This shot of Greg Ginn and Mike Vallely was taken at the SST Records warehouse in Taylor, TX, back in 2013. We were shooting promo photos for a Thrasher Magazine ad to promote the God For You album “Life Is Too Short to Not Hold a Grudge”, and the day had this kind of surreal, fun energy. The warehouse was full of history—rows of records from all the bands on SST that I grew up listening to. Just being surrounded by those albums made it feel like I was stepping into a time capsule of punk rock.

At the time, Black Flag was in the studio with Ron Reyes, working on new music. We all stayed at the warehouse, which gave the whole experience the DIY SST vibe you read about. The photo ended up being used in the band’s double LP Too! and the CD Full Serving, which felt fitting given the casual, candid energy of that day.

Greg Ginn, of course, is the mastermind behind Black Flag and SST, and Mike who would later sing for the band brought his own creative spark as both a musician and pro skater. But this wasn’t about “legends” or “icons”—this was about hanging out, digging through records, and capturing a moment of creative collaboration.

For me, this photo represents more than just a shoot. It’s a memory of being surrounded by the music that shaped my life, shooting photos in a space filled with history and the next decade+ of shows these two would go on to play together.