ben blood - documentary photographer » tour

2009 Fall Tour

ben blood — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:46:16 +0000

For the past two weeks I’ve been on a west coast tour documenting Garage Voice and The Denouement.
Currently we are in San Luis Obispo, CA after having been down in LA for the past week.
This is my 5th tour with Garage Voice and my first with The Denouement. Touring always
results in strong friendships and this tour has been one of the best. I feel privileged to be
surrounded with such talented, genuine people. Here is a short I put together tonight using
the song12 Minutes by The Denouement. I’ll be home in one week!

Also, Saturday, Nov 21, Garage Voice is having their EP release show at Q Cafe in Seattle
with Noah Gundersen. It would be great to see you there!

P.S. This video is shot with the amazing Zumi Digital. Straight out of camera.

(RSS readers, visit blog.benblood.com to see video)

Tour (191 photos)

ben blood — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:05:40 +0000

Here is a photographic journey of my adventures traveling with Garage Voice, Noah Gundersen and his sister Abby. We had about 26 shows in 29 days throughout the west coast.

This tour was quite adventurous compared to the others we have been on. We were stuck in the snow in a ditch in central Oregon, ate waaaaaay too much Mexican food, slept in the van zero times (yes!), saw the Redwoods, Red Rocks, and Redlands, ate too much Subway (once), drank more coffee than ever before (me), realized that Utah is actually beautiful, met wonderful people, bought a cowboy hat, and became family with everyone in the van.

Bellingham, WA

The two shows in Bellingham were great. One at Western and one at Three Trees downtown. Friday night we had an intimate round of music including local musician, Seth Martin at friends’ house. You can see some photos from that in a previous blog post.

Santa Lucia – Centrelia, WA

Q Cafe – Seattle, WA

Garage Voice celebrated their album release (Let Us Reconcile) show at Q Cafe at the beginning of the tour. Over 120 people came to the show that night.

Tacoma Mall – Tacoma, WA

No, no. We didn’t play a show at the Tacoma Mall. Noah and Abby’s friend Alana works for Nordstrom and wanted to give Abby a facial. She offered to take care of the guys too – only Bruce was brave enough :P

Camelia Lounge – Pearl District, Portland, OR

Ah, it was refreshing to be in Portland. After touring a week of Western Washington, it actually felt like we were on tour now. Our good friends Breanna Paletta and Justin Bennett stopped by and guest appeared on one of Noah’s songs.

The Hanger – Sisters, OR

The drive to Sisters was one of the most beautiful of the tour. Snow covered mountains filled with Evergreens, roads curving along the river, foggy lakes filled with nothing but tree stumps. It was very surreal. We listened to Steven Delopolus for the perfect soundtrack to the scenery.

(House Show) – Eugene, OR

The smallest venue / house.

HWY 101 – Crescent City, CA

This was David’s first time (since he was two or three, which doesn’t really count) seeing and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Yes, he went and dove and rolled around in the waters of the Pacific at dusk. First day of the tour not having a show. Thank goodness – we drove 10hrs+ this day from Eugene, OR to Ukiah, CA where we stayed with our good friend Doug. Thanks for making us feel at home Doug!

Pacific Union College – Angwin, CA

After the main show, we were invited to play another private show in the girls dorm chapel. First night of tour sleeping in a bed. Yesssssss!

San Francisco!

I have been to San Francisco twice on tour – it’s been wonderful, but I still feel like I have never been there. Both times we’ve had only a few short hours to be immersed in the city. If you ever visit (or live in) SF, you must eat at The House of Nanking. You HAVE to. The best Chinese food I have ever eaten. You will feel like you’ve been deceived all along eating Chinese food that is actually American.
The Best Chinese Food Ever – 919 Kearny St, San Francisco

Modesto, CA

Mexicoke (Coke made in Mexico with pure sugar, not unhealthy corn syrup.) was a favorite of the tour. I also enjoyed chocolate milkshakes. I may have had five of them.

The Denouement – Erwindale, CA

The Denouement. These guys are EPIC! I’m always amazed by their shows. We’re trying to bribe them to go on tour with us – we promise lots of milkshakes =) You may have seen these people here.

Loma Linda, CA

California was beautiful this time of year. Think about walking out of your house and still thinking you were inside because the temperature didn’t change. Walking in orange groves. Saturday afternoon lunch. Amazing. Hats off to our friend Mdot of Le Grand Cru for helping promote this show =) Thanks roomie!

Phoenix, AZ

I’m really glad that Chevy decided to show up at our show.

Sedona, AZ

I was asked by Karli Fairbanks of Crunk Roost (an independent Spokane music publication) what are the three most important things about going on tour. I could name a number: wi-fi, good rest, a GPS, having a good sound guy, …, the list could go on. However, being in the van with seven people for thirty days can really affect your mood. It did mine. To keep everyone happy, Noah pointed out that it’s important to change the day-to-day routine up. For example, climb the Red Rocks while driving through northern Arizona. We did.

Our Hotel – Flagstaff, AZ

Southern Utah

Another long drive. In lieu of visiting the Grand Canyon we chose to arrive at our destination (Provo, UT) at a decent hour of midnight – instead of 3am. Our second day off. Much needed.

Provo, UT

Provo and it’s people were very friendly to us. Thank you. No thank you to your residential parking enforcement and it’s tickets.

Cedar City, UT

Another 10 hours in the van

We reached Nampa, Idaho after driving all through the night after the Cedar City show. Oh sweet goodness how I’m thankful for floors to sleep on. To Bruce’s parents: Thank you so much for taking such good care of us. And your food was amazing!

Flying M – Nampa, ID

Lincoln School – Walla Walla, WA

I was tired of taking pictures at this point in the tour. Thanks to everyone for encouraging me to push forward.

Merchants Ltd. – Walla Walla, WA

One of my lunch favorites.

House Show – Spokane, WA

I can’t say enough how good it was to be back in Spokane. It almost felt like being home. A big thank you to the 5 ladies who let us invade their home. Thank you. Kelly, your guacamole recipe has been a big hit here at home :)

Caterina Winery – Spokane, WA

The last show of the tour. Bittersweet. Throughout the tour, the bands had been learning each others’ songs and played almost two full sets together as one band. Epic.

Bruce’s Haircut

David’s sister DeAnna is an excellent hair stylist. Goodbye to Bruce’s two year old hair.

As we drove across I-90 and Seattle peaked out of the west tunnel of Lake Washington, I smelled the aroma of coffee. No joke. I really did. Bruce was sitting behind me drinking a Frappacino.

It was soo gooood to be back in Seattle. Home.

Kidnapped by a Rock Band 2.0

ben blood — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:11:33 +0000

Whew! This is a long one, so prepare yourself. I was once again kidnapped by a rock band (aka Garage Voice) last month. They took me all around Washington – Tacoma, Burlington, Seattle, Olympia, Centralia, Vancouver, Portland (OR), Tri-Cities, Walla Walla, and Spokane. Below is a photographic journey of people we met, places we went, and roads we traveled. I really want to thank everyone who stays current with my blog.

Hub City, Tacoma WA. The place was freezing. The venue really refused to turn on their heat. This was a late show, but it was worth the turnout. First show of the tour.

North Cascade Christian School, Burlington. Featuring Nick Snell.

Cookie Run, 1 a.m.. Albertsons, Auburn. The sales clerk told me not to take pictures. We baked the cookies and watched The Game. Life on the road is rough.

Evergreen State College, Olympia. We met and stayed at the home of some wonderful people. They made us feel right at home – they cooked meals that were soo sooo goood! I tried a new shooting style. I usually shoot using available light, but being on the road, I’m always shooting the same subject. At this show, I went for a “paparazzi” look. I used my Speedlight 580 and played around with it’s zoom feature.

We stopped in Japan for a day. Just kidding. Downtown Olympia.

C&L Burgers, Centralia. Supposedly the best burger joint on the ~~east~~ west side of Washington. I think Miners (Yakima) takes the the east side. Notice Bruce and his malt vinegar. He’s addicted.

Music Millennium, Portland. This place was rad. Tons of vinyls and great employees. They gave all four of us some snazzy looking t-shirts. Definitely a fun place to play (and shoot) in Portland.

Portland Adventist Academy, Portland. The night before this show Bruce’s bass amp quit on him. We were really worried because we didn’t have time or money to repair his amp. It was a blessing that the guys at PAA were audio geniuses! They had his amp working in 15mins!

It was nice to see a lot of support from loyal friends who came to see this show! Some stayed for hours after the show to hang out. It was really good to see you guys (Brandon, Eric, Hollin, Jessica,..)
(my 10,000th photo with my 5D since June07)

Hard Back CafÃ© (Hastings), Tri-Cities. This day totally changed the rest of the tour. A few days earlier, Tommy started complaining that part of throat had been burning, and persisted to. After contacting Bruce’s sister who’s a vocal specialist, as a procaution, she advised that Tommy stopped all vocal activities to find out if he had any vocal cord damage. That meant no talking, whispering, or singing! The tour was only half over.

As we made the trek from Portland to Tri-Cities, Bruce and Tric practiced singing a few songs for the show that night. They also called their friends in other bands from around the areas of the rest of the tour. You will see guest vocalists in some photos below.

When Tommy made it to a doctor, we were relieved to find that he did NOT have vocal damage, but larengitous. Through this Tommy was able to learn patience, Bruce and Tric honed their vocal skills even more, and we learned to decipher Tommy’s notepad chicken-scratchings. :)

Passagiatta, Walla Walla. Many loyal friends came to support this show as well! Below is Dallas, my ex-housemate. I’m shooting his wedding in June! Nicholi from Pause for Effect sang in place of Tommy for a few songs.

New Community Church, Spokane. Nick Lambert from Seven Years Absence filled in for Tommy sore voice for a couple songs. Zac Fairbanks and the Booze Fighters followed Garage Voice.

We went to Karli Fairbanks’ show downtown Spokane. Woot!

If you’ve made it to the end, congratulations to you! I’m heading to bed. 3:17 a.m..

The last of …

ben blood — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:05:26 +0000

After being kidnapped by a rock band for the summer, the tour has ended. While I’m happy to be immobile for more than a week, I miss the constant friendship of these boys. Tommy, Tric, and Bruce, I miss you guys. You better not go on another tour without me ;) … I’ll be watching your tour schedule!

Thanks for viewing my photos throughout the tour. I’ll continue to post photos from other happenings. Here are last photos from the tour. Enjoy.

On Tour with Karli Fairbanks

ben blood — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 22:15:00 +0000

Saturday, the lovely Karli Fairbanks joined up with Garage Voice for the final stint of our tour to play her lovely music. Monday we ran around Tacoma putting up posters to promote this weeks shows. Below are some pics from the day. Read more about our recent adventures at their blogs: blog.garagevoice.com and karli’s blog.

Chainbreaker Bike Collective

ben blood — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 08:30:52 +0000

Last night the garage voice played at a location called The Chainbreaker Bike Collective. I refer to it as a “location” because it was the most unique venue I’ve been to.

When we first arrived, Tommy and I got out to find out where we could unload. The place looked like a sparse building with a couple storefronts and galleries. In the back there were a few work garages. Next to one of the garage doors was strewn various limbs of bicycle parts, and above the door formed by bent metal were the letters CBC. This was the place. Oh my.

Once the owners arrived, they opened the doors to what appeared to be a small, cluttered bike shop. No stage, no sound system. I was not optimistic about this.

There was a gathering people in the alley by the time the first band started, Keyboard (just one guy who sang and played a keyboard which was balanced on top of a garbage can).

Next up was Garage Voice, then Mathematicians, a band from upstate New York who dressed up like nerds.

GV played a top notch set – one of the best on this tour. Tommy picked up a screwdriver and used it as a slide for their first song, Amour (tommy lost his slide earlier on in the tour). The dynamics in the bike garage were excellent and many people enjoyed the show.

Read GV’s experience of the show at blog.garagevoice.com.

Kidnapped By A Rock Band

ben blood — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:34:14 +0000

On the road again. I met up with Garage Voice in Walla Walla, WA to join them on their second tour, west coast styles. The highlight of this past week was their concert with Shiny Toy Guns on Thursday. This show was a blessing – I’m glad the guys landed this opportunity. I’m sure they will share all the details on their blog. I’m really happy how these turned out.

Studio

ben blood — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:20:50 +0000

Monday Bruce, Tommy, and Patrick were filmed by two Andrews University students while playing one of their songs. I shouldn’t say too much more, but here are some shots from the day.

Washington Courthouse, OH

ben blood — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 22:22:09 +0000

Thursday was my first chance to take photos at a Garage Voice show this tour. We were within 10 minutes of the venue and all I saw were barns and fields – welcome to the midwest. I thought for sure the concert was going to be in a barn.

The venue turned out to be a teen center called The Wherehouse – a place where kids could come to hang out and stay out of trouble. I admire the people who run the place – however, I was disappointed that we didn’t get to have a barn show.

East Coast Seattle

ben blood — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 07:37:32 +0000

So I really like Boston. It’s like an east coast Seattle. I am also partial to Connecticut. Based only on what I saw while traveling at 8… uh 70mph, Connecticut is a place I might be able to retire at. Old colonial architecture, rolling hills of green trees, this place has it all. Okay maybe not everything.

The four of us stayed at Camp Winnekeag, just an hour out of Boston. I became good friends with the camp director and his wife, Pedro and Claudia. Both great people. They gave us a tour of downtown Boston on Monday (see photos below – the little boy is their son).

While at camp, we had the chance to get in some basketball, canoing, sailing, tubing, and eat cafeteria food. Camp was fun!

The White House Dissappointment

ben blood — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 20:11:49 +0000

Wednesday we toured downtown DC with the homies (Aaron, Ammiel Bruce, Eddie, Jamila, Nunz, Tommy, Tric, and Vanja). I had a chance to become good friends with some of Garage Voice’s friends from Andrews University / Michigan.

Here are some photos I took while visiting the White House, Washington Monument, WWII, Vietnam Veterans, the Lincoln, and other memorials. We enjoyed the rain that evening after days of hot humidity. One of the best days in DC.

Tip of the day: expect to be disappointed if you buy sushi in a food court.

Above photo: Nunz, Bruce, Tommy, Vanja, Ammiel, and Eddie

Live, in NYC

ben blood — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:37:20 +0000

Monday I flew to Washington D.C. to join up with Garage Voice on their tour of the U.S.. I was excited to take a break from school to travel and spend time with good friends. Was I even more excited to find out that we were driving up to New York Tuesday to see Steven Delopoulos from Burlap to Cashmere in concert.

Patrick, Tommy, Bruce, and their friend Nunz greeted me at baggage claim at 12:40am with hugs. It was late, and I wanted to sleep. It was great to see friends.

The next day we took the 3 hour drive to NYC - we had the opportunity to pay over $30 in tolls that day. Yuck. We had about 4 hours to kill before the concert. We caught a subway and walked around Times Square. There are people everywhere downtown – everyone is in a huge rush. It was crazy. I couldn’t live there.

The concert that evening was in a small seated venue. While we were sitting down to eat, Steven Delopoulos walk by and Bruce introduced himself. For the next 15 minutes Steven sat at our table and we all talked about music, New York, and the weather. I was impressed that this guy took time to sit and talk with us before his concert. He was very down to earth and sincere (and he plays great music). You can listen to it here.