Musical Instincts Behind Unscripted Photography with Fer Juaristi
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[00:00:00]
[00:00:30] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Fer, Fer, Fer. this, is gonna be a really fun conversation because quite often I would I'm gonna venture to guess 99% of the time when you are having conversations with other photographers and on podcasts or wherever it might be, in person, you're talking photography, not music.
[00:00:55] Fer Juaristi: Hmm. Correct.
[00:00:57] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So this is gonna be a really [00:01:00] fun one. and I'm gonna just kick it off with, A lot of these questions are g- probably gonna be ones that's, that are gonna be thinkers. so photography is silent, right? Music, not so much. It is not silent, especially drums. how do you hear a moment you photograph it?
[00:01:22] Fer Juaristi: Nice. Beautiful, man. I, I, I think, life and relationships and animals, ev- everybody has a internal rhythm, you know? I- if it's a, a natural rhythm or i- if it's like a, a musical rhythm. And I think a- as a, as a drummer, I see everything by my movement. and every, every time something moves, I, I'm always like drumming inside my head, you know?
Like, for example, i- if, if I see a kid that it's more unpredictable than a grown-up, I imagine jazz, for, for [00:02:00] kids, you know? And, and if I see like a, like a normal grown-up, like a, like a nine-to-five kind of person, I, I imagine like techno music, you know? Like everything's like in a pattern and, and everything ha- it's the same, you know?
So for me, a, a moment is like that. I try to a- acknowledge who's gonna give me the, the better, drum feel per se, and I just hunt them. That's, that's, that's my goal a- a- as a photographer because for, for me, photography, it, it's a rhythm game. and, and sometimes it can mess you up as well. I- if, if you're photographing someone in the dance floor, you don't wanna photograph a- by the rhythm.
You wanna, you wanna pho- photograph in the middle so you can have an expression out of it. So yeah, I have to analyze and, and sometimes don't think as a drummer wh- while I'm photographing
[00:02:54] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:02:55] Anticipation and Tension
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[00:02:55] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Do, can you remember the first wedding where you realized that you were shooting in a rhythm [00:03:00] rather than just shooting with, know, into the b- into the abyss?
[00:03:04] Fer Juaristi: Yes, since, like, I was a, a musician before, before being a photographer, and the first images that I took before weddings were, like, rock bands, independent, very local rock bands. So I, I saw that since, since the beginning. If I wanna have, have the, the crash or, or, or, or, or the interaction of, of the drummer or the singer with the audience, I had to anticipate.
So a- anticipation was ... And, and then reading about the Cartier-Bresson and all those guys, it was the, the creating a tension, in, in our photography. And, and as a musician, you wanna get tension, you know, the ups and downs. So everything's connected for me.
[00:03:48] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: As a drummer, well I'm g- let me back up a bit. Most musicians have to worry about maybe their mouth and their hands, right? or some of them, [00:04:00] some musicians only have to worry about their mouth. Some only have to worry about their hands. As a drummer, you're worrying about four different limbs at the same time, plus your ears to make sure you stay on beat. Your, your, your, you've gotta be ambidextrous in your musicianship. do you find that having that skill to be able to control your left and right arms and legs separate, and, and your foot separate from your
leg really at the same time, but controlling each part individually helps you as a photographer as well?
[00:04:41] Fer Juaristi: Hmm. I, I, it might. I, I, I don't, I don't, I don't ... I haven't thought about it e- e- exactly li- like that, you know? But I, I, I think no matter what instrument you play, there's a sensitivity or sensibility that, that you, that you create. [00:05:00] Like, I, I don't know if, if you remember the movie A- Almost Famous?
[00:05:03] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:05:05] Fer Juaristi: like for me, that's one of my, my top three movies of all time, you know, because it's, you wanna be part of, of, of a gang.
for me, it, it wasn't I wanna play drums to show off. No, I wanna, I wanna play drums at the beginning to be closer to my older brother, you know? So, so it was a, a, a being part of a pack. And then when, when he grew up and I, and I ... It was my time to p- to be part of a band. I remember those years vividly, that we, we hang out every Saturday and, and Sunday just to practice, you know?
Without thinking about, like, being someone or anything. It was just about, let's, let's be part of this. And, and then talking about, kissing a girl, you know? Or, or dating. So i- it was having the trust, of, of, of this, how say, like manhood per se i- in- in a [00:06:00] non-toxic way. So I, I think musi- music makes you feel more okay with your feelings and, and being okay with sharing those feelings with someone else, and it makes you a more sensible person, you know?
So yeah, that-
[00:06:15] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: is gonna f- it's, that's gonna find its way into a wedding photography business for
sure.
[00:06:21] Fer Juaristi: Correct.
[00:06:22] Drummer Mindset and Business
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[00:06:28] Fer Juaristi: And, and the, the, the, the not so easy part for, for me, I, I think it's like, for a long time I thought that talent was enough. You know? Like, if you, if you're a good musician or, or a good photographer, everything else is gonna come naturally. And then you, you hit the wall really hard. And, oh, I have to learn a little bit of business and a little bit of social media, and that sucks big time when it doesn't come natural to you.
[00:06:51] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Right
so, that's when I started to struggle. Yeah, yeah. there, you know, the, as musicians, as [00:07:00] photographers, we don't have to be the jack of all trades. We don't have to be the one-man band. We can, we need to be the person who says, "I need other people to help with this," right? Whether it's doing the social media for us if we're not good at it, whether it's, you know, I play drums, but I don't play guitar, you know, I need a guitarist.
[00:07:20] Fer Juaristi: you don't have to learn it all. You don't have to do it all. You can, you can call on help when you need it, and, you know, that's, that, that, showing that vulnerability and showing when you need the, the help only makes you a better person as well, so
Yeah. A- and you see all these movies and, and read all of these biographies that a lot of musicians got, like, scammed by their agent, you know? So, so that's the other part of, of life. as a musician, you- your passion moves you, and it, it can mess you up in the future as well
[00:07:55] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yes, definitely. drummers spend their, their time [00:08:00] listening more than leading, right? I-
in a way, drummers are leading, but for the most part, you're, you're, you're always in the background. You're always, you're, you're, you're not up front. You're, you're, you're keeping everybody steady, you're also listening to the bassist.
You're listening to the guitarist. You're listening to the singer, making sure that you're not or, or, or, or too far ahead or, whatnot. How has listening one of your photographic skills, whether that's behind the camera or whether that is your clients?
[00:08:35] Fer Juaristi: Hmm. I, I think it's, it, it's, it's a humble, practice because you know your, your, the e- the eyes are not on you. Okay? So, so that, that invisibility, it's, it, it's a, it's a powerful tool to have, you know? except i- if you are one of those drummers that, for example, I, I really love the music from, Dave Matthews Band, fr- from the US [00:09:00] and, and you can see the synergy that Carter, who's the, the, the drummer, and, and Dave, who's the singer, ha- have done during these years.
Like, they even ... When, when Dave do scooby dooby doo ba ba and the, the drummer's gonna do the same movements, you know? So, I, I, I love those bands that, that there's this, invisible connection, or communication that they know what's gonna about to happen, you
[00:09:24] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yep.
[00:09:25] Fer Juaristi: m- my, my goal, a, a, a, as a creator a- and a creative human being, it's to, to chase and acknowledge which, communication or how say, like, a relationship between drummers and singers or drummers and, and bass players, I love and respect and honor the most, you know?
A- and, and then h- how to offer the, the, the, the package, you know? But listening, it's, it's amazing and it depends on, on the genre of music or photography that you're w- gonna do. and then try to, [00:10:00] to respect the, the place that y- you're given. but, but I love the musicians that, that they're able to just flow.
Like for example, Flea from, from Red Hot Chili Peppers now that he has, like, a, a trumpet, a trumpet, record. I don't know if, if you heard it.
[00:10:15] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:10:15] Fer Juaristi: It's beautiful, man. it's Anora is the name, right? And I'm like, dude, I, I respect that, you know? Like, y- your passion, your passion project can become, your, your babies and sometimes can become y- your main thing.
the, the guys from, Death Cab for Cutie, then they did the, the Postal Service, and they, they, they mix the electronic with the, their beautiful rhythms, and I love that as well. So I, I'm obsessed with, with the passion projects that become something else. And, and I see my photography like that. It, it's a personal and, or, and a passion project that I'm a lucky bastard that it has found a, an audience.
Yeah.
[00:10:57] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. that's amazing.
[00:10:59] Discomfort and Popularity Trap
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[00:10:59] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: [00:11:00] you, you've shared many times, over the years that You embrace discomfort, right? You know that there's discomfort, all around, whether that's in your mind, whether that o- that others are going through. and you've shared, I, I might butcher the, the wording of this, but you've shared that you don't feel in a way that you're as good as you actually are, right?
[00:11:29] Fer Juaristi: and in music, which by the way, you, you, you are as good as everybody says you are i- photographically, for sure. So never doubt yourself. But, in music, there's that, that same demand, right? There's that same thing of y- you have to embrace discomfort, especially if you're jamming, right? You're gonna get notes wrong.
[00:11:52] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: It's gonna happen.
It's what do you do when you get it wrong is what, what basically defines where the song goes or the music goes. [00:12:00] was your relationship with creative discomfort first built behind a drum kit, or
did that come more when you started in ph- in photography?
[00:12:11] Fer Juaristi: I, I think, like if, if I go back to my music years, I had this special chemistry with, with the, with the keyboard player. And a- after we did the, the, the practice with the band and they- we'd say goodbye, we stay for, for a few hours only jamming, you know? And, and that guy, till this day, he became a, a, a music producer, you know?
And, and, and every few years we, we have these discussions about, how music and art and everything depends a lot on, on where you live. like, because he, he's doing a lot of like pop and, and rap and, like, regional Western music, and he's like... I- i- in Mexico, we have this curse. Like, you have to choose, like, a mainstream path to, to [00:13:00] have to provide for your family.
It's hard to be an experimental musician and, and have enough to, to live. you have to go abroad. like, there's this couple, it's called Rodrigo and Gabriela. They're like, guitar players, Mexican, but they move, I think, to, I don't know if it was Sweden or Switzerland, and they started, take- playing in the streets, and then they became big, and now in Mexico, they're like legends, you know?
But usually they have to go far away to get the, the, the honors that they deserve. but I, I, I think, okay, discomfort, it's, it's, it's a must because creativity, music, and photography, it's, it's not an exact science. So, so you have to say, "Screw it. Let's, let's see what happens if I commit all these mistakes, and, and with these mistakes I can, I can create a style."
there's no scoreboard. well, I, I hate the top 10 wedding photographers of the universe or the [00:14:00] top 10 drummers because it's, it's something... It's a popularity game. I don't know how to measure, talent, you know? I know a lot of technical amazing musicians and photographers that when I listen or see their work, I don't feel anything.
[00:14:19] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:14:20] Fer Juaristi: So, so h-how-- yeah, the, the talent, it's, it's, it's weird. I-- we don't know how to, how to measure it. I think if we are lucky enough to get a, a, a decent amount of following that loves our stuff and, and, and it's willing to change with us, we, we are in heaven, you know? But, but it's, it's, it's only a few that that things happens because in, in music and in photography, everybody, at least nowadays in 2026, people chase, popularity, more, more than, like, being good at their craft.
So that has messed a lot of things [00:15:00] for, for future musicians and, and photographers
[00:15:03] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: For sure. On the, on the top 10 type topic it's a really good point and about how the popularity thing, and you were to look at, some of the best bassists in the world, right? gonna have somebody like Flea always come up in that list because in Red Hot Chili Peppers, a very familiar name, very popular person, so of course he's gonna come up. But one of the best bass players in the world is Victor Wooten, who most people would have no idea who he is, even though they've heard him play many times. and, you know, it, it's... He probably, while, like, if I was to do a list, he'd be on my list, but he wouldn't be on most people's list 'cause they don't know who he is, right? so by the way, if anybody who's listening wants to hear Victor Wooten, just look up a Bela Fleck and listen, and then look up his own [00:16:00] albums, Victor Wooten. And anyway, yeah.
[00:16:02] Fer Juaristi: Yeah,
[00:16:02] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: go
[00:16:03] Fer Juaristi: and that's the thing. It, it's a- it's about, exploration. like, I, I hate when, when, when I meet someone that they keep listening to the things they were listening when they were in high school, you know? Like, they, they define their personality based on, on their teens. So, so I, I always recommend, like, there's always, "H-how do you become more creative?"
I, I s- I say always challenge yourself. Like, go to a-any platform that you listen music and, and then just type or, or click the, the random music. a-a-and, and be okay to listening to, to, I don't know, to Brazilian funk, you know?
[00:16:41] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah
[00:16:41] Fer Juaristi: like, French jazz and, and, and
[00:16:44] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yep
[00:16:44] Fer Juaristi: abroad your, your own language, you know?
like you were mentioning that you, you went to, to Puerto Rico with your family, and,
[00:16:51] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: and I, I remember a lot of people, like, hating Bad Bunny, because it was very, like, sexual music, and now he, he [00:17:00] was willing to go back to his roots and his latest,album. It's, it's, it's just a fusion of beautiful things, man.
Yeah
[00:17:08] Fer Juaristi: so i-i-it's like that. It's, it's okay to change as a musician, but our responsibility as creators, it's to, to challenge what we hear, what we listen, in, in movies, in music, and, and in art in general.
[00:17:22] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Well said.
[00:17:24] Community Qs and Honest Moments
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[00:17:24] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: so I posted in my community asking my community members, "What should I ask Fer?" So I got two questions for you that I didn't
come up with. the first one is from Seshu. and first of all, you're gonna have to explain, what it actually is 'cause I don't know if I've ever heard you say it.
You m- I probably have, maybe I didn't realize it. He- Seshu says, "Ask him how he came up with Vis Bon."
Okay. What is Vis Bon and how did you come
up with it?
[00:17:59] Fer Juaristi: [00:18:00] yes, so, so Vis Bons, it, it was a, a way to defining my favorite images. but nowadays, I, I will get canceled. it was called, like, visual boners. so sorry if I, if I, if I ... A- and then I tried to change it to VisGrams, so, so it, it's more like, more openly a- accepted. But yeah, and then I, I made, like, a inspirational book for wedding photographers that it has the same name.
But it, it wasn't a way to, to offend anyone. It was just like a ... I, I, I always love mixing words. my kids hate it because I'm always, like, doing like a ... I'm, I'm a, a frustrated rapper or like a, like a prankster. So yeah, it was just a, a mix of words, you know?
[00:18:47] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Okay, I get it, I
get it. I like
[00:18:49] Fer Juaristi: Yeah.
[00:18:49] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: the next question is from Abygail Padilla. she asks, "What artists outside of photography inspire you?"
[00:18:59] Fer Juaristi: Hmm. [00:19:00] Okay. So if, if I go to music, there's this, American band, that's called Hippo Campus. I, I don't know if you know of, of them. it, it's a band from Minnesota, from I think it's, Minneapolis or, And I'm, I'm obsessed with that music band, man. I, I, I flew to Atlanta just, just to go to a concert of them, because it, they have this beautiful mix of amazing melody, and they are okay by mixing a trumpet with, synthesizers and, and different rhythms.
So ha- have you heard them, Scott, or no?
[00:19:37] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I, you know, someone else brought them up on, at one
point. I'm just, I'm just looking it up. I have definitely looked
[00:19:43] Fer Juaristi: Yeah.
[00:19:44] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: before.
I wonder if, if I th- if I heard about it from a conversation with you at one point or if somebody else
brought it up. But I've definitely
[00:19:53] Fer Juaristi: Yeah
their website before, so, Yeah, man.
[00:19:55] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: them
[00:19:56] Fer Juaristi: the, the first song I listen to them, it's called A- Ashtray. Ash- [00:20:00] Ashtray. And, and I, I was obsessed with, with the drumming and because it's the same. It, it's, it's a indie rock band, but they play a lot with rhythms. So I'm, I'm always trying to chase, music that is a little bit unpredictable, but that it's not sad.
I, I, I'm, I'm always a little bit afraid of listening to sad music,
[00:20:21] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah
[00:20:21] Fer Juaristi: because, I know what makes me feel. so, so for example, Radiohead, it's, it's a, a, a band that I know everybody loves, but I, I try to avoid.
[00:20:31] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Mm.
[00:20:32] Fer Juaristi: and,
[00:20:32] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: sad music.
[00:20:33] Fer Juaristi: yeah, call, call me a singer, man. You know? I'm okay with that. But I know that they are amazing.
But for example, I, I love, Thom Yorke. He did, like, a short film with, Paul Thomas Anderson. it's Ano- Anomalia or,Anora. I, I don't remember the name of, of... It's on Netflix. but I, I love that combination of a, an amazing director with an amazing musician. But, but the, the, the main, the main project, I, I'm afraid of listening to it, you know? Because... Or, or back in the day when there was, Ni- [00:21:00] Nirvana and Pearl Jam. I, I wa- I was a Pearl Jam guy. I wasn't a Nirvana guy, you know?
Because most of my friends who were, like, Nir- Nirvana, yeah, their energy was just, I don't wanna be like them, man. I don't wanna,
[00:21:13] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah
[00:21:14] Fer Juaristi: wanna be sad and mopey, 24/7. So, so yeah, I'm always aware of the, how the music changes the way I feel.
[00:21:23] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Love it.
[00:21:24] Fer Juaristi: you briefly touched on, on this. many photographers chase perfect moments, but you seem to chase honest moments above all others. Where did that philosophy begin?
[00:21:37] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I, I think by, by being honest and, and seeing the things that I was consuming. like for example, I, I'm not a big fan of like, Hollywood blockbusters, you know? 嗯。
[00:21:49] Fer Juaristi: that's the, the, the, how you say, the definition of perfection. Like visually, the, the sound quality. Everything has to be perfect to, how you say, to [00:22:00] appeal to, to the broad audience, right?
so I, I knew that if I wanna a- appeal a lot of people, I have to be perfect. so I was like, "Okay, what's the opposite of, of the Hollywood blockbuster?" And I started to, to, to discover, for example, like movies that they were made in, in Texas, you know? And, and scenes... Like Robert Rodriguez, and then, I, I forgot the, the name of, of, of this guy.
or Gus Van- Gus Van Sant. and I was like, okay, this is a... I, I prefer... I- if I had friends, I prefer to have these friends than, than the, than these other friends. So the, the, the sensibility comes from the things that we consume. and, and then I, I became in... I, I entered this rabbit, rabbit hole of, movies that they were made in, in, in, in Poland, and I was like, "Holy.
They, they see love and, and they see life in a different way." I, I, I didn't [00:23:00] knew how to even describe that. So I went into Instagram and, and YouTube and find interviews and podcasts with the cinematographers and the directors and the art direct- designers. So it's, it's a, it's about that. Like being obsessed with the things that naturally you feel attracted and connected to, and then once you grab your camera or, or your instrument, try to see how can you honor them.
[00:23:28] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Love it. I love it.
[00:23:30] Never Stop Shooting
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[00:23:30] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: improvisation is a big part of music. Even when,
[00:23:36] Fer Juaristi: Hmm
[00:23:36] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: you know, you've got, just to go with a very popular name, you have Taylor Swift, right? That
everybody knows her music wherever you are in the world. She just did the biggest tour around the world ever in the history of music. Even Taylor Swift is improvving here and there, even with how planned every part of her set is, repeatable around the world.
[00:23:59] Fer Juaristi: As [00:24:00] photographers, we often plan as well, especially in weddings where you're like, "Okay, we've gotta do the family photos, we gotta do the getting ready photos." A lot of it is planned
But you are very much a let's think outside the box type of photographer.
Mm-hmm
[00:24:16] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Um, and so if you were to put a percentage of typical wedding day, let's say, how much of that day is planned versus you just in the creative zone?
[00:24:33] Fer Juaristi: Mm. I, I, I think, for me what has worked, it's like n- never stop shooting.
[00:24:38] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: for example, on, on family portraits, you know that they have to look at the camera, and they have to smile. And, and then, okay, you're like, "Cut." And, and then you look to see if, if everything's in focus or everything. So instead of doing that, chimping your work, I keep photographing.
[00:24:57] Fer Juaristi: A- and usually that's where, where the [00:25:00] magic happens, for me, when, when the older brother punch, punch the groom, you know? They, they remember w- how they felt when they were kids, you know? Or, or, or, or the mom starts smoking, you know? So, so for me that's, that's better than, than the normal traditional stuff, you know?
So I think my, my, my goal it's like that. I, I never stop shooting.
[00:25:25] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah
[00:25:26] Fer Juaristi: in your head you know that you have the photo, just keep shooting. I know nowadays SD cards and hard drives are freaking expensive, but, I, I prefer to have a l- a lot of information and then analyze and curate afterwards
[00:25:40] Epic Wedding Punch Story
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[00:25:40] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: funny, funny story 'cause you brought up a, a punch, punch at a wedding.
[00:25:45] Fer Juaristi: so my brother-in-law got married, ba, ba, ba, ba, four years ago? it was around my birthday about four years ago, I think it was.
[00:25:53] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: And it was on their front lawn. and it was a beautiful day. It was a beautiful wedding. [00:26:00] our cousin, who is in the US Air Force, officiated the wedding.
He got ordained. he came in his Air Force blues, like the dress, outfit. It was, it was ... it was great. and my brother-in-law couldn't get through... And by the way, me, my father-in-law, my brother-in-law, who was getting married, and then our cousin, the one who was in the Air Force that officiated, we all do martial arts. and, as does one of the other groomsmen. and so my brother-in-law, it was time for the vows, and he took a speech out of his pocket, and he started reading, and then there was a point of his vows where he got stuck, and he couldn't keep going. He was about to lose it and
cry and all that stuff, and he c- couldn't get through it.
So he looks at our cousin, who's officiating, and he goes, "Punch me." So, so our cousin literally punches him in the gut, and he was able to get through, my brother-in-law was able to get through the, the vows
[00:26:58] Fer Juaristi: Wow[00:27:00]
[00:27:00] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: And, they had photographers, at the wedding and no videographer, so I just set up a, a video camera to just film the, the wedding from, you know, just the, the, the, the aisle perspective.
[00:27:14] Fer Juaristi: We can't show the video to anybody or the photos of that moment to everybo- to anybody because, even though it's like a, an amazing moment, our, our cousin in the Air Force could actually get in trouble with the Air Force for punching somebody in his dress blues.
Hmm?
[00:27:31] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So, I've witnessed an epic punch at a wedding, can't share with anybody. So
[00:27:38] Fer Juaristi: enough, man. That, that, that's enough. And everybody in the wedding is gonna remember that for the rest of their lives, you know?
[00:27:44] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: 100%. 100%.
[00:27:46] Fer Juaristi: And, and it's not about the, the sharing with the universe. It's, it's, it's beauti- it, it makes it even s- more special, I think.
[00:27:52] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Oh yeah, it does. Yeah, it
[00:27:54] Fer Juaristi: Yeah.
[00:27:55] Making Weddings Special
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[00:27:55] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: two more questions for you. Two more
questions. The first one, this, and these are gonna both be [00:28:00] thinkers. if you were the drummer at a wedding, how would you treat it today than you might have before you were a photographer?
think the, the, the goal of a- any, any vendor it's, it's to make that day special. You know? I, I think that's, that's always the, the, the goal. And I, I think, what, what I will try to make it, it's like ask like the groom or the bride like, "Hey, what's, what's your special song that you know that it doesn't belong to a wedding day?
[00:28:33] Fer Juaristi: so, so we can practice it and surprise, your, your special one, playing that song." You know, that kind of stuff, you know? Like, even if you're just a vendor you can make things special. And, and I think in, in photography and in, and in music it has to be l- it has to be like that, you know?
[00:28:50] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:28:50] Fer Juaristi: for, for me that, that will be the special treatment.
[00:28:54] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Nice.
[00:28:55] Fer Juaristi: what's your take on during, like, the [00:29:00] best man speeches, the father speeches, whatever, and there's a funny joke. What's your take on the drummer doing the ba-dum-tss?
Uh-huh.
[00:29:08] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: what... Like,
[00:29:09] Fer Juaristi: Yeah,
[00:29:09] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: you for
that? You
[00:29:10] Fer Juaristi: yeah. Yeah. I think it's okay, man. You know, it, it's a cliché that everybody understands, you know? No matter your nationality, no matter if you, if you don't know the language, the parap sh, it, it's, it, it's part of a, "That was a joke," you know? So I, I, I'm okay with that. I, I think I, like, when the DJs do the pa-pa-pa, you know, I, I know it's, it's, it's, it's a special moment, you know, for, for someone, or it's...
So I, I, I like that. It, it's, it, it honors, like, how we think and feel, in this part of history
[00:29:47] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. And, and like you said, it's
universal. So,
[00:29:50] Fer Juaristi: Yeah.
[00:29:51] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: matter where you are in the world, everybody knows it.
[00:29:54] Fer Juaristi: Yeah,
[00:29:54] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: That's
[00:29:54] Fer Juaristi: don't know who was the first drummer who did that. That would be a good thing to, to ask [00:30:00] ChatGPT or something, you know? But
[00:30:01] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah
[00:30:02] Fer Juaristi: it-- Because i-imagine doing it that for the first time, what three, three movements represents a, a, a how a joke ends.
That,
[00:30:11] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:30:11] Fer Juaristi: funky, man. Yeah
[00:30:13] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Oh man, that would be some good research. I'm gonna look into that. I'm gonna be l-
[00:30:16] Fer Juaristi: Yeah. Imagine that you can patent that or, or, or, or charge royalties for that. You'll be a freaking millionaire, man.
[00:30:25] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: man.
[00:30:26] Fer Juaristi: Yeah.
[00:30:27] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Oof. boy. That's like the Post-it Note that, that,
[00:30:30] Fer Juaristi: Right?
[00:30:31] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: been, that's everywhere.
[00:30:32] Photography as Music Genre
---
[00:30:32] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: my last question is what I've been asking every single guest, and
this is one that really gets you thinking, and I love hearing everybody's answer because it's not always the one that I expect.
So,
[00:30:44] Fer Juaristi: Okay
[00:30:45] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: if your photography style a genre of music, what would it be and why?
[00:30:53] Fer Juaristi: Mm. Okay. I, I think I, I will go with, like, [00:31:00] like sophisticated, indie pop rock, you know? like I, I, I make this exercise with, with, with my students. Like, "I don't feel inspired." O- one of my recommendations is, like, put some headphones, go walking and, and do like a visual music video of your favorite songs, you know?
So, so I, I always get stuck like that. so my, my obsession with music, it's, it's the kind of musicians that they know something that we don't know. for, for example, John Mayer, that, that, that player. Like, he's a wizard at, at playing the guitar and, and he's an okay singer, but he has make a career thinking- m- making everybody think that he's like a, like a pop rock,singer-songwriter, you know?
So, so girls, love because he sings about love, but then musicians, [00:32:00] acknowledge the, the, the, the mastery that he has in, in the instrument. And then he went beyond. He, he surround himself with this amazing band that he is inspired from as well,
[00:32:13] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yep.
[00:32:14] Fer Juaristi: you know? S-
[00:32:14] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah
[00:32:16] Fer Juaristi: I, I love that. You know, like having enough commercial success, being able to switch from, from pop to blues to country, and then going back to freaking '80s rock band and stuff.
For me, that takes a lot of cojones, man. So I, I wish that my photography, it's like that, that a, a, a normal human being can, can see something, "Oh, that's beautiful." But then a, a, a real photographer can say, "Okay, wait, wait, wait. There's, there are layers. There's composition. There's, there's a thought process behind something that feels natural."
And I, I love that. All the art that I honor and [00:33:00] love has multiple layers. the, the normal layer of that's amazing, and then to the wait, wait, wait. There's something a bit more, hidden in, in this craft of, of this teacher or mentor, you know? So I wish my photography makes something like that.
[00:33:15] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah, it's interesting you brought up John Mayer. two things with that. One, did you know that John Mayer, fun fact, cannot read sheet music?
[00:33:22] Fer Juaristi: Oh, really?
[00:33:24] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah, you would think somebody like him could read sheet music. He was on the podcast, Smartless
[00:33:27] Fer Juaristi: Wow!
[00:33:29] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: and on that he admitted he cannot read sheet music, which
[00:33:33] Fer Juaristi: Wow.
[00:33:34] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: that
[00:33:34] Fer Juaristi: Yeah
[00:33:36] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: with his skills can't.
But it goes to show you, you don't need to read sheet music to
write music, right?
[00:33:42] Fer Juaristi: And to feel and to con-
[00:33:44] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: To
[00:33:44] Fer Juaristi: and to connect, you know? How you feel and how to put it into an instrument. Bravo, man. Yeah
[00:33:50] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: The other thing is you brought up John Mayer, and he has been, and I think he's done with it now, but he was for years was, in The Dead,
right? Formerly The Great- Grateful Dead.[00:34:00]
[00:34:00] Fer Juaristi: Yeah
[00:34:00] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: For me, your photography would, correlate to the jam band, Grateful Dead, Phish
type music genre because of a lot of what you just said. They have this structure, right? Every song has a structure, but then they naturally improv and play and get creative with every song, and you don't realize that they're doing it 'cause
it's just, it just flows.
To me, that is your photography. You've
got the structure, but you're creative, and you make it just naturally feel like it was, you know, that's what it was, even
if you put it all together, ev- you know, for, for those individual moments. So,
but this is why I love that question because
[00:34:48] Fer Juaristi: Yeah
[00:34:49] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I have a thought about how I think about every, every person I talk to about this that's different than
what the person feels, so
[00:34:57] Fer Juaristi: Yeah. It, it's, it's like that. It's like, [00:35:00] like hidden mastery, you
[00:35:02] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah
[00:35:04] Fer Juaristi: there's like showing off and it can be like, like the guitar player, like, Yngwie, Yngwie Malmsteen, I think it was, it's his name. He's just like, . It's, it sounds like math, you know? It doesn't sound like, like, like, like a poem or poetry.
And, and these guys, the, the, the jam bands, they, they feel more like poetry. So I think
[00:35:25] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yes
[00:35:26] Fer Juaristi: the main difference.
[00:35:28] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: 100%.
[00:35:29] Fer Juaristi: this has, been a lot of fun, just
ÖOF TATATÁ
[00:35:31] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: it to be. I love, I love chatting with you. I love hearing your take on things, and I'm glad that, we got to talk music and
not just photography and only photography, to change it up a bit, 'cause
[00:35:44] Fer Juaristi: Yeah
[00:35:44] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: you talk about photography a lot, so
[00:35:46] Fer Juaristi: Yeah. Yeah. And everything's interconnected, I think, or, or that's our responsibility, as creators, you know? Honor our, our teenage self and then having, having the, the energy and, and the, [00:36:00] and the drive to, to, to keep exploring and, and not, not feeling stuck
[00:36:06] Drumsticks Challenge Finale
---
[00:36:06] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: one parting question before we stop recording. When's the last time you picked up your drumsticks?
[00:36:11] Fer Juaristi: Mm. No, it's been a long, long time. I'm, I'm always drumming in my head. Always, man. I- if I'm listening to a song, I'm, I'm reinterpreting, the song that I'm listening and, and when I go jogging in the mornings, I'm always playing like, "Oh, that's a cool rhythm, man." So I'm, I'm making just rhythms. I, I, I was, I-- do you know F- Fred Again, the, the DJ?
his name is Fred Again. ch- check out his, his Tiny Desk. It's, it's, it's beautiful because he starts to make the rhythms, especially the Tiny Desk. S- start with that.
[00:36:45] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Okay
[00:36:45] Fer Juaristi: a, I'm not a electronic guy or... but his Tiny Desk, it's, it's beautiful, man. His, his production quality and how he's imagining and creating, at the same time, for, for me, that guy is a [00:37:00] wizard and, and he's, how, how you say?
Like, ma- making concerts,with very improvised concerts and just blending everything, man. So, a YouTuber made a documentary about his concert in Mexico City, and it was funky as hell, man, to watch.
[00:37:17] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Interesting
[00:37:18] Fer Juaristi: so yeah, I'm, I'm obsessed with that, how, how to mix mediums. and, and that guy for me, it's, it's way up there.
Sweet. I'm gonna, I'm gonna check that out for sure.
Yeah.
[00:37:27] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: am gonna challenge you though to, by next week, pick up the drums, the drumsticks for 10 minutes
[00:37:35] Fer Juaristi: Okay, okay
[00:37:36] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: 10 minutes,
[00:37:38] Fer Juaristi: Okay.
[00:37:39] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: that's it. You
[00:37:39] Fer Juaristi: Yeah
[00:37:40] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: you can play it on your desk, you can play it on a dr- on the drums, whatever it is. I
challenge you to actually pick up the drumsticks for 10 minutes
[00:37:48] Fer Juaristi: Okay
[00:37:48] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: and just zone out. What, what-- I, I wound up hanging my guitar on the wall next to my desk because
[00:37:56] Fer Juaristi: Hmm.
[00:37:57] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I wasn't picking it up and enjoying it [00:38:00] as much as I wanted to.
So I said, "If it's right next to me,
[00:38:04] Fer Juaristi: Hmm.
[00:38:04] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: gonna look at it and be like, oh, my guitar picks are out
[00:38:07] Fer Juaristi: Last time.
[00:38:07] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: pick it up and I play." So
[00:38:09] Fer Juaristi: Beautiful, man
[00:38:10] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: 10 minutes, that's all I'm, I'm challenging you to.
[00:38:12] Fer Juaristi: Okay. Yeah. I, I downloaded a, an app, it's called Koala
[00:38:15] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Uh-huh
[00:38:16] Fer Juaristi: uh, on, on the, on my phone, and I can create rhythms there.
[00:38:20] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Nice
[00:38:21] Fer Juaristi: that a lot. You know, it's not with the, my drumsticks, but I'm creating a lot of rhythms there, and I love that. You know, just to, to be able to put your ideas into another medium.
Yeah, definitely. Oh,
accepted, because my kid, it's, it's on drum school, so I have to, I have, I have the sticks there.
[00:38:38] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Oh, perfect.
Do it.
[00:38:40] Fer Juaristi: Yes. Yeah.
[00:38:41] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Fer, thank you so much for chatting with me, and, I can't wait for everybody to hear this episode
[00:38:46] Fer Juaristi: Yeah, man. It, it's been fun, man. It's anything I can help to, with this, with your community, I'm here for them
[00:38:53] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Amazing
[00:39:00]