A lot of love went into my very first music video. Love + the blood, sweat and tears of Hank Friedmann, director & animator extraordinaire. He built the sets, made the characters, animated and directed the video. Brilliant. I’m his #1 fan.
INTRODUCING
Hank Friedmann – Director & Animator extraordinaire
Hank Friedmann was born in Long Beach, California on Super Bowl Sunday, 1985. Despite being born on Football’s holy day, he had neither the interest in nor the build for pursuing a career in sports. Instead, he became enraptured with the world of film and animation.
Hank’s foray into the world of filmmaking began in elementary school as a ploy to get easy A’s, and in-so-doing set a new bar for book reports. Then, for his Bar Mitzvah, his parents bought him a top-of-the-line VHS camcorder, securing his place as the kid in the neighborhood with the video camera.
As the years passed, Hank worked in sound on television & features, created the Transdimensional Short Film Festival, and produced and directed the UCLA sketch comedy program Fireside Chats. He currently works in commercial and music video editorial at Final Cut LA. He stand 5′10″, weighs 150 lbs., and is ready to take on Mr. T’s inspirational charge: to be somebody, rather than being somebody’s fool.
Unfortunately, James had to cease working on my project in order to tend to his own band. I am grateful for his contributions though. Meeting with him and Garret to jam on the songs resulted in the drum parts that we ended up recording. Did I mention that this recording thing is a process?
Fortunately, Eva Gardner came to the rescue. Eva has been playing bass in bands since the age of 14. I imagine she was one of those super-cool kids that everyone wanted be, she is still that way actually. Eva exudes confidence and her bass playing is phenomenal. She takes great inspiration in her father, Kim Gardner, a bassist who was part of the British Rock Invasion of the 60s and 70s. Eva has toured extensively with various bands in the US, Europe and Japan where she most recently performed shows opening for the Rolling Stones in the UK. She also played bass and toured with The Mars Volta when they first started in the summer of 2001. Eva is currently in a band, which I really, really love. They are called Lyra. I highly recommend listening.
Stevie Blacke, aka “the blacke orchestra”, is one ridiculously talented fellow. You walk into his home studio and find instruments everywhere, all of which he actually plays… electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, mando-cello, violin, electric violin, viola, cello, upright and electric bass, banjo, dobro, lap steele, saz, sitar, esraj, autoharp.
Aside from the fact that he has recorded and/or performed with some of the most recognized people in the business including Beck, Michael Stipe, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, TuPac, etc., he has agreed to work with me : ) And, he happens to be an incredibly nice person. I like him.
When you don’t have a band, and even when you do, the recording process is a sequence of trials and errors. Doing and trying different things until something is figured out or established or until a lot is recorded. But then… you experience those moments of magic that make all of the failed attempts worth while.
Fortunately, James of Dirty Little Secret (dirtylittlesecret.biz) is kindly gracing my album with his sick bass playing.
Likewise, Garrett of Foreign Born (foreignbornmusic.com) is rocking the drums. He is an incredible drummer and a very nice fellow. Along with Chris, when he is not in the control room.
Chris (www.fudurich.net), Los Angeles based producer extraordinaire has helped produce and engineer albums for artists like Nada Surf, Jimmy Eat World, and Vast. He is nothing short of genius. And he is actually producing, engineering, mixing and drumming on my album?!
Chris in the control room.
Chris from afar.
This is what Chris looks like when he’s concentrating.
Garrett and James listening to the songs to refresh their memory.
James
Figuring out the parts, I would be sitting behind that rhodes but I took the picture.
Bluto
Carl
Stan
Hieronymus
Sven
Ralph
Leerone
A.J. & Larkin
Photos by Sasha Strauss
Chris in the control room.
Chris from afar.
This is what Chris looks like when he’s concentrating.
Garrett and James listening to the songs to refresh their memory.
James
Figuring out the parts, I would be sitting behind that rhodes but I took the picture.
Dirty Little Secret
Foreign Born
Ben=sound engineer + me
