June 3, 2019

Finally it feels like summer today!! We have had crazy weather everywhere around the U.S. it seems. I will mow the grass for the third time this week and try to get our rain soaked grass back to normal and pretty.

Also, it seems like summer because we have some great Indy Car racing going on. The Indy 500 this year was one of the best in a long time other than all the commercials that is. I watched the whole race and most of the F1 Monaco race. Indy was by far much better racing!

The Indy Car guys had a good Race 1 in Belle Isle Saturday and the Sunday race 2 I'm about to watch. I think we have some of the best Indy Car racing going on in a long time. The crowd counts are up and television viewing is also up.

Nascar, that other series, is going further down every race with fewer fans and a bad show. They just don't get it on how to do a race weekend! It confuses me trying to follow it!

In a few weeks we have Indy Car coming back to Road America where last year we broke crowd records and it was an awesome weekend of racing.

Come on up and have a brat and a beer and watch the guys race at the best race track in the world!! That's my opinion but a lot of racers agree and compare it to Spa in Europe.

Here is a little look at last year's race as we get the cameras ready for Road America!!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

May 19, 2019

Sorry for being late with my usual blog!!! Never have I been this late but never have I had such homeowner chores! It's spring time and when you own a house you have a lot to do! Enough of that for now.

My blog here is on the band Queen when they were in Milwaukee at the beautiful Uptown Theater. That venue was torn down and is now a Milwaukee police station! Sad to see that because it was a beautiful old venue.

Personal story here-  I was photographing from the orchestra pit that was full of equipment cases from Queen for the show on March 7, 1975. Nothing strange about that except I remember some fog coming on the stage. Then I moved over on the equipment case I was kneeling on to get the perfect shot and fell a few feet down right off the equipment case!!!

Got back up and I was fine and the camera was fine so kept on shooting.

These are some of the photos from that night.

Enjoy and get ready for the Indy 500 coming soon.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

April 29, 2019

Hope everyone watched the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony last night. A few of my photos of Roxy Music were used from a 1975 show in Milwaukee! They are a great band and they have that clear electric violin! I believe it was made of fiberglass or plexiglass.

Today we look at some reworked images of mine of ELP, otherwise known as Emerson, Lake and Palmer. These photos are from a show in Chicago in 1973. I was 19 working for the Bugle American newspaper here in Milwaukee and going to college. Those were good times.

Security in the old days was something to behold but people behaved back then most of the time. Notice how the crowd is leaning on the stage! Don't see that anymore for a big act and ELP was huge then.

I couldn't get very close to the band and wandered about photographing from where I could.

The band had an orchestra with a conductor. Don't see that much.

Very interesting looking at Keith Emerson's keyboard setup. Look at the size of his HUGE synthesizer full of cables and a oscillator screen!! Crazy cool and now it's the size of my desk!

Enjoy and have a great week.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

April 15, 2019

One day in August of 1974 I had the pleasure of being the only person in Milwaukee County Stadium!!

The field and stands were cleared for me to do a full set of photographs of the house empty.

These pictures were for a promoter's seating, sound board location and stage plans.

I also photographed the Milwaukee Arena, Auditorium and Performing Arts Center for the same purpose. Will share those some day soon.

A lot more work could be done to clean these up since they are so old but check them out and enjoy.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

The great Milwaukee County Stadium in 1974!

Shortstuff in 1971 at Whitefish Bay High School

April 1, 2019

I'm a "Happy Boy"!! If you have never heard that tune, please Goggle or use You Tube to watch "Happy Boy" and The Beat Farmers. Listen to this old fun tune!! Miss you Dick Montana.

I am a happy boy because two of my photos of Roxy Music from 1975 were used in the induction ceremony for the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame last Friday night! Hopefully the photos will make it to the broadcast of the show on April 27th on HBO and you can see them. Love the clear electric violin of Eddie Jobson. Otherwise, just go to my website, Rock Category and find Roxy Music for all the photos.

Anyway, this blog is about my old friends and local band here in Milwaukee, Shortstuff. I am going to try to do some more blogs on the local bands that inspired me a lot in the 1970's. Shortstuff was one of those bands with the great Junior Brantley and Jim Liban. The lineup changed a bit through the years and this version was a favorite.

These pictures are from a show on 1-8-1972 at my high school in Whitefish Bay in the field house/gym when I was 17!

Check out the guys.

Have a great week.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

March 18, 2019

Glad to see our snow is finally melting around here!! Just needs to get a bit warmer.

I have redone my photos of TheTubes in 1975 with new software. In these pictures they are playing in Milwaukee.

They are a fun band and a great show. Their new tour starts April 4 in St. Charles, IL. Catch them if you can. It will be worth it and fun I guarantee!

Check them out here in 1975!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Here in Wisconsin, snow is on the ground and it's going to be 6F tomorrow with a crazy windchill!! We should be seeing daffodils and rabbits outside instead of snow, ice and cold.

On February 28th, two of my favorite race car drivers celebrated their birthdays. Mario Andretti turned 79 and still drives the two seat Indy Car. I still want a ride in that car Mario! Sebastien Bourdais turned 40 on the same day!

On March 10th, the Indy Cars have the first race of the season in St. Petersburg, Florida. Sebastien Bourdais has lived in St. Petersburg for a few years and won that race twice I believe.

To get ready for the season let's take a look back at the birthday boys and some of the Indy Cars.

Last year Scott Dixon won the championship and I think he could do it again! Good luck Scott!

Stay warm and get ready to hear the awesome sounds of Indy Car again!

See how many drivers you can recognize here.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

February 18, 2019

I first met Linda Ronstadt in a locker room/dressing room in 1972 when I was 17 years old!  I then took one of my favorite photographs ever! That black and white photo is with Ramblin' Jack Elliott listening to her warm up before she went on stage.

I've been working on some photos of Linda Ronstadt from 1972 and 1980 lately for something coming up!

Other than that picture, these are photos from 1980 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Always have loved Linda's talented voice. She has sung just about every type of music I believe other than opera in her long career.

Not sure on the band here but I think the main guitar player is Danny Kortchmar. Any help in identifying the band would be appreciated.

Enjoy the photos.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann