Rock-and-roll photographer Janet Macoska’s appointment calendar is more interesting than yours or mine.
My calendar: Garden Club meeting. Orthopedist appointment. Lunch with sister.
Janet Macoska’s calendar: Sammy Hagar. Michael Stanley’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Melissa Ethridge. Patti LaBelle.
Macoska, 65, has been photographing rock stars, musicians and athletes since she was 12. She earned $2 for a photo she took of Sonny and Cher answering fan phone calls at Cleveland WKYC radio station. A career was born, nurtured in the rock-and-roll-intensive environment of Northeast Ohio.
Macoska is the Hardrock Rocksino’s — now MGM Grand’s — official photographer and a long-time photographer for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. From small clubs to 80,000+ stadium concerts, she’s had access to the biggest names in music, shooting most at the apex of their careers. She’s seen druggies, drinkers and health nuts perform, their pre- and post-concert routines amended over the decades as a concession to age.
Not a fan of grunge rock, the era’s stage diving or audience violence, Macoska took a break from most concert jobs during the ‘90s. She photographed young TV stars for teen magazines, then got back into focusing on musical acts. She was also the Indians team photographer for 11 years.
Her only on-the-job injury? She got hit in the head with an empty Jack Daniels bottle at a KISS concert in Toledo. “I have a hard head, so it bounced,” she says.
Some of Macoska’s favorite music photos are in her book, “All Access Cleveland: The Rock and Roll Photography of Janet Macoska, cowritten with Peter Chakerian. They’re working on a followup, “More Access: The Rock and Roll Photography of Janet Macoska
Macoska has more to say:
Follow Your Inner 10-Year-Old
I get asked to talk at museums and schools, and I get to meet sometimes with students, sometimes with people my own age. Some people come out to a talk by me because they’ve seen these shows and they want to relive those experiences and hear about them.
For students, I really concentrate on how I got started because I want to reach them and convey passion. I get up every day and love what I do. How many people follow their passion? I know there are a lot of people in the world that don’t get to do that. But whatever you loved when you were 10 and 12 years old, whether it’s baseball or music, or whatever, you have to keep that alive within you, because being in touch with that 10-year-old is the thing that keeps the joy in your life. So, if you’re not doing a job that lets you be that person or live within the career you thought you might want to go, then do it as a hobby. Have music as a hobby. Go to concerts. If you grew up loving baseball, go to baseball games. You’ve got to find that happy place because that 10-year-old inside you still knows where that happy place is inside you.
Inspiration
At 10 years old, my life changes because I discover The Beatles. At the same time, I discover the camera in my front closet; it’s my dad’s camera. At the same time, I’m looking at Life magazine, which my mom subscribes to. What I see in Life magazine is that you, as a journalist, spend time with somebody as your subject to learn about them. And I want to find out pretty much why four guys from Liverpool, a place I’d never heard of before, can make this kind of impact on the planet. Pretty soon, I realized that the camera and writing would be a way to get entry into this world and find these stories. I never got to see The Beatles, though; couldn’t get tickets.
Connecting
Somebody has to trust you to let you photograph them. And if you can have a conversation with somebody and start connecting, then they’ll relax. It becomes like a little mini friendship. I still feel I’m very much an introvert; the camera gives me purpose and courage and it allows me to communicate with people and take it beyond my shyness. And it really saved me as a person; it gave me a way to get beyond being shy and introverted.
Celebrities
All the times I’ve photographed Paul McCartney or Rod Stewart or any of those people, it’s not that I get to tell them what to do, but if I’m there to orchestrate a certain shot, I tell them what I need them to do. They listen and cooperate because you’re then on a mutual, professional respect level.
I may walk away and go, ‘Oh my God, I just shot photos of Paul McCartney!’ And the little fan in me starts to getting all ‘Waaaah!’ But the truth is, you put on your professional demeanor once you have your camera in hand. That’s what gives me the courage to be face-to-face with these people, even when I was 12, sitting there with Sonny and Cher. I knew somehow, once I had that camera, I needed to be a professional person. Nobody will take you seriously if you start freaking out.
Cleveland
The mid-’70s in Cleveland was a great time to start photographing rock and roll. WMMS (radio station) was a powerhouse and all the record companies would go to them with bands that were on their way up. The first time David Bowie played in this country was in Cleveland. Bruce Springsteen, many times, would start his tours in Cleveland because of our audiences. He trusted that those audiences were working-class people who loved him and wouldn’t judge him like New York and L.A.
Changes
In the mid-’70s, it was an innocent time in rock and roll. Many times, when I was working for a record label on a particular day, they’d say, “I have the new Blondie record.” Then I would spend the whole day with them. So the ease in photography was that ability — because you’re with them for the whole day — for the barrier would come down. Plus, the artists were all my age, so we were totally on the same wavelength. They want photo coverage and interviews so they can sell records and concert tickets. I want photos so that I can build stories and get them into magazines.
In the ‘70s, they’re doing sold-out concerts at the Cleveland Stadium and that’s happening all across the country. That innocence is now becoming Big Business. All of a sudden, you’re filling up stadiums. They weren’t as accessible. They started getting very full of themselves and getting into drugs and alcohol and whatever.
The record labels were saying, “These are the golden gooses and we need to control that.” By the ‘80s they’re trying to shut down music photography all across the country and all over the world by keeping us for to two or three songs and then out the door, which is very very tough to do. For Led Zeppelin in ‘77, I shoot three hours of a show. And shooting three songs, our editor still expects us to come back with a variety of photos but we’re feeling we’re not creative anymore. We’re just pushing a button and hoping for the best.
Concerts Without a Camera
It doesn’t happen very often. Mostly because I have trouble going to concerts and seeing all these pictures go by and not having my camera. I’ll go to Paul McCartney concerts. I usually indulge myself (they’re very expensive). A couple of weeks ago, I went to see a band called Mott the Hoople. Had a blast. Didn’t take my camera. The truth is, nobody wants to see an old Mott the Hoople. I have pictures of Mott the Hoople from ‘75, so I’ve shot them.
Today’s Favorites Wish List
I’d like to shoot Pink. Not only is she a great singer and songwriter, but she’s also always flying over the audience and does a lot of physical things.
I know J Lo (Jennifer Lopez) is going to tour. I’ve seen video of A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez) and J Lo working out; I figure that’s going to be a visual show.
One of the more recent bands I’ve shot that I like is Panic! at the Disco. (Lead singer) Brendon Urie is really visual and a great performer. One of the coolest things I’ve seen him do is he got up and did Frank Sinatra songs. And I’m thinking, ‘How cool are you that you have this younger audience…and you’re introducing them to Frank Sinatra?’
Age, Technology & Keeping Up
I don’t know how other people perceive me. If you’re working with 20- and 30-year-olds — and I am — If I think about how I am as a photographer, believe it or not, I’m shooting better than ever because of digital.
We’re in a time period now where they have computerized lighting and LED lights, and that becomes almost another player on stage. So there’s movement and color and everything’s happening. But if you’ve been shooting for a long time, you know how to use the color and the movement to the benefit of your photo. I’m using more elements.
As an artist, I’m up to speed with all the technology. It’s really important if you’re a Boomer and you want to compete, then you also do whatever it takes to stay up to date with technology; and to do that you can’t hate it. There are so many people who curse and say, “Oh, I wish they never made computers.” But these things are helping you with your work if you embrace the technology and don’t let it frustrate you.
I think a 20- and 30-year-old is all about trying to find their own place in the system and climb ladders. I’ve already climbed those ladders; I’m not giving up my space.
Marie Elium’s first camera was a Polaroid Colorpack with pull-apart film. She was happy to learn that Janet has a dog named Boomer.
