NEWS: ASBURY PARK PHOTOGRAPHS ON OBEY BLOG

This morning the OBEY Blog ran my Asbury Park Photo Series as a lead in to Shepard Fairey's new REVOLUTIONS show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery opening tomorrow night. The event is part of the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival running all this weekend in venues throughout Asbury Park. Following tomorrow night's opening reception, Fairey will head over to Asbury Lanes to rock the turntables with a special DJ set for the official afterparty.

Revolutions features over 80 pieces of Punk, Rock, New Wave, Jazz, and Hip Hop inspired artwork based on the 12" record cover format. A very limited quantity Album Cover Print Box sets will be available in person at the exhibit.

REVOLUTIONS: The Album Cover Art of Shepard Fairey
Presented by Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Opening Reception:
September 29th, 2011, 6-9pm

On Exhibition:
9/30/11 - 10/3/11

1200 Ocean Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
For more information please contact Jonathan LeVine Gallery

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You can check out the OBEY Blog post with my photographs here.

Limited Edition 8x12 prints from the Asbury Park Photo Series are available for only $20 with free shipping in the new Lobo Jones Photography Print Shop on Etsy.

MOVIE REVIEW: Darkness - Asbury Park 2009 Performance World Premiere

As part of DOC NYC's Documentary Film Festival, last night I got a chance to check out the world premiere of Bruce Springsteen & E-Street Band's 2009 performance of Darkness On The Edge Of Town from the upcoming Darkness boxset.

The film documents the band's 2009 performance at Asbury Park's Paramount Theatre. In an effort to "best capture the starkness of the original album" the performance was done without a live audience present. The result is an in your face, warts and all live rendering of the now classic 1978 album.

Director Thom Zimny, DOC NYC's Creative Director Thom Powers, and drummer Max Weinberg were on hand to talk about how the film and subsequent screening came about. For Zimny, the project spawned from an accidental moment in which the director found himself caught onstage during a band rehearsal. The intimacy and energy he felt on that stage sparked an idea for capturing the band up close, with the cameras onstage and among the performers. The typical Springsteen arena concert with a large audience would require the director to shoot from long distances with telephoto lenses. When Zimny approached Springsteen with his idea and his concerns in bringing it to light, it seems the musician was one step ahead and suggested performing the concert sans audience.

DOC NYC's Thom Powers, who also helped organize the Toronto International Film Festival, spoke of what led to last night's screening at NYC's historic Zeigfeld Theatre. After the Toronto premiere of Zimny's other Springsteen film, documenting the recording of the original Darkness album, the Springsteen camp invited a few people to see some additional footage featured in the upcoming boxset. One clip was from the 2009 Asbury Park performance. Powers was convinced that the 2009 performance needed a larger exhibition than just DVD, if even for one night. Much like Zimny, Powers approached the Springsteen camp with his idea and they quickly agreed.

Springsteen's live shows have well been known for the connection between the artist and his audience. The lack of an audience reveals, as Max Weinberg put it "even in rehearsal, this is no off switch with Bruce." Zimny's camera documents the raw power of Springsteen and his band. We see Max Weinberg read slight visual queues from Springsteen leading the way through the song, we see Clarence Clemons cheering Springsteen on through a guitar solo and we see Steven Van Zandt looking for just the right moment to pull off a soulful fill on his guitar.

As fantastic as the movie is, something must be said for the audio. It is amazing. And loud, very loud. Everything is captured in brilliant clarity, bringing the experience to an even higher level.

It's certainly not unusual to sing along to a live concert. And it's not unusual to sing along to a concert video in your home. But a movie theater has a different decorum. It provides the viewer an opportunity to just watch. While much of the Springsteen experience is participatory, just watching the band provides a different perspective, one Weinberg commented "I've never seen before, and one I think I need to see again. Most in the audience held their applause for the short pauses between each song but more than a few could not suppress the urge for a "Bruuuuce."

A short Q&A session followed with Zimny and Weinberg, in which the drummer revealed he fully intends to tour with the E-Street Band on the "sooner side of sooner or later," and that he usually gets Springsteen a "good book for Christmas." The drummer also spoke of the perspective the film gave him and how while in the midst of performance it's rare to hear the song as a whole. The film allowed Weinberg to watch he and his bandmates perform from the perspective of their audience and in nearly forty years of music it seems to be a rare treat for him.

DOC NYC is being presented in partnership with NYU-SCPS. For the past few months my friends Mark Parsia - who I owe an extra special thanks for an invite to the screening - and Mary Domowitz have been working hard to pull the festival's inaugural running together. The festival runs from Nov. 3-9 and features many wonderful films, panels and events throughout. For a full schedule check out DOC NYC. And also check out NYU-SCPS' Department of Film, Video, and Broadcasting - they have a great selection of courses!

PHOTOS: Old Pics

The Bouncing Souls.
Jersey Shore Girls Roller Derby - Convention Hall. Asbury Park, NJ. Sept. 08.















































The Bouncing Souls.
Generation Records - Record Store Day. New York, NY. April 18th, 2009.

PHOTOS: Asbury Galleria Wrap Up

July 31st saw the end of my exhibit at the Asbury Galleria. A sincere thank you to everyone who purchased a photo.

Most importantly, a huge thank you to Kay Harris, the Harris Family, and the Asbury Galleria crew - Gary, Carol, and Kelly. Everyone went out of their way to make me feel comfortable and welcome.

We headed down early on Friday the 3rd to beat the holiday traffic, check into the hotel, and setup for the next day's show. The Empress was booked full and the Berkley is on my shit-list, so we ended up staying a couple of minutes away in Long Branch. With help from everyone at the Galleria we got everything setup for the exhibit in just under two hours. Grabbed a shower back at the room and then took a ride down to Seaside Heights which lead to an interesting encounter with one of the boardwalk carnies, but that's for the next post.

4th of July. The boardwalk is alive again. I've never seen so many people in Asbury. The closest would be for a Springsteen show and even that falls short. If you we're here five years ago, you wouldn't recognize the place, shit if you were here two years ago you wouldn't recognize it.

Then: street-raff smashing open parking meters with a baseball bat to pocket the few uncollected coins left inside.

Now: out of towners charging an hours worth of parking on their credit card with the new automated parking meters.

Then: homeless folks huddling for warmth inside the old Howard Johnson's.

Now: 30 something professionals enjoying outdoor dining at Tim McCloones.

Then: The curb.

Now: Public bathrooms with running water and stocked toilet paper.

It's a different Asbury now.

One of the first business owners to take a chance on Asbury's renewal was Kay Harris. A life long resident, Kay opened the Asbury Galleria in 2005. At first glance, the Galleria looks little more than your normal art gallery with the addition of some beach supplies. But a closer look reveals the Galleria for its true self, a cultural and historical touchstone. It's the closest thing Asbury Park has to a museum.

I can't tell you how many times people came up to me and said "I remember that..." or even "...wow, I forgot about that." For many people returning to Asbury, the gallery takes them back to their childhood. For the first timers, it provides a glimpse into Asbury's long strange history. In the hands of anyone else you can imagine what the gallery could have been, cold and sterile. But Kay has managed to tap into the heart of the town and the spirit that has always lived below it's streets. For my first show, I don't think I would have wanted to be anywhere else.

That night we sat on the beach. Down the coast, other towns' celebrations could be seen. I'm sure they had big crowds too, but the Asbury boardwalk was packed front to back and all the way from the Casino to the Convention Hall. It was like everyone along the shore showed up. There was a feeling that this year was different. As one of the longest fireworks display I've ever seen filled the sky, it was clear things were different. Asbury Park is back.


For those that missed the show, here's the pics that were featured:




To check out the entire Asbury Park photo collection click here.

--Lobo

PS - I joined the Arts Coalition of Asbury Park. They're fighting the good fight to keep Asbury an artistically driven community. Show your support and check them out.

PHOTOS: From The Archives I

The Bouncing Souls - Asbury Lanes, August '07. Check it.