Lions in Japan

Japan is AMAZING!
Not because you can just about buy anything out of vending machines
The city is just a massive ball of connections Intricately crafted to allow the people to flow along smoothly
Tokyo is fun and big Although there are more people in Tokyo than HongKong
The sentiment of the culture is still fairly similar to me
Maybe it is the hard work ethic and the courteous nature of its citizens
Either way I can't complain because I had an amazing time
Travelling with Lions at your door was certainly an interesting experience
There were lots of laughs and Dr Radicals (Beer) to be had
I tried to take as many non shaky photos as possible
A few memorable moments from the trip....

Wong Kar Wai is king...I am a bit of a fan.
This was taken where we were staying in Asakusa, Tokyo.
One of our many late night walks.

I went walking around Osaka - doing the touristy things.
Kelly and I ended up checking out the Osaka castle museum.
It was pretty rad....there were loads of runners out, I have no idea why.
The day was like 40 degrees so I snapped a few using my new 50mm lens.

This was truly a spectacular moment for the band.
It was their last show at a club in Nagoya.
They invited their supporting bands all on stage to do Crossssfire together.
It was a splendid finish to an amazing debut tour!

This is everyone on tour! Maddd times!

Backpacking looks like fun but it is rather tiresome...especially when the pack becomes nearly as big as you

Shibuya intersection is possibly the busiest piece of land I have ever seen.

The only thing missing in this photo is Dave on keys.
It was taken at Osaka at a club called Triangle.
The space was pretty sweet, apparently there was a jacuzzi on level 4.
We were all mostly chilling out on level 3 where there were lounges, it was great for passing out before we kicked on again

This is Lillies and Remains. They supported Lions on tour, they were pretty hiliarious...as cultural barriers are often broken down by humour and rude words. We felt compelled to teach other rude words and phrases with our respective languages over jugs of beer!
That was probably the messiest night on tour, luckily we all got single bedrooms that night to crash in.

Believe it or not - this is actually a gallery exhibition.
I nearly walked straight into the water from the staircase.
This was exhibited at a mind blowingly unique gallery/art store called NADIFF.
If you are ever in Japan you must go have a look.

In Japan, it is all about the presentation.
Bands are no different. Over styling is a pre-requisite for any teens.
Style is everything and image will get you many kudo points with the fans.
Learn it from Psysalias Psyalis Psyche

3am too drunk to walk.
Thank god there are bikes in Japan.
We ended up roaming the streets looking for a karaoke bar that fits 20 people.
It was a lost cause, everyone was too drunk and broke to sing so we cabbed back to the hotel to pass out.
That was the end of the tour....good times!

We ran into Dan (ex Lost valentinos) now 1 of the Midnight Juggernauts.
They were really nice kids, it was great to see them doing so well and random to bump into each other at a Vice party in Tokyo ~

Dirk found a special lover for the night.

I took this at the Chelsea hotel. It was an amazing first show for Lions at your door.
The room was packed and the kids were even moshing which was hiliarious.

Apparently this is the reason why businessmen don't go home after work....
It is hell noisy in those venues....not sure why they don't provide ear muffs as well


Last night in Tokyo.
We decided to do a little shoot.
It was fun and most of us were a little sleepy so I snapped real quickly.

There are more photos if you are interested on my Flickr!

Good to be back!

After 6 weeks away.
I feel like I have been gone forever... it must be the culture clash or ridiculous heat.

My inspiring photo friend Monique is moving to NY.
This was our last night out in town.
All the best Mon!!!

Live Tattooing is NO JOKE!

I have been in HK for nearly two weeks now…the weather has been humid and super wet so my camera has not been served so well with cityscape shots.

Anyway I have been running around all over the city and last night my friends at Star Crossed Tattoo were invited to Cliq to do a live tattooing demo for the Kely Support group charity event night organised by the guys at China Stylus and Red Dog Studio.

Julia and Ross from Star Crossed were also involved with the Artist x Canvas Auction project, Julia’s piece was auctioned off for HKD $11,000, which is pretty awesome.

The Cliq venue was packed with people, from suits to local HK scene kids decked out in ultra large Hip Hop threads and flat brim hats. There was also a fair share of expat kids roaming about too checking out the gig. One thing is for sure, tattooing in HK is growing and people are definitely getting more serious about the culture.

It is really good to see an emerging community of tattoo artist coming out of HK, Julia has to be one of my favourites in HK though. Her new school freshness is super vibrant and illustrative styles are one of a kind in HK, I met her accidentally 2 years ago and I have continued to keep in touch with them every chance I get to return to HK. Star Crossed is an awesome studio – equipped with world class gear and super sterile like a medical centre. If you ever want to get some ink in HK, you have to drop by!

For those who have never been to a tattoo studio or been tattooed, this is pretty much how it goes. Danny was the volunteer for the ink on the night… it was a pretty chaotic place to be tattooed though. With way too many cameras and people all roaming about to get a better look at how it all comes about. The whole piece took a little more than 3 hours and it looks pretty smashingly good!

Shotgun Portraits

Loose Portraits: I don't remember much but I tried to shoot anyway...

Elvis Di Fazio - Chief Photographer of the night.

My friend Kass threw a party on the night of the Teenagers gig.

Although most of the peeps had left after the Teenagers show.... there were still the die hard party crowd kicking on next door at the gallery side to the Shotgun Wedding night.

Kass and Elvis had also set up a pop up photobooth at the cube.
It was AMAZING... with loads of costume pieces and polaroids were only $4!!!
I was a bit shaky by the time I re-entered the factory after a few dodgy house parties and too many red bulls later I was edgy and inspired by all the people to take some photos with Elvis to encapsulate the feeling of the night.

The Teenagers

I left my Shannen Doherty x teenagers tee shirt at home....

The Teenagers gig was pretty big for me... probably more so if I was a little teenage girl, which there were an ample amount of at the gig all screaming and jumping spilling beer and other beverages happily around their gig attendees.
Judging by the bands' lyrics that would be the most obvious outcome of a Teenagers show.

I found out about these guys probably around 3 years ago, just jumping around Myspace pages hunting for new tunes. I think I came across one of their remixes on Kitsune and I have been following their releases via various blogs ever since.

I must admit with the release of their debut album "Reality Check"... I had a bit of mixed feelings. Their songs were a lot more polished and they were getting loads of press.... to be it is just not the same, perhaps the hype killed it a little for me but the vibe of the songs on the album was just too polished from what I am used to hearing a dirty Teenagers track.

It was really dope to have got to meet the whole band and get a non alcohol soaked area to watch the band play.

I took this shot before the show was set up. Quentin was at the hotel... sleeping at the time, so he was absent from the photo opp. Apparently they have been exhausted from all the shows.
They were really French and nice, very different to what I had imagined they would be from hearing all their songs all too often!

The Teenagers set went by a something little like this....
Go get the album if you have not heard of the new tracks yet.

I really like Love No! and French Kiss - they are good tunes.

It was a packed show YO! I really can't be bothered to take photos up the front in that pit...hahaha



It is a pretty big band.... they also hire a drummer and a keyboardist when on tour.

The girls in the audience were stoked that they were invited to come on stage when the band played their infamous track of love "Homecoming". Security was having a pretty hard time getting all the girls off stage at the end of the song, I think they were mostly star struck.

This is the whole band with their tour manager (in the brown knit). One Happy Family no?

A film by Vice: Heavy Metal in Baghdad

Photo courtesy of VBS.tv

I really feel metaled out this week...
I was invited to take some photos at the Sydney film festival for the premiere of "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" for Vice Magazine last night. There were lots of familiar faces and with free booze from McKenna (MCK) Bourbon, the night was destined to end in obscurity and looseness.

The film was pretty hard hitting as most Vice projects are....As the title of the documentary reveals - it is about a band Acrassicauda (translates to Black Scorpion in Latin), they are effectively the only heavy metal band in Baghdad to date. The feature film documentary follows the band from the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 to the present day.

Forget the CNN and Al Jazeera, this film is probably as close as you get to the real deal on the streets of Baghdad and it is no joke. The guys from Vice had an entourage of bodyguards to take them around town to shoot very lo fi footage from their bulletproof SUV's and conduct low key meetings in various well protected places to speak to the band. It had to be this way not because Vice wanted to achieve a visual aesthetic, because it is just not safe to do proper reporting in public with the state of chaos in Iraq which evidently continues to grow on a daily basis.

For me personally, it is not just a visual shock, the story told by the band is more than musical freedom, it is their very struggle to stay together as a group and more importantly to stay alive, refusing to let their dreams to be killed by the world they live in. Their story not only echoes the unspoken hopes of an entire generation of young Iraqis, it also serves as a reminder for the rest of the world what life could be like on the other side (where it is not very green at all) ...when you accept people dying in the hundreds and living in a constant state of fear and paranoia is the norm of society, you just know something is not quite right!.

For more info - go to http://www.heavymetalinbaghdad.com/

Come Together

This was a few weekends ago now.
I went to see Bonde do role at the Forum the night before, I was not really in good shape to be here but I persisted to see a few of my fave bands and got to meet some cool new ones.

It was well worth it and I was naturally wrecked by the end of the weekend.

This was probably one of the funniest weekends I have had in ages and coincidentally when I went to see my doc the following week, she said my body was absolutely destroyed so I have been laying pretty low since with the help of Anti biotics I should be better by the time I leave the country.

Fingers crossed x

The Galvaltrons



The big stage in the big top was pretty awesome, it had a really good vibe on stage and I had never seen this band before. I can't say I am their biggest fan but the lighting and theatrics made for some pretty good photos so I was happy. This was my first band to shoot since I slept in and struggled with the chilly winds to get out and about.

Fait Accompli




The Fait Accompli boys put on a really entertaining show at the Filth stage. They were really tight and Michael from the Yves Klein Blue was flipping out at how good they were, I had to admit it was pretty awesome, definitely one of their best shows. I took the group shot right after Michael left the band with a big congratulations. It was a nice sight seeing everyone supporting each other backstage.

Flamingo Crash




I was just chilling out with Sweetie after watching a few bands and I was getting tired of squatting. But then these guys came on stage and I was hooked by the jumpy melodic tunes, I ran up to the front to get a better view and I was certainly not disappointed at their energy and fun attitude with some very cute songs. It was my first time seeing these guys and I have become a fan, I got to chat to them a bit after their show and they are super nice. I found out they were managed by Jerry who also managed Young & Restless, whom they share the same record label with. Oh and Troy the bassist was originally from Sydney.

I was hanging out with Issac and Kate outside the Q after the festival, I really should have gone home but it was just one of those endless nights. They invited me to go skateboarding with them next time they are in town, it is too RAD!

Sherlock's Daughter


I have heard about these guys for a while now, but I have never seen them live before so it was a refreshing touch to be able to put a name to a face as always. The lead singer "Tanya" was ultra sweet and probably one of the cutest leads I have taken a photo off. To top it off the band is mighty awesome! God Bless them with talent and good looks, you can't really ask for much more than that =]

Yves Klein Blue



The Yves Klein Blue boys are super energetic and dramatic, all traits to a performance. The first time I saw them was at the Spectrum for their EP launch, I had heard so much about them in the press and I was not sure what to expect really since you can't always trust the hype. I am totally glad I went to their show that night though, they totally blew me away from the get go, their songs are well composed and their energy on stage is spectacular. The photos speak for themselves really, if you haven't seen them before, go to their myspace and go get yourself a ticket to the next nearest show to your home town!!!

Ghostwood




Red Version was one of my favourite finds from the web....I later had discovered the name of the band via a Pedestrian DVD which I will be forever grateful for knowing who these kids are. Over time with all my going out and photo taking, I got to know them through various bands whom I had been shooting for. I am a pretty massive fan of their songs and looks they put together is equally appealing to me.

The boys have actually moved over to the UK to try to make a name for themselves. If you are going to be travelling over that side of the globe, just jump on their myspace to see their where abouts and catch one of their shows, it will be amazing and well worth a couple of quid! Bargain!