photo by Joey Wharton
I am a freelance creative, photographer, videographer, musician and independent record label owner based out of Richmond, VA, but frequently work in Washington, DC and North Carolina. I have a passion for music and bring fearless enthusiasm to projects I work on.
I love to collaborate with bands and record labels to create portraits and live shot that are often used for promotion, social media content, and album artwork. My photos have appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, TIME, Pitchfork, Paste, Tiny Mix Tapes, The Washington Post, Aquarium Drunkard, Magnet, and I have worked with many record labels and artists, including Merge Records, Thrill Jockey, Dischord, SubPop, Superchunk, Lambchop, Bob Mould, Foo Fighters, and Aziz Ansari.
As a musician I have collaborated with many different band lineups and other artists like Jandek, Matt Farley (Motern Media), Catriona Sturton, Lance Koehler (No BS! Brass), Anousheh, Marty Key (Ted Leo) and Dave Watkins. I’ve shared the stage with bands like St. Vincent, Q And Not U, Des Ark, Saxon Shore, Eternal Summers, Amy Klein, Mac McCaughan (Superchunk), Swearin’, and JEFF The Brotherhood.
I spend my free time collecting vinyl and DJing with my partner Melissa while our cat Gemma stares at us from a nearby box.
photo by award-winning photographer, Scott Elmquist
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I founded The Office of Creativity to help you with small creative projects, photos, creative content, social media, videos, video editing, and creative consultations. I’m interested in helping your small business, band, art project, or non-profit group make things.
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Visit my gallery of photo prints for sale on Smugmug
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Photography:
Style Weekly - Starr Foster’s “Spitting Image”
Style Weekly -Minimum Wage Recording Studios owner Lance Koehler
RVAMag - Valient Himself Sings Again
Style Weekly - Horsehead charges into the future with a 20th anniversary celebration.
Richmond Magazine - Music Influencer How author Andrew Cothern became Mr. RVA Playlist
NPR Music - NO BS! Brass Band Transcends The New Orleans Sound
Style Weekly - Local Photographer Nabs Lambchop Cover
Style Weekly - I Shot the Band
RVAMag - A Voice of the Underrepresented Music Scene
RVAMag - Long Live The Dirt: A Monument In Memory of Dirtwoman Comes To Oregon Hill
RVA News -Photos: NASA Langley Research Center
Cherub Records:
Style Weekly - Wild File: Cherub Records founder PJ Sykes offers a deep-dive into his label’s 20-year history.
RVAMag - In The Toughest Year Ever, PJ Sykes Cuts An Album of Hope
RVAMag -Perfect Posture Weekend: Playlist by PJ Sykes
Style Weekly - The Experimental Colloquial Orchestra Archive Reflects a Changing Richmond
CinemaNiche:
Style Weekly - Mogwai: If The Stars Had a Sound
Style Weekly - A Film Revolution
Style Weekly - Eno / Spider Baby
Style Weekly - Sisters With Transistors
Style Weekly -Swans “Where Does a Body End?”
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Sunny 16 Presents: Music and Photography - Episode #31 PJ Sykes
Punk Lotto Podcast: Spy Rock Road by The Lookouts with PJ Sykes
Motern Media Infomercial Podcast #150: Talkin’ Jandek with PJ Sykes
WRIR POP Goes The World with PJ Sykes - Live broadcast June 11, 2021
Discologist - Bob Mould's 'Sunshine Rock'
Discologist - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead's 'X: The Godless Void and Other Stories'
WKNC Interviews - Hoax Hunters Item description
photo by Michael Harl
FUZZ was written and recorded during the spring and summer of 2020
SHORT BLURB
PJ Sykes is a professional music photographer and musician from Richmond, VA but frequently works in Washington, DC and the Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) in North Carolina. His photography has been featured in Rolling Stone, SPIN, TIME, Pitchfork and used by Aziz Ansari, Foo Fighters, Superchunk, Bob Mould, Lambchop, Beauty Pill and many more.