July 30, 2008, 10:55 am : RIP Pioneer Surf Film Maker Bud Browne

Bud Browne, maker of more than 14 surf films, and the first person to show surf films commercially, passed away on July 25th at his home in San Luis Obispo, CA. He was 96 years old. The surf world will miss this legendary pioneer who was instrumental in defining the genre of the surf film and bringing footage of waves in far flung locales to the throngs of California surfers in the fifties and sixties.

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What New York surfer who pioneered many new surf destinations in the seventies met his untimely fate in the streets of New York City?

July 25, 2008, 9:21 am : Quick Review – VH1 Honors The Who (07/18/2008)

Here’s DP checking in once again – JS

Though I am working on other articles to post, I wanted to make a quick detour to offer my thoughts and impressions from the recent VH1 Honors The Who tribute show.

As you will glean from upcoming posts, I feel The Who is one of the most prolific influences on a lot of music we hear nowadays.  VH1′s tribute could not have captured that idea and delivered it any better – the spirit was raw, the mood was charged with adrenaline, and the live performances were some of the best I have ever seen in a long time.  It was a pleasant joy to watch, considering VH1′s modern day penchant for following its sister station (MTV) in presenting so much reality dreck in lieu of ANY form of music.

The opening of the show yielded to the Foo Fighters, who did a high energy combination of “Young Man’s Blues” and “Bargain“; surprises I didn’t expect from the band’s catalog.  While it was clear Dave Grohl’s voice was a bit rocky (who could keep up with Roger Daltrey, anyway?), he more than made up for it in the frenetic pace of his guitar playing and leading the band to a great finish.

While the show continued to deliver a pleasant recap of artists who did great, respectful renditions of a lot of Who tunes (The Flaming Lips, Tenacious D), Pearl Jam’s performance of a few songs from Quadrophenia were the pinnacle of the show.  I know, I know, I should be tactful and say the show really climaxed when Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend took the stage, but it’s my opinion they may have been upstaged last night by Eddie Vedder and his brood.  Anybody who can carry the energy, range, control, and strength of the vocals of what was originally delivered by Roger Daltrey deserves top billing.  Click here for a link to watch as they start with a UNBELIEVABLE rendition of “Love Reign O’er Me” then follow up with a blistering take on “The Real Me” (major props go out out to the band’s bass player for his great performance)…the whole scene had me wishing Keith Moon and John Entwistle were still alive to witness it all.

Obviously, the grand moment of the evening was when the two remaining survivors of the band took the stage and led us through steadfast favorites like “Baba O’Riley” and “My Generation“.  They did not fail to deliver, either.  I find it unbelievable Roger Daltrey can still get his voice to amazing levels despite being 64.  Pete Townshend also kept pace, wailing on his ax with his trademark “windmill” style that personified the band’s raw power only an angry young man can deliver.

Last night’s presentation was well worth the time spent in front of the TV – a rare thing to say nowadays.  If you want a brief glimpse into a true source of many modern musical inspirations, check the show out.  I’m sure it will be repeated SEVERAL times for the next few months before it’s released to DVD.

DP

July 23, 2008, 10:18 pm : Brian Maglietta – Doin’ the Hard Miles Chasing His Surf Photography Dreams

I like people that do what they dream of despite long odds of success, not fitting a prototypical mold, and facing challenges that would deter lesser people. That’s why I like Brian Maglietta, and view his accomplishments as a surf photographer as success in the face of all these things. Without further ado I introduce the lensman and his work.

JS: How long have you been into photography and what got you started?

BM: I have been into photography since about senior year of high school, which is, dare I say 17 years ago. I took a few photography classes my senior year and also in college. I had an old 1951 Zeiss Ikon camera that my dad gave me and I used that for my classes. I also had a large format 4×5 camera they gave us for a class in college. I would walk around with a big suitcase and a huge tripod to take photos because the camera was so big, and the film was kind of costly and came in small batches. If you made mistakes with the film, it would cost you. It did make you think about the shot you were taking and made you slow down your approach. It was a also a little while before I got a decent SLR camera.

Editors note: I was standing next to Brian at the time he took the first of these shots. I snapped my own pic of Aaron chucking this amazing air at the inaugural Outer Banks Pro. My shot looked …nothing like this. That is why it will not be aired on this site. I did, however capture Aaron in a moment of repose just before the finals heat, all by himself down the beach. He had risen through the trials with mental surfing, psyching to win his first ASP event. He was 50 yards past me, and I was another 50 yards past everyone else, and he just looked at me for a moment, then right past me, to the waves. He then proceeded to sprint down to the pier, paddle out right next to it in what looked like a possibly dubious strategy, and absolutely annihilate a pile of lefts on his backhand that left everyone’s jaws on the sand. The other three finalists battled for mushy, long rights toward the pier, but these rampy lefts allowed “Gorkin” to stamp his rails and airs all over them. He won that contest, and is still riding the fortune of a freak talented surfer. Good on him, he rips.

JS: How has the digital age changed your approach?

BM: Quite a bit, but not a lot if that makes sense. Basically, getting good surf shots means having all the conditions come together at the beach and capturing moments. The digital age has helped cut down costs of film processing and buying film (but) The costs are different now, since you need to have memory cards, faster computers and bigger hard drives to store your photos. If you have a decent memory card, you just shoot as much as you want and then edit and delete photos later. You also won’t be scanning film or looking at slides with a loupe over a light table, but you will be staring at your computer and zooming in on photos on your screen to make sure they are sharp and have the right exposure. The digital age also means you can touch up your photos easier with software, but I don’t suggest you touch up too much or the image won’t look natural. A bad exposure is still bad exposure, and nothing can save those, but the approach is basically the same (for me). Take the best photos I can at the beach, then edit and organize them later.

JS: Your work is published often in regional and national surf mags. How did you become an established surf photographer living a distance from the beach (2.5 hour drive) that made it impossible to shoot on a daily basis?

BM: I really didn’t get into surf photography until around 1996 when I got my first photo published in ESM, of Max Hoshino of MD surfing a hurricane swell. I always loved looking at surfing photos in Surfer and Surfing magazines, and thought how cool it would be to make a living shooting surf pics. I still don’t make a living from it, but I love taking good surfing photos that people get to see in surfing magazines. It all really started (during that) hurricane swell in Ocean City, MD, my friend John suggested I submit my photos to ESM because they were looking for hurricane photos. Their photo editor Dick Meseroll helped me out a lot, and wrote back to me saying I had a good eye and he would like to see more photos from me. He also answered my questions on how to take professional surf photos that my photography teachers couldn’t really answer. I upgraded my lense as much as I could afford, which was a 400mm 5.6 sigma back then and started using good slide film from that point on. I used to make quite a few trips to the beach and would always shoot surfing. Basically when I got something I thought was good, I would submit photos to Eastern Surf, Surfer and sometimes Longboard Magazine and hope to see something get picked. Once I got some good spots in the magazine at ESM, I asked if I could get my name in the list of photogs and they did. I then got a double page spread of Tommy Moore of WRV and 2 half page photos of Jason Griffith in the OBX and then got made a senior photographer. It felt like I finally made it as a surf photogapher when I did that. I have been able to get published with some of the top photogs in the business standing next to me on the beach. I am very proud of that.

JS: I must say it isn’t easy to get published living 2.5 hours from a beach. You have to deal with a lot that other photographers that live at the beach don’t.

BM: Just getting to the beach when it’good is most of it. The internet has helped pinned down what the conditions will be like at the beach now when you plan a trip, but it’s challenging. I also have a full time office job, and I miss a lot of epic days when they come during the work week. The photographers that live at the beach and still work can sneak sessions in to take photos before or after their jobs or on their lunch breaks. I don’t have that option at all. Living away from the beach also makes it hard to find out who the local talent is, and build a rapport with them. Now with the cost of gas, I will probably count the times I get to the beach on my hands, so I am going to try to make the most of my time there.

Lensman Brian Maglietta puts the camera down to enjoy some fishing

July 14, 2008, 2:49 pm : Turn Up the Volume – Queens of the Stone Age, Rated R

I shamelessly admit that I latched on to Queens of the Stone Age from watching the …lost surf videos. With an overall style that’s apparently not for everyone (many friends marvel at my love for everything they have produced), QOTSA, as they are sometimes referred to, has shown two distinct traits throughout their work: unbelievable talent and diverse styles. Their name and their image may not make sense to some, but come on people, this is ROCK AND ROLL, as QOTSA lead Josh Homme would say.

Venture to their live show and there’s a good chance you’ll be hooked. They rule by stage presence, displaying how much they love what they do, and stature, with each member standing well over 6 feet.

Here’s a taste of their second studio album, R, which marked the first significant appearances of Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan, who has recorded several songs and played with them live for several different stints. It also is the first time Nick Olivieri performed on bass for a QOTSA album, becoming a staple band member until Josh Homme kicked him out in 2004 for what was deemed a pattern of destructive behaviour.

Rated R

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RIP Natasha Shneider, sometime keyboardist for QOTSA. From their website: “On July 2nd, at 11:11 AM, Natasha Shneider passed away. She ended her time in this Life with the style and poetry that she lived all the days previous, crossing over while held in the arms of her closest and dearest. No words can encapsulate the unwaivering strength she provided, adversities she overcome, the talents she possessed & nutured, the sharpness of her wit nor the beautiful complexity of her intellect. We are so thankful for her influence & the gift of her friendship.”

July 9, 2008, 3:40 pm : Music for a Lazy Summer’s Day

Another fine contribution by DP, this time dipping into…bluegrass. Read on, I told you we’d be mixing it all up here. JS —>

One of the reasons I am deeply into music is because the right song played at the right time can capture a moment or mood in ways most other media can’t.  Think about it – how drab would movies be if they lacked a musical score?  Better yet – how pumped could you become if your favorite baseball team is down one run in the bottom of the ninth and instead of hearing “We Will Rock You” by Queen, all you heard was the murmur and rustling of people headed for the parking lot?  OK, as an avid Baltimore Orioles fan I am used to this kind of situation, but you get the point…

Lazy summer days are no exception to this concept – an obvious choice while lazily occupying space by a pool would be a nice mix of Jimmy Buffet and Reggae.  But what if we want to be Summer Snobs and impress our Milwaukee’s Best-swilling friends and show our lifestyle is just a little more refined?

To accomplish this feat in the midst of the Dog Days, I turn to a genre few know of in the mainstream  – Contemporary Bluegrass.  You may be familiar with the traditional sound that composes this type of music.  It’s a great mixture of banjo, mandolin, guitar, fiddle (occasionally), and upright bass and generally is played with an upbeat tempo.  The most widely known example you may have heard of is Flatt and Scruggs’s “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” (link is to a video of the song being performed live with Steve Martin, who is an AWESOME banjo player).  Or, you may have heard and made fun of the music in this popular scene.

Contemporary Bluegrass embraces the traditional elements of its sub-country genre, but also applies a modern sound and approach to what comprises it.  Modern bluegrass songs add contemporary lyrics to the mix, and occasionally crossover to other genres that makes the music much more accessible and approachable.  As an example, you may recall my mentioning Chris Thile’s incredible rendition of the White Stripes’s Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground – iTunes actually classifies this song as “Alternative”.

I know what you’re thinking. “If I start listening to this kind of music, I’m going to want to set up a bootleg still in my backyard and start dating my brother and/or sister!”  Since chances are I don’t know you personally, I would say maybe you didn’t need the music in the first place to make you want to do that, but everybody needs a hobby…

Give Contemporary Bluegrass a listen; it’s the perfect complement to a hot summer’s day.