Being in a band you get to work with a lot of photographers. Some are awesome, others are shit. This photographer is the awesomest though...
Since Facing the Gallows formed in 2007, Mike Bell has grown massively as a photographer. He started out at around the same time as far as I recall, maybe earlier, but since then he has grown as a brand and as an artist. Simply put – He's got skill. He is by far one of my top SA photographers and will support him as much as I damn well can!
Here are some of the snaps he did for us last week. And more.
More: Check out more of his work on his blog. And hire him!
My mind has been far from creatively active of late, so I figured I'd stick to something I know and love. Metal. I decided to put together a bunch of videos of songs and artists that have either changed my life, or just made it more awesome in general.
My first video if by a band called Spies Like Us, I stumbled across this video through one of my internet missions, following link after link. When I first heard the song I loved it...
After watching the video a few times over, I looked further into the song and into the lyrics. The song is about the world today and how the human race is totally messing it up. I think it's amazing that young bands like this take people and the world seriously. Not only is the message great but the song is power! Especially the part at around 2:50. My favourite lyric: "Will we fight this? We the people can stop this but no one will survive."
A Day To Remember has been owning the world for the past couple of years spreading the love that they produce. Their track All I Want is pretty much about doing what you want and doing it for yourself and for the love of it. It's also representative of my outlook on life – Make yourself happy, make other people happy and have fun doing it.
My favourite lyric: "I get what I want so everyone's always judging me. Not afraid of anything, I've got the whole world infront of me."
One of the greatest things I have discovered since my birth is Jack Johnson. And that is no lie. This man is one of the most amazing humans I have ever seen or heard. Not only is his music soulful, but his voice is soothing and full of love for everything. The single thing that sold Jack to me was a clip from his En Concert dvd, where he started a song and dedicated it to a flock of birds flying around at the back of the crowd. What a legend. And I'm sure those birds loved it.
His song, No Other Way, is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. I managed to learn how to play it, still working on the singing, but maybe one day I'll cover it and upload it... I doubt it. We'll never know everything and life will be scary at times, we're all in it together. My favourite lyric: "And know that if I knew all the answers I would no hold them from you, you'd know all the things that I'd know."
This next song is very close to my heart. It came out the year I finished high school, and between myself and my friends it became our anthem.
When ever we were at a party or a show and this song came on, everyone stopped what they were doing and started dancing. And when the pretty part started, we all huddled together and sang as loud as we could. Those are moments I'll never forget. Enough with the emo. Who knew that only a few years after the song came out, we would play shows with Haste The Day on there SA tour? Not me! But we did, and when this song was played, it was back to the old days! I love this whole song, so I can't single out any lyrics.
This is a track by pop-punk champions Set Your Goals called Gaia Bleeds. These guys bring the punk hard and will get you bouncing whether you like it or not. I grew up listening to punk, so it's always cool to hear something new that's an awesomer version of what you used to listen to.
This song is also about us useless humans and how good we are at fucking shit up. Global warming or not, it's on. My favourite lyric: "Kill like we know how. Killing like we're allowed."
Finally, one of my favourite albums of all time is that of Tim Armstrong entitled, A Poet's Life. When I first heard it I had to tell everyone I knew about it. I told quite a few, I don't think I got them all… His track Into Action is THE party anthem. In short, the song pretty much says: Get off your ass, make a plan and make life awesome! And that it exactly what I've been doing since then.
If this song doesn't make you feel good then you are probably better off dead.
My favourite lyric: "And I don't need any money to have any fun!"
I would be lying if I said music isn't as vital to life as air or water. It is, and if you listen to "what ever's on the radio", you need to get out there and discover something that grabs you and keeps you there. For me all of these songs have and always will.
