i grew up on vinyl since i was in my mother's womb...  when i became conscious of what the physical format of vinyl actually was, i recognized that this medium which stored sounds was a healing mechanism- it was used to calm the soul after a fight, or just to recapture memories. 

i used to purchase music on my own all the time, but it wasn't until i was 15 years old when i truly started seriously COLLECTING vinyl.  some time after this initial point my first musical teacher (after my mother) was a man named pat. longo; he was quite patient with me as i sat wide-eyed and eager, simply listening to him share information and histories of different record labels.  he'd wax poetic on the mechanisms of certain producers, arrangers and artists.  it was the first time i had actually heard someone speak in depth about the SCIENCE of music- i was hooked for life.  he'd put that needle on the first track and INSTANTLY knew what i liked.  the shop he worked at (owned by the inimitable robert cohen), finyl vinyl, was filled with internationally known producers and DJs, as well as long-time music enthusiasts. i will always love and honor him for teaching me and making me feel welcome in this world- and we are still friends today, after almost 20 years. 

in 2009, pat. was featured in a site called called dust and grooves, dedicated to featuring vinyl enthusiasts and collectors.    he introduced me to the 'curator' of the site, eilon paz, who has started a kickstarter page to raise money for a book he is self-publishing.  paz describes himself as having:

"moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2008 after having a successful career as a photographer in Israel. I decided to move to NY to evolve, expand, and progress as a professional photographer. As a working photographer, I was always on the look out for personal projects to nourish my creativity, and since I’m primarily a portrait photographer, I was looking for a subject matter that will fulfill my passion for photography and music. I was always collecting records, but back home it was very limited. When I arrived to NY suddenly the sky was the limit. People were digging for vinyl records everywhere. It suddenly made sense that there is a whole scene here that could and should be documented. This gave me a whole new inspiration for a personal project."

as a person who is a collector of vinyl (who is obsessed with looking at others' collections), as well as a person who has majored in photograhy (i studied under the great jazz photographer roy decarava); paz' project is something which intrigues me.  it was definitely a pleasure to speak with him, as it's easy to feel the passion in which he feels for his work. 

take a listen, watch and enjoy.  and check out what the kickstarter project (which ends 10 august 1012) entails, as well as paz' dust and grooves site. 

www.kickstarter.com/projects/dustandgrooves/a-photography-book-about-vinyl-collectors-dust-and

www.dustandgrooves.com/

 

 (note:  all images/videos are copyrighted to eilon paz and dust & grooves...)

i first saw this incredibly beautiful woman on youtube, speaking of health, inside and out, and connecting it with the womb.  nubia sutton was her name, and instantly i felt compelled to connect with her.  how often does one feel compelled to connect with someone they see on a video?  i don't know the answer to that (besides energy); i know for me, it is very rare.  i am completely fortunate that i did make that decision to make the steps to reach her.  when we spoke, immediately we connected- not only due to our both growing up in brooklyn, new york; but also in our desire to seek truth through learning and sharing information and pro-activity. 

in this conversation we speak on herbs and medicines, self-healing, food/diet, spirituality and religion, connection to the ancestors, hair, and more! 

here are a few of her videos:

http://youtu.be/OajOs2A8r8o

http://youtu.be/vHCbz7F4udE

http://youtu.be/xcghR5UVAGQ

http://youtu.be/3iRR2YBsupQ

here is the story of how she came to connect with a raw food diet:

http://blackrawfoodgoddess999.wordpress.com

and here is sister nubia's site:

http://www.theblackberrybeauty.com/

Portland-based Patrick Lamb, on Friday the 17th of February, will be honouring the greatest- STEVIE WONDER- at Jimmy Mak's (at both 7:30 and 10 pm)!!!  To make the evening even more special, Nate Watts and Tyrone Hendrix (STEVIE'S bassist and drummer, respectively) will be there to bring their joy...  Here, we speak with Mr. Lamb about the show and those who are involved; as well as what STEVIE means to him, amongst other things. 

from patricklamb.com:

“One of the best instrumentalists I’ve ever worked with..” ~Bobby Caldwell

“Patrick Lamb’s playing and singing are simply fabulous!” ~Two–Time Grammy Winning Diane Schuur

Patrick is one of those extraordinary performers who combine raw talent, and energy with a singular ability to captivate an audience with his charm, sincerity and pure magnetism. His focus as a songwriter and performing artist is “Old School“ R&B, Soul. He combines the influences of Funk, Soul, R&B, and a flavor of Jazz to create his own unique sound as a performer and a songwriter.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Patrick began paying his dues by playing roadhouse music as a teenager in the rural south when he heard the evocative sounds of James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and Wilton Felder, of the Crusaders. He immersed himself in the music of these great artists and began to discover his own sound as both a musician and performer. In the eighties his father, a high school science teacher, took the family to Portland, Oregon. Once there, Patrick’s playing and singing were developing into a formidable career, which began at the early age of 16. Although having lived in the NW, Patrick found a way to infuse his southern roots and influences into his development as a musician, songwriter and performer.

Patrick accepted early on in his career, in the 90’s, the opportunity to perform and tour with Concord Recording Artist & GRAMMY -winner Diane Schuur. In addition to touring with Ms. Schuur, he recently joined legendary R&B vocalists Bobby Caldwell and Gino Vannelli to tour worldwide. Patrick has been honored with numerous awards starting with an acclaimed best soloist performance at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, resulting in a performance with Lionel Hampton. He has won 3 Muddy awards voted on by the NW music community, and recently was a finalist in the Rockstar Mix It Up contest. In addition, to his music based awards, Patrick’s production company was given the Spirit of Portland & the Caring Heart award for his contributions giving back to the community. In 1996 and 1997 Patrick was invited to perform at the White House during the holiday Congressional VIP Tours and was in attendance at “The Peace on Earth Celebration,” leading to a meeting with President Clinton. Patrick has been solidly and consistently recognized by his peers and community as a world class talent.

Over the past few years Patrick has been focusing on his own recording career as both a songwriter and performer. He recently completed five studio albums and produced an award winning show “Let The Good Times Roll, A Tribute To Ray Charles.” A Tribute To Ray Charles, debuted at the 2005 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival and the 15 piece big band All-star group released a CD produced by Lamb at the 2006 festival during the tributes encore performance. The tribute has received stellar reviews both regionally and nationally, and the show opened the 2007-08 Oregon Symphony Pops season.

Patrick completed work on his latest solo project, ‘Soul Of A Free Man’ which was released, in Spring 2007. Patrick’s new solo vocal CD bridges together his love of Funk, “Old School” R&B, Soul, Jazz and his southern roots. This CD was co-written with long time friend, singer-songwriter Lee Garrett, whose songwriting credits include ‘Sign Sealed Delivered,’ ‘Isn’t She Lovely,’ ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’ and more!

In addition to these two projects Patrick finished work on a vocal duet and instrumental CD with nine-time Emmy award winning producer John Henry, and three-time Emmy nominated singer songwriter Patsy Meyer. This project was released in late Spring of 2007. Patrick’s final release in 2007 was with Michael Allen Harrison titled “At Midnight.”

Patrick has appeared on other recordings with Gino Vannelli, Jeff Lorber, Tom Grant, Eddie Martinez, Dave Weckel, Nathan East, Ricky Lawson, ‘Little John’ Roberts, Alex Al, Bill Cunliffe, Tony Madian, Curt Bisquera, Herman Jackson, Mel Brown, Marlon McClain, Nate Phillips, The Crazy 8’s, George Mitchell, Dan Balmer, Paul deLay, John Raymond, Paul Jackson Jr., Tony Gable, and many others.

Patrick also demonstrates a deep sense of community awareness and civic responsibility. He has performed for numerous fund- raisers to raise consciousness about the loss of funding for the arts in public schools. In addition, he has been involved with major civic efforts to raise money for the America Diabetes Association, Oregon Food Bank, the American Cancer Society, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, The Christie School, ALS Association of Oregon and SW Washington. One can’t help but be moved by the huge heart of this young man as it comes though in his civic awareness…and in his exuberant energy to entertain and uplift people.