Chucktographer

I've been a photographer/writer/musician from my early years in Corpus Christi, Texas to Austin, where I worked at the Austin American-Statesman from 1980-86 to Dallas, where I've been since 1988. As Assistant Editor/Photographer at Buddy Magazine, the Original Texas Music Magazine, I've been able to meet, interview and shoot exclusive photographs of some of the more important players in the Texas and national blues, rock and roots-music scenes: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Ely, Doug Sahm, Jim Suhler, Maylee Thomas, Reverend Horton Heat (who was my guitar player in 1974 when he was only 16- it was his first band), John Nitzinger, Smokin' Joe Kubek, Doyle Bramhall, Doyle Bramhall II, Rusty Burns, the Arc Angels, Goodfoot, Patrice Pike, Professor D, the late and sorely-missed Walter Hyatt, Hash Brown, Memo Gonzalez, the WeeBads, Mitch Palmer, Zuzu Bollin, Darrell Nulish, Paul Size, Johnny Moeller, Texas Slim, the Leroi Brothers, Ten Hands, Watchtower, Chuck Rainey, Mike McCullough, David Brown, Matt Snow, Andy Timmons, ZZ Top, Killbilly, David Garza, Mildred, Johnny Winter, Mike Morgan, Sara Hickman, Bugs Henderson, Cooder Graw, Pat Peterson, Bo Diddley, Tammy Wynette, Van Halen, Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakum, Phil Collins, EWF, CSN, ELO, UFO, Cheap Trick, Genesis, and many more.One of the many special things about Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott (and brother Vinnie Paul) was that they never acted like bigtime rock stars, no matter where they were. This humility was no put-on; they were often seen at various gigs and jams, supporting the Dallas area local music scene. In this picture, Darrell's next to one of his personal guitar heroes, former Point Blank guitarist, Rusty Burns. Their relationship goes back to when Darrell's and Vinnie's dad, Jerry Abbott of Pantego Studios, was recording Rusty and he had to chase the awe-struck teenagers from the studio. Judging by Darrell's gesture here, he's obviously saying of Rusty, "He's the man." So was he.This shot of a very fresh Eddie Van Halen was taken in Corpus Christi, Texas on Van Halen's first big tour in 1978. Note that this is the Stratocaster-type guitar featured on the cover of their debut album, before he switched to his signature red axe with the white stripes. This was before the monster that is corporate rock clamped down on photographers, relegating us to 'the pit' and allowing only the first four or so songs of a show to be photographed. Those were the days…Although I had been to dozens of Stevie Ray Vaughan shows in Austin in the 80's, somehow I never managed to shoot him there. It must be kept in mind that SRV & Double Trouble played so many free Wednesday concerts on Austin's Town Lake that we spoiled music fans in took such things for granted, as if he would be here forever. Fortunately, I shot this June, 1989 performance in Dallas - he died August 27 the next year. His loss is still numbing.Cheap Trick's Rick Nielson is one of the most gifted, but terribly underrated guitarists in the business. Maybe if he took himself as seriously as too many other axe-slingers do, he'd be more venerated, but then again, it's just not his style. He recognizes as too few do, that it's the SONG that matters. But yeah, he does kick ass with ease!B.B. King: What can you say that hasn't been said already? The man is legend, no doubt. He's also a gracious gentleman when you get a chance to meet the man. He doesn't need to be out there playing night after night, but perhaps it's his passion for his music and his passion for performing for live audiences that keeps him going into this century.Besides being one of the baddest slide guitar players in Dallas whose reputation led to his being discovered by George Thorogood and subsequently being signed to the Lucky Seven label, Jim Suhler is also the owner of Deep Ellum Blues, the finest blues venue in Dallas. I've shot him numerous times over the years, with and without his fine band, Monkey Beat, and I'm proud to call him a friend.Buddy Mag's Dec. 2005 cover boy John Nitzinger, Fort Worth guitar-slinger and one of the original Buddy Magazine Texas Tornados, has always been regarded as an unapologetic in-your-face rocker. Since he was 7 and recorded his self-penned tune, he has never let up. From his early days with Capitol and the success of “Louisiana Cockfight,” to the seminal death-rock band, Bloodrock, to his tenure as guitarist/songwriter for Alice Cooper, to his solo career which has won fans nationally as well as abroad, John Nitzinger established himself as a mainstay of the North Texas pantheon of guitar gods. Unfortunately, John has not always had the best of luck – in 2004, he had ALL of his equipment stolen. In recent years, he has been plagued by a series of health problems. Even after beating his chemical addictions, and after beating cancer in 2003, he suffered a stroke in August, 2005. His stroke has limited the movement of his left arm and he can’t carry much, but the man can still play, and that means classic Nitzinger- loud of course, with all the authority of world-class rock and roll, the pull-no-punches lyrics, the solid songwriting, and his signature lead guitar lines with their irresistible hooks. In short, he hasn’t missed a beat.From his early days in the 1970's with Butch Hancock and Jimmy Dale Gilmore in the Flatlanders to his genre-busting career with his own band, Joe Ely's music is the synthesis of all things Texan - the cocky cowboy strut, a touch of Tex-Mex spices, straight-ahead no-nonsense rock and roll, and the lonesome wail of the West Texas wind.Chuck Rainey is a consumnate professional. His steady basswork can be found in the classic Steely Dan albums from 1974 to 1980, as well as in session recordings with Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, Herbie Mann, Nancy Wilson, King Curtis, Janis Joplin, Quincy Jones, Joe Cocker, Mose Allison, Marvin Gaye, George Benson, LaVern Baker, James Brown, Ry Cooder, Lena Horne, Bob Marley, Bette Midler, and the list goes on. For all his talent and with his impressive resume', he never acts like he's all that. He's a formidable bassist, but he also a thoughtful, classy guy.As a drummer, vocalist, songwriter, and producer, Doyle Bramhall has placed his indelible musical stamp on the Texas music scene and beyond. As a member of some of the seminal blues bands in Dallas and Austin, Bramhall has been around the Texas blues scene since there has been one. A major vocal influence on the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, Doyle wrote or co-wrote some of Stevie's best known songs, including: "Change It," "Tightrope," "The House is Rocking, and with his wife, Barbara Logan, wrote the telling song,"Life by the Drop." He's a living legend and a sweetheart of a man.I may have given Jim Heath his first guitar playing job back in high school, but his transformation to Reverend Horton Heat and his successes with that as well as his sideband, Reverend Organ Drum are all his own. But you know, he still looks like the 15 year-old kid I hired.Known to many for his 1974 hit, "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo," Rick Derringer (originally Zehringer) had his first brush with stardom at the age of 17 when his band, The McCoys’ version of “Hang On Sloopy” replaced the Beatles' "Yesterday" as the Number One song in October, 1965. Subsequently, he logged many miles playing alongside both Johnny and Edgar Winter and is widely recognized as a guitar master in his own right. He has continued to grow as an artist and has also released music in the blues and Christian music genres. This picture was taken at the Dallas Guitar Show April 22, 2006.