Rochester Revered

Covid put a quick stop to my musician portrait series Rochester Revered (Portrait series of Rochester NY musicians and their most revered instruments.)
As the weather gets nicer I'd like to start it up again.
If you'd like to be a part of this project, have 15 free minutes for a shoot and have a cool story about your favorite instrument please DM!

"My favorite trumpet is my 30th Anniversary Monette Prana Raja P3 B-flat trumpet, with a little image of the ska music icon Walter Jabsco custom engraved on the 2nd valve casing."

"My favorite instrument is my upright bass. My parents bought it online for me when I was 18. It is a relatively cheap chinese plywood bass with no maker name inside. I had a guy down in the Hudson Valley who worked on Mingus’ bass do some work on it, including putting a new fingerboard on. I Love this instrument because it's all I’ve known or played since I was 18. It is a material reminder of all the moments I’ve spent searching and learning in music and life."

I am so excited to share the next Rochester Revered! Justin Lloyd of Personal Blend + The Medicinals shares the story of his favorite instrument, his 30th Anniversary Monette Prana Raja P3 B-flat trumpet -
"After getting it in my hands back in 2014, I haven’t looked back. I love playing it in all the reggae and ska stuff that I do, as well as anything that can afford a broader, slightly darker unique trumpet sound."
David Monette Trumpets

Justin Lloyd | Personal Blend & The Medicinals - Empire West Live | Music Photography Rochester NY | Rochester NY Music Photographer Please contact Dave Jones for usage + licensing. Do NOT copy images from this site. Screen capturing is stealing! All Images Copyright © 2012-2020 Dave Jones/Empire West Photo

"I was playing in three bands with Matthew Goodwin - Mountain Mojo Authority, Bombsquad, and the Bam Sequence. They were all great and I was in college and each band began to become more busy and serious so Matt and I came to a welcome predicament - we couldn’t all be in all the bands - so I went with my oldest friends in Bombsquad (soon to be Panda) and Matt sought out additional musicians to bring into the mojo fold. On bass he found Jeremiah Pacheco to fill my position. He was killer (still is) and at some point they all went to HOG to pick out a bass for him. Miah knows good stuff. He’s a man of the land. He feels the physics. He picked the Ash body 1975 P-Bass and played it in Mojo. I knew next to nothing about actual bass guitars. I just knew I liked playing them and I know when one feels nice and nothing felt nicer than that one! Unfortunately it wasn’t mine. But Mojo broke up, and the bass sat in Matt Goodwin’s house for many months until I started to come over and play it a bit. And then one day I took it. Jeremiah was totally cool with it for the time because he was going to devote his energies to learning how to be a master farmer. So in fact, this bass kinda fell into my lap and that’s how most of my life has been. I’m not proud of it, but I’m grateful. He did all the work and then I got the bass. Years later I paid him for it, but not until after offering it back to him when he yet again took a step away from farming to be the thunderous bass of THE Thunder Body. After seeing what my sweat put the bass through, he laughed and just told me to cough up the money, which I did over a period of a few years. Jeremiah is now producing some of the finest produce the world has seen in the heart of Naples, NY, and you probably eat it often at the Brighton Farmers Market or various restaurants he and his wife at Squash Blossom Farms provide veggies to."

"I was gifted this guitar at the age of 17. I was visiting my Aunt and Uncle in St. Louis and MAN was I moody and hormonal. They were so kind to me and as a matter of fact, always have been. They noticed my excitement for rock music after I jammed with my uncle for a bit and without hesitation said, “It’s yours!” I was so stoked and from that moment on, this axe has been my go-to for studio sessions and live performances.This strat has such a warmth that I have yet to appreciate on any other guitar. It has been with me from coast to coast, year after year, suffered a few minor battle scars, but undoubtedly has been my most trustworthy companion."

I am very excited to share the next Rochester Revered! Kyle Vock of The Mighty High & Dry + The Rita Collective + Steve Grills and The Roadmasters shares the crazy story of his favorite instrument, his upright bass -
"My parents bought it online for me when I was 18. It is a relatively cheap chinese plywood bass with no maker name inside - it was stolen out of my vehicle behind my house. It felt like I was grieving a death to be honest. I've never felt anything like it."

Please check out Kyle Vock with The Mighty High & Dry November 30th at Iron Smoke Distillery

Record Archive | Joe Beard

Kyle Vock | Upright Bass | The Mighty High and Dry - Empire West Live | Music Photography Rochester NY | Rochester NY Music Photographer Please contact Dave Jones for usage + licensing. Do NOT copy images from this site. Screen capturing is stealing! All Images Copyright © 2012-2019 Dave Jones/Empire West Photo