Fifeslife

On Kids, Zoom and Vinyl

2011-07-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

The boys have been seriously digging the 1974 A&M release "Come On and Zoom," an audio production of WGBH television highlighting the kids program of the same name. This record is dated 1974, but according to the youtube clip, most of the cast is circa 1976. Besides the blatant 70's factor, what is so awesome about this?

1) The music is fresh to this day, totally global, original/traditional, jazzy, funky, rocking, and the vocal harmonies are surprisingly good for a bunch of sub-16 y.o. kids. This listening adult is emotionally biased, but tearfully singing along and appreciating the funky electric and acoustic arco basslines and clever lyrics. GLEE's got absolutely nothing on this multicutural performing posse.

2) My sister defaced the doublewide foldout LP album cover with "stupid" written in blue bic ballpoint over every boy, and "smart" over every girl. Tellingly, some of the girls had their "stupid" crossed out before "smart was written in. My sister was about 10 at the time. Girls can be so cruel, no? In addition, my sister proclaimed her ownership of the record by emblazoning her name on the cover. In doubly and triply underscored capital letters she writes "only mine" along with the news bulletin: "It is not Jason's. He ruins records, and he is a baby and a show off" with "True Stuff" below and an arrow pointing to the aforementioned text. Much love in our household for sure. Anyway, what I am most proud of is the fact that I, showcasing my reading skills at approximately 5 years of age, had crossed out the "baby and show off" line with a blue bic ballpoint scribble. Not only could I read, but also I was not able to dispute the fact that I had ruined the occasional record.

3) The boys are LEARNING: listening, music, rhyme, reading (the record case is adorned with comic drawings and the full lyrics,) multiculturalism and the positive (but not cloying or saccharine) messages in the lyrics. In fact, we do hear teasing, taunting and even "shut up!" and "you jerk!" reinforcing my ideal that humans should be able to take it as well as dish it out. It's all in good-natured fun. "Music is love and love is music if you know what I mean. People who believe in music are the happiest people I've ever seen."

4) CDs and mp3s can kiss my vinyl ass. This analog record, with its deep scratches, noise, and skips, sounds INFINITELY better than any digital recording ever made. Soft, warm, luscious, the needle in the groove, feeling the vinyl vibrating your earhole is no comparison to the icy harsh digital reality. And the boys now know the lost art of safely operating a record player and putting the record back in its sleeve. They patiently wait for the tone-arm to retract, carefully hold the record by its edges to flip it, press play and again wait for the needle to hit the groove. I can't imagine a life without vinyl and strongly encourage you to retrieve the old LP's from the basement, attic, or grandma's, and find a machine that plays them. You will not be disappointed.

Studioleaks

2010-12-09T06:10:00.000-08:00

Studioleaks has unearthed a rare trove of early recordings from Arthur "Harry" Harrison. These Christmas-inspired freestyle rhymes feature Harry accompanying himself simultaneously on tabla. After deliberations with the artist, Studioleaks will be release choice excerpts from these "basement tapes" during the holiday season. Recorded in Dec. of 2010 when he was 5 years of age, the music highlights an artist obviously in the early stages of his career, sometimes with a penchant for spontaneous word creation, and with a clear sense of humor. Completely raw and unedited, and I may add, uncoached by his parents.
Santa Claus Gives us Presents by Mischa Machez

If you ever needed proof of life's absurdity

2010-08-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

Once again eons since the last post, life does get in the way sometimes. Even the Twitter feed is pretty sparse these past couple months since Daph has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

On an up note.

The Chestnut Hill Local published an article about Daph this week, with a photo of us "above the fold" in all it's color glory. Daph's mom experienced cancer when she was about the same age as Daph, with two small children. It was with the help of the local community that she is a survivor. These days, the word "community" can cover a much wider spectrum thanks to the internet, and I can't thank everyone who has contributed to helping us during this crazy time. Family and friends both local and far flung, neighbors we hardly know, complete strangers, so many people have come to our side for support of all kinds. We truly would not be able to deal with this if it wasn't for you all. We realize that everyone has their problems, and ours are rendered insignificant when one looks to the problems of the larger world, so thank you for giving of yourselves. And forgive the rant below. Read on only if you really want to take a trip down the rabbit hole of health care coverage...

Let's distill.

Not all of life has been totally absurd, but the saga of the hospital/insurance company/pharmacy/doctor administration that is now a daily facet of our lives just begged to be addressed. This is not a Hollywood drama of the big, mean insurance company squashing the little guy. It is just one person's account of the madness that is the US health care "system" and I use those quotes only because the Greek root of the word meaning a "whole compounded of several parts or members," does not accurately describe what constitutes health care in America in 2010. It is simply too unstructured and the various parts and players so disconnected that it cannot be considered an integrated whole, and certainly not a working system.

My wife Daphne was diagnosed with breast cancer in her left breast in early June. She has undergone surgery to remove the cancer, and a concurrent biopsy determined that there is still cancer present in the margins, so another surgery is called for after chemotherapy. Daphne has undergone 2 treatments of chemo so far (adriamycin and cytoxan), with 2 more of those before 4 of Taxol. After the next surgery she will be treated with radiation for 7 weeks, then her chances of a recurrence are about 50/50.

Backing up.

When I was working for someone else in 2005, I had a decent health plan that I paid a very reasonable sum for, with my employer covering the bulk of it. Our first son was born, the birth was covered and we were out of pocket almost nothing. In early 2007 I quit my job and started working as a freelancer, just before we found out that Daphne was pregnant again. I had purchased a bare-bones health policy for the family when I quit my job, because I knew it would be difficult to obtain insurance again if we let it lapse. Our policy has high deductibles, high co-pays, and 20% coinsurance. In terms of numbers our monthly premiums are "low" but each family member has a 5k deductible, up to $2500 coinsurance, a $500 pharmacy deductible and $2500 pharmacy max, so with a major illness like this, we're out of pocket about $10k.

When our second son Gus was born in November of 2007, we were faced with bills for mom and Gus, each with their own deductibles, as well as a $5000 "birth" fee/co-pay that we had not known about when we bought our disaster coverage insurance policy. Gus was born with respiratory problems and spent some time in the NICU and was later admitted to the hospital twice for nearly week-long stays before he was even three months old. As we spent New Year's eve 2007 in the hospital with Gus wheezing and hooked up to an IV, on the eve of what would be 5 more days in the children's ward, we of course were not thinking about what it was going to cost us. Had it crossed my mind, I would have thought, well, he was just born in November, and his deductible was paid in full with all the recent medical expenses from the birth, so he should be covered. No. Gus, at less than 2 months old, like the rest of the family, has a policy whose deductibles reset every calendar year. So were faced with another $5000 deductible to cover his hospital stays. Our out of pocket expenses for the birth and Gus' treatment exceeded $20k. Daphne spent the entire next year on the phone and in correspondence and was able to negotiate on the bills, some of which we were first receiving in May for services performed in November.

We should have learned our lesson then, right? Maybe we should have just dropped our coverage altogether and gone the "pay as you go" route. From my recent experiences, doctors and hospitals are more than willing to negotiate a bill or set up a payment plan. We spoke with a clerks' supervisor at the hospital one day asking for a discount. She looked at the computer screen for 20 seconds and gave us half off, on the spot. 20% off is fairly routine. And we have health coverage. I imagine if we didn't they would be even more lenient.

So now it's a few years later, I am still self-employed, Daphne just started a business with her partners earlier this year and is now struck with a major illness. A local non-profit, Jazz Bridge, is helping us to cover the deluge of bills, and our friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances have been more than generous in helping us out financially and personally, helping with meals, the children, and with day to day coping emotionally. Thank you to each and every one of you who have helped or offered to help - we are proud of our community and to have such an extended network of amazing people in our lives.

As to the absurdity, today was a typical day, but we need a little background.

In July Daphne started chemotherapy. We were instructed to go to the pharmacy the day before to pick up anti-nausea medications. One of them, Emend, had only been approved by our insurance company to be refilled every 15 days. Trouble was chemo was supposed to be every 14 days. We figured we'd cross that bridge when we came to it, but planned to pick up the medicine at the last possible minute, meaning the morning before that afternoon's chemo, so that maybe we could squeeze a day extra between treatments and get the Emend on day 15 or 16 so it wouldn't get denied. Turns out I had to pay full price for the drug, about $400. Pharmacy says, "the drug wasn't pre-authorized by your doctor, so it isn't covered." I was a little surprised, then also remembered that we had a $500 pharmacy deductible, this was a name brand drug with no generic equivalent, etc., so ho-hummed my way to the hospital.

Told the Drs' secretary and the Nurse Practitioner about the Emend, and they said they would call and pre-authorize the drug, that we should be able to get a refund. OK. More on that later.

Chemo round one.

As part of the treatment course, Daph's doctor recommended chemo every two weeks, with a white-blood cell booster shot to be administered within 48 hours of the AC chemo treatment. This drug, Neulasta, raises the white blood cell count so that women can receive the AC chemo every two weeks instead of every three (during which time the body presumably regenerates enough white blood cells). We never questioned this, as this doctor is well-respected, middle-aged, and knowledgeable, and when you're faced with cancer you pretty much do what your trusted doctor recommends.

Within a day or two after the chemo she's supposed to get this Neulasta shot, which can be administered at home. The insurance company calls me and says we need to pay for the Neulasta, which will be Fedexed to our home so a visiting nurse can teach us how to administer. Our share of the Neulasta is over $1200. And she's going to need this 3 more times. But get this - Daph's yearly pharmacy max is $2500, so with this one shot of Neulasta she's already over the maximum! We call the hospital and they say come on down, we'll give you the shot and put it in as medical treatment so it won't have to be covered under your pharmacy plan. So we call and cancel the Neulasta home delivery. A visiting nurse shows up anyway to teach us how to do the shot, until she finds out we're not doing it, then proceeds to hang out and talk chemo side-effects for an hour so it seems like she has a reason to be there. Next day we take 2.5 hours to drive to West Philly and go get the Neulasta shot and it's covered as "medical" instead of "pharmacy."

After speaking with the Dr. it turns out that there is NO CLINICAL BENEFIT to doing chemo every 2 weeks, and the only reason they do it is to get women through the treatment faster. OK. As mentioned, the Neulasta stimulates the bone marrow to boost the white blood cell count so it only takes the body 2 weeks to regenerate as opposed to 3. But chemo is equally as effective with or without the Neulasta. Dr. hadn't told us this before. Why do you think that is? Could it be somebody wants people to buy a drug costing thousands of dollars per dosage? Could it be somebody wants to hustle more patients through the "system" in less time? Did I mention that side effects of the Neulasta include flu-like symptoms, headache and bone pain for 2-3 days? This in addition to the already miserable side-effects of the AC which include nausea and major fatigue. Oh yeah, and the standard anti-nausea meds side effects which include debilitating constipation, headache and fatigue. Daph opts for 3 weeks between the remaining 3 treatments of AC chemo, so no Neulasta.

Chemo round two, about 2 weeks later.

I go to pick up the Emend again and guess what, have to pay full price of almost $400. Turns out the insurance company hasn't reversed the charges on the Neulasta, so it appears to the pharmacy that we've exhausted our pharmacy benefits. Dr. now says they spoke with ins. co. and Emend has been denied. Well that explains why we have to pay full price. But when I call ins. co. they say Emend is not denied, it's only because of the mix up with reversing the charges on the Neulasta. They say go back to the pharmacy and redo the 2 original Emend claims and we will be covered and get some money back. Looking forward to another fool's errand to the pharmacy, as now Daph is due for yet another dosage of AC chemo, which means more Emend. Did I mention the Emend is designed to prevent vomiting from the chemo?

Fun with Drs. invoices.

We get a bill from the surgeon about 6 weeks after we figured we had paid for everything, saying we owe over $1600. OK. I call the Drs. office Thursday and leave a message telling them I actually want to pay this bill. Call Friday and leave a msg. Call Monday and leave a msg. Drs' assistant calls back. "Actually, you only owe us about half of that amount, and if you pay it in full this week, we'll give you %20 off." OK. Everyone likes a discount, and I didn't even ask this time. So I get a check and bring it up to the Drs' office the next day. Woman at the desk says, "Hmm, doesn't look like you owe us anything, in fact it looks like the hospital has a refund for you of over $700." So you don't want this check? "No, here, call billing and give them your account number, the one on the invoice, and they'll get his straightened out." OK. I go home and call billing, give them the account number from the invoice. Billing says "that's not our account. Ours all start with fives. According to our records, Daphne is paid up except for a couple of physical therapy visits in August." OK. I go home, start to write this.

For a while I was thinking I was wasting my time getting this down. I can hardly believe it myself, and somehow this makes me feel better knowing it's not a dream. Why that is is maybe a discussion for the therapist. Oh yeah, we have a therapist, she came as part of the treatment, and there is no charge for our visits with her. We find ourselves visiting various parts of SE PA, including West Philly, Chestnut Hill, Wyndmoor and Ft. Washingotn. Form what I har, we are lucky everything is more or less in the same geographic area. You don't want cancer if you live in the sticks. Daph has a primary care doctor, a surgeon, plus her assistant, an oncologist, his NP and secretary, a physical therapist, an acupuncturist (not covered by ins. co.), two visiting nurses (so far), and a partridge in a pear tree.

My mom has been a proponent of NOT having health insurance for many years, and has dealt with her medical bills by negotiating. If everyone in the US all of a sudden stopped paying their health insurance and began negotiating directly with their doctors and the pharmacies, then we might have something approaching fair system. Sure the insurance companies would be out of business, but do they really need to be in the middle of all this? They are the reason why so many people are unable to get health care, medicine, and why the cost of everything is so high. But are the Joneses really going to all of a sudden drop their health coverage? Sick or well, every rational adult in this society believes that YOU NEED HEALTH INSURANCE. If you don't have it as part of your job, you worry and fret or you buy a policy that you can afford.

Would we be much worse off financially if we didn't have coverage? The billed price of the surgery alone was nearly $50k. I guess we would have had to declare bankruptcy because we would realistically be unable to pay. I am starting to think that might have been less of a hassle than dealing with this rabbit hole of a "system" on a daily basis.

Peace, health and prosperity,
J

Busy as bees

2010-05-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

So much going on these days, just had to take a bloggy break as it won't all fit into a tweet! Busy as bees trying to get stuff done before school ends and the kids take over. Daph has officially launched a business Greener U doing energy auditing, green lifestyle education and consulting with her 3 partners. This video highlighting energy auditing is currently in regular rotation on Mind TV, channel 35.1 in Philadelphia or can be found online at www.mindtv.org.

Lots of great new jazz videos are up at the Philly Jazz site and our subscriber base is growing daily. Had the blessed opportunity to film Pat Martino again for Jazz Bridge, check the clip here. Also produced this great 30 second PSA for Jazz Bridge, and we find out soon if it will be aired on cable channel Ovation. Currently working on the latest Jazz Bridge event, the Student Showcase, which featured an amazing array of seriously talented local kids, one of whom, jazz violinist Ben Sutin, has invited Fife to play bass in the backing band for his college audition CD.

The coming days and weeks are packed - Slife Productions is producing the first of hopefully many radio documentaries for WRTI, partnering with DJ Bob Perkins to record local luminaries Tony Williams, Don Wilson, Craig McIver and Mike Boone at their weekly La Rose jam session for a half-hour radio broadcast on Bob Perkins early evening radio show. Stay close as they say, for airdates!

Some more recent work also airing on Mind TV includes an excerpt from the upcoming jazz documentary film "Harmonizing Art and Life: A Philadelphia Education in Jazz." Matt Davis and Odean Pope are featured in this 5min clip "A Mentorship in Jazz" with a broadcast premier Weds May 26th at 8pm during Mind TV's special hour of member submitted programs. Earlier that same night the piece will air on the big screen at the Piazza at Schmidt's in Northern Liberties at 6pm, check it out if you're in the neighborhood.

Slife just filmed the rock bands Dive and Automatic Fire at the annual MMRBQ at the Susquehenna Bank Center and we are awaiting permissions to hit the grand opening of the New Meadowlands this Weds. to produce a mini-documentary for Dive, who will be the historic first to play the new venue, opening for Bon Jovi.

In our own music news, Fife is currently working in several bands, including the newgrass/alt. folk group Urban Drawl and our limited edition 5 song EP sold out at the Chestnut Hill Garden Festival. And pianist David Dzubinski is featured in a new jazz group inspired by bands like Medeski Martin and Wood, Galactic and the Bad Plus. Our debut performance is Tuesday, June 1st at the Tavern on the Hill in Chestnut Hill. Look for recordings from that group, Mischa Machez, real soon...

This weekend we are taping the return of the Miss Black America Pageant, being held in Philly after nearly a 30 year hiatus. Something tells me the highlight reel from that event will garner some views...

And looking ahead, we are once again psyched to be working with OARC and Lifeline Music to produce video for the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival this year, featuring an all jazz line up with Al Jarreau, Diane Reeves, Joey DeFrancesco and more. Check out the 30 second Festival TV Spot Slife produced below. Warren and Graziella, musical directors of the Festival, will be featured on an upcoming newscast we are co-producing with our partners Hill on the Avenue.

Thanks for reading, stop in soon, and say hey online or on the Avenue.

Back to School

2009-09-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Kids are back in it, Harry 3 days and Gus 2, and are sick with colds after the first week. Mom and Dad got it, too, but seem to be getting over it faster. Stress? Daph is at her BPI energy auditor certification class all week so am home trying to keep it together. Meals, dishes, laundry, work, kids. Bonus is I recording more music than I have in a while, with several projects underway: jazz quartet, Rev Chris' live Beatles covers, which sound great if I do say so myself, newgrass with the Friends band, Fonksquish, and my own little seed for a new album. Cutting some tracks today with Denise King, and will be working with Phil and the Rev. tonight to cover the spectrum from sad ballad to funked up jazz to heavy metal. Philly peeps be sure to come out to Campbell's Sept. 30th for the jazz/hip-hop/poetry open jam to benefit Jazz Bridge.

Slife Productions has been hard at work producing lots of new Philly Jazz, working with Donald Williams, Joanna Pascale, Orrin Evans, Denise King, and Victor Bailey. Here's the latest clip:

Will also be taping this upcoming tribute to Lady Day show for the Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Project:

The dawn of a new studio space

2009-06-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

The big Slife news today is that within the next week the architects and students at Philadelphia University's Engineering and Design Institute are completing design of our new, green, (hopefully LEED certified) audio/video recording studio at 7926 Roanoke St. in Philadelphia. We will be incorporating the studio into the existing 1000 sq ft structure known as "the garage." The space will feature a modest reception/lounge space, a voiceover/isolation booth, and a 300 sq ft sound stage/control room, equipped with 12x16' green screen and convertible fabric backdrops. Heat will be solar hot water supplied, and the site will have a waterless, composting toilet. The design is being completed with a $10,000 grant from Ben Franklin Technology Partners and the best part is that Phila U EDI Master's candidates and professors will be supplying the labor and expertise to build the space in the summer of 2010. One minor problem to be addressed is the small issue of finding the funds to purchase materials. Not to mention navigating L&I down at City Hall...Of course, we'll be video documenting the entire process for the blog as well as producing an educational DVD!

Summertime

2009-06-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Living ain't easy but it sure is fun. So much work I don't know what to do with it. Backlogged on editing Friends of the Wissahickon 85th anniversary event video, where I interviewd Mayor Michael Nutter. Can you spot the photoshop? So many episodes of Philly Jazz sitting uncut on the shelf. Coming off the total craziness of the 6th annual, 2009 West Oak Lane Jazz and Arts Festival, where I spent the last 96 hours, walking, talking, listening, shooting, editing, and earning a buck to promote the festival and OARC, a local non-profit CDC that is doing great work in the community. Can't believe that a mere 4 years ago I first wet my feet shooting jazz at the festival for fun. Full circle? So grateful that "following my bliss" is my career.
Wrapping shooting for the School District of Philadelphia this week with some principal interviews, miles of footage to plow through for a couple character education clips, and met an interesting woman at the festival this weekend who is also working for the School District to write a book on Philly Jazz history - could be a companion DVD/website?
What else? Raising these two boys is a blast and a constant challenge. Gus is stringing words together into mini sentences. Hard to hear "bye bye dada." Harry is trying to prove himself the macho man but seems to follow every assertion with a query as to the statement's veracity. Kids will both be in daycare this fall but only 2-3 days a week, so we are trying to remember to enjoy these precious moments of early childhood while we can. Before the system gets 'em and twists 'em around.
Vacation in a couple weeks to Bridge, and am very much looking forward to it. For now, much editing, a board meeting, and a couple days shooting this week for University of Pennsylvania. Now some rest...

Springing to Maine, Summer preview

2009-04-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

This blog has lapsed for 5 months as we have been cranking out new episodes of Philly Jazz and feverishly growing Slife Productions. Like the rest of the world, also spending more time communicating in mini-missives via facebook and twitter, which has no doubt hobbled my ability to craft coherent paragraphs. Working currently on videos for the School District of Philadelphia and Harris Ad agency, and looks like we'll be back at West Oak Lane again shooting the entire 3 days of the most amazing free jazz and arts fstival on the East Coast, this year featuring Billy Paul, Roy Ayers, Tower of Power, the Mingus Big Band, and literally hundreds more of the finest musicians in Philadelphia (and thereby, the world!). Soon to be posting a 15 minute promo piece for non-profit Jazz Bridge hoping to spread the word about this great organization and generate some donations. In these tough economic times now more than ever, worthy non-profits need our help. Contact Jazz Bridge to volunteer or contribute financially: info@jazzbridge.org.

Spring brings us to Maine for a brief visit to the farm and family, this time Dad is traveling with both boys as solo parent so there should be some interesting action to report. Harry is nearing 4 years of age, and Gus is coming up on 1.5, so they are generally able to play with each other, with some gentle assistance. 4 is an interesting age, as Harry is starting to find his inner voice and stubbornly insisting on his independence. Gus is still very much in the Neanderthal period, smashing, grabbing, hair pulling, yet sweetly and giddily "being" in each and every moment. If it weren't for all the laundry this parenting thing would be a breeze...

On another note, the Chestnut Hill Allstars are booked to perform at the Pastorius Park summer concert series on July 15th - pencil us in!

Harry and Gus get psyched for Santa

2008-12-15T07:24:00.001-08:00

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Mexidelphia

2008-10-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Once again in Mexico with 98.1 WOGL's Breakfast Club, watching the World Series in Spanish and enjoying the local color and a little Mezcal. Making several videos for WOGL, but the finest yet has to be this mastercard priceless spoof:

McNabb

2008-09-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

Had the pleasure of working with Donovan McNabb on a Vitamin Water spot last week. The finished spot is Rovion that will air soon at 94wysp.com. Cool stuff! Too bad about Da Bears...

70,000 screaming Eagles fans

2008-09-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of our latest work, shown on the Jumbotron at Lincoln Financial Field during last Sunday's sold-out Eagles home game with the Rams. Which also happened to be a total blow out.

And here's the video itself:

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Jazz News

2008-07-09T05:38:00.001-07:00

I have been honored to be on the advisory board of Jazz Bridge for the past 6 months, and we have finally established their youtube non-profit channel. Here is a clip from a recent benefit:

Jazz Bridge is currently embroiled in Charlie Rice's legal battle. and is asking for the financial support of jazz fans everywhere to help clear his name. The legal fees to defend the 88 year-old jazz legend are estimated to sail into 6 figures. Click here to contribute.

And my newest board appointment is to the Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Project, spawned by University of the Arts professors Vic Shermer, Rick Lawn and Don Glanden. The goal is to compile an archive of all past and present Philly-area jazz legends, so the continued video documentation of the local jazz scene is assured.

Kids Jog to help the Homeless

2008-07-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

This heartwarmer is our latest production for Need in Deed, a Philadelphia non-profit that trains teachers how to integrate service learning in their classrooms. The Bache-Martin 4th Graders chose homelessness as their number one social issue and staged a Jogathon to raise money for the homeless, partnering with Back on my Feet, a group that inspires the homeless through running.

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West Oak Lane

2008-07-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

The 5th Annual West Oak Lane Jazz and Arts festival this year was a jamming good time, with over 450,000 people this year over three days. This year's headliners included Benny Golson, Kevin Eubanks, and Mandrill, who I first met a year ago courtesy of WRTI's J. Michael Harrison, who not incidentally is part of the internet's finest new radio station. Mandrill rolls with a deep posse, and they and the Wilson Brothers are a warm and generous bunch to work with. Slife Productions is honored to have been invited into their circle for a few bright moments. More moments from the festival in weeks to come, including Barbara Lester with Philly Legends Sam Dockery and Butch Ballard, Ashford and Simpson, Kevin Eubanks and Rented Mule.

Good clean fun

2008-06-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Slife Productions has been fortunate to continue producing video clips for CBS Radio affiliates 98.1 WOGL and now WIP has joined on as a client. 610 WIP is one of the most popular sports radio stations in the country, and puts on "Wingbowl" every winter - a competitive eating event with lots of wings and barely dressed ladies. This latest clip features the world's largest bubblebath inside Steven Singer's jewelery store, a contest featuring barely dressed ladies diving into a huge pile of bubbles to win diamonds, a boob job and/or a Harley, not to mention guys getting engaged in speedos. And for Father's Day, WOGL puts on the annual Muscle Car Show, a great fundraiser for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with tons of cool cars, thousands of families, and local celebrities.
Bubblebath:

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Muscle Car Show:

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Spring '08

2008-05-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

Harry and Gus are growing up fast, getting along most of the time. See some antics and high-def spring in the Morris Arboretum, set to the latest Fonksquish tune, a cover of Team Facelift's Dippin' Chicken, produced by Slife Productions and featuring Grant MacAvoy, Micheal Cain, and Matt Davis with Fife on bass.

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Bienvenidos al Playa del Carmen

2008-04-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

Slife Productions is in Playa del Carmen Mexico this week, producing a series of web videos for CBS Radio's 98.1 WOGL. Hanging with "The Breakfast Club," chowing and getting tan at the all-inclusive Sandos Caracol. I'll be on the radio with Ross Brittain, Valerie Sestito and Frank Lewis the morning of April 8. Here I am working hard with Val:

And here is a brief video clip from our first morning in Mexico:

Many more fun clips to follow at http://www.youtube.com/woglphilly and at http://www.wogl.com
Sign up to be a member of the Listener Club and listen to win a trip to the Caribbean! Many thanks to Cindy for the hookup and look for another trip to Mexico in October...

Northwest Philly TV

2008-03-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

Slife Productions launches Northwest Philly TV (http://northwestphilly.blip.tv and http://youtube.com/nwphltv) – online video sites featuring the latest news, lifestyle, events, arts, culture, education and recreation in Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Germantown, East Falls, Roxborough and Manayunk. Here's the latest episode on THE story in the region, the big dig on Germantown Avenue:

The Campaign song

2008-03-04T05:56:00.001-08:00

Our pals the Philadelphia Blues Messengers have put together the ultimate campaign song this presidential election year, and here is a glimpse LIVE ahead of their new CD:

Sofia Negron shot my family!

2008-01-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

Sofia Negron Photography: Holiday Family Portraits...still time
and she did a great job!

Gus, Jazz Bridge, Hot Club

2008-01-06T12:55:00.000-08:00

Little Gus is still laboring to get healthy, not quite there yet but seems better. While Harry adores his little bro, it's probably wise to encourage your toddler not to drool on your infant...

I have been asked to join the advisory board of Jazz Bridge and they have been accepted into the youtube non-profit program, which I will be helping them spearhead. My first meeting is Jan. 19, when I will be "voted in" or not! Advisory board members are then in line for board appointments should anyone leave. Current board is comprised of a who's who of jazz in Philly, including Mike Boone, Kevin Eubanks and Bob Perkins. This should be fun, but more volunteer work...such is the nature of jazz I suppose.

Heading to catch the Hot Club of Philly and John Jorgenson show at World Cafe tonight, thanks to a personal invitation from MC Art Howe. Should be a good networking opportunity with some great gypsy jazz.

Ill baby

2008-01-01T16:51:00.000-08:00

And I don't mean ill in the beastie boys sense. Little Gus managed to get bronchitis in his micro lungs, and undoubtedly with help from his big bro has contracted dual cochlear infections. Pretty serious roster of disease for a 6 week old infant. We took him into the pede's office on new year's eve morn, and they promptly steered Daph and Gus to the ER at Abington Memorial. He was admitted and was all tubed up with oxygen and ampicillin by 2pm. Baby Gus was a fussy nightmare, draped and taped up with cords, tubes, and IVs, but thankfully RSV negative. He was up all night and screaming, and Daph was about to lose it when she found out they had laced his O2 with ephedrine, I guess S.O.P. for kids with breathing problems, so he was jacked up and truly unable to sleep. They were thinking he may have developed pneumonia but released him today with the diagnosis of bronchitis and a scrip for antibiotics. He is home now, smily and relaxed now that he is free from his chains, sleeping soundly in my arms as I write this. Scary stuff, we will be closely monitoring him.

Harry was great the last two days while Gus and Mom were cooped up, and though he wanted to visit them, we wisely kept him away. New year's eve he was in the capable hands of our gracious neighbors Mike and Allison, and they said he was a true gentleman and the life of the party when I went to pick him up at a little family-friendly soiree down the street just before his bedtime.

Happy News Year

2007-12-28T13:07:00.001-08:00

2008 will be the newsiest year in the history of the world, how to possibly keep track of it all? Check out our sister blog, The Shit For Brains Award, with commentary from some of the finest unemployed writers around, presidential election coverage, and links to the best free music and video on the web.

The Chestnut Hill Local this week printed a decent article and photo on Slife Productions, trying to keep growing the video biography. Everybody is talking about Story Corps, so that buzz should help.

And thoughts on the two boys:

Harry was so wired on Christmas Eve he literally could not sleep from 11pm until 5am. Seems he ingested a conglomeration of dark chocolate and candied peanuts, hundreds of blueberries and umpteen candy canes, which caused an acute ringing in the ears and state of absolute delerium. Needless to say, he was completely fried on Christmas day, wavering between wandering and blabbering, screaming and crying, and staring blankly into space. Little Gus slept most of the way through, looking sharp in his oversized xmas stocking. Baba was up to visit and made us a wonderful stuffed fish dinner, looked after the kids, and generally provided us with much needed relief after 7 weeks of infanthood, but sadly had to head back to NC xmas morn. After the mayhem Rum, Daph and I had a few drinks and watched the Simpson's movie, truly a great cap on a decent xmas day. Now that Harry is acquainted with the great Santa, there will be no way around the gift giving in the coming years (like that was ever really an option). Lest we forget the real meaning of the season, we did get to Church on xmas eve and sang some songs; Harry being a true angel and Gus sleeping in semi-heavenly peace.

Fife 3.0

2007-11-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

Since the last post, have:
worked the booth for 30,000 pp at the Fall for the Arts fest, so far no dice\
painted the interior of the house and moved Harry to his new room
played a wedding reception party with Rev. Chris and jammed with Tony Williams and Byron Landham at La Rose (success), also with Sam Reed at the Clef Club (disaster).
made a DVD for artist Charles Earley in DC with Byard
did a recording with Deniz Davis, back in PA from CO
made a DVD of a multimedia jazz/video improv project for Phila University
met with financier MG and have begun work on an online booking agency
finishing up work on NiD video, looking pretty good and finally getting paid
fathered another child, Charles Augustus reached earth on Nov 9, and the whirlwind of life just became a vortex.

Life is good, loving dadness, as hectic as it is. It seems like it should get easier, but I have a feeling it will only get harder as these two individuals learn how to really communicate and push the buttons.

Business is not great, but things are happening. Just not getting real paid.

Dylan made an offer on Palmyra, and we have about 11 years remaining to pay the mortgage, so it is hard to to say yes, but also, with 4 mouths around here, hard to say no. We are entertaining our options, but it seems that it would be foolish to let it go. We're not that desperate yet...

Filmed Pat Martino at Chris', amazing, and am working on a DVD to send to China with a trade delegation from the PA state dept., trying to lay the groundwork for this online booking agency. MG is a card!

Also subbed on bass with the Blues Messengers the day we got home from the hospital with Gus, and had a great time, did a little duet with Byard to open the show.

My chops are in the trash, but I'm still having fun. Maybe when the boys are a little older I'll be able to practice again, get a little Fife trio going in the garage...

2007-10-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

where to begin...

gigs with Learnard and Reverend Chris at Hill Tavern and private party this weekend. Starting a bunch of new projects, for NiD, Orrin, and others. Big event at Fall for the Arts this weekend - hoping to push myself into the public consciousness a little bit more. Jazz Doc is coming along - so much more to do yet. Completing a DVD by 08 seems a bit unrealistic, may need some help. Met with Sam Reed a couple times, and hung out with Pat Martino yesterday - amazing people! Will be shooting Pat at Chris' in Nov., so things are looking up. Still need some bread, so doing random work for people like BD and just did a Nissan event last night. Gotta diversify until things star really rolling. Maybe my Local ad will generate some interest.

Harry's new room and mega bunk bed are set up, he is taking to the "big boy bed" well, surprisingly easy transition so far. Hell will be breaking loose in about month when his little bro arrives on the scene. Seems my work schedule will be getting insane right about that time...

2007-08-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

Stopped by to meet a future bio. subject, or at least her daughter would have me believe. M. was very sweet but is "too busy" to worry about a bio right now. I asked if I could stop back in a month and she said "maybe 6 weeks." Her daughter thought this was a great success and is going to keep on her, so time will tell.

Dan and I finished the 2nd coat and now need to finish the windows, but are moving on to the basement floor - marmoleum over the old asbestos tile so the boys will have a safer play space. Daph and I will both have "office" space down there as well, so the expense will be worth it for our long term health.

Spoke with legal video bigwig D. and she is ready to have me "sit in" in mid-Sept, which should lead to some steady work, a proposition which I desperately need right now. Also met with the director of the Hist. Society and she feels like there may some opportunities for me there as well, have to make her a sample disc.

Weekend recap

2007-08-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Hung out in the WRTI studio with Mandrill on Friday night, and Lou Wilson and his son the One Sun Lion Ra performed with DJ Tiny Tim - caught the epic on videotape, but there were at least three other cameras rolling as well, so you'll probably see it on youtube before you see it on Philly Jazz...Some great moments and history of Mandrill, all around amazing human beings and hyper-positive vibes.

They hooked me with a ticket and backstage pass to the Mann show Saturday...

Sat. the fam hit Cece's b-day party in Franklin Square Park, rode the carousel and swings, had pizza and cake, then went for a dip with Aine and John, along with Vino and the Drakes, great cool off after such a swelterer, and Harry was loving life as a fish.

Headed to the Mann around 9, no traffic and a great parking spot, but missed openers WAR. Got my seat about 20 rows back in the center, then hung with J. Mike backstage and met some other WRTI types as well as a couple dudes from Reel Black who were filming the show. Mandrill was killing it live - House of Wood and all their funk-bomb hits, plus a guest appearance from the young Ra with a couple of conscious rap tunes. Powerful show, honored to be invited and feeling a little special at being included in the circle.

Sunday AM was family time, and then Sherry Wilson Butler came over for an interview - she was on point and spoke at length and ease about her experience as a woman and singer in the jazz scene - quite a bit different from being a man and instrumentalist. She spontaneously sang a line from Afro Blue and I nearly fell over! Nothing like a private one-on-one concert.

Dan and I finally painted the west side of the house today and will finish up tomorrow. Have to check in with a possible bio. subject in the AM - her daughter and family are hiring me but Great Grandma is not having it. I need to finesse my way into her heart I guess...

Mandrill

2007-08-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Funk icons Mandrill are in town to perform at the Mann Center on Saturday and the cameras will be rolling when they meet up on "The Bridge" at WRTI with J Michael Harrison on Friday at 10:30 PM. Mandrill is known worldwide, having performed alongside everyone from George Clinton and War to Duke Ellington and Miles Davis. Mandrill has been heavily sampled in the hip-hop canon, forming the basis of hits by Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, Kanye West, Black Eyed Peas and the Jungle Brothers. A rush episode of Philly Jazz will interrupt your regularly scheduled programming, featuring a chat with Mandrill vocalist, saxophonist, and heart surgeon Dr. Ric Wilson when he was last at WRTI in May, plus clips from the new Mandrill DVD.

Click To Play

orrin evans

2007-08-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

Interview with Orrin Evans at his North Philly pad today. He is still very much part of the New York jazz scene and was up there the previous evening checking out shows. He loves Philly and is glad to be here, but had some well-versed gripes: The Philly audiences like what they like, and he continues to challenge the status quo. Support the talent in this town so they don't have to go elsewhere.

Interview clips will be featured in an upcoming episode of Philly Jazz, but you can hear him play here and here.

Next week on Philly Jazz:

Byard Lancaster and Reverend Joe testify at West Oak Lane with the Philadelphia Blues Messengers.

let the log roll

2007-08-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

back from a brief vaca in Bridge, settled back into the homestead after getting Harry to play group and fielded some emails and client calls. Sept. is starting to look quite busy with bio videos and a commercial for Cam's "Arm's Reach Tool Belt."

Orrin Evans had to resched an interview til tues, and just as well, I was able to get my Hi-8 camera back from the shop in Lansdale to view interview footage from him, conducted by Mike Boone, circa 1998. Going to dig a little deeper today when we meet up for the jazz doc interview...

Also heard from J Mike Harrison who wants me to come film Mandrill at WRTI on The Bridge friday night. They will be promoting their Mann show Sat. Hoping for a a little VIP love in exchange for my work....

Plan this pm is to edit some footage for the next philly jazz episode featuring Byard Lancaster, our host, mentor, and co-producer.

Need to touch base with Dr. Ric Wilson of Mandrill and J Mike, as well as Mike from Exact Solar, and Meenal re: the solar hot water heater installation video.