Funhouse, Seattle 4-26-2012

     The Funhouse was one of the first venues I went to when I got to Seattle. Much like Lenny's in Atlanta, The Funhouse provides a place for punk and underground bands and fans to come together for cheap drinks and loud music. Unfortunately, The Funhouse's days may be numbered. The building that houses it has been sold and is slated to be turned into condos or some such. More on that here and here. If this happens it will leave quite a hole in the Seattle scene. EDIT: Just received news that The Funhouse will vave to vacate their current location by October 31st. Let's hope they have good luck finding a new location.

     I had the chance to catch a great show at the Funhouse the other night. I went to see Lazy Animals and got to see The Spinning Whips and The Burnz as a bonus. All three bands put on a great show and here is a selection of the shots from that evening. I wasn't shooting with an ideal camera setup, but I tried to make the most of it. Shot with a Canon S90 and a handheld flash triggered manually.

   

    First up, The Spinning Whips played a pretty sick but straightforward rock n' roll with a 70's Detroit vibe. At one point Silly String and bubble makers were distributed to everyone and they killed it on the stage.

Spinning Whips at The Funhouse 4-26-12

Spinning Whips at The Funhouse 4-26-12

Spinning Whips at The Funhouse 4-26-12

     Lazy Animals were up next. Larry, Lesli, and Eric always put on a great show and tonight was no exception.

Lazy Animals at The Funhouse 4-26-12

Lazy Animals at The Funhouse 4-26-12

Lazy Animals at The Funhouse 4-26-12

     The Burnz finished off the night with a bit more of a 60's punk vibe. Loud and raw. A bit different sounding than what I heard from them online but I would call it a change for the better. I liked it quite a bit.

The Burnz at The Funhouse 4-26-12

The Burnz at The Funhouse 4-26-12

The Burnz at The Funhouse 4-26-12

     This is only a selection of what i shot at the show. If you would like to see more from this show you can look here. EDIT: okay, all the photos are actually there now. Fail at Flickr.

Hello, and welcome to my first post here on Virulent. The purpose of this blog, like it says in the header, is both an archive for the old as well as a place to explore the new. While in my early twenties I fell deeply in love with both photography and music. Melding these two, I began documenting many of the bands I saw while working on my skills as a photographer. I amassed quite an archive of images before setting my sights on a commercial photography career and eventually becoming completely burned out on the whole thing for several years. Old flames die hard, however.
     Over the past year my loves of photography and playing music have been rekindled in a way i didn't think was possible. Playing and shooting have become invigorating again instead of tedious. I have retrieved my film from storage and I have begun the process of scanning it into digital files. this will include both the band shots as well as the more portrait style work I produced and will continue to work on. I will try to provide some context and maybe the occasional entertaining story along with the old photos.
     Here are a few images to start with:

Sweep The Leg Johnny at The Pilot Light, Knoxville, TN

Many of my photos come from The Pilot Light in Knoxville, Tennessee. Knoxville was my home base for many years and it's where I shot the majority of my band photography, shooting touring as well as local bands. Sweep The Leg Johnny came down from Chicago a couple of times to play some truly amazing and energetic shows. The Pilot Light is still the only decent independent venue in Knoxville as far as I know. I spent many nights there as well as working the door for a bit.

Assembly Line People Program at Lucy's, Nashville, TN

Assembly Line People Program, also from Chicago, played a few shows in Knoxville and Nashville during their short life as a band. Always a blast to see and great guys as well. I provided some pictures for one of their 12" records that I still throw on the turntable every so often. Lucy's Record Shop in Nashville was an all ages venue I started going to while still in high school and was a staple of the Nashville punk and independent music scene for years. Unfortunately most of my film is not dated so I can only provide a loose timeline for many of my images. This would have been in 1996 or 1997.

Lazy Animals at The Rat and Raven, Seattle, WA 

Lazy Animals is a new band here in Seattle featuring one of my oldest friends from Knoxville, mister Larry Brady. Larry is very responsible for my renewed activity, mainly because he never gave up on asking me about it and encouraging me to revisit something that had brought me so much joy in the past. After twenty years of playing in bands, Larry is in probably the two best bands he has ever been in. Lazy Animals and The Redwood Plan, both with his amazing wife, Lesli Wood.

Thanks for looking. I plan on posting new images weekly so check back soon.

-Beau