Some of you may know that I host & promote a band night in Leeds called The Sunday Service, on the last Sunday of every month.

It’s a cheeky little night in a small (but perfectly formed) room in the basement of Verve Bar. The night’s been running for coming on 3 years now and the night was originally born out of a desire to give my near and dear a reason to meet every month, over a quiet drink and to a (generally) guaranteed standard of musical calibre.

As it’s only once a month, I feel I can skim the cream off the local music scene and get them down to play to a listening crowd in exchange for beer and pix.  I light the stage (with our very own Sunday Service lampshade, as well as hidden others) & the nights become known for it’s quality live images, further allowing us to get ace acts down.

Anyhoos – As the wedding season’s starting to slow I thought I’d blog this Summer’s Sunday Service highlights…

I do like to shoot tasty telephoto portraits (like this one of Simon Wiffen) against Verve’s maroon walls

I also look out for details lying about during the set.  I liked this one of Simon’s setlist & plectrum.

As a wedding photographer by trade, it’s become kindof a habit getting the ultimate shoe-shot

I like to book a variety of acts, rather than your classic depressed singer songwriter with ripped flares.

This one’s a chap called Arlen who played last month as The Acoustic Conquistador.

Feelin’ the classical holding position and facial strain.

A good few months back we had Ann-Drury pop in with possibly the biggest keyboard I’ve ever seen.

As it happens, Ann’s manager has approached myself & the 3B Media chaps to make a possible music video for her.

Another straight portrait, this time of The Nelson Touch, bathed in a nice diffused lampshade light.

The movement in the hand is usually not deliberate, but often adds to the feeling of movement (especially when the rest is nice and crispy).  Shutter speeds are generally round the 1/60th speeds @ f/2.8 & between 800>1600ISO, so movement can be hard to avoid, unless you step down to a faster prime, like the 50mm.

Another bit of BAP foot fetishism!  I think a musician’s shoes say a lot about the musician.  In fact, I think everyone’s shoes say more than they realise about them.  [I probably shouldn't disclose how many pairs of cowboy boots I have here]

I generally have 3 60W desk lamps & a 100W bulb in the lampshade & sometimes play with the positioning for a a bit of rimlighting/flare fun

Back along we had the mighty Hope&Social along to headline – they always bring the fun.

Again, 3B Media have done various exciting projects with these astutely social-media aware gents, including making a documentary for a ‘come dine with us’ event, where they cooked a meal for 70 fans before playing them their new album (check out the pics/documentary here).

Bit of Huxley H&S foot fun

Their into audience participation & have an awesome song where they hand out kazoos around the room & ask a volunteer up for a solo (in this case the guitar mistro Jon Gomm)

I quite like this natural moment of Si & the band having a giggle

We had Darke Horse along from Sheffield and away from their comfort zone of full-on 5-piece rock band.

I also get to play with Adobe Lightroom processing styles for the bands & rather like this split toning preset I’ve created & named ‘Bronzie’

Like in all my photography, I’m generally watching out for a natural moment

2 months back we had the most excellent Boss Caine along to play.  A hairy, yet surprisingly photogenic chap.

I liked how he lined up a stool for his beers, capo, candle & setlist.

Bit of bronzie on the Boss

Last month’s Heathen Kings, with a bit of blue/yellow split tonight.

I generally like any band that brings along weird instruments. Mandolins, kazoos, cajons, ukelales… you name it.

This is Adam – Leeds’ go-to skiffle bass mistro.  He must be in over 10 bands, has played down the SS possibly more than any other and is a legend.

On this occasion he joined us with Leeds’ folky hobbit (& spam legend) Gary Stewart (as well as a Willful Missing‘s Sam Lawrence)

Gary’s again played the Sunday Service a bunch & runs his own night called the Gaslight Club at Oportos on Call Lane.

In my mind, it doesn’t get more Sunday Service than this.

In a room I’ve shot a million times it’s always nice getting a new, clean composition

This is another I was pleased with.

In fact, I liked the fact that Gary (who drums in Hope & Social) brought a kick drum with him to this gig to kick along to his tunes.

Anyhoos – Apologies that this has turned into a bit of an epic post!  We’ve some seriously sweet acts lined up for October’s Sunday Service (Dan Wilde,  Moonshine 5 & Chloe Levers) on the 31st October (Halloween!), so if you’re about, get involved.  Otherwise, click here to check our myspace or here to join the facebook group & hear about upcoming gigs.

Thanks for stopping by! You stay classy.

[ps. More blogs will be coming more regularly now readers, as I'm finally catching up with my workload!]

Last night I was asked along to the Wardrobe by Leeds College of Music to photograph their ‘Music Happens Here‘ Album Launch

Basically, LCM students enter their creations and are vetted & trimmed down by industry experts; eventually becoming a highlights compilation to give the mass market at a snapshot of the fresh & tasty student sounds at the College.

Try saying that in one breath.

It was downstairs at the Wardrobe, one of Leeds’ best funk, jazz & soul clubs, just over the road from LCM.

I generally recruit acts from LCM for my Sunday Service band night, as they’re all such talented musicians.

I believe you need to be grade 8 in your instrument to enroll, and they run some great courses on pop music / jazz & production

The finish on the Music Happens Here album (which is ace & can be bought here) is beautiful, not just sonically.  They had a photographer with a cool triple-barrelly name join them to photograph the bands & I found the sleeve art quite inspiring.

Anyhoos – after some champs and an introduction had been consumed, the night started its showcase for 4 of the bands on the album

Here we have Matt Belmont & his band.  Anything with double bass in is good with me.  Apart from perhaps a primary school orchestra.

[I've photographed the bass dude for his wedding function band Rhythmatic, who are a simply amazing wedding covers band if you looking]

Matt’s on the LCM production course.

I quite like this one.  Man looks smooth in his weird hat

Next up we had a 10-piece extravaganza from Sam Reck.  On the LCM Jazz course, Sam’s got an acid jazz, James Taylor quartet/Jamiroquai flavour.

They had a great time on stage

Third on were Young Ideas.  The band are Daniel McDougall, Henry Guy, Bruno Major and James Thompson, in their final years of popular music & jazz.  The track they put on the album, Neverland, has a beautiful John Mayer quality to it.

Dan’s played the Sunday Service in various incantations and has some serious skills.

At this stage in the night I was growing a bit tired of the pinky red murk, so started bouncing flash.  I generally don’t flash at gigs (take that how you will), but it really picks him out.

Same with this one, popped with a bit of on camera flash off a black wall (“not the ideal surface to bounce flash off” wined mr flashgun).

From stage right, sans flash.  Pinky murk

Finally, to close the acts, Tom Excell (doing music production) stepped up with his macBook Pro & magic gagetry & spread about some blips & peeps.

Described on the site as: A bass heavy wonk served with bleepy, cheesy bits and a chunky beat garnish.

It was sweet.

So! You’d be a fool not to get yourself an album here to see what the college kids really can do, or learn more about the acts that made the cut by clicking here.

It was a cracking gig at Verve bar, featuring three solid and significantly different acts.

Our old pals Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts returned for another round…

They’re an imaginative, colourful & unfairly talented folk duet about to tour on a new album.

Jamie’s lap guitar has to be seen…

…and Katriona’s fiddling while singing, to be believed. She’s told me how hard it was to learn to do that.

If you wanna hear what these images sound like, get your ears round their myspace here.

Next up we somehow managed to convince the insanely talented Paul Liddell down.

This guy had fantastic taste in footwear.

And was immense on guitar.  He was one of many who plays the box of tricks that is a loop station, but man does this guy do it well.

I quite like this image, which I shot without looking.  A reach-and-squeeze, as I call em.

Sometimes you get a fresh creative composition not bound by the rules.  But more often than not you get junk.

I’m liking the faded 70s grading too. A bit summer of 69.

Perhaps a bit dark in the processing in retrospect, I rather like the composition and moment caught here.

You really should check out Pauls myspace here, cos his stuff is, as the kids say, sick.

I caught the next band, The Moody Gowns, when I was photographing the Leeds ‘Battle of Plumpton’ gig.  The won that battle of the bands heat, with a frenetic, energetic set, and went on to win the final too.

They’re a terribly decent bunch of nutcases, who I seem to keep bumping into around Leeds, and agreed to come down and play the Sunday Service, on the condition that they ‘toned things back a bit’.

It turned out that the basist learned the accordion especially for our gig. How very good of the man.

Plus, not only was there a horn & cowbell in the rig…

… but a uke too!  Happy days.  I like these guys style.

I’m not sure I could say their set was as toned back as they promised, but it went down a storm and a grand time was had by all…

on and off the stage.

Seb, working above the 12th fret.

I quite like these details of Nathan’s choice kicks

….and his collection of festival bands.

If you’ve not been checking these kiddies myspaces, you’re very naughty.  I especially endorse the viewing of The Moody Gowns MS (here), cos it’s rather silly.

Anyhoos – just through I’d share a few pix from the last Sunday Service.  The next one, coincidentally, is on Sunday!  We’ve more ace acts lined up, so if you’re near Leeds, come on down! It’s free, so the price is clearly right. For more details visit the facebook group here or myspace here.

Last week Phil Barber, Rob Booker & I joined our pals Hope & Social at the Crypt where they’re in the process of recording their second album.

They’ve done various creative gigs and events at the Crypt before and for some reason had a feeling it was in a romantic hamlet on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.  It turns out it’s nestled in the urban sprawl in Liversage, on the way out to Bradford.  But the church itself is a beautiful old thing, and for a good few years, Hope & Social have hired the underground ‘crypt’ and converted it into their studio.

The lead singer Simon and his wife are about to have a baby, so they’ve decided to write, jam out & record an album in a month before she drops.

It’s an unusual way to do it and it was ace to hear the song they were working on take shape over a few live takes.

We chatted with them and their promotions / social media man Ben Denison (@bendenison) about various exciting future projects they had in mind.

They have a great philosophy in their approach and are all about getting their fanbase involved as much as possible. They’re brewing ideas to get fans down to dine at the crypt while they play, are toying with inviting other bands in to record a cover track in a day (nominated by their twitter follwers), and are currently asking fans to twitter them names of towns which they are then going to work into the lyrics of one of  their new songs “Marching on through” Check their twitter if you want in – #hopeandsocial #crowdsourcing

Talking of brewing, I liked this sign by the kettle…

New song ideas taking shape on the wall.

It’s pretty sweet being able to document an established band in the middle of their creative process. They’re all such consummate musicians.

I’ve seen valve amps before, but didn’t realise the valves actually glow as they’re working.

Rich, trying to get what’s in his head out through the pedals.

They weren’t doing much brass on today’s track, but I caught this one of their trumpet man chillin’ in the corner.

Ed, also an ace photographer, was working his many varied keyboards. The sounds you get blowing into this melodica is quality.

Nothin like a fender headstock.

The studio was so full of fantastic instruments, paraphernalia & details they’d added over the years.

I was particularly amused by the ‘No Jazz Chords’ poster.

It was a good few hours later when we left, but probably only half way through their working day (which I hear generally rolls from 11am>4am)

Hope & Social are such an interesting forward-thinking band, tapped into social media (check their website, twitter: #hopeandsocial & facebook) and published their last album ‘Architect of this Church’  a la Radiohead with a ‘pay what you like’ policy.  As it can be yours for as little as 1 pence you’d be mad not to get involved, especially as the last three songs are sublime.  Download it here now!

You’ll no doubt be hearing more from the 3B’s & the Hope & Social crew, so stay tuned…

The competition had 4 heats, and I joined them for the Leeds College of Music leg at the Wardrobe (check the TSG blog here) we joined them last week for the Leeds Metropolitan University leg.  I’ve just posted a load of images on the Sound Gallery blog (here), but here are a few teasers.

Local faves Gavin Mart & the Saturday Vandals

Vandalizing the place.

Instrumental post-rockers Dododeaddead, who actually won this round.

Plus obligatory footwear shot

And Dead Sea Colour…

…with their beautiful singer who liked to drum her personal snare when not wailing.

The battle of the bands went on to have a final heat last week at Oporto’s Bar last week, featuring Dododeaddead went up against Moody Gowns, Charlie Bath & The Luminaries and the Moody Gowns walked out victorious!  They were ace at the Wardrobe leg, and really looked like they had a wicked time on stage. Congrats to them. As it happens, they’re joining us to play a marginally paired-back set at the Sunday Service on Feb 28th if you’re in the area & fancy a go.

This prompted me to realize that I’d not posted any images from the past 3 months worth of Sunday Service gigs!

In case you’re unaware, I help run a monthly acoustic band night at Verve Bar called the Sunday Service for the cream of Leeds’ music scene.  I like to get great bands to play in exchange for beers, a share of a collection and most importantly, photography of them playing.  Basically, I bribe them with pixels.

The above shot shows a typical setup for a nights musical entertainment! The more interesting the instruments the better I say.

Again I’ve posted a full blog of 3 month’s Sunday Service faves on the Sound Gallery blog here, but here are a few to whet your appetites…

Richie Bower, of Palooka. Check his myspace for some amazing newly recorded tracks.

The amazing Paul Thomas Saunders and his band ‘The Fever Dreams’

The Plumpton Presents Battle of the Bands contestants Germain dropped by for a singsong

All-time fave Ben Pike laid out a bit of slide guitar with Leeds muso’s Adam & Mr O’Malley

And here’s a snap of the people that make it all worthwhile, the Sunday Service revellers, at the Sunday Service Xmas Special.

Remember, these are just a the highlights, and you can see a load more images from each on The Sound Gallery Blog.  Check it.

We settled them in by letting em do what they do, serenading us with a bit of jazz while we shot NYC style outdoor pics in the fast fading daylight.

The as the light left, and even Barber’s f1.2′s wouldn’t cut the mustard, we got the Quadra mobile flash heads & softbox out & did a few smart outfit shots.

There’s a post on the Sound Gallery blog featuring more images from the shoot, so click here if you’d like to see more.

Also if you’re a band wanting promo images, give us a shout through the TSGblog to hear what we offer.

Feel free to sing if you feel so inclined.  I’m sure the “Happy birthday dear Barnaby Aldrick Wedding Photography Bloooooog…” bit will sound mint.

But to theerious bidniss! I’ve been up to a bit of musical photography of late and thought I’d like to share – starting with…

Leeds music stalwart James Owen Fender decided to host a Battle of the Bands to dig out Leeds’ finest upcoming groups in association with his night ‘Plumpton Presents‘.  It’s been cunningly named ‘The Battle of Plumpton’ and has some quality prizes, such as the winning band getting a track waxed by ace producer James Kenosha, which gets onto a limited edition Plumpton Presents Record (via ADA distribution) and get to play the Beach Break Live 2010 music festival.

The Battle kicked off to a roaring start at the Wardrobe in Leeds, with the Leeds College of Music heat.  Those kids generally require a grade 8 in something to get in, so musical tightness & mad skills were pretty much guaranteed.

Here are a few of my faves from that night.

Its all about the Vox & Gibson partnership…

…and the rocking out.

It’s also all about the feets…

…and the depth of field…

…and the selective motion blur…

…and the tasty bass chicks!

These guys, the Moody Gowns, won this heat, for good reason.

They’re genred under myspace as Alternative / Reggae / Tango.  Bunch of nutters to be honest.

The also excellent Germain, an interesting mix of great song writing, tidy drumming, metaly guitar shreddies & funky bass.

It’s all about that strat head.

Working an excellently tormented “I don’t know why I’m so sad” expression

The next band, working a completely different, and possibly constipated expression.

I believe these guys were called Zeon, and sounded a lot like Muse.

Foot + pedal = fuzz

A final detail, after the drummer threw his sticks on the final track.

There are 3 more heats and a final, 2 local Leeds band heats at Oporto on Tuesday (26th) Wednesday (27th) and the Leeds Met heat on Thursday (28th).  I’ll defo be down for the Leeds Met leg, and there are some superb acts rocking the town, so if you can, get yourselves down and check the myspace here for info!

In other news… I have kept in touch with a BBC Radio Leeds engineer called Mitch who I met while photographing the BBC Raw Talent show a few weeks back.  He asked if I fancied photographing a charity gig at The Met Hotel in aid of the victims of the Cumbrian floods, called ‘Singin’ in the Rain’.  My homie Phil Barber & I rolled down to the most excellent Met Hotel in Leeds…

It’s a fantastic grade II listed building with a completely terracotta front.

It was a sweet event with some dancers from Leeds dance college and ace bands, including the beautiful Hannah Trigwell

… it’s all about the cowboy boots

They had a VJ working a live tasty background using video of Hannah

Bit of flare, for the lads

I kinda like this shot, from behind the background

The dance crew.

This dude was the drummer from The Moves.  The band were FUNKY, and his style matched.

Movement

Keys

Back round the back.

And one more feet fetish shot…

Music photography rocks. Check out more of our work at The Sound Gallery.

Sicily pix have been filed but are still in the pipes, as I’ve been trying to stay afloat on recent weddings.  It’s been a case of hitting the ground running since holidays, but a mui tranquillo November is becoming more than just a spec on the horizon.

In other news!  In association with theSoundGallery.co.uk I was asked down by The Wardrobe – Leeds’ top jazz, funk & soul club – to photograph their 10th Birthday celebrations.

It was an awesome night – and though I was on toggy duties, I thought I’d shoot a bit of video too on the mkII.  Check my cheeky fusion vid of the fun:

Details > Footage & stills • Canon 5DmkII // Edit • iMovie // Music • ‘There You Go’ by the Fania All Stars

Celebrating a decade in the game, they rounded up Leeds’ usual funky suspects into ‘The Wardrobe Superfunk Allstars’ (featuring Chunky Butt Funky, The Haggis Horns, Jacuzzi 500, The New Mastersounds, Pete Huckerby, Lara Rose, Kelly Dickson, Fuzzy Jones and Rhianna Kellly), as well as some wicked yazz flute driven rock/funk from the Screaming Citizens.

Here are few other faves that caught my eye over the night.

The left & right images below were out of focus but had a special quality.

There was also a bit of burlesque action courtesy of The Wardrobe’s Wet Spot night!

Happy days.

Last Sunday was the 96.3 Radio Aire Party In The Park at Temple Newsam.  I was asked along by Radio Aire to photograph for The Sound Gallery.

For me, PITP is a festival flavoured hors d’oeuvres for the Leeds Festival at the end of August.  It’s essentially a pop concert at Temple Newsam park in Leeds for parents and screaming teens to see their fave pop acts. Check out these screaming hormones when X-Factor stars JLF hopped on stage!!  Genius.

Don’t get me wrong, it was ace being in a rock pit again, but these bands were mainly bland boy / girl bands with one or two chart hits under their belts.  Most of them came on, played the hit & their next single to a backing track and did one.

And being and English Summer festival… check out the brolly action!

Beverly Knight was a stand-out performer, and came across amazingly on stage.  She’s a star.

Not 100% who this dude was, but he looks pretty cool!

Dizzie Rascall was also ace.  He’s bonkers.

Here’s a lesson from Beverly & I on how not to take a photograph at an arms length! She was cool.

If you’d like to see loads more shots from the festival, click here to be magically transported down the interpipes to the Sound Gallery blog…