Showing posts with label danmiles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label danmiles. Show all posts

Jun 30, 2010

{dm} where we stay

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Jun 7, 2010

We can all be traced by a white line (here's proof).

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As I am constantly reminded that life is a roller coaster.

Its nice to remember that we're all in the same beautiful theme park.

Mar 24, 2010

dan miles interviews sara montour

sara, what animal best describes you, and what are 2 ways that you relate with it?

I had an instant connection to cuttlefish the first time I saw them. I think they're the most interesting creatures in the world and I can sit and stare at them in an aquarium for hours. I'm continuously fascinated by their presence.

I relate to them because they utilize their incredible eyes mostly to perceive light, and because they have 3 hearts, so I bet they wear at least 1 on their sleeve.




what do you think is past space? like, past all the things we already know are there?

When I was in middle school I was talking about this with one of my best friends. She gave me a visualization that I still think of to this day. She said "well, how can space end? Think about it. If there was a wall at the end of space, what would be on the other side?" To this day that's how I think about it in my mind.


would you rather be on the moon with a friend or on earth alone?

Definitely on the moon with a friend, however I would miss the oceans and lakes so much.


listen to this song and tell me how you feel after you listen to it:
SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT - B. SPRINGSTEEN

This is actually hilarious, because one of my best friends is OBSESSED with Bruce. No, really. OBSESSED. We have epic wars about him and I have to say that I'm just not a big fan. I was hoping that you found the song that would convert me forever, but it's still not happenin, and all I can think of is Alexa dying laughing. I hope I can still be a vagabond without a love for Springsteen.


I like your pictures so much, and I'm not just saying that. I feel a connection to your way of photography.

It seem to be very specific, like you're saying, "Here's what I see, look!!!!" The main object is very apparent and the photos almost ask us not to pay attention to detail which is both beautiful and mysterious. This was more of a statement than a question.

I've never thought of my photography like this before, but you're totally right. I thrive in beautiful moments in life and real+honest connections between people. Some photographers can tell brilliant stories through their work, and they create these epic works of art, but I definitely use my cameras and my eyes to document as opposed to strictly creating. I'm a creature of nostalgia and so many times I see something and want to call everyone I love and tell them to get to me immediately so they can watch the crazy raccoons in the woods with me. Photography is incredible at allowing me to stop life for 1/150th of a second and send it out into the world preserved in that split second that I loved it most.

Maybe I'll start feeling the need to create more once I run out of beautiful things to capture just the way they are. I hope that never happens.

Thanks for viewing my work like that and for opening my eyes to it!


if you could only chew one piece of gum for the rest of your life what flavor would it be? and do you stick gum behind your ear?

My best friend caused my addiction to wintermint Orbit gum, but I just realized that it has aspartame in it, so my hippie roots have cut it off cold turkey.


What do you want to dedicate yourself to more?

Breathing and taking breaks. I stubbornly jumped head first into photography and most of the time I feel like if I'm not working, then I'm wasting time. Is it possible to be ALL IN and still take a break? I'm starting to realize that not only is it possibly, but it's much needed.


Do you think you will?

I really hope so. My boyfriend is pretty good at (nicely) forcing me to step away from the computer and focus on other things, so that definitely helps. {side note . boyfriend is such a weird word. I feel like I'm 12}


What is the most fulling thing your art has done for someone?

You totally rocked my world with this question and I've literally been thinking about it for weeks+weeks. Part of me is spiraling into "oh my gosh, what HAS your work done for someone? NOTHING! IT'S DONE NOTHING!" and part of me is a little more sane about it.

A few weeks ago we drove up to Bremerton to meet some of Scott's friends and I brought my camera with. Usually I'm a little hesitant to randomly break out the camera and snap away, but I decided to that day and am so glad I did. I took the photo below and this awesome little dude's mom made this comment about it. "I love this photo. You captured the true Soul of my child! His entire personality is in this photo." Even if my photography isn't changing the world, if I'm capturing moments that reflect the true spirit of people, I couldn't ask for anything more.




using a few of your pictures, try to convey a form of sadness.




give me some advice on life you've learned, any advice at all.


Breathe. It's easy to get worked up and overwhelmed by the here+now, but we all need to realize that we're going to make it through everything that's happening in our lives. What's the alternative? If you take what's worrying you the most, think of the worst-case scenario, and make a plan for THAT. Realize that you'd find a way to push through it, and it doesn't seem so scary anymore.

That and jump all in, every time. We're given this one life and so many people play it safe instead of going after what they truly feel in their hearts. So many people say they'll do that later, once they're ready, once they do this and this and this to prepare.

Later is always tomorrow until you make it today.


if you lost both of your eyes, what would be next.

A LOT of music. That's probably the only thing that could get me through.


you just moved to Tacoma, WA explain the move and was it worth it?

The Pacific Northwest has been in my heart for a really long time and I always saw it as a place that I would eventually end up. I came here when I was 8 with my family and it captivated me immediately. I still remember standing on the beach, breathing in the salty air, picking up starfish, seeing all of the green everywhere. I just felt a connection to it instantly. I hadn't been back since then and just kind of decided I was going to move out here from Minneapolis. Luckily that connection was real; I got here and it instantly felt like home.


what are some words you turn to in times of creative lull and who said them.

Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk on creative genius is perfect for those times when you're feeling uninspired and uncreative . http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

I also just surround myself with incredible+uplifting people that nurture and push my creativity.


post a picture you've taken for each of these words, take it literal or not

a. rain


b. OMG


c. skin


d. Majestic


e. vagabond

Mar 18, 2010

Cheers Mate

Tired?
Worn out?

Perfect, we're right where passion and drive put us.

On the road in God knows where.


Whats that money good for other then spending?

Whats this body good for other than breaking?

Where are you right now?
Are you home?
And I'm not talking about where you fry your eggs.

I'm talking about where your ticker is.

where does that 4 valve pump find its rest?

sd>la>az>la>or>wa

lots of abbreviations

don't abbreviate yourself


go for the gold

just kidding silver's fine too, so is bronze

who wants something hanging around their neck all the time.


everything i needed to learn i learned in k-garden.

except how to love/cook/make a bad joke/kiss/behave

k. Vonnegut said it best when he died.

ill say it best someday too.


loz omgs and wtfs to you all.

d. miles

Feb 28, 2010

At Last




Vagabonds {AS} {DM} {ARS} together in Montana

Feb 22, 2010

I just realized.

I just realized.

There is nothing I/anyone can say to change you.

There is nothing I/anyone can do you move you from your current path, not even an inch.

You all post the right pictures.

You all post the right quotes.

We are officially people who have heard it all.

People who can say it all.




The story that goes, “human goes to grocery store, buys food and walks home,” will never make waves.

nor this..

“Human goes to store, hears words from so and so, changes, buys food and walks home.”




Those don’t happen.




It really goes…




You step out side.

Your hat flies away.

Your arm is broken by God knows who.

They take your wallet.

You get lost on your crawl through mud back home.

You’re neglected.

You’re spit on.

You’re angry.

You’re alone.

They don’t love you.

You’re sad.




But… you see a flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk.

You say to yourself “if that little plant can do it, so can I.”




You pick yourself up.

You tie up your arm.

You get a job and earn your grocery money back.

You buy your food, and realize it was never what you wanted, or maybe it was, the ending is all yours and doesn’t really matter.




What I’m saying is WE CAN pretend like we are really making an effort to move forward, we can fake it all we want.

I mean we can REALLY put people on.




But.




Life is a river headed south and our little boats are going down stream whether we’ve got a set of paddles in the water and blisters on our hands, or not.




But to really get going we’ve got to have something in front/behind us that makes us want to move.




So, I wish you nothing but trials.

I wish upon you fire to refine you, broken clay to build you stronger.




Anyone who wishes you “Good Luck” wants nothing more than for you to wake up comfortably in bed tomorrow with all of your bills paid, thoughts collected.

They want you to get up and smell the roses, yawn and stretch, grab your paper and pour your morning gas into your stomach.

Not a care in the world. Not a care in the world. Not a care in the world.

Does that scare you? It sends chills down my spine.




I wish for life to never pull a punch with you.

I wish for the weight of others to fall constantly on you.




and finally I beg you find someone/something to lean on.




I can’t make you mad dash through the front door in the morning.

But, whoever/whatever is it that makes me do it.

I hope they have their way with you.




Respectfully,

DNM

Feb 11, 2010

Sarah Jurado Interviews Dan Miles

danmilesone

one: where in the world are you at this moment?

I am sitting in a smokey studio in San Diego, California messing around with some vocals and drums.

[see above/below]

one.01: is there any place else you'd rather be?

Probably yes.
Maybe out to coffee with mum or asleep.

danmilestwo

two: what was the first song you ever wrote?

It was called 'cold water crash'.
I was sitting on this grassy edge of the water that looked out to a lake and these gorgeous mountains.
I just wrote down what I saw.
It came out really bad. I think that was an omen.
I'm kind of still waiting to write a good song.

And it's funny actually, my buddy and I when we are in the middle of fighting will just start singing each others music to put the other person on.
And this is the song he always gets me with, it still works every time.

three: your guitar:  does it have a name?

They all totally do.
My electric is Trouble.
My main acoustic is Rose.
My other acoustic is Twain (after Mark)

three.01: is there a story behind how you acquired it?

Trouble was the first electric I ever bought.
And the same with Rose for acoustics.
Twain was my moms, I found it in the back of her closet.
She told me there was a thousand times she thought of selling it because we needed the money. She never sold it and said she thought she knew what would happen if I found it. It did.

four: top 5 vagabond destinations:

I like places were people can’t find me.
5. Kings Canyon Forest, CA
4. My bed, CA
3. San Francisco, CA
2. Tulsa, OK
1. Seattle, WA

five: top 5 songs:  [could be of all time, or of this week, or whatever you feel like]

I’m gonna try top five of all time.

The only song that has made me want a dad.
My Fathers Gun - Elton John

A song about dating up, atta boy Paul.
Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes - Paul Simon

I think everyone needs a savior in the form of a human.
Your Bright Baby Blues - Jackson Browne

Just the drum tracks on this song is enough.
Then you get this, “sometimes a man must awake to find really he has no one”
Lover You Should Have Come Over - Jeff Buckley

John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mitch Mitchell
Yer Blues - The Dirty Mac

six: do you have a favorite poem/quote you'd like to share with the vagabonders?

Man cannot be comfortable without his own approval - M. Twain
Fortune favors the bold - Virgil

seven: what's the hardest part about writing a song?

I know for every songwriter it's different. I've found that a major part of my writing stems from sadness, or things that don’t work out.

These things come in waves and to have to ride these waves becomes exhausting.

The pursuit of muse can cause me to not deal with things in a proper way. writing a song doesn't heal me and some times I
forget that.

Or, putting myself in a weird situation only for the sake of using it creatively later. I don’t feel bad about doing that, even people who work desk jobs stay up to late just to go to work tired the next day.

I’m afraid of just chasing my own tail.

The hardest part of song writing is remembering I am not a song writer, I am a human who has to exist.

danmilesfour

eight: what's your next vagabond destination, if you're not in the middle of one right now?

Well since I started writing this I’m now in the snow of Big Bear, CA for some talking. [see above/below]
After here I just decided to move from where I’m living in L.A.
I have 3 weeks to decide where and I have no clue.
So I guess in vagabond style, I don’t know.

danmilesthree

nine: best travel/road trip/vagabond movie:
Elizabethtown, my God. (Kristen, call me)

ten: top inspirations for music + art:  [list as many as you'd like!]

Peace
Sadness
Others
Sleep
Spirituality
Everything

Feb 10, 2010

COUCH

i fell asleep in my clothes last night.
the hair
on my legs
hurt this morning.

screaming
for freedom,
each follicle a voice.

I understand them.
they remind me,
that taking off my pants
is sometimes
a good idea.

Sep 25, 2009

Here I Come



Oregon Road Sessions
Written 9.25.09 10am
Recorded with love, care, and devin driving 9.25.09 11am

Sep 12, 2009

Untitled from Dan Miles on Vimeo.

Sep 9, 2009

I Don't Believe You



Space Forest Sessions
Written 9.7.09
Recorded with love, care, and haste 9.8.09
Shown to Light 9.9.09

Vaga Vagabond

Good lord.
I look at this site and see the most amazing images and thoughts and feel so out of place, but in place at the same time.
Whatever any of that means.

I find we are all in a mess and just trying our best to tell about our version of it how we see it thru a lens, mic, or pen.
It makes me feel so small because none of the mediums, I feel, ever capture things as they are.

I walk down the street feeling like the most alone person on the planet and no words or image could really show you whats going on there.

But we try and try and I speak for myself when I say…I just want some one to see that I'm trying.

I'm trying to observe and leave things a bit less of a mess, or at least just as tidy as it was when I got here.
But tonight I take time to say what a great group of people to takes lessons from, Explorers of all sorts.
CAPTURE EVERYTHING!
Everything
EVERYTHING.

Aug 28, 2009

I'll/You'll be okay.

I'm trying to find the good in this life for a change.
And as I go about doing it, allowing myself to be searching for someone/something that will take it easy/easier on me,
I realize how intrusive life really is.

And as we continue to move forward, It involves a hell of a lot of moving backwards.

The person you want to be with needs time.
They might was well say they need to die for a little while.

Or the things we want are out of reach.
So I feel like a 4 year old in this house made up of giant countertops.

Look, we'll make it, regardless if we want to or not.
So I guess what I'm saying is give up.


And never quit.

Aug 16, 1984

Dan Miles

dan miles music
dan miles vagabond posts



if you were a vespa, what color would you be...in a hexadecimal code?

#000099



on a road trip, are most of your clothes in suitcase, a moving box, or a laundry basket?
all 3 of those are the same thing to me.


describe your nearest "getaway spot."
my nearest get away is my mind, i keep a few areas very clear of nonsense, and when they get cluttered I retreat to sleep.


swim suit or skinny dip?
i guess right now it depends on who im with.
lets say swim suit for now, with full intentions of skinny dipping.


one place in the world where you haven't been, but you MUST go.
Israel.


the longest road trip you've taken ... solo or with a road trip buddy?
The central Coast of California to the Central of Arizona, Solo.
Sometimes you need some heat.


when visiting a new city, what intangible items are you hoping to capture?
Anything that is new, thoughts, ideas, people, places.
Or anything that can remind me of why I'm around.


what is your favorite junk food when traveling?
Sunflower seeds.


tell a story about a memorable, intriguing person you met while exploring who you never saw again.
This girl, God, thats about all i can say without losing it…


describe your favorite local hang-out.
I don't really have a consistent place I'm at, which would explain why I have a bond here.
But there is this coffee shop on 4th in Long Beach, Ca where I feel invisible.


what inspires you to take the next step by photographing, writing, or composing a song about the area you're in.
Fear and sadness and loss, I know that sounds heavy, and I hate that it is.
I have the worst memory and can't remember a lot of things after they happen including emotions.

Songs become road markers for me, so i can looks back and see where I've been/came from.

I'm working on finding a different way of looking at things.