The Penny Jam is an almost-weekly video podcast filmed in Portland Oregon. In each episode we film a different band playing in an unconventional performance space, helping music escape from the often-drab environs of dark, neon, concert venues. We are interested in documenting as wide a variety of musical styles as possible, including indie rock, bluegrass, electronic, hip-hop, jazz etc, etc. If you have a hot tip on a band that we should feature, drop us a note.

We film each episode with two Panasonic DVX 100A cameras and a mobile Pro-Tools studio. Once mastered and edited, we host videos through Vimeo and feature them on this website. Additionally you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes and get fresh .mv4 and .mp3s each week. These files are also available for direct download in the sidebar for each episode. The downloadable video is a considerably higher quality than the web version, so if you’d like to watch it full screen at closer to it’s original quality, we recommend downloading those.

The series provides a unique promotional opportunity for both bands and small business owners around the city. We provide very specific links to all relevent websites for each episode and you will be able to embed the video on you’re site or Myspace profile if you’d like. As a result of being included in the podcast, you’ll be exposed to an audience of people who are interested in the Portland music scene. You will also have access to download the original source video if you want to put it on a DVD or reproduce it elsewhere.

About the Crew

The four person crew creates the podcast at no cost to anyone (except ourselves.) We are not seeking compensation which eliminates many of the typical worries of video and audio production. There are some nice benefits, we meet a lot of cool people and are constantly introduced to new music. Basically we just love the music scene in Portland and want to use our respective skills in documenting it.

Scott Carver produces the podcast and is behind the maintenance of thepennyjam.com. He operates camera B, which has a wide angle lens. During the day he is employed as a web developer for an advertising agency in Portland. Prior to that he was the Editor-in-Chief of a University of Oregon music and culture magazine called The Oregon Voice.

James Jacobsen is the sound engineer for The Penny Jam. He is also a freelance sound engineer and proprietor of Dexterous Productions. Originally from Portland, James was the the Music Director at the University of Oregon’s campus radio station, KWVA, until he graduated and moved back to the city in 2006.

Sean Whiteman is the director and editor of The Penny Jam. He is camara A. A longtime filmmaker, Sean recently returned to his native state of Oregon after living in Los Angeles, Ithaca, Austin and Indianapolis. During that time he wrote about a dozen screenplays and directed 3 feature length films with his brother. During the day he works at the Portland Art Museum.

Joe Mansfield is the official still photographer of The Penny Jam. While we film he shoots vast amounts of photos documenting the performance and the setup involved. His work can be found on our Flickr account and in all of our promotional materials. Joe is an independent entrepreneur operating a business called Engrave where he provides custom laser engraving.