Brian Vander Ark: Live at Aquinas College

June has been a big month so far!

First, "Karma Generator" screens at The Waterfront Film Festival and now the Brian Vander Ark concert my brother and I produced and shot has been released on DVD!

I used five cameras to capture Brian Vander Ark in all his full-band glory premiering the material from his new self-titled album, plus some Verve Pipe chestnuts for good measure.

You can order the DVD for $17 (or autographed by BVA for $22) from Vander Ark's website and view some clips there in the "Videos" section.

The stage and lighting looked great, and included Brian's touring Airstream trailer as a backdrop, after Brian JUST managed to shoehorn it into the arena. You think Brian is a talented musician? Well, you should see him drive!

The band is really crankin' and the sweat is palpable as they deliver the goods to several hundred fans (and countless more via the magic of DVD) on a very special night.



From Brian Vander Ark's press release about the DVD:

"It's also very exciting to be able to announce that the new DVD, Brian Vander Ark: Live at Aquinas College is now available for purchase. The concert was recorded by my friends Brian and Brad Kelly. It was a five camera shoot, and I consider it to be a companion to the new album. All of the songs from the new album were performed, along with songs from the other solo albums, as well as some Verve Pipe songs as well. You can watch a sample of it at the new web site in the "Video" section."

"Karma Generator" trailer -- Behind-the-scenes with Brian Vander Ark

karma generator trailer from Brad Kelly on Vimeo.

In November, I spent some time in North Carolina, shooting a documentary I'm doing with my brother through our redBrick media venture. My brother is a commercial photographer and stunning fine art photographer (who favors moody nocturnal B&W images) -- and he's blogged about this project here.


We've combined our love of images and stories (and music) into several short documentaries over the last couple years -- and this latest one is called "Karma Generator."

"Karma Generator" goes behind the scenes as talented singer/songwriter and former multi-platinum Top 40/MTV Flavor-O-The-Month (while fronting the Verve Pipe) Brian Vander Ark records his new self-titled solo album with legendary record producer Bill Szymczyk (The Who, Eagles, B.B. King, Bob Seger).

It was a treat to watch the creative interplay as these two hashed out the songs in Bill's home studio (although much of the instrumentation was recorded at Mitch Easter's Fidelitorium).


The album is due any day now and some of the songs are up already at Vander Ark's myspace page. I'm partial to "I Went With The Road."

"Karma Generator," the short film documentary, will premier March 22, 2008 in Grand Rapids, MI prior to a Brian Vander Ark show (with full band). Tickets are available here.

(production action photos courtesy of Lisi Szymczyk)