WELCOME TO MY JOURNALISTIC NIGHTMARE!

"AN ARTIST IS SOMEONE WHO ENTERS INTO COMPETITION WITH GOD"

-- Patti Smith

Hey there fellow readers!

First off, would like to WELCOME YOU ALL TO MY BLOGSPOT!

If you would like my services, please contact me at: Defunctphotography@gmail.com

Note: All photos/words are copyrighted to the owner, ©DEFUNCT PHOTOGRAPHY. DO NOT take any material without the Owner's consent.

EXCITING NEWS - AMEN PHOTO MAY BE TURNED INTO A POSTER!

SUP GUYS,

So I got this VERY exciting email yesterday from my dear friend Duke Decter, guitarist of one my favourite bands AMEN, and overall a very talented musician who left a huge imprint on the Floridian hardcore punk scene back when he and AMEN vocalist Casey Chaos were kids.

Anyway here was the email I received:

Oi Liz

Hey its Duke...hows it all goin in Defunct World?

Guess what? I found one of your pics from the tour and I swear I am trying to talk Casey into using it for the album cover! In the meantime I wanna use it to make a new poster-- its an amazing shot you took. I am currently trying to get the Refuse Music store back up and running but when I do I wanna offer your poster! You can see it on the front page right now but the store is not actually open:
http://www. refusemusic.com

So when I do, I doubt there will be much money, I will send ot percentage checks to you every 4 months or so depending on how well it sells....but of course we'll get your website address on there and that is usually what helps the most....OK hit me back when u can

Hows Mayday coming along?

DD

[By the way, MAYDAY is my band that I front- I WOULD link you to our myspace where we house our rough demos, but I'm a shyfuck ;-P]

Of course nothing is concrete, but for me what matters is the simple fact Duke enjoyed the photo enough to even consider this fantastic idea! Here's a screencap of the frontpage for the Refuse Music Store:



AMEN are one of those amazing, eclectic bands who after 4 years I am still absolutely in love with. Their power, strength and sheer talent Casey Chaos exudes has been nothing short of inspiring and exhilarating. They are one of those rare bands who actually inspired me to dive into the music/photography scene, and for that I salute them, and hope that the poster/photograph brings them the same joy they've brought to my young, twisted mind.

So if you want to look for an amazing band, look no further. Check them the fuck out, and support the living HELL out of them!

Much respect,

-- Liz, ©DEFUNCTPHOTOGRAPHY

[Left to right: Duke Decter and Casey Chaos, live at Damnation Festival, Leeds, 20/10/07]



UPCOMING: VADER REVIEW AND REVIEW OF ANONYMOUS' FIFTH PROTEST AGAINST THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY, "OPERATION: SEA ARRRGH!"

Note: All photos/words are copyrighted to the owner, ©DEFUNCT PHOTOGRAPHY. DO NOT take any material without the Owner's consent.

SONATA ARCTICA - LONDON ISLINGTON ACADEMY - 21/04/08

SONATA ARTICA

"SHE SHOULD NOT LOCK THE OPEN DOOR! RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY!",comes the cries and furore of excited Sonata Arctica fans in the midst of the band's popular song "Fullmoon". Sonata's visibly excited vocalist, Tony Kakko, stares on in amazement, left pretty much speechless as the refrains of the song are echoed against the wall's of London's Islington Academy. Never as a music lover and photojournalist have I seen such a beautiful unison that left pretty much all of us with huge grins on our faces, and I'm sure on the faces of Kakko's talented bandmates, guitarist Elias Viljanen, bassist Marko Paasikoski, drummer Tommy Portimo and keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg. Now, let's just go back go to a couple of hours prior to our Finnish heroes taking the stage...

With the venue already packed, a sea of Sonata Arctica shirts and hoodies illuminated under the bright lights, tonight's only support band PAGAN'S MIND take to the stage, showered with cheers and applause. "LONDON! ARE YOU READY FOR US?!" comes the cry of beaming frontman Nils K. Rue.The band, hailing from Norway, hit the crowd with their fury of power/progressive metal, and it's very easy to detect the Iron Maiden influence in the music, and in particular, in Pagan's Mind vocalist Nils, who seems to glide and dance across the stage like a Norwegian Bruce Dickinson, while his shrill, powerful voice hammers down on the audience, with a fusion of guitarist's Jørn Viggo Lofstad's heavy, vibrant riffs and twisted solos which seems to glide alongside Nils' soaring voice.
Bassist Steiner Krokmo delivers on the dirty, almost rock 'n' roll vibe, as well as providing the eerie backing beat clashing with the searing notes played by keyboardist Ronny Tegner. Both Ronny and Steiner provide such hilarity and fun, with their face-pulling and eager screaming at the crowd, who in turn respond with a minor mosh-pit which still delivers. But with the utterly prodigious Stian Kristoffersen as the drummer, he excels in providing such talent behind the drumkit, his glare fixed directly at the crowd, and using actions such as pounding his fist down on his head everytime he hits the bass drum. He maintains the cool, icy back-beat of the band, differing between slow, sombre drumbeats to a flurry concussion upon his kit.
With 45 minutes of sweat, Scandinavian grins and endless toasts to the Londoners, the band go out on a high note with an interesting cover of "Hello, Spaceboy" by the talented Mr. David Bowie, and with the combination of Nils' tenor-range vocals and the band's collective attraction between the power of dark and light, makes the cover really shine through.

[Click on the following pics for full high res versions!]

The wait leading up to Sonata Arctica's seems unbearable amongst the excited fans who pile up closely and offer chants of "SONATA! SONATA! SONATA!" before finally, the lights dim, the intro music ushers in as Tony Kakko & Co. seem to glide gracefully up to the stage to raucous applause and screaming. "HELLO, LONDON!" screams an excitable Kakko, who leads the band straight into their first song, "In Black & White", taken from the first track of their most recent album, 2007's "Unia". Immediately there's an uproar among the fans, fists pounding, moshpits circling with such vigour, and a sea of voices which at times seem to dampen Kakko's vocals, although Kakko responds in a display of utter glee.
It's live that you really get to envisage Kakko's talent not just as a gifted vocalist, but as a strong frontman with a real obvious bond with his fans. He runs back and forth to the side of the stage, jumping up and down like an excited child, as well as interacting, even playing games, with the fans! Midway through the set, the others descend from the stage, while Kakko brings forward a drum-stool, lowers his microphone stand, grabs his drumstick and teaches the crowd to be his "live drum-kit", with the crowd divided into groups of 3; one to make the sound of the hi-hat, one to do the bass drum and the last to the snare. Using his drumsticks to "play" the crowd, he then creates a beat exactly like that of Queen's "We Will Rock You", singing the lines so powerfully that it made each and everyone of us scream the chorus in response; Kakko's knack as a Pied Piper to his audience is so obvious and thoroughly enjoyable. I'd also have to take a second here and thank Kakko for the hilarity he too provides, in particular when he singled out myself and a poor girl as starters for "group 1" [AKA the hi-hat], before greeting our embarrassment with an excitable hello! I just had to laugh and wave back. Mr. Kakko, I hope you don't mind me mentioning this because that alone made the night spectacular.

Alongside Kakko is his right-hand man, guitarist Mr. Viljanen, who leads the band with his staggering riffs and insane solos, glaring and swinging his head like a madman. Kakko takes great joy in constantly air-guitaring alongside Elias, who joins in the fun by "strumming" Kakko's makeshift guitar in the form of a mike stand. Henrik really shows off his keyboard skills, his fingers dancing away at light speed, the concentration just etching on his face, as he gives bassist Marko a look as if to challenge him to go faster. Although I was fairly unimpressed with Marko's lack of moves upon the stage and facial expressions, his stony stare while churning out guttural churning from his bass really gives Sonata that defined darkened edge to their mostly light-hearted, fist-pumping action. Tommy, whose physical presence was barely noticeable beyond the drum-kit, made up for it greatly in his drumming, sounding like waves crashing upon the rocks, while simmering down to a gentle heartbeat for the more slower, moving numbers.
With 2 encores at the end, each time the band came back, the crowds yells become more deafening while the grin etched on Kakko's face just seemed to grow wider. At the time of farewell, Kakko is the last man standing; dishing out "invisible hugs" (by wrapping his arms around himself), blowing kisses and constantly telling the crowd how much he loves them, which was so apparent by tonight's excellent performance. Let's hope it won't be long before our Norwegian heroes return to give us another outstanding show.

~ Liz, ©DEFUNCTPHOTOGRAPHY

Note: All photos/words are copyrighted to the owner, ©DEFUNCT PHOTOGRAPHY. DO NOT take any material without the Owner's consent.

ANONYMOUS Vs. THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY PROTEST: "OPERATION FAIR GAME: STOP"

OPERATION: FAIR GAME: STOP

Anonymous, the leaderless internet group who have finally invaded real life to raise awareness worldwide to the Church of Scientology's abuses, have returned for a forth time to protest at the Church's London Headquarters in Queen Victoria Street before travelling onwards to the Dianetics Centre situated in Tottenham Court Road.
"Fair Game" derives from a term the Church use to harass anyone who openly criticises the Church. These actions have come in the form of verbal/physical abuse, framing, exposing critics' personal lives/secrets, stalking and even suing. Thus, why members of Anonymous wear masks, most notably the V For Vendetta Mask, to protect their identities as well as represent "One Voice". Hubbard himself once said:

"SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed."

Paulette Cooper herself was embroiled in fair-game tactics after writing 1971's "The Scandal Of Scientology". The Church infamously attacked her in disturbingly-titled missions such as Operation Freakout and Operation Snow White. Also not forgetting the most famous, Panorama's "Scientology and Me", where BBC reporter John Sweeney loses his temper with the Church after days of being followed and harassed.
Just ask the many critics and Ex-Scientologists who have gathered in Central London to raise their concerns and issues to the public who, not surprisingly, don't know very much concerning the Church, who have not been given religious status in the U.K.
The Church Of Scientology was born from the mind of controversial American sci-fi writer, L. Ron Hubbard. In 1950, he published "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health", a self-help book Hubbard believed would cure your mind and body of negative thoughts/issues. He strongly believed that mental and psychosomatic physical problems are caused by traumatic recordings entitled "engrams" that are stored in the "reactive mind". With Dianetics, Hubbard stated that with his techniques you can achieve the state of "Clear", leaving the individual able to live a life devoid of illnesses, negativity and so forth. Of course, Hubbard's techniques and beliefs have been widely ridiculed and slated since Scientology's internship, but critics of the Church in both the past and present, have paid a heavy price for speaking out.
Infact, during today's protest, one young protester is given a court summons for having the words "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult" printed on a banner. He was warned by the Police and read the Section 5 Public Order Act of 1986, but in response, read out the following quote by Judge Justice Latey:

"Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious...It is corrupt sinister and dangerous. It is corrupt because it is based on lies and deceit and has its real objective money and power for Mr. Hubbard... It is sinister because it indulges in infamous practices both to its adherents who do not toe the line unquestionably and to those who criticize it or oppose it. It is dangerous because it is out to capture people and to indoctrinate and brainwash them so they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult, withdrawn from ordinary thought, living, and relationships with others."

Before declaring that he would not take the banner down. He was issued the summons and the banner was subsequently removed. This has provoked an outcry amongst fellow protesters as well as many individuals who strongly advocate the freedom of speech. Apparently, members of the Church have strongly complained to the Police about the use of the word "Cult" in the protest, leading the City of Police manning the first half of the protest at QVS to reiterate that the use of Cult according to the Racial and Religious Hatred Act is "hatred against persons on religious ground", although according to members of Anonymous, they are NOT protesting against the beliefs of Scientology, but the abuses and wrongdoings of the Church, and the law carefully stating that you CAN ridicule/criticise a religion freely.

[Click on the following pictures for a full high res version!]

The Church have had a lot to say on Anonymous, slamming them for being "cyber-terrorists" and "bigots", even accusing them of being paid by Pharmaceutical companies to protest, but it's very hard to see any hostile or terrorist-like feeling when Anonymous are rick-rolling to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" and offering the public free cake!
Much chanting ensues, with chants such as "Ron is gone, but the cult goes on!" , "We have cake, they have lies! and "That is a chicken, that is a cult!" (the "chicken" in reference to a KFC two doors down!) and Anonymous are very happy to oblige in engaging with the public, explaining their cause and giving out as much information as possible.
Amongst the entertainment, we have the lovely married couple Richard and Bonnie Woods, both Ex-Scientologists who escaped years ago, but suffered from the Church in terms of many lawsuits, and even members of the Church picketing outside their home.
Throughout the day, members of the Church choose to remain behind the doors or stand gingerly outside attempting to hand out leaflets. Scarily enough, several times you will notice members of the Church slyly photographing/filming from the windows, some even coming outside to take photos and film the protest. Is this the Church trying to catch out members unmasked? Is this all part of the "Fair Game" policy Anonymous are raising awareness to?
What really makes this protest shine through though is the humour and happiness the members of Anonymous bring, in deep contrast with what appears to be a very dark and depressive state the Church seems to be swallowed up in. It's quite the match when a Sci-fi invented "Cult" comes face to face with the Internet.

-- Liz, ©DEFUNCTPHOTOGRAPHY 10/05/08

A very interesting and complex situation involved. I invite both Scientologists and Anonymous members/Critics to comment on the whole situation, your opinions and so forth. It's vital that we hear both sides.

Anonymous' fifth protest is to occur on June 14th, comically entitled "OPERATION: SEA ARRRGH!"

TO FIND OUT FURTHER ON THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY/ANONYMOUS' FIGHT, PLEASE CHECK OUT:

THE OFFICIAL CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY WEBSITE
SCIENTOLOGY RELIGION: EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
WHY WE PROTEST DOT NET
XENU TV DOT COM
ENTURBULATION DOT ORG FORUMS
WHY ARE THEY DEAD DOT NET

TO FIND OUT MORE ON THE "FAIR GAME POLICY", EITHER GOOGLE SAID POLICY OR LOOK UP: SHAWN LONSDALE, PAULETTE COOPER, RICHARD & BONNIE WOODS AND BOB MINTON.


Note: All photos/words are copyrighted to the owner, ©DEFUNCT PHOTOGRAPHY. DO NOT take any material without the Owner's consent.