Good Life Project - Love, Music, Images & Icons | Danny Clinch

Episode Date: October 1, 2019

Danny Clinch has played with, photographed, and filmed some of the most iconic musicians in modern history, including Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Tupac Shakur, and Johnny Cash. Acclaimed as one of the top photographers in the music scene (http://www.dannyclinch.com/) for decades and the recipient of 3 Grammy Award nominations himself, Danny’s work has appeared everywhere in Vanity Fair, Spin, Rolling Stone, and GQ, as well as numerous galleries. He recently founded the Transparent Gallery (https://www.facebook.com/dannyclinchtransparent/) at the Asbury Hotel to showcase music and culture in the area, along with his annual Sea.Hear.Now music and art festival (https://www.seahearnowfestival.com/).In addition to his camera, the other thing Danny Clinch never leaves home without is his harmonica. He doesn't just love photographing musicians, he's also a long-time lover and creator of music, playing with his own band and sitting in with many of the amazing people he photographs. In today’s conversation, we talk about the complete coincidence that led to him first picking up a camera, how he honed his chops under Annie Leibovitz and other legends in the biz, and the power of place and devotion in shaping who we become.-------------Have you discovered your Sparketype yet? Take the Sparketype Assessment™ now. IT’S FREE (https://sparketype.com/) and takes about 7-minutes to complete. At a minimum, it’ll open your eyes in a big way. It also just might change your life.If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. Thank you to our super cool brand partners. If you like the show, please support them - they help make the podcast possible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You ever meet somebody and when you ask them what they do, they start to tell you and they're just full body lit up, like they can't actually believe they get to do this thing that they do for their life. And you ever actually meet somebody and they've been doing that for decades and they still feel the same way, like it's play and they can't wait to do it. That is my guest today, Danny Clinch. Danny is, he probably wouldn't describe it this way, but I will describe him as an iconic music photographer. He has literally toured with, traveled with, photographed nearly

every major name in music for the last couple of decades. It has become his life, his consuming passion. He is also a musician who has had the incredible fortune to befriend many of these same people and play on stage with them, sometimes in an organized way, sometimes just in something that kind of magically comes together. At the same time, he's raised a family pretty much where he grew up, which is Toms River, New Jersey, and not too far away in the legendary, sometimes famous, sometimes infamous, now expanding quickly, Asbury Park in New Jersey, home of the famed Stone Pony, he decided that he kind of wanted to create a space and give back.

And he has opened his own space called the Transparent Gallery that hosts all sorts of things from shows to art to all sorts of musical acts, bands, singers, songwriters. And more recently, collaborated with a group of friends to create the See Here Now Festival, which combines music and surfing and art all in one beautiful experience. He is a person who literally just is alive in every part of his life. It was my absolute pleasure to sit down with Danny and explore his early life, the big influences, the seeming sliding doors that completely changed everything in a moment's notice, and how he has crafted a life, he will tell you, not entirely intentionally, that seems to fill every nook and cranny and makes it really good. So excited to share this conversation with you.

I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is Good Life Project. The Apple Watch Series 10 is here. It has the biggest display ever. It's also the thinnest Apple Watch ever, making it even more comfortable on your wrist, whether you're running, swimming, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch, getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X,

available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required, charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday, we've been compromised. The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were gonna be fun. January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. I grew up, my dad was a house painter and wallpaper hanger. So very blue collar. In this little community, we were about two miles, maybe a mile and a half, two miles from a place called Shelter Cove, which was a little beach, like a bay, a bay beach, like right off the Toms River, the Barnegat Bay.

And that goes into the ocean eventually. And we were like really a five minute, 10 minute car ride from Seaside Heights, Seaside Park. We would go to Orly Beach as kids. My mom was always more interested in going to the beach than staying home and doing the dishes or whatever. She'd be like, no, we're going to the beach. And I was like, great. And so I rode motorcycles a lot when I was a kid. I, we lived on a dead end street. My dad was a greaser and, uh, I had my first mini bike when I was about five or six and I just started, I kept up in my game. I'd then had that Honda 50, the one with the folding handlebars, had a couple of those. Then I had a SL 70. Then I had my Honda Elsinore. And then I, you know, I ended up racing a little bit of flat track motorcycles. I raced a little, um, first I started racing motocross and it was in like about 1981. I was like a junior in high school. And that was the same year that they came out with the monoshock on the new motorcycles. So all the rich kids had mono shock, which was way, way, way better

than a regular shocks on the mode on the old motocross bikes, which I had a 1975 Honda. And I just like, okay, that's, that's not going to work for me. I can't afford the bike. And I was, you know, bouncing around like a, like a jumping bean when everybody else was cruising over the the jumps and uh and then i did some moto uh some flat tracking with a friend of my dad's which was really cool uh because he was a an ama sanctioned racer american motorcycle association he had the leathers he had the bull taco 360 he was like my dad's. And he was going out to a small track that was not AMA sanctioned to race on his Bull Taco 360 in these like smaller, like quarter mile tracks just to keep his chops up and to keep himself going, you know, for the bigger races. And he wanted a sidekick to

go down with him, help him get his bike out of the back of the truck, this, that, and the other thing. And super nice guy. And he had a BSA 441 Victor, which is an old British motorcycle. And the important thing when you're flat tracking is that the shifter is on the right-hand side. So it doesn't dig in when you're leaning. So it doesn't dig in. Or you can shift while you're, while you're, yeah. And so he set me up to race, you know? And it was like the bike was too big for me.

And like, I had to start it in second gear because there was so much low end in it. It was just like, it was just really fun. So you're like, what, 16, 17 years old at this point? I think so. I might've been a little older than that. I might've been like 17 or 18, something like that. Yeah.

In your mind, is this something that actually you're thinking about doing as like, okay, this is my thing. You know, I grew up riding motorcycles and I just was enjoying it. Yeah. It was, it was so much fun. And, um, you know, I continued to ride motorcycles, you know, with my dad, you know, we did some couple of trips out into the Mojave desert, um Desert where we would go to Las Vegas and rent Harleys and then just take a four-day trip just wherever it took us. We ended up in Pioneer Town out near Joshua Tree and driving through Joshua Tree and stuff. It was pretty epic. When was the first time you did something like that? A lot of time ago.

You know, it had to be like 90, I feel like it was right around, right before or right after my son was born. I kind of can't remember. It was like 95, you know, something like that. I mean, my dad and I wrote all the time together, but we did that trip. It was kind of like a father and son thing. And, um, and it was really cool. We went with a friend of mine who was one of my mentors for photography, Timothy White, who's a photographer and a greaser. And we just went out and just had a great time. And then we did it twice. And then, you know, it just has become like a legendary trip between my dad and I. I lost my dad a couple of years ago. Ah, so sorry. So, yeah. You use the phrase greaser a couple of times now. Yeah. We're the same age, so I totally get what you mean. But, you know, like when we were coming out, like they were the jocks, they were the greasers, they were freaks.

Right. And then there were like the handful of kids that could move between the groups. Right. I moved between the groups. Yeah. I was kind of the same way. Yeah. I hung out with the burnouts.

We had the burnouts and the jocks is really what it was. And there were the nerds or whatever. And I just moved in between all of them. I played soccer. I was on the swim team. And I loved playing soccer and swimming. And then I just became a lifeguard. But I also ran with the other crowd as well.

And yeah, it was a lot of fun. And, you know, when I was really young, I also got my first camera by going to a, I was, you know, the church that we went to had their vacation Bible school and, um, it's a Baptist church and, and, uh, they had a contest every year. Whoever bought the most kids along with them to the summer camp or whatever it was, day camp, you had a little rocket that was – there was a string and there was a rocket on the string. And every time you bought someone, your rocket would get moved forward a little bit. And everybody had a nickname. And my nickname was Danny Bones because And cause I was a skinny little kid. Right. And so consequently when Instagram came out and I had no idea what it was,

you know, many years ago, they were like, Oh, you got to create a name for yourself. So I put Danny Bones 64 the year I was born and I just never changed it. And I actually like it. But anyway,

if you bought the most kids, it was a pile of gifts there or awards or rewards or whatever. You get to pick what's on the pile. And I had my eye on the fishing pole. And as it went along, long story short, I came in second. And I was hoping that the guy who beat me

or gal who beat me, anyway, they took the fishing pole. And so I was like, hey, give me that camera. I'll take the fishing pole and so i was like give me that camera so the camera was like the consolation if i have to i could be a very successful fisherman right now as the story goes um but you know the that camera ended up i recall on the dashboard of my mom's car and it just melted one night, one day when we went to the beach in the summer, as we always did. And I still took pictures with it. And I think

that's informed my photography. That's amazing. When you started taking pictures with it, I mean, so you get the camera. It wasn't like, oh my God, I'm drawn to this thing. I have to get a camera. I'm going to save up for it. This was just completely luck of the draw to a certain extent it was but i was already drawing all the time and and i was like you remember like they would have like i forget was in the tv guide where you could draw like skippy the deer or whatever i can't remember what it was but you could draw a character on there and then send it in and they would say, well, you should go to art school or no, maybe you shouldn't, you know? And I was into, I was into that. I was into painting and art and, and my mom, uh, everything. And, and you could go to my mom's house right now and there's a closet that is literally full

of photo albums, old school, you know, one hour photo, you know, drugstore developed and just books and books and books. And I go in there sometimes when I'm at the house and we're at a big family gathering and I've all talked out and stuff. I just, I go in the back and they're like, where's Danny? And I'm like back there going through all these photos. It's like in the closet with all the old albums. Exactly. And they're so much fun. And now I just whip out my iPhone and I take link back to her going through all these photos. It's like in the closet with all the old albums. Exactly. And they're so much fun. And now I just whip out my iPhone and I take a photo of me and my buddy

from when we were kids. I mean, I feel like we miss that, right? Because when we were coming up, that's how you looked at pictures. Yeah. First you got them back in the little envelope, you flipped them open, you had the negatives and then you had like the prints, you know?

And then as soon as you could, you got the album and you place them in, you put the little cellophane over it and then they would just you know either vanish forever every once in a while you go back and i feel like there's something that nobody prints stuff anymore you know it's all just hey look at my phone there's something kind of magical just kind of settling into it like an old chair with this album on your lap and just going page by page, like the physical, tangible. It's like you're taking the journey again. It's so beautiful. Just gave me an idea.

Thank you. Yeah, so my mom was always taking photos. And then I found out, well, I knew that my grandfather, my mom's dad, always took photographs. And he was an engineer. So my mom lived up in clifton and then she would go down to manisquan new jersey in the summer they had a summer house there right so for those who don't know this is about two hours away yeah yeah yeah and so um my dad was classic from the other

side of the tracks you know never finished eighth grade was kind of like a, not a troublemaker, but like didn't follow the rules, you know? And, um, so anyway, they met, um, and, uh, and, you know, my mom got pregnant and, uh, maybe this is too much information for if my mom's listening, but no. But anyway, they met and my mom got pregnant. My sister was born. They were young. Then I came along. And anyway, my point was they were from two very different worlds. And so my grandfather, my mom's dad was an engineer.

He took care of things. He bought things once and he took care of them. You know, that was his MO. You know, they, my grandmother, they were born in like 1914 and they like lived through the depression. They just like really took care of things. And my dad's side of the family was like, they were, they were poor. They didn't have anything to take care of. Didn't know how to take care of anything. And so the interesting thing is that I found out later on when I had a discussion with my dad about all the family photos they had. I was like, first of all, they didn't have any money. Photography had to be expensive then, right? Because you had to pay for everything they were developing also. And I was like, well, I see all the family photos and there were a lot of them and i said well who's taken those photos and he said well your grandfather was taking them and i said but he's in them he's

in the photos and he's like well look at look at his hand his hand isn't always behind his back because he would run fishing string from the camera. Oh, no kidding. And he would just click it off and get the family together and click it off. And I was like, damn. It's like the OG selfie. It was the OG selfie, you know? And I thought, damn, Gordon Clinch coming up with the selfie. So it turned out both of my grandparents took photos, interestingly enough.

And then my dad's side of the family historically was very creative. His brother, his sister, my dad. And they all were like family business house painters. My dad had his brother, and then he had like four sisters. But anyway, my dad and my uncle were house painters. So was my grandfather. So you had these sort of like different traditions and different family ethos. But it's kind of interesting.

It's almost like everything comes together around capturing moments and photography and bring. Yeah. When for you does photography become something more? Was it earlier or this happened later? You know, it became something more? Was it earlier or this happened later? Um, you know, it became something more like, well, you know, interestingly enough, like I started carrying a camera around everywhere. In high school? My neighbor. Yeah. My, um, boy. So I had that little camera. Then after that camera crapped out, I bought another camera from a yard sale. And then my grandfather gave me his Yashica, it's called a Yashica Lynx 1000. I remember it's on a brown leather case. He took care of

everything. As I said, it was a beautiful camera. Of course, I, who knows what happened to it. And he gave me that camera and it was a range finder, very much like the Leica that I carry around. So I was able, I learned to use the range finder when I was, you know, young. And, and then I, uh, my buddy across the street was one of those kids who, you know, got a job when he was really young. He always worked hard and he always had stuff because he had a job and we were all like, you know, I mean, he was like 13 and he bought, he bought a camera and, and, And then he like bought a guitar. And we were all like, damn, Steven, you know?

And he never used the camera. And like one day I was like, hey, man, can I borrow that camera? And he was like, yeah, sure. And then I just. And it was yours. Permanently borrowed it. Sorry, Steven. And so I started taking photos all the time.

And then I was a big music fan. So I started going to concerts. And one of the first times it became something more for me was some friends of mine were big fans of Ted Nugent. Right. We were like in high school. They were Ted heads. Everybody just called them the two Ted heads. It was, you know, Mark and Ed.

And they they just loved Ted Nugent. That's all it was about. And so I found out Ted Nugent was going to play at Six Flags Great Adventure, which is in Jackson, New Jersey. And I got a ticket. I took my camera and I went there and photographed the Ted Nugent show. And then I came back, I processed my film and I blew up some big poster size, you know, for 10 bucks, you could send it out and they'd give you a big poster of Ted Nugent. And I sold them to the guys. And I was like, made a couple of bucks. And I, so it was interesting.

So that was kind of like, oh, I can actually make money doing this. And then there was of course that moment in your life that we all have where your parents go, okay, well, what are you going to do? You know, what do you want to do for a living? And my father had never finished eighth grade and he always regretted it. He always felt like he was at a disadvantage because he didn't have, you know, proper education. And he said, whatever you want to do, I don't care what it is. You know, I will help you make it happen. If you want to go to school, I'm going to make it happen. And he did.

And I ended up, I did look at a lot of the big photography schools and I did look at School of Visual Arts and things like that. And they really intimidated me. And I ended up in Boston and looking at a school called the New England School of Photography, which was a trade school, basically. A lot of veterans, a lot of people who wanted to be commercial photographers or wedding photographers and stuff. But I went up there and I felt very comfortable there. It was very blue collar. The dark rooms were like not perfect. You know, like you go to school of visual arts and everything was all shiny and dialed in and everybody was so cool there. And I was like,

well, I think I'll go up here, you know? And it was a lot easier on the pocketbook, I think for my parents. So I went there and I loved it. And I met, you know, a lifelong friend there. I had a great experience. One of the cool things was that one of my instructors, Susan Wilson was a photographer for the Boston Globe and she covered the music section. And so when we were doing assignments and I said, you know, everybody was going out and photographing like homeless people or, you know, their parents and stuff like that. Like I said, I want to go find a rock band and, and hang out with them. And she was like, oh, cool. You know? And I really felt like, I don't know if it was another teacher, maybe it would have like oh cool you know and i really felt like i don't know if it

was another teacher maybe it would have been different you know or i mean or maybe not but she encouraged me anyway and um and i started to hang out with a couple of bands there up in boston just like local bands yeah yeah this uh specifically a band called rick berlin the movie and he was in a band called Berlin Airlift that came up really with the talking heads and they played with the talking heads on double bills and probably played CBGBs and all that. And, um, Rick is just a very eccentric guy, really cool and great songs and never, never got the nod, you know, as people, people do. Um, and so it was exciting. I hung out with them in the recording studio. know, as people do. And so it was exciting.

I hung out with them in the recording studio. I went to their gigs. I remember jumping in a van with them, like, for the first time and driving out to, you know, Cambridge or something for some gig. And it was just so exciting. And they were a very visual band. It was a big band. It had three backup singers.

And, like, the guitar player was super cool looking. Man, I really loved it. Yeah. I mean, it sounds like it's the coming together of two worlds, because it sounds like you were also a big fan of music just in general. Absolutely. Which is kind of funny, too, because back then, we're talking late 80s, early 90s, right? This was also kind of the era.

This was a weird time in music, actually, because you've got like- Well, for me it was 80, it was like 84. So mid 80s. Yeah, yeah, because I went two years to a community college, to Ocean County College, and then I did the two years in Boston. So it was 83, it was 84, 85-ish. Yeah.

Because we're coming out of the days of, we're kind of past classic rock, we're coming out of the days of, we're kind of past classic rock. We're coming out of the days of Kiss and the big hyper-visual super shows, coming into hair metal, the big hair bands. And for me, a little more of weird indie rock. Like Till Tuesday and the del fuego's and um you know a band called what was that one oh positive and like three colors and morphine and stuff like that and new wave like because

i remember long island wlar was like the hot new wave station and that was of course a flock of seagulls all like that yeah that's kind of what Rick Berlin was, kind of new wave, like talking heads-ish, but it was cool. Yeah. It's interesting too, because it sounds like you were, it's like when you tell the story of sort of like jumping in a van with them, traveling around, it's like you're telling the photographer side of sort of like the main character and almost famous. Right. To a certain extent, right? Yeah, yeah. You're just like, and you're, and your eyes are bugging out

and you're like, yeah, this is cool. And then all the people that you admired growing up, like the early Annie Leibovitz photos and Henry Diltz and Jim Marshall and Bob Gruen and stuff. And you're like, you're seeing those images flash before your eyes

or behind your eyes. And you're trying those images flash before your eyes or like, or behind your eyes, you know, like, and you're trying to, you know, take that photo that felt like that moment that you saw, you know, of, you know, Bob Gruen photographing John Lennon in the studio or something, you know. Yeah. So you were a student of, of those people also then. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. getting you eight hours of charge in just 15 minutes. The Apple Watch Series X. Available for the first time in glossy jet black aluminum. Compared to previous generations, iPhone XS or later required. Charge time and actual results will vary. Mayday, mayday. We've been compromised.

The pilot's a hitman. I knew you were going to be fun. On January 24th. Tell me how to fly this thing. Mark Wahlberg. You know what the difference between me and you is? You're going to die. Don't shoot him.

We need him. Y'all need a pilot. Flight risk. When you're going out there in the early days, I mean, because there's this interesting tension too, right? On the one hand, you've got this love of photography that's developing. And it sounds like also really a passion to get better at it, a passion to be able to really capture astonishing things. At the same time, you've got a love of music.

And one of the rules of really embracing and being present in music is basically just to be there. So did you feel, and maybe to this day, do you feel at all a tension between just being hyper-present in the moment of the music and this other thing where it's like, okay, I can't be fully present because part of my brain is thinking, how do I capture this? Hmm. You know, maybe early on, cause you're like really are overthinking it and you're trying to like, you know, but like these days I almost feel like I'm part of, strangely, I, I feel like, and I don't mean it in a, where I'm trying to insert myself into anything, but just, I feel, I feel like you're part of the band, you know, you're like part of the, like, this is my instrument and, and I play music as well. So like, I, I like, I can feel the buildup. Like I can like, like I'm, I'm just like,

you know, if I was like, I play harmonica in a blues band and a lot of times I just lay out, I lay out, I lay out, I lay out. And then you see, you feel it building up and you see your like little spot and you get in there and you get it and then you get out, you know? And, uh, I've never really thought of it, like verbalized it, but that's kind of in a way that happens, you know, I'm there with my camera and I, and like, you know, I, I now have a, you know, a sixth sense of like when the shit's going to happen, you know, and I can anticipate it and I kind of lay out so that I'm not in people's way, so that I'm hiding in the shadows. And then when I feel like it's building up and I need to get out in there and, you know, I'm allowed, often I'm

allowed on the stage behind the drum kit or behind the amplifier, which is something that's taken me years to develop the trust of people to allow you to do that and then you know you can get this really unique point of view and uh and so it's exciting you know it's exciting to be a part of it and and uh i i like being in the middle of it versus having a super long lens and being across the room, you know? Yeah. So. So when you're back up in Boston, you start traveling around with bands and then you're coming back from this two year program, four year program at Boston? Two year.

Right. So comes a time where you actually, you're done with that, you know? So there's a decision. Okay. So where am I going with all this? Yeah. So I came back and my girlfriend at the time, who's now my wife, um, Maria was going to FIT and like, I had, I was also working out a one hour

photo and I was, I was like, I was lifeguarding, uh, between college. And then I also was working out a one hour photo and the guy, this guy, Jack, um, Pulaski had a one hour photo studio in the back. And when I got done with college, um, he said to me, my guy, my portrait guy just quit. And, um, I know this isn't what you want to do, but here's the keys. If you do the every once in a while engagement photo, family portrait, you know, whatever, kid photos. I'll just give you the keys and you can photograph whatever you want in the studio and I'll pay you, you know. And I was like, great. So he gave me this studio and I photographed there, you know, family portraits and all that stuff. And, um, and then my, my girlfriend, uh, at the

time was at FIT and she did a study abroad. And like where I come from, I was really the first in my family, I think, to go to college, you know, my mom went to nursing school and my, my grandfather, of course, but like in our immediate family, just people didn't go to college. They were blue collar on my dad's side, especially. And that's where the bigger part of the family was. And so, um, I didn't know you could study abroad and I didn't know you could do anything like that. And I was like, wow, she went to study like Shakespeare or something in London. And I was like, wow, that's cool. And then I started to think, what could I do like that that would be something exciting? And I decided to do a photographic workshop, which I highly encourage anybody to do because you go to this workshop and it's all like-minded people who are interested in photography and there's a lot of common conversations going on and inspiration and stuff. And so I looked around and I found this workshop.

It was the Ansel Adams Gallery Workshop. It was in Yosemite. Wow. And it was Annie Leibovitz and David Hockney. Oh, my gosh. And I believe that they told Annie that David was doing it. And then they told David that Annie was doing it. And they were both like, yeah, I'll do it.

And they both showed up and there were two other photographers. I should research it and find out who they were because it's unfair not to mention them. But I pretty much skipped out on everybody's class and went to Annie's and David's, you know. Understandable. And this was in Yosemite? It was in Yosemite. And I honestly didn't really know who David Hockney was. I had to do a little research, but he had just put out that book of Polaroids. So he's a photographer, you know? So, and I knew Annie, Annie was like my hero. Right. And she's New York based also. And then I book another workshop after that called The Photograph is a Document. And that was at Friends of Photography, which was also in Carmel, California. It was also an Ansel Adams affiliated thing.

He wasn't alive anymore, but it was very exciting. And so anyway, I do the workshop with Annie and her assistant, a guy named Dave Rose. And I kind of hit it off and like I was helping him out and this and that. And like sort of towards the end of the workshop, he said, you know, Annie's looking for an intern at her studio. And after that, I was going to go to L.A. and I was going to go see if I could get an internship. Like I was like I thought of Annie. I thought of like her Brits and a bunch of other people, you know, that I had in mind. And so I had a trip planned after the workshops for like another week or so in California, which I had never been to. And so Dave said she told me, you know, to keep my eye out for someone who would be a good intern here.

And, you know, I mentioned you and she agreed. And she, you know, before she asked you, I wanted to know, are you, you know, you were interested in interning at the studio in New York? I was like, Oh, I just checked my calendar and I happened to be free for forever. And then she asked me, you know, to intern at the studio. And I was like, absolutely. So my whole, then I went to and did the photograph as a document, which was, I think it was, it was Bruce Davidson. And it was, um, I'll have to come back to it. Um, and then after that, I didn't have to worry about getting a job. I got to go and enjoy, hang with friends in California and stuff.

I came back to New York. I started sweeping floors, getting coffee, making coffee, running errands. This is all working with Annie. With Annie. And then I ended up working my way up to basically traveling with her as one of her assistants and working on like incredible stuff like the American Express campaign. And, you know, like Bruce Springsteen, Tunnel of Love record, you know, photographing in excess and Ella Fitzgerald. And like, I mean, it was, it was awesome. Yeah. photographing in excess and Ella Fitzgerald. And like, I mean, it was, it was awesome. And, and she's she is a taskmaster and she doesn't settle for any silliness and she means business,

you know, and I really learned a lot from her and, and she was just a huge inspiration for me. And, you know, as far as stories goes, I recall we would be doing a gig and I was on staff and we hired a lot of freelance people because her productions were big. And people would come in and they would be like, you know, we'd be on a four-day gig, like, you know, we're shooting this big gig or whatever. And, you know, second day in, you know, we're working our butts off and like, you know, just really like back in those days, pre-digital, like she would pay or the client would pay the lab to stay open at night for us. And we would have a full shoot day and then we'd come back and we would do a film test. And we would test every film, different batches of film, all with five different filters, warming filters. And then we'd keep the lab open till two in the morning. We would run the, run the shit. We'd go back, we'd go to sleep. We'd get up early before she came in. We would lay out all the film and she would go, okay, we're shooting this filter on this batch of film, you know, in this light and this batch of film and filter on another light, you know, whatever the different situations were that we were going to do. It was crazy. And so what, you know, we would say like, okay, you know,

so-and-so, uh, well, we'll see you tomorrow. Same time. And the guy went, no, I'm not coming back. So like every day you're leaving like 20% of your crew or something like that. Yeah, they'd be like, what do you mean? And he goes like, no. And finally one guy pulled me aside and he was like, Danny, Danny, come here. I'm like, what? He said, listen, I work with so-and-so and we work nine to five. We photograph beautiful models. We drink wine at lunch. You should come work with us.

I was like, that sounds awesome, but I belong here. Yeah. And I just, I stuck it out and it was, it was, it was really great. It opened a lot of doors for me. Her agent also worked with Steven Mizell. And I worked with Steven Meisel. Another legend. Another legend. Fashion photographer.

I mean, I learned so much from him. And funny enough, as much as I felt like my inspiration has always been Annie, you know, big inspiration coming up, I learned a real lot from Steven. You know, his approach is very simple. And, um, even as a fashion photographer, it's like, it got more complicated as things went on, but his, his approach was very simple. It was very Avedon influenced. And, um, and not only did I learn how to light things in the studio, like beautiful portraiture lighting, um, he saw natural light existing light in a very interesting way. And it was like really eyeopening to me that he would take a chance and shoot a very long shutter speed at night, like as the light was disappearing on a rooftop and he would just go for it. And then I would see it and I would be like, wow,

I would never have shot in that light, you know? And, um, so that was exciting. And I worked with Mary Ellen Mark, who's a great, one of the master documentary photographers. And then of course my friend Timothy White, who was a great mentor, you know, for me as well. Yeah. So, I mean, as you're going, you have this stunning experience. I mean, you go from, you know, a kid in a water town in New Jersey, you know, to this place in Boston, bopping around in the back of a van with a couple of people trying to make it as musicians. And I mean, it's so interesting to me, like I'm fascinated with the concept of sliding doors. We've talked about a handful of times on the podcast,

like people who drop into your life or moments where you make a choice, you know? So it's almost like this, I wonder, you know, had your then girlfriend, now wife, not decided to do a semester overseas, like how profoundly different might your life be right now? Because that was the thing that made you say, well, what am I going to do? That led you out, that takes you out to Yosemite, that gets you meeting Annie, which brings you back to New York, which steeps you in this, you know, one of the icons in the business and then send you on this trail working with a series of other icons. And there are certain people who I meet, and I wonder if you feel the same, where I asked that question,

I'm like, could be profoundly different. But then there's something inside of me that says, somehow, in some way, I wonder if there's just something inside of you that would have gotten you to a substantially similar place, because it was something inside of you that would have gotten you to a substantially similar place because it was something inside of you that just, it was finding its way out one way or another. And maybe this was the particular way, but either way it would have landed you there. Well, people say to me, of course, they're like, oh my gosh, you're so lucky. You, you know, got to work with Annie Leibovitz. And I was like, well, no, I wasn't lucky. Like I wasn't, I wasn't home watching TV and Cheetos and she called me, you know, I was like out there making stuff happen.

And it was like, you know, somebody said to me recently, the harder I work, the luckier I get, you know? And so I was like, I'm like, yeah, kind of. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm not lucky. No, I'm working hard and, you know? And so I was like, I'm like, yeah, kind of. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm not lucky. No, I'm working hard and, you know, fortunate, you know, because I, you know, and I, and I learned that from my parents, you know, my dad was a workaholic and, and he had a great time when he loved what he did. He loved hanging wallpaper. He loved painting. He loved to work hard. And

cause when he was off, he liked to play hard. He liked to have a good time. He always had time for the kids. He was always a jokester. And, um, and, uh, he was in fact, just a legend in our community and in our family and everybody that knew him because he was that kind of guy. And he always had time for everybody. He always, you know, he and my mom always given back to the community, all of my cousins, uh, all the black sheep in my family and all the black sheep of our friend's family. They lived at our house. You know, they got kicked out of their house. They lived on our downstairs and we were better for it. You know, our life experiences that we, you know, that the give back that we got from it. And my mom to this day, she's like 30 years in of working at the local soup kitchen, you know. And it's just, you know, those are the people that informed my growing up. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting to also to see that value set.

And that also exists in this world of these super high-end, super exclusive people who are at the absolute top of their field. People are lining up to work with them, very often being paid an astonishing amount of money also, and working with subjects who are some of the most famous people in the world. And sort of like knowing that you're living in this world for this moment in time during the day, but you come from this other world with a very different value set and a very different sort of like lens on the world. And then trying to figure out how do we make my life so that these weave together in a way that feels good to me? Yeah. I mean, you sent me off on a daydream, you know, like when I, cause, cause that's what

I think about all the time. You know, it's like, it's like I'm home with my family and it's, it's so incredible. And, uh, then I'm off with Eddie Vedder in Barcelona photographing for a project we're working on together. And I'm just like, this is incredible. And it's like, it's like, I don't know, to balance that out, because it's such a high to be out with, you know, someone like Ed or with like My Morning Jacket or Bruce Springsteen or whoever it might be, Preservation Hole Jazz Band. with people that are super creative and not even just the artists themselves but the guitar techs and the managers and the publicists and the just the good people that tend to be drawn to music is really incredible and it's an incredible buzz to know those people and to hang out with them and

you know there's so much creativity flowing and goodness and then you know I go home and I just get to settle into my family and like have that life as well. So I feel really blessed. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting you described the people in the industry that way also, because so much of what you would hear in popular conversation is not framing them in that way, is telling a different story,

is telling a different of, it was a story of want, a story of extravagance, a story of greed and power and excess. And what's interesting is from the inside out, from what you see out and from the lens that you shoot when you look at your images, you see the story in the images that you shoot

that you just told, not the ones. You see different, like, I think so many people are drawn to your images. Maybe I can't speak for so many people. I'm so drawn to your images because they reveal so much shared humanity. You could be shooting something in the most surreal, big, giant, extravagant arena

or something like that, but there's something about what you captured that is almost simple and human, you know, the moment. And I wonder how much of that comes from you. Well, I, I think it is about, about moments. And I think it's about your editing, what images you choose to show the world. And I am into the intimacy of it and the relationships of the bands amongst themselves, the relationship between them and the audience, the relationship between them and the venue, or the relationship of them and their instrument and things like that. And I also feel like I'm drawn to people who are, um, you know, some of these folks and I know, I know them, you know, well, they're like, they're not a lot of them in, you know, from the outside, it may not appear that

way, but I honestly feel like a lot of them are like, you know, sure. They're, I mean, they're grateful and they're super wealthy being like, I think some of them are uncomfortable with it, you know, like uncomfortable with the amount of money they're making for what, the amount of fun they're having. And, and like the people that I'm drawn to and the one, the friendships that I've collected, and I'm careful to say who my friends are, but the ones that are my friends, like they're people, they're, they're given back to their community, you know? I mean the Dave Matthews band, the list of charities, if you go on their website, it's, it's like in the hundreds, like they give back so much to their community and then he does farm aid and then he, you know, so look at, you know, Willie Nelson given back

all the time. Jack Johnson, you know, creating a hashtag like BYO bottle, bring your own bottle, like to protect the, you know, single use plastic, Jackson Brown, Bruce Springsteen, given back to the community, Eddie Vedder, Phish with their foundation. I would hate to leave, there's many. And those are the people that I end up, you know, becoming friends with strangely, and they inspire me to give back to the community. And, you know, I have a gallery in Asbury Park called the Transparent Gallery. And it was generally, it was literally a pop-up gallery that was offered to me from iStar, who built the underserved community, whether it's a photography

class or young mothers that there's a, there's a, in that area, there's a, one of the, one of the high schools allows the young mothers to, to go to school and continue school and bring their kids to school and all that stuff. So we do a lot of that for the community. And, you know, between being inspired by what Pearl Jam does for their community and what my mom and dad have always done for their community, I'm just, I'm just kind of following in their footsteps. And, and, um, you know, it's, um, I mean, I think it's, it's a great influence on me and I really kind of gravitate towards people like that. It's just super cool in my opinion. Yeah, no, or sleeping. And it's the fastest-charging Apple Watch,

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you're gonna die don't shoot if we need them y'all need a pilot flight risk we kind of jumped you know like made a big leap in time from sort of uh yeah yeah like working with... Yeah, I'll get sidetracked easily. It's okay. Eventually we'll piece it all together. We kind of started out with you starting in the career and working with Annie and Mizell and these guys. And then probably the last 20 years or so, really the body of work that you've stepped into and built is in the world of music, you know, like photographing and film, right?

So it's not just photography at this point too. Music in the world of musicians. What is it like? Because you could have gone in so many different directions with the background that you had. You could have been broad. You could have just kept it wide and said, like, I'm going to do fashion. I'm going to do music. I'm going to do travel. I'm going to do music. I'm going to do travel.

I'm going to do whatever comes my way. That's interesting. But, but you made a, like a very deliberate decision to say like, this is my thing. And I'm curious, did you actually make that decision or did it just happen?

Yeah. It wasn't as deliberate as that, to be honest, because you know, the people that I admire, you think about, you know, Annie Leibovitz and Richard Avedon and Irving Penn would be good examples of this type of photographer.

They solved all sorts of photographic problems, let's say. They did fashion. They photographed presidents and great artists and actors. And they did still life. And they've all sort of went out they've all, you know, sort of went out and were really weren't pigeonholed. They were portrait photographers and doing, doing that specifically. And I feel like, you know, I of course wanted to be, you know, Irving Penn or Annie Leibovitz and just been like, you know, I go out and shoot something for DR and then I come back and photograph,

you know, Bruce Springsteen or, you know, something like that. And, and like, I chased that and I, and I still, I still do, but I, I just was so drawn to music. I'm just such a big fan of music and they're like my people, you know? And so after a while, I just, I stopped worrying about it. For a long time, I was trying not to pigeonhole myself as a music photographer. But after a while, it's like, I got my start in hip hop. I did the Nozzlematic, you know, I did one of the early Pete Rock and CL Smooth records. I did the Dark Side record by Redman and a lot of like obscure, not obscure to hip hop fans, but OC and Big L and Capone and Noriega and Heavy D, Blue Funk. And like I started doing that and then that sort of segued into the rock and roll musicians of that time.

Smashing Pumpkins, the Chili Peppers, Perry Farrell, like they all loved hip hop. So like when my portfolio went across their eyeballs and they saw, oh man, he photographed like Public Enemy and Run DMC, like whatever. And that stuff opened doors for me there. And then I segued into Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam. And, I kind of opened up and got these great opportunities through a lot of really awesome assignments to do everyone from Tony Bennett to Metallica, you know, and everything in between. And I, I love that. That's something I'm really proud of, that I have never been pigeonholed into one genre of music. And, you know, that's opened the door to really anybody that I photograph. And I've done, I've photographed, you know, sports figures. I did, you know, Lionel Messi and Aguero

and like all these great soccer players. I'm a big fan of soccer. And I did the U.S. basketball team, the last Olympics. And all these people, it's very interesting, their connection is music. Like if you want to connect with somebody, you talk about, you know, what music are you listening to or like and i i find a way you know humbly to just say like yeah i did this i did naso matic i did the first kanye west record

uh you know and and people are like what and I like, and I also did like this legendary Tupac photograph. So like, there aren't a ton of great Tupac photographs out there. And I have one of them and it's quite fun really to, to show somebody this photo. And when we're having a conversation about maybe what, what my past is and what I've done in hip hop or this, that, and I go, Oh yeah. And I took this photo and watch the expression. They're like, what happened with Gary Clark Jr. I got to photograph Gary and we became friends. And before we were, we really got to know each other.

We were with a mutual friend and, and he goes, hey, did you show Gary that, you know, you know, you're putting your book together and, you know, you showed me those Tupac images and Gary's like, what Tupac? Tupac what? What? And I'm like, oh yeah, yeah. And I like pulled out my phone and I scrolled through and I, I showed him the photos and he was like, I had that poster hanging on my wall when I was a kid. And, um, so anyway, uh,

music has allowed me, it's a great entry to anyone I photograph. And when I did actually, when I photographed Lionel Messi, I brought a bunch of my music photos and I literally printed them up really big and I laid them out on a table. And when his creative director came over, I said, I want to show you the images that got me this job. And it was Iggy Pop, it was Tupac, you know, U2, Bruce Springsteen and like Green Day or something, you know? And the guy went through and he was like, oh my God, like you took that Tupac photo? Yeah. Oh, when U2 comes to town, I take Bono around town and, you know, and like, it went from getting like five minutes, literally, I flew to Barcelona to have five minutes with Lionel Messi. It went from five to 10 minutes

and like, it's a huge difference you know to double your time and um it's just the power of music in many ways is strong yeah well especially in you and and through you um it's funny like i i can see because we're hanging out in the studio together and people can probably hear it in your voice but when you when you talk about music and musicians and your love it's like you physically and your love, it's like you physically just become super animated. It's like you come alive. It's almost like, I mean, do you feel like you're almost like a kid playing? I mean, yes, it's hard work, but when you wake up and you're like, okay, so I get to go out and do these two things that I love. You know, like I get to, I get to take my camera,

you know, and that, you know, was started to a certain extent through my mom and through my grandpa and that first thing that he passed down and then, and then go out into the world and like do this thing that I love and be around these people where, but for the fact that I'm actually getting paid to be here and do this, I would pay anything to be here and do this. You should see the long line of people that are like, I'll carry your net, man. I do feel that way. And I feel like, you know, in a sense, I'm like, I'm documenting like musical history. So I'm a documentary photographer, you know, and it's hard to tell your kids to go out and work hard when they see their fathers, like having the time of his life, doing his

job. And I'm like, listen, I waited tables too. And I, you know, wash dishes and I, you know, slept gear and all that sort of stuff, but I'm honored to do it. And, you know, back to that other question of, of like, I've settled into being a music photographer and I think about it and I think, you know, one of the things I, I always say is music is, is medicine, you know, it's, it is, it's, it's like it, you know, you celebrate with music, you get through hard times with music, you know, you hear a song and it brings you back to a great time in your life or whatever. And like, when I realized that, that's when I realized that I didn't care to be a pigeonholed as a music photographer necessarily. And that I'm fine with it. That's going to be my legacy, you know, I'm all for it. And I've stretched out of it, you know, making films and other things. And like I said, photographing actors and musicians and doing some other projects. But I'm good with it because I think music is so important in people's lives. And, uh, you know, somebody, if, you know, if I can share that work with people and like, I always started taking photographs and sneaking my camera into,

into shows. I mean, as a teenager, you know, when you went to a show with me, you knew a couple of things. One, you were going to have to shove a lens down your pants. I was going to shove the body down my pants and then Maria was going to take all the film and put it in her purse. And then we would meet inside. So you knew that part. And then you knew I was going to shove the body down my pants and then Maria was going to take all the film and put it in her purse. And then we would meet inside. So you knew that part. And then you knew I was going to grab all my shit and put it together. And I'd be like, see you at the end of the show, you know, cause I was going down and, and photographing and, you know, it just is, it was like an obsession for me and continues to be just, and I love rolling up at a concert or, you know, wherever I go with my camera. And if a moment's going to happen, I'm going to grab it, you know, and sometimes you

may not know whether I'm getting paid or not because it doesn't, because sometimes I am, and sometimes I'm not. Right. Are you getting paid in another way? You're getting paid just because it's the thing you can't not do. But it's kind of a magical place to be in. I mean, to be able to build your living, you know, in that way is a real gift. It really is. Before we came to the studio, we were just chatting a little bit about we both have daughters about the same age. And you were sharing that. It sounds like she's starting to get the bug a bit also.

Yeah. Yeah. She, um, I kind of feel like, you know, it happened to her by accident and, and, and, you know, probably something that people, people talk about a lot is Instagram and, you know, cameras and like, everybody's got a camera now. You don't have to know anything about photography. You can just take a picture, whether it's with a digital camera that's got autofocus everything, or if you have your phone, right? And, you know, I've always felt really grateful that I can walk down the street, no matter where I am, and see beautiful light coming through a window, a shadow, a shaft of light, the way this pattern is on the thing.

And like, like I always felt so grateful that when I walked down the street, I can appreciate those things. And I think with the change and everybody having a phone and people starting to share their images online, that people are learning to appreciate that stuff more than they ever did. And I find that to be a positive. And I think that my daughter, Nina kind of, you know, she was shooting on her phone and I was like, you know, damn, like she was like, sees the light really well and composition. And like, I see what she's takes a bunch of pictures. And then like, I see her choices of the pictures that she likes. And I'm like, she's made the right choice in my opinion.

And, um, and so she started to get into photography and she said, you know, do you have a camera that I can use? And I like, I gave her a digital like snapshot camera that I had and, or I bought her one for her birthday and she, you know, beat that one up until it didn't work any longer. And then I handed her this little Contax T3, which is really a sweet camera. It doesn't, you might not know it if you didn't know, it just looks like a regular snapshot camera, but it's a film camera with a very sharp lens and, and just creates beautiful photographs. And she started shooting with it. And I see just a natural eye, you know, like you can, you know, people, it's pretty simple. Most of the time people either, they either get it or they don't, you know, and you can see it when somebody gets it. And I feel like she's getting it, which is kind of cool, but she's, she's told me that she,

she doesn't really have an interest in pursuing photography necessarily, but she is interested in, you know, in marketing and social media as most kids are. And, you know, it will continue to be a help in her storytelling, whether she does it professionally or just on her social media or whatever. Yeah. I think it's so amazing also to, um, my daughter has an interest in photography also, and she shoots both digital and film. And I think it's so fascinating as a parent to see the world the way your child sees it, you know, because it's just, it's like you said, the way they frame a photograph, the things that they choose to put in and to keep out the angles that they use, you know, it doesn't just tell you about, you know, the way they want the shot. It gives you sort of like this hint into the way that they actually see the world, what they see and what they don't see and how they see it. I think as a parent, I've noticed it's a real gift, you know, to just sort of sit back and look at, you know, your kid's pictures, not just for like, oh,

cool shot, but actually just to kind of like, oh, so this is like for a moment, I can kind of see the way they're seeing the world and experiencing the world. Yeah. And, and at that age, they're just, there just aren't any rules yet, you know? And, you know, it's, they haven't settled into a particular style or, you know, it's like, you're still taking chances. You're still figuring it out. And, um, it's nice. It's just, you know, it's kind of like that thing, like, well, I'm not artistic, you know, like, you know, say, well, yeah, show me your drawings when you were a kid. I bet they were pretty good, you know? And, you know, it's before people enforce,

you know, rules on you. Yeah. You, um, you brought up the gallery in asbury park yeah um asbury park like is so what's interesting is what's it 45 minutes from where you grew up basically an hour from where you grew up so pretty close to home asbury park also has pretty powerful history um yeah rough and tumble also big music town yeah but it and it's been through its times yeah yeah i mean i grew up around there and like when i was a kid if we went to the stone pony you stayed out of the rest of the the town and then um you know of course there's the legend of bruce springsteen and then there's um you know basically it was shit town for the longest longest time and there's a lot of um

you know starts and stops and you know where you thought that you thought it was going to take off and you're wondering like how could this not come back it's like a it's in between two really really wealthy enclaves of of the jersey shore and then it's just like on each side it stops and it's just like it's just like scary, you know? And of course, as I remember, you know, you go to the convention hall there in the Paramount Theater. And in convention hall, you know, aside from the Springsteen thing, all the great rock and roll bands of the 60s played there. The Stones, The Who, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd. They all played there. everybody but the beatles they all you zeppelin it's all it's all there you know and then i used to bring rock bands down to

asbury park when they would say like you'd be like in the 90s and they'd say like you know we want something gritty but we don't really want to do like new york city gritty like we want to do something a little different. And I'd be like, oh, I got the spot. And we would, you know, I'd say I'll meet you in Asbury Park or we'd all jump in a van and go to Asbury Park and literally would have the whole city of Asbury Park to ourselves. And there'd be nobody there. Nobody. And just killer architecture, real patina, like old buildings.

And you could, some were boarded up, some were just beautiful, old, you know, like it was, it was, it was great. And so I continued to go there over and over and, you know, and then I would come back and I'd go to the Stone Pony and then like, I started, you know, chasing every photo op I could. And I was like obsessed with capturing different musicians. And, you know, I was always looking for Bruce Springsteen at the Stone Pony and, you know, never see him, you know. And then, of course, I went this past weekend. My friends were playing with with Annie, I was living in Hoboken, and my roommate there turned me on to the Delavantes. At the time, the band was called Who's Your Daddy? And we remained friends. They were one of the first bands I photographed for publicity, and they were playing with Gary Talent.

So I was like, oh, I'm going to go to the show. They were opening for Southside Johnny, and Southside Johnny just puts on a rock and just like always a great show. It never gets old. It's such a great rhythm and blues band. It's incredible. And I get there and I look over and there's Bruce. And Bruce hasn't done a set with Southside Johnny in about 10 years. You know, a set of note, like a long set. And um, hadn't played to the stone pony in many years. And, uh, and next thing, you know, you know, Bruce is up there with a full R and B band horns, you know, South side, the two of them are like, you know, thick as thieves. They've been doing it together forever and they're just like throwing it down. And, uh, it was, it was kind of epic. And, um, so I, uh, I ended up getting this opportunity to have this gallery and, um, it was basically like, I didn't want it to be a white glove gallery. I, if I was going to do it, I wanted it to be like a community kind of space, like a

real great hang space. And so, so I, I, um, I said, look, I'll do it, but you know, can we, can we do something cool here? You know, like I'd like to have, I want to have a back line, I want to have a drum kit, bass amp, guitars, amplifiers. Just like there. Yeah, just have it there. I want to put down Oriental rugs on the floor.

I want to really vibe it out. They have these huge windows. We want to put vinyl imagery in the windows so that when you drive by at night it's glowing for it's like a light big light box or in the daytime when you're inside it's a big light box and they were like they were like yeah all right let's do it you know well we're ready to do this and um and ironically a friend of ours, Maria and I, Tina Karekis, had a kind of a showroom on the boardwalk where she sold secondhand mid-century modern furniture. She had albums in milk crates and cool art on the wall and just really awesome style and very personable woman and really cool. And I was like, Hey, um, she just

lost her lease in her spot. And I said, let's just combine this shit. Right. We'll bring it in there. And, you know, you want to run the gallery. It's only a couple of months, but let's do, let's do this. She was like, yeah. So we, we bought, um, all of her furniture in there and like the place really just, you know, shaped up into this very cool place to hang out. And she was, she's not precious about the furniture, even though it's for sale. Like you could sit on the couches and like, everybody's hanging out and people are bringing, you know, a bottle of wine in there. And then we like my friend, Rachel Anna Dobkin, who I met when we had our first live music event there, um, said like, I know a lot of

the local musicians, like, you want me to like organize some music next weekend? And I was like, sure. And so she's like, all these young bands, low light, um, Mercury Brothers, Cranston Dean, uh, Pam Flores, and like, uh, and just, you know, Maddie Carlock. All these cool people would just come over and do a 40-minute set or whatever. And then I would sit in with some of the bands and play my harmonica and just have a great time. And so long story short is after the three months we're up there, we're like, wow, this is kind of cool. Why don't you stick around? And we stuck around and we started doing those community events i was telling you about and like you know and then people started getting word that we were

there and we literally would get emails and or phone calls from all over the world you know like a lot of italians um you know um people from Spain and even Australia and stuff. And they'd be like, you know, they know that I have a relationship with Springsteen and I got Pearl Jam and I got Fish and I've got Dave Matthews and Foo Fighters. And they would be like, you know, we're making a trip from, you know, Italy and, you know, are you going to be open? And so we were, you know, so long story short is it's been three years and we've been there and they love having us there and it works for us. It works for them. And, and subsequently it's helped me get this music festival off the ground that I, my friend Tim Donnelly and I had had in our back pocket for many years.

Like we, we, you know, we were doing small, like art, music, surf events on the boardwalk when it was fairly empty before Asbury started to take off. You could take your pick and say, can we throw a little party in this, in this, you know, little office space right on the boardwalk. And we would have, you know, musicians and, you know, uh, surfers art and, uh, you know, um, we just have a big hang there and we called it see here now. And, uh, my friend Tim came up with the idea. He's got a great head for that kind of stuff. And, and then we, um, it went so well and his thing started to build, um, in Asbury park. we thought, wouldn't it be great to do a music

festival on the beach? We'll see here now, surfing, music, art, right? And so another friend of us, a friend of ours, H.M. Wollman, who was like, used to manage My Chemical Romance and worked at Q Prime and was like, you know, really had a good business sense and was a surfer and a big music fan. We teamed up and we were like, let's put a deck together and let's start pitching this thing. And we took it out and we pitched it everywhere. And we got some people, oh, that's a cool idea. Well, yeah, okay. You know, and then ran into my friend, Tim Sweetwood, who works at C3, who puts on Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits and that.

And we had just seen Mumford and Sons, another band that gives back to its community. And they did this thing called Gentlemen of the Road. And they did it in Seaside, New Jersey, right after Sandy and right after we had a big fire down there a couple of years ago. And they came in and they put on a concert there because they knew it would bring a lot of money to the community. And when they did and they came through and it was very a concert there because they knew it would bring a lot of money to the community. And when they did and they came through and it was very boutique, it was very cool. It was curated in a great way.

And the bands that they chose were bands that we loved, that we felt. And it went over really well. And we were like, man, we were re-inspired. Mentioned it to Tim Sweetwood. And he was the only person to say to us, you know, yeah, it's pretty cool. Let me come to Asbury park and have a look. He came down and he looked around and it's, it's beautiful.

It's art deco. It's on the beach. We want to do in September. The weather's always beautiful. And there had been concerts there before. And, um, they were much bigger than what we wanted to do.

And so he basically bought it to his partners at C3. We decided to do it. And our first year, we put 25,000 people, almost 25,000 people on the beach there. Three stages. We had Jack Johnson. It was very surf-oriented music, art. Jack Johnson. We had Incubus.

We had G Love and Ben Harper and like people like that. And then we went in like younger, like Milky Chance and Kaleo and what we had Blondie and we had some reggae with the Whalers and social distortion and this and that, like really a nice kind of mix. And we also had male and female pro surfers there who would surf during the day, like while the bands were playing and it was called expression sessions and they go in and they were, you know, who could be the most entertaining out there. It's like X games of water. Yeah. And they could win like a thousand bucks at the end, at the end of the day. And some of the money went to charity, whatever. And,

and it was like, it was really awesome. And the other thing we did was we created an art gallery, and I curated art from the musicians that were playing the festival. So we went to Ian from Deer Tick, and he paints these incredible portraits. And we went to Jack Johnson. He does surf films. And G. Love was doing these huge art pieces. And just all these people contributed their art. Clint Majan from Preservation Hall Jazz Band, et cetera.

And then, you know, the artists would come in and talk about their art just really quickly, a very short interview, and then maybe play a couple of songs. And so this year, we, you know, everybody kind of trusted us after the first year. And when we did our on-sale, without even announcing the lineup, we sold a lot of tickets. And then we announced our lineup, which was Dave Matthews Band and the Lumineers as the headliners. And tickets gone. I bet it was over. And it didn't hurt that last year Bruce Springsteen showed up and sat in with Social Distortion.

I'm sure they didn't at all. I was, I was nudging him. I was like, Hey man, don't forget our festivals come up. Oh, and you know, Mike Ness is going to be there with social distortion. I mean, it's amazing that it's like, you're, you just keep following threads that feel good to you and, and kind of like let it go where it needs to go. And also, I mean, sounds like a powerful testament to come and collaborate and co-create in a way that if it were for a different reason, it would be a totally different equation. So I've been hanging out with you today. We're in New York City.

You've been doing this thing for a solid chunk of time. It's called Good Life Project. We come full circle, and I offer out the phrase to you to live a good life what comes up um you know i'm 55 and i've been hustling my ass off for a long time and I've learned that, you know, hard work pays off and it allows you to, um, appreciate, you know, I was going to say my downtime, but like, I appreciate what I'm doing all the time. So the, the good life for me is, is to work hard and love what I'm doing, to get to spend time with your family and to inspire other people and to give back to the community. That's living the good life to me. I love where I came from on the Jersey Shore.

You could give me a longboard and a bicycle and my family in the ocean right there. And I'd be like happy as I could be in my harmonicas, I guess, which I never leave home without, you know, that's living the good life for me, you know, and I, I've been, you know, I play music, you know, I play in this Tangiers blues band and it's really, that happened by,. And just allowing yourself to follow those happy accidents, you know, make a big difference to me. Like I was photographing a blind, a blind melon and I became friends with them. And one time, you know, I had, my grandfather had played harmonica and I had a harmonica as a kid. And I, I, you know, when I was assisting with my friend Timothy, he was really into blues and I, I didn't know that I loved the blues. I knew I loved the Allman brothers and, you know, Led Zeppelin and stuff like that. And like, I had heard of Muddy Waters, but like they really taught me, you know, and

introduced me to, you know, Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williams and a little Walter and like, you know, even like, you know, deep James Brown and, you know, and R&B and Ray Charles and all that. And I really started to love it as I started to play harmonica. One time I told Shannon Hoon from Blind Melon that I played harmonica just casually, you know, during one of the, one of the shows I had, they were the, they were the band really that let me, let me, you know, in to photograph like famous band that was like, I cut my teeth, like hanging out with them and photographing. And so he said, oh man, you know, you play harmonica. You should come up and play with

us tonight. And they were like, they were opening for, it was Blind you know, you play harmonica. You should come up and play with us tonight. And they were like, they were opening for, it was Blind Melon Soundgarden and Neil Young. Wow. And it was in New Jersey at the Art Center. And I was like, no, no, no, no. I'm not coming out there. And I'm not, you know, I said, I, I played like once in public, like at a barbecue. And he was like, Danny, it's all one big barbecue. Like, you're going to come out and play with us. I was like, okay. And I'm thinking he's not going

to remember. And so, um, we kind of woodshed it on the song and it was like a song called change. And then they would like segue into like a dear Mr. Fantasy blues kind of thing, which I was comfortable playing blues. And I ended up doing it and going out there and like, and I, and I didn't really screw it up. You know, like I actually like, you know, you're in a key and it's a key and I ducked in and out. And I was like, wow, I was like really like buzzing after that. And, uh, so I ended up learning, wanting to play more harmonica. And every time I hung out with them, I would play with them. And then I was hired to photograph this band called Danger Man. And they, um, they asked me to come up to their recording studio, uh, or rehearsal space rather to, um, to just, you know, talk about the, you know,

the, uh, the photo shoot and what we were going to do and how we were going to do it and where we were going to do it. And I got there and they had all these Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker posters up there. And the guy was standing there just playing, like, he was like obsessed with his guitar. He just had it on the whole time we were talking and was playing these little blues riffs. And I was like, oh, you guys play blues? And he's like, yeah, yeah. And I said, I play a little harmonica. And they're like, oh, wow. Let's like, let's have, let's have a jam sometime. So long story short, and like 25 years later, we have the Tangiers Blues Band and we play in all that we've played, you know, for 25 years together. And, uh, and subsequently a lot

of the artists that I've become friends with have sat in with the blues band. When I have my book, my still moving book release party, Tangiers Blues Band played, and we had Perry Farrell sat in with us, Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters, Zach Brown, and then, like, you know, Brandi Carlile sat in with us, Prez Hall Jazz Band, you know, Bob Weir, and, you know, Joseph Arthur and Jesse Mallon, and just, like, it goes on and on.

So we had often hoped that we could get Bruce Springsteen to sit in with us. And it just so happened that there was an opening for the Asbury Lanes, which is like a legendary bowling alley slash music venue in Asbury Park. And we heard Bruce was going to kind of emcee the opening. And they asked the Tangiers Blues Band to play. And also Portugal the Man was playing. And so Bruce, I had spoken with his team and they said, look, you know, he's doing the Broadway show. And like, I don't expect him to get up and jam with anybody.

I just want you to know that's probably not going to happen. So a week out, I get a text from Bruce and he said, uh, Hey man, uh, I'm thinking maybe I'll sit in with, with, with your band. I was like, I said, okay, uh, what are we going to do? What do you want to do? And he's like, well, blues, you know? And I was like, well, okay. Like, you know, twist and shout. And he was like down the road a piece. And I was like, we were going back and forth, like, uh, with different tunes. And, um And he agreed to do it. We, of course, were like, of course. And so he texted me a little while later. He's like, we having a rehearsal or what?

And I was like, well, yeah. How about Wednesday? OK. And he was like, meanwhile, he's got a gig on Broadway, I think, that night. And so we did a rehearsal for the rehearsal and played through all the tunes. And, uh, and then he came in and, uh, you know, supposed to be there at five o'clock. He was there at like four 55, you know, put on his guitar. And I was like, how's it feel to put electric guitar on, you know, and play with a band. Then he was like, yeah, let's do this. And, uh, he just raised

the energy in the room, like through the roof. And it was, it was, it was quite incredible. And funny enough, like halfway through the rehearsal, you know, of course we're in the room with Bruce Springsteen and everybody's eyes are on him because he's leading the band. And we're just, we can't even believe we're, we're, we're doing this, you know? And I realized that like a handful of people are not looking at Bruce and they're all looking like in the corner. And I had my back to the door and I could turn around and, and there's Sting standing there because he was rehearsing next door to us. And like, he comes in, he's like, Hey Bruce, oh Danny. And I've worked with him, you know?

And anyway, it was like really surreal. Like Sting walks in and like says hello to Bruce and we all say hello. And it was kind of crazy. And then he came and and like says hello to Bruce and we all say hello. And it was kind of crazy. And then he came and sat in with us there and he sat in with us. I was the honoree for the Kristen Ann Carr Fund event this past year. And we raised a significant amount of money, which is really incredible to be a part of it. And of course, we had a guitar out for Bruce because he usually shows up. And I said, hey, man, you know we we woodshedded those other

tunes that we had done uh the last time so if you want to play you know there's there's a guitar there for you so we had this guitar there and then our guitar player chris who leads the band great guy had his fender like telecaster like a early 50s like bruce loves to play and when bruce went to grab the other guitar ch Chris stuck his guitar in his hand. I was like, here's my guitar. And Bruce was like, oh, cool. Wow. Bruce was checking it out.

Like, damn, this is nice. And we proceeded to have a big throwdown. And everybody was quite happy that he came and sat in with us. But no one was more happier than I was. Man, that sounds amazing yeah that sounds like a good life yes that's the good life right there any chance you have your uh harmonica on you i do have a harmonica with me you play a little bit sure... I love it, love it, love it. Thank you so much.

That's my Junior Wells riff. I stole it early on when I learned to play, and I just have hung on to it. Well, you wear it well. Yeah. Thank you so much. That's my Junior Wells riff. I stole it early on when I learned to play and I just have hung on to it. Well, you wear it well. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, man. Thank you so much for listening.

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