Backstage Pass

Danny Clinch captures rare and priceless moments in the lives of music legends

~by Kristi Francis

“I was shooting Metallica and I was told that I could get out on the stage. The band was like ‘Hey, we don’t care. Go wherever you want.’ So I went out on the side of the stage, and I was hiding behind an amplifier. Before I knew it, these huge pyrotechnics went off. They sounded like bombs. I was literally standing next to it. I could’ve gotten really hurt. It scared the hell out of me,” recalls photographer Danny Clinch. Risking life and limb is all part of the process of getting that awesome shot and with so many legendary photos under his belt, it’s worth it. “Any time I can be backstage, on a tour bus, or in a room where I’m one of the few people fortunate enough to be there; those are my highlights. I’ve filmed Bruce [Springsteen] playing brand new songs for six people. No one had heard those songs yet. Catching Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson playing a song together backstage,” these moments are what make Clinch’s experiences absolutely surreal.

Wooing the notoriously photo-fickle group of celebrities otherwise known as musicians is no easy task, but Danny Clinch has mastered it. At this point, he’s photographed so many legendary acts that he’s arguably more famous than anyone he has yet to shoot. In addition to photography, he works in moving images with his production company, Three on the Tree. The reason he is trusted by so many artists is, in his words: “The combination of being easygoing and not trying to be so controlling of everything all the time, and being ready for the moments that happen.” One of Clinch’s most memorable shots played out just that way. “We were at a really cool location, he ended up taking off to go check out this place, and instead of staying behind and saying, ‘Okay, see you when you get back. I’ll be setting up the shot.’ I just ran after him. I started to photograph him as he was walking around this really old hotel in L.A. There was this one moment where he just looked out of this window, and you can’t even see his face, but you can tell by the hair and by his posture; you know it’s Bob Dylan. I never would have got that shot had I just sat there and said, ‘Okay, I’ll be over here.’”

Putting himself out there is also the theme of his success. As a former intern of famous photographer Annie Leibowitz, he recalls, “I knew she was giving a workshop and I decided to save money and go. It just happened that at the same time she was looking for an intern. I started sweeping floors, getting coffee and learning how to load the cameras with their film.” In only a matter of months, he was on set, helping produce the jobs.
He’s traveled the world, played harmonica on stage with the Foo Fighters, and had hand written lyrics handed to him by Eddie Vedder as he listened to new tracks while parked outside his house. Clinch has established a marvelous career, riddled with more amazing moments in music history than many of us are capable of even dreaming about.

[ dannyclinch.com ]