I tend to melt down during the winter. It starts around my birthday and goes through the end of the year. Its beautiful and terrible. Beautiful because I think I am starting to be able to understand from an objective point of view that it happens and in order to be happy you must be sad. Terrible because when I am actually inside of it- it tears me apart and I blame, argue, fight, yell, cry, hurt, and right now as I list these it becomes too real. So I'll stop listing. ANYWAY the reason I am writing next is to post a feature piece I wrote for the Salem Weekly that didn't get published due to some miscommunication. I think it really captured the idea of its subject and I am practicing making a long term habit of this blog so here you go...also people just need to know what Freddy is up to and the kind of person he is. Go meet him.

Freddy Ruiz Jr.’s

“WE ARE ROCK STARS”

By Doug Hoffman

If you aren’t accustomed to the original DIY music terrain of Salem this book will introduce you through Freddy Ruiz Jr.’s camera lens to what his experience in the later part of the last decade was. Freddy has been a local staple in the Salem art and music scene for years. Many know his work on the Red Crown Review without maybe even realizing it. Hundreds of photographs of bands and their fans have entered the shutters of his cameras. Lighting, angle, shutter speed, and a fearless attitude in finding the right shots are some of the formula he utilizes for these pictures. If you are involved in Salem’s music efforts- paging through the We Are Rock Stars book is like looking through a photo album of close family, extended family, and family that you’ve never met. It is difficult to separate yourself from images in the promotional photography endeavor turned photo-journal. As a veritable visual quarry this tome of non-captioned snapshots subjecting energetic performers and their crowds will repeat forever. Among many; The Falcon, Agape, Typhoon, The Nodding Tree Remedies, The Apheliotropic Orchestra, Quandry, Jack Inferno, Shepherds of Ontario, The Funhouse Strippers, Kid Espi & the Garden Entertainment crew, and even the infamous ‘Shark Guitar’ are all showcased. One of several evolving hey-days in Salem yielded the legendary sites where this era became very important to Freddy and he immersed himself in it. Sites like the Columbus Club, Stitches, Ike Box, The Triangle Inn, Boon’s Treasury, Café Noir, and more are all backdrops for these historic shows. And now by heading to freddyruizjr.com you can own a piece of our local homegrown and sweat drudged pursuit. The stout thick and hard bound book is in its first pressing but will be reissued in a magazine style option soon and would be perfect for any Salem households’ coffee table. It is an authentic piece of our heritage and the sound of Salem over the past recent years. Perhaps this document will inspire future photographers and even modestly spark great conversations about common musical threads: the contagious conversations themselves in the comfort of your home- performances of their own.

http://freddyruizjr.com/