Just over 6 and a half years ago I moved to a small town in Central Vermont. About a month after that a friend’s band came and crashed at our place between gigs in Boston and Burlington. We went out the night before to the gig at one of our (new) favorite venues, The Light Club Lamp Shop. We got up the next morning brewed a strong French Press of coffee. As we sat there catching up, the sun was peering through the hemlock and spruce outside in beautiful cascading rays and I said to my friend Connor “would you want to go out there and film something quick?” And, in that moment, The Old Spruce Sessions were born out of nothing.
What I pride myself on with the sessions (for better or worse) is its just me and some gear trying to capture a moment in time. The fleeting moment of a performance in a place that otherwise doesn’t see musical performances. Creating something unique with other creators. There isn’t a team of 5 camera operators and 2 audio engineers and a director, blah blah blah. Maybe its detrimental in the grand scheme of professionalism, but it allows these sessions to be fairly seamless and happen, well, pretty much anywhere from a green room before a gig to a canoe in the middle of a pond.
Things have changed in 6 years. Momentums and inspiration ebb and flow. I’ve refocused a little more on documentary film work. I’ve been lucky enough to film festival sessions for the three years of Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots. Touring for artists came to a standstill for a good portion of the last 2+ years and visitors to our little piece of refuge here in the rolling valleys and woods slowed down. Still, I yearn for those times in some way and am nostalgic for coffee and pickin’ with friends after a gig the night before.
So, anyway, as 2022 has come to a close and 2023 is here, I am taking a look back at 6 (ish) years of sessions in strange places. I managed at picking out a handful of my favorites and the most unique to share with you all. While its incredibly hard to pick favorites like its hard to pick a favorite child, this is by no means an exhaustive list, here are 6 that are sticking with me in this moment.
Enjoy…and come make something with me soon.
Billy Strings“Cocaine Blues” (Let the Cocaine Be)” : Backstage in the green room at Higher Ground (Burlington, VT).
This is by far the most popular session on the channel (by a long shot). This was filmed right before Billy completely exploded. Jarrod Walker had just joined the band for this run and Billy Failing and Royal were already in the fold as members. Billy and I sat down in the green room for an interview and I asked if we could film something as well. He didn’t want to play something from the new record. Those tunes really were buttressed by the arrangements of the full band and pedals, so he opted for this take on a classic. The comments section is a pretty fun read ranging from “this is horrible camera operating” to “I like to watch this video when I am on shrooms….like right now”. To this day, Billy remains an incredibly kind and available artist to his fans and for that we will ever be appreciative.
Mile Twelve“Sunny Side of Town” : The Boiler Room at Mass Moca during Freshgrass Festival.
Just like with the Old Spruce Sessions, Mile Twelve and its members have undergone changes. Fiddler Brownyn Keith-Hynes is now part of ever popular and growing Molly Tuttle’s band. The core of Mile Twelve continues to grow in their own popularity, as well. Back during Freshgrass in 2016, I was wandering the grounds of Mass MoCa I stumbled upon “the boiler room”. With its rusted colors and snaking pipes running straight up to towering heights. It just seemed like a cool spot and the band was all about it. As we filmed a crowd began to develop, and grow, and then grow some more. At one point Evan Murphy joked “you guys liked that song? Well, here it is again” as we went for another take for B-roll…none of which was needed because the band nailed it in one take.
Laura Wolf“Circles” : An outbuilding / carriage barn in Corinth, Vermont
Certainly a first with loops and the need for a power source (or battery operated amp). Brooklyn based cellist, songwriter, guitar player Laura Wolf strolled on through Corinth on a stormy day and we braved the elements out into a field and sought shelter in an old tractor shed/horse carriage barn to film this episode of The Old Spruce Sessions. There was a natural blue-grey light to the day that just bled atmosphere and vibe.
Eli West“The Hearth” : Old Meeting House Church just outside of Montpelier, Vermont
There are just some people who you feel an immediate connection to and appreciation for their existence in the world. Eli West is one of those humans and artists. I met up with Eli before he was playing at an old meeting house up in the hills above Montpelier. There was a slight chill in the air. The heating hadn’t quite warmed the room he was performing in. Lined with pews and light casting its afternoon rays through the tall panes. Eli grabbed a sheet of paper from a case with verses scrawled on it. Some cross throughs of phrasings and lines on the page here and there. A tune in progress and a capturing of process. His gourd banjo echoing through the shadows of the empty room as he say there in the dim light and played. An absolute treasure to be able to capture.
Lily Henley“Duermite Mi Alma” : The Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, VT
I have been lucky to shoot a few sessions on the stage at the Chandler in Randolph. This particular one was during a rather special evening. The Vermont String Summit, where a selection of musicians, who all just happened to be friends, get together for a long weekend retreat, write songs, share songs and it culminated in this evening of songs and celebration. A beautiful tribute. Lily and I snuck away in the big room and her voice and light picked guitar rang out and filled the cavernous space in a deeply moving fashion. Playing for no one but the chairs in such a large space could feel cold and daunting, but Lily commanded that room and filled it with light.
Dan Blakeslee“The Bandit”: : A friend’s backyard pond here in Corinth, Vermont
Come on, it had to make the short list. One of the New England folk music communities most treasured artists, in a canoe on a pond in Vermont. There are a million things I would not do differently about this editing and shooting, but certainly not the fact that I got to spend a beautiful summer afternoon in a canoe with one of the most beautiful souls on the planet. It was one of the first sessions shot for the Old Spruce Sessions. Our old friend, Dan, was all about hopping on the water and pickin’…I think there was even a joke about using a guitar as a paddle at some point. We had a lot of fun trying to steer this thing around while the wind rustled the leaves and make it seem “natural”.
Thanks for watching…here’s to another 100 of theses things.
