Seven Stories…Jennifer Williams

Photographer: Jennifer Williams
Site: Wicked Ways Photography
Based in: Midway, GA

ONE

This is a picture of The Murder Junkies playing down at the Landshark Cafe down in Jax Beach Florida. This is probably one of my favorite shots. I really love it. I use it as my profile shot on my “Wicked Ways Photography” Facebook site. Most of the picture I take I do a lens drag for effect but if there is too much white light then I prefer to go black and white with a strong contrast. That is what happened with this shot of Merle and Dino from the band “The Murder Junkies”. If you know anything about punk then you know the guy on the right with the beard is Merle and his brother was the famous or “infamous’ G.G. Allin. One of my friends is Scott Cockren from the Spo-its and he is buds with them. He always told me how I need to see them so when I heard my friends from the band GHOSTWITCH was opening for them I had to go. Dino the drummer is well… a little different. Plays ALMOST totally nude… he keeps his shoes and socks on. Awesome! Of course there are some shots I can’t put on facebook or they will get deleted. I had already put my camera up when Dino did his signature “drumstick trick”… If you don’t know what that is or if your afraid of germs, don’t ever collect a drumstick from that band! It involves him bending over and the drumsticks going bye bye for a moment… Seriously. Great band, I wished I could have heard a longer set but some ass picked a fight with the lead singer and a fight broke out… damn it!

TWO

This is a picture of a Savannah band that is getting more and more known. This is BARONESS. I can remember when they first started and I would see one of they guys riding his bike through City Market all the time. One of my friends from the band KYLESA contacted me to see if I could take pics of their show with BARONESS at the Jinx (in Savannah) because SPIN magazine wanted some shots because they were featuring them. I contacted SPIN and was all excited about it. Problem is I got the second email too late that they only wanted shots with NO LIGHT DRAG. Well that’s what I do!?? So of course all my damn shots had light drags in them and none of them were used. One of life’s near misses I guess.

THREE

I have so many pictures of KYLESA… I finally picked this one of Laura. Laura Pleasants is someone who I would just about always see down at the old “Velvet Elvis” bar in Savannah in days gone by. KYLESA started out with members of my favorite band DAMAD which is probably the band that had the most influence in the “Savannah Sound” that is people are referring to. I didn’t get to see KYLESA with bassist Brian Duke and I so regret that, I knew him as the bassist for DAMAD. He left this world too early…. Still hard to believe he is gone. I’m sure if he can he is still at Velvet Elvis, now known as The Jinx, watching bands come through.. KYLESA is getting big now and are always off touring and was just featured on Last Call with Carson Daly. When they do play in Savannah its so packed that getting pics are getting harder and harder in the tight quarters of The Jinx.

FOUR

This photo is a shot of Athon of BLACK TUSK with his bass that’s named….”Disstroyur”. You can normally run into those guys almost any day of the week at the Jinx in Savannah but they just went on tour. Hope they find their way back! They are another Savannah based band that is getting alot of attention lately and one of my very favorite bands to see. They just this past week played at the Jinx for their Set the Dial Release Party. So many people turned out to see their show at the Jinx that alot of people didn’t get in the door since it was sold out. These guys are part of what some people are calling “Swamp Metal” or the “Savannah Sound”. Its loud and heavy… gotta luv it.

FIVE

This is a shot of ZOROASTER. They are an Atlanta based DOOM band, very heavy. This shot is done with my more signature “lens drag” style. I can only shoot these types of shots when there are no bright white lights. I need mostly very dark conditions with just a bit of red or dark blue lights. Otherwise I will resort to using a more traditional flash shots and then I tend to turn them into black and white later. ZOROASTER just got done with their “Devilneck Fest”. Anything called “Devilneck” is surely a good time!

SIX

This next shot is another of my signature lens drag shots of a band called “WAR OF AGES”. They were playing down in Jacksonville Florida at a cool bar known as “Jack Rabbits”. That is a great place to see some awesome hardcore bands. WAR OF AGES is pure Metal Hardcore and it was hard to pick out a favorite shot from that night. I like using a lens drag over a flash because I believe it lets you get more of a feeling of what the music sounds like. Its like you can actually see the music.

SEVEN

This last shot is another lens drag shot. Its COUGH, the ultra heavy DOOM metal band on Relapse Records. If you don’t like loud HEAVY music then don’t go to COUGH. But if your on this page chances are you do and you like your brain to be slowly reverbed into jell-o. I really like this shot even though you can’t see his face. You can really get the feel of the deep, heavy sound that is being unleashed. This was taken in Savannah at the Jinx, my home away from home…once known as The Velvet Elvis. COUGH should be in town again soon at a bar in Savannah known as the Wormhole for the big Forward to the Apocalypse Fest in November… I will be there.

For ALOT more shots, PLEASE go to my Facebook site, Wicked Ways Photography and like it and look at all the bands and then GO SEE THEM LIVE!