Like a little rock with your photography? Then Frank Mullen is your man. He's laid witness to some of the more hardcore shows in the past 25 years, yet still manages to pull off presidential photos with ease. You've probably seen shots of his in countless magazines, and maybe even on a MARTA bus whizzing by in Atlanta. Check it for yourself! Tou can see his older photos, which are largely punk or hardcore pics, click here. His own Web site is at matteblack.com, and you should read the interview below!

Pine Magazine/Holly Lang: How long have you been in this business? Can you tell us how you got started, where you've worked and how it's gone?

FM: I've been seeing and shooting bands for almost thirty years (yikes!), but have been doing it for a living since 1999. I played drums in a punk band in Florida that opened up for Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, etc... I saw and shot a lot of those shows. I have hundreds of rolls of film from those days, and some of those images have begun to appear in books about the 80's hardcore scene.

I got a little more serious around 1999 and was house photographer at a great Atlanta venue, the Echo Lounge. Also started writing live reviews and interviewing bands like Mudhoney and Modest Mouse so I could get my shots published. That led to shooting for local bands, then to higher-profile assignments for Rolling Stone and others.

I think it's going great -- I'm always learning, and am doing more and more interesting assignments. Like any job, there's plenty of grunt work but I'll give $1,000 to anyone who hears me complaining. Ain't gonna happen!

PM: What were your first shoots, and how did those go? What was one of the last shoots you've done?

FM: The first band I ever shot live was the Bad Brains, around 1980. I look back now and those photos seem really crappy. My first paid assignment was shooting Danzig in 1992 for Alternative Press. Danzig was a pompous pain in the ass, but he liked my photos, the shoot turned out well and the mag was happy. My son ended up being born the next day.

Last week I shot portraits of Atlanta Brave Andruw Jones at his house. Wish I was more of a baseball fan; I probably would have been pretty excited! In the past month or so, I've shot portraits of Bow Wow and his mom, actor Kurt Russell, a private concert with 30 Seconds to Mars, and Super Bowl parties in Miami with Diddy, T.I., Young Jeezy and more.

PM: How do you feel the change in subjects has changed your photography?

FM: In one sense, it hasn't changed -- my goal is still to capture the feeling of an event, whether it's the excitement of a live show, a more serious portrait, or shots of an event. My photography has definitely changed, though, through the sheer volume of images I've taken and variety of situations I find myself in.  I think I learn from every shoot I do and carry a little of that experience to the next one -- hopefully, I bring a little G. G. Allin when I photograph a president!

PM: What have you seen change in the music industry since you began shooting?

FM: The change from analog to digital - this has obviously made a huge difference in both music and photography.

Music I cut my teeth on, like the Buzzcocks and the Ramones, is now mainstream. I can't wait to see how Nine Inch Nails music will be used in my old age. Wouldn't "Head Like a Hole" be great for an Excedrin commercial?

There's much less access for photographers these days, and an attempt by publicists and artist management to have more control over the images -- it's too bad they don't realize the impact this is having on creativity. I can't think of a music image I've seen in the past ten years that will be as iconic as the kinds of things shot in the 60's and 70's.

PM: Can you tell us about one or two shoots that stand out in your mind?

FM: Shooting G.G. Allin, was an interesting experience. Without going into too much detail, the shoot ended up involving strippers and several different bodily fluids. I also shot him getting a rat tattooed on his head not too long before he died.

Shooting Black Flag on their first shows in Florida was unbelievable -- I had never seen so much violence at a show before. A friend of mine got slammed into a speaker and broke his jaw right in front of me -- I debated for a few seconds whether to take a photo of him bleeding from the mouth and spitting out teeth. I finally decided he would want to see it, so I shot one frame. Turns out I left the lens cap on, though - doh!

I shot a private reception with President Clinton - everyone was fawning all over him like he was the funniest person in the room. Presidents are like rock stars for normal people.

Meeting Iggy was great - I brought him some photos to sign and he really liked them. We talked for a while and I got some shots of him backstage with Marilyn Manson.

PM: Do you miss the smaller punk shows?

FM: Who says I've stopped seeing those shows? I still make it out to smaller gigs, and will shoot bands on an indie level if it seems like their hearts are in the right place. I've seen some great Atlanta bands recently - Tiger! Tiger!, Lust, Zoroaster, and some of them have broken out on a larger level, like Jucifer and Mastodon. I've got to pay the bills, but try to find a way to have fun, too, like sponsoring and shooting the local roller derby league, the Atlanta Rollergirls. It's the best of both worlds.

PM: Are you ever intimidated walking into a shoot?

FM: Rarely. It surprises me how many artists are intimidated by someone with a camera, though.

-----

About some of the photos:

Seven people in the photos are dead: The Ramones (Johnny, Joey and Dee Dee), Stiv Bators, G.G. Allin, Tales of Terror.

Black Flag: “Their first US tour, crowd was INSANE. Dude in front row is Casey Chaos of the band Amen. He said that night changed his life, and he realized that playing in a band was what he wanted to do with his life.”

Dead Kennedys: “Acted like Rock Stars at the sound check. Wish I'd been a better photographer when I saw some of these shows.”