Jamaica Plain Spoken

Back in ’04 Todd Drogy and i decided that 4 more years of Dubbya was not a happy result. Todd thought we should drive across the country and get a video read on how everyone felt. I suggested it down to Just JP and the documentary, if we ever finished it, would be called ‘Jamaica Plain Spoken’. Together or separately we interviewed over 60 people. With a lot of help from Elle I began to learn how to navigate Final Cut (sort of) and started editing clips. Though my early attempts are awkward (embarrassing?) the personalities of these idiosyncratic JP-residents shine through. Note: we never completed the thing as a full-on documentary as planned. It would have a) had a fake narrative arc, b) excluded too many of the interviewees and c) we got bogged down writing one of the god-awful grant proposals which after months of work, produced nothing. Hope you like em.

CASILLIO SISTERS (three as one)

AIDA LOPEZ (cuban mayor of hyde sq)

THE WHITEHAUS FAMILY (weirdfest)

THE SWIM (across jamaica pond)

GUNNER SCOTT (transgender advocate)

TIM WRIGHT (film maker)

LES GRLS (queer is hot in jp)

KOSTAS (learning to box)

THE ROSENBAUMS (make it up, get it done)

POLAROID KID (adam wells, instant art)

LISA OSBORN (sculptor of human forest)

GERRY BURKE, SR (saloon keeper, historian)

SAL'S BARBER SHOP (all people, all cuts)

BILLY CHARLES (haitian cook at doyles)

HUMANWINE (a band, a partnership)

ROCKY THE BARBER (for years the only one)

RYAN & SARA (friends in a complicated world)

SOUTHERN BOYS (out in arkansas)

DRU & ALISSA (questioning art, love & pain)

HORACE SMALL (organizer for the unrepresented)

SHAWANDA PETTERSON (hope in cheerleading)

LAURA FONER & DAVID WEINSTEIN (a progressive family)

ANDY & TOM (friends, songwriters, mittens)

SAMPLE REEL (rough cut)

THE HANIFINS (a family seeing all sides)

JAZZ NIGHT AT COSTELLOS

JAKE THE SNAKE

FIREHOUSE

MAX FREVERT (irish guilt & years of beer)

ERIC STARSIELSKI (artist at all times)

THE WILLIAMS

DAVID MITTELL

BROTHERS (have seen it all)

FRANKLIN CABRAL

MICHAEL & CHELYNN (& a 2000 year old yew tree)

TRACEY & DAVID (sorting everything out)

ONE WORD FOR THE USA

BOB LAROCCA (activist where it counts)

FOOD WALL (best chinese outside of china)

ELIZABETH BOULTON (new pastor, new church)

THREE FRIENDS (you can come home again)

BEST FRIENDS (for life)

ROBYN MICHAELS (on selling 'gadgets')

DAVE BIRMINGHAM (coming out in quincy)

CITY FEED & SUPPLY (mom n pop in the 21st century)

ART HOUSE BOYS (a partnership)

DEMARIS (latino artist & business woman)