The day the music lived!

On Friday, February 5, I was driving to Clear Lake, Iowa. I was headed for the Surf Ballroom to photograph a friend’s band, The Holy Rocka Rollaz, at the Winter Dance Party.

The Winter Dance Party at the Surf Ballroom was where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper played their final concert before losing their lives in a place crash on February 3, 1959. Today the Winter Dance Party continues to celebrate their legacy. In fact it was Ritchie Valens' sister, Connie, who was instrumental in getting my friend’s band into the show.

Before going to the Surf Ballroom to pick up my press pass I made a stop at the crash site. I parked my car and climbed over the snow bank and began to trudge through the field. It’s not a long walk but on this day the deep snow made it challenging. When I arrived at the memorial I found it partially buried by the snow, I got down on my knees and began to uncover it. It was a strange feeling, digging down into the snow, chipping away at ice, trying to dig up something that spoke to a terrible tragedy that had occurred in that spot. The place where in an instant, “La Bamba”, “Chantilly Lace” and “Peggy Sue” would be no more. There I was, standing alone in the place the music died.

Arriving at the Surf Ballroom I was struck by the history of the place. The phone Buddy Holly used to make his last phone call to his wife still hangs on the wall. Images of the hundreds of artists that have played there cover the walls. The air was resplendent with nostalgia. Then the show began.

As the music once again filled the air the nostalgia faded. It wasn't Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens or the Big Bopper at the microphone, this time it was Mark and Lisa Flora with Matt Alexander on the drums. I picked up my camera and started shooting. I captured moments that were gone in an instant. But time was embalmed on the sensor of my camera, creating images that will allow them to relive their moment over and over.

As Matt set the beat on the drums, Mark took command of the stage and Lisa’s voice floated over the crowd, everyone in the Surf was fully present. They lived the moment. A moment that had been built on the past. 



At one point in the show, the past and the present collided. Bob Hale, the emcee from the 1959 show, came on stage and joined The Holy Rocka Rollaz.

This was a dream come true for my friend Mark. His story had crossed paths with the story of Buddy Holly. 

The moment got to him. 

This is what my friend Mark was created to do. Here was my good friend fully alive! So it was no surprise to me when, at the end of their set, they brought the house to it's feet with their rendition of Hank Williams great song, I Saw the Light. 

When are you fully alive?