The Story So Far Rocketown Nashville, TN 11/14/15

The Story So Far performing at Rocketown in Nashville, TN on 11/14/15

Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, & Sevendust Huntsville, AL 11/11/15

Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, and Sevendust at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, AL on 11/11/15. Taken for RockRevolt Magazine. Enjoy!

Aiden The Last Sunrise Farewell Tour Atlanta, GA 11/9/15

Aiden's Farewell tour, where they played Nightmare Anatomy in its entirety. Shot from the top of the speaker stack in Hell at Masquerade in Atlanta, GA. Enjoy!

Voodoo Festival New Orleans 10/30-31/15

I had the opportunity to shoot the 2015 Voodoo Music Festival in New Orleans for RockRevolt Magazine. Enjoy these shots! They are very special to me.

Hanson Roots of Rock and Roll Tour New Orleans, LA 10/22-23/15

My favorite band of all time, Hanson. Shot from the crowd over a two night period at the House of Blues in New Orleans on their 2015 Roots of Rock N Roll Tour. Enjoy!

Nothing More Zydeco Birmingham, AL 10/6/15

The Monster Energy Outbreak Tour featuring Nothing More, The Color Morale, Turbowolf, and Separations at Zydeco in Birmingham, AL on October 6th, 2015. Enjoy!

Interview with Chad Staehly from Hard Working Americans

Tour starts today. What can we expect from that?

Well, we’ve got a few new songs that we’re gonna be performing tonight that are gonna be coming out on this record early next year so we’re excited to play some new songs and this is our first show together since last December, so it’s been quite a while since we’ve had a chance to play together. Everyone’s super excited.

Is there a city that you’re most looking forward to on this tour?

There’s a bunch of great stops on this run of shows between festivals and playing a bunch of our favorite places. One of our favorite shows from last summer was actually at Iron City in Birmingham. We’re looking forward to getting back there as much as anywhere.

What do you think are some of the struggles facing touring bands right now?

Well, I mean money. [laughs] There’s no other way to put it. It’s so expensive to tour, even if you’re crammed into a hotel room and downsizing as much as possible, just gas for a van and a hotel room every night is $500 plus, so it’s always a money thing that makes touring difficult. And then there’s the thing of a band can be like a marriage and it’s a very intense relationship with your bandmates and top of that you work together every day, you travel together everyday, you’re usually sleeping in close quarters, so navigating all that personal stuff is tough too, but I think the money thing is the most difficult piece of touring. A lot of bands come home from the road broke.

Do you have a favorite aspect of touring?

Well it’s the music. I always tell people that we get paid to be truck drivers or travelers and music is our hobby. That’s our passion and that’s what we love to do so those few hours of getting to play music is what makes everything else so worth it.

Do you have a strange or memorable moment from the road?

[Laughs] There’s a big ole’ list of those. Let me see if I can come up with a recent one. Just last night as we left for tour to head to Virginia, we hung up our tour poster on the wall and used this new app that will make a picture talk so now there’s a female head on our poster and now we’ve started to make her talk and say things and we’re calling her the voice of reason and she’s going to post something everyday.

The members of Hard Working Americans come from several different backgrounds and different eclectic bands. How do you find a happy medium when y'all are playing together?

Right now, it’s not anyone’s main project, although we all want to continue to do more and more with it, this band is a refuge for everyone. Everyone wants to be here doing this. We’re all having fun doing it. There’s no pressure. It’s just a fun thing. That’s what drives everyone to show up and do this together. It’s a lot of fun.

Would you consider Hard Working Americans a concept band?

You know, some could argue that. Todd, our lyricist and writer, he’ll think of an album in terms of a screenplay or a movie and he was the one that named the band so he certainly had some thoughts behind how this band was supposed to go. As far as I understand, of course, the guys who get up at 6 o’clock in the morning and go put in 12 hour shifts at the paper mill or the factory, they’re no doubt hard working Americans. But people from other walks of life are hard working Americans too

Do you have a personal favorite Hard Working Americans song?

I would say right now that it’s one of the new songs that’s gonna be on the new record. It’s called “Roman Candles” and people should be able to hear that hopefully at one of these shows coming up or when the new record comes out early next year.

What would you say is next for the band?

Putting out this new record. It seemed like everyone reacted really well to the first record, but it was an album recorded of other people’s songs so I think some people looked at like “Oh, these guys are just a supergroup or whatever that is just getting together for fun to do this record of covers.” There was certainly a bit of reaction like that, so to be able to put out a record of music we wrote together and that really carries our own voice, I think that’s exciting for everyone to take that next step together.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Well you know the old saying goes “Never miss a Sunday show” so we would just encourage everyone in Birmingham to show up and make Sunday night feel like a Friday night.

Phish Tuscaloosa Amphitheatre, Tuscaloosa, AL 8/2/15

I had to opportunity to shoot Phish on their summer tour stop in Tuscaloosa, AL. Enjoy!

To My Friends...

As I near the end of my teen years, I have been reminiscing more than normal.

I've been thinking of my favorite album that came out 15 years ago (Hanson's This Time Around) and how I am actually old enough to remember something that happened so long ago.

For the 10 months I have been 19, my life has been blessed with some of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Starting in September 2014, my birthday month, I interviewed a band for the school paper who happened to be making a stop in Tuscaloosa.

I asked them my standard list of questions via email and wrote the piece like normal and I met up with them at the venue later in the day to give them a copy of the article.

I did not know it then, because if I had, I would have cherished the moment more, but this band would give me more laughs in a three hour time span than most people get in a life time.

My boys in Atlas Road Crew hold a special place in my heart and to this day, the article I wrote about them is still one of my favorites. There are also not many bands who can get away with saying "Roll Tide" in a radio interview 37 times or who can make me fall out of my chair while on-air from excitement.

Backtracking to July 2014, I went to see Birmingham band Maylene & The Sons of Disaster at Zydeco. Never in a million years would I have thought the local opening band would end up being the brightness to my dark moments.

While I did not meet this band that day in July, let's fast forward to October.

One of my favorite bands, AFI, was playing at Iron City. In a strange turn of events, I ended up meeting the bassist and guitar player for the band I saw in July and I recognized them instantly.

After talking to them for almost an hour, I just knew these guys were going to be my best friends. And I was right.

Eventually, I met the other two members of Sinema (and one's significant other) and since then, those boys have shown me a type of love and friendship that I did not know was feasible.

Ending our timeline of firsts, in January of 2015, I met up with the bassist from the aforementioned band at a bar in Tuscaloosa.

That was the day I learned not to take life so seriously.

This last group of guys taught me what it truly means to be a Wildcard.

My friends in Ensul have shown me what it feels like to be truly appreciated for the work that I do. They are the goofiest, silliest, dorkiest, sweetest, most unpredictable, and kind-hearted guys I know.

All of this being said, my friends mean the world to me and I still wonder what I did to deserve these boys in my life.

They will always take precedent over everything I do.

These three groups make me want to be a better person, push myself just a little bit harder, and love with all my heart.

I always look forward to the days when I can be in their presences.

When I look back on my life again one day, I will look back at my 19th year and remember how loved and appreciated I felt.

If you're lucky, you'll find friends like mine.

One of my favorite "friendship" lyrics comes from Rise Against's Swing Life Away:

"I've got some friends, some that I hardly know. But we've had some times, I wouldn't trade for the world."

I've always been one to believe that friendship is not about who has been there the longest. It is about who came and never left.

To Atlas Road Crew: Max, Taylor, Bryce, Dave, and Patrick; Sinema: Nathan, Cody, Jeremy (Kyle), and Andrew; and Ensul: Stephen, Tristan, Austin, and Adam, thank you for helping me find my place in the world and teaching me what it truly means to love someone more than yourself.

Thank you for showing me what it means to be a best friend.

For that I will forever be grateful.

I love you guys.

- Kinsey 

Warped Tour Atlanta July 2nd, 2015

Enjoy these photos from the Atlanta stop of the 2015 Vans Warped Tour!