PODCAST: MATTHEW McCUNE PORTLAND ARCHITECT Matthew has not only developed a reputation as a skilled architect and draftsman, but as a well-respected community-builder through his collaborative approach to these art-based construction projects. His creative design work and large-scale artworks have been featured at summer festivals such as Burning Man and the Oregon Country Fair.http://http://www.mccunedesign.com
The Restoring
Sovereign film project aims to contextualize the relevance of
the 93-year old building's renovation through stories shared by individuals
closest to the work. These include the building's new and prior
owners, architects, builders, managers, tenants and craftsmen, each
of whom bring perspective and experience to the restoration project.
In bringing these varied stories together in a legible and engaging
way, we form the foundation of the documentary's narrative. Of
particular interest to the Sovereign's renovation story are the
building's Richard Hass murals. These paintings visually depict
scenes of Oregon history using the trompe
l'oeil painting technique, translated from French as, “tricks the
eye”. Originally dedicated in 1989, these massive paintings will be
faithfully restored over several months as the building remodel moves
toward completion. http://diggablemonkey.com
Matt Voth is no stranger to Portland music. His last 18 years since moving here have been a bit of a blur as a busy bass guitar player with the likes of Trash Can Joe, Robin Jackson, High Drive Revival, Buddy Evans, Lewi Longmire and Little Sue. Always the great story-teller, Matty knows how to describe the meandering experience from a specific place in time.
For some, 1984 is just the name of an Orwell book or a great Van Halen record. For me, it's the year I learned how to play Survivor's 'Eye of the Tiger' on the drums! Indeed, it's not everyday you get to surf the space/time continuum and experience the time machine. On a recent trip back the Philippines, I got the chance to revisit Brent School in Baguio City. It was there that the music lessons began...
I first recall meeting Noah Mickens about 10 years ago at Branx/Rotture. He aided my production team and helped turn Portland's first major steampunk-themed event into a monstrous success. Fast forward to 2016 and he's still pounding the pavement like there's no tomorrow! He works hard, loves his work and just can't wait to get another show on stage. Here's our conversation from a couple of weeks ago...
Melissa Casburn is a lead production planner for Portland's regional summer event gathering called SOAK. The 2016 edition is SCIENCE! Take a deep dive into the local NW Burning Man event's evolution and how she and her team aspires to further grow its outreach to our local community.
Join us this week for a chat with Dan Stauffer, tour manager and musician with Portland's big band spectacular, March Fourth. Dan discusses the band's cross country adventures, new record project and what to expect from the band in the coming year.
Dan Cohen is one of the few pro commercial large-scale mural painters in the nation. He is a Lead Painter at the Portland-based company Art FX Murals, which has him working full-time in NYC and LA on massive hand painted Hollywood film and other corporate product advertisements.
Announcing the inaugural Diggable Monkey Podcast! Here's a fun little recording Chris Fish Herring and I made a couple of months back in anticipation of next weekends Portland Winter Light Festival. Listen in as we discuss pre-New York Times Portland and how Chris' creative career in lighting tech evolved. #pdxwlf#diggablemonkey
What a journey it's been to discover tangible links to Oregon's pioneer history! Follow along with Oregon City-born Dick Drumm, as he describes pieces and places of the family story in "relative" detail.
Watch the clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpYNV1lOKx0
Diggable Monkey has been working with Kelly Rae Roberts and Nichole Poinski to record and develop a body of podcast work currently being published as The Possibilitarian Podcast on iTunes. Kelly says, "My goal is to spark a free-flowing dialogue about the topics that are meaningful to all of us."
Click here and listen to the first series of recordings on iTunes:
On my first visit back to The Philippines in just over 30 years, it was critical to visit a couple of important geologic hot spots while visiting Surigao del Sur. These area's near Bislig, were once in the shadow of an economic powerhouse known as PICOP, SE Asia's largest pulp and paper/forestry industry operation. As a child, we'd visit both the now popular cave, in Hinatuan and took trips by banca to Hagonoy Island, which is now privately owned/managed (not generally open to the public). We are very thankful to our hosts and to the people of Bislig/Mangagoy, who opened their homes and hearts to us on our short 3-day stay. Special thanks to my JMS classmates Jun Osano, Dennis Formarejo and his lovely wife, Cresty for their hospitality while there. Gratitude also to Dely Marcojos, who hosted us at her hotel, PCI and Willie Fuentes, who helped us get back the kabaw horns that were confiscated by airport security in Butuan. We feel incredibly fortunate and humbled to be able to come back and visit the good people of Bislig and relish the wonder of your most incredible natural tropical landscapes. We shall return!
Shot entirely with a GoPro 4 Silver
Camera: Lana Wirges and Kevin Balmer
Video produced by Diggable Monkey
http://diggablemonkey.com
More on Enchanted River Cave from Wikipedia:
The first exploration to the underground cave of the Hinatuan Enchanted River was made by Alex Santos in 1999. The major exploration to the underground cave system started eleven years later when a group of three cave divers led by Dr. Alfonso Amores with team members Bernil Gastardo and Emgee Guillermo entered the cave in February 2010. The major exploration led to the discovery of a hidden underground cave opening at 30 meters depth. Succeeding expeditions have been made that led to the discovery of the underwater cave's chamber. During its sixth expedition on June 17, 2014, Dr. Amores perished after failing to exit the narrow entrance to the cave due to a cardiac arrest at 40-meter depth inside the narrow tunnel to the Mayor's Chamber of the underground cave in the Hinatuan Enchanted River. The river's unusual colors and unexplored depths has inspired various local legends. One story tell of fairies that added the colors of sapphire and jade to the river to make its unique shade. Local fisherfolk also report seeing fish in the river that cannot be caught through any means. According to locals, the river was called the Enchanted River because of the engkantos that dwell there. Their legends also say that the river is haunted by supernatural beings which act as its protectors.
At long last... When Matthew McCune first mentioned this effort to me a couple of years ago, I knew I wanted to be a part of telling this fantastic story. Thank you to everyone who participated in helping make this little piece a reality. Special thanks to Geoffrey Squier Silver and Sallie Edmunds for reviewing the proposal and giving me a green light. There are so many more stories to share from OCF. I'm so honored to have been a part of this one! If you like what you see, please don't hesitate to "share" it out...
The success of the MarchFourth in China tour owes much to Cynthia Dang, our language interpreter. Here she is in action and some personal thoughts on her future as a Chinese/English language expert.
Diggable Monkey is excited to announce that we're working with Katherine Bird to produce a series of video products for her business. We've been recording in session, as well as out in nature's great wide open. It has been wonderful getting to know her and discovering her tremendous talent as a spiritual healer. We're looking forward to sharing the finished product with you! For more on Transformance events with Katherine Bird, go to: http://www.tranceformance.com/events.html
