BG paid me a visit.

Byron recorded some of his really amazing and nuanced rock music with me.

Angie at home.

Erin playing harmonica for Jeff.

At DIY show. On the right is Robert Eggplant.

Doug

Grace

Ellen and Sierra

Ryan DJing a gallery show.

Bill

Erin

Claire and Alex

Maria

Denney and Maria

Denney and Sea

Matt and Maria

Ryan

Nelly and Winston

Adam and me

Imani

Patrick Tabor at Violence Creeps show at Eli’s Mile High Club. Patrick is in a long term romantic relationship with VC’s singer Amber. I’ve discussed with Patrick the subject of romantic love a few times. He and I are both diehard romantics, and seemingly of only a pretty small number of people in the Oakland DIY scene who are romantically monogamous.

Denney

Brontez told me his thoughts on Bikini Kill.

…and then showed me his BK tat, which I think was his newest tat.

Bill

I forget this guy’s name, but he played guitar in CCR Headcleaner.

Chani (bass for Straight Crimes) at her show.

Greg Ashley and Anna Hillburg at Anna’s show at The Octopus Literary Salon. Greg was the producer-engineer of Anna’s record.

Dawn and I went to see ‘Black Panther’ together. After the film finished, we talked while standing on the sidewalk late at night for 2 hours. Dawn is really special.

Terry came over to gift me his cute red microwave.

Brontez

Adam and Jon at The Hole.

Ellen

This is Piña, who is a famous tattoo artist in Oakland.

Vanessa and Sean showing off the soon to be released No Babies LP.

This is Silvi, who co-owned the Hella Vegan Eats vegan restaurant with her partner Tiff.

Allegra and Silvi

Mila

Shaun and Mila (The Acharis)

No Babies LP release show.

Matt Ferrara (from bands Toyota and The Umbrellas).

Zoe Stiller, who plays guitar in undō, drums and sings in MEM, and drums in Petheaven. On the front of her kick drum, she has painted in black paint “I Will Choose How I Die”, which I love.

This is Tyler, who was at a show for The Acharis. I didn’t know him, but he was super nice to me. He was a fisherman who had been living on a fishing boat for many months and just got off, so he was super stoked to have conversations with people.

Raymundo Calderon (Stage Manager for Eli’s Mile High Club) at Oakland house show.

Mila

Kevn

Zoe and Angie

Lexie

This is Down at Lulu’s. It’s in Oakland right next to Berkeley. I’m friends with several of the women who work here, and they’re all really amazing and interesting people. Of all the secondhand clothing stores, this place seems to be the most connected to the Oakland DIY music scene.

Kiss from a Rose (Grace’s band). Grace has a thoughtfulness and integrity about her which I’m really impressed with.

Denney and Sean. The two of them were “Deth of the Cool”, which was Denney’s new band. They were kinda “porch punk” in style, which was a stylistic departure for Denney. The single (that I made a music video for) for their record was “Livin’ in a Car”.

Tina organizes the “Out of Focus Music Video Festival” every year with help from her husband Loren. For the festival, local bands submit to them the music videos they made that year, and Tina and Loren narrow it down to the best ~ 20 or so. Then, they host a showing of those videos at The New Parkway Theater, and the audience rates their favorite video, and a winner is then declared.

Loren, at the Out of Focus Music Video Festival.

This is me at the Out of Focus Music Video festival with Jody Stillwater, who was the Director of the music video for the Oakland band Small Crimes. The production value of that video was so high, my mind was completely blown. Jody is a remarkable talent.

Me with Josie.

Shaun

Me with Tina and Loren at the conclusion of their Fourth Annual Out Of Focus Music Video Festival.

BG

Theo and Michael

Joanna, Theo, Jon

Theo and Jon

Theo and Michael

Kyle extremely generously offered to be my first interview for my Oakland DIY music documentary. I wanted him to be the first one because I knew he would be nice to me if I had any unforeseen technical problems (there didn’t end up being any).

Kelvin

Angie

This is Dylan and Martin Bisi, who came on a tour.

Martin Bisi has always been my favorite recording engineer, so hosting him in my home for a night and getting him a show for his band to perform at was an incredible honor.

Marc Feliciano DJ’d Martin’s show. Marc played an extended dance hall mix of a song by The Tempers that Martin produced in 1984 that Martin told me no one ever plays anymore.

Ryan and me

Maria, me, and Ryan

Marc Feliciano and me

Maria and Dylan

Martin and Maria

Marc Feliciano and Martin Bisi

Martin Bisi in my home.

Adam was my 2nd documentary interview. He told me the story of The Hole.

Me with New Zealand musician Matt Bullimore, who lived in Oakland for a long time.

Moira and Jon

Jen and Jon

Moira and Jen

This is me with Oakland musician and producer-engineer Luis Gutiérrez.

Ryan at Dildo Factory

Cheryl and Ryan

Dany and Ryan

Dany was my 3rd interview for my documentary.

This is Ezra, who plays bass in The Younger Lovers.

This is Brontez Purnell and Sophia Wang (who collectively are the Brontez Purnell Dance Company), at a Younger Lovers show at The Ivy Room in Albany, CA.

Moe Staiano composed a large orchestral piece called “Death of a Piano”, the live performance of which climaxed with Moe violently completely physically obliterating an acoustic piano with a sledgehammer.

This is the piano Moe destroyed with his sledgehammer onstage.

This is from my interview of Juancy Matos for my Oakland DIY music documentary.

Marc with wife Anabel. Anabel is a former senior editor for Nickelodeon, and now works at Down at Lulu’s and also helps professional psychics get more work with a smartphone app. I think it’s super cool that Marc and Anabel first met on Myspace, because Anabel loved Marc’s noise rock band.

I interviewed Emma (former volunteers manager for The Hole) for my documentary.

This was my 38th bday party. I remember Danielle telling me she really liked how cool my other friends are.

This is me and Federico of the Italian band Father Murphy at their show in a backyard in Oakland. I am utterly blown away by that band’s records, all of which were mixed by Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier. and all released on audiophile vinyl with amazing packaging.

Me and Father Murphy

Zoe at Dildo Factory

Jon and Cheryl

Me and Jon

Me and Theo

Danielle, me, Olivia, and Rachel

Daniel from the Sacramento/Oakland band Pregnant

Zoe and Daniel at Oakland.Secret

Maya Songbird at Sgraffito

Tiff

Allegra at Sgraffito show

Shrine to Ara Jo

Maya Songbird right before her band Telepathic Children’s debut performance.

BG

Aaron

Jen and Steve

Sasha

Kat

Steve

Angie

I got to have lunch with my good friend Akiko (leader of Ötzi and Yama Uba). Akiko is my go-to resource for whenever I’m confused about the politics of punk, post punk, the Oakland scene, or probably anything about the current era (my cultural “identity” is basically 90’s indie rock).

Dan Shaw, guitarist for Violence Creeps

Shaun

The Acharis (Shaun and Mila)

Dany and Ryan

Ashley

Ryan and BG

BG’s dog “Gristle”

Michael Bridgmon

It was very nice to see this couple at this show, because I almost never see couples at Oakland DIY shows.

Joanna of the band ‘Prinsess’

Tommy and BG

Watkins/Peacock

Dawn and Julie, who both worked at Down at Lulu’s.

This is the band Lacker at a show of theirs.

I forget this guy’s name, but he’s in the band Marbled Eye and he’s a killer drummer.

I remember this night Akiko advised me on how I can healthily manage my existential alienation.

Adam

Danielle is quite simply one of the most angelic humans I have ever encountered. I deeply hope she lives to be ecstatically happy her whole life.

Grace was working as a teacher at Oakland High School, and was part of the teacher’s strike concerning the Oakland school district not paying its teachers living wages. Grace asked me to document the protest march from the school to Oakland city hall, so I did.

Grace speaking in front of Oakland City Hall.

Maria and Cheryl of the band With Sprinkles

Brandon, me, and Dawn on Dawn’s bday.

I brought Dawn a blue rose.

New Years Eve. Moira was visiting me from Michigan.