SEAN HUTCHEON

Fine Art And Commercial Product Photographer

Hi Sean. Can you tell us about your interest in filmmaking, writing and music—all of which have been important components of your life in the development towards your present career as a commercial product photographer?

Sean Hutcheon: I recall being drawn to music when I was around 6 or 7 years old. One Christmas, I got my first cassette deck with a couple tapes – Oldies and The Culture Club and I listened to them constantly. Shortly after, I discovered Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and I think that was the first time I felt moved and swept away by music. Like the hairs standing up on the back of your neck kind of feeling. I also remember, at my cousin’s wedding, in like 1986, the DJ played Bob Segar’s, Old Time Rock n Roll. And again, I was completely floored. It was that song that I discovered beat and rhythm. It was like a spiritual awakening. That part in the song, towards the end, when the guitars drop out and it’s just drums and vocals, made my heart jump into my throat – pure joy. That part of the song is so soulful, and huge. From that point on I started hearing and listening to music differently, and it’s been a lifelong search to seek out music that gives me that same feeling I felt when I was seven years old. Also, around that same time, I started piano les- sons. I really enjoyed it, but I was too young to really understand reading music and music theory. I mostly just improved. Taking what I did know about scales, and make my own songs up. But, I eventually lost interest in the piano. Today, though, I would love to learn again. One of my lifelong goals is how to play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

Going back to Michael Jackson’s, Thriller – I was obsessed with the movie, The Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, directed by the great John Landis. It was that film that opened the door to filmmaking for me. The film is a behind the scene’s / documentary on the making of the video Thriller and I was so amazed and interested in everything that went on behind the camera. The lights, the direction, the relationship you saw with John and Michael, the acting, the make-up process that Michael went through. I knew I wanted to do that. I wanted to make movies. My sister, Kelly, and I would rent that video every weekend and we would watch it over and over. I would just study everything. It made me happy and I felt super connected.

Years, later though when I was around 12 years old, I really started to take action on my movie making dream. I discovered I had a niche for doing impression. These impressions morphed into their own characters. The thing is with these impressions, is that I would get into the mind of the character. It was if I channeled their soul into mine. It was a special talent that I knew I had and wanted to explore that deeper. I studied people. I watched and listened. I was drawn to do impressions of people who I thought were characters: Funny, interesting and who I connected with. If I did an impression of someone it meant I liked them and saw something in them that was unique. Anyway, I had this childhood friend, Dave, who had a WILD imagination. He really REALLY loved movies. We both discovered George A Romero’s films, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. Those films made me pick up a camera and start creating. Dave’s passion for film was equal with mine and when we were together we clicked and our imaginations together was really special. After school one day, we made our first short. I was acting and he was camera and sound effects with my keyboard. The plot was: I was impersonating a neighbor’s mother calling for her son. Probably three minutes running time. But that sparked everything! Our shorts became longer, more ideas, multiple camera angles, soundtracks and eventually led to writing our own scripts. That’s what we did after school. We made movies. I had to be creative, this was part of who I was and was going to be.

At a horror movie convention in Pittsburgh, I bought a few screenplays. I think they were Day of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead. It was my first time seeing an actual script for a movie. I went back to the hotel we were staying at and read them both. Taking note of the format on how it was written. Those scripts taught me how to write for film. I used them as a reference on when I would start writing for myself.

My first script I wrote was From the Alley that was based on an experience I had during a visit to NYC in the early 90’s about a homeless man pestering two teens for spare change.

My second script was The Wild Ride that was about a troubled school bus driver who loses it and takes a bus load of kids hostage. Not much materialized from these stories, but I was discovering my imagination. I was learning how to put my imagination and the pictures I saw in my head into words. All of this was happening when I was around 14 years old.

What experiences can you recall that opened up the doors to these artistic venues and have stayed with you up until now?

SH: With music, I started lessons when I was about 15 or so. And I excelled very quickly. Another talent discovered. I played in bands in middle school – playing mostly Nirvana and The Jesus Lizard covers. Playing the drums taught me about being vulnerable in the arts. As with acting and filmmaking, I played with feeling, I played hard, and I was good. Being behind the drums, I was fearless. I didn’t care what others thought and it was my way of communicating. And I had plenty to say. I ended up joining the jazz band, and forming a band my senior year called Sensei. I would describe us as a pop – punk/hardcore band. We were heavy, but with really catchy licks. In this band however, I sang.

Sadly, we dis-banded in 1997, but those guys are still my best friends today and when I moved to New York 16 years ago, two of the members, Scott and Dan and I, formed an instrumental metal band called All City.

In addition to music, in high school, I recently completed my first feature film. A Friday the 13th tribute film called Friday the 13th To Hell and Back. I made this alongside with Dave. Filming on Friday nights, and every weekend for about six months. It was a grand achievement. Shot on Super VHS. We made front page of our newspaper, had a premier for it and everything. It has gotten a lot of recognition as one of the first “fan films” of the Friday series and has a small cult following.

Because of the success of my movie, I was asked to join the production team for a theatrical haunted hayride located in Bucks County. For the Hayride, I helped write scenes and then build the sets. Unlike other hayrides, I wrote dialog for the characters. Sure, there was some improvisation but for the most part it was all scripted. Actors from Philly and New York were hired and there, I was doing something so wonderful, that was so successful. I stayed on the production team for a few years. Through connections with local Philly actors, I had an opportunity to audition for Tony and Tina’s Wedding, and I immediately got the part. The thing was, to make the call time on Friday evening, I had to skip my last class, to drive to South Philly.

Again, I was 17 years old and part of another huge production. And I was getting paid for it. Living the dream. I was acting and I was playing music. Continued on next page...

Who do you live with now?

Right now, I live with my partner Samantha. And my 2-year-old Border Collie, Norman. Sam and I have been together for three years now. We been through a lot together in those years. We started dating right before the pandemic and months later we were bouncing around from Airbnb to Airbnb upstate, working remotely. And when I say working, I mean hanging out trying to survive the unknown. Two years later we bought our sweet little home in Craryville. Sam works mostly in NYC. She’s a wardrobe stylist and she’s been really busy. She is a hard worker.

In 2021, Sam and I moved in together in South Williamsburg in an apartment that opened up in her building. Less than 24 hours in moving all our stuff in, we jump in the car to pick up Norman from a farm in Lancaster, PA. Never did I know that my life was going to change forever. Norman is a special, special animal who I love dearly. So here we were, in Brooklyn with a Border Collie Puppy. I didn’t expect the amount of work it would be, but also never expected the rewards of raising a puppy. It was a full-time job, but I loved and still love every moment of it. He’s my best friend.

You mentioned to me how much you love living in the Hudson area. Tell us why?

SH: There is so much to love about the Hudson Valley! First off being in nature is something I truly value. I am so grateful to wake up in peace and quiet, look outside and watch the birds or the other critters on my property. I love the community. I have met some wonderful people since I’ve been up here who have offered me advice, and opportunities for work, or have taken the time to say hello and talk to me. Even though I am more secluded up here than the city, I feel more connected here. I feel very lonely when I am in the city. This is where I’m supposed to be. I like that I can drive 15 minutes to go swimming in a lake and stop off at my local coffee house and grab an iced coffee in the summer. I like that I can build a fire in my yard in the fall and play frisbee with my Border Collie. I like that my partner and I can head to Zinnia’s Dinette on a cold winter’s night for seafood. And being up here makes me slow down a bit. And forces me to enjoy the little things in life.

At this time, you are working in NYC. How do you find bouncing back and forth from up here in the woods, to the city? Is going from one place to another a big change for you?

SH: Yes! It is a big change. When I first moved up here about a year and a half ago, all my clients were in NYC. To work all week in the city, fight traffic on a Friday evening just to head back to the city a day later was rough. It completely exhausted me. My partner and I started to head back on Monday mornings. That was a little better as I had two full days up here, but I still felt that dread of going into the city. It’s the culture shock that really affects me. One moment you’re in your safe space, in your home, and the next you’re immediately immersed into chaos. For a long time, I would completely shut down when I was back in the city. It’s not what it used to be. Life is so much harder.

However, in the last few months, I got two clients up here now in Hudson. I shoot for Stair Galleries and Naga Antiques that keep me very busy. So, I am able to spend much more time at my home. I am so grateful for Colin Stair and Jim and Maggie Marinaccio for giving me a chance to shoot for them. So that being said, the travel back and forth has lightened up drastically and is much more manageable.

The first thing I do when I come up here is go outside and play with Norman, my Border Collie. And I look forward to the early mornings here. I love to have a coffee, put on a cassette, and gaze out my front window.

Curious about your photography work at Christie’s as well as the work you do in Hudson. SH: I started shooting for Christie’s about a year ago after I reached out to my friend who was managing the equipment and studios at Rockefeller. She put in a good word for me and they brought me in for a test day and to train. I was then put on a flats set shooting framed paintings. To be honest, I’ve never seen an operation quite like it. The studio is massive with high quality strobes and shooting on digital medium format. The message at shooting at Christie’s is to shoot at the highest possible standard, take your time and make your work look beautiful. At Christie’s, I am able and it’s appreciated that I tap into that inner artistic core. The complete opposite message Amazon had which was shoot 60-70 pieces of product a day and don’t take your time. At Christie’s and if I’m shooting furniture, or sculpture, it’s not uncommon to finish the day with 2 pieces shot. Through the year, I started on shooting flat artwork, then I started working at their warehouse in Brooklyn shooting objects on tabletop. I then started shooting vintage wine at a wine warehouse in the Bronx and recently been shooting interiors of homes with private collections. I can say I’ve learned a TREMENDOUS amount about in the past year and I’m so grateful and proud to shoot for Christie’s. I really love it and it never feels like work. I realize that shooting fine art is a unique skill set that not many people can do what I do. In Hudson, I have a few clients that I shoot fine art for. The shooting pace is a bit faster, but what I can do is provide similar results I can give to Christie’s, I just work a bit faster and think faster. The more I can learn, the better I can make decisions. Therefore, saving time and money. The chemistry is about the same from city and Hudson work. I’m surrounded by people who love art and we all appreciate it.

As far as your personal photography work is concerned, what are you working on now?

SH: I am slowly starting to edit for a photo book. It’s an incredibly daunting task and I’m still thinking on what direction I want to take it. I feel stuck as I don’t know how to make a book.

I shoot everything 120mm color film. My camera of choice is my Mamiya C330. I use an 80mm lens and a 65mm lens. It’s an all manual and sometimes temperamental.

My process is completely intentional. I don’t shoot all the time. It’s very specific when and where I go out. Take for instance, I was in LA last fall. I get to Balboa Island and I immediately start scouting. What am I drawn to? What is interesting? What will look good in the morning or evening light? Then I sit on it and think and those places that stick with me, is what I’ll start with. I only shoot in the morning or late afternoon. Recently though, in the afternoon. I go to those locations I like and as I shoot, that’s when the magic happens. I get into the “zone” and start to see other things and I get swept away by imagination and inspiration. Every shot I take is 100% planned and thought through. There are no snap shots ever. The framing, exposure, composition, focus, depth, is completely intentional. And when I have my film processed, I do not do any image editing or manipulation except for cropping and lowering my black point. Film photography is done through a camera, never through photoshop.

Where do you look when you are needing ideas or visual information for an upcoming shoot? I bet there is a lot of work prior to the actual shoot, yes?

SH: Yeah, there is sometimes a quite amount of research before a shoot and I dig for inspiration. Something that I think might be a cool idea, how the light is, how the products are placed and the mood of the story. All of these things I consider before a job. It’s important to me to always have a clear expectation and a game plan and that everyone involved is on the same page. I don’t need to be working out the creative right when I get on set. It takes away from my job which is to execute the plan that was previously discussed.

How does the photography work that you are now doing feel like it has emerged and risen from your inner artistic core? When does it just feel a mundane part of making a living? Working for oneself can be very different than when working for someone else, do you agree?

SH: That’s a great question. Naturally, when I am working on my personal work, it comes from the heart. Always, Always, Always. If I’m not feeling it, I won’t do it or shoot it – whatever it may be. With my commercial work - now that’s tricky. If I don’t have any creative say when I am on a job, then it feels completely mundane and I am totally checked out. But, since I am providing a service for a client, I have to go along with it. No matter what I think about the creative direction. This mostly applies to e-commerce photography. It’s boring. Period. With e-commerce imaging everyone only cares about numbers and not the creative process. It’s gotten really bad over the last few years. But I’ve learned to accept that and try to be grateful that I’m making a living doing what I love, and worked hard to get here. However, I do have clients that give me complete creative control. And that’s what gets me excited. It keeps me challenged and engaged. And I can tap into that inner artistic core to provide the very best results.

I worked for Amazon Fashion for 8 years. My last 3 years there I was shooting fashion. There was absolutely nothing creative about the process. It was stale, overdone, disappointing. At the end of my career at Amazon, I didn’t want to shoot ever again. They took something that was precious to me and mangled it into something that now drained me. At the end of the day, the last thing I wanted to do was to pick up or even look at a camera. Those years at Amazon taught me a very important lesson though – that I did not want to shoot on figure or fashion photography.

Can you tell if any, what artists you follow and who gives you momentum in your work?

SH: I was never big on following other artists / photographers. I only have a few photobooks of others people’s work. I never looked at an artist’s work and said I want to do that style. I end up randomly finding artists that have a similar style as I do. William Eggelston, Steven Shore, and Joel Sternfeld are a few who I admire. I mostly get inspired from movies. When I see a good movie, I see greatness.

Artists who give me momentum are the fellow photographers at Christie’s. They teach me about lighting, I can ask them questions about how would they light something that I find challenging, and I have grown in my career from watching them and picking up on their technique.

Are you seeking new clients for your photography work these days?

SH: Yes! I’m always looking for new clients. I really want to shoot for Dia: Beacon and a big goal of mine is to shoot for the Met, or Moma. My work stands out from the others because I’m clear headed and insanely reliable and treat others with the utmost respect. I’m a no non-sense person who will deliver results at the highest possible standard.

You mentioned how you prefer nature as your photographic subject appose to portraits. Is there any reason why you prefer nature to the human form?

SH: As an introvert, I find it challenging to connect with people easily. It takes me time to open up. And if I’m shooting portraits, I would need to have a connection with my subject to result in a powerful image. I prefer shooting nature because I can go out to shoot and not feel like I need to hurry to get a shot. I can take my time, I can think, and I have the space to work out what I’m envisioning. It’s less distracting than photographing people.

Regarding your filmmaking, you have won some awards in your lifetime. Tell us more about those films?

SH: My first award was for my 16mm color short Oh, How the Tables Turn which I made in 1999 I think. It was about a man down on his luck who was turned down when asking a stranger for money. But then “the tables turn” and the man’s luck turns around, and later runs into the woman who didn’t help him before. She was down on her luck, but instead of the man turning his back on her, he decided to help her. It was an honorable mention as I believe all the bigger awards were for films for the advanced film III class. That year

I was in Film II, so it was an honor to be recognized alongside some really talented filmmakers I befriended. This film I edited on a Steenbeck film editor. Completely manual, cutting and splicing film and my sound. A process I brought to movie houses when I was a film projectionist in my 20’s to my early 30’s.

In 2000, I was in film III – and that was the year I earned Best Traditional Film – Traditional meaning I shot on film and edited by hand. The running time was almost 15 minutes. I wrote, directed, composed a score, casted, produced, and edited. The film was titled No Direction. It was a parallel story about one guy having no sense of direction, and the other guy having no sense of direction when it came to his life. The two characters end up meeting each other, and each one giving them the direction they needed. This film also won an Honorable Mention at the Bucks County Film Fest.

After that I didn’t make another film until 2007 when I was taking classes at the New York Film Academy. I made a super short 1 minute 30 second film. The objective was to shoot with no dialog or sound, and create a total landscape of sound in post-production. I shot on 16mm reversal film, and had it transferred to digital and it was my first film I edited digitally. I was working in a film rental house, so I could get all these pro lights for a really cheap rate too. The film was called A Tale of Forgetting. It’s about a guy who needs to mail in his taxes, but along the way to the post office, he drops his keys and doesn’t realize it until if he goes back to get his keys, he won’t have time to mail his taxes in time.

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Also, in 2007, I began production on my last film to date. I was asked by the New York Film Academy to look at their projection booth and offer advice on how to get it up and running. In return, the school allowed me to enroll into another filmmaking course for free. I’m like this is it, I’m going to make Pool Stories Pool Stories I wrote originally as a feature. It wasn’t completed yet, but there was some really funny stuff in there. I decided to rewrite it into a short. This was my biggest production yet. And I knew I needed help. All I wanted to do was direct on this. I brought on my DP friend from Philly, and recruited some classmates to work as my crew. And I casted, produced, edited and directed. It was an incredible experience. At the time I was flat broke from my drinking, my credit cards max’d out from buying film stock, but I made it work. I shot in my apartment and my girlfriend’s apartment. The best part was working with the actors. Something that I never had the chance to really do because I was always behind the camera. It was really fun directing and my vision came alive. Getting the actors to do what you envision is magic. I submitted it to a few film fests around the country, and it ended up winning an Honorable Mention at the New York Short Film Fest in 2008.

Pool Stories is about a miscommunication between four friends about when to meet up at the public pool. I love that film and it means so much to me. I’m super proud of that one.

Do you think one day you will dig up a cherished idea for a film and set forth into making it happen? Can you reveal to us what it is about? What challenges would there be?

SH: Oh Absolutely. About 15 years ago, I wrote this short script about a brother and sister arguing over health benefits. It’s pure comedic gold. I go back and re read the script sometimes and I still crack up over it. That’s how I know that I probably don’t need to go back and rewrite. But I think about that short all the time. The challenges would be time and money. I would want to shoot it on 35mm color film. I would most definitely need production help. I would want to go all out on this. A big-budget short.

When you notice your brain is racing with ideas, and you have to slow it down at least to write down some of those ideas going on in your head, what helps the situation? When the wheels turn too fast, you…?

SH: When the wheels start turning, and they turn all the time, writing it out is the best way to make sense of it. But also, I sort through it in my head. I do that most of the time, but I do have to ground myself in order to do that. Going on a hike or even mowing the lawn – is a great time to think and I even sometimes just have to verbally talk it out to myself. I will say though, when I sit down to write, that’s when the wheels really get going. Like I have this vision of a scene, or an idea that was sparked from something someone said, and I just start writing out that scene. I have no idea where it will go, but when I start wring out dialogue and characters start to come alive. Take for instance – I had an idea about a hot air balloon and a guy who has a temper problem – that makes me laugh – The working title is Hot Air. I started writing out a dinner scene and it’s kind of going somewhere I didn’t expect. Everything I write is comedic. I need to make myself laugh.

What have you battled with in life so far? How did it help or hinder you as an artist?

SH: At the time of my Tony and Tina’s era, there were always after parties. And that’s when I started to drink. I was mostly not into drugs or drinking too much as I always put the arts before that kind of stuff. I never used when I was playing music and never used anything when I was being creative. But alcohol consumption started to become a normal part of my everyday life.

I started to really drink when I was around 20 years old. I was going to community college, and excelling in all of my creative subjects. This is also the time when I discovered photography and film. I always had felt inadequate, less than, and not good enough. I constantly carry pain in my heart and when I drank, that pain and sadness went away. But, I would be damned if booze was going to control me. I managed my drinking as best as I could. Waiting to drink until I was done a project, after band practice, after school. Never during. That was a promise I made to myself. However, the more I drank, the older I got, the hangovers intensified, as did the shame and embarrassment I felt. So, I kept drinking to not feel those feelings. Long story short – eventually booze became my top priority, and my dreams were quickly fading away. I lived in a bottle for 20 years until shortly after my 40th Birthday, where I checked into rehab, and have been sober for 4 years now.

Booze never helped me as an artist. As I still had goals, I was putting in half the effort, also struggling with fear of success.

I recall winning an Honorable Mention at the New York Short Film Fest for my film Pool Stories in 2008, and I didn’t know what to do with that success. That same year, my band won the Battle of the Bands, in Brooklyn. Like my dreams were coming true. But there was that feeling of not being good enough and I chose to drink instead. Getting clean was the best thing I have ever done for myself. As soon as I started to work on myself, to love myself, I have been producing the best work I have ever done. I take those feelings I have and put it into my photography. Feeling is what was missing for so many years. I mean, I learned so much over the years, in my craft, and no matter how sick I was, kept moving. I feel when I moved to the city, that was my downfall. But on the other hand, I pulled myself out of that hole and learned so much about myself in the process.

Tell with us about your family?

I grew up in Bucks County, PA with my mother Sharon, father, Ron and my sister, Kelly. This is a hard question and I could go many different ways with this. My childhood was painful. My father broke my heart at a very young age. He abandoned me. And was emotionally abused my entire life up until he passed around 13 years ago. I was terrified of him. And I spent most of my life living in fear. My childhood is painful thing for me to talk about so I’m not going to get into it. My pets saved me. Music saved me. And I had many outlets to release my emotions.

My mother is an artist. Oil painter. When I was younger she painted a lot and did some really nice work. Mostly of landscape. She still dabbles here and there, and I have a few of her pieces at home. My sister is a very talented woodworker. When she was in middle school, she built a queen-sized bed frame. It was wonderful. She still creates and sells some pieces from time to time.

My grandmother might be the most talented person I’ve ever met. Her and my grandfather build their house together on Buckingham Mountain, near New Hope, PA. She was also a skilled woodworker with this incredible studio in her basement. She made practically all the furniture in her house with exception from antiques she was handed down over the years. Her home was like a museum. She had an impeccable eye for design and interior design. There was a big story on her in our local newspaper years ago. I have many of her paintings and birdhouses she made. On my father’s side, I can’t recall anyone being into the arts. They were blue collar workers. I did see a talent in my father – he was an incredibly hard worker. Was always doing something. He was a general manager for a commercial heating and air conditioning company. His team loved him. I saw that when I worked a couple days in the warehouse one summer. And the respect his coworkers gave him was something else. I learned how to work hard from my parents. My mother was always working on our home, in the garden, cutting the grass. I grew to appreciate hard work and to enjoy the results.

Curious about your music. What does music mean to you?

SH: I keep music very close to my heart. It’s a part of me. I keep the joy I have with music private, so I can’t get hurt. I’m protective of the bands who shaped who I am today. I really need to trust the person who I share my music to. If they understand it, they understand me. I connect with people on a high level if we share the same tastes in music styles and artists.

I have been lucky to have been in 4 impactful bands in my life. My high school band Sensei of course, who I mentioned earlier, but there was also Tower, All City, Blue Sky Law and Systems. In the group, Tower, the music we were playing was raw and powerful. Kind of like Tool meets Alice in Chains. Mike (guitars) was an incredibly gifted musician. And Sean (vocals) was a natural talent. He had a crazy vocal range. Mike and I had a special bond where we were always exactly on the same page when we were playing. That bond and understanding is similar to “Shining” - able to communicate without saying a single word. And for me – I’d like to say it was around this time I “peaked” as a drummer. I was playing at a very high level. I was playing hard, tight, and smart.

Tower played a ton in Philly and we recorded a 4song ep in this studio in Manyunk. It was my first album I played on and I was so proud of myself. After the album, we played more and started writing new material. And let me tell you, this material would have gotten us a deal. I have no doubt. But I dis-banded, because they wanted to kick the band in high gear, but I was in school and working on my films. I probably could have made it work, but I was also struggling with my demons, so I chose to leave the band and only concentrated on film.

All City was my first band in NYC. The style of music was instrumental metal. And I was reunited with my best friends Scott and Dan, also from Sensei. And there was so much excitement around this new project. Here we were, three high-school friends and bandmates reunited in NYC playing music. We practiced in Harlem and eventually we found a closer rehearsal spot in Queens. We practiced at least three times a week. Always writing, always arranging, always coming up with ideas. We all took it very seriously and we were all equally totally invested and committed. We all played our first show as All City at a trashy local bar in Greenpoint, Tommy’s Tavern. And we played so loud and hard, the audience kept wanting more. I will never forget my first show in NY. Now that’s a special moment. We went on playing for a few more years, playing in the 5 boroughs. We probably played a show once every couple of weeks. As time went on we got better – individually and as a band. Our writing became smarter, arrangements became more obscure, and we were listening to each other better. We never got into the studio, to record, and the band just naturally faded. It happens – but it happened with no hard feelings or drama.

Shorty after All City, I took a trip with my then girlfriend to San Diego to visit her college roommate. That’s where I met Rob. Rob liked the same music I did and Rob played the same style of music I did. We were instantly friends. Rob booked a rehearsal spot for us to jam. And Blue Sky Law was born.

Rob moved to NYC a few months later after that visit and we got to work. The project was just Rob on guitars and me on drums. I’d like to say our style was post-punk. Heavy dis-chordy riffs and huge groovy drums playing on the downbeat. We ended up recording our first ep at Seizures Palace Continued on next page...

We played shows for a couple years, mostly at these smaller clubs in Brooklyn. The crowning achievement for us though was winning the Brooklyn Battle of the Bands in 2008. We ended up being in a tie with another band for first prize and each band had to play one more song for a tie breaker. So, we go up first and we both look at each other and we both knew we were going to play, a hard-hitting new song we recently wrote. And we played it flawlessly and put on a hell of a performance. The crowd went nuts. And it was then I knew we would win.

We later had a few write ups on us, a couple interviews, and we put out a second ep. That second ep was one of my worst drum performances – I remember showing up to record so hung over, I could barely get through a song. I was hurting bad.

The band Systems was a side project of Blue Sky Law. It was Rob and me, but we recruited a bass player and another guitarist. It was a short-lived project. We played one show. But we did record a 6-song ep, but we never had it mixed and mastered. However, last year Rob and I were talking and we decided to finally have a few songs mixed and we released them in early 2022.

What music do you enjoy listening to? You’re a guitar player, what do you like to play?

SH: If someone were to ask me: “Who is Sean Hutcheon?” I would say go listen to Helmet’s 1992 album Meantime. That record truly defines me as a person. I discovered Meantime in 1993 or 1994 and it was another life altering experience. I put the record on in my room, and listening it to the first time I became paralyzed. I thought to myself, ‘This is it. This is what I was searching for.’

The music was so heavy, but so groovy. The band plays so tight and in the rhythm section, the drummer plays on top of the beat and the bass is juuust behind and that chemistry works so well. The drummer is John Stanier, who is still my favorite drummer.

Other than Helmet, I tend to listen to the heavier stuff. I love Quicksand, Hum, Isis, and been really into Cave In lately, but I also love the softer rock: Phil Collins, Squeeze, Steely Dan, Genesis. I like to listen to cassettes and have a wide range of music in my collection – Bands like Cop Shoot Cop to Sade. The older I get the more interest I have in exploring music of all types. What I will not listen to is rap, hip-hop or R&B. It does nothing for me.

I naturally transitioned to guitar from drums. I always dabbled on guitar, making up riffs. And trying to teach myself as best as I could. I play guitar by ear. Whatever sounds good to me is right. I don’t know the notes I’m playing, I don’t know scales. All I know is when it’s right, it’s right. The style of guitar I play is heavy, dropped tuning stuff. It’s very rhythmic. I can hear the drums in my head when I’m writing.

Have you gone to any good concerts or theatre lately? Can you recommend any new films?

SH: Since the pandemic, I’ve been to one show. I saw this band I like, June of 44. I used to go to shows ALL THE TIME. Now a days, you go to a show and everyone has their phones out taking pictures and video. No one is present. No one is enjoying the show and allowing themselves to get lost in the music. It sickens me. I’m not as quick to jump to see live shows anymore. It’s not what it used to be. But I’m fine with that. I’ve seen a lifetime worth of live shows of the bands I’ve always wanted to see. I’m satisfied.

I don’t really go see live theater, but funny you should ask, I just watched Angels in America for the first time which was adapted from the play. I was blown away by the writing in that. It reminded me of Sorkin a little bit. Brilliant writing. I also just re-watched Alexander Payne’s Sideways for the hundredth time the other night. If I need a good comfort film, this is my go to. It is the perfect movie. I relate to all the characters one way or another, especially the character Miles played by Paul Giamatti.

How do you see people now surviving after COVID?

SH: Oh boy. Well, everything changed during the pandemic. I think the way people isolated themselves had a deep impact on how we now communicate with one another. I feel there is this underlying fear and resentment that’s stagnate in the air. But it wasn’t just COVID, there were heavy political stuff happening at the same time! For me the pandemic really messed me up. I detached myself from everyone. And my relationships with a handful of really good friends changed. We were all adjusting – running with the punches. When it was time to go back into the world again, I wasn’t exactly ready. I resented that I just made all these life adjustments, and now I have to readjust again.

What invigorating opportunities can you see happen in the near and distant future for you?

SH: I’d like my business to keep expanding. Taking on new clients with different imaging needs. Additionally, in the back of my mind, I envision having a studio of my own either in a nearby town or in my basement or on my property.

If you were granted three wishes, what would they be?

SH: To win an Oscar. To see Holly and Bailey again. To be happy.

Thank you, Sean!

Web: seanhutcheon.com

Email: sean.hutcheon@gmail.com

YouTube Channel to view Pool Stories and A Tale of Forgetting: https://www.youtube.com/@SeanHutcheon

Link to Blue Sky Law: https://blueskylaw.bandcamp.com/album/gravity-made-us-run

Link to Systems: https://wearesystems.bandcamp.com/releases