Thursday night I was up till 11:30 printing band shirts for what has become one of my new favorite bands, Charity Swim. We’ve partnered together since the frontman is the brother of GoodInk Clothing’s Alex Lopez and they not only liked our gear but what we were about…not to mention the whole charity crossover, so it was a match made in heaven. We needed a band to represent us and they needed shirts from a company with a solid message behind it. At any rate I finished up, went to sleep and met Christopher during a quick break at work the following day and handed over the shirts. That night they (they who are Christopher Lopez, Brian Willet, Josh Gordon and Tyler DeYoung collectively) were playing at the House of Blues in Anaheim, Ca and Chris told me I’d been added to the list with a plus one for my cousin, Ram, who was visiting from Australia, additionally I told him I’d bring my camera equipment and he said he’d get me a photo pass…sweet.
Well I got there, but in usual form I had forgotten my ID, talked the girl behind the counter to take my credit card as a form of ID, got my tickets and then promptly was informed that Chris had forgotten about putting me on the photo list. With over 5k in photo equipment on my back I wasn’t going to leave it in the car so I contemplated my plan of attack. Luckily Alex was there too and he pointed me in the direction of Brian who was standing in front of the venue, I explained the situation to Brian and BAM! pass in hand and walking in through the front door. So after eating dinner in the restaurant and surveying the digs I started snapping away. I think what I liked the most about the band was the fact that they were even better live than recorded. Their stage presence showed a band that wasn’t just performing their first major ,”hi, we’re Charity Swim and we hope you like us”, performance but a band that seemed vetted on the stage. The chemistry between bandmates reflected the fact that their year of performing in the privacy of eachother’s company had definitely paid off and their ability to show themselves off not as young punk musicians but professional rising stars of the indie scene was blatant. I found moments with Chris where the energy and the soul blasted into my Canon 7D and the apparent support of the band shined as egos seemed to take a backseat to the success of their art. If you didn’t get a chance to check them out last Friday I would definitely suggest staying up with the band and catching their next show near you, music has a chance with bands like this, see for yourself.
Good Ink will be creating a Charity Swim store on our site shortly where you can buy Good Ink collaborated Charity Swim merch, all very super exciting. First shirt we’ll be offering and which was sold at the event, is designed by Brian Willet with more to come!
Natalee
08/03/2011
I couldn’t agree more!! Charity Swim is freaking awesome. LOVE the photos, too!!
Ciise
08/21/2011
Hey,
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Thank you,
Ciise