Creatvity

Natural Mystery

A dear friend just reminded me of some amazing creativity I contributed to a couple years back, and it made me realize that I never shared this gem here in my own pages.

Philadelphia based band Stereo League approached me in the early spring of 2019 asking if I would be game to work with them in an upcoming music video.  They had heard that I was a Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey alumni and they wanted to feature a melancholy clown in the shoot.  

The more I heard of the vision for this music video the more excited I was to be in it, as it was definitely a quirky outside of the box concept. The vision called for me to take advantage of many of the skills I’ve acquired over the years, as well as being in a very unique and surreal setting. I’m in!

Little did I know that they were working with a high-end production company with a full crew and a truck load of gear.  I’ve done a couple of corporate commercial shoots over the years, but this was on a whole other level within a perfect intersection of passion-project and technical expertise.  It’s always a joy to work with consummate professionals, and this weekend was exemplary.

The first day ended up being somewhere between 15 & 16 hours in multiple locations.  Even though the hours were crazy long, everyone on set had a blast and it was super playful.  We spent the day at one mansion shooting indoor scenes, and then spent the evening an hour away at another mansion’s pool shooting the underwater scenes.  Then after wrapping around 2am, the call was made for everyone to crash for 3 hours and then drive down to a town just north of Atlantic City NJ for the ocean segment of the shoot.  

Sunrise in Brigantine NJ

My biggest concern was that the last scene in the storyboard was to have me emerging from the ocean at sunrise.  If we were on the west coast I could have emerged from the ocean at sunset, but alas.  I voiced my apprehension to get into the chilly Atlantic in a pre-dawn hour, knowing that there are crazy things afoot within those waters when it’s dark. It’ll be fine! they said. 

Imagine my relief when the production ran slow so that we were just arriving at the ocean as the sun rose, and by the time everyone was in place having schlepped wickedly expensive gear 1/4 mile across the sand, it was daylight and I felt fine going into the water.  And then, a week later the producer sent me a still shot from the overhead drone showing this:

Now I’m a thoroughly curious dude who has spent my lifetime cultivating awareness, and the phrase ignorance is bliss has never sat comfortably with me. But in this particular case I was immensely happy to have been ignorant of what was going on. Steve Irwin looms large in my mind…

When all was said and done, this was a pretty incredible project to have contributed to, and we were all thrilled at how it came out.  I hope you enjoy the video, and hopefully you’ll enjoy the rest of Stereo League’s offerings as well ~ they’re definitely worth a listen. 

Stereo League ~ Natural Mystery

I’m a big fan of another one of their videos “Money in your Mouth” as it’s another playful quirky concept. I hope they continue with this trend for sure. Thanks for visiting ~ Cheers!

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Tales from the Shadow Gallery

In Alan Moore’s “V for Vendetta” the underground lair of the main character is a treasure trove of art, music, and cultural artifacts that he calls the Shadow Gallery, an endless source of inspiration and enrichment that by its very nature threatens the oppressive status quo. I remember being really struck by how awesome that was, collecting all of the masterpieces and subversive art to ensure they survived, and encapsulated by the thought that “A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having” ~ I took this to mean that all of the things deemed frivolous or dangerous by the vested interests of a corporate state are verily the very things that bring color, wonder, joy, and meaning into our lives. 

My own Shadow Gallery has been kept secret for a very long time, and I’ve come to realize that by having it buried I am essentially hoarding what should be shared. What’s the point of being creative, having stories to tell, and songs to sing, if they’re not shared? For years I have written and composed and recorded and then moved on, putting whatever was created on the shelf and not looking back ~ it was always about the process and how the act of creating something was essentially therapeutic.  But I’ve come to realize that this pattern doesn’t serve me anymore, nor potentially anyone else, and so it’s time to open the doors and explore. 

All of my projects, all of my offerings, are the tales I have to tell,

The Tales from the Shadow Gallery.

As a creative, I can’t help but produce and am happy to be finally taking my creations off of the shelves and begin leaving them out for you to find. But I needed a place to set free the music and writing and circus performance art that comes through me in all of their various forms, and so it’s time to build a house for all of this creativity. Projects might be whimsical or serious, some philosophical or opinionated. Sometimes it’s just a pure celebration of the human spirit or exploring the depths of the human condition, or focusing on the wonders of our earth. Sometimes the spotlight will be on how we grow and evolve through our pain and turmoil to become better versions of ourselves, as individuals, as communities, and as the living organism that is earth. 

For so long I’ve tried to make sense of where all of these different expressions fit, so instead of trying to find that place I’ve decided to create it as well. And here we are ~ I raise my glass to you ~ Cheers for sharing this adventure with me!  So welcome to my Shadow Gallery, and as we emerge into the light I hope you are touched and inspired by your visit.  If any of these tales move you in any way, please consider sharing them in your world and amongst your friends, and invite them to visit the gallery for themselves. 

Onwards Team Human…

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The Birth of TemplEarth

The phrase Temple-Earth first came to me in late 2008 while trekking in the Adirondacks of New York. It haunted me and stuck in my mind in a way that few ideas have over the course of my life. I loved the idea of merging the words into one and fusing the concept that a reverent attitude towards the Earth, treating it as a sacred temple, would be a powerful energy to nurture. At the time I thought it to be the title for a piece of music I had been working on and released that celebratory mystical musical journey in 2010 (a story in its own right). At the time I thought that’s that and moved on to my next project, as well as a major change in my life’s trajectory.

Years later, the phrase still haunted me in a way that I began to suspect meant it wasn’t done with me and wasn’t merely the title to a piece of music. I allowed it to gestate and began to think of TemplEarth as the kernel of a community, and once there it began to bloom in a living way, not content to be a static thing on the record shelf.

I’ve been very inspired and shaped over the years by the eco-philosophy writings of Thomas Berry, the spiritual-philosophy of Joanna Macy, and Zen-Buddhism in general, as well as by all of the earth activists and spiritual warriors treading the path. Artists like Alex Grey that awaken our deeper selves through the resonances in their work and music that stirs the soul are constant sources of motivation, and part of the vision for TemplEarth is to cultivate an ever-growing community of artists, musicians, and activists who embody these ideals through their work, helping to stir the pot and help awaken humanity.

The re-awakening of indigenous cultures, and in particular those communities who have arisen to defend the Earth, has been a profound source of energizing direction, as I firmly believe that the emergence of these Guardians and Protectors will usher in a new era of reconnecting with Earth in a fundamental way.

TemplEarth has evolved over the years to embody a philosophy, an outlook, a community, an artistic vein, an arts organization, as well as it’s current gestation as an active seed for a periodic celebratory gathering ~ stay tuned for more as TemplEarth unfolds, for it’s an idea whose time has come.

If any of this resonates with you, please consider connecting, signing up for my newsletter, letting me know of your activities that align, because together we are strong and have the power to enact change, and the more of us there are moving forward with power and vision to help heal imbalances and restore environmental integrity, the closer we are to making it so.

If you’ve enjoyed your visit, consider signing up for the occasional newsletter that features new releases, inspirations, and other Tales from the Shadow Gallery…

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