jfotoman (a.k.a. Jay Brown) has been chronicling the independent music scene (punk, grunge, indie, alternative, whatever...) for over 25 years. As a student at The Ohio State University, Jay decided to take his Yashica Electro 35 camera (a high school graduation gift), into the small clubs hosting the remnants of the hardcore punk scene, capturing such bands as Black Flag, the Minutemen, & Hüsker Dü. The D.I.Y. ethics of those early shows stuck. From then on, he has avoided the large, easily digestible corporate rock bands & mainstream arena shows. Instead, he has photographed such rising indie heavyweights as Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Nirvana, the White Stripes, and many more lesser knowns, long before they were famous. Bands such as Superchunk, Guided By Voices and the Black Keys have used his photos on their records. Today, Jay is now residing in Pittsburgh, and continues to push and elbow his way to the front of those dank dives & dingy bars to capture the high-energy bands that play for the love of the music, & very little else.
