Jim Louvau An Artist With A Vision.

     Jim Louvau is not only my favorite photographer but he also has fronted some great bands such as TheAttitude and Victims in Ecstasy. He is one of the most inspirational people out there in my opinion. He has photographed everyone from NIN, GNR, and Roger Waters to Black Sabbath. I wanted to upfront give credit to and a thanks to Jim for providing all the photos he has shot for this article. You can check out all his work at Louvau Photography.

 

     Patrick Houtz (PH)---Let's first talk about your photography work. How did you start getting into doing professional photography?  

     Jim Louvau (JL)---I took a black and white film photography class my senior year of high school and my teacher would always get upset with me because all of the assignments I would turn in were of a local band here in Phoenix called N17. He would tell me that if I ever wanted a chance to be a professional photographer I would have to learn how to shoot portraits and subjects other than bands. Music has always been my passion from the time I could walk and I always wanted to capture the energy of what I saw with a camera. At that time I didn't even own a camera I borrowed a friends dads camera that he hadn't used in years. I completely stopped shooting when I started Victims In Ecstacy and focused all my time on the band. Then in 2005 I went out on Warped Tour with my friends Opiate For the Masses to collect video footage and document their life on the road. When I wasn't shooting them I was shooting up and coming bands on the tour like Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance, The Transplants, and Billy Idol was on some dates. I came home from tour with a pretty good portfolio and no job to come home to. I was broke like every other artist in the world and I took the first job I could find doing customer service at The Arizona Republic. After I had been there a little while I just got on a company directory and found out who the photo editor was and I picked up the phone and called him. He sorta laughed at me and told me he was going on vacation but would look at my stuff and that there were no jobs available. Well after he got back he blew me off three or four times until I wouldn't take no for an answer. He finally met with me and he said your stuff is good but again I can't do anything for you but that I should reach out to the music department and let them know if anyone ever cancels or couldn't do an assignment that I was interested. A couple months went by and someone couldn't shoot an Aerosmith and Motley Crue show so they called me. I started with that one and then it was two a month, and then grew to the point I was doing four a week. The paper put me in front of the biggest acts that came through town and playing music over the years and making friends with so many other bands gave me unique opportunities to get access that others didn't have.

 

 

      (PH)---Who are some of your favorite bands you have been able to shoot either live or for cover art?

 

     (JL)---Getting the chance to shoot shows like Nine Inch Nails, Guns N' Roses, Marilyn Manson, and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd on multiple occasions was pretty amazing as they were all very influential to me as a kid. As much as I love to shoot the live stuff album artwork is still the most rewarding as an artist. My favorite piece to date is still the cover I did for theATTITUDE's last E.p because I had a very vivid vision of what I wanted and I was able to execute that image exactly the way I pictured it in my head.

 

 

     (PH)---I know you also do some sports photography as well. Is it nice being able to mix up both music and sports to keep the photography kind of fresh for yourself?

     (JL)---Shooting sports is a whole new world for me and it's a completely different mindset in some ways to music since it's very unpredictable in what is going to happen and it's a lot more about guessing what is going to happen. Being a big sports fan myself it's quite the rush walking out of the tunnel of a stadium into full of fans and some of my favorite players.

 

 

     (PH)---I listen to your band Victims In Ecstacy still to this day. You guys had a killer lineup with you, Andy Gerold, and Jim Kaufman. All you guys have been extremely successful in the music business. What are some of the best memories playing and touring in the Victims in Ecstacy days? What were the biggest influences you guys had musically at that point? 

     (JL)---Most of my memories of the V.I.E days aren't really ones I can share but we were young and wild and that band shaped all of us to move on to the next musical moments in our lives. It's kinda funny to look back and remember when Disturbed opened for us or playing with Linkin Park and touring with Pigface. Andy has felt like a sixth member of theATTITUDE over the years as he has played on or worked on all of our records and Jared Bakin has also been in and out of the band since we started.

 

 

      (PH)---The Attitude was also an incredible band you fronted as well. Are you guys planning on anything coming up in the future as far as live shows or are you just mostly concentrated on photography right now?

     (JL)---We spent most of last year away from playing live and focused more on writing and making plans for 2014. We have a full record we haven't released yet and a bunch more remixes to go along with it that we will put out this year and hopefully do some more touring to support it. Music is an emotional roller coaster for me and photography helps me balance the two art forms and keeps me from going crazy.

 

 

      (PH)---There is video of you playing with tons of different people from Jay Gordon, Elias Andra, and Chris Vrenna to name a few. Who would you say has been the biggest honor for you personally to share the stage with? 

     (JL)---It was really cool playing with Vrenna, we met through Andy when we were both going through really dark times in our personal lives and I specifically remember heading to rehearsal with him and realizing he hadn't played any of the Nine Inch Nails songs we were covering since he had been in the band he had to listen to them in headphones to remember the parts. We toured with Orgy a couple years back so I've played quite a few shows with Jay Gordon and I actually had to fill in for 5-6 songs for them in Las Vegas last month when his flight was delayed. He has definitely taken us under his wing. As far a people I've played on the same shows as Chino Moreno, Chester Bennington, Scott Weiland, and Johnny Rotten even though I am not a fan.

 

 

      (PH)---Do you have any other musical endeavors coming up? 

     (JL)---Between photography and theATTITUDE my year will be pretty packed but I'm usually not one to turn down projects of interest.

 

 

Aaron Harris (Palms, Isis) Short Interview on Illegal Downloading from Nov. 20th 2012

     I did this short interview last year while going to college. It was an assignment I had to address for a business class. I was lucky to be able to interview Aaron Harris who has played with the bands Isis and Palms as well as being a drum tech for Tool and The Deftones. I just thought it would be neat to throw it up now that I have this blog. Thanks for checking it out.
   

     Patrick Houtz (PH)---The first question I have is how did illegal downloading affect your band "Isis" and secondly how do you see it affecting "Palms" as well?

     Aaron Harris (AH)---Illegal downloading is a debate that could be discussed and dissected for days. There's lots of different ways to look at it. Both good and bad. It's really easy these days to go online and steal a record that a band/artist has spent many hours and lots of money making. People forget how much time and money is spent making these records. Opinions are formed and reviews are given before the record is even released. In ISIS, we really worked hard to present our records as a whole. The artwork and packaging were just as important as the music. Other than the obvious fact that we were loosing money directly from illegal downloading, we were also having our records presented in a way that we hadn't intended. Touring became the way that we made most of our money as record sales declined even as the band grew in popularity. I'm sure downloading affects major label acts much differently than indie artists. We were always very hands on with ISIS, and smart about how we spent our money. I can't imagine the impact downloading has on some of the really big budget records. I guess the bright side of downloading would be that your music gets in the hands of potentially more people, and it can be used as a way to promote your record. It builds a buzz about the release. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

(Aaron Harris, Drum Teching for Tool 2011 Australia)

 

     (PH)---Do you think the laws set up currently are working at all? If not what do you think could be done to curb illegal downloading if anything?      

     (AH)---I'm not sure what can be done, if anything, to prevent illegal downloading. At a certain point you're looking at spending all your money trying to prevent people from stealing it, so it doesn't make much sense. The thing to do is to embrace the change and hope that your record doesn't leek too early to your release date, and that people don't spread a negative review of it before it's even released. One solution is to use sort of a reverse psychology like Radiohead did and offer a name your own price for the release (free being an option). In creating the Palms record we have the advantage of me being an audio engineer, so we're able to keep the costs of making the album low. If I wasn't, we'd be looking to make the record as cheaply as we could get away with. Just like most other bands these days.

Derek DeSantis (Twisted Method, Ekotren, Makeshift Romeo)

     I was able to interview Derek DeSantis from Twisted Method and Makeshift Romeo fame today. It was honestly an honor just because he has been a inspiration to me as a player since I began playing bass. Enjoy everyone!

     Patrick Houtz (PH)---First of all thank you so much for taking the time do this interview Derek.
     
     Derek DeSantis (DD)---Happy to do it, Patrick.

     (PH)---Most people probably remember you as the bassist for Twisted Method, one of my favorite bands ever. What was it like getting signed so young and being successful so early on in your musical career? 

    (DD)---It was, by far, the most exciting thing to ever happen to me in my life!  From that point and the next few years, everything was one big roller-coaster ride.  I honestly didn't realize how good I had it; I was seeing places and meeting people I had only dreamed about, and getting to play with bands I idolized growing up.  

     (PH)---One of my favorite things about Twisted Method was that you had great material and also were lucky to have a real front man in a time where they were kind of fading away in my opinion. What was it like playing along side Tripp? 

     (DD)---Tripp's my buddy first, and was my bandmate second. It was like doing anything else with your best friends.  It was fun. He's just one of those dudes who is naturally talented; he can just go up there and sing his ass off like it's nothing.  Very charismatic, and that's why people loved TM.  You had a frontman that knew how to keep the crowd paying attention.  

     
     (PH)---Because I am a total gear dork, I was wondering what kind of basses and amps were you using on those early tours?

      (DD)---Back in the TM days I had a Custom Yamaha RBX 5 string made out at YGD (Yamaha Guitar Development) in California.

    The rig itself was all Mesa/Boogie;  Mpulse 600 heads and Roadready 6x10 cabs.  These days I'm sporting a SansAmp RBI    Preamp, an Ampeg SVT4Pro Head, an Ampeg SVT Classic 8x10 , with 3 different Ibanez ATK Basses.

     (PH)---You were honestly one of the first bass players that really inspired me other than Jason Newsted. I was starting to play live about the same time Twisted Method was touring Ozzfest. It was great seeing peers I looked up to making such strong waves in the metal scene. What are some of your best memories of those early days?

     
     (DD)---Man, every day made a great new memory for me, during the Ozzfest run. Seriously, waking up everyday to the Second Stage sound engineers blaring Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast" got me pumped for the day ahead!  What can I say?  Hanging with people all day, having a good time, getting to play the biggest (at that time) metal tour going..I loved every second of it.

     (PH)---After Twisted Method split, what motivated the start of Makeshift Romeo? That record I still listen to to this day. You guys had a really killer lineup in that band. 

     (DD)---I think the will to carry on making music was really the motivation.  Honestly, when Andy passed, we didn't want to continue in the same line of music we were making.  TM was Andy's legacy, and to try to write along the same lines didn't seem right.  With MSR, we focused on different aspects that we considered strong suits for Tripp, and for the rest of the band that ultimately formed  with myself, Edsel (Dope) and Virus (Device, Dope, Big and Rich, Rock of Ages.)  Definitely more mainstream than TM, but nonetheless we had fun writing and playing the material.

     (PH)---The last time I saw you play was with Ekotren in Springfield Missouri a few years ago. Are you still playing with them? What are you up to these days? Any Future Plans?

     (DD)---Ekotren is still alive; we play from time to time.  We have new songs and are working on others.  Life has thrown us curveballs in recent times, and we are adapting and surviving as we go.  People do want to see Ekotren, and we want to give them that, but Life happens for us all, and we need to deal with it the right way.  I know I'm keeping that kind of vague, but I'm sure everyone out there can relate, (if they think about what that sentence means.)  

     
     (PH)---Thank you so much for your time once again Derek. Good luck with everything in the future.

     (DD)---The pleasure was mine to talk with you, Patrick.  Thanks for reaching out.  All the best to you.