Pocatello isn't a place known for it's thriving artistic economy. Especially in the winter, it can feel dreary, devoid, like a lot of places across the mid-to-north-west. But that doesn't mean there aren't artists.If you find the right street, it can spring to life. Lights dance across snow-clad sidewalks, and illuminated brick buildings reminiscence a different, perhaps more romantic period. And, if you find the right place to stand on the right street, you can hear live music just about every day of the week.
On Main street, tucked in-between stores and up a flight of dimly-lit stairs lies a place where musicians have congregated for quite some time now. There's a few modest recording studios, and some other types of businesses as well, but I had the chance to sit down in whats become a shared practice space for many different bands in Pocatello.
The funny thing about photographing musicians--which is something I consider to be a main focus my career actually-- is that the one thing they really do is the one thing you can't actually capture. Nonetheless, I wanted to hone in on a few aspects of the lifestyle, and the culture of musicians not just in Pocatello but abroad. (I assume they're all just kind of like this)
Even with-- or maybe especially with-- some of the information obscured here this is probably a familiar sight to a lot of musicians. The bass guitar is cut off, but you can tell he's playing something. I wanted to blur the text to the point where you could only recognize the album by its cover but it's still pretty readable.
Posters like these paint the walls and leave a readable history of concerts the bands here have played. It serves as a track-record, a history, and a mapping of past relationships. Also, some of these artists are fantastic, although I have no idea who they are.
This derelict one stood out to me. Weathered by time, although the date was really not that long ago. Things can get a little chaotic when sharing a space with so many different artists. Could be water damage but its most likely beer.
This room is host to probably upwards of 20k dollars of musical equipment. Much of it isn't designed with aesthetics in mind, but viewed from the right angle, interesting patterns and features can stand out.
Speaking of equipment, it's important to get everything dialed in just right. I really want this keyboard he's playing on.
I've intentionally left out or obscured a lot of specific information like faces in these shots. I wanted it to reflect the feeling of a culture more than any one particular group of people, but this shots just too good. I might've framed his face in the wires a little better, but you get what you get.
I think this is my favorite shot of the set. I spent a lot of time shooting piano player hands, but the articulation of the fingers and the break the pattern from the press of the keys makes this one stand out to me. Capturing these moments, although you cannot hear the sound they make, is my favorite part of shooting musicians.
Although I was focusing on honing in and shooting specific parts of this lifestyle, music is a communal experience after all.
This one made it in solely because I like the phrase "Montana-Grown Electro Thunder Funk".
And finally, one last important aspect of the musicians lifestyle, and one of the reasons I didn't include more wide shots in this set. (Okay, admittedly I also only brought a telephoto lens too, and it's a small room.)