"Difficult Times" Music Documentary

Below are links to short Lo-Res video sequences from the early stages of the edit. The movies are Flash Files, which should scale to the size of your browser.

"Difficult Times" shorts
(Current tv link)

"Home Again", Music by Thomas Delaney and Ryo Mitsuoka.
Small Flash file (lo-res)
4.6 mb

Medium Flash file (med-res) 7.8 mb

Clip 3 (1:30) Flash (1.2 MB)

Clip 4 (3:45) Flash (3.9 MB)

"And I said 'We can't just sit around. We have got to do something. People have forgotten about the fire already....' "

On September 8, 2005 a fire at 964 Amsterdam Avenue in New York City put the families from all 23 apartments onto the street. Two people died. Within days the landlord issued eviction notices and, it was feared, would next attempt to have the building demolished. Many of the tenants went into homeless shelters and other forms of the housing "system". Anger at the situation, at the landlord, at the fire, caused long-time tenant Thomas Delaney to make his statement. He would play his protest songs, his country blues music, his rambling and unsparing political tracts, amped up and surprisingly loud. And he would do it daily in front of their burned-out building. He vowed to play until the tenants were let back in. Was anybody listening? Did it make a difference? Music and protest live from Amsterdam Avenue.

I met Thomas Delaney in June of 2006 - although we have been neighbors for over 20 years. His response to the fire, to get out to the street with his musical protest, triggered a number of events in my own life - the decision to make a film about his actions, getting more involved in neighborhood people and politics, reaffirming the importance of documentary films to make a difference (and to entertain). It also pointed me towards the next film, also about art and the power of music. Difficult Times has been a long journey to travel before completion. Lots to think about, lots to do. This site will be a way to update the process as the film continues to build itself.