Exene Cervenka

Exene Cervenka with The Original Sinners.
Knitting Factory, NYC.
Maybe sometime in 2006.

Canon AE-1

Sunrise Through The Trees

Sunrise through the trees.
Wheeler Park, Linden, NJ.
Fall 2008.

Ansco Rediflex

New Model Army

New Model Army at Mercury Lounge.
NYC.
2006.
Canon AE-1

New Model Army are one of those really important bands. You know the ones that have a great impact not just on your own life, but the lives of many people in a very positive way. They've been around a really long time now and yet are just as strong and powerful as they've always been. With really smart, well written lyrics backed up by some of the most powerful music around, it's hard not to feel something when you listen to this band. It's music that picks you up and takes you up to a higher level of consciousness. I love this band and look forward to seeing them again. Hopefully they'll come back to the colonies. Seeing this band is always a great pleasure. Not just because of the greatness of the band, but also of the crowd. New Model Army have some of the most loyal fans any band could have. They are quite lively and lovely. There are days when you just can't listen to this band enough. Today is one of those days for me. I've got five cds on random going right now and it's really helping me deal with all this going on in life at the moment. Viva New Model Army.

New Model Army at Mercury Lounge.
NYC.
April 2008
Canon AE-1

New Model Army at Mercury Lounge.
NYC.
April 2008
Canon AE-1

New Model Army at Maxwell's.
Hoboken, NJ.
March 2008.
Holga 120CFN
newmodelarmy.org

Judge

Judge at Fenders Ballroom.
Long Beach, CA.
Aug. 1989.

New Breed Tape Comp.

Absolution at the Knitting Factory.
NYC.
August 2008.
Canon AE-1

I can remember flipping through the pages of Maximum Rock'N'Roll many many years ago and coming across an ad for a new tape compilation from New York. Being a kid from sunny Orange County California, NYHC has always seemed a little more cool and definitely more gritty and maybe even at times, scary. This tape had some bands on it that I had heard were really good, so I stuffed some money in an envelope and mailed it to the address in the ad. A short while later the tape arrived with a cool zine with all the lyrics and info on the bands. Also stuffed in the envelope was a bunch of stickers from NYHC bands. My favorite of these stickers was the silk screened Absolution sticker. It was really big and really cool. The name of my new tape was New Breed Tape Compilation. And what an impact it had on me. Starting with the Absolution song "Never Ending Game", this tape blew me away. It introduced me to alot of the bands that weren't getting much attention on the west coast and didn't leave my cassette player for a really long time. It's kind of hard to believe now, but that was twenty years ago. Man how time flies. Earlier today, a friend of mine sent me a link to a website that one of the makers of this fine compilation has put together to kind of celebrate the twentieth anniversary of this tape. It's great looking site and it has the comp available for download for all the old kids who lost their tapes and for the new kids who don't know what a cassette is. Here's the link for ya: New Breed Tape Comp
Like I mentioned before, this tape introduced me to some great bands. Beyond, Life's Blood, Raw Deal, Outburst, Breakdown, to name a few. One what really stuck out to me was the Absolution track. A brilliant song. I always tried to follow this band, but it was a little hard at times to do so from across the country. While I liked their recorded stuff, I would read in various fanzines just how amazing they were live. They never made it to the west coast so I missed out on those amazing shows. That was until they reunited for a show at the Knitting Factory back in August of 2008. Now, I'm not foolish enough to think that they were anywhere near as good as they were back in the day. But they were pretty amazing.

Absolution at the Knitting Factory.
NYC.
August 2008.
Canon AE-1

Absoltion at the Knitting Factory.
NYC.
August 2008.
Holga 120CFN.

Red Shed

Red shed.
New Brunswick, NJ.
Oct. 2008.

Holga 120CFN

Bike Race

Bike race.
Linden, NJ.
Summer 2008.

Holga 120CFN.

Chain of Strength

Chain of Strength at Fenders Ballroom.
Long Beach, CA.
Aug. 1989

This photo is from what was supposed to be Youth of Today's second to last show. The final show was supposed to take place in Connecticut, but never happened. So this show turned out to be the "last show." Until there were a few reunion type get togethers. A few other photos from this show and a short write up has been posted up on the Double Cross Webzine site. Feel free to check it out. Double Cross

Waiting for the train

Linden Train Station.
Linden, NJ.
Oct. 2008.

Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim.
I almost called this one Planes, Trains, and Automobiles after the great movie. But the plane is barely visible and there's no actual train in the shot. Oh well.

Snow Day!

Central Park.
NYC.

I forget the year I made this shot, but I remember the day. Well, not the day on the calender, but the day itself. A big snow storm came through but would be clear by morning. I got up really early the next morning and took the first train into the city. I made Central Park just at the sun was rising. It was a really beautiful sunrise that morning. I wandered all around Central Park snapping shots with my Canon AE-1. At the time, it was the only camera I had. Hard to believe that now. Anyway, I remember this shot particularly because it didn't take long to get cold that day. My jeans and sneakers were no match against the snow as I leaned into a snow bank trying to get just the right angle for this shot.