"The prodigal daughter has returned!"

Sarah Renfro visited Denton from New York and my photography was featured in the Pegasus News once again, through a syndication of MyDentonMusic.com - check out the article here. Listen to Sarah here.

Sarah Renfro eaten alive in Brooklyn

I want to write many, many words about Sarah Renfro's New York television appearance and her new live album available through her myspace page but this is all I will say: Watch the video (above) and enjoy. Listen to the live album Eaten Alive for a very entertaining and deeply personal set.


Sarah sings and plays keys, ukelele (not violin) and kalimba.
I photographed the album cover.
$10 on the album, a bag of popcorn and a dill pickle will give you hours of glee (and pain).

*Concertos not included.

Sarah Renfro Sounds

The photographic medium is fascinating yet limiting; it's ironic that I ever refer to myself as a "music photographer." If you could see ala Batman & Robin what was happening while this image of the Renfrizzle was being taken, it would look much like this - lots of impact and a flood of good sound (subconsciously).

I dig it.

Comic rendering by the artist.

My bokeh is bigger than yours

Cars don't really fascinate me, lifting weights isn't my thing, I don't drink, and guns are boring. In terms of macho-ness, I'm just chillin', man - what's to prove! But the one expression of tradional, societally-taught manliness I will claim is the bokeh I get with my Canon 85mm L-series f1.2 lens. Sure, it's no Stanley Kubrick / Barry Lyndon f0.7 lens (or an out-of-production 50mm f1.0 Canon) but one thing is for sure: my bokeh is bigger than yours.
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Bokeh is a Japanese word used to describe the background blur achieved using lenses with a large aperture (or special effects lenses like tilt-shift & lensbabies) which give a large depth of field. In the process of lens construction, it is both difficult and expensive to manufacture high performance lenses with large apertures, thus a celebration of traditional manhood and patriarchy is achieved after one has purchased and photographed with this heavy piece of glass.
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Photo above is one I took while momentarily distracted by raindrops on a car hood in New York, while on a shoot with Sarah Renfro. Shot very, very late at night. My mommy wouldn't approve.

Run away from me

*Gezellig best characterized Sarah Renfro's voice when they said it "sounds like an angel dripping with sin." From her abandoned east Texas roots all the way to her new home of Brooklyn, it's been a shift filled with honest, emotional music. Sarah, in her latest work approaches her voice and Rhodes piano from a new direction. Gone (but not forgotten) are the angry protests and in are the more subtle explorations of self-awareness, whether it be the Arvo Pärt-like vocalizations in "City in your Nightmare" or her "Little White House" in the backyard. Sarah's new music trades extra decibels for lyrics that strike harder. Much harder.

Sarah's been in on a number of collaborations with numerous accolades. Discover them through her site. For now, check out the Gutterth Compilation which features a number of Dallas/Fort Worth musicians and Sarah's track Judgement By Default.
**Click to listen, or right click to save
Written & sung by Sarah Renfro
Guitar, Bob Lanzetti
Recorded by Eddie Martin

Take a look at these photos as you browse through her music:
Photos shot in New York, New York


Just a hop & a skip away from NYU, the Blue Note, and Gay Street




These last few were shot late on a memorable, muggy and deserted Brooklyn night in late July '08.

*Gezellig is an awesome Dallas club
**Digital download avalaible with permission from artist

BAM!

If you're in the neighborhood, Sarah Renfro plays the BAMcafé in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, June 21. This comes in between recording her new album Twig & Owl, and a number of appearances including a cameo on Comical Radio, as well as following a comedy show at the Zipper Factory. Check out Sarah's site for more info on the shows page.

a history with Sitmom Records

Good Music. Jazz. Fusion. Funky. Tight. The Best! That's what you can expect from Sitmom Records. Have a listen to Norwegian singer and band leader Hildegunn Gjedrem (pictured above), once Downbeat Magazine's Best Jazz Vocalist and guest artist at the 2008 IAJE conference in Toronto. Go on tour with Snarky Puppy and let their ensemble work move you.

Give your ears some candy and check out Mike League's PHAT bass lines at one of the Dallas Metroplex's best music venues: Hailey's Club. And if you find yourself in Brooklyn, New York say hello to one of Sitmom's favorite partners in crime: Sarah Renfro (pictured below) and her new recording project Twig & Owl:


Talented hands of Jay Jennings, now touring with Polyphonic Spree in this shot (below) on flügel:



NBC News Release of Snarky Puppy's "Pan" Series collaboration with Sarah Renfro:


A slideshow of my music photography is also featured on Richards Bros Music.