A Shared Life: The Holidays (2016) & Show Footage

I decided to work through the holiday footage now & get back to other things in the weeks to come. I figured it might be nice to post it while the 2016 holidays aren't quite such a distant memory. For posting to YouTube, I split the footage into four sections. I also included some LIVE footage from shows in December in this post as well as a couple projects I finished or were posted during this time.

Thanksgiving 2016

Contained in this video is footage of our traveling from Chicago to Warren, Pennsylvania through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, & New York. We got to my parents house just before sunrise on Thanksgiving so we went to bed to get as much sleep as we could before heading to my cousins house for Sorensen Thanksgiving dinner in Clymer, NY. We brought our cat, Stein with us. He pretty much stayed in his crate the entire trip & hid under the bed when we got to Warren. We did get him out to explore in the living room though so I included some of the cat footage (of all the cats, Stein, Mu, & Gracie). On Saturday, we traveled to Pittsburgh for the hockey game between the Penguins vs Devils. Penguins got a last second goal from Sid Crosby then won it in the Shootout!. We made a stop at Klavon’s Ice Cream on the way into the city then at Roland’s Seafood Bar & Grill before we left. On Sunday, after having family dinner, we returned to Chicago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BewnTXEFMdY

December in Chicago 2016

On December 3rd, Elphie & I caught the CTA holiday train as we went on a grocery run. We caught it at the Western Orange Line station. This year, there were two trains. We got some footage of each. I played around with editing on some of the footage. On December 4th, we experienced our first snow in Chicago. Elphie documented this for the most part. There are quite a few clips of cat shenanigans with Stein. On December 7th, a new television show, Chicago Justice, was filming outside of my work. That evening Elphie & I went to the International Museum of Surgical Science for a tour. Afterwards, we stopped at Millenium Park to see the Christmas tree. December 9th there was a Catacombs show. That footage will be edited then posted later but I did get some footage of the city Christmas lights. December 16th was a Christmas party at Cornerstone Community Outreach for the staff where Santa Stewart & the Grinch showed up. December 18th, we decided to cook a mystery meat. It turned out to taste great! Thank God! Elphie got some more silly Stein footage as well. On December 19th, we had the coldest day of the year so far which I documented on my commute to work for another Christmas party. On December 21st, we went to the ChristkindlMarket & the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqz0dd6bLL8

Also in December, I caught a couple concerts. On Friday, December 2nd at Double Door, I went to one of the two Cock Sparrer shows. I decided on the Friday show because the openers were friends - Brick Assassin & Flatfoot 56. It was packed & a bit crazy but a great show.

I decided to film Brick Assassin doing Entitlement Generation because they brought back Kevin Pflanz to do the vocals since he was in town. It was a great performance in a fun set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk6Zq7TkvX4

I filmed one of Flatfoot56's new tunes from the upcoming album. Sounded great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd4sXQXNPRI

I filmed "Working" by Cock Sparrer but easily could have picked just about any song in the set. The crowd was into it the whole night & interacting. This was the first time I had a chance to see Cock Sparrer & the way 2016 has treated celebrities & the music world I figured it might be the only chance to see them. The show had a feel of what I love about punk shows - community. It was a great time crammed in that space hearing lots of good music all night!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eIzqny5Qos

Filmed LIVE at Double Door in Wicker Park, Chicago, Illinois on Friday, December 2nd, 2016 using an iPhone 6. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

On Thursday December 15th, I rushed out of work to get to the Bottom Lounge so I could see the Farewell Tour of For Today. While I'm not as big of a fan as I was in their early career (I got somewhat bored by the style they play), I did want to see them one last time. It was a good show. The opening acts were My Epic, Silent Planet, & Norma Jean

I got in the door as My Epic was playing their last song. I filmed what I could of it...it isn't much but it's something. It bums me out that I missed this set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbBkW0SKOtE

Silent Planet was next. I love their social justice message. Their Christian worldview is similar to mine which seems at odds quite often with the Christianity we see portrayed in media, politics, & the mainstream church. They spoke about how hard it must be in Chicago to be homeless with weather that "wants to kill you."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHgJUIx38lc

I filmed a song called 10,000 Watts from Norma Jean. It's from a new album they recently put out that I haven't yet heard. It seems to be an interesting song. While the original Norma Jean will always be my favorite lineup & sound that they created, they still do a decent show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYb8C_lLagw

I wasn't sure what I wanted to capture from For Today for the last time that I would see them. I thought it would be fun to get their song (Joel) The Watchman for a couple reasons...the name being one & the message being the other. They did not play it so I ended up getting Devastator which was one of the last songs of the night. I really liked this song when it came out as well as the album it was on as a whole. They played a great set & spoke what was on their hearts as they do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCeE5pWa46U

Filmed LIVE at Bottom Lounge in Near West Side, Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, December 15th, 2016 using an iPhone 6. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

I finished a project requested by Wiley Willis of October Bird of Death which was a compilation video of each of their songs from their upcoming release "Death Made It's Offer" early in December. Each of the songs were filmed live at different locations throughout 2016. It was a pretty simple project to make but it was fun!

1. This Is Our Lives LIVE @ An Seanachi (08.14.16)

2. Goons LIVE @ Debonair Social Club (04.08.16)

3. Uproar LIVE @ Take Hold Fest (11.12.16)

4. Fire In Those Eyes LIVE @ Liar's Club (08.24.16)

5. Shed The Grave LIVE @ The Burlington (09.03.16)

6. Art Deco Skull Fracture LIVE @ Audiofeed (07.02.16)

7. Hell To Pay LIVE @ Brauerhouse (10.22.16)

8. Death Made Its Offer LIVE @ Wilson Abbey's Catacombs (04.17.16)

*This is also a promo video for the upcoming release*

Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLcTnojlojs

A project I finished months ago also found it's way to youtube in December on the page of Destroy Nate Allen. It was a compilation of live clips for the song Vegetables from their last full tour. It became the first "official" music video I've done. It was fun to do!

For further thoughts on this one, check out the previous blog post here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVrv29HqIgI

Southern Christmas 2016 & New Years 2017

We left for our Christmas travels on December 23rd. Santa Stewart saw me off in the morning while I finished some work things. We traveled from Chicago through Indiana. We stopped at a Meijer where another one of Indiana's fine drivers did a hit & run denting my bumper. This extended our stay at the Meijer while I waited for the police to file a report. We stopped at a Skyline Chili in Batesville, Indiana as well before stopping at the Sheehy's in the Cincinnati area for the night. We visited a bit before getting some sleep & resuming our travels on Christmas Eve through Kentucky, Tennessee & into North Carolina. We had a Christmas celebration with the family on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we watched the Pittsburgh Steelers clinch the North division versus the Ravens. On December 26th we got some  R.O’s Bar-B-Que, & hung out with family some more. December 27th, Elphie & I went to her mom's to do Christmas with them. Our trip was officially extended to deal with Elphie's dad dying so we spent New Year's Eve cleaning out some stuff, watching kids do some go kart riding then rang in the New Year. We attended the funeral & spent more time with family through the rest of the week. We also made our the annual South Carolina fuel stop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmV92LJbcZc

Northern Christmas 2016 (celebrated in 2017)

We made our trip north to my parents home in Warren, PA after the extended southern stay, traveling through the mountains of North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia & into Pennsylvania. We decided to once again make a pizza stop at Gavino’s in Mckees Rocks near Pittsburgh. After sitting to eat for a bit, we resumed our journey & encountered a bit of snow just north of Pittsburgh. We arrived in Warren after midnight so we unloaded. We celebrated Christmas with family the following evening. We visited with my grandma for a bit then on Friday Elphie gave my northern family a little southern food taste test consisting of RO's Bar-B- Que slaw, Pimento Cheese, & Liver Pudding. Later that evening we played a game with my brother called Exploding Kittens. On Saturday, we returned to Chicago through the snow in New York & Pennsylvania but mostly dry, cold conditions in Ohio, Indiana, & Illinois. We reunited with Stein after being gone for two weeks. He seemed to be happy to see us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIM7B80UD9M

Soundtracks include “The Holidays” by Dear Ephesus, “Doxology” by Spirit & The Bride, “Tracks In The Snow” by The Civil Wars, “Carol Of The Bells” by Jagged Doctrine, “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Grave Robber, “Snow” by Sleeping At Last, “We Three Kings” by The Dingees,  “Little Drummer Boy” by The Almost, “Darkness Comes Quickly” by Batzz In The Belfry, “Auld Lang Syne” by The Lonesome Travelers, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo’ole, “Go Tell It On The Mountain” by Citizen Shade, & “Child In The Manger” by Michael W. Smith

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

Destroy Nate Allen's Official Music Video for "Vegetables"

https://youtu.be/eVrv29HqIgI
The official music video for "Vegetables" by Destroy Nate Allen is now available on their YouTube channel as well as at the High Endurance Records website.

http://highendurancerecords.com/destroy-nate-allen-vegetables-official-music-video/

This video consists of clips from Destroy Nate Allen's 2012 full US Tour documented in another blog. This took me all through the summer to finish after the editing & documenting of each show. As I documented those shows, I would also create a file of the footage of just the song "Vegetables" from each performance. I would also create another file if there was something that would catch my eye from another part of the show that I felt might work well in this video...be it dance moves, crowd or band reactions...anything that felt right. As I went along, I started getting the idea to built an intro from the beginning of the shows as well as something to end the video with from the end of some of the shows. This would be the intro & outro to this music video...it was my "artistic" liberty that I'm glad Nate & Tessa didn't ask to be cut, ha!

I would watch The Vegetables clips through sometimes several times each...Nate had asked me to capture the unique dance moves from each night so I did that as much as I could. I tried to sync up certain parts to the lyrics of the song as well. I probably drove my wife nuts having to hear the song so many times...and more as I started to put the clips into place. Thankfully, she is a fan of Destroy Nate Allen & we are all friends so I think she handled it pretty well...hahaha!

The "bicycles" scene was the first part I worked though...I found all the clips I could of people miming the riding of bicycles & used as many of the clips that I could to fit into this section I had to use the clip I had of a guy on a unicycle in this. Next up, I worked through the "hardcore breakdown" getting the best "pit moves" I could find. Other parts I focused on were people miming what appeared to be shopping, a guy using actual exercise equipment, & the guy who decided to do pushups. I felt each of these were highlight moments...some even were mentioned by Nate & Tessa during the shows. I did try to get as many different clips of as many different shows as I could. Some did stand out more than others so some shows are represented better than others. Overall, I felt I did the best I could when it was done. I gave it a couple days before I sent it off to Nate & Tessa...I wanted to ensure I was satisfied with what I created first while remaining open to constructive criticisms & making any edits or adjustments they may feel needed to be done. Nate did give me a few ideas he would like to see done differently & those changes were made over a week...as each change was made, a new file was sent to Nate for his approval. Some changes were removed if it was found to not be as appealing while other changes were made as needed. I believe it was toward the end of September when the final approved file was created & sent to Nate to be uploaded.

Now it is available for all to see!!

This was a lot of fun to work on & I hope to do something like this again one day soon! I am thankful for the opportunity Nate & Tessa gave me with this.

Here is the blog I wrote about working through the footage from the 2012 Full US Destroy Nate Allen Tour which includes the playlist of the tour footage as well as that of bands who played on tour dates with Destroy Nate Allen.

All this has been the first official work I've gotten to do for others & I am happy it turned out well enough for it to be used. Enjoy!

UPDATED: Destroy Nate Allen - Full USA Tour from the Fall of 2012

Doing these videos & booking shows over that years has allowed for opportunities to open up for me recently.

One of those has been to go through the archives of video footage filmed by fans from the last US tour by Destroy Nate Allen which occurred 3 and 1/2 years ago in 2012 & upload them to the Destroy Nate Allen Youtube channel. As of June 27th, I have finished editing, documenting the set lists, & uploading each show from this tour. Here is the playlist of that tour:


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZKyD26NnTrpOUItWCw3GdGzjbDPHUMEB

Because the footage is by fans, the video quality is not always the greatest (for instance, quite often the camera work is shaky) but each show is documented to the best of the ability of both Destroy Nate Allen and the fans. As I understand it, Nate wanted to get this footage out to the fans who attended these shows for quite some time, he just hasn't had the time to go through all the footage which was filmed over a 3 month tour & upload it. So that is what I have done so far. More or less, in this case, my job has been to find the best starting & ending points (cutting the excess footage as necessary), adding a title which includes the date & location of the shows, & making the set list for each night to include in the video information on YouTube.

This project, though time consuming, was interesting & fun. It was cool to see the crowd interaction in the different parts of the country as well as see some folks I happen to know at the different shows. I learned a few new things while working through this project as well. I had to convert the files in different ways than I had before to be able to do the editing but it now should make it possible for me to edit other projects in the future that will be coming along now having this knowledge.

I am also going to attempt to make a music video compiling clips from each performance of the song "Vegetables" from this tour after I have gone through all the footage. I hope it will turn out well. This is yet to be done but I hope to have it done soon. That will come in a future update.

I also edited footage captured of some of the bands that played with Destroy Nate Allen while on this tour. I added this footage into a previously made playlist titled "Friends of Destroy Nate Allen" which is linked below:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZKyD26NnTrqrKD9IwBc3_sDyl9K4BgKC

Anyway, hope you enjoy this project I am doing for someone other than myself for a change...especially if you are a fan of Destroy Nate Allen.

JUST ADDED!! The official music video for "Vegetables" by Destroy Nate Allen is now available on their YouTube channel as well as at the High Endurance Records website. This video consists of clips from the 2012 full US Tour documented above. This took through the summer to finish & is now public for all to see.

https://youtu.be/eVrv29HqIgI

All this has been the first official work I've gotten to do for others & I am happy it turned out well enough for it to be used. Enjoy!

October Bird Of Death: A LIVE Collection (2016)

https://youtu.be/cLcTnojlojs
This video compilation of the LIVE footage of October Bird Of Death after attending several shows & filming different songs each time. The idea was to get all the songs from an upcoming release filmed live & put in order. I don't know what the album order will be so instead, I put it in order of the set list they have most recently been playing. I had originally figured I'd just make a playlist but Glenn Willis asked if it was possible to make one video of all the songs. So I did that instead.

As noted in the previous blog...I included it with the DVD of the video footage from the Wilson Abbey show on 10.30.16 due to my mistake that resulted in the loss of the 6'10 video files from that show. So if anyone is interested in having a DVD copy of this, contact me & I can get it to you.

Here's a list of the footage included & where it was filmed:

This Is Our Lives LIVE @ An Seanachi (08.14.16)

Goons LIVE @ Debonair Social Club (04.08.16)

Uproar LIVE @ Take Hold Fest (11.12.16)

Fire In Those Eyes LIVE @ LIara's Club (08.24.16)

Shed The Grave LIVE @ The Burlington (09.03.16)

Art Deco Skull Fracture LIVE @ Audiofeed (07.02.16)

Hell To Pay LIVE @ Brauerhouse (10.22.16)

Death Made Its Offer LIVE @ Wilson Abbey's Catacombs (04.17.16)
*This is also a promo video for the upcoming release*

Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson
aTigerRAWkFilm.blogspot.com

Wilson Abbey Show featuring Exegesis, October Bird Of Death, & 6'10 (10.30.16)

This Wilson Abbey show, as I understand it, was originally put together for the planned release of October Bird of Death's new recording but since the recording has been delayed, it was show on the night before Halloween so costumes were encouraged.


https://youtu.be/sD4D7Xiqmms
Exegesis was added last minute to open this show. The original opener was unavailable for some reason or another so instead some great metal from the Colombians who make their home at JPUSA.


https://youtu.be/0ZUruVkf7xY

Set List
1. This Is Our Lives
2. Goons
3. Uproar
4. Fire In Those Eyes
5. Shed The Grave
6. Art Deco Skull Fracture
7. Hell To Pay
8. Death Made Its Offer

October Bird Of Death played second. They had some creative costumes. It was a great set. Even an axe was broken.

The headliner for the night was 6'10. Somehow, I lost the footage I got of their set so it will not be included here. My apologies. There is footage that shows the presence of all the members in between sets with their costumes, however.


https://youtu.be/PH8i2WlMAzA

Filmed LIVE at Wilson Abbey in Uptown Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, October 30th, 2016 using an JVC HDD Everio. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

On the DVD archive for this show (anyone interested in these please contact me), due to missing the 6'10 set, I included the following LIVE collection of footage from October Bird Of Death. It was an idea talked about a few months back but all the pieces to make it happen have now finally been recorded so here it is for you to enjoy!


https://youtu.be/cLcTnojlojs

Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson
aTigerRAWkFilm.blogspot.com

Catacombs Show featuring Insomniac Folklore, Leper, & Stasia Bird & Herd (10.23.16)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq9Jaf6Ejyk

On Sunday, October 23rd, 2016 a night with some dark folksy, gothic music filled Wilson Abbey's Catacombs. Insomniac Folklore traveled to town and JPUSA provided the rest with the full debut of Stasia Bird & Herd with a special acoustic performance by Leper to close the night.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgZYPW8nJVU
Stasia Bird & Herd featured songs written & performed by Anastasia Bird with friends she called the Herd due to how it rhymes with her last name. The sound of this band would fall into the folk, Americana category. Along with the songs, there were readings of the words of the great Mr. Rogers. I really enjoyed the set & glad that there will be more chances to hear this music in the future.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5sFAsrhCO4
Set List:
1. Intro
2. Feet In The Earth
3. Useless
4. Black Widow
5. It’s Only Folk Music If The Folks Sing Along
6. Listen To Your Parents But Don’t Trust The Government
7. Halloween
8. The Scariest Thing In The Dark
9. Grey Cars
10. Earplugs

Insomniac Folklore took the second slot taking the musical sound to a bit of a darker place in the best ways possible. It smoothly took the folk that started the night & added a certain gothic element to transition into Leper's set that would follow. I am glad to have had the chance to film this set & work with Insomniac Folklore. As I have come to know them, they have grown into a personal favorite band.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMzzCXrpZPQ
Set List
1. Intro
2. I Live In Shadow
3. Still I Crawl
4. Wonderful Grave
5. The Way It All Unfolds (Il Modo Che Tutto Si Svela)
6. Interlude
7. All I Have Known
8. I Hate Everything (Odio Tutto)
9. If Only I
10. If Everything Was Green
11. Evil Is Never Where You See It

Leper closed the night was an interesting semi-acoustic performance. There were still tracks, synths, & effects but also acoustic guitar, live drums, violin, & flute. It was a great set & hopefully we will see a bit more of this from Leper going forward when the opportunity arises.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZWeTgx-6ko
As usual, I captured a little bit of the shenanigans from the night & put it together for the fun of it.

Filmed LIVE at Wilson Abbey’s Catacombs in Uptown Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, October 23rd, 2016 using an JVC HDD Everio. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson

Catacombs Show featuring Anti-World System, Ramp Vampz, & Desiring Dead Flesh (09.30.16)

https://youtu.be/ovJFrOuKlSo
On Friday September 30th, 2016 another installment of Catacombs shows occurred at Wilson Abbey. This night featured Anti-World System (D-Beat punk from JPUSA in Uptown Chicago), Ramp Vamps (Skate Punk from Peoria, Illinois), & Desiring Dead Flesh (Punk from Bay City, Michigan) as they returned home for a long tour that took them to the west coast for the Extreme Tour.

The titles in this Show Promo video & the beginning of each band's set was the first time I was able to return to using the Motion program to make the titles. For some reason it wasn't opening on my old computer so I was using a built in option on Final Cut Pro for most titles. I prefer using Motion...it's a little easier overall. I prefer using the black & white effect on the Promo videos. I took a clip of the song "Don't Forsake The Fellowship" by Anti-World System for a soundtrack.



https://youtu.be/u468Ww1yUHo
Set List:
1. There’s A War
2. Set Apart
3. All Israel Will Be Saved
4. Expel The Immoral Brother
5. Errors Of The Desert Fathers
6. Don’t Forsake The Fellowship
7. I Am Not Ashamed Of The Gospel
8. False Prophets & Teachers
9. I Am A Reformer
10. War Of The Maccabees
11. Starving The Sheep
12. The Plague

Anti-World System requested the black & white effect on all videos that involve them going forward so I obliged. I think it turned out ok. The set was good & seemed to be received well by the folks in attendance.


https://youtu.be/Z8hYmHg7EUs

Ramp Vampz played their 2nd show on this night. It was good to hear them & see something new. I suspect we will see more from them in coming years. It will be cool to see them grow.



https://youtu.be/zB2OwimspGw
Set List:
1. The Bully & The Weak Need To Share The Playground
2. Thoughts In My Head
3. Passafist
4. Hypocrite
5. Take This Cup
6. God Bless Afghanistan
7. R-e-l-a-X-X-X
8. Holidays Suck!
9. Trips To The Park
10. A Day With Dad
11. Through It All I Will Follow You
12. Decapitated
13. Unappreciated
14. Ignorance
15. Don’t Leave The Rainbow
16. 3,000
17. KMart’s Parking Lot
18. Contemplating The Demise Of Western Civilization…
19. Stop The Fire
20. Wedgie
21. My Dying Words
22. Unity Beyond
23. Mohawks & Mullets
24. Blood, Sweat, & Circle Pits

It's always an adventure at a Desiring Dead Flesh show. Lots of objects fly through the air. Stuffed animals tend to be dismembered. Circle pits, sweat...maybe some blood too. It was nice that they could pass through Chicago again & that we could have them once again at Catacombs. They are always welcome!


https://youtu.be/Xpoyi1BDHHc

Some other footage I captured on this night include Leper giving medical advice to Desiring Dead Flesh & other banter, some merch sales, & a wonderful post show meal of pulled pork & chili for the bands.

Filmed LIVE at Wilson Abbey’s Catacombs in Uptown Chicago, Illinois on Friday, September 30th, 2016 using an JVC HDD Everio. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.

Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson
aTigerRAWkFilm.blogspot.com