I deserted the interweb version of the SAVAGE SEVERE to actually live it. 2 months is too long though.
My head also has been full of odd ball situations all over the map - so been a bit intro. Such is life - inside outside upside.
Recently I had a chance to catch a mind blowing premier - Omar Souleyman live in the deserts of Redhook. And it did feel like a desert - with 90 deg. heat - dusty spaces - and atmospheric stone caves where the performance took place.
I think this was Souleyman's first performance in the US. He is a Syrian vocalist, crooner, and hype man all in one. His videographer and MC was a presence as well (not pictured - had to see this). The man behind the music on keyboards provided live production.
The first time I went to SF CA, I made a visit to Berkley's Indian zone on the hunt for soundtrack tapes. There were rows and rows of Souleyman's music. There was so much I decided on nothing. Fate would allow me to experience this live later.
What can I say - Ive been on the road for the better part of the month of May.
All I have to offer for now is this, a doc for the original Last House on the Left. I watched the 2009 version in my hotel room the other night (Chicago) and it freaked the sh&t outta me...you know the kind of thing where you're talking to the video screen, "You turned your back on them again!"..."Oh, look at his face"..."His legs were dangling"..."His head exploded!". RULED!
This is going to be a tough match-up. Look at that 4 on 1. That's what it takes cause stuff gets ugly. I'd almost rather see a LAX vs. CLE match up in the Finals...it'll be a rematch to this when the fans were the ugly ones. LA fans are such babies. BTW, is that Snoop Dog, front row there with the santa shades in that freeze frame?
EDAN'S Echo Party has been getting heavy rotation in my ranch and I just actually looked to see if there was any video to support.
And has been brewing an assignment nuclear melt down. The work has taken me far and wide.
LA last weekend
Here is the one non-work related picture I took the whole weekend (with a blackberry). I love these letters and the sense of doom on the streets. This is Sunday AM in North Hollywood. Apparently its not too slick at this hour, more my style.
BTW - that's not a homeless person. I don't take pictures of homeless people.
NBA this weekend
Fear The Deer! Basketball season has ended and today marks the beginning of The Playoffs. I got to check out a Knicks Celtics game with my brother at MSG -thanks again John! Knicks won that one (surprise). The Celtics' Bad is Knicks' Good.
NY TX HW
In April I drove a car to a friend and co-worker based in Austin, TX. The whole trip itself from Brooklyn NY takes 28 hours if you drive non stop in traffic zero conditions. I did it in two 15 hour days with a stop over in Nashville - solo...with a mounted HD video camera hovering over the passenger seat. The scene: the US highways from NY to TX in a Mini Cooper (green with white stripes and fog lamps). I had to get there in 2 days so I drove and shot continuously.
This project is architectural because highways and roadway landscapes are designed spaces with a 3rd dimension factored in - MOTION.
I can't tell if the final version of the video piece will be 2 hrs or 20 hrs....thinking 20. The footage was shot with live sound. Largely the various radio stations along the way (super hits, creepy AM, jazz, gun show radio), engine and road noise, and occasional outbursts from me. Screenings are forming in New York & Boston.
With the sudden passing of Malcolm McLaren I was honored to drop an impromptu set at TROPHY in his name. He was a real music and culture lightning rod having touched and redefined punk, hip-hop, club, and international throughout his life . He worked in film and video too producing work and criticism - once appearing on screen to call The Bronx a sub-burb. His last work being the "sound painting", Shallow as seen in his return to Times Square.
I feel a kinship. R.I.P.
Listen to this WNYC interview interview - I heard it when it originally aired in 2008 and could not believe what I heard. You must listen.
