Dean Johnson | "Acting School" | Western AF

Western AF presents Dean Johnson "Acting School" ( Field Recording )
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Dean Johnson ( @deanjohnsongs ) “Acting School” with Sam Gelband ( @sammygelbz ) and Charlie Meyer ( @charliesclaypots ) at Al’s Tavern

Summer of 2020. The Pandemic was at an all time high. As the sound of music in bars faded, the despair set in. It’s a weird thing, what happens in a world without music.

Right after Western AF became real, we were damn scared. Our project was still in its infancy and the world suddenly closed down. No one knew how long it would last.

What followed from that fear will always be special. We went looking for that music that suddenly disappeared from our world. We hopped in the car and leaned on the kindness of musicians for places to stay and recommendations for who to shoot with next, took more covid tests than you can imagine, and fell in love over and over with incredible songs. Every so often we hop into the archive to bring you some of that magic.

This trip to Seattle, was some of that magic. Dean, the songster and bartender of the Al’s Tavern opened up the boarded down watering hole for us to use as our video set. That night we captured many songs from him, Chris Acker and Sam Gelband. And the laughs that followed, including a backyard hang around a fire with Zach Bryson, will always stay as a core memory for us. That little bit of joy and hope is the reason we keep this going. And thank all of them for making us what we are today.

This one is special. Our friend Chris Acker had turned us on to Dean Johnson (and Sons of Rainier) and invited us out to the quiet streets of Seattle for the shoot. Dean, as he always does, absolutely crushed us with this one. Couched in the clever wit that seems so apart of Dean's writing is the illuminating story of the weird shit we do when love falls apart.

We asked Dean to write something here as well, because this shoot and the moment are so meaningful to us. Here are Dean's words.

" I get chills seeing this opening shot of Al’s from the street with its boarded windows. What a stillness… what a pause… summer 2020 isolation. And that a stranger drove alone from Laramie WY to locked down ghost town Seattle and holed up with us for one night in that shoe box of a bar… What a smart thing to do. Mike Vanata, you came and captured something I will treasure for the rest of my life. Bless your spirit, sir! Beautiful edit, beautiful job with the walls and ceiling and lighting of Al’s, beautiful playing- big thanks to @sammygelbz & @charliesclaypots - it makes me so happy we have this!
Also thanks to @chrisacker_growthsprout for connecting us all and laughing along. And to @reed for spontaneously helping out w a second camera. This capsule of Al’s, friends and music is a mega dose of good vibes. Hallelujah.
Get yerself to the @westernasfuck YouTube channel and pop the whole pill… and see all the other cool field recordings they’ve done. Subscribe too!"
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More from Dean Johnson
Website: https://www.deanjohnsongs.com/
Facebook:   / deanjohnsongs  
Instagram:   / deanjohnsongs  
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4EIdx...
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Recorded & Mixed By: Will Ross
Editor: Manuel Deakins
Second Camera: Reed McCoy
Executive Producers: Jason Lenyer Buchanan, Irv Maddox, Travis Blankenship, & Johnny Callahan
Special Thanks: Al's Tavern, Sam Gelband & Charlie Meyer
Producers: Will Ross, Brian Harrington & Mike Vanata
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