Thank you for reading my introductory blog post for my new website and business Evocative Sound & Visuals. I’m so glad you’re here!
Let me begin by shouting out the launch of my latest multimedia story and first-ever album entitled “Beneath the Crooked River, Exploring the Underwater Sounds of the Cuyahoga River From Headwaters to Lake Erie.” For several months during 2017 and 2018, I traveled back and forth from my then home in north-central Ohio up to record the sound of the Cuyahoga River from its East Branch headwaters, where the water is but a trickle, to the mouth of the river where it dumps into Lake Erie. I did this with traditional and unconventional microphones. It was the hydrophones (underwater mics) that yielded the most interesting results. These sounds go with the story I wrote and an album I produced. This June will mark the 50th anniversary of the river catching fire. It caught fire many times previous, but the 1969 fire was the one where people finally started paying attention.
If you think everything on earth has already been explored, consider doing it in a way hardly anyone gets to hear. That is what I set out to do with this story. I explored places along the river I never thought I would see and met many friendly new people along the way. I laid down above the spot where my cousins drowned (before I was born) cutting their young lives way too short. I heard the comeback of aquatic life, the sounds of people having a good time on the river and the sound of an industrial corridor. I hope you enjoy listening to this unique interpretation of the Cuyahoga River as it flows today, and come back often to hear where else my microphones take me.
2 Responses
David lowell
We really enjoyed your visit to our beautiful river. The sand bar is growing in size every day with the increased spring rains. Wildlife abundance keeps us entertained for several hours a day. River otters swimming and diving and poking there heads up out of the surface like a periscope looking for food.
Minks running along the banks checking out the muskrat dens for a quick meal. Mr beaver making huge waves as he slowly makes his way through the corridor. Ducks and geese with new hatchlings in tow. The tall graceful crane watching for a fish or frog to spear. Interesting to watch the bald eagles using the river as there private highway searching out a quick meal. Today the tree frogs are making there presence known with almost defining continuous chirp. Recording the sounds of all these creatures is one thing I’d like to do. Nothing more freaky than the night sounds of the barred owls mating. Sounds like some creature from a horror movie. Oh well I could go on but I won’t. Thanks again Rick
rick@evocativesound.com
This all sounds so wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing a bit about your tucked-in world there. I’m so glad I was able to witness some of it.