January 18, 2016

On October 13, 1974 my world changed. It changed once again when I woke up this past Monday morning and learned that David Bowie died on Sunday January 10.

The best concert that I have ever seen was that day in 1974. I have seen a lot of shows since then but that concert still tops the list.  I also saw a rehearsal that day and it was equally amazing.  David's demands of quality were legendary and it was so obvious.

My rock'n roll calendar this year features David on the January page because of his birthday and it's become a nice tribute to him.

David Bowie has been featured on my website before, and one of my photos of him is also my personal favorite photo of my collection. It's the first photo you see here. My photo of Linda Ronstadt and Ramblin Jack Elliott seen also on my website here, is number two. (Sometimes, it's number one!)

There will never be another David Bowie of course.  He really was unique. His performances, his costumes, his makeup and his music will never be close to duplicated. He definitely had his own style.

I watched, and you should too, the Dick Cavett show from on November 2, 1974.  David Bowie does two songs and is interviewed.  It is amazing to watch him here after he had just been in Milwaukee a few weeks earlier for the concert shown here.

I have my favorite photos of him on my website, but here are some other photos that didn't make the first showing.  You could say that these photos are the B sides. They are good but some are not perfect which is why I didn't put them up before.

My favorite radio station, WMSE, at wmse.org, featured David's music all week long.  The "Rock Ride" at 3pm on Monday, January 11th, is worth listening to from their archives.  It is one of Tom Crawford's best shows ever and a great tribute to David Bowie. Three hours of David Bowie is good any time, but it really is good!

Enjoy a tribute look at David Bowie in 1974. Miss you David.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

B side photos of David Bowie at the Milwaukee Arena on October 13, 1974.

January 11, 2016

Today's blog is about a band that I thought would definitely not be performing anymore. After doing some research for today's blog I see that they are alive, well and performing around the world!

They formed in 1972 and in 1975 Al Kooper produced an album for them. The album did very well, they toured and were a little like Saturday Night Live with a mix of Firesign Theater comedy.

The stage show was a bit bizarre. Drugs and porn were referenced frequently in their costumes.

Fee Waybill and his character Qualude, was a big part of the stage show. He had huge hair and a guitar shaped like the letter Q.

Enjoy a look at this bizarre show that I photographed at the Uptown Theater in Milwaukee on October 9, 1975.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

The Tubes, Fee Waybill performing at Milwaukee's Uptown Theater in 1975.

January 4, 2016

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a nice holiday week.

My blog last week was on the band Boston playing at Alpine Valley Music Theater in 1987.

This is Part 2, and includes the photographs that I took from a helicopter during that show. It gives us an interesting aerial view of Alpine Valley and shows the cars we all drove in 1987.

In the background you can see the ski hill, that I worked at when I was 17 years old and was a junior member of the National Ski Patrol. That was so much fun! I could ski for free and that was the key for me!

Enjoy a different view of Alpine Valley. The sun was going down. It was a beautiful evening and the band Boston was about to take stage.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

December 28, 2015

In 1987 I was the house photographer at Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconisn.

Photographing the band Boston on the weekend of July 10, 1987 was an awesome experience!

These photos were taken on the one nice evening of the weekend. I remember it rained most of that weekend.

I am breaking up the photos into a few blogs.  I have a lot of them and many of the photos were taken from a helicopter. Those will be in separate blog.

Enjoy these pictures and Happy New Year everyone!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Boston, playing at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in July of 1987.

December 21, 2015

Every once and a while you find some negatives in your closet and go wow!

I only know that they are from 1987 and it's the big haired band Cinderella!

Enjoy a look at some big and long hair of a very successful band from Philadelphia. Also, a look at some really nice guitars like the double neck Gibson Les Paul.

I also want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

The big hair band Cinderella, in 1987.

December 14, 2015

I can't believe that I haven't done a blog on my very good friend Uncle Vinty! Vinty performed solo, in the The Uncle Vinty Show and then in his other band called The Movies.

So here we go.  Enjoy some photos of Vinty and his bands. I included a few pictures of the one record that I know of that he made.

Some of the photos are from a television show he did on WITI-TV 6 years ago. I think the year was 1975.

One of the photos here is my very first business Christmas card from 1972!

A few of the black and white photos that look cracked are actually called reticulated. It is done as you process the film and then freeze it during the developing process. It's an interesting look that I did frequently in my college days.

Take a look at Vinty.  He was a one of a kind!

Please join me on Facebook at Rich Zimmermann Photography and I still have a few 2016 Rock'N Roll calendars left for $30.00 plus $5.00 for shipping. The Rolling Stones from 1975 are on the cover and every month features an artist in his birth month!  David Bowie 1974 is January and it finishes up with Ted Nugent from 1981 in December.  Every photo is suitable for framing!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann