The portfolio of photographer Ro Tam

Archives for April, 2010:

The Slants- Pageantry

April 12, 2010, 1:23 am


The Slants just released their second album “Pageantry” and I took some press photos for them here in North Portland because my mom told me to. The one with the tie all the way to the left is my brother Simon and the other nice young man with a tie, Johnny, lived down the street from us while growing up. They’ve been in several bands together since high school and I love that they’re still playing music together. Now that I think about, I’ve been photographing their bands for over ten years and they’ve put up with some of my stupid antics at their shows for just as long. Whether you’re into the music or not, the Slants put on quite the rock show and you should make it a point to see them live (not just because my mom says you should).

Beauty Bar

April 2, 2010, 6:18 am

Beauty Bar, its a chain. You can go for their happy hour and enjoy a martini while getting a manicure. The first time I went to one was while in San Diego for my birthday a few years ago. Originally the plan was to see Erlend Oye perform in Tijuana but there was some kind of complication with crossing the border. Plan B was to check out the grand opening of the Beauty Bar because drinks were suppose to be on the house till midnight. That didn’t happen either. We later found out that the bartenders pocketed the money and had a coke party. Recently a Beauty Bar opened in Portland and I was there photographing it for the Willamette Week. The scene was a lot different than my previous experience but DJ Beyonda was spinning so it seemed more like a Portland queer event.