backstage: who are these people?

john hiatt, a critic's favorite singer/songwriter is backed in a corner of his dressing room at the whisky a go go in 1980...it was an industry meet n greet... a function at the junction...DJ's, journalists, contest winners and what have you crowd the star of the evening to have their 15 minutes of a brush with greatness...maybe i'm cynical after so many years of doing this. but to me, hiatt seems tentative and on guard.

so may years of doing this... the people you photograph get used to you; they know who you are; they know you're a professional. there are backstage naifs though...they're either super fans and can't believe they are there meeting you, and end up telling you their whole life story and how you figure into it... or they want a little photo opportunity. that latter is easiest, if they pose and then go.

backstage is a weird place. it is at once your sanctuary before and after you do your show. you have your friends come up and see you there. then you have your duty...your record company, your manager...they come up; that's fine. then you have your job. meeting the public. that's the variable you can't control. that's the contradiction of the backstage space. its meant to be your sanctuary, yet, you have to open your door to strangers...because they are the ones who got you on that particular stage. one other shy guy, a critically acclaimed fellow said, "its hard to be a saint in the city." he knew what he was talking about.



Jack Nitzsche, friend, Hiatt

Jack Nitzsche - now that was a backstage visitor Hiatt wanted to see, and you can see by his demeanor that he's happy to see Jack. and Jack, so accustomed to the Hollywood backstage hustle, looks at the camera to give the final photo a focal point...as he knows John's not looking at the camera.

the late Jack Nitzsche was working with John Hiatt on a track for the soundtrack to William Friedkin's movie in production at that time, Cruising, starring Al Pacino as a cop working underground in the gay subculture looking for a serial killer striking that scene. the soundtrack to the movie was completely produced by Nitzsche and features many contemporary and at the time, heralded underground artists, like Willy de Ville and The Germs.

these backstage situations - where the labels host a meet n greet - these are the ones where you have to fire a flash. you need those flat, brightly lit photos for the trades. i got some of those from this function at the junction...but i couldn't bear to post them because they are flat and brightly lit.

instead.... i give you one of my favorite "backstage" photos that i've taken with a flash: