Hey there!
Before I tell you about myself, I first want to start off with a quote that I’ve stuck by with for many years.
“Music is the soundtrack to our lives.” – Dick Clark.
I love that quote. Everyone should remember it. But why do I love this? Can you imagine how life would be without music? It would end up being pretty dull and boring….
My name is Mark and this is my site. Ever since I can remember, which was around 1998, I have enjoyed music on a huge level. Whether is was dedicating tons of hours to downloading music on Napster with dial-up or waiting nearly 3 months for some records to come over from the other side of the world, music has been a huge part of my life.
My first show was the day after my birthday on August 8th, 2002. I got to see one of my favorite bands then and even now, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, play just a short 8 song set. It was amazing. I knew from that moment, shows and concerts were awesome. But it was really 2004 when I began my amazing streak of going to shows. I had a girlfriend who introduced me to the “life” of attending shows and concerts. She taught me the to do’s and don’t's and everything else. Once in awhile I would use her camera to take some photos of bands to remember them by. It didn’t take long for me to get to the point where I had to have a camera in my hands, at every show so I could have some memories.
Fast forward to 2008. I got my first big break into “concert photography”. I was able to shoot Warped Tour. After a day of running around, seeing different bands and doing my thing, I realized how awesome it was to shoot shows. Little did I know, that the best was to come. After being a roadie for Jimmie’s Chicken Shack a few times, I met a good man by the name of Russ. He introduced me to a man name Bobby who runs a magazine out of Orlando called “All Access Music Magazine“. He was the person who got me my first big break.
The show was amazing. Trivium. Coheed and Cambria. Slipknot. Little did I know that after that night, I realized what I wanted to do for a long time. The show was intense. Huge arena. Huge crowd. Huge everything. After sinking every last dime into a great camera, I went into the show trying my best to see what I can do. I was even surprised a little bit.
Since that moment, I have been trying to get my camera into every show I go to or shows I just want to document. It’s been an amazing experience and I hope to do it for a long, long, long time. I guess I’ll have to wait and see where it’ll take me, but regardless I love it and will continue doing this.
-Mark
P.S. – I just want to thank every single band, band manager, PR person, anyone and everyone who has helped me accomplish what I’ve done, will do and hope to do. Thank you.