Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Quiet Observations: New Photography from Cameron Nagashima

Quiet Observations: New Photography from Cameron Nagashima will be showing for the month of September, with an opening night rendezvous on Thursday, September 6 from 5pm-8pm in the Musicquarium Lounge. Join us!


We had the pleasure of sitting down with Cameron Nagashima, Seattle photographer and overall delight, to briefly see the world through his lenses.    

The Triple Door: Where do you find inspiration for your art?
Cameron Nagashima: I am inspired by what I see. Time, place, light, subject, and mood, all have an effect on why I take any given picture. Also, the creative people around me keep me inspired to continue taking pictures. Their motivation motivates me and I like to believe it is the same for them.

TD: If you could have a drink with any visual artist, living or dead, who would it be? What would you ask him/her?
CN: Dali or Robert and Shauna Parke-Harrison. I'd rather enjoy the drink and ask how they are, and then see how the conversation evolved. Especially would love to hear about the Parke-Harrison's process, such a rustic elegance to their surrealism. I'd also love to go backpacking through Europe with Henri Cartier-Bresson.

TD: Who is your favorite artist?
CN: Visually, Gustav Klimt takes the cake as far as subject and composition. But, I do love the work of Robert Frank, Andre Kertesz specifically Distortions, Sally Mann's opinion on critics, and Connie Imboden's Reflections. I'm also a huge fan of local artists such as Redd Walitzki, Carl Faulkner, and Jeff "Weirdo".

TD: What is your favorite historical artistic movement?
CN: Hard to say, there are so many with such great art from each. I love surrealism, but my favorite has to be our generation. Call it the Contemporary Renaissance.

TD: What are some of your other artistic outlets?
CN: Drawing, dancing, painting, Sushi

TD: Do you listen to music while you create? If so, who do you listen to?
CN: During my post-production and most of the day, while creating or relaxing, I am listening to music. I enjoy electronic music while working the most. It allows my mind to move freely through my work as I find patterns in my pictures. Some of my favorites are Amon Tobin, Trenemoller, Bonobo, Deru, and Diagrams of a Suburban Chaos. I don't listen to headphones while out in the city though. I like hearing the beat and orchestral compositions created by my surroundings and some sounds will draw my attention or push me down a different path.

TD: Describe Seattle's art scene in three words:
CN: Small, Growing, Original

TD: Your work conveys a parallel between nature and the human condition. Can you elaborate?
CN: That notion is a consistent theme in my photography and is hard to avoid while living in the Northwest. With trees and parks, mountains and oceans, we in Seattle have a beautiful connection to nature. As much as I am for the preservation of Earth, I'm not making a statement on the relationship of man and nature, but I am observing that it exists and documenting my observations.

TD: Let's chat more about your artistic background. When was the first time you realized your love for photography? 
CN: I was drawn to photography at an early age. When we would visit our grandparents in Kirkland, Wa from Spokane, I loved looking through their slides of old images of my family with the slide viewer. Years worth of photos never printed. I would hide under the stairs, like Harry Potter, and look at them for hours. The idea of time and place, and the captured moment of my family standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, or wherever, was interesting. It was a visual family history and I liked that.

TD: What is your favorite color?
CN: Plaid

Find more information on, and RSVP for, Quiet Observations: New Photography from Cameron Nagashima here>> 

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A lil' Q&A ~ Blanche Barrow

We interviewed outlaw, and Barrow Gang member, Blanche Barrow (from the perspective of Amber Rose Cutlip) to get an idea of what it was like being a part of one of the most short lived, but notoriously relentless gang in history. 


The Triple Door: You were in prison for 10 years, what 3 items do you wish you had with you while you were locked up?
Blanche Barrow: Actually, it was five and a half years, thank you. I wish I'd had my dog 'snowflake', my lipstick and radio.

TD: Who is your favorite musician?
BB: Bing Crosby

TD: What was your first impression of Buck Barrow?
BB: "Well, if he ain't cool as a cucumber.."

TD: If you could have a drink with any author, living or dead, who would it be and why?
BB: I'd prefer a magazine, thank you.

TD: Whiskey or Gin?
BB: Don't much care for neither, but Whiskey if I had to choose.

TD: What would you do with all the money in the state of Texas?
BB: I'd put a bible on every door step, build my Dad a big ol' house with folks to cook and clean for him, buy a nice new dress and head for vacation in Florida.

TD: What was your first impression of Bonnie and Clyde?
BB: I was a little nervous, but I immediately found Bonnie was real nice, and Clyde; what a character. They were a hoot.

TD: Share you fondest memory of your experience with the Barrow Gang:
BB: Bonnie and Clyde and Buck and me had a dance competition in a field after a picnic once. I remember out hands were sticky from eating peaches, and me and Buck won.

TD: Describe your life in three words:
BB: persevere, scratchy, believer

See Amber Rose Cutlip, as Blanche Barrow, at the modern vaudeville adaption of the historical story set to original music by Coffin Varnish. The Deadliest Instruments runs August 20-22 at 8pm. Use speakeasy code "coffin wash" to receive 1/2 price tickets. Tickets can be purchased here>>

Friday, August 3, 2012

A lil' Q&A ~ Kasey Chambers

Australian singer-songwriter Kasey Chambers has her hands full! The mother of three has a new album set to release in September, PLUS she is currently in the midst of a US-to-Australia tour. She couldn't pass through Seattle without stopping by The Triple Door mainstage, right? We interrupted her musical mayhem with a lil' Q&A...

The Triple Door: Name the number 1 song listed on your iTunes' "25 Most Played" playlist?
Kasey Chambers: I don't do iTunes... I buy CDs, so my answer is Dave Rawlings: "A Friend Of A Friend."


TD: Name your biggest guilty pleasure, musically?
KC: Listening to '80s Hit Compilation CDs


TD: When you're not playing music, what are you doing?
KC: Looking after three children


TD: What was the first song you ever played/sang?
KC: "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper


TD: If you could play with any musician, living or dead, who would it be?
KC: John Prine.. but if I ever got the chance I would actually freak out.


TD: What was the best concert you ever attended?
KC: I saw Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Rosanne Cash at age 14 and it changed my life.


TD: What's your most embarrassing on stage experience?
KC: There are too many to pick just one. I have tripped over and fallen off chairs, had bra and guitar straps break.


TD: What inspires you to play music?
KC: The fact that I possess no other skills means I have no other choice, but I have been playing music all my life.


TD: Who is your musician crush?
KC: Dave Grohl and Kate Miller-Heidke





See Kasey Chambers with Ali Marcus live on August 5 at 7:30 on the Mainstage. Tickets here>>