St. Andrews Society Photos From Last Night

Hello-

If you are here to find the photos from last night's St. Andrews Society photos, they are here-

https://danielcoston.photoreflect.com/store/Photos.aspx?e=11923184

Thank you, and see you all again soon,

-Daniel

December 1, 2023

Happy Birthday To Me

 Dreaming and daredeviling through this existence since 1972. 

-Daniel

November 30, 2023

New Interview! Denny Sarokin (Larden) Of Every Mother's Son

https://www.goldminemag.com/music-history/every-mothers-son-singer-songwriter-and-guitarist-on-come-on-down-to-my-boat-more

-Daniel

November 29, 2023

Recording Studios Discussion At Charlotte Museum Of History

Tomorrow! Saturday! November 18th at 1pm! Come hang out with David Menconi, Dolph Ramseur, Don Dixon and myself as we discuss the history of recording studios in Charlotte, and the people that made the music. Books by Menconi, Ann Wicker and myself will also be available. Hope to see you there.

-Daniel

November 17, 2023

Johnny Cash Lyric Book Featuring My Photos Is Out Now!

https://www.johnnycash.com/johnny-cash-the-life-in-lyrics-available-now/

Hello all-

I'm proud to say that I have photos in this first-ever lyric book of Mr. Cash's career, chosen for the book by John Carter Cash. My thanks to the Cash and Carter families, and my their music live forever.

-Daniel

November 14, 2023

RIP Johny Williams

Many years ago, I was driving back home from a gig up north. I wandered into a gas station somewhere in rural eastern NC. I realized that someone was lurking behind me in the next aisle. It was Johny Williams, whom I'd known well from his days in Glory Fountain, and my nights photographing across NC. Johny and his wife had just gotten married, and we had somehow wandered into the same gas station at the exact same time. 

When Johny and his wife told me that they hadn't taken any photos of their wedding, I said, "Let's do it now!" and proceeded to take wedding photos out in front of the gas station. It made the whole trip worthwhile. It was a wedding present that I hadn't planned on, but I am so glad that I was there to do that.

John, you have gone on to your next adventure. We hadn't talked in some time, but you've often popped up in my memories of those days. May you light up the sky like you did during your time here. 

Safe travels. Until I photograph you again, someday.

-Daniel

November 14, 2023

This Past Weekend

Friday, photos of one taping of Carolina Business Review, and one choral concert at Christ Episcopal Church. Saturday, photos of one conference, Vetarans Day parade and festival. Charlotte Folk Society gathering, Hot Sardines with the Charlotte Symphony, and the YAM Fall Ball at the Mint Museum.

Sunday, drive to Chapel Hill for the 50th anniversary of Nuggets celebration. Take tons of photos, finally meet Lenny Kaye.

On to the next adventure. See you there, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

November 13, 2023

November 18th! Charlotte Museum Of History! Cool Panel Discussion!

Next Saturday! November 18th at 1pm! Come join me and my friends David Menconi, Dolph Ramseur and Don Dixon as we discuss the history or recording studios in Charlotte over the past 100 years. David will also have his new book Oh Didn't They Ramble on sale, courtesy of Park Road Books. Come by and say hello, and see you again soon.

-Daniel

https://charlottemuseum.org/programs-events/events/recorded-in-charlotte/

Happy Birthday Mom

And many more.

-Daniel

November 9, 2023

Guided By Voices In Panorama

Guided by Voices

Grey Eagle Tavern

October 28, 2023

Photo copyright 2023 Daniel Coston

-Daniel

November 7, 2023

This Past Weekend

Thursday to Saturday, photos of one golf tourney, Verse & Vino event, Carolina Business Review TV taping, one discussion of the new Beatles song with Plastic EP and heavy friends, Kansas at Ovens Auditorium, and the Bella Notte gala for Opera Carolina.

Lots more coming soon. See you soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

November 7, 2023

Double Door Inn 50th anniversary show on December 17th!

Less than six weeks away! Hope to see you there.

https://wl.seetickets.us/event/DOUBLE-DOOR-INN-50TH-ANNIVERSARY-REUNION-PARTY/551120?afflky=MaxxMusic

-Daniel

November 7, 2023

New Plastic EP Show!

How often do I appear on the Plastic EP show to talk about the new Beatles single? Now and Then.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZQ4-Arg-r0

-Daniel

November 4, 2023

Last Weekend

Friday, photos of one Novant Health event, Charlotte Symphony concert with Cody Jinks, and David Childers at Devil's Logic. Saturday, photos of Ricky Scaggs at Gardner Webb University, and Guided By Voices at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC. Sunday, photos of the Mark Myers memorial in Mooresville, NC, and Fred Fest at the Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte.

Say hello, or hug a friend you haven't talked to in a while today. The world moves too fast. See you all again soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

November 1, 2023

It Could Be Nothing 1994 Demo Now Available

One of the first bands I ever photographed. I loved this band. I still do. Their original 1994 demo is now available. Spread the word. That is all. Over.

https://icbn.bandcamp.com/album/lather-up-and-splatter?fbclid=IwAR0muNQAoKkqNtzZyrP_drLGCgs6Z7BJlaWEhk_LtvHO7VPVFcrrg3-pp78

-Daniel

November 4, 2023

Lenny Kaye Interview

Lenny Kaye: Of Nuggets And Moving Forward

by Daniel Coston

featured in the forthcoming issue 93 of the Big Takeover Magazine

 

Opportunities and new paths in life can be viewed as passing windows. Something that shows you the possibility of a greater life and perspective, if you’re willing to explore what you see through that window. The chance to glimpse something better can come in many forms. Your grandparents, a chance introduction to a record of movie, or finding an all night radio station that plays something that you’ve never heard before.

For many of us, the Nuggets compilation was a widescreen window that changed our perception  of what the music of the 1960s was, and can still be. Curated by a young Lenny Kaye, the collection introduced many to the notion of what is now termed garage rock, and that music that changes your life is infinite. It doesn’t matter if it was created in the past, it just has to affect you now. 

With Nuggets celebrating its 50th anniversary, Kaye is hitting the road for a few select shows this year, including a show at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC on November 12th. Over the years, music has taken Kaye many places. From over forty-five years in the Patti Smith Group, to music old and new that he still enjoys discovering, Kaye offers his thoughts about Nuggets, his upcoming show in North Carolina, and the influence that this music has had on himself and others. 

Lenny Kaye: The thing about Nuggets is that they’re great songs. I have a sensibility about garage rock, and that’s its own kind of genre. I like songs that are beyond genres that are great records, essentially. That for me is why Nuggets has lived on. It’s not just a strange excavation of a moment in time, but they all are great records. 

I think that you could make a Nuggets out of any slice of music. Girl groups, or reggae, any of the variety of hip hop. Just find the 20, 25 most accomplished records, and its a great listening experience. I think now they are called, playlists. (laughs) The fact is that I was really putting together songs that I thought were great, from a period of time. I guess the instincts came later, all seared in attitude, but I also thought that these were songs that need to live on. Amazing enough, a half century later, its still a signifier of something elemental in rock and roll. 

I did one [Nuggets] show in Bethlehem, PA. I sang all of the songs there, which I don’t plan to do in North Carolina. Then we did the highly professional and well organized show in Glendale [CA] with the Wild Honey Orchestra. We also did one in San Francisco where Alec Palao led the house band. It was the other end [from the Wild Honey show]. It was funky in a cool rock setting. Then we did two nights in New York with a bunch of characters, including Bob Mould, Juliana Hatfield and a bunch of local stars. Now we’re coming to North Carolina. I like that a lot of people get up and sing songs they love. The North Carolina one is actually really great. A lot of friends will be there. Peter Buck, Kevn Kinney, Steve Wynn, Alejandro Escovedo. There are my brothers in arms, in the music universe, and its going to be a really great night celebrating great music. 

Coston: Now that you’ve playing these songs live, what else have you discovered about the Nuggets collection? And what is it that makes this collection still thrive?

Kaye: In the end, there’s a core of why we play music. There’s a sense of yearning in them, there’s a sense of becoming who you can be, and the sense of desire. Which to me, is the root of any wish to make sense. I can only speak for myself, but in the early 60s, when I learned my first guitar chords, I’d hope to be a lonely folk singer in the garage. Then, seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, all of the sudden there was a new band model. You don’t have to be a doo-wop group and sing high tenor. It also happened at a formative moment for me, where I’m a mutant teenager in New Jersey. I’m not good at sports, I’m not a particular collegiate achiever. I’m looking for a way to understand who I might become, and at that moment in time, getting ann electric guitar, joining a bunch of your friends and howling at the moon is really a defining moment, especially for me. 

Not that I thought that I’d be playing more than half a century later, but that I could become that, which I hoped I could become to be. That sense of identity, and learning one’s realization is at the core of any music that’s being made. There’s a sense of relief, and a sense of ecstasy about this music, because you’re turning it up, and trying to make yourself live up to the power of music. That’s a little abstract, but to me, there’s a sense of expressing these sounds. The very abstract language is one of the beautiful things about us being human. We see it all over the word, and  how we go find way to express these undefined emotions within ourselves, and understand them. 

There’s a lot of garage records where someone will come up and say, “This is a great garage record.” And I’ll listen to it, and it’ll have all of the tropes. The fuzztone, the yowling lead singer, and the banging drums. But does it transcend that? Is there more than what you would expect from a garage record? Some of these songs, I’ve been singing for as long as Nuggets has been out, and I never tire of them. I probably understand them far too well, at this point. 

Coston: For me, there is still something beautiful about being able to play it loud, and let go.

Kaye: I don’t take the music that seriously. It helped form me. I don’t think that it’s better or worse than any other musical genre that you can choose out of the cornicopulatta (laughs) of musical manifestation. But the fact is that its fun to sing, and it’s fun for the audience to sing along. I’ve been so charmed by the response that these songs get. And if you go back fifty years from when these songs [came from], you’re in the era of Al Jolson, Mamie Smith. The microphone hadn’t been invented yet, so they’re still projecting to the far reaches of the balcony. 

The fact that these songs are still honored, it’s a remarkable thing, and it speaks to their longevity, and a testament to a vital spark. I call it, the original sin of rock and roll. All of a sudden, there’s this blast of sound and noise, and it electrifies you. I feel that when I play these songs. They’re fun to negotiate, and they’re not even as easy to negotiate as people think. In all of these songs, if you started trying to understands how they work as a band, you’ll find lots of little strange hooks and sound effects, and ways in which the chords turn around on each other. They’re really fun to play, and at this point, I understand how to play them. 

Coston: When you originally put Nuggets, my understanding is that you weren’t sure that [Elektra] was going to release it, so that the root of that original collection was, “I like these songs the way they sound together. Let’s see what happens.”

Kaye: At the time, all of the songs on Nuggets sounded wildly different from each other, and they still do. Back then, garage rock had yet to be defined. For me, as Mayo [Thompson] from the Red Krayola once said, “Definition defines limits.” If I had thought, “Oh, this is garage rock,” they all would have sounded similar. But then you have Sagittarius, which is symphonic rock. You have proto-punk like the Seeds. You have sophisticated musicians blending the blues and psychedelic [music], like the Blues Project. You had weird things like the Third Rail, which was two Brill Building writers creating a novelty record. 

They sound very different to me, and its only with the passage of years that I see how it all fits together. Much more so than I did back then, and all credit to Jac Holzman and Elektra Records for letting me play in the fields of the Lord. Jac had this idea of an album that gathered together these orphan tracks of a one hit wonder, or a deep track on another album. He gave me hardly any direction, and let me put it together and trusted me. That was a great aspect of them as a creative record company. In the 60s and 70s, Elektra was the most forward and progressive record company of them all. Folk music, and then the Stooges, the Doors, and Clear Light. They also had Nonesuch Records. 

Jac is a total visionary, and he gave me this project. I worked with them for about six months as a talent scout, and nothing I suggested to them took hold, and nothing they wanted me to get interested in took hold. So I had given them this list of random songs, many of which I was familiar with from working the Village Oldies record shop, in the Village. For a while, I thought that this was gone with my tenure at Elektra, but then they called up two months after I was at liberty, and they said, “We have the rights to all these songs.” And I said, “Let’s make this as good as we can.”

I turned down two covers, before that incredible Abe Gurvin cover came across the transom. It was like a weird accident. The record came out in the winter of 1972, and was not a commercial success. Rock critics liked it, but it found its place. especially in Europe. In America, we knew who the 13th Floor Elevators were. We probably even knew who the Seeds were, but in Europe that was quite a shock to the nervous system to have it over there. And then Seymour Stein with Sire reissued it in 1976, and then there was a new generation of bands who were having to reconstruct from the bottom up. 

It just seemed to have a lifeline of its own. I can’t tell you how many times, I’m somewhere overseas, and someone walks up and says, “Nuggets changed my life. Can I buy you a beer?” And I say, “Well, it’s gonna change my life in about thirty seconds, when I enjoy a nice cold beer.” (laughs)

Coston: After that release, Elektra decided to pass on putting together another volume of Nuggets. In that gulf, a wave of independent garage rock compilations came out, and pushed that whole movement forward. Were you aware at that, at the time?

Kaye: I actually predicted it in the liner notes to volume one. I knew that there would be dedicated archeologists spreading out and finding all of these more obscure records. Ones that I would not have had to put in the original Nuggets. 

[Elektra] did want to put the album out, but in the interim, when they picked up the option, Jac Holzman had sold the company to Warners. On the first album, we had a lawyer who, at a time when licensing wasn’t as easy as it today, now there’s departments for licensing, he was just chasing rogue people who owned the rights to these songs, and tried to figure out who to get them. He was dogged, Michael Kapp. And the new person, at the end of a year, they only had three clearances, so it faded.

But in the end, I felt like it was Johnny Appleseed. Planting seeds, and collectors being who they are fan out and find more. Its like the Gold Rush, “Oh, we’ve found a strike here,” and all of a sudden, hundreds, if not thousands of records are unearthed. Some are generic, and some are shot through with genius. I love that, because to be honest, I felt like I’d done what I needed to do with Nuggets. 

Rhino wanted to recreate what I’d wanted to do with Volume 2 [for the 1998 boxset]. I got to put some songs that I’d discovered in the intervening years. I also took some songs off that as the years had passed, they were not needing revelation. Nuggets is kind of in the middle ground. There’s some hits on there. On Volume 2, it opens with the Lovin Spoonful’s “Do You Believe In Magic”, because the Lovin Spoonful ultimately were a garage band. 

My last notes in volume one was to have people write in and say if the magic was in the music, or if the music was in you. That was my concept, anyway (laughs), but the truth is that a lot of the songs on Nuggets are more familiar. It’s not like its a record designed for obscurest record collectors. It’s a listening above. For me, Back To The Grave, Pebbles, Boulders, all of them are for the cognoscenti. I’m still like a popularizer, in a certain way. 

I always say that I’d known that I’d be talking about Nuggets fifty years in the future, I would have f—ked it up, because of the pressure and the weight of history. “Oh, am I being conceptual enough?” In a weird way, I was just indulging my fancy, and putting a lot of my favorite records out there. I can’t say that they’re the best of everything, but it definitely seems to have struck a chord and paved the way for, if you’re a fan of sunshine pop, there’s sunshine pop on there. If you like gritty, straighter-ahead two-chord mania, there’s that, too. Or sophisticated arrangements. 

I feel like I opened the door and suddenly, everybody had a realization and flipped through it, in the same way that when I discovered the series Brown Acid a few years ago, it almost opened up a genre that I had not been aware of, which is proto-metal of the early 70s. I’m just happy it lives on, and at the Cat’s Cradle, it’s gonna be a real fun time. 

We’re just going to have a good time, all the time, like they say in Spinal Tap. 

New Photos, And Where You Can Find Them

Lots of photos from recent social events and galas posted at danielcoston.photoreflect.com. New music pics posted over at @danielcostonphotos. Say hello, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

October 17, 2023

History Of Recording In Charlotte, Live Event at CMOH On November 18th

New event! On November 18th, I'll be at the Charlotte Museum Of History for a discussion about the history of recording studios in Charlotte over the last 100 years. Joining me will be David Menconi (whose new book Oh Didn't They Ramble is out now), Dolph Ramseur, and the legendary Don Dixon. More info can be found at the link below. See you there, and see you on the road.

https://charlottemuseum.org/programs-events/events/recorded-in-charlotte/

-Daniel

October 16, 2023

Avett Brothers Print Available For Theatre Charlotte Gala

To help out Theatre Charlotte, I have donated a print of my photo that was featured in the Avett Brothers' Mignonette album in 2004. This print was made just for this auction, and is signed and noted by yours truly. Twenty years before it was a musical, there was a group of friends making music, and I think that this photo reflects that. You can bid on the photo now, with all of the money going to Theatre Charlotte. Spread the word, and see you on the road.

https://events.handbid.com/lp/broadway-ball/item/avett-brothers-photo-by-daniel-coston-1848103

-Daniel

October 11, 2023

RIP Mark Myers of the Young Ages

RIP Mark Myers. It was wonderful to be a part of all of the Young Ages shows that I possibly could. See you in the stars, sir.

-Daniel

October 10, 2023

RIP Stewkey Antoni

One of my best ever birthday gigs was photographing the reunion of Stewkey Antoni and Thom Mooney of the Nazz in 2019. Watching these guys play Nazz songs for the first time in fifty years was nothing short of magical. It was one of those nights that keep you in this business.

Stewkey left us for the Great Gig In The Sky over the weekend. A true character, and the frontman for one of the best bands to play at full volume, if only because it just feels good. See you in the stars, Stewkey.

My photos of that 2019 reunion can be found on this site.

-Daniel

October 10, 2023

New Interview With Plastic EP And Gary Talley

New interview! Myself and Plastic EP with Box Tops guitarist Gary Talley. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jthpen92jNo

-Daniel

October 3, 2023

The Past Week

This past week.

Photos of Allegro golf tournament, Dress For Success Charlotte luncheon, Carolina Farm Trust dinner in Statesville, Baby Bundles event, Renaissance West event, Blumenthal event in Ballantyne, Dusk festival in Plaza Midwood, and Thurston Howell Band in Waxhaw. All while prepping the artwork of the new Cyrkle album on Big Stir Records, helping another friend get a book deal, and more than I really want to think about right now.

Hug your friends and loved ones, for in so doing, we are reminded that we are not alone. As my grandmother would say, Give them H E double hockey sticks, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

October 1, 2023

The Cyrkle's New Single Is Now Available

 https://orcd.co/cyrkle-wtwcf

-Daniel

September 22, 2023

The Last Two Weeks

A whole lot of photos last week, a whole lot of photos this week, and much more this weekend. If you've seen me at an event the last two weeks, post below. Where should I be this weekend? Post below. See you soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

September 22, 2023

The Cyrkle's New Single Now Available For Pre-Order

Now available for pre-order! The Cyrkle's first single on Big Stir Records! "We Thought We Could Fly", b/w the band's new recording of "Red Rubber Ball". "We Thought We Could Fly" features the harmonies of original Cyrkle member Tom Dawes, and comes courtesy of a 2003 recording by Andrew Sandoval. My sincere thanks to Andrew, and everyone at Big Stir that is a part of this new adventure. The single officially arrives next Friday. Spread the word, and there is more to come!

https://orcd.co/cyrkle-wtwcf

-Daniel

September 9, 2023

RIP Steve Crump

A few weeks ago, Steve Crump called me to say that he was doing a story on the Double Door. In seconds, it was as if the years melted away. What photos do you have? When and where can I interview you? Head full of ideas, and hands full of camera gear. That was, and will aways be Steve.

Steve lived for his work and his stories, and on the day that he went to the Green Room In The Sky, I take comfort in knowing that so much of his life and work will live on. On video, online, in our memories, and in our hearts.

Safe travels, Steve. See you on the other side of the camera, someday. 

-Daniel

August 31, 2023

Feature Article I Wrote For The August Issue Of Southpark Magazine

 https://southparkmagazine.com/the-sounds-of-life-at-charlotte-music-venues/

-Daniel

August 1, 2023

Where Else You Can Find Me!

Hello all-

How are you? My apologies for not posting as many photos here as I have in previous years. The last year and a half has been a remarkable blur.

Here's where else you can find my photos-

Instagram- @danielcostonphotos

FB- facebook.com/daniel.coston

Event photo site- danielcoston.photoreflect.com

Music photos archive- danielcostonmusicphotos.com

You can email me here at danielcoston at aol dot com, or through the sites listed above. 

Thank you, and see you again soon,

-Daniel

July 31, 2023

Ed Rising's Podcast With Our Fabfest Recap

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6jS7DaccRE

-Daniel

July 31, 2023

DDI 50th Anniversary Show Update

Hello all. I wanted to give you all an update on the Double Door Inn's 50th anniversary show, set for December 17th at the Neighborhood Theatre.

In putting this year's show together, we kept coming back to those that were mainstays of the venue for those fifty years, and those that made every night at the Double Door so special. The Monday Night All Stars, the Spongetones, and Lenny Federal. While those are three big names to fit into one show, it came down to this. It's the Double Door. It's the 50th anniversary. We only get to do this once. And as I sometimes like to say, "You're doing this, or you're not."

So, we are doing this.

Shana Blake will open the show with a tribute to the Monday Night All Stars, and those musicians that have gone on to the DDI In The Sky. Then the Spongetones will take the stage, and Lenny Federal will close out the night.

Tickets are available now at the link below.

https://wl.seetickets.us/.../DOUBLE-DOOR-INN.../551120...

Spread the word, and I really hope that we can make this show something special. In a world where the loss of time, our friends and favorite places happens too often, it is time that we gather to honor a place that changed us, just as much as we changed the Double Door Inn.

More soon, as we get closer.

See you on December 17th.

-Daniel

Article About Ernest Perry With My Quotes And Photos

 https://www.charlotteobserver.com/.../article277670793.html

-Daniel

July 31, 2023

Tosco Music Salutes Me. Thank you!

 https://www.facebook.com/ToscoMusic/posts/pfbid0Jan8egZq7cehpg7mozGWhMhws7XGhap8tkGXqhQGT64tgYCTE29t2HA1RYAvqkdcl?notif_id=1690578185596927&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic_tagged&ref=notif

-Daniel

July 31, 2023

New Interview With Jeff Young, Plastic EP And Yours Truly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LJgjFJ1_08

-Daniel

July 27, 2023

Three More Days For My Exhibit

Just a reminder that my exhibit at Dilworth Artisan Station is open for three more days. Message me, send me a email or call if you would like a tour. See you soon.

-Daniel

July 24, 2023

RIP Ernest Perry

I've heard it said that I've been at nearly every gala in Charlotte for many years. For all of those years, Ernest Perry was the host or emcee of those events. I always looked forward to seeing Ernie and his family, and watching him raise money for the causes that he cared about.

Ernie went to the Big Gala In The Sky on Friday, and has left behind an empty space on the podium, and in our hearts. My love and condolences go out to Priscilla, his family, and everyone who's lives Ernie touched. It won't be the same without you, sir. Safe travels, and I promise to keep a lookout for potential bidders, the next time I see you. 

-Daniel

July 23, 2023

FABFEST Weekend! And The Last Weekend Of My Exhibit!

It's Fabfest Weekend! AND the last weekend for my exhibit at Dilworth Artisan Station. I will be at the studio at different times today, and Sunday. (The exhibit will be there until the 27th.) I will be at BritBeat tonight, and then at Fabfest all day tomorrow. Come see me on the author panel at 10:10am, the Beatle Brains panel at 3:30pm, and interviewing Gregg Bissonette on the main stage at 2:15pm. 

See you soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

July 21, 2023

RIP Tony Bennett

Younger than springtime. Forever.

-Daniel

July 21, 2023

New Interview With Plastic EP And Vern Miller Of The Remains

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xdyIBNir8A

-Daniel

July 19, 2023

New Interview With Plastic EP And Denny Sarokin Of Every Mothers Son

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhU1ONw2Msc

-Daniel 

July 19, 2023

New Interview With Plastic EP, And John Ford Of The Strawbs, Monks And More

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcRMl2Df2hY

-Daniel

July 19, 2023

Fabfest Week!/My Exhibit

 It's Fabfest Week! Here's news about that, and my current exhibit.

Fabfest is this Friday and Saturday, July 21st and July. Evening concerts at the Knight Theater, and the Saturday extravaganza is at the Parr Center at CPCC from from 10am to 5pm.

At the Parr Center, I will be hosting the author panels, and taking part in the Author discussion at 10:10am, and Beatle Brains at 3:30pm. I will also be interviewing Ringo Starr's star drummer Gregg Bissonette on the main stage at 2:15pm. I'll also be selling books, prints and taking photos along the way. For more info, and I hope to see you there, www.fabfestcharlotte.org.

My exhibit will be on display at the Dilworth Artisan Station until July 27th. If you want to come by this week, let me know. I will also be there on Friday and Sunday for all my Fabfest friends coming into town.

See you here, there and everywhere, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

July 17, 2023

Come Out And See Me On Saturday

 

It's our Fabfest preview party! 

Hope to see you soon,

-Daniel

July 13, 2023

My New Exhibit

So here are the details on my new exhibit. 

The show is in Trudi Norris' space on the third floor of the Dilworth Artisan Station, space number 38. If you interested in coming by to check out the show, please email or message me so that I open the gallery. I will be there as much as I can, and be there on Friday for Gallery Crawl from 6 to 8pm. I'll be there much of Friday, as well.

All prints are for sale. I'll have options on the wall of the gallery. 

Plus, if you would like to peruse more of my photos, I will have an large folder of large prints sitting along the couch. I also can print of demand, if you would to order a print that you don't see. 

I hope to see you all soon, enjoy, and thank you. 

-Daniel

July 5, 2023

Mr. Cash, The Final Show, 2 Years Later

May those days, and Mr. Cash live forever.

-Daniel

July 5, 2023

Photo copyright 2003 Daniel Coston

RIP Wendell Elliot

See you in the DDI in the sky, someday.

-Daniel

July 5, 2023

July 4th, 2023

Tuesday, July 4th. Went to Denton, NC to the Threshers Reunion, and photographed a Johnny Cash tribute show, almost 20 years to the day that I met and photographed Mr. Cash at his last show. Back to Charlotte for a cookout, then out to Huntersville, NC to photograph Generation Radio, and met drumming legend Steve Ferrone. 

My show is now up at Dilworth Artisan Station. Call or email if you would like to come by this week, and I hope to see you at the Gallery Crawl opening this Friday from 6 to 8pm. See you soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel 

July 4, 2023

New Exhibit Opening In July

At last, it's nearly here. My new exhibition will be at Dilworth Artisan Station throughout the month of July, with an opening party on July 7th from 6 to 8pm. My thanks to Trudi Norris and everyone else involved in the show. Spread the word, and see you there.

-Daniel

NSMA 2023 Photos

Back from the NSMA Convention Weekend in Winston-Salem. Looking for photos from the convention? Go to danielcoston.photoreflect.com to check them out. See you there, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

June 27, 2023

Mr. Cash, Twenty Years Today

 Mr. Cash, twenty years on.

Twenty years ago today, I photographed Johnny Cash perform a tribute show for his wife, June Carter Cash. It is still a day that is nearly impossible to describe. The emotional weight that the room possessed, more powerful than any sport or concert I have ever been to. The way time seemed to speed up and slow down. The sea of people that filled, and spilled out of the Carter Family Fold. My own emotion of finally witnessing someone that I had waited a lifetime to see, and finding myself in the position of documenting it all for his families. Even now, it still seems beyond real.

Within weeks of the show, my photos were published by Rolling Stone, Time, Lost Highway (Cash's label at the time) and many others. What has meant the most to me is both the Cash and Carter families have embraced my work from this day, and Mr. Cash's final show on July 5th of that year. On my worst of moments, I remind myself that on those two days, I did a good job that still means something. My photos are still on the walls of the Carter Fold, and I have never forgotten how much that place, and the people that run the Fold still mean to me.

Last month, I was parking my car when I noticed that someone had left a message on my cellphone. Not recognizing the number, I listened to the message to see who it was. "Hi Daniel, it's John Carter Cash," the son of John and June Carter Cash. I'd first learned about from a comic book about his family that I purchased when I was eight years old. I called him back as fast as I could. John Carter asked if he could buy some of my photos for a lyric book of his father's work that will be out this fall. He again told me how much my photos of his dad mean to him. As I finished the call and began to text my wife, I realized that I was crying.

Yesterday, I found myself riding some of the same route that I had taken to the Carter Fold for those shows. I decided to tune to a bluegrass station that I'd listened to during those trips. Switching to AM, my car randomly landed on a distant station, and the crackly sound of Johnny Cash singing "I Walk The Line," one of the songs that I saw him perform twenty years ago. I hear you, Mr. Cash. You are still here, showing us the possibilities of life and legacy, and I am still listening. Forever changed by the days I spent around you, and the photographs that documented those fleeting moments.

-Daniel

June 20, 2023

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

Happy anniversary, and many more.

-Daniel

June 14, 2023

New Pop Culture Show With Plastic EP

 https://www.facebook.com/1199490270/posts/pfbid02G81rcw8PcBTewmq7R353Ssd1uVkX3CHdHfuzrcvaK2TzhK3tK5G9Q7k8eNJfSvxol/?d=n

-Daniel

June 14, 2023

RIP Scott Schinder

I first met Scott Schinder in Austin during the 2000s, during my many SXSW travels. We got back in touch in 2020, as we put together the Strangers On A Train CD for our beloved Left Banke. Scott was my co-producer on the CD, and wrote the liner notes.

Scott, I was looking forward to working more with you. Someday, someday. RIP Scott. Tell the Left Banke guys, Gary Brooker and all of our friends that I said hello, and see you in the stars.  

-Daniel

June 12, 2023

New Plastic EP Show On Monkees Collectibles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6OylZz4Vkg

-Daniel

June 7, 2023

Happy Birthday Sandra

Any many more.

You know.

-Daniel

June 6, 2023

RIP George Winston

 I had the good fortune to photograph George Winston on a couple of occasions. George would not allow photos to be taken during his show, but he would allow you to photograph him while he ran through soundcheck. You could jump on stage, stand behind him, whatever you like.

Both times, George came in last-minute, combed his hair for the photos, and got to work. One time, George commented that he wished that his shirt wasn't so wrinkled. I promised him that I use the piano to cover it up. One of my happiest emails to my late, much-missed mother in law was when George used some of my photos on social media.

Safe travels, George. Now you, and the music live forever.

-Daniel

June 6, 2023

Exhibit Update

Just a reminder that my photos will be at Theatre Charlotte this weekend, and next weekend. My show at Dilworth Artisan Market will go up on the walls after the 10th of this month.

See you all soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

June 3, 2023

Article I Wrote About Fetchin' Bones, And The NCMHOF

 https://clture.org/north-carolina-music-hall-of-fame-fetchin-bones/

-Daniel

May 31, 2023

Announcement Of The New Chris Stamey CD, Which Features My Photos

 https://www.brooklynvegan.com/chris-stamey-preps-new-lp-covers-alex-chiltons-she-might-look-my-way-watch-the-video/?fbclid=IwAR1AjIr7tU1VY9adyRD1l3IxC_hxhf9oMs1eGeq90NPSUacUH70N03ovHlc

-Daniel

May 27, 2023

News On New Exhibits!

Hi everyone! Here's an update on my new and upcoming exhibits.

I have ten photos at Theatre Charlotte, all tied to the play Detroit 67, which debuts tonight. The show runs the next three weekends, so please check out the play, and my photos.

My show at Dilworth Artisan Station will not open until after June 10th, due to a scheduling change. I won't be part of the June gallery crawl, but I will be part of the July 7th crawl from 6 to 8pm. Come by after June 10th and say hello.

More soon, safe travels this holiday weekend, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

May 26, 2023

Announcing The Cyrkle's New Partnership With Big Stir Records

 https://www.bigstirrecords.com/the-cyrkle

Five years ago, I drove ten hours to see the Cyrkle play in Van Wert, Ohio. I enjoyed the show, took some good photos, and drove home. Looking over the photos the next day, my first thought was to ask them about writing a book. However, a second thought soon followed, and kept coming back to me. I want to hear a new album from the Cyrkle. 

After much work, plenty of recording sessions, and an occasional pandemic, the Cyrkle and I are proud to announce that our new album will come out in 2024 on Big Stir Records. This new edition will feature more new songs, with new singles released digitally beginning this summer. The Cyrkle are also now labelmates with the legendary Spongetones, whom I'll also be working with again soon.

Congrats to the Cyrkle, and everyone along the way that believed in this crazy dream. See you (again) on the charts, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

May 15, 2023

RIP Kathleen Johnson

 RIP Kathleen Johnson. See you in the stars.

-Daniel

May 15, 2023

Weekend News

Saturday, photos of two JazzArts concerts, Charlotte Folk Society gathering, Veterans Bridge Home gala, and co-produced a new single by the Mannish Boys. Sunday, photos of Picasso at the Lupin Aigle at Divine Barrel, and Branford Marsalis at the Knight Theater.

Big news on Monday about one of my favorite projects from the past few years. See you there, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

May 15, 2023

News! From My Stationary Car!

 https://www.facebook.com/100063552461674/videos/160351980098486

-Daniel

May 15, 2023

New Interview With Mark London

 Hello all-

I interviewed designer and illustrator Mark London for the new issue of The Big Takeover Magazine. (www.bigtakeover.com). Look for it on the newsstands, and look for a link to the article here soon.

-Daniel

May 12, 2023

New Exhibits!!!

For those of you that have asked when I'll be doing an exhibition of my photos in the Charlotte area, that time has arrived. In a couple of places.

Trudi Norris has given me her studio space for the month of June. This show will feature a lot of my work with the likes of Johnny Cash, the Avett Brothers, Wilco, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and many, many more from the last 28 years.

The show will be at the Dilworth Artisan Market, space 38 on the third floor. We will be officially opening the show with a gallery crawl on June 2nd from 6 to 8pm.

Spread the word.

But wait. You say you want more? You want to see my photos of Detroit and Motown artists from the 1960s. Well dang, you're picky. You got it! I'll be exhibiting photos of said musicians at Theatre Charlotte during the run of the play, Detroit 67. The show opens on May 26th.

Come to Dilworth Artisan Market in June. Come to Theatre Charlotte later this month. It's a happening! See you there, and see you soon.

-Daniel

May 12, 2023

New Interview I Did With Joey Molland

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINBd27YH3o

Enjoy,

-Daniel

April 28, 2023

New Radio Appearance

Photographed three to six events a day for the past two weeks. Check out my appearance on Meagan RockRadio Paese's History Of Rock & Roll radio show, online at www.thehistoryofrockandroll.net . Much more soon. See you on the road.

-Daniel

April 28, 2023

Saturday's Photos/Happy Easter

Saturday, photos of my friend Marin's birthday party, then to the Cat's Cradle for photos of Holsapple & Stamey, Johnny Folsom, Too Much Fun, John Howie and the Veldt in the main room, and John Harrison, Mayflies USA and Jennyanykind in the back room. Happy birthday John! So good to see so many friends from long ago. Check out some of the photos at my Instagram page, @danielcostonphotos. Happy Easter, and see you on the road.

Pop Culture News With Plastic EP

Pop culture news? Let's discuss.

https://fb.watch/jIQYaBOJKv/

-Daniel

April 7, 2023

John Sebastian Interview

My interview with John Sebastian and Plastic EP, done in the middle of photographing another event. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmfMJPPvdc0

Daniel

April 7, 2023

Last Week

 This past week. Oh, my.

Saturday to Tuesday, photos of the Allegro Gala, BRAKES golf tourney, and Broadway Junior at the Knight Theater. Wednesday, seven-ish events (I lost count around event number six). Thursday and Friday, more Broadway Junior, interviewed Chris Nunley of the Royal Guardsmen, photos of Charity League luncheon, two more events, and Time Sawyer at the Evening Muse.

Saturday, photos of Blazers and Bling at Bazal, Levine Children's Gala at Panther Stadium, and Tosco Music Party at Knight Theatre. Then interviewed John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful during the first half of the Tosco show, followed by photographing the rest of the show, and then running back to Panther Stadium to photograph Wycelf Jean closing out the gala.

Lots more to come. See you all soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

April 2, 2023

Interview With Chris Nunley Of The Royal Guardsmen

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tazl89XKwAA

Plastic EP and I interview Chris Nunley of the Royal Guardsmen. Snoopy vs. The Red Baron? Yes, please. Enjoy.

-Daniel

RIP Keith Reid

RIP Keith Reid. Tell Gary I said hello. Shine On Brightly.

April 7, 2023

Dan Tyminski Photos, Shelby, NC, March 4, 2023

Dan Tyminski 

Memories Of Earl

Malcolm Brown Auditorium

Shelby, NC, 

March 4, 2023

-Daniel

March 21, 2023

Happenings On March 11th

Saturday, lunch with Larry Sprinkle and Dolph Ramseur, photos of the Deborah Triplett memorial, LAWA gala, and Parker Gispert at a house concert. Sunday, photos of the Oscar Party at the Independent Picture House, and Falllift at the Evening Muse.

Lots more to come this week. See you soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

March 11, 2023

Last Tuesday's Happenings

Tuesday, photos of the Blumenthal LEAP event, Ascend 20th anniversary party, Nebula at Snug Harbor, one video shoot, one phone call with a record label for an upcoming project, and a 2 1/2 talk on Stan Cocheo's Musical Conversations radio show.

Not bad for a Tuesday. See you soon, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

March 14, 2023

My Latest Show With Plastic EP

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cZxWZ8wqjk

-Daniel

March 19, 2023

Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day. As a child, I went to St. Patrick's School in Seneca Falls, NY. This was always a special day. All of the students would gather in an adjacent parking lot, and we would all release green balloons with our contact info, in the hope that someone would find our balloon and write us back. We would then get the rest of the day off, and I would wonder where my balloon had wandered to.

Forty years ago today was my last St. Pat's Day in New York. In the fall, my family would move to North Carolina, and a completely different adventure would soon begin. I have been thinking about those classmates that stood beside me that day, none of us knowing where this world would take us.

As part of the Coston, King and Collins families, happy St. Patrick's Day to one and all. To my classmates, and all my friends along the way, consider this one more green balloon released into the air, hoping that it will find you.   

-Daniel

March 17, 2023

Dean Torrence And David Beard Interview

It started as an interview with myself, Plastic EP and David Beard, talking about Endless Summer Quarterly, and The Teammates CD that David put together with Dean Torrence. And then Dean showed up to talk about all of this, and more. 

Buckle up for this conversation in two parts. And check out the Teammates CD, out now on Omnivore Recordings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkNOKUL0Nkk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGZ1D3X4EZk&t=18s

-Daniel

March 1, 2023

The Past Few Days

Friday through Sunday, photos of the Make A Wish Ball, Todd Johnson and Heavy Friends at JackBeagle's, JazzArts Charlotte, Charlotte Symphony, High School talent showcase at Blumenthal Arts, and Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson and Laurelyn Dossett at Davidson College. 

RIP Fred Hutchinson. See you in the stars, and see you again, someday.

See you all soon, and see you on the road. 

-Daniel

February 27, 2023

WBT Radio Talk About Mark Federal, And Yours Truly

Thank you John Hancock for the kind words. See you in the stars, Mark Federal.

-Daniel

February 18, 2023

https://omny.fm/shows/good-morning-bt/good-morning-bt-john-hancock-02-17-2023?fbclid=IwAR0lyWwwM8ANKkrM3kh0mmiF0ebUMbyl4YPRG1mWLxbvwuemi8-9pE6ZMhg

Come Say Hello This Weekend

This Friday, I'll be joining the Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte for a celebration of Doc Watson. I'll have several of my photos of Doc on display, and will have pics and books for sale. This will be a fun night of all things Doc. 

On Saturday, I'll be at the Tipsy Burro for the Lenny Federal Band/Mannish Boys show. The Rock shall commence around 8pm. I'll also be back with the Charlotte Symphony that same night.

Come by and say hello, see you there, and see you on the road. 

-Daniel

February 14, 2023

Your Options Tonight

If you're at the Heart Ball tonight in Charlotte, a lunch with me is back at a silent auction item. All subjects are open for discussion. Photography? Charlotte history? Music? North Carolina Rock & Roll of the 1960s? Marx Brothers? Comparing music of the 1920s to the 2020s? Bid, and let's discuss.

If you'd rather not talk to me, and just listen to an awesome Rock & Roll show instead, you should go to Todd Johnson's EP release party tonight at Oh My Soul.

See you soon, no matter where you go, and see you on the road.

-Daniel

February 11, 2023

Todd Johnson & The Revolvers, Love Sessions, Now Available!

It's here! The new EP by Todd Johnson & The Revolvers. Love Sessions, produced by Dan Hood and yours truly, has been an absolute joy to put together. Check it out now, and see Todd debut the EP this SSaturday night with a special Valentine's show at Oh My Soul. See you there, and play it loud.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mbZ7gavPdx9_M5UIsChnLJC56LRSNo9BA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPA6tGC71BY

-Daniel

February 7, 2023

Congrats to Wilco YHF! Two Grammys!!!

Congrats to Cheryl Pawelski, Jeff Tweedy and Bob Mehr for winning Grammys for the Wilco YHF boxset. What an adventure!

A big Whooo!!!!! from North Carolina, back to you, and everyone else involved in the story.

-Daniel

February 5, 2023

New Show With Plastic EP, I Join About Twenty Minutes In

 https://fb.watch/is9zvukMOB/

-Daniel

February 2, 2023

RIP Deborah Triplett

RIP Deborah Triplett. Thank you for all the years of friendship and inspiration. See you on the other side of the camera, someday. 

-Daniel

January 31, 2023

Thoughts On Wilco, 2002, And The YHF Boxset

I have been meaning for some time to write about my time with Wilco in 2002. It was quite a journey, from hopeful photographer, to having ten pages of photos in the recent Yankee Hotel Foxtrot boxset. These are some of the verbal pieces of the puzzle that go with the visual ones. 

I first saw and photographed Wilco in Charlotte, NC in the summer of 1998. They played halfway through a remarkable show dubbed The Newport Folk Festival tour. Alongside Lucinda Williams, Dar Williams, Mark Eitzel, Marc Cohn, Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett, this show had everything but ticket sales on this day. A few of my photos from this show later end up in the 2014 Wilco best-of What's Your 20? I then saw them in Raleigh, NC the following year, thinking that I would photograph them opening for REM. However, I found out upon arrival that my pass was only good for REM, so I had to watch their set that evening from the lawn area.

In 2002, I spent the year convincing myself that my "big break" was around the corner. I had been working on larger projects, and any spare moment that I wasn't working in Charlotte, I was on the road taking photos. I didn't know where I was going, but I felt I was going somewhere. Even after six-plus years of living out of my car, with only my camera and gas money with me, I was still very hungry. And there were still a lot of artists that I hadn't worked with yet.

In the summer of 2002, Wilco played a free outdoor show at Vanderbilt University. The release of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot the year before was still a big deal for myself and many of my friends. I drove seven hours to the show, and discovered that I had arrived during soundcheck. I snuck photos of soundcheck through the fences, and then made my way to the front after the doors finally opened. At one point, I decided that I had gotten everything that I could out front, walked outside the venue, and decided to see if anyone would yell at me if I got photos from behind the stage, again shooting through the fence. Get something different, something cool. There's a few photos from Nashville, including from behind the stage in this new boxset.

A few months later, I was at my computer on a Sunday night, and an email came in from a magazine that I had been contributing to in California. "We have the chance to photograph Wilco for the cover story. Who wants it?" The magazine later admitted to me that the email had only gone out of their photographers on the East Coast, figuring that someone in New York City or Philadelphia would take the gig. In short, I yelled first (via email), yelled the loudest, and kept yelling until I got the gig.

They originally offered me $80 for the gig, but they eventually offered me $125 for the longer drive. I should have spent that money on a hotel room, in retrospect. To this day, I'll spend money on everything but myself. I was tough (I thought), I was living the dream. I drove all night to Philadelphia, sleeping in rest stops along the way.

Sleep deprived, and having spent a few hours wandering through Philadelphia, I arrived at the Electric Factory for what was supposed to be a 3pm photo shoot after the band's soundcheck. I had asked my friend Nicole Atkins, who had already met the band at a previous show, to tag along. Quickly, 3pm and 4pm flew by. Soundcheck was taking forever. I began to feel my sleep-deprived nerves crashing hard. I wandered around, found a Coca-Cola that I downed as fast as I could, and kept waiting.

While we were waiting, Nicole noticed a box of vintage Christmas lights from the 1940s. I had bought them in West Virginia for a dollar on a recent trip. "Do you think that they'll want to play with these?" she said. I don't know, I replied. We wired the lights up, and left them on top of my bag.

Wilco finally came out for the photos around 5:30pm, still a bit tired from the soundcheck. We quickly said hello, and I began to nervously take photos. Within a minute or two, Jeff Tweedy walked over to my bag, and said, "Are we supposed to play with these?" Question answered, I thought. "Yes!" I exclaimed, and quickly threw the lights at them. It broke the tension of the moment, and the band quickly joined in with the idea. Page 2 and 3 of Wilco's Best Of comes from this moment. The band only held them for forty seconds to a minute before they got too hot to touch, and I quickly unplugged the lights. But I knew that I had something good.

I knew that Jeff was a big Captain Beefheart fan, so I asked him and the band about Beefheart, and other artsists that everyone was listening to. I knew that Jeff and the band didn't come naturally to posing for photos. Their tour schedule for the day had my photo shoot on the schedule, next to a sad smiley face. I later had everyone sign the schedule, just for a laugh. Interacting with them, talking with them, and being a person with a camera, instead of being an unemotional, unblinking eye, was what I wanted in the photos. Let them think less about the camera, and the people will emerge through your lens.

We quickly had to set up everything backstage when the doors were about to open, and the band helped me carry my gear away. The rest of the shoot was all done backstage, with me clicking away in the hallway, and their dressing room. Back then, I shot with two cameras. One with black & white film, and the other with color. I'd had this high-falutin' idea that we could combine both sets of photos in a cut-and-paste style, as much as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot utilized a collage aesthetic. The magazine agreed to this, and then quickly ditched the idea as soon as I sent them the photos. It's not a great loss, in retrospect, but it is interesting to view both sets of photos with this in mind.

While Jeff rested backstage with friends, I ended up talking to the other members of the band for some time. John Stirratt offered to take me drinking after the show, which I really wanted to do, but I convinced myself that I should drive back home after the show. I politely declined, but I still need to take you up on that sometime, John.

The magazine told me that they didn't need any live photos, and I already had burned much of my film on the posed pics. Despite that, I was eight hours away from home, and I wanted to get some new live shots of the band. All I had left was the majority of a color roll, and a color slide roll that was tucked deep into my camera bag. Much of what you see in the YHF boxset comes from those two rolls.

Again, I drove through the night, sleeping again at rest stops when I started to nod off. I got back home to Charlotte at 1pm, slept a few hours, and ran camera for a City Council meeting at 5pm. Then went home, slept, bought more film, and spent the following day in Athens, GA with Guided By Voices, sitting on the floor of a record store with Robert Pollard, trying to convince him to let me buy a rare Left Banke-related album. Pollard told me last year that he still has that album.

One of my favorite compliments of my work came from Wilco's publicist after she saw my photos. "They're smiling in their photos!" she said in an email. "They never smile in photos! How did you DO THAT?!?" In recent years, I've noticed that Wilco is often smiling in their press photos. Those were different times, but I like to think that I started a trend.

Several years ago, the band got back in touch with me about photos for their Best Of. By that point, I had let my organization lapse, and could only find a portion of the photos from that day. When the world shut down in 2020, I spent months getting my photo archives back together. I even found that slide roll of live shots, including prints I had made for myself at Eckerd's.

My work on the recent boxset didn't come through the band this time, but through another avenue. I had met producer extraordinaire Cheryl Pawelski in line for a show at SXSW in Austin, Texas in March of 2002. Within five minutes, we were talking about a mutual favorite of ours, the Left Banke. In 2021, when Cheryl and I were shepherding the release of post-1968 Left Banke recordings, she sent me an email with a question. "Didn't you work with Wilco? In 2002?"

I assumed that they would just want the unseen posed pics from the Philadelphia shoot, of which there is still a lot. Being a completist, and partially because I was so proud that I had found the slide roll, I made a separate folder for all the live shots. I even used the Eckerd's prints as a guide for balancing the colors. It wasn't until they sent me the boxset that I realized that they had only used the live shots. Unseen for twenty years, even to my eyes. But there they were, for all to see, another part of the adventure from those fleeting days.

Here it is, twenty years later. The intervening years were filled with blind faith, ups and downs, and more miles than money. I believed that I could create something good, and that I could make all of this happen from Charlotte, NC. I even kept believing even after I should have given up on such notions. I should have been rational, turned my back on it all, and moved on. But I couldn't, and I didn't want to. I did, and still believe that I could create something good. The circumstances can change, but the heart does not, if you're willing to keep going.

I'm really glad that the musicians that I photographed that day are doing well, and are still creating on their own terms. I don't know when or if I'll get to speak to them again, but as they plan their next tour, I look forward to seeing what happens next in this ongoing visual conversation. And that I, and my camera, are here to continue it.

Here's to the past, the ongoing boxset of life, and what comes next to turn your orbit around.

-Daniel Coston
January 23, 2023