Back in March 2020, my friend Amy and I began a project to document our friends and neighbors during the Covid-19 quarantine in Vermont. Amy took photographs through the windows of peoples’ homes ― I took photographs from across the road. A month or so into the project we put a call out to writers, and then added a local visual artist’s drawings ― our gallery magazine was born. These portraits are my contributions to the project.
In 2018, I spent four months living on the Knoydart Peninsula in Scotland, researching and documenting the small and beautiful community of which I had been visiting off and on for ten years. Part of a larger community land reform movement, the Knoydart peninsula has become a home to me and an inspiration to many. These images are from my thesis.
I spent four months on tour with JP Harris and the Tough Choices as tour manager. This is part of those four months - six weeks in Europe and the UK. Photos taken with my mobile and a mirrorless Olympus.
Our driver Shaun, who would be with us most of the tour, lived in Brighton. Even though the first full week of tour was through Spain, we flew to England to meet Shaun and pick up our backline. Shaun arranged a small show in Brighton which was sold out. This was the first of many long days for all of us. Pictured L-R: Shaun (our driver), Adam (lead guitar), JP(songwriter, vocalist, rhythm guitar), Timmy (bass), Asa (pedal steel guitar). Not pictured: Jon (drums)
Meeting someone and keeping in touch might take effort (even in the days of social media), but sometimes it pays off. JP was able to get us a wonderful place to stay in France, on the way to Spain, with friends he had met a year or two before. Pictured (bottom to top): JP, Adam, Jon, Asa
Over the next six weeks we were amazed by the love and popularity of American Country Music and its culture in the hearts of people across the EU and the UK. Pictured: Unknown fans
After a long drive, a sold out show and long night, the band wakes up early for a radio show in Madrid. Even jet lagged and a bit hung over, everyone uses the excitement of the first week in Spain for fuel. Pictured (L-R): Our Spanish Promoter, Jose, Adam, Jon, Timmy, JP, Asa
For the entire UK/EU tour we had only two days off, which meant a new place every night. In the beginning, we spent a good deal of time packing our gear and getting settled. By the end, we were mostly on autopilot for morning van call. Pictured (F-B): JP, Timmy, (hidden) Jon
A heavy tour schedule and long travel times meant most of our sightseeing was done from the window of the van. Occasionally, a delay allows for a bit of time hanging out in a beautiful place, like this rooftop in Madrid. Pictured (Front to Back): Jose, Timmy, JP, Jon
Six weeks, forty-two days, many cups of coffee. Almost all of us needed coffee in the morning. There were better cups than others. Occasionally we were able to enjoy them in the sunshine. Pictured (L-R) : JP, Asa, Jon, Timmy, Adam
After a harrowing drive through the mountains of Switzerland, we arrive to be taken care of at Little Nashville Saloon. The scene was set with American flags, line dancers, murals of western movies, and packed dinner tables hugging the stage. Whatever country music vibes we had brought with us, the audience wanted all of it.Pictured (L-R): JP, Asa, and fans
Set lists changed very little over the course of tour. Because of that I could feel any boredom or tension the band had on stage. I also felt I could share in the private jokes that were being made, even when the crowd had no idea. Pictured (L-R): Asa, Timmy (hidden), JP, Jon, Adam
Touring musicians learn to sleep anywhere. If you can’t, or won’t, you will end up miserable and punchy. There are tricks to be a successful sleep-anywhere-road-dog, but when it comes down to it, eventually everyone gets tired enough to sleep anywhere anytime . Pictured: Asa and JP
No matter how packed and successful the show there are places a band won’t return to play. This is one of those places – where the perceived American Country Music culture comes with a questionable background of what hides in the decorations, like a confederate flag or “lawn jockeys.” Pictured (L-R Stage) Asa, Timmy, Jon, JP, and Adam, and a small portion of the crowd
Green rooms attract welcome and unwelcome guests from fans and friends, to groupies and club managers. Pictured(B-F): Adam, Asa (hidden), JP, unknown woman
We were to have an official planned day off in Venlo, and arrived early the day of the show. We had plenty of time in the green room to snack and relax. Venlo treated us like old friends, even giving us an entire disused theater to sleep in. Pictured(L-R): Jon, Timmy, Adam, Asa, JP
On tour, everyone is thrown together pretty much all of the time. This means any moments to spend on one's own comes few and far between. Together, we laughed a lot and dealt with emotional, mental, and physical strain in our own ways. It can be difficult finding space to be alone; sometimes the only space you find is in your own thoughts. Pictured (L-R) Adam, JP, Asa
Our only scheduled day off was spent roaming around Venlo and relaxing in the empty theater that became our home for a brief two nights. The stage was both our living room and our sleeping space, and we had wifi. Pictured (L-R): JP, Shaun, Asa, Adam
The vans stops, those who smoke, smoke. We find coffee, take a piss, go for a quick walk, find a shop and get a snack. We could be in the van for hours on end, so every time it stops we take the opportunity to get out, even if it means reluctantly waking up to do so. Pictured (L-R): Timmy, Asa, Adam, JP
Sometimes special visits and new friends turn into dear memories. Not long after the band recorded at Barry’s home studio in London, he died of a fast moving and rare cancer. Barry warmly invited us into the quirky Eden that was his studio and home. Pictured: Jon, JP
Seldom available, the view from above and behind the band provides a shift in perspective from how the audience sees the band to how I see them. Here, you get a true sense of how small the stage can be. Pictured (L-R): Adam, JP, Jon, Asa, Timmy
We saw a variety of green rooms and hospitality while in the EU and UK. Sometimes they blur together, mostly we were given all our requests for food and drink, and were spoiled with things we didn't ask for. Occasionally what we were given was bare bones, and that made it feel like being back home in the States. By week five there was no need to really work on anything from the actual set which meant Adam rehearsing for other bands and learning new songs between soundcheck and the show. Pictured: Timmy, Adam
We had only two shows in Scotland, both in cities I had visited before. I never knew this club existed under the grey streets of Aberdeen. It was by far one of the strangest places we encountered - damp and with pretty poor sound. All the same, after the show we enjoyed a very late night with new friends at the pub.
After little sleep, we woke early and left Glasgow for the long drive to catch a ferry to Ireland. The beginning of the last week – with some of us taking our vices to the daytime hours. Pictured (L-R): Timmy, JP, Asa
It wouldn’t be tour without someone passing out in the van from too much of something and not enough sleep. Those of us who drank might have found a bit of solace and camaraderie in alcohol; and maybe a bit of peace and deep sleep amidst the stress of being on the road. Pictured (L-R): Timmy, Jon
While some venues took us underground, or into loud, busy clubs, some took us into beautiful buildings, like this converted church in County Kerry. Pictured (L-R): Asa, Timmy, Jon, JP, Adam
This was our second to last day in Ireland. Our boots and our spirits officially broken in: to tour life, to life with each other, and to knowing that even clean clothes smelled like the road. The hospitality and warmth of the Irish was a perfect ending to the six weeks. We were definitely reluctant to leave. Pictured (L-R): Timmy, Asa, Jon, me
The day after I took this photo we loaded up in the van and drove to Dublin airport where we said a sad farewell to Carl our new friend and driver for Ireland. We left with fond memories of home-distilled whiskey, kitchen music sessions, big laughs, and the hospitality of our hosts. The six weeks in the EU and UK were over. We were to have less than a week off in Nashville, then hit the road again for another month on the West Coast of the U.S. No rest for the wicked. Pictured (L-R): Jon, Asa, Timmy
more coming soon
Portraits, planned and unplanned
more coming soon