All right. Here we are. Here you are. It's a
new year. It's a new episode. A new you, right?
Here it is. The latest episode of the Dan Time
podcast. I'm your host, Dan McCardle. And I sincerely
hope you've enjoyed and been following and getting
something out of these latest episodes and guests.
And for the musicians checking out their catalogs
and following them on social media, Dan Brody,
Dan Brody last week. How about that one? Veteran
musician out of Melbourne, Australia. What a
fun conversation. Great depth of character that
Dan possesses, always mixing things up musically.
If you missed that one, do yourself a favor and
play it next. Now, listen, this show is nothing
without you. So I really appreciate you checking
into it, making it a part of your rotation. Okay.
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X, the YouTube channel, and Facebook. Just search
at Dan Time Pod. All right, freelance photographer
Andy Rice of Andy Rice Media Works is my very
special guest today. And I don't say that just
because it sounds good. You're gonna love this
guy. We met nearly 25 years ago when each of
us worked at record stores just down the highway
from each other. It was part of a franchise.
We'd send customers back and forth, and we formed
a bond back then. There was a fondness that we
shared in that time period. And as is often the
case, you drift apart. But you don't mean to
drift apart. That person just goes one way, you
go another, you're young, but you keep up with
each other. And this is a guy who followed his
dreams. He's still on that journey, but he took
the leap at a point in time. He didn't know how
it would turn out, but he bet on himself. And
he's got an incredible story to share. Andy has
photographed some of the biggest cultural figures
of our time. Prince, Willie Nelson, B .B. King,
the President of the United States, the Vice
President. Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama, current
GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and so many more.
His work has been featured in major publications.
Andy was also asked to speak at the National
Association of Black Journalists Convention.
The list of people who have given Andy ringing
endorsements for his work and his character literally
goes on and on and on. But at his core, Andy
is just a regular dude. He's a husband a dad
He celebrates people Andy He helps people he
helps those who can't help themselves we get
into that in this conversation and Check this
out. He enjoys an incredibly diverse range of
music. We'll talk about this We talk about it
at such length that I've created a bonus episode
just for you guys on top of this one to capture
all of our far -ranging chat about bands and
whatever else. Okay, folks, remember, follow
Andy, check him out, look him up at Rice Andy,
A -N -D -I. And remember, I think I discussed
this a week or two ago. You don't have to be
named Dan to be on this show. If you know me,
that's already a box checked. But how about this?
Andy, in a four -letter name, has got the letters
of the name Dan in there. It's just kind of mixed
around. So that is a special quality that really
gives him icing on the cake. All right. Without
further blabbering, here it is. I know you're
ready for it. I am too. It is Andy Rice Time.
Andy, let me just say it's great to be talking
to you again. I'm so glad you called and I'm
so glad you invited me as a guest on the show.
You know, I love not necessarily talking about
myself, but I definitely love telling the story
of how I got where I am now. I'm not finished.
I'm just ready to kind of keep going. Well, we
are fellow UAB grads like my guests last week.
Emily Haynes cook Andy and I you're a few years
before me, but we're both blazers and Go blazers.
Tell me how you got from you know, we'll touch
on our history you were in the corporate world
for a while and then You had this knack for photography.
You had this be probably experimented a little
bit. I did some stuff for fun How did you decide
to make the leap? Well, you know Photography
for me came was a gift that my mom gave me, you
know, so, you know, she didn't want me to, I
was pretty wild little kid, just all over the
place. And, you know, probably before ADHD was
a big deal and before people even knew that it
was a big deal, I had it, you know, I'm a seventies
baby. So mom never wanted to medicate me, you
know, cause she felt like the drugs would change
me, you know, she didn't want. She was happy
with who I was as a kid, you know So she didn't
want any chance that that glimmer of that shine
from her son would change So like, you know to
settle me down. I'll never forget. It's Christmas
time the summer before this Christmas we got
a tarry 2600 and she was just like, okay that'll
settle and That summer before that Christmas.
We had a huge like family reunion and my dad
had a Canon 81 or the family had a Canon 81 camera
and somehow through all that good time in a family
reunion I think an auntie or something or during
a hug or something like that spilled a drink
into that camera and my dad was bummed you know
he bought another camera of course and that camera
just kind of sat around for months and long story
short I went to the downtown library and That's
these kids these days don't know about microfiche
but I found the all the information to Canon
and I wrote them this choppy letter and Talked
them into sending me copies of the schematic
for that model took the camera apart and cleaned
every Inside it was sticky and you know cleaned
everything up put a battery in it and I was gold,
I had a camera. And so mom was a hobbyist and
she kind of like, they were amazed that I got
the camera. My dad was kind of like, dude, I
wish you would have told me that before. So that's
basically how I got into photography. My mom
was a hobbyist and she kind of taught me photography.
She would buy me film or I had a couple of odd
jobs as a kid and we'd get film and basically,
Every week, you know, I'd shoot a couple of weeks
36 roll or 24 roll And then we go and see what
I got and she kind of critiqued me and kind of
teach me along the way That's that's pretty I
got into it. I've always been into photography
even before I took a break from the corporate
world to do it professionally Now when you decided
to just go headlong into it Did you have any
reservations? Um, were you kind of hesitant maybe
for a period of years? Like, I don't, you know,
I want to make this work, but I don't know how
successful this is going to be. Or did you have
the mindset like, I'm just going to blow it out
of the water. Oh man. You know, it was pretty
scary because I just left, um, a nice position
with a big telecommunications company and I worked
there for years and Got a pretty good split.
I took my benefits and I just kind of ran but
you know My dad worked corporate job. My mom
was a teacher. So it was just in my soul He was
just in my blood for a while and I kept I kept
working in corporate You know, even though I
had this thing on the back burner that I really
wanted to pursue I just I just never did it just
because I didn't have the confidence that you
know There's no benefits package. There's no
insurance you know, no health insurance and those
are things that you always get when you have
one of those, you know, corporate jobs. So I
actually left Bell South at the time and took
a job at the bank in fraud, you know, so I still
had in my mind, this is the way to survive. This
is the way to be professional. And man, that
job in the bank, it sucked my soul away. It was
a great gig but one day it was actually the day
that I the last day of my two weeks notice for
that job I got a call from UAB and something
happened to their photographer. I've done some
things for UAB in the past so they had me on
their list and they called me and I was there
and the rest kind of is history. There's some
stuff that happened in between them. really made
me solidify my decision but then I can get into
that too. Isn't that something how things happen
like you said the last day of the two -week notice
you're sitting there at the desk at the keyboard?
Yeah with my boss. Like this will be over soon
and they called and actually my boss at the time
was just like man get after it. On my last day
he was just like there's no reason to miss that.
You know usually find people in some of those
places where you're not really you just know
you're not destined to be there For the rest
of your life. Have you found like? Good friendships
good people in places. You don't really want
to be but they end up they're rooting for you
They know that you got a knack for something
else and they're like just like you said there
there are tons of people there like I said my
old boss because you know, I would plug in for
Christmas parties and Celebrations of our teams
advancement, you know with pictures so they knew
that Pictures were kind of like photography was
my thing So it's always great that you know,
it's a delight to have those people around that
supports you like that And then that happened
that happened at that bank job So they they kind
of knew and they were ready. So when you have
that that passion, it's probably hard to keep
it a secret You end up talking about it or showing
someone something that you've been working on.
Oh, yeah I said I was doing all that you know,
they were they were paying me to do this stuff,
you know little events and Christmas parties
and Any kind of like corporate celebration that
we had for our department They'd be like and
you can take the pictures and you know, they
throw me a little cash for that But it definitely
was very obvious that this is something that
I needed to pursue to make me happy Well flash
forward, you know several years and and now you're
taking assignments from New York Times Washington
Post magazine Bloomberg Could you have seen some
of this? unfolding a Few years prior. Did you
know that you had the goods when she's once you
got going? I knew that I had the goods Dan. I
just didn't really I wasn't in contact with the
right people But there are a lot of things that
came positive from that pandemic period if we
can remember three years back, but that was one
of them. All of my corporate work had kind of
like grind to a halt because nobody was gathering,
all corporate events were done, you know, so
nobody was working in these big corporate boxes
anymore, which were, those are my playground,
you know. All these corporate headquarters around
town, those are the places that I go to set up
for headshots or set up for corporate sales meetings
or end of the year celebrations. that a lot of
the corporations around here have. And when COVID
hit, they were just saying, no, we got to stay
in place. The only thing that stayed relevant
and stayed active was the news. And I hate to
be a broken record, but you just got to be ready,
man. And I got the call. I think it was Wall
Street Journal. It was Wall Street Journal. And
the assignment was basically about the way that
a small town in Alabama is handling the pandemic
and the distribution of the vaccine and just
all of that stuff. And basically I got that call
and that was my first assignment. It was in March
of 2020 and I was super green. There's a process
for that level of journalism and I had no idea
how to do it. I kind of got lucky, did some research
and nailed it. It's kind of one of those things.
It's like... Once you do it good, all those guys
associate with each other. It's a big club. The
guy from Wall Street Journal's worked at the
New York Times before. He's got friends from
college that work at the Washington Post. And,
you know, they ask the question, who's your guy
in Birmingham? Who's your guy in the South? You
have a good photographer that we can depend on.
Because it's all about timeliness. It's all about,
you got to get that stuff in. As soon as you
hit the button to take the picture, They want
the editors want that stuff because news is news
has to be present and recent That's pretty much
how I got into working for some of the big big
publishers Yeah, Andy on that note where people
ask who's your guy in Birmingham? Folks listening
to this podcast right now. You always hear me.
It may sound like I'm just flattering the guest
I'm just saying oh you're you're the best guy
in this department or whatever. I really mean
it and Don't take my word for it If you connect
with Andy on LinkedIn or just visit his page,
scroll down to the testimonials, the comments
on Andy and his work, his character. It literally
goes on and on and on. I was so impressed here,
Andy, the people that have worked with you and
the things that they've said. I'll just read
a couple, just a couple of excerpts. Heather
Durham with Heather Durham Photography. She said,
He's early to every assignment establishes an
excellent quiet and friendly rapport with the
client. I Finally refer to him as the lighting
ninja to just talk about there's some kind of
a little niche area here But because he moves
around quietly quickly and accurately to make
sure every shot is ready to go To keep the shoot
running on or ahead of schedule. These are people
that you've assisted on various That aren't Maripol.
He's unfailingly polite and respectful of everyone
I'm just not even talking about your work, but
just your character I've known a few others few
others in or out of my work life with a better
outlook or more humane heart Andy That is just
gold in it. I think back 25 years and I'm like
they're spot -on That's why I remain friends
with this guy why I want to talk to him today
So let's talk about that. I started, when I knew
this was something that I wanted to do, I started
looking around town at people that I admire looking
at their work. And there is a photographer in
town and she's still forced to be reckoned with.
She took me on as an assistant. And basically
that's, man, that was one of the best moves ever
just because You're basically being paid to learn.
And it's hard. It's hard work because you're
not the star. You're there to kind of help the
star be the star, you know. So, you know, there's
a lot of loading in and loading out and a lot
of heavy lifting and you've got to learn light
because, you know, the key photographer, and
I say I've done both roles, the key photographer
needs to stay with the client. And I can't tell
you how invaluable. I started that role with
her here in Birmingham in 2011. And I worked
with her for seven years on every shoot, on every
assignment, big headshot installations to celebrity,
you know, shootings. So I have to like stress
that that was one of the most important parts
for my development is to learn. You know and
like I said you get you get paid to learn how
to do your job It was an amazing experience because
she didn't make any any mistakes, but you are
responsible because you're the assistant But
it's there's a lighter load because you're still
learning. You're still just kind of watching
but after a while your key photographer they
depend on you to like Kill it so they can kill
it. So It's slowed down a whole bunch for me
At this point in my career, I cherry pick the
people that I want to assist, but I'm not too
proud. Like that song, The Temptation, it's not
too proud to beg. You know, if Annie Leibowitz
comes to town and she gets my name, I'm assisting
just because. I mean, I'll get a chance to work
with one of the greats. And that's been my attitude
for assisting. So I'll say that to any aspiring
photographer. If there is somebody that you can
learn from and they're willing to pay you to
do it, Go for it, head first. Andy, you must
have also, in those moments, had the presence
of mind that, you know, if I make a good impression
here, now I've got a strong contact. Do you always
think about building out your network when you're
in those situations like, hey, I mean, I need
to really shine on all ends here, or does it?
Yeah, because in the early years... you're helping
these folks and they're only one person they
you know some of these folks had small crews
or small and small group of people that work
for them but mostly in the freelance world it's
just you if you're lucky enough to be able to
pay a staff it's still small but like I said
before it was a very important part of my career
path because with these small crews these folks
can't be everywhere every time so and that's
when the magic starts that's when if you're assisting
somebody and you consider them your boss or the
lady that I work for in town she she was a big
big time photographer she still is and she just
took me under her wing and just just taught me
just so much about the business it's not secret
it's our ability her name was Lisa Cole and we're
still amazing friends and she's still an amazing
photographer and you know we still anytime we
have a chance to talk and catch up we still we
do that but she referred many jobs to me in the
beginning you know that she just couldn't do
or wasn't interested in doing and that started
building my customer base you know it's twofold
you learn you get paid to learn These key photographers
that you're assisting are gonna get busy and
they're gonna start throwing you their, I call
it scraps, but it's not. These were all top tier
jobs that my key photographers knew that I could
crush. And from there, man, that, you know, you
start developing your own rapport with these
people and they start talking about you and spreading
your name and it's just kinda, it kinda keeps
going and going and going. Andy I want to get
into some of the subjects That you've had a chance
to photograph and I love how you say on your
Instagram that you're a photographer of people
and a photographer of things So in a minute here
want to get into some of the high profile subjects,
but man you've documented You know the plight
of people that that live in thousands of people
that live in public housing and they're just
I think you said dangerously close to some of
the most polluted places in the country. And
they don't have the means to get away from it.
And so you've really brought pollution and some
of these crises that get buried under the big
headlines to the front. How important is it to
you to have that be part of your body of work?
Man, it's really important. I think that some
of these folks don't have a voice. That's what
I use my camera for, is to kind of like, you
know, speak for them. The particular project
that you were talking about is happening right
here in Birmingham. We have heavy industry on
the eastern side of town, on Collegeville area.
And man, it's just nasty out there. And that's
stuff seeping into the air and seeping into the
groundwater. these folks need, you know, somebody
to tell their story so that they can either get
out of those areas or so that they can, you know,
super fun and fix those areas. So when I got
that assignment, yeah, I took it very seriously.
Yeah, I think it's it's easy for people to just
not really have the awareness. It's nasty out
there. We're walking around. We're walking around.
I had an assistant. We were walking around in
the grass. There was this fine dust in the grass.
And I think I threw away my shoes or something.
Like, I don't know, it's a terrible situation,
but it's gotten better. And a lot of those folks
have moved out of those areas. But for a while,
it definitely was something that folks were was
turning a blind eye to because they just weren't
aware. But I was really happy to explain and
tell those stories for those people. Now, last
year, Andy, on two separate locations, you had
the opportunity to photograph President Biden
and Vice President Harris President Biden in
Hope Hall, I guess he was giving a speech at
the Lockheed Martin weapons plant Yeah, and Vice
President Harris in Selma Everybody listening.
I got people all over the world all over the
country This is not I don't take a political
stance. I don't endorse candidates. I don't none
of that stuff, but I just Andy just the opportunity
Uh, whether this person has an R or a D next
to their name, how cool was it to, how did you
get the assignment? I mean, just like I said,
you just do really well the first time and the
good stuff will always follow. I've actually,
um, let me ask you this. Were you particularly
nervous on these assignments versus some of the
live music assignments that you've done? Or is
it, how does that work? You know, we're talking
about government and Secret Service, and I'll
be the first to admit that I don't really do
New Year's resolutions, but my social media presence
realized personally that's something I need to
do more of. I haven't even showed, like I've
taken portraits of the Vice President and the
President several times, and that's something
I'm gonna do more of in 2024, just be more present
with my social media. Post and stuff. I just
haven't it's published, but I just haven't put
it up on my personal social channels, so after
the first time they do all the background check
make sure you're not a crazy and After that man,
it's just all love, you know You get to know
their press secretaries and you get to know their
marketing people and there was a there was a
time near Chattanooga that the vice president
she was doing a a thing on green energy and near
Chattanooga in Georgia there's a company that
does they do solar panels and the vice president
toured the facility and like all the most of
the times not all the times but this was the
time that I actually got to to ride in the press
pool now that's where it gets really cool because
you're in line with secret service you know all
the security your flanked by black hawk helicopter
flight you look up to your left up in the sky
and there's there's a guy watching black hawk
it's just it's pretty impressive i i didn't do
a lot of video personally and put a lot of that
stuff up but just because of the security nature
and i don't want them to i don't want to disclose
a lot of that stuff but man it was it was fun
like just terrorizing through town and i you
know 10 vehicle, you know, convoy, you know,
with security all around you and super mean guys
that you only see in movies. It's pretty amazing.
You know, you get there, you jump out of an all
black Tahoe that's probably, you know, got some
kind of armor around it. It's just, it's pretty
amazing, man. I'll run to those assignments all
the time just because the treatment is just top
notch. Are you looking around like I said some
of these faces and these these people and thinking
really like I'm here yeah, do you flash back
to the college days or the music store days or
the corporate you're just thinking Wow Really
looking around glad I'm glad I didn't get into
too much trouble back in the day that wouldn't
have allowed me to do this kind of stuff Because
the background checks are pretty extensive. I
mean, you're right. You know, at times, I could
have reached out and touched either one of them,
you know, like. So are you actually you're not
in the same vehicle as the vice president? No,
no, no, no. They're like four cars ahead. You
know, they're they're in the same group of vehicles
that I'm in. And there's a nicely dressed. Secret
service guy. I'm in the backseat and there's
a media person sitting next to me and a driver
and a you know Secret service guy Wow How can
you can you tell that these guys the secret service
detail? That they are always on like they are
ready for the worst thing to happen at any moment
Or do they seem like regular guys? There are
different tiers. The guy that's in the vehicle
with me, he's got a suit on, but you just know
that he's got a suit in his pockets. But I'm
sure they put the Warriors there somewhere else.
These guys are the guys that actually one of
the guys that on one of the last assignments
with the vice president, he actually grew up
in Shelby County. near where I live. I live in
Shelby County in Alabama now. And he, you know,
he told me his whole story. He was a sheriff.
He was Shelby County Sheriff before he, you know,
went back to military and started pursuing secret
service. So, you know, you just never know. Those
guys are all hardcore guys. And yeah, you know
that they're super trained and they're super
together. And if something hits the fan, man,
you know that they're ready. I wouldn't want
to be the one on the business end of that. All
right. So Andy, I understand in the 2022 Alabama
GOP primary, you had a chance, you had an assignment
to cover the candidates in that race, the incumbent
governor, Ivy, who's since reelected and Lindy
Blanchard. I guess she was the former ambassador
to Slovenia. How was that experience, man? It's
pretty cool, man. Like I said, these folks are
celebrities and politicians. They're people just
like all of us. They were real approachable.
I didn't really have a lot of words for Governor
Ivey and the other candidates just because I
was busy shooting pictures, but all of our interactions
were really calm and chill. I really mostly interact
in those situations with the marketing representatives
that work for those candidates and those figures.
Man, I love all of that type of work. It's different.
It comes along with the territory, and I dig
it. Now, also, we're in the middle. I mean, unless
you're living under a rock, we're in the middle
of a presidential race. And as we discussed,
you've had the opportunity to photograph the
president, vice president. I understand you've
also been able to shoot Vivek Ramaswamy. Yeah,
he came through he came through Birmingham recently
as part of you know campaigning part of the GOP
campaign and of course as you may or may not
know One of the main debates was in Tuscaloosa,
Alabama This year right that was pretty exciting.
He had a meet -and -greet at a resort here in
town Ross Bridge It was really cool. He you know,
he's got some interesting views. He's definitely
a very electric orator he you know, he knows
how to like grab a crowd and I don't know if
any of these people were naysayers or if they
were just there because they were fans of him,
but I enjoyed listening to him. But of course,
me shooting or covering an event like that, it's
not personal. I'm just there to document the
event. I'm a photojournalist, so my job is to
take pictures so that the people that want to
learn about it or were not able to attend the
event can see, you know, what type of imagery
was going on during the event. So yeah, you could
have, I mean, if the president had been Bernie
Sanders instead of Joe Biden, or it was during
the Trump administration and you get the call,
you're taking that aside, but that's not something
you turned out. It doesn't matter. It's just,
you know, I have a job to do and I take it seriously.
And that's, that's the way I look at it. Well,
Vivek, you know, his policy positions aside,
You can definitely tell that when the lights
come on, he's someone that plays to the cameras.
He's probably a good subject in that, in that
respect, right? Where he's got a great smile
on the flash of the big smile. Yeah. He's got
obvious camera presence. I don't know if that's
just something he learned during his campaign
or it could be just something natural. It seems
like it's just, that's just him. I think he,
he has background in technology and business.
So. He's just probably just used to presenting
his ideas to a crowd. He just knows how to like
grab a crowd's attention. And he does that well.
And yeah, you can contrast those events to, like
I said, the local level where Governor Ivey,
for instance, you know, she didn't campaign hard
to become governor. She became governor via a
resignation at the beginning. and then she campaigned
for reelection but you know she's not someone
that's trying to get out in front of the camera
it's just because of the position that she's
in she's going to be photographed it's going
to be a need to document her appearances oh yeah
did you get a chance to meet the governor or
ambassador blanchard i got a chance to to meet
ambassador blanchard she's really sweet nice
lady like i said before my words are always pretty
short so I had to do some a couple of portraits
of the governor and like I said I just keep it
chill it's always you know very respectful and
thank you so much for just taking the time out
to just sit for me for two minutes or five minutes
or whatever has been you know set aside for me
as a photographer so I just let people my subjects
know that I appreciate their time they didn't
have to They didn't have to stop for me for two
minutes for me to get a picture or just lights
or set up things. And so I'm very thankful. So
I just shake a hand, give a smile and say thank
you. Andy, do you ever have situations where
something with your equipment goes wrong at the
worst possible time? You've got three minutes
to get it right. Have you had some mishaps? that
have occurred and the brow is sweating, but you
gotta keep it cool and you gotta figure something
out. Have you ever had something like that happen?
Or does it go pretty well for the most part?
It goes pretty well. When I'm on those types
of assignments, I spend the 24 hours prior to
the assignment just making sure that everything
is charged. It's ready. Everything is backed
up. Got a couple of hard drives for me for after
the fact. You're not just rolling out of bed
that morning and leaving much to chance. Yeah,
at these events, they're depending on you to
provide the content for the news. So there can't
be any mistakes, actually. There can't be any
mishaps. So man, I've got like, I don't know,
man. 10 charged batteries, 20 cards, 20 data
cards, you know, SD cards, each, you know, with
capacities of between 32 and 128 gigs. So I'm
just I'm just ready for whatever and I've got
I've got a cool you got to have a cool bag. I
use a lot of think tank equipment bags and they
got a pocket in there for everything and they're
just easy to keep up with all your stuff. I always
double fist. I've even taken three bodies to
Sheets before but no no less than two bodies
And that's that's kind of like a standard for
this type of work. I Guess yeah that most people
don't realize how much preparation how many hours
of preparation go in You know before it's time.
It's the the guy that tells the marketing rep
or the photo editor that Something like that.
I don't think you can do it. I don't think that
you can make those mistakes You just have to
be own you got it Like you asked about the Secret
Service guys, they can't make those mistakes.
So, you know, I just go in ready to roll. How
much fun is it when you are, like I mentioned,
you're photographing Willie Nelson, Leon Bridges,
Mariah. I've been here currently. I've been really,
really busy with all of my corporate interests
and all of my editorial interests. I just...
kind of made a promise to myself to get back
into the music, which will happen. I'm gonna
go pretty hard on that kind of stuff in 2024,
just because that's really where I kind of started.
The industry standard is three songs, first three
songs, no flash. That's kind of like the rule.
So the anticipation of your favorite artist,
and sometimes it's an artist that I haven't even
worked with before or haven't even listened.
to before but man you know waiting for that that
artist to hit the stage and you're in the pit
and you're waiting for you know get the chance
to to portrait them man i can't explain it you
know especially if it's somebody iconic and legendary
it's it's an amazing feeling to be that close
to these to these folks and they're they're just
human beings like everybody else but um one instance
um i'll mention this bb king He was at a venue
here in town. And of course, he's an older artist.
You know, before he passed, he was up there in
age, but still, you know, still amazing to watch.
But the venue had to make special preparation
for some of the participants that needed ADA
access, you know, disabled folks. And it really,
usually there's about two feet between the lip
of the stage. and the back of the barrier. So
it's plenty of space to walk in the pit. But
because they had to, you know, make accommodations
for those folks, it caused the pit area to only
be a foot wide. So I'm a good boy, man. I squeezed
in a good, to get good portraits of B .B. King
and almost was really right in front of them.
I was kind of I never like to do that and that's
just me personally. I don't ever want to be Annoying
as a as a photographer. You really want to be
a fly on the wall. You don't want to be in that
bubble Yeah, I'm afraid that man close to this
guy You know, he's gonna call one of his you
know his people and get me out of the pit before
the three Right almost When he was you know,
we we danced I you know, I would Crouch low as
I could. And I always, me personally, I always
respect the payers. I call them the ticket payers.
Those are the folks that, you know, paid to be
in the front. You know, so I don't ever, I don't
want the back of my head to be the first thing
you see when you're trying to check out your
favorite artist. And man, it was a part of the
show and he was passing, he was flicking these
guitar picks out to the you know crowd and they
were going wild because you know when you're
bb king you've got your own personalized guitar
pick they've got your picture on them they've
got your signature on them and these folks were
just going crazy to get these picks i was so
close to him i held my hand out for one which
is something i never do and it was the best it
was the best ever he placed it in my hand and
i don't know man i just i felt bad I felt like
nothing else did. You're floating on air. Yeah.
So that's happened a couple of times with other
artists. Player did something similar at the
same venue. So it happens, man. You just got
to be ready. Do you get a chance to talk to any
of these artists after the show or? They're pretty
guarded, you know, and I never want to overstep
my boundaries. with the artist, with the artist
management, or the venue. So if I'm not invited
to those places, I usually kind of just chill
out. I don't really push the issue on that. But
if I'm backstage and I'm usually like a handshake
and thank you kind of guy, I'm just like, thanks
for coming. Thanks for playing for us tonight.
And I just kind of leave it at that. I just kind
of leave it as a... you know, something that
I can remember for the rest of my life and something
that I can, you know, I was there, you know,
I don't have to be a loud mouth to prove that
I was there, you know, so. Yeah. You see people
sometimes, I guess, as you get older and you
don't get the photograph, you don't get the autograph,
but you remember it. I've met some musicians
and a famous athlete, I'm not going to mention
their names, but didn't get a photograph, didn't
ask for it. Did ask for them to sign anything,
but just had a moment of conversation and just
left them alone. You know, they get enough of
that. Yeah, because man, they played all night,
been on stage all night. And the last thing they
want to do is get into an interview -esque kind
of situation. They're ready to shower and get
a bus and go to the next gig. Or go to the hotel
and take a nap. they're just people like everybody
else and uh you know i learned that early you
know because of the access that i've been granted
and and i'll say this that's what keeps you getting
the access it'll take one time for a tour manager
to tell a venue manager that yeah that guy that
guy right there you know you know so i just kind
of always keep it chill and you know play the
self -respect card it's just kind of like Would
I want somebody to approach me if I was in this
position? So I just kind of you know Keep it
chill Andy last summer. I saw that you you spoke
at the NABJ convention the National Association
of black journalists and Was part of a panel
discussion? Yes, tell me a little bit about that.
How much fun you had doing something like that
Man, it was awesome. Just to have that talent
in This town was amazing. It was an honor for
them to pick us as a venue for such a large event.
I was able to reach out to a couple of editors
that I had only met through email and over the
phone because they came to the NABJ. So that
was in itself one of my favorite editors from
the Washington Post. I got to meet him. there
were brunches and tons of social time for us
to kind of, you know, talk through some things.
And it was an honor, you know, for them to ask
me to do it. And we talked about basically my
journey, kind of similar conversation that we're
having today. Just kind of talked about how I
got started and some things that led to my success.
And it was great. I can't say anything bad about
the NABJ. I'm looking forward to, obviously this
year I'll have to travel, but folks came from
all over, from as far as Washington State, as
down south as lower parts of Florida and Miami,
and folks came from everywhere, New York. So
it was just, it was a great time to network with
peers and talk about what we love is being visual
journalists. Andy I just well first of all, I
just so enjoy this conversation. I feel like
that you you just have an interest in humanity
in your fellow man your fellow woman and I Might
have come with getting a little older and having
children, you know, you just want to You're always
teaching and you know, they're always watching
so now you've got we talked about this You've
got three children I've got three kids and I
think we had the same order where it's two boys
and then the girl. How much has being a dad shaped
your current outlook on your professional life,
your home life? Man, it's great. You know, they
embrace what I do and they know daddy takes pictures
for a living. Especially my oldest this summer
was the first summer that he got a chance to
work with me and it took a little, you know,
he's just like man you you want me to work it's
summer vacation but then when i told him about
you know the incentive i paid him you know and
he made a lot of money this summer you know for
a 14 year old kid and um that's great he's totally
in he he assisted me on a lot of uh shoots this
summer the what's in it for him he definitely
had that won him over he i never i only had to
only had to fuss at him about getting up the
first time and being able to meet all these interesting
people and all these interesting situations that
he normally would not be in if his dad wasn't
a photographer. He really enjoyed it and obviously
being a father it gave me a time to spend some
time with my kid and it was great man. He's really
he's an assistant with me now whenever I need
one and he's not in school. He's totally on it.
We also mentioned before we set up the call here
I want to talk about some guy stuff. I think
that it's really important in 2024 now more than
ever that Men are involved in their children's
lives whether they're with the mother or they're
not Yeah that guys hang out with guys You know
either in their professional life or they foster
some kind of friendships don't have to go have
beers at somebody's house every weekend, but
just to have male friendships. It's not really
always talked about a lot, but I think it's very
important for men to be well -rounded and to
be good to women, to be respectful of women and
even people from different cultures, different
backgrounds. It's just something that I've always
believed in. And now that I have two boys, I
want them and I think you do too, to see their
dad doing something that, you know, either they
want to emulate or they at least think, hey,
that's pretty cool. My dad's a photographer and
that you take them to breakfast. You sit down
and you eat with them and you put the phone down
and you look them in the, you know, get the eyeball
time. What are your thoughts? Man, I think it's
really important. I think that we're old school,
so we just try to mix a lot of those old school
ideals to our kids. I'll never forget. Obviously,
I told you about how things slowed down during
COVID, but we were just like very committed.
Me and my wife were really committed about keeping
our kids mentally sharp, you know, and spiritually
sharp. As far as like being stuck in a house,
we made sure that we stayed outside, man. We
did a lot of camping and a lot of outdoors stuff
and a lot of cooking outside. That's good. It
was raining. It was so rain. It was just raining
and the kids were like sad because we had planned.
We just got ordered frisbees from like Amazon
and they were so bummed. So I looked out and
there was no lightning. It's just good rain.
I was just like if you guys ever played in the
rain and we just went out outside outside and
just played frisbee in the rain. You know and
it was I've got pictures of it. It was just one
of our I don't know, it was one of those moments
where you as a father, you know you're doing
it right when the kids are playing in the rain.
And that's just something that when I was little,
we wouldn't have even asked. We would just, as
long as it was safe, no lightning or anything.
But it's really important that you take time
for your family. And anytime I can, the kids
always know I'm up here at my studio now. And
for all practical purposes, it's just a it's
just a room you know with the bathroom but they
know they you know they can come up here and
grab the remote and watch kids shows on the roku
or you know there's plenty of cool things to
snack on and there's plenty of cool drinks and
cold waters in the fridge so i'm they know that
they can get around you even if you got something
you got to focus on for a little bit they could
be with dad Yeah, I want them to always be you
know, I never want them to be I never want to
have to beg them to come up here You know, so
they you know, they might show up mom might bring
them up here any any minute today and leave them
and they know that There's a park across the
street. I'm off Highland Avenue. So it's just
really it's really pleasant, you know up here.
It's a really cool cool scene now Your daughter,
like mine, is your baby, Andy. Talk about this
guy's stuff, but let me tell you something I
think you might be able to relate. When I hold
my baby girl, it's like, I'm not even saying
this right, but it's like a lightning bolt through
my heart. It's just, she, there's something about
when you, a dad with his baby girl, you know
that you are, you are wrapped up with her for
the rest of her life, rest of your life. And
you kind of, you feel, I don't want to call it
a wait, but you definitely know, all right, you
better be on your A game, buddy, because she's
going to look up to you. And if you start making
a mess of yourself, which you're not going to,
you know, you're not, I'm not, but they, girls
don't need that. They don't need their dads to
disappear. They don't need their dads to, um,
I've dated women that have. do not have good
histories with their fathers and it changes the
course of their life. But not to get so deep
there, but how, how tender is that relationship?
You remember when she was a little baby and.
It's amazing. Like, um, I can't stress that enough.
It's just like, she gives me everything I need
as far as, you know, just, I don't mean to be
cliche, but the whole, you know, Hey daddy, when
I walk in the door. She just knows that it's
hard for me to tell her no and that I've got
her back, you know, and she's a, she's a budding
artist. She draws and she's six and she's got
her own little portfolio desk and place where
she's got all her crayons and colored pencils
and stencils and construction paper and she's
a mess and a beauty at the same time. She's,
she's so amazing. Yeah, man, you don't get my
heart my heart started to be bad She knows that
she's my heart and the boys do too. But man,
it's just something special about The relationship
that you have with your own with your the important
your only daughter. That's right. I mean He hadn't
gotten she hadn't picked up a camera yet, but
she's definitely on her way, you know, she we
call it she's our little artist and she she's
Say say it again, I think it's George Rodriguez
He's a he's from Louisiana and he draws the blue
dog. It's just a blue dog She's never seen this
but it reminds me she does cats. She does like
these cat faces and man, they're amazing She
does them with polka dots she does them all kinds
of ways I have to show that I have to show that
to you, but she draws all kinds of stuff She
does dogs she does all kind of animals, but they're
amazing. Like I'm really proud of her With the
way she's advanced her her art at such a young
age But you know, they say the apple doesn't
fall far from the tree. So there's that Yeah,
and you just got to be But like I am with my
kids you start seeing those traits from for either
the guy from you or your side of the family or
your wife and You just try to foster a good environment
for them to explore those interests Andy real
quick here. I wish we could talk for another
hour. I'm just so enjoying this. I got a few
Random questions. I always so in at the end Well,
first of all, let me just run through so everybody
listening Andy and I first met would have been
the early spring 1999 we worked at music stores
or part of a franchise and I didn't know it at
the time but what a year for music we could talk
a lot about it was cd warehouse uh just how cool
it was back then to have a record store where
people met and talked about music we don't quite
have it the same way now but listen to some of
these Releases from that year Britney Spears
makes her debut Christina Aguilera Blink 182
comes out on the scene in a huge way basically
just recharges that that power pop genre The
Coachella festival is the first the first one
corn I didn't remember this one corn is the first
rock band to perform at the Apollo Napster is
launched that year Backstreet Boys. It's a big
year for that music. Lauren Hill takes home five
Grammys, the first female artist to take home
five Grammys in one night. I mean, the list goes
on. You've got, I think Nas had a couple releases.
What a fun time. What are your thoughts when
you look back on just working in a record store
at the dawn of the 21st century? Man, I think
it was really cool and I miss it. I miss it dearly.
I think that the music industry has changed so
drastically. I actually have a moment when I
really remember it changing, and it kind of made
me sad. It might have been Tools Lateralis. I
had ordered, man, I ordered what I thought was
enough CDs, you know, the day, the release day.
Enough CDs. You thought you'd ordered enough
CDs for that day? That release was a big big
release lateralis. I think it came out 2001 maybe
or I don't know around that time 2002 and We
just slammed through like a case of CDs is 30
if you remember that that's right. There's a
little box. This box is rectangular Yep, yep,
there's 30 in a bushel or whatever you want to
call it, case. And I think we did three cases
and just blew through them. And I will never
forget doing like a cash pool went to across
the street, they had just opened a target. And
I think they were selling the CD for maybe at
our cost or a dollar above our cost. And I sent
somebody because I hated turning people away.
And since we weren't really losing any money
on the buy, I sent him over there to buy like
10 copies of that CD. I know the people at Target
were looking at him crazy, but that's when I
knew that that day may be sad because I knew
that You know as a CD store and as a as an entity
in business, we couldn't sustain it I knew that
something was gonna change When I was able to
buy at cost be across the street from a big -box
retailer the days were numbered Yeah, that was
a sack and surely enough within like two years
after that I think the store I think my location
closed. I can't really remember that far back,
getting old and We've got a record store here
in Pensacola called the music box and they walk
in and man does it not feel like Like I said
1999 2001 all over again. I Don't think they
burn incense a lot, but you kind of smell where
it used to be Fired up and there's used CDs.
There's a huge vinyl collection. I love going
in there You know the later model vehicles if
you go buy a new car now They're usually not
going to have a CD player. I still was rocking
the CDs until about 2020, like about three years
ago. I kind of miss it. I mean, you don't want
to be driving 65 miles an hour and putting in
your, taking out CDs and a one disc changer.
I just got a new vehicle and yeah, you're not
streaming or listening to satellite radio. You
don't have a way to do anything. There's no cassette.
There's no CD Player at all. I feel like the
CD still they sounded better There's just a lot.
I Don't know. I play Apple music on the road
Yeah, sounds pretty good. Maybe there's not a
difference. Maybe it's all in my head. I Don't
think I think that it I don't I won't say better.
I just think it sounds different. Yeah what was
on the back of the nomenclature, the AAD, you
remember that? Right. So I do remember listening
to CDs that were AAD, that's analog recording,
analog mix, digital master. That's what the letters
stand for. I do remember a time when I would
buy a CD and it would be DDD. Now those clearly
sounded different. that's crazy like you have
a digital the ending digital platform the CD
the compact is that had its original masters
recorded in an analog fashion and then as technology
advanced the master was digital from the start
so that your mix was digital as well as well
as your final playback media so i i do remember
seeing The a's disappear from the back of the
cd and then I remember it not even being a thing
at all You could buy a cd in it. The nomenclature
was just not on there at all Which you know makes
me feel old I I think the first cds I bought
it was not until 1995. I remember because I was
buying cassettes up until My first car so I was
16 and 95. Do you remember the first cd that
you purchased? Oh, man. Yeah, absolutely It was
probably a little earlier than that. I got my
first CD player for Christmas 90 Man, I'm telling
my age here 89 or 90 man. It was a big deal.
They were really expensive back then I remember
my my older brother coming home with those long
boxes that they came in Yep, I still Man, I still
have the original reprise. I'm a big Jimi Hendrix
fan. And I have, still in cellophane plastic,
still wrapped the entire discography reprise,
Warner Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, all his releases,
you know? Axis Blow of Love, Smash Hits. I mean,
just all of them. Still sealed in the long box.
I can't wait to - Wow. They're in the garage
now and I can't wait to dig them up and show
them to my kids because the long box was marketing's
answer to, I think, the album covers, you know,
LPs, just a big graphic cardboard thing. But
the thing about it is I don't remember people
saving them, you know, like. I got so good that
I could feel the crease of the CD in the bottom
of the box and just rip it apart, you know, rip
it right through the middle and get the CD out.
But since I'm a big, big Hendrix fan, I decided
that'd be something that I still have. Man. I
got a few prints. A few who? Which one? Prince.
Oh, yeah. We were talking about Prince on the
last episode or a couple episodes back. Man.
He was... I got... I got the Diamonds and Pearls
cassette. That was still when I was in middle
school. Yep. Yeah, I got to see him 17 times.
I got to photograph him once. You'll never forget
that. Never, man. It was at Essence Festival.
He's one of my favorite artists. So it was pretty
tough to turn that down, but he personally approves
all of his. I mean, that's what I was told. And
he personally approves all of his selects. So
whenever we shoot it, edit it, and send it over
to his people, I heard a rumor that he actually
puts his odds on it. And that instance in New
Orleans some years back, it was at the Essence
Festival. He was probably about, I don't know,
maybe 200 feet away from where I was editing.
So he had a show to do after his main performance
during Essence. He did a show at the House of
Blues. on Decatur Street in New Orleans in the
French Quarter. And his people were already,
I mean, obviously the group and everything was
already there. He's a superstar. They just whizz
him down there and he walks in like a superstar
is supposed to do. But after his main performance
at Essence, the team that I was working with,
we were doing some of our selects and he actually
was in the building after... the crowd from essence
had dispersed and went home and stuff. But yeah,
sometimes it's pretty hard, you know, depending
on if it's the artists that I have loved all
my life. Yeah, I do tend to get a little starstruck,
but that's just normal. That really is just the
experience of a lifetime. You talk about Prince.
You get excited. I mean, he is he was a living
legend in his time. Yeah, man, and now he's one
of the all -time greats Yeah, I was uh his last
tour before he passed I was preparing to hit
some of the shows and try to get approved for
some of the shows and I had a chance to shoot
him in Atlanta and you know just some personal
family stuff came up where I think my little
girl had a Little girl had a recital or something
and I couldn't make it And the next thing I heard,
he was gone. So I was a little bummed about that.
Because all of my buddies were kind of ragging
me about coming over to just hang out. And so
the plan was to shoot it and get regular seats.
And after my time in the pit, I was going to
go and hang out with my friends at that show
at the Fox. He did two nights at the Fox, I think.
And my friends were like, we can get you tickets.
I totally got bombed just because I had something
else to do and then he was gone, you know. But
I got a chance to see Prince 17 times, man. So
in my life, there's no regrets. So when you worked
that assignment, when you shot him, this was
not long before he passed or within a few years?
Yeah, it was, I can't really, I'm trying to think
about the time period. He took up a residency
in Vegas, I think, for a while or... was doing
some shows in Vegas and I was gonna try to catch
him there and then he started doing his man in
piano, which basically was kind of like an acoustic
show with just him singing some of his big hits
with piano. He was just basically sitting at
a piano playing. And I was just like, man, that'd
be the most awesome time to shoot him. He'll
be sitting down. I was just thinking about, a
lot of photographers will tell you that they
make the pictures in their heads before they
take the pictures. that's definitely a thing
that I do and so I was just like man this would
be easy you know he won't be moving around there
won't be a band you know there'll just be a really
good light spotlight on him but I just never
got the opportunity to do it you know in that
capacity I wanted to hit a bunch of shows on
that tour just to make sure I got a really iconic
shot of him you know but it just never happened
then you know one thing with Prince He was just
on a different level. Sometimes people perceive
those those mega stars as unapproachable prickly,
uh, maybe difficult to actually interact with
but I heard it came out after he died that He
was quite philanthropic. I guess you would say
like he made Charitable contributions that he
didn't really want any attention Oh, yeah attached
to it some of that stuff came out and Think all
that's true. I don't know for sure. I'd have
to you know read it with my own I believe you
and I definitely have heard that too that he
was just You know, I thought you're gonna ask
if I ever had an opportunity to be in the same
room with him But yeah that would be no that
that'd be no I've never been the same I was the
closest maybe gonna ask that but it was like
I've always heard that Prince is like you Probably
most people only get like a few layers away.
Well because we have the media situated in the
visitors locker room, which is, you know, they've
got like a place where they can review films
and they've got all these little like, they almost
look like little closets for all the players.
So we were pretty cozy in there. He was on the
other side of the hall in the New Orleans Saints
dressing room, which I didn't get a chance to
go over there and really check it out. as much
as I wanted to all the years that I've shot essence
I've just never been over there that it's like
really we had to eat over there at one one year
but it's definitely nicer than the visitors locker
room but yeah he was probably the walk from one
side of the hallway to the other side uh is probably
about two three hundred feet so he was pretty
close we had pretty strict rules not to disturb
and you know just kind of hang hang back so have
you been in a situation where you're not asking
to meet the subject and you're doing your job.
And maybe there's an interim period there where
you're grabbing something to eat and someone
just because of, um, their impression of you
maybe has said, Hey, Andy, come on. I want you
to, I want to introduce you to, to so and so
does that really happen? It rarely happens. Um,
if you're on like a marketing team and you're
working for an artist and. passing they've seen
you and they know that you are super professional
and maybe but usually these guys security and
marketing they have an assignment and they pretty
much stick to the you know they stick to the
plan they don't when you start breaking the rules
like that anything can happen so yeah it rarely
happens man like that it'd be cool it'd be cool
if it did often but yeah it The normal one run
of things is if you're not supposed to have access
to a certain area and you just stay away Sure,
andy do you miss just handling the jewel case
just popping it open? I miss it. I miss driving
and having a couple cds in the passenger seat
Yeah, man the case logic. Yeah Remember that
thing? Oh, yeah, I kind of got to where i'd have
I never had the visor cd thing going but Had
some in the middle console But I really got to
where I was like, okay I'm just gonna leave the
house and grab three or four CDs and this is
gonna be the theme for today or for the week
All the time. I do miss ya I do but you know,
you can do that with Apple music playlist It's
just a sign of the time, but it's not the same.
It seems too easy. It seems You know It's too
easy to like You know, it's not really is I don't
think it's anywhere close to as Satisfying when
you just tap the download button. You're like,
oh, okay. Well, that's in my collection now,
but Right. It's not gone is the experience of
what? Driving to the store walking to that section
the metal section the R &B section the pop whatever
Summing through finding it or if you know, maybe
it's featured if it's a big release and then
Opening it up taking all that plastic. Maybe
it's a good thing. We don't have all that but
a little sticky Barcode on the top that you have
to peel off It's a lot of fun stuff with that
experience. It's just I like the Apple music.
I want Apple music subscriber It makes it pretty
easy But not as fun not as fun. No. Hey a couple
really really random questions here. When was
the last time that you Haven't done this since
I was a kid. I don't think well, it's been a
little while did not Start the question over.
What was the last time that you got a really
good bubblegum bubble? Going where you just blow
it out as wide as it can go without popping It's
you know, it's been it's been a long I tell you
my kid brought some What was it? It's the it's
the is it big chew or i don't know big league
chew that's it you get a good one going on those
on that bought some of that home from a party
at school or something and i did that and it
just blew their mind like afternoon me trying
to teach them how to and i was just like Hey
man, it's uh, I was telling my son I was like
it's right a passage. You gotta do it You know,
and you can't get all over your face like it's
gotta be Gotta learn it and sure enough for hours
They're just they ate the whole bag and you know,
we got a big rule. Don't swallow it. You know,
what about all right? Here's another one. It's
another I don't know how these questions come
to me and why I even select them Something I
don't even know like they might bomb I've had
a couple or I've asked and they just They just
fall kind of flat, but I try them out Old -timey
pajamas with the nightcap, you know, maybe like
19th century early 20th century if your wife
ordered something like that for you for Christmas
are you give it a shot and Or do you like to
I don't like to sleep with a lot on Mean not
I mean I'm closed but I don't like to have the
top and the bottom and the pants and I don't
do all that but Man, I'm a big fan of like, you
know just t -shirt and I like a good pair of
nice comfy Pajama pants or pajama shorts. Yeah
on the cold cold nights they don't really have
to be themed my wife will just run the target
and get me a an extra large of some plaid business
or whatever. It doesn't have to be anything cool.
My kids still wear the cool pajamas with hoodies
and the footsies. You remember? We still have
some of those in circulation. They still rock
those, but no, I mean, I kind of keep it simple,
too. I just kind of just whatever they have at
Target or Walmart, you know. No spongebob or
anything like that. I tend to go for traditional
plaid or or solid colors I think I got about
three in rotation three different pair How about
this have you ever I mean everyone has but do
you remember a time? Where you sent a text message
and it auto corrected? Too fast or you hit send
before you saw it. You're like, oh shoot I just
hit send and it was just way off of what you
meant to say does that happen much or Not so
much. Happens all the time. That's why you gotta
make sure you're always being sweet. One time,
this was years ago, not even with my wife, it
was with a girlfriend, but I was trying to tell
her, she was telling me something good that happened,
and I was replying, I wasn't that great, I'm
still not great at text shorthand, but I replied,
G -F -Y. And I meant for it to to read good for
you And she sent me like the angry emoji back
or it was maybe before emoji. She said what are
you trying to tell me? I can't really say it
on the podcast, but it's you know, go f But she
was on to it she do all the shorthand and that's
one that sticks out there both of the other ones
have been able to explain away, but I wouldn't
have been offended because I wouldn't have even
known. Well, Andy, if people want to reach out
to you for an assignment, what's the best way
to contact Andy Rice? Man, probably my social
media is always a good place to start. All of
my social channels are the same. Rice, Andy,
which is R -I -C -E -A -N -D -I. Is where you
can find me on x where you can find me on facebook
where you can find me on instagram You can find
me on linkedin with rice andy. It's just r i
c e a n d i Rice andy with an i yeah folks go
to the instagram page the instagram page Check
out the body of work. It speaks for itself linkedin
look at the endorsements the great reviews that
andy's received from The impressions he's made
over the years I'm just so glad we could do this
today, Andy. Thanks for making the time. Man,
all the time, dude. When you call it, I was 190
% in. So it's always good to hook up with an
old friend. I'll let this be maybe the last little
plug, but it's such an important thing, man.
We were just talking about being fathers and
dudes and currently I'm working on a project.
It's called old friends. I'm going to probably
push it out at the beginning of the year or.
I've been working on it for a couple of months,
and it's basically to highlight and encourage
the importance of just good friends. Good friends
always have your back. They're never gonna let
you slip up on life. So I've been doing portraits
of just friends that I've known all my life.
That have always been in my corner and have always
supported me with all of my endeavors And uh,
man, you you fit that plug so you slide into
town Please come by the studio and we'll jam
out. I've got a pa I've got a small pa here,
man, so we can make it get really loud Let's
do it Yeah, just come in and sit for that and
be a part of that project and I chose black and
white as the medium for it just because some
of us aren't really as secure with our appearance
in our late age just some of us so to protect
those people that are concerned with that I chose
black and white just because there's nothing
there's nothing more beautiful than just a plain
classic black and white portrait so yeah that's
I've shot about 50 people so far all true and
trod old friends and that's it that's the project
it's called old friends so when you come to town
dan Once you be a part of it Andy, I would love
to I would be honored Yeah, man, can't wait to
see you again All right, Andy. Well, I will You
can't see the big smile on my face, but it's
been I've been trying to speak through the smile
On my face. I really enjoyed this Nothing like
old friends. Like you said old friends are the
best. I said it a couple weeks ago and folks
if you're listening And you got someone out there
and you didn't burn the bridge. And it's not
like there's not a reason to talk. Maybe don't
call them. Don't cold call, but send a text message.
If it's a happy new year, you got an excuse to
do it. You just never know. You just never know
where it could lead. They remember people, people
listening, you know, if you left a mark and you
had a good bond with somebody, they didn't just
forget you. They, they know they remember. Um,
so pick up the phone again or get your fingers
tapping again. Yeah, but this has been great
Andy and folks, we will see you next week on
the Dan time podcast. Again, if you want to be
a part of the show or you know someone who might
Dan time pod at gml .com I'm at Dan time pod
on the socials. Appreciate you listening. You
guys have a great week. Go out there and make
a difference in your area of expertise. All right.
Thank you, Andy. You're welcome, man. All right.
If you love that episode, if you're enjoying
the Dan Time podcast, be sure to download and
subscribe so you never miss an episode. Hope
you have a great week. I'll see you next Sunday.