Today we bring you a very special episode of Music Video Monday featuring the work of Christopher Reyes and Live From Memphis.
For eleven years, from 2002-2013, Live From Memphis shone a light on the endless creativity of Memphis’ music, art, and film communities. At once a website, a media outlet, and a community organization, LFM was run out of Christopher Reyes’ loft at 1 S. Main, which became a meeting place and hub for Bluff City creatives. Reyes was a pioneer of web video production, and Live From Memphis’ YouTube channel features thousands of videos spanning a decade of Memphis art.
One of Reyes’ highest visibility projects was recording Gonerfest every year. His videos, often shot under less than ideal circumstances, helped raise the music festival’s profile into national prominence. Here’s a clip of Memphis garage lords The Oblivians reuniting at Gonerfest 9.
Music Video Monday Special Edition: Live From Memphis (3)
One of LFM’s most popular features were the pop up art festivals the organization ran in Downtown and Midtown. The Ink Off pitted two artists against each other to create different halves of one canvas.
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Another long running LFM feature was 60 Seconds, where Memphians were given one minute on video to do whatever they would like. This web video series was eventually copied first by music review site Pitchfork, then by NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. Here’s Memphis reggae stalwarts Chinese Connection Dub Embassy laying down a fat, one-minute groove.
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Reyes is also a bicycle enthusiast who builds his own bikes. One of his creations was the Mobile Music Machine, which he used to pedal musicians around town for moving concerts. Here’s Memphis’ own Valerie June on the MMM:
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And here’s Paul Taylor’s experimental electronic act Interrobang cruising around a pre-revitalization Crosstown Sears Building.
Music Video Monday Special Edition: Live From Memphis
And finally, and most relevant to Music Video Monday, Live From Memphis produced the Music Video Showcase, a music video competition that was first associated with Indie Memphis, then became an independent festival that attracted video creators from all over the world. Here is a music video for Lord T. and Eloise directed by Reyes and featuring Memphian photographer Tommy Kha.
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Today, Reyes, his partner Sarah Fleming, and their two small children are threatened with eviction from 1 S. Main by Aparium Hotel Group, a Chicago hotel company who recently bought the Madison Hotel. There will be a rally today in Civic Center Plaza protesting the eviction and the treatment of the artists who have been working for years to improve Memphis’ image.
If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, thank Christopher Reyes for his tireless work, and send an email to cmccoy@memphisflyer.com
