Project Direct

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Start Date: 
February 5, 2004
Project Status: 
Completed
Completed Date: 
June 1, 2004
Final Product(s): 
a short film
The Project: 

Back to the Start was my most earnest attempt at filmmaking.  I had previously tried my hand at writing a couple screenplays and started dabbling in shooting and editing video.  While attending a short film festival in Mexico, I decided it was time to give filmmaking a real shot.  I moved to New York City and enrolled in a few classes at School of Visual Arts.  This short, Back to the Start, was the product of my time there.

It was also my last filmmaking project.  I am quite proud of what I made, but the process taught me that what I actually enjoyed about filmmaking was the writing and the planning.  The editing, and definitely the actual shooting, were not my thing.

Nevertheless, it was a good project.  I shot the film on 16mm, got a few actor friends to help me out (and turn in great performances), and edited the short on my home computer.

Project VOT

Friday, March 19, 2010

Start Date: 
August 1, 2001
Project Status: 
Completed
Completed Date: 
December 1, 2001
Final Product(s): 
a music album
The Project: 

Note: Project entry created well after project was finished.

Vexations of the Thinker was my second album in what was a short (independent) musical career.  The title is taken from a painting by Giorgio de Chirico.  The title song of the album is a story based on the character in the painting.

The album was at least an attempt to distance myself a bit from rap and hip hop, though it's hard to claim, now or then, that I was ever creating music of that style.  The album featured five spoken word tracks, and the final song (and last song I ever made) is as much of a departure from my previous styles as I was able to muster.

Vexations of the Thinker was completely produced and recorded on my home computer, as were the CD and jacket designs, which I printed and copied at Kinko's.  It was a fun project, and one that I remember quite fondly.  As with most projects, I remember the act of working on it more than I do the final product.

Similar to The Beginning of Survival, I feel pretty disconnected from this album and my attempts at making music in general.  They feel like the products (or projects) of a different person, which is in some sense true, I guess. But I remain in proud of the words I wrote and recited, given the time and context in which they were written.  That is definitely more true of this album than BOS.

The best review I got can be found here.

All the lyrics can be found here.

Project BOS

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Start Date: 
August 1, 1997
Project Status: 
Completed
Completed Date: 
June 1, 1998
Final Product(s): 
A music album
The Project: 

Note: Project entry created well after project was finished.

This was the first CD I produced.  I had put out a crappy tape when I was 18, but this was my first more finished product.  The title for the album comes from a Chief Seattle quote about "the end of living and the beginning of survival."  I was doing the native american spirituality thing at the time, and my album was pretty dark, so it made sense.  Just now, while I was searching for info on the album (it's weird when the internet can serve as a better archive of your personal creations than you can), I found out that Joni Mitchell had an album of the same name.  No doubt, hers is far better than mine.

One funny thing about this album: I actually secretly recorded my friends while we were hanging out, and a couple "samples" of those conversations appear on the album.

Combined with Vexations of the Thinker, these two albums are pretty much the beginning and end of my musical career.  I at times find myself a little embarrassed by these albums, this one in particular, since they seem so different from what/where I am now.  But I also recognize that they were something I was extremely proud of at the time, and they reflect earlier sides of myself.  And sometimes that helps paint a picture of who I am now.

All the lyrics can be found here.