Title: Grandma J
Category: Video
Year: 2003

Synopsis: This piece is 1 of 6 created for "Lost As Heat", an interactive DVD-Video disc. In 1978, my dad recorded an interview with my great-grandmother about her life. I came across this recording much later and decided to edit her speech and record some musical accompaniment. Grandma J, as we called her, talks about what it was like to grow up in Illinois at the beginning of the 20th century, in a log cabin without any of the things we take for granted today, such as running water and electricity. She also describes how she met the man she would eventually marry, Charlie.

Production Notes: There are two primary images: the stove and the musicians. On the DVD version of this piece, these two views are actually two "angles" which are switchable by the viewer. The guitar and viola are both played by myself, obviously recorded at different times. Also in the DVD surround-sound mix are mandolin, electric guitar and of course, Grandma J's voice-over.