All posts by Piercing Ken

I'm a Freelance Music Photojournalist from NYC and Founder of the Heavy Metal website PiercingMetal.com; I created this blog site to showcase the other things in life that keep my interest or catch my attention. Believe me that is a lot of stuff to talk about when it comes down to it. I hope you enjoy what we are delivering because there is so much to share as a resident of this bustling metropolis.

Seasons Of Winter (being shared in the Summer)

I know that it’s the middle of Summer, but so what. It’s hot outside and there are days when it is next to impossible to get cool or comfortable. Let’s face it, in the big city, there are only so many clothes one can take off in public without getting arrested 🙂 Anyways, while going through photo folders recently I came across these images that were just perfect to be shared during the hot summer months. They were taken a few years ago when I spent the weekend with friends who have a house in the Poconos. It was cold that weekend but not bone numbing in terms of wind or chill so we did a little wandering together to see the surrounding area.

Continue reading Seasons Of Winter (being shared in the Summer)

A Summerstage Soiree with Imelda May & Wanda Jackson (7/27/2011)

Readers of my PiercingMetal.com site know full well that I see a LOT of concerts with journalistic intent in mind but it is rare that I am actually the guest of another provider of similar entertainment.  I sometimes kid with my fellow media peeps how my simply going to a show to just “enjoy it” was difficult and that I always felt compelled to bring some kind of visual image or story to the masses after the fact no matter who it was.  That being said when our own Skeleton Pete was preparing to cover the Wanda Jackson/Imelda May show at Central Park’s Summerstage for his eponymous blog, I was more than happy to be the guest that came with his credentials.   The show was free for this particular outdoor event, but there are ones that are pay to enter.  Here is the marquee for the show.

The Succinct Marquee

Continue reading A Summerstage Soiree with Imelda May & Wanda Jackson (7/27/2011)

Playing “Frogger” in Newburgh, NY

OK, so perhaps the title of this blog posting is a little deceiving but it did get your attention and bring you here and that is all that matters to me.  The two photos of this little jasper of a frog were snapped on a recent visit upstate to my friends place in Newburgh, NY.  It was late on Saturday evening and this guy was hanging on to the door frame and just loving life it would seem.

My friends said that while they had seen many frogs up in their neck of the woods they had not yet seen any that small or in this color.  I rushed for my trusty Lumix to snare a few shots of the little guy and then let him go about his evening business.  I tried to not disturb him or frighten him and was out of his way in seconds.

I’m not really sure what kind of frog he is but he was about the size of a quarter.  Perhaps in truth a little bigger but he was not even the size of a half dollar coin if any of you remember what those were.  I loved being able to snap this since nature always reminds us of how magnificent this planet is.

Holy Hot Zone Batman!!! The City Is Cooking Out There!!!

With NYC getting its heat on and cooking both tourists and residents alike, I was compelled to share this photo with the readers of the PiercingKen blogsite.  I happened upon this sight last week actually and am very glad to see this kind of thing being offered to the public especially on days such as this.  If you cannot tell what it is, it is pretty much just a long sink with several drinking fountains on the top of it.  It is connected to a fire hydrant and offers the passerby a drink of ice cold NYC water.  We do have the best of that stuff by far so do partake if you see one of these.  On days like this you will surely need to indulge.  At the moment of this writing NYC was dealing with a 100 degrees temperature and the humidity made it a lot worse.  It was one of those two or three shower days for sure.

Here’s a slightly different view of the communal sink basin.  It reminded me a lot of the things I used to use in grammar school days.

"Drink Up - It's Free"

Stop, Hey, What’s That Sound? It’s East Village Radio Dude…

Check this out. Several days ago I was wandering the Lower East Side of NYC with Skeleton Pete as we were looking to kill some time before hitting a gig at Piano’s NYC.   The band we were going to see was not coming on until late so that left us some time to walk around and grab some food and drink before indulging in the always amazing music scene of the Big Apple.   As we walked down East Houston street and turned onto 1st Avenue, Pete said “hey aren’t we near where they broadcast East Village Radio from?” and I had to admit that I did not have a clue what he was talking about.

As we walked across the avenue at around 2nd Street it would seem he was correct and we were near this space and since I did not really know what it was I inquired.  It is apparently a 24-7 radio station that streams online and has a number of different deejays who spin different genres of music on their shows.  The deejays are all volunteer so I am assuming this is more of ones musical passion than about a daily paycheck.  I snapped a couple of photos of the relatively nondescript storefront for good measure to give you a little bit of a visual sense of what kind of space you are dealing with.  It did not seem large to my eyes but since we needed to keep moving and with the show currently being “On Air” I did not poke my head in to mention I was a wandering journalist who wanted a few more pics.  There is always another time and I can append new images to the end of this posting if need be.

The idea and existence of this appealed to me immediately because this is a powerful means for new music to get heard and for those who might have a skill at delivering it to make a name for themselves.  To me, this is being more of a chance to establish oneself as radio deejay than we find you being able to become on mediums like Blog Talk Radio do based on its direct focus to genres and how you are able to deliver the music.  I love some of the programming and personality found on BTR but I have to admit that sometimes it is a task and a half finding what I like.  There is a Metal program on EVR and its currently run by a pair of brothers and one of these dudes is in the band Natur (which I learned after doing a little digging around).  Clearly everyone is doing a number of things with their day to keep busy and this encourages me to keep sharing thoughts, photos and ideas with the larger public.

Skeleton Pete mentioned this seemed like something fun to do if there was ever the opportunity and I think working musicians should be looking into the shows that apply to their genre in order to reach even more people with their sound.  The link to East  Village Radio is below and I hope that you check them out and give them a little attention.  It’s really incredible and true that something awesome is around every corner of New York City.

Official Website: http://www.eastvillageradio.com/