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Sound and Vision

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Le Poisson Rouge
BlogPhotographySound and Vision

Orquesta Akokán Live at Le Poisson Rouge NYC (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

Akokán is a Yoruba word used by Cubans to mean “from the heart” or “soul”, so it was no surprise that Cuba’s Orquesta Akokán lit up the stage at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge a couple of weeks ago with a blazing presentation of deeply soulful mambo reminiscent of Benny Moré and banda gigante of the 1940’s and 50’s. Orquesta Akokán is a big band collective of all-star Cuban and New York musicians led by Cuban born and raised singer José “Pepito” Gomez. I was fortunate to catch them live as they are currently on tour supporting their new (and recently Latín American Music Award nominated) self-titled album.

The album was recorded at Havana, Cuba’s famed Areito studios. Built in the early 1940s to exact audio specifications by a recording engineer, it has played host to virtually every single Cuban musician of note for almost 75 years. In 1996, the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon put the studio back on the map and since then, many Cubans and non-Cubans have recorded inside the legendary wood paneled room. The album is available on Brooklyn’s Daptone Records and you can give it a listen on Spotify.

Check out the full gallery of images over at my photography site danperezphotography.com

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Le poisson Rouge
BlogPhotographySound and Vision

Waxahatchee Live at Le Poisson Rouge, NYC (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

Was in NYC (again) this past weekend and back (again) at my favorite place for live music, Le Poisson Rouge in the West Village. The reason why? To catch Katie Crutchfield’s lo-fi folk/rock music project, better known as Waxahatchee. I first stumbled upon Waxahatchee (named after a creek in Crutchfield’s homestate of Alabama) after her second album “Cerulean Salt” made #22 on Pitchfork magazine’s “Best Albums of 2013” list. Gave it a listen on Spotify and I was hooked.

Waxahatchee has since released “Ivy Tripp” (2015) and “Out in the Storm” (2017) to critical acclaim and her latest stripped-down acoustic EP “Great Thunder” which revisits six tracks she recorded in 2012 as a short-lived member of Great Thunder, a band she formed with bassist Keith Spencer. It’s this very stripped-down sound that Crutchfield brought to Le Poisson Rouge this past Monday evening. It was one of the best live shows I’ve ever attended – even Mrs. Perez was smiling ear to ear after the show.

Alas, we missed the opening acts of country/folk singer/songwriter Anna St. Louis and Justin Sullivan’s dreamy lo-fi pop outfit Night Stop but they joined Crutchfield on stage for several tracks on bass and drums. Give these acts a listen.

Waxahatchee is currently on tour at a city near you – check her out (you can thank me afterwards).

Check out the full gallery of images over at my photography site danperezphotography.com

Le Poisson Rouge is one of a few live music venues that can put on shown “in the round”, where the band is surrounded on all sides by the crowd. That they also have one of the best sound systems of any live music venue in NYC as well as a truly eclectic offering of music and art, makes a visit to the former home of the historic Village Gate a must for any music lover in NYC. Nuff said.

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BlogPhotographySound and Vision

Bites-n-Sips, Coral Springs (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

I’ve been a Coral Springs resident for 15 years since arriving in South Florida from NYC back in 2003; but it hasn’t been until the last few years that I’ve realized that this city has more to offer than I would have originally thought. It started a little over a year ago when Mrs. Perez and I popped into the Coral Springs Art Walk #UNPLUGGED event, then the Coral Springs Festival of the Arts in 2017 and again this year. Last month I spent the weekend at the South Florida Tattoo Expo which was held at the Coral Springs Marriott and this past weekend, Mrs. Perez and I dropped in on Bites-N-Sips in Downtown Coral Springs.

Let’s just say that I’ve finally realized what many of its residents probably already knew – the city of Coral Springs is a pretty damn cool city.

Bites-N-Sips brings a variety of food trucks, adult beverages and live music to Coral Springs City Hall. This year’s live music was provided by none other than popular Latin/funk/jazz outfit Spam Allstars. The best part was (as usual) parking was plentiful and FREE (let’s see Miami do that!). I was there with my camera and a few good lenses, check out the pics. Oh, and mark your calendars for the next Bites-N-Sips on November 16 – see you there…

SPAM ALLSTARS

FOOD (TRUCKS) & DRINK

Food trucks of all sorts were parked around the perimeter of City Hall…

Oh, and then there was the “World’s Largest Ice Cream Truck” (not sure how official that ranking is but it was pretty big!)

FUN TIMES FOR ALL AGES

Remember to mark your calendars for the next Bites-N-Sips on November 16, and visit www.coralsprings.org to check out other upcoming events in this pretty cool city…

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BlogPhotographySound and Vision

Sweat Records, Miami: Dracula and Las Nubes LIVE (in Pictures)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

Remember what it was like to buy vinyl records? In most cases, you went out and picked up an LP based on hearing a song on the radio. There was no Spotify to check and see if all the other songs sucked or not, you bought that record and hoped for the best. For a Death/Thrash Metal Head like myself, LPs were usually purchased on word of mouth and/or the most badass album cover you found. And when you brought that record home, undressed it (lyrics, yay!!!), laid it down on your turntable and dropped that needle, you’d sit in your room, lyric sheet in hand and just listen. It was a beautiful thing, a personal thing, something you could feel in your hands. And no, those days aren’t over.

This past weekend, I took the family to Sweat Records, Miami’s unofficial headquarters for indie music. They offer a wide variety of new and used LPs, turntables, headphones, record accessories, a few CDs, and a curated selection of magazines, books, gifts, and local music. It’s become not only a music store, but a cafe and event space that hosts everything from vegan brunches to movie nights.

This weekend, they were celebrating another milestone, their new in-house record label called (what else?) Sweat Records Records. The event featured performances from two of their newest acts, goth/folk outfit Dracula and all-girl, lo-fi pop band Las Nubes at legendary local punk venue Churchill’s Pub (est. 1979) which happens to be right next door.

Now, I grew up in record stores; my first vinyl record purchase being Billy Joel’s “Glass Houses” (which me an my buddy Jose bought at Crazy Eddie’s in the Bronx and went half and half on). As a teenager, Bleecker Bob’s Records in the West Village became a weekly stop for the latest Death Metal imports and when I was 20, I worked at Tower Records on West 4th and Broadway for a year (best job I ever had). So, I thought it would be nice to bring my daughter to an actual record store (she’s a music nerd like her father) to see how people used to buy music way, way back in the days before CDs, Napster and Spotify.

Sweat Records was established in March 2005 by two best friends – long-time DJ, music retail nerd, and club/concert promoter Lauren (Lolo) Reskin and ex-WVUM DJ/current criminal defense attorney Sara Yousuf. Since then, Sweat has played a vital role in instigating and promoting a renaissance of growth and activity in Miami’s cultural landscape.

Sweat survived its first location being destroyed by Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 and moved into a small temporary warehouse space in the back of Churchill’s Pub. In 2006, Sara Yousuf left to be a full-time Public Defender and new partner Jason Jimenez came on board in 2007 to help usher in a new era and location for Sweat Records.

In late 2007 Sweat moved into their current expanded and fully-stocked storefront located at 5505 NE 2nd Ave., and in 2011 they launched the e-commerce site SweatShopMiami.com to offer the shop’s made-in-Miami merchandise to a global audience. Over the years, Sweat Records has been visited by the likes of Iggy Pop, Ian MacKaye (Fugazi/Dischord), Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Fred Schneider of the B-52’s, Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys/Alternative Tentacles), Jim Jarmusch and many others.

As you all know by now, I never travel without my camera and a few good lenses so here are a few photographs I snapped during an afternoon well spent at Sweat Records…

My two girls “diggin’ in the crates”

Plenty of people searching for vinyl (it’s made quite a comeback over the past several years) and plenty of Sweat Records merchandise guarded over by this guy here…

In-store music by DJ Richie Hell

Drinks by Deep Eddy Vodka

Complimentary eats by 222 Taco (guacamole just didn’t look good in black and white)

Oh, yeah – some guy named Iggy Pop dropped by as well…

“Can I get your attention please?” Sweat Records co-founder Lauren (Lolo) Reskin asking the guest to head next door to Churchill’s Pub to check out the first band, Dracula…

DRACULA

LAS NUBES

Back at Sweat Records

Back inside Sweat, my daughter finally decided on her first vinyl record purchases, a remastered 180 gram vinyl edition of Prince’s “Purple Rain” and a triple vinyl pressing of Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”. I picked up what just might be my two favorite albums, a digitally remastered two-disc vinyl edition of the Cure’s “Disintegration” and a remastered 180 gram vinyl edition of “Heaven or Las Vegas” by the Cocteau Twins. Now to get ourselves a good turntable!

Before heading back home, I snapped a photograph of a very pleased Lauren Reskin (I mean, how would you know she had purple hair if the photograph was in black and white?)

Sweat Records are open noon to 10pm Monday through Saturday and noon to 5pm Sunday, excluding major holidays. Visit their website for upcoming events and stop by for your vinyl fix…

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BlogPhotographySound and Vision

23rd Annual South Florida Tattoo Expo: Human Suspension (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

If you’ve been following my blog (and why wouldn’t you be?) you know I stopped by the 23rd Annual South Florida Tattoo Expo a few weeks ago and brought along my camera and a few good lenses with the intention of creating a promotional video (you can now watch the video HERE. My first post can be found HERE as well as images of the Expo’s entertainment (numerous live bands and a few hot bodies) but I saved the best for last. Well, at least it’s the most interesting – human suspension (and if you’re the squeamish type, you might want to move on to another post).

What is it exactly? It’s the act of suspending a human body from hooks that have been put through the skin. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? I mean, what sort of person would pierce their skin with large-gauge hooks and hang in the air? Must be a new thing these kids are doing, right? Wrong.

The oldest recorded acts of human suspension date back approximately 5,000 years and originated among devout Hindus in India. It was deemed by practitioners to be an act of penance that would prove one’s ever-growing devotion to the Hindu gods if they engaged in progressively more intense suspension sessions. Human suspension has also been a tradition among certain North American Indian tribes going back centuries. Most notably, the Mandan Tribe who lived along the banks of the Missouri River. The ceremonies were first formally documented by George Catlin, a member of the Louis and Clark expeditions who described the ceremonies (called “Okipa”) as four-day-long events that required extensive preparation and self-sacrifice by all participants.

Modern suspension has been largely shaped by Fakir Musafar, a man who was born on an Indian reservation in South Dakota in 1930 with the name Roland Loomis, who is widely regarded as the “father of the Modern Primitives.” What he has pioneered since 1944 – tribal tattoos, nose rings, ear lobe enlargements, small-waist corsetry, human suspension and more – were once practices in an underground subculture. For Musafar, and many others after him, body modification is a form of self-expression and spiritual exploration, a way to move beyond the body into a higher spiritual plane. He died earlier this month at 87 years old.

Many who practice human suspension describe it as cathartic. It’s rather shocking to the rest of us but that feeling of shock is what many who suspend are looking for – the rush of endorphins, serotonin, and other chemicals that results in a sort of high. Some see it as a spiritual experience. Others find it exhilarating. A subset of those who practice suspension do it as a type of performance art, choreographing lurid and shocking spectacles that are performed in front of audiences.

What I saw at the South Florida Tattoo Expo were a group of people really enjoying being suspended. It was quite the sight. The ringleaders of the group were Manda Rexx and Chadillac of Rexx Body Modification of Davenport, Iowa. And before you judge, remember: there are people out there who think that Van Halen made better records with Sammy Hagar than with David Lee Roth. If we can coexist with those people, who are we to judge a group of people who want to hang from hooks, right? Right.

This post and the FULL IMAGE GALLERY can now be seen over at danperezphotography.com

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BlogPhotographySound and Vision

23rd Annual South Florida Tattoo Expo: Bands, Burlesque & Hot Bodies (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

Here’s the second of three photography posts from my weekend spent at the 23rd Annual South Florida Tattoo Expo. This annual event, which was held at the Coral Springs Marriott not only featured the best tattoo artists in all of South Florida but a truckload of live bands, a burlesque show, hot body contest, car show, local vendors, and human suspension (the act of suspending a human body from hooks that have been put through the skin!). And here’s the best part: all proceeds benefitted the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital; and it’s been that way since year one. Yeah, that’s right, these “nefarious” tattoo artists are actually doing good. Who woulda thunk it?

This post and the FULL IMAGE GALLERY can now be seen over at danperezphotography.com

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BlogPhotographySound and Vision

23rd Annual South Florida Tattoo Expo (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

No, I don’t have any tattoos on my body. Just wanted to put that out there before I go any further. Why? Well, I’m just way too indecisive to settle on an image that I would want on a part of my body for the rest of my life. First of all, I would spend hours/days/months (sleepless nights!) obsessing over which image would be the perfect one for me. Then, if I were to actually decide on one (which is highly unlikely), I’ll probably come up with another image that I should have gotten about a week after my tattoo healed and would be kicking myself for not realizing it. Next thing you know, I’d be covered up to my neck with tattoos, out a few thousand dollars and in need of therapy. Why put Mrs. Perez through that sort of hell? Nuff said about that.

Now, just because I don’t have any tattoos doesn’t mean that I’m not intrigued by them. I mean, it’s an art form, a very unique art form – and as a collector of art and lover of street art and art museums, tattoo art and its artists have always been a curiosity to me. So with the South Florida Tattoo Expo being held last week right here in my backyard of Coral Springs, it was time to satisfy that curiosity. Somewhat.


I’ve known about the expo for several years and have wanted to drop in and check it out ever since but for whatever reason, I never did. That all changed this year after I reached out to Lisa Brodeur-Quinter, who along with her husband Joey, are the event directors of this event. I told her I’d like to document the event and create a short promo video (at no cost to them). She agreed and threw in several free weekend passes for me and my “crew” (my daughter and Mrs. Perez) and I was finally on my way.

You can view the recap video I shot and edited HERE

View the FULL GALLERY of images at my photography site danperezphotography.com

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Fort Lauderdale
BlogSound and Vision

Saturday Sessions: Spoken Word Artists Richard “Byrd” Wilson & Mike McCain

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

So, the latest ‘Saturday Sessions’ took place this past weekend and guess who was there with his camera and a few good lenses? That’s right, me. Ever since stumbling upon this event back in June (read how HERE), I’ve returned every month since and I ain’t been disappointed yet.

Saturday Sessions is a free community event held at The Megaphone, an outdoor area in North West Gardens in Fort Lauderdale. The event goes down every first Saturday of the month from 5pm-8pm and just celebrated its one year anniversary this past July. Saturday Sessions brings together up-and-coming and established artists for an afternoon of spoken word, live music, art, local vendors and businesses. The event is presented by Art Prevails Project, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 arts organization committed to impacting South Florida and beyond by providing engaging and authentic artistic and cultural experiences through performance and education.

This month featured a duo of award-winning and nationally recognized spoken word artists, Richard “Byrd” Wilson and Mike McCain. Here’s a small sample of what they delivered at this past week’s Saturday Sessions. And remember, the event is free. Mark your calendar for next month’s event (September 1st!) – see you there…

Saturday Sessions: Spoken Word Artist Richard "Byrd" Wilson from DanPerezFilms on Vimeo.

ORANGE STRIPE

Saturday Sessions: Spoken Word Artist Mike McCain from DanPerezFilms on Vimeo.

ORANGE STRIPE

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Miami
CorporateSound and Vision

Life-Saving Heart Surgery at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital: Justin’s Story (Video)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

It should have just been the birth of their second child but only minutes after he was born, Drew and Stacey were told their newborn son Justin had a lethal heart condition and needed to be airlifted to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. That was the beginning of a remarkable relationship that spanned the next thirteen years.

This is Justin’s story, my latest video production for Nicklaus Children’s Health Foundation who raise funds for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital (formerly Miami Children’s Hospital). One of the greatest gifts I’ve been given in my business is to have been of service to this truly remarkable hospital for over 12 years (you can view other videos HERE). This hospital saves lives, help spread the word…

For more information, or to support the hospital, visit www.nicklauschildrens.org

ORANGE STRIPE

ORANGE STRIPE

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Saturday Sessions
BlogSound and Vision

Saturday Sessions in Fort Lauderdale: THIS SATURDAY! August 4, 2018

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

For those of you who checked out my previous post on Saturday Sessions, you’ll recall that I kinda stumbled upon it while looking for a nearby event to try out a few new lenses I had purchased. What I ended up stumbling upon was a community event that kinda just blew me away.

Saturday Sessions is a FREE(!) community event held at The Megaphone, an outdoor area in North West Gardens in Fort Lauderdale. The event goes down every first Saturday of the month from 5pm-8pm and just celebrated its one year anniversary this past July. Saturday Sessions brings together up and coming artists for an afternoon of spoken word, live music, art, local vendors and businesses. The event is presented by Art Prevails Project, a not-for-profit 501(c)3 arts organization committed to impacting South Florida and beyond by providing engaging and authentic artistic and cultural experiences through performance and education.

Art Prevails Project

The man in charge (and event emcee) is Darius Daughtry, poet, playwright, director, educator and the Founder and Artistic Director at Art Prevails Project. I let him know after my first visit that I would return and return I did. But this time, instead of just snapping photos, I shot some video that clearly illustrates the type of talent this event draws. Now, like I said before, the event is free but as you can see if you watch the short video below, you’re getting so much more than what you “pay” for.

Check out the video then get over to Saturday Sessions THIS SATURDAY, AUGUST 4 @ 5PM. See you there…

Art Prevails Project presents 'Saturday Sessions' from DanPerezFilms on Vimeo.

ORANGE STRIPE

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