And The Award Goes To: Phil Roy

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Album Cover, In The Weird Small Hours © Michael T Regan Photography 2009

The 9th annual Independent Music Awards were released this week and Phil Roy's "In The Weird Small Hours" won concept album of the year. Inspired by Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours," Phil covered Radiohead, Elliot Smith, Conor Oberst, Eels and other influential artists. I've written about my collaborations with Phil before. However, I feel the need to add something: He did it himself. No label backed him, no contract forced him, no radio station promoted him, no publicist announced him and no magazine/newspaper wrote about the album. Whether you like the music or not, its wonderful to see an individual tackle the artistic and financial mountains alone...and come away with some much deserved recognition. So buy the album here and give Phil a call. He doesn't facebook, tweet, IM, blog, chat, or text. He takes phone calls. And his number will soon be listed on his website along with his hours of availability. Thanks Phil for trusting me to conceive the album art, shoot film with my Leica, edit the contacts and design the photo layouts. I forgive you for yelling at me when I touched your guitar at 3am after a long shoot. More about the IMA's:

"The Winners in more than 50 album, song, music video and design categories culled from thousands of submissions from around the globe, were determined by a panel of 80 influential artists and industry pros including Tom Waits, The Black Keys, Ricky Skaggs, Pete Wentz, Mark Hoppus, Aimee Mann, The Apples in Stereo, David Garrett, Suzanne Vega, Bettye LaVette, Judy Collins, Zooey Deschanel and
M. Ward."

opening spread

back panel

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Mose Allison

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photographs © Michael T Regan Photography 2010

83 year-old Mose Allison performing live in Los Angeles at Largo, January 16th, 2010.

• Mose John Allison Jr. was born in 1927 in Tippo, Mississippi, a cotton town in the Mississippi delta. By the time Mose was in grade school he was already composing boogie woogie tunes on the piano. His father, a piano stride player himself, encouraged the young Mose in his playing but also taught him the meaning of "work on the farm." Mose plowed cotton with a mule and said once that he is probably one of the few remaining living bluesman who can honestly make that claim. He grew up where "The blues was in the air." While still in his teens Mose was sitting in with R and B bands on Memphis’s famed musical mecca Beale Street. One of those bands was led by another teenage bluesman, Beale Street Boy, better known as B. B. King. It was a full decade before SUN Records discovery of Elvis Presley. In the 1940’s in the deep south it was not yet socially acceptable for races to mix in public places. When it comes to music Mose says, "I just followed my ears." MORE

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Weathervane Music Burns Forward

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Brian McTear © Michael T Regan Photography

Brian McTear (pictured), whom I've had the honor of working with numerous times for photo shoots and video work, is doing amazing things for music and musicians. His brainchild, Weathervane Music Organization, was launched last year to support the creation of independent music in today's turbulent music industry.

Today Weathervane announced "Shaking Through" a partnership with 88.5 WXPN in Philadelphia. The first artist to participate is Sharon Von Etten. Her song "Love More" is a beautiful ballad filled with drawn out sounds, minimal percussion and two part harmonies.

'Shaking Through' is a curated series of audio and video recordings featuring our favorite independent artists, their music, and artfully produced video of the recording sessions that went into making that music. Each selected artist has the opportunity to record a new song in a high-end studio with noted engineers and producers. The sessions take place over two days including the recording, mixing and video. The process is shot with cinematic flair in HD video, giving the audience an exciting and intimate window on the artist's process, and giving the artist a powerful showcase for their artistic vision. 'Shaking Through" is a collaborative effort of Weathervane Music and WXPN radio in Philadelphia.

Shaking Through: Sharon Van Etten from Weathervane Music on Vimeo.

Amboy, California

Album Art: Tom Waits "Glitter & Doom"

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CD three panel opening spread

In this modern era of a dying music industry model, its inspiring to see labels valuing top notch design. Last month ANTI- records released the new Tom Waits live lp featuring five photographs I took at Tom's show in Columbus, Ohio. They've signed Philly artists the likes of Alec Ounsworth, Dr.Dog and Man Man, all of which I'm honored to have photographed in Philly at some point. A label located in LA, with its ear to the Philly pavement, investing in great design? A breath of fresh air.

CD booklet

LP Gatefold

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The PRIMER Shoot

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Photographs © Michael T Regan Photography 2009

Artists should focus on making great work. I didn't pursue a life in photography because I had a burning desire for marketing and self-promotion. I'd rather put the energy towards making great work, not convincing people the work is great. Enter PRIMER.

Brian Isserman and Lawrence O'Toole are the creative visionaries behind the boutique design agency PRIMER Inc. Their creative input and insightful solutions are geared towards helping people push their business forward. When I approached them about marketing strategies, they came back with a litany of ideas to help me push my work in front of the people who need to see it. They created a new portfolio, designed leave behind cards and orchestrated a three-part campaign to generate buzz. All of which I could never accomplish on my own. If you're like me and you need creative people to help you push yourself forward, hit 'em up HERE, you won't be disappointed.

This shoot with Brian & Lawrence took place at two different locations in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. We had a beautiful fall day, assistance from fashion photographer Russell Underwood, a car full of equipment, a trunk of props and a 1963 Mercury Meteor.

Ace Frehley, LA Nokia Theatre

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Opening for Alice Cooper's Halloween Ball, Ace Frehley's band donned the famous "Space Man" face paint for the first time. Gene Simmons owns the KISS characters, so Ace is legally prohibited from rockin' the guitar shredding character he created. His band, however, is a different story. Make-up artist Kristin Martin did a great job replicating The Space Man. I never appreciated the fact that the band applied their own make up before every KISS concert themselves, a two hour proccess. Even if you hate the music, you gotta respect the dedication.

ACE BIO: "Known as the "Celestial One", "Mr. Excitement" or simply to the legions of KISS fans as the Spaceman, Ace Frehley with his impressive lead guitar riffs and stinging vibrato has been a major influence on rock guitar for over two decades. Artists such as Pantera's Dimebag Darrel, and Skid Row have named him as in influence. Ace also creates excitement onstage with his spaceman persona with his 6 foot , one inch, 175 lb frame staggering around the stage, his knees bent, and his back arched, totally aloof from his surroundings. He is of course also known for his stage theatrics, which include the burning guitar during his solo which is then put on a wire and sent up into the air, and then he gets another guitar with a rocket launcher and shoots rockets.

Offstage, Ace Frehley is quiet and keeps to himself, but however has had a long battle with alcohol and other substances but is now healthy. His current interests are computers, science fiction ( his interest in science fiction inspired his Spaceman persona), and reading about the International Space Station. A beloved member of KISS due to the fact that he has come from humble beginnings, to make it big in one of the greatest rock bands in the world." MORE

Kiss playing Cadillac High School in Cadillac Michigan, 1975. They literally took over the town with a parade and painted the local dignitaries.



The quiet side of Ace Frehley, backstage interview during the 1996 KISS reunion tour

On Assignment, Texas Hill Country

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© Michael T Regan Photography 2009

While driving across the country en route to Los Angeles, I stopped in Texas for a three day shoot with friend and filmmaker Chandler Kauffman. Philadelphia Magazine asked me to document the culinary journey of Michael Solomonov, Steve Cook and Erin O'Shea (and The Percy Street Restaurant team) as they tasted BBQ throughout the Hill Country, prior to opening their new spot in Philadelphia. The experience included every kind of meat, smoked every different way, roughly five times a day with Shiner Bock beer. We didn't see a vegetable for three days.

Philadelphia Magazine rarely runs photo essays but they published the story in three double truck spreads for the November issue. Click on the well designed spreads below to see enlarged versions. Read Food Editor Ashley Primis' account of the journey HERE.





Check out Chandler's documentary below shot with a mix of HD Video and Super 8mm film.

Percy Street BBQ documentary from Chandler Kauffman on Vimeo.

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Phil Roy: In The Weird Small Hours LP

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Phil Roy, In The Weird Small Hours LP cover, © Michael T Regan Photography 2009

I first shot Phil Roy for Decca Records, prior to the release of Phil's album The Great Longing. Phil's successful songwriting career includes working with some of music's greatest soul/R&B singers, such as Ray Charles and Aaron Neville. Recently, Phil asked me to collaborate on the album art for his newest release In The Weird Small Hours, inspired by the classic Sinatra album In The Wee Small Hours. Phil covers Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Connor Oberst Terrence Trent D'Arby (among others) and presents the work through his own interpretations. I must say, his version of Radiohead's All I Need is wonderfully brooding/melodic with a haunting brass sound.

Phil Roy, In The Weird Small Hours album art © Michael T Regan Photography 2009

I'm not a huge Sinatra fan and I didn't have knowledge of the album art, but I visualized Phil in a barren field under a street light. I didn't want to over light the scene or add uneccessary props. Our goal was to express the mood of the music. After doing research on the Sinatra album I was struck by the cover image of Frank alone of a sidewalk at night with street lights receding into the background. It took a bit of convincing for Phil to come on board with the idea (as well as numerous reminders that his other whimsical ideas weren't really up to par..like the flaming marshmellow for instance...) but he's thrilled with the package and I hope the album gets the respect it deserves. Besides the cover image, there's a two panel horizontal image inside as well as a square panel with a portrait. The CD is printed with a long exposure of the empty street at night. BUY A COPY OF THE ALBUM HERE.

About Sinatra's Album In The Wee Small Hours:

Wikipedia: " The album was his first full 12-inch LP, and more importantly it contained a set of songs specifically recorded for the album, which had not always been true of his previous 10-inch records; further, albums at the time were generally randomly compiled collections of a performer's hits rather than deliberately sequenced and selected. In the Wee Small Hours used only ballads, organized around a central mood of late-night isolation and aching lost love (supposedly due to his separation from Ava Gardner). The sequence is triggered by the morose opening title track, which had just been written, and then is followed up by a selection of pop standards, each effectively arranged in a restrained, mellow manner, either for a small ensemble or brooding strings (often highlighted by woodwinds or a celesta.) The album cover, now considered a classic, directly reinforced the overall theme, featuring a pensive Sinatra set against the backdrop of a deserted and eerie night-time streetscape."

Phil Roy photographed for Decca Records, © Michael T Regan Photography 2008

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Tom Waits Live LP

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It's official, Tom Waits has chosen five of my photographs to appear on the live album he's releasing this fall. Tom Waits: Glitter & Doom Live is a collection of songs taken from his recent tour through the US and Europe. ANTI- records has informed me that one of the images will run as a full 12" panel on the inside of the gate fold LP jacket.

This is an innocent dream. Tom Waits has had a huge effect on my creative development. I discovered the music he recorded on Asylum records in the darker years of my early twenties and he's been with me ever since. In June of '08 I traveled to Columbus, Ohio to photograph his performance. The work was published on Phawker, the excellent blog run by knowledgeable music journalist Jonathan Valania, with an essay by the inimitable Jonathan Michals. The essays on Tom Waits penned by Valania have appeared in Magnet Magazine as well as Innocent When You Dream: The Tom Waits Reader, with a foreward by Frank Black.

As a collector of his vinyl LP's, being included in the history of creative album photography from 1971 - the present is a tremendous honor. I'll post more information when I can disclose the details of the album. If you haven't seen Tom's creative press conference revealing his tour, check it out below, its worth the three minutes.








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Alec Ounsworth

© Michael T Regan Photography, 2009

Deep exhale. Spent the last month moving west to Los Angeles. 'Twas a great journey that I'll share when the film is processed and the work is ready. In brief, I drove through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California with friend and filmmaker Chandler Kauffman. I have a new body of work to sift through and some exciting projects in the works.

Recently, I photographed philly native Alec Ounsworth of "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah" notoriety for two new albums being released this fall. In June he recorded his debut album in New Orleans: "Alec Ounsworth: Mo Beauty." Drummer Stanton Moore from Galactic and legendary bass player George Porter both play on the album. It's soon to be released on ANTI- records. Check it out HERE (and that damn photographer credited on the links to the left) Alec's other album "Flashy Python: Skin & Bones" was recorded with members of Dr. Dog, Man Man and The Walkmen. Listen to a track HERE.

We collaborated on two shoots for his new projects and for ANTI- records. Alec hates to be photographed. He's an artists artist with no interest in the circus games surrounding today's climate of music making. He understands and respects the way I work so we were able to break down the walls and make work with a level of intimacy that conveys the music.

© Michael T Regan Photography 2009

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On assignment, shooting personal

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Photographs © Michael T Regan Photography 2009

Savoire Vivre, a barge located in Dijon on the Burgundy canal, is the brainchild of a childhood friend I hadn't seen in thirteen years. I traveled to Dijon (later to Paris) and photographed the boat in action for marketing/web imagery. The job was shot in color but I carried my leica all the while. It can be quite challenge to see through different sensibilities in a single journey, but I feel its part of the challenge if you desire to make photographs for money and photographs for art.

Amanda Blank

Long time no post. Sorry for the absence. It's been a summer of packing and sifting as we prepare to start fresh in Los Angeles later this month. New landscape, new culture, new colors, new adventures. A fitting end to my Philly City Paper run is this recent shoot with Amanda Blank. City Paper Art Director Reseca Glasser and designer Carrie South did a great job putting the package together. As the world moves to the web, graphic design has taken a major hit. All newspapers and magazines should have links to the original pages on their websites. It would bring an authentic vision to their respective websites.

Amanda was wonderful to work with. She's out touring the world with Santigold and spreading her unique blend of hip-hop/rock/pop badass girl power. Drew Lazor posted a behind-the-scenes look at our shoot on City paper's blog. Check it out here.

Check out Amanda's music here.

Night Sky

Two Pairs

photographs © Michael T Regan Photography, 2005