Ken Peltier Band, w/Brook Faulk

My previous comments about Melissa Mitchell not withstanding, by far the most enjoyable band I had the pleasure of seeing perform during my travels in Alaska was the Ken Peltier Band with featured guest singer Brook Faulk. This group has a great country sound with a very capable blues ability as well.

What struck me was the family feel this band has within itself and with the people who come to watch them perform. Intimate is a great word which describes the atmosphere they create and their audience relationship.

I saw this group perform at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, AK as well as at Eddies Underground in Anchorage. Both venues were packed with fans of this band - and the dance floor was festive and hopping!

The musical ability of every member of the band is outstanding. The musical leader of the band is drummer Mike Lashbrook. Mike does an excellent job keeping time and rhythm, but also has an excellent voice and sings lead on a number of popular tunes. Bonnie Thayer plays Bass and provides back-up vocal support, but on occasion she takes the vocal lead. Doug McCullough plays a very smooth lead guitar and excels at everything from country twang to a driving blues lead that will melt your heart. Of course the founder of the band, acoustic guitar player and lead singer is none other than Ken Peltier. Ken is one of those singers that can emulate many great country singers sound as well as croon his own tunes to make a young womans heart flutter as well as fill the dance floor with two-steppers and line dancers.

On both occasions in which I had the opportunity to see the band perform I was blessed with an incredible addition by the name of Brook Faulk. Brook is a beautiful woman with a powerful, yet sultry, voice with the range to carry a blues song home and the touch of a country singer which will bring a tear to your eye. Brook has an stunning stage presence and a lovely voice capable of mind blowing musical diversity. Brook told me that she will be touring the lower 48 sometimes towards the end of this year, so keep an eye out for this budding star.

Another Alaskan icon is a singer/songwriter named Hobo Jim Varsos. Hobo Jim performs routinely with the Ken Peltier band at various shows around the state. Jim is a true Alaskan troubadour. A few photos from his set at Eddies Underground can be seen via this link.

Photos from both Ken Peltier Band shows I saw can be seen via this link.

Ken Peltier's Myspace link is here.

Brook Faulk's Myspace link is here.

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

Alaska Photos

Alaska! What a fantastic place! Relaxing back home in Charlotte and reviewing the photos I can't help but re-live the wonders of the beautiful scenic views, the heart-pounding excitement of photographing the wildlife, and the friends gained in meeting new people and visiting new places.

After taking over 2,500 photos I've managed to whittle that down to just under 60 images and have posted them to my website. As that implies, there are many more images but I tried to include images from just about everywhere I visited. Beginning in the summer and ending in the fall the seasons transition is evident in the images.

I sincerely hope you enjoy viewing the images as much as I enjoyed shooting them.

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

Alaska Update #2

Over the last couple of weeks I've managed to visit a bit of Alaska. I went up to Denali and was fortunate enough to see and photograph a bull moose. Great photos of the moose as well as scenic photos of the park, including McKinley. After Denali I went up to Fairbanks and saw the Northern lights. I took a few photos, but since I did not have a tripod they didn't come out very well.

After I had the Bull Moose photo, next on the list was the Grizzly. For that I went down to the Kenai. The Russian River specifically. This would have been easy in June or July, but in September the bears aren't as visible. However, after a 7 hour wait in a prime fishing spot at the Russian River Falls, the famous Brown Bear arrived to catch his dinner. Trusting that the bear just wanted to catch a few salmon, I managed to get close to the action for some great shots of the bear catching and eating his salmon.

The last item on my photo list for this trip was the American Bald Eagle. I had heard that Homer, AK was a great place to get close to the Eagle. I know that the best time for photographing the bird is March/April - but I'm here in September.. I managed today to get a few shots of this magnificent bird. Not the action shots I hope to one day get, but a few closeups nonetheless.

Before leaving I'll have to get some shots of Wasilla - not that I had ever heard of Palin, but while I'm here I may as well take a few snaps of the town in its 15 minutes of fame.

Once I get back home I'll upload photos from this trip. Got some real sweet pictures to share..

Cheers,

Monty

Update from Alaska

It's been a while since my last update and things have been busy. I photographed several great musicians in July and early August. Mid-August I flew up to Alaska in hopes of photographing some Moose, Bear, Eagles, beautiful mountain ranges and the fall foliage change. So far I have seen the moose and a black bear catching salmon. No grizzly bear yet, but I'm keeping my eye out. The weather has not been great (cloudy) so I haven't made my way up to Denali yet. I'm waiting for the weather to improve so my chances of actually getting a photo of the mountain improve.

Aside from the weather, the salmon fishing has been very good. The silver salmon (Coho) are running. These fish are a blast to catch! I'm using some ultra-light tackle which has magnified the thrill. I'll be bringing a cooler of salmon back with me when I do come home. The Alaska State Fair is underway in Palmer - I may make it over there for a day.

I won't be able to upoad the Alaska images to my website until I return home, but I am able to put some up on my MySpace page. Look under "pics" and then the Alaska album. Please leave comments! It's your chance to give some feedback while I'm still up here shooting.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Monty