The Story Behind…

“Windmill lane”

Home to the music studio where the band U2 recorded The Joshua Tree album

Photographed in Limerick, Ireland, august 1994

I Thought I Found What I Was Looking For

A major theme of my photography, and my life, is capturing, sharing and expressing love.

I fell in love with photography in high school, and have been expressing my love for others and the world we live in through photography ever since.

Another love affair I’ve had since high school is with the Irish band U2. They came into my life through the major media influencer for teenagers in the 1980’s - MTV.

I became enamored with the four fellows from Dublin: Paul Hewson, also known as Bono, Dave Evans, who is known simply as The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr and Adam Clayton. They met after Larry posted a sign at school saying he wanted to start a band. Some boys from school came over to Larry’s house after school and they had an audition in his mom’s kitchen.

They’ve said in multiple interviews they did not know how to play instruments, but knew they shared a dream and would not stop in pursuing that vision.

As a simple kid from Nebraska, surrounded by cows and cornfields, they seemed so cool, and at the same time, so relatable as they sang passionately about the issues of the day, like terrorist bombings in their country in “Sunday Bloody Sunday” - and issues of eternity, like in their song taken from Psalms, simply and beautifully titled “40”.

As a young teenager, I watched MTV for hours hoping to see their music video for Sunday Bloody Sunday, filmed at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado, another time. Denver was only a six hour drive from my hometown, Kearney, and I was amazed that they were so close to me. All the way from Dublin to Denver.

I remember being glued to my television on July 13, 1985, as Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially open Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in London. I was 14 years old.

Live Aid was a worldwide rock concert organized to raise money for the relief of famine-stricken Africans. Continued at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia and at other arenas around the world, the 16-hour “superconcert” was globally linked by satellite to more than a billion viewers in 110 nations. In a triumph of technology and good will, the event raised more than $100 million in famine relief for Africa.

The lineup featured more than 75 acts, including Elton John, Queen, Madonna, Santana, Run DMC, Sade, Sting, Bryan Adams, the Beach Boys, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Duran Duran, the Who, Tom Petty, Neil Young and Eric Clapton. The majority of these artists performed at either Wembley Stadium in London, where a crowd of 70,000 turned out, or at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium, where 100,000 watched.

Of all the musicians performing, U2 was the one I wanted to see the most, and I still remember sitting as close to the TV as I could, literally inches from the television, in order to absorb as much energy as I could from the band as they ripped into their now legendary two song set of Sunday Bloody Sunday and Bad.

Two years later, in 1987, when I was 16 years old and a sophomore in high school, U2 released their fifth album, “The Joshua Tree”. In addition to releasing it on a vinyl album and a cassette tape, they released it on a brand new technological advancement - a compact disc, or CD. Yes, The Joshua Tree was the very first CD I ever purchased.

When I went to Australia in 1988, U2 went with me. They were with me on cassette tapes in my Walkman, they were on the top of the Australian radio charts, and their videos were on Australian television. They were global superstars, and I always felt like they were singing directly to me.

Also in 1998, U2 released “Rattle and Hum”, both a live album and a documentary film about their experiences discovering America and American music as they toured from east to west across the country in support of their Joshua Tree album. The first two thirds of the film is in black and white. The band visited Graceland and Elvis Presley’s grave. They performed in Denver. They were interviewed along their way by the filmmaker.

And, then, in a seminal moment for me, the film changes from black and white to color as they perform “Where the Streets Have No Name” at Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University.

When I saw that scene in that movie, something changed in me and I have never been the same since. Every single cell in my body came alive and the vibration and feelings still exist today when I watch that video, which I have probably seen more than 10,000 times.

It was an absolute dream come true when I applied and was accepted to ASU in 1990, and began college in August 1990 living in McClintock Hall, a 15 minute walk to Sun Devil Stadium.

In 1991, they were with me as a 19-year-old sophomore at Arizona State University with their seventh album “Achtung Baby”.

Also in 1991, (FIND THE DATE) Everything Was Perfect when I finally got to see them and experience their energy, music and love when I saw them in concert at the ASU Basketball Building.

Four months later, I took Skratch to see the Zoo TV Outdoor Broadcast tour at the Iowa State football stadium in Ames, Iowa. About a six hour road trip from Kearney.

A month later, we road tripped out to Denver to see them perform again at Mile High Stadium, home to the Denver Broncos.

Entries from my journal.

Especially want to touch on going to Northern Ireland, and seeing the army patrols, and the bombing rubble.

Put my entry from my journal here: