Monthly Archives: June 2010

Playing in the Band

Posted on by cbaird

I love music. As such, when I came to Appalachia, I knew I wanted to explore the rich tradition of bluegrass, country, old time, and gospel music that still pervades the area. I have played guitar for many years and I recently started playing the mandolin, so I had an easy way to connect with people. I went to countless jams, festivals, performances, and eventually was invited to people’s homes.

These musicians are not famous country stars, nor do they have any aspirations to be famous. They are people for whom music is a natural part of their everyday lives. The play music purely for the joy of playing music. Much of the footage was gathered in the homes of the artists to showcase the lifestyle and cultural traits of the area and its people.

The short film, portrait series, and online archive will all be constantly updated at the website: www.banksoftheohio.com. The people of Appalachia were wonderful and generous in sharing their lives with me, and I realize that there will never be a shortage or musicians or generous people, so this project will continue for the foreseeable future.

Josh Birnbaum
joshbirnbaum.com
banksoftheohio.com

From left, uncle Jesse and aunt Linda, Larry and his wife, Martha, and I gathered for a jam at Martha's garage in Vinton, Ohio, on Sunday, May 23, 2010.



Doug Crabtree plays banjo in the backyard of Martha Whitlatch in Vinton, Ohio, on Sunday, May 30, 2010. Doug plays fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and dobro, just to name a few.

Over the last few years of riding my bike…

Posted on by cbaird



down the Athens Bike Path, I constantly passed a set of abandoned boxcars, occasionally stopping with friends to hang out on top of them. It took two years of seeing this plot of land and a few houses to question what the land was used for. One day I decided to find out and was pleasantly surprised to meet the people involved with the land.

I learned about the Good Earth Farm and what it did for the community. I was invited into their home for church services, meals, and volunteer workdays, along with access to document their lives. The church gave me a new perspective on relating land with religion. Everyone was welcoming and eager to share their outlooks on life, though they did not force it on anyone. They are merely a group of like-minded individuals living their lives in the most efficient ways possible, always with their eyes set on the greater good. It was a pleasure meeting this group of people and being able to share their unique way of life.

Dan Krauss
Dankraussphoto.com

I have been a big fan of Soul of Athens…

Posted on by cbaird




for the past three years. I eagerly awaited the launch of the site every June, took time to watch as many stories as I could, and asked my friends who were part of SOA countless questions about the project.

This is my last quarter at OU, and I was determined that I would not sit on the sidelines of Soul of Athens this year. I wanted to be part of the experience.

I went into Soul of Athens with a story in mind, but unfortunately it fell through within the first week. I volunteered to be part of another project, which I worked on for a few weeks before it too fell through. I was still determined to participate in SOA any way I could, and my senior producers recommended that I begin another project with Julia Dose and Becca Quint.

We began putting together The Road to Athens at a fairly late stage in the Soul of Athens process, but we gave it everything we could. We wanted our project to serve as a short introduction to what Athens, Ohio is like.




The project could not have been completed without the help of the entire Expression Team, several of whom volunteered images for the project and the help of our senior producers Jennifer Cecil and Josh Birnbaum. It was a group effort, and the experience was all that I hoped for when I joined Soul of Athens.

Rachel Yoke
“The Road To Athens”

http://rachelyokephotography.blogspot.com