rickie lee jones the sermon on exposition boulevard scrapbook

     
all captions from left to right: Marc Chiat's studio in Culver City; one of Marc's paintings; chair with yellow tape; Peter's guitar pedals

     
Peter Atanasoff writing in Lee's apartment in Hollywood; Doug Boehm during a very late recording session; Joey Maramba; Rickie writing

     
Mike Watt on his "thump stick"; green house in Silverlake; Peter and Marc; Rickie reading/singing while Peter plays a box with a paint brush

     
blue wall; Bernie Larsen; Silverlake mural; Marc sitting in front of his giant rock paintings (that became the background for the cover image)

     
jet trails over Sunset Sound; Peter and Jay Bellerose; Jay's odd-shaped drums (vintage German kit); Peter during the first session, with Rick Shaw listening

     
Marc's office; two dogs - Marc's stencil, and Quincy; rainbow stairs; Marc's swirling graffiti

     
Vintage Gretsch next to some of Marc's graffiti ; one of Marc's painted boxes; Peter making noise; The Words and notes

    
Rob Schnapf and Rickie discuss the mix; footsteps mural; view from my bike crossing the 101; Peter and Bernie, late afternoon at Red Dog

     
detail from one of Marc's rock paintings; blue mural wall; Julietta in the back seat of the Mercury Monterey; a crown for everyone

"This all happened in Marc Chiat's studio in Culver City, during the summer of 2005. But it might not have happened there if it hadn't taken the kitchen at Gloria's two hours to serve
our food! Peter and I went to Venice to see painter Manuel Ocampo's exhibition. Afterwards, we went to dinner and I was introduced to Marc Chiat. The chef broke his foot (we
found out later), and, by this twist of fate, we spent two hours talking (instead of eating and leaving). Before our fajitas arrived, we had come up with the idea record in Marc's warehouse
studio. A few days later, equipment was set up among the jumble of Marc's canvasses, brushes, and paint. Marc's paintings became the background to the sessions, rocky landscapes
that mysteriously evoked the theme of the songs. We started writing song beds from scribbles I did on long strips of paper, instead of writing music. Peter interpreted my drawings into
chords and structure, and then Rickie came into the studio and improvised (Nobody Knows My Name, Where I Like it Best) over these sound beds, lyrics and music without having
heard either song. We knew immediately that something magic had happened. "The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard" was born. created over sound beds that were born
in Marc's space. The photographs are purely documentary, raw impressions of incredible hours spent in a painter's studio, and later, at Sunset Sound, where the album was
finished with producer Rob Schnapf." - Lee Cantelon

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© Copyright 2006 photographs by Lee Cantelon