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The Sunpilots

Posted by johnshippee on December 31, 2014
Posted in: Concert, photography. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

It started out around the beginning of December when I was looking at various local venues’ websites to see which concerts were coming up. The concert which stuck out the most was going to be at Freebird in Jacksonville Beach. There was going to be a band from Australia playing along with a few local bands. Doing some research on this band, The Sunpilots, I found that they had quite a following on Facebook. So, I made a note to go and photograph the show.

A few days later, my wife said she had been contacted via a couch surfing website we’re members of by a group of guys that were looking for a place to stay in Jacksonville for a few nights. When she said they were in a band called The Sunpilots, I let her know I was already planning on going to their show, and it would be awesome to have them stay with us.

Due to van troubles, the band arrived later than expected, sometime around midnight, so there wasn’t much hanging out the first night. We made introductions, showed them around our place, talked for a bit, then turned in for the night.

They are all a bunch of great guys with fantastic sense of humor and great stories.

A little about the band… (the info is primarily sourced from their website, and stories from members of the band)

The band formed in Australia in 2008, by frontman Raj and guitarist Bob. The current line-up is completed with Kay on drums and Adil on bass. They quickly gained popularity with their debut album, “Living Receiver”, which won Indie Album of the year at the MusicOz awards, as well has having two tracks from the accompanying single “Spotlight In The Sun” being featured as iTunes Singles Of The Week.

Concert photo of The Sunpilots

The Sunpilots at Freebird Live

Not to say that they outgrew Australia, but with the country’s population primarily split up into a few cities spread out across a vast country, making a living from touring just wasn’t working out. So, they did what any super-dedicated band would do, they sold all their belongings and hit the road in 2010. That was 4 years ago. Four years of living out of a suitcase and a van. They primarily depend on their friends and fans for places to stay. (Remember from earlier? That’s how we met them, via the couch surfing site.) Four years of not having a not having a home to call your own. But what an adventure it must be!

I’m so happy to have ‘discovered’ the band. Their music is amazing. Raj has quite the range of vocals, which I suspect is from his mother (from Sri Lanka) teaching him the Carnatic music of the East. Bob then jumps in with his energetic guitar, while Adil lays down a cool bass line, and this is all tied together with Kay’s drum beat.

drum concert photography

Kay, of The Sunpilots, on drums

Check out this video of them performing their song “Faking This” live at a festival in Woodstock!


Whether there are tens of thousands of people in the crowd, or ten people in the crowd, they put this same amount of energy into their shows.

guitar concert photography

Bob, shredding on guitar.

bass concert photography

Adil, laying down those smooth bass lines.

singer concert photography

Raj, demonstrating his impressive vocal capabilities.

I’m in the process of working out some details to do a follow-up to this post with an interview with Raj. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this all works out.

In the meantime, please, go to their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/thesunpilots, and download their latest album. It’s free. You’ve got nothing to lose. If you like rock music at all, you won’t be disappointed!

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The Airborne Toxic Event

Posted by johnshippee on June 9, 2014
Posted in: Concert, photography. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

The Airborne Toxic Event

Boy time flies!  Tomorrow it will 1 year since I photographed The Airborne Toxic Event (TATE).  They performed at my favorite concert venue in Jacksonville, FL, Freebird Live.  If you haven’t had the chance to visit, you really should.  Here’s a few of the things I like about it:

  • It’s a small, two story venue offering great views of the stage from both upstairs and down.
  • It’s a smoke-free venue.  I appreciate coming home and not smelling like smoke.
  • They have a great lighting and sound system.
  • The stage is a good height to shoot shows.

Any ways, back to TATE…

I had seen them once before, by accident almost.  The Jacksonville Landing was hosting a Rock On The River event that featured TATE and The Sick Puppies.  I didn’t know they were going to be playing at the time, so I didn’t bother arriving early enough to get a decent location.  I was super excited when I learned they would be coming back and playing a smaller, more intimate venue.

image of The Airborne Toxic Event at Freebird Live by John Shippee Photography

The Airborne Toxic Event at Freebird Live by John Shippee Photography

I first of the band years back when they were featured on a late show with Carson Daly.  They performed their song, Sometime Around Midnight, which immediately became one of my favorite songs.  Ever!  Check out the video.

image of The Airborne Toxic Event performed at Freebird Live. Photo by John Shippee Photography

The Airborne Toxic Event performed at Freebird Live. Photo by John Shippee Photography

The band did a really good job of intermixing their newer and older song, which the crowd clearly appreciated.

image of Anna Bulbrook of The Airborne Toxic Event. Photo by John Shippee Photography

Anna Bulbrook of The Airborne Toxic Event. Photo by John Shippee Photography

The rest of the photos can be seen on my website, John Shippee Photography.

#Interview with Lucky Costello

Posted by johnshippee on May 29, 2014
Posted in: Concert, interview, photography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Last year, I did a quick interview with one of my favorite bands from Jacksonville, FL, Lucky Costello.

Lucky Costello performing at the legendary Freebird Live in Jacksonville Beach, FL

1. Whenever I tell people that I’m going to shoot a Lucky show, the first thing they ask is “What kind of music do they play?” You guys have such a unique sound that I don’t know how to answer that question. How would you describe your sound?

Gerry: We play electro rock fusion, which is a mix of pre planned songs and spontaneous improv sections.  We have composed material that’s influenced by classic rock, prog, world music, jazz, hip hop, blues, post rock, classical… really anything we grew up listening to.  In between those tracks we step out into uncharted waters, freestyle sessions that draw from different styles of electronic music.  Each show ends up being a completely unique dance marathon.

Wil: It’s a mix of a lot of different genres, but what we mainly focus on achieving is dance music. Our music is like a DJ set but with real musicians that can change things at real time. Most of the time we are playing improv, but we are given a certain theme or genre to work within its bounds. There’s no real genre to put our music in, since it is constantly moving about. But more than anything you can pinpoint it as fun. I’m upbeat and so is my music.
2. How did you guys meet and how long have you been playing together?

Adam: My friend Trip popped up out of nowhere and told me that he had some friends who were playing music and needed a drummer. He picked me up and managed to get my drum kit into the car and we made our way to a party that Gerry was throwing. I met Wil at the party and we all jammed for a while and had a blast. Wil and I continued to jam at my place for a fews months and developed many ideas to work with which Gerry used as a launchpad for each jam that we had. Lucky Costello was born.

Wil: I had been waiting to start a band ever since I was a kid, and I kept on joining different bands but never getting a chance to really jam out. It was mostly for someone else’s project. I had also tried several times to start a band on my own and it always seemed so forced, I was always telling the other musicians what to do and it never came together right. This band started slowly, it just kind of melted into this, and then we put a name on it and started doing it professionally.

3. What’s the creative process like for the band? Do you all get together and create songs together, or do you each come up with your own ideas and go from there, do aliens implant the songs into your heads while you sleep?

Gerry: Usually Wil or I will come into the band room with something we’ve been working on independently.  It’s generally just a piece of a larger idea with a vague description; we play it over and over and make adjustments.  By the time we’re putting the ideas together into a proper song there’s been a ton of input from each of us.   

Wil: None of our songs are ever really done. They are constantly changing, but yeah what Gerry said is pretty much it. And we try to use as many alien influences as possible.

4. As far as I know, the only album you have out is a live recording that you give away at shows. Are there any plans for a studio album?

Gerry: Yes, it’s been talked about. We just need money from our sponsors.

Wil: We’re sponsored by Red Bull and Newports. Just kidding, they’re sponsored by us. (laughs) We’re planning on releasing a studio album sometime later this year.

5. Can you give us some insight into what’s in store for the future? Any tour plans?

Gerry: New songs, new cities, bigger production.  We’re really excited about the direction the music is heading and we’ve been experimenting with some new visual elements to keep the audience fully immersed in the experience.

Wil: And figuring out how to make a LED keytar is also definitely happening.

Thank you, Lucky, for sitting down and answering a few questions.  I look forward to seeing your next show.  It looks like things are getting bigger and better all the time for you guys.