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The first Dig Deeper event I attended was in June 2009 at The Five Spot Soul Food Restaurant, in Brooklyn. At the time, I had no idea what I was in store for until Virginia-based soul legend Lenis Guess took the stage. In his white suit, red silk shirt, and youthful bravado, I couldn't quite believe my eyes and ears. His voice sounded as clear and fresh as any of his musical peers half his age- and his stage banter, had the audience hanging on to every word.
My initial thought was "Everyone I know has to see this" and "How long do I have to wait until the next event?!" I couldn't understand why he wasn't being professionally filmed, it was such a rare and amazing performance. As both a filmmaker and a musician, the next logical thought was to make sure that future performances were captured on film.
Fast forward to the spring of 2010, when we began the early stages of production. After finding a small production crew, and with little to no money, I purchased the basic equipment to allow us to shoot the events in HD. With permission of the promoters, Richard and Michael, and the blessing of Billy Prince of the Precisions (Detroit) we shot our first event at Southpaw in Brooklyn, and what a night it turned out to be. Ahead of us is a must-see event: the 2nd Annual Brooklyn Soul Festival on October 8th-9th, the biggest event for the documentary this year. I have no doubt it will be extraordinary and full of scene-stealing moments in music.