(Click Image for Larger View) CAMERA INFO Hand-held Canon 20D; Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens; Aperture Priority Mode; 1/60s; f/1.8; ISO 400; Metering: Pattern
Greetings—
The blog has a new design ... just in case you didn't notice ;-) I'm liking it so far; a little cleaner and sleeker the the old one, to my eyes, at least.
(Click Image for Larger View) CAMERA INFO Hand-held Canon 20D; Quantaray 70-300mm f/4-5.6 LD Tele-Macro Lens & Canon EF Life-Size Converter @ 259mm; Program Mode; 1/500s; f/7.1; ISO 1600; Metering: Pattern
Greetings—
I'm dedicating today's photo and my Twitter FollowFriday post to Mr. Allan Saw; who is not only a wry wit and a fine photographer from Australia, but he also provided motivation for me to "...lift your butt from the chair and put a new photo on your blog," something which I've been sorely lax on these last few days. Follow the link above, and then follow Allan ... always a fun Tweet, sure.
Don't let the cute nature of this gallery's opening photo fool you; this was a night of hard driving, high intesity top drawer musicianship at Vnuk's Lounge from a trio of Prog masters.
Katrina Johansson opened the show and is an artist I wasn't familiar with to this point, but I'm certainly glad I saw her this night:
Johansson started her training on classical guitar while in her teens, before switching to rock. A veteran of numerous heavy rock bands, Johansson honed her skills playing festivals and clubs around the U.S., covering songs by Iron Maiden, Van Halen, and Accept. But, after seeing Joe Satriani, she was inspired to focus on her guitar playing and write instrumental rock tunes. (Guitarist—and speed king—Michael Angelo Batio was impressed enough with her talent to produce her solo CD.) Johansson has a great feel, and some incredible chops played within strong compositions. In addition to her excellent phrasing and strong vibrato, Johansson is an extremely impressive speed picker.
This was some killer instrumental rock and I really look forward to seeing Katrina again real soon.
Next up was a band that I've had the distinct pleasure to not only have as clients for the past few years but also have as friends; the one and only Strange Land
Strange Land is a diverse melodic neo-progressive power-trio from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that plays thought provoking rock/metal. As with many original bands the sound of Strange Land is difficult to describe. In the most generic sense the band falls into the progressive rock/metal category, along with such bands as Fates Warning, Savatage, Rush, Zero Hour, Pain of Salvation, and Galactic Cowboys. Strange Land, however, prefers not to wear its influences on its sleeve. Rather, the members blend all of their past experiences and outside musical influences into one unique musical vision.
This was a very bittersweet performance for me and, I'm sure for the boys in the band as sadly, this was the last performance by this tremendous group. I'm really looking forward to Brad, Chad and Sean's future musical endeavors ... Keep on rawkin', guys!
Capping off this wonderful evening of music was also a band of old friends ... and now, some new ones too: The Secret Society of Starfish. Joining forces from such diverse acts as Dimension X, Kopecky and The Daniel Nathan Band, this new juggernaut consists of Pablo Sepulveda on vocals, Chris Vincent on drums, Jeff Konkol on keyboards, Joe Kopecky on guitar and DR Burkowitz on bass:
..";.... Born from the depths of time and space, and the imagination of its members, the SECRET SOCIETY OF STARFISH arises from its watery slumber. Always evolving, the turns and twists of the composition and musicianship will engulf the eager listener. Stay tuned........
These guys are going to be a band to reckoned with, for sure. Please do make an effort to catch their next show, Friday, July 2 at Milwaukee SummerFest where they'll open for Yes.
I can't tell you what an enjoyable evening this was, both musically and photographically. I'd like to thank all the members of the Katrina Johansson Band, Strange Land, The Secret Society of Starfish and last, but certainly not least, Dave Vnuk and all of his wonderful staff for making this such a great night.
Please click on the following link to view full-sized photos:
