Jay Blakesberg

Last updated
Jay Blakesberg
Born(1961-12-01)December 1, 1961
Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPhotographer & Filmmaker

Jay Blakesberg (born December 1, 1961) is an American, San Francisco-based, photographer and film maker.

Contents

Biography

His suburban youth was spent mostly in Clark, New Jersey, where he first discovered a passion for taking pictures. As a teenager, Blakesberg began taking his father's Pentax camera to local concerts.

The Grateful Dead performed at the Meadowlands in 1978 and was the first Dead show he photographed. A few years on the road with a group of people called Deadheads resulted in the beginning of a body of photographic work that continues to this day. In the early 1980s, Blakesberg lived in Olympia, Washington, where he attended the Evergreen State College. More intensive study and focus on photography and filmmaking led him to an internship doing corporate photography and video in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1980s. This is when Blakesberg started bringing his camera to every musical event he attended. [1]

In 1986, he became the house photographer at the rock club The I-Beam on Haight Street in San Francisco. This is where he began to photograph the birth of the Alternative Rock movement, shooting such bands as Janes Addiction, The Pixies and Soundgarden to name a few. During the late 1980s, the pace picked up for the number of Grateful Dead events Blakesberg was photographing.

In November 1987, with rumors of a free U2 concert in downtown San Francisco, Blakesberg got a call from Rolling Stone magazine photo editor Jodi Peckman to attend the concert and cover the event. This became Blakesberg's first published photo in a rock magazine. Since that first assignment, Blakeserg has shot over 300 assignments for Rolling Stone and has been published in print magazines from Time to Vanity Fair to Guitar Player as well as hundreds of other major magazines worldwide countless times. It was also during this time period that Blakesberg became staff photographer for BAM Magazine (Bay Area Music), and went on to shoot over 75 covers starting with indie rockers Camper Van Beethoven, and including artists such as Ice-T, Green Day, Primus, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. [2]

During most of the 1990s, Blakesberg was constantly shooting for print magazines and record companies, creating what is now an archive of 30 years of pop music icons. The late 1990s saw the explosion of the "Dot-com" movement in the Bay Area. Many of the most popular of the business magazines of the day were looking for an edgy look to cover these new "technology rockstars" and they turned to Blakesberg for his eclectic and original style of photography. Some of the magazines he shot for included the Red Herring, Business 2.0 and Fortune Magazine among many others. It was during this time that new "online" music magazines were founded, giving Blakesberg a new category of projects. The most prominent and one of the first of its kind was "Addicted to Noise" (ATN) founded by Rolling Stone magazine staff writer Michael Goldberg. Blakesberg became a frequent contributor to this new online magazine shooting artists such as Weezer, Phish, X, Radiohead and DJ Shadow exclusively for ATN. The commissioned assignments continued from music magazines and record companies, giving Blakesberg the opportunity to work with many well-known artists including Tom Waits, John Lee Hooker, Santana, Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson, Metallica, Talking Heads, Beck, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Dead Hot Workshop and many others. [3]

Rock Out Books, Guitars that Jam and other publications

Just before September 11, 2001, Blakesberg secured a book deal to publish a coffee table book on his Grateful Dead archive. Published by Backbeat Books in fall of 2002, this book resonated with Deadheads everywhere. Working on that book gave Blakesberg the inspiration to start his own book publishing company, which eventually was born as Rock Out Books. Under that umbrella, Blakesberg has either published or packaged over a dozen books of his own photography as well as other photographers and artists. Some of the books published by Rock Out Books include: To Defy the Laws of Tradition – A Photographic Archive of Primus and Les Claypool, Portraits from the Belly of the Whale by Michael Garlington, A San Francisco Love Affair by Gene Wright, and Traveling on a High Frequency, Blakesberg's 30 year retrospective of his music photography. [4]

In 2015, Blakesberg published Guitars That Jam—Portraits of the World's Most Storied Rock Guitars which explores the history of many of the guitars in the Jamband scene. Featuring images from live concerts and outdoor festivals, this volume captures the personal connection between artist and instrument. Along with the guitar's production and model, each image is accompanied by a story from the musician detailing the instrument's special characteristics, as well as its significance to them and rock history. This publication includes photographs of Neil Young, Carlos Santana, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Trey Anastasio, Derek Trucks, and Warren Haynes to name just a few. Guitars That Jam features a foreword written by Warren Haynes and is an excellent photographic guide to the world of improvisational rock guitars. [5]

His works as a producer and director

In 2006, Blakesberg co-directed, with Bob Sarles, Phil Lesh & Friends Live at the Warfield, a live concert film featuring Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh with his band. [6] Blakesberg has also co-directed "MTV Style" videos for Third Eye Blind and ALO, as well as directed videos for Jackie Greene, Tim Bluhm, and the Kronos Quartet.

Since the summer of 2007, Blakesberg has produced and directed the live concert video at numerous music festivals including Rothbury, Lollapallooza, Summer Camp Festival, moe.down, Nateva Festival, Langerado and Mountain Jam. Working in conjunction with the iClips Network at these festivals, Blakesberg has directed the video for such artists as The Flaming Lips, Furthur, Phil Lesh and Friends, The String Cheese Incident, Widespread Panic, The Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers Band, moe., Umphrey's McGee and many others. In the spring of 2009, Blakesberg went on the road with the re-united Grateful Dead – the original members calling themselves "The Dead" – as their tour photographer and video documentarian. The photographs from this tour were used in a print on demand tour book series, while over 15 short films created were used to document and market the tour. Currently Blakesberg continues to document Rock and Roll culture photographically while exploring numerous video projects. [7]

Album photography credits

partial list from AllMusic.com [8]

Concert films

Short form video

Other producer / director credits

Books published

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Lesh</span> American musician (born 1940)

Philip Chapman Lesh is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RatDog</span> American rock band

RatDog is an American rock band. The group began in 1995 as a side project for Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. After the Dead disbanded later that year, RatDog became Weir's primary band. They performed some Grateful Dead songs, a mixture of covers, and some originals. They released two albums – Evening Moods (2000) and Live at Roseland (2001). RatDog has not toured since July 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Lesh and Friends</span> American rock band

Phil Lesh and Friends is an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Weir</span> American musician; member of the Grateful Dead

Robert Hall Weir is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead. Weir also founded and played in several other bands during and after his career with the Grateful Dead, including Kingfish, the Bob Weir Band, Bobby and the Midnites, Scaring the Children, RatDog, and Furthur, which he co-led with former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh. In 2015, Weir, along with former Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, joined with Grammy-winning singer/guitarist John Mayer, bassist Oteil Burbridge, and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti to form the band Dead & Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Lane</span> American drummer

Jay Lane is an American musician. He is a founding member of Bob Weir's RatDog, with Weir and Rob Wasserman, Wolf Bros, Furthur, Golden Gate Wingmen, Dead & Company and Alphabet Soup. He was the 7th drummer to play in Primus, playing with the band for around eight months in 1988 and later rejoining the band from 2010-2013. Lane was a member of San Francisco Bay Area bands The Uptones from '83-'85, and The Freaky Executives '84-'89.

<i>Dicks Picks Volume 5</i> 1996 live album by Grateful Dead

Dick's Picks Volume 5 is the fifth live album in the Dick's Picks series of releases by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded on December 26, 1979, at the Oakland Auditorium Arena in Oakland, California. It was released in May 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhythm Devils</span> American percussion-based band

The Rhythm Devils is a percussion-based rock band led by former Grateful Dead drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart.

<i>Road Trips Volume 1 Number 1</i> 2007 live album by Grateful Dead

Road Trips Volume 1 Number 1 is a live album by the Grateful Dead. It contains highlights from their fall 1979 tour of the East Coast. It was released on November 5, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deadheads for Obama</span> 2008 rock concert

Deadheads for Obama is the name given to the February 4, 2008 reunion concert of three former members of the Grateful Dead at The Warfield in San Francisco. The show, performed one day before the Super Tuesday primary elections, was an act of support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and featured former Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, and Mickey Hart, as well as John Molo, Jackie Greene, Steve Molitz, Mark Karan and Barry Sless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reunions of the Grateful Dead</span> Aspect of American music history

The Grateful Dead were an American rock band known for their lengthy, partially improvised performances, as well as for a loyal fan base who often followed the band for several shows or entire tours. They disbanded in 1995, following the death of de facto bandleader Jerry Garcia. Since then remaining members have reunited for a number of concert tours and one-off performances, often in very different configurations. The following is a list of instances where former Grateful Dead members have reunited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Furthur (band)</span> American rock band

Furthur was an American rock band founded in 2009 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. The original lineup also included John Kadlecik of Dark Star Orchestra on lead guitar, RatDog's Jeff Chimenti on keyboards and Jay Lane on percussion, and Joe Russo of the Benevento/Russo Duo on drums. Named after the famous touring bus used by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in the 1960s, Furthur was an improvisational jam band that performed music primarily from the extensive Grateful Dead songbook, as well as their own original music and that of several other well-known artists. In addition to the original members, the band's lineup included backup vocalists Sunshine Becker of the a cappella ensemble SoVoSó and Jeff Pehrson of the folk rock bands Box Set and the Fall Risk.

Tom Hamilton Jr. is an American songwriter, musician, and producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the bands Brothers Past, American Babies, Ghost Light, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Bill Kreutzmann's Billy & the Kids, and Electron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Bluhm</span> American singer-songwriter

Tim Bluhm is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the primary singer and guitarist for rock band The Mother Hips. He is part of the duos the Skinny Singers with Jackie Greene and Ball-Point Birds with Greg Loiacono, and has been a member of The Rhythm Devils, Brokedown in Bakersfield, and Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers. He has also performed and released solo material.

<i>Road Trips Volume 3 Number 4</i> 2010 live album by Grateful Dead

Road Trips Volume 3 Number 4 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. The 12th of the Road Trips series of archival releases, it was recorded on May 6, 1980, at Recreation Hall, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, and on May 7, 1980, at Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. It was released on September 7, 2010.

<i>Road Trips Volume 4 Number 1</i> 2010 live album by Grateful Dead

Road Trips Volume 4 Number 1 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. The 13th of the Road Trips series of archival releases, it contains two complete performances by the band, recorded on May 23 and 24, 1969. It was released as a three-disc CD on November 16, 2010.

Evntlive is an interactive digital concert venue that allows music fans worldwide to stream concerts to their computer, tablet, or phone. Based in Redwood City, CA, EVNTLIVE Beta launched on April 15, 2013. EVNTLIVE provides users with the ability to switch camera angles, view All Access interviews and clips from artists, buy music, and chat with other online concert-goers in the in-app feature. Users can watch live and on-demand concerts with both free and pay-per-view concerts offered.

<i>Daves Picks Volume 8</i> 2013 live album by Grateful Dead

Dave's Picks Volume 8 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert from November 30, 1980, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. It was produced as a limited edition of 13,000 numbered copies, and was released on November 1, 2013.

<i>The Warfield, San Francisco, California, October 9 & 10, 1980</i> 2019 live album by Grateful Dead

The Warfield, San Francisco, California, October 9 & 10, 1980 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the two sets of acoustic music performed by the Dead on October 9 and 10, 1980 at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco. It was produced as a two-disc LP in a limited edition of 10,000 copies, and as a two-disc CD in a limited edition of 6,000 copies. It was released on April 13, 2019, in conjunction with Record Store Day.

<i>Daves Picks Volume 31</i> 2019 live album by Grateful Dead

Dave's Picks Volume 31 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on December 3, 1979 at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. It was released on July 26, 2019, in a limited edition of 20,000 numbered copies.

<i>The Story of the Grateful Dead</i> 2020 box set by Grateful Dead

The Story of the Grateful Dead is a box set of albums by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains eight previously released albums – four recorded in the studio and four recorded live – in vinyl LP format. It comprises 14 discs, on 180-gram colored vinyl. The albums were remastered directly from the original master recordings. The box set includes a booklet of essays by various musicians, each discussing the influence of one of the albums on their own music. The booklet also contains photos of the Grateful Dead. The box set was released by the Vinyl Me, Please record company in November 2020, in a limited edition of 7,500 copies.

References

  1. ↑ "Jay Blakesberg | Between The Dark And Light On Jambase". Jambase.com. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
  2. ↑ [ dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Jay Blakesberg celebrates 30 years of rock photography - A+E Interactive". Blogs.mercurynews.com. 2008-11-10. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
  4. ↑ "Jay Blakesberg: Waiting For That Moment on JamBase". Jambase.com. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
  5. ↑ "Books". Archived from the original on 2015-05-06. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  6. ↑ "Jay Blakesberg". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
  7. ↑ "New book! Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead". Web Ink Now. 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
  8. ↑ "Jay Blakesberg | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.