A New Project: Songs For Eating And Drinking

Okay, I’m really excited to share.

Throw some big-time musicians around a table with some amazing up and comers, feed ’em like kings and queens, and what do you get? You get some stunning musical performances and a bunch of honest and richly textured video–like this one above–where Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam and Barb Ireland cover “Cool Water” by Hank Williams. You also get a whole bunch of beautifully intimate still images and a really fun project that a friend and I have pulled together… Introducing: Songs For Eating And Drinking.

Okay, here’s the concept: Get a bunch of insanely talented musicians together, and let them share songs, food, and drink. Many a musical career starts with small audiences, impromptu performances, late night mutterings; and then the lucky end up on large stages and tucked deep inside recording studios – often vastly disconnected from those that love their music. My friends in the music industry have bellyached that industry folk hardly ever share food in a meaningful way – or rarely just get together and effin chill. So my good friend Michael, who has been putting amazing people at big dinner tables for a several years now, reached out to me… We connected and decided to take this to the next level, creating these evenings for our musician friends built around long tables, remarkable locations, sturdy drinking food, and bottles of wine and whiskey – with the hope that throughout each night songs would rise up from the table…and with the hope that we could share that music with the world.

I think we’re onto something.

My favorite part? Both Michael and I are physically at the table, eating, chilling, hanging out. Michael had gotten all the food lined up–an absolutely amazing job, I might add…ribs, succotash, sangria…a feast–and then he’s able to just sort of direct a small but zesty staff of helpers. I photograph from the table and immediate surrounds, as the night leads us along… 3200 iso, using a D3 and an old Hassie 503cm. I’m also directing my amazing video and audio crew from the table, popping up here and there, but fully IN the evening. We’ve got a great plan going in, but we also keep it loose and raw and real, low profile – the crew does a spectacular job… Talk about a fun personal project. I’ve always longed to photograph my musician friends in this way – from within an evening rather than from outside it – and without the annoyances sometimes associated with a handcuffed music industry budget and without the cold distance of concert halls. With this project, we’re able to really get in there. Simple, gritty, real, honest. But there’s more…

I sure hope you want to see more videos, still photos, and get some more background on the project. If so, click the ‘Continue Reading’ link below.

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Songs For Eating and Drinking is the bringing together of the world’s most talented musicians and letting them share songs, food, and drink. Many a musical career starts with small audiences, impromptu performances, and late night mutterings. These cozy and soulful evenings are a return to those days.

If I can talk you into checking out our S.F.E.A.D. site thoroughly, you won’t be disappointed. There are two other video performances from bands that, if you’re in the uber know, you’ll have heard of: Head Like a Kite (so cool – we’ve used their music in our vids before) and Fences(a remarkable new band that has yet to release a full length album, but will do so very soon and it will rule) and if you’re not in the uber-know, well, now you are.

And guess what, there’s more. We’ll be posting two or three videos from our last evening each week or so for the next month or two, so check in here with us (I’ll be embedding some here at ChaseJarvis.com/blog), but also stay tuned to the SFEAD site via RSS or subscribe via email. The full roster of artists at our table a few nights ago:

–Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) and Barb Ireland (The Fags)
–The Saturday Knights
–Loch Lomond
–Tiny Vipers
–Head Like A Kite
–Sarah Rudinoff
–Fences
–Arthur and Yu

And of course, I’d also love for you to check out some of my images from the evening. There’s a handful here below, but you can get a hundred more by clicking through to this page (don’t forget there are two pages…).

Lastly, before you get onto the still images …just a heads up: we’ve got a whole series of these evenings planned. Many amazing musicians. I hope you get to enjoy some of your favorites in future posts, as well as learn about some new bands. Buy some of these bands’ music. Support them. New, fresh music puts a bounce in your step. There’s a huge range of artist in this project, from hipster, to pop, to folk, hip hop, and good old rock n roll. Also be sure to visit Michael’s OnePot.org page – he’s a great guy and doing really brilliant stuff.

And stay tuned for more. Thanks for letting me gush – this is a really fun one 😉

Fences. Diabetes.

Tilson and Barfly from The Saturday Knights laying lyrics over Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard

Headlike a kite, backlit.

The wonderful and elegant, Karen Loria… Pearl Jam’s photographer, Ten Club champion. Shot with the good ol’ Hassie.

My partner in crime, Micheal Hebb.

Jesse from Subpop’s Tiny Vipers.

Early in the night, ace music writer, Jonathan Zwickel.

The amazingly cool Cheryl Waters of KEXP, along with our very own Cody and Trent from Head Like a Kite.

100 more photos here…