——- A new year of creative opportunity ——-
The new year has been refreshing to my soul. Just before Christmas I was let go of my job, where I worked as a barista and server. The time there was spent well, building relationships with new folks and of course being able to store a few bucks in my pocket. In the first week of this new year of 2016 my days have been spent in depth writing new material, recording, exploring, hiking and taking photographs. An excellent way to kick off these days of snow and ice. It was very freeing, I felt like a new man every morning I woke up. “Less things, More heart…” Pursue and explore the world and your talents with the Lord and all your heart.
“Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” – Luke 12:31
Monday January 11th I awoke in a restful daze. My bed never felt more comfortable as I lay wrapped up in down bedding. Spending about an hour or so in prayer mostly asking for guidance for the day. Ten O’clock or so rolled around and I pulled myself out. The usual morning routine consisting of black coffee and a spinach and carrot omelet. My main objective was to get price tag stickers printed and mount them up at the Bake 360. As I was eating and getting the materials ready for print, I felt something pulling at me to go downtown. Showered and gear packed, I head for the car. My aunt sits on the couch watching a television drama. I asked her what she was watching. I couldn’t understand exactly what she said, but it sounded like Abbotsford. A character on the television said “Downtown” in a British accent. I paused as I was preparing to walk out the door, mostly to gaze in my mind flashbacks of y time in the City of Abbotsford, Canada. One of the best experiences that continuously flashed through my mind was that of when I went downtown via the sky rail. When I arrived, the town reminded me very much of Seattle, Washington. Mostly for the fact that there were a lot of street folks, interesting local shops and coffee roasters and of course the art culture. Driving down the road, my head turned as I went past a neighborhood entrance, the street name was Abbotsford. I continued to think of my time up there, what I did up there that I could do there now. Most of which was in regards to photography and music of course. While there I played guitar in and met new people. The skies tones where very intriguing as the clouds formed atmospheric extremities.
My tan vehicle pulled up to the FedEx print shop, a short line of people stood waiting for printing services. I await patiently, Jeff Buckley’s live recordings at the Sin’e Cafe in New York course through my headphones His music is a sense of communication that goes unknown to most people. My flash drive is pulled out and handed to the clerk. The price tags are printed on a single sheet of sticker paper. Ready to go I head out. As I walk to the car a pair of white fingerless gloves lay in the parking lot. My mind flashes back to my time once again in Canada. I had the exact same thing happen. Having started to play out in the cold, my fingers would be stiff making it difficult to play. So one afternoon I prayed for some fingerless gloves – bang, the next night fingerless gloves were provided in a coffee shop parking lot. Now I stand here looking at a pair of fingerless gloves, more confident that I am supposed to go downtown Salt Lake. Picking them up, I set them on the dash of my vehicle to dry over the heater.
My path is directed downtown. Not knowing what to expect, a memory of an advertisement I briefly looked at a few days prior comes in my head. The Trolley Square Fall Event Center grand opening was today. Beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing on until late in the evening. It was already 3 P.M. but there was still a possibility of something good coming out of it. So I pressed on. Having lost my job, I did want to accomplish some job searching, so I stopped at a local drum shop and refreshed my face to the managers memory. Double checking to make sure they still have my resume on file. The place was empty, unusual compared to the other times I had dropped in. They have sound dampened rooms with drums in them that are for students, so I asked if it would be possible to jump on a set. The manager was really cool and told me to go for it. There’s something special about being in a sound dampened room. The stillness and subtle tint of eerie compositions. It’s been a while since I’ve sat on a drum throne. Too long… I didn’t leave without my ears ringing.
I leave the drum shop at 3:44 PM and head for Trolley Square. My mind goes clear, I feel as if I am traveling through space and nothingness. All sound seems to be turned down and focus turned up. “Better things are ahead” Flowed into my ears. The steering wheel turns here and there, my vehicle and I roll up to an area with a large banner hanging between buildings. “The Fall Event Center Grand Opening” Reads across it. A parking spot waits for me and quickly as I parked, I was out with my camera bag walking into the square. Stairs stood directly in front of me, Planning out my moves for efficiency, I decide to make my way up stairs and then sweep downward. Most of the shops are closed or being worked on. I stop atop the walking platform where a reflection pierces into my eye. Glass panes stand in front of a brick wall, light bends off the edge of one releasing a streak of color climbing up the brick wall. A rainbow. Snapping a photo of the bending light was mandatory. The center of the rainbow was white light meticulously aligning with a crack in the bricks. Looking for opportunity pacing my way to a restaurant to seek out some information, the two workers tell me that I would have better luck at The Coffee Connection down stairs. The receptionist directs me by saying, “Walk down this hallway and go down the stroller”. “Go down the stroller?” I reply. She meant escalator. I give a disarming grin and proceed down the corridor to the escalator. In the building below working amidst the afternoon coffee aromas stood a man leaning over the counter daydreaming. Stepping into the coffeeshop I introduce myself and give a brief explanation of what I am about. Being curious to see if they host live music I ask off hand if I could jam here sometime. The worker tells me that he was actually just going to setup the PA system and jam out, that I would be more than welcome to kick out some tunes. Solid, a new opportunity at hand. Waiting for a minute or two, the barista pulls out two older looking speakers and a Pyvey pa system. It’s a quick setup and I’m ready to jam.
At the mic, I contemplate whether or not to sing. My lungs and throat had been giving me some issues due to a cold, so I decided it would be best to take it easy and just jam. Going through the usual material and some new ones as well for the first hour and a half, then about thirty minutes or so of improv work. When I looked at the clock it was nearly 7:30 P.M. so I made the call to bail. Thanking the barista for the opportunity, he explains that this upcoming Saturday is the Sundance Filmfestival Ticket sale, there will be tonnes of people walking around and that I could come and play. Lining it up, I agreed and took the opportunity. Saturday at 10:00 A.M.
Now there was a few more things I felt I could do since being downtown. After all it is nearly a twenty minute drive from my current stay, I decided to make the most of the trip. Camera bag on my back, my feet stroll around the Trolley Square area. Nothing too interesting, but across the street there are some interesting looking signs and buildings. Crossing the crosswalk a house stands out to me. It has two large marble pillars holding up part of the roof. Atop the sideboard of the roof are the home numbers “444”. This number has a significant meaning to me and my past, most likely future as well. With a squinted smile I squat down to take a few photos. This inspired me to continue the journey some more. Only not on this particular road. The gloves to keep my hands warm were left in the vehicle. By this time they were stiff and of little use. Given that this area wasn’t exactly downtown, I figured to scope out some real architecture and see what sort of shenanigans I could find myself in. I got to the location of which I first visited months ago. There were good experiences there. In a giant circle a few photographic buildings pop out at me. The lighting and shadows on a hotel sign grab my attention and I knew I had to stop. A parking space in a local presbyterian church offers up. Oddly enough right across the street from an excellent coffee shop. The church is very old, the architecture has interesting features so there are photos taken, but I’m more intrigued by the hotel and the strange shadows and lightning that was covering it. An old vertical type sign reading Hotel mounted sadly to the building, fades into the tan walls. No light emitting from it. Only its fading lettering showing its identity. Long exposures capture the diagonal shadows, the green hued alleyway lights and saturated orange walls. In my mind I think that I wish I was higher, more level with the building. The parking garage from which the lights are shining has a key code locked door. Turning around back to the camera, a man begins to walk directly towards me, passing only a few feet away. He types in the key code and accesses the garage. Out of curiosity I walk over to the door. It didn’t shut all the way. My access was granted and new heights gained. I go up two levels and found myself on the fourth floor. Apparently street level is actually second level. On the wall of the parking structure are painted numbers which reads “444”. Most parking structures I’ve seen only have single digits posted every so often. Another photograph is snapped. Then I hobble over to the edge where the opening to view the Hotel is. I’m level and the scene is better than I hoped. Leaning out over the steel cables acting as a barricade to get a better angle, the shutter clicks and stays open for a few seconds. The colors are incredible. I notice another cool shot from down the way. Soon my curious push through a door left ajar turns into an exploration of concrete structures. On the opposing side of where I am standing there are another set of stairways and instead of open slats with steel cable barricades the walls had large circular cutouts made of brick. I arrange my perspective so that the peephole is lined up with the sky scrapers of downtown SLC. The idea to setup my guitar in the hole flashes before me. So I do it. Using the yarn strap as a means of “hovering” by wrapping it around the steel cables. Allowing it to lean back on itself. Having just started an Instagram account for the new year, I figured this would be a good way to promote the acoustic session on Saturday. The shoot was enjoyable. There was a light that kept flashing on and off when I would have a new idea, literally. It’s always fascinating to me when things like that happen. Someone honks their horn when an idea or the name of a person you feel should be contacted pops into your head. Then when you contact said person they tell you they were just thinking about you. How in tune are you?
To the rooftop I go, overlooking the hotel and parking lots below. The view in all honesty isn’t that interesting. Salt lake city has a fairly simple layout and building structures. It’s the religious buildings, cathedrals and monasteries that are more interesting. To the South stands the LDS cathedral, towering over apartment buildings and restaurants. My time at the parking garage was up. There was nothing else standing out to me. I was getting bored of looking down upon the city. The stairway back down is in a heated structure of its own. Convenient when you are lurking in the cold at 9PM. The thought to go towards the nicer side of town to busk persuades me to more in the opposite direction of my vehicle. Though, a feeling of time waste was overhanging. I probably should have just gone back to the car, because every restaurant was closed and there were no pedestrians. My guitar placed back in the car, I feel pulled to enter the coffee shop. Part of me really just wants to go home and get some food. But I felt led to go in. So I asked, whether or not I should go in. I received an affirmative for entry. The place is quite nice. There are different artists that have intricate characters peering out at the coffee consumers and college students. I found a single seater table next to the couch. In front of me there are a group of students studying. Less concerned with what’s going on around me, my hands reach back into the camera back and pull the 7D out. The photos I just shot are downloaded to the Macbook and I begin dialing in. Focused on getting the images edited and ready for posting. Nearly ten to fifteen minutes into editing, I hear my name being called to my left. Looking over I recognize two faces. Two young ladies that attend the church I had been led to. They had just begun their schooling and were knocking out homework projects. They both ask me to take the empty seat next to them and talk for a bit, so I do. One shows me a page in her notebook riddled with a check list. Items that need complete before the end of this week. Coinciding with all of the things that I had to complete this week. It’s always nice to have reminders and motivation to keep pushing forward. They were both curious as to what I was doing at the cafe, why I was downtown, so far away from the church area. I explained my afternoon, how I felt led to come up town and the events that followed. Time was rolling around, the hour was late and the young women needed to get back to their homes, for their week was only beginning and school was at hand. We say our goodbyes and I return to my work. The photos are mostly edited by the time 10:30PM comes around. The lead barista stands dazing into the wall. Walking up to her I ask if they ever have live music or such. I knew the answer already as I had asked before. But another worker walked through the kitchen door and said Whats-up. Telling me that I could get in contact with the owner, that I could probably set something up if I liked. They both tell me that if I wanted to leave business cards there was a table specifically for cards and advertisements. So that I do, a small stack is left for peoples having. There was one more location that I wanted to shoot before I headed back to the house. That is, the large Cathedral. I wasn’t going to walk though, it was too cold and my lungs were bringing to my attention that I needed to take it easy.
Pulling to the front of the stone building I take a second to send out a message to someone that I had been felt led to get to know. Like most people that I have felt led to get to know or have an influence over, it has taken time for them to warm up to me. Much like those whom I mentored in Canada, it has been a few weeks for the process to begin. With the message sent, I grab the gear and head to the front of the Cathedral. Two large pillars on either side of the structure house angels and strange demonic looking creatures. The detail in the stone work is fascinating, everywhere I looked there were unique patterns and geometric shapes, mostly triangles, of which are common in the church heritage. The front of the building was quick to shoot. There were a lot of trees and streetlamp that were either in the way or blowing out my shots. So i moved to the rear or the structure. As I moved closer and closer to the back, the less light there was and a particular electric buzz hung in the air. An out of place pink light illuminates a lone door. Light skims through the crevices around it. Standing beneath a the high pitched buzzing of a lamp mounted on a fence I look to the building. An entire wall of stained glass glows with a tinge of turquoise and ocean blue. The vast amounts of colors that these eyes had seen this night. A pallet of unknown. A fifteen second exposure captures the stars over hanging the phased building. A sign that says do not enter mounted on the fence, specifically for vehicles stares me down. I enter… As the alley way opens up to a courtyard surrounded by mint flavored lamps I get a new perspective of the Cathedral. “Too bad all of these lights are on, or else this could be a cool shot.” The mint green lights flick off. Out of sudden surprise and lack there of, I let out a chuckle. Another fifteen or twenty second exposure. Slow down and enjoy the moments of which are provided. The crackling of melting snow behind me, the stars glowing in the sky above. My chest is filled with a chilling cold as I inhale. It reminds me of when I first quit smoking cigarettes and had a series of strange ramifications. One of which was an eerie piercing cold feeling that would enter my lungs upon inhalation. It’s definitely time to head out, the cold is creeping through two pairs of gloves. My heater doesn’t warm up quick enough, my phone vibrates in my waiting of warmth. The person from church actually replies back, after multiple attempts of getting in contact. We setup a plan for Friday to get together. The wheels pull towards home, another twenty five minutes away. Long drives alone at night are some of the best times of peace and wonder.
My night ended laying in the comfort of bed, completing the photo edits and listening to slow jams. It feels good to be back in the drivers seat.