Through my full time endeavor, my company CitySquares, I met a guy named David Jackel a couple years ago. I first met Dave on a video shoot for one of our customers, State Street Barbers in the South End of Boston. Dave had done a lot of work for CitySquares but this was finally our first time meeting. There was definitely something about Dave I liked right away – seemed like someone I could have a beer with. It didn’t take long for us to do that, over some BBQ at Redbones in Davis Square Somerville. Over the course of the past couple of years I’ve come to know Dave and his girlfriend Shana as not only dependable, driven business people with high integrity, but also as creatives who are passionate about much more than their field of work, which turns out is where our friendship has taken us. A few months ago when I had the chance to shoot Peter Murphy (formerly of Bauhaus) at a club, I asked Dave and Shana if they wanted to join me. Turned out that Dave is a huge Peter Murphy fan.
Dave is also the lead singer in a Boston based band called The Daily Pravda. I asked if he minded if I photograph the band during their latest performance at The Paradise in Boston. And that I did. But I have to admit, I kind of wish I hadn’t photographed them because I was only able to half-way listen to the band – I missed out a bit. What I’m getting at here is that I was totally floored by The Daily Pravda! I had no idea that Dave had such pipes on him; a phenomenally dynamic range that he makes look easy. It’s almost as if he’s not even trying, because all the while he’s in control of the stage with,well, with a Peter Murphy-esque stage presence. From the accentuated throwbacks of his head with a touch of self-inflicted pain, to the way he tears the microphone from its grip and walks across the stage seeming to distance himself from the audience just enough to make you think he’s ignoring you, but it’s a game he plays and plays well. He’s definitely in control up there.
I admittedly didn’t meet the rest of the band before or after the show, but I wish I had, they all have a unique charisma, from the lead guitarist who rocks the strings and frets like a pro, and the drummer with uncharacteristically styled hair and glasses – a look you don’t usually find on drummers who groove as well as he does. I was most impressed, however, with the bassist who’s unassuming stance on the far right of the stage is totally overshadowed by his swift and delicate command of his 4-string. I mean, this guy can groove the bass. He controls it and he has fun with it. More often than not, a bassist’s job is to stand there and hold a groove just enough to provide the tide for which the lead and rhythm guitars can ebb and flow on, but The Daily Pravda’s bassist has no problem doing much more than that with a style that he’s clearly perfected over years of practice.
I left the club shortly after their set and on my drive back home was thinking how refreshing it was to see such talented guys hit the stage with ease and perform a great show, and do so without coming across as either self-entitled poseurs or starving artists with shattered dreams. The Daily Pravda was just damn good music played by damn good dudes.
The The Daily Pravda by Ben Saren, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Related posts:
- De La Soul De La Soul has been at it for 20 years....
- Chris Daughtry Last week Chris Daughtry, the runner-up in American Idol’s fifth...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
[New Post] The Daily Pravda – via @twitoaster http://bensarenphotography.com/2009/12/t...
via Twitoaster