Jewish Vintage Annals Archive Podcast

Ep. 24: GODLIS (Photographer)

David Godlis, who is best known by his last name GODLIS, has been photographing in New York City since 1976. A “street photographer” in the style of Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand, he wandered into the nightclub CBGB’s one night, and has become known for his photographs of the NYC Punk scene. GODLIS, who shot in the style of photographers Brassai and Robert Frank, used his handheld Leica camera and Tri-X film to capture his subjects by the natural light of the Bowery outside as well as inside the club CBGB’s. His book of those photographs, HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT, artistically documented that club between the years 1976 and1979, when Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie, Richard Hell, Talking Heads and Television ruled the Bowery. Since the late 1980’s, GODLIS has been shooting the New York Film Festival, where he has been the unofficial official photographer for the last 25 years. Now thoroughly enmeshed in the digital world with a FUJI X camera, he shoots assignments and exhibits his photographs internationally. His two books of “street photography” - GODLIS STREETS and GODLIS MIAMI are available from Reel Art Press.  https://www.godlis.com/ [https://www.godlis.com/] https://www.instagram.com/godlis [https://www.instagram.com/godlis] Stephen Bluhm Sound Engineer/ Editor https://www.stephenbluhm.fun [https://www.stephenbluhm.fun]

Ep. 23: Aidan Strauss of Grozov (Heavy-Metal music)

Ep. 23: Aidan Strauss of Grozov (Heavy-Metal music) Pure and true Heavy Metal from Philadelphia's darkest dungeons. We interview Aidan Strauss from Grozov about how he got his start in music and inspiration. We talk a lot about Lord of The Rings bands, and Jewish stuff as well. He also performs at the end. He is an interesting musician to keep out an eye on. Find info on the band below. Band Info.  https://grozov.bandcamp.com/ [https://grozov.bandcamp.com/] https://linktr.ee/grozov [https://linktr.ee/grozov]

Ep. 22: Michael Weinstein (Photographer) Rock and Roll Portraits

Michael Weinstein’s career began in 1978, after graduating from the University of Michigan with an English degree. During that time, Michael worked as a printer at the Ross-Ehlert Photo Lab (one of Chicago’s most well known) in the black and white film department. Simultaneously, the music scene in Chicago was bursting at the seams. New and exciting acts, including Rock and Roll, Blues and Punk as well as more established musicians were playing in a wider assortment of venues. It was an extremely exciting time, and a rare opportunity to be documenting all of the musical acts that were in Chicago.  Weinstein spent his days at Ross-Ehlert printing for work, and most nights he would photograph shows and venues all over the Chicago area. On weekends, Michael would develop his film at a place known as The Darkroom - a communal darkroom dedicated to working with both amateurs and professionals. It was an inspirational home base for Weinstein as a young photographer, and a primary influence on his whole career. In the basement of The Darkroom was the office of  Photo Reserve, an agency that specialized in Rock and Roll photography and covered most of the musical venues in and out of the city. Photo Reserve provided Weinstein with access to almost every musical event in the city. As a result, Michael’s Rock and Roll photos appeared in local Chicago publications, as well as most of the major national music magazines including Rolling Stone. Michael has had the good fortune to photograph full-time ever since. He has photographed portraits for practically every national magazine and has photographed fashion for numerous retailers. For the last 25 years, Weinstein grew his namesake MW Studio, into one of NYC’s top boutique Real Estate and architectural photography studios.  After spending the past few years archiving all of his music photography from the special period of the late 70s and early 80s, Weinstein premiers this treasure trove of photos featuring some of Rock and Roll’s biggest stars. This collection  - sitting in storage for over 40 years, represents an opening into the past,  and has the quality of a time capsule. Michael wants people to be able to look at a single photo and tap into the emotional and visceral experience of being there. Michael is thrilled to share these images- when Rock and Roll was Rock and Roll!  ⁠https://www.themfgallery.com/michaelweinsteinphotographer⁠ Music   Richie by B.J Snowden ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bjsnowdenmusic.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  I Never Feel Alone Instrumental by Stephen Bluhm  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.stephenbluhm.fun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.vintageannalsarchive.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Ep. 21: Andy Sweet Legacy (Photographer)

Andrew John Sweet was a young photographer living and working in Miami Beach in the late 1970s. His life and his art were cut tragically short when he was murdered on October 16, 1982. Andy left an extensive body of work that exhibits a level of creative maturity far beyond his years. His photographs are a testimony to a rich but often overlooked period of Miami Beach’s cultural heritage. Andy Sweet returned home to Miami Beach after receiving a Masters degree in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1977, to photograph the old world Jewish culture that then distinguished South Beach. While in graduate school, Andy was part of a small faction of young artist-photographers who were discovering the creative possibilities of color imagery. His beach-ball hues perfectly described the vivid light and lively culture he explored and portrayed, a culture that many others found bleak and pedestrian.   He photographed in this way until his death in 1982. He was only 29 years old. Citizens of the City of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County were shocked and horrified by Andy’s senseless murder. This native son, affable and fun-loving, who, having entered his artistic prime and was becoming well known for establishing an important visual legacy, was abruptly gone. While mourners overflowed from the sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El, The Miami Herald was preparing a tribute about Andy Sweet; it was the cover story in Tropic magazine, its Sunday supplement. Family and friends sat shiva while the police searched for his killers. Time passed, but the Sweet family and their friends kept an emotional vigil. Andy’s photographs, in boxes containing hundreds of large colorful prints, became their focal point. His archive would represent his richly-lived short life. However, if there was any glory in their undertakings, there would be much more anguish. Andy’s aesthetic was as fresh as his colors. He rejected formalist theory and idea-driven imagery in favor of immediate and unmediated responses, of living it up and aligning himself with the people he knew he was privileged to photograph. Andy admired the work of Diane Arbus, and like her he rejected the notion of self-conscious art making. The pure and spirited photograph was what mattered. He knew he was an artist but his aesthetic, his intellect, and his ego required that he conceal this fact in service of achieving the caliber of photograph he desired. Intuitive, but certain, each click of his camera’s shutter release was an affirmation. https://www.andysweetphotolegacy.com

Ep.20: Ruthann Friedman (Musician)

Ruthann Friedman is one of the most captivating singer-songwriters of the 60s California scene. Yet you’ve probably never heard of her. If you have, it’s most likely because you know she penned The Association’s irresistible pop smash, “Windy.” But Friedman created many more extraordinary songs, crossed genre lines, and ended up being ignored by the mainstream. In an era of hippie idealism and wonderment, Friedman hung out with Janis, The Dead, Donovan, Ken Kesey, Van Dyke Parks and Hoyt Axton. She crashed at David Crosby’s pad. And just prior to Grace Slick’s grand entrance, almost landed the lead vocalist role with Jefferson Airplane. In 1967, with “Windy,” Friedman became just the third female songwriter to reach the number one position on the charts. She wrote and sang songs in the cult flick “Peace Killers.” Her 1969 solo album, the impressive “Constant Companion” (on Warner Reprise) should have elevated her to Laura Nyro-like status. But it quickly disappeared. Friedman was soon focusing on raising a family. In 2006, the Water label reissued “Constant Companion,” spearheading a rediscovery of Friedman’s work. Water followed up with a collection of rare tracks, “A Hurried Life,” comprised of home and studio recordings, circa 1965-71. The U.K. label Now Sounds has since released an expanded version of “Constant Companion,” as well as another compilation, “Windy: A Ruthann Friedman Songbook.” Friedman has returned with her first new album in 40 years, the strikingly beautiful “Chinatown” (Wolfgang Records). Van Dyke Parks guests on piano and accordion. Friedman’s writing proves to be honest, insightful and consistently surprising. Her songs are melodically intriguing and entrancing; lyrically profound and thought-provoking. The material is deeply personal and often reflects the fact that Friedman has never abandoned her social/political conscience.  http://popcultureclassics.com/friedman.html [http://popcultureclassics.com/friedman.html]