Dan Dion's Blog, page 2
March 25, 2011
Yao Ming for Monster Cable
Yao Ming on Set with Noel Lee
Just back from temperate Houston Texas where my fellow Monsters and I did a photo and video shoot with the towering Houston Rocket Yao Ming. Monster has launched a massive line of Yao Monster products being sold throughout China, and we were there to get video of him speaking Chinese directly to Chinese retailers and consumers for his headphones, power, HDMI, and other products.
Yao Ming with iSport Headphones
Yao arrived on the dot at 2pm at the studio we'd rented, which is Houston's best- Ralph Smith Studios. He's a real pro when it comes to this kind of stuff, and he was soon correcting our Chinese script in what was apparently a slightly awkward translation we'd brought. He was calm and friendly throughout, and he and head Monster Noel Lee have a good relationship, it seems, as they were frequently cracking each other up.
Yao Ming with Head Monster Noel Lee
Yao Ming Correcting our Chinese Script
Video guys got their retail shout-outs, and I got some nice portraits of a legendary athlete. That night Noel got to sit courtside to watch the Rockets stomp our hometown Warriors, while the crew, hungry from a long production, got to strap on the 'ol feed bag for some Texas steaks.
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Yao Ming rocking Beats Headphones
Yao Ming on Set With Monster Cable
Yao Ming Between Takes
Yao Ming and Noel Lee with Beats Headphones
March 8, 2011
Too $hort at Yoshi’s
Too $hort at Yoshi’s by Dan Dion
As part of my new ongoing work for Monster Cable here in the Bay Area, I work with the “Famous Monsters” – celebrity endorsers of our pro musical equipment and headphones (including Beats by Dr. Dre, which are the best headphones I’ve ever heard.) So you’ll be seeing more shots of musicians with headphones and other Monster gear.
Last Saturday Night I shot Oakland hip-hop legend Too $hort at Yoshi’s in San Francisco, the first of four sold out shows that weekend. It’s great to hear a rapper in a venue with good sound, so that all the (in this case raunchy) lyrics can be heard.
Dan Dion Photography Facebook Page
Too $hort at Yoshi’s by Dan Dion
Backstage Portrait of Too $hort at Yoshi’s by Dan Dion
Too $hort at Yoshi’s by Dan Dion
Too $hort’s Vocalist at Yoshi’s
Too $hort at Yoshi’s in San Francisco by Dan Dion
Too $hort at Yoshi's
Too $hort at Yoshi's by Dan Dion
As part of my new ongoing work for Monster Cable here in the Bay Area, I work with the "Famous Monsters" – celebrity endorsers of our pro musical equipment and headphones (including Beats by Dr. Dre, which are the best headphones I've ever heard.) So you'll be seeing more shots of musicians with headphones and other Monster gear.
Last Saturday Night I shot Oakland hip-hop legend Too $hort at Yoshi's in San Francisco, the first of four sold out shows that weekend. It's great to hear a rapper in a venue with good sound, so that all the (in this case raunchy) lyrics can be heard.
Dan Dion Photography Facebook Page
Too $hort at Yoshi's by Dan Dion
Backstage Portrait of Too $hort at Yoshi's by Dan Dion
Too $hort at Yoshi's by Dan Dion
Too $hort's Vocalist at Yoshi's
Too $hort at Yoshi's in San Francisco by Dan Dion
Too $hort at Yoshi's San Francisco
Too $hort at Yoshi's by Dan Dion
As part of my new ongoing work for Monster Cable here in the Bay Area, I work with the "Famous Monsters" – celebrity endorsers of our pro musical equipment and headphones (including Beats by Dr. Dre, which are the best headphones I've ever heard.) So you'll be seeing more shots of musicians with headphones and other Monster products.
Last Saturday Night I shot Oakland hip-hop legend Too $hort at Yoshi's in San Francisco, the first of four sold out shows that weekend. It's great to hear a rapper in a venue with good sound, so that all the (in this case raunchy) lyrics can be heard.
Too $hort at Yoshi's by Dan Dion
Backstage Portrait of Too $hort at Yoshi's by Dan Dion
Too $hort at Yoshi's by Dan Dion
Too $hort's Vocalist at Yoshi's
Too $hort at Yoshi's in San Francisco by Dan Dion
February 22, 2011
In Praise of Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams at the Warfield- 2001
I first saw Lucinda Williams at The Fillmore in 1997, when she was just about to release her breakout album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. A few years earlier I'd seen Johnny Cash and he'd done a fairly complete job of curing me of my distain for country music. I'd soon be musically educated to learn that what I didn't like was actually what was considered "new country" at the time- your Garth Brooks/ Billy Ray Cyrus kinda music.
I've always had a preference for great lyricists- Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Randy Newman. And I'd soon find that so-called country music has some of the best songwriters in the world as I delved into the work of Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, and Lucinda.
Lucinda and Band at The Fillmore - 1997
But I had no idea she'd become one of my favorite musicians at that first Fillmore show. I just liked what I heard and made the effort to get a shot of her with her band backstage in the stairway.
Lucinda Williams at The Fillmore - 1997
Cut to two years and a Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk Album later. "Car Wheels" was a huge hit and critics had gone apeshit over a blend of rock, blues, country and folk. They were calling it "Americana" and "Roots Music" when in truth it was just a great blend of all of it anchored by a true poet.
Lucinda Williams at The Warfield - 1999
And Lucinda had clearly been inundated by media with her new renowned, and it took about half an hour before she came out from her dressing room to do a portrait with me. But she was incredibly kind and gracious when we did it. And I guess she'd been doing lots of annoying photo shoots because she said "I LOVE the way you take pictures! Other photographers always tell me to do this and that and look this way and you don't do none of that!" Then she gave me a hug- something I wasn't used to from my rock and roll subjects- and cementing me as a fan for life.
And in saying this she also helped me crystallize a part of my shooting style, which values comfort above all else. Without it, you'll never get an honest portrait.
I think she's had to deal with a lot of photog-douchebags over the years, because I've heard that she's not a big fan of being shot- but she always seems to allow me to do a quick portrait- as long as I'm patient (she's still a superstar, after all, and anointed by Time Magazine as America's Best Songwriter).
Doug Pettibone at The Fillmore, 2003
But to be fair, I had a lot of help and advocacy from her guitarist for many years, Doug Pettibone. Somewhere around 2000, The Warfield had put up a shot of the band performing, and he'd seen it. I met him at The Fillmore the next year and he asked me if I knew the guy who shot it. "Yeah, I know him pretty well," I said. We ended up hanging out and he came with me to a jam session at Capp's Corner that was mostly comprised of cast members of Beach Blanket Babylon getting away from their camp and into some classic rock and soul tunes. He tore it up and we've been friends ever since.
Lucinda puts out a new album about every two or three years, and it never disappoints. There aren't too many artists who's vocals and lyrics seem to get better all the time- Bonnie Raitt is an example. But what sets her apart, especially as a female artist, is that she can be honey-sweet one moment and whisky-sour the next without coming off as contrived. She can be growly, angry, and raunchy, then tender, sad, and lovely, then pointed, poignant, and political.
And something else I find attracts me to her music (that is often the case with artists I admire- be it Tom Waits, Pink Floyd, or late-era Beatles) is the percentage of songs that aren't about love. While she can pine over lost lovers with the best of them, she also sings of suicide, wealth, abuse, and in one case how her ex-boyfriend couldn't get her off. Not exactly the stuff of country music clichés.
Lucinda Williams at the Fillmore - 2003
She's so smart, yet so American. So vulnerable, yet so strong and sexy. If I had to pick one word to describe her, though, it would be "authentic." If you wonder where the heart of country music went, look no further.
Lucinda Williams at The Fillmore - 2003
February 14, 2011
¡SATIRISTAS! White Guilt Night at the Actors’ Gang
Paul Provenza and Tim Robbins
We had another sold-out house at The Actors’ Gang Theater for our monthly ¡Satiristas! night as part of the Axis Mundi Series curated by Tim Robbins. In honor of black history month, we celebrated White Guilt Night.
Billy the Mime
Following cocktails on the patio, Billy the Mime, performing in whiteface, kicked things of with his history of the African American Experience in America- incarceration and exploitation capped with a triumphant cigarette outside the White House.
Mark Silverman sang about the word white people can’t say, and cartoonist Keith Knight presented a slideshow of his racially themed one-panel cartoons (th)INK.
Cartoonist Keith Knight
Humorsician Mark Silverman
This was followed by a game Paul calls “RACIST or NOT RACIST” wherein he projects imagery gathered from around the world of questionable taste and intent and the audience comments on its effect. But within our audience were comedian friends and SATIRISTAS galore- Kevin Kataoka, Ngaio Bealum, Jim Jeffries, Rick Overton, Matt Kirshen, Kumail Nanjiani, Gary Shapiro, Suzanne Whang, Troy Conrad, Chris Pina, Emery Emery, and Franklyn Ajaye.
Everyone was encouraged to comment without reservations, but egregiously racist comments, even if hilarious, required a cash donation on the spot for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the civil rights organization that successfully sued the Imperial Klan in Kentucky for actions of its militia members.
Agitator Eddie Pepitone
This lowbrow high-mindedness seemed to be lost on Eddie Pepitone- as evidenced here in this video.
But even the Satiristas have their breaking point- and it apparently comes in the form of a woman yelling out racial slurs in fake accents. Thankfully, we had our own comic ninja Dylan Brody available to forcibly eject her, for which he earned a punch in the nose before subduing the the heinous heckler.
Kung-Fu Comic Dylan Brody
The show itself had its proponents and detractors, with a glowing review on Buzzine, and a he’s-just-not-into-us open letter to the Actor’s Gang by Brian Kim Stefans, which he also posted to the Satiristas website.
During all the laughing, shouting, comedic race-baiting and card-playing, painter Michael Pukac was upstage creating his interpretation of the evenings’ proceedings. Shana Sosin, producer of Axis Mundi, summed it up better than anyone: “There were times when I was really uncomfortable. THANK YOU.”
Artist Michael Pukac
¡SATIRISTAS! White Guilt Night at the Actors' Gang
Paul Provenza and Tim Robbins
We had another sold-out house at The Actors' Gang Theater for our monthly ¡Satiristas! night as part of the Axis Mundi Series curated by Tim Robbins. In honor of black history month, we celebrated White Guilt Night.
Billy the Mime
Following cocktails on the patio, Billy the Mime, performing in whiteface, kicked things of with his history of the African American Experience in America- incarceration and exploitation capped with a triumphant cigarette outside the White House.
Mark Silverman sang about the word white people can't say, and cartoonist Keith Knight presented a slideshow of his racially themed one-panel cartoons (th)INK.
Humorsician Mark Silverman
Cartoonist Keith Knight
This was followed by a game Paul calls "RACIST or NOT RACIST" wherein he projects imagery gathered from around the world of questionable taste and intent and the audience comments on its effect. But within our audience were comedian friends and SATIRISTAS galore- Kevin Kataoka, Ngaio Bealum, Jim Jeffries, Rick Overton, Matt Kirshen, Kumail Nanjiani, Gary Shapiro, Suzanne Whang, Troy Conrad, Chris Pina, Emery Emery, and Franklyn Ajaye.
Everyone was encouraged to comment without reservations, but egregiously racist comments, even if hilarious, required a cash donation on the spot for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the civil rights organization that successfully sued the Imperial Klan in Kentucky for actions of its militia members.
This lowbrow high-mindedness seemed to be lost on Eddie Pepitone- as evidenced here in this video.
Agitator Eddie Pepitone
But even the Satiristas have their breaking point- and it apparently comes in the form of a woman yelling out racial slurs in fake accents. Thankfully, we had our own comic ninja Dylan Brody available to forcibly eject her, for which he earned a punch in the nose before subduing the the heinous heckler.
Kung-Fu Comic Dylan Brody
The show itself had its proponents and detractors, with a glowing review on Buzzine, and a he's-just-not-into-us open letter to the Actor's Gang by Brian Kim Stefans, which he also posted to the Satiristas website.
During all the laughing, shouting, comedic race-baiting and card-playing, painter Michael Pukac was upstage creating his interpretation of the evenings' proceedings.
Artist Michael Pukac
Shana Sosin, producer of Axis Mundi, summed it up better than anyone: "There were times when I was really uncomfortable. THANK YOU."
January 29, 2011
Second Season of The Green Room with Paul Provenza
On Set of The Green Room with Paul Provenza
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing portraits during the production of the second season of The Green Room with Paul Provenza for Showtime. Held at the Vanguard in Hollywood, we did six shows in three nights, with some of the greatest comics in the world. It was a masterpiece of booking, with each show sculpted rather than scheduled.
Paul Provenza portrait by Dan Dion
You can see portraits of almost every guest on the Green Room Facebook page, but I've attached a few of my favorites here.
Among the celebs in the audience were Laraine Newman, John Corbett, Darren Criss from Glee, Lucinda Williams, Dave Foley, and the dashing young star Ron Jeremy.
The season will air sometime this summer, and it's funny as hell.
Bo Burnham portrait by Dan Dion
Jamie Kilstein portrait by Dan Dion
Ron White portrait by Dan Dion
Marc Maron Portrait by Dan Dion
Kathleen Madigan portrait by Dan Dion
Richard Belzer portrait by Dan Dion
Tommy Chong Portrait by Dan Dion
Rick Shapiro portrait by Dan Dion
December 8, 2010
The Rule of Thirds- A Comedy Triptych: Zach Galifianakis
This is the first in an occasional series of posts highlighting one comic as depicted by three photographers who shoot a lot of 'em: Robyn Von Swank of Los Angeles, Seth Olenick of New York, and Dan Dion of San Francisco. We encourage you to friend, follow, subscribe to, and/or contact us.
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Zach by Dan Dion
DAN DION
Zach is a such a unique comic. Part Steve Martin, part Steven Wright, part Steve Carrell. He's cultivated that kind of clueless confidence of Martin, the absurdity of Wright, and the cringe-inducing silences of Carrell. But the best thing about Zach is that he has become one of the biggest comedy stars in the world completely on his own terms, in his own sweet time.
This shot was from his 2006 show at The Fillmore, where I work as the house photographer.
DAN DION-WEBSITE
SATIRISTAS- Book Site
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ROBYN VON SWANK
Zach by Robyn Von Swank
This is an unreleased shot of Zach that I photographed at All Sets, when we were doing the first Comedy Death Ray Calendar. I had been a very huge fan of Zach for a long time and was super nervous to meet him. He ended up being a really nice and down to earth person, and this shot was actually just done on the side for fun, and not ever used in the calendar. Zach also smells nice.
Robyn Von Swank- WEBSITE
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Zach in Brooklyn by Seth Olenick
SETH OLENICK
If I was a pretentious artist, I would say that I conceived of this image as a commentary on the commodification of comedy and the comedian that our post-modern society has put in place. We are living in an "Add to Cart" world where the decisions on what comedy we consume are based less on our brains telling us what is funny and more on what percentage of people who viewed said comedy item actually purchased it. So the notion of what is funny enough to consume is decided by how palatable the comedy is to others, thus making our decisions that much easier.
The renowned French philosopher, Jean Baudrillard, brought to our attention the idea of understanding signifiers and meaning only through observing how signs interrelate. By that notion, do we want to consume the comedian because we find him funny, or do we find him funny because he is being presented to us in a way that is easy to consume?
Thank God I'm not pretentious.
SETH OLENICK- WEBSITE
November 27, 2010
O’Reilly’s Oyster Fest- Cake, Jackie Greene , Raveonettes
Oyster Fest
Here are some belated photos from the annual O’Reilly’s Oyster Fest in San Francisco. This used to be a free event in Washington Square Park in North Beach, but moved to Fort Mason, became a ticketed event, and started having much bigger bands. With the right weather, the view of the Golden Gate Bridge can be positively muralistic.
Cake by Dan Dion
This year’s headliner was the Sacramento-baked irono-comic band CAKE. I’m a huge fan. While other bands are spewing cliche-filled “love” songs, Cake says they “want a girl with a short skirt and a long jacket.” I can appreciate that in a big way.
The Raveonettes are a Danish band that were cool, and a good bit of variety to a typical festival, but to be honest, really shouldn’t be playing in the daylight.
Also on the bill was Jackie Greene, who has been anointed by the Deadhead set as some kind of second coming. Of what, I’m not sure. He’s talented and can certainly kick out the jams. A few years ago he was sporting black leather jackets, but now seems to be channeling the freewheelin’ spirit of Bob Dylan. His drummer got caught in Bay Bridge traffic, so renaissance man and former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince sat in and did a fantastic job. Mad props to Fiachra O’Shaugnessy, Myles O’Reilly, and O’Reilly’s Irish Bar and Restaurant for pulling of another cool local fest.
Jackie Greene by Dan Dion
Raveonettes by Dan Dion
