Emily Wilson spent more than a decade trekking the Brooklyn underground and snapping shots of then-unknowns like the Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars and Nada Surf before she decided it was time to make a book. Her photo retrospective, Grand and Lorimer – Photos of Brooklyn’s Art and Music Scene 1997 – 2005, will showcase a selection of her best work from the period alongside writing from Rolling Stone contributing editor Jenny Eliscu. Featuring everything from portraits of a baby-faced Karen O in a Pepsi shirt to candid shots of Modest Mouse swigging beers in baseball hats, these are the behind-the-scenes/before-they-were-stars moments that music fans can’t help but adore. Definitely worth the wait!

Check out our Q&A with Emily below. Support her project here. 

When and why did you decide to compile your work into a book? 

Within the past five years I put together two handmade books for a series on Summer Camps and I loved the creative process of designing. They were so well received and I began thinking about going back and producing a book from the Williamsburg era archive. This time I will be sorting through thousands of medium format negatives, scanning 100’s and using blurb.com for design and printing.

Any favorite subjects you’ve had over the years? 

My favorite subjects have been those who had a great story to tell and I’m creatively inspired by people who are passionate. My work of the early Yeah Yeah Yeahs years is definitely a favorite. I photographed Paul Smith in his suite at the Mercer hotel ages ago but I still remember the fun we had collaborating like it as yesterday. Another one of my personal projects has been about up and coming race car drivers. I’ve been following a young-gun named Chase Austin for the past four years; documenting his journey from dirt tracks at age 15 to NASCAR has been thrilling.

I got to know all those Williamsburg bands because we were part of the same scene. Art, music shows and parties always featured the same list of usual suspects.

How are people responding to your use of Kickstarter thus far?

People LOVE the Kickstarter concept. It has been a great vehicle for reconnecting me with people from my old neighborhood and introduced me to a ton of strangers who I share a common interest. I hope I have the opportunity to meet every single one of my backers and thank them personally.

Any closing thoughts? 

The series I’ve been working on about young race car drivers has been a labor of love the past four years. If everything goes well with getting this project out into the world.  I’d love to find myself shooting again on a dirt track somewhere south of Virginia and east of Kansas.