So i guess i've had a hole in my otherwise impeccable sense of musical history all these years. Somehow Richard Marx managed to slip through the crack. The Grammy winning artist had a string of hit songs in the late 1980s and 90s and has sold over 30 million records during his career. I'm afraid i don't recall a one of them.
Maybe that shouldn't be too surprising. In that era of my life i was living a rather alternative lifestyle on the Lower East Side of NYC, hanging out with squat punks and anarchist and not really paying any attention to top 40 radio play. But i would have thought that at least one of Marx's many hits would have slipped into my subconscious jukebox along the way.
I had a rare opportunity to shoot the entire concert Marx put on recently at the Lawrenceburg Event Center. Generally we only get the first few songs of a show, but Marx was planning on playing his very first custom made guitar at the end of the night which was then to be auctioned off to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The tour manager asked if i would be willing to get some shots of him playing it to assist the auction and since i couldn't say no to such a worthy cause i stuck around for the whole concert.
Some shows you don't really need more than the usual first three songs to get your shots. I've even shot acts where i felt done after the first one or two. You just know that nothing else interesting is going to happen up on that stage worth sticking around for. I was pleased to find that was not the case with Marx. He was engaging and entertaining, interacting well with both his band mates (including his son) and audience members, and interlacing the music with funny anecdotes and stories throughout the evening. Though not at all my style of music i can still appreciate when an artist presents a good sense of musicality in their performance. The quality was present and clear. He has also managed to maintain his boyish good looks and charm over the years. This isn't always the case with acts that had their apex of appeal some 20 to 30 years ago, but Marx could probably be best described as aging like a fine wine. Believe me, i have shot an awful lot of vinegar in my day.
So i've ended up with a rather large gallery of images from this show which i would image some of you Richard Marx fans (c'mon, i know you're out there) will appreciate. And while i won't be running out to buy up any of his albums to fill that gaping hole in my music collection anytime soon, maybe i will actually recognize one of his songs next time i hear one on the radio.
(please click on images for an enlarged gallery view)
All Photos ©David Sorcher 2018
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
