Hey I'm in Frankfurt, Germany, showing the movie
to enthusiastic German people. We also seem to be really big in
Scandinavia right now. Awesome. Germany is 10-20 degrees colder
than New York this week. Less awesome. I ran into Wim Wenders after
a screening and we talked about Chris Marker. And then I dropped
a name.
Check out Topic
Magazine which recently put Sufjan on their cover and currently
is featuring a conversation between Danielson Famile and Trachtenberg
Family. Inspired.
7/15/06
Thanks to everyone who has been coming out to the
wonderful festival screenings.
Here is an excerpt from the legal
language included in the distribution deal I am currently trying
to figure out. It falls under "force majeure" --->
"In the event that either party
is unable to perform its obligations, pursuant to this Agreement
due to any fire, casualty, lockout, riot, war, act of God, riot,
labor strike, disability, sickness, death, insurrection, natural
catastrophe, or the exercise of authority of either the federal
or state government or any political subdivision thereof, or any
event beyond either party's reasonable control, including, but not
limited to, vehicular mechanical failures or accidents that are
not under either party's reasonable control ("Force Majeure
Events") that renders either party's performance hereunder,
in whole or in part, impossible, then, the parties agree that this
Agreement will immediately terminate and Creative Arson Productions
will refund any unrecouped Advance, paid within ten (10) business
days."
Wow. I'd just like to note a few
things. First, did anyone notice that 'riot' is mentioned twice?
Also, how is it that there's never been an action movie called Force
Majeure? (...) oh, wait, i just looked on IMDB and it turns out
there have been two films by that name. One seems to be French although
it stars Kristin Scott Thomas and was made in 1989 and the other
is from Finland, in 1999, and stars someone named Pirkko Hämäläinen.
That's pretty cool, too. they must be very exciting films.
Anyway, please don't start any insurrections or
riots or plagues or anything until my advance is paid off.
3/28/06
Hey, we had a great premiere at SXSW. I really
want to blog about SXSW. It was my first time there. But i think
i need more time to process the whole thing. I stayed to
work and see bands during the music fest. Saw the Beastie Boys play
in the backyard at a BBQ restaurant. Also saw Belle & Sebastian,
Jennifer O'Connor,
New Pornographers, Dresden Dolls (performing War Pigs), and others
in the same backyard. Didn't see as many films as I would have liked.
Although I did get to see Brad Beesly's and Sarah proce's 'Summer
Camp,' the loudQUIETloud Pixies movie, and a film about Czech utopian
shoe manufacturer Thomas Bata. Awesome.
12/21/05
Happy solstice.
Now it can be told.
“Danielson: a Family movie” will premiere at SXSW in
Austin this March. Woo hoo. Before that it will ‘sneak preview’
at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival at the following
times and locations:
Saturday February 4 at the Women's Building --------------= (3543
18th Street @ Guerrero)
Tuesday February 7 at Roxie Cinema - 16th and Valencia
Check www.sfindie.com at for more details
And hot on the heels of SXSW, we
have a couple big screenings as part of the New York Underground
Film Festival. Details to be released thru www.nyuff.com
Stay tuned around these parts for info on upcoming screenings or
email info@danielsonmovie.com to receive updates. And if you have
a venue in mind for the movie, do let us know.
Thanks everybody.
Life is subject to change.
10/10/05
frequently asked questions:
1. WHAT'S UP?
the movie is done and being sent to film festivals for a hopeful
premiere in early 2006. Keep checking back here for information
about that or email to be put on the email list. What's up with
you?
2. CAN I SEE OR GET THE MOVIE BEFORE IT PREMIERES?
no. press copies may be available once a premiere is confirmed.
Contact info for press requests will be posted on this site at that
time.
3. HOW CAN I SEE THE MOVIE IF I DONT LIVE NEAR A FILM FESTIVAL
OR ARTHOUSE THEATER (ASSUMING ANY OF THEM AROUND THE COUNTRY TAKE
THE FILM)?
that's a good question.
4. WELL, WHAT ABOUT A DVD?
check back here for information pertaining to a DVD release. Likely
won't happen until the end of 2006. I'm really, really, really sorry
about that. Trust me. I really am.
5. BUT...
no buts. Again, sorry.
6. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH DANIEL?
he just finished a new Danielson record called SHIPS which is amazing.
Best record of the first decade of the new millenium. Completes
his vision of a three-tiered Danielson. Should be out in stores
this Spring around the same time the movie is getting out there.
The story continues.
10/03/05
>Women of the Danielson Famile Present
>MAMMA MADE DESIGNS http://www.mammamadedesigns.com
>
>A women's design collective founded by sisters, Mamma Made proudly
launches its online retail store. Mammamadedesigns.com is now offering
a line of
>exquisitely-crafted, uniquely-styled clothes and accessories
for children.
>
>By combining creative design with the highest-quality materials
and
>craftsmanship, the four members of Mamma Made are producing
children's wear
>to play in, celebrate birthdays in, and pass on to the next
generation. They are reconceiving classic styles to develop a line
that includes clothes and accessories for girls and boys ages six
months to six years.
>
>"The idea for the business came from all of us being able
to create," says Megan Slaboda, a graduate of the Fashion Institute
of Technology. Mamma Made Designs is a project inspired by family:
Slaboda and her sister, Rachel Galloway, an accomplished pattern
maker, learned to sew from their mother.
>Their sister-in-law, Elin Smith, and the fourth member of the
collective, Melissa Palladino, both draw inspiration for their designs
from their own young children. It only makes sense, then, that the
business would be a family partnership.
09/29/05
the hand shake
i gave Daniel a DVD on August 23 when Danielson Famile (and Half-Handed
Cloud) opened up for Sufjan at the last of five sold out Bowery
Ballroom shows here in NYC. Today, we met to watch it together (much
less awkward than you or i would have thought) and after he saw
I'd made a few changes to correct for factual oversights (so many
facts to keep straight!) we shook on it. "DANIELSON: a FAMILY
Movie (or, Make A Joyful Noise Here)" runs 119 minutes and
runs the gamut. Williamsburg art parties, tent revivals, singing
trees, Norwegians, cheerleaders, child labor, European decadence,
families moving apart, families starting up, we've got it all.
Also in the past 5 weeks, Daniel showed the movie to the rest of
the Smiths to make sure there wasn't anything they would hate him
for allowing me to use. The fact is, though they've all been (usually)
incredibly supportive, none of them were actually asked if they
wanted their lives subjected to a movie camera. Hey, you gotta have
a bandleader to make the decisions or else nothing gets done. But
still, part of the past 4 years has been about the siblings asserting
their own needs and ambitions and getting on with their own lives.
It was the last chance for any of them to stand up and say, "I
never signed a waiver and i want to be edited out." Well, none
of them did. If anyone out there wants to make a documentary about
an "outsider" musical family, i can recommend one in South
Jersey. That said, you might want to consider going back to grad
school instead.
07/25/05
On tour with Sufjan Stevens & the Illinoisemakers in the
Northwest
Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Boise. Awesome. Everyone in the band
is a great travelling partner. You could backpack thru Mongolia
with any one of them and come away wanting yak butter. The audiences
were responsive, respectful and enthusiastic. It's all been so...strange.
I sold merch in Vancouver to give the talented and overworked tour
manager time to get dinner. Someone asked me, "so, what's he
really like? Is he a kind man?" I said, "Yes, he's a kind
man."
07/17/05
Just back from northeast tour with Br. Danielson & Woven
Hand
Boston, Providence, Hoboken, New York City, Philadelphia
Daniel and I both had breakthroughs this past week. He introduced
a long-planned yet previously un-performed stage persona as a door-to-door
salesman, bringing his homemade Great Comfort products to audiences
throughout the Northeast in tandem with both new and old songs.
I found the ending to my movie. I really didn't know what i was
getting into (or what i would get from) this peculiar subject when
first embraking on this project. But what i've seen is an uncompromising
artist who faced the challenge of having to re-invent himself, and
ultimately did so, only to discover that the realized identity was
more or less where he started from. Watching him pitch this odd
assortment of varyingly useful objects in his dark suit to a room
full of skeptics is witnessing someone combine his publc and private
self. For that to be entertaining, despite of -or due to- the inherent
awkwardness is an accomplihment in itself. I hope that the movie
viewer finds this as inspiring as I do. (wait, am i not supposed
to say that?)
And by the way, Woven Hand brought it. David Eugene Edwards takes
names.
05/01/05
WHAT I'M LISTENING TO:
1. Half-Handed Cloud (all Half-Handed Cloud but particularly the
"I'm so Sheepy EP)
2. Joanna Newsome (who isn't?)
3. Giuseppe Verdi
4. Nico Muhly
5. Arvo Part
6. Sufjan inviting me to Come on Feel the Illinoise (in stores
this summer)
7. the sounds of Spring
03/31/05
RANT
Ok so this may be a little off topic but lately I’ve been
noticing more than in the past (or perhaps it’s been bothering
me more than in the past) how often culture writers get it wrong.
First of all, I recognize that I’m not the first to make this
observation but this is my blog and the matter does pertain to this
whole Danielson experience in more ways than one. Early on in working
with Daniel, he remarked to me that he’s almost never read
an article about himself that didn’t get at least one fact
wrong. Music journalism —aside from that created for ‘major’
news organizations— requires no fact-checking and this fact
has somehow given writers an unwarranted license to assume. The
same can be said for reviewers of, let’s say for example,
documentary films. Of course, I’m not referring to the Danielson
film, which has yet to be seen, but a little preemptive concern
shouldn’t be regarded as overly paranoid when the subject
of the film is such a flippantly covered music group. (Daniel has
also pointed out to me how often writers make it a point of professing
their own agnosticism as a disclaimer lest the reader confuse the
writer with the crazies he’s covering. This has a minimizing
effect on the music: the reviewer is saying, “this thing is
different from my views and I think it’s different from your
views, too. Therefore it is not something that we can get any more
value from than a cat gets from a rawhide dog bone.”
Please don’t misunderstand me, reader. There are many writers
who have a profound respect for their own craft as well as that
of whomever they are writing about. But my criticism of the critics
extends beyond the online journal here, the flavor of the month
startup mag there. Highly regarded, internationally circulated news
outlets are equally guilty of these errors. And what errors might
I be speaking of, you ask? Well, aside from the cavalier regard
for fact, there are two things in particular that get me down. The
first is cynicism, cynicism, cynicism. What gives? Is the average
reader really so suspicious of advocacy and enthusiasm or are most
writers just too burnt out from deadlines and endless streams of
crapulence? Do editors suspect that the consuming public is bored
without reading a literary scoff? The issue at hand is that a writer
is hired to give an assessment of a work of art based on his or
her expertise. Obviously, too many hacks get past the gates without
much in the way of expertise, but more significantly, these people
are confusing what expertise they do possess with omnipotent brilliance.
(2nd peeve) They are unable to recognize the fact that just because
they do not GET something does not mean that others will not. Or,
more frighteningly, that because they do not LIKE something, others
will not. The critical voice on the printed or posted page carries
with it an air of authority, impressed upon the unskeptical reader
like a divine decree. We’ve all read unfavorable reviews of
music and films and found ourselves later in a conversation, repeating
what we’d read as though it were our own thoughts, having
internalized these opinions until we can’t recall if perhaps
we ourselves heard this music or saw this movie and dismissed it
based on our very own perceptions. I would say we have also all
read a review after having seen or heard that which the article
describes and found ourselves wondering if we’d seen or heard
the same thing.
A publication is supposed to behave like a trusted friend that
one can go to for objective advice on news, culture, and other matters.
But do we really know who our friends are?
What’s worse is that this sort of criticism infects the culture.
We fear ourselves inferior in intelligence if our opinions are not
like talons; sharp, swift and crushing. Really, of what benefit
is it to have such a strong, derisive opinion about everything?
Is it not better to have a fluid understanding of the arts and by
extension of humanity, knowing that all human endeavor is freighted
with complexity, deriving what we can from each experience and forgiving
the rest as irrelevant to our personal condition? I heard an interview
with director John Waters on the radio not long ago saying that
he doesn’t believe there is such a thing as a bad movie. To
him, he claimed, he never finds going to a movie a waste of time.
If he’s sitting in the darkened theater and finds the story
overly formulaic, the acting insincere, the writing uninspired,
he’ll turn his attention to the room lamps in the scene and
admire the decisions of someone to choose those particular lamps
for the scene.
Now, I’m not saying that many (maybe most) movies (or records
for that matter) are not banal and deserving of thoughtful yet dismissive
criticism, but I do appreciate Waters’ approach to viewing
and I think it can teach us all something about how we consume culture.
Nearly everything has an audience. It may not be you and it may
not be me but it’s probably someone not so different from
people we know. Furthermore, we need to consider our own ignorance
or and avoid assumptions.
Anyway, what I’m really talking about is Negligence in criticism
and her twin brother, Presumption.
The reason I haven’t used examples in this rant is that I
don’t want anyone to get hung up on thinking that I read a
review of Death Cab for Cutie and felt as though the reviewer spent
too much time writing about The O.C. as though that had something
to do with the actual music. In fact, I feel as though I’ve
said enough. I think everyone here knows what I’m talking
about. I think the bottom line is, see for yourself.
And another thing this whole experience has taught me: I’m
not a natural born blogger. Believe me, it’s not for lack
of Danielson news. It’s just that I want to show you things
instead of telling you. But to make up for long periods of silence,
here’s a list of things
that I’ve shot over the years that will not appear in the
final cut:
1. Daniel performing at a senior citizens center in Queens
2. Danielsonship (the all male knights version) performing at Cornerstone
festival in 2002
3. family mini-van breaks down again. This time in a field in Illinois
around 11pm.
4. making new uniforms
5. Sufjan with Dan’s siblings in the woods
6. Danielson plays a show with Polyphonic Spree. Hmmm.
7. All Tomorrow’s Parties – Los Angeles 2003
01/12/05
C'est ne pas un blog.
But my how flies time.
Update: It's been a year since i last updated
this journal, having put into practice the philosophy of not saying
anything at all in the absence of anything constructive to say.
Or maybe i've just been too busy. 2004 was productive to the point
of fleshing out the whole rough cut and waiting for some plot developments
to boil. (took a bit longer than expected.) Well, it's 2005 and
the soup's on. I've cleared my schedule from now until eternity
or whenever this movie get's finished. You know, whatever comes
first. I'm being aided by two capable and soulful editors —Pierre
and Karen— who are ironing out my kinks and even an associate
producer named Tunney who will be keeping this harpsichord in tune.
I know many are anxious to see this project on the big or small
screen and none more anxious than me and while I've been hesitant
(or premature) in the past to say when dinner will be served, it
seems fairly safe at this present juncture to announce summer 2005.
Meaning, it should be done in the spring and then premiere at festivals
in the summer. Regarding the question of distribution that many
have posed, the answer is idon't know. I have some ideas but this
movie has been made independently of anyone's judgement or expense
save me (and a few friendly boosters). This also accounts for some
of the delays. I'd like to get a DVD out as soon as possible but
that part won't be all up to me. Thanks to everyone who has been
emailing, by the by, for prodding me into posting this info. Your
continued interest keeps me motivated, gladdened, heartened and
maybe a little frightened.
While i'm in the webosphere, congratulations are in order to Megan
and Jed on their matrimony. Thanks for not making me shoot your
wedding.
01/28/04
It’s snowing.
Update: 96 per cent of shooting is shot. Editing
is in full effect. After speeding out 1.5 hours of rough cutting
before the new year, my suspicions were confirmed: the rough cut
will be between 4 and 5 hours before I can figure out how to whittle
it down to 2 hours. I’d like to make everything available
on DVD eventually. I’d also like people to enjoy sitting through
4 hours or so of Danielson movie but that’s easier liked than
seen. Once the rough cut is in place, my plan is to bring in the
specialists: editing, sound, etcetera. (If you are reading this,
live in the new york area and have a post-production specialty,
give me a call.) Sound might be trickiest. You know, you can get
away with more in the sound department when it’s a foreign
movie using subtitles. I can’t wait to see how this plays
in Osaka. But you’re probably wondering when the dang thing’s
gonna be finished. Well, the plan is to have it come out at the
same time as the next Danielson Famile record. Considering that
the Bro. Danielson record comes out first and Dan isn’t done
mixing that, we could be looking at Fall ’04. Not that I’m
waiting for him but it’s nice to have a deadline that is probably
further away than I even need. Ah, nothing like over-confidence.
New Danielson Famile, Bro. Danielson Albums, Documentary
Due in 2004
>
[Wednesday, November 5th, 2003 06:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]
Joshua Sharp reports:
According to Secretly Canadian's Jonathan Cargill, Danielson Famile
principal Daniel Smith is set to release an album entitled Brother
Is To Son under his Bro. Danielson moniker in March of 2004. A new
full-length by the Danielson Famile, as well as a twelve-inch release
on Burnt Toast Vinyl, are expected to follow. Meanwhile, Brooklyn-based
filmmaker JL Aronson has been hard at work on a Danielson Famile
documentary.
When performing as a collective, the Famile (generally composed
of Smith and his six siblings, ranging in age from their early teens
to their 20's) dress up as an assorted cast of doctors and nurses,
perhaps as an allusion to the predominant theme of healing featured
in their Christian beliefs. In addition to the buoyant and bizarre
parade of sound which has become the band's comprehensive calling
card, the group also delivers a notoriously wacky live performance.
When playing solo as Bro. Danielson, Smith favors the homemade guise
of a friendly tree, which bears assorted fruit of an assuredly delicious
nature.
Aronson commented recently on the evolution of the outlandish and
whimsical group, which began as Smith's senior thesis at Rutgers:
"Though many aspects are collaborative, the artistic expression
of Danielson goes back to Daniel. The first official Bro. Danielson
release is monumental in that, after five albums, it draws a clear
line between the different incarnations that have come before, and
the solitary expression that is Daniel on his own. I guess it is
rather complex at first: Dan sees the three incarnations of Danielson
as representing the three stations (my words, not his) of his artifice:
the relationship between the individual and the holy; the relationship
between the family unit as a holy structure (the famile) and the
relationship between friends which may or may not include family
(Danielsonship)."
Obviously he's put a lot of thought into this. "It was an odd
feeling. I didn't intend to be anyone's biggest fan, I just thought
they'd be a good subject for a movie," Aronson told Pitchfork.
"The dichotomy between spiritual firmament and secular enthusiasm
seemed rife with contradictions and, hence, potential drama. But
somewhere along this road I saw that Danielson was worth lots more
than all the hype could add up to."
"The Danielson Famile Movie, when it is accomplished (after
I find a way to get all my equipment and footage back from the pawnshop),
will be unlike any band movie ever seen before because it will be
as much about a family as about an artist," Aronson promises.
"And despite the above comments, it's not a love letter, either.
It is a collage of actions and reactions, intimacy and priorities,
passages and reminders, rock and roll."
According to Aronson, the film should be released around the same
time as the next Danielson Famile record in mid-2004. Finally, should
you live in Chicago or Los Angeles, you'll be able to get a quick
fix of the Famile at one of two dates scheduled this month:
11-06 Chicago, IL - Intuit Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
11-08 Long Beach, CA - The Queen Mary (All Tomorrow's Parties)
A project for Real Art Ways by Harrell Fletcher
with members of the Parkville Senior Center and students from
The Hartford Art School, Now It's a Party combines a gallery exhibition
with a series of temporary public art projects for or about aspects
of Parkville, Real Art Way's neighborhood in Hartford, CT.
The project is in seven parts:
Come Sit Down Beside Me, Friend
Salvaged couches from Parkville spliced together to make one big
couch and placed in a local park.
The Problem Of Possible Redemption
A video adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses shot at a the Parkville
Senior Center, with the seniors reading the lines from cue cards.
We Love To Tell The Story
An outdoor performance on Sunday May 11th at 3pm in Day Park at
the corner of Arbor and Orange Street that combines Bro Danielson
playing music in his tree costume and 100 members of various local
church choirs in their robes singing backup. Bro Danielson (Daniel
Smith of The Danielson Famile, www.danielsonfamile.com) will also
be performing at the exhibition opening on the night of May 10th.
And The Sun Shines For You Today
A free newspaper reporting "good things" that have recently happened
to people in the Parkville area.
Learning To Love You More Assignment 21: Make A Bust Of
Steve Learning to Love you More is a web-based participatory
project by Harrell Fletcher and Miranda July. The site offers "assignments"
that anyone in the world can "report" on. The results are then posted
on the web site (www.learningtoloveyoumore.com)
and as part of various exhibitions and screenings. Assignment 21:
Make A Bust Of Steve was designed specifically for Real Art Ways.
During a visit to Hartford for the Real Art Ways project, Fletcher
took a taxi and met Steve, a Greek taxi driver who discovered Fletcher
was an artist and then asked for a bust to made of him. He gave
Fletcher a picture of himself to put on the web site so that people
could sculpt him and have the busts displayed at Real Art Ways during
the exhibition.
Happiness Follows Us Like A Shadow
A portable artificial epiphany machine made from a large scale wagon
with four bright lights on extension poles, and speakers that play
a mix of multiple church choirs from Parkville singing a single
chord together. The machine is activated by a motion sensor and
will be sited in various Parkville locations at night, and stored
in the gallery during the day.
We Are Not Asleep
Free meditation classes will be offered at The Parkville Senior
Center on various dates during the run of the show. The public is
invited to join the seniors during these classes.
03/25/03
Excerpt from my email to the Famile:
Hello Friends-
This is your filmmaker.
Two years ago, I met your brother Daniel at Cooper Union (Land of
Misfit Toys night) and asked him if he'd ever thought about making
a movie version of the Danielson experience. (Well, I'm not exactly
sure what my wording was, but that was the gist.) He told me that
he hadn't, and that he liked the idea, and would I want to email
him about it? Well, I'd been in the New York business for a little
while and I knew a blow off when I smelled one. But this didn't
seem like one of those. I actually felt encouraged by that first
whimsical encounter. So encouraged, in fact, that I subsequently
kept after him through emails and attendance at all local Danielson
shows for the next 12 months. Some may call that stalking. I like
to think of it as targeted persistence.
Long story short, it was one year ago yesterday, that I first went
before you all with the ideas that Dan and I had been passing back
and forth up till then. As I looked at your pale, blank faces, I
remember thinking to myself, "They don't know what I'm talking about,
do they? I might as well be speaking Farsi." It was a sentiment
that would come to feel very familiar in the next 6 months after
that.
Anywho, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you all for
the immense patience, support, and general friendliness you've shown
towards me and the project. If nothing else, it's been a learning
experience for all of us. At this point, I'd like to update you
on the state of the movie. [remainder omitted for matters of candor]
02/02/03
Hung out with Dan all day in Clarksboro. The family basement, rec
room is now a fully operational sound studio with a sound booth,
a 16-channel board, a 3/4 machine from somebody at Electrical Audio,
and all the instruments and outboard gear Dan's acquired over the
years. Fortunately, the ping pong table's still there. I ran my
camera off while Dan went thru song ideas. He's got hours of 1 minute
ideas on microcassettes. In the evening we went back to his place,
ate dinner with Elin and Lilly, and watched "Salesman." They'd never
seen it, despite the fact that Dan's already decided to make his
next performance incarnation a door-to-door salesman of Great Comfort
Stuff.
11/4/02
I just looked it up. Exactly a year from the time that I first
met Dan at the "Land of Misfit Toys" show at Cooper Union
to the day we first started shooting. Hmmm, we might have met before
that thru Joe Gehr at the Knitting Factory? Not sure. But the Cooper
Union show was the first time we discussed a movie. Actually, I
brought a camera that night just to look at them through a lens
and see how it felt. Wonder where that tape might be. March 2001.
Some months later (June?) I went to see the nine fruit tree at Tonic.
Told Kramer that Dan and I had met and exchanged an email or two
but wasn't sure how enthusiastic the guy really was. To my consternation,
Kramer walked away and went over to Daniel while I stood nervously
asking Tess about school. After a minute, he came back, grabbed
his daughter's hand to go and said, "I'll see you at the premier."
- this movie exists/takes place in three spheres:
1) the secular world of indie rock and English music
festivals,
2) the christian world of church basement shows and Illinois evangelical
mega-fests,
3) home/family. In chinese it's the same word for those two concepts.
Jia. Home/family.
Will edit accordingly. Must try to keep this in mind whilst shooting,
too. Colours? Is it unethical to try and insert colors into a documentary
a la Kieslowski's White, Blue, and Red?
11/01/02 - Friday
Danielson Famile with Moldy Peaches at Irving Plaza
Why did this take up my whole day? I didn’t even really shoot since
Irving officially requires a $500 site fee and the super8 camera’s
batteries ran out after a minute. I’ll let Kimya Dawson have the
last word. Someone forwarded me this from her
website.
"when we got back to the club the danielson famile had arrived.
and they were sitting with their gear waiting to set up. i became
so uncontrollably happy when i saw them. i told toby that i didn't
want to approach them until i calmed down and he said it would be
good for them to see how psyched i was. so we walked up and introduced
ourselves. and we all watched them sound check. they are the real
deal.
so yeah, um. we took the merch out to the table. New double cds
for $5, t- shirts for $5, my solo cds for $5, and the moldy peaches
rough trade album for $10. and then doors open and the place wasn't
sold out but it was pretty much packed. i stood in the balcony to
watch the danielson famile. i love them so much. i was sort of surprised
they had agreed to play with us and then it occurred to me that
maybe they thought our filthy minded fans needed some healing. and
that made me glad. i agree. most people know we aren't really on
a big crack hunt. those who don't need help the "I'VE GOT THE CRACK!!!"
guys and the "YOU CAN STICK YOUR DICK IN ME!!!" guys. they do need
healing. f* it. We all need healing."
07-05-02
Post-Cornerstone reflections This was the moment when I wondered how far I had entangled
myself in a cinematic web of my own making. Fortunately, my traveling
companions for whom this place had served as an abridged, late adolescence
summer camp were just as apprehensive. Cornerstone is something
like a wooly turtleneck sweater that you don't want to put on after
you get out of the shower. Once you do, however, it's really not
so bad. But it's still stifling.
The drive from New Jersey was uneventful. There were no events
and sometimes no radio. Just vistas I only noticed on the way back.
The grand campsite Jesus People USA owns and uses to stage its
annual festival of music, creativity, nativity, camping and sweat
seems designed for the purpose: betwixt farm and farm, encompassing
lake and hillock, flat enough but not without contours that define
one region from another. The farm road used to access the site kicks
up a prone tornado of dust and the effect is not unlike being baptized
in ash for the purpose indoctrination. Upon emerging and passing
thru the roughshod gates, our Ford mini van joined a great lake
of similarly encrusted cars, most with finger-written slogans and
whispers of communication. "Don't wash me. There's no point." "Jake,
we'll be at the 6 Pence show."
Their passengers seemed to be enacting a land art production of
"Children of the Corn" meets "Jesus Christ Superstar," as performed
by the Burning Man players. Our vehicle, slithering thru their pathway,
became the audience. But it wasn't until we reached the giant merch
tent complex and got out of the car that I realized what Megan and
Rachel had meant by "constant uncomfortableness." Getting out of
the car felt like getting into a car at that the mall that's been
sitting in heat wave heat with the windows up while you've been
shopping for chinos at the Pants Pantry. Hot.
The first night, having hit what could be called a stride, we departed
the parties and steered the mini-van towards the official C-Stone
related hotel, about 30 miles east. (First time I think the band
didn’t camp and yea, I was glad.) Two things changed the mood as
we reached the gate to exit: first the car overheated, then we found
the gate closed. No, first we found the gate closed and then the
car overheated. Or maybe it didn't overheat. All I know is, after
an hour and a half of waiting for help, help not helping, staring
at the stars, and getting the gate open, we were able to drive it
only under 40 miles/hour, and only with the A/C off, to the hotel.
In the morning we brought it to a charismatic mechanic in town who
said he'd do his best. Or maybe he said he'd do our best. Which
wasn't very good. The fest had loaned us one of its vans but Dan
had to cancel the scheduled workshop/lecture/group prayer session
he'd been called to lead by his old pals at JPUSA. I think the cancellation
bothered me more than it did him. He was leaving preparation to
the last minute but the last minute consisted of little sleep and
car talk.
Anyway, Danielsonship played on the fourth. The schedule had listed
it as Brother Danielson (which Dan is spelling Bro. Danielson) and
people were probably at least half expecting the Famile (which most
people by now seem to realize is pronounced like "family") but what
they were getting was the all male revue. A rare treat that I'd
never seen before. The third arm of the triad that appears on the
Tri-Danielson set.
So, I'm travelling with a group of guys that dress in medieval-style
uniforms replete with purple velvet, faux-chainmail, and a crest
over the heart and I'm thinking, "I hope they don't think I'm weird
for refusing to wear shorts." In fact, the show was very together,
very rock. They rocked the tent. After the performance we went from
tent to tent and watched some of the other shows, usually from behind
the stage. Dan, Dave, Chris and Andrew maneuvered through the darkness
with the familiarity that only comes from attending this fest for
every one of the past 6 or 7 summers. Sufjan and I stumbled around
uncertainly, cutting through clusters of campers and teams of camping
tents. We watched the local fireworks between sets and felt glad
to be away from New York.
05/09/02 - Thursday
last nite was the last show of the Danielson tour. From the Knitting
Factory on April 5 and Woodbury NJ on April 6 to England, Germany,
France, the Netherlands, New England (from which I abstained), Baltimore,
DC and finally Hoboken. As I said to Daniel after the final show,
when I think about it, I remember that it’s an honor and a privilege.
"A travel-book is an account: it records the real. A travel-film
is an illusion: it reconstructs it." - Colin Thubron
4/29/02
flight back to NY
Things I forgot or mistakenly didn't think to bring on tour:
- wide angle adaptor
- enough tape (had to borrow a couple from the woman who is making
a doc about Mission of Burma. These days, the good thing about making
a band documentary is that if you run out of something you can always
ask another band's film crew for help.)
- more odwalla bars (man, those things are good)
- a coat
4/26/02
Amsterdam (the Disneyland for adults)
- Dave watching MTV in the hotel room: "Look at all the cymbals
that guy has on his drum set. I have no idea what different cymbals
sound like. I've always just played whatever was screwed onto my
drums." I ask him if he hasn't even thought to try out different
cymbals and things whilst in a drum shop. "I hate drum shops.
That's where all the drummers hang out."
- When Marian was in the convent, she re-designed their habit,
making it more hip, even tho the changes had to be approved by the
Vatican.
-Jon G. arrives and tells us that at one time during the ATP show,
a crowd had gathered around Lilly and Rosemary to watch them dance
along with the music. Dan says that if everyone had stopped watching
the band and started watching their kids, he would have considered
the show a success.
4/22/02
Somewhere on the autobahn (somewhere in central/northern Germany,
285km from Berlin)
Miracles: a spiral staircase in Arizona that defies physics, the
cathedral in Koln (Cologne) we saw last night, space for me in the
tour van. Things that occurred whilst I may or may not have had
the camera running:
- Rachel on Saturday morning lamenting that she was so tired after
the show that people must have thought she was on drugs. "What
kind of ministry is this?"
- Chris: "I didn't want people at work to know I was going
away to play music because, not only do they ask if the music sounds
anything like Dave Matthews, but I'd have to admit that I play the
organ. And there's really nothng cool about that."
- Dan on the phone to a radio station in Berlin, recording a promo:
"Hi, this is Daniel Smith with the Danielson Famile, we'll
be playing tonight at the MagnetClub so come check us out. Um, avida
sein."
click the images
for a larger version
4/18/02
fly to england, Friday night is ATP show before Blonde Redhead
and Breeders.When Shellac and Barry programmed, did they realized
they were putting on three sibling bands in a row?
Sunday-Cologne, Monday-Berlin, Tuesday-Hamburg, Wed-Muenster, Thurs-Amsterdam,
Fri-Paris, Saturday-ATP again (between Low and Rachels)
4/7/02
Things to bring on tour:
- Can opener/ swiss army knife
- dat recorder and tapes
- PD150 and PD 100, ACL 16mm, Bauer super8
- mic w/ extension cable
- converter to Euro voltage
- lights
- tripod and unipod
- waivers
- adapter to charge 16mm camera battery
- odwalla bars
- mic battery
- at least 20 hours of dv tape
- at least 250 feet super 8
- at least 1200 feet of 16mm
3/27/02
Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell don't like Lenny's lyrics but "Our
God Reigns" is Pope JP2's favorite contemporary song.
Lenny studied 7 years to be a priest. Marian was a nun for 5 years.
Maybe every member of the family should take turns narrating?
3/22/01
First shoot.
Practice before dinner. Before Lenny can say grace, David and Andrew
start talking about how all the best people were left handed: Einstein,
Jimi Hendrix. I suggest that Jesus was ambidextrous. "No,"
they say, "He was definitely a lefty."
Lenny tells me, "We had so many kids because we love that
baby smell when they get around 10 months old. Then their smells
changes to something else so we'd decide to have another so we could
smell that new baby smell again."
After dinner we go out bowling and then to Hollywood Diner, typical
Jesey spot, but with greater (tacky) investment. Statuary of Elvis,
Marilyn Monroe. 1950s chevy that looks fake. While we wait for a
table in the no smoking section, some dude says to me, "Are
you folks travelling?" I'm standing there with 8 people from
the next town over. Uncertain why he's asking I say, "No, we
just came from bowling." "Oh," he says, "You
look like you're travelling."
