We set Allan a special challenge this year – shoot five great drummer pics. As a photographer who likes a challenge, he actually produced more than five. What’s even better is that he managed to get cool photographs of four female drummers over the year, which is pretty impressive really. Anyway, let’s hand over to Allan to tell you about those kit-batterers.

It’s always a challenge photographing drummers. They’re generally hidden at the back of the stage and badly lit which is s shame because (might be controversial here), they’re generally the engine room of the band. I’ve never met a drummer who wasn’t a brilliant musician, with an understanding of how all the musical parts fit together. It’s very strange that four of my five favourite drummer shots are of female drummers. They’re all great players and all the images work in different ways, so here are my five favourite batteurs (or maybe four of those should be batteuses, who knows?)

Ritu Arya (Kin) @Brixton Blues Kitchen

I was photographing a day-long event upstairs at Blues Kitchen (where you sometimes have the strange experience of the stage lighting getting worse as the gig progresses) in support of the people of Ukraine when the band Kin appeared on stage. The band’s female drummer was incredibly photogenic and I got some nice shots. Turns out later that her day job is as an actor and she’s actually quite famous. She’s a pretty good drummer as well.

The Paisley Daze @93 Feet East

I was invited to this gig by singer and actress Kat. I’d worked with Kat before on live and behind the scenes shoots and had no hesitation at all; she’s one of the nicest people I know. Let’s be polite and say there were a few problems organisationally with the gig and it was in a room that looked like a work in progress. After struggling with what was effectively club lighting through Kat’s set, there was an improvement for The Paisley Daze. They were great fun with funky, dancey rhythms and some great melodies. The drummer was the secret weapon, hyperactive and providing some vocals as well. I got a few good shots before he did the classic drummer thing and took his top off, which made all the difference even with the slightly odd lighting.

Amanda Dal (About Bunny) @Bread and Roses

I first met Amanda when she was playing in a band with my friends Graeme Wheatley and Iago Banet. We met for the first time in a pub in New Cross over a few lunchtime beers. Ever since then our paths have crossed at many gigs where she wasn’t playing and a few where she was. One of the bands she plays with live is About Bunny, who are melodic, punky and mainly female. I went along to see them at Bread and Roses in Clapham  and my efforts were rewarded by this shot of Amanda giving it loads and grinning for the camera at the same time. Bit of trivia for you; Amanda’s Swedish and she’s a huge Abba fan. Like everyone else here, she’s also a great drummer.

Emma Holbrook @Folk in the Park, Sutton

Emma was one of several musicians on the day, including Holly Carter, Michele Stodart, Keiron Marshall and Hannah White, who appeared in more than one band on the main stage at the very first Folk in the Park this year. As a new event, there were a few lessons to be learned – one of those lessons was that a backdrop for the main stage would have helped the look of the event. I liked the contrasting colours in this shot of Emma and, even though the background’s a bit distracting, I still think the shot works.

Migdalia van der Hoven @Crypt Lates

This shot was taken less than a week ago in The Crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields. The event was a birthday celebration for one of the Talentbanq directors, Pablo Ettinger. Pablo likes to celebrate his birthday by playing a jazz gig with his group and Migdalia’s his drummer of choice. Migdalia also played a second set with her own band which demonstrated why she’s in such demand – she’s a phenomenal drummer. Besides her own gigs, she’s also touring with the musical ‘Six’ at the moment. The lighting in The Crypt is a challenge, particularly for anyone who isn’t front and centre stage and the best place to photograph a drummer is usually from behind the stage, so that’s what I did. Just as I got the viewfinder to my eye, and before I could check the focus, Migdalia pulled a wonderful smile – I got lucky and the shot was pretty much in focus.

Did I ever mention that I like a drummer photo?

There was a time earlier this year, when I was hobbling around with the help of a crutch, when I thought that I would have difficulty scraping together five gigs that I’d actually seen; how wrong was that? It’s been difficult to narrow this list down to five, so I think there might be a few honourable mentions as well. So, in absolutely no order at all are my favourite live shows of 2014.

Jim StapleyJim Stapley Band at 93 Feet East

Jim Stapley’s debut album almost made my top five albums, but there was absolutely no doubt about this live performance. Jim has a phenomenal soulful rock voice and he has pulled together a superb band to deliver the songs live. This was an album launch gig featuring virtually all of the album “Long Time Coming” (plus a cheeky cover of Rihanna’s “We Found Love”) and, despite atrocious weather and a half-full venue, Jim and the band gave it everything. The songs were strong, the band were cooking on gas, but what a voice.

 

Stone FoundationStone Foundation at The 100 Club

Towards the end of a very busy year for the band, this was an appearance at the annual Delicious Junction bash and another headline slot at The 100 Club with a set based solidly on the “To Find the Spirit”. All of the band members are great players but, despite the solos, this isn’t about individuals, it’s about the group; it’s the perfect combination of a locked-in rhythm section, keyboards and horns. It was also a chance to see how the new members Gareth John (trumpet and flugelhorn) and Rob Newton (congas) had bedded in. It’s fair to say that the horns sounded better than ever and the congas added a little bit of icing on the cake. It was a great set from the band and a stomping encore of “Jumping Jack Flash”. Enough said.

YokaLittle Devils at The 100 Club

Yeah, The 100 Club again and it’s blues Jim, but not as we know it; Little Devils are fronted by singer and multi-instrumentalist (sax and flute), Yoka. The rhythm section of Graeme Wheatley and Sara-Leigh Shaw (aka the Pintsized Powerhouse) built a solid base for Big Ray’s guitar and Yoka’s vocals and instrumental solos. The quality of the playing alone would put this gig up there with the best this year but this is also great fun; the band obviously enjoy themselves and the audience will always pick up on that. Great performances and big smiles all around the room; that’s a pretty good combination for a great night.

Federal CharmFederal Charm and Ian Hunter’s Rant Band

This was the final night of the Ian Hunter tour and the audience was in a party mood. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Federal Charm but they seem to get better every time. They got a huge cheer when they strolled on to the Shepherds Bush Empire stage and powered their way through thirty minutes of melodic blues rock featuring their powerful cover of “Reconsider” before making way for Ian Hunter. What a legend; played for two hours and kept the audience spellbound throughout, and the voice still sounds great. We even got an appearance from Mick Ralphs for the encore. Top night.

Gary BondsGary Bonds, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes

Now this sounded like a great idea. 60s legend, and big influence on the Asbury Park scene teams up with Southside Johnny for a UK tour; I’ll even pay for tickets for that. Albany Down, despite a ten-second soundcheck, got the audience nicely warmed up for the main event which was a set from Gary Bonds (with some help from Southside) and a set from Southside (with a little help from Gary Bonds), both backed The Asbury Jukes. As ever, the superb musicians (Jeff Kazee, Tom Seguso, John Conte, Glenn Alexander, John Isley, Chris Anderson and Neal Pawley) fitted together perfectly and reacted instantly to any curveballs thrown by Southside. Seriously great players but they know how to have a bit of fun as well. They’re a great attraction as The Jukes, but Gary Bonds just tipped it over the edge.

It was incredibly difficult to narrow this down to only five gigs and there are a few more which deserve honourable mentions. I saw Vera Lynch three times (including their final gig at The Barfly in Camden and a gig in a Shoreditch shop window), The Kennedys and Edwina Hayes at Green Note and Dean Owens and Black Scarr on Eel Pie Island and all of those were great nights. Here’s to many more in 2015.

Jim Stapley TitleI reviewed Jim Stapley’s debut album in May and since then I’ve been waiting for a chance to see him sing live. Kenny Jones rates him very highly and so do many musicians I know. Actually that’s an understatement; the ratings usually start at ‘great singer’ and finish at somewhere north of ‘fuckin’ awesome’. But I’m not taking anyone else’s word for it; I want to hear it for myself and that’s why I’m blanking the curry house touts on Brick Lane in the pouring rain to get to 93 Feet East. And I’m soaked because umbrellas really aren’t rock ‘n’ roll, are they?

The opening act is Johnson-Jay (who later reappears as guitarist in the Jim Stapley Band) performing with Jennifer Clarke as The Junipers, a two guitars/guitar keyboards duo. It’s a lovely laid-back set with strong songs and superb harmonies throughout, particularly the closer, “Can’t Take it With You”; a perfect start to the evening. Jay Scott and the Find come roaring out of the blocks for the second support set but, and this is just my opinion, don’t really consolidate as the set progresses. Sorry guys, maybe I just really wanted to see Jim Stapley. So, nearly six months after hearing the album for the first time, I’m about to hear that voice live.

Even as the band do the final preparations (placing the set lists and drinks), it’s obvious that there’s a great camaraderie there and they get a real buzz out of being together. From the relatively low-key opening bars of “Out of Sight” with drums and acoustic guitar, you know that it’s a great band out there and that they’re stoked just to be there doing what they do best. It’s difficult to pick out individual performances from the band because it’s all about showing off the songs and providing a solid platform for Jim’s stunning rock voice to soar to the heavens. At a time when vapid mediocrities are hyped to the hilt and superlative proliferation has become a way of life, it’s such a great feeling to hear a real rock singer with plenty of soul working with such a tight, professional band. Jim’s voice harks back to the 70s and singers like Paul Rodgers and Robert Plant but there’s also a soulful edge which takes it in to the territory of Steve Marriott, Frankie Miller, Joe Cocker and maybe even John Waite. I’ve heard a lot of great singers, live and on record, and Jim Stapley is right up there with the best.

The set is perfectly paced and features almost everything from the debut album, “Long Time Coming” plus the non-album song, “Somewhere” as Jim and the band switch easily between styles and dynamics. The power ballad “Laid to Waste” is followed by the slower “Heartstrings” (both on the first single) before the first out-and-out rocker “My Way Home”, which is followed by the country stylings of “Shield”. “New Religion” builds from a solo piano backing to a huge full band sound with gospel backing vocals and then it’s into a cover of “We Found Love” which Jim and the band tackle very much in their own style (juge for yourself from the clip) before blasting into the 80s style “Made of Stone”, with its massive guitar riff and epic chorus.

The wind-up to the big finish starts with “Hurricane”, a slow ballad with another big chorus, builds up with the album opener, “No Good Reason” (and another monstrous guitar riff) before “Breaking Out” begins with an acoustic intro, builds as the band join in and finishes with everyone (particularly the backing vocalists pushing it to the limit. And that’s yer lot, apart from a quick chat with the man himself on the way out. Turns out he’s also a bloody good bloke.

So, I’m going to make some recommendations for you. If you like great rock music and appreciate a true rock voice, you should check out “Long Time Coming”. Then you should buy a copy at a decent record shop or here. Then you should find out when they’re playing near you, get a ticket and prepare to be amazed at the quality of the band and Jim Stapley’s astounding voice. That’s not too difficult, is it?