We caught up with friend of the brand and general rad dude Alex Knox to talk about his upcoming book Future Memory, this book includes live unpublished shots of a bunch of bands including DZ deathrays, PUP, Pist Idiots, Ruby Fields, Los Scallywags, WAAX, Totally Unicorn, Cancer Bats, Justice for the Damned, Mild West, Mini Skirt, Fungas, White Blanks, The Pinheads, Children Collide and Alphawolf to name a few.
"Future Memory" sounds like an exciting project capturing live shots. What is the inspiration behind the book's title and how it reflects your approach to photography in the world of live music?
Future Memory started as a “best of works” but without sounding cliche and boring wanted to challenge myself and reflect on the people I’ve met, the communities I’ve made to feel a part of and sort of thank you to the memories I’ve made.
When approaching photography I always try to capture something a little different. Part of me thinks this is a bit wanky but I have always been intrigued by the outcasts, the weirdos, and people being their true selves which has led me to capture things a little differently and I suppose that ties into Future Memory being a reflective practice to this crew.
Gig photography often requires quick thinking and capturing fleeting moments. How did you prepare yourself for a gig, do you just rapid-fire and hope you capture something or are you trying to get the perfect shot at the perfect angle or are you trying to just capture the energy?
When shooting a gig I will always nerd out. Know the headliners and what their top 3 songs are and how the crowd will react. I will then listen and get to know the supports too and find a rhythm with lighting, introduce myself before the gig too, and ask if I can do (x) or try (y) to get something different.
I enjoy bands that put a lot of energy into their shows and the smaller the venue in my opinion the better. It shows a core group of people there for the right reasons and the energy is always matched by the crowd.
As a photographer, and someone who goes to shows often, what do you hope viewers will take away from this book?
I’m hoping for just a little reflection on themselves. To consider when at a show with 5 or 5000 people they can stop and reflect that at this moment you are one with the people around you and the music. Covid really broke the Australian music scene and it's slowly coming back but having this downtime I saw a lot of mates really struggle and it’s made me grateful for the moments I had prior and since.
What did you mostly shoot with gear-wise for this book?
The majority of these are shot with a Canon 7Dmkii, 5dmkiii and 5dmkiv.
There are a few film shots from the Olympus 35rc, Canon AE1 and Pentax K1000 also.
What was one of the most challenging situations you can remember shooting photos for this?
Probably shooting Skeggs “Up in the Clouds Tour” at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. With support from Dumb Punts and Los Scallywaggs.
This was just the biggest gig I had shot at this point in time.
It was actually my birthday on the 10th of june 2018, turning a young 23, and I was nervous as fuck.
I was asked by Nat from Los Scallys if I was able to shoot a month or so before and I was keen as.
This meant backstage pass, huge stage, proper seccys, barriers, the works. I was shitting.
I thought I was so out of place as I believed, (and still do to some extent) that my photography and point of view is not worthy of me being on the other side of the barrier, let alone the fucking stage.
But in saying that. Nothing went wrong at all.
I feel like having that much space allowed me to view all angles and I think having fresh eyes to that level of production allowed me to take in everything and view that in a bit more detail to someone who may be only “after that shot.”
I felt like I caught the small details, the things that would often go by the wayside.
I still second guess myself but I know now that I am able to view things in a different way and I appreciate that.
Alex's book is for presale at https://alexknoxcreative.com/prints/9dh3e0kdyr7unrwtork4mmi924wze8
