One of the first movies we ever taped from TV on the VCR was The Breakfast Club. I watched it over and over so many times I literally broke the tape. To this day if you ask me to quote the entire speech Bender gave to Brian I can do it word for word.
While the 80’s and MTV were bombarded by “hair metal” and Aqua Net hairspray, I was the alternative/punk kid dressing in gothic attire, while listening to The Cure, Bad Religion, Ministry and Bauhaus.
If you had known me in high school, I was a little bit of a misfit. I always identified with Allison (Ally Sheedy’s character) in the movie The Breakfast Club. The last thing I wanted was to be Clair, but oh how I wanted to date Judd Nelson’s character.
I was a misfit
As an adult I like to believe I have grown out of being that misfit. What I haven’t grown out of is my love for the style and fashion of the punk and alternative music scene.
While my own wardrobe has calmed down since my teenage years, I find myself still gravitating to pieces of punk clothing for my own boys.
I had never thought of doing a “Punk Rock” photo shoot of my boys until Kingston’s first birthday. Our good friend Keiko Kelly gifted Kingston with the cutest little fedora I’d ever seen. Keiko told me she would be expecting a great photo shoot using the hat.
Ahhhhhh, I new idea for me to play with which would allow my creative side to come out. The seed had been planted and all I had to do was water it a bit to see what would grow.
Piece by piece it started to come together. I went through the boys closet and found all the clothing I needed for the shoot. I had EVERTHING! There would not be a need to buy anything else for this concept (this actually scared my husband).
Where to shoot? Where I live now is not exactly known for its “urban” feel. Flash back to my years growing up in El Toro (where my love of punk first started). I knew of a place under a bridge that would a perfect fit for the look I wanted.
Now to talk my husband into loaning me his amp and guitar and the puzzle would be complete.
So how could I get the boys to give me the facial emotions and body positions I had envisioned?
So how could I get the boys to give me the facial emotions and body positions I had envisioned?
Use method acting?
Kaleb has taken enough acting classes that maybe they would pay off.
Blast the music of the Sex Pistols to get them into character?
Nope. Turns out a nice little bribe for a new Star Wars action figure did the trick.
I realized with this bribe that if I wanted to produce an alternative Jonas Brothers I would have to buy the entire Imperial Fleet in order to get them on a stage.
Jump back to me and my love for the punk/alternative movement. Being in El Toro for the evening brought back many memories. Memories as an adult for me tend to lead more to self reflection, than to just reminiscing.
Why did I love that music? Why did I find comfort in it? While the world was rocking out to Def Leopard and Van Halen, I was wallowing in the melodies of what my husband calls “Depress Mode”.
The bottom line is it all just fit who I was. We all fall into some type of category in our high school years. We are all one of the kids in the Breakfast club.
So am I still a bit of a misfit? You bet! Do I fight with my husband over the satellite radio station? Yep. He wants the metal station, I want old school KROQ music.
The bottom line to this shoot for me was “Did my boys have fun?” As they told me, “it was sooooooooooo super fun!” Kaleb’s favorite part was he got to play his dads guitar, which had been off limits up until this shoot. Konnor loved throwing rocks into the water and in his words “going gurrrrrrrrrrrrrr” for the photos. Kingston, whose little hat was the thrust of this shoot, was just his adorable little self.
I love you Kaleb, Konnor and Kingston. You are the reason I ever picked up a camera. You see me only as your mamma who loves and cherishes you. I will love, nurture and encourage you no matter what.
In the words of the breakfast club in there letter to Mr. Veron,
“we think you’re crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us… in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at seven o’clock this morning. We were brainwashed.
