May 15, 2001 - R.E.M

Photo by RD Mathers

The day after the release of their twelfth studio album, R.E.M. came up to visit with Maria Milito and plug Reveal.  

For me, this was a personal highlight, because R.E.M. was one of the first bands I'd seen in concert and were a band I followed from close to the beginning of their career. At the time, I was also a weekend Air Talent at Q1043, so they cut an ID for my show and had fun with the on-air nickname I used at the time (The Beav).

The lead shot is the a great performance shot of Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills.

This shot below is a favorite of mine. Taken prior to going on air, I liked how easy Mike Mills was around the studio, picking up a copy of Rolling Stone and thumbing through it while Peter Buck tuned up.

What else is particularly interesting about this day, was that I'd seen Sheryl Crow the night before.  She has done some pop up/secret/ rehearsal shows for her upcoming 2001 tour.  Mike Mills played with her for a few numbers and proceeded to down 1/2 a bottle of Jack Daniels during a live mash up of Madonna's "Don't Tell Me" / Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama."

In the below shot, I had just told Mills how impressed I was that he could do that, still play and be top notch for this interview.  His reply, "...well, I am a professional."  One can see Q104.3's Maria Milito holding her laugh.

Photo by RD Mathers

Shot with a Nikon E950