The Storm Before the Summer.....We exited the front of the building, my 12 string around my body and my director manning her camera as we begin what she would later call, "a one take wonder". The only thing we knew for certain was that, according to my director, we were going to do a continuous shot of me playing my acoustic song, "I, the Storm" in the iconoclastic Downtown streets of Los Angeles. Undaunted by the idea of no crew, no lights, no mic, and the nefarious obstacles that could easily become problematic, Brenna, yells action, and really, what is art without some sort of risk in the uncontrolled environment you create in?
I walked, she followed with vigor, in front, sometimes behind, walking somewhat haphazardly backwards. People that lived on that sidewalk regarded us with mild amusement, perhaps awestruck, some offered enthusiastci smiles. I suspect I was the only guitarist to stroll through these Downtown LA sidewalks in quite sometime. And to be honest, the video itself shows the effect...
As filmed I began to feel the major key of "I the Storm" challenging the almost post-apocalyptic environment of Downtown.. I'm sure most have seen clips and images of these modern times but this was different. Authentic. My guitar and I were a storm of challenge, challenge to our shared reality, offering the present moment a soundtrack to our daily lives... (perhaps too philosophical, but hey, art is up for interpretation.
A couple smiles and thumbs up from beneath torn and old clothes, dirty faces in inescapable city worn smells... What really is the meaning behind this? What are you looking at? Why do we look at it? Framed with unexpected sailing guitar chords that echoed between towering buildings and absorbed, felt, resonated through every passerby, open door, business guru, money talkers, and beggars, we all were walking through the same storm together for a moment.
We could not have planned this. Some would call it a contrast. Others a statement. A reflection or slice of life.
I can't speak for Brenna, but the only thing I felt was... imperatively saturated in her touch of simplicity that asks you to look at things differently. I cherish what that moment was, whatever it was. I am blessed that it was caught on camera. Of all the musical moments I have ever been part of this was far and away one of the most pure and fulfilling!
See it for yourself here:
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