It all came back to me the other night when i was backstage at the 9:30 Club
in the dressing room with the original members of Trouble Funk.
I hadn’t seen many of them in years, especially James Avery who used to actually give me a ride
to practice at the Club Lebaron when we were Heavy Connection Band & Show.
It came back to me: it was James Avery’s camera that I first held onstage, yep, trying to get good pictures of JuJu,
James and the rest of the band.
There, in that moment, something was born but the journey, the process, is more important.
I can write about the moment and come close to getting it
but the journey just has too much d a m n “stick and move” in it to be communicated without
fabrication or sentimentality.
Ain’t nothing wore that a soft, ha ha, or sensitive photographer.
Photos are deadly fabrications, selective, framed truthful eternal lies.
As we approach TSE’s Pick of the Week #100,
I want to thank you, The TMOTT Community, for letting me lie to you with your truth.
It was fun; it was about growth and it was lots of eye & ear work.
Mugs just be grabbing me now expecting me to take their picture
and mail it to them.
The “service” thang is off the chain like I owe them something.
Folks love pictures, so I keeps it free.
I had a ball.
I have favorites.
I learned a ton.
I am grateful.
My pictures are not “gentrification glitter.’
PICK OF THE WEEK #100 WILL BE THE LAST ONE FROM THE GOOD TSE
as it is getting closer to time to organize them,
create the narrative, get the d a m n book out.
So many people helped and so many people let me close to them, thanks!
and I would like to save the real version of those thanks for the day when the book is in had
and the day that the photos are exhibited
in a gallery or museum. We’ll see.
A loose crew of us who we called “People in the Pocket Photographers” has emerged. We are small but we show
and get it in.
My replacement will be the very talented and bold
Sadrea Muhammed, more later.
Sadrea is a DC native and has worked with me on many Go-Go sneak-ins.
Yeah we just show up and start shooting,
so you won’t get all dressed up and s h i t.
Sadrea understands the real so Lead-Talkers leave your lipstick at home.
Her camera contains, captures and invents truth.
i will still be around; I ain’t shutting the shutter down.
The nothing I owe Go-Go
is a lot.
Thanks Pocket.

TSE