Balmain PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographing the Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers are wild in concert. They somehow seem to mix everything: bluegrass, country, folk, "hazy bar" honky tonk - and its all delivered with a decidedly punk edge.
I met the Avett Brothers at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. Like any pre show photo session this all had to be done quickly. Not only did I have to create some decent portraits of the band, but I also had to get a good selection of all the guitars and banjos that help make their particular brand of American music so appealing.
Across the street from the theatre was a parking lot. Great! Well, actually it had nice crumbing wall which made a nice contrasting background against the majestic brick of the theatre. We shook hands and I asked the guys to climb up the wall. That was about it for direction. The picture came together quite easily. A good start...
Inside the Paramount lobby are some vintage staircases. This proved to be a great backdrop for capturing a focused image of the band and some detailed images of their collective guitars and banjos. Once this was done I asked Seth and Scott to step outside. The area around the ticket window looked too cool not to use somehow. I asked them to bring some instruments which naturally resulted in them to start singing! This great moment became the cover shot for the Fretboard Journal.
Avett Brothers
I came back later that night to capture some shots of the actual performance. To be honest I really did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised at how much energy and hard edginess they brought to their material!. The Paramount, being one of Seattle's grand old venues, is a perfect place to catch a great band like the Avett Brothers...