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