Intro: It’s That Million Dollar Bash

A new Substack of in-depth, photo-driven features on music and musicians from Jacob Blickenstaff.

I’ve been photographing music since my junior of college at NYU’s jazz program–2000 to be exact. Over the past two decades, moments from my career as a music photographer have been some of the most exhilarating and life-affirming experiences I’ve ever had.

I’ve been backstage in scuzzy Midwestern dressing rooms, on stage at Madison Square Garden and The Beacon Theatre, alone with singers inside vocal booths, on tour buses with cornfields flying by, at Denny’s in the morning and Steak & Shake at night, and and poolside in a producer’s Malibu backyard.

Natalie Merchant

Sharon Jones, Low Cut Connie, Phosphorescent, Jonathan Wilson + Benmont Tench, Taylor Goldsmith + John McCauley, Steve Earle

I’ve always chafed against the restrictions inherent in being a ‘music photographer,’ (hello ‘3-song rule’), preferring to find ways to work from the inside. I made much more compelling photos when I could hang out at rehearsals or the recording studio, wander the stage during sound check, hover in the dressing room as the energy built up to the show, and crawl around the stage ducking behind bass amps and hiding in the wings.

Despite some opportunities of editorial assignments (New York Times) and album artwork projects (Daptone, Nonesuch, New West), my best work came from self-initiated, self-funded projects. In 2013, I pitched a series of portraits and interviews to Mother Jones called ‘Contact.’ I shouldered the costs to do it and published over 30 pieces. The payoff was spending time with many of my heroes and develop my skills in making portraits. I proposed another series in early 2019 called ‘On The Road’ where I hooked up with a touring band at soundcheck and hung out until load-out.

Despite many wonderful experiences, the ‘career’ aspect of being a music photographer was a let-down with disappearing label budgets, ‘pivots to video’ and ‘content capture’, and feeling overlooked by photo editors. The pandemic ultimately dragged it all to a standstill and a low period I had to step away and found other ways to make an honest living.

But as the disappointment faded, I knew I had to keep making the work as I believe it should be done. These slower in-depth approaches yielded the best work. You have to be patient and wait for the right thing to happen in order to make pictures that reveal something about the life of musicians and the music-making process.

With That Million Dollar Bash, I’m aiming for an in-depth visual feature story about once per month: I’ve already got a piece cued up with the soulful Kelly Finnigan that I’m excited to post.

I want you to be the reason this work is possible, and also share in the beauty and value of what we create. Paid tiers offer the opportunity to own prints of the work at a significant discount and will get additional insider posts on process, technique and whatever else comes to mind. As a free subscriber, your participation is greatly appreciated and will allow me to shine light on the artists who generously let me into their world.

I will also be returning to the archive and reediting the bodies of work from the past 20 years that means the most to me with artists like Sharon Jones, Dawes, Natalie Merchant, Low Cut Connie, Marcus King, The Cactus Blossoms and more while sharing the inside stories about how it came to be.

Here’s a rundown of how you can be involved:

FREE SUBSCRIPTION:

I want to bring as much recognition as possible to the artists, so the main monthly features are free for all.

$6 / mo. - Friend of a Photographer

You will receive offers for significant discounts on exclusive print offerings throughout the year as well as the occasional insider dispatch. I’d also like send a ‘Thank You’ photo postcard and other IRL goodies once in a while.

$60 / year: Annual Friend of a Photographer

Same as above at a discounted annual rate. (And currently further discounted until December 9th!)

$200/year: V.I.P.C. (Very Important Print Collector)

You’ll be essentially pre-ordering a signed 11x17 fine art print with options to choose from the new work we create or from my archive.

If you wish to step up from there, you can commit to $350 for 2 prints (20% total discount), or $500 for 3 (33% total discount) by entering the correct value in the box below the V.I.P.C option on the subscribe page.

$1,500: Director of Photography

Finally, there’s a very special opportunity to serve as ‘Director of Photography.’ In sponsoring a feature we will collaborate on choosing the artist we feel it’s important to work with. And from this work I will print a custom portfolio of 5 signed 11x17 prints from the best of the project. This comes with a full annual membership and a credit in the feature if you’d like one.

Please contact me directly at jacob@33-13.com if interested. (Substack does not allow me to add an additional subscription teir.)

Thanks for reading this far and considering a paid subscription. I’m excited to get this rolling! The first feature with Kelly Finnigan will be going up very soon.