The Bright Side Of Life

Steve and I went to Lillian's birthday party at a dive bar in Highland Park (who goes to Hollywood nowadays anyway?) for a bit -
Coop's wife Ruth snapped this pic of us while nerding out on our Leica D-Lux 3's:

Lillian and Carlos

With Lillian

And Steve snapped these of me as we left....

Gnarls Barkley for TRACE Magazine

I just noticed that I've failed to mention that I've shot Gnarls Barkley for the cover of TRACE Magazine's "Peace" Issue #82, hitting stands in the next few weeks.

Their new album is called "The Odd Couple" for a reason and I've experienced it first hand.... and up until this particular shoot I didn't know that my studio can accommodate 2 fully lit sets and about 40 people. And my cat!

I thought I had broken my personal shoot record with the Daft Punk shoot - a cover and 5 inside shots in about 45 minutes.

Gnarls Barkley shoot: Cover and 5 inside shots in 45 minutes.

AND: Out of those 45 minutes I had spent 20 waiting downstairs for Domino's Pizza since my assistant had magically disappeared for reasons unknown.

These guys are just lovely. I adore Brian's fro (it's fluffy)!



The lovely Amy Chance did the makeup and grooming and this will be her second TRACE cover and 342th shoot with Gnarls Barkley.
You can find sneak peeks and covers of GB that she has worked on on her blog.

Here's an out take from my shoot with them :



Yes, they got married at the shoot.

Cee-Lo must own dozens of wedding dresses and he looks really cute in white.
I had made him a daisy headband to make the cuteness complete.

Brian however, refused wearing his.
Oh well.

Keep an eye out for this cover - it will be a good one.

Portishead's Private LA Rehearsal

I've noticed that some people who attended Portishead's private rehearsal in LA 2 days ago (K-Rock and the LA Times did some sweepstakes and allowed a certain number of people to attend) posted a number of videos on Youtube.

People have been asking me if I could post my videos ... but sorry, I won't.
I also took the portraits I took of them down for now as well and will keep you posted when they are published.
And they are not the usual Portishead photos you would expect. ; )

Their Coachella show was last night and there will be plenty of videos floating around.
Keep in mind that having been invited to a rehearsal is kinda awesome and the K-Rock guests have already posted a bunch, not mentioning last nights Coachella show.

As of right now, the Coachella show was their only public US appearance and no further shows are planned anytime in the near future.

When I met them I asked them what it's like to play shows, deal with the massive media interest etc since they are not the most social people. Interviews have always been very limited (Beth only participated in one interview in 14 years and that was only by accident) and shoots happen close to never .... and they said to me:

"This whole Rock 'n Roll thing.... that's just not who we are."

There are a number of articles on the rehearsal since relevant press was in attendance , and The Fader wrote this article with an attached Youtube clip.

This LA Times Interview is also very insightful for those wanting to get a glimpse of what they have to say once they speak up.

Here's one of my clips from the show - witnessing an amazing moment in music history.

The song on the clip is "Christine" by Siouxsie And The Banshees.



With Sioux Z. - owner and mastermind of Magnum Pr

With Lillian

The magic of amazing music in an amazing place.

My Upcoming Solo Show

After RTL German Television aired an interview with me regarding my upcoming solo show earlier this week, I've decided to post a blog since I am unable to handle the flood of emails (and neither can my publicist) asking for details and dates.

I am honestly a little overwhelmed with all this at the moment and there won't be an official press release until about late July.

The TV segment that lasted about 8 minutes only showed one single image from the entire show and focused more on my intentions and work process. This is a very personal project of mine that I am very excited about.
A book will be released sometime around the beginning of the first show as well.

There will be more segments aired as the show dates are approaching (which I will also post here) in case you live in one of Europes 8 German speaking countries, you might want to check back for that as well.

As of now, the scheduled cities and dates are:

BERLIN: September 4th - September 20th 2008
LONDON: September 25th - October 7th 2008
TOKYO : October 23rd - November 9th 2008
SYDNEY: November 20th - November 29th 2008
NEW YORK: December 11th - January 18th 2009

These are the first confirmed dates at the moment and there might be slight changes until the official press release.
I am hoping for a show in my hometown Frankfurt and one in Budapest which is more a personal kind of thing for me and I hope I can push it through as the dates are approaching.
Oh, and LA of course! ; )

I'll also post a mailing list form on my website soon, so you'll receive an email once everything is firmed up.

I am very excited about this and thank you so much for all the sweet emails - I'll try to respond as good as I possibly can.

My eternal gratitude and thank you goes to my dear friend and amazing post production genius and collaborator Kristen Lotto whose ongoing support made all of this possible, and everyone over at Gloss Studios NYC.

LOVE YOU !!!

Shooting Portishead

I have to admit that I was a bit freaked out beforehand because I love Beth Gibbons so much that I wasn't sure if I'll be able to pull off a good shoot, knowing how much the band dislikes photo shoots and them being shy in general.

Initially we were going to shoot in their hotel room at The Roosevelt , but when I got there and asked them what they felt like doing ("not being inside that room") their publicist mentioned their sound check for the following day's rehearsal at The Mayan right after,so we ended up shooting there instead.

I've always wanted to shoot at The Mayan, but it's close to impossible to get in there when it's empty.
Now I got to shoot one of my favorite bands at one of my favorite places. Sweet.

And they had beer and pizza, too! ; )

"Third" will be in stores April 29th.

The Cho Show - Coming to VH1 This Summer

I was snapping some press shots for The Cho Show today (coming this summer to VH1) and alongside the notoriously funny Margaret Cho nobody less than Mrs. "Ass Master" Cho - Margaret Cho's Mom herself - is kicking things up.
And I can guarantee you, that this is some really really funny stuff....

In case you have not come across the Ass Master yet - check out Margaret Cho's impersonation of her mom, reviewing a copy of said Gay Porn Magazine.

Aaaah, the Ass Master....One of my favorite Cho Classics to date.

-You Go , Cho!

Gustavo Dudamel : Legend In The Making

This guy is incredible...
Shostakovich's 10th with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra:

Here's a clip from "60 Minutes". Especially the part where he conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is wild, and the expression in everyone's faces?
Passion truly is everything. Me Gusta!

Don't Do This At Home

Moustache Mondays Downtown LA




Photos by Robert Yeager (the guy who had the better camera last night).

Art and Mayhem in LA

Steve, Dave his girlfriend Ori and I went to check out a show but it was hard to see the photos because the hipster crowd (= just standing there and acting surprised that I was actually trying to look at stuff but very cute + lots of hotness) was obstructing the view.
I ran into my friend Rob and we nerded out on nerdy talk.

With Rob Yaeger (and I snarl because _______ ?)

Ori unaware of the framing intention

Talking shit with Ori (i mean LITERALLY)





I climbed up a 12 foot fence in skin tight jeans and stiletto boots because ______ ?

Katie and Siege

Love withers under constraints
Its very essence is liberty
It is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear
It is there most pure, perfect, and unlimited where its votaries live in confidence, equality and unreserve.


Photo by Siege