My first Gallery Opening: Keith Jacobshagen (& Al Hudson and the Soul Partners)

On Thursday, November 2, 2006, I attending some Gallery openings and viewings with a co-worker.

The galleries were down in the village and we walked through the Southern tip of Central Park from the Arsenal. We needed to get to the West side to catch the C train to Chelsea (at 23rd Street Station).

It was night and my camera battery was dying so I didn't think to start taking pictures till after we entered the first building. It was an old warehouse and the floor we went to, I think it was 5th, but it was the only floor that had been bought by this "gallery" and converted to show work. There were tons of doors down long white hallways. They reminded me of a scary sterile hospital. NO windows looking out and long bright florescent lighting tracked the ceiling.

My very first CHELSEA (run-down warehouse) art gallery opening. I was soooooooooo excited. I was not expecting anything so I can’t explain my reaction. I was just excited, pumped, freaking out with joy haha. The room was small. There were only about 25 paintings on the walls. Wine table to the left. Info table directly 10 feet in front of us. Small. We immediately made a beeline for the wine. Them the cutest thing happened. The picture to the right if from the gallery's website. This is what the room looked like!

A little paw shot out from under the wine table and started playing with our feet. That was when I was introduced to the warehouse cat. I unfortunately forgot its name but it was so awesome. I was immediately transported back to Chris’s parent’s home and thinking of the cats in the barn. Below, Quonset (Jan., Platte Valley), oil on canvas, 20x42.

I was told that this cat was a stray and became the warehouse cat. While I was being told about the cat, the beautiful baby walked out from under the table with the tablecloth slowly exiting off his back like he was the king of the jungle discarding his robe. He walked halfway into the gallery and plopped down right on to the floor. People were walking everywhere and it was so comfortable. I just loved the feeling I got of how homey the cat made this outrageous converted warehouse in the middle of NYC feel. I was at ease immediately.

The artist was Keith Jacobshagen. The art work was nice. I was shocked to see Midwestern landscape I have to say. I was expecting some outrageous artwork I think. But then again, it reminded me of home a tiny bit, without the rolling mountains. The artist was present and very nice. His name was Keith Jacobshagen. To the right, Cut Brush Fires, Sakt Vakkey, oil on board, 8x9 (one of my favs)

http://www.jcacciolagallery.com/cgi-bin/artistDisplay.cgi?artistName=current&index=00&showBio=no

I was really interested and I wanted to know if the order of his display (the pictures were numbered 1-whatever number). I asked if maybe if I was following some path of a trip he had once taken. He smiled and said that it was on a road from one location to another but not intentionally playing a role in the display. I got an autograph and a .......

The prices ranged from $2,000 - $10,000. Most were no bigger then a 15” monitor. This would not have been something I ever bought for my home but it still provoked feelings and emotions from me and that was great.

(I will write more in the following blogs because i feel like these are to big and long haha.)

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DISCO BABY!!!! DISCO!!!! So, I know my father used to disco dance in the 70s and that just blew my mind. If you knew my father, you would understand that. So, I was thinking about disco music and my father today and thought I would write about that style of music, and who better to showcase then Al Hudson and the Soul Partners.

Al Hudson was a soulful talent who stood his own in the late 70s, forging an up-tempo funk sound that lived long past disco, and which was sort of a platform for groups of the 80s to build a new dancefloor sound. He has led various soul and funk groups since the 1970’s.

Al, who had been playing the local Detroit club scene with a group of fellow musicians and friends, brought Kevin McCord (lead vocals & bass guitar), Cortez Harris (vocals & guitar), Jack Hall (piano), and Theodore Dudley, Jr. (drums) together as his Soul Partners.

The group began life as AI Hudson & The Soul Partners, scoring popularity with songs including 'Spread

Love', prior to becoming One Way Featuring Al Hudson in 1979.

Although he never landed anything remotely close to a big hit, the group consistently recorded through the '70s and into the early '80s. Hudson and the Soul Partners signed with ABC in the mid-'70s and made their debut with the LP ‘Especially for You’.

One Way consisted of Al Hudson (vocals / percussion), Kevin McCord (bass / keyboards) and Dave Roberson (lead guitar). A famous song by the group, and a song that has been sampled by many, is “You Can Do It.” Another title that might sound familiar is “Let’s Talk About Love”