Name Your Dream Assignment :: The Musical Culture of Route 66

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The Musical Culture of Route 66

In collaboration with my father – the person who inspired my passion for both photography and music – I would like to travel Route 66, documenting the range of American musical culture and creating a project to benefit music education.

My father's interest in photography was what inspired me to pursue it professionally, so now as I embark on my career I would love to do an amazing assignment in collaboration with the man who started it all. We have very different styles and approaches, however one common thread is our deep passion for music. Therefore, our dream assignment would be to travel across the U.S. via historic Route 66 to document the broad range of American musical culture as represented by the communities along the way.

We would take the ultimate road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles, following the exact (when possible) or sometimes approximate route of the original highway. Along the way, we will tap into the local musical culture of the cities through which we pass and chart their cultural evolution by looking at both historical and current musical movements. Our path will take us from Blues to Punk; Lollapalooza to Rocklahoma; Buddy Holly to The Flaming Lips. We will examine the unique heritage of each stop by documenting local bands (some of which might also be national/international acts), radio stations (independent ones with unique character), venues (from the historic to the hip), festivals large and small, and local music stores (again independent dealers with unique character).

The results will be shared in three parts:

1) a blog which will report our progress in real-time as we work our way from Lake Michigan to the Pacific. It will include videos, personal anecdotes, links to some of the people and places we encounter along our adventures, and our personal playlists for each leg of the tour;

2) a printed coffee-table book of the images from our journey;

3) a gallery show of selected prints to celebrate the launch of the book and raise awareness of the beneficiary. The show will travel to some of the cities featured in the book, thus bringing the final product back to share with and celebrate the participants in each community.

Since my father is an educator by profession, I'd like this project to benefit music education. Therefore the sales from the printed book and gallery shows would benefit the Guitar Center Music Foundation, which helps to sustain music education in communities throughout the U.S. To quote their website:
“The Guitar Center Music Foundation believes that music participation is an essential element in the fabric of an enduring society. Our mission is to have the benefits of making music available to everyone in the communities in which we serve, to promote its importance through education and media initiatives, and to provide financial and in-kind resources in collaboration with other organizations to achieve our common goal.”

Please vote for this project and help us make this dream assignment a reality. Thank you for your consideration.

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195 Comments

labargefauxdecor

This sounds like a fabulous Father/Daughter experience. And what a great opportunity to explore some vanishing American culture!