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

Dionte Christmas, the Philly B-Ball star hopin' for the NBA

photographs © Michael T Regan Photography, 2009

While I continue to work on a series of portraits that won't be published until the fall and aren't "blogable" at the moment, I stumbled upon this enjoyable shoot that I can share. I recently photographed NBA prospect Dionte Christmas, Temple's sharp shooting guard who led the A-10 in scoring for three straight years. James Beale explores Dionte's story going all the way back to when he couldn't make the team as a youngster. Read it in City Paper HERE. He showed up an hour late and his phone went straight to voicemail which left me wondering if this was going to be one of those shoots. He was humble and very respectful towards the photographic process. Athletes can be a mixed bag. Dionte, however, was accommodating to numerous ideas and excited to collaborate. It's inspiring to work with people who understand the value in what you do. The only strange moment came in the beginning when he called me "sir." I felt like turning around and looking behind me. Sir? I thanked him for the formalities but told him I prefer "Michael." He smiled and we got to work.


"Now, back in McGonigle Hall, Christmas keeps rising up and the shots keep falling down. If this skill impresses the right team and he ends up a first-round pick, great. If he doesn't (and he might not), he could end up playing for a minor league team or overseas in Europe.

For Dionte, you don't get the feeling that would be the end of the world. He'll have a degree, his family and the opportunity to make good money playing basketball somewhere. This is an opportunity he seems to appreciate. Christmas signs countless autographs after Temple home games because he remembers how seeing pros motivated him when he was young. And instead of wearing some cocky number on his back — say, 23 — he wears his 22 to honor Aaron Whitaker, a late friend of his who urged him to enroll at Temple. For Christmas, being a professional basketball player is a cool possibility, rather than a foregone conclusion or a fatalistic only hope"

Weathervane Music: East Hundred's "Hammerhead"

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The second release from Weathervane Music Organization is a song from East Hundred titled "Hammerhead." The local Philly indie rockers wax on how they met, how they work and why Philly is a good place for them to make music. In the age of bad internet video, its refreshing to see some thought put into a behind-the-scenes piece on music.

You can download the song FREE here by joining Weathervane Music Organization (its free, do it).


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Wandering Old San Juan for an afternoon while Johnny Depp sleeps on his yacht in the harbor

photographs © Michael T Regan Photography 2009

Last month I traveled to Rincon, Puerto Rico to celebrate a close friend of mine. With a 6 hour lay over in the San Juan Airport, I loaded the Holga with Velvia and hit Old San Juan with my good friend Will (check his design work here). We wandered up to the famous fort "El Morro" and through the brightly colored colonial streets. Clicking, talking, drinking, smoking. The beautiful white puffy clouds shining down. When we got back to San Juan Airport and hopped our 10 seater, I sat up front with the pilot and took in the landscape from above with my leica.

photograph © Michael T Regan Photography 2009

As I was doing research behind Vanity Fair's current cover shoot with Johnny Depp, I came across a behind-the-scenes slideshow detailing how the shoot came to be. The cover shoot was planned for Paris but Johnny Depp was on his Island in the Bahamas, preparing to shoot an adaptation of Hunter S Thompson's "The Rum Diaries." He offered an afternoon in Old San Juan (where they were shooting) so photographer Francois-Marie Banier began wandering the streets in search of locations. Johnny Depp slept on his yacht docked in the harbor and came ashore for the shoot once the location was set. Those beautiful white puffy clouds shining down. If only...

Check out the slideshow HERE:

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Weathervane Music Organization: {{{SUNSET}}}

Brian McTear & Amy Morrissey photographed at Miner Street Recording Studio

Congrats to Weathervane for the completion of their first project! They've worked hard and deserve your support. Follow them on Twitter HERE. Stay up to date with new projects HERE. Show your support and donate HERE.

The first in the 2009 Project Series from Weathervane Music. Sunset is the work of songwriter, artist Bill Baird from Austin Texas. The song “Fishtown” was recorded April 24 - 25 2009 at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia with Producer Quentin Stoltzfus and engineers Amy Morrissey and Brian McTear.

more about Weathervane's innovative ideas regarding the future of music: HERE



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First Friday Show: Portraits In Music

Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah photographed in his recording studio. May, 2009

Brian Isserman and Lawrence O'Toole, the two uber-creative directors behind the amazing design firm PRIMER Inc, will be exhibiting a selection of my music portraits at their design studio for the month of June.

Stop by and say hi:

PRIMER Microstudio
15 Byberry Road
Hatboro, PA 19040

Leonard Cohen Live

© Michael T Regan Photography

PHAWKER REVIEW BY JONATHAN VALANIA The Great Man glides onstage in black pinstripes and a fedora like a gangster cantor, double-breasted and tie-less, his crisp creamy blue shirt buttoned-up to the neck David Lynch-style. He seems to walk on air. He was born like this, he had no choice, he was born with the gift of a golden voice. Now his friends are gone and his hair is grey, he aches in the places he used to play. After all these years, he’s still crazy for love but he’s not coming on. At 74, broke and hat in hand, he is still paying his rent every day in the Tower of Song.

For the next three hours, he dispenses what amount to be prayers and we will need them where we are going. For he has seen the future, baby, and it is murder. Everybody knows the war is over, everybody knows the good guys lost. Everybody knows the rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor. And, he says, there is a mighty judgment coming, though he might be wrong. But this much is true: we may be ugly, he insists, but we have the music. Because everybody knows the rich write history, but the poor write the songs. His mind is still sharp as a razor blade and he remembers them all: the one who gave him head in an unmade bed, the sisters of mercy with dew on their hem, the one in the famous blue raincoat who was gonna go ‘clear,’ the bird on a wire, the drunk in the midnight choir. All of them, the Great Man included, have tried in their own way, to be free.

We have paid dearly for this audience with the Great Man and he is eternally grateful for our sacrifice, humbled in fact. He delivers many a song on his knees, and doffs his cap with humility after every standing ovation, every exclamation of adoration from the back row of the highest balcony. “So much of the world is plunged in chaos and suffering, it’s remarkable that we have the opportunity to gather in places like this,” the Great Man says, his eyes scanning the Academy of Music’s gilded splendor. “I haven’t been here in a long time, it was 15 years ago and I was 60, just a kid with a crazy dream,” he continues, and we all laugh even though we know he is only half-kidding. “Since then, I’ve taken a lot of Prozac, Paxil, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Ritalin and double strength Tylenol. I also plunged into a rigorous study of religion and philosophy, but cheerfulness kept breaking through.” Which is another way of saying ‘there is a crack in everything, that’s where the light gets in.’ Hallelujah. Amen. Over and out.

SLIDESHOW: