Onstage, backstage, in the pit, no matter where he is: he’s going to get the shot. It’s the shot that makes you ask, “Did God himself descend from heaven with a Nikon d7000 to snap this picture?”
Nope. It’s a kid from New Orleans with the best untrained eye you’ve ever seen: taking every chance, jumping every fence, hitting every pavement to get the perfect shot.
Nathan Schweitzer, a young and talented photographer, has been shooting bands for about seven years, since he was a freshman in high school. What started as a personal interest set off his career as bands continue to seek him out for hire.
At his old age of 21, he’s been able to see bands and gain experience across America—anywhere from Chicago to Charlotte to Big Bend National Park. His favorite view? Backstage.
“I love shooting for bands. Why? That’s a dumb question. My camera is always on me no matter what. So, I get to do what I always do, no matter what, at a concert with my friends and free beer? Yeah, dumb question. It’s just the best gig. I’m very lucky,” Schweitzer said.
He was lucky enough to get a gig at French Quarter Festival with a band called Zita, a New Orleans-based rock-and-blues band.
Pre-show ritual for Zita is a good hang. French Quarter fest is no exception. As Schweitzer and the band sit around waiting for the rain to settle before they go on, they pass around warm IPAs and a carton of cigarettes.
The lead singer-trombone connoisseur was trying to perfect a Louis Armstrong song backward, which he did. They all cheered. Schweitzer took a picture.
Once the rain stopped, it was go-time for Zita. The four guys filed into the green room (a tent with four hangers) and began to change into velvet suits and tight jeans.
Schweitzer hung around the stage getting an idea of what shots he wanted, saying he likes to have a couple shots in mind and let the rest be documentation. It comes easy to him.
When Zita started to play, people began flocking to the sound. This was Schweitzer’s go time.
If you think you’re going to talk to Schweitzer during a show, you’re dead wrong. From the first riff-rip of the guitar, thump of drum, the deep hum of the bass, and a screech of the lead singer, he’s off.
“I move a lot,” he said. “I think more than other photographers. I bounce between side stage, on stage, pit, audience, drum kit, rafters, high, low, drunk and sober throughout the night. It keeps me vigilant.”
He could be seen throughout the show running around the Jack Daniels stage, through the audience, under the drum kit, busting his back on the rain-slicked stairs running full speed, and getting right back up to get to front stage.
It’s moments like these when the passion pays off.
“Nathan is a very hard worker and he’s reliable, moving all around to get the shots,” Brendan O’Connell, manager for 70’s-inspired piano rock master Neal Francis, said. O’Connell hired and worked with Schweitzer at JazzFest this year, where the young photographer freelanced for Francis.
“I could tell the shots would be great (and they were),” O’Connell says.
So, how did Schweitzer end up behind the Jack Daniels stage at French Quarter Fest with Zita, one of the best up-and-coming New Orleans rock-and-blues bands today? Well, the same way he got his start.
He got his first camera when he was about 14 years old. Both of his parents and half of his friends were musicians, so he thought he’d start shooting sets, shows and strange characters in between.
He began his career in the way many young entrepreneurs do: lying. Schweitzer, knowing his age was worked against him, made fake press passes, snuck into events and told all the set security he’s with the band while holding up his camera (and praying).
“The short story is I snuck into an Aerosmith concert and met the right people. Dr. John never got it right, but me, I was in the right place at the right time,” Schweitzer said.
Zita is a four-piece act best known to electrify a stage, including elements from rock, blues, and jazz to create a genius musical hybrid.
Schweitzer met the Zita guys by total accident, shooting a post-pandemic festival. The lead singer of an eight-piece funk band hired him on the guitarist’s good word.
“I had a great shot in mind for the drummer, so I walked right up to the buffest, douchiest looking guy I could find,” Schweitzer said.
Michael Mullins, the current lead singer of Zita, was that guy, dressed in “aviators on an overcast day, gemstone rings and a shirt two sizes too small,” Schweitzer said.
Mullins happened to see Schweitzer’s work and asked if he could shoot a music video for his band, Zita. He replied, “Of course, man! I’ll be there!”
Nathan Schweitzer had never shot video work.
With the help of YouTube and advice from his video-shooting buddies, the video, luckily, turned out great. “After the final scene, we all shot pool and listened to the blues while getting to know each other. Ever since that day, I’ve been Zita’s guy.”
Even during practices, Schweitzer is snapping pictures, knowing the value the pictures bring to the band.
Schweitzer’s old friend, Brandon Gallego, is a musician and photographer. He was looking for something to keep him busy through college, and it turned into a passion.
“I can capture the moments that many people experience of them. It lets them relive the moment again and again,” Gallego said.
Gallego and Schweitzer are consistently seeking better shots, knowing the pictures’ value. According to Schweitzer, Zita makes it easy.
“It’s not just me, they make everyone feel like a rockstar,” Schweitzer said. The band share the same feeling about Schweitzer.
“Nathan is he is like a fifth member of the band,” Mullins said. “He gets us, knows when we need a pick-me-up, knows when we maybe need to be knocked down a peg. He shares the same vision for the band that we do and he portrays that vision through his work.”