Steve Miller and Leslie West

May 6, 2013

At Summerfest in Milwaukee on July 25, 1977, Steve Miller and his band played the main stage. Also, on that night the band Mountain played with great guitar player Leslie West.

Love Steve Miller's rare vintage Ibanez Artist 2623 guitar! It's just beautiful!

During Steve Miller's show we were given a treat when Steve brought out Leslie West to play a few songs with him! Wish I could remember what songs they played but I do remember it being very good and very windy as you can see in the attached photos.

The great Norton Buffalo is on stage left.  He was awesome and miss him.

This gives us a nice look at Summerfest in 1977 and some of the greatest guitar players around.

Need a new photograph on your office or home wall? Limited edition prints 8x10, are $50.00 the week of the blog. Contact us soon for a print.

Enjoy and have a great week.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Loggins & Messina at UW Oshkosh in 1974.

April 29, 2013

This week's blog is hard to do because it's finally nice in Wisconsin and I want to be outside! That means bike riding, fishing and of course, Spring house chores.We have been cleaning the outside of the house and cleaning all of the windows! Hard work, but it's done now and it looks great.

Other than talking about Spring cleaning chores, our blog is about one of the best country rock bands to ever come about. That would be Loggins and Messina, shown here in 1974 at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. In 1974, they played a lot of college shows and were very popular on FM radio.

Jim Messina, after being in the bands Poco and Buffalo Springfield, was an independent record producer for Columbia Records in 1970 when he met Kenny Loggins. The two recorded some songs in Jimmy's living room in Colorado and Loggins and Messina was born. The teacher/apprentice duo had a great following and Kenny Loggins had to put his solo career on hold because they were so successful. This was a very good thing.

Their debut album, Sittin' In, was released in November of 1971 and five more albums would be released before Kenny Loggins went on his own to become a solo act.

They have done a few tours since the old days. One in 2005 and another in 2009 and I missed them both unfortunately!

Enjoy the photos and if you would like a copy for your walls at home or office, an 8 X 10 limited edition print is on sale this week for $50.00.

Have a great week and don't do too many Spring chores!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

The J. Geils Band in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at Summerfest in 1972.

April 20, 2013

My blog this week, that I have been working on for a while, is about a little blues band from Boston called the J. Geils Band.  After a bad week in Boston, I felt it was rather fitting that we talk about some good people of Boston.  John Geils and most of the band are actually from Worcester, Massachucetts.

John Geils, the guitar player and founder, started the band in the 1960's. He went through a few versions before getting it right in 1967 to form the band we are all familiar with.

Peter Blankenfeld, who we all know as vocalist Peter Wolf, was an ex disc jockey before joining the band. 

Richard Salwitz, became the harmonica player and is one of the best in the world.  He became "Magic Dick", and known for his "licking stick", on stage.

Danny Klein, known as "Dr. Funk", was the bass player of the band and Stephen Jo Bladd, was the drummer.

More people came and went with the band but this was the core and this band that I photographed at Summerfest in 1972, which is what you see here. 

They got the crowd moving and everybody had a good time!

Enjoy a few photos from 1972 and if you would like some copies for your walls at home please contact us today.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

April 15, 2013

Lowell Geoge's birthday was April 13.  In his memory here is my weekly blog.

Lowell George and his band, Little Feat, played in Milwaukee at the Oriental Theater in 1977.  It was a great show.

The amazing fact I discovered in doing this blog is that Lowell George was a former member of the Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa's band!!  There are several ideas of why Frank dismissed Lowell from the Mothers and I like the one that Frank said Lowell was to good for the band.  Frank then helped Lowell out in forming his own band.  The Mothers of Invention drummer, Jimmy Black, gave Lowell the name of his new band Little Feat because he supposedly has little feet!  The changing of feet to feat is in homage to the Beatles I read in an article.

I have seen people play slide guitar before but at this show, I was watching the master at work!  Lowell George was amazing on his slide guitar.  I recently heard that he taught Bonnie Rait how to play slide guitar.  She learned from a very good teacher.

These images, give us a look at the master at work with his friend, Paul Barrere.

Put some history on your walls at home with our blog pictures of the week.  All 8 1/2 X 11's are  $50.00 for a limited edition archival print.

Enjoy, and have a great week.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Lowell George, a master slide guitar player with his band Little Feat at the Oriental Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1977.

April 1, 2013

Hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend.  It finally feels like Spring in Wisconsin.

Being a rock'n'roll photographer since 1970, I have had the opportunity to photograph just about every musician I have wanted to.  Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way.

The list of musicians includes most of my favorites from the Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin.   This list was pretty much complete except for one act that I have always wanted to photograph.   Z Z Top did not make my list until the Harley Davidson 105th Anniversary party here in Milwaukee in 2008!

Their show did not disappoint.  It was a fun time and they are a class act.  The stage was set up very nicely and the lighting was excellent!

Photographers only get 3 songs in the beginning of the show to get the job done, and it is never enough time.  I try to keep track of the 3 songs and thankfully, I don't have to change film anymore.  So, I just shoot as much as possible as quickly as possible!

It all happens so quickly you can't believe it.  I try to go in with a plan but most of the time that doesn't workout because you can't move around too much.  With earplugs in, I put myself into position which is a little off to the side of Dusty Hill, the bass player.  This way I could shoot across to Billy Gibbons, the guitar player, and also get a clear shot of Frank Beard, the drummer who's drum kit was a photo project all on its own!  I want to get myself in a good spot so that I'm not shooting the backs of these beautiful guitars you see here!  That is why I staked out my spot a little early because a couple of minutes before the show I was surrounded by more photographers and people.

I took 105 shots in those 3 songs and should have done more. but as I said, it goes so quickly you can't believe it!

Enjoy a few photographs of the show here and wouldn't one look nice on your office wall?  Check out my rock category and go to Z Z Top for a few more to look at and enjoy.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann 

Joe Walsh and the James Gang at the Milwaukee Arena on November 27, 1971.