HOLD THAT POSE!!!!!

In 1997, we entertained a photographer at our Phoenix home, who had been flown in, courtesy of a guitar magazine. We didn't know it at that time, but in walked Glen LaFerman, one of the hottest rock photographers in the business and soon-to-be-in-the-future-adopted-friend/family-member!! He has our family's life in photos going back to Soulfly 1, and even took my favorite shot ever, of Max and me.

Photo by Glen LaFerman

I will never forget that first day....after the shoot was over, Glen said he wanted too chill in our backyard, by the pool. Of course we were cool with it !! A few minutes later, when I looked out the kitchen window, there was Glen, standing and loving life, but stripped down to his Tidey Whiteys! Max was like "whoa, there are young girls here; can you put your pants on?" We all laughed and said "those Californians!" Jokingly, of course! Glen decided to spend the night, so we offered him a private room at Christina's apartment. When she woke in the morning and couldn't find Glen, she went outside. He was soaking up the Arizona sunshine, drinking a beer and smoking his cig, in his Tidey Whiteys, on her balcony! We still crack up at this!




Glen's history as a rock photographer has been unmatched. From his first band member shoot ever, which was the famous Corky Laing from Mountain, to KISS, to Bob Marlie, he has more notches on his camera strap than any photographer I have had the pleasure of working with! He was the staff photographer for RIP Magazine, all the guitar mags and countless recording sessions. He has shot Eddie Van Halen since the beginning of his career. His photos of Ozzy wearing the maid's dress in his hotel, made me smile! KISS has adorned their tour books, clothing and lunch boxes with Glen's shots. And we all have seen the photos in the Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset....all Glen's visions.

Glen was very honored to show Max and me the Max shot, he had placed in the Rainbow. We were surprised to see Max in there with the heavyweights....Slash, Eddie, Gene Simmons, Ginger Baker, Ozzy, Jeff Beck... Unfortunately some time later, a cunning fox made off with all the photos in the room where Max's photo was!




Glen's studio is in his living room. Through the years, he has perfected every shadow in his black and white portfolio, in this very location. His walls are a museum of rock history. One room has so many magazine covers on the wall, you can't even focus on them! They are only a fraction of his work! Recently, Max and I paid Glen a visit. I had Max detain him while I snuck a few shots for the blog, without Glen's knowing! Glen, if you are reading this...it has been an honor to know you, to work with you and to reminisce with you. You have graciously shot our family through time, even capturing Incite through their evolution and Zyon and Igor's Moldbreaker to Lody Kong transition!! Long after we are all gone, your photos will tell our story!

One of our favorite times was going to Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, for a SIT String's shoot. The ballpark was just starting construction and had many photogenic opportunities. Unfortunately, soon after starting the shoot, a foreman walked up and kicked us out. Max said "it's ok. I am going to play here some day when you finish building!" We laughed and snuck around to another corner and did the deal!! Secretly, Glen shot photos of Max and me, and the shots of Max with his guitar. And guess what...on December 31, 1998, Soulfly opened the New Year's Evil Ozzy festival, and became the first Metal band to ever play Bank One Ballpark!




We all have seen your Bob Marlie shots, taken only a couple months before he succumbed to cancer. The expressions and emotions in this shoot are some of the most intense Marlie shots in existence. Recently, Glen was honored with a display and plaque inside the Bob Marlie museum in Jamaica. It is a honor well earned. The music world of business and fans can never thank you enough for the history you have logged and given us!!!! Very proud to be a part of it!!

Class dismissed.....

GRAB YOUR HEADPHONES!!! WE ARE GOING IN THE VOCAL BOOTH!!!

The sky was blue as we rounded the curves, inching up the Malibu Hills. Max and I were up front. He was listening to the newly recorded Itsari, relaxed that his dream was now a reality. Dana, Zyon and Igor were jamming in the back seat. It was a relaxing drive, an exciting time. There was no reason for despair. None of us knew, or could even imagine the horrors stretched out in the future. For me, it was one blessed day out of the one year that I had 7 living children. If we could only turn back time...


Indigo Ranch Recording Studio had her arms open, waiting for us. It was a historic day, but none of us knew. Max was about to start tracking the vocals for ROOTS. Max, Dana and Zyon went directly to the vocal booth, while I tucked a sleeping Igor in the corner, in his carseat. Our moods were uplifted, electric, hopeful.


The three guys got headphones and I manned the video camera. Even young Zyon was full of anticipation! Come join us now, for that magical moment. You can hear Dana's necklaces, echoing a tribal chant as he grooved with Max and Zyon, as the first lyrics were laced into the music. Let's time travel to a dark vocal booth that also vanished, thanks to calamity. Let's return to ROOTS!!

Class dismissed.......

PROUD TO COMMIT COMMERCIAL SUICIDE!!!!

Nailbomb is a cult....a record that became timeless. It isn't disco, or '60's rock, or classical. Like Dana, it never grew old. It hits you smack in the face with brutal riffs and even harder lyrics! Nailbomb was a joke that transcended time. POINT BLANK is still my favorite album of all!! Songs like Sum of Your Achievements and Sick Life make you want to punch a wall. There will never be another record like it. And one day, there will never be another unseen photo, but the music will steadily walk into the ages.

Dana recorded the progress of Nailbomb...the writing, the recording and finally, the live shows. He even happened to be walking through the hallway of our home when I approached Max and Alex with my idea to make a band from the music they were killing time making. One day, somewhere in time, a DVD will come out and capture the real story. The tapes are still neatly tucked in my archives, waiting for the hands that will guide it into Metal history.



I came across the last photos, taken by Dana one afternoon, after the recording had wrapped. Nailbomb was always about extremes and gun shops seemed pretty extreme to 2 young men born outside the US. Alex would trip on the signs and stores selling guns in Phoenix. It seemed like a good spot to shoot some images.

Coming home, Max went in the backyard and spray painted 1000% HATE on our fence. Dana shot some cool photos there, too. People would turn a crooked eye in our backyard after that, wondering what the hell it stood for! One day, when Max and I were away on tour, a thunderstorm tore the fence down and the builders replacing it, tossed the fence away. Long gone, but still preserved here.

There were only a couple shows for Nailbomb, one being the Dynamo Festival, with its 120,000 ragers! You may get the chance soon to hear these songs live...they may be modern-ed up a bit, but I can assure you, they won't be compromised! Alex is a successful producer now, and we all know what Max has been up to! Sometimes paths change, but art is forever!!


Class dismissed......

1989....EASTERN EUROPE OPENS UP

In a couple years, it will be 30 years that I have been on the road. Times have changed; Metal has evolved, but the fans are still the same...ravenous!!

Europe has changed dramatically! Open borders, the Euro, even the English language has seeped into every day life! Now, we have cell phones instead of pay phones on the side of the road, that you never had the right coins for! No more stopping at every border, getting out in the freezing cold and proving you are you! Dogs that once sniffed drugs, now sniff for explosives. And the wall...that damn Berlin Wall, sold now in gift shops instead of having murdered bodies draped over it, and armed military patrolling it. I have seen many changes in the world, that's a definite fact.

Eastern Europe was always special to me. Mom was from Yugoslavia and much of my childhood was spent listening to her stories about the war and growing up in Europe. I was fascinated by it. When I got the chance to take Sacred Reich to Eastern Europe, I jumped at the opportunity. I had a new band that I had discovered from a demo tape called Chemical Dependency...Atrophy, from Tucson, Arizona. I landed them a deal with Roadrunner Records. They were quite new and couldn't land a tour, so I asked them to tech for Sacred Reich on an extensive run I had in Europe. They could tech and earn the cost of the airfare and travel, and perform at the same time.

Entering Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia for the first time was thrilling! I felt like I was finally coming full circle with some of my ancestors. The front of house engineer, Nino Notaro, was often as adventurous as me. We spent our first "sausage and beer on the side of the road in Czechoslovakia together!" Everything was different. All the buildings were painted in Socialist Grey...no color anywhere!!

The shows were packed and the fans went crazy! In many of the cities, we were the first American Metal bands to hit their moshpits. Basically, there were 2 kinds of Metal back then-Hair Metal and Thrash. Metalheads were all of the same family. Black band shirts were the only apparel, coupled with patched up jean vests, which only recently hits the US Metalwear scene. Let's not forget the black leather biker coats and Dr Martens! Max says Christina and I are the first girls he ever saw wear Dr Martens!

30 years later and I know my way around most cities. I have a network of true friends I get to see when I am working. Our bus breezes through borders and countries with ease. When I need to contact someone, I just pick up my cell phone and talk. Gone are the headaches of monthly $6000 phone bills! Facebook and emailing allows me to contact my friends far in advance, to warn them I am on my way! My family can FaceTime me, keeping us all close. Heck, we didn't even have video recorders or even pagers, in the good old '80's! Cameras were a luxury, and developing film costly. Half of your photos could be crap and you still had to pay to develop them!

Even the dance in the pit has changed through the years. Headbanging gave way to stage diving, gave way to kung fu fighting, circle pits and walls of death! But the Tribe still picks you up when you fall, hurls themselves over the barricade and try their damn-ness to get a pick!! And the photos!!!! I must have taken a million photos of Max with fans!! Some things never change..they just evolve!!


Class dismissed......