Blow Up

Blow Up Jeremy Warmsley

2006-04-24T04:58:00.000+01:00

We spent hours and hours taking photos, but none of them were quite packing the punch. Finally we went over to his friend's sister's house to eat before Regina Spektor's show at Shepards Bush Empire later that night. Over the course of the day, we had collected polaroids of "a few of his favourite things." The old dummy piano at the space he used to rehearse at in Camden, a dinosaurs head from the Natural History Mueseum-he loves dinosaurs, his braces/suspenders, we shot a polaroid of him reading from over his shoulder to represent that he often reads over people's shoulders when on the tube, his mp3 player, and Tom-the friend and keyboardist for him, along with an old shot of mine of Mystery Jets. It turned out both to our taste. And it inadvertantly reminded him of a shot from Joy Division, which is also one of his favourite things. And to think, the idea originally came from my wanting to be able to post in the 'picture of a polaroid' group on flickr and after seen a still from the movie Just Friends in the Guardian of the main guy having fallen asleep on the floor surrounded by photos of some girl he went to high school with that he'd been sorting through.

Blow up Arctic Monkeys

2005-11-04T16:25:00.000Z

In the back of their van, amid girly magazines and video games, drummer Matt and bassist Andy are jovial as they discuss the Reverend in Sheffield.
"Okay. Well that's about it. can I take some photos of you guys?"
"Yeah, sure. Just us?," asks Matt.
Andy didn't quite hear.
"She wants to take pictures of just us."
"Actually I was hoping to take some group photos"
"Okay," says Matt as we get out to round up the rest of the band who were busy in the venue doing an interview. We check in with their tour manager Tim who is compiling a menu for tonight's dinner. Lead singer Alex comes in to see if the new T-shirt designs have gone through so the band can approve them, but alas they are not in yet. Tim is placing Toaster on the list plus three with a photo pass and I ask for ten or so minutes for group photography. A dinner of basil sausages will be served in about a half hour.
"Ten minutes? Hahaha. . . . Yeah. . . ."
What does that mean?
The band begins to assemble outside, guitarist Jamie bringing up the back. They're sluggish. We pick a door way. While three all stand within the same frame, Jamie stands at a doorway farther away leading the band, mostly Alex, to tug him back over. Once they're sitting, I take the first click.
Within the 15 second delay between the next, Alex begins discussing my shoes.
Click.
Click.
"Do you guys want to stand up?"
Stand up. Click. Jamie is getting restless. The amount of time that has elapsed outside is roughly three minutes acocunting for the delay between photos due to my camera's memory card.
Fifth click. Jamie starts walking away. The rest of the band follow. His parting words are about how cheesy it was, though this is one of the first times that I haven't instructed a band to pose. they were merely sitting on stairs. Matt is a bit slower than others, hanging behind to confirm that I got usable shots.
Now, just for live photos, they require a release form that if the photos are used for any purpose than for a review of that specific show, the photographer is liable for a fine. Other bands that use these contracts: Coldplay, White Stripes, and the Prodigy. Which of these bands is not like the others? Arctic Monkeys began requiring the contracts before their first single was even released!-where as all the others have began using them in the past two years when they were already in the middle of their careers and subject to bad press.
This has made NME DESPERATE! The photo above is running mid-November in the news section and they're currently buying up any and all Arctic Monkeys photos. The amount of copies the band is shifting of NME the magazine hasn't seen for quite some time. But with all these restrictions newer ones are harder to come by. these next few weeks will be interesting as the Monkeys have no new UK dates coming up and are playing internationally. NME has sent out a call. I'll be answering.

Blow up Franz Ferdinand

2005-11-02T19:39:00.000Z

Blow up United State of Electronica

2005-10-31T15:48:00.000Z

United State of Electronica are the best non-German German group to arrive out of Seattle to become superstars in Japan. You can now listen to them rock the party. A bit of Daft Punk mixed with the high times of the 70's Detroit rock era, with the enthusiasm of Junior Senior-basically the upbeat rebellious brother of the Postal Service.

USE gonna party. Yous gonna lose control.

Blow up Tom Vek

2005-10-28T10:52:00.000+01:00

Tom Vek chain smokes like no other. He's apprehensive about getting personal, preferring to state and restate the influence Soul Coughing and his parents have had on his musical career. Never without a cigarette in between his fingers are parting his lips his body isn't slim, it's eatting disorder thin. Like his conversations, he often averts from looking directly in the camera and strikes the same poses that he has struck previously for photographs in fashion magazines. When he pulls off his leather coat, he appears even skinnier which was previously thought an impossible feat.

Blow up Blow Up

2005-10-27T17:08:00.000+01:00

Salutations! Let Blow Up now commence. The blog for bands, clothes, images, and fun!