JOELLE ANDRES |
The entire idea started years ago, way back when I received a punk calendar as a Christmas present from my mom. I thought it was so cool that someone put a bunch of my favorite bands together on a wall calendar. Most of the shots of the bands were live, and a couple of them were promos that must have been taken for a record label. I had always thought, however how funny it'd be if the bands had been posing for specific holidays. Every once in a while the idea would resurface, and I'd think, "that'd be fun to do some day." It wasn't until last October at a Big D & the Kids Table show that the ball actually got rolling. I was hanging out backstage with the guys, and a couple of my friends from Long Island who had made the trip to CT with me for the occasion. I mentioned the idea to everyone, and got an overwhelmingly positive response. The very next day, I found myself driving five hours to Boston, with my friend Bridget riding shotgun while carving Big D's name in pumpkins. Immediately following the first shoot, I had friends signing on to help me with my project. My friend Chris recently lent me his copy of "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho, and one of my favorite lines from it is "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." It seemed like everyone was 100% backing me on this project. Everyone that I worked with was as excited and as ambitious as I was; they seemed to help me push forward through anything. The best example of that was at the Warped Tour this past summer. I had a shoot scheduled in the afternoon with Reel Big Fish and half way through the day I became incredibly sick. I passed out on the lawn and woke up to see the entire band standing over me, and looked over to find that my friends who I brought along as assistants, had completely assembled everything I needed for the shoot. My 4'11"-vegan-straight-edge friend had not only transported the taxidermied bear from a nearby bar to our location, she had also bought me a cheeseburger in hopes of restoring my energy. Had it not been for such outstanding support from all participants along the way, I would not have been able to accomplish this. |
This all started as a way to promote my photography after my graduation from SVA, and turned into one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life. Music genres aside, I wanted this calendar to represent the personalities of the bands, and the life and positivity of the scene. I feel that's been accomplished here. Everyone who participated generously gave their time, which isn't easy when you're in a band with five plus members who all have different schedules. Do I even need to point out that without them this would have never been possible? I can't even begin to express my gratitude to everyone involved. Above all, I need to thank my friend Mike Krol, who spent so much time putting this together. Aside from designing the entire calendar, he introduced me to Big D way back in 2002 when he was designing their t-shirts. Without him this would look like one of those free calendars that companies send to encourage you to donate to "save the animals", only with ska bands. Thank you to my family and friends for always supporting me. Special thanks to Stefanie J. Baum, Chris Greer, Stephen Foote & Big D, Andy Tabar, John Ryan, John DeDomenici, Lawrence Melilli, Lori Giovengo, Joe Masterson, and Liz Degen for their help and opinions on selecting images and their guidance through the process. Additional thanks to Levittown Bike Club, Gaelen Harlacher, Hardcore Justin, Bridget Hammer, April Stead, Chris Askin, Mr. Beery, Patent Pending, Royal City Riot, and everyone who has ever emailed me, ordered prints, or partied with me over the past few years, and to those of you who have yet to do so! "Fuck it! Thank you! I love you all!"-Catch22 |