Backstage Pass - SB Hopper

My Subaru left me

It was always an aloof relationship. I’d been dreaming about a Subaru Outback for years. It was going to play an important role in my move to the Pacific Northwest, rediscovering a neglected love of the outdoors, finding a dog friend, and paddling the waters of this beautiful region.

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Lovefest with DATENITE, Heather Edgley, Sandi Fernandez, Halley Greg

I used to shoot a lot of concerts. My friend Tony and I even started a little entity dedicated towards music photography. We loved it, and we’re proud of the work, but we always struggled a little with knowing what it was or where it was going. That was

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Bernie Sanders in Tacoma

I went to the Bernie Sanders rally in Tacoma. I shot some stills, shot some bad film, and recorded some audio snippets. I’m not a multi-tasker, and I think trying to do all of the above is not in my wheelhouse. Stick to one format. Sometimes you have to

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Roselit Bone at Mississippi Studios

The music stars aligned last week. Roselit Bone and C.W. Stoneking played a show at Portland’s Mississippi Studios that fit in perfectly with my drive back to Seattle. I don’t shoot many shows these days, but I was excited for this one. I love Roselit Bone [http:

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Is it time to wake up yet? I know I'm not ready.

Dance. Movement. Music. Grace. I know next to nothing about dance. But I do know it’s athletic, artistic, and rewarding. Tonight two of my nieces participated in a dance festival held at a local high school. They make it look so effortless, but I have an inkling of the

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Pebble n the Crick at Seattle's Lo-Fi

Pebble n the Crick [https://www.instagram.com/pebblenthecrick/] played at Lo-Fi last night. I can’t remember the last time I caught the full band. They’re all busy, that’s for sure. It’s a lot of fun following a band and catching their live shows over the

Assembly Mic at Vermillion

Last night I went to Kate Berwanger’s Assembly Mic at Vermillion [https://www.instagram.com/vermillionseattle/]. Assembly Mic [https://www.instagram.com/assemblymic/] is a literary event focused on raw, unfinished works, works in progress, etc. Kate wants you to kill your darlings. And by that, she means that

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Dead Spells and Sterling Serpent at Seattle's Highline

On Friday I saw Dead Spells [https://www.instagram.com/sterling_serpent_music/] play at Seattle’s Highline. I really like them. And that sentence reveals a source of frustration – I can’t write about music at all. I like their music, they sound good. Awesome prose, Scott. It’s

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Belva at Black Lodge

The first person to ever read tarot for me also fronts a cool band. I think through the trasmutative properties of quantum mechanics that somehow makes me cooler. Belva [https://www.instagram.com/belva_band/] played at Seattle’s Black Lodge last night, and they were great. Bands, if you

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Roselit Bone at McMenamins Alexander School

Roselit Bone [https://www.instagram.com/roselitbone/] has been touring with their new album, Crisis Actor. I caught a show in California that was part of the album release tour. They don’t let up, though. They’ve been doing a smaller tour through McMenamins [https://www.instagram.com/mcmenamins/

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The Moth's Grand Slam event at Town Hall Seattle

A few weeks ago I shot photos for The Moth’s Grand Slam [https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzq73WrlbzU/] literary event at Town Hall Seattle [https://www.instagram.com/townhall_seattle/]. I really enjoyed the event – 10 writers fearlessly sharing their stories in front of a packed house. The musician

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Dead Spells at Capitol Hill's Highline Bar

Dead Spells played at Capitol Hill’s Highline [https://www.facebook.com/highlinebar/] last night. I went. They were great. One of their guitars or part of the sound system was acting up, and they had to pause to fix it. I imagine when you’re on stage moments like

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Pebble n the Crick, Lopez Island, and Iris

A few weeks ago I went to Lopez Island for the weekend to see my friends Pebble n the Crick [https://www.instagram.com/pebblenthecrick/] play two live shows at Vita’s Wildly Delicious [https://www.instagram.com/vitaswildlydelicious/] and the Lopez Islander Resort [https://www.lopezfun.com/en-us]. Pebble

Aleida Gehrels Seattle viola

Tobias the Owl's NPR Tiny Desk 2019 entry

On Sunday I filmed Tobias the Owl’s [https://www.instagram.com/tobiastheowl/] entry (Sing Me to Sleep) for this year’s NPR Tiny Desk [https://www.npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts/] competition. Tobias the Owl is one of my favorite Seattle bands, and I’ve been lucky to catch a

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Kodak Moment at the W

My friends Valerie [https://www.instagram.com/explorateur/] and Victoria [https://www.instagram.com/victoriaholtphoto/] DJ at Seattle’s W Hotel [https://www.instagram.com/wseattle/] every 4th Friday of the month. My friend Nika and I went last week. The setting is something else, especially the DJ space – raised,

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Backstage Pass: Devin Sinha's "What You're Given" (video for NPR's Tiny Desk)

I’ve wanted to share this for a long time now but had to wait patiently for the Tiny Desk [https://www.instagram.com/nprmusic/] competition to roll around. My friend Tony Hammons [https://www.instagram.com/t.hammons/] and I shot this video for Devin Sinha [https://www.instagram.

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Roxanna Walitzski's Farewell (to Seattle) Performance

My fairly recent introduction to Roxanna Walitzski [https://www.instagram.com/roxannacwalitzki/] was through her photography. It’s incredible. I can’t remember exactly how I found her work, but I suspect it was through my friend José Andrés [https://www.instagram.com/joseandres_foto/]. I learned later that Roxanna

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Kristin Chambers at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center

Tony Hammons and I were back at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center on [https://www.instagram.com/abbeyarts/] Saturday 15 September 2018 to shoot video for Kristin Chambers [https://www.instagram.com/kchamberssongs/]’ EP release. It was my first time seeing a show in the Abbey’s downstairs stage. Kristin

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Let Go

Tony Hammons [https://www.tonyhammons.com] and I recently shot a music video for Tobias the Owl [https://www.facebook.com/tobiastheowl/], one of our favorite Seattle musicians. The song is called Let Go, and it was a collaboration with Made for Music [https://www.facebook.com/madeformusicpodcast/], a Seattle

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Capitol Hill Artwalk

I made a little video about the 14 June 2018 Capitol Hill Artwalk: Queer Edition. The video is terrible; the Artwalk and the artists are incredible. I like walking around taking photos on Artwalk Thursdays, but I haven’t really gone into the galleries. Huge mistake. I’ve always liked

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A Night for Women's Rights, a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood

Sometimes the future looks pretty bright. I read online that Claire Michelle [https://www.instagram.com/clairemichellemusic/] and Eva Walker [https://www.instagram.com/evawalker13/] were going to be the keynote speakers at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser at Capitol Hill’s Northwest School, so I grabbed my camera and headed

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Northwest Folklife 2018

Seattle hosted the 47th Northwest Folklife Festival [https://www.nwfolklife.org/festival/] at the Seattle Center from 25 May through 28 May 2018. It’s a fantastic event that celebrates culture, arts, and music. I think one of the things I most like about the festival is that it is

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Backstage Pass: Patrick Galactic at Whiskey West, 13 July 2017

Patrick Galactic [https://patrickgalactic.bandcamp.com] has a new fan. I wish he’d record Savior for a Day so I could get my hands on it. Took this photo at his 13 July 2017 show at West Seattle’s Whiskey West [https://www.whiskywest.com]. (I can recommend the

Anna St- Lee

The Peavine Alley House celebrates the 4th of July...on the 8th

Have you ever been to a “house show” to see live music? I’ve been seeing references to them, and I like the idea. Someone with an apartment or house that is large enough (cue the envy) to host a bunch of people and a musician or a band hires

Anna St- Lee

Rain City Collective

In June, my friend and fellow photographer Tony [https://www.instagram.com/t.hammons/] and I launched Rain City Collective [https://www.raincitycollective.com], an online site that focuses on the diverse, talented community of artists in the Pacific Northwest. We have an admittedly expansive view when it comes to