the photography:

Portrait #20 is tom

i met tom sometime around 3 years ago when i was helping to run a small art space out in cicero, illinois. one of tom’s bands, The Collections of Colonies of Bees, played our first ever show. it was awesome. my mannequin, Todd, was on the speaker riser behind tom (who plays a rhodes piano amongst other things…) and at some point during the night, the music got so loud that Todd slipped off the speaker and crashed from a height of about 4 feet onto poor tom’s head. it was awful. but did tom miss a beat? not even close. he kept playing through like nothing had happened. it was amazing to witness. and the only damage done? poor Todd’s head split open and his eyes fell out. tom? not a scratch (although i did not check for bruising). so when i got a message from tom asking me to help out and take photos of his current (the bees are not dead, tom’s in a couple of bands) project, All Tiny Creatures, i jumped at the chance to hang out with the kids from wisconsin. it was definitely fun. the first three of these photos are from the ATC shoot (and i know i’m breaking my own rule of doing all of these photos with a prime 50mm lens) and the last three are from an early dinner we had after the shoot. thanks to tom and the kids for being around. make art.

the music:
the figgs from saratoga springs new york are one of the best live bands to never be seen by the masses. these guys bring the rock like very few acts out there. as a three-piece, the figgs slugged through new england and the mid-atlantic for much of the 90′s and 00′s without hitting it big. an early major record deal gone sour, critical acclaim without record sales, amazing live shows seen by packed house in boston, hartford, and albany, and not a whole lot to show for it except some of the best records ever made. they know how good they are, and that’s all that matters. side note: i totally designed a t-shirt for them in 2001. amazing. they rule.