Take a Look at Jeff Meltz

25 October 2010

By Lula Brown

Jeff Meltz is everywhere you want to be.

That is, if you’re among the youth of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Jeff is the warm, outgoing quirky guy behind the flash at Downtown weekly parties, and the brain behind “THE CULTURE OF ME,” video production and nightlife photography team.

Hailing from Rockland County, just thirty minutes outside of New York City, Jeff grew up with an older brother two and a half years his senior, who is now a high school mathematics teacher. As Jeff puts its, “He’s more analytic, and I’m more artsy, even though I’m not artsy at all.” This humble statement is completely washed out by Jeff’s fantastic photographs and keen editing skills. However, what Jeff is really getting at with this shy statement is the fact that he was never really interested in the formalities of photography such as darkroom techniques and theory. Jeff’s greater passion during his school years was for writing, juxtaposing his outgoing nightlife personality. His favorite authors include Don Delilo, Bukowski and Chabon, with “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende being his favorite novel.

After living at his parents house for one and a half years after graduating college with a TV/film major and a creative writing minor, he moved to the southernmost part of Brooklyn, New York in 2004. This was a huge change in lifestyle for Jeff, since he had been working retail for the past year and a half. The shift proves Jeff’s practicality and ability to be a chameleon and adapt to any situation. At this point, Jeff was 24 years old and attending a lot of music shows in Brooklyn and Manhattan. He began photographing on his own at these events, revealing that his photography may have started as a vessel for his musical passions. Jeff’s favorite music group is Knapsack, a little known emo/rock/indie band that is working hard to secure their place on the scene. The photographer’s support for this emerging, yet extremely talented group displays his ability to spot talent that others may not even notice.

In January 2006, after two years of photographing on his own, THE CULTURE OF ME website was born, giving Jeff’s work a true home for it to expand and gain publicity. At this point, Jeff was covering multiple downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn events, and is presently photographing “RANDO” at Gallery Bar on Tuesdays and “Girls & Boys” on Fridays at Webster Hall, among many others.

Jeff’s favorite party is RANDO because “It makes no sense. There’s no built in crowd and it’s always a mess. A good party is made by the energy.” Jeff knows that a good party is not about “bar guarantees and bottles and bullshit,” as he feels so many parties are these days, but rather the momentum of the people in attendance. A good party can happen anywhere, and Jeff can sense when the vibe is right. Although the biggest factor is energy, Jeff is concerned with the decrease in space to be creative with parties because of the demand for said guarantees and bottles. However, this issue goes along with our weak economy, since people depend more and more on free alcohol when going out. If you can roll with a promoter, which means free alcohol, that is the way to go in times like the present.

In the ever-raging battle between LA and New York nightlife, Jeff is surprisingly nonplussed. He feels that LA is the “epitome of a scene where it’s much more about who you can get to attend your party. In NY, it’s less cutthroat because all you want is for your party to be successful, considering the 432, 427, 897, 282, 709, 379 other parties happening that night.” Although Jeff is aware of this truth, he does not care much about the LA scene and has not made a point to investigate further, since he truly believes that a good party can happen anywhere.

Although there are often many nightlife photographers at the same event, Jeff does not play into any sort of competition with his peers. He’s aware of which photos are not liked, and admits that sometimes those photos are his. Jeff’s honesty reveals that some will always dislike even the most respected nightlife photographers.

As Mo Daly, nightlife veteran and emerging DJ stated, “I think his pictures are some of the better ones out there, awesome editing. He has a way of making me take a picture when I try to dodge him, which is a skill in and of itself. And he seems to genuinely listen to music; isn’t just there for the party. Big fan.” This loaded quote from a girl who sees it all lends a lot of weight to the claim that Jeff is simply one of the best.

Along with attending weekly parties diligently and working on his videos during the day, Jeff is very active in social networking, primarily via Facebook and Twitter. This proves his acknowledgement of the fact that one must use these tools to get necessary publicity and stay connected in this day and age. Jeff’s tweets are a great combination of the business and personal sides of his work from “on TCOM [THECULTUREOFME] News: Kid Karate are releasing their debut EP next month http://cultur.me/cn6N5I” to “mambo #5 is relegated to weddings and senior homes only, right?” and “need to be #highoncoffee.” If you are curious, his coffee is always hazelnut with half and half and one sugar.

Jeff has a girlfriend, “#thelovelygirlfriend” as referred to on twitter, who is studying to become a teacher at NYU. She is not involved in nightlife, which juxtaposes Jeff and his prominent position on the scene. However, when Jeff does not have to be out, he and his girlfriend like to do “actual cultural things, like museums and theater,” sans his omnipresent camera. The couple also loves a good taco night or chicken potpie dinner at home.

In terms of personal style, you can catch Jeff in quirky trendy getups from Uniqlo and Ben Sherman, paired with his classic round glasses and huge SLR camera. The effect is a unique cross between hipster and schoolboy from the 70’s, in the best way possible.

In the future, Jeff sees himself married with a child and a solid photography career including event and studio work. He would love to stay in New York forever but is not completely attached because he knows that wherever he goes will be “cool in some way.” This easy-going attitude shows that Jeff really could thrive anywhere, however, juicy New York is truly the best place for savvy, creative types like himself.

Reading Journal

Malcolm Gladwell’s piece, Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg, exemplifies another type of profile that is not only based on an individual, but uses him or her as a platform to dissect a concept. In this case “the concept of six degrees of separation”.

Gladwell is commonly known for this style and uses it effectively in the case of Weisberg—cleverly juxtaposing Lois Weisberg to “the popular parlor game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”.

One thing I notice about Gladwell is that he adopts the language of who he’s interviewing, in another profile titled “ The Coolhunt” he profiles two women on the search for cool. He describes their teen-like lingo in a jovial manner that does not detract from their character—“If [DeeDee] mildly disagreed with something I’d say she would say “Maalcolm” and if she strongly disagreed with what I’d said she would say “Maaalcolm”. Also, Gladwell uses DeeDee and Baysie as a tool to define what is cool? Who is cool? By defining their “coolness” he is able to reveal how they define it in others.

Gladwell captures Weisberg’s character by incorporating telling quotes in a similar fashion- “‘I have no idea why I asked you to come here, I have no job for you,’ Lois told Wendy Willrich when Willrich went to Lois's office.”

This quote fits well with Gladwell’s own analysis of her character that Weisberg has an uncanny knack of connecting with people through unconventional meetings. In the case of Weisberg (and the concept he is also simultaneously profiling), he uses primarily quotes from her interactions with others (or her descriptions of them), which actually serves to define not only her character, but also shed light on the people who embody the concept behind the six degrees of separation.

And I'm Still Grabbing On the Crotch of My Song

Tynan Whalen is a 19-year old liberal arts student from Massachusetts who now lives with his two best friends in a modest Brooklyn apartment. His hair is so long he needs a headband to keep it out of his face, and he wears 2 necklaces at all times: one with a leather pendant complete with an engraved peace sign, and the other a crystal wrapped in wire. His one and only tattoo takes over the entire back of his neck, reading “NOW” in a spraypaint style complete with the “O” in now as a peace sign. His shoes are bamboo Tod’s worn so often that his sock toe peeps out of the front. Tynan is a rapper.

Tynan and his best friend Sam Eckstein have formed a music group they call Technicolor Lenses early last year after meeting at the dorms during their first year of college and realizing Sam’s guitar mends well with Ty’s lyrics. After listening to their erotic noises stirred with lyrics that preach about opening yourself up to the world and mentioning women being goddesses, I felt like I had a sense of what these guys were about.  The minute I started talking to Ty in person I realized that I had not gotten to know him through his positive lyrics and voice, he’s much more than that. His energy flows into open space, his entire body emits contagious enthusiasm.

“Things are not the way they seem.” He twirls his hair, carelessly tosses it behind his shoulders with a laugh and adds, “I mean especially with me because I don’t look like a rapper you know?”

I assumed there would be talk about the hip-hop game, how most rappers never even made it to college, how rap holds the stereotype of being only about sex, drugs, and violence, and of course the elephant in the room; most rappers are black. The confidence that Ty carries about these aspects, almost a silent claim that that is all irrelevant, is what makes him different. He doesn’t believe hip-hop is about culture, he believes it’s about expression.

“That’s just how it is, but once I start expressing myself I’m showing you who I am and whoever can get that will understand.”

Technicolor Lenses has not yet stood its ground in the world of hip-hop, but I am aware that they perform at the same venues as some of the most aggressive artists like Immortal Technique. Ty writes his own lyrics, lyrics that make him seem like he innately knows something that we have all yet to learn. His biggest influences are Eminem, and the Dalai Lama.

At twelve years old, Tynan wrote his first rhyme inspired by the rocky atmosphere in his house caused by a divorce between his parents. It was an aggressive piece, he says, somewhat like the way Eminem sounded when he first started. He learned about hip-hop as a form of expression from his after school counselor, someone he still keeps in touch with to this day. He doesn’t curse in any of his current music, the only mention of women is their beauty, and violence seems too far of a concept to fetch. As he speaks about the way he got started writing rhymes, raps, and poetry, it becomes obvious that this isn’t anything except a way to take heavy thoughts out of his head and make them heard. 

When he first started, at 12 years old, he was raging with frustration. Now he wants people to know that those aggressive outcries can transform into a consciousness that will change their lives. Tynan uses his own experience as an example of how drastically things can change in a positive way through his personal hero, Hip-Hop itself.

“Hip-Hop means awareness. It’s an awareness movement. ‘Hip’ means awareness, ‘Hop’ means movement. If you’re aware of what’s inside of you and you use the movement to express it, it can be a really powerful tool.”

When he’s not performing, he goes to local hip-hop shows to hear what other rappers have to say constantly meeting people along the way. Or doing homework, of course. His hope is that the world will prove itself to be less superficial than it seems. Tynan is something different and he seems to be just as aware of it as I am, as he greeted me with a huge smile while placing his arm on his partner Sam saying,

“Yo! We doin’ something y’all ain’t neva seen before!”

 “I’m trying to reach out to people who are seeking something, and can receive it through the music I’m making. And that goes anywhere from the highly intellectual individual to someone who hasn’t been exposed to the things that are most important in life. It’s not like I’m an educator or a teacher, I’m more just sharing.”

“Amongst dark skies are seen stars from river-side benches of your urban avalanche; As roaring mechanisms travel from nowhere to no where to we don’t know where; What and why do I know it; Smoking poetry smeared on street signs indicating direction; As grafitti communicates universally on these old walls.”

Coast-to-Coast Man of Music: Kris Bowers

Kris Bowers isn’t like every other kid you meet who comes from Los Angeles to New York. He sits across from me, in a dimly lit Millesime, (located at 29^th street and Madison Avenue.) Enter through the spinning doors and you’ll find yourself in a chic, beautifully decorated restaurant bar. In the center of the high ceiling, 2 story-lofted restaurant, stands a grand Steinway piano in the middle of a small stage. The waitresses are dressed in little black silky dresses; the clientele for the most part is dressed to impress, with clean shirts and pants, and beautiful eveningwear.

Needless to say, not the usual hang for just any college student, but if you’re Kris Bowers, it’s an entirely different story. A jazz piano musician since the age of four, a grad student at Julliard, and the CEO and founder of Campusounds.com, Kris has already done much more than the average 21 year old. And after having the opportunity to speak with him, I’ve got the impression that this is only the beginning of his journey.

So why do I find myself at this classy mid-town restaurant? Well tonight, Kris has been given the opportunity to play piano for the beautiful people of Millesime, at approximately 8pm, for one hour with his band. Through a friend connection within the restaurant, Kris tells me that him and his band have secured a Thursday nightspot at this restaurant from here on out.

But who is Kris Bowers anyway? The story goes something like this: at four years old, he started in music school, and at nine years old, he began private classical piano lessons. At some point, he was able to switch to jazz piano, which he found to be far more entertaining than classical.

“I hated that I was inside practicing piano all the time while my friends were outside playing; my parents decided for me basically before I was even born that I would be a musician. My mother used to put headphones on her stomach while she was pregnant with me,” Kris said.

Kris remained loyal to the piano, for he’d developed a love for jazz. Drawing influence from the greatest, like Herbie Hancock, and Brad Mehldau, he put his heart and soul into the piano and eventually found himself at the Julliard School.

“Julliard wasn’t even my first choice…I really wanted to go to the Berklee School of Music in Boston. It was all set to happen, but my parents told me that Julliard might be a better direction to take,” Kris said. “I’ve already completed my undergraduate studies there. I’m in my fifth year at Julliard now, studying for my Masters degree.”

When Kris completes his masters’ degree, his ideal job would be to work with film scoring. “It’s cool because I have a lot of teachers that are able to offer me connections with the type of career I want to pursue. Jazz music is amazing, and it’s fun to play, but I want to score the music for films,” Kris said. “That’s a much more grounded lifestyle, as opposed to traveling and gigging all the time.”

Kris’s love for music definitely takes up a lot of his life. He says that there are other things he likes doing, but it ultimately comes down to the fact that everyday has a pretty strong focus on music. 

“Sometimes I score the music for my entire day…I get a little anal about it.”

Kris is also the CEO and founder of a music blog called Campusounds.com. The blog’s mission is to make people aware about college musicians. That can be anyone from a young underground musician in college, or successful musicians/bands that originally got their start in college. The purpose, according to Kris, is to give some recognition, and share new music with viewers.

The writers for Campusounds all have some sort of musical background, and from what it seems, really have a passion for writing about music.

Sammy Miller, a writer for Campusounds and a friend of Kris’s, said that working for Campusounds has really just given him an excuse to check out cool new music and write about it. “I’m always excited to check out music, and it basically gives me an excuse to spend more time doing that,” Sammy said. Sammy, 19, studies drums at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the two play in a band together. Sammy says that the dynamic is excellent between them all, and especially with Kris because both just want to make good music with good friends.

So far, the website has gotten a fair amount of traffic, with about 10,000 hits in its first couple months of existence. There’s an average of 200-500 hits everyday, and the number continues to grow as Campusounds becomes even more publicized by word of mouth. Kris says that his cousin, Murs, will be joining forces with Campusounds as a new partner, and hopefully help make the name even bigger. Murs, a rapper, just left the Warner Bros record label, and wants to go back to the underground hip-hop scene.

The life of a Julliard college student, jazz musician and CEO/founder of a music blog can be somewhat hectic, but Kris seems to have it figured out to a science. All that’s left is his career with film scoring…but for now he’ll just have to settle for putting together the soundtrack for his day-to-day activities.

Declan Schweitzer

Intro to Journalism

Heather Chaplin

10.24.10

Nora Pouillon

Nora Pouillon picks up the phone after the first ring. There is commotion behind her voice and you can tell she is probably at work in her restaurant. It is the fist and one of only three certified organic restaurants in the entire country. What would seem to be a disruptive environment for conversation is somehow not discouraging. Perhaps it is due to her warm voice or charming Viennese accent. Or maybe it is the fact that she is as interested in telling me about her story as I am in hearing it. She warns me that there is a chance the interview will be cut short because she is at work but explains quickly that if this happens, she will gladly reschedule the remaining conversation. One can tell she is a busy women who’s passion for organic products and delicious food demands her complete attention. Strangely enough, it is that same passion that makes her eager to be on the phone or anywhere talking about her life, her restaurant, and her philosophy of food,

It would be inappropriate to say that Pouillon has a “history” with organic food; this would imply that her fascination began at some point during her life. Instead one might say that food is her history. Born in post-war Austria in the 1943, Nora’s family had moved to the country side during her mother’s pregnancy because fresh food was so difficult to find within the city. Nora spent the first three years of her life in a farming community that was entirely self-sufficient and for the most part, organic. Pouillon attributes much of her passion for healthy food and a wholesome lifestyle to this early stage of her life, which was characterized by the most basic element: food. She also considers her father to be particularly influential in developing her commitment to food.

“My father always said your health is the most important thing,” Nora tells me. “The easiest way keep your health is to eat good things your whole life.”

In the early 1960’s after completing a traditional French schooling, Nora made the journey across the Atlantic in hopes of starting her own restaurant. When she arrived she was devastated by the state of the food systems in America.

“When I got here it was crazy, literally like food wasteland,” she said. “I didn’t wake up one day and say ‘Hey I’m organic’, but when I saw these foods, I knew that I could not use them in a restaurant.”

Nora’s own restaurant, simply called “Nora” opened in 1979 after she had worked on other projects and restaurants in America. Although she was discouraged when she first arrived in the U.S. by the state of the American food landscape, Pouillon immediately started searching out the farms that produced organically. Slowly the network of organic farmers grew and by the 1980’s she was able to supply her own restaurant with many organically grown goods. It is funny to hear her talk about the history of the restaurant. There is a sense that the excitement in her voice comes from a re-living of the challenges she faced when starting this great project. She seems to remember all of the farmers that were part of what she calls “the old crew”—the first circle of farmers and progressive chefs that dedicated themselves to the organic ideal.

“I didn’t always know that my passion was for organic food but I realized then,” she explains in her passionate broken English. “slowly I built up a friend of farmers and they could give me the organic food I needed.”

In wasn’t until the 1990’s that Nora was actually certified as organic. Pouillon was the first to try and achieve this status in the restaurant world and therefore had to work together with the private organic certification company, “Tilth” to develop the actual standards that go into certification. In 1999 she was finally gratified with organic certification making her restaurant even more successful and widely acclaimed.

Even now after more than 10 years of being organic and 31 years of success, Nora is still highly involved in her restaurant. Her commitment is slightly more demanding than a conventional chef for a number of reasons. Most importantly, her suppliers are never stable. She explained that her biggest challenge is keeping her ingredient lists stocked in the kitchen because there are so many growers that go from organic to conventional farming or visa versa.

“I have a man on my staff who is constantly dealing with finding the farmers and working out how to get the foods to the restaurant,” Pouillon tells me with a frantic and frustrated tone. “Some growers are only organic for one or two seasons before they quit.”

Nora Pouillon is modest about her influence on the organic world. Although she is considered a pioneer in the progressive food community she doesn’t think that her project is anything to be surprised about. Instead she thinks of conventional farming, chemically modified foods and cosmetics as obviously harmful and ignorant.

“When people say that organic food is too expensive I think they don’t understand.

You have to know the real cost of eating these (non-organic) things,” she says. “You are paying with your health instead of you money.”

Reading Journal

I think that profiles are my favorite to read and to write. The Frank Sinatra one especially but that is obvious! In my Non-Fiction we are working on profiles as well so right now i have been reading many different types and approaches to writing a successful profile on someone. The New Yorker of course does many profiles, but now magazines such as Vanity Fair, Elle, Vogue, and InStyle are also doing profile pieces featuring "celebrities" on the cover then profiling them over a number of pages. Except these profiles do not cover the history or background of the subject it is merely about the current project they have worked on. I found that reading a profile about someone when you do not know their background proves to be harder to follow. In InStyle this month there is a profile on Rachel McAdams. Although the pictures are lovely to look at, the clothes i envy, and she is gorgeous, reading just about her movie coming out didn't really strike me as interesting. Knowing about someone as a person before stardom however, does. A while ago Richard Pryor was profiled, the article called A Pryor Love. Not only did it dive into the tension and struggles Pryor has faced but it talked about his career, his family, his past, and his present. Really capturing Pryor all around made reading about him gripping and exciting. Profiles to me are the most captivating and important pieces because they are so personal and let you see a different side of someone.

New York Magazine does profiles as well, this past month there was one on Mark Ronson, a dj and producer. I didn't know much about him nor did i find myself particularly intrigued when i saw that he was the chosen person, however, when i was stuck on the subway with no reading material i decided to read about him. The author did an amazing job at capturing all sides of Mark Ronson. Not only in the music aspect but the business side of him and also the family side of him. I found that i was hoping i would not approach my stop until i finished reading!

I guess that is why i find profile pieces so fascinating. If the piece is written well and the person is relatively interesting or unusual it opens up different ideas and sides to understanding someone besides just reading facts and quotes.

Profile Thoughts

Profiles are my absolute favorite. From a personal opinion standpoint, I can tell you exactly why. From a writing perspective, it’s a bit more difficult to articulate. The Lois Weisberg article bored me. Why? I don’t think the writing is representative of anything relation to the object of the piece. Malcom Gladwell writes the same way, with the same regular size sentences, average word choice and neatly constructed paragraphs with opening and closing and standard transitions most of the time- regardless of subject. So I cam away feeling as if I still don’t’ know Lois- to her than that she knows a lot of people, loves coffee and nicotine and comes off a bit kooky. Reading the article I did not come away feeling a though I’d spent five minutes with her; contrary to the Sinatra piece, where I felt like knowledgeable observer, a member of his secret spy committee who follows him everywhere and understands his movement. But I suppose, perhaps that Is not his point- what Lois actually says to people, I couldn’t even fathom, or how she acts interacts with all these people she’s vaguely or strongly connected to. It is of course just what I value in the world, but to me, it is not Lois the article does her a disservice because she herself as an individual seems devoid of any true meaningful relationship or any all consuming passion. Yes, I’m being overly critical here- but I much prefer reading Talese’s article on Sinatra that in every aspect and from different angles encompasses Sinatra as a person throughout the duration of the article. As we discussed in class- his writing that can be read as a metaphor of Sinatra’s persona, and how he interacts with others is presented patently with pivotal quotes or through how his relationships with those closest to him. I also like this because the writers voice is entirely involved, and I think that this is journalism at its best. I love the transparency, and that we are able to see it through some one else’s eyes, because obviously we were not fortunate enough to experience it alone. Knowing the medium you are working through is crucial, and being comfortable with it, instead of seeing it as some foreign source I find to be a positive attribute.

Possibly this is why I like 60 minutes so much, because through television you can see the interaction and the interviews each have their own personality and you can interpret the interviewed reactions accordingly. For instance: when Leslie Stahl typically takes a more neutral role, but she is who she is and appears a certain way, so I think she down plays this well. Recently in Jersuleum, she interviewed several men, who I think if she took on a more friendly persona, would not take her seriously- but she never cracks a smile and asks them questions they do not want to answer dead in the eye. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6966854n This is interesting in contrast to where the interview that Steve Kroft has with Beyonce. Yes these two are seemingly similar, but the approaches they take are much different. One is obviously a more serious subject matter, however, I find it interesting that Steve Kroft is so much more casual and often laughs with Beyonce, yet his own voice is less heard. In comparison to the Stahl interview, where I feel like her own viewpoint is made more transparent throughout it she makes references or even slight innuendos to her own opinion, and how she is a figure/aspect of the interview and report as a whole. I appreciate this, and find it much more effective- especially since, in the Kroft report he could have gotten away with being much more transparent as Beyonce is not a very controversial subject.

In the Wall Street Journal they ran a cover story on Jay-Z’s empire. Oh and what an empire he has! Truly though, I think that if an article written on a celebrity today were to mimic the Sinatra article, a subject could be Jay-Z. He has that sort of air about him, and can be perceived as a rebel and a savior all in one and does it with a certain amount of class- anyways, this article was a disappointment, and did the exact opposite of the Esquire article. Boring historical facts, without input from the writer to make them less mundane, there was even an interview, but the quotes could have been said by anyone and did not shed any light on his personality. Of course, it was in the wall street journal- but it did not even illuminate his large sum of money well or express how he does/does not flaunt it through the detailed descriptions of his attire and toys. I really am just in love with this Gay Talese article, I think it is done so beautifully; it is exactly what I appreciate and enjoy in journalism.