Hopscotch 2011

Hopscotch is a very large music festival in Raleigh, NC featuring over 320 bands in 3 days over 15 different venues simultaneously, day and night, almost non stop. Some of the best that indie rock has to offer, quantities of known and unknown bands. Large touring acts like the Flaming Lips and smaller, less known but no less amazing bands. Doing this festival requires good shoes, a decent pair of ear plugs and more than a couple cups of coffee.

This years festival was more selective in its appeal but no less entertaining. Having sacrificed Friday night to a friends art opening I can only speak to Thursday and Saturday as far as evening performances.

What I saw:
Thursday:
Lynne Blakey, Kenny Roby, The DiBonzo Brothers, Frank Fairfield, Last Years' Men, Lower Dens, The Necks, The Love Language, The Black Lips

Friday
"Power of Narrative Song" Panel with Patterson Hood, Steve Gunn & John Truscinski

Saturday:
Lake Isle, Future Islands, Hammer No More the Fingers, Chris Stamey Small Group at the "Future of Pop" Panel with Wayne Coyne, Rosebuds, Superchunk, The Flaming Lips, Prayers and Tears, Des Ark, Bombadill, Lost in the Trees

This is a lot of music even without a full day Friday to drink in. Some highlights have to include the visceral fury and subtle control of Des Ark at Kings Saturday night, the lovely, restive interlude of the Chris Stamey Small group Saturday afternoon. Last Year's Men were angular, aggressive and excellent Thursday evening bringing their punk but clean energetic brand of rock. I have seen the Love Language numerous times but I thought what they gave hopscotch was pretty special on Thursday night. Local bands seem to shine at this festival, more so than usual. Those that went Friday night said it was exceptional, I wish I could have attended.



Des Ark - Amy Argote



The Flaming Lips - Wayne Coyne


The Love Language - Stu McLamb

New, Old Old Camera

This is a Rochester Optical Company "Universal" Camera manufactured in 1891. I recently bought this 4x5 film camera to begin learning about large format photography. This camera originally made images on glass plate, but at some point someone added a more "modern" film loading mechanism to the back (and even that is still made of wood). This camera came with a Bausch and Lomb 1890 "Rapid Rectilinear" lens. The first lens to offer no distortion in vertical lines. The construction of the lens is symmetrical. Identical groups of lenses equidistantly apart. Its called "Rapid" because it can focus and operate at f/8, which I am sure was quite a breakthrough for 1890. Rochester Optical Company was eventually to become a little company known as Kodak! I am going to have to learn about tilt and swing and putting this camera through its paces before I can remotely claim to have mastered it. I have gotten the camera light tight and have made some test images (see below):

Postcard for an Exhibition

This is the front and back of the postcard for my next exhibition of darkroom prints entitled "Time and Light" at the Morning Times Gallery in Raleigh, NC. The show opens Friday, August 5th, 2011.

I have been working in the darkroom alot in the last 7 days to get this ready. The newer images are a larger 12"x12" square print mounted in a 22" frame. Larger prints make some elements easier to execute but flaws that might just slide by in a smaller image are writ large upon a significantly larger print. It also seems that getting good dark black tones takes more conscious effort in larger prints as well. All that aside I am pretty satisfied with the results of this concentrated effort.

Work From the Center

This is what I submitted to the ArtsCenter for the show and opening this evening;

Statement: Our best creative moments often come when we least expect them
all the while the practice necessary to receive that creativity has been integral to the process all along. Moments from the "center" for me implies the truer nature of an artistic process revealed in the practice of all phases of photographic reproduction; from shooting, developing, and later to the printing of these images. The "center" to me also implies a creative process that is my artistic "home." A place and time of complete understanding to me awaiting my technical interpretation to realise it. Whether wandering to long abandoned 18th century locations on the Rivers of North Carolina or exploring the marshland of the Piedmont the abundance of wildlife and diversity of flora never fail to overwhelm me. I am in my proper place in the world, that of the empathetic observer of the inherent timeless beauty of landscape and water.


Purpose: The purpose of this show is not only to exhibit these traditional wet darkroom prints on archival fiber papers but to remind the community of the great resource we have in the darkroom facility at the Arts Center in Carrboro. With traditional film rapidly dissapearing from the artistic landscape its essential we endorse and use what resources are available to keep them around as a viable option for future film enthusiasts.

The print in the photo above is a larger 14x14 print in a 24x24 frame, the one next to it is the standard 17x17 size frame with the 9x9 print I usually make... Here you see things getting boxed up and ready to go! Digital photo does not do the real contrasts in these justice! Lots of readable dark areas and Zone V starts pretty far down the scale so its a rich look.

Pictures for an Exhibition

Its getting close to time, I have been printing, printing and printing. I switched papers to get the densities I wanted to be able to produce some negatives that have not been easy to reproduce on the matte. I am liking this Glossy FB, VC very much. I have 11 prints done and want to do 5 more and ultimately select 12 to put in the show I am having the entire month of April at the Arts Center in Chapel Hill in the East End Gallery. If I get through these 11x14's I am going to produce some 16x20's as well. Whew...

I have take to flashing the paper before printing to control the highlights. Its a simple idea that gives you a certain amount of control over desparity of densities within a negative.

If Not For You - Cat's Cradle Feb 26th, 2011

Peter Holsapple onstage with me; Photo: Stan Lewis

I had the pleasure of participating in a performance of the entire album of "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison. The evenings proceeds were going to the Caring Community Foundation - an organization that supports chronically ill people in their every day financial needs for rent, food and just living. Having recently performed in a duo with Chris Stamey at the Alex Chilton memorial show at the Cradle it somehow seemed only right that I get to perform at this show with Peter Holsapple. Peter sang while the band and I played "Isn't it a Pity" for a packed house of more than 600. It's not a night I will soon forget. Having recently played to a packed house with my new band Cloudlines I have had two recent music experiences that have been back-to-back two of the best I can remember.



One of the best outcomes of playing the "All Things Must Pass" show is reconnecting with many, many people (there were over 40 people involved in this) I had not seen for years and performing with many of them for the first time ever. Folks like Chris Chamis, Lynn Blakey, Jane Francis, Rebecca Newton, Bryon Settle, Pete Gamble and Greg Bell are all long time participants in the North Carolina music scene and its was really superb to be able to finally share a stage with all of them. I am in debt for the organizer of this show (Jeff Hart) for including me in this unforgettable experience.

Big Star Third - Cat's Cradle Dec 9th, 10th 2010

This is the drummer/singer/songwriter from the seminal rock band Big Star. Big Star is most known now by the song that kicks off a TV show called That 70s Show but back in their day they were one of the most innovative rock bands around. Their sound went on to influence many important bands The Posies, Teenage Fanclub, Gin Blossoms, Wilco, Afghan Whigs, Whiskeytown and others. The 1987 tribute song "Alex Chilton", co-written by three members of The Replacements, was released as a single from the album Pleased to Meet Me and contains the lyric "I never travel far without a little Big Star". Standing behind Jody in this shot is the bassist Mike Mills from the American Band R.E.M.

So they are putting on a live show of the entire 3rd Big Star Record in Chapel Hill with a full string section and a horn section. It was LUSH to say the least. This show includes members of Local Triangle bands Lost in the Trees, Rosebuds, The Old Ceremony, The Love Language, Mayflies USA, The dBs, Let's Active, Tomahawks and more. There are a lot of people on that stage!

We got to setup stages in front of the stage at the Cat's Cradle to shoot this so we were shooting on a higher level than usual from the front. I also got to use a tripod which I never normally can in live music situations. In rehearsal on wednesday at Overdub Lane Studios in Durham there were so many documentary people and photographers that Will Rigby said the band had a String Section and a Camera Section.





Stu McLamb of the Love Language

Mike Mills of R.E.M.


Photo notes: this is T-Max 400 pushed all the way to 3200 as the long lens on the Hasselblad only stops down to f/4. I love how smooth this came out in stand development.