Ben Nichols is trying to kill me.

I discovered Lucero 20 years ago when a CMJ music sampler showed up on my doorstep. “Sixteen,” from Nobody’s Darlings was on it. In full transparency, I immediately loved the song, but thought it was a different band.

I probably saw Lucero for the first time at Bonnaroo. That was 2010. I was younger. They were younger. Now I’ve seen them too many times to count.

2012 I got a camera.

I think the first time Ben and I spoke, was in Detroit when Lucero was playing with the Menzinger’s and Frank Turner. It was a quick exchange. Mostly acknowledging that we knew of each other’s existence. That was 2018.

Exhibit A:

Fast forward to the pandemic. Ben messaged me and asked if I would be open to doing some socially distanced portraits. We agreed to do it and at that point none of us had really spent any time around other people. It was a great break during the unknown. He was prepping for a Bikeriders tour, that I don’t believe happened that year, but those photos still pop up every now and then.

Exhibit B:

I heard from Ben in December 2024 and he told me he was putting out a solo record. He asked if I would be up for taking some photos and we picked a date in January. He told me he really wanted to do some photos outside. It was one of the coldest days on record. We still went outside, but didn’t use any of those photos because we were both freezing.

Exhibit C:

A few months later, he texted me and asked if I would be up to do some video work. He was just coming off the road and I think pretty quickly was heading back on the road. So we only had a small break to get it all done. We shot both of the videos the same day. His first idea was to incorporate a pier that has shown up a lot in my photography. Of course, the day we picked, was unseasonably cold, and downpoured the entire time. We ended up sitting in my house for about an hour and a half trying to get the feeling back in our fingers & toes and dry out.

As I get older, I try to focus on things to be grateful for. I’m grateful for all of these moments. Even though it was during Covid, a polar vortex and a tsunami, I’m always a fan first.

It still feels like Ben Nichols is trying to kill me.

Chad

June 2025