WE SKIPPED THE ECLIPSE WITH LISTENING PARTY
It was June 10th, 2017. Two guys walked into a bar. In that bar was a band. The guys stayed and watched the set, shot some photos and video, complimented the gentlemen for the great show, and exited the bar. They left satisfied.
That shitty attempt at an intro ends right there because, well, it just has to.
The truth is that Alex and I enjoyed this little music festival, Electric City Experience, in Kaukauna, WI that weekend. The town isn't really the kind of place you'd expect to have a vibrant music festival filling each of the handful of bars with an all day line-up of original music, but they did it. They did it well.
Allow me to blame the bourbon, but I don't remember the name of the bar or the time of day we made our way there, but I remember seeing the guys in Listening Party play for the first time. It was three bearded men filling the small room with big energy. Weston's voice is powerful; guitar playing, percussive. Multi-instrumentalist Josh is magic on the guitar and mandolin. Jacob is aggressive with the piano keys while belting vocal harmonies. We enjoyed every bit of it.
The photos from that show were posted online and followed shortly by a request to work together. We agreed.
After navigating our own busy summer itinerary with their extensive schedule of shows, we were able to get the guys up to Green Bay on August 21st. Ignorant to the event of a solar eclipse we made the decision to shoot exclusively on film. Although you and I can agree that Outer Space and it's happenings are fascinating, I generally don't have these types of events on my radar no matter how publicized they may be. Things worked out though, and the light we needed stuck around for the shoot. Three North - 1. Space - 0.
The decision to shoot these photos on both 35 & 120mm film was an easy one to make. Immediately it just felt right for a band like Listening Party. Their energetic Americana-Folk sound almost demanded it. Because vibes speak, maaan. Aside from the obvious fact that film has an irreplaceable character and beauty, the process has a way of altering the dynamic between photographer and subject. Weston, Joshua, and Jacob are laid back and hilarious. They have great sense of each other. Removing the clear benefits of digital photography re-opens a space for the experience and benefits of shooting analog. It keeps the focus on interacting and experiencing the subject. Trust and instinct with the shutter. Alex and I have been shooting loads of film in our respective personal lives and it was a great experience to bring it into Three North.
I urge you to check out Listening Party and get to a show. To sedate your immediate needs the guys recorded two Tenant Sessions with us. You can view them by clicking here and here.
I also urge you to check out TheDarkroom.com for your film developing and scanning needs. We sent them a big envelope packed with Kodak Porta 400, Ilford Delta 400, and Cinestill 800 and couldn't be happier with the results.
We hope you enjoy these photographs as much as we enjoyed making them.
