-South of the Border roadtrip with my Mother
-What About Bob Trip with my best friend Andrea
-Hanging out and making silly videos with KKP at Princeton
-Spending my 25th birthday with family and friends back home
-Beach day trips with Lindsay
-Baking a 14-layer cake with Andrea
-Statue of Liberty field trip with my mom, Justin and Andrea (possibly Zac and Jess too!!)
-Spending as much time with family and friends as possible!! :)

highly social weekend (and a record of my spending)

saturday: drove to rick's parents house at 10 am so he could go pick up a refrigerator for his mother since his parents are in mexico. now this is the funny part... i got up, put my glasses on, gathered up some stuff and left. on the way there (it's about an hour away) i started falling asleep in the car. and once we got to rick's parent's house, i took a nap. i guess i tired from... sleeping?! i have no idea -- but it was the best nap ever. i woke up around noon or 1 pm, i forget. then we went to the mall to buy rick's dad some dress shoes. i wound up blowing $68 at victoria secret. thank goodness we passed the store because i forgot about the semi-annual sale!! which isn't really a sale at all... it's just when VS decides to price items with a 10% markup instead of 30%. and sometimes even the "sale" prices aren't that great. ($27.99 for a BRA... on sale?! you kiddin me???) underwears are marked down to $3.99... but with tax (7.25%) they wind up costing $4.28 per pair which isn't really a deal because you can buy underwear there for 5 for $25 alllllll the time. yet women (like me) go NUTS and spend LOADS of money during the semi-annual sale. when i was at the cash register i could hear other people's totals and all i heard was $105... $117... $87... etc. .

after our mall excursion, rick and i picked up some crazy chicken (el pollo loco) and ate it at his parent's house while watching "50 first dates" on TV. then we met up with rick's friend james and james's wife and their daughter at a free outdoor concert... it was EDDIE MONEY!! i dunno how old Eddie Money is now, but his voice still sounded really good. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Eddie Money, he sings "Baby Hold On [To Me]" "Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Take Me Home Tonight" among others -- all of which i am SURE you've heard at one point (or multiple points) in your life. we stood really far from the stage (it was at a huge park) but it was still a good time with a 4th of july vibe.

after the concert, rick and i went back to james's house for rootbeer floats and vanilla ice cream with blueberries. (can you guess who ate what?! haha). i know i've mentioned this in the past, but james's wife sarah is one of thee nicest people i've EVER met. she's #2 on my nice meter. (#1 is mrs m, my former 2nd grade teacher turned close family friend). people like sarah (and mrs m) are rare, but i'm sure you know one person who is SINCERELY nice to EVERYONE... we're talking pure, selfless, unbiased niceness here. these people are all heart. not one ounce of deception or manipulation. anyway, i've hung out with sarah a few times now and i had a feeling she might enjoy etsy.com, so i told her about it. within a few minutes we were online and i was showing her my shop and other people's items that i adore. one minute led to twenty minutes and twenty minutes led to an hour... i never knew sarah was into thrift shopping or craft making!! (her medium is polymer clay) so now we want to do a craft night. :) i'm bringing shrinky dinks.

sunday: rick and i woke up relatively early to attend a birthday brunch at la paz for rick's friend mike's wife jessica. (got all that?! haha). la paz is a mexican restaurant that has money tacked to the ceiling; a collection of antique bicycles (also suspended from the ceiling); and a mexican/american buffet on sundays complete with mariachis that serende every table. of course, i wound up eating the most un-mexican food there -- belgium waffles piled high with fruit, hahaha.



after brunch, rick and i made a pit stop at our apartment before heading to dodgers stadium to meet up with his friend jonathan to watch the dodgers beat the indians. it was about 104 degrees and because i assumed we'd be in the sun all afternoon, i decided to wear long pants and close-toed shoes. bad idea. luckily, we were seated in the shade but it was still sweltering. and we had a bit of a walk since parking cost $15 and dodgers stadium doesn't accept debit cards or credit cards and rick and i didn't have any cash on us. but hey, saved us $15.

monday: went to the post office, put gas in my car (gas prices are ridiculous here. i've seen it as high as $4.86 and as low as $4.53 this week). then i went to the mall and spent even MORE money in victoria's secret. this time my total was $71. i bought two beach coverups (like i needed more of those) and a looooong comfy sweatshirt (as if i will need to wear it anytime soon) but everything was on sale. i also bought a nice, long-ish purple and white striped tee-shirt from express (on sale for $10) and a rainbow striped tank top from forever 21 ($14) that will look great in polaroids. i get major buyer's remorse... i ALWAYS feel bad after i go shopping and usually regret having spent any money at all. i was thisclose to returning that sweatshirt to victoria's secret while i was still in the mall but it was the only one left and i could picture myself all curled up on the couch wearing it. on my waya home, i called my friend lindsay (who is even more of a shopaholic) who consoled me by saying... "pffft, $100?! i spend that on my lunch break." haha, thanks lindsay.

thank goodness for TV (tapings, that is).

last monday i went to a craig ferguson taping to see zooey deschanel's band She & Him perform live. i befriended a nice woman from Connecticut who was accompanying her husband on a business trip. we chatted about the differences between east and west coast women while waiting in line and once we got inside the studio, we scored front row seating. :) she & him performed first, playing a song called "change is hard." zooey was adorable. she was wearing a ruffly cream-colored vintage dress. (their segment aired may 1st). then craig ferguson did intros to skits and interviewed kathy griffin (not really a fan) and a stand up comedian performed.

then i met up with rick and we ate thai food at a restaurant lindsay had given us a $50 gift certificate to for christmas. when we paid the bill with the gift card, the owner/waiter asked "you're the ones whose friend bought you the gift card from new jersey and were supposed to eat here on valentine's day but couldn't show, right??" and we were like, "yup, that's us." it was funny he remembered all of that!! haha.

on thursday rick i went to a taping of jimmy kimmel live to see STONE TEMPLE PILOTS~!! while standing in line, we ran into rose - a fellow 311 bber and hardcore fan whom we've met at numerous 311 (and zack hexum) shows. before the show started, another 311 friend named jared appeared!! i ALWAYS see him at 311 shows... he's been to every cali show i've attended. we watched jimmy kimmel's interview with puff daddy on the big screens behind the outdoor stage and then *drumroll* stone temple pilots took the stage!! they played interstate love song, silvergun superman, vaseline, sin, trippin' on a hole in a paper heart, wicked garden, big empty and, as an encore, plush. IT WAS AWESOME. here are some photos i took with rick's phone (because cameras weren't allowed):

me and rick:

look at all the camera phones in the air!! hehe:

jimmy kimmel:

jimmy kimmel:

me and rose:

me and jared:

clips of the performance will be posted on my youtube channel soon!!!!

mom's visit, san diego and 3.5 celebrity crushes in 2 weeks

my mom visited me for 9 days. despite me being sick for the entire time, we had a lot of fun. here's what we did...

saturday: ate lunch with rick. took my mom to get coffee then my mom and i slept. a lot.

sunday: ate lunch with hal in santa monica then drove to san diego where we spent three days in mission bay. i took a lot of photos at pacific beach of and from crystal pier. it was neat to see the same area i was in for the first time four years ago. it's interesting how you perceive an area if you've only seen briefly and then to go back to the same area and see it from all sides -- you see it in a new light.

monday: we went kayaking in the ocean at la jolla and saw sea lions (we were probably were a little TOO close to them...) and leopard sharks and dolphins!! san diego feels like a state away from los angeles. actually, being in san diego feels a lot like being in florida or virginia beach. i really like it there. lots of awesome shops and restaurants along the main streets. there's more of a beach town vibe there than in venice or santa monica, maybe because the people in san diego seem more laid back and the traffic doesn't suck as badly.

monday night: we saw the foo fighters at SDSU!! :)

tuesday: we bypassed the gaslamp district because my mom isn't into shopping and went to midway to see the giant kissing statue and military ships. we ate lunch overlooking the bay and wandered over to the maritime museum gift shop (that is located on one of the ships). we stopped at the flower fields in carlsbad on our way back home but they weren't in bloom yet. however, the employees in the ticket booth still tried to get us to buy a ticket to see nothing for $5 (1/2 off ) and tried to convince us to buy a season pass to the fields. but who needs to see a field of flowers more than once??? i wonder if people actually buy season passes there.

wednesday: we saw the foo fighters again (night 1 at the forum!!) and my mom got to meet my boss james.

thursday: my mother, rick and i went to a taping of the craig ferguson show -- amy sedaris (one of my faves!!) was the guest. we ate sushi and walked around hollywood & highland.

friday: my mom got to meet my boss dave!! :) and we went back to hollywood. it should be noted that during my mom's visit, i beat her and rick at scrabble numerous times.

saturday: went to our favorite beach in malibu... but it was pretty windy and cold but we saw dolphins.

sunday: i begrudgingly went back to the beach and was glad i did because it was a beautiful, hot gorgeous day for the beach.

all and all, a fun time!! :D

last week also marked the end of my 3.5 celebrity crushes in 2 weeks spree...
1: nick hexum at the las vegas show 2/22
2: dr. drew at the celebrity rehab reunion show taping (look for me and rick in the audience!! the reruns are being shown on VH1 now) 2/25
3: DAVE GROHL x2!!!! 3/3 and 3/5
3.5: BONUS: amy sedaris at the craig ferguson taping, woo woo!! 3/6

HAPPY 3-11 DAY!!!!

yes, it's a national holiday for 311 fans....

311 at muhlenberg college
Originally uploaded by jena ardell.

i couldn't attend the festivities in new orleans this time around (unfortunately), but check out my tribute.

311 - freak out
Originally uploaded by jena ardell.

2x THE FOO!!!!

FOO FIGHTERS: LOS ANGELES 3/5/08

night 1 at the forum was amazing!! (although i'm still jealous that night 2 got to see the foo perform their "darling nikki" cover). i had purchased pit tickets for myself and my mom and rick and had three seats that i sold to aldrin, his friend zac and my boss james. every one had a really good time!! :) my mom, rick and i were front and center at the small stage which worked out perfectly because we weren't looking forward to getting squished in the pit. i wish more concerts were able to produce the same format of having a runway from the main stage to a smaller, second stage for the more acoustic songs. i took some QUALITY video clips of dave grohl singing "but honestly," "my hero" and "everlong." (check em out!! the links will take you directly to my youtube posts) and some really good photos:

taylor hawkins:nate mendel and dave grohl:

chris shiflett:

dave grohl singing "everlong:"me and my mom outside the forum:

before the show, we got free tee shirts from star 98.7. you can find these pics of rick, aldo and zac on star 98.7 photo gallery:aldrins:

zac:

FOO FIGHTERS AT SDSU!!!!

FOO FIGHTERS: SAN DIEGO 3/3/08

the foo fighters concert was AMAZING!! no concert horror stories here!! everyone was really chill (quite an ecclectic crowd!!) the guy behind me was pathetically irrating at times but at least he didn't grab me by the throat. he'd yell "YAAAAA, FOO FIGHTERS!! #1!!" at the top of his lungs. then he'd start yelling "CURT COBAIN!!" for no reason.

foo fighters put on an AMAZING show and they went all out with this tour. there was a runway to a circular pit which later revealed itself to be... A MINI STAGE complete with a drum kit!! the stage actually lowered from the ceiling and it was in the area where we had seats (behind the pit) so it worked out nicely. great view!!

i bought a davy grohlton band tee (as seen in their "long road to ruin" video). they're out-of-stock at the online FF store so i was happy they were selling them on tour. however, i'd love to know why girls' tees are $10 more in person as opposed to the online store and also $10 more than the guys' shirts whose longer length actually requires more fabric. i just don't get it.

SDSU's cox arena is HUGE!! and the school is pretty massive too. walking around on campus made me wish i chose to go to college there (or at least somewhere warmer than PA, hehe) but the distance between buildings would definitely make it harder for me to get to class on time. i barely made it on time as it was!!

here's the 3/3/08 set list:

Let It Die
Pretender
Times Like These
Breakout
Learn to Fly
Cheer Up Boys, Your makeup's running
This Is a Call
The One
--a Zeppelin riff interlude--
Stacked Actors w/a massive drum solo
--all march to the smaller stage at opposite end--
Skin & Bones
Marigold
My Hero
Cold Day In The Sun (Taylor Hawkins on lead vocals)
But, Honestly
Everlong (started solo on the small stage and finished in full band back on the main)
Monkey Wrench
All My Life
--Encores--
Big Me
Long Road to Ruin
Best of You

just loathing in las vegas...

so i spent last weekend in las veagas and i have to admit it was my least favorite vegas trip to date. las vegas used to be my favorite city but it's quickly becoming just like everywhere else, one strip mall at a time. they're demolishing all the kewl older hotels that actually had CHARACTER and replacing them with tall ugly buildings that all look the same.

my 311 concert experience at the joint in the hard rock hotel was horrific... but in a nutshell:

i was really looking forward to the vegas show. small venue + all GA pit. = awesome. after getting mangled in the pit, i stepped to the back of the venue to look for my guy and our friend. while i was trying to text my bf, some a**hole swiped my cell phone out of my hand as a poor attempt to catch my attention. i was like... "haha, funny" and took it back from him. after not being amused by this game, he decided to SHOVE people who were walking by INTO me. sooo i shoved him back and started cursing at him and asking him what the F his problem was. he then grabbed me by the throat. i was livid but for some stupid reason my initial reaction wasn't to kick him in the balls maybe because i couldn't believe what happened. or maybe because i'm a petite chick and this guy was bigger than me and he was with a friend and i didn't know if his friend would then kick the crap out of me. so i step back, curse at him and walk away and find a security guard. the a**hole LIES to the security guard and says i grabbed him by the balls. WTF. and the security guard can't kick him out because he didn't see it happen. but by this point, random guys who witnessed the incident approached the a**hole who grabbed me and were all in his face. and so the a**hole "decided to leave the concert on his own," as one of the security guys put it. his friend looked pretty PO-ed to be leaving. and i felt like a snitch but i wasn't about to let some a**wipe ruin my concert experience without having his own experience ruined.

and so, shaken up, i continued to look for my bf while avoiding drunk people sloshing drinks around; a LARGE area of floor covered in vomit and drunks with lit cigarettes in their hands. and i asked myself... "what the hell happened to 311 concerts?!!" this was my 20th? 311 show and by far my worst concert experience. (what i posted on the 311 bb)

however some of the highlights from the trip included rick drinking too much tequila and puking out the window of our rental car onto the door handle and down the side of the car door... Mmmm. he was pretty much a walking zombie after that but it didn't matter because monsieur qui sait tout about las vegas aldrin wasn't wearing dress code friendly shoes so we didn't get into any clubs. (who knew everybody had a stigma against chuck taylors at night?! apparently aldrin didn't, but pretended he did... so it's unclear why he wore those shoes anyway). i'm sure we didn't miss much (especially because ashlee simpson was singing her new single at LAX) and at least we're still $40 richer -- the cost of the outrageous cover charge.

on the bright side, i scored some terrific finds at a local thrift store while rick, tim and aldrin went go-carting. (i found a dress, a velour bodysuit, two pairs of shoes, two mugs, white stockings and a BUNCH of books... for $25.50. SCORE!!) i also took some kewl night shots of the Circus Circus and what remains of the New Frontier (just the sign) with rick's friend nate, who i finally got to meet. ANNNND i did take some kick ass photos of the las vegas sign in a way which i guarantee no one has ever done before!! 8) and rick bought me an awesome-looking 311 tee shirt i never saw before and a kewl roxy necklace.

and so, although i don't totally oppose las vegas, i am on the hunt for my next, new favorite city... unless las vegas wants to rebuild the boardwalk casino, the stardust, and the new frontier and promise me they won't tear down anymore kewl hotels... then i'll reconsider the breakup.

concerts took all my money.

i will be seeing 311 in las vegas AND i will be attending 3-11 day. :) and today i bought foo fighters tickets for two venues. so in march, i will be seeing them two times in one week!! needless to say, i am now broke. but at least i have some events to look forward to attend (and some excuses to travel)!!

foo is all around you.

i love it when this happens...

wednesday: i met up with james lemmo, a product photographer who i worked with for an apparel shoot. i brought along my "there is nothing left to lose" cd (my favorite foo fighters album), but first i turned on the radio. naturally, KROQ was full of commercials... but i decided to wade them out just to see if the next song was worth the wait. and guess what song came on... foo fighters - "everlong" (acoustic!!) Mmmm!!!! so after i listened to it, i popped in my foo cd. i listened to 1/4 of the album before my stereo started acting up (as it always does) and i had to turn back on the radio. and guess what "rock block" (two back-to-back songs from the same artist) was playing on KROQ... foo fighters "one by one" and their NEW single "the pretender."

i met up with james. he installed a program he needs for tomorrow's shoot onto my laptop. i was only there for an hour and when i got back into my car it was sooo hot i couldn't even hold the button long enough to roll down my windows all the way because the button was burning my finger!! i had to stop halfway and shake my hand to cool it off. the steering wheel was just as hot. :( now those foldable sun visors are my new best friends. i stopped at the dollar store and bought some AWESOME necklaces you won't believe came from the dollar store. then i went into a TWO-STORY walmart(!) and bought potting soil and cat food. i got back into the car, turned on the radio, started driving, and guess what song was playing... foo fighters - "my hero." my goodness... FOO IS ALLLLL AROUND YOU!!!! i felt like a little kid in a lego store. :)

i guess the foos are getting even more air time now that they have a new album coming out. (can't wait for that!!) listen to "The Pretender," the first single and video from their upcoming album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, in-stores the day after my birthday (sept. 25).

on my way home, i was a very courteous driver. instead of taking off at the green light, i let some idiot lady (who was waiting on the median) go around me. i also let a guy who was trying to pull out of a gas station get in front of me. i try to be a courteous driver because i believe in karma. ALSO i have out-of-state plates and i want to represent my home state and let californians know that new jerseyans are better drivers than them.

when i got back to the apartment, rick made dinner while i finished planting my yellow daisies and snapdragons. our balcony looks really nice now with all of the new plants. :) rick and i ate dinner outside then we headed to the studio where i pulled an all-nighter, designing a wedding album from 8:15 pm til 2:45 am. eeeek!! i felt like i was in college again, hehe. but at least it is finished. after 10:30 pm, rick took a nap in the big comfy couch room. i'm glad he went along with me. i uploaded a sarah mclachlan cd on one of the computers in the office. that's my new schtick - importing random cds on everybody's computers so that A) i have something decent to listen to while i am working. B) so they all wonder how the hell those songs got on their computers.

check the tech, 311 in LA.

311 in irvine 08.19.07.

rick and i went to the 311 show in irvine... my 18th 311 show!! our friend cory (who i met at a 311 show in 2004), was there as well as a handful of familiar faces. i took along the digital rebel camera my friend hal has graciously been letting me borrow for an extended amount of time. i wasn't sure if i was going to bother to bring the camera in the show but the tickets didn't say "NO CAMERAS ALLOWED" and i knew i'd be kicking myself in the ass if i didn't take the camera so i called cory who was approaching the entrance of the venue to inquire about the camera situation. he told me that digital cameras were allowed as long as they didn't have a detachable lens. which, of course, the rebel has. :(

so i bring the camera. we get the entrance and i gravitate away from a mean-looking security lady's line toward a guy who seems to not be giving anyone a problem. the guy checks my bag and asks me to take out the camera. the conversation went like this:

GUY: *sees the large ass camera*
ohhh man... does this lens come off???

ME: *"twists" the lens without pushing the button in*
No.

GUY: oh good, that just saved you a trip [back to your car] because my manager is standing right there.

apparently they're afraid someone is going to throw their $300+ detachable lens into the crowd or at 311. who does that?!?!

the guy proceeds to ask for the cap from our bottle of water because that too can be a projectile. (why not throw the whole bottle?!!) really didn't make sense.

so we make our way toward the TINY, intimate pit (which i had bought tickets for well in advance through 311's presale)... only to be told we didn't have pit tickets. we had "orchestra" tickets. row N. which were still really good seats, but a major let-down if you thought you'd be in the pit. so now i'm inspired to write a nasty letter to ticketmaster who led me to believe i was purchasing two GA (general admission) pit tickets. those bastards. but it worked out because rick and i still danced around and he didn't have to worry about someone accidentally ripping out the stitches in his hand. YE-OUCH. that would suck. and i also got to take photos of the entire band, which is rare because usually i am only far enough away to take photos of one or two band members (which i am NOT complaining about because that is how close i like to be).

the opening bands were Matisyahu, the Wailers, Pato Banton and the Expendables. the Wailers were really good, but i could have done without the others. although it was definitely interesting to see Matisyahu perform. he's much skinnier and more awkward than i imagined. he was wearing a navy blue button-down dress shirt, khakis, white sneakers and a yamaka. he did start off the show wearing a navy blue blazer and a hisidic jew hat, but i am hesistant to believe that his image is more than just an image. (he grew up in new york and was a little druggie who used to follow Phish) but good for him that he found Judaism and is able to be a role model and so forth.

needless to say, 311 rocked and rick and i had a good time and we sang along to every song. rick and i played "would you rather" from the moment we left the venue until we reached our destination... a 90 mile trek. and i only remember a handful of the questions we asked each other. i know i asked rick "would you rather work a normal job until you're 65 or would you rather only work until your 45 but have to commute 3 hours to work." (he'd opted for the former). if we didn't play the game, we probably would have fallen asleep because we were that exhausted.

and apparently i was THAT exhausted because in the middle of the night miss gray was meowing next to my side of the bed and i dangled my hand over the edge of the bed and called "hexum... hexum..." (hexum is my cat back home). rick thinks i was really delusionally calling nick hexum into bed. luckily my cat has the same name. ;)

photos from the concert (and other 311 concerts) can be seen here.