A Mild Uproar of Fun

I received some kind words from the folks over at Hammer To Nail for my audio work on the feature film, Shotgun Stories. You can check out the article here.

So, we’re back home. And it was a great holiday break (short sleeves, really?) But as always, even though it seemed like we were always visiting, we still didn’t manage to see everyone. Hopefully, we will see all those we missed on our next trip back South. Of course, I took photos, which I will load on Flickr today or tomorrow. Until then, I thought it would be appropriate to end the year with a few End of the Year lists. So, here we go:

Top 10 Favorite Songs of 2008
10. Dent May - Meet Me In The Garden
9. TV on the Radio - Family Tree
8. Silver Jews - Strange Victory Strange Defeat
7. The Avett Brothers - Murder in the City
6. Bon Iver - Re:Stacks
5. Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me
4. Breathe Owl Breathe - Playing Dead
3. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
2. Destroyer - Foam Hands
1. Vic Chesnutt - You Are Never Alone

Top 10 Concerts of 2008
10. (tie) Harlan T. Bobo - Schubas/Caleixco - Millennium Park
9. Dolly Parton - Chicago Theatre
8. Ornette Coleman - Chicago Jazz Festival
7. Radiohead - Lollapalooza
6. Jarvis Cocker - Pitchfork Music Festival
5. Magnetic Fields - Old Town School of Folk Music
4. Girl Talk - Lollapalooza
3. Animal Collective - Pitchfork Music Festival
2. Bill Callahan - Millennium Park
1. Andrew Bird - Millennium Park
Honorable Mention: Vanilla Ice - Cans

Top 5 Cities Visited (work related) in 2008
5. New York
4.New Orleans
3. Charleston
2. Boston
1. Reno/Lake Tahoe

Top 5 Places Visited (non work related) in 2008
5. Mount Horeb
4. Memphis
3. Nashville
2. Greers Ferry
1. McGregor/Prairie du Chien

Top 5 Celebrities met in 2008
5. Bill Rancic
4. Mark Wahlberg
3. Garrison Keillor
2. Cookie Monster
1. Svengoolie

Top 10 Tourist Stops of 2008 (in no particular order)

• Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb
• Sears Tower Skydeck
• Architecture Boat Tour, Chicago
• Hopper/Homer Exhibit at the Art Institute
• Fenelon Place Elevator Cable Car in Dubuque, IA
• College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN
• Cafe du Monde in New Orleans
• Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque, IA
• Cheers Bar in Boston
• Weird Chicago Tour

Top 5 Most Memorable Moments in 2008 (other than Obama)
5. Sox win the AL Central.
4. Apryl graduates from IIT.
3. Eva gets cancer. And is okay.
2. The Tigers play in the NCAA Finals.
1. McKenzie Hayden Madden is born.

Top 5 Favorite Personal Photos of 2008 (in no order)

Perhaps more lists to come later. Perhaps not. Either way, here is a selection of other photos from the past year. Goodbye 2008!

If nothing else, we can say we weren’t swept!

This was my view for the first six innings of the ballgame. That means I got to be a part of the exciting fourth inning when the Sox loaded the bases and brought home Thome, Konerko, and Griffery Jr.

Sox fans!

While Wrigley is a great place to watch a ballgame, the Cell is a far easier place to work. Access into the stadium is extremely easy and the rooms are very spacious. Unlike the claustrophobic media room at Wrigley, the Cell’s media room is an auditorium. And while there was a boxed sandwich lunch for the media at Wrigley, it was food stations inside a lounge at the Cell. Quite different.

Before the game, we got one interview with Nick Swisher in the Sox dugout. At the end of the game, we weren’t able to grab any of the players on the field, so we had to go in the clubhouse to get sound bites from Ken Griffey Jr. and Gavin Floyd. So, I got to walk onto the field, hang out in the dugout, watch the game, get fed, and spend time in the clubhouse. All in a day’s work! Seeing as tickets (if you were lucky enough to purchase them at regular price) were running at $50 on the low end, I feel rather lucky!

Today, the Sox will hope to stay alive once more with Game 4 against the Tampa Rays. Go Sox!

And because you can’t get enough of batting practice, here we go once more:

Here I am working at the first game of the Cubs vs. Dodgers NLDS at Wrigley Field. For most of the game, I was in the media room watching the game. But at the end, I got to sit behind the plate in the 10th row!

The Cubs lost 7 - 2.

Tomorrow night, I will be working at the second game of the series. And then this weekend, I will be working at both the Brewers vs. Phillies game in Milwaukee and the White Sox vs. Rays at the Cell. Go White Sox! Actually, go Cubs, Brewers, and Sox since that means more jobs for me!

Here’s a short video clip of the Cubs’ batting practice before last night’s game:

I had a good shoot in Reno last week. The best part, though, was when we went out to Lake Tahoe for an amazing dinner at the Gar Woods Grill and Pier Restaurant. Absolutely, the best shrimp and lobster bisque I have ever had! And what a view!

More Reno/Lake Tahoe photos here.

When I got back home, I had a shoot the next day with Stephen Baldwin. Yes, that Baldwin.

Yesterday, I finished up a three day working stint for VH1 at this year’s Lollapalooza, which had to be largest attended in the festival’s history. Luckily, most of our time was spent away from the crowds and sun, and on a platform interviewing artists. The platform was about fifty yards away from the AT&T Main Stage on the south side. So, even when we were working or waiting to work, we had a great spot for some of the main acts and even a decent position for the Myspace Stage, which was positioned on the opposite side of the AT&T Stage. And sense we had very few interviews to get, we had multiple chances to actually go out into the festival. So, basically I got paid to attend the festival.

Here is a list of some of the musicians I was able to see (working and not working): The Go! Team, Duffy, Gogol Bordello, Mates of State, Bloc Party, Stephen Malkmus, Radiohead, The Ting Tings, Dr. Dog, The Gutter Twins, MGMT, Explosions in the Sky, Okkervil River, Broken Social Scene, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, James Lidell, Lupe Fiasco, Wilco, The Whigs, Brazilian Girls, Chromeo, G. Love, Gnarls Barkley, Girl Talk, Mark Ronson, Kayne West, and NIN.

The platform from where we were stationed most of the day. Every once in awhile it got busy with the local news.

Our vantage point from the platform.

Here we are working with a reporter for Rolling Stone out in the festival.

The insanity of a Girl Talk show.

Another angle of our spot on the platform as Radiohead is about to take stage. Notice the Sears Tower on the left hand side.

The sun setting over the city.

Radiohead at night.

The Buckingham Fountain in the middle of Grant Park (remember Married… with Children).

A few more photos here.

VIDEO UPDATE:

Radiohead performing “No Surprises” for an insane amount of people.

And I’m sure to be making a stop here.

In the last three days, I have been on seven flights that took me to video shoots in Boston, Charleston and New York. This was my first time in Boston and New York, though there wasn’t much time to go sight seeing. Most of the trip was spent at the airport or in the air, though there were some highlights.

After our shoot in Boston, I walked around downtown for a few hours, taking in a city that I have been wanting to visit for years. Below are a few photos I took:

Boston from my hotel room.

The first public library in the United States.

Church across from the Boston Public Library.

I know I probably looked silly taking this picture, but I was fascinated by a public restroom that takes credit cards.

As soon as I got to Public Garden Park, I knew I was close to the Cheers bar. The park, which overlooks the business district, was shown a lot during the series to transition from scene to scene. I took a few photos, but none of them do justice to the park’s beauty.

Another section of Boston’s Public Garden Park.

The Bull & Finch Pub, better know worldwide as the Cheers bar, is located just outside of the Public Garden. Sure it might be a tourist trap, but being a huge fan of the television show, I have been wanting to see it for myself for some time. Of course, the exterior was the only part of the bar used for the show, though it did claim to be the original inspiration for Cheers. I bought a T-shirt for myself and a postcard for Apryl.

That night, Mike (the camerman) and I ate at a sports bar near our hotel. While eating New England clam chowder, we watched as both the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics lost their games.

After our work was done in Charleston, we attended a baseball game of the River Dogs, a minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees. That night, they were taking on the Greenville Drive, affiliates of the Boston Red Sox. Our front row box sets cost a whopping ten bucks! The Drive won 3-2 in 11 innings. The best part? The ball park was two blocks from our hotel!

I never even had the time to take out my camera for the New York part of the trip. We got into New York around noon and headed straight to the location for the shoot. When we were done around six o’clock, we headed straight to LaGuardia for our flight. The best part of the trip in NY, other than the fact that I can now say I’ve actually been to the city, was that our shoot was in the Chrysler Building. I’m looking forward to the day when I get to go back and visit for real.

Next week, we head out to Tulsa.

Thanks everyone for all the cards and birthday wishes this week. Apryl and I had a fun yet odd time celebrating on Monday with a White Sox game against the Orioles that had a two hour rain delay followed by an up and down score that continued until the game was finally suspended in the 11th inning. The game is going to be resumed in Baltimore in August.

Some photos from the game:

There was a loud applause for the grounds crew as they removed the tarp after a two hour rain delay to start the game.

Since the rain never stopped there were very few people in the lower decks. Luckily, our seats were the first in the lower deck to have a cover over them. So, we stayed relatively dry during the entire game.

My favorite, Joe Crede, at bat right before being hit by the pitch. Walk it off Joe!

My birthday sign got me and Apryl on the Jumbotron. And it only took 7 innings!

Just happy to be at the ball park!

Apryl is probably wondering when this game is going to ever end!

So the Orioles score in the 11th inning which makes me think we surely have lost this game. I mean by the game’s end we left 14 batters on plate. However, Juan Uribe, who hasn’t played the entire day, comes into the game and hits a home run to tie up the score. Unfortunately, the Sox couldn’t score anymore and the game was finally called off due to an excessively muddy field and the continuing down pour.

Suspended play.

That night we got some tasty sushi from Coast and enjoyed some of Apryl’s wonderful chocolate pie!

The rest of the week was spent working (including a segment for the Ellen show at our favorite pizza joint Giordano’s) and taking Eva for her follow up. Another thank you to everyone that’s been asking about Eva Cat. She is doing well and we were told there is “no evidence of recurrent disease”. On Monday we will find the results of her blood work. Since we’re talking about Eva, I’ll finish this post with an Eva photo:

Eva ready to listen to some records!