COLLABORATIONS & INSPIRATION
Every project I’ve worked on, both commercial and artistic, has been done with the help of friends and colleagues whom I admire and trust. Below is a list of a few of my collaborators. It is nowhere near complete, rather limited to the projects listed on this website.
MILES OF DIRT
Lila Barth
Lila and my son Martin drove with me to Youngstown to see the place and look for traces of Idora Park and its carousel. My only direct involvement in the photographs she took was to provide the film and pay for its development. I wanted her contribution to be entirely her own and to stand in contrast to my impressions and interpretations
Martin Ellison
Martin is the second of my three sons. He made the frontispiece illustration for “Miles of Dirt”. He also drew most of the illustrations in my book “Building” and the record cover for “Hard to Tame”. Cast all the accusations of nepotism you like; I don’t know where I would have found a better illustrator for any of these projects.
Markus Hartel
In an extreme example of the universe providing what I need, Markus Hartel’s Raghaus Studios is less than a block away from my studio in Newburgh, NY. To date, he is making the five books for “Miles of Dirt”, this website, the video on the About page, “Finale” the card and dice game, my business cards…
Mark Ambrosino
Mark is the founder of The Madhouse, his recording studio in Elmont, NY. He co-founded Sojourn Records with my oldest friend Tom Laverack, which is how I met Mark. He is the most generous musician I have ever known. To date, we have completed “Miles of Dirt” and “Hard to Tame”. I don’t imagine we’re done.
SUITS
Manuel Cuevas
An entire book could and should be written about Manuel Cuevas. He has designed costumes, suits, shirts and coats for nearly every musician I admire. And that statement only scratches the surface of what he has accomplished in his nine decades.
GUITARS
Chihoe Hahn
A few years back, I was looking for a hot-rodded Telecaster that would give me more than I was getting from my Fender American. I perused the websites of several makers, finally coming across one whose guitars were played by both Redd Volkaert and Jim Campilongo, two of the modern masters of the instrument. It turned out that Chihoe Hahn’s guitar making shop was all of five blocks from my own in Newburgh, NY. I dropped what I was doing and went to see him. He made the brown Tele and red Esquire shown in the photo. The brown one is the exact opposite of what I described to him when we first met. I bought it on the spot. Six months later, he made the red one for me, which is exactly what I had come to him for. Nothing on Earth sounds like these two guitars. I made them custom cases in the style of the old Fender tweed cases with fabric I had made by a local weaver, Michelle Batho. A local tailor is sewing a suit for me from the remaining fabric. Pictures soon.