Jon T. Cruz

My life, my lens, and my dream, come true.

 

I had always loved listening to music and going to concerts.  I attended them regularly, and sometimes, if two bands were playing on the same night I would hit both clubs.  In the beginning, I was happy collecting memorabilia: t-shirts, ticket stubs, posters, and even acquired several autographs.  I then started feeling that I wanted more from my experiences.  After attending these concerts for a long time, some bands were starting to recognize me from past tours they’d been on. They started adding me to their guest list, allowing me access on their tour bus and granting me permission to go backstage.

 

But just seeing or hearing them wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more than just a snapshot in my head to remind me, what I wanted was to actually capture the moments I was witnessing during these shows,  so one night I stopped at my local Walgreens and bought 2 disposable cameras. Thus began my rock and roll journey as my world opened up to the art of photography.

 

Since then, I have had the honor of photographing artists such as U2, Slayer, Tim McGraw, Sting, The Black Keys, Motorhead, Scorpions, Rob Zombie, Sara McLaughlin and countless other local and national touring bands.

 

I have learned that no one can prevent you from doing whatever it is you really want to do.  My dreams don’t reside in the heart and minds of others, they reside within me, and it is up to me to either destroy them or achieve them.

 

~Jon T. Cruz