mariegc.com news archives

MMIX

2009 has been a busy year for me, so here is just a quick summary of my life in the last 12 months…

Highlights

• Finally made a trip over the pond to America! Went to NYC and New Jersey with Glen. Stayed with at the Gitter Mansion with the coolest friends and then on Times Square. Amazing.

• 2 shows with Machine Head – need i say more?

• Official Photographer at the first Hellfire Festival - London

• Launched my own product range – ‘Dolls n Divas’ from my photography project based on 50’s pin up girls and was interviewed by Devolution Magazine with a 2 page spread. Sold out of most products in 2 days. Items enjoyed by people in Japan, USA and the UK.

• Dream Theater & Opeth at Wembley. Shot Mike Portnoy & Mikael Akerfeldt for Ed Stone Rockwear and was Opeth’s official live photographer for the night. Then featured in Dream Theater’s video ‘Wither’ doing my shoot!

• Godsized totally owning the packed tent of the Sophie Lancaster Stage at Bloodstock – super-fucking-proud!

• Rage Against the Machine being Christmas number 1! Hahah.

Lows

• Suffered a perforated ear drum

• Glen having surgery

• Nearly losing Whisky our lovely cat at 6 months to an infection in his pancreas. He’s a fighter and is totally better now :)

• Mike Alexander. RIP my friend, Black Jesus. (private joke with me and the Evile boys)

Work

• Photographed:
Gary Holt (Exodus), Legion of the Damned, God Forbid, Ill Nino, Alestorm, Machine Head, Shinedown, Symphony Cult, Dirty DC, Evile, Godsized, Throwdown, Unearth, Chimaira, Gates of Slumber, Dream Theater & Opeth, In flames, Killswitch Engage, Hellfest France, Dez Fafra from Devildriver interview pics, Bloodstock fest, and too many more to mention….

• Interviewed:
Barry Kerch from Shinedown


Thank You’s

• The loves of my life Glen and Megabeth. Mike Gitter & Renee, Paul & Debs at Ed Stone Rockwear, Graham at Planet Loud, Louise and Terrorizer Magazine, Nickie and Devolution Magazine, Marino Lambrix, All my Dolls ‘n’ Divas girls from 2009 (Izz, Helena, Nicola and Rachel), Cindy Frey, UxJx, Emiliano at Frith Street Tattoo, Aide at Scream Studios - complete dude!, my camera gear for coping under pressure, my i-pod keeping me company on long trips, the coolest cats ever Whisky and Gibson, my umbrella - for lasting more than 1 week for me (notably this umbrella was from America who have less rain than the UK, you’d think we would have better ones here?!) and lastly anyone that I met on my travels, new friends and old, and all who made me laugh this year, thank you :)

Quotes of the Year

• “I love it when I get whistled at by builders. If they don’t, I’ll walk past again until they do.” Su Pollard

• “Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary… That’s what gets you” Jeremy Clarkson


Here’s to 2010!! Some cool stuff planned already…will keep you all updated!

Marie x

June 2010

The first Summer festival of the year is Download. I went along with Godsized as their photographer - they opened the Pepsi Max Stage on the Saturday morning. The tent was heaving at a very early 11am and their performance was amazing. I also got to photograph Vinnie Paul and Jason from Five Finger Death Punch for Dean Guitars backstage. Dimebag’s last ever guitar design on a napkin was made recently and presented to 5FDP by Vinnie Paul.

Following on from Download, Vinnie Paul’s band Hellyeah performed at the Kings College Student Uniont in London and I went along for Planet Loud to take some snaps. Great band Nonpoint supported. You can view the pics at Planet Loud in my links section.

On few occasions do I photograph a band with a female, but when it happens I get very excited as it brings such diversity to band promo shoots. Solsikk from London wanted some dark grungey promos and we went for an old basement. They were very pleased with the outcome and hopefully they will be appearing in their promotional material very soon. You can check them out on Myspace My favourite shot from the promo set is in my portfolio.

Finally a little update on the Dolls ‘n’ Divas Calendar Release. I’m happy to announce that the Calendar launches at the International London Tattoo Convention on September 24/25/26th at the Tobacco Dock in London. A great opportunity for me, and very exciting for the launch. More details to come shortly, also look out for promotion on the Social Networking sites and Magazine Adverts!
 

May 2010 

 May started with a very exciting shoot! Simone Simons, singer from Epica came to London for my Dolls ‘n’ Divas Calendar! We had a fun and long day in the studio, also doing a shoot for Ed Stone Rockwear after as Epica recently joined the roster. Simone wore a red satin dress by Vivien of Holloway - teaser picture is to the left and one of my favourite shots from the Ed Stone shoot is in my portfolio.

The 6th I was on my first commission for Rotosound; I had a shoot with Pontus from Hammerfall at their London show. Pontus was a pleasure to work with, you will see the pics appearing in some magazines soon! Dream Evil supported Hammerfall and I had a bar rant shoot with the guys for Terrorizer Magazine. They were really fun too!

A few days later I was on my 2nd shoot for Rotosound, with two great guitarists Guthrie Govan and Alex Hutchings. We were at Murder Mile Studio in Clapton and had a good few hours to shoot during which Guthrie and Alex plugged in their guitars and jammed while I took pictures. We all got on so well that we went for lunch after the session and shared in fun stories and good times. You can also see the pictures from the shoot appear in future guitar magazines and other published items.

On a high from that shoot I went on location the next day with good friends Godsized to an old army base in Hampshire for their new promos. The rain just about held off so we could get the shots we needed; Godsized are playing Download Festival and have a new CD out shortly after called ‘The Phoney Tough & the Crazy Brave’. I’m totaly stoked for them!

Alternative band Maleficent also have a new CD on the way and booked me for some promos in Camden, London. Maleficent Martini also features in my Calendar due out in September and it was really nice to shoot with her again. I love the look of this band.

My week got more exciting as it progressed and I got asked to photograph KISS for a journo friend. I love it when bands have such a fun look and stage performance. Some of my faves will appear in my portfolio.

On the 18th I shot Death Angel for Ed Stone, the 2nd time now and it was really nice to catch up with Mark. I also had a Hard of Hearing shoot with Nevermore playing the same show for Terrorizer. They’re funny guys! 

The final Calendar shoot was with competition winner Tristen Lee. Tristen was in a studio setting wearing clothing by Edie Rocks for Diamond Dolls London. A cute dog was also part of the shoot - a great end to the 12 shoots and we went for drinks to celebrate. More news very soon on the progression and release of the Calendar!

To end May I went to Brighton for Rotosound to shoot Pendulum’s live show. I’ve had the most diverse and enjoyable month, i now look forward to festival season! :)

April 2010

The final shoots from my £40 offer were with burlesque dancer Aneequa, model & TV host Georgina and guitarist Hazel. I had such a great response from the offer and met some really lovely people in the process, not all models, it was so nice to have a real diversity. Thank you to all who booked me!

Bank Holiday Monday wasn’t the usual lay in, I was shooting Amber Erlandsson for my Calendar - singer from Nemhain. Dressed in a military corset outfit from Velda Lauder and shot at Murder Mile Studio, I was super pleased with the pictures. Hair by the lovely Sherri Sue, we certainly made the most of the Bank Holiday Monday!

The following day, Sick of it All came to Brixton for their show and a Bar Rant for Terrorizer Magazine. They had brought the sunshine and great conversation, really nice guys. Look out for he pics in a later issue!

I don’t get to shoot many girls in bands so when I was booked for Brighton based all girl rock band i was in for a treat! We went to the BFI Southbank for a promo shoot, look out for the pictures popping up over the internet for promotion and also their new CD out later this year.

On a roll with my calendar shoots another 2 more this month! First at Vintage shop Vivien of Holloway, competition winner from South London - Lora Jayne dressed up in a 50’s swing dress. Lora Jayne is a singer inspired by the 40’s and 50’s so this shoot was just perfect for her! Teaser pictured to the left. Check out Lora Jayne’s music here.

With the sun starting to come out more frequently, an outdoor shoot for the Calendar was looking more promising. So Ceri from Snarl Hair modeled for me in a picnic/gardening setting - it was a perfect day! Check out Snarl Hair - her work is amazing!

Bostonites Revocation played in Camden and I did some promos for them for Ed Stone Rockwear. Full of energy and wanting to go sight seeing we had a great shoot and got on really well. Check out the pics on Ed Stone’s website!

March 2010

On the 1st I met up with Divine Chaos to do their promos on their first tour supporting Vader in London. I really enjoyed the shoot and hanging with them - they are very keen to get an Um Bongo Drink endorsement!

Paganfest was the most sweatiest, smelliest festival i’ve ever been to. It was also the most interesting and diverse to photograph.Bar-Barian Wrath pics with a very tired Finntroll and live pics for Terrorizer Magazine.

Then off to Wales that weekend with Godsized for Hammerfest! I think most people came home with double pneumonia - it was so damn cold! Godsized rocked the Queen Vic Stage to 400+ people!

Straight back from Wales and on not much sleep I woke 5am for my next calendar shoot with French model Fanny Maurer aka Lady Diamond. We went to Middlesex to Starvin Marvin’s Diner - a classic American Diner. The earliest shoot so far! Many coffees on tap and some good 50’s music kept us awake. Pictured left is the teaser shot of Fanny wearing a dress by Dollchops Clothing.

Trivium played 2 London dates at the Koko in Camden, I was there on the first night for Planet Loud, it’s been a while since seeing Trivium play a London show and I really enjoyed it.

A pretty full and mixed weekend with a Sweet 16 photoshoot with the pretty Rhiannon and band promos with London based beautiful people Tres Calaveras - keep your eyes open for the promos - they really are crazy fun!

My next Calendar shoot was on 22nd at Harlequin Theatre in Redhill. Alternative model Miss Bruise Violet got her ‘diva’ on and we had a very fun shoot. Wearing a long satin dress that she made with a gorgeous side slit showing off her halloween tattoo, i’m sure you can guess what month she will be!

The 29th was Bella’s calendar shoot - busy, busy! Bella wore lingerie provided by FairyGothMother and modelled in a 1950’s style bedroom (pictured left).

March also saw me join with Rotosound Music Strings as their UK promo and live photographer. You can see the press release in my ‘published’ section. A very proud moment and I will keep you up to date with details from that.

Lastly, my £40 photoshoot offer ended on April 1st - not before having more shoots! Lovely Jury (pictured Left), Sarah and Fernanda all had very different shoots from rock to high fashion to pin up. Pics in my model/portraits section!

February 2010

WHAT A MONTH

Packed full of photo shoots and fun! To start I photographed Rammstein for Terrorizer Magazine. I loved every minute of it! They put on such a great performance and the pyros and fire was just insane (nice and warm at the front too!) Pics will appear in the next couple of months.

The next two calendar shoots were booked at Dream Cars, Redhill and Whitewebbs Museum of Transport, Enfield. Both were so much fun, and cold, and fun. The weather held out which was a miracle. Izz who previously modelled for me on my Playing Cards last year was excited to be posing with her favourite car - 1966 Ford Mustang Convertible, black on black wearing lingerie prodived by What Katie Did.

Sophie K, DJ from Total Rock Radio was a superstar, braving the cold and rain/snow in a Red with White Polkadot Halter Dress provided by Vivien of Holloway. Sophie had 2 motorbikes to model with - 1959 Velocette Venom and 1964 BSA Super Rocket. Pictured left is Sophie on the Vecolette. Big thanks to Dan for the bikes and also to my photographer friend Graham for snapping some great behind the scenes moments on both shoots!

So 4 of the calendar shoots are done now, more to come from the remaining 8 in the next couple of months!Machine Head came to town on the 18th, Brixton Academy sold out completely! The boys chose a mixed set that night different to all the other nights. It was super loud and the atmosphere AMAZING! I had a shoot with Phil Demmel for Ed Stone Rockwear just before the show, live pics to come too.

The following day I was out at the Electric Ballroom for Fear Factory shooting live for Terrorizer. Another crazy night, some of the guys from Machine Head stayed in London for the show, which was brutal! Pics to appear in a coming issue of Terrorizer.

My £40 photoshoot offer has been going awesomely well! I had three shoots this month along with all the other mayhem. All 3 girls wanted very different shoots - you can see the pics in my models/fashion section on here. My schedule has been so full that i have now extended the offer to April 1st. So please, ladies if you’re in the London (UK) area and are interested in having a shoot done take advantage of this offer!

Pictured left is Stephanie who wanted a fantasy Pixie style shoot. I also shot music journalist Tazz in a bar venue and Lyndsay in a photostudio. I’m looking forward to more fun and interesting shoots and as the weather is brightening up a little, some outdoor pics!

January 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!To mark the start of 2010, I am running a photo shoot offer for Ladies in the London (UK) area for just £40. If you’re interested and you’d like to know more, please message me via my ‘contact’ form or by my email address.Offer ends February 28th 2010.

Due to popular demand and the sellout of the Limited Edition Playing Cards, the Dolls ‘n’ Divas are back! I am starting work on a 2011 Calendar due for release in the Autumn. On the 18th I shot the first calendar girl - Laura - at a Launderette. You can view teaser and behind the scenes pictures on my Facebook or Myspace page. I have a great team on hair and makeup and awesome clothing companies involved on the Calendar, alongside 12 kickass models (some of them you may recognise!) Laura wears Vintage inspired Lingerie from What Katie Did. Laura also took advantage of my £40 shoot offer as she was over from Los Angeles.

2nd shoot for Dolls ‘n’ Divas was with Maleficent Martini - frontwoman from alternative band Maleficent - check out their website. Miss Martini was very natural to work with, it was also cool to see her so different to her usual “look”. The shoot was at The Fighting Cocks music venue in Kingston (Thanks Josh). She wears clothing provided by Dollchops. More details and updates each month on the project!

Total Rock Radio DJ Tristen booked another shoot with me at the end of the Jan…I love working with her as we have the most craziest ideas! This time we decided to do the theme of Psycho Barbie. Using a meat cleaver, black body baint, fake blood, 13 barbies and other random and extremely girly things we created alter egos (the typical Barbie picture to the left). Keep your eyes open for the results in my Portraits folders.

January has been a GREAT start to the year!

December 2009 

Taste of Chaos came to London on the 3rd with Killswitch Engage headlining, In Flames, Everytime I Die and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. A real mix of genres on one lineup. It was lots of fun and full of energy. For me, Killswitch stole the show - the new album material was Killer and performance as always on top form. Lights shows, pink tutus and effortless vocals from Howard. I always enjoy photographing them! Best pics in Portfolio and Live folders.

The end of December saw snow and the threat of one of my booked model shoots being cancelled, BUT brave Niesh decided to go ahead! Armed with cups of tea and me in wellies, we went on a 1960’s inspired shoot with a VW Camper Van. It was lots of fun and very, very cold. I think it was -3 degrees! You can see my fave shots in the Portraits section. Follow Niesh on her Twitter page. She’s so fun to work with!

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year!x

November 2009

Following on from my shoot with Dream Theater & Opeth back in October, Dream Theater released a video of their track ‘Wither’ filmed from their European Tour. A small part of the video includes my shoot with them at Wembley! I was totally stoked to see this. Roadrunner Records have uploaded the video to YouTube check it out!

On the 25th I had a shoot with Total Rock Radio DJ - Tristen Lee. I totally enjoyed this shoot as Tris approached me with an unusual concept and we worked so well together. You may see these pictures in a magazine soon - I will keep you posted! For the time being you can view a couple of them in my Portfolio and Model sections.Updates in picture sections including Published items in Devolution Mag Issue 23 and more in Terrorizer - feel free to browse :) Also look out for some exciting news & offers at the end of December/January.

My Dolls ‘n’ Divas 2009 range has almost sold out of all items now, place your final orders in my Shop!

October 2009 ….’tis the season for METAL haha!!.

Always a busy time of year, this month just proves it! A varied month of pretty girls and hairy dudes. October started with Godsized supporting Shagrath from Dimmu Borgir’s side project Chrome Division at the Underworld in Camden. An amazing response from the crowd, an awesome high. A great start to the month.

Sunday 4th the Dolls ‘n’ Divas girls and I all got together for a quick photo shoot and celebrations for the launch. Photos were taken with our new tattoos by Emiliano Liberatori (Frith Street) - amazing work! We then had dinner & drinks, it was the first time that some of the girls had even met eachother. A really nice ending to the project. Thanks ladies!

On the 10th I was at Wembley Arena with the Progressive Nation Tour. I had a shoot with Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater & Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth for Ed Stone Rockwear. Totally awesome dudes. I got to shoot live pics for Opeth & the Percussive Nation during Dream Theater’s set where all 4 drummers from the lineup played on the same kit together - it was rad!

2 days later I went to the Electric Ballroom for another Ed Stone shoot with Chimaira. Very different guys but equally as cool. The lineup was also great and I photographed Throwdown and Unearth for the first time.

To end October I had a shoot with Indiana Metallers - The Gates of Slumber for Terrorizer. In the smallest dressing room in the world. It was very cosy!!

September 21st 2009

Today is the launch of Dolls ‘n’ Divas! You will find the Shop section now active and can start browsing the store - more products to come. Payment is via Paypal or you can follow the option for Credit Card payment. I am taking orders from around the world. If you wish to pay by any other method, please contact me. Over the last week my models and I got tattooed something associated with the project - pictures will be online soon! I want to thank the following people that have been involved in this project: The models - Helena Linder, Izz Hohler, Rachel Clause Clements & Nicola Ward, Hair stylist Marino Lambrix, Makeup Artist Stacey Frow, Designer Paul Barker, Scream Studios, Ivory Graphics, Devolution Magazine & my family. Happy Shopping!

September 2009

The Dolls ‘n’ Divas Launch was a great success! The Limited Edition Playing Cards sold out in just 2 days! I’m totally stoked! Thank you to everyone who purchased items - products were shipped to Japan, United States and the UK and all feedback was kick ass!There are still some items available in the store.

Evile’s 2nd Album ‘Infected Nations’ hit the stores also on September 21st, they had a launch party show at Bar Academy, Islington and I snapped the show for Terrorizer. The Venue was heaving with bodies and the new tracks were definitely received well!

August 2009

On August 11th, Issue 22 of Devolution Magazine came out and featured a 2 page spread of me being interviewed about my Dolls ‘n’ Divas project! The first time i’ve been interviewed! Very exciting!! You can buy Issue 22 of Devolution Magazine and lots of their cool merchandise from their website in my links section.

Bloodstock Festival in Derby was a huge success this year. I went to shoot for Devolution, Terrorizer Magazine and Ed Stone Rockwear. A busy and fun time. I had a promo shoot with Swedish metal band Katatonia for both Terrorizer and Ed Stone. The guys were nice people and good to work with. I photographed some unsigned bands and also some bands that are really making waves in the UK at the moment including Godsized. They opened the Sophie Lancaster Stage on the Friday and had the tent packed out! I also did a bar rant with Wolf - they are the coolest dudes. And the silliest photoshoot with Evile on the Ghost Train and bumper cars.

The remainder of August I have been working on the Launch of my new product range - Dolls ‘n’ Divas ready for September 21st. As you can see a new ‘shop’ section is in place and will go ‘live’ on the 21st.

July 2009 July started with a VERY hot day and 2 more of the girls for my pin up project - Rachel and Nicola. We had a super-fun day in the studio and all worked very hard - both girls had such great individual style!
A week later I was back in the studio with my final model - Izz. She is really into the ‘burlesque’ look and we worked well to put that across. More news about the project and launch at the end of this month’s news!

Symphony Cult recently played Download Festival and needed some promo shots. It was refreshing to photograph a female in a band context as many rock bands are predominantly male. My favourite pictures from the shoot can be seen in my Music-Promo section. I wish them all the best with their music.
On the 25th I went to Poole in Dorset with AC/DC Tribute Band - Dirty DC. It was a very long and thoroughly enjoyable day! I did a promo shoot and also live photographs. Simon Davies (Angus) also wanted some promos for his solo project which I was more than happy to accept! Dirty DC then played to a very hot and Sold Out venue for 2 hours with 2 encores for half hour on top of that! If you see that they’re playing at a venue near you I really recommend you go see them. They are also such nice down-to-earth guys who know how to seriously rock! Awesome!

July 2009 - Dolls ‘n’ Divas - Pin-Up Range Launches September 21st 2009

All 4 shoots are now done for this project. Here are the teaser shots for each of the girls suits:

There will be 10 limited edition packs of playing cards. Each pack will contain 52 cards with individual poses. There will also be single large prints available, stationery and homeware. Available for the moment exclusively from my Official Website - www.mariegc.com in the new Shop section launching also on September 21st.

Devolution Magazine interiewed me about the whole project. Published in Issue 22- August 2009, a 2 page spread. You can get hold of a copy from www.devolutionmagazine.co.uk

2 page interview on my project! Devolution Magazine, Issue 22 - August 2009, pgs 24 & 25. :)

I would like to thank for following people who have been involved in this project so far:

Helena Linder - model for the ‘Hearts’ suit
Nicola Ward - model for the ‘Clubs’ suit
Rachel Clause Clements - model for the ‘Diamonds’ suit
Izz Hohler - model for the ‘Spades’ suit

Stacey Frow - Make Up Artist
Marino “Scissorhand” Lambrix - Hair Stylist
Paul Barker - Designer

Ade - Scream Studios, Croydon, Surrey
Nickie - Devolution Magazine

Finally and by no means least, Glen, for his endless patience with me and my many hours finding props, planning, being my chauffeur, my support and my everything :)

Stay tuned for more release updates!!

So now all 4 girls have been photographed and my project has a name - ‘Dolls ‘n’ Divas’ - which sums up the whole thing nicely! I’m bringing the 50’s style and the modern day together to create a new range of products including - Limited Edition packs of Playing Cards - fully designed with individual card faces, Stationery, Homeware Accessories - Launching on September 21st and a new ‘Shop’ section will be launching here where you can view and buy these great items!

June 2009 
IT’S FESTIVAL SEASON!!
June 11th I was at the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill, Surrey for the Takeover mini festival. Headlining was Ghost of a Thousand, with 9 other bands playing including my good friends Godsized.

I started a self-funded photography project based on 50’s pin ups and consisting of 4 models. My first model this month was Helena and we had a fantastic time on the shoot; it was lots of fun and to the left is a small teaser picture of what you can expect. The remaining 3 girls will have their shoots in early July which i’m really looking forward to, and I will also let you know where you can get some prints and merchandise.

Sometimes alongside my photography I interview and review bands. At the Electric Ballroom on the 16th, I interviewed Barry Kerch from Shinedown for Planet-Loud. He was very easy to interview and told me about how it was recording their latest album ‘The Sound of Madness’, band lineup changes and future hopes. You can read it here. After the interview they played an awesome live set along with Heaven’s Basement supporting. Pictures can be seen in my ‘music - live’ section and also on the Planet-Loud website.

On the 18th I left for Hellfest in Clisson, France. The last time I was there was in 2007 and the festival had really improved. The 3-day lineup was incredible. I have written a blog on my most memorable moments, you can view it on my myspace blog page here. On the Saturday I had a photoshoot with Dez Fafara - singer from Devildriver for Terrorizer Magazine. He was the most fun and talkative person and so easy to work with. Look out for the pictures in next month’s issue! I photographed many cool bands including Europe, who still really know how to work a good crowd. My favourite pictures can be seen in my ‘music-festival’ and also portfolio sections.
This month has been really great for me!

May 2009

On the 3rd, I spent my Sunday doing something a little different than ususal. Alestorm were in town! I went to the Underworld with Terrorizer Magazine to capture the madness and stories of their tour so far with Faroese folk metalers - Tyr - who were also interviewed. I listened intently about life on the island and musical influences. After the interviews and pictures they were both to take the stage. I was most impressed with Tyr and they way they combined some pretty heavy riffs with melodic vocals and heritage. They did an encore of ‘Whisky in the Jar’ which went down an absolute storm! Really enjoyable!
Model Laura was looking to update her portfolio and booked me to do the job which I was absoloutely thrilled to accept. It was very hard to choose my favourite pics from the shoot to put in my portfolio and model sections on here for you to see. Laura was a very happy customer and I wish her all the best on her move to Los Angeles and her very promising new career!

April 2009
I flew out to America for 2 weeks on vacation, taking my camera of course! I saw the more suburban side of the States staying in New Jersey for the first week then stayed right in the heart of Manhattan in Times Square for the second. I did all the touristy type things - the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, went up the Empire State Building and loads, loads more - it really is the City that never sleeps. I took many beautiful pictures which will be in a new Travel section of my website very soon, so be sure to visit my site again soon to see. New York is a really breathtaking place!

Evile came to London on the 23rd for their first headline tour and packed out the venue with insane thrashers! Support was from Mutant and last minute Trigger the Bloodshed were added - a crazy lineup and very messy! Evile used one of my photos for their Tour Date poster.

I have updated some sections including my Published section with my most recently printed work with a 3 page spread in Terrorizer Magazine issue 183 - with a Tour Report of Hellfire Festival with a mixture of my photo studio and live photos from the 3 day event and more!

March 2009 Legion of the Damned came to London to support Obituary at The HMV Forum. I had a promo shoot with the whole band before the show began. They were all really down to earth guys with the longest hair i’ve seen so far! My favourite pictures from the shoot are in my portfolio section.
God Forbid and Ill Nino played the O2 Academy with support from Exilia. Photographing God Forbid was like going full circle for me, as they were the very first “signed” band that i photographed. God Forbid have gone heavier in their music and the tracks performed from their new album went down really well. As usual ‘Fallen Heroes’ (tribute to Dimebag) had everyone joining in.Ill Nino headlined and were impressive. Their stage presence had tripled since they were last in London (they played the Koko in summer 2007). Pictures from this show can be seen in my live and portfolio sections or at Planet-Loud.com
To wrap up March, I went to the O2 Arena with Machine Head supporting Metallica. The first time i’ve ever been to the O2 and also taken pictures - a GREAT venue! Machine Head played a half hour set that was loud and intense — it was a real priviledge to be there with them in the biggest UK venue, to photograph them and share in the aftershow madness and celebrations!

February 2009
‘Killfest’ was held at the O2 Academy Islington where I met up with Gary Holt from Exodus and had a shoot with him wearing his new signature ‘Pentagram’ shirt for Ed Stone Rockwear - it’s only available via their USA store so go place your orders NOW! The gig was awesome fun with Torture Squad playing their first ever UK show and Gama Bomb preparing the crowd for the mighty Exodus.

The following day I was back at the O2 Academy, for the first ever underground metal event ‘Hellfire Festival’. It was an AMAZING and very tiring 2 days. I had great fun in my studio area with almost all of the bands on the lineup; signing posters for Charity auctions and Promotional shoots. Check out my Music Festival section for some of my fave snaps of the event. Keep your eyes open for more news and excitement from Hellfire Festival in the near future - they are making waves in the UK!

On the 28th, the March issue of Terrorizer Magazine came out with my first poster printed! Fitting what seems to be the theme this month — Exodus — it was a very proud moment for me.

January 2009 HAPPY NEW YEAR!To start 2009 is the release of Charity Calendar for Ed Stone Rockwear. It contains all their favourite models wearing their threads and was photographed by myself and Cindy Frey. Scuzz TV filmed the day in the photo studio and the footage will be available very soon! We had a great team of hair and makeup artists - which you can find in my Links section. Most importantly the donations for the Calendar will be given to the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund. For more information and to get the Calendar, please go www.edstone.com/calendar. Thank you.
With the sad closure of the Astoria in December, Staind and Seether’s show was re-located to The Forum in Kentish Town. A nicely packed out venue and an enjoyable set from both bands. The photos are in my ‘live’ section and also available at Planet Loud.

December 2008 

December 1st at the Forum in London was Cradle of Filth’s only “announced” UK date on the “Filthfest” Tour, Dani Filth was recently endorsed by Ed Stone Rockwear so I met up with him after the soundcheck and had a photoshoot on their tour bus. I’m very pleased with how the pictures have come out and even got to capture a different side of Dani’s personality to what most of you usually see.

I joined Machine Head in London on the 2nd of their 3 dates in London at the Hammersmith Apollo supporting Slipknot with an All Area Pass. I had a photoshoot with Phil Demmel for their endorsement with Ed Stone Rockwear. I was stoked to get this shoot with Phil as a big fan of Machine Head and also got to photograph him with his new Jackson “Demmelition” custom - pics from the promo shoot and their amazing live set are uploaded, go have a look! It was the first time i’ve ever seen Slipknot live and I had the priviledge to also photograph them. They put on an amazing show and their new image is fantastic to capture on camera. A really good start to December and a fab way to end 2008.

Hard Rock Hell II was held this year in Prestatyn, North Wales. I went along with Terrorizer Magazine to capture the happenings on the final day of the 2-day festival. It was great to photograph fantastic bands like Out Cry Fire and Clutch - they always put on a good show!

On the 14th, I went out to Belgium for more of the ‘All Hope is Gone’ tour at the Lotto Arena, Antwerp. Sadly Machine Head had to cancel their last 2 dates of the tour due to illness, but i got more GREAT photos of Slipknot.

The last event before Christmas break was the Launch Show of Godsized’s EP - “Brothers in Arms” at the LA2 (Also known as the Mean Fiddler) in Central London. I was honoured to be there and photograph them headlining with 3 awesome bands supporting. Check out Godsized and have a listen to their new EP sampler on their new look website - www.godsized.co.uk, they are gonna be HUGE!

25th - I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

November 2008 Welcome to my new look website - www.mariegc.com! Up to date with my latest Promos, Live and Published pictures. Take a look around and let me know what you think. Sign up to my mailing list for a quarterly newsletter of what i’ve been up to.
Alter Bridge played for the first time at the Brixton Academy, UK - it was the 3rd time i’ve taken their pics. It was an amazing show, probably their best yet and the lighting was awesome too!
The Persistence Tour came to the Forum, London on the 15th. I did a promo shoot for Terrorizer magazine with Architects and then snaps with Trevor from Unearth, Tim from Architects and Winston from Parkway Drive for the “Hard of Hearing” feature. Look out for the pics soon!
On the 20th, Opeth played the Shepherds Bush Empire and I had a shoot with Mikael Akerfeldt for Ed Stone Rockwear. The pics are in my Portfolio and Promo sections. Opeth were extremely busy that day but were still polite and friendly people. It was refreshing!
October 2008
South London Rockers Godsized shot their music video for ‘Walking Away’ from their forthcoming EP out later this year. It was an absolute blast to join them for the day and take some snaps of them in action.

September 2008Paradise Lost celebrated their 20th anniversary tour in London at the Forum. I got to shoot the Scuzz TV and the Official Paradise Lost MySpace competition winners hanging out with the band. There was even time for a quick photo shoot with Paradise Lost.
Hellfire Festival has booked me to be their official photographer! The re-scheduled festival will take place on Feb 20th / 21st / 22nd at Islington Academy, London, showcasing some of Metal’s finest from the UK. For more information check out www.hellfirefestival.com
One not to miss!!