Flaming Lips Rainout

A couple years ago we went to see Wilco at Madison Square Garden with our friends Phil and Pam. Flaming Lips opened that night. Both Wilco and Flaming Lips were just starting to tip toe into the mainstream consciousness and this gig was in many ways big-time vindication as well as a coming out party for two bands at the top of their game. Jeff Tweedy played in pajamas and brought in the new year, but what the Flaming lips did that night I still have a hard time putting in words...and I've tried. I've tried to describe how the show opened that night. The costumes, the lead singer in a bubble walking on top of their fans, the hundreds, maybe thousands of boulder-size balloons filling the arena. You can try and describe this, but you really have to see it and live it.

A couple weekends ago we saw the Lips again in Philadelphia. Watch the clip below to try and get a sense of what I'm talking about. We were on our way to a perfect night when about 45 minutes into this show on Penns Landing we got washed away. The clouds opened and it started raining buckets. They warned us it was coming and it wasn't a great surprise, but how fast we got soaked was pretty impressive. We tilted our heads back when we thought we felt the first drop. I got splashed in the eye with what felt like water balloon.

At 40 these moments are just as fun as when your 20, but you're just a little more prepared. While all the college kids were dancing around in the rain, I put my camera in a little water-tight zip lock and Kristen and I put our little rain slickers on in unison. We felt like nerds while the kids were rain dancing. The thunder cracked and the lighting felt like it was the bringing on the End of Days. We floated through town trying to find us a cab to get us home. It was fun...and maybe still a perfect night.

Great show. Great band. Wish we got more than 8 songs, but as mentioned, the energy in the enclosed video eclipses most of the shows we've ever seen.

Beatles For Sale

Today they released the entire Beatles catalog again on CD, entirely remixed and remastered from the original recording tapes. I remember it was a big deal when they first released the catalog in the late 80s, but right from the start there was criticism that the mixing was muddy and the music sounded flat compared to the vinyl predecessors. I've never considered myself to be much of an audiophile. I've always enjoyed music whether it was coming out of my crappy Toyota car speakers or through my bose headphones. I recognize the difference, but I don't obsess over it. Today I bought one of the new CDs at the local record store. I purchased Beatles for Sale as it was one of the few albums that I didn't already have in one format or another. I put it on the player at home and it really is unbelievable. It's like sitting in the room with them as they recorded it. I've read about the big Beatles re-release for a couple years now and at this point I suspect it's going to be the compact disc's last hurrah. It signified the legitimacy of the compact discs when they were first released and now they will ultimately put the format to bed for good. The funny thing is that many people will simply rip/compress the cds to their itunes and lose a lot of the vibrancy that makes the re-release so vital. I just thought I'd say that if you of the likelihood to still buy a CD, pick up you favorite Beatles CD and put it on a decent stereo. It lives up to the hype.

I've always been happy to line up for the latest Beatles marketing push. I simply don't listen to the Beatles as much these days and it's a good reminder to pull out Abby Road or Revolver and listen to what are just a few of many perfect albums. Start to Finish. Along with the CD, the album format is also a soon-to-be-lost art form. Of course the artists will still be out there making albums, but the mindset of listening to an album from beginning to end is already gone . It's generational and it's technological. It's a singles/itunes world and you just grab the song you like for a buck. If you do have the whole album it's never been easier to skip to the next song. I find myself sometimes skipping the 1 or 2 second pause in between songs on my ipod. Even with cassettes, it was such a pain in the ass to skip or search for a song, you basically just let it play out.

I remember liking the Beatles as a kid. I couldn't tell them apart, but I liked everything about them. I was 12 when John Lennon was shot and I think it was then that I started wondering what the big deal was. I've always remembered the song Gotta Get You Into my Life as a song from my childhood. This didn't make sense though. I always remembered it as a single on the radio from the 70s. I eventually read somewhere that they re-released that particular song in 1976, 10 years after it's first release. After a quick google I was able to confirm it.

I was talking to my niece Ella while she was staying with us this summer. We got to chatting about the Beatles and I had her memorize the names of the Beatles. I don't know why, I just thought it would be something cool that a 12 year old could rattle off at some point and time in the future. I showed her a couple pictures of the Beatles and she seemed to think they all pretty much looked the same too. Ella's been asking for a puppy for the last year or so, but she couldn't decide whether she prefered a Chihuahua or a Dachhund (hot dog). Last week my sister and Bill got her a mix of both breeds from their local no-kill shelter. Ella named him Ringo.

Vick Statement

The emails and texts starting coming in around the time we were watching our first preseason games. I was visiting my folks up north and hanging with my niece so I didn't hear the news at first and I haven't been plugged in to the inter-web the past couple days so I'm just catching up with what the local and national perspective is,,, but the reaction to everyone I know has been interesting. An array of different opinions from a lot of different people I know. With all this, I felt like I should make a statement...so here is my press release.

It's kind of uncharted territory in some ways and there are a number of different issues at play here. Should Vick have been reinstated back into the NFL is the biggest? Either you think he should or he shouldn't. Once your opinion on that has been established you can sift through the rest of the questions, many of which aren't any easier to answer.

First of all, I don't know if Vick should have been reinstated, but it doesn't surprise me a bit. If you are a superstar athlete apparently you have to do something worse than run a dog killing ring to be banished from your sport. It's hard to say that once someone has served time in prison and lost all their money that they couldn't go back to their job once the time has been served. The difference here is that unlike most occupations, this is high profile and your base salary is a couple million dollars and that is very hard for any normal working person to grasp or accept.

I think it's safe to say I'm a dog person and come from a dog family. Nearly all of our friends have dogs and treat them as part of the family. I like many dogs more than a majority of humans. I understand them more and am often more comfortable in their company. I have seen other dog cultures though and have been chased by a pack of dogs in Mexico, fighting them off with rocks. I was also scared to death of the dogs in Africa. Some of my African friends would laugh when they saw pictures from home of dogs in the car or getting a bath. When I used to duck out of the hut to take a piss at night I'd stare wide-eyed out into the dark hoping that some wild dog didn't bite my pecker off. Dog fighting, however, is something I never saw or even knew existed before Michael Vick. Can't even imagine it really. Maybe my dog Claudius could have been a contender in his prime, but I see Frank more as the dog carrying the ring placard in between rounds. It's not funny and shouldn't be joked about, but that's how far away it is from something I know or have experienced.

I thought a lot about the dog fighting when all of this first went down. It's a damn shame and disgusting, but I thought even then that it was, to a certain degree, an unfortunate case of ignorance and cultural demographics. This was and probably still is something that is considered acceptable behavior and sport in some parts of our country.

This ignorance kind of struck me not so much from anything Vick said because once the charges were brought against him he didn't have much to say. I remember Clinton Portis coming out and kind of laughing at the reaction from Vick's actions. He couldn't believe how people were reacting to how dogs were treated. I wondered how many more players (or people in general) thought that it wasn't a big deal.

So, I guess my point is,,,I don't know if Vick is rehabilitated. I don't if he is a better person now and probably never will. I don't know if he deserves a second chance. I know he doesn't deserve one with a couple million dollars attached to it. I do know that Vick is probably a smarter person now. Despite whatever 4 year degrees they hand out to some of these dudes before they enter the NFL, they are not the sharpest cleats on the turf out there. They are sometimes expected to make intelligent social and moral decisions when they just aren't that smart. Not all players of course, but I think it's safe to say that some programs just push you through the system. I think Michael Vick is smarter now. I think those two years in prison have educated him on this particular subject.

I'm disappointed that the Eagles picked up Michael Vick. I wish my team wasn't the test tube for this experiment. As a football move, I don't agree with it either. I didn't think that Vick was a great QB in his prime. He was a fun athlete to watch, but I don't know if what he'll bring the Eagles could possibly outweigh the general negative backlash that will be felt by a lot of fans. Also, with the precarious relationship that Eagles fans already have with Donovan McNabb, this could end up back-firing if Donovan gets hurt and Vick has success. It's not the first time that I thought the Eagles ownership/GM made a bad move and it won't be the last. We lost a high character individual in Brian Dawkins this year and brought in Michael Vick.

The majority of the rumors had Vick going to the Steelers because it's a solid organization and well run and would have given him a good chance to re-establish his playing career and his reputation in general. I was kind of indifferent when reading about the Steelers rumors, but figured he was going to end up somewhere and a team like that might have made sense. Instead it's the Eagles and you have to examine it a little more thoroughly when it's your own team. I'm not going to burn my jersey and foam finger. I, like a lot of people will take a wait and see approach and even if it's not the best move for everyone involved, hopefully it won't be the worst move for everyone involved. Not much else to do.

Sorry if the Birds disappointed some of you. If this is indeed the final roster adjustment the Eagles needed to make and Vick is carried off the field a Super Bowl hero, we'll all have some soul searching to do.

Gettin' Old in Ohiopyle

On Tuesday June 16th as the Phillies bullpen gave up 5 runs in the 10th inning, I quietly turned 40 years old. Two weeks earlier however I had a birthday cavalcade fit for a rock star. In the hills and hollers of Western Pennsylvania's river country my wife and I gathered our friends and family for a good ol' fashioned backyard birthday party. I really couldn't have been more pleased with the turnout and the overall good vibe of the weekend. I put together a slide show of some of the pictures of the day. If you want to see it in HD, hit the HD is Off button and it will route you off the blog and to the Vimeo site. Along with my photos, I've included some great shots from my cousin AJ. All his shots could be seen here. A site with my images can be seen here.

As I stood on the sidelines of the 4 court round-robin bean bag tournament with my family and friends, Beach Music blasting and a Yuengling in hand, I told someone that this might be what Jimmy Heaven looks like. Yeah, if you build it, they will come. I'd like to thank everyone for coming both near and far to our gathering. I requested mustaches in lieu of gifts so thanks for them, I didn't expect it to be such an androgynous showdown. I laughed all weekend and even more over the last two weeks looking at the pictures. Thanks also for the gifts and kind words regarding the weekend. The common thread among all the calls, emails and texts since then was how much people enjoyed the other people there. Kristen and I are so fortunate that our families and many circles of friends have found such common ground over the years. Divine Yoda-type-wisdom has mostly eluded me over my 40 years here, but the one thing I have found is that good people find good people. The whole Paddler's Lane location was a perfect case and point. We found this place online and hoped for the best. We couldn't have done better.

Thanks again to everyone.

Getting Old in Ohiopyle from Jim Harris Images on Vimeo.

Six Degrees of Jim Harris

Yesterday I showed up to document the Bacon Brothers and about 50 Mummers cut a record to benefit the future stability of the Philadelphia New Years Day Mummer's Parade. I'm not sure if I could properly explain what a Mummer is so you could check out this link for a little back story. If you don't know the Bacon Brothers, they are rock band consisting of actor Kevin Bacon and his brother Michael. They are originally from Philadelphia and perform here often. My buddy Rodney has photographed them on a number of occasions and always has good things to say about them and their music. So, Kevin wrote a song involving the Mummers called New Years Day. It's a great summer pop rock song with elements of the Beach Boys. It's about a dude that heads out to LA to take a shot, but wants to come back to Philly. Ha. On this day, they brought in Bunny Sigler, a Philadelphia soul singer best known for his work with the Ojays and Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia Sound. They also laid down a number of tracks with the Mummers horns and strings and vocals. It's going to have a big Phil Spector type sound once all these tracks are mixed in.

Due to city budget crisis etc the city has cut funding for the Mummer's Parade. Last year they barely got a reprieve and the show went on. This year they will struggle to continue the tradition. So this single will be sold to try and raise funding for this years parade. Everyone there was working for free or reduced rates.

I was brought in to document the session. I spent the afternoon in the studio shooting the performers and the goings on. I always see these type photographs in Rolling Stone. The behind the scenes in the studio,,,mixing boards, headphones and microphones. I always think that's what I'd like to be photographing. Yesterday I had a chance to do that. It was like being behind the scenes of the We are the World sessions, except it was the Bacon Brothers and the cause was decadently costumed musicians and not world hunger.

In all seriousness though, this Parade is so unique to the city. There really isn't anything else like it in the country. I've been to the parade and it's entirely grass roots and non-commercial. There are no cartoon floats or celebrity appearances. It's all about the costumes and the music.

I put in a couple more hours than agreed upon yesterday. Unlike some of the work I do, this had a real arc and story element to it....and the end of the story was the completion of the song. After all the instrument tracks were recorded, they brought the Mummers back into the recording studio with the Bacon Brothers to do some large group vocals. I couldn't photograph during the recording so I was just stuck in there with them. After hearing this particular song about 250 times I knew all the words and just sang along a little bit. The Bacon Brothers, 50 Mummers and me. Why not?

Kristen and I were having dinner last night, watching the Phillies and talking about the day. I said, I cut a hit single with the Bacon Brothers today, what did you do?

Leonard Cohen, Chick Rose and The Farm

Other than my family and my wife the person I've lived with the longest is a fella named Markus. I often call him by his rock and roll name, Chick Rose.  Markus and I have been friends now for going on twenty years. Once upon a time we lived on a 40 acre farm house in Indiana. We had parties,  horses and even a beautiful barn till it burned down in the summer of '92. In 8 years of living on that farm, Markus and I came and went from the farm house, but someone was always there to watch our dog Claudius. Claudius was sort of forced upon us by our land-lady, who seldom collected rent and whom we never met, not even once. If this all sounds like a hell of a story,,, it was and justifies more than a blog post.  It think it would make an interesting novel, I always thought of calling it 'My 20's, their 90's.' 

At the farm Markus played guitar and collected records. I learned my open chords and listened to the records Markus collected. We dug a lot of the same music and between the two of us, I'm quite certain we had the most complete collection of Leonard Cohen records in all of Western Pennsylvania. What ones we didn't have I bought overseas and brought them back. We talked about seeing him, but ol' Leonard was living with the Buddhist Monks at the time and seemed unlikely to tour again at his age. We talked about our pilgrimage and the hope that someday it would come to be. 

So at age 74 Leonard announces his first world tour in two decades. Markus agrees to take a train from Maryland and meet me us in Philadelphia. Rob Moore is on-board of course and we all gather at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia's theater district. The Academy of Music is an opulent opera house that opened in 1857. It was a big night. The show was all that we had hoped and though the chandelier was closer to the stage than we were I still managed to get a couple pictures. I feel very fortunate that I was in the right place and the right time to see this performance... especially with such good friends. I can't help but laugh when I think about our camping party last week for my 40th  birthday. Markus, Rob and I all performing a Leonard Cohen rock block. Crowd-pleasers? Eh...not really and apologies to those around the campfire that were looking for something a little less morose and little more John Denver, but I had fun with it. It was a fitting end to our 20 year Leonard Cohen Pilgrimage. 

The Tones Rock the Mountain

The Tones Rock the Mountain from Jim Harris Images on Vimeo.

My Folks and the family have been going to see The Tones since they were in High School. They still play out regularly and I've managed to somehow see them twice already this year... which is the same amount I've seen the Boss in that time span... so somethings gotta give. Enjoy the clip,,,,you can find my family in the mix, and as always they just don't know how to have a good time.