All posts by Piercing Ken

I'm a Freelance Music Photojournalist from NYC and Founder of the Heavy Metal website PiercingMetal.com; I created this blog site to showcase the other things in life that keep my interest or catch my attention. Believe me that is a lot of stuff to talk about when it comes down to it. I hope you enjoy what we are delivering because there is so much to share as a resident of this bustling metropolis.

A Visit To L’Amour Brooklyn (Kind Of, Sort Of….)

Do you remember L’Amour? You do? Great and for those among you who do not, for many, many years this was considered “The Rock Capitol Of Brooklyn”. We’ve got so many younger Metal fans out there nowadays that this legendary club is only a thing of the tales that their older relatives bring up from time to time as they recant shows of the past or when legendary bands discuss their early years. For the longest time this was THE PLACE to be for bands and week after week you could see Overkill, Queensryche, Mercyful Fate, Slayer, Anthrax, White Lion and hosts of other groups. It was a pretty cool place to go to enjoy some Metal for the most part but in today’s musical geography the original club has been shuttered for a number of years.



Continue reading A Visit To L’Amour Brooklyn (Kind Of, Sort Of….)

Celebrating Finnish Independence Day 2012

Hey there readers. Today is Finland’s Independence Day and I did what I felt was a fun narrative over on my Official Blog for PiericngMetal.com; In the narrative I reflect on the nations musical providers and which of them are of most importance to me as a fan of the Metal scene. Click the flag to be transported over to the posting and if you have some input, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Click The Flag

It’s been a very Finnish week for us in terms of both blogs because I only recently covered the photo exhibit at Ivana Helsinki NYC Concept Shop and later on tonight I celebrate the country’s big day by checking out Sonata Arctica and tomorrow I return to the Helsinki shop to see what their “Northern Oddities” display is all about. It should be fun and yes you can count on blogs and stories and images from them all. Stay tuned for that stuff and once again, Happy Independence Day to Finland. It’s their 95th you know….

Official Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(Finland)

Ville Juurikkala; A Finnish “Islander” In NYC (11/30/2012)

One of the things I love most about having this side blog is the chance to share some amazing adventures around my city or things that are happening right under peoples noses and need to be shared. Such would be the reason for this particular posting as the other day I received an invitation to the opening party of one Ville Juurikkala. For those who don’t know the name, he is a world renowned photographer who has worked with the likes of HIM, The 69 Eyes and Nightwish. Check out the invite below….

Ville Juurikkala, islander photo exhibit
The Invitation

Continue reading Ville Juurikkala; A Finnish “Islander” In NYC (11/30/2012)

Reflective Musiciality Of Studio Time Long Ago: Master Blend Studio

I mentioned that one of the things that I will likely be doing with the PiercingKen blog is reflecting from time to time upon the “old days” of my musician adventures. Yes there was a time that I reached for the brass ring as a drummer (and occasional vocalist from behind said kit) in some pretty cool bands. The two bands of note were Machine (who have some blog posts already in this site) and the band I was in before that which was Eclipse. It’s the latter band who gets the reference for these photographs which were taken a couple of years ago as I was out wandering and happened upon what was at one time a very regularly visited space. Take a look.

Do you recognize this at all my friends? Well, those of you who are or were musicians in Bay Ridge or Bensonhurst Brooklyn might. This is the entrance to Master Blend Studios and it was upstairs from this store. You trekked up a precarious set of stairs and there you were. The studio had two rooms, a larger and a smaller room. I know we always opted for the larger room because the cabinets were a little better and there was a double kick drum which was necessary for me. No double pedals yet. The studio was up on Bay 19th and Bath Avenue and while it was a trek to go to, we no longer had the luxury of Slunky Studios or Bay Ridge Studios to use to work up our chops. Sadly I don’t even think I have photos from any of those other two places. This was a pre-digital everything time in society and I guess a somewhat simpler time as well. Now in addition to rehearsing here with Eclipse, we recorded a three song demo here and after leaving their ranks I do recall that Machine booked time here every once in awhile. There were a couple of smaller side projects that played here that I had some involvement in but they were very short tenured groups.

I realize that I only posted a couple of photos from the outside of the place but even two years ago when they were shot the rehearsal space had been long gone. I do think that I have some actual band practice images somewhere in my photo boxes in the closet but since this is all physical stuff it would need to be scanned first in order to share with you. Perhaps when time allows I will add to this line of narratives with that stuff. Until that time. Cheers.

My Secret Remedy Cure-All Now Shared With The Worldwide Readers Of PiercingKen.com

You should try it sometime because it really works. I make sure to let this happen all the time and even share it with others. That is all I have for now my friends. Have an awesome everything and stay tuned for more whatever I come up with.