the dotmatrix project

To say it was a magical evening late last February when Jim Avett took to the stage for our little project, storytelling his way through a number of classic tunes, both covers and originals, would be an understatement at best. Even Jim’s kids, the skyrocketing Avett Brothers, sat in for a few tunes. Chills went through everyone as the script was flipped and the boys backed up their dad in the spotlight.

photo by Elizabeth Lemon

Eventually, the time came to bring Greensboro’s own musical legend, Scott Manring, to the stage. Harvey did an amazing job in the video of capturing the back story of how Signs was birthed between these two gentlemen. I particularly enjoyed watching their faces as they felt time slipping back to the days of its original recording some 30 years ago.

Sheer exuberance.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS

Director: Harvey K. Robinson, monkeywhale productions
Director Photography:: Harvey K. Robinson
Editor: Zach Hadgraft
Camera: Mark Wagoner, Alex Maness, Blake Faucette
Gaffer: Jonathan Faw
Grips: Matty Sheets, Barry Staples, David Moore
Sound: Danny Bayer, Don Ravon

We’re still working on Jim’s live album, but it’ll come out soon enough. Patience…

I stopped by HK’s spot for coffee the other day, mostly to shoot the shit, partially to check on the progress of both the Bruce Piephoff and Jim Avett DMP music videos (to be finished this week and next, respectively) and Harvey introduced me to this video of Thayer Sarrano performing their tune, Jump In The Water, live in Harvey’s kitchen.

Can you say haunting?

God bless the Monkeywhale.

Looking great, fellas.

Directed by Dave Liberstein.

Rhiannon Giddens put on an amazing show last fall, and we were lucky enough to capture this a cappella number with her sister, Lalenja Giddens Harrington. The use of the mirror to include the captured audience was a pretty neat idea.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS

Editor: Bret Jones
Camera: Bret Jones
Camera: Jennifer Graves
Camera: Jason Marc Pierce
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon

We’re still trying to catch up with new momma and busy musician Rhiannon to get the album out. All in due time.

Photo by Stephen Charles

The exhibit… is up.

That was only a few months in the making.

This Friday night @ The Green Bean is the exhibit’s opening, featuring the music of past DMP performers: Laurelyn Dossett, Mr. Rozzi and Eating The Invaders. We’re also going to screen a slew of DMP music videos created by the ever talented All Aces Media, Ioannis Batsios, Jason Marc Pierce, Jennifer Graves, Bret Jones and Michael McQueen.

As far as the exhibit goes, we have 29 large format photographs on display, shot by 9 local photographers across 8 monthly shows, which will stay on the walls until September 27th.

Friday night, the entire month… it’s our way of both celebrating and promoting the talent found within our own community.

We do hope you can come out and enjoy it with us.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t introduce our featured photographers, so here they are:

DMP PHOTOGRAPHERS (These are the folk who signed up with us to shoot specific shows and then uploaded their high-res shots to the DMP flickr photostream under a Creative Commons license, which in turn furthers our mission)
		Kevin Belton flickr account Email | Voice: 336.816.8571 Kevin is a professional product photographer for the High Point furniture industry, second camera for John Leonard Photography for weddings and special events. He has been shooting themed based ideas in the last year or so featuring addiction, fashion, and music. Art is his passion and the camera is his medium.
		Stephen Charles CharlesMedia Photography Email | Voice: 336.682.9517 Stephen Charles began taking photographs in 1983 with a 35mm Canon Sure Shot. With the advent of Digital SLRs he has pursued photography as a growing passion, with a desire for letting candid captured moments tell the story.
		Jessi Hagood Jessi Hagood Photography Email Jessi Hagood is a native of Eden, NC and works primarily in the Greensboro area as a Wedding and Portrait Photographer. Recently her work has involved photographing Bodybuilding and Figure Competitions, soon to be featured in Muscle and Fitness Magazine and in an upcoming episode of MTV Made.
		Doug Klesch Doug Klesch Photography Email | Voice: 336.542.3071 Doug is a refugee from the cubicle farms of corporate America. Failing to have sapped all creative energy from him over more than a decade, his overlords released him back to the world. He gratefully returns wielding a camera.
		Elizabeth Lemon Elizabeth Lemon Photography Email | Voice: 719.244.3518 A recent graduate from the photography program at Randolph Community College, Elizabeth is adjusting to life outside a classroom. She is pursuing fine art and documentary photography with rediscovered inspiration and a tool box of new knowledge.
		Alex Maness Alex Maness Photography Email | Voice: 336.707.6121 Alex Maness, local boy done good, likes to travel and explore, but keeps Greensboro, NC as his center of gravity. He runs a photography business shooting for magazines and advertisers, as well as his own documentary projects.
		Mark Smith flickr account Email | Voice: 336.414.4721 Mark’s first inkling that photography could be fun was when his parents brought out the dreaded slides of their jaunts overseas. Once Mark could afford it, he bought a Pentax ME Super and “that was that.” These days, Mark happily takes sports and beach pictures as well as the live music events at DMP.
COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHERS (Talented, local photogs who came out to shows and documented the evening)
		Carolyn de Berry Carolyn de Berry Photography | Email Monkeywhale Productions | Email A Connecticut native and graduate of Guilford College and the Commercial Photography Program at Randolph Community College, Carolyn is a freelance photographer and assistant living in Greensboro, NC. She is also the production photographer and studio manager for Monkeywhale Productions.
		Allen Martin MartiniVision Email | Voice: 917.687.1912 Greensboro native Allen Martin is a photographer and designer who has recently relocated back to his home town after 18 years in NYC. A camera owner since adolescence, for the last several years Allen has focused on fashion, fine art and entertainment photography.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

• Katie Southard, Owner of The Green Bean
• Elizabeth Lemon, for matting, framing and curating the show
• Laurelyn Dossett, Mr. Rozzi and Eating The Invaders, for generously donating their talent at the exhibit opening
• Don Ravon for running sound at the exhibit opening
• Don Ravon & Dan Bayer for mixing the music video tracks
• Ioannis Batsios, Blake Faucette, Michael McQueen and Bret Jones for scrambling to produce their music videos on time
• Andy Coon for helping prep the music video DVD
• Allen Martin for the beautiful show poster
• All of our talented photographers, many of whom aren’t represented in this show. You can see their all of their work at our flickr spot

A SUPER SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR FRAME SPONSORS:

• Mark Wagoner Productions
  Email | Voice: 888.854.0406
• 243 Framing
  243 E. Salisbury St., Asheboro, NC. 27203
  336.629.5101
• Martin’s Frame and Art
  336.274.2426

No matter where I am, whenever a Morphine song rotates into play, I’m instantly pulled out of whatever hook driven groove that came before it (my music sensibilities tell me that everything is Pop in comparison) and within moments, I’m drifting downstream towards a warm patch of surefire belonging residing behind uncut blades of rich longing.

Mark Sandman, the genius front man and songwriter for the band, embodied a molasses thick smoothness with his brooding tales of desire over a bluesy sliding two-stringed bass — a sound that separated both he and Morphine from 99.9% of the musicians of his time.

Tragically, Sandman passed away of a heart attack, onstage, 10 years ago last month at the age of 46. And with his passing, Morphine immediately came to an end.

As a tribute to his life, Triangle musicians came together last month to produce a cover of Tomorrow. Will Dawson of (the future DMP headliner) The Alcazar Hotel produced, played, and sang for the project along with Katharine Whalen at Studio M in Chapel Hill. Harvey Robinson and the monkeywhale crew beautifully documented the experience.

First, the original song, Tommorow:

Now, the collaborative tribute:

Again — beautiful.

Save the monkeywhale.

We connect with our music video directors a number of different ways — some cold call us to get involved, others we hunt down based on filmmaker recommendations. This month’s director for Amplify This w/ The Wigg Report, Louis Bekoe of Distorted Rumble Studios, falls into the latter group.

Let’s get to know the man behind the lens.

DMP: We know people that worked with you at your video production job with the N&R. What was that gig like?
Michael McQueen, your last music video director, pretty much taught me all the stuff I know about news video. As for the gig, I was the one who went out to night clubs where people mistook me for Girls Gone Wild. Ha! Some videos did actually contain nudity, but I was able to block them out… except for one that actually did make it online for all of 5 minutes.

DMP: Ok, so no more clubbing videos. What are you working on now?
LB: I’m working on a movie about beer pong that will go into production in September.

DMP: Nice! Haha! So I’m guessing that you’ve got a pretty particular sense of humor you want to bring out in your films?
LB: I guess so. I really look forward to making a movie where i get to blow things up or smash a car or flip it without using After Effects or one of those programs. And yes, I would love to have my own crew like Broken Lizard for ridiculous comedies one day.

DMP: How long have you been in the film industry?
LB: Actually, I’ve never directed before, unless you count the product commercials I did for my senior project in high school. I haven’t even been so much as a production assistant on a set, so everyday I have to think to myself, “It’s not that hard, is it?”

DMP: That’s the way to be. Thanks for your time, Louis. See you tomorrow night at the show!
LB: You got it.

I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time with Jim and I can tell you first hand that he’s as generous and likable as he comes off in this wonderful piece by our friends over at Monkeywhale.

Jim’s DMP video is coming up soon, also directed and edited by the formidable talent that is Harvey Robinson.

So do us all a favor and be a hero; save the monkeywhale.

Mark Dougherty is The Lake Isle. More beautiful music drifting out from the underground dwellings of Greensboro.

Save the monkeywhale.

The Tremors have been a staple in the Greensboro music scene much longer than the four years I’ve been in town. It isn’t too hard to see why, huh?

Rock and roll, baby.

MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Blake Faucette
Camera: Blake Faucette
Camera: Micah Moore
Camera: David Bradley
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon

Look for the album to drop soon on both Last.fm and Amie Street.