A TigerRAWknRoll Summer 2017: Audiofeed, a Post Fest Show, Aurora's World Record Headbang & Fireworks

https://youtu.be/rX4KZ0bUBsg
This year, my RAWknRoll summer project covers only one week. We had one festival - Audiofeed - this year. It was followed up by a house show at JPUSA featuring a number of bands that I missed during the festival this year. On the 4th of July, we went to Aurora to see the world record headbang set to "Bohemian Rhapsody" as part of the 25th anniversary of Wayne's World then the fireworks afterwards.

This was a year of experimentation for me with the camera. It was the most extensive use of my new Canon Rebel T6. There are times that the footage is shaky or badly focused. I am still trying to figure out the use of the wide angle lens as it continues to have a hazy or fuzzy effect on the video when I zoom in. I was pleased with the audio quality overall. The tripod I purchased right before Audiofeed also was very sturdy which was helpful for the long sets that I filmed. While I still have yet to figure out how to work around the "12 minute limit" I made things work for the longer clips by stopping and restarting the recordings during down times in the sets.

I've been working on the editing of this footage throughout parts of September, October, and November 2017. I had hoped to have all the band footage uploaded before the vacation Elphie and I had planned for the first weeks of October but I fell short by one video. That video was the full set of Flatfoot 56. It was finished in October and uploaded. I used some of Elphie's footage and had a little fun with layering. Other full sets I captured at Audiofeed this year were Spirit and the Bride and Boy Band. I am working on organizing the footage for DvDs (which are available as always for donation in that format).

I waited until I had that done to upload the footage from JPUSA's (Clint) Eastwood post fest house show. That footage was all shot in the iPhone 6 due to limited space on my Canon Rebel T6.

All the band footage including from the (Clint) Eastwood House Show have been uploaded to youtube and linked on the TigerRAWk facebook page. It can all be found in the Audiofeed 2017 playlist also. It is organized in order of performance:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpNVs11FrAHBdqx8urvy0moS

I also created a playlist for a TigerRAWknRoll Summer 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpPQwgDgfXWZk4h78c1g9g59

In November, I began to organize the rest of the footage I captured during Audiofeed and the days afterwards at the house show and in Aurora to finish the project. My goal was to have it all completed and uploaded before tickets go on sale during Thanksgiving weekend for Audiofeed 2018. It appears this time, I accomplished the goal.


https://youtu.be/Y6rAGAANg3k

The first part of the project includes footage from 06.28.2017 and 06.29.2017 of the packing process and the drive to Audiofeed. I wanted to use something recently purchased for the soundtrack so I went through my collection a bit and found "Off The Rails" by The Fast Feeling. It seems to fit well so I used it for the intro soundtrack as well as with the footage of the packing driving, and arrival at Audiofeed and the Lincoln Lodge hotel. I decided to keep the title simple this time around. The first part also includes clips of live footage from Harry Gore ( #HarryGore ), Insomniac Folklore, and Rabbi Rock. These were all part of the Asylum's holiday celebration. Simon from Rabbi Rock also gave a message on this night which I included a clip of it in the project. There was quite the rainstorm that came in as the evening began. I got footage of the sky afterwards. We hung out for a bit with folks in Mama Linda's Road Dog Cafe hospitality area, watching the lightning and the fight against the bugs by the hospitality staff before going to the hotel to get some sleep.


https://youtu.be/UYYO1wtsu0c
The next part of the project was filmed on 06.30.2017. I drove back to Audiofeed from the hotel. I got some coffee then went to see Anti-World System to get the day started. From there I caught parts of sets by Kevin Schlereth, Parental Petulance, Bird and Herd, and Desiring Dead Flesh. I took a break from the music to listen to Tobin Bawinkel speak on being creative before seeing KeYoung, Insomniac Folklore, Destroy Nate Allen, and Brother Red Squirrel. Elphie arrived at this point and I made us some steaks on the grill. We also hung out a bit with Guy and returned his pants then hung out with Nate Allen for a bit and gave him a PacMan hat which he seemed to love. The evening started with some sets at the Asylum featuring Until We Have Faces and Leper. I ran to the Sanctuary to see Broken Flesh then to Radon to catch a bit of Derek Webb. The rest of the evening I alternated between Sanctuary and Black Sheep for Bub Walker and the TombsTones, My Epic, Grave Robber and Impending Doom. We hung out a bit near the food court with friends and encountered a guy who was intensely working out spurring me to include "Macho Man" by Village People in this part of the soundtrack.


https://youtu.be/eubFKzLuB2s
The third part of the project, filmed on 07.01.17 starts out with getting some breakfast and coffee after I drove from the hotel back to Audiofeed before catching Heartside Hooligans then the full set from Spirit and the Bride. It was the first time seeing these guys since they put out their new record. Next up were October Bird of Death, Exegesis, and a storyteller type stripped down set from Death Therapy. While getting video of this, Elphie decided to take a picture of me and make a post to the Audiofeed event page on facebook which resulted in "boob grabs" throughout the day. Bird and Herd played next followed by Once Were Serpents, the debut of Good Saint Nathanael, and the new Insomniac Folklore set. All of these were at the Asylum and I had some dinner cooking on a grill nearby so we ate it during this time. We hung out at the food court a bit later then watched Living Sacrifice where we also saw the Larsen's skanking. Il Neige played at the Asylum and Vanessa announced a desire to try to raise some funds for mama Linda to purchase a new trailer. After this, I caught David Bazan, and John Mark McMillan at the Arkansas Stage with Grave Robber at Black Sheep in between. After the shows came one last "boob grab" by Sean then hanging out at the Asylum for a while. Cindy had arrived so I spent the night in my tent on the festival grounds.


https://youtu.be/SzxpGiMODAg
The fourth part of the project is the last day of Audiofeed on 07.02.17. This was my only morning waking up in a tent... it was quite hot. I got myself some water to drink then took a shower and had some coffee before venturing out to see some bands. The day started with The Festal Shout, then a Front Porch performance of Desiring Dead Flesh. I caught Natures next then The Blamed acoustic set at the Kids Zone. Next I saw F.B.S. then hung with some friends in the hospitality area before going to watch Knotts and Death Therapy. I got a clip in the merch area of a dunk tank before catching another Insomniac Folklore set and Hushpad. After some more food court hangs I took some photos Elphie got of Josh and Stasia and added "My Bike" by Ghoti Hook as a soundtrack. I made some purchases at the merch area before watching William Ashton Knight play at the Asylum. I got some footage of the sky prior to the White Collar Sideshow set and nearby fireworks during the set. Afterwards, I went to the Asylum to see the start of the Leper acoustic set then went to the Black Sheep for the Flatfoot 56 Arcade Rampage set. Tobin came out before things got going to remind folks to donate to help mama Linda get a new trailer and then all the video game oriented fun began including special appearances by Nate and Tessa Allen. After the set was over, Josh played bagpipes to lead the crowd to the special Boy Band set late that night at the Asylum. Afterwards, while I packed up camp, Elphie had late night hangs and laughs with Marnee and Ramona.


https://youtu.be/C6uBtPHUifE
The fifth part of the project is the after Audiofeed drive back to Chicago on 07.03.17. I decided at this point to include the song "The Absence on the Homestretch" by Seaside Holiday over the drive and put the credits in here too. Then, I added the remainder of the project footage starting with the drive to JPUSA's (Clint) Eastwood House for the Post Fest show, passing Insomniac Folklore on Lake Shore Drive. I included clips from each band that played: Gaffer Project, Death Breaker, Norelle K, Every Day, Tigerwine, Insomniac Folklore, Comrades, and Fomerly Bodies. When we left we found that a local uptown taxi driver parked on top of my rear bumper...how nice.

https://youtu.be/Dj5n4sn_0DU
The sixth and final part of the project was filmed on 07.04.17. It was the first part I edited once I finished the LIVE performance footage in early November. It is the footage from our visit to Aurora's Riveredge Park for the Wayne's World celebration and world record head bang to "Bohemian Rhapsody." I also included the performance of "Stairway To Heaven" with the footage leading up to the world record attempt. We originally considered participating but instead we just documented the event. Again, I had footage from Elphie so I played around a bit with layering...I did the same thing with the fireworks. After we returned home, we decided to shoot off some of our own along with the rest of the neighborhood. They weren't kidding when it was told to us that it is like a war zone in our neighborhood during the fourth of July.

All footage filmed using an iPhone 6 and Canon Rebel T6 by Elphie and Joel A. Swanson. All editing was done using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson

LaLaJPUSA 2017

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpNB4LV-Tzvt2uVA59JmnBWN

LaLaJPUSA was a communal music and art festival held for the first time this year at JPUSA in Uptown Chicago over the Labor Day weekend. I attended on Saturday September 2nd, 2017 to see the bands. I was a little late due in part to public transit so I missed Bird and Herd unfortunately so when I created an intro video, I decided to go to Stasia's bandcamp page to find some music to use. I also used the song in the video where the art exhibition was displayed that I put in the playlist in place of a dinner break. I decided to utilize my Canon Rebel T6 for the third time on this day. I did not use a tripod so there are points where the video footage is a bit shaky.

I used the show flyer and the posted schedule as an intro for each band instead of using text in the "music video" formatting style. This also is how the DvD version is opened up and used as a menu. This was the first time seeing and in some cases even hearing about a number of the bands on the lineup for this event. My plan was to film a song from every band and I decided that I would get the full set performed by Leper.

The artists performed in the JPUSA sideyard in the basketball court throughout the afternoon until the dinner break. Those bands were Bird and Herd (which I missed), Discoverer, Qajaq, NAAL, Christian Welch, Katamalinga, Endolphins, The Ghost Servant, and Families.

After dinner, Parental Petulance kicked off the evening in the sideyard. They would be the last outdoor set due to some unforecasted rain that arrived when Leper was scheduled to start. Folks who had a hand in making this event happen as well as others who were just there worked together to rearrange to make the rest of the evening work while Teel Short finished his set in the Garden Room. It was decided to have The Psalmist play next in the Garden Room as folks set up the dining room (which is currently being renovated) so that some of the bands could play in there. Christina Sawyer played in the Garden Room as this was going on as well.

Leper played the first set of the night in the Dining Room. This was the set that I filmed in its entirety other than a few quick stops due to that dang "12 minute limit" I still have yet to figure a bypass for. The set was a shorter one to fit with the rest of the days event. The songs that were played were Beneath The Sun, Gathering Darkness, and Take What You Want From Me. I put the Leper set last in the playlist because I included in the video file my "credits" clip so I figured it made sense to close the playlist with that.

After Leper, MC Foucault did some hip hop in the Garden Room then Jazz Robots played the Dining Room. Aracely played the Garden Room next followed by Sam Arias in the Dining Room. The night was closed out by the Brittany Briggs Band.

LaLaJPUSA was a cool event. Brien Cron, Charity Taylor, and Justin and Meghan Filizola put it together and seemed to roll with the punches as needed to pull it off. Other folks seemed to enjoy it and gave positive feedback. So thank you guys for putting on a good day of music as well as the rest of the event!

Filmed during LaLaJPUSA 2017 at JPUSA in Uptown Chicago, Illinois on Saturday September 2nd, 2017 using a Canon Rebel T6. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

Filmed and edited by Joel A. Swanson

aTigerRAWkFilm.blogspot.com

Wilson Abbey Punk Show (12.09.16)

https://youtu.be/ZHAefic7T5E

This Wilson Abbey show, featuring 2Minute Minor, The Festal Shout, FBS, and October Bird Of Death, was the first show where I attempted to use my newly acquired Canon Rebel T6. I had also purchased a tripod to  help hold the camera steady. I learned a couple things. First thing was that the tripod was not strong enough to handle the camera, even though the box indicated that it could handle the weight. The other thing I learned was that the Canon Rebel T6 has a feature where it stops recording at about 12 minutes. I brought along the old JVC HDD Everio which I was replacing because the view finder was no longer functional when flipped out the normal way. Elphie ended up manning that camera the rest of the night once I found out about the "12 minute limit" but I had just hoped to have different angles to use when editing.

While it was filmed in December, I was very frustrated by these technical difficulties and I may have somewhat subliminally put it on the back burner. I also had gotten quite behind in the editing of video footage due to various reasons so here it is, the middle of September 2017 and I am now finally finished working on all the video footage from the year 2016.

Another thing I learned is that the technical difficulties of the JVC HDD Everio camera also affected moving the footage from the camera to the computer for editing. The very same part that is damaged that screwed up using the viewfinder also screwed up the "laser touch operation" which is necessary for the operation of transferring the video from the camera to the computer. Somehow, getting this footage (as well footage for other projects) worked out on my work computer so I have been able to finish off these projects finally.

So now on to blog about the actual show!

This show was part of the (semi)annual Christmas Toy Drive tour that FBS has been doing. This show didn't end up having a Christmas Toy Drive for some reason but it was a fun show. I always enjoy seeing the guys in FBS and The Festal Shout as well as the other folks who will come out for one of these shows.


https://youtu.be/yxSHMr-7tvg
Setlist:
1. Change My Life
2. One Step At A Time
3. Stand Firm
4. It’s A Disease
5. Prime!
6. What's The Use!?!
7. Follow Your Own Path
8. Unwritten War
9. Smash The Discos
10. We’ve Had Enough
11. We Will Prevail
12. Goon Crew

2Minute Minor opened the night. It was their second show ever! They had a camera crew out to get decent pictures and video for promotion.


https://youtu.be/G_rW7dtSX4o
Setlist
1. If The Kids Are United
2. Power In The Blood
3. Incredible
4. Victory
5. Pounding Waves
6. Rot-N-Rock-N-Roll

The Festal Shout was next. they opened with a Sham 69 cover then closed with a cover of The Last Hope which was Justun's former band. The Festal Shout was an idea Justun had to do a form of worship music that he could enjoy. The rest of the songs in the set were those songs that came from that idea. the guys from FBS joined Justun to be his band.


https://youtu.be/VENYwb4G1to
Setlist
1. Faster Than Before
2. Black Leather Jacket
3. Hammerfist RocknRoll
4. You Can’t Hide
5. Consumed
6. All I Wanna Do Is RocknRoll
7. In Your Blood
8. Out Of Control
9. Ace Of Spades

FBS followed naturally since the band members and equipment with The Festal Shout. It was a fast, loud set like they've been doing for years with a couple of Motorhead covers.


https://youtu.be/h1CWss0tmRY
Setlist
1. This Is Our Lives
2. Goons
3. Uproar
4. Fire In Those Eyes
5. Shed The Grave
6. Art Deco Skull Fracture
7. Shadows Like Teeth
8. Hell To Pay
9. Sid Closing & Prayer

October Bird Of Death closed out the night. Wiley Willis had issues with an ulcer and while playing "Hell To Pay" he had to leave the stage to deal with that. Sid closed out the night leading a prayer for Wiley.


https://youtu.be/6grMuMFfG24
Elphie ran around with the JVC HDD Everio running after the show was over. She got a bit of silly footage of hanging out and shenanigans before we left for the night.

Filmed LIVE at Wilson Abbey in Uptown Chicago, Illinois on Friday, December 9th, 2016 using a Canon Rebel T6 and JVC HDD Everio by Elphie and Joel A. Swanson. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson.
aTigerRAWkFilm.blogspot.com

A TigerRAWk Film Equipment Update (2016)

https://youtu.be/jwvdpvc3pnI

I think it was late in 2010 or early 2011 that I made my last camera purchase. At that time I acquired a JVC HDD Everio and you can see my thoughts if at that time if you're so inclined here. In the time I had that camera, I ran into issues of the camera shutting off in loud environments. The error message (that I can't quite recall the exact words) led me to believe that a built in "drop protection" was triggered by the vibrations of the loud music. When most of what you film is LIVE concert footage, this feature can come to be a disservice to what you are doing. At the time though, I spent my money on the camera so I would have to just deal with it. Sometime that spring, the camera was stolen during a basement show at the house I where I lived...I ended up replacing it. I lost whatever show footage that I had between the end of 2010 and first half of 2011 to whoever stole that camera. I don't know if this was a problem across the board with the JVC HDD Everio but I learned, after filling the hard drive at Cornerstone 2011, that there seemed to be bad spots on the drive which made it difficult to move some of the footage to my computer for the purpose of editing. I persisted in using this camera for the next five years in spite of these technical difficulties, again because I made the purchase. I don't have a lot of expendable income to buy things then not use them so I tried to make the best of it but all these things would frustrate me.

During Take Hold Fest 2016, which was the most recent video project that I was able to complete, the view screen stopped working. This of course made things difficult to film but I would learn just recently, it also made it almost impossible to get footage off that camera due to the "laser touch operation" buttons. I wish this wasn't the case because I would like to still use that camera as a secondary option on occasion. Perhaps I will look into the fixes I found online recently.

Anyway, with the issues explained above all piling up, I decided that it was time to look for a new camera. For some years, some of my camera enthusiast friends would insist that I should get a DSLR camera. The reasoning was picture quality and that they all pretty much do video these days. I started taking this advice into my search this time around. I asked some of my professional friends as well. It seemed that Canon was a brand that was well respected. As I looked for what would seem to fit my needs for this hobby, I was realizing this would likely be an expensive purchase. I talked to my wife about the possibility of using Christmas present money to cover some of the cost since we do buy each other stuff...from there a discussion was also had with my mother to maybe chip some money in as well. This all was in discussion as Thanksgiving came up on the calendar. We usually travel to Pennsylvania for the holiday but Black Friday shopping isn't our usual thing to do. Nonetheless, we ended up in the local Warren, PA Walmart where one of the big deals of the day happened to be the Canon Rebel T6 DSLR camera with bag, memory card and 2 lenses included. The price was lower than usual. I messaged a few of those whose brains I had been picking...ultimately, we made the purchase.

In this video, I demonstrated the difference in video quality between the Canon Rebel T6 and the JVC HDD Everio. Also included is a live clip from a Wilson Abbey show featuring 2Minute Minor as I put this new camera in action along with the old camera, again to show any differences in video quality.

I decided to purchase a few things that I thought would be helpful for making the best possible video projects that I could. One purchase was a microphone. There is no micophone input on this camera but I thought maybe the "hot shoe" would make it work. I searched for microphones that were listed as compatible. The one I purchased came with a cord and was not compatible so I had to return it. I also purchased some memory cards, a wide angle lens and a few cleaning items that came in a bundle with a flimsy tripod. I purchased a more sturdy tripod from Target the night before going to a show. On the night of the Wilson Abbey show (12.09.2016) where the footage used in the demonstration was captured, I learned a few things about the Canon Rebel T6. First, when built out with the lenses, it is heavy...too heavy in fact for the tripod I purchased at Target. The camera did fall to the ground but seems to still be in working order. I was able to use it the rest of the night. The lenses did not break. I am thankful for that. I also learned about what is apparently known as the "12 minute limit" which I hoped to figure out how to override. It seems I need to learn some coding and download something called "Magic Lantern" from what I am told. At this point I am apprehensive about doing this having no experience doing this of this nature before.

The first project using the Canon Rebel T6 will hopefully be finished up in the next week then I hope to move into 2017 footage...mostly working backwards through the "festival" footage I have waiting to be edited, processed, and uploaded. I hope an improvement will be seen in my ability to use the Canon Rebel T6 over the course of my usage of it so far. In writing this, I think I will look to see if any microphone might be available that can be used with this camera again. I also welcome anyone with any skills at using "Magic Lantern" (or anything else that could work) to break me free of the "12 minute limit" and improve my filming skills. I have purchased a much sturdier tripod that has been helpful.

The plan moving forward was to hopefully continue to use the JVC HDD Everio but as I learned (and documented above) that is likely not going to happen until I make repairs. Also, the plan was to move forward with the Sony HD Bloggie that's taken a beating over the years but I still was able to use occasionally. Unfortunately, during the return trip from Audiofeed 2017 (to be edited and posted eventually), I believe the Sony HD Bloggie was mistakenly dropped in a parking lot and lost forever...maybe even run over. So, moving forward, I still do have my iPhone 6 that will be utilized.

Soundtrack includes “Information Architect” by Norway³ and “Follow Your Own Path” (LIVE) by 2Minute Minor.

Footage filmed using an iPhone 6, JVC HDD Everio, and Canon Rebel T6 & edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson

Take Hold Fest 2016

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpPW9qWC9eRlbGfvCA-mWuB9

Take Hold Fest 2016 occurred at Take Hold in Grand Rapids, Michigan from November 11th-13th, 2016. My wife, Elphie and I drove up Friday afternoon. We got a hotel...I decided to try to surprise her by getting a hotel with a hot tub in the room. In the summer, I had tried the same thing with a planned anniversary trip to Hell, Michigan which had to be cancelled due to car trouble. After checking in at the hotel, we left for the remaining bands of Friday night and to hang out with friends. The bands I filmed were:

Withered Bones, New Heart, Of Virtue, Kevin Schlereth, Dwell, Infinite Me, Many Rooms, Heartsick, and Strengthen What Remains.

We returned to the hotel and tried out the hot tub. It took awhile but we finally had a tub full of water...but then we found out that the jets did not work (or at least we could not figure out the trick to make them work). It was late so when we checked out in the morning, that's when we informed the staff. It was slightly disappointing as you see in the video clip.

Saturday morning we returned to Take Hold for the rest of the fest. The bands I filmed were:

Desiring Dead Flesh, Anti-World System, The Festal Shout, Dad Jokes, F.B.S., October Bird of Death, and The Blamed. I filmed the full set of The Blamed.

Dinner break, we left for Plainfield, Michigan to attempt to get the special venison sandwich from Arby's. We found out that they sold out in the first hour that they were opened. We were given complimentary roast beef sandwiches but once again we were slightly disappointed.

The bands I filmed in the evening were:

The Satire, In Exile, Bitter Truth, Families, To Live As Sons, Beards, Tigerwine, Household, Exegesis, Leper, The Skies Revolt, Keyoung, and Comrades.

Shane Cox spoke for a moment to close out the night and we hung out for a while before leaving for home due to a morning appointment we had scheduled for our cat.

During the Families set, I encountered technical difficulties. The screen to my camera was not working unless I had it flipped entirely around and pushed against the camera. It may have effected my footage somewhat in that I had to hold the camera in such a way to look at it with the screen against the side to see what I was filming.

It definitely made getting the footage off the camera more difficult (check out the previous blog for details on that) but I finally got it done. That is why I just finished this project this week.

I used the song "Raised In Glory" for The Soil and The Sun as an additional soundtrack for some of this footage since that band is from Michigan and would be coming to an end around the same time.

Filmed using an iPhone 6 and JVC HDD Everio. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson

aTigerRAWkFilm.blogspot.com

JVC HDD Everio GZ-HD500BU Camera: Technical Difficulties...Help?!

In the fall of 2016, while at Take Hold Fest in Grand Rapids I was filming using my JVC HDD Everio GZ-HD500BU as I pretty much always have done for festivals up to that point since 2010. During the evening of Saturday, the flip out LCD display screen stopped working while out at the usual 90 degree angle. I ended up figuring out that if I flipped it and folded it back in so its back was against the camera, I could see what I was filming at least, though the angle was weird. I decided this was the last straw for this camera. I have had issues of files seemingly being damaged, making them difficult to move to my mac for editing...sometimes being impossible to move in their entirety. Now if the display wasn't working properly, it felt like a good time to move on to a new camera.

I did acquire a new camera...but still had work to do on the old footage from this camera. That is what I have most recently been working through.

Last night, since I had cleared some hard drive space, I decided I would move the footage from the camera shot during Take Hold Fest as well as another show...but I have now run into a new problem. Apparently the same issue that plagues my screen also plagues the "laser touch operation" which is necessary to select the option to upload files from the camera.

Any searches I have done through Google has shown that it is likely I will need to disassemble the camera and either repair or acquire new "flex cable" or worst case scenario, acquire an adapter to access the files on the hard drive from the camera. Replacing or repairing the "flex cable" appears to be the cheapest solution since I don't plan to use this camera anymore.

Basically, I would like to get these last video files of Take Hold Fest and another show off of this camera so I can retire it and move on from both this camera and video footage from the year 2016.

I need help.

Do I know anyone out there that knows anything about this kind of stuff?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

A Shared Life: A Pacific Northwest Vacation (September 21st - 29th, 2016)

https://youtu.be/uvPQLZoMwLE

On September 21st, 2016, Elphie and I flew out of Midway in Chicago to SeaTac in the Seattle, Washington area for a vacation to visit with Elphie's friend Debbie, who put us up while we were there.

On Thursday, September 22nd, 2016, we drove down to Portland, Oregon stopping by Voodoo Doughnut then continuing a bit further to Lake Oswego to see my old youth pastor and friend, Keith Ritter. We had lunch and conversation at Fuddruckers (which prompted "Idiocracy" quotes) before returning to Portland to meet up with Pip, Laura, and later Jason. We checked a few places out and walked around the Hawthorne area of Portland before meeting up with Jason for dinner.

Friday night, September 23rd, 2016 we went to the Capitol Hill area of Seattle where we met up with Debbie's friend and Josh Robieson for Pho and a show at Highline for their goth night called Mechanishmus. The Dead Room, Die Sektor, and AngelSpit played this show.


https://youtu.be/146jA0Z-qmI


https://youtu.be/bXIKXvrXixQ


https://youtu.be/NrMD7Y97s9E

After the show, we went to a goth club called Mercury for a while before grabbing some pizza and passing a Jimi Hendricks statue on the way back to the car.

The next day, Saturday, September 24th, 2016, we spent some time at the Pike Place Market where we saw the original Starbucks location. We got some ice cream and cup cakes up the street from there before returning to the market where we saw a fish toss and then the gum wall. There was a garden on top of the building where one could write in chalk on a pig. Elphie creatively left Debbie's name on the pig. I found a Ms. Pacman game and played a bit of that in an oddities store. We checked out the scenery outside before driving to the park near where Kurt Cobain's home was located and saw the park bench that serves as a memorial to him. After that, we went in search of dinner, stopping in a soda store. At Taylor's Oyster Bar, Debbie and Elphie enjoyed a platter of oysters then we went to a Starbucks roastery that had a pizza joint inside for dinner. We also stopped at a chocolate restaurant before the night was over.

Sunday September 25th, 2016 was spent in Canada. We crossed the border then went to Vancouver, British Columbia where we had Ramen for lunch. Debbie met some dogs in a window as well. After lunch, we stopped at various shops in Vancouver: Deadly Couture, Venus & Mars, and Salmagundi West. We also saw the Gastown Steam Clock then went to the Granville Island Public Market for a bit before returning to Seattle. On the return trip we had a great view of Mount Baker. We also stopped at a Golden Corral on the trip back to Seattle.

Monday September 26th, 2016, we went to the Crab Pot for dinner then hung around the waterfront area for a bit. We drove to the Space Needle before the night was over.

Tuesday September 27th, 2016, Elphie and I enjoyed the leftovers from Crab Pot. That evening, we visited some halloween shops and got dinner at a nearby mall's food court. We also got some Coldstone ice cream.

Wednesday September 28th, 2016, Elphie and I loaded up for a public transit trip to SeaTac Airport to return home to Chicago. I got a lot of footage of the scenery from the window seat that Elphie graciously allowed me to have after she got up to use the restroom. Back home, Stein greeted us excitedly.

This was a fun trip. We packed a lot into the time and I am glad we got to do this. Perhaps another chance will come in the future.

Additional soundtrack includes “Flying” by Grammatrain, “Borthwick & Failing” by Destroy Nate Allen, “The Exit” by Nyves, “Come As You Are” by Nirvana, “Oh, Canada” by Five Iron Frenzy, “Silence” by Delerium, “It Seems So Far Away” by Ninety Pound Wuss, & “Quit Your Life” by MxPx.

Filmed using a Sony HD Bloggie & iPhone 6 by Elphie & Joel A. Swanson. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson

A Shared Life: Summer in Chicago 2016 (July 8th - September 20th)

https://youtu.be/VivAgjyZg1Y

This project highlights the time between the 4th of July fireworks after our return from Audiofeed Music Festival and our trip to the Pacific Northwest which ended the summer. Also there is footage throughout of Frank and Stein.

The week following Audiofeed, we went to a few shows. First was in Aurora at Rivers Edge Park on July 7th for the Hollywood Vampires featuring Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Joe Perry (of Aerosmith). The set was a tribute to many dead artists (including some former "Hollywood Vampires") with cover songs but I captured an original called "My Dead Drunk Friends." We got to hang out with Andreas and Amanda Larsen at this show. Afterwards, we got pizza at Doughballs.

https://youtu.be/I6OCiVS3qh4

Friday July 8th, there was a Catacombs show at Wilson Abbey featuring Exegesis, Leper, and Deborah. The show had an international feel to it with Exegesis coming from Colombia (though they currently live at JPUSA) and Deborah coming from Mexico to join Chicago based Leper.

https://youtu.be/wn3_pJnwdxU

https://youtu.be/O8buoZmul60

https://youtu.be/mFmfe48YF7k

https://youtu.be/Xfi0Ns_gFLI

On Saturday July 9th, we went to Uncommon Ground to see The Castros. We inadvertently went to the wrong one so had to get up and leave embarrassingly in the middle of someone's set to get to the right place. It was good to see The Castros and hang out for a bit. They had someone run into their rental vehicle so they had to deal with that before the set then afterwards had to go to the police station to file a report.

https://youtu.be/6Ie9NVzohVE

A blog on the shows contained above is available here for more information.

July 10th, some of the folks from Tattoo Church decided to get together at Main Event for Laser Tag, the Gravity Course, and Blacklight bowling. Good times.

On July 14th, while preparing for a trip back to Pennsylvania, I captured some footage of lightning bugs in our yard. The next day I drove the whole trip to Pennsylvania after work into Saturday morning and catching the sunrise to take care of car registration and some other details. After doing that, I checked out some damage done by a tornado. My parents had a morning dove nesting in their flowers so there is a shot of that as well. On Sunday, July 17th, I made my return to Chicago, passing some CTA busses in Ohio for some reason. I got some shots of the sunset & storms as I drew closer to Chicago with a final shot from our yard.

Between work and going to Wilson Abbey, I decided to take a quick walk at the Montrose Dog Beach. That evening, Families and The Soil and the Sun were playing a show. It was the first time to see The Soil and the Sun as a four piece band.

https://youtu.be/uWurs6xp7_Y

https://youtu.be/6CBrl5yKW48

Another storm hit Chicago on July 24th. While I was getting some footage of it, Elphie stuck a sticker to Stein. On the way to work on July 28th, for the second time this year, I encountered a semi truck who misjudged the overhead clearance.

On July 30th, there was another show at Wilson Abbey featuring Erin., Families, and 6'10. It was a good show. 6'10 premiered a new song.

https://youtu.be/yAz94L9XJO8

https://youtu.be/9-nrqKlj4-4

https://youtu.be/N5DhYOzZ514

October Bird of Death played at Subterranean on August 3rd. It was Sid's first show back with the band and he played half the set with Bryan Gray filling in for the rest of the night. I got clips from both parts of the show.

https://youtu.be/n9cqMCXhD0Q

https://youtu.be/0mcUmHCi4rw

August 7th was a Nocturna and then on August 8th, Elphie & I went to another Disgraceland Wasteland suspension event. On August 12th, Five Iron Frenzy was in town playing at Reggie's with J Navarro and the Traitors and the Pilfers opening. I got there too late for Still Alive unfortunately. It was a fun show.

https://youtu.be/VH7psnFVWSs

https://youtu.be/H7JXkcdC-uA

https://youtu.be/M53YcGEoWZ4

I went to An Seanachi on August 14th for another October Bird of Death set. It was a good night of punk rock and a unique filming angle for the clip I captured.

https://youtu.be/RvGNu-X1mGI

August 21st, Elphie decided to drive a scooter cart at Meijer in from the parking lot. On August 24th, I saw October Bird of Death again, this time at Liar's Club. Another good night hanging out with the guys before the show since it was a late start.

https://youtu.be/3y4oicCa8dk

On Agust 26th, Brick Assassin had their album release show at O'Connell's Pub Time. Kyle Bawinkel's other, other band Fuerza B. opened the night followed by Vaporizers and Some Kind Of Nightmare. On request, I filmed "Bonehead Dicks" by Brick Assassin.

https://youtu.be/iMwF7uw8RaE

https://youtu.be/0YwhgAhp95c

https://youtu.be/Wki0z-1hfZ0

https://youtu.be/JauwDU54NNY

On August 27th, Josh held a premiere for Time Toupee at his house. A few of us showed up, enjoyed some Jack's pizza, fellowship, and the movie. I decided to drive to Milwaukee to see the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Brewers at Miller Park on August 28th. The Pirates won! After the game, Elphie & I went to the reception for Sarah & Will who do Nocturna. I am glad I did go to that game in Milwaukee as the next three nights after, the Pirates would play the Cubs at Wrigley and lost all three. I did get to hang out with my cousin and got in on a free ticket to Wrigley for one of the games and the Monday night game went real long...it was quite exciting despite the loss. Elphie & I got dinner and a show at Reggie's on September 2nd. Von Strantz opened the night followed by Mikey Classic then Black Irish Texas. 6'10 closed the night out and I filmed a song about sausage. It was an interesting night overall but enjoyable.

https://youtu.be/VMBLzThw8Yc

https://youtu.be/LNDqt_rI8RA

https://youtu.be/lhLIUWl08dE

https://youtu.be/C9jGnhihLA0

The next night was quite cool but I ventured out to the Burlington for another October Bird of Death show on September 3rd. Jeff Locke filled in this time for Sid who had to be out of town.

https://youtu.be/URVu1qd_0Vw

On Sunday September 4th, Elphie & I used a groupon for some fun times at Arcade Emporium. I was able to set the high score on Q*Bert. On Labor Day, September 5th, there was a show featuring Il Neige, Infinite Third, NAAL, Analecta, and Mouth Council at Subterranean. Mouth Council was an audience participation and interactive looping experience. It was a cool night of unusual music.

https://youtu.be/uHLpnsqQU3I

https://youtu.be/xSYRBcshxiw

https://youtu.be/HiDsbExtg3w

https://youtu.be/5amNXwsdfFE

https://youtu.be/fXr3QtkIsD0

Elphie went to spend time with her family and she flew out on September 8th. On September 11th, I played a softball game with folks from Tattoo Church. A few folks from Risen Savior were there as well. It was a fun day. Elphie returned on September 13th. On September 16th I went the Wilson Abbey to see a show by Teel Short and Maron. I never had really listened to either one before so it was cool to experience new music.

https://youtu.be/yEdw3Uew11o

https://youtu.be/0XilrqyFNA0

September 17th was a rescheduled event that Elphie and I prepaid for...the Blacklight Slide. It was supposed to be in July but was rescheduled to September. It was much cooler than we'd have preferred but it was fun nonetheless. I filmed while sliding through the ziplock we put our phones in and I messed around a bit with effects on that footage including overlaying my footage while sliding and Elphie's footage from below. On September 20th, there as a work birthday party where Stewart serenaded Courtney. The next day Elphie and I left for a vacation to the Pacific Northwest.

Additional soundtrack includes “Summer” by Travelogue, “The Wind May Be Beautiful” by Timbre, and “Watch Out” by Norway.

Filmed using a Sony HD Bloggie, JVC HDD Everio, and iPhone 6 by Elphie and Joel A. Swanson. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson

A TigerRAWknRoll Summer 2016: Unified Underground, GothiCon, & Audiofeed

The early portion of the summer of 2016 which I titled a TigerRAWk N Roll Summer covered the period between June 10th & July 4th, 2016. Below is the playlist containing that video project:


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpNn17NPTbbUd2jivdP3t1U_

June 10-13 We made a trip to Take Hold in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the final gathering known as Unified Underground. I had some camera issues & my car broke down while there but we survived, I got some good clips of bands & speakers. Also, I got to watch & celebrate the Pittsburgh Penguins winning the Stanley Cup! We had our first anniversary the day after Unified Underground while stranded in Grand Rapids, Michigan but we were taken care of by the good folks at Take Hold. Upon our return to Chicago by Megabus, I was able to watch the Stanley Cup victory parade during lunchbreak at work & had the blessing of buying a car from our friend Kyle at a very low price to allow us to get around.

The complete playlist is below. If you want to read more on our experience you can go to the video blog post on the Unified Underground Conference 2016: The Final One, Passing The Torch.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpNSKSCW_MxG3UzsEDqBtSu-

During the rest of June I attended a few baseball games at Wrigley Field when the Pittsburgh Pirates played the Chicago Cubs. We visited Oberweis Ice Cream Shop & returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan to gather my belongings from my car before my parents towed it back to Pennsylvania.


https://youtu.be/ylCPyYx2ytY

Besides enduring some storms, I also visited Mama Linda to film some footage for a documentary I would make for her that I titled, "Feed My Sheep: The Ministry of Mama Linda & The Road Dog Cafe." Much more was filmed during Audiofeed Festival & you can watch it in the playlist below.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpMEnWzvLifOROE8MxdvZaik

The next day there was a Catacombs show at Wilson Abbey featuring Anti-World System, Desiring Dead Flesh, & The Lonely Revolts. You can read out more about that show on its own blog. The footage from the show is below:

https://youtu.be/3fCDb6lKagw


https://youtu.be/hLpLOUUsSzU


https://youtu.be/zHFUjjU8cYY


https://youtu.be/6e61u_RvADM


https://youtu.be/9Rmk3juLcIo

At the end of June, we returned to Audiofeed Festival in Champaign Urbana, Illinois where Gothicon 2016: The Family Reunion would also occur. We arrived early to try to help. I was gathering footage for some other projects this year besides my own pleasure of re-watching bands & shenanigans. This kept me a bit busier than usual Also, It was a very wet year which did put a damper on things, unfortunately. There is more in depth writing on our experience in the video blog post for Audiofeed Festival 2016.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpOmQZOOFwkDohNG_nX5oD_e

I created a GothiCon video playlist. Besides the band footage from this year, this playlist also includes footage from the previous event held at The 86 in Cincinnati, Ohio back in 2011. I ended up making an "unauthorized" documentary on this year's event. I added that video to the beginning of the playlist below. You can read more on the GothiCon 2016: The Family Reunion video blog post.


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpNvnrcajWp42KEeHl8z590m

After returning from Audiofeed Festival 2016, Elphie & I went to the Northside to shoot off fireworks & watch a firework display with some of our JPUSA friends.


https://youtu.be/QgIeXBwnzR8

Additional soundtrack includes "Swan" by White Lighter, "Party Hard" by Andrew W.K., sounds of Mike Lange calling the Stanley Cup winning goal for the 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins, "Worker's Call" by United Harvest Workers Union, "Come All You Weary" by Thrice, "Dumpster Divers (Breaking of Bread)" by Psalters, & "American War Machine" by The Huntingtons.

Collectively, the footage was filmed by Mama Linda, Tara, Mike Sheehy, Elphie & Joel A. Swanson. Editing was done by Joel A. Swanson using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

Audiofeed Festival 2016

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpOmQZOOFwkDohNG_nX5oD_e

The playlist above has all the footage related to Audiofeed Festival: the projects documenting the event as well as the ministries involved with Audiofeed, all the LIVE music footage, & the 4th of July fireworks after returning to Chicago. I organized it to be the promo video first, followed by the LIVE footage, & then the documenting projects at the end.


https://youtu.be/WqL42fm1XfU

We prepared to leave for Audiofeed Festival on June 27th & 28th, 2016. We had Buttons staying with the pets so she came by to meet Frank & Stein & get the run down on handling the pets. We spent some of that evening & the evening of June 28th packing, patching up clothes, & preparing everything so we could leave for Audiofeed in the morning of June 29th. We didn't get going quite in the morning of June 29th but we did make it & get out tent set up. Unfortunately, I misjudged how the sun would be in the morning so I had an unhappy wife & moved the tent the next day.

After making a trip into town to get some last minute supplies, we spent the rest of June 29th, helping out with the Road Dog Cafe & ended the night hanging out at The Asylum.

https://youtu.be/fc-fmSqCigo

June 30th was early access day for Audiofeed Festival & Christmas in July for The Asylum. after waking & moving the tent, I wandered the grounds getting some footage prior to going to the Kodesh Mishkan Ministry Group morning worship & communion service at The Asylum. Much of the day was seeing friends arriving then helping out with the set up of GothiCon. I caught a little bit of the Reckless Mercy Christmas set then went to the Road Dog Cafe for dinner, getting more footage for the Feed My Sheep project. After dinner I worked a little bit more on our tent situation, trying to make a happy wife. I caught some of Insomniac Folklore's Christmas set then hung out the rest of the evening with friends even watching some of the goths put up a tent. A storm blew in late that evening which ended Elphie's time camping. She decided she would go to a hotel...very late at night I finally laid down to sleep in our damp tent while some nocturnal person spoke with others all night. I got a little bit of sleep but not much. The next day, Audiofeed Festival would officially start.

https://youtu.be/F4EfEwuwwAs

July 1st was the official first day of Audiofeed Festival for 2016. After a stormy night with little sleep I crawled out of bed, got a shower, then listened to an Autism Panel in the Asylum led by Bill Fanum & Mike Sheehy. It was interesting information. I caught some of Leper's set in the Kid's Zone & Keyoung at the Arkansas Stage. A little later, Dan 'Pops' Bawinkel spoke. We hung out at the Asylum a bit while Elphie worked out a hotel room with another GothiCon attendee then I caught From The Eyes of Servants & Debtor on the Black Sheep Stage while Elphie attended a wedding in the Anchor Fellowship tent. We got some dinner at the Road Dog Cafe before GothiCon's Fear Fest at The Asylum. I caught Comrades on the Black Sheep Stage and tried to see Death Therapy at Golgotha Stage but there were technical difficulties. I went over to the Fear Fest for a bit then returned to the Golgotha Stage to see Exegesis. On my way back to the Asylum, I stopped at the Radon Stage to see Mike Mains & The Branches before watching & filming the entire set from White Collar Sideshow. This was easily the biggest crowd I ever witnessed in the Asylum...great set as always from White Collar Sideshow. I left the Asylum to catch 6'10 over at the Radon Stage then '68 at Black Sheep Stage before going to Golgotha for Leper. The stage seemed to continue to have technical difficulties all night & it affected the Leper set as well but they carried through to do a show. I returned to the Asylum for Dead Artist Syndrome then in the wee hours of the morning, Grave Robber played acoustic to those of us still somewhat awake with help from Leper & White Collar Sideshow. I think this is the latest I heard live music at Audiofeed so far. I struggled to stay awake through the set & finally went to bed sometime not long before the sun would rise.

https://youtu.be/slbrAQTnvMk

I woke on the cool morning of July 2nd, caught some metal from Every Knee Shall Bow (those kids have growed up) then took a shower. After that, Tyler from Insomniac Folklore broke the news of a new turtle to be during their set after an encounter with the turtle of Amanda & Andreas Larsen then I went over to the Front Porch for ska from Must Build Jacuzzi. I spent much of the afternoon getting footage of dinner & Pig Roast preparations for the "Feed My Sheep" documentary. I ran between the Road Dog Cafe & Radon Stage getting footage. I also encountered oddities such as hula hoop action, a guy on a little bike, Tony Bilbrey on a unicycle, & big bubbles. The bands I saw on Radon Stage were October Bird of Death, Destroy Nate Allen, & The Blamed. There was a call to pray for Sid Duffour who was going through some health problems at the time. Thank God, he did experience healing in the time since. Tessa spoke about her pregnancy & her experience in life leading to this point. We got another great dinner provided by Mama Linda & the Road Dog Cafe before catching Conveyer. I decided to indulge in fried treats from Guy as a snack after this before catching the Bad Christian Podcast for a little bit at the Arkansas Stage. I headed down to the Asylum for Dark Valentine while catching the end of Listener's set at the Arkansas Stage then I got over to the Black Sheep Stage for very end of Wolves At The Gate. After that, I returned to the Asylum for some of Leper's set then back to Arkansas Stage to see the end of the Emery set. There was a lot of stuff going on all at once that I wanted to see. I returned for the rest of the evening to the Black Sheep Stage for One Bad Pig & Grave Robber. Elphie filmed Grave Robber while I was back stage preparing to douse folks in blood. She caught Nate & Tessa slow dancing once again. After all this running around, we hung out for a while in the Road Dog Cafe where Josh & Elphie commandeered Helen's phone, taking lots of pictures & killing her battery. I also took down my tent throughout the evening with the forecast calling for a lot of rain coming in the next day to soak Audiofeed. I decided I'd rather put my stuff away while it was relatively dry. I slept in the GothiCon portion of the Asylum for the night & as long as I could into the morning.


https://youtu.be/yledjhqiT6s

July 3rd was the last day of Audiofeed Festival...and it was cool & wet. I used some footage from Mama Linda & Tara showing the morning pancake flip routine during breakfast...I never was up for breakfast to enjoy it but I heard great things. I woke & wandered around a bit then went to the Asylum to listen to Dougle McMysteron speak. He had Shaun Hays doing art while he spoke. After this, I caught the end of Nate Allen & The Pac-A-Way Dots set which ended up being a solo song by Nate. I wandered the merch area & picked up some vinyl then went to Radon Stage for Trouper & over to Black Sheep for The Satire. At this time, the pig was to be done roasting & ready for the pork pulling operation of the Road Dog Cafe so I went over to capture the footage of this fun event. There were lots of hands on deck & lots of quality control taste tests going on. I returned to the music and made my way through the mud to the Golgotha Stage for Until We Have Faces then back to Black Sheep for Strengthen What Remains, then over to Radon Stage for ZOO, & finally to the Kids Zone for Insomniac Folklore before enjoying the pulled pork back in the Road Dog Cafe. After our delicious meal it was pretty much all music the rest of the night. First, I went to see Anti-World System at the muddy Golgotha Stage & as I went to Black Sheep Stage to see Death Therapy, I caught some footage of hula hooping & the Audiofeed Festival Official Merchandise. I worked my way through the mud to go between Golgotha Stage & the Black Sheep Stage for Desiring Dead Flesh, The Scurvies, FBS, The Huntingtons, & The Festal Shout. Josh & I noticed something about the FBS merch table & addressed this to Nate Rising. While I did this running around, Elphie captured footage of Insomniac Folklore at The Asylum. She also got the beginning parts of the Flatfoot 56 Hootenanny at the Black Sheep Stage. I ended the night watching Hushpad. We convened in the food court with some friends for a few moments before leaving. Since I had packed up the night before & since Elphie was using a hotel, I felt it made sense to just drive back that night instead of paying for another night for her & me getting more wet.


https://youtu.be/yS6K2j_SKNg

The next day, after we had returned to Chicago from Audiofeed, we went to Uptown for a fireworks display & shot off some of my own for the 4th of July.


https://youtu.be/QgIeXBwnzR8

Feed My Sheep:The Ministry of Mama Linda & Road Dog Cafe has been documented on the link blog here.

The Asylum & GothiCon 2016: The Family Reunion - The Unauthorized Documentary also can be found in the linked blog here.
There was a lot of footage to work through & it took me a lot longer than I hoped it would but here it all is for your viewing pleasure. As always, it can be available on DvD upon request for a small donation (to help cover material costs & shipping).

Additional soundtrack is "Swan" by White Lighter, "Worker's Call" by United Harvest Workers Union, "Come All You Weary" by Thrice, "Dumpter Divers (Breaking of Bread)" by Psalters, & "American War Machine" by The Huntingtons.

Filmed using an iPhone 6, Sony HD Bloggie & JVC HDD Everio by Mama Linda, Tara Trefzger, Mike Sheehy, Elphie, & Joel A. Swanson. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson