Jakprints & Michael Weintrob proudly present…

INSTRUMENTHEAD
Pop-Up Gallery Debuts in Charleston During Spoleto!
Quirky Photography Series Showcasing Musicians From Bootsy Collins To Sol Driven Train Arrives May 30-June 8 On Upper King Street

Grand Opening: Friday, May 30
Live Performances by Ironing Board Sam & Dom Flemons (Carolina Chocolate Drops) at 8pm

KING DUSKO
541 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
Gallery Hours: 11am-2am daily

“Where their head is really at!”

Renowned New York photographer Michael Weintrob announces that King Dusko, an artsy music and libations hangout on Upper King Street, will host his InstrumentHead Pop-Up Gallery Friday, May 30-Sunday, June 8 during Charleston’s 2014 Spoleto festivities.

InstrumentHead is a surrealist portrait series that captures musicians like Bootsy Collins, Scott Avett and Derek Trucks without ever showing their face. Instead, the instrument becomes the star, covering the performer’s head to create an intriguing expression of each personality within the frame of a single, iconic photograph.

Presented by Jakprints, the 10-day exhibit will transform the walls of King Dusko into a fine art display of limited-edition Giclee prints. While more than 350 musicians across rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass and world genres have contributed to InstrumentHead, Weintrob’s Spoleto event will showcase and sell 25 distinct images from the collection, including Charleston’s own, Sol Driven Train.

A portion of the gallery proceeds will benefit the Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit organization that preserves and promotes the rich musical traditions of the American South.

InstrumentHead celebrates its Grand Opening Friday, May 30 at King Dusko with live performances by two longtime Music Maker supporters, blues keyboardist Ironing Board Sam and Dom Flemons. Music starts at 8 p.m. on the venue’s outdoor patio stage.

“When I began to really think about these intriguing, larger-than-life characters for whom music is seemingly just as important as air, I thought ‘Where their head is really at’ summed up the whole idea perfectly,” said Weintrob, whose photos have graced the pages of Rolling Stone, SPIN, Jazz Times and Newsweek.

WATCH VIDEO: InstrumentHead Photo Shoot

“Whether an individual is famous or an almost complete unknown, whether they play saxophone or sitar, the one thing they have in common is that music is central to everything they do,” Weintrob continued. “I decided to place their instruments in front of their faces in an attempt to blur the boundaries between each individual personality and the tools of their trade. That way folks get a creative glimpse into the psyche of these amazing people.”

Weintrob first partnered with Jakprints to premier InstrumentHead on Frenchmen Street during the 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. There, Jakprints helped transform an empty warehouse next to the Frenchmen Art Market into a walkable night exhibit that stunned Jazzfest art fans and music lovers alike, and donated more than $2,000 to the Tipitina’s Foundation and the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation.

New Orleans gallery visitors included legendary Rolling Stone photographer Baron Wolman and New Orleans blues icon Allen Toussaint, who said about InstrumentHead, “When you mix art and music together like you’ve done here, it’s just phenomenal. It doesn’t get much better than this.”

Weintrob’s Spoleto InstrumentHead exhibit will be open to the public 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. daily at King Dusko, closing with a special wrap party on Sunday, June 8.

To purchase prints online or view an extended gallery of InstrumentHead images, visit www.michaelweintrob.com/instrumenthead.

About Michael Weintrob
New York-based photographer Michael Weintrob has been taking photographs of celebrated musicians around the world for over 20 years. His images have been featured in a number of renowned publications,  including Rolling Stone, SPIN, Jazz Times and Newsweek. From traveling the world to shoot bands and artists performing live for thousands of fans to intimate portrait shoots in his Brooklyn studio, Michael brings his love of great music and artistry into his photos. Michael Weintrob has also createdInstrumentHead, an ongoing series of photographs that convey a sense of magic and mystery.  InstrumentHead features a glimpse into the psyche of renowned and emerging musicians and bands. www.michaelweintrob.com

About Jakprints
Sharing in a mutual love for music, art and creativity, Jakprints, Inc. is an artist driven, full-service printing company specializing in full color offset printing, apparel printing, large format prints and sticker production. By investing in state of the art equipment with an unfaltering commitment to customer service, Jakprints serves more than 90,000 customers worldwide — from musicians, artists and designers to corporations or individuals — with a wide range of projects customized to bring the best attention to any brand, company or event. Jakprints is also committed to ecologically sustainable practices and replaces one tree for every order,  planting more than 100,000 new trees since its doors first opened in 1999. www.jakprints.com

About King Dusko
King Dusko is Charleston’s premiere hangout locale, offering coffee, tea, beer and wine, with local art and live music all rolled up into one alluring venue on Upper King Street. Owned and operated by musician McKenzie Eddy and visual artist Dan Dickey, its doors opened in March 2013. The creative space hosts events surrounding art and music and its walls display local artwork including oil paintings and sculptures. Behind the gallery, Eddy and company offer an inviting patio and beer garden out back where guests can enjoy live music on venue’s open-air stage. www.kingdusko.com

About Ironing Board Sam
Ironing Board Sam (born 1939) is a legendary boogie-woogie musician and acclaimed singer/songwriter who plays keyboard and piano. Originally from Rock Hill, South Carolina, he was given the nickname “Ironing Board Sam” after he created an electric keyboard mounted on an ironing board in the 1950s. Sam’s unforgettable stage shows have involved performing underwater in a 1,500 gallon tank at the 1979 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and playing on Bourbon Street in an eight-foot tall homemade wooden jukebox. He is also known for his unique inventions, such as the button keyboard that earned him his name. Ironing Board Sam is dedicated to youth education in music and helped to spearhead a program between Music Maker and the Jazz Foundation’s Agnes Varis Jazz in Schools Program. Today, he lives in Winston Salem and performs regularly in the Triangle area of North Carolina.

About Dom Flemons
Dom Flemons is an American traditional roots musician and banjo player who co-founded the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an African American string band whose album Genuine Negro Jig won Best Traditional Folk Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards. He has performed live for more than one million people in past three years, including renowned venues like the Grand Ole Opry and the famed Newport Folk Festival. Raised in Phoenix, AZ, Flemons’ music pulls from old-time folk traditions and a deep-seeded love of the pre-World War II era blues. He brings a distinctly percussive approach to the banjo, which includes clawhammer, tenor and three-finger styles. Flemons is also a poet, singer and eclectic multi-instrumentalist, skilled on guitar, harmonica, fife, bones, bass drum, snare drum and quills. In addition to his work with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Flemons recorded two solo records with Music Maker Foundation. He is currently working on a third solo album, which he says hopes to reexamine what traditional music can become.