Phog Phest Re-Cap (with thanks) Part 3 - Kevin Kavanaugh

photo by KEVKAVPHOTO

When you put on an event, one of the things you generally count on is the recording of that event. In today's tech-saturated world, everyone has a camera, shooting photos and videos. So you know it's going to be captured.

But if you're smart, you hire someone to capture this day with a professionalism and sharpness that will allow you to breathe easy on the day in question.

I didn't do that. But it still happened.

Wandering around, getting last minute planning done in June, I stumbled across Taloola Cafe and Ryan Fields (of Yellow Wood), Alistair (of Three: A Tasting Bar), Shane Potvin (of...my best bud), and Kevin Kavanaugh. Kevin and I go back at least 8 years or so...

When Kevin started The Drive Magazine, I was freshly wrapped in Journalism teachings at St. Clair College. Kevin printed a comic that a friend (Jason Sheardown) and I had done. We were thrilled, and we were GREEN. But Kevin treated us like pros. He had us come to the studio to have our portraits taken, and told us of his artistic leanings. We connected instantly as eager doers looking to make new things happen.

With him being a mover/shaker, with a new magazine in town, and we being two rookie media wannabes, he showed immense humbleness in the way he answered all of our questions, showed us around, and invited us to keep in touch.

Back to Taloola. In betwixt out general prep-talk for Phog Phest, Kevin kind of blurted out that he'd be thrilled to shoot the event, for nothing, as long as he was allowed to use the images as he saw fit, and that he would have special access to capture the shots he wanted. I don't know if he could see the amazement in my eyes...that HE wanted to shoot OUR event!

If I could have head-hunted someone to do it, knowing I was paying for it, he is the guy I know I could get the best shots from, and who would be the reliable, tireless pro. And he was offering his services to us for nothing...so that we would have a startling record of the biggest day of our professional lives.

To put it bluntly, he was perfect. Aside from scrambling around the stage during sets, no one knew he was there, shooting here, there and everywhere, capturing the candids of the crowd and the sweat of the bands. Kevin, like George Manury and Pete Lawlor, showed up shortly after 8pm, and photographed THE WHOLE DAY!!! I don't remember him leaving, and I don't remember properly getting on my knees to kiss his ring and thank him for shooting Phog Phest.
photo by KEVKAVPHOTO

A few days after the event, I got an e-mail from Kevin with this link :
http://www.kevkavphoto.com/postits/main.php?g2_itemId=2266
It was the edited gallery of photos from that day that he had taken.
THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF PHOTOS HERE!!!

He outlines that anyone can use these images if they want to, as long as they give credit to KEVKAVPHOTO on each shot that is used in publication or web. HOW AMAZING IS THAT!?!?!?

And in his e-mail he said this, "It's my small gift to you Phoggers for givin a shit about art, local talent, and good music. It's the least I could do."

Actually, it's the most you could do Kev. You couldn't have made us happier. I am still over the moon about these images, as I scroll through them with the spare moments I find during my shifts at Phog.

How we find the best people, I will never know, but we are grateful to have you Kevin Kavanaugh, even when you aren't gifting us with thousands of dollars worth of work!
We're lucky to have you in this town.