Miriam Bennett
Moving Studio Productions, Akron, Ohio

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Official Bio:
Miriam Bennett is an American filmmaker, artist, and academic. Studying Italian Baroque Art History under Richard Spear at Oberlin College, she was awarded High Honors for her undergraduate thesis. She went on to receive her MFA from the University of Iowa, studying Intermedia under Hans Breder. She is now an associate professor of Media Arts and Studies at Cuyahoga Community College. Her two room media installation, What Remains in Each Case is in the permanent collection of the University of Iowa Museum of Art. She is the director of Moving Studio Productions and has worked for clients such as Tri-C Jazz Fest, Cleveland Museum of Art Vivia and Gala Performance Series, Scenarios USA, and the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington DC. She has directed music videos for Kate Tucker, The Suede Brothers, and Crystal Understanding among others. She resides in Akron Ohio with her husband, author Jon Stephen Miller, and their two children.

Kate on Miriam
Miriam Bennett wrote and directed my first music video ’ÄúSay Love,’Äù and as I write this, we are wrapping up our seventh. She is a artist of grand scope and vision. I have learned to stop asking ’Äòhow’Äô and just trust in the impossible probable ways of her world. I can’Äôt say enough how much I believe in Miriam’Äôs talent and ability. Working with her over the years, I am amazed at her devotion to the craft, her effortless acceptance and response to each moment, with the inevitable breakdowns and mishaps that will befall a film shoot. I’Äôll never forget when she fell through the ice on the Mogadore Reservoir while shooting the scene in ’ÄúBullet Train’Äù where actor Darryl Dickenson supposedly 'falls through the ice.' She shot the scene soaking wet and freezing in the cold February afternoon, because the light was fading.

I am forever indebted to Miriam for offering her artistic vision, her resources, and countless hours to support my music and serve the work. Her family has played a pivotal role as well over the years. In addition to lots of kidsitting, her husband Jon Miller (my former college professor) repainted their kitchen black, and let us flood their bathroom floor to make it ’Äòrain’Äô inside the house for the ’ÄúSay Love’Äù video. Her daughter Maya Rae grabbed some beautiful footage for ’ÄúIn the End’Äù and ’ÄúWhere Are You,’Äù and her son Rowan offered valuable input for the action scenes in ’ÄúBullet Train.’Äù I can’Äôt wait till we’Äôre all rich and famous and Miriam is winning her first Academy Award.

A behind the scenes look at our collaborations from Miriam’Äôs perspective is at movingstudio.wordpress.com

All of our videos are at youtube.com/katetuckersongs

Jessie Sara English
Filmmaker/Photographer, Brooklyn, New York

jessiesaraenglish.com
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Official Bio:
Jessie Sara English is an Australian photographer and filmmaker living in Brooklyn, New York. She studied Photomedia at Sydney College of Arts, graduating with honors in 2006. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Oyster Magazine, T World Journal, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Her collaborators include filmmaker Miriam Bennett, Brooklyn-based artist Johanna and the Dusty Floor, Parsons the New School for Design among others. Her work has been shown all over the world with exhibits in Australia, Malmo, Sweden, Berlin, NYC, and London.

Kate on Jessie
Due to unforseen circumstances I was late to move in to my Brooklyn apartment last summer and when I finally arrived, Jessie Sara English was living there too. I had no idea what I was in for and to this day I can’Äôt figure out how I got so lucky, but it feels like fate and good fortune for sure. Jessie is a gem, a real artist, a truly alive human being. Her lust for life is expressed throughout her work in confrontational and brutally honest form.

The first time I worked with Jessie, we were collaborating remotely with Miriam Bennett on the music video ’ÄúWhere Are You (I Am Already Gone).’Äù Jessie was DP and it was her first ’Äòmoving picture.’Äô As usual we were under the gun regarding time and money, meaning there really was none of either, but Jessie is relentless when it comes to making art happen. She got me out of bed one morning, sat me on the couch with my guitar and started filming. I think that video is my favorite of all the videos I’Äôve done, because it’Äôs raw and honest and captures a real moment in my life that would never have existed without Jessie’Äôs presence. Our dear mutual friend, singer-songwriter Johanna Cranitch, refers to Jessie as a whirlwind. Jessie would come home trailing cables and cameras, stray kittens and fashion models, like a real whirling dervish and we all know she loves to dance.

Check out one of her latest exhibits at a gallery in London iamnotacelebrity.com

Videos we've done together are at youtube.com/katetuckersongs

Marshall J. Burnette
Filmmaker, Nashville, Tennessee

marshallburnette.com

Official Bio:
Marshall Josh Burnette is an American writer, cinematographer and filmmaker from Tennessee. He studied film with a concentration in film production at Vancouver Film School, graduating in 2011. His most recent work includes music videos for Lovedrug,,The Kernal, and Kate Tucker.

Kate on Josh
I met Josh on the shoot for Lovedrug’Äôs Dinosaur video and was immediately impressed with his tenacity and skill. How he managed to pull a video out of one weekend with five unruly girl actors in the middle of nowhere Tennessee, deer ticks, fireworks, gasoline, and fading light, I’Äôll never know. It was spectacular to say the least.

Recently, I learned that I was going to have a song of mine featured on CSI Miami. I had almost no lead up to the episode airing, and I wanted to have some sort of youtube presence for the song, i.e. a music video ideally. It was Friday and the show was airing on Sunday. I emailed my go to girls for moving picture, Jessie Sara English and Miriam Bennett, and they jumped at the idea of putting together a music video in 48 hours. Jessie asked if I could send her some ’Äòhuman’Äô footage, just some quick shots of hands on the guitar, maybe me singing here and there, nothing elaborate. I have a flip cam, and while those things are pretty spiffy, they certainly don’Äôt hold up when it comes to real deal stuff. But, I figured, it’Äôs all DIY right now anyway, no hiding it.

Still, I was stuck with the fact that I had no one to operate said flip cam, so I sent Josh an email Friday night and asked him if he happened to be around. He called me within the hour and was over in a flash with his awesome gear and his awesome girlfriend to assist. Needless to say, the flip cam stayed on the shelf. The video, First to Leave, became something entirely different, thanks to Josh’Äôs camerawork. The next morning, Miriam and Jessie were thrilled at Josh’Äôs footage. Jessie sent Miriam some work she’Äôd shot in New York, while Miriam cut it all together in Akron, Ohio. Not bad for a day’Äôs work.

Josh Burnette is an extremely devoted artist. While his dedication is intense, there is a natural ease about his work and the joy that it brings him is as evident as it is contagious.

Check out more of his work at marshallburnette.com

Kevin Ryan and Barb Ryan
Head Builder and Owner of Ryan Guitars Westminster, CA

ryanguitars.com
Acoustic Guitar Magazine Feature

Kate on Kevin and Barb Ryan:
Kevin and Barb Ryan have been close family friends from before I was born. When I was just a kid Kevin began building guitars and by the time I hit high school he had quit his job building models of jet fighters to be tested in wind tunnels to set up shop in Orange County where he began to build custom fingerstyle guitars for professional players and collectors all over the world.

My dad was visiting Kevin and Barb when I was sixteen and I told him not to come back without a guitar. I had no idea what I was asking. At the time, Kevin was the sole proprietor, building the guitars start to finish in his garage out back. His orders stretched three years into the future for guitars that would cost anywhere from four to twenty thousand dollars. I was no guitar player and certainly in no position to procure such an instrument, but Kevin delivered on my request, giving me the very first guitar he'd ever built. He had given it to his mother and with her blessing, he sent it back with my dad to Ohio.

I loved that guitar. I was the envy of all the grunge-loving guitar playing boys in flannel who taught me how to play Cranberries songs on my back porch. I wrote my first songs on that guitar and it was the first guitar I'd ever play at a live show. Kevin happened to catch one of those coffeehouse shows and said to me afterward: "Oh Katy, you can't play a truck like that. We have to get you a better guitar." I didn't want a better guitar, but I knew one day I would have to return it, so I saved my money to buy something more modest, hoping perhaps for a Taylor or a Martin.

Kevin had other plans. Three months later when I opened my guitar case, I found a brand new Ryan built especially for me, with the Indian rosewood I'd always loved, the abalone bindings, and on the deep dark mahogany neck, engraved in gold, was my middle name: HOPE. I am still speechless when I think of that moment.

It was the BEST GIFT EVER!! Kevin says it was a trade. He got his mom's guitar back and I got a guitar that I could actually play. (It is so easy to play it actually plays itself, instilling in me a false and growing sense of confidence over the years). I am still working on learning to play that guitar like it deserves to be played, but I have given it lots of love and in turn, it has given me countless songs.

I cannot tell you how blessed I am to know Kevin and Barb and their son James. I count among my best growing up memories the times I'd visit them in California, how Kevin would sometimes let me help him in the shop, the smell of wood and steel, cigars and brandy in the evening. I promised him I'd make him proud, I'd play his guitar on TV and in the movies and at the Hollywood Bowl.

I've tried to make good on those promises and the Hollywood Bowl still shimmers in the future. A couple years back we shot a music video on 16mm film and my Ryan guitar literally shines in it. You can watch that video at youtube.com/katetuckersongs. Another video featuring the guitar is a session where we recorded Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" and you can watch that here.

And of course first and foremost, head over to RyanGuitars.com to see some of the most amazingly beautiful guitars in the world, handcrafted by some of the most amazingly beautiful people I know.

Brad Trent - Photographer, New York NY

bradtrent.com

Official Bio:
Brad Trent fled Western Canada in 1982 and eventually found himself in New York City. After assisting just about every photographer at Life Magazine, he set out on his own and since 1986 has specialized in his stylized portrait photography for magazines like Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, BusinessWeek, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, USA Weekend and Barron's shooting celebrities, athletes, businessmen, models and even a couple of Presidents. His advertising, entertainment & corporate clients include General Motors, Pacific Bell, IBM, CBS, NBC, The NFL, Pepsi and GlaxoSmithKline. Over the years he has been recognized by Communications Arts, The Clio Awards, The One Show and the AR100.

Brad on Kate
'I never thought that after connecting with KaTe on MySpace back in May 2008 we'd end up here, but we've actually worked up a surprisingly close friendship...go figure?!! I've become the de-facto Propaganda Minster of KateCo on the East Coast, but she still needs to listen to me when I tell her how to put together a set list . . . and that "Roman Candles" belongs on her next album. . . but I've got lotsa time . . . !

Kate on Brad
Another of the ridiculously generous people I'm ridiculously lucky to know, Brad is exceptional in this category, giving time, money and support through countless photo shoots, plentiful exposure on his Song of the Day http://damnuglyphotography.wordpress.com/ site, and now through Kickstarter. Brad came to my first NYC show and offered to shoot the Sons of Sweden for free. He said it'd be renegade, no makeup crew, no stylists, no frills. He showed up with a van full of lights and an assistant. Needless to say we were out of our league and boy did we have fun! And then he did it again! And again! We used those photos everywhere and I will be ever indebted to Brad for capturing some of our best and brightest moments. For Brad's Kickstarter reward, he's requested that I record "Roman Candles" and so I have. Check out the song and video at youtube.com/katetuckersongs.

Robertsen Ashman - Photographer, Seattle WA
Lydia Ashman - Photographer Assistant and Stylist, Seattle WA

robertsenphoto.com

Official Bio:
Lifelong photographer Robertsen Ashman turned his focus to music photography in the past few years, and he has since worked with the Head and the Heart, Drew Grow and the Pastor's Wives, Kelli Schaefer, Ravenna Woods, My Goodness, the Black Whales and more.

Ashman's images have been featured in the Seattle Weekly, The Stranger, City Arts Magazine, Oregon Music News, the Portland Mercury and numerous online music blogs and websites. His works have been used on album covers, website designs, tour posters and various promotional materials including matchbooks and t-shirts. You can view his work at robertsonphoto.com.

Kate on Robertsen and Lydia Ashman
'Robertsen shot that photo of me in the white fur for White Horses most recently, but he's been my go to guy for band photos and all other lens-centric creative endeavors since I got started here in the great Northwest. His lovely wife Lydia has been on nearly every shoot, assisting, producing, styling and providing integral guidance and perspective. She is a true artist and I count myself lucky to have worked with them as a team and individually. More gushings along with photos spanning the many years we've worked together are at katetuckermusic.tumblr.com.

Doug Barber - Musican, Akron OH

thejukehounds.com

Official Bio:
Doug Barber is the man behind the keys and on the background vox for the award-winning blues outfit, The Jukehounds. In 2010 The Jukehounds won the Cleveland Blues Society Blues Challenge and went on to play in Memphis for the 2011 International Blues Challenge. Hear more of the Jukehounds at reverbnation.com/thejukehounds.

Kate on Doug:
Doug and his family have been longtime friends of my family. I grew up knowing Doug was a killer musician and I felt incredibly special when he first came to a show of mine.

Scott Cooper - Athlete, Superfan, Akron OH

AkronHurling.com

Official Bio:
Scott Cooper is the public relations officer at Akron Gaelic Sports Association/Akron Celtic Guards Hurling Club (GAA). Originally from Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, he studied marketing at Kent State University and now resides in Akron Ohio, where he often brings countless fine folks to see Kate Tucker shows.

Lucas Carlyle- Audio Engineer, Producer, Sound-Designer, Musician, Seattle WA

lucascarlyle.com

Official Bio:
Lucas Carlyle is audio engineer, producer, sound-designer living in Seattle, WA. Graduating from Evergreen University with a degree in sound engineering, he began working at Bear Creek Studio near Seattle and has since transitioned to doing sound design at WB Games / Monolith Productions and free-lance engineering work. He enjoys working in many different styles and loves the art of capturing sound. He also plays drums and has been part of Seattle bands The Conversation Heart, Hungry Pines and honeydove, the brief side project of Kate Tucker's that played its first and last shows at SXSW 2009.

Kate on Lucas:
My first real studio experience was recording Eros Turannos at Bear Creek with Ryan Hadlock and Lucas Carlyle. I've since then had the privilege to get to know Lucas enough to call him a very good friend. We've worked on two records together and countless demos. We shared a practice space at an old paper box factory in Ballard WA where we recorded demos at 4am and made our way to SXSW to show them off. I love working with Lucas in any capacity and hope to bring him back in the studio very soon.

Matt Wexler- Musician, Seattle WA

mattwex.com

Born in Manchester, New Hampshire, Matt Wexler studied music at University of Massachusetts Amherst before heading out to Seattle to play in several projects, including the Puget Sound Orchestra and The Shiftless Layabouts. He now splits his time between the Pacific Northwest and Japan.

Kate on Matt:
Matt Wexler was one of the first bass players I met in Seattle and I still consider him one of the best. I was lucky to get to know him early on as he proved to be integral in developing the early Sons of Sweden sound when it came to strings. He arranged all of the strings on the Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden record, brought in the players and played the upright bass himself. We've since tossed around ideas about other songs and about the possibility of me actually seeing him play live, (I have yet to make a performance. It's a long-standing source of shame on my part and amusement on his.), but time has not served us well. I hope to see Matt play very soon, perhaps again on one of my projects, but hopefully first on one of his.

Steve Shuman- Musician, Seattle WA

steveshuman.net

Kate on Steve:
Steve first came to a show of mine because I was opening for a friend of his named Willow, whom we both adore. He started coming to my Seattle shows after that and sent me a couple of encouraging and observant emails. I could tell he was a real music listener and it didn't surprise me when he sent a demo of his. It made sense that he understand music as a musician would too. We've since learned that we both share the Ohio connection, he grew up there as did I. Whenever I return to play a show in Seattle and I see that Steve is there, I feel even more at home.