Boy, does this photo have sentimental value.
This was the first show I had shot in a small venue and the first of Calabrese. It was almost the last.
I wanted to leave the venue before the show even started. I felt
old, self-conscious — I was old enough to be the mother of about
everyone there. A fact confirmed by the owner of the venue, working the
door. He thought I was one of the mothers for The Limit Club, also
playing that night.
I can laugh about it now, but then…yikes.
But I forced myself to stay, and when The Limit Club was playing,
quickly realized in this small venue, I would have to use flash. Not so
bad during the Limit Club set, as I was able to still stand back. But
when Zombeast came out, the crowd moved in, and I had no choice but to
get right in front, with my flash a-firing right in their faces (and
drawing far more attention to me than I could handle.) So I slinked to
the back of the venue.
I saw Bobby Calabrese watching, and got up the nerve to say hello (I
had been on the band’s message board, but had never met any of them in
person.) I told him I probably wouldn’t be shooting that night, because
of the flash, and he was like, "No, go for it."
So I did. And so began this long strange trip I’ve been on.
The photo is Jim Calabrese’s classic "bad ass" look. I was afraid of
him at first, because I only saw him when he was playing, and he pretty
much always looked like this. It wasn’t till later that I discovered
how far this look is from Jim’s real personality.
But that is a story — and photo — for another day.