Anderson Amplifiers in Gig Harbor, WA

A few weeks back, I went with Gregg Belisle-Chi to pick up his new Anderson Amplifier. Jack Anderson makes custom tube amps from his home in Gig Harbor, Washington. Each amplifier is made to the specifications of the musician. He builds about one amplifier a month and only one at a time. 

After trying the amp for the first time Jack offered to change out the speaker to a Jenson which is a few pounds lighter. The new speaker had a more focused sound and was more "true to the guitar". 

Most of the work done on Gregg's amp was done in Anderson's living room. He then brought us out to his shop. Because he had just finished Gregg's amp, he had no amplifiers in production at the time. 

"Jack's amp just sings. Such clarity and warmth; I'm so happy with my Anderson. The joy and love Jack puts into his work is unsurpassed by any other amp builder." - Gregg Belisle-Chi

A Couple Days Later

The architecture in this city makes is very easy to shoot. I walked around the goverment center a lot yesterday, right on the border of what used to be East and West Berlin. After 1933 The Reichstag was badly damaged in a fire and was basically un-usable. Instead, during WWII it was used as a center for propoganda and as a back drop for many of Hitlers famous speeches to the masses. Even though it was basically a useless building during the war, it was one of the central targets of the Soviets during their invasion of Berlin in 1945 because of its symbolic significance.  

Around the square new modern buildings have been built. All government buildings, but the architecture was quite beautiful and inspiring. 

Like all cities. There has to be a ferris wheel somewhere... This is inside of another winter market, near Alexanderplatz, near the center of East Berlin. 

It Gets Dark Early

What a beautifully dark dreary city. Today it was steadily raining, and it was dark by 4:30. 

First Day Continued with a Little Film...

I filmed a little bit of the sound at the show Shalechet (Fallen Leaves) by Menashe Kadishman at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. iMovie prooves to be more complicated than Final Cut for me.... Such is Life. 

 I was hoping to give you some idea of how it sounded. That was what really made the room incredible. 

My First Day in Berlin, Germany

I am going to be trying to keep a small blog about my two weeks in Berlin. I want to post at least one photograph a day and see where it takes me. Today I wandered the city in a jet-lagged daze. I saw the Berlin Wall memorial and then visited the Jewish Museum. Here are a couple photos from the day. 

My mom looks on at the Berlin Wall Memorial. The steel rods behind her now replace where the wall once stood. 

Construction near the Berlin Wall on the Eastern Side. 

The stair case in the Jewish Museum. The image on the right is of an installation called Shalechet (Fallen Leaves) by Menashe Kadishman. The floor was covered with iron faces, representing innocent people who have died in war all over the world. As one walks across them the sound is amplified by the cement walls. 

The museum lead you on a tour through these criss-crossing tunnels under the museum. The floors would slope up then down and it gives the visitor a complete sense of disorientation.