Voxtrot is calling it quits and will be playing a few shows on the west coast before its all over. They skipped Portland and played San Francisco which means we went on a road trip. Everything came together perfectly. Photo pass, free room at the Marriott, Amoeba Records, trashy Ed Hardy lighters, karaoke in Sacramento and VOXTROT. Best road trip ever.

Voxtrot @ Great American Music Hall

San Francisco, CA

While down in San Francisco, I snapped a portrait of International Waters from Austin, TX. They opened for Voxtrot and share Mitch Calvert on guitar.

I’m starting to get really into Camera Obscuras and Pinhole photography. I just had a nice birthday weekend journey around the great basin region of Oregon to Summer Lake Hot Springs. We went on a wild sage grouse chase, soaked under the stars and turned our cabin into a giant camera obscura. The cabin had a beautiful view of the  winter ridge which was projected upside down onto the walls. It was a long exposure but the image wasn’t too clear so thats why theres white paper on the walls. Once again, foil was used to block out the sunlight. Sometimes its worth sleeping in a big tin foil box in the middle of the high desert when you can have the outside projected inside.

Its amazing how a couple of days can quickly turn into a month. Like many other photographers, I’d rather be out shooting than working on the computer so my attention span is constantly shifting to the newest photos taken that day. At the end of January I went to the Living Enrichment Center in Wilsonville, OR to explore the compound and photograph a metal band. My favorite part of the adventure was the underground tunnel that lead you to the site of the old Dammasch State Mental Hospital. The children’s nursery was pretty cool too and might have been a little spooky if the graffiti hadn’t been so ridiculous. It was a lot of fun so we spent a good amount of time there. At the end of the day we were all satisfied and feeling a bit sick from the toxic mold in the air.

01/2009 Silver Jews- McMinnville, TN. One of my favorite bands announced that they were breaking up and would play their final show the following week in an underground cave outside of Nashville. Naturally, I booked the next flight out and told the boss I wasn’t going into work that weekend. The show had been sold for a while before they announced the break up, luckily I was able to contact the promoter and work out an exchange of services. Best of luck to you Mr. Berman.

02/2009 Capsule Studio and Gallery. We kept it going for almost a year but being a starving artist isn’t all fun and games. Our lease was up and it was time to move on. For the final project and Division Street Fair, Marie and Anna created a giant mouth for a window display.

03/2009 This photo of Brice was taken on the day before my friend Jennifer moved to Spain. She had one of the last rundown low rent apartments above Capsule and the L&B market on 36th & SE Division Street. Everybody was busy crying and saying their goodbyes upstairs so Brice and I went outside to take some photos and buy candy and malt liquor at the L&B market. It marked an end of an era but the gentrification of Division Street is still going on.

04/2009 When I moved to Portland four years ago I bought a mattress with a built in box spring from Ikea. What a piece of shit. It started falling apart and wasn’t usable anymore so I purchased a new bed this past Spring. While waiting for it to be delivered, I decided to destroy the old one with a baseball bat. My neighbor heard all the ruckus, put on the safety goggles and came over to help.

05/2009 Paul’s Club- Madison, WI. This dive had a giant tree growing in the middle of the bar. It was nice spending the afternoon in there while waiting for the sun to go away.

06/2009 House of Guitars- Rochester, NY. This was one of the most amazing clusterfuck of a record store I’ve been to. Lots of digging time required.

07/2009 Cowboys in Stevensville, MT. I met a real life cowboy at a bar while photographing a wedding in Montana this summer. They were in town for the rodeo! I learned all about the sport and we slow danced to a Martina McBride song. Don’t be fooled, it isn’t all country music out there. If you ever feel like gettin’ down to last years top hip hop and r&b radio jams, this is the place to be.

08/2009 This is my best friend Fernanda right before heading back to San Diego (the hat is from my Mr. Peanut costume). She’s a coffee trader/green bean Q grader and was visiting Portland for the Roasters Guild. It was nice of her to take me out on the company’s credit card and come back out the following month for MFNW.

09/2009 Janvier- partner in crime. The photo was taken sometime during MFNW before the VIP party where the Thermals played. I’m not really a fan of the Thermals but LOVED them that night. Maybe it was the energy of the festival or the free flowing booze talking but either way I think everyone there had a lot of fun.

10/2009 Sober October. I try to do a Sober October half heartedly every year, no wonder it never works out. This year I took the money I saved from those 9 days and went record shopping. My favorite purchase was a Mayer Hawthorne heart shaped 45. Later that evening I broke my streak to drink a bottle of champagne with a pretty girl and climb to the bar’s roof top with her. I’ll try again next year.

11/2009 Portland’s New Century Schoolbook have been busy  recording their second album at Klickitat Band Camp. It was also Sir Johnny’s birthday and I was invited to join the session, sing some “whoa ohs” and get some snaps. Keep your eye out for the new album even though “the first album was better”.

12/2009 Hawaiian vacation at Thatch Tiki Bar with Allison. I always have fun with this girl. Both of us ditched the “December to Remember” show at the Crystal Ballroom to catch up and drink some hot buttered rum. By the end of the evening, she ended up with a hair full of monkeys.

words: Amy J Gauthier

photos: Ro Tam

for Bluegrass Undergound

Dressed for a funeral, the Silver Jews took the stage for their final show.  About 300 lucky fans gathered not six feet under, but 333 feet underground to pay their respects.  The performance was held at Cumberland Caverns, an underground cave in McMinnville, TN.  Mr. Berman played his 15 favorite songs with no encore. He opened the show by letting his fans know that “If you’re in a position in your life, where you need to make a change, this is the best time.  If you’re stuck, try saying no.” As ‘We Are Real’ opened the show, David told his fans, “I’m saying yes for the last time.”

From the moment they started to play, the crowd knew this was a different Silver Jews show.  People were very humbled by the decision David Berman has made to quit the music business.  It was more of a celebration of the life of the Silver Jews than a funeral.  Many stood with tears in their eyes, and even David got emotional as he started to play, ‘Room Games And Diamond Rain’.

The band played better than ever.  David’s voice lifted the walls of the cave in perfect harmony.  It was the most focused and serene Silver Jews show the fans had ever seen.  The usual shouting of favorite lines was kept to a low whisper.  Many of these fans had come a long way to say good-bye.

Bob Nastanovich revisited the drums one last time, as they played ‘Trains Across The Sea’.  Bobby Bare Jr. also made a quest appearance singing backing vocals on ‘I’m Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You.’

As the show was coming to an end, Cassie’s stunning bass rang through our ears the intro to, ‘Smith & Jones’.  The excitement of the fans was boundless, even within the walls of the cave.  Although this was the last show, the fans knew it was the Silver Jews forever, and ever, and ever and ever!