About This Episode
In this episode, musician and cultural historian Tris McCall shares three decades of insights on Jersey City's evolving arts landscape. From the legendary 111 First Street arts center to the current gallery scene, Tris explores how place shapes creativity and how creative communities in turn define our city. Discover his unique perspective on "living horizontally" versus "vertically," the ghosts of lost creative spaces, and his passionate call to recognize overlooked musical pioneers like PM Dawn as essential to Jersey City's cultural heritage.
Meet Tris McCall
Tris McCall has been a fixture in Hudson County's creative scene since 1992. A musician who has performed on virtually every North Jersey stage, Tris has also written for numerous publications, authored fiction exploring place-based themes, and currently serves as an art critic documenting Jersey City's visual arts community. His work received recognition from the Andy Warhol Arts Writers Grant, supporting his continued art criticism through his website Eye Level.
Connect with Tris McCall:
Eye Level: https://www.eye-level.net/
Eye Level on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyelevel.jc/
Tris McCall on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trismccall_nj/
Jersey City Times articles: jerseycitytimes.com/author/tris-mccall
Bandcamp: https://trismccall.bandcamp.com/
Key Insights
Tris's characters often encourage us to "slow down and look carefully at the world around us," an ethos that extends through his songs, fiction, and art criticism
The loss of 111 First Street (demolished in 2007) left a lasting impact on Jersey City's arts scene, though its influence continues through spaces like Deep Space Gallery and The Drawing Rooms
Jersey City artists often explore environmental themes through adaptive reuse and show a unique relationship between people and place—with figures in artwork often "melding into the landscape"
Bergen Lafayette has undergone the most dramatic transformation during Tris's time in Jersey City, from a neighborhood he was warned against visiting to a vibrant community with galleries and music venues
PM Dawn, influential 90s hip-hop pioneers from Jersey City, deserve greater recognition as cultural contributors to the city's musical heritage
The challenge of integrating vertical tower communities into Jersey City's horizontal street life represents a key tension in the city's development
Visual Documentation
Related Resources
Eye Level JC – Tris McCall's arts criticism website focusing on Jersey City's visual art scene
PM Dawn – Jersey City musical pioneers whose 1991 album "Of The Heart of the Soul, and of the Cross, the Utopian Experience" represents an important chapter in hip-hop history
Deep Space Gallery – One of several amazing Jersey City artistic spaces carrying on the spirit of 111 First Street
Explore Further
Coming soon to my Substack: an article exploring the legacy of lost creative spaces like 111 First Street and how they continue to influence Jersey City's current arts scene. I'll contrast Tris's insights about 111 First Street with my own experience of artists preserving historic buildings in Hamburg, Germany, and examine what these different outcomes teach us about community-based preservation.
Coming Up Next
Join me on May 9th for a conversation with narrative consultant Thaler Pekar about the power of story collection and how communities preserve their histories through oral storytelling. We'll explore how personal narratives connect to place and why capturing these stories matters for future generations.
Connect with Nat
Website: natkalbach.com
Substack:
Instagram: @natkalbach
Email: podcast@natkalbach.com
Music: Our theme music is "How You Amaze Me," composed by Jim Kalbach and performed by Jim Kalbach, Bryan Beninghove, Charlie Siegler, and Pat Van Dyke.
Support the Show: Subscribe to the podcast and sign up for Nat's Substack to receive additional stories and visuals that complement each conversation.
Share Your Story: What sidewalk stories have you discovered in your neighborhood? Share them with Nat through email or social media.
Nat's Sidewalk Stories explores the intersection of place, community, and storytelling through conversations with practitioners, community leaders, and local changemakers. New episodes release on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month through August, with a break in September before Season 2 begins in October.
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