DIY Will Never Die, and The Youth Of Today!

You know, man, I really admire the youth. There’s this time between adolescence and young adulthood where you realize you have the ability to make it happen—to take action toward your creative pursuits in a way that doesn’t demand money or many resources. There’s this fiery will that comes from the soul, and even if the things are small in the grand scheme of things, they can be monumental in the lives of the creators. Kudos to you.

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A Walk Across Dirty Water and Straight Into Murderer's Row By Eugene S. Robinson

The first time I heard Oxbow, I was working in a kitchen early one morning before the sun came up. I was miserable and not pleased with my place in life, stressing over the irrelevant nature of a now-irrelevant relationship. At that moment, the absurdity of what I heard was intriguing, to say the least. I was afraid of Lydia Lunch and felt uneasy about her commentary, yet little did I realize she was doing guest vocals on the song that was piquing my interest—Daughters, on the record King of the Jews. Not only was the music peak absurdity, but the cover of the album—a close-up black-and-white photo of Sammy Davis Jr.—added to my interest and my confusion, sparking a long-term fascination with the man at the forefront of this genius, Eugene S. Robinson.

There are authors that, when you read their writing, it is undeniably in their voice. Authors like Hunter S. Thompson, Cormac McCarthy, and Anthony Bourdain. Eugene is one of these authors as well. Honestly, I felt afraid to read this book, A Walk Across Dirty Water and Straight Into Murder’s Row, because, by the look and sound of it, I believed it would introduce some sort of dark energy into my life. But recently, I listened to a David Lynch thing that made me change my mind completely. Something along the lines of: you don’t have to be miserable to write about misery. I thought about that, I thought, “I don’t have to adopt misery from art,” and that is when I picked up this book that had been sitting on my shelf for months. I am glad I did. Eugene is such a compelling storyteller with a life that is just as weird as his music.

This hit all of the topics I am interested in—art, journalism, music, passion, punk rock, adventure, risk... it has it all. Eugene doesn’t hide from the uncomfortable and embraces it as fact. He makes fun of situations and is open about his inner demons.

I thought this book was going to be more about the history of Oxbow, but in reality, it was just the buildup to and ultimately the explanation of Oxbow.

I'm not going to review it; I just don't want this feeling to disappear, so I am writing to say that this book is incredible and came into my life at the perfect time. Eugene did a lot of shit and suffered a lot of intense feelings, but he prevailed and created his own unique legacy.

Feelings of sorrow are fleeting.

A Day Out With Liam Kaiser and Eddy Ekpo

I chose to go out with Liam to assist on this shoot instead of an indoor corperate shoot I had booked previously. I am glad I did because both of these dudes rule and spending the day outside in the show was better than being cramped in an office room all day. Good vibes. Fun shoot.