Yes, I am back. After fucking up my digital camera rig at a family gathering last August, my tried and true Epson 850z bit the dust as I was walking through a door way in my wife's grandparents house in central Illinois. This is a camera that is responsible for most of the digital shots you see on this site and accounts for over a hundred bands photographed, some that have yet to be posted to this site. It was a tough loss. I have had crowds collapse on top of me and my lens gets bent only to pop back into place for another year of loyal service. It also survived repeated inspections by our airline security personnel who have no problem opening the lens up to inspect the camera but fail miserably when placing the camera back into my camera bag. On a trip to Florida, this happened to me. I arrived in Orlando to start shooting the carnage left behind by some of the many Hurricanes they had in 2004, only to find that the dumbass did not properly close up the camera and the camera ran out of batteries trying to open up in my bag. Not only that the lens frooze inside the camera evven with new batteries. After much bitching and complaining I was able to bring life back into my camera by spanking the back side of it until something popped and it miraculously came back to life.

No, this time was different. My lens was extended, camera over shoulder and when I walked through a door threshold the lens banged into the side of the jamb and went flying across the room. Yes, I was buzzed. So what does this drunk dumbass do? Well try and fix it of course, only to make matters worse. After six years of service and 750 dollars down the drain, I had to bid farewell to my loyal friend. So, that is why there has been any new band profiles for over three months.

But, I am back! After trying to score a used one on Ebay and being outbid on several occasions, I scored big time two weeks ago. I scored a brand new in the box with all new components, still shrink wrapped, I replaced my tried and true camera for 112 bucks post paid. Cha-ching.

My first tryout was this past Friday at the Logan Square Auditorium to see my all time favorite punks, The Dwarves! Fuck yes. Yes, fuck yes. Of course they tore it up for over 35 minutes, a long show to those familiar with the Dwarves reputation for playing 15 minutes, or less. They didn't play all of my favorites but it wa great to see them finally. What's that you say? For the first time? Yes, I am lame. Check back soon for the best of shots. I used up all the batteries and shot about 200 images, so there has bound to be at least ten great shots to post.

Today is my wife's birthday. Thirty Nine years young. Your son and I love you very much. Thank you for letting me go out and be punk rock on your birthday weekend.