The Archives: Freshjive’s First Ad

Underneath the 6th street bridge. Downtown Los Angeles. 1990. Photo by Shawn Mortensen. I first met Shawn during the underground club heyday of the mid to late 80s. He was running one of the dopest underground parties called The Last Shot, capacity about 150. It was sure if Shawn was behind a party, it was bound to be the livest shit in town at that time. He had all the signs of a renegade creative animal. When I started Freshjive, I’d see Shawn around a bit, as in those days the little scene in Los Angeles was pretty tight. We had a gang of mutual friends.

I remember that he was just getting into shooting photos in those days. I don’t remember how it coalesced, but he ended up shooting the first Freshjive ad for us. Probably because he was around, and the guys I used in the photos were both of our friends. It might have been his first “professional” job.

-Rick Klotz