About This Episode

Musician, writer, and cultural historian Tris McCall shares three decades of observing Jersey City's evolving arts landscape. From documenting lost creative spaces to mapping emotional geographies through characters and songs, Tris offers a unique perspective on how place shapes our creative expressions.

Meet Tris McCall

Tris McCall has been a fixture in Hudson County's creative scene since 1992. A musician who has performed on virtually every North Jersey stage, Tris has also written for numerous publications, authored fiction exploring place-based themes, and currently serves as an art critic documenting Jersey City's visual arts community. His work received recognition from the Andy Warhol Arts Writers Grant, supporting his continued art criticism through his website Eye Level.

Connect with Tris McCall:

Website: https://www.eye-level.net/

Eye Level on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyelevel.jc/

Tris McCall on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trismccall_nj/

Tris on NJArts.net: https://www.njarts.net/author/tmccall/

Jersey City Times articles: jerseycitytimes.com/author/tris-mccall

Bandcamp: https://trismccall.bandcamp.com/

Key Insights

Tris's characters often encourage us to "slow down and look carefully at the world around us," an ethos that extends through his songs, fiction, and art criticism

The loss of 111 First Street (demolished in 2007) left a lasting impact on Jersey City's arts scene, though its influence continues through spaces like Deep Space Gallery and The Drawing Rooms

Jersey City artists often explore environmental themes through adaptive reuse and show a unique relationship between people and place—with figures in artwork often "melding into the landscape"

Bergen Lafayette has undergone the most dramatic transformation during Tris's time in Jersey City, from a neighborhood he was warned against visiting to a vibrant community with galleries and music venues

PM Dawn, influential 90s hip-hop pioneers from Jersey City, deserve greater recognition as cultural contributors to the city's musical heritage

The challenge of integrating vertical tower communities into Jersey City's horizontal street life represents a key tension in the city's development

For visual documentation, related resources and and more information including the transcript visit natkalbach.com/podcast

Connect with Nat

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Instagram: @natkalbach

Email: [email protected]

Music: Our theme music is "How You Amaze Me," composed by Jim Kalbach and performed by Jim Kalbach, Bryan Beninghove, Charlie Siegler, and Pat Van Dyke.

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Nat's Sidewalk Stories explores the intersection of place, community, and storytelling through conversations with practitioners, community leaders, and local changemakers. New episodes release on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month through August, with a break in September before Season 2 begins in October.