Bio

John A. Muheim  was born in 1957, and was raised in Sacramento, California. I became interested in photography and other art forms while attending Sacramento High School. Indeed, my high school art teacher, David Tafoya, introduced me to photography and became my mentor--he continues to be a close friend to this day. Mr. Tafoya taught me many skills necessary to successfully “capture the moment.” I was also impressed with and majorly inspired by rock magazines like Cream and Circus and of course Rolling Stone.

Growing up in the 70s, I was lucky to be able to take my camera into various rock concerts since there weren’t many rules back then. It became more restrictive in the late 80’s as management for a lot of performers wanted complete image control. The first concert where I was able to take my camera in was the J. Geils Band at the Memorial Auditorium in 1974. This was the first time I witnessed the audience rushing the stage for the encore. What an experience!

After graduating high school in 1975, I attended concerts regularly and always tried bringing my camera in. Most of the shows that I attended were in Sacramento or in the San Francisco Bay Area, including performances by Queen, Bruce Springsteen, the Tubes, the Clash, Yes, the Grateful Dead, the final Sex Pistols show held at Winterland, and many, many more. I believe some of the most memorable include Bruce in 78’, The Clash London Calling tour, The Tubes when they did their full stage shows acting out each song, Queen as openers for Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Yes, and any Tales of Terror show.

In 1981 I attended the University of Arizona for a year, where I majored in art and photography. Then I returned to Sacramento, where I met, through a mutual friend, Stewart Katz of Clear and Distinct Ideas Co. (CDI), a famous Sacramento punk / metal / alternative music promoter. Stewart brought many artists to the Sacramento Valley for the first time, and also helped the local music scene by owning and operating his own venue, “Club Minimal.” Through Katz, I became CDI’s unofficial house photographer, where I had the opportunity to photograph many artists (famous and infamous, LOL), including: the Ramones, the Dead Kennedys, P.I.L., Circle Jerks, Sioussie and the Banshees, Slayer, Megadeth, 7 Seconds, Tales of Terror, Thin White Rope, Suicidal Tendencies, and the Groovie Ghoulies.

Most of my work is unpublished and has been displayed only for a few art gallery shows and a couple of other small art venues locally in Sacramento. My main motivation for my photography is to capture the performer in the “moment,” to snap those fleeting seconds that highlight the intensity of their art. It was often difficult to capture these moments considering the crowds, the movement of the performers, the lighting, etc, but I believe I was able to capture some excellent portraits through patience and simple pure luck, especially when many of the shows that I attended were general admission and the crowd’s movements created challenges as to finding the perfect spot to capture the perfect shot.

I hope that as you view these photos you remember the passion and the fun of the concerts, and the scenes displayed here. The power of music fuels the memory, and fortunately, I was able to capture what I feel are some memorable images. I was lucky to be in what was “The right place and the right time!”
                                                                                                                                   ~ John Muheim