RAW, Sweet Child O´ Mine. The Story behind.

20 years after the start of the longest concert tour ever performed by a rock band I visited LA, home of Guns N´Roses. Remembering five European GNR gigs I saw in 1991 and 1992 I walked down to Venice Beach, a melting pot of stranded artist, freaks and crazy individuals. It was a pretty hot day and I sat down to relax for a minute when a guy came, connected a small amplifier with his six-string and started playing the famous intro of Sweet Child O´Mine. It was that kind of a perfect moment. You know, these moments where everything seems to fit. The hot air, the blue sky, an impressive view along Venice Beach and Santa Monica, the back light, this unknown artist and the really dirty sound of his small amplifier. It all merged with my memories of a wonderful time some twenty years ago:

She's got a smile that it seems to me Reminds me of childhood memories Where everything Was as fresh as the bright blue sky

The only thing which was missing was my camera. I destroyed it while crossing a narrow canyon in Zion nationalpark with the water rising up to my shoulders flushing all belongings in my backpack. So I had to use the iPhone 3. This led to the "poor" quality of the photo. On the other hand this provided a certain "artificial", digital adjustment which even puts more emphasis on elements such like palms, the guitar player and the shadows in contradiction to the blurred Santa Monica Mountains in the background.

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