Posts Tagged ‘traveling’

« Older Entries

Dave Sutton: A Beach Fossils Day

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

sutton_beach1

It was an exceptional afternoon in the golden state: a smiling sun, an easy breeze, and a block to ourselves – the kind of weekend scene where weekday cares evaporate into thin, sunscreen misted air. We stormed the beach in a neon pack like some cast from the teen sitcoms of our childhood. Volleyball courts were primed, coolers stocked, teams evened, and headaches managed. From a speaker dock, my phone’s latest gain, the aptly named Beach Fossils, was called upon and instantly accepted. Nothing may have physically changed from that point on, but it felt like our crew had jumped out of a convertible to land three or four decades back, at some rad hula-hoopla.

Beach Fossil’s self titled LP opens by way of invitation: a lone guitar jingle flirting with a tambourine drum kick. It’s a swing that recalls those retro good time movies where circles of bikini babes do ‘The Swim’. That connection is pretty direct, and yet not at all forced. Throughout this on-or-off the sand album, there’s a comfortable contrast between hi-rise riff and lo-fi vocal.

sutton_beachfossils

That surf bash panting you might expect is given extra depth and some balanced breathers (which is nice when half your crew is napping on the sidelines). After the peppy “Vacation”, we get a “Lazy Day”. Once we charge the “Golden Age”, we look back through a “Window View”. “Wide Awake” gets restless with shades of new wave, then leads us to a serene “Gathering” at low tide. The man behind these drifts is Dustin Payseur, who plays a better lovesick slacker than a party host. He’s flat when his surrounding world is so round. It works:

Well I can hardly stand
But I really don’t care to know
And you can take my hand
But I don’t care where we go

Surely none of us noticed those first drowsy lines from the radio, or any others for that matter, and maybe that’s why the feel of this one fit so well. It’s all drone when you’re having fun right? What’s cool is further listens bring new dynamic to these songs: an undertone of real in reverbia. And (unlike food) when it’s real, it tends to have a longer shelf life. So, what we have here is a multipurpose summer record, the best kind.

StadiumsandShrines
Photo by Victoria Masters

Tags: , , ,
Posted in music | 1 Comment »

On the Road with Mike O'Neil

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

untitled-4

I met Mike O’Neil last summer when Matt & Kim offered a dozen of my friends and I a ride back from the beach at Fort Tilden in their big red tour van. We piled in, some of us squeezed in on the back banquette, some cramped five-deep in the windowless trunk, some of us perched Indian-style on the van’s floor, and poor Mike was smushed in the corner by the window, hugging his bike, trying like the rest of us to not panic at the overcrowded situation as we inched slowly forward on the Belt Parkway. A few days ago I got to pick Mike’s brain about what exactly his life is like when he’s not bartending or zipping around on his bike delivering pizza, but when he is, just like the day I met him, crammed in a van full of people, touring the country. In the past few years, this young Springfield, Massachusetts native went from working merch for local favorites Matt & Kim to tour managing folk rock quartet Deer Tick, who he is currently out on the road with.

AM: I met you when you were still working for Matt & Kim. How did you start working with them?

MO: I met Matt and Kim around six years ago. My good friend in high school was in the same program as Matt at Pratt. I’d come to Brooklyn from Massachusetts for warehouse shows and whatnot and realized someday I’d need to live there. After a few years, I ended up in Brooklyn, interning for D.I.Y. show-thrower Todd P and sort of re-met everyone. During college, Matt and Kim had asked me to travel here and there, but school had prevented it. The day after I took down my thesis photography show, they flew me to L.A. to meet up with the tour they were on and I’ve been out with them in one way or another about six times since then. I’ve always wanted to do more than merch, but M&K is an operation I’m not quite prepared to tour manage yet. Recently, I’ve been with Providence, RI band Deer Tick. This is my first US tour with them. I’ve gone out for a week or two here and there, but this one is 6 weeks. I’m in the van with four of my best friends and my brother [a member of Deer Tick] about seven hours a day.

untitled-1

AM: What is your favorite part of touring? Your least favorite?

MO: This is by far the most insane country in the world. We were in Vermont two weeks ago and there were forests of birch trees and melting snow that is flooding the entire region. Now I’m in the desert and it’s 95 and dry. Aside from the landscape, I’ll forever stand by the idea that America is the best country in the world. I think touring bands take for granted how good we have it here and tend to lose sight of this stuff. This country rules, and I wouldn’t tour any other for months on end. And with Deer Tick I get to be with my brother. We have some heavy stuff happening back in Massachusetts, so it’s good to live in this van together for a few months. When I’m out with anyone else, we just end up criss-crossing and we won’t see each other for up to a year. For brothers in the same profession and 15 months apart, that’s pretty bad.

[On the downside,] I have poor bladder control and have to pee out anything I take in every 30 minutes or so, which is pretty annoying. Also I tend to be too busy to take photographs.

AM: Which comfort from home do you miss the most?

MO: I miss pizza. Every time I go back to Brooklyn it’s all I’ll eat for a few days. I stand by the statement there is no pizza worth eating in this country outside New York. [So] awful. Aside from my girlfriend and pizza, I miss my bike.

untitled-3

AM: On the flip side, is there anything you take out on the road with you that you can’t live without?

MO: Sounds [crappy], but as a tour manager, if I lost my phone or computer, my job would be essentially gone with them. Plus, they help me to keep in touch with back home and set up hangs with friends in future cities, which is always nice. I also need my camera(s). Someday, when I’m old and every band I’ve worked for is famous, I’ll publish them all and be rich and famous myself. Oh, and clean underwear.

AM: Do you have any good gross out stories from being in the van or on the road in general?

MO: When you have seven dudes in a twelve passenger Chevy Express towing a 3000 lb trailer containing merch, gear, and irreplaceable vintage instruments, there tend to be more bottles of pee lying around than water, which is tricky. Especially when you’re wearing sunglasses or it’s dark out. Also, it’s great to go to grocery stores and make healthy sandwiches instead of fast food, but if you lose a slice of turkey it gets [nasty] in here fast.

untitled-2

AM: You must meet a lot of people while out on the road, can you tell us a story of some exceptional hospitality you’ve encountered out there?

MO: Just this morning our good buddy Jacob Smigel made us homemade Mexican quiche with home-roasted peppers and tomatoes, homefries, beermosas, and coffee. That ruled. I once had someone sleep on their own floor and insist I take the bed. That was pretty awkward.

AM: Did you ever think you’d be touring the country for a living? What did you think you’d be when you grew up?

MO: Funny story: I went to college in Providence for event management and hated it. I transferred, got into photography, worked for Todd P in Brooklyn and went on tour the day I finished school. I wanted to study something in school I could tolerate for those four years, then figure out a job I liked after. I’m happy and I’m getting paid to do what I want to. That’s sort of the definition success, right? I’ll be doing this for a while.

For more of Mike’s photos visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/tellmenonfiction/
Deer Tick

Tags: , ,
Posted in music | No Comments »

White Water Wilderness Canoeing

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

rafting1

Over the past decade, we’ve been indoctrinated by the green revolution. It’s all the rage. We’re supposed to do the Earth good by cultivating an awareness of our ecological footprint, somehow averting the climate crisis. Unfortunately, most modern Americans are cut off from the kind of first-hand wilderness experience that might actually have an impact on our psyches. With the exception of Alaska, our most northern frontier, we don’t have much access to the great planet that our lip service seeks to preserve, at least not in the same sense that we did two hundred years ago. But this isn’t true for all of North America.

Canada is our continent’s most underrated nation. Despite having a deservedly low-key reputation on the international scene, it’s the world’s second largest country after Russia. For many young Canadians, a summer canoe trip through Canada’s vast stretches of wilderness is a rite of passage, and for the more adventurous, this means forgoing the domesticated rivers and lakes of cottage country to pursue the deep unruly waters of the far north. In the summer of 2008, I accompanied seven of my favorite Canadians on a grueling, month-long canoe expedition. This adventure exposed me to the great spoils of wilderness that the green revolution seeks to keep us from plundering.

rafting3

Our journey began on a vast, cerulean-blue lake in Quebec, approximately thirty-five hours north of New York City. We set out armed with maps of a route that no one had ever attempted before. If all went well, in four short weeks we’d come to the James Bay of the greater Hudson Bay, where the tides of the Arctic Ocean would lead us to the community of Waskaganish, the heart and capital of the Aboriginal Cree Nation. Our plan involved navigating three lakes and five rivers in canoes loaded to the brim with all the supplies that we would need, including every ounce of food and drink necessary for the survival of eight people over the course of a month.

With no other human vessels in sight across the endless lake, our first day on the water we paddled for hours under the late July sun. But this serene beginning soon gave way to endless stretches of challenging whitewater and over twenty-five portages (or over-land travel), which required us to carry all of our canoes, supplies, and equipment across difficult terrain. Although my friends were experienced canoeists, I’d personally never paddled any serious whitewater; the longest canoe trip I’d undertaken was ten days. I knew it would be arduous, but the truth is, I had no clue. By the end of the first two weeks of our journey, my face was so swollen with black fly bites that I was literally unrecognizable.

rafting6

Although we were canoeing in one of the most beautiful countries on earth, the terrain that we passed through was not. The taiga is rocky and barren; the boreal forest of the north has evolved to withstand the extreme cold, and the summer months often bring rain. Needless to say, it was no vacation. But on the hot, sun-bleached days, when we paddled through gut-wrenching sets of churning whitewater, it was always worth it—unless, of course, something went wrong, which it seemed to often enough, given the technical sets and inevitability of human error.

After scouting the sets, our most experienced pair of paddlers would blaze a trail through the course, with all of us observing their fate. If they were successful, each boat would follow suit one at a time. Each canoe, regardless of who was in it, dumped at one point or another, sucked down the river in the paddlers’ attempt to navigate set after gushing set of whitewater. Rescue missions involved fishing each other out and into a waiting canoe before corralling renegade boats, equipment, and other supplies. Soaked to the depths of their bones, the dumped canoeists would take their seats at the bow and stern, and once again we’d take off, four canoes moving swiftly down the river. Sometimes, we fished. But it didn’t take long before we’d lost almost every single fishing pole to the rapids, and suddenly making the catch of the day wasn’t the first thing on our minds; we were most concerned with survival.

rafting7

Leadership is crucial to team survival in wilderness scenarios, and this was a particular challenge given the range of personalities that we had along for the ride; there was no shortage of arguments on our journey. But somehow, we survived. Our meals were well earned and meticulously planned, thanks to our friend and teammate Heidi, who labored for weeks before our departure organizing quite possibly the tastiest canoe-tripping menu imaginable, which included falafel, curries, and stews.

Across vast sets of rapids that cut through rocky gorges and fast-flowing rivers that led us inches from churning waterfalls, we paddled onward. There were near escapes from black bears and, on one set, a dumped canoe literally wrapped around a boulder in the middle of a river, spiking fears that we would lose the boat entirely. Somehow we managed to save it. I spent much of the trip with my heart in my throat and my stomach below my knees, but I’ve never felt more human in my life. Resolute in my capacity to survive, yet keenly aware of how insignificant I was to the world at large. After paddling over 600 kilometers, we made our final journey across the rising waters of the Pontax River to the mouth of the James Bay, where we waited for the tides to come in before paddling into Waskaganish. I’ll never do that exact trip over again—I’d be crazy to—but Canadian canoe tripping is surely the kind of adventure that the green revolution seeks to preserve, and proof that putting our lip service to work is a very good idea, indeed.

Tags: ,
Posted in style | No Comments »

Javelin: Grub Talk

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

img_1778

Javelin is George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk, two cousins who have known each other Tom’s whole life, since George is two years older. They make effervescent R&B inspired dance jams from a sunny birthday party in the not so distant future where the cake never runs out and everyone can dance without getting tired.

We talked over a dinner of pricey snack food and cold sandwiches in a college cafeteria towards the end of our shared tour. Even in conversation, Javelin collaborates, often playfully interrupting each other and making each other laugh while remembering growing up in Boston and Providence. When not on the road, they both now call Brooklyn home.

Anna Barie: The back cover of your new album, No Mas, has a photo of the two of you when you were little. Do you remember what you were eating when the picture was taken?

Tom: Mayonnaise and milk!

George: Macaroni and cheese. There is also a jar of mayonnaise because we probably had carrots. I liked to have mayonnaise with carrots.

Tom: At George’s house, I always remember mayonnaise on the table.

AB: Ha. This would make some of my friends throw up. In elementary school, we thought onion ring chips and tartar sauce were good together.

George: So classy. Fancy.

AB: No, it’s just mayonnaise with relish in it!

Tom: The house in that photo was built by our great uncle who was an architect, it was an early project of his in New Bedford, Massachusetts. We spent a lot of time together in that house. Lots of summertime hangouts, holidays, and really fun epic Easter egg hunts.

AB: How long before you figured out what the deal was with the Easter bunny?

Tom: I think I strung my parents along a little longer by not asking too many questions.

AB: Just for the candy!

George: We didn’t have a whole lot of Easter bunny imagery. We put out wooden clogs in front of our bedroom doors. There was no bunny.

AB: Whoa, no baskets? Just clogs? What kind of candy was in the clogs?

George: Standards. Jelly beans…

Tom: In the early years, Chuckles, and wafers…

George: Saltwater taffy.

AB: This is not typical little kid candy, or candy we had when I was growing up in Texas.

George: New England candy.

Tom: New England has a lot of eccentricities.

George: Those sugar buttons stuck to paper that you would find in the back seat of the car years later covered in dog hair–

Tom: My grandma liked those.

AB:That candy never dies. You just brush it off and eat it. What else did you eat growing up besides mayonnaise and candy buttons? What did you eat during big family dinners?

Tom: I don’t remember the food so much as crawling around under the table and being crazy. My brother lit fireworks indoors during Easter one year. I remember having ham during Christmas.

AB: Was there anything you refused to eat when you were little that you eat now?

Tom: I brought chili to a Chinese restaurant once because I refused to eat the food.

George: I remember going down to Providence to visit Tom and you weren’t finishing your peas–

Tom: No, brussels sprouts, man! I couldn’t eat those.

George: This was literally the first moment of bad behavior on Tom’s part–

Tom: I was testing.

George: It was one of those hold out moments where Tom had to finish them or we couldn’t watch TV. He just stood up, went rogue and took the brussels sprouts and threw them in the trash. Then his mom took them back out and put them on a plate and made him eat them.

Tom: And I ate them. It was just the food trash. I have to say my mom had some brass ones.

AB: Food trash like composting, right? Did you guys grow food?

Tom: Yeah. My mom had a garden but the best ones were in New Hampshire. My step-grandmother planted by the moon and did astrological planting.

George: We tried to set up a lemonade stand one summer and your mom wouldn’t give us lemonade but she gave us zucchini instead to sell.

Tom: My brother used to shoot the rotten ones with our eldest cousin who was really bad, the cousin who straight up got coal in his stocking.

George: He was badass.

AB: Did you go trick or treating when you were little?

Tom: Yeah, we used to double dip by making a slight rearrangement on our costumes.

George: I went with my sisters and they dressed me up like a girl because I had long, curly blonde hair. I was three years old, it damaged me.

Javelin is currently on tour. Their latest album, No Mas, is out now on Luaka Bop.

Tags: , ,
Posted in music | No Comments »

Surrealism in the Jungle

Monday, May 10th, 2010

laspozas

In Xilita, Mexico a real, concrete fantasy exists. It’s called Las Pozas, and it’s just a six-to-eight hour, bleary-eyed bus ride from either Monterrey or Mexico City. The juxtaposition of entering the small jungle village from greater Mexico is jarring because Xilita radiates this ethereal, light-headed feeling that stems from its buoyant citizens and surrounding pristine green hills and valleys. It can be sickening, not unlike altitude sickness, if you’re not expecting extreme elation. The cause all this jubilance is, of course, Las Pozas.

I knew little of the place other than what a friend described as “these crazy Surrealist sculpture gardens built in the 60’s in the middle of the jungle!” And, since my Spanish is only capable of getting me confused, lost, and visibly distraught, I wasn’t able to glean much prior to entering Xilita. I had a faint idea of what to expect, but no real understanding beyond a few vague descriptions. This naïveté isn’t altogether bad when experiencing Las Pozas, except that you could miss something truly profound. Thankfully for you, I’m writing this. And thankfully for me, my little gang of four with whom I was traveling Mexico was privy to an introductory special most Las Pozas’ visitors are not—a charming labyrinth tucked neatly and discreetly some 100 yards before the official entrance.

labyrinth

Despite being simple in design, and thus easy to conquer, this quaint white maze provided the perfect template with which to think and navigate through Las Pozas’ 80 acres of non-linear, jungle-web terrain. There are many routes with dead ends and stairs that lead to nowhere.

stairstonowhere

But there are just as many hidden passages and secret rooms which, when discovered, give way to new, heightened levels of experience. And when traveled successfully, Las Pozas should, like any proper labyrinth or maze, shoot you out where you began—albeit via a convoluted whirlwind in transit that leaves you forever changed and suffering from a hangover that oscillates somewhere between anesthesia and amnesia. But let me back up, lest I lose readers who suspect hyperbole.

At the entrance—a little neon plastic-flagged kiosk not unlike a churro stand you’d expect to find in a theme park—you pay a mere 30 pesos to gain entry. You are offered a tour guide like you’d expect at most tourist destinations, but it’s simply as a courtesy. The real difference between Las Pozas and, say, most tourist attractions the world over, is that the overwhelming industry and bureaucracy that goes along with most tourist spectacles doesn’t exist here. Compared to Machu Picchu—a place that feels like an American theme park due to the hordes of daily visitors, relentless picture taking, and kitsch souvenirs—Las Pozas is a nymphet whose beauty has yet to be understood and spoiled. As a result, you don’t actually feel like a tourist when there—there’s no map to follow and no security trailing you—so you can gallivant about as you would in the privacy of your own bedroom.

entrance

Essentially, Las Pozas is one mammoth, mythical outdoor bedroom. Its creator was a wealthy English Surrealist art-collecting eccentric who, as a child, built forts in his backyard to facilitate fantasy. As an adult, having never outgrown his pre-pubescent penchant for an imaginative play place, he turned this secret world into reality so he could traipse around in a white robe with lions and Surrealism’s finest practitioners. Wandering around Las Pozas, you get lost in this fruitcake’s vision: the further you go, the less you’re able to distinguish fantasy from reality.

portal

The full experience can be both physically and mentally dangerous. Physically so because the terrain can get as dangerous and dramatic as you can imagine—ascending and descending mountainsides with little to no trail and booby traps of loose rocks and thorns if you venture wrong—and mentally so because, well, you might never want to leave. But the full experience is crucial. It entails breathtaking views, swimming naked in waterfalls, and completing the entire maze the wacko envisioned. And very few people, we later learned, ever go through all the way. So if you make it to Xilita and its dream-world ruby, Las Pozas: first, make sure to check out the labyrinth at the outset to acclimatize yourself to the type of thinking that is required to move through its mother’s womb; second, ask the man—the one that looks like a cool uncle or rad dad—selling handmade jewelry about Casa de las Nubes (House of the Clouds), from which you can see everything; third, enjoy.

casadelasnubes

All Photos by James Cromwell Holden III

Tags: ,
Posted in style | 1 Comment »

Jason Lewis' Sensory Pleasures: Touch with Riitta Ikonen

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

jasonlewisphotography-79081

Riitta Ikonen is a London-based, stunning visual artist from Finland. I caught up with her at the Christopher Henry Gallery in NYC after a recommendation from her mentor and personal art hero of mine Mr. Ian Wright. Riitta creates images from the ground up, often using photography in nature and/or on location. Tucked into self-made folksy costumes she manages to delight even when addressing weighty topics such as global warming and resource depletion.

“My work is concerned with the performance of images, through photography and costume design. Certain items, usually small and insignificant, excite me to the point where I have to wear them and then document that process. The super-garments I make open up new experiences. In my costumes tremendous things happen – to me and to the people I work with. Today I exploded an egg in the microwave. Next, I want to make an egg costume.”

A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Riitta has taken part in numerous international projects and exhibited her work from Moscow to New York City. She has partnered with institutions such as Tate, White Chapel Gallery, Bfi, ActionAid, and the British Embassy in Russia. In 2008 Riitta won the prestigious Becks Canvas Competition and is currently preparing new work for a show later this year.

I of course asked if I could collaborate on something and was fortunate to spend an afternoon with Riitta at “Treasure Beach,” one of her secret locations. Shhh! I was able to join in the process by documenting her and creating some new photographs and I’m really happy with the work, some of which you can view here!

We first created portraits with Riitta’s Raffia costume using her girlfriend as a model. Many thanks to Elisa for enduring the prickly bushes, those things are dangerous!!!

jasonlewisphotography-8269

Why did you choose art as a medium for your self-expression?
Strategic moves were never my forte, so I followed intuition and voila. Here I am. There was no debate about choosing art as a career, but it seems to fit at the moment. The work I do isn’t so much about expressing myself, but often discusses issues that affect plenty of people and exists to nudge some gears. Humor is important and seems to seep into everything (even climate change campaigns…) I’ve found you can cut through a lot of fluff with humor.

More specifically, why fashion & why costumes?
I don’t know, you know. It surely isn’t a global solution to art, but it works for me. I can get to the image I want through the use of the costumes, I felt drawing/painting/graphics was never enough, the outcome was too predictable. But why exactly costumes, I’m still figuring it out. I quit costumes as utter nonsense a few years ago, but had to return to it after a futile search for equally satisfying medium. I make them myself, yes. I’m not a supreme qualified seamstress, but I learned to sew at a very early age from my mother. The sewing machine happened to be in my room so I kept sewing and it finally came in handy.

jasonlewisphotography-8416-3

How do you and your collaborators cross paths?
You mean how it all gets started? Random chance often brings things about, little chitchat here and there. The saying ‘Work hard and be nice to people’ – very true. I try to follow. Combining forces with people who do what you don’t do is a prima formula too.

Does the fact that you’re originally from Finland and reside in London inspire anything you do?
Sure, definitely. NY always gives me fresh eyes…the foreignness makes me more objective and (sometimes) awake. I like the feeling of having minimum baggage. I’m not quite a real outsider in England anymore (I’ve lived there some nine years now- by accident), but I still very much enjoy the “outsiderness” and not really being part of it all.

Riitta also led the effort to comb the beach for found objects for various future projects.

jasonlewisphotography-7917

What’s next for Riitta Ikonen? What other projects are you involved in? Future projects?
The ‘If You Could Collaborate’ project rolls on with Ian Wright, a collaboration show opens at the Tate galleries in May, New work New York show later this year, some lecturing around and costumes for Hackney.

What can you not live without?
Four seasons and double letters.

jasonlewisphotography-7837

What touch/texture evokes happiness for you?
Light switches. Clean, warm hands. Water- I’m looking for a good pool in Brooklyn…Anyone?

Is there a Riitta Ikonen theme song?
Hmm…maybe not a specific one, but Finnish marching music maybe?

See more work from Treasure Beach and Riitta Ikonen on Jay’s blog.

Tags: , ,
Posted in style | 2 Comments »

The 4 P's with Icki Murrmann

Friday, April 16th, 2010

me187418

I first ran across Mark “Icki” Murrman’s photos plastered across a few zines and record covers. It was only years later that I discovered his music photography was just a snippet of his portfolio. Murrmann has shot from the front lines of Eastern Bloc revolutions, mosh pits, penitentiaries, and even on the floor of the United States Congress. I also watched him put in a very impressive showing in an eating contest last fall. We recently talked about the 4 P’s, that is photography, punk rock, politics, and pizza.

AL: Before your formal training in photography were you shooting for personal enjoyment? What was it that drew you towards photojournalism and what is it you are trying to document when you shoot?

MM: Yeah, I started taking pictures of bands that would play in the basement of the house I lived in, while I was in college in Bloomington, Indiana. And I was spending so much time in the darkroom at the school there, they wound up giving me a job. That’s where I got the bulk of my basic photography education, working in the darkroom and looking at photo books when it was slow. Before then, beyond a vague sense of newspaper photography, I didn’t really have an idea of what photojournalism was. The books in the darkroom completely blew my mind. That kind of intense documentary photography initially drew me to photojournalism. As I learned more, I got completely sucked in.

Honestly, I feel like I’m just documenting whatever is around me. A lot of photographers say to shoot what’s in your backyard, what you know, that you don’t have to travel to some far away place to make good pictures. I firmly believe that. I shoot street photography in downtown San Francisco. I shoot bands. When I travel, I take pictures. I just always have a camera on me. I wish I had more time to work on projects, but as it is, I shoot constantly, but more as a sort of reaction to what I see, what I’m doing.

alcatraz1

And I still primarily shoot for personal enjoyment. Photography is something I really love doing. I don’t like taking assignments or work shooting stuff I don’t like shooting, like weddings. Doing enough work like that will just kill photography for me, which I don’t ever want to happen.

AL: You’ve documented some revolutions both political and musical, what have been some of the biggest risks—be it crammed in between a bunch of flailing punks or on the streets of war torn former Eastern Bloc countries? Have there been any occupation-related injuries and/or accidents?

MM: I’ve definitely taken more lumps shooting music. Covering political events in the Ukraine was mostly a matter of staying warm and putting in long hours, spending lots of money, just to document this small moment of history, and to hopefully sell a photo or two…and to maybe get a little work based off those photos.

Shooting punk bands carries more physical risks, though not as many as it seems. I’ve gotten into a few scuffles, had lots of beer spilled on me and my equipments, had to deal with surly security guards. One of the worst experiences was getting stage dived on and landing backward, on my camera, hearing a loud “CRACK.” I thought the camera, or at least the lens, was destroyed. Luckily my lens shade shattered, but everything else was intact.

vince

AL: Your work documenting prisoners, the aftermath of Katrina, and politics in the Ukraine all have a pretty somber and serious tone while the street and your music photography is a lot more vibrant. What is the difference in your approach going into one versus the other?

MM: The approach is more or less the same. I think the music and street photos are more vibrant because the subject matter and tone of those kinds of photos is more loose and more lively. The somewhat heavier subjects I’ve covered, if they seem more somber I guess it’s largely a reflection of the situation. That comes through in the shooting as well as the editing. The approach is generally the same, though. I like being a fly on the wall kind of photographer, trying to capture what’s happening as naturally as possible, trying to bring the viewer into whatever I’m shooting.

nola_1631re

AL: A recurring characteristic of the music photography is action that is almost bursting out of the frame. When you are shooting a show, what is it you are trying to capture?

MM: The number one thing I’m trying to do is have fun as I’m shooting. And if I’m having fun, that comes through in the photos. I’m usually right up front. I want my music photos to make the person looking at them feel like they’re right there, at the show, in the mix, whether it’s a crazy show with a crazy pit, or a quieter show. I want you to feel like you’re there.

AL: Any plans to further pursue a second career in competitive eating?

MM: I’ve learned that I can only really eat hot dogs competitively and given that the champs are topping 60 hot dogs in 12 minutes, there’s no way I can even come close to winning a spot at Coney Island on July 4th. I’ll stick to photography.

For more on Mark head to Ickibod.com

Tags: , ,
Posted in style | No Comments »

Jason Lewis’ Sensory Pleasures: Smell with Kaya Sorhaindo

Monday, April 12th, 2010

I met Kaya Sorhaindo for the first time in Tokyo a few days before Halloween last year. I was in Shibuya with a close mutual friend while he and his comrades were busy traveling the world introducing the Series Two product launch for his company Six Scents. We were all ready for adventure, and Kaya went above and beyond to facilitate that.

jasonlewisphotography-4566

I couldn’t have asked for a more entertaining guy, in addition to being “good people” Kaya was an overseas conduit to great food, new and interesting friends and some pretty wild parties. It wasn’t difficult to imagine him in his work element, collaborating with visionaries and enabling new and exciting projects.

Kaya Sorhaindo is the Founder & Creative Director of The Metaproject, a creative agency based in New York City. By working collaboratively through an international network of artists, designers, curators, writers, architects, and scholars, Metaproject operates as a creative mediator between brands and artists, inventing new models of communications through its work.

In 2008 Kaya (Metaproject) and Seven New York’s Joseph Quartana introduced a series of six limited edition fragrances by a distinct group of six designers and perfumers. Through the designers’ concepts and the perfumers’ knowledge of fine fragrance, two artistic disciplines were interwoven to explore new perfume compositions. The collection represents a global gamut of contemporary views on creativity, culture, consciousness and collectivity.

Kaya and Six Scents have continued into 2009/10 with six additional designers. Kaya’s collaborator Aramique described their partnership: “Exploring the idea of nature as muse, we created Series Two as a multimedia and multi-sensory collection to spread environmental awareness and preservation through experiences of nature as a symbol and source of all creativity.” Each fragrance will be offered in a limited quantity of 2,000 bottles and a percentage of the net proceeds will go toward Pro-Natura in support of their environmental sustainability programs.

I spent some time with Kaya at Metaprojects’ new offices last week to get some shots and discuss his latest endeavor.

jasonlewisphotography-7205

Why perfume?

KS: The art of perfumery is a creative discipline that I was always fascinated and inspired by, with my first introduction to the perfumer Serge Lutens. I loved the way that he approached perfume and before Six Scents I was in touch with him in regards to developing a multi-sensory exhibition that captured the experience behind his fragrance but in a curated museum space. I was first drawn towards exploring ways in which a perfume could be presented in a gallery/museum context and in collaboration with artists, but after working on the i-Dentity exhibition and conversations with Symrise for Series One, I began to investigate the idea of applying this approach to creating an actual fragrance collection.

What’s the story behind Six Scents? How did you end up with your other collaborators?

KS: I developed the concept of Six Scents initially as a marketing and Research/Development program for a client that is a global fragrance producer responsible for many of the fragrance products you see on the market today. The idea was to develop a collection of fragrances that would be released annually that worked totally opposite of their commercial / client fragrance projects and to give young designers who normally would not have an opportunity to create a fragrance a chance to apply their ideas to a totally different artistic realm. This means, putting the fragrance in the spot light alongside the designer, positioning the fragrance closer to the arts than fashion and beauty, producing small quantities as a opposed to developing a product for the masses, creating an environment where the perfumer and designer would work one-on-one to realize a fragrance concept and giving part of the proceeds to charity. The ultimate goal was to inspire the perfumers, present a project that occupied a very unique space in the fragrance market that my client could own, present fragrances in places where people do not normally engage with perfume, educate the average person that is not connected to the perfume industry about the cliet, gather data that they can present and eventually apply to their client commercial projects and challenge the ways in which people perceive, interpret and engage with fragrance.

The loved the concept, but did not have the budget to produce the entire project and pay my agency creative fees, so we decided that we would own Six Scents and just asked Symrise to become an in-kind sponsor where they provide us with the best perfumers and produce the fragrances. I than asked my friend Joseph from Seven New York to come on board as a partner to handle the curation of the designers for Six Scents.

Who and/or what inspires you? Does the fact that you’re originally from Antigua inspire anything you do?

KS: I am inspired by a wide range of people. I guess the thing that these individuals have in common for me is the way in which they respectively approached their different artistic disciplines… with emphasis on interdisciplinary collaborations, interaction or viewer engagement /participation and posing questions with their work that ultimately transferred the fields in which they worked in.

As for Antigua, I never give this much that (smile) thought. I traditionally like black and white, simply because of the power of the opposition of both colors, but Antigua is very colorful. I appreciate color. Small bursts of it when put alongside things that are very dark. As for my work, maybe with the way I like to make things more communal and collaborative. Will have to give this some more thought.

What’s next for Six Scents?

KS: We are launching Series Three in October 2010 with a new group of designers and artists.

jasonlewisphotography-72832

What scent evokes happiness for you?

KS: Hmm…my mother’s fragrance (I know, such a mommy’s boy) or the smell of fresh mint makes me happy and a wide range of spices (Anise Seed, Rosemary, etc.)

What scent makes you sad?

KS: when you are unable to experience scent or smell at all. Or gutters in a small village.

What other projects are you involved in? Future projects?

KS: My agency metaproject is working with the Scope Art Fair to develop a show within the fair that is called ‘Markt’. It is a collaboration with Diane Pernet that presents unique fashion objects alongside contemporary art pieces. I am in the process of working on a new performance art / dance project with a prominent choreographer, and we also have a sound project in the works this year that is quite interesting. In February 2010, we release a project called Relics of the Now Forgotten ‘Transgressions Redemption’. I am collaborating with my friend from the V Group on a annual book project called ‘00’, Volume One to be released in September. Aside from that a mix of client and installation projects, and we will bring on two new Niche Perfume clients to mange their creative positioning and marketing. Six Scents Parfums as a company (outside of the annual collection) will begin to work with designers directly in developing their own perfume.

jasonlewisphotography-7400

Is there a Kaya Sorhaindo theme song?
Probably this tune.

How did I smell last time we hung out?

KS: Haha. Hard at work. But in a good way.

Check out more of Jay’s photo’s, thoughts, and blog posts.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in style | No Comments »

Kari Cruz: Mex and The City

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

My ‘New York-ness’ often plagues my dating life- especially when the guy can’t get past the first order of business: NY’ers don’t like it when non-born & raised people call themselves NY’ers. So, my most recent love interest failed that test almost immediately. I mean seriously, he’s from Cali! To top it off, he constantly feels the right to brag about all of the fabulous taco trucks in the ‘Bay-Area.’ Sounds stupid, I know. But, it wasn’t until a recent trip to Cali that I unearthed the goodness that is a west coast taco truck. Please excuse me as I drool.

But, I couldn’t let him get away with dissing my native city- especially when I have first hand knowledge of all the secret spots. So, I’ve decided to share them with all of you!

These are two places that I visit regularly and they all happen to be within 5 minutes from each other. The food is so savory that you’ll fall under the spell in just one bite. I must warn you though, I’m a steak/avocado/sour cream kind of girl, so I tend to go with topping heavy choices like Taco Salads and Burritos. While I’m also not much of a hot sauce fiend, I do like my food to be flavored to perfection. And I don’t really care for fish tacos, so those may as well just stay on the west coast.

The Calexico truck: Now, you have to be real lucky to find these guys during the harsh NYC winters because their job is almost dependant on good weather. But once you try their food, it is so worth the gamble of getting there. Not only do they offer some of the tastiest and most affordable Carne Asada in town, but I heard that they’re also award winning street vendors. I didn’t even know that was possible until recently. Anyhow, they are conveniently located in the heart of SoHo so- it is a great area for shopping and then grabbing a quick bite that won’t leave your wallet aching. They get their cooking influence from the west coast, but they sprinkle it with NY flavor and the result is phenomenal. I’ve even seen a few celebs waiting in line for some of their tasty treats. You can find them over at Prince & Wooster St. if you are ever in town! But, I don’t suggest going when you’re in a rush, as the line is known for wrapping around the block.

Pinche Taqueria on Lafayette. The food is always fresh and flavorful. Whether you are looking for a quick bite or a full blown meal- this is the perfect stop for a small group of two. Although the dining area is practically non-existent, the vibe is always festive and cozy. You will be pleased by their menu & wonderfully cooked meals. The mantra at Pinche is that there are no canned foods or microwaves allowed, so everything is made from scratch. My favorite food choice is the Steak Taco Salad.

And now I’m hungry….

Kari Cruz

Tags:
Posted in style | 1 Comment »

Dave Sutton: Solo Drive with Here We Go Magic

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Balboa Island is a wealthy little community crammed on a square mile piece of land, just a short bridge off Newport Coast. Though I’ve lived near it (in a surf shack) for 2 years now, nothing about its nautical vibe or taffy shops ever drew me over there, until one Sunday afternoon when a friend needed a lift back to his car. Once he was dropped off, I decided hit play on track one and joyride this odd microcosm.

Turquoise…Emerald…Sapphire…Diamond…each crystal named street sign flashed by my window as gingerbread houses lined up for blocks. You got the sense that not a whole lot happened on Balboa Island – just a place where people smile. A few one-ways here, a few u-turns there, and I was kind of turned around. Here We Go Magic’s opening mantra cycled throughout:

“What’s the use in dyin’, dyin’, if I don’t know when? There are only pieces, pieces…”

I was in no rush, actually quite into the idea that I didn’t know exactly where to go. The album’s restless first half chugged on in the backdrop like drummers at a pier, like sun-gods counting down the last hours of daylight.

“Tunnelvision, anything is possible, when you’re chasing, the useless people in the street.”

Each dead-end seemed to bump up against the ocean. It was like flipping through a book of postcards. I finally parked. The sky shuffled overhead. Sailboats overlapped across the horizon, some docked, some slicing by one another as if choreographed. The reverb-doused pounding of “Tunnelvision” trailed off into shimmering static (“Ghost List”). I was trying to resist the weekend’s finality, reclining in my seat, wanting to be nothing else, but spaced out.

“I just want to see you underwater (I said me…live it up)”

I eventually did find that bridge, just as reality seeped back with the charming, old-fashioned piano closer, “Everything’s Big”

“Everything, Everything’s clean. Everyone’s lawn is greener than green.”

herewegomagic

The man behind Here We Go Magic is folk singer/songwriter Luke Temple. This self-titled debut arrived last year as a result of some “stream-of-consciousness” bedroom recordings. The heavily textured, psychedelic direction garnered much blog-praise, landing Here We Go Magic on a number of end-of-year lists. In hindsight, I should have ranked it higher on my own. Not many releases have stayed with me through the New Year and under some sunsets like this one. Now an active 5-piece band, they’ll be releasing a sophomore album in June.

StadiumandShrines

Tags: ,
Posted in music | No Comments »

« Older Entries