Mu Meson opening for Loudermilk, 2003
LEFT TO RIGHT: Mu Meson opening for Loudermilk, 2003 / Loudermilk plays Atomic City Records, circa 2003
For as long as I’ve gone to concerts, I’ve enjoyed taking concert photos. Growing up in the 1970s, it was still possible to bring ‘good’ cameras into concerts, and I was able to take photos of such classic rock staples as The Who, The Eagles, Jethro Tull, Stevie Wonder, and Bachman Turner Overdrive.During the late 2000s and into the 2010s, I started going to concerts at local venues such as Ray’s Golden Lion, the Emerald of Siam, and the Red Room to photograph local and touring bands. I met a lot of people through our shared love of music, and often find myself wondering what some of the musicians I photographed are up to these days.
…So I asked them. Here's some of what I found.
Bryce Apleby played guitar in Mortal Remains, The Drip, and briefly for Elm and Olympia. “I am still currently playing music in a few different fun projects with Justin and Dara over at the Emerald, as well as a heavier project going with Talon at Rays. I have two wonderful children and a lovely fiancé, manage a wine tasting room on Red Mountain in Benton City, run live sound for a music venue (Ray’s), and have been taking steps necessary to build my own small media company here in Eastern Washington.
I’ve spent [time] from the age of 14 on playing music with my friends. I’d say that my favorite memories are … spending time with people who I considered to be more than just friends or bandmates — laughing, experiencing new things, and seeing new places. Of course, none of us ever felt more at home than on the sidewalk of the Uptown.
“I played bass in the metalcore band Concussive Theory, as well as the reggae bands Fishbowl and Naughty Pine. I was also in JJ Tagg's short-lived project Soul Chemist (we made a great video with Justin Frick). I moved to Lethbridge, Alberta for my wife's postdoc, where I played in a rock band called 21st Avenue and a funk band called The Good Love. Now we live in the Cayman Islands where my wife teaches at the medical school, and I play in several projects (and often fill in for others). I play reggae with Stuart Wilson & Love Culture, R&B/reggae/Soca with Studio 5, and alt-rock covers with Barbados.
Outside of music, I've become a certified diver. I love night diving and cave diving, especially. I currently work at Cathy Church's photo gallery/school. She pioneered underwater photography and is in the diving hall of fame! I also still do some art on the side; I continue to make Emerald's monthly calendar and have been doing a weekly calendar for the island, as well. My favorite memory of the Tri-Cities music scene is the Sex Mission shows. It was a completely improv band with Dara, Justin, ‘Hot Carl’, and Andy going on stream-of-consciousness rants while wearing a cape and a visor made of welded forks. They would record the show through the mixing board so you could have this one-time experience on CD. It was a genius concept.”
Brandon Mellgren with Tumble Down Badger, March 2014
Brandon Mellgren played bass — including a bizarre two-string contraption — for Tumble Down Badger.
“So, I'm currently getting ready to start playing music again with a couple folks. Jason [Watson, former drummer for Tumble Down Badger] is trying to get a local drum circle. My favorite music memory was a show we played with Run From Cover at The Emerald of Siam. Our band put the show together and it was standing room only by the time it was done. Great show.”Summer Duckworth, pictured with 3rd Park Avenue
“3rd Park Avenue is now going by the name Sick April. We have two of our original members, including me and Tanner, and we have two new members, Zak on drums and Evan on bass. We are releasing music now and have a single out called Poltergeist!
I think I have a couple favorite memories with 3PA. The first is when 3rd Park Avenue played the Benton County Fair for the second time. We met so many great people that day because our sound tracked all over the fair and so many people got to hear us for the first time. The second is when we trekked to Tacoma to play the First Night Festival on New Year’s Eve. That was the first time the band traveled very far together. We also got to watch people listen to our set from their apartment windows looking down on us. That was a very memorable scene. As for me personally, I have started my career in biochemistry. I also got engaged recently and we bought our first home!”
Wain Wright of Spirit Animals, September 2014
I met the guys in Spirit Animals when music video producer Justin Frick asked to borrow some lighting equipment for the video for ‘Military Kids’ (it’s still on YouTube — check it out!). As part of a running joke between Justin and I, he offered me a non-speaking role in the video, which led to me briefly appearing at the start of the video as a homeless man huddled up in a blanket just before meeting a horrible fate.
I always enjoyed photographing Spirit Animals shows, because I seriously dug their music — passionate, bluesy stuff that reminded me, at times, of one of my favorite guitarists from the 1970s, Robin Trower.
I see frontman Wain Wright around town now and then, and always find myself hoping that he hasn’t given up music entirely, because he was very entertaining on stage.
Jason Turner, pictured with ZanJason Turner played drums in the math-core band, Zan. “I’m now in a ‘90s grunge/rock cover band called Stonehêd. Any time we all partied together after a show would be my favorite memory [from my time in Zan]! I’m now married and am living the parent/dad life these days.”
I spent years photographing Run From Cover, who were a staple of the indie rock scene in Tri-Cities and beyond. I got the following update from Run From Cover’s lead singer, Zac Mason:“I moved back to Tri-Cities in 2016 and helped open Tap & Barrel, and was the general manager there. I also opened up the Gourmet Grub Bus food truck that year with Steve Lee and Andrew Grassick, and was an owner-operator and operations manager. I then co-founded The Bradley TC and was an owner-operator there, creating the bar menu and managing the front of house. I got married in 2018 and sold the food truck and started working at Chicago Title as their Client Relations Manager. Then in 2019, I scaled back my role at The Bradley to a minority partner.
Since then, I’ve had a daughter (so two kids in total, one thirteen and one three), and have been promoted to VP / Operations Manager for Chicago Title in Benton, Franklin, Grant, and Adams Counties. Stephen and I have continued to play music together as a duo at wineries and venues around the area, most months playing one or two weekends a month.
Stephen has continued to play music with others around town as well, playing with Dutch Donley and Payton Drury. He started managing as a store manager for Roasters, and is now the regional manager for Wake Up Call.
I am planning on having new music out in 2025, as we still have a big backlog of music, and I’m continuing to write.”
Bobby Mansfield played guitar for The Drip.
“We were an extreme metal band based out of Richland, Washington. We went on hiatus in early 2019. Since then, I have been continuing to work on music projects (Bone Prison and [others]). As of late, I have been the main booking agent at the revived Ray’s Golden Lion. I have booked and procured over 160 shows in a little over a year. Bringing new genres and events has been a fun process. Looking forward to 2025 and more events.”
LEFT TO RIGHT: Annie Sails Sorrow, March 2014 / Travis Sells of Annie Sails Sorrow, playing at Ray’s, December 2014
Though I didn’t get much info from the members of Annie Sails Sorrow, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include at least one photo of the band. They were a local favorite, always drawing a big crowd to their shows at Ray’s Golden Lion.
