There’s nothing that terrifies me more than doing something I’ve never done before when I’m expected to succeed. When they asked me to shoot some new stuff for their up and coming album, I was excitedly nervous… and totally taken aback that they’d chosen me without a shadow of a doubt that I’d help them create something remarkable.

Long story short, we met up in the mountains at 4am to start shooting. Bleary eyed, we made our way to the spot I had scouted and they prepped while I set up some lighting. We spent the hour between 4am and 5am shooting, experimenting, running around, and shoo-ing mosquitos off our necks… and this was the final product…. the journey of The Good Kids in one image.

Many thanks to: The Good Kids (for being the perfect Band clients and for putting up with no sleep, flashes, and bugs), Danielle (their devoted and amazing stylist), Christopher (my devoted and amazing lighting crew of one), Angie Horn-Andreu and Annie Ludes (for trusting me with so much), the girls living in the cabin of Boulder (for allowing us to shoot so early in the morning outside your living space), and the mosquitos of Forest Falls (for not eating me alive and for not giving me West Nile Virus).

Somehow, I caught a bug this past week… and have been trying real hard to kick it… but it likes me a lot and wants to stay for 3 weeks. SOO between blowing my nose, coughing, and trying to sleep… I’ve been trying to keep my “work as usual” routine. I’ve had several excited music fans ask me, “When do we get to see them?!” in regards to The Good Kids concert photos. Believe me, I’m just as excited about them! And now….some shots from the show…

In October of 2009, I was asked by The Good Kids to photograph their band for an upcoming record they were producing. Click here to view those images. We had a lot of fun and the pictures turned out awesome! Well…. they’ve come a long way in such a short time and recently, I got a phone call from their drummer. He excitedly told me they landed a gig at the House of Blues in Anaheim…. which is a big deal! I’m so proud of these guys… here’s some shots of the show…

There were five bands that played that night. The opening band was named The Gasoline Addicts… definitely entertaining…

The bands drew all kinds of fans… this is one of my favorites from the night… I love the cute grandma looking admiringly at the band rocking the stage….. I have no idea how the unhealthy level of sound decibels didn’t phase her… I had to have earplugs so I wouldn’t go deaf after the show…

The second band that took the stage was Ives the Band, and they reminded me a lot of the Decemberists and maybe even Leeland…

Okay and then when I was backstage with the guys…. I noticed this drum that had a ton of glitter all over it. I wondered if that was on purpose, and then when these guys got on stage, I saw the drum and waited patiently for someone to bang on it and make the glitter go flying…. I’m a nerd, I know. Anyways… the bassist started beating the drum and I’m pretty sure I squealed with delight when the glitter went flying… I love glitter.

Then it was time.

Da….. da….DAAAA!!

It was time for the Good Kids to take the stage….

Amps were set up, mikes were tested, guitars were tuned… deep breaths were taken in and out…

The lights went on… and cheers pulsed through the crowd…

They are such rock stars!!!

Seriously… I loved watching the joy and passion seeping through every note as they rocked the House of Blues that night….

If you haven’t checked out their music yet, you should…. they’ve got a unique sound and they’re a fun group of musicians following their passions. Cortez, Jared, Grady, and Chris…. thanks for inviting me to help document such a pivotal event in your climb to stardom…. You rocked the house! And many thanks to the House of Blues for allowing me to shoot there…

I know, I know… it’s been a whole week since I last blogged. I have lots to share in the coming weeks from the many different shoots I’ve been doing. But today I wanted to share something with you…. Last night I photographed The Good Kids in concert at the House of Blues in Anaheim. As I was hanging with the band backstage, Cortez turns to me and says, “Kate, we worked together like 3 years ago, right? I would have never thought 3 years down the road I’d be here… at House of Blues… about to step on stage with this band…. and that you, would be our photographer. I never saw any of this coming.” It was a sweet moment for both him and me… reminiscing on where we’ve come from… and dreaming of the future.

I’ve been reading this book called Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi. He says:

“Have you ever sat down and thought seriously about what you truly love? What you’re good at? What you want to accomplish in life? What are the obstacles that are stopping you? Most people don’t. They accept what they “should” be doing, rather than take the time to figure out what they want to be doing.

We all have our own loves, insecurities, strengths, weaknesses, and unique capabilities. And we have to take those into account in figuring out where our talents and desires intersect. That intersection is what I call your ‘blue flame’–where passion and ability come together. When the blue flame is ignited within a person, it is a powerful force in getting you where you want to go.”

It’s amazing what one can accomplish when you follow what you truly love and what you’re gifted with. For the Good Kids, they’ve discovered their passion for creating music. They looked up from pursuing their passion and discovered they’re actually living a dream…

Here’s just a sneak peek of more to come…

The good thing about waking up before the sun is you have more hours to enjoy life     ……and colors like this don’t happen during normal conscious hours.

A couple weeks ago, I got to wake up SUPER early and spend the waking hours of the morning with a group of guys, more affectionately referred to as, The Good Kids. My sister Melissa grabbed everyone coffee and we made the trek, along with Christopher, to meet up with the guys at an Uber-Remote part of Irvine… so remote, most people don’t know it exists.

Here’s a shot I got of Melissa enjoying the sunset while sipping her warm Hazelnut Latte…

Like many Autumn mornings in Socal, this particular morning, a thick fog clung to the ground almost as strong as a chill clung to our thickly jacketed bodies. It took everyone a little while to get their faces on… but when we finally were ready to go, the sun had risen enough to shed some great morning twilight on the canyon. Real quick… some history for you. Everyone, except Grady, has been a co-worker of mine over the years working for the City of Irvine Aquatics program. We guarded peoples lives, picked up trash, covered the pools in rain & shine, and even taught the children of Irvine how to swim…. we all go way back…

Now let me introduce you to the band… (from left to right) There’s Jared, Cortez, Grady, Chris.

Jared’s the Drummer of this group of kids… he’s also “the organized one.” He does a great job of utilizing everyone’s gifts and abilities, while still keeping the flow of shows, rehearsals, and song writing in check. I met Jared in 2002… my first summer as a lifeguard. He made fun of me a lot….

And then there’s Cortez. He’s the singer and one of the lead guitarists. I first met him in…. 2006… and from that inital conversation he made it clear that his life’s passion is music. And his passion shows through his music for sure! Way back when, he was technically my first level boss and we spent our time teaching all sorts of people the Health and Safety classes for Red Cross. He’s also an avid water-aerobics teacher I hear….

Next is Chris. He’s the bassist and definitely the metaphorical baseline of the group. He’s grounded, a hard worker, and a quiet presence that equalizes Jared’s Brains, Cortez’ passion, and Grady. Not only did Chris and I work together for many years of our young adulthood, we also swam for Irvine High School and played waterpolo together. This guy’s solid…. let me tell you!

Lastly, this is Grady. That’s really enough said. He’s the other lead guitarist who can rip like no other! I met him briefly before the shoot, but I’m pretty sure we’re tight now Grady is the life of the band…. the excitement that spurs everyone else on. He’s definitely a character that draws people in to the energy of the band and gets them excited about the music they play…. and I absolutely love this picture… probably one of my top 3 favorites from this shoot!

Together they make up the Good Kids…. Here’s some of my favorite shots from Bommer Canyon.

From Bommer Canyon, we moved to Turtle Rock Park and took some classic playground shots… here’s my favorites from that portion of the shoot…

Finally we made it to our final destination…. The Lab in Costa Mesa for some more colorful shots…

Overall…. I had a ton of fun and we lucked out with great weather, awesome fog that rolled in, and The Good Kids Rocked. Thanks so much you guys and I wish you the best of luck with your music careers!