Live Music
These guys were amazing. I loved every minute. It was funky, it was powerful, it made me want to dance. And kind of reminded me of Tower of Power. Great music. And I had front row seats, so also a great view for photos.
Something a little different today...
My eyes have been teary all afternoon. Happy tears. Tears of appreciation. I had the opportunity to photograph a dueling piano show at an assisted living care center. What an amazing thing to see! I've often been anxious and scared of visiting nursing homes because I didn't know what to say or do to someone there feeling sad or lonely. Well, the answer is quite apparent now. It's music. I don't know the last time I saw a room so full of life, love, and gratitude as I did today at Alta Ridge Assisted Living Center in Sandy. Music changes lives. And more than that, music gives life.
Look at these faces. THIS is living.
The idea of music having an impact on lives isn't a new idea, that's why musicians do what they do. But when a documentary was featured in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, it inspired Kirk Garrett and Rich Wyman to play piano in assisted living centers. Rich said in his newsletter, "I saw a film called "Alive Inside" about a man who visits Nursing homes and plays iPods to people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer disease. When they listen to music they are brought to life and filled with joy. That is what I want to do with these shows."
Kirk's description was "Its an an amazing experience I can hardly describe. Seeing sparks of enthusiasm in the elderly, many suffering from Alzheimers and Dementia is absolutely awe-inspiring."
And when I watched clips from the documentary a few weeks ago, I was incredibly moved. One of my last memories of my Grandpa is him dancing around to big band music and telling me about how he used to teach swing dance lessons. I already knew, of course, because he taught me in my kitchen when I was about 8 years old. We smiled when he told the story, though - he had Alzheimer's and the story always stopped for a few minutes when he would ask Grandma "what was the name of my dance partner?" And then 5 minutes later "ahhh! Shannon. Her name was Shannon." And ten minutes later, still as happy as can be listening to the music "Shannon! Yes, her name was Shannon." While dealing with the frustration of Alzheimer's, he wasn't always happy. I believe the music made a huge difference. So I jumped on board to the Alive Inside movement. I support what they are doing and I want to be involved.
There are 3 things I've decided I can do to make a difference:
1. The first was obvious - Bring music to my grandmother. I emailed my mom to get a list of Grandma's favorite songs, and I have an ipod and headphones ready for her.
2. Take photos, videos, and share them. If I document the look on these beautiful older faces as they light up listening to the music, then I remind anyone who sees these photos of the joy that music brings. This became real for me today. Looking through the photos hours later, and the spark of enthusiasm is just as apparent as it was in the room. This is why my eyes have been teary :)
3. I can share music with the older people in my life or visit nursing homes and meet new people! Recorded or live music - I can bring ipods, play the piano, and start a sing-a-longs.
I'm excited to meet people, and experience their excitement towards life through music with them. One of my new friends from today is Darlene.
She is 50 years older than me, looks absolutely beautiful, and she is full of wisdom, lessons, and love. Darlene and I talked before, during (where she sat the whole hour with that brilliant smile on her face!), and after the show, as I said goodbye, she said something that shaped my perspective on the day. And I'm writing this quote from memory here, but it's pretty darn close. “Every night when I say my prayers I tell God if there’s a place for me in heaven now, I’m ready to go. But I’m still here, so there must be some reason it’s not my time yet. But this – what you’re doing here with this music – is like heaven. A whole century of memories coming back to me. Well, almost, three quarters of a century anyway. I just love you. And I hope you’ll come back.”
Click here to check out the website for Alive Inside. But don't just read about it or think about it, share music with your parents and grandparents and see what a difference you can make.
Everyone loved the music. Some even loved having their photo taken! What a beautiful experience. Incredible people. And powerful music. Thank you Rich and Kirk!
I have been so sick this winter! Living in Utah, the inversion has been causing respiratory problems for most of us in the valley and I keep picking up viruses. But I figure, as it is now March, I should probably post some photos form the beginning of the year. Here's the New Year's party from the Keys on Main dueling piano show!
THE PIANIST:
GEORGE
KENDRICK
ERIC
And everyone's favorite bartender, Benny.
This is what the place looks like at midnight:
...aaaaaand this is what it looked like after the party.
CLICK HERE to see the whole gallery from that night
Happy New Year everyone!!
Well, Ireland certainly has a night life. I asked someone in a store for a recommendation of things to do in the afternoon and she said "oh, I don't know. Go get a drink. Not much else to do." Kind of depressing since I don't drink, but they've got music in almost every pub! So I had a blast.
I sat at the bar of a Japanese restaurant, chatted with the sushi chefs, and ate gyoza. It was delicious. There was a large window to my left, so I watched as all the people hurried by. It's just a lot of tourists, but that's ok. They're all happy and going to food and music and, most importantly for the area, drinks. Giant "Guinness" signs everywhere, I don't know if it's actually the Irish people or just the people visiting Ireland, but whoever it is sure likes to drink!
Had some awesome traditional Irish music at a pub called the Globe. This is Fred, who we met on Tuesday, playing the bodhrán. He gave me a mini-lesson on how to play it and I decided that it's more complicated than people think to play it well.
Before the band started playing, I ordered my non-alcoholic beverage at the bar and chatted with a few people around there. This guy in the photo below, though, heard something about me being a photographer and said "OH! Take a picture of me. Right here." My eyes darted around uncomfortably, but the bar was pretty empty, so I pulled out the lens and flash and took a photo. Of course he wanted to see it. "Hrmmm... how about another one. I'll do my George Clooney pose." I have no idea what he meant by that, but after 15 minutes of his entertaining drunk ramblings and wanting to pose for the camera, this is what we ended up with:
I really enjoyed the trad group, because they had three of them and they all played instruments and could sang. This meant the sound of the song changed as they switched lead or instruments. Made it interesting!
After a bit there, we went down the street to a pub with a blues band. I drank an orange juice with nothing in it and was told that was an insult to the Irish. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel really uncomfortable, so I tried to be really polite and understanding while still explaining I wasn't interested in drinking alcohol... Oh well... Met some other awesome people, the lead singer and harmonica player in the band was a friend of Fred's and a great musician! They had more of a Texas blues style and it really made me want to dance. Just listening was almost as good :)
Here's the vocalist from their group. I didn't get a good picture of it, but the coolest thing about him was he also played the harmonica! I've met people who could kind of play, but this guy was wailing on it! So much fun.
And now we're in Galway. Stay tuned :)
My sister's in town this week! So, we took her to the dueling pianos at Keys on Main last night. I love going there on week nights because everything's just a little more relaxed.
Now, in the story of my life: before there was photography, there was music. I've always needed an artistic outlet, and I've sung all my life and played most every instrument at some point. I actually studied Music Education at BYU. Here's the thing, though: I grew up listening to jazz, classical, my mom's favorite music (usually stuff from the 40's), and occasionally my sister's music in the car. So, my knowledge of music theory might be strong, but my the song I actually recognize??? Well, my repertoire has definitely been lacking. So it is amazing to just sit in a piano bar on Wednesday night and hear a huge variety of different styles and songs all with insanely talented musicians and a friendly bartender to serve our non-alcoholic drinks :) I'm learning new songs, enjoying the music and the emotion... Very little compares to good live music. And I was excited to get some cool photos last night.
There was an awesome saxaphone player!
And my two favorite pianists. First, Kendrick. This guy is an entertainer. Along with many other wonderful songs of course, he managed to successfully and impressively sing Lady Ga Ga's "Poker Face" last night. And the crowd went wild!
Then there's Rich Wyman. When I first heard him sing, I just sat there with my jaw dropped. He has such a unique style in his voice with so much passion for the music, it's contagious! He has released several albums of original work and also recently released one called "Songs I Wish I Wrote." It's my new favorite "I've been sitting at a computer editing for too long and I'm going crazy" music. Refreshing and motivating, full of emotion. I love it!
Check out his website
Buy his original music on itunes
Or his new album on CD Baby
I loved how the lighting worked in these shots too. Perfect atmosphere!
Check out more photos from this evening at Keys on Main HERE
As promised, here are a few faves from the rest of Holli and David's wedding reception in Draper.
The photo below pretty much illustrates the essence of Holli to anyone who doesn't already know her. In short, she always makes you feel like she's excited to see you, and it is always genuine. Such a fun person to be around!
The food was delicious- Holli and David take their barbeque seriously... mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
I love this next sequence.
Hooray for live music!
Holli sang a love song for David right before they left for their honeymoon- it was lovely.
Huge grins? Check. Sweeeeeeet ride? Check check. Big 'ol fireworks display to send you on your way? Check check check. We're ready to rock.
That's all she wrote, folks. Have a great night!
Receptions are always different. Some are quiet, formal, and have more of a wine-and-cheese-tasting vibe. Some are rowdy, loud, and feel more like a huge party. Janet and Adam's reception at the Point was definitely more of the party variety. They entered serenaded by a mariachi band, and after a nice sit down dinner got the all the reception traditions out of the way. They cut the cake, had the traditional first dances, and then got down to business. These people were here to dance.
We're talking about 6 hours of straight party-like-you-mean-it, leave nothing out, grooving to the music. It was awesome! They had a 12 piece banda that played for about two hours (they put microphones on all the brass, including dropping one down the throat of the tuba- think I might have knocked a filling loose), and then they let the DJ go to work. People were spinning, shaking their hips, and having a blast. Not only were they having fun, but they were good! I got my white girl genes out there and tried, but... well... let's just leave it that in the future I'll leave the latin dancing to those who know what they're doing.
This little girl was absolutely adorable. With her smile and tiara, I wasn't sure who was the princess today. She definitely gave Janet a run for her money.
