“It was really lucky, and kind of bizarre.” These were the words of Philadelphia-based Wonderful Machine photographer, Frank Apollonio, when we caught up with him to talk about how, exactly, he found himself on tour with the guys who can’t seem to stay off Billboard’s “Hot 100” list, The Chainsmokers. The Chainsmokers first came onto the scene with their hit, #SELFIE, and have been topping the charts ever since. Other favorites such as Don’t Let Me Down and Roses have led this duo to be one of the most sought after live EDM acts in the world. When Frank saw the opportunity to work with band members Alex Pall and Drew Taggart on their “Friend Zone” tour, he was so excited to capture every moment of his week-long excursion, he barely slept. Check out all the fun happenings that went on behind the scenes of this rising star EDM tour, from the man who has taken some of the duo’s most iconic images.
First off, can you tell me about how you got involved with The Chainsmokers’ “Friend Zone” Tour?
So basically, I got a job shooting for Captain Morgan, and it just so happened to be at Firefly Festival in Delaware. I had a press pass for it, so I shot as many bands as possible after I was done shooting my CM gig. I posted the photos on Instagram and The Chainsmokers started liking all of my Firefly band pics. So, I decided to email their manager, and got a response saying they wanted to bring me on the road for a week in Canada! It was also right before they blew up and went #1 worldwide…it’s honestly still pretty bizarre.
Were there any goals for this tour/shoot with them?
My only goal was to remain professional and shoot as many “photoshoots” as possible. Traveling takes up most of the days when touring, so really, you only get one or two good shoots per day: if you’re lucky.
On a tour like this, it’s always difficult to plan or have preproduction time for specific shots – did you have any heads up for where/what you were going to be shooting or did you work with what you saw?
There was no planning, whatsoever. I did end up going to Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, and continued on for two days after that. I only had a travel lighting kit with me—speed light and a soft box. We got one day during this where we went out and took environmental portraits, and thankfully it was cloudy and I got just enough power out of my tiny light set-up. After we did the shoot with the light, I sent them a link to see the shots. Their response was “holy fucking shit, bring your light tonight for green room portraits.” That’s when I took my most popular shots of them. Next time, though, I’m insisting on bringing my big boy strobe for sure!
Did you face any challenges with the setting (other than the lack of sleep!)? How did you overcome them?
Haha – Oh the lack of sleep. I unfortunately only slept 1.5 hours a night because I kept drinking energy drinks to stay awake, then questioned why I couldn’t fall asleep at night (I’ve now sworn myself off them due to this.) It also didn’t help that I’m kind of an excited person when it comes to creating. I get so lost in a project that all I want to do is shoot and edit. Nothing else matters when you’re in that state of mind. I also missed my plane coming home at JFK, and it’s really not fun sleeping 7 hours total for the week and running 5 miles through a huge airport. I was delirious, but I had a blast. Alex and Drew are hilarious people and I really enjoyed being with them.
What was your favorite part of this shoot?
I really had a blast shooting the environmental portraits. I like being out in nature and making cool photos that show off the earth. The food was also great, and hanging out with top artists is super interesting for getting to see that kind of lifestyle. But overall, taking photos of people that I know hundreds of thousands of people are going to see is my euphoria.
Anything else we should know about?
Shooting live EDM music is a drug. I’ve never felt so much adrenaline in my entire life. It shakes and pulsates your entire body and you’ll just stop shooting for a moment and think “Holy shit, I need to breathe.”
Also, after they played in Vancouver, we were hanging out with an up and coming group, Young Bombs. We did a fun shoot of a box of cream exploding all over them. It was hilarious, and The Chainsmokers promised to post it if they did it, so it had to happen.
Have your images been used anywhere since the shoot? How has the reaction been?
Yes! I think about 30 online publications have posted my photos from the green room shoot. Vogue posted it, and I kind of freaked out. I’m honestly not sure if it’s been in magazine print (if anyone sees them let me know!) Billboard has posted some of my portraits online too which was awesome.
I’m hoping I get more artist work from this. Touring is fun, but I’d actually rather have about 3 days to hang with someone and shoot a few times a day. I’ve also been directing music videos, so we’ll see if photo or video catches fire first!
Any future plans to work with The Chainsmokers again?
I keep in contact with Alex and Drew, and we are planning to do something in the future. They are super busy now considering they are number one in the world. It’s pretty mind boggling how fast that happened for them—one year and their careers exploded. I can’t wait to do another shoot with them, or any other artist for that matter.
The Chainsmokers are today’s rock stars, and are just getting bigger. We can’t wait to see who Frank has himself surrounded by next! In the mean time, get a taste of the action with Frank’s live behind-the-scenes video below!
To see more of Frank’s photography, visit frankapollonio.com.