Surfing To Venus

Been sitting on this post for a while now. Got it started and wasn't able to finish it and get it up. Enjoy!

I've known NJ native and Ibanez Guitar endorser Steve Bello since 2003 when he first contacted me at Paragon Music Magazine asking if we'd be interested in checking out his new album. We've been good friends ever since and I've been lucky enough to hear and see his music evolve over the years. 

I've photographed and interviewed Steve and his bandmates on a few occasions, and back in March I decided to head up to the rehearsal studio they rented for the day to check out the new tunes as they ready them for the new album. I brought my Canon 5D Mark II with me and some video lighting and decided to put together a music video for Steve so that he could share it around the web and give people a taste of what the new music will sound like.

Like many artistic endeavors, when I got ready to edit it, I wasn't seeing exactly what I had hoped I'd gotten, so the idea had to be redrawn in my head. Life took over and it got pushed back to make room for other projects. Then, late last week, I got a message from Steve saying a Rock zine in Japan is interested in running a feature on him and would like some photos and video to use with it. Steve already had plenty of photos that I'd taken for him, but the video was still unfinished. This was the spark under my butt that I needed to finally complete the piece. 

So over the course of about 3.5 days I sat back down and re-edited the video. I posted it to my Vimeo account and we've been spreading it around the web. It's gotten over 250 hits in less than 3 days, which is a great number in our minds, as we're both still pretty unknown outside of our own circles. This could be very good for us both though, as it makes a great portfolio piece for me and a great way to build some hype around the new album. Recording of the new music will begin September 12, and the CD should be out late this year or early next year. Grammy Award-winning producer Johnnie Truesdale will be at the helm making sure all the sliders are in place.

Here's a little background info on how it was shot and edited:

• Canon 5D Mark II
• Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Image Stabilizer  Autofocus Lens
• (2) 500w Impact continuous tungsten lights
• Rode VideoMic
• Shot in 3 takes, one of each band member
• Edited in Final Cut Express

Special thanks to Joe DeMott (bass) for supplying me with a dual copy of the audio from each take. He recorded it on a rack recorder that he brings around to all practices and rehearsals. It allowed me to double up the audio in sections where the VideoMic failed to pick up certain sounds or tones.

Without any further delay, I give you: Surfing To Venus

Steve Bello Band - "Surfing To Venus" (Rehearsal Demo) from DIGImmortal Photo on Vimeo.