Wrecking Ball

Now when all this steel and these stories, they drift away to rust


And all our youth and beauty, it's been given to the dust


And your game has been decided,

and you're burning the clock down


And all our little victories and glories, have turned into parking lots

When your best hopes and desires, are scattered through the wind


And hard times come, hard times go

Bring on your Wrecking Ball

Bruce Springsteen

Wrecking Ball

It was likely the last farmers market of the season, late October in Wilkes-Barre. The mean streets of Wilkes-Barre is what I tell people when they ask where I’m from. It’s a joke that’s mostly for me and lost on those that happen to have inquired and have never been to the valley. They weren’t mean streets then and despite the local news that doesn’t have much to report, I don’t suspect they’re much meaner these days. We were in town for a visit, my sister and I. Ella was on for the ride as school was in fall break. There was no occasion and no set itinerary. It was a Thursday and that’s when they have the Farmers Market on Public Square in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Not the kind of run-to-car-in-anticipation kind of event, but it would do for this afternoon. Downtown is much the same as it always was. My memory and nostalgia indian-wrestle in my head as I try to sort through the old stomping grounds. What was where and how did this turn into that. Where is my old YMCA and wasn’t that Starbucks a Woolworths? That clock hasn't worked since the late eighties. Is there really a nightclub now that has an evening dedicated to bikini bull-riding and dollar Rolling Rocks?

We walked through the market and it was warm with just enough bite in the air to remind you it was almost November. We looked at crafts and ate potato pancakes and carried on out of there. I wanted a coffee and had a choice of Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts and I chose Dunkin’ Donuts as I often do. We browsed a record store and were on our way home.

There was some debate as to how to drive home. This was normal and everyone had an opinion, but we ended up on Wilkes-Barre Blvd. My folks-family-of-four and Ella and her new dog Ringo driving along through the mean streets of Wilkes-Barre. I looked over to the Murray complex where I worked for a couple summers in college, and they were tearing it down. A huge wrecking ball was just then winding up like a great big metal sling-shot. What came out of my mouth then went something like this. “Ohhhh, Look, Wow, Neat!” I said it like it was one word. It was immediate and squealed with as much enthusiasm as any 10 year old. They all looked on cue and watched as the wrecking ball brought down an upper story of the old industrial complex. More Ohhs and Wows and Neats followed.

I suggested that since we didn’t have anything to do, we stop briefly and take a look. There was some discussion as to where to stop. I suggested just pulling into the back of the AAA parking lot. It’s now a pharmacy, I was corrected. Fine, pull into the pharmacy parking lot. We did and we watched the show for the next 10-15 minutes. It was like we were at the drive-in. My dad opened the sun-roof on the Jeep and Ella poked her head out. Soon she had her elbows rested on the roof of the car and her feet dangling on the floor of the backseat and just a minute or two after that she was outside completely and resting comfortably on the roof of the Jeep. We had the oldies station on and settled in for some free entertainment.

The last time I had been in that building was with my parents for a Flea Market. That’s what they turn everything into around here just before it dies. The place was as awful as it was depressing. The building leaked and wasn’t fit for a ghost then and that was almost 10 years ago.

I said I used to work at that complex when it was a restaurant. My Dad laughed and said he used to work at the wire company as a runner when he was a kid. This wasn’t just one building, but an entire lot of 13 buildings that were built at the turn of the 20^th century. It was a wire and cable company. They manufactured cable and rod for just about everything including the coal mines. My Mom informed us that that’s where my Grandfather worked for most of his career. He sold that cable to the local mines. My sister didn’t interject. She was out of the car at this point and twirling her hair and running through something in her own head. Probably writing a piece just like this one. I’ve been meaning to ask her what she was thinking about, but I haven’t yet.

That was it. I’d say we watched them smack the shit out of that building about 20-25 times. We wondered why they didn’t just implode it. We wondered what sort of mall consumer-friendly piece of crap they’d turn it into. I thought of the song that I heard for the first time at the Springsteen show just two nights before. Wrecking Ball. He sang it for the Spectrum that will be torn down this winter. Like the song, this wasn't nostalgic. Buildings come and go and it is what it is. The landscape changes.

As we got the kid off the roof of the jeep and were getting ready to go, we kept hesitating. This next hit is going to be a good one. Wait, this one is going to bring down the entire side. There was a chain-linked fence between us and the demolition crew. They thought we were jacked out of our mind, but we didn’t give a shit.

We took a left hand turn out of the pharmacy, (formally the local automobile club) and headed up the hill. We all smelled the Nardon Brothers Pizza coming from the bakery across from the demolition site. I asked if that was the same pizza we had in High School. My Mom said that was the same pizza they had in high school. We all agreed it was pretty lousy despite eating thousands of those tiny square meals. We sat at the red light for a couple minutes as I took some pictures of me and Ringo in the side-view mirror. My Dad pointed out the Turkey Hill Convenience Store as he often does. "That place just got held up again at gunpoint last week. This city is going to Hell." The light turned green and we headed up Hazel Street and turned left onto Blackman and out of the mean streets of Wilkes-Barre.

My Niece Ella, The Monkey Girl

Monkey Girl from Jim Harris Images on Vimeo.

Joey's World Series Crisis

My buddy Joe is a Yankees fan. He always has been. He had the posters and pennants on his bedroom wall growing up. His Dad was a Yankees fan. This fan loyalty thing is mostly hereditary so I've never held it against him. Joe went to Penn and has lived in Philly ever since. He's a sports fan so he couldn't help but follow the Phillies. Through all the crappy teams of the last 15 years. Then something happened in recent years. The Phils put together a very good and likable team... even won a World Series.

In recent years I've seen a couple games with Joe. I got my first foul ball with Joe. We won a game used baseball bat by Shane Victorino in a raffle last year. And by we I mean Joe. I was one number off. Joe's kids are growing up Phillies fans. The Phillie Phanatic showed up at his sons 5th birthday. I posted that on my Studio blog. With his Yankee upbringing he's been both positive and encouraging in regard to the Phillies success.

Joe had a conversation with his five year old, Nicholas, about team loyalty on the day of the Phanatic appearance. Nicholas asked his Dad if he was a Phillies fan. Joe said "yes, of course." Nicholas asked, "Well, what about the Yankees?" Joe explained as best he could that Daddy liked both teams, different leagues, etc. Nicholas told his Dad that he just likes the Phillies and asked if it was okay that he just had one favorite team. Joe assured him that that was just fine.

Now I haven't spoken to Joe today about the Phillies/Yankees match-up, but he did mention a couple weeks ago that he was a little concerned. He didn't know what he'd do. It's easy enough to root for two teams through the season when they are in different leagues. I don't watch the American League much. It may as well be hockey through most of the summer. I start watching around playoff time. Joe's got a decision to make and I don't think it's going to be something he consciously decides. It will happen all by itself. When the bases are loaded and the team is down a run with two outs, Joe will be rooting for a team. There's no fence-walking in World Series baseball. Hopefully if he's really stuck, he'll ask his five year old.

Bacon Brothers and the Mummers

Just a quick follow up to the post earlier this summer. The Bacon Brothers released their song New Years Day to benefit the Mummers and the New Years Day Parade. I think there is a DVD coming out as well with a documentary of the day. I've added my slide show of the recording session. I haven't added the Bacon Brothers song, but if you want to hear it or buy it it's here.

The picture above on the cover art is one that I took that afternoon. They had a CD release at our little record store on Main Street in Manayunk this past weekend. I was supposed to shoot it, but had a wedding. Strangely they didn't reschedule the event around my photography schedule.

Bacon Brothers and Mummers Record New Years Day from Jim Harris Images on Vimeo.

Charlie and the Corn Chips

"I like it," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of the tense, four-hour-long 6-5 victory. Even when I hate it, I like it. It tests you. That's what the game is all about. It's exciting, but in some ways it's not too good."
Sometimes you need an interpreter to weed through a Charlie Manual interview, but ultimately he gets right to the heart of the matter with that West Virginia accent. The Skipper was an easy target here in Philadelphia for a couple of years. When he was asked once about the folks here not liking him, he replied something along the lines of, "There are plenty of people that like me in other places, so that's okay." Now someday there will be a statue of Charlie Manual at the ballpark. I'd almost bet on it.

I met Charlie when I took these pictures above at this years ALS charity event. The stuck him in the dugout,,,in the sun for about 4 hours for photos with fans. I wasn't taking those fan photos, I just needed to get something of him for ALS. I was trying to be quick and discrete, but Charlie was set on trying to help me get this shot with this little girl while she was intent on sharing her corn chips with Uncle Charlie. I watch this team for those 162 games a year, and a lot of the post game interviews that come with them too, but sometimes you get sense of someone's disposition in just a brief personal interaction.

Penn State/Iowa...and Beer Pong

Not in my wildest imagination did I anticipate a weekend so dominated by my new favorite sport... Beer Pong. We never did get tickets for the rain drenched Penn State/Iowa game and I think we ended up being the lucky ones in the end. It was a messy weekend, but still great to spend some time with family. My cousin not only introduced me to some great people, but they in turn introduced us to Beer Pong. I was surly aware of it's existence, but it wasn't in full rage during my college years and I had never played. I am now considering going back to school just to play more pong.

I only took about 40 pictures all weekend which is unusual for me. Every single one of them was taken around the Beer Pong table. Thanks to Jeff and Lisa for hosting us and Mugger's friends Freddy and Amy and their folks (Bill and Barbara) for sharing their hospitality and their new RV.

Here is a link to the pictures.

Magnificent Gift

Earlier this summer I had a gathering to commemorate my 40th birthday. We rented a place in western Pa next to a river and invited everyone I knew. We played beanbags, drank Yuenglings and sat around a campfire. It was everything I needed for a good ol' fashioned birthday blowout. I wasn't thinking too much about presents. In fact, I requested that in lieu of gifts I would prefer if the dudes grew mustaches. I figured it would be more entertaining and most obliged and it was in fact very funny. The women would not be excluded and brought their own mustaches.
I put together a slide show if you haven't seen it.


So I guess what I'm getting at is that a gift or present wasn't on my radar that day. I was more caught up with getting my itunes arranged and where to buy a half keg of Yuengling deep in the hollers of Western PA...and would a half keg be enough...

I think that is why this gift from my family was all the more special. My immediate family chipped in and purchased a VIP package for Kristen and I to see U2 in Boston. Previous to this weekend I had been chirping off that U2 had for some reason bypassed Philadelphia on the first leg of their new tour. Kristen was on pins and needles for a couple weeks prior just hoping that I wouldn't get it in my head to road trip to see U2.

The gift was a tremendous surprise. Didn't see it coming. Not even close. The party and the actual Boston road trip were great bookends to the summer. I could get used to the VIP treatment at the big shows. Parking 50 yards from the entrance and not having to pay the $40 fee was our first indication that we were in for a very pleasant day. In addition to being only 18 rows back and having a birds-eye view of the new 360 degree stage, there was also a VIP party before the show. We had an all-you-can-eat buffet and an open bar and met some great people along the way. One of which somewhat knew my cousin from Penn State.

The coolest thing about these shows is that there is no imagined community here. People are there for the same exact thing and most have been doing this for 20 or 30 years. I get to reflect on how long I've been listening to this band and all the bookmarks jammed into the chapters of my life. It's no joke.

Like most folks I saw them first at Live Aid in 1985. I didn't know what I saw, but it resonated with me. It was my Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. I had 8 distorted hours of Live Aid on a VHS tape for years at my folks house. I watched the U2 performance about 100 times. I'd toss it in every once in while to revisit until one day I came home from college and when I went to watch it, I found it replaced by a Penn State/Michigan game. U2 at Live Aid was gone. There was no Youtube, Napster etc. There was no commercial release of the show until about 3 years ago. Now with Youtube it's at your fingertips all the time.

I'd say it was about 1986 I was working at Acme Market as a cashier. My first job and I had to wear a tie and some type of smock with a name tag on it. With their label maker I punched in The Edge on my name tag. I still have it somewhere. It made for some interesting dialogue. I'd ask the old ladies if they wanted paper or plastic and they'd reply, "we don't care for the plastic bags, they hurt our hands and fall over when you set them on the table, we'll have paper. Thank you, The Edge."

I went to college and put a couple u2 posters on my dorm wall along with them on the cover of Time magazine. I still have them somewhere too. A bunch of friends from my dorm went to the Joshua Tree Tour at Three Rivers Stadium in the Fall of 1987. I squinted from the 700 level in deep deep center field. Bono had his arm in a cast from falling the night before from some scaffolding. It was my first real concert. It was a cold night and I had bad skin and bad hair and my fathers army jacket on that would later be stolen at a frat party. I saw every u2 tour since then except one while we were in LA cause I was out of work and broke as a joke. We were in Philly when they returned the next time around. I took Kristen for the first time and we hit the pit lottery and saw them from the first row. The next time we saw them they brought out Bruce Springsteen and his wife to do a song. I yelped like a little school girl.

In my confirming belief that good people find good people, I tend to give u2 credit for meeting one of my best friends. I think it was the summer of '93 when I met my buddy Mika from Finland. We were at a mutual friends gathering and he was mulling about like a Fin out a water with a rather befuddled look on his face. He had a 'how'd I get here' look on his face which wasn't uncommon for International students who ended up in Indiana, Pennsylvania. I'd seen it a number of times and I may have chuckled and carried on, but this dude had a u2 t-shirt on. We talked about the tours and how his friends sent him off the night before with a party and the Zooropa CD. We were fast friends and dumped a lot of bills in the Coney Island jukebox playing Achtung Baby over the next couple years. Mika just called me this morning to tell me they're buying extra u2 tix for next summers Helsinki stop...whether we make it over there or not. This isn't the first time he's done that.

So yeah, that's all I got. Those are the highlights. The trip to Boston was another bookmark. As mentioned we met some more good people and I did the best I could with my point and shoot camera. I'd again like to thank those that gave us this thoughtful gift. My folks, Kristen's folks, Aunt Gummy and Uncle Weiner, Megan and Bill, AJ and Tiffany, Tibby and Mugger and Michelle. You guys rock.

Ella's East Coast Tour

I mentioned in a previous posting that we had my niece here for a couple days this summer. It's become a tradition of sorts. We get her way down south here to Pa and then toss her around the Eastern Seaboard like a 2 dollar hat. She stayed with Grammy and Poppy in Mountaintop and then to us and then to Granny Jean in Md. We had a good day couple days. I always try and plan a decent tour, but it's usually the little things that the kid remembers and puts on her list of things to do. Like walking Frank through the woods or jumping around the backyard through the sprinkler or putting marshmallows in the microwave.

This year we went down the shore as they say here in Philly. We went to Ocean City, New Jersey, but not before stopping at Kristen's Blood Drive at the Ballpark. I gave Ella a tour of the park and then we got to try on a Phillies WS ring for kicks. Alright, the ballpark stop was for me, but Ocean City was for her. The water was perfect and we stayed in for at least 2 hours. We ate pizza, cotton candy, soft pretzels, a water ice and candy dots. I avoided the spin-y rides but we both dug the log flume ride.

The coolest thing about this years visit is that Ella was able to sit in the front seat for the first time. Due to age and weight restrictions she's always had to sit in the back. It's no fun taking a road trip when the only other person in the car is in the backseat. You feel more like your tooling Mz Daisy around town looking for the Piggly Wiggly. We sat in the front seat and listened to tunes and talked about Michael Jackson, the new school year and Vampires.

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.

Stud Services

I saw this while in Western Pa last weekend. It was in one of those Penny Saver type newspapers. I'm not sure if anyone else finds it funny, but I've been laughing about it every day since.

Thanks Harry

To say that Harry Kalas was the most beloved sports figure in Philadelphia isn't a stretch. I'm not sure how well recognized Harry is on a national level, but in this city he's huge and for all the right reasons. Even if you don't listen to Phillies games, you've heard him in commercials or NFL films. Ballplayers come and go but the best broadcasters are there forever. Every once in a while you get one like Vin Scully, Harry Caray and Harry Kalas. Every time you watch a game or listen to it on the radio, it's the same guy and there's a comfort in that. You get to know them after 38 years...at least you think you do and Harry got that. I saw Harry a couple times while working and he greeted everyone like someone he knew. That's why I've always liked this picture of Harry smiling for my camera. The guy was very comfortable knowing that this city loved him so much.

I was pretty set on seeing the Phils get their World Series Rings last week.
The ceremony/game was long sold out but I managed to get a ticket and went and took pictures from the stands. Harry threw out the first pitch to a standing ovation. It was the final game of the opening homestand and the last time the home fans would see and honor Harry.

Josh Ritter at The Sellersville Theater

My wife and I go to a lot of shows. We always have. Part of it is that we don't have any kids, part of it is that we live in a big city and we have access and part of it is just a love of music and being around people that feel the same way. The enthusiasm from the crowd is almost always there. When we see the old heads like Neil Young or Tom Petty, the fan enthusiasm is there. When we see the Fratellis or The Hold Steady, it's there. And while you could always count on the crowd, sometimes the artist lacks a certain spark,,, like they're on night 300 of a 300 night tour. And then there are nights when you see someone like Josh Ritter. This is the second time we've seen him and his band live and both times we've walked away with a warmer heart and an extra kick in our step. He brings a joy and energy to his performance that I really can't compare to any artist we've seen. Maybe I've seen the the joy with B.B. King and I've certainly seen the energy with the Boss, but there is a approachability and freshness to Josh and his music that is so contagious.

We've been looking for the right show to see at The Sellersville Theater for a while now. It's a bit of a drive from Philly, but worth the effort. I'm not familiar with the history of the Theater, but it's well preserved and with 21 rows of 14, it's very intimate. I called about the Josh Ritter tickets a couple weeks after they went on sale. The woman on the phone told me that the 'Member Tickets' that were still available would be released to the public at the end of the week. When I called back at the end of the week, we ended up with seats in the front row. We were happy to have them even though we felt almost uncomfortably close to the stage. The stage lights spilled onto us for most of the show and we had no table in front of us so we set our beers on the edge of the stage.

I am a photographer by trade and as I've mentioned in previous posts, I do my best with the point and shoot camera when I don't want to take the bulky good gear to a concert. Here is a link to the shots from the evening. While several are a little soft in focus, I think they capture the mood and spirit of the performance and the venue. I also took two video clips. The first highlights that energy and joy that I'm talking about. The second shows more the intimacy of the performer in a venue like this. At the end of the show, the band exited and Josh brought out his opener, Mark Ereli and they shuffled to the edge of the stage to perform unamplified. Kristen and I were quick to move our empty beer cups as they stood directly above us. Trying not to be too inappropriate, I took a video clip of them next to us. I've done a lot of these, but I'm particularly proud of this one since I just turned the camera on, set it on my lap and pointed it upward toward Josh and Mark. It's an unconventional perspective, but my aim was pretty good.

If you don't know the music, check it out if you can. We're big fans. Especially my wife, who would probably run off to Idaho and raise potatoes with Josh if he asked her. She just told me last night that she'd just become friends with Josh on Facebook, so who knows.

Birthday Push-Ups

Birthday Push-Ups from Jim Harris Images on Vimeo.

Just wanted to wish my Dad a Happy 62nd Birthday. I've been meaning to post a couple things here and this is a good opportunity. Every year on his birthday my Dad does 100 push-ups to mark the occasion. I don't know when the last time any of you have tried to 100 push-ups, but I remember the last time I tried to see how many I could do. It was a bet between a buddy and me about 15 years ago and I don't think either of us got to 100.

Last year when we were on vacation in Florida I took a movie clip of my Dad doing 100. He makes it look pretty easy. So check out the clip, I figure if we're not going to do the push-ups, you could at least take two minutes and watch someone else do 'em.

I'm also posting two pictures taken in the last year while with my Dad. I don't shoot as much fun stuff as I used to, but when I do I'm always grateful to have taken the time and effort. You'll usually see me with the point and shoot, but the really great shots happen when I take out the good stuff. The serious gear. Which usually means more weight and responsibility to keep an eye on it. But as mentioned, it always means better pictures.

The shot of the dogs in the doorway happened when my Dad and I were pulling out of the driveway. He rushed back into the house for his camera. I did the same and got some great results.

The shot of the coal miner statue is from our hometown. My Dad and I went to an area coal festival this past summer and drove around a while trying to find this statue which is a tribute to the Anthracite Coal Miners of Northeastern PA. It's always good to remember where you come from!

Roxborough Inauguration Ball 2009

We gathered last Tuesday at Rob and Joanie's place for our own Inauguration Ball...Roxborough Style. Kristen squeezed into an old bridesmaids dress and I got to dress up for something other than a working wedding. Ann Marie stole the show with her 3 dollar Good Will gown. We had Obama chili and sweet potato pie with champagne. Anne Marie and Joanie did a lot of work for this election canvassing neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia so it was time to celebrate. Now I guess its time to fix what is broke..and there's a whole lot of broke out there.