Kevin Vyse

Big Wreck & Texas King - But For The Sun Tour 2019

November 24, 2019

Big Wreck was a staple for me in the 90’s and later when Big Wreck Front-man, Ian Thornley started his Solo project “ Thornley “ that was also a love of mine. When it was announced that Big Wreck was coming to London Music Hall I instantly applied to shoot it. Getting the opportunity to be that close, and in a smaller venue with Big Wreck was an incredible experience and I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity.
Ian and the guys came out strong, their heavy Drop D or C or A .. which ever it is, style with Ian’s soul quenching voice is so melodic and almost hypnotizing, there were a few moments I got caught up in the music and how dead on they sounded, I forgot we only got 3 songs and needed to shoot as much as possible. Ian had a bit of technical malfunction due to what looked like a faulty patch chord, but like the pro he is, he didn’t skip a note or lyric while his guitar tech quickly swapped out the chords and got Ian’s guitar screaming again. A few laughs from the band, a quick “ we got it figured out” from Ian and BAM, right into the next song, very professional. All in All, this show was phenomenal, the sound was bang on, lighting was a bit dark but hey… it looks good to the eye, and tough for photographers, but the show isn’t just for us.. it’s our job to take the light we have and make magic, which is the fun and challenge of it all.

Texas King came out with such energy and passion which, if you’ve seen these guys you know, is their thang! Being from London Ontario and after being out on the road for this tour, they came home to open arms, a sold out show and some big energy. Opening for Big Wreck on this tour is a huge accomplishment, which I’m sure is going to give them even more “street cred” than they already have, these guys are making a big name for themselves and it’s well deserved. Texas King has it.. they have the stage presence, a great sound and some incredible talent. If you haven’t seen/heard Texas King, look them up asap.. I’ve seen these guys a bunch of times now and every time I’m smiling ear to ear because they are just… gold!

TEXAS KING

BIG WRECK

Tillsonburg ON Turtle Fest

June 17, 2019

Turtle Fest…. figured there would be turtles but sadly… didn’t see one, however there were turtle themed things, lots of vendors, a vintage car show, rock climbing, busking, and much more but what was I there for? …. the bands of course!

Kelsi Mayne, Nice Horse and The Abrams took to the stage for this years Turtle Fest and everyone of these bands just killed it! As many of you know I’ve had the amazing opportunity to work one on one with the lovely Kelsi Mayne and have photographed her and her band many times in the last year live. Not only is Kelsi a sweet heart but her band are genuine people, funny, and appreciative of where they are and what they have accomplished so far. This show was another success, playing all the hits, getting the crowd going, they sounded great, looked good and even played a new tune that no one has heard before “ S.O.S “ .. now that this blog is a few days old.. others have heard it.. if you were at the Sound Of Music Festival in Burlington On. this past weekend and saw Kelsi perform, you now know that song too.

Nice Horse, damn! this all female, energetic, amazing stage presence band is incredible… this was only the 2nd time I’ve seen them & shot them, first time being at JunoFest during the Juno’s week in London at Bull & Barrel and both times i’m just blown away by their performance. Nice Horse have these amazing vocal harmonies that vibrate through your entire body making you really feel their songs. Running around on stage interacting with one another, leaning on one another, guitars and basses up in the air, their drummer, Krista comes up to the front and sings, she has a stomp pedal to make sure the heart beat of the band is always pumping.. even a single snare drum on a stand off to the right of the stage so she can stand there and beat the hell out of it….. their whole performance is an incredible one to watch.

The Abrams, a name I’ve heard many times but never experienced live until now and let me tell you.. I was floored. They carry so much energy with them, also amazing vocal harmonies.. songs that are happy, are sad.. slow and fast it’s a great mix. From the Abrams I saw a fiddler jumping all over, a singer and guitarist kneeling down, almost praising a fiddle solo, a guitarist busting out crazy solos while throwing a guitar around.. it was an awesome experience seeing these guys play with such a tight sound and so much energy.

Over all, Turtle Fest was a positive experience, I think the bands had a great time, I know I had a fantastic time and from the smiles on the faces of the crowd, the people down in front dancing and all the kids running around, dancing and laughing.. I think they all had a fun time too!

THE ABRAMS

NICE HORSE

KELSI MAYNE

BOHEMIAN PICNIC

July 18, 2015

She's the kind of woman who loves life, nature, travel and experiences life to the fullest while being thankful for her experiences.

Flower crows, nick nacks, dresses, jewelry... this was the back bone of our shoot. Bohemian Picnic was the theme and our location was in a big backyard which was set up as the bohemian picnic. Cassidy is a good friend of mine and a fantastic Hair Stylist, we have worked with each other for all kinds of different shoots as I'm sure you've seen before in past blog posts.
Not only is Cassidy a wiz with hair, but she was the one who set up this fantastic set to photograph on with all of her own personal Nick Nacks. Weather wise, we were a little worried as it was pretty cloudy and the forecast called for rain, but that wasn't going to stop us. Lucky enough for us it started to clear up and the sun was diffused through the clouds, giving us some nice soft even light.

With music blaring, some wine flowing and the creative juices fired up we started off with the shoot. I wasn't to sure if I was going to use lighting or not, but after snapping a few shots and seeing that the sun was out enough to cause some tough shadows, the lights came out. We wanted to get a bunch of "Hippy-Flower Child" images as well as some creative portfolio work that I had in my back pocket ( The bike shot with the crazy chunky cloud sky).

We had a ton of fun on this shoot along with Cassidy's sister who was on set to help out and watch the shoot go down and see how it's done because she is thinking about doing a shoot of her own in the near future. This shoot lasted about 4-5 hours, it was more of a hang out and shoot kind of thing, just having some fun, getting great shots and experimenting with lighting and different techniques. Hope you enjoy the images from this shoot - Shutter Click.

BOHEMIAN BEAUTY© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015 — BOHEMIAN BEAUTY
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015

BOHEMIAN WOODS © Kevin Vyse Photography 2015 — BOHEMIAN WOODS
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015

IN GOOD LIGHT © Kevin Vyse Photography 2015 — IN GOOD LIGHT
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015

NIGHT RIDE© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015 — NIGHT RIDE
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015

BOHEMIAN BIKE RIDE© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015 — BOHEMIAN BIKE RIDE
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015

FLOWER CHILD© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015 — FLOWER CHILD
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015

BOHEMIAN LIFE© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015 — BOHEMIAN LIFE
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015

PORCELAIN QUEEN© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015 — PORCELAIN QUEEN
© Kevin Vyse Photography 2015

Cowapolooza Festival: THE MUSIC Pt.1

August 17, 2013

A beautiful, warm summer night in August, the sun is setting, the stage is up, people are buzzing all around. Guitars squealing, drums pounding, bass rattling chests and vocals blaring in your ears.

This was the experience you had if you were in Woodstock Ontario, Canada on Friday August 16th 2013. Cowapolooza is a festival that Woodstock puts on every year, full of music, vendors of all sorts, buskers, and small rides for the kids. Held in South Side Park, hundreds of people gather to experience this two day event, and as you can guess, the bands are what drive me to attend each year. In the past we've had acts such as: April Wine, The Stampeders, Thunderstruck ( Canada's best AC/DC cover band), and The Beagles ( A Beatles cover band ). This year Thunderstruck came back to join us and rock out the best AC/DC covers I've ever heard... a band that definitely doesn't disappoint and leaves you wanting more, as well as the band After The Lounge, London Ontario's favourite rock band with an original sound that grabs you hard and blows you away.

I suggest you check out both of these bands and get to a show near you to get the full experience.

AFTER THE LOUNGE: http://www.afterthelounge.com

THUNDERSTRUCK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thunderstruck/16277603667

Facebook was the only webpage I could find on these guys but they're from Toronto and just blew me away with their covers... they are dead on and have an amazing stage presence.

this blog Pt. 1 ... are the images of AFTER THE LOUNGE.
i'm still editing Thunderstrucks images, but they will be posted ASAP.

Shutter Click.