To make a splendid photographer, there has to be an element of trust between the subject and the photographer.
Ross Halfin has it in ten-folds. Beginning with landmark British publications like
Sounds,
Melody Maker, and
NME in the Seventies, Ross has since grown into a giant of his field. His list of photographic conquests is extensive, but it includes regular sessions with Jimmy Page, Aerosmith, Jeff Beck, and the Who. Ross has also gained a bit of notoriety for penning a titillatingly frank diary, documenting his everyday life and work. As such, he has obtained a reputation as a brutally honest, no-nonsense kind of guy. Getting to know him, he is also revealed to be an incredibly kind, generous, and intelligent man. After all, taking a chance on an inexperienced journalist and treating her to a dazzling evening is generous, is it not? (He introduced me to Jimmy Page, for fuck's sake.) After sitting in on a photoshoot that he did with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden/Audioslave fame with a cameo by Slash, we commenced our conversation on the patio at the Sunset Marquis. He was gracious, interesting, and of course, honest.
To begin with, what impresses you, in general?Nothing musically. Well I enjoy shooting someone like Chris Cornell who pays attention to what you ask him, and Slash. They know and they appreciate what I do for them, and I like them as people. I've known them a long time. And I see people like Chris Cornell, who has been through a lot, and he still has a very good sense of humor about it. I find that impressive. A lot of musicians don't have a sense of humor about themselves. Since the business has got more corporate, everyone takes it far too seriously. You know, at the end of the day, it's only about someone playing a piece of wood with strings attached. When you look at what goes on in the world, and really, its bullshit. So generally, I like dealing with people who respect what you do. Like Jeff Beck does, and Jimmy Page moans about it all the time, but I think he does in the long run. People like Chris Cornell do.
Who doesn't?Um, a lot of American acts. Mostly American acts take themselves far too seriously. Since the age of the internet, particularly my website seems to upset a lot of people. Half the things I'm saying are tongue-in-cheek, and half are serious. A lot of people don't work with me purely over my website, but it shows you how shallow and pathetic they really are. If you read my website and you take it literally, you know, it shows you have no education, I think.
Would you say it's an accurate depiction of whom you are writing about though?Yeah! I think my website is toned down! If actually wrote the truth, I wouldn't be able to work at all. Now everyone says to me, "Why don't you do a book?" People only want to read extreme fawning, or they want to read dirt in a book. If I wrote the truth, people wouldn't believe it -- because fans don't want to believe it. They have this kind of fake idea of who people are. Also, I would just be cut off completely. I have a hard enough time as it is! You know, I quite enjoyed
Ginger Baker's book [
Hellraiser, John Blake Publishing], but it was like memoirs of a grumpy old man. That's why I wanted to have it signed because I thought he'd die soon, and it'd be nice to have a signed book. The beginning of the book is really good, but then the later part -- all he's interested in is which cars he had and who he slept with.
You were talking about how your website gets you in trouble...You make a joke, and the problem is, people cut and paste it and take it as literal fact. It goes everywhere, that's the problem with the internet.
Your website, specifically your diary, has helped make your name a bit well-known. Was the point of your website to amp your profile? If not, what is your motive behind the diary -- if any?In this day and age, to sell photos.
So did you get into photography because you loved music?Yes. I was an art college student, getting a Bachelor's art degree and I hated it, because it was full of Americans. I have a particular hatred for modern art, like Jackson Pollock. I went to art college and I thought it was rubbish! I became a photographer because I was a big Who fan. I'd see pictures of the Who and I'd think, "I can take a better picture than that." And that was what I did. I basically dropped out of art college, worked in a guitar store selling guitars, and I used to go to concerts and just take cameras in. Basically, I became a photographer like that. In a nutshell.
What is it that you loved about music that drew you into photography?Just when you're young, when you're teenager, you think that's all that matters. I'd go and see the Who and think that was really what counted in the world -- which isn't, of course, true. But at the time, you really believe that, and you think that's of world importance. There was this thing that was "Name your top ten albums" and Pete Makowski over there said to me, "You should think about what you liked when you were sixteen, because when you were sixteen, you really thought that was important. You believed it was as important as life." At the time, I really loved the Who, I loved Led Zeppelin, the Faces -- they were like the Oasis of their day. I loved Mott the Hoople, Deep Purple, Nazareth, all those sorts of bands. I shot the punk scene, which was hugely overrated. Basically, a lot of it was rubbish. There were only two great bands and that was probably the Pistols and the Clash. It was just average. I listen to a far wider range of music now than I did when I was young. I like listening to soundtracks, which I would never listen to when I was young. My favorite soundtrack is
The Thin Red Line or
The Man Who Wasn't There. Both of them are very dark.
Who scored them?I can't remember who did
The Man Who Wasn't There, it was a friend of Billy Bob Thorton. [Carter Burwell.] Hans Zimmer was nominated for an Oscar for
The Thin Red Line.
You helped start up Kerrang!, which remains a massive publication. Was that sort of thing ever an aspiration for you, and does it have any high regard to you now?Its rubbish. It has no regard to me now. I think its embarrassing now, it's a child's magazine. I don't care about it, and at the time, really... They would pay me twice as much for a color picture as a black and white. But you know, I used to enjoy the bands at the time like UFO, Aerosmith, and Rush, all those sort of bands. But what it morphed into, when you start adding later bands like Gallows... No.
Right. I'm not into remotely new music at all, which is probably why I haven't gotten into Soundgarden.Well you should go and play Soundgarden,
Badmotorfinger. And even those last three Soundgarden albums are great. My favorite song is on
The Basketball Diaries album, which is called "Blind Dogs."
So would you say you actively pursue rock photography or did you just kind of fall into it?Fell into it, that's what I ended up doing when I left college. I was actually a painter originally.
How old were you when all of that started happening?When I became eighteen and nineteen, not when I was fourteen. Like, Neil Zlozower -- he's a photographer, he was like fourteen. But he's slightly older than me.
When you see a band now -- whether it be an act you've seen plenty of times, or someone new -- do you find yourself floored by a live performance?Yeah, but its been a long time since I saw a new band that I think are great. I think the Kings of Leon are great, I like them a lot. But actual brand new bands? I don't really see many. I don't really go to clubs. Why do I want to go to a club full of sixteen year olds? So I haven't seen a brand new band that I thought were amazing for years.
Then what bands that aren't brand new are still prominent live?I like the Mars Volta a lot, I think they're very interesting as a band. I think they take it elsewhere, and they're really good, and I like working with them.
But I'm saying... Old people, come on!Jeff Beck, Chris Cornell if you classify him as an old person, Mott the Hoople I think were amazing recently, Kings of Leon, Aerosmith are good when they're together -- without saying too much [
laughs]. I saw Depeche Mode a few years ago, I'd never seen them, and I was surprised by how good they were. Rammstein, I really like live, just as a visual thing for entertainment. KISS, I enjoy as long as you aren't expecting too much and don't take it seriously, it's actually very enjoyable. I'll tell you who are great, Prodigy. They're amazing live.
What was the last album you listened to in its entirety?Steve Miller, I bought an album called
Rock Love, I can't work out whether it's a bootleg or not. One side is live and one side is studio, it's from '70, I think. [1971.] I thought that was really good for the time, I played it the other night all the way through -- twice!
What are your top five favorite albums of all time?The Who,
Live at Leeds;
Led Zeppelin II;
Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden;
The Thin Red Line soundtrack... Its hard because the albums you really like you don't play all the time, because you're sick of them, you've heard them too much. But when you hear them, you really like them.
Right. Its like your favorite song, you can only listen to it so often, or it would lose that splendor.Splendor, right. That's the word.
Who's Next, I'd have to include in that. Loudon Wainwright III,
Album II; The Who,
Live at Leeds;
Who's Next;
Led Zeppelin II;
The Thin Red Line. That's five. [Earlier I had asked Ross what one deceased person he would like to meet, but he couldn't conjure up an answer.] But if I could, not meet, but photograph someone is who is dead... I'd either like to do Jimi Hendrix, which is a bit obvious, or Jeff Buckley.
Where is your favorite place in the world?I like Asia a lot, like Cambodia, Laos, Bali -- I like those places, I like the atmosphere and the light, and its very exotic. Strangely, I was talking to an Australian, and they don't find Asia exotic at all! They all want to come to Europe, and they find Europe exotic. The only thing wrong with America, I used to find it exciting, but the thing that is truly wrong with it is that you can go from Hawaii to Puerto Rico to Miami, and it all looks the same. Its the same shops, the same coffee shops, the same restaurants, the same stores. When you went to Hawaii in the early Eighties, when I went, it was really exotic. And now, it could be anywhere. Whereas you go to Asia, and they're all completely different cultures. I find that nice, and I like it because its warm, and I grew up in the damp climate.
What are you listening to currently?Steve Miller CD. "Megalomania", Black Sabbath, which I think is an underrated track.
What is your favorite book?The Book Thief, Markus Zusak;
Diary of a Rock and Roll Star, Ian Hunter -- one of the best rock books written;
The Dark Stuff, Nick Kent -- for his chapter on the Rolling Stones;
Shipwrecks, Akira Yoshimura;
An Iliad: A Story Of War and
Silk although the film version is awful [both by Alessandro Baricco];
Chroma, Derek Jarman.
What were your aspirations as a young man?To travel, which I've done. I think, you know, when you look at whether what I do is good or bad, at least I've traveled. And I think travel is a great thing. Its like when you travel on a plane, and people want to close the windows. I like the windows open, because you're seeing the world as you would never see it. That's why I really like Asia, because it's really hot, you've got these wonderful thunder clouds. You've got this really powerful light coming through. The sky is quite electric looking, which I rather like.
What goals do you have for yourself now?I would actually love to retire from music photography and just shoot travel.
You can't do that?Not to make a living, I still have to make a living. If I was wealthy enough, I wouldn't care if I never shot another band again.
But when you were talking earlier about getting into it because you love music...Well, you know, when I haven't done it for a while, I enjoy it. Kings of Leon, I enjoy. The Mars Volta, I enjoy. I enjoyed doing Chris Cornell.
Did you not enjoy Aerosmith? [Ross recently shot Aerosmith in Abu Dhabi.]
I do enjoy Aerosmith, I don't enjoy the politics of Aerosmith. Let's put it that way. And there's a lot of politics in Aerosmith. The politics of Aerosmith are annoying.
You seem adamant that in the general scheme of things music isn't important. What is important to you?When I was younger I was told by a teacher that you get BORED of music. I didn't think it could be true. It is... Maybe it's my job. Important, the last light of the day. Daylight is important.
Is there anyone you wish you would've known, or known better?That's a good question. Uh...
You said earlier that you would shoot Jimi Hendrix.Nah, only because I didn't. Nah, I don't care whether I shot Jimi Hendrix. I was wrong saying that.
[In an email, Ross' final answer was "Elvis in the 50's or Gong Li now."]
You've said The Who Christmas Show was the best show you've ever seen. So what's the worst show you've ever seen?I once saw Genesis with Peter Gabriel, in the day. I thought, "This will never happen." That was probably one of the worst, I just didn't get it.
Yeah, that's when they were wearing masks and stuff? I was asked the other day if I've ever gotten into that, and no, that has never intrigued me at all.Yeah, never intrigued me in the slightest.
Is there any band whom you feel you can always get good shots of?Chris Cornell, he always looks good. The Mars Volta always look good to me. Joe Perry looks good, when he looks great, he looks really great.
Really? He is one of the people who I saw and thought, "You don't look as good in person."Oh no, okay. That was probably wrong then. I think someone like Rod Stewart always looks like a rock star. The problem with a lot of bands now is that they don't have it. They could be anyone.
So you don't have a favorite, most pleasant, always photogenic subject?Well, I like bands for different reasons. Like the Black Crowes, a lot of people don't like them. I get on with them because I like them as people.
Then is this easier? Who has been the absolute worst, biggest mess of a subject?Well, a lot of bands when they get older, it's never their fault they look old. It's yours. They blame you for the picture. Particularly women, because once they go past a certain point, they become... You know, one thing I don't like in American magazines, I have nothing against retouching, but it's so airbrushed. Look at Fleetwood Mac, it looks ridiculous. Looking at them, they just look stupid. You know, terrible.
How often do you shoot bands that you don't enjoy musically?90 percent of the time.
Who DO you enjoy?No, I'm joking. I shoot 50/50. But if you only shot people you thought were culturally cool, you wouldn't work! I tend to shoot people I like.
I saw you shot 50 Cent, I'm doubting that's your thing.Yeah, well he was nice enough. But I couldn't listen to it. You know, Eminem, D12. Its just not my thing.
Your website boasts that you were a tour photographer for both Paul McCartney and George Harrison...
I was, but I was never a Beatles fan. So I wasn't intimidated by them, and I wasn't in awe of them.
What was your impression of each?McCartney was very friendly and very professional, and George Harrison was very... They're very much in a bubble, in a world of their own. Linda McCartney was alive at the time, and I expected her to be a nightmare, but she was super, super nice and super helpful. Because she was a photographer, she could see what I actually had to get. She had a way to help you, rather than be obstructive.
When was this, that you were shooting them?McCartney is the
Flowers in the Dirt tour, you'll have to look that up. [1989-1990.] George Harrison was when he toured Japan with Eric Clapton. [1991.] It was okay, but I never particularly liked the Beatles.
At the end of the day, who is your favorite band ever?The Who!
Why?Because you have to look at what counted when you were sixteen, and what you liked when you were sixteen, and they counted for me.
Do they still count?I think the thing is, as band gets older... If you liked them originally, you convince yourself they're still good, even though they're not good. But the Who on a good day, can still be exciting. Even for a bunch of oldies.
Yeah, sometimes I think, "Hmm.. In Through the Out Door wasn't so hot."Yeah, well he [Jimmy Page] had nothing to do with that. He doesn't even like that record.
Because he was a junkie?Yeah.
How would you sum the Who up for someone who had never heard of them?Go listen to
Live at Leeds, and realize its four guys playing. Or
Who's Next, that's a great songwriting album. With their later albums,
Quadrophenia is okay.
When do you feel they took the dive?Probably with
It's Hard and
Face Dances. The spark had gone out of them. That's a better word, isn't it? Spark.
That's when they began to 'farewell'.Right. Too many farewells. Too many farewell tours. Or like, I listen to Page & Plant, and I don't like it at all.
Outrider is not a bad record for an Eighties record.
Or the Firm...The first album is okay, the second one is horrible.
My dad saw the Firm, and he saw the ARMS show.But he was out of his mind.
I know, there's videos of him drooling!He was fucking junkied out.
Who would make up your dream band?I think its rubbish, I hate dream bands. Its like, whenever you see people jam, it's always horrible. Its unrehearsed and everyone is trying to show off and play better than the other person. That's why I always think jamming is terrible.
Okay then, they're not a band. Who is your favorite with each respective instrument?John Bonham or Keith Moon on drums. Jimmy Page or Pete Townshend on guitar. Robert Plant, in his day, or Paul Rodgers, or Rod Stewart. John Entwistle on bass. And Loudon Wainwright III acoustically, I like.
So basically, you like Led Zeppelin and the Who!Exactly!
What is your greatest fear?You should fear nothing.
(All photos by Ross Halfin.)
