Produced and Edited by Kenneth Thomas.
Camera Operation by Chris Morgan and Kenneth Thomas.
Shot at Sin-e, New York City, 04 November 2006.
Track: “Origin-ing”
Back in 2006, Grails was part of the Neurot Recordings showcase at CMJ in New York City. The week prior had been all about Neurot, as I had just finished a large chunk of Neurot-related material in rural Idaho. Excited about the prospect of editing together killer interview footage with the documentation of live footage in NYC, I drove back to Portland to jump on a plane to shoot Made Out of Babies, MGR, and Grails, who were all part of CMJ’s Neurot showcase. A large chunk of what you’ll see in the film was shot during this time, as the Montreal footage was shot shortly after this – when I had a 2-week vacation from work, I usually chose to do something like this.
However, this Grails clip did not make the final cut. Why? Well, the footage is a little dark. Plus, when I filmed Neurosis a short time later in Portland, Grails just happened to open for them – so, I had a second chance to film with 3 cameras, a better soundboard recording, and a brightly-lit club. The Grails guys dug this footage, though – you might recognize some of it if you have seen their (highly recommended) DVD, Acid Rain.
Part of the reason why this footage is only 2 cameras is because this NYC trip of video documentation was done solo. This meant carrying a full-size tripod, a backpack full of lights and microphones, and a video camera through the NYC subway turnstiles. And this entailed multiple trips a day from the bongwater-drenched room in a Chelsea hostel to the Lower East Side and Brooklyn for live concert shoots and interviews. By the second day, I had already drenched my packed wardrobe with sweat, due to my added job as an urban pack mule – so I doubt I could have handled yet more equipment, such as another camera.
CMJ footage ended up not making it to the final cut – but, the surrounding interviews in NYC, Idaho, and Montreal, did. Until more Cutting Room Floor surfaces from those 3 days in NYC, enjoy this excellent song from Grails!
