Raymond Chang Photography & Design

Darwin’s Burgers and Blues – Mike Watson Band put on a great set last night! My night started out at Darwin’s where I got to meet Mike Watson before he blew the doors off the place with his guitar work! He played the most rockin version of Bill Withers “Ain’t no Sunshine” I’ve ever heard! I ended up sticking around much longer than I had planned, I wanted to shoot some more musicians!

Mike Watson Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Mike Watson Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Mike Watson @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Paul Arredondo @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Mike Watson @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Ken Tolleson @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Mike Watson @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Mike Watson @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Mike Watson @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Paul Arredondo @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Paul Arredondo @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Sideline’s – I was told Motor City Josh was performing right down the street and I should go check it out, so off I went! First person I run into is none other than Truett Lollis hanging out with Jonathon Norwood. I love getting the chance to see who other musicians are listening to. If Truett is there to see this band, then I know I’m in for a treat! I didn’t get to stay too long unfortunately, my goal was to get back to Darwin’s to catch Mike Watson’s third set and I still wanted to go check out Barry Richman. Frontman Josh Ford was a phenomenon on guitar as well as Alex Lyon on bass and Adam Savage on drums!

Motor City Josh @ Sideline’s

Josh Ford @ Sideline’s

Alex Lyon @ Sideline’s

Josh Ford @ Sideline’s

Adam Savage @ Sideline’s

Josh Ford @ Sideline’s

Nik’s Place – Barry Richman has been marked on my calendar for weeks! “The first Friday of every month at Nik’s Place” someone told me a while back. I get there at 11:30, giving me about 45 minutes to check listen to his set before I have to leave. “Thanks everyone, we’re going on break!” was the first thing I heard as I came through the door.

Doh!

I introduced myself to Barry briefly, grabbed myself a drink and ended up running into John Rose and his friends. We hung out on the patio for a while until Barry got back on stage. By then it was 12 and I only had 15 minutes left! I got as many shots as I could in the dimly-lit venue and took off back to Darwin’s. I got some decent shots, but probably could have done better with more time.

Barry Richman was ridiculous, and I mean that in every good possible way. He’s the FASTEST guitar played I’ve ever seen! At one point I had framed my shot up and was just letting the camera shoot out, I was just staring at his hands flying up and down the neck of the guitar! I immediately regretted not bringing my flash, I could have gotten some really cool motion-blur shots with him if I had. I’m going to have to see Barry again under better conditions.

Barry Richman @ Nik’s Place

Kari Savage @ Nik’s Place

Barry Richman Band @ Nik’s Place

Barry Richman Band @ Nik’s Place

Kari Savage @ Nik’s Place

Barry Richman @ Nik’s Place

Barry Richman @ Nik’s Place

Barry Richman @ Nik’s Place

Darwin’s Burgers and Blues – Mike’s set had turned into full jam session featuring Cody Matlock, Jim Nicoletta, and Joe Hussey! Plus I caught Akin before he closed the kitchen and got to eat another delicious Chicken Salad Sandwich as a late-night snack. Mmmm, so good!

Mike, Jim and Paul @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Mike and Cedric @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Darwin’s Blues Jam – What a night! Lots of amazing music was made last night, and I love seeing the interaction on stage with these musicians! I took so many pictures it was tough to pick which ones I thought were best so I’ll be posting a few more than usual today. We had a great time last night and would like to thank everyone for coming out and supporting your local blues scene!

The Cazanovas Every Thursday @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Eric Pullen @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Maurice Nazzaro @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Danny Vinson @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Jacob Holliday @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Cody Matlock @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

@ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Tamara Nicolai @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Joe Hussey @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Mark Slyman @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Mark Slyman @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

John Rose @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

John Rose @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

@ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Jim Nicoletta @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Mike Greenwald @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

@ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Chuck Woods @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Sandra Senn @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Ana Howells @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

@ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Ana and Sandra @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Larry Griffith @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Christian Davidson @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Hobo Creed @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Larry Griffith @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

@ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Bob Coyle @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Mary Raindrop @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Mary Raindrop @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Mary and Kayla @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Cody Matlock @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Joe Castellanos @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Matthew Smart @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Tamara Nicolai @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Matthew Smart @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Stoney Brooks @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Jacob Holliday @ Darwin’s Blues Jam

@ Darwin’s Blues Jam

Northside Tavern – Wednesday I actually did not start at Darwin’s. I was about to leave when Lindsay showed up back at the house and offered to cook dinner. She made us a great spaghetti dinner and came out with me to Northside Tavern to meet Mary Raindrop to check out Mudcat’s set.

Wow, another incredible musician, Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck was phenomenal! He was just man-handling that old beat up acoustic guitar of his. It was an old, unlabeled acoustic guitar that looked like he screwed the pickup in himself. I saw him busting out some pretty cool note-bending techniques like de-tuning his guitar midsong, bending the neck, and even just shaking his guitar vigorously. It all sounded GREAT!

On top of that, he was just an incredibly entertaining performer. He’s so animate and personable on stage that I got my best shot of him within the first minute of shooting! From telling jokes, stories, and singing funny songs to “choreographed dancing” and smoking weed on stage…Mudcat is awesome. I would really love to get him out to Darwin’s!

Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck @ Northside Tavern

Hobo @ Northside Tavern

Mudcat and Hobo @ Northside Tavern

Mudcat and Dan Francis @ Northside Tavern

This question was posed in the photography forum on Reddit. I decided it would make a good blog post. 2 things IMMEDIATELY came to mind:

1: I was shooting around Georgia State for a graphic design project. The project was to create a series of postcards that immediately said, “Georgia State”. I decided to take a series of perspective shots of the buildings around campus. To get one particular shot, I had to lay down in the road in the middle of a busy intersection. My gf helped stop traffic for about 15 seconds enough for me to run over, lay down in the street, and get the shot.

Laying in the street to get this.

2: I was trying to get a shot of my buddy before he shot a .357 magnum. I thought it was understood that he was not supposed to fire the gun, but there was some confusion and he fired a .357 magnum about 2 feet from my face as I was moving towards him. It startled the shit out of me enough to click the button and get the shot. I was pretty shaken up after that.

Gettin shot at to get this.

Darwin’s Burgers and Blues – Last night I decided to just hang out at Darwin’s and enjoy Little G’s set. Dustin Sargent came up and jumped on stage with his Bass for a bit. Lots of people came out for Ernie’s Birthday, we ended up with 3 whole cakes! It was a wonderful evening, and I had a blast hanging out with everyone.

While I was there I decided to do a promo shot for our Wednesday $5 Burger and a Beer special.

$5 Burger and a Beer Every Wednesday @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Little G Weevil Every Tuesday @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Little G and Red @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Dustin “Red” Sargent @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Ernie’s Birthday Boogie!t @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

I’ve finally been hired to design a flyer for a show, and what a great show it’s going to be! FYN + Winter Ransom on October 13th! Plus I got to use all my own original photography to create the flyer.

FYN + Winter Ransom Flyer designed by Ray Chang

Darwin’s Burgers and Blues – Garlic Grilled Cheese stuffed with Chicken Salad. My new favorite dish at Darwin’s. My evening started with a sandwich and some Jim Ransone backed by bassist Tamara Nicolai!

Garlic Grilled Cheese w/ Chicken Salad @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Jim and Tamara @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Jim and Tamara @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Tamara Nicolai @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Bella’s Pizzeria – Between sets, Tamara told me I should check out Lefty William’s jam over at Bella’s Pizzeria. So off I went. I was immediately greeted by my buddy Johnny Cunningham, drummer for Novakord! Soon after that I was blown away by Lefty’s guitar skills! The drummer from Def Leppard’s got nothin’ on Lefty! I had a blast and got to meet lots of folks while I was at Lefty’s. I hope to see some of these great musicians at the Darwin’s Jam soon!

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Lefty Williams @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Bryan Hall @ Lefty’s Monday Jam

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Josh Thane @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Erik Kaszynski @ Lefty’s Monday Jam

Lefty Williams @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

Johnny Cunningham @ Lefty’s Monday Jam

Lefty’s Monday Jam @ Bella’s Pizzeria

It still amazes me when I get to see these older musicians performing. A year ago I was shooting pictures of local rock shows in Atlanta, younger high-energy guys who are absolutely great musicians! Here comes Joe Clover. I was reminded of the set I saw with John McKnight…these older experienced musicians who just make it look so easy! Immediately I could tell, “These guys have been playing together for a LONG time.” Several times I had to double check to make sure I wasn’t listening to a CD, they were just so in-tune and together!

I’ve seen Joe Clover in the past perform at the Blues Jam, but this was my first time seeing his whole band! It was an amazing set and I can’t wait to have them back!

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

The Mighty Joe Clover Band @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

I had a bit of a slow night last night. It took me forever to put my guitar down and get ready to leave. When I finally got to Darwin’s it was almost 10pm and I realized I’d forgotten to put the battery back in my camera! I watched the Rhythm Raiders finish up their first set and made the trek back home to get my battery. I managed to get a few shots of the last set.

Rhythm Raiders @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Rhythm Raiders @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Rhythm Raiders @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Rhythm Raiders @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Rhythm Raiders @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Rhythm Raiders @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Rhythm Raiders @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues

Rhythm Raiders @ Darwin’s Burgers and Blues