Remembering The Life and Art of Late Ghost Cult Magazine Photographer Melina Dellamarggio 1987-2016


RIP Melina Dellamarggio ghostcultmag

Former Ghost Cult Magazine photographer Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography passed away on this day, August 19th in 2016, at age 29. We make it one of our missions to keep her name alive and her work in the public eye, as we carry her memory and art forward. While she only worked with Ghost Cult for a year and a half, she made a huge impact on our life as a colleague and friend. In addition to being an invaluable member of our staff, covering huge national tours, festivals, underground acts, and music industry events, her concert photography, and writing was also featured in Loudwire, The Phoenix New Times, as well as local and national television outlets, and magazines. You can read our original In Memorium piece here, and watch the celebration of her life held by her family and friends in Phoenix after she passed, and watch our updated video from 2021 with many tributes to her from staff, peers, and friends. Photos provided by Melina’s family (with permission), and the Ghost Cult photo archive. Continue reading


Ghost Cult Magazine Remembers Photographer Melina Dellamarggio


RIP Melina Dellamarggio ghostcultmag

As we do every year, we celebrate the life and work of Ghost Cult Magazine photographer Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography, who passed away today, August 19th in 2016, at age 29. While she only worked with Ghost Cult for a year and a half, but she made a huge impact on our life as a colleague and friend. In addition to being an invaluable member of our staff, covering huge national tours, festivals, underground acts, and music industry events, her concert photography, and writing was also featured in Loudwire, The Phoenix New Times, as well as local and national television outlets and magazines. You can read our original In Memorium piece here, and watch the celebration of her life held by her family and friends in Phoenix after she passed. Continue reading


Public Memorial Set For Late Ghost Cult Photographer Melina Dellamarggio


 

Melina Dellamarggio, photo credit Melina Dellamarggio

Melina Dellamarggio, photo credit Melina Dellamarggio

Here at Ghost Cult we have grieved the loss of our dear friend and photographer Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography who passed on August 19th. A public memorial has now been announced at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ where Melina had done some of her finest work, creating images, loved by many.Continue reading


Korn And Limp Bizkit Book UK Co-Headline Tour This Fall


korn-and-limp-bizkit-uk-tour-2016-ghostcultmag

Nu-metal legends Korn and Limp Bizkit are gonna party like it’s 1999 when they team up for a co-headline tour of the UK lat this fall.Continue reading


Spaceship Playlist: Kemble Walters Of Ages


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Kemble Walters of Aeges, by Melina D Photography

Ghost Cult Magazine asked a bunch of artists “if you were getting into a space ship tomorrow and never coming back to Earth, and you only had one record to listen to or a handful of records to listen to forever, what records would you take with you?”

Continue reading


Taste Of Chaos Festival: Live At San Manuel Amphitheater


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How do you take a pretty kickass tour and make it more awesome? Make the last date of tour an all day festival at one of the best venues in California. The fully fledged Rockstar Energy Drink Taste of Chaos Festival assembled on a hot Saturday in mid-summer at The San Manuel Amphitheater, in the thick of a concert tour and festival season packed with options. Fans still gathered in droves for a show in which more than half of the bands could have headlined and sold out their own tours easily. Although tons of cool food trucks, countless craft beer options, and a carnival type atmosphere helped make it a fun day out, it comes back to being all about the music. It’s a testament to the organizers who put this bill together, but there seemed to be many heads in the venue for each band, all screaming along with every word. For fans of a certain age, this event was the holy grail of millennial teen angst and passion. Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday are two of the signpost bands of that era, and coupled with The Starting Line, Saosin featuring Anthony Green, Senses Fail and The Early November on the bill might be just too much for the hearts of early 2000s heartstrings to take. Add in 90s post-hardcore kings Quicksand, The Get Up Kids, Reggie And the Full Effect and many more, and you have an incredible day of live music. Captured for Ghost Cult by Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography in her final assignment before passing away in August, you get sense of the spirit these bands still embody, of music that still matters, and a mutual love shared by fans of all kinds.

Dashboard Confessional, by Melina D Photography

Dashboard Confessional, by Melina D Photography

 

Quicksand, by Melina D Photography

Quicksand, by Melina D Photography

 

Taking Back Sunday, by Melina D Photography

Taking Back Sunday, by Melina D Photography

 

Senses Fail, by Melina D Photography

Senses Fail, by Melina D Photography

 

Saosin with Anthony Green, by Melina D Photography

Saosin with Anthony Green, by Melina D Photography

 

Reggie And the Full Effect, by Melina D Photography

Reggie And the Full Effect, by Melina D Photography

 

The Get Up Kids by Melina D Photography

The Get Up Kids by Melina D Photography

 

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Ghost Cult Magazine Mourns Photographer Melina Dellamarggio


RIP Melina Dellamarggio ghostcultmag

Ghost Cult Magazine is mourning the loss of our dear friend and photographer Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography, who passed away this weekend at age 29. Known for her keen photographic eye, artistic passion, and caring demeanor; Melina won over fans, friends, peers and legendary artists alike. She only worked with Ghost Cult for a year and a half, but she was an invaluable member of our staff, covering huge national tours, festivals, underground acts, and music industry events. Her concert photography and writing was also featured in Loudwire, The Phoenix New Times, as well as local and national television outlets and magazines. Melina was also an award-winning nature photographer, a talented visual artist, and started shooting sporting events such as NASCAR, and motocross in the last year. She was devoted to several causes such as animal rescue relief and was also a mentor and a leader among the concert photography community. She touched many people’s lives and she was loved by many. According to her family, a memorial will be planed for the Phoenix, AZ area at a later date. We will continue to keep her light alive through her work and will honor her forever in these pages. You can see some samples of her work below: Continue reading


On The Road… with Eight Bells


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In just a few short weeks this year is already proving to be full of tectonic level shifts in the musical and metaphysical landscape of our lives. We often start looking at the calendar for the next year of releases in late fall with a mix of anticipation and at times, bracing anxiety. Before we hear one note of new music, the questions start gnawing at us. What new alliances are formed? What new music to pick up first? What about my old favorite bands? Will anything challenge the status-quo of typical sub-genre doldrums. If your tastes are anything like ours, these questions can all be answered with two words: Eight Bells. Hailing mostly from Portland, OR and made up of members of SubArachnoid Space, Curezum, Immortal Bird, and Thrawsunblat; their musical make up is an uncommon mix of spacey psychedelic rock and brooding, otherworldly heaviness. Eight Bells kicked off 2016 with a string of shows to support their new album Landless out on February 12th from Battleground Records, one of the must hear underground releases 2016. Melynda Jackson and Haley Westeiner trade riffs and parts intermingle like a dank, earthy swamp. When they sing together, it’s outright majestic. Recent addition Rae Amitay brings in her considerable range behind the kit. In the run up of west coast dates before joining up with Voivod and Vektor across the rest of the country, we caught the trio at The Yucca Tap Room in Tempe, AZ. Their intimate show was captured here by Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography for Ghost Cult.

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

 

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

 

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

 

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

 

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

 

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

Eight Bells, by Melina D Photography

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The NAMM Show 2016 Recap


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Once again Ghost Cult, along with the entire music industry it seems, invaded Anaheim, CA for The National Association of Music Merchants, a.k.a. THE NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention center. Taking over the town and part of greater Los Angeles at Night, NAMM is becoming more and more of a yearly pilgrimage for brands, gear heads and artists. Autograph and selfie-seeking fans are also starting to dip in to part of the main weekend, with really only the first two days being “industry only types”. That dynamic is expected to change in 2017 when fans have free range for the entire event. In the mean time the name of the game is networking and wheeler dealer action between manufacturers, merchants and artist reps. The main action is at the booths where the big name gear companies show their new wares, and artists from the up and coming to the legendary vie for attention and props. All day long it’s a schmooze fest and a meeting of the minds in terms of gear mavens, and artists jamming. At night it is the special events such as this years’ NAMM Jam, Tribute to Randy Rhodes, and other events, many held for charity that pack the clubs at a more-exclusive-than-usual for L.A., clip. Whatever your motivation for attending, THE NAMM Show, and its summer-time counterpart can’t be beat for an awesome industry experience and eye-popping star power all in one place. Thanks to Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography or covering it for us this years and bringing us there with her amazing photo set!

 

Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

 

Shawn Drover of Act of Defiance at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

Shawn Drover of Act of Defiance at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

 

The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

 

Soultone display at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

Soultone Cymbals display at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

 

Marshall Amps at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

Marshall Amps at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

Billy Sheehan of The Winery Dogs, by Melina D Photography

Billy Sheehan of The Winery Dogs, by Melina D Photography

Nick Menza (ex-Megadeth) at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

Nick Menza (ex-Megadeth) at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

ESP Guitars display at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

Gear abounds at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

 

John 5 at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

John 5 at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

 

Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society at The NAMM Show, by Melina D Photography

 

 

 

NAMM website

NAMM on Facebook


On The Road… with Puscifer


Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

It has been quite a year for Puscifer and their leader, Maynard James Keenan. Although he gets the most ink for his association with Tool, it is with Puscifer that Keenan seems to be more in tune with these days. It’s not a surprise that their recent Money Shot (Puscifer Entertainment) is a stellar album, but the level of comfort Keenan and his collaborators share in writing and performing is noticeable. It’s easy to get sidetracked by the theater of it all in person, but the staging and costumes are a guise to draw you in closer. It doesn’t hurt that his band features some amazing talent with mainstays Mat Mitchell, Carina Round and Jeff Friedl; now joined by Mahsa Zargaran and Paul Barker (Ministry) who all play flawlessly together. Keenan per usual is hiding out, preferring to be heard and rarely seen in the middle of a traditional wrestling ring. In one of the most unconventional settings for a concert ever, one of musics’ great frontmen makes his home. Making extra use of the ring was high-flying opening act Luchafer. Captured on the last night of the tour in Prescott, AZ by Melina D Photography, we learned that Puscifer doesn’t need a submission hold or a finishing move to get their message across.

 

Luchafer, by Melina D Photography

Luchafer, by Melina D Photography

 

Luchafer, by Melina D Photography

Luchafer, by Melina D Photography

 

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

 

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

 

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

 

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

 

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

 

 

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

Puscifer, by Melina D Photography

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