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. :)

OMG.

my boyfriend just met dave grohl!!!! rick stepped out of work and saw the peter pan of rock n' roll eating lunch and called me and asked "should i get my picture taken with dave grohl???" my reponse was "WHAT?! OHMYGOD, YES!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! DID YOU EVEN HAVE TO ASK?!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" hahaha. when i got the photo via my cell phone, i started jumping up and down. i'm probably more excited than rick is about it. hell, i feel like i was the one who met him. hahaha. but i didn't. :(

lucky rick!! (and lucky dave grohl too, hehe).

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

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

well that sucks.

Twins unwittingly got married in Britain
By Thomas Wagner, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jan 11, 9:31 PM ET

LONDON - Twins who were separated at birth got married without realizing they were brother and sister, a lawmaker said, urging more information be provided on birth certificates for adopted children. A court annulled the British couple's union after they discovered their true relationship, Lord David Alton said.

that sucks. but at least they found each other. y'know what else sucks...

i've been trying allll weekend to win "breakfast with the foo fighters," a private concert with KROQ's kevin and bean and all the other contest winners at 6 am on monday (dave grohl's bday). there's a chance to win EVERY HOUR all weekend long. and i've been trying A LOT. you have to be caller 20 and so far i've been caller 2, caller 10, caller 13, caller 15 (twice), caller 18 and caller 19 DAMNIT. (and these are all at different times, not consecutively). how beat is that?!! so wish me luck.

but here are some things that don't suck...

song you should download: Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
movie you should watch: Goodbye Lenin!
youtube video every one is talking about: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=wonderingmind42

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.

old, but kewl news

In May 2006, Dave Grohl sent a note of support to the two trapped miners in the Beaconsfield mine collapse in Tasmania, Australia. In the initial days following the collapse, one of the men requested an iPod with Foo Fighters songs to be sent down to them through a small hole. Grohl's note read, in part, "Though I'm halfway around the world right now, my heart is with you both, and I want you to know that when you come home, there's two tickets to any Foos show, anywhere, and two cold beers waiting for yous. Deal?"[5] In October 2006, one of the miners took up his offer, joining Grohl for a drink after the Foo Fighters acoustic concert at the Sydney Opera House. [6] Grohl wrote an instrumental piece for the meeting, which Grohl pledged he would include on the band's next album.[7] The song will appear on the Foo Fighters' upcoming album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, titled "The Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners".
~source: wikipedia

one day i will write a post that doesn't include a movie review...

but today is not that day. ;) hahaha.

friday: worked for michael/finished up some wedding albums. rick and i watched Children of Men, a post-apocalyptic movie set in england in 2027. it was a really griping film. definitely held our attention but then, the movie just ends. abruptly. which made me really disappointed (unless they make a sequel). however, after rationizing with myself, i finally concluded that it was acceptable for the movie to just end like that because the movie is based on a book and a book would end like that. but apparently (i've heard) the book is pretty lousy and the movie is waaaaaaaay better (and much different) from the book.

saturday: worked a promo event. rick met me for lunch and brought me cantaloupe. since the promo was in a store, people usually ask me where certain products are and usually i don't know the answer. so one guy approached me and said (with an english accent) "allo, love!! how are you today???" i inhaled, preparing myself to give the whole "i don't really work here" spiel... but to my surprise he simply said, "you have very nice eyes and eyelashes. but don't tell nobody." hahaha. another funny quotation occurred as an old lady was approaching me. she had a sample of some sort of drink. after taking a sip, she stopped in front of me, with a disgusted look on her face and said, "this tastes like that old milk of magnesia my mother used to give me when i wouldn't go to the bathroom." i laughed as she proceeded to finish drinking the rest.

after work, rick and i went food shopping and then watched Pan's Labyrinth while eating dinner. it's a spanish movie about a little girl's fantasy world as she deals with living in facist spain (1944) as the "step-daughter of a sadistic army officer." i was worried that i wouldn't like it because i'm not a fan of science fiction, but rick and i had heard good things and imdb.com gave it an 8.5. however, after watching it, we both felt the movie didn't deserve that high of a rating. it's captivating and all, but it didn't live up to all of its hype.

cd i finally listened to and wasn't all that impressed with: G-Love's "Lemonade." (but it is kewl the cd looks like a lemon).

cd i can't stop listening to because all of the songs are so good on it and it reminds me of summer: Foo Fighters "There is Nothing Left to Lose." Mmmm.

FACT: "There is Nothing Left to Lose" won a grammy in 2000 for "Best Rock Album."
FACT: early editions of the album came with an "FF" temporary tattoo... which i still have and am always tempted to wear whenever i see it. :)
FACT: David Eric Grohl is the Peter Pan of Rock n' Roll.