MUSIC VIDEO: MISSISSIPPI GABE CARTER
A low-fi, down-and-dirty music video shot guerrilla-style of blues recording artist Mississippi Gabe Carter playing “The Archangel of the Blues” live on Wicker Park's famed Milwaukee Ave.
The film captures a magical time when gentrification hadn’t yet taken hold in Wicker Park — a Chicago neighborhood that would later be named by Forbes as the Number 4 hippest hipster neighborhood in the country — and struggling artists, buskers and hustlers plied their trades on grungy streets. It’s a time capsule of the art, culture and community of a bygone era.
The film’s inky and decidedly downbeat look complements Gabe's own gritty style — with both vocals and guitar (a rare vintage 1962 National Glenwood 99) recorded raw, straight out of a tiny battery-powered Vox amp.
Gabe is one of only a handful of blues artists worldwide specializing in the distinctive Bentonia School: a style of Delta blues known for minor chords and droning strings that ring with an ominous and eerie feel. He has played the legendary Deep Blues and Chicago Blues festivals; has held court at the House of Blues; and has toured Europe and South America. And his music was recently featured on “NCIS: New Orleans.”
To date, the music video has screened at several festivals, including Big Easy International and, upcoming, the Twister Alley Film Festival.
