25 years of alt rock photos by Kat Monk

Rock of Ages
Kat Monk’s photographs of musicians go on view at ShockBoxx in Hermosa Beach

In the mid-1990s, Kat Monk could be found photographing bands at local venues like Toes Tavern, the Pitcher House, or the Hermosa Saloon. Oftentimes she would submit prints to the Easy Reader. Now, nearly a quarter of a century later she’s submitted a few more and I’m again seeing that they get published.
The difference, though, is that on this occasion Kat Monk has an exhibition of her work on view for four days, July 5 to 8, at ShockBoxx in Hermosa Beach. It’s not exactly a full retrospective but essentially a best of the best. The title, “.25 Alt by Kat Monk,” means that what’s being shown are images of alternative rock musicians that span the last 25 years.

A thrill like no other
Although she’s contributed to music publications in the past, when people would see Kat with her camera they’d sometimes ask, What are you shooting for?
“I’d say, Just shooting ‘cause I love it,” she’d reply, “and I decided that one day I would want to come out with a book. So this [show] is like the first extension of trying to head in that direction.”
In her earlier years of shooting high-profile bands, music photographers often had to sign a release form, which usually restricted how and where images could be reproduced. Kat says this has become less of an issue: “I’m not sure if it’s because of the digital revolution and phones and stuff, [but] they can’t control people taking pictures anymore, so why try and control?”
Policies must vary from venue to venue or band to band, but camera people are often ushered into a cordoned-off area in front of the stage where they can dash off as many shots as possible as the concert begins and the audience surges forth.
“Being in the pit, shooting while watching a band that I like, there’s nothing better than that,” Kat says. “The charge you get when you’re trying to catch someone moving across the stage.
“It’s always available light,” she adds; “you’re never shooting with a flash. You get three songs. Sometimes they never turn the lights on for the first song. You never really know what you’re gonna get when you’re in that pit.”
And so the thrill of discovery (or maybe some disappointment) when the photographer is sifting through his or her images at home later that evening or the next morning.

Move, don’t just stand there
In that case, what makes a great shot, an iconic shot? Well, it’s not necessarily someone from your favorite band or you favorite vocal artist. One can love the music, but visually it has to be some quality in the performance.
“Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) is fun to shoot,” Kat says. “She never stops for a second; she’s got so much energy and she’s just all over the stage. Her music isn’t as appealing to me, but shooting her is so much fun. It’s such a charge to try and see what you can get.
“Cage the Elephant (lead vocalist Matt Shultz) reminds me of Mick Jagger. He never stops for a moment; he’s like the male version of Gwen Stefani. He’s just all over the stage with lots of little movements. I love his music, love his energy.
“But then I went and shot Kings of Leon, who I really like their music. Not as much fun to shoot. (Caleb Followill) kind of stands there with the mic. You see that a lot. Vance Joy, love his music, just stands there with his mic. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), love his music; he just tends to stand there with his mic. So there’s definitely a division between the musicians who stand there with their mic” and those who prance about or gyrate with all the passion and energy of their youth.
At Kat Monk’s house in Manhattan Beach is a “wall” comprised of black-and-white high contrast images of rock artists. Pennywise lead singer Jim Lindberg asked her why he’s not up there. “Because you wear a hat that shades half your face,” she told him. On this particular wall, a half-shaded face just won’t cut it.
So now Lindberg knows what he’ll need to do if he wants his picture on Kat’s wall.

And her favorites are…
There are certain artists whom Kat has shot on multiple occasions, but she’s not out shooting every weekend, especially while raising four children. That would be a hard act to juggle.
At times she’ll attend shows where several groups are performing, and points out that for this reason she likes attending the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas and the KROQ Weenie Roast.
“But I do take a break,” Kat says. “I don’t want to be shooting every single band that plays. “I want to have fun, too. So I usually pick three or four of my favorites and I’ll go shoot those.”
Whenever her kids would notice a lull in her enthusiasm, they’d kickstart her into continuing (largely because they’d often benefit by being allowed to tag along).
“I think I probably would have phased out at a certain point,” Kat says, “when maybe my style of music started to wane at those shows. But then I really got into the new bands, too.”
Was it because her children would introduce her to up-and-coming groups?
Actually, no. When KROQ releases the lineup for their shows Kat goes online and checks out the bands with which she is unfamiliar. That was how she learned about Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, which became one of her favorite groups. And then, of course, by attending shows with several acts, “I would find other bands in the lineup that I would like, maybe better.”
Which leads to the question, which bands does she really enjoy?
“My favorite artist ever has always been Chris Cornell,” Kat replies, “no matter what band he was in. His voice is just amazing. I was heartbroken when he died last year. Everyone knew that I was going to be heartbroken because I was so vocal on social media about Chris Cornell. I would say that his time in Soundgarden, when he was sober, are probably my best photos of him. Recently when he did his solo show he was wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes.
“You can see so much as a photographer shooting them; you can see into their souls a little bit. You could tell when he was troubled and when he wasn’t. Chris Cornell and Soundgarden, back in ‘97 at Lollapalooza, was the first big band I ever shot.
“But in terms of going out and shooting the bands and then developing a love, Mumford & Sons would be one of my favorite bands. Not just the lead singer, but every member in the band. And just the quality of Marcus Mumford’s voice is astounding to hear. When you’re in the pit he’s like 10 feet away from you. Oh my gosh, he’s an amazing singer.”

Kat scratch fever
As one might guess, there were thousands of images to consider for “.25 Alt.”
“It was overwhelming,” Kat says. “It was a slow process.” The first challenge was to organize and catalogue the photographs into separate files on her computer.
“When I finally started to organize everything that was when it was like, Okay, I could do something with this. And I figured out how to catalogue and access the different bands and have a main folder with one band and then all the different times I’d shot that same band, then be able to look at it and compare it. It was pretty cool once it started to come together.”
Kat’s first idea was to present her pictures of various artists chronologically, but “then I took a turn and tried to find the most interesting shots that would be more compelling.”
The images will be on view for such a limited time that at first Kat wondered if it would even be worth the effort. And would anyone even show up?
“I wasn’t too sure in the beginning,” she says. “At the time it was like, Well, let’s just do something small. But it’s definitely proliferated from inception and is something I wouldn’t mind doing again now that I’m getting all the pieces together.”
She’s told during the interview that this show could be a springboard for approaching other galleries, and for that book she one day hopes to publish.
“Exactly,” Kat says with a laugh. “Now I’m really getting into it.”
.25 Alt by Kat Monk features photography and artwork, and it opens Thursday and Friday, July 5 and 6, with a VIP reception from 5 to 8 p.m. at ShockBoxx, 636 Cypress Ave., Hermosa Beach. The public opening reception is on Saturday, July 7, from 6 to 9 p.m., and on Sunday, July 8, there’s a brunch from 10 a.m. to noon. The highlights include images of No Doubt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Kings of Leon, Panic! at the Disco, White Stripes, Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus, Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers, Lorde, Garbage, X Ambassadors, Black Keys, and Cage the Elephant. (310) 989-4323 or go to shockboxxproject.com. ER

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