Monday, May 2, 2011

#244: Saltlands Sessions

Saltlands Studio, DUMBO, Brooklyn

Down in the mines where the sun doesn't shine . . . It's eleven hours into a recording session with Balthrop, Alabama deep down in a DUMBO basement bunker and while we haven't seen the sun all day, here in Saltlands it's warm and cozy. Pizza boxes, wine glasses, Hammond organs, and shouts and hollers. The energy here is high and the music so good it makes me long for superlatives not even invented yet. I asked Michael Arthur, our resident artist, to sketch today's number. His creations are fluid and magical and generally I'm too busy stomping on stage squeezing my squeezebox to be able to see the drawings projected on stage behind us, so I consider this a gift.

You can check out more of Michael's drawings at his blog, Just Drawn That Way, a trove of drawings and reflections both in New York and on the road. His work is improvisational and a direct response to the live music and performances he witnesses. In a couple months, I'll have the soundtrack to this number, but for now -- enjoy. Time to break out the bourbon. See you on the other side.

4 comments:

Mark Greene said...

A great drawing.... I like the languid quality of the figure. Especially the arms. I'm looking forward to the music.

Therese Cox said...

Hi Mark - Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. The drawing does have a languid feel to it - maybe that's what ten hours of recording in a basement will do to a person.

I've also had a chance to check out your illustrations on your site. I love your drawings! You capture that strange quality I seek out in photographs, of places and forgotten objects having a personality all their own.

Check out Mark's site, all y'all.

Pierre said...

Reminds me of "Glove" in Yellow Submarine.

Therese Cox said...

Pierre - Indeed! Look out for the Blue Meanies.