Counts Brothers Building

Behind me? BEHIND YOU! Behind the Scenes: Making a movie at Counts Brothers

Wade Smith — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:40:35 +0000

The crew of “Behind You” showed up at my place early this morning. “Behind You” is an independent film directed by Rebecca Pugh and filmed by Joe Walker with the help of some other great people.

I don’t want to give anything away about the plot, but I’m sure you’ll be able to catch it at Sidewalk Film Festival next year. The story is very cool and the production values are above and beyond your average short film. Joe explained all the technology, which I will recite here: it’s filmed on a ds-err-etch-blem with eccity-eccity-ooo. The lighting is something also special, apparently.

The crew was fired up and it was fun to watch them set up the equipment. Here’s a few pictures of the setup.

Historic Preservation Status Approved!

Wade Smith — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:12:46 +0000

Just got word that our request for Historic Preservation Certification was approved by the Department of the Interior and National Park Service! Thanks to Holly over at Appleseed and Pam King for making that happen.

2nd Annual Bham Street Fair

Wade Smith — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:47:13 +0000

Reblogged from Central City Neighborhood Association:

Save the date for the 2nd Annual Birmingham Street Fair!
Info from: http://birminghammulticultural.org/

September 14th
8th Avenue North

As part of the City of Birmingham's Fifty Years Forward Events and to help cap off the International Civil Rights Conference, the Birmingham International Street Fair will be held on 8th Avenue North in front of the Museum of Art.

Details about performances will be outlined soon.

Gardening at Night

Wade Smith — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:45:47 +0000

Family business has kept me traveling on weekends this spring, so time for gardening has been hard to find. I didn’t spend much time planning or spacing. Instead, whenever I had a few minutes I just threw seeds or sprouts wherever looked vacant. Luckily we’ve had a lot of rain so I haven’t had to water too often, and overall it has been going surprisingly well.

We’ve been harvesting lettuce all spring, until it went to seed last week. I picked some peas that I probably let stay on the vine too long. Last weekend I picked a nice big green onion for a meal that friends grilled up on rooftop deck of the Accordion Player’s building. I kept the herbs up on the window sill this year so that I could get to them more easily when I am cooking, and also to have more room for vegetables. I’m usually terrible with flowers but, I put out a lot this year and so far they’ve all survived.

One new addition was to put accent lights around the tree wells. Pedestrians often accidentally stepped on our garden last year and the lights have helped a lot. Also they really look cool.

Accent Lights around the Gardens

Welcome Krewe to the Neighborhood!

Wade Smith — Sun, 05 May 2013 00:43:14 +0000

The Accordion Player and I just got back into town after a week away. We were walking around doing errands, getting mail, picking up some tomatoes for spaghetti, hitting the ATM, etc. Strolling along 1st Ave we saw a sign “Krewe: Now Open.” I had heard nothing about a new place opening just around the corner, so mail and groceries in hand we walked in to investigate.

Turns out to be a swanky New Orleans themed bar. They’ve got a nice wine selection on the wall, and even have a carry out permit. I’m not a cigar smoker, but I was still excited to see a walk-in humidor, just because that’s cool and different for the area.

The decor is cozy. Wine racks along one wall with a classy bar. They kept the old hardwood floors and heart pine ceiling and a great old skylight similar to the ones I have in the storage units (but theirs isn’t covered).

The Accordion Player really enjoyed their Martini list and chose a Royale Sunset. She liked it. My “Dirty Krewe” Martini was delicious. We both enjoyed the New Orleans Jazz music.

We got to talking to the bar tender and she said they had moved from Patton Creek in Hoover because the rent was twice as much, and “Hoover is dead after nine.”

Welcome to the neighborhood, Krewe!

Loft Tour Volunteers Needed

Wade Smith — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:04:28 +0000

The LivBirmingham Loft Tour still needs volunteers to greet visitors and give directions. Please consider showing off our friendly neighborhood!

Movie to be Filmed at Counts Brothers Loft

Wade Smith — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:02:55 +0000

Rebecca Pugh and Joe Walker are making a new short film. Most of the story takes place in an apartment. When they asked to shoot in my loft, I said “Heck yeah!” After talking to them this weekend, this sounds like a really ambitious project using state of the art cameras, flying in an actress from across the country, and submitting to all the big time international film festivals. The script looked great, and I can’t wait to watch the movie!

Lights! Camera! Action!

You can see some more pictures on Rebecca’s blog: http://rebeccapugh.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/location-location-location-indiefilm/

Tickets are officially on sale for Liv Birmingham’s May 11 launch event, Cool Spaces+Downtown Places

Wade Smith — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:30:09 +0000

Tickets are officially on sale for Liv Birmingham’s May 11 launch event, Cool Spaces+Downtown Places. Come visit some of the coolest lofts in downtown Birmingham (including mine). I’ve also heard a rumor that Madge the Magic City Dragon might appear that day. You can get tickets at http://coolspaces.eventbrite.com/

El Barrio’s Contribution to the 2nd Avenue Renaissance Featured in Business Alabama

Wade Smith — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:20:00 +0000

El Barrio was featured in April’s Business Alabama Magazine. The article cited not only the great food and atmosphere, but how it accelerated the downtown revival that was already under way on 2nd Avenue. I couldn’t find a copy of the article on their web site, so hopefully they won’t sue me for scanning the article and posting it here.

Details on Loft Tour

Wade Smith — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:34:07 +0000

Loft Tour Flyer