Diary Of A Legend

Ozzy Osbourne Tribute

Sunset Strip Music Festival

House Of Blues Sunset

W. Hollywood, CA

September 10, 2009

It’s been 40 years…can you believe it?  Ozzy has been inspiring us musically for 40 years now.  To help celebrate this, the Hollywood rock community joined together and kicked off the 2^nd Annual Sunset Strip Music Festival with a special tribute honoring rock legend, Ozzy Osbourne.

The SSMF event honors icons who have made an impact on the legacy of The Sunset Strip. On Ozzy Osbourne’s first U.S. tour with Black Sabbath in 1970, the band performed a five-night stand at the legendary Whisky A Go-Go.

Ozzy’s well deserved tribute included special guest speakers Slash of Guns N’ Roses, actor Billy Bob Thornton, Henry Rollins of Black Flag, Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee, and comedian Jim Norton.

The evening commenced with an all star jam / tribute that included musicians John 5, Steve Stevens, Billy Morrison, Frank Perez, Steve Jones, Kenny Arnoff, Chris Chaney, Donovan Leitch, Mark McGrath and Corey Taylor.

The SSMF culminated into a huge live show that blocked the streets of the Sunset Strip that had Ozzy as the headliner and Korn as direct support.  Sure, the traffic and parking was nuts, but it was mind-blowing to see the Sunset Strip shut down…all in the name of rock!

I will be posting some live shots of Ozzy and Korn from the big event in the next few days.

Stay tuned…

It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This

Heaven & Hell
Greek Theatre
Los Angeles, CA
August 11, 2009

Have you ever had one of those nights when everything seems to go just right?  If you’re anything like me, you start waiting to get slammed with something negative to balance things out.  Here is my story…

First off, I get to shoot Heaven & Hell…that alone is cool enough.  Next, they set me up with free parking…not in the stacked area, but in the good lot.  Then, I’m hooked up with a great seat for the show.  Then, my best bud Rob decides to come to the show and we work it out to sit together for the show…just like old times.  Heaven & Hell are amazing…Tony Iommi proves he is still inspiring.  Then, we get hooked up with hospitality at the show… you know – free booze, coffee, desserts, finger foods, etc.  Hung with my bro Rudy Sarzo a bit…greatest guy!!

So, basically, it was an amazing night of Heaven & Hell…and it did not cost me a dime.  But it’s not over yet.  As Rob and I are walking out of the venue, I explain to him what a great night it was and I run the list of greatness by him.  Then I say, “The only thing missing was a free t-shirt.”  Rob says, “Well, you can’t have everything.”

We walk to his car, and three rough looking dudes are drinking beer and leaning on his car.  They look at us, stare us down as we approach.  I am very cautious as I am carrying 15 grand worth of photo gear.  The thugs say, “Hey, is this your car?”  Rob says, “Yeah.”  Then they say, “Hey man, we’re just hanging out man, you gotta’ problem with that?”  Rob says, “No, it’s cool.”  They continue to watch us.  Rob opens his trunk and I start putting my photo gear inside.  Then one dude says to me, “Hey, come here.”  I am cautious, I don’t move.  I say, “What do you want?”  He says again, “Come here.”  I say, “I’m right here, what?”  He pulls out a Heaven & Hell shirt that he bought from some bootlegger in the parking lot.  He says, “This will fit you, right?  It’s a large, I need extra large.  You want it.”  I roll my eyes, the last thing I need is to pull out cash in front of these boozers.  I tell him, “I’m a medium guy, large is too big for me.”  He tosses the shirt to me and tells me to check.  I hold it up against my torso, it’s too big for me.  I tell him, “This thing is like a dress on me, it will fit you.”  I toss it back to him.  He tosses it right back to me, “No man, I need extra large, I’m too fat.”  This guy is not taking no for an answer, I figure he must want more beer money.  So I say, “How much do you want for it?”  He says, “No man, take it, free, I don’t want it, it’s yours…take it.”  I look at Rob.  Rob looks at me.  “Really?” I say.  “Yeah dude” he replies.  We exchange a good bro hug and I tell him that I am happy to know that there are still some good people out there.  He liked that, and tells his buddies, “You hear that, I’m good people.”

Rob and I get in the car and snicker.  I look at the shirt and tell Rob that it is one of the most hideous shirts I have ever seen.  Then I tell Rob, “This thing is not going to fit me, I need a medium.”  I ask Rob if he wants it and he tells me he also needs extra large.  We start to drive off, then I spot a bootlegger selling shirts on the other side of the parking lot.  I tell Rob to drive over to him.  I roll down the window and call the guy over,  His hands are full of dozens of the same hideous shirt.  I tell him, “Hey, I told you I needed a medium and you gave me a large.”  He says, “Oh, sorry” and gives me a medium in exchange for the large.  I roll up the window and look at Rob.  Rob tells me, “I guess you can have everything.”

Like I said, a great night!

Photographed with my Nikon D300 and a 300mm 2.8 lens.

California Steel

Judas Priest
Gibson Amphitheatre
Los Angeles, CA
August 2, 2009

Hard to believe that it was nearly 30 years ago that Judas Priest released their groundbreaking LP British Steel.  And yes, as Rob Halford told the crowd, it was an LP.  From beginning to end, Priest ripped through the legendary album in its entirety and through in a few fan faves…it was Metal History.

Set List:

Rapid Fire
Metal Gods
Breaking The Law
Grinder
United
You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise
Living After Midnight
The Rage
Steeler
The Ripper
Prophecy
The Hell Patrol
Victim Of Changes
Freewheel Burning
Diamonds And Rust
You’ve Got Another Thing Coming

Photographed with my Canon 5D with a 70-200mm f 2.8 lens and my Nikon D300 with a 24-70mm 2.8 lens.

Brotherly Conspiracy

Max & Igor Cavalera
North Hollywood, CA
January 24, 2007

This had to be one of my proudest moments of being a rock photographer.  I go way back with these guys…we are family.  I received a phone call from Gloria Cavalera telling me that Max and Igor were back together and going into the studio…and they wanted me with them to snap away and document the whole thing. I had been waiting for this call for a long, long time.

This was the birth of The Cavalera Conspiracy.

This was the very first official photo of Max and Igor together as band-mates since Sepultura disbanded. I shot this set-up of Max and Igor for Revolver Magazine. The mag was just as excited as I was…they ran this photo as a full page.  Well deserved!

Photographed with my Canon 5D and a Canon 24-70mm 2.8 lens.

Heard You Missed Us…We’re Back!

Van Halen
Reunion Press Conference
Four Seasons Hotel
Los Angeles, CA
August 10, 2008

This was the day I had been waiting for since the DLR and the band split in 1986.  A reunion…well, not exactly…not without Michael Anthony.  But I think true Van Halen fans, myself included,  felt that this was the closest we were going to get to a true reunion.

This was the first big press conference I had ever really attended…I really don’t go to these kinds of things…but hey, this is Van Halen!

I had never felt so much excitement and electricity in the air that day.  Everyone attending had smiles across their faces.  And as soon as the band marched through the crowd to the stage, everyone regressed to acting like a teen.

Diamond Dave proved that he had not lost the gift of gab, but it was the brotherly hug between Eddie Van Halen and DLR that made the crowd melt.  It was magic, if only for a brief moment in time.

I was on cloud nine as I left the building that day looking through the bands list of tour dates for the reunion tour.  I noticed that the L.A. date fell on my wedding anniversary…ugh!  Guess how I celebrated our anniversary?  That’s right, my photos came out great!

Photographed with my Canon 5D, a Canon 24-70mm 2.8 lens and a Canon 580 EX flash.

Vote With A Bullet – The ‘Off The Clock’ Series

Pepper Keenan (C.O.C.) & Layne Staley (Alice In Chains)
Cathouse : Hollywood, CA
March 1991

Corrosion Of Conformity had just released the Blind CD and the band had boldly taken a huge leap in both their sound and in their new lineup.  Although the band was now moving from their hardcore/punk roots to more of a true metal sound, they became more politically involved than they had ever been before.  The band spearheaded the new CD with the controversial single, Vote With A Bullet.

The band wanted more, they wanted to really spread the word and increase voter turnout.  Sounds like  a good excuse to have a party!  I was lucky enough to get invited to tag along with the band and some of their good pals in the rock world as they joined forces with the Rock The Vote Organization at The World Famous Cathouse in Hollywood.  It was a great night!  There were so many rock giants there that I will have to post a few photos in the upcoming weeks to really show all who was there.

I thought I would start with this photo first as it holds a great memory for me.  Earlier that evening, Layne from Alice In Chains had challenged me to a “friendly” game of pool.  Luck was on my side and I beat him pretty badly.  The rest of the night he was giving me a hard time, asking for a rematch, but I didn’t have the time as I needed to snap photos.  He must have thrown the finger at me 20 times that night and threw me some of the funniest “dirty” looks possible.  Here he is sticking his tongue out at me trying to stir me up…and to top it off, Pepper is giving me the finger in support of Layne….good times!  R.I.P Layne.

Photographed with my Canon EOS-1, a cheap, no name 24mm-70mm lens, and a Sunpak 100 flash. Shot on Kodak Ektachrome film.

Black N Blue…Literally!

Black N Blue
June 8, 1984
Hollywood Palladium
Hollywood, CA
(opening for Night Ranger)

When I was a young teen I started listening and collecting demos from the local L.A. bands.  Some of the tapes I got from the bands and at shows; some I traded through the mail with other metal fans around the world.  It was a great time for heavy music out here in Southern California and a great time to be a music fan.

Steeler, Ratt, WASP, Armored Saint – they were all looking for record deals and they were all handing out their music for free, building their fan-base.  Black N Blue was one of the new bands on the scene and their early demos were among the strongest.  Each demo was better than their previous one, and it did not take much time before they nabbed a major label deal.

By the time I shot these photos, Black N Blue’s debut record had just hit the streets and they were on a national tour supporting Night Ranger.  As you will read, I went through a lot to get these photos.

As always, I had to make sure I could get as close as possible to the stage in order to get good shots, so my buddy Howie and I headed straight to the Palladium after school and jumped in line.  It was at least 100 degrees that day, and to make things worse, I had to wear a long sleeved, hoodie sweatshirt – it was the only way I could sneak my camera in.  Poor Howie, I also made him wear the same sort of hoodie – he was sneaking in my lens for me…what a pal!  We sat in line for at least 3 hours, sweating our balls off.  I can’t even tell you how many stares we got because we were wearing sweatshirts in the middle of a heat-wave.

They finally opened the doors and we moved towards the entrance.  First I slipped in with my camera unnoticed and untouched, Howie followed right behind me. We were in!

I remember getting in to the lobby and having to step to the side for a moment, I thought I was going to faint.  All that heat and all that stress had taken its toll on me.  I gained my composure and we both headed to the bathroom and rinsed our faces with cold water.  We were wiped out and the show hadn’t even started yet.

Howie and I worked our way through the floor towards the stage.  I found a spot that I thought would work for photos and held our ground. Usually, when I was shooting from the crowd, I would grab a char and stand on its arms to shoot over everyone’s heads.  But there were no chairs in the Palladium, so I was forced to hop on Howie’s shoulders to snap my photos.  We must have looked like a couple of fruit-cakes.  I didn’t care, I was getting my photos.  But Howie was still exhausted from all the heat and was very shakey and could only hold me up for small amounts of time.

As soon as Black N Blue had finished their set we headed out of the crowd to get some air and maybe throw some more cold water on our faces.  I took my sweatshirt off and wrapped my camera in it. I must not have been thinking straight – that was a big mistake! It was very obvious that I had something inside that hoodie as I cradled it in my arms in the lobby.

From out of nowhere, a security guard grabbed me and ordered me to open up my hoodie.  He saw my camera, grabbed it and put me in a headlock.  He threw me in a small office and started questioning me…just like in the movies.  He asked me how I got the camera and lens into the venue.  I told him that I just walked in with it.  He didn’t believe me.  He started demanding that I tell him which security guard I paid off to allow me in with the camera.  I tried to tell him that he was nuts, but before I could finish my sentence he sucker punched me – square in the temple of my head.  I was on dream street, I was fading, passing out.  He smacked me in the face to wake me and punched me again.

I knew I was in trouble, but there was no one else around to help…it was just me and him in this little room.  All  I could think about was my camera and protecting the film.  I was so broke that I could only afford one roll of film that night. I had gone through hell to get these photos, there was no way I was going to lose them.  I reached for the camera, but the security guard beat me to it.  He gave me a sinister smirk and said, “Say bye-bye.”  He tried to open my camera to expose the film, but he couldn’t figure out how to open it.  I think all the duct tape I had on the camera body threw him off.

He finally got frustrated and gave up on my camera and threw it at me.  He grabbed my hair and lifted me from the chair and escorted me out of the venue.  Howie was waiting near the door, unsure of where I had been taken and followed us out of the venue.  Poor Howie did want to see Night Ranger, but instead he chose to follow me out to make sure I was okay.  Again, what a pal!

I didn’t really care that I was thrown out, I was only there to see Black N Blue. Most importantly, I had my camera and the film was still safely inside.

I never got the chance to tell the guys from Black N Blue what I went through to get these photos.  When I was shooting KISS on their reunion tour, I was just about to tell Tommy Thayer (he was their tour manager at the time), but he was pulled away with some sort of last minute stage drama.

If any of you loyal readers know the Black N Blue guys, please point them to my blog and have them read this –  it would mean a lot to me.

Photographed on Howie’s shoulders with my smuggled in Canon AE1 Program and a cheap, no name 70mm-200mm f 5.6 lens.  Shot on Kodak Negative film.

“Kevin…you have come so far!”

Ozzy Osbourne
Us Festival
San Bernardino, CA
May 29, 1983

Ozzy Osbourne
Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
Laguna Hills, CA
August 3, 1989

I am blessed.  Ever since I was a kid all I wanted to do was take photos of my favorite rock bands and artists.  I am living proof that if you want something bad enough; if you have the talent; and if you never give up – no matter how tough things may get – you can achieve your dream.  I am often told, “Kevin, you have come so far.”

Take a look at that Ozzy photo from the Us Festival in 1983.  I was just a kid shooting from the crowd back then with a smuggled-in-camera.  Sometimes I could make my way right up front and sometimes I was stuck in the boonies.  Now look at the Ozzy photo I shot at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, I was living my dream shooting Ozzy for my first time up front inside his photo pit.

So yes, I have come pretty far…about 150 ft. closer to the stage to be exact.

Ozzy at the Us Festival shot on my brothers Pentax K-1000 camera with a Pentax 80mm lens.  Shot on Kodak Negative Film.

Ozzy at Irvine Meadows Amp. shot with my Canon AE1 Program and a no name 80-200mm f 5.6 lens.  Shot on Kodak Ektachrome film.

The Many Faces Of Metallica : 2008 James Hetfield

Metallica
Los Angeles Forum
Inglewood, CA
December 17, 2008

Metallica was back.  And they were back in a big way.  The release of Death Magnetic proved that life after death does indeed exist.  2008’s Death Magnetic cd is undoubtably the strongest and truest cd Metallica has created since …And Justice For All or, as some may argue, The Black Album.  Regardless, Metallica, proved once again that they were still the greatest and biggest rock band in the world.

As Metallica readied for The World Magnetic Tour, I got a taste of it early as I shot the first two warm-up gigs before the tour officially kicked off.  These shows were great, but nothing like the actual Magnetic shows that are still rolling across the globe.

As they did on their last tour, Metallica chose to play in the round, giving the fans an equal chance at seeing the band up close and from all angles.  I knew I was going to be doing a lot of running and chasing again, so I staked out my starting point and readied for the band.  As the lights dropped out and their intro music rang, my hands immediately got clammy and wet…just like the old days.  This was a good sign, I was excited, focused.

The band hit the stage and tore into That Was Just Your Life.  Lasers shot everywhere, but the stage remained dark.  There was no way to shoot, I could only see the band when the blue lasers would hit or hang on them.  This was not good, at least not for me, but the crowd loved it.  At last the lights sprang up as the band broke into The End Of The Line.  Now I could get to work.  The band was so driven, pushing each other and challenging each other’s energy.

As the opening notes of Creeping Death blared through the arena, massive, white caskets dropped over the band from overhead.  It was eerie, yet beautiful.  Metallica’s vision was crystal clear and it was all connecting with their fans.  I never stopped moving and running around that stage, chasing down each member of the band.

This shot of James Hetfield really seems to capture the power and angst that makes Metallica who they are.

Photographed with my Nikon D300 and a Nikon 24mm-70mm lens.

Personal Historical Note:  This was the debut of my gradual switch from Canon to Nikon.

The Many Faces Of Metallica : 2004 Lars Ulrich

Metallica
Arrowhead Pond
Anaheim, CA
November 27, 2004

When Metallica rolled through Southern California on this leg of The Madly In Anger Tour, they hit Anaheim’s Arrowhead Pond for the first time – a very large and beautifully kept venue- right in the backyard of their original stomping grounds.

Despite mixed reviews and dispersed disappointment over the St. Anger cd, Metallica was back and they were still the biggest hard rock band in the world.  The band had thrown away the eyeliner, got rid of the designer clothing and got their edge back.

This shoot presented a bit of a challenge for me – Metallica was now playing in the round, and I was going to have be quick on my feet to keep up with the band.  Not only was the stage round allowing each member to run from side to side, from front to back, to face the audience on all sides of the arena, but the drum riser was also rotating on its own.  So as the band was constantly moving, so was Lars.

I never ran so much shooting a show in my life.  The band opened with Blackened, ripping everyone’s heads off.  Their energy was incredible and I knew I had to put a game plan together if I wanted to get the shots I needed.  For the next two songs – Fuel and The Four Horsemen – I decided to concentrate on one guy at a time – first Lars, then James, etc, while making sure to hit Kirk on all the solos.  Wherever my target moved, I would follow – no matter what.

I was tired, hot and sweaty, but my planned worked…I got it all.  I even got my face heated up pretty badly by the flame shooters at the base of the stage.

I always liked this shot of Lars, I felt that it really captured the excitement and energy that Metallica was giving to the audience that night.

Photographed with a Canon 1D and a Canon 70mm-200mm lens.

Historical Note:  Metallica’s first show ever was also in Anaheim, CA at Radio City on March 14, 1982.