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JJ Gonson has been a photographer since she was 11 years old. It all started when a friend of hers needed photographs for a hardcore band fanzine. Since then she has photographed famous artists like Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Sonic Youth and more. She was a major photographer of the 90s underground scene in Boston, MA, where many of her most iconic photos are from local shows. Her up close and personal, black and white style is iconic, and we had the chance to speak with her more about what it was like to photograph bands like Nirvana.

Why do the moments before and after the action shots mean so much to you?

“If you’re talking about live shots theres definitely a thing happening here- where you start to dance with the band. You vibe into them very quickly. What you’re looking for is when the band starts to warmup you can get into a swing where you know what they are going to do. If you are doing film you have to be efficient with your work and being able to choreograph yourself with their movements is vital.

Now, people have burst on their camera. You can’t do that with film, you couldn’t do that when I was shooting. When I’m shooting film, I’m very conservative. I need to dance and move with the band. I was listening to the band, getting a sense of what they are trying to do. I knew that this band would jump at this moment, or they would move at this moment. You can see what they are going to do, and you have to match your body movements to it. 

It’s all about timing and matching your movement to the band. I don’t see myself as someone in the audience I see myself working with the band, I look at my role as being part of the production of the band.”

What was the difference like interacting with Nirvana in the late 80’s and 92 Reading?

“I remember the stark contrast between the photos I shot in 89-90 and 92. All these photos of Nirvana are intimate, I’m right next to them. You can tell I’m interacting with them. Theres something about the startling blue of his eyes. The makeup of Kurt’s presence. He is so intense, and I really got that he was looking into your soul. 

My job as a photographer is to show you who this person is. And it’s a very personal and intimate experience for me. To do that I have to break walls and sometimes it requires me to get right into people’s faces. Those early photos of Kurt are intimate because I didn’t second guess myself at all. 

One of the significant differences between 89 and 92 is Courtney Love.  Courtney was around and Kurt was separated from what was going on. I think she isolated him- and that by no means is unusual. When you fall in love you get into a bubble.  At that point in 92 he was absolutely inundated with press and fans it was probably for the best. What people forget is they weren’t just headlining Reading- they were curating Reading in 92. They had complete control over the lineup. It was their festival. Also, I think he was being beat up around that time by the media.”

Do you have any photos from Reading 92?

“Elliot Smith took some photos from my journal and chose that photo from his 2nd album cover. Killrockstar reached out to me to do an interview and asked if I had any additional Elliot Smith photos for the 25th anniversary of his second record. They asked if I had any additional photos from the time that cover photo was made. I looked back at my negatives and found my Reading photos that I had completely forgotten. 

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I have one photo with Kurt that hasn’t seen the light of day. And then there is a photo of Dave Grohl speaking to Dill from the Melvins. This is my only photo of Dave Grohl.”

What do you think about the newfound revival of early 90’s grunge especially as it is reflected in vintage?

“Because fashion revolves around 15-year circles and it’s the 30 year anniversary of lumberjack.” 

That first time you saw bands like Nirvana or Elliott Smith- did you think you were witnessing greatness? 

“You have a feeling that you get when you see something like that. The short answer is, yes. With Nirvana and Elliott Smith I knew that I was seeing something great to the point that I had to get involved. So, I found a way to get involved.”

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Huge thanks to JJ for doing this interview with us. Feel free to follow her on Instagram @jj_gonson_photo. You can also check out all her links here: https://linktr.ee/jjgonsonphoto. She plans on releasing her Reading Photos in the VERY NEAR FUTURE!