Introduction, not induction.

Hey there readers, I’m here to welcome myself to IndiePulse and introduce myself to you.  I’ve been invited by your founder to post here and I jumped at the opportunity, being a devout follower of music and a part-time Rock Hall shamer (I’m still upset with them for inducting Rush before The Guess Who, partly because Burton Cummings is a friend but mostly because it would just be the right thing to do).

Anyways, I don’t want to rant too much, especially not in my first post here, so I’ll just stick with what I do and how I got here.  I’ve been photographing Rock/Pop/Punk bands since the early 1980’s, back when you had to wear a really thick coat to sneak a large camera into a small concert, back in the days before everyone had a camera/camcorder in their pants.  Shortly after discovering what I could do with a camera, I started writing, and then promptly stopped writing because I couldn’t string two words together.  I did manage to interview a bunch of people (Robert Plant, Ian Anderson, Rush, The Clash).  Actually, Rush was less of an interview and more of a shouting match, but that’s another story.  I still have a few unpublished interviews from back then, and you can tell they’re early attempts.

I put down the pen and the camera around 1985 after reading my own words, and didn’t pick them up again until 2015, after being lit up by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards at the now-famous Fonda club gig in Hollywood, a show to end all shows.  Front row, about two feet from Keith Richards is about as good as it gets…

I’m not one to look backwards, but as a frame of reference, here’s a link to my past works.  If you dig the photography, you can visit my site at www.ilevene.com.  Right now I’m working with famed photographer Henry Diltz, which is a real trip.  Hopefully, we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Ivor