David Godlis, who is best known by his last name GODLIS, has been photographing in New York City since 1976. A “street photographer” in the style of Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand, he wandered into the nightclub CBGB’s one night, and has become known for his photographs of the NYC Punk scene. GODLIS, who shot in the style of photographers Brassai and Robert Frank, used his handheld Leica camera and Tri-X film to capture his subjects by the natural light of the Bowery outside as well as inside the club CBGB’s.

His book of those photographs, HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT, artistically documented that club between the years 1976 and1979, when Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie, Richard Hell, Talking Heads and Television ruled the Bowery. Since the late 1980’s, GODLIS has been shooting the New York Film Festival, where he has been the unofficial official photographer for the last 25 years. Now thoroughly enmeshed in the digital world with a FUJI X camera, he shoots assignments and exhibits his photographs internationally.

His two books of “street photography” - GODLIS STREETS and GODLIS MIAMI are available from Reel Art Press. 

https://www.godlis.com/

https://www.instagram.com/godlis

Stephen Bluhm

Sound Engineer/ Editor

https://www.stephenbluhm.fun

Ep. 23: Aidan Strauss of Grozov (Heavy-Metal music)

Pure and true Heavy Metal from Philadelphia's darkest dungeons. We interview Aidan Strauss from Grozov about how he got his start in music and inspiration. We talk a lot about Lord of The Rings bands, and Jewish stuff as well. He also performs at the end. He is an interesting musician to keep out an eye on. Find info on the band below.

Band Info. 

https://grozov.bandcamp.com/

https://linktr.ee/grozov

Michael Weinstein’s career began in 1978, after graduating from the University of Michigan with an English degree. During that time, Michael worked as a printer at the Ross-Ehlert Photo Lab (one of Chicago’s most well known) in the black and white film department. Simultaneously, the music scene in Chicago was bursting at the seams. New and exciting acts, including Rock and Roll, Blues and Punk as well as more established musicians were playing in a wider assortment of venues. It was an extremely exciting time, and a rare opportunity to be documenting all of the musical acts that were in Chicago. 

Weinstein spent his days at Ross-Ehlert printing for work, and most nights he would photograph shows and venues all over the Chicago area. On weekends, Michael would develop his film at a place known as The Darkroom - a communal darkroom dedicated to working with both amateurs and professionals. It was an inspirational home base for Weinstein as a young photographer, and a primary influence on his whole career. In the basement of The Darkroom was the office of  Photo Reserve, an agency that specialized in Rock and Roll photography and covered most of the musical venues in and out of the city. Photo Reserve provided Weinstein with access to almost every musical event in the city. As a result, Michael’s Rock and Roll photos appeared in local Chicago publications, as well as most of the major national music magazines including Rolling Stone.

Michael has had the good fortune to photograph full-time ever since. He has photographed portraits for practically every national magazine and has photographed fashion for numerous retailers. For the last 25 years, Weinstein grew his namesake MW Studio, into one of NYC’s top boutique Real Estate and architectural photography studios. 

After spending the past few years archiving all of his music photography from the special period of the late 70s and early 80s, Weinstein premiers this treasure trove of photos featuring some of Rock and Roll’s biggest stars. This collection  - sitting in storage for over 40 years, represents an opening into the past,  and has the quality of a time capsule. Michael wants people to be able to look at a single photo and tap into the emotional and visceral experience of being there. Michael is thrilled to share these images- when Rock and Roll was Rock and Roll! 

⁠https://www.themfgallery.com/michaelweinsteinphotographer⁠

Music  

Richie by B.J Snowden

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bjsnowdenmusic.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

I Never Feel Alone Instrumental by Stephen Bluhm 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.stephenbluhm.fun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Website

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.vintageannalsarchive.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Andrew John Sweet was a young photographer living and working in Miami Beach in the late 1970s. His life and his art were cut tragically short when he was murdered on October 16, 1982. Andy left an extensive body of work that exhibits a level of creative maturity far beyond his years. His photographs are a testimony to a rich but often overlooked period of Miami Beach’s cultural heritage.

Andy Sweet returned home to Miami Beach after receiving a Masters degree in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1977, to photograph the old world Jewish culture that then distinguished South Beach. While in graduate school, Andy was part of a small faction of young artist-photographers who were discovering the creative possibilities of color imagery. His beach-ball hues perfectly described the vivid light and lively culture he explored and portrayed, a culture that many others found bleak and pedestrian.

He photographed in this way until his death in 1982. He was only 29 years old. Citizens of the City of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County were shocked and horrified by Andy’s senseless murder. This native son, affable and fun-loving, who, having entered his artistic prime and was becoming well known for establishing an important visual legacy, was abruptly gone. While mourners overflowed from the sanctuary of Temple Emanu-El, The Miami Herald was preparing a tribute about Andy Sweet; it was the cover story in Tropic magazine, its Sunday supplement. Family and friends sat shiva while the police searched for his killers. Time passed, but the Sweet family and their friends kept an emotional vigil. Andy’s photographs, in boxes containing hundreds of large colorful prints, became their focal point. His archive would represent his richly-lived short life. However, if there was any glory in their undertakings, there would be much more anguish.

Andy’s aesthetic was as fresh as his colors. He rejected formalist theory and idea-driven imagery in favor of immediate and unmediated responses, of living it up and aligning himself with the people he knew he was privileged to photograph. Andy admired the work of Diane Arbus, and like her he rejected the notion of self-conscious art making. The pure and spirited photograph was what mattered. He knew he was an artist but his aesthetic, his intellect, and his ego required that he conceal this fact in service of achieving the caliber of photograph he desired. Intuitive, but certain, each click of his camera’s shutter release was an affirmation.

https://www.andysweetphotolegacy.com

Ruthann Friedman is one of the most captivating singer-songwriters of the 60s California scene. Yet you’ve probably never heard of her.

http://popcultureclassics.com/friedman.html

Gary Monroe, a native of Miami Beach, received a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1977. Upon returning home, he photographed the old world Jewish community that characterized South Beach for a decade, until it vanished. From 1984 through 2000 he photographed throughout Haiti, and later looked at tourism across Florida, especially the "rite of passage" of vacationers at Disney World. Gary Monroe has always photographed throughout Florida and also "wanders aimlessly" to photograph in other countries – Brazil, Israel, Cuba, India, Trinidad, Poland, England and Egypt to name a few. At the turn of the millennium he photographed the landscape, focusing on the transformation of place due to corporate-driven planning. In 2020 he began photographing digitally.

Gary Monroe's life's work is housed at Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Library. 

ABOUT

"Jews of the Wild West” is a feature length documentary about resilience and identity in an unexpected place. The film tells a positive immigration story and highlights the dynamic contributions Jewish Americans made to shaping the Western United States. With today's rise in antisemitism, these stories are more important now than ever.
We are proud to have been named Reader's Choice Best Western Documentary by True West Magazine and nominated for the Best Social Impact Award by the Greenwich International Film Festival.

"Jews of the Wild West" is directed by Amanda Kinsey. Amanda is an executive producer, filmmaker, five-time Emmy Award winner and fourth-generation photojournalist. Prior to founding her own production company, Electric Yolk Media, she spent over a decade writing and producing for NBC News. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

https://www.jewsofthewildwest.com/

https://www.vintageannalsarchive.com/the-jewish-vintage-annals-archive---digital-online-archive-and-podcast.html

Ep. 58: Dan Fishback

* This was recorded many months before the Oct/ 7th Attacks 

(Singer-Songwriter/Playwright/Activist) 

DAN FISHBACK is a playwright, songwriter, performer in the band ⁠Cheese On Bread⁠, and host of the podcast ⁠Sick Day with Dan Fishback⁠. He founded ⁠The Helix Queer Performance Network⁠ in 2013, and directed its programming through 2020. Fishback’s musical ⁠The Material World⁠ was called one of the Top Ten Plays of 2012 by Time Out New York. His play You Will Experience Silence was called “sassier and more fun than Angels in America” by the Village Voice. Also a performing songwriter, Fishback has released several albums, both solo and with his band ⁠Cheese On Bread⁠, which dropped "⁠The One Who Wanted More⁠" in 2018, along with a video for their song ⁠Bad Friend⁠, directed by Stephen Winter and featuring Justin Vivian Bond. With the Helix Queer Performance Network, Fishback created La MaMa Experimental Theater's annual series ⁠La MaMa's Squirts: Generations of Queer Performance⁠. He is developing a new musical, Rubble Rubble, which was the focus of public controversy in 2017, when a Zionist institution ⁠canceled the play’s first reading in response to Fishback’s support for Palestinian human rights⁠.

Fishback has had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for over a decade, and partially supports himself through his ⁠Patreon⁠. 

Credits 

Produced and Edited by Otter Castro   

Research and Interview by Rich Wexler  

Music  

Richie by B.J Snowden

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bjsnowdenmusic.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

There Was a light Instrumental  

I Never Feel Alone Instrumental by Stephen Bluhm 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.stephenbluhm.fun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Website

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.vintageannalsarchive.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Ep. 16: Samm Levine (Actor)

To be added

Ep. 15: Dean Friedman (Musician, VR Creator, Author) 

Dean Friedman first marked his entry into pop consciousness with the Top 20 chart success of his infectious hit single, Ariel, a quirkily irresistible and uncategorizable pop song about a free spirited, pot-smoking, vegetarian Jewish girl in a peasant blouse who lived, as the lyric goes, "...way on the other side of the Hudson". 

Friedman scored again with the release of his follow up album, “Well, Well,” Said the Rocking Chair’, and the now classic hit single, Lucky Stars. This magical duet, performed with singer, Denise Marsa, zoomed to the top of the UK singles charts, going instantly gold. Lucky Stars paved the way for a slew of Friedman hits, including familiar radio staples such as Lydia, Rocking Chair, McDonald’s Girl and Woman of Mine.

 Friedman’s consummate songwriting and performing, have earned him a loyal international following, devoted to the sophisticated, funny and profound work of a master songsmith. 

“Stunning Musicianship” - Hot Press, "Songsmith Extraordinaire!" - Music Week , "An Amazing Talent" - The Sun, "An American Classic" - Tribune, “The Soundtrack of Our Lives” – NY Times, are just of few of the superlatives used to describe Friedman's powerfully unique and original talent.

 Friedman’s recent run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival garnered similar critical praise:

“Every song in this Edinburgh show is a classic. You won't see a better show.” – London Theatre Guide.  "Sophisticated and humorous work from an old master!" Scotland on Sunday. “With his mix of jaunty ditties, sentimental ballads and bashful charm, Friedman is the pop troubadour of choice.”  The Scotsman. “Dean Friedman is entirely unique and utterly brilliant” – ThreeWeeks.

Though Friedman’s next single, McDonald's Girl was officially banned by the BBC for mentioning the  tradename of the fast food restaurant, the irrepressible pop song has been successfully covered by a number of acclaimed contemporary bands including the Blenders (Universal) and top canadian band, Barenaked Ladies [WEA]. (BNL member, Steve Page, sings background vocals on Dean’s recent double album.) The song has become a viral YouTube video hit, and a staple of high-school and college a capella groups, around the world – including Harvard’s Din & Tonics and Yale’s Mixed Company - spawning more than 40 different video versions on YouTube; and now, three decades after being banned, the song has just been licensed by the McDonald’s corporation to be featured in a national TV/Radio campaign:⁠"McDonald's Girl".⁠

Friedman composes and produces music soundtracks for TV and film, including five seasons of Central TV's hit series BOON and the soundtrack to the underground cult horror film classic I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle [Hobo Films/U.K.]. Other credits include Nickelodeon, NBC, BBC and FUJI TV.

Credits 

Produced and Edited by Otter Castro   

Research and Interview by Rich Wexler  

Music  

Richie by B.J Snowden

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bjsnowdenmusic.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

There Was a light Instrumental  

I Never Feel Alone Instrumental by Stephen Bluhm  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://www.stephenbluhm.fun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Website

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.vintageannalsarchive.com/⁠⁠⁠