Gondola Concert Series

It was early in the morning, we were only hours away from having to depart the MusicFest at Steamboat. The living room furniture was in the upstairs bedroom. We were rushing to reassemble the condo based on the still photos we took on my iPhone. Time was of the essence. But we had one last performance we needed to capture. The second year of the Gondola Concert Series™.

Brandon Jenkins volunteered for this mission. It was -3 degrees. He showed up armed with hand warmers, hot coffee, and his trusty Martin. Our Twitter winner, Vicky, from Ft. Worth, happens to be a huge fan of Brandon's. She was so excited she could barely speak. So we spoke for her...in Spanish.

This Music Fog recording required nimbleness, quick thinking, and a lot of AA batteries. Hell, there wasn't even time to clean the lens. Chris took Camera 2 onto the gondola ahead of us to film the disaster from a safe distance...and to make sure "we got that B Roll." The rest of us piled into car #89. We're pretty sure that we were under the weight restriction, and safety officials didn't seem to be too concerned. The rest speaks for itself.

-Aaron

Actual Video Professional

Chris & BrianI have measured these days with the number of chills that ran up my spine from the music! But it is still a hard job, we don't eat and we keep the cameras rolling until artists stop knocking on our door. We never say never. And it takes a special kind of person to even want to enter the insanity of the world of Music Fog.

Chris Walsh is our newest crew member, he of the lights and set design, camera, and editing theory, an impressive utility player. And when we needed a sixth member for the crew for MusicFest this year, he suggested a friend from Denver, Brian Drennan. Brian has experience driving in the snow, as well as hobnobbing with creative types. He did it all, whatever needed to be done. He didn't ask questions, he got the drift, and there was a bonus backstage during the Band Of Heathens show at the Steamboat Grand...he ran into an old friend, my old friend, Mattson Rainer from KNBT. Get this, they use to LIVE together 15 years ago. And I used to live with Mattson 3 months ago. Weird, huh. Whether it was hanging black plastic to keep the dreaded sunlight out, ferry artists to our lair, run cameras or run to the store, he was a total trooper. Hope to have him join us on future Music Fog outings. Hail Brian, well met!

-Jessie

Sons Of Bill "Broken Bottles"

We are heading down the mountain, through Rabbit Ears Pass, down past the beautiful snowfields and craggy rocks. Past fallen boulders and the occasional Bison herd. And still the music from the condo resonates in my head. A revelation, because you know there is always one every time we go out on location. This time it was the Sons Of Bill.

I had seen them before, opening for Shooter Jennings at The State Theater in Falls Church, VA, but they resonated differently in front of our cameras. I was hearing echoes of Gram Parsons. Haunting harmonies. Time stopping. And they were really sweet. We asked them if Michael Webb, who came in next with Bonnie Bishop, could use their keyboard, and they graciously allowed it to stay in place for the next set. They ate some Chili Verde, which Aaron got up early in the morning to cook up. It started to feel like a frat party in the condo, what with bowls and cups being filled and flying out of the kitchen and booze of every color flowing. And the sun was just sinking lower in the sky. That golden light. Behold.

-Jessie