We are back to Waynesboro, Virginia to catch up with photographer Adam Scott on his latest project. Adam has been superimposing vintage GWAR photos onto their modern-day locations in Richmond highlighting the city’s evolution, or de-evolution, depending on your perspective. Alongside this, Scott continues to blend his love for motorcycles, horror, and rock ‘n’ roll into his broader body of work, crafting images that resonate with his audience and touches on the spirit of local culture, which is right in our wheelhouse. We saw the work and reached out.
“I’m a mechanic by trade, a truck driver by profession, and an avid lover of music and arts who just happens to take pictures,” Scott tells us. Growing up in the pre-internet era, his artistic sensibilities were shaped by the pages of underground magazines. “I loved looking through magazines like Thrasher, Ride BMX, Fangoria, and Easy Riders,” he recalls. “My taste in music also came from that world, mostly from old VHS skate and BMX movies.”
Despite his now-respected eye, photography wasn’t always a smooth ride for Scott. “I took photography in high school twice and failed it both years,” he admits with a laugh. “My teacher always told me my photos were ‘too dark and morbid’ since I was a huge fan of The Misfits and geared all my photos towards that band’s imagery,” Scott explains. Yet, it was this very criticism that forged his approach to photography today. “To me photography and art was about freedom of expression and what you are passionate about. I still try and approach it the old school way, when I was learning you only had a handful of exposures on a roll of film so you had to make it count. To this day I still focus more on subject matter and composition rather than perfectly lit tack sharp photos.”
Adam’s connection with our iconic city’s shock-rock band GWAR is more than just fandom. “Many years ago, I was in a Plan 9 records and came across their DVD ‘Live From Antarctica’. I had heard of them through friends and knew they were from Richmond but didn’t know much about them. So I bought it and have been a fan ever since,” he says. This connection deepened through personal interactions with members of the band. “One night I was talking with Brockie at the Canal Club not long after the passing of Cory Smoot. Although he was never shy to speak his mind or make everyone laugh, I could sense the pain he had from losing a friend and brother.”
And years later, “I was eating dinner at a small venue in Charlottesville with Mike Bishop after doing some photos for a band he had just put together. Brockie had passed, and he was telling me GWAR would continue and he would be taking over vocals. I felt like I had been trusted with a secret, since the future of the band was not yet known to the fans. GWAR has done such an incredible job of making their universe and mythos that we often forget they are in fact real down to earth and extremely intelligent people.”
In his latest project, Scott overlays historic photos of Richmond and the band to create a go-between past and present. “The idea comes from photographers I’ve seen do this style of scene-framing with movie and historic locations. I’m very interested in history and Richmond has no shortage of that,” he explains. “I had bought Bob Gorman’s book “Let There Be GWAR” when it came out and loved seeing all of the old behind the scenes photos that had been tucked away in the Slave Pit. About a year ago I started dating my now girlfriend who has lived in Richmond since the 90s. Whenever we’d wander about town she would always show me the old buildings and tell me the stories of the cool bars and music venues that once called them home. Some of the names were familiar from reading the book. The more I came to Richmond the more I noticed things were changing. New apartments and condos, new restaurants and bars, storefronts and demolition. I quickly realized that the old photos in that book would be just a memory of what once was…or were they still there? It has taken a lot of internet research and very critical evaluation of the old photos to find their locations. The whole idea is to see that the history is still there in an ever-changing landscape, and as a fan it’s cool to walk in the footsteps of one of your favorite bands.”
The response to this blend of time and texture has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly among those who cherish Richmond’s history. “The response has been great. Fans of the band seem to like it, but more so the people who were there or took the photos seem to like them more. I’ve learned Richmonders take a lot of pride in their city. I’ve never seen a Newport News or Alexandria bumper sticker, but I see RVA ones everywhere in Virginia. That’s a large part of this project as well. Most GWAR photos are of their performances, but when I would see one of them on the streets of Richmond it gave me a sense of pride that they were from Virginia too.” he reflects.
He added, “I talked to some of the guys in the band not long ago at the Cobra Cabana and they seemed to like them as well which was humbling.”
Looking to the future, Scott is not slowing down. “I do have more I want to do. Some of which are a matter of timing and some are going to take special access to certain places. I also have an idea for a short film that ties the photos to a story involving the city and the band, so I may test the waters with that as well,” he shares.
Despite the burgeoning scenes in neighboring cities, Waynesboro remains close to Scott’s heart. “The art scene here is very small compared to our neighbors in Staunton and Charlottesville. There are a few artists and bands that have their spaces hidden above and below businesses in the old downtown area. Things are slowly growing here, we recently have had some of the incredible murals painted throughout the city by Nils Westergard who has a lot of amazing work in Richmond!,” he notes.
On the last word, “I’d just like to thank everyone who has ever had a part in making GWAR what it is and for entertaining us for all these years, everyone who has supported my photography and helped me find these places, RVA Mag for reaching out and doing this, and my girlfriend Kellie who has been supportive of this project and has kept me from being run over by traffic while standing in the middle of Broad Street taking these!”
You can find more of his work HERE
Main photo caption: “While the wheels keep rolling, and another milepost gone… all along the road behind.” GWAR late 80s Dewey Rowell, Rob Mosby, Steve Douglas, Dave Brockie, and Mike Bishop outside of Rockitz with some onlookers. The old Slave Pit can be seen on the right side of the image across the street. Corner of W Broad Street & N Laurel Street. Original photographer Kit Halsted (RIP)
