DAILY REMINDER 1960

Wow, it's been a while. Anyway, just a quick post to mention a new/old project. I semi-started this a couple of years ago, and it kept being put on the backburner for various reasons. The draw is undeniable though, and now is a good time to work. I have begun the scanning/research phase, and finally scanning some pages has gotten me really excited, and very happy to get this project moving again. So, I'm posting this in case someone stumbles upon it. The project will actually be updated on my website: chadpelton.com

The gist: I discovered a small red diary a few years ago while shopping at my favorite secondhand store in Knoxville, TN (A&R Furniture). The "A" in A&R is Alex, a very kind man that I had gotten to know while working at a local record store. He would come in and we would talk old country music and swap records. Extremely nice guy, with a fascinating accent/turn of phrase (but that's another story). I bought the journal mostly to reuse, or just out of curiosity, but found it was filled with roughly 6 months of entries; some handwritten, some neatly typed. It was purchased by Alex along with many more personal items in an Estate Sale, and I have since learned the owner's name, and quite a bit about the fascinating life that unfolds.

Husband and wife, Reece and Doris, are the main characters. We get a glimpse into their daily routines, places of residence, hobbies, work life, family life, and an overall view of the happenings of a North Knoxville family for 6 months in 1960. So, there's that. It's interesting, and full of familiar and not-so familiar places. Places still there, and places long abandoned. If you read it a bit more deeply, we also see something else, an undercurrent if you will.

This project will attempt (through photos, scans, ephemera, interviews, etc.) to deconstruct one man's journal, and hopefully tell his story, while at the same time get at the heart of what all of us experience. Through 6 months of writing we are able to see love, loss, mental anguish, husband/wife conflict, gender roles, social constructs, and a host of obvious themes ... as well as a subtext that I will get to as the project progresses. It's a goodern!

Follow along if you will.
D A I L Y - R E M I N D E R - 1 9 6 0

Until later ...

Johnson City, TN | Spring 2012. Looks like this blog-thing is becoming pretty obsolete, at least for my purposes. Until the next posting I will leave you with this, from my trip up to Bristol / Johnson City this past spring. It was a bizarre trip. My dog Ned and I were going camping, but we wound up picking up a stranded drummer on the side of the road with a broken down Toyota van (a borrowed Toyota van, mind you). After giving him a ride to his gig in North Carolina (close to Boone) we looked for a campsite in the dark, and eventually just drove back to Elizabethton to a pretty dumpy hotel room. It was fun though. Went to Johnson City the next day for lunch with a friend and wound up at this Indian Restaurant (above).

Hatch Customers | Louisville, KY (2009?) I haven't picked up a camera in a good while, and it's bumming me out. I was reminded this week of the Louisville (River) project my friend Lawson and I started a few years ago (sheesh). I never felt like I made enough images on that trip, and I have been looking for the chance to pick up some of my slack, so we can finish the deal. Well, I'll be headed to Lexington and Louisville this weekend to play a couple of shows and I am going to attempt to find some time to make art. It's hard to make time when you're traveling with 4 other guys, a bunch of equipment that has to be lugged, and time constraints. I have also been reluctant to take my camera on the road for fear of losing track of it, or the possibility of it getting stolen (ridiculous excuses, I know). So, between Louisville, and an upcoming 3 week hiatus to Virginia, I am extremely excited about making some new work happen, and just as excited to have time off, and the chance to look around with more than a casual glance. I need to buy some film.

Still Wanna Fight (release day)

This blog is becoming more and more neglected ... oh well, lots going on. For one, this new record had it's international release today, July 3rd. It's been a fun year in band-land, and the past couple of months have been loaded with playing out, publicizing, and generally goofing off in the name of music, commerce, and fun. You can now listen to it, and/or purchase it at Bandcamp, iTunes, The Disc Exchange in Knoxville, from our very own webstore, etc, etc, etc .....
Here's the bandcamp link:
Still Wanna Fight on Bandcamp

It's a month away, but I am slammed with work at the moment and figured I'd go ahead post this now. More info to come later this month.

For now:

June 1st FIRST FRIDAY
Small Hall Gallery | @ MagPies on N. Central in Knoxville

Save More, Get More includes selections from roughly 3 years of exploring the notion that "what you put in is what you get out". Sometimes expectations lead to disappointment. Sometimes expectations lead to awesomeness. Sometimes, it’s a matter of our point of view and attitude that determine if what we’re getting is indeed what we want and/or need.

Alec Soth | Nashville

Alec Soth | Lecture | Thurs. April 26

Just found out about this today. Short notice, but anyone near Nashville interested in Alec Soth, photos, photo books, or seeing interesting lectures on art-type subjects.

Go. I wish I could make it.

Speaking of Courts ...

© Ward Roberts | From the series 'Courts'

This series is hitting the spot this morning. I wish I could shoot hoops on some of these courts, dahang.

Ward Roberts | Courts 

Mic Harrison and The High Score | New Album on the way ...

Goals.

Goal | Sharps Chapel, TN

I think I've mentioned it here before, but for some reason when I get thoughtful, sad, or need to vent, my first instinct (one of them) is to shoot basketball. I have a "go-to" spot that is usually quiet and free for a few hours of shooting. This weekend it was not, so I went on the hunt for something relatively close to my house. I found roughly 7 goals. Two of these were gated, and like 8 ft. tall instead of the regulation 10 ft. Three of them had no rims whatsoever, and one was in a busy parking lot with cars parked all around it. Oh, one spot had 3 goals with a no loitering sign, and another sign that informed me it was a "Police Observation Point". Sheesh.

I could go to the University and shoot, but then you have to deal with people. We wouldn't want that now would we? Plus, it's not dog friendly. My new mission for the coming weeks is to find a good, somewhat-private goal where I can spend a few hours with my dog ... shooting hoops and processing life. Maybe I should create a map of useable and non-useable goals. 

Monday March 12 | 7PM | UT Art & Architecture Building

Go see jw lawson's Night Series at the Art & Architecture building. The opening is Monday night, March 12, but the work will be viewable all month, so if you find yourself over on campus treat yourself to some Lawson Night Work.

Good Question, kiddo...

Maggie | 2010 | Knoxville, TN

That's Maggie ... a friend's daughter. I took her picture a couple of years ago, and always thought it looks like she's doing the robot. Haha. She has nothing to do with this post really, other than she is a cute kiddo.

I went to a friend's classroom this week to show her students how books are made. I did this a few years ago, but back then I was showing them slides of bears and tigers, and it seemed so much more exciting. The thought of telling a bunch of 4 and 5 year-olds about my job designing books was a bit terrifying to be quite honest. Once I got in the room, however, I remembered what it's like to hang out with 4 and 5 year olds. They are interested in ANYTHING someone new has to say, and they are at a stage of intense curiosity and brutal honesty. I don't get to spend much time around kids, and it was a great reminder that they aren't as intimidating as they seem. They are just mini-people, but maybe less tainted and actually more interesting in the end. Definitely more honest and spontaneous.

At the end of me showing them a torn-apart book (so they could see how they are made), and explaining a few different kinds of books, it was question time. "How many words are in those books?", "Do you make picture books too?", etc ... etc ... but then, a little girl in the front row asked the best work-related question I've been asked in a long while.

"Why did you choose to make books for a living?"

Good one. I've been thinking on how to answer that question all week, and I've been thankful my friend Lisa asks her friends to be involved with her kids every year. It was a refreshing visit, and provided a bit of inspiration, as well as making me laugh a little.

meanwhile

Pal's | Kingsport, TN (Summer 2011)
"Hot dogs are still serious business, but we're having a lot of fun!"

I'm finally getting the chance to scan some film from the past 6 months, and this one is from my trip to Bristol over the summer with my buddy Lawson. Pal's is a regional fast-food chain, and I believe Kingsport is home to the headquarters. There is a great mural on the building next to Pal's, and this is just a small part of it.

I had the 'sauce-burger' with fries, so you know.

I am also getting my old 35mm fixed and making a waterproof box to go in my truck ... that way I will always have a camera with me. Yes, I suppose I could buy a small digital camera for that, but then I wouldn't get to make a fancy waterproof box to go in my truck, now would I?

One day I will have a fancy digital camera. One day...