"Karma Generator" - Short Film Documentary - Trailer Released

What the heck is a Karma Generator you ask?

It's a killer short film documentary that my brother Brad and I made. Last November we shot Brian Vander Ark recording his new album in the mountains of North Carolina with legendary producer Bill Szymczyk.

Here's a three minute trailer for the short film that we've titled "Karma Generator". The final film takes you behind the scenes as Brian Vander Ark poors his soul into a new record. It's an amazing document of a great singer/songwriter working.


karma generator trailer from Brad Kelly on Vimeo.
We'll officially screen the entire film before Brian Vander Ark's concert at Aquinas College Performing Art Theater on Saturday, March 22....BE THERE!

Glen Phillips Tickets Now On Sale!

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) is playing The Photography Room...OH YEAH!

Glen Phillips - Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00 PM

Follow this link to ORDER YOUR TICKETS ONLINE. I suspect they will go quickly!

Our venue is one of the best places to take in a concert...take a look at our MySpace Page and check out the videos of artists playing in our space!

new MySpace page - The Photography Room

To help the gallery book additional concerts as well as private parties, I've created a new MySpace page for The Photography Room. So if you are a MySpace member, please add us as a friend and feel free to leave a comment.

If you're not a MySpace member you can still check out the page and add it to your favorites. I hope the new page will keep people updated as to what shows we're booking there as well as posting photos and videos of performers in the space. Here's the link:

www.myspace.com/thephotographyroom

Glen Phillips at The Photography Room

Wow...big news and still a bit of a secret. I'll let it leak here and see if any cool viral web stuff happens (if anything).

I got word today from his agent that singer/songwriter Glen Phillips is going to play a concert at The Photography Room in April. I'll announce the actual date and how to order tickets as soon as I can...but for now I just couldn't keep my mouth shut!

Glen is widely known as the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket and has several amazing solo records to his credit. It's going to be a fantastic show...only 140 people will have the opportunity to see Glen play a great acoustic show. Tickets should be gone in a heartbeat!

Glen Phillips is certainly a perfect fit in regard to the type of concerts we want to put on at the gallery. We want small crowds and a very intimate setting for the artists to play in. It's also an opportunity for Grand Rapids to see some of the most talented performers in the country!

My thanks to Brian Vander Ark for recognizing what a great music venue the gallery is and encouraging Kathleen and I to continue to book shows at The Photography Room.

It's going to be an interesting year...there should be more great shows coming to the gallery!

PS - I didn't take this photo of Glen (it's from Glen's myspace page)

Album Cover - Brian Vander Ark

If you follow this blog you know I've been working a lot lately with singer/songwriter Brian Vander Ark. I've documented some of his studio sessions in North Carolina, dodged hunters with shot guns in the woods, and also shot a film documentary (much more on that later).

The new songs were wrapped up a couple weeks ago but we still needed to create a killer cover shot for the record. So BVA came to my studio on a Sunday night just before the New Year. We worked a few different looks and actually got more than what we needed. The session resulted in 2 other images that made the back cover and a large interior spread as well....a pretty productive evening if I say so myself!

I'd highly recommend that you pick up Brian's new album on his myspace page. It's available now! He's produced the finest album of his illustrious career. He always does West Michigan proud so here's your chance to support a national artist who calls Grand Rapids his home base!