Glasses & Comadre

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On July 27, 2010, Glasses and Comadre performed at the CYC to kick their west coast tour. That night not many people attended, but since it wasn't that crowded I was able to enjoy one of my favorite bands. Not to mention I was able to talk to some of the Redwood City dudes. It was fun and hope they come back again.

Arthur

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EP Designs

Currently working on finishing the designs for the EP's. It's been about a month or so since I have recorded these songs. I've been in and out mixing the music and making sure all the levels for each instrument is set to my satisfaction. I've also been collaborating with XvDeDvX for an upcoming hip-hop EP. All these EP's are going to be released together hopefully in September.

Recess at the Blacktop Playground is a 3 song EP that represents my perception of jazz. Two of the songs were recorded with a click and one a free form improv. Guitars and bass were recorded first before drums. It was an interesting process. Structuring these songs weren't easy, but not hard. Jazz is a pretty flexible style so anything could work.

Friends as Halves is another 3 song EP that collaborates with Jordan Acosta. I set a day to hang out with Jordan at his now-former-home to record. This was the only day we could document the special moment. Back in high school, Jordan and I loved to collaborate when it came to writing acoustic songs. We used to play guitar together at lunch time, during the summers, and at night with our friends. Those moments can still be shared today. The writing and recording took the whole day. The results definitely displays that Bueno-Acosta magic.

Cutz (not the official name as of yet) is the hip hop EP that is taking the longest to finish. Collaborating with XvDeDvX is different. You put one guy from the hardcore background and the other from the mathrock jazz and you pull out some pretty interesting stuff. He creates the beats while I create the tones. So far we have enough to release an EP. We are taking it slow to make the record right. He wants to get himself and some special emcees to lay down lines on the tracks. I think this will be one record I will definitely appreciate after it's done.

All of which represent my current influences. You can check out some samples on my music profile. Go have a listen!!


Noodles and Doodles


Arthur

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Mayhem Fest 2010

Just yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph Mayhem Fest at the Shoreline Theater in Mountain View, Ca. Line up consisted of 3 Inches of Blood, Norma Jean, Korn, Rob Zombie, and others. My buddy Wilson Lee gave me a press pass that allowed me to shoot a couple of the bands and hang out at a "secretive" press area the staff was hush hush about. I got to see Jonathan Davis and Fieldy of Korn, Rob Zombie, John Five, and others. It was a pretty cool experience. I also able to interview the press organizer Laura Jean, Cody of Norma Jean, Cam of 3 Inches of Blood, and Blake and Jeff of In This Moment. Here are the interviews.





Laura Jean
Press Organizer

What was the most frustrating part of the tour?
The chaos of the whole thing. Making sure things are in order and things are done in time. I love my job, but it can get a little crazy

What was your previous employment
I used to work in the box office with one of the members of the Vandals. With that I got my connections and now I work with this tour

Could a photographer like me get a gig like this?
Absolutely.. you just have to bust your ass like I do




Cory Brandan Putman of Norma Jean
Vocals

What's the next move after tour?
We are going to have some time off for our bassist to get married. Maybe afterwards a possible headlining fall tour in the U.S., Canada, and possibly Mexico

Do you still label yourselves as a Christian Band?
We always seem to be labeled for a lot of things. If anything we write music that we like to hear and let the fans categorize us

Do you have any current side projects?
I have two side projects that I'm not going to tell you. I just don't want the label to be associated with them. I want them to be known and grow organically





Cam Pipes of 3 Inches of Blood
Vocals

What do you like about the tour so far?
It's a lot like Ozzfest where all the bands are comfortable with each other. We kinda knew what to expect since we've played a show like this before. It's nice to move a lot more since there's a bigger stage and we get to play a little bit longer.

What's the next step after tour?
We plan to be busy after this tour. We plan on doing a tour in Japan and hitting the hometown area. Maybe have some new songs to work on when we do take a break and be able to hang with wife at home.

Any side projects we should know about?
Not really. We are so busy with this band that it's kind of hard to make time for something like that. If I do have the time I definitely want to play bass for a band again.






Blake Bunzel & Jeff Fabb of In This Moment
Guitar and Drums

What has been your favorite part of the tour?
Jeff Fab: We knew most of the bands so it was comforting and welcoming having to share the stage with our friends
Blake Bunzel: The crowd that's here for metal

What were some of the hardest moments of having a woman front the band?
Blake Bunzel: I think the part where women have been perceived to be in pop bands like Paramore and not really in the metal. I mean, that band and other bands like that are great, but just having that stereotype was pretty tough in the beginning
Jeff Fabb: I think the fans weren't really sure of giving us chance, but they did.

What's the next step after this tour?
Jeff Fabb: Do this tour and do another tour. Try to tour national and international
Blake Bunzel: Work on some new stuff

What do you miss the most from home?
Jeff Fabb: I don't miss a damn thing!!! Hahaha! I just like to go traveling so who cares
Blake Bunzel: Just loved ones. That's all I could think of right now

End

It was a fun day. This experience made me realize the intense politics on what you can photograph and what you can't photograph. It can get complicated. For some reason I wasn't able to get on the photo pit for the main stage. Since I didn't have a specific photo pass I wasn't able to photograph any of the bands. I got to sneak Five Finger Death Punch, but was booted out later. Even my buddy, Will, photographed the rest of the bands but not Rob Zombie because of stupid legal issues. That performance was the best part of the tour to be honest. Overall, the experience was fun and hopefully Will can take me again. Thanks Will!

Arthur

Check out more of the photos here






February 25, 2019
note:
Links to the sets are no longer working

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