Tag Archives: Sandy Dyas

Families That Play Together

From The Sound of Music

New York City, August 13, 2015: This past Sunday, I took the train and then a subway to the Upper West Side, walked up and down Broadway picking at piles of books sold by street vendors for a mere dollar or two, and found shade in a plaza at Lincoln Center as I watched Iris DeMent perform songs from her new album. I looked around to see if her husband Greg Brown’s daughter Pieta was in the crowd with her spouse, guitarist Bo Ramsey. But if they were there, I missed them.

During the show, and as Iris sang, I pulled out my phone and tapped a message to a mutual friend of ours from Iowa City, photographer Sandy Dyas. Although we’ve never met face to face, we’ve had casual correspondence from time to time, over the years, and I’ve written about her work and featured it in my articles. Along with all of the people I’ve met through my connection with this particular website and music community, I consider Sandy a member of my No Depression family.

In life, love, law, politics, society, civilization, art, music, literature, and pretty much everything else in this world, there are threads that bind us together. While a dictionary might tell you that there are only three specific types of families, the American Academy of Pediatrics lists eight and sociologists can quickly rattle off over a dozen. Some folks might tell you that there is only one kind of family, but my own definition is much broader.

Be it a coupling of two or a group of thousands, we seem to have the capacity to create connections that can have the same feel and offer the same support system as what a traditional family does. Sometimes it endures, other times it evaporates as quickly as it came together. But whether bloodlines or lifelines, and despite a high rate of dysfunction, families often and unpredictably can produce some amazing results.

When Teddy Thompson came up with the idea of having his family work together to release an album last year, his sister Kami tried to back out. As quoted in the New York Times Magazine, she asked him “Could I be like that one Osbourne who’s not on the show, whose name no one knows?”

Nonetheless, Thompson’s Family is probably one of the best collections of songs ever created through emails, file sharing, and studio magic. It features music that is just simply beautiful, from divorced parents Linda and Richard, nephew Zak Hobbs, Richard’s son Jack from his second marriage, and the reluctant sister Kami with her husband James Walbourne who perform as the Rails. (If you haven’t heard the Rails’ album Fair Warning, run don’t walk.)

Explaining to the Times reporter how and why this album came about, Teddy says: “It was difficult to make it sound like everyone’s together, because we weren’t – which is exactly the way my family is. If anything, that kind of sums up the whole process. It’s trying to bring everybody from wherever they are, in their own little world. And make it sound like we’re a family.”

At the end of this year, when all of the writers and bloggers and reader polls put together their “best of” lists, if they don’t include Pharis and Jason Romero’s A Wanderer I’ll Stay, they will be sadly mistaken. While I tend to keep my distance from such beauty contests, it isn’t hard at all to point to this collection and scream, “This is why I love music,” at the top of my lungs. While I’ve enjoyed the story of how another married musical couple – Pete and Maura Kennedy – met at the gravesite of Buddy Holly, Pharis comes in a close second because she sent Jason a 1928 recording of Tupelo Blues by Hoyt Ming and His Pinesteppers, and they had a wedding three months after. You can read their whole story here, but you should know they live in Horsefly, British Columbia, he is a custom banjo maker, she was the co-founder of Outlaw Social, they were both in The Haints Old Time Stringband, and as a duo they’ve released three near-perfect albums.

For many years, I lived in a small town north of San Diego and attended services and played music on occasion at a small Unitarian congregation in Vista – the town where Sean and Sara Watkins grew up. While it could be a false memory syndrome thing, I’m pretty sure I saw them play, when they were just little people, at some local events.

Ten years ago, all grown up and based in Los Angeles, they created what I like to think of as an ‘Our Gang’ variety show that features an ever-changing cast of characters. We got to see them at last year’s Newport Folk Festival after-party, and it was the highlight of the weekend, which you can read about here.

When they released an album recently, I made the mistake of sampling some tracks on Spotify and stashing it in the virtual file cabinet. On the way to see Iris DeMent, though, I sat on the train and listened to it end to end, start to finish. Brilliant concept, flawless execution. Coming from a man who dwells in the house of shuffle and prefers my music to pop up unexpectedly like a jack in the box, I have to say: you won’t exactly get the concept of The Watkins Family Hour without putting in the time to go all the way. The only family members by blood in this troupe are Sean and Sara. But what’s so special is that, not only are the other musicians in the cousins’ club, but we – the listeners – are in the family too.

This was originally published as an Easy Ed’s Broadside column at No Depression: The Roots Music Journal.

Sandra Louise Dyas Storms The Big Apple (ton)

ElvisDyas_0For a visual artist a show at a gallery is the equivalent of a musician grabbing a killer gig at that special venue. Back in January 2014, a friend of mine got her moment, and I chronicled and published the story over at the No Depression site. Thought I’d bring it back home, because it’s a great story about a special person. 

January 19, 2014- On my map, Appleton Wisconsin is about a half inch north of Milwaukee, and maybe slightly less than two inches to the right of Minneapolis. My friend Sandy Dyas was worried needlessly last night about driving back home to Iowa City this morning, because there might have been a storm coming in. But I can report that she is home safe and sound. Sipping wine on her couch and resting.

She wrote to me: “After seven hours of driving (not always such great roads…) I am now HOME! and so happy to be here. This is the BEST show I have ever made. It is due to a lot of things, but the gallery really helped me create an interesting and connective space. And i also used three video monitors with pieces i have made – they formed sort of a triangle in the circular room.”

This show she speaks of is as important to a photographer as to what a night at the Whiskey or Bottom Line means to a musician. A chance to show off your best stuff, get recognition and acknowledgment for your hard work from both fans and peers, maybe sell some of the books you’ve published. It comes after she Kickstarter-ed a new book of her work titled “my eyes are not shut” which she published two years ago this week. (Available here.)

Lawrence University, which was founded in 1847, is a small but prestigious institution and  uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, reached out to Sandy with a pretty sweet deal. At the Kohler Gallery inside the Wriston Art Center, her large exhibition opened the other night with a lecture and reception and will be on display to the public through March 16th, 2014.

Those of you who have been reading my articles at No Depression these past five years probably are well aware of Sandy’s story and incredible images. For those who are not, I’ll tell you that Grant Alden would sometimes pluck her work out of the piles he’d receive from artists, managers and record labels, and feature them for stories in the magazine…back in the day. I can tell you she is a major music junkie and being based in Iowa City, she’s tight with everyone in that scene.

Her official bio reads like this: Sandra Louise Dyas is a visual artist and a Lecturer in the Art Department at Cornell College. She received her MFA in Intermedia at the University of Iowa in 1998. Her first book of photographs entitled “Down to the River; Portraits of Iowa Musicians” was published by the University of Iowa Press in June 2007.

About the new book, Sandy says “Drawn to people and environments and especially light, my camera is a way of recording life as I see it. I strive to create a collaborative and authentic portrait of the ever-changing, strange and beautiful world we live in. This book is a collection of people, places and things I want to hold on to and remember.”

She’s put together a short video where she speaks about how she developed a passion for taking pictures, and how she chooses the best of the bunch. And below a little bit we’ll show you the final selection. The voice of Sandy is layered here, so don’t think it isn’t streaming properly. You know…artsy effects.

The young woman is Caroline Louise, and this was shot in Andrew Iowa for the 2013 project “Lost In The Midwest”.

The very best way to share my feeling about the work that Sandy does is to share it with you. In a world where everyone has a great camera built into their phones, where you can edit on Instagram and publish to thousands of eyes on social media in minutes, I imagine that the life of a professional artist is not very different from a musician. You Tube, Spotify, Pandora and the handful of downloading sites still out there make it tough to derive a revenue stream. Sandy is one of the lucky ones who has a ‘day job’ at a college, and is in demand for her incredible portrature abilities.

Take a look at some of her work…I’ve posted some below.

Visit her official site.

Her personal blog.

Buy her books.

And maybe if the spirit moves you, take a trip to Appleton.

 

Ameri-tography: Sandy Dyas Captures the Red, White and Blues

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Should the name Sandy Dyas sound familiar to you, you might recall seeing some of her work back in the day when the roots music magazine No Depression was printed with ink on paper, or perhaps you’ve read about and viewed her photography in various articles that I’ve posted on the internet over the years. Perhaps you were one of her students, or even a subject in one of her many photo essays. And if you’re truly fortunate, you own her book “Down To The River: Portraits of Iowa Musicians” which still sits on my desk for daily reflection and inspiration.

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Grant Alden, founder and co-publisher of No Depression: “One of the many things I miss about no longer publishing a magazine is getting to work with photographers like Sandy. As I type this, it occurs to me that we e-mailed often, never met, and probably never even spoke on the phone. If she knocked on my door, I wouldn’t know what she looked like. And yet seeing her photos always makes my lips twitch upwards.”

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Sandy: “Traveled down 80 on Wednesday for a trip to the Iowa State Fair. It was hot. Way too hot for six hours of being at the fair. But I was there and ready to find some photos. An August day at the state fair in Iowa…”

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Sandy: “I started taking pictures when I was 8 or 9 years old. My dad gave me an old Brownie camera and then my parents gave me a Polaroid Swinger when I was in 7th grade, and then an Instamatic when I graduated from 8th grade. Back then I didn’t really know what a 35 mm was. My Uncle Bob had one that I saw him use occasionally and I vividly recall his slide shows at my Grandpa Roy’s house. My uncle would invite us over there for the evening when he and my Aunt Lu were visiting. He shot slides—primarily of flowers, trees, and landscapes. I was completely intrigued with these large, colorful images projected on that old screen in the darkened living room. I realize now how much those evenings influenced me.”

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There was no state fair in the concrete and asphalt jungle of Philadelphia where I grew up. Not much livestock in our neighborhood. Nobody’s mom canned preserves or made quilts. I never did see a butter sculpture nor ate anything (other than a Popsicle) on a stick, or at least as I can recall. But in sixty-two when Pat Boone, Bobby Darin and Ann-Margret danced their way across the screen of the Mayfair theater over on Frankford Avenue and sang about how their state fair was the best state fair, I developed an interest.

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Sandy: “I wear many hats–most are photographic hats. I teach photography at Cornell College part-time, usually 4 or 5 classes per year. Since it is not full-time and my income is about half of full-time professors, I freelance for the rest of my income. Portraiture is one of my skills and weddings have been a big source of income since 1976. I do photograph musicians fairly often but I also am commissioned to photograph non-musicians. I also do magazine and newspaper shoots–I suppose they are more “editorial” in nature but they always involve some portraits.

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In a small California desert town and there was a county fair out near the lake every year. One year I drove out there, and played one of those “toss a ring over the neck of a Coke bottle” games and won a goldfish. Not a stuffed one from Taiwan, but a real live fish. I carried it around the fair in a glass bowl and took it back home to Los Angeles. He lived for about five or six years.

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The five long winters living in the north country during the mid-late nineties were made a bit more tolerable by looking forward to what they call the Great Minnesota Get-Together at the end of each August through Labor Day. It’s such a huge event that the local television stations broadcast their morning shows and newscasts from the fairgrounds. Bombs may be raining down in the Middle East, an assassination in India or snipers cutting down students in Texas…but “the big news tonight is that our weatherman will be sampling the deep-fried candy bars, the deep-fried oreos, the deep-fried spaghetti and meatballs on a stick, the chocolate covered bacon and the pot roast sundae to give you the best of this year’s gluttony”.

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Sandy: “Photography has taught me to pay attention to the little details in the everyday world. Teaching photography has done that too. I find myself talking to my students about getting in the zone, paying attention to the frame, slowing down and really seeing what is in front of you. Photography has taught me a great deal about life.”

SD9Sandy’s  Picture This Blog

The Sandra Louise Dyas Website

Sandy Dyas Photography on Facebook

You can buy Sandy’s Down To The River book on Amazon.

And there is also another book: my eyes are not shut that you can get here