Known for his work as an advertising and performing arts photographer, Michael Lavine captured the look and the feel of the Beastie Boys during the Check Your Head era and in turn showed it to the world. Although the honor of having photographed the cover of the Beastie Boys’ 1992 release was given to Glen Friedman, Lavine photographed the definitive series. Photos from these Check Your Head photo shoots later were used as promotional 8 X 10 prints that were sent out in press packets. The fact that fans have begun to snap up and collect these frame worthy black and white photographs has lead to higher price on eBay, as well as a growing interest in each photographer from Ari Marcopoulos to Michael Lavine.

If you also happen to be a fan of the early 1990s Seattle based music scene, you perhaps already are familiar with Michael Lavine’s photographs of Nirvana. Having graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, Lavine found that he was right in the middle of a music revolution and proceeded to photograph the entire thing. Through Michael’s 1996 book Noise from the Underground: A Secret History of Alternative Rock a person can obtain a feel for what it was like to be in the close presence of those influential bands before they each reached critical mass. Fellow Beastiemania.com Who’s Who alumni and former Black Flag lead singer, Henry Rollins wrote the introduction for this incredible testament to what we now refer to as alternative rock music.

Having established himself as a photographer within pop culture’s favorite step-child, alternative music, Michael Lavine began to branch out and work with trendy publications like Details magazine. From there it was only a matter of time before corporate America discovered his talents put them to work in advertising. One of the first big contracts Lavine earned was with computer giant IBM. Following that outing one job lead to the next and shortly thereafter Lavine had assembled a client portfolio which included the likes of the telephone company Sprint to show manufacturer Converse. Today Michael lives and works in New York City and is accessible through his sharp looking website.