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Dana Christian: St. Louis-Based Video And Filmmaker Works To Bring Hollywood Home

6/22/2015

6 Comments

 
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If you live in St. Louis, chances are that you know or have seen my brother. Some people recognize him as "the guy with the camera," while most know him as Dana Christian, the video and filmmaker who hustles hard to capture the story behind the story on film. He was probably destined for his own place in the sun because the former high school basketball star graduated in 1994 from Bishop DuBourg High School, making history as the first African American to be elected senior class president. A fellow DuBourg student, who was in a class behind him, was Jack Dorsey, co-creator of Twitter and CEO of Square. Since the day he graduated from college, Dana has never worked for anyone else but himself. It's a beautiful thing to own your own, to create your own, and to do all of it on your own terms. As head of  Breaking The 180, LLC, the road isn't always easy. For anyone who chooses a career in entertainment, you must be patiently persistent.  Dana knows this and is determined to show aspiring St. Louis filmmakers, and artists in general, that you do not always have to leave home to make your mark.

Describe your duties and when did you get started? I direct, shoot, edit, produce and cast for film, TV, commercials and video productions. I got interested in my craft back in 1995 and have been professionally doing it since 1999.

When did your "Aha" moment transpire and you knew this is what you wanted to do for a living? The one moment where I knew that I could make a living off my talent was when I was shooting behind-the-scenes footage for Nelly and the St. Lunatics. I was just casually talking with two record label reps about how the chemistry of the group really works and their roles as a unit. I went on to say that they should do a video of some sort, highlighting how the group members were and give the video out with the album. The label reps loved the ideal and had me write it all out and submit an invoice. When they cut my deposit check and flew me out to L.A. a month later, I knew this was it.

When did you first take an interest in this kind of work? When I went to Prairie View A & M University, I filmed the Kappa (Alpha Psi Fraternity) beach party. This was my sophomore year and that's when I realized, going into my junior year, I wanted to change my major from architecture. I only did a half semester there before deciding to come back home to finish up college at Webster University. 

What training and/or educational background do you have? I was volunteering at a local television station where the music video show I was a part of, Phat Clips, was being produced. I was getting on-the-job training in a real environment while studying for my bachelor’s degree in media communications at Webster University.

Since graduating from college, you've only worked for yourself. What are the pros and cons of being the boss? I’m blessed to work for myself, coming right out of college and going into the field where I got my degree. The main pro and con is a catch 22. I create my own destiny, which means the financial gains are endless. However, with the line of work that I do, it may not always be in high demand, which means finances can be somewhat limited.

What keeps you going when the grind gets tough? Have you ever thought about throwing in the towel to get a nine-to-five job? What keeps me going when the grind is tough is just my spiritual connection to the world and the positive feedback I get from clients and the people that follow my work. I never really thought about quitting, because I know this is my true calling; however, at times I have questioned if the path I’m taking is in vain. When this happens, usually I get a sign that says I have to keep going with the flow. For example, I have literally been down to my last project, with nothing in sight, and the phone rings. Then I’m back swamped with work. It’s a crazy approach that I wouldn’t recommend but that’s how I know I’ll be fine.

Tell me more about the video show? How did it help St. Louis musically? I was a fan of a local hip-hop music video show called Phat Clips. When I decided to return home and finish my degree, I contacted the show’s producer at the time to see if he needed help. Luckily, he did. I was like a sponge and spent over 20 to 30 hours a week at the studio. Now this is when I was taking a full-course load in college and working a part time job. The show was dedicated to showcasing the newest and underground hip-hop music videos. Phat Clips had a huge following to the point where almost every major artist that came to St. Louis had to be on the show. I’m talking about Public Enemy, Nas, Outkast, Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas, Lil Kim, etc. I was an aspiring rapper at one point (and don’t ask me to rap), so I felt that if I had an outlet, I would be able to highlight my group and other artists. Well, I lost the desire to rap and became focused on who in St. Louis was worthy to be featured on the show, and that’s when I started showcasing certain acts in the Local Clip of the Week section of the show. The biggest names that came from me doing so were Nelly and the St. Lunatics and Chingy.

Acclaimed video director and photographer Marc Klasfeld became your mentor. How did this happen and what did you learn from him? Marc Klasfeld was one of the premiere music video directors at the time; he was known for capturing rappers Juvenile, Jay-Z and Ludacris. What made him special was that he was able to film artists in unique and creative settings. I connected with Marc the same way I did with the label reps I told you about earlier. I was actually filming the documentary for the St. Lunatics at one of their music video shoots. Marc was there directing and we started talking about music videos in between takes. I was breaking down his whole style of shooting and I assumed he was impressed with that, because I got a call from a music video producer, saying I was referred by Marc to be the casting director for an upcoming video Marc would be directing in St. Louis. I was excited yet nervous because I never put together a casting before. It was learning on the job 101, and I was honest with Marc about not knowing how to do this, but he believed in me because 1) I understood his style and 2) I knew a lot of people. I eventually went on to cast over 20 major music videos and productions. But my biggest influence would be my sister Margena Christian, which happens to be you, because you led by example and proved that being passionate about your dreams will eventually pay off.

What was your first big video that signaled your ‘break’? The first big video that helped gain some buzz was the Chingy Balla Baby Remix video. It hit No. 1 on BET’s 106 and Park Countdown and eventually was retired after being on the show for so long. That was cool to see my name in the credits on TV.

You grew up around celebrities and going to concerts. What was the first show you recalled attending? The first concert I ever attended was at the Fox Theatre. It was the New Edition concert featuring The Fat Boys and U.T.F.O. Back then artists did two shows, a matinee and evening performance. I attended the matinee show with my sisters. It was a cool experience aside from my parents making me wear a brown suit with Hush Puppy shoes when the other kids at the concert were wearing polo shirts, Levis and Converse sneakers. I remember later going to the BBD concert. Johnny Gill and Keith Sweat also performed. In 2011, I ended up directing three Johnny Gill music videos, which were part of a trilogy: Just The Way You Are, It Would Be You and Second Place. It was two sample songs and one full-length song. I decided to tell a story and connect all three. 

What companies have you completed projects for?
I’ve done work with Universal Records, Capitol Records, Pepsi, Red Bull, Jack Daniels and VH-1. I think the most relevant projects I have done to date, just due to where we are at in society, are two PSAs for the Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation. I directed and filmed Cedric the Entertainer and Nelly for the PSA spots to help raise money for a memorial of Martin Luther King on the mall in Washington D.C. It feels good to know that I had a hand in contributing to something so historic. 

Do you find that it's a struggle to get people to take you seriously, coming from St. Louis, not necessarily considered a hot-button place for entertainment like New York or Los Angeles? Yes. It’s a bit of a struggle to get people to recognize that St. Louis has tremendous talent. But I’m an activist in the sense that I want people to know that I don’t have to leave home to go to Hollywood; I want to bring Hollywood to my home. You have directors like Spike Lee and Woody Allen that made a living doing films centered around their hometown. I want to do the same. I understand that I’m in a position to change lives for people, whether it’s giving an aspiring actor a part in a commercial, giving a lighting guy a job on a music video or filming a scene for a reality show at a local eatery. I want to be able to make an economic difference as well as a creative difference in my community.

DocM.A.C signing off. Keep the faith and always trust the process. #OnwardUpward




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Louis Johnson: 'Thunder Thumbs' Broke Down The Bass, The Business He Learned About Music From Q

6/2/2015

4 Comments

 
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Bass player Louis Johnson, a founding member of The Brothers Johnson, along with his guitarist brother, George, were once managed by music icon Quincy Jones.
I knew about Skype in 2009 but I was not using it. I did not have much reason to, but this all changed when I met bassist Louis Johnson, a co-founder and one half of the sibling funk duo The Brothers Johnson. He was in Holland at the time for what he described as an extended vacation. I needed to conduct an interview so Louis suggested I set up a Skype account, because it was free, easy to use and then his main form of staying connected with family and friends  while in the Netherlands.

Louis was anxious to talk and was impressed that I tracked him down. No one in the media, at that time, seemed to have been checking for the man christened Thunder Thumbs because of his jaw-dropping slapbass technique or his older brother, George, a guitarist with hands so fast he was known as Lightning Licks and a voice so mellow it was like butter. Their heyday in the spotlight had long faded since the mid-70's and 80's when they recorded a few albums but then retreated behind the scenes, winning reputations as celebrated studio musicians for others.  I found it a bit unusual that no one was looking for them, considering a new generation of music lovers were being introduced to a bit of their sound each morning. The top-rated, syndicated radio show, the Steve Harvey Morning Show, aired Shirley Strawberry’s relationship segment, Strawberry Letter, with an instrumental portion of the pair's classic song Strawberry Letter 23.

From the very start, it was evident that music was Louis' love and passion. Within a few minutes into the conversation, his encyclopedic knowledge of music was refreshing. He started the dialogue by going on and on about how much he loved Bjork’s music and how he thought she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. Louis told me how he was so captivated by all things Bjork that he traveled to find her. He told me how excited he was when they collaborated on music together. He explained to me that the wonderful thing about where he was at that point in his life is that he could afford to do nothing, so Holland was his destination of choice to kick back and relax. Minneapolis, he mentioned, was where he was residing. Louis told me he never had to work another day in his life, because he was deliberate about putting in the time and hours as a young man to secure himself financially for the future. As he put it, he intentionally sought to work with “everybody and their mama” to be the No. 1 requested bass player.

But no one gets to the top alone, he advised. Louis told me how George first got a break playing for Billy Preston, a musician sometimes referred to as the "fifth" member of the Beatles. When Preston’s bass player left, George put in a word and got his brother on with Preston's band. The brothers eventually played on the 1972 hit song Will It Go Round In Circles. Shortly after leaving Preston, they hit a brief dry spell before music maestro Quincy Jones started working with the skinny brothers with the big eyeglasses and even bigger afros. Neither George nor Louis knew what the other would say to me when we spoke, so I was impressed with how in  sync they were, offering individual praises about Quincy.  Both brothers explained how he protected them and educated them about the business of music as soon as he took them into his fold. Louis and George stated how Quincy could have gotten over on them but he did not. Instead, he managed them and taught them how to manage themselves as musicians. Both brothers told me they were basically set for the rest of their lives financially because of the foundation laid by Quincy. I heard so many horror stories about the cutthroat antics in the music business that I was moved to hear artists mention how someone helped them instead of hurt them. The brothers also played on albums for Herbie Hancock, Bobby Womack, Grover Washington Jr., and Bill Withers.

Louis, who said they didn’t grow up playing sports but playing instruments, explained to me how he worked with Quincy on lots of Michael Jackson projects. He said Quincy taught him how to get co-writing credit for his contributions as a bassist. Quincy showed the brothers the value in being musicians and that they should be compensated for their mastery. Louis immediately told me how he heard Jackson’s Billie Jean for the first time and thought to himself that something was missing. Louis told me that’s when he came up with his famous bass line on the song’s introduction. He told me that’s how he got so many co-writing song credits in his catalog, because he was confident that his bass drove the songs. Billie Jean was a good song, Louis told me, but he said his touch made the song great. Needless to say, Louis did not lack confidence when it came to music. This man knew his gift.

Training others how to play the bass was something he told me he enjoyed; it was his way of giving back. Louis thought it was amusing and was flattered that so many young men were on YouTube, trying to play the bass like him. He was touched that so many people, young and old, were playing his funk. Louis told me to watch one of his slap bass lessons on YouTube and then advised me to see a few people who were trying to do the same. He told me how he made custom bass guitars and how his slap bass style earned him the nickname of Thunder Thumbs, but it was Graham Central Station front man and founder Larry Graham, Prince’s mentor,  Drake’s uncle and former Sly and the Family Stone member, who ushered in this style well before he did.  Graham, Louis said, was the man noted as the Godfather of the Slap Bass.

The bass was the heart and soul of music, Louis said. His homework assignment for me, in addition to watching the YouTube videos of his slap bass disciples, was that I listen to any song of my choice but that I should follow the bass guitar all the way until the tune's very end. He suggested I do this very thing for every instrument in order to understand the importance of what musicians contribute. Sometimes I still find myself doing this exercise.

George first mentioned his brother’s passing on Facebook; a nephew informed the masses of it on Instagram as well. I was sad to hear the news. Back when I interviewed them, Louis made it known that he wasn’t on speaking terms with his brother. He said that Brothers Johnson fans need not hold their breath for a reunion if he had anything to do with it. Though he said he wasn’t talking to his brother, I teased Louis that it was interesting how he knew everything, even in Holland, that George was doing in Los Angeles. I told Louis this just goes to show that we have our ups and downs with our siblings, but when it is all said and done, we still have the other's back and continue to look out even from afar. Louis chuckled and said he agreed.

Life is short and time waits for no one. Louis just turned 60 years old on April 13, but a month and 8 days later, he was gone. Hopefully Louis was on speaking terms with his brother before he made his transition. If he wasn't, George should know that his little brother was always keeping up with him in some way. Know that he will certainly do the same now in spirit. 

Until next time. DocM.A.C. signing off. Keep the faith and always trust the process.  #OnwardUpward

 

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    I am Dr. Margena A. Christian aka DocM.A.C. Some folks feel my way with words, so I thought I would drop a few random "soul lessons" with a little bit of this and a whole lot of that. Keep the faith and always trust the process.
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