Today we’d like to introduce you to David Freid.
Thanks for sharing your story with us David. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Austin, Texas. My mother immigrated from Germany and met my father while he was working as a baker there. I spent a good amount of time over there growing up, and while visiting Cologne during the summer I’d wake up early to watch MTV while it still played music videos. In between all the ringtone commercials, I listened to my first real electronic and techno music. I’ve always loved music, and my mom listened to classics in the car; Michael Jackson, ABBA, Cher, Queen, and Earth, Wind, and Fire. I was never as much of a fan of Led Zeppelin or Rush like my dad is, but at some point toward the end of elementary school, he gave me a copy of DJ Shadow’s ‘Introducing’, and in between the Matrix and the Shrek soundtracks, I would just imagine the movie that would play to it. I had no idea what I was listening to, but it was awesome. The first CD I bought at a record store, Cheapo Disks on north Lamar, was Wipeout XL’s “soundtrack,” which included my first introduction to Daft Punk and The Prodigy. Around this time, I had my time in love with the Gorillaz, Green Day, and Blackalicious’ Blazing Arrow as well.
I played trombone and tuba in high school, and I ended up playing in the Longhorn Marching Band my freshman season as a Sousaphone! When I discovered torrenting in 8th grade, the first thing I did was download 1500 techno tracks. I created my first electronic track, Lavazza on a pirated copy of Ableton in 11th grade after being inspired by The Polish Ambassador and my friend Louk Cox, now known as Soul Food Horns. I was listening to the Glitch Mob, Justice, Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, Mr. Scruff, & Todd Terje.
I really started taking photographs of performers at the Wednesday night Austin Mic Exchange hip hop open mic at the Spiderhouse Ballroom right north of UT’s campus. I made my first music video for the track Grams of my good friends the Weird City Kids. During this time, I also produced a couple of electronic tracks, like Chasm and a remix of Daft Punk & Panda Bear’s Doin’ It Right.
After I graduated, I worked pizza delivery and a few different creative gigs. I was able to intern on my aunt Hermine Huntgeburth’s film ‘Aufbruch’ in Germany in 2015. After I came back, I was able to work for GSD&M as an animator and did a couple more music videos. I decided to go back to UT for a business certificate when I was forming Weird City Entertainment with Weird City Kid. Later that year, he made the connection with Brodie of Brodie’s Fault and we helped throw a 12-hour music fest called One2One fest in December 2016 that saw over 40 performers on 2 stages. The next spring Weird City Entertainment started the Tuesday night Scratch Tuesday Hip Hop open mic night at Scratchouse in 2017. This is when I really started taking photographs of a wider scope of the hip hop and music community in and around Austin.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I’ve gotten my photo/video equipment stolen twice. Once in 2013, while shooting for Grams and on January 3rd of this year while traveling from Israel to Germany. I didn’t have the chance to get my SD cards either times. One of the things that impacted my creativity the most was that after a few months of helping put on Scratch Tuesdays, I had to split from Weird City Entertainment due to creative differences at the end of 2017. During the whole process, I dealt with a lot of the existential dread that comes with being an artist which is under-supported in our society while also having to constantly push oneself over the internet. Austin’s Hip Hop community and getting a part-time job at KUT in the weeks after splitting from Weird City Entertainment have been an amazing reprieve from that insecurity.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Senior year of college I co-directed a documentary with my friend Nick Kondylas called ‘The Foundation’. The film is about the group of guys who worked with the first graffiti artist in Austin, Skam, in the ’80s. They are now known as Arte Texas, and the documentary later screened at SXSW in 2018 as part of the Faces of Austin showcase. I have a couple of other student films that I’m proud of. Since I started taking live music photos, I amassed thousands of photos of hundreds of Austin’s artists over the last three years, mainly of Scratch Tuesdays and SXSW.
I have a hard time deciding what to post on Instagram, so I have started going through my artist’s folders alphabetically. I’m only about halfway through because I’m so bad at posting regularly, but I offer the whole collection for free to anyone that wants it. I try and give as much free access to my photographs as possible; I even have a large background gallery on my website of travel photos. I have created a few more music videos for other friends, like Laredo’s Franko BorderBread, Austin’s own Ben Buck Beatbox and punk band nibbles. My music video for Rikki Todd’s country music song ‘Without You’ will be featured in next year’s Austin Revolution Film festival.
I have sorely missed live music over quarantine, but I did get to go camping and take astrophotography in New Mexico in May. I just started graduate school studying public policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and work as a marketing specialist at KUT/KUTX radio since 2018. I am not sure what I want to end up doing, but I will continue to make art whatever it is!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I was rejected from the engineering school at UT but was fortunate enough to get into the Radio/Television/Film program there. It was the first time I seriously considered doing anything visual, but when I was behind a camera, it felt right. In 2014 one of my friends invited me backstage for the Smoker’s Club Tour featuring Method Man, Redman, B-Real, and Mick Jenkins. It was my first time trying it out, but I took my dad’s Nikon D90, a 50mm 1.4 AI, and I was hooked.
Contact Info:
- Website: GravyPhotos.com
- Phone: 5125600569
- Email: gravyjonesofficial@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weirdgravy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeirdGravy
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/weirdgravy
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7wOMeC7fZUAehYJrDvPBsg
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ne2n77sszz66xib/AADxWweLVPCiUcDdLGi4Aojka?dl=0
Image Credit:
Portrait shot by Eddie Martinez
All other shot and edited by Gravy Jones
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