The Strangers 07/17/2009
The Strangers were the opening band for Social Distortion when they played the Showbox SODO last year. I was approached by their manager who was running their merch booth and asked me if I wanted to interview them. I was under the impression I wasn’t interviewing anyone after Social Distortion’s publicist had informed me that the band wasn’t giving interviews during this leg of the tour. So when he had approached me about an interview, I was a bit surprised and honored as this was my first pro gig. I have to admit the interview was pretty fun and the band was very nice and down to earth. The lead singer kind of reminded me of Corey Feldman a bit.
Their music was very fast-paced and entertaining and the sampler they gave me was a fun listen. I also noticed that Johnny Two Bags (the guitarist for Social Distortion) produced the tracks which was a big surprise to me. The lightening wasn’t the greatest to shoot, but I have noticed that most times the opening band’s lighting isn’t the greatest at the Showbox SODO. They had alot to accomplish by getting the crowd pumped as Civet and Social D were on afterwards. But they did the job and they were fun. I see these guys going places in the near future, and cannot wait for their debut album when it comes out.
Overall this show was fun to shoot and Social Distortion never fails when it comes to live shows. Mike Ness feeds off the crowd like it’s his energy force. I had the opportunity to see them at Endfest 16 back in 2007 and to be honest, they are better when they play a venue like Showbox Sodo. Be sure to check out the photos from that set on my flickr gallery.
