FIVE THINGS WITH PHOTOGRAPHER AND CYCLIST TOD SEELIE
FIVE THINGS is a weekly feature on the Banjo Brothers Blog. It’s a short interview about life and bicycles with a notable person. This week’s FIVE THINGS is with travel photographer/photojournalist/artist and avid city cyclist, Tod Seelie. Seelie has photographed in 25 countries on five different continents. His work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Stern Magazine, TIME, Wired, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Spin, Juxtapoz, Thrasher, Vice, Der Speigel and Mass Appeal among others.
The New York Times had this to say about Seelie's work, "His images at times elevate mere weirdness to a more striking realm of visual intrigue... Strange, vivid, baffling and relentlessly unexplained, they leave their viewers transfixed."
The Banjo Brothers were introduced to Mr. Seelie in 2015 by way of AHTBM, and Mr Kinevil. Seelie spent 20 years riding the streets of NYC and bike touring all over the globe -- Indonesia, Japan, US, and Canada to name a few of the places he's ridden bikes and shot photos.
A year removed from shooting promotional work for Chrome and "The Streets of Chrome" project, Seelie was interested to know if the (affordable) Banjo Brothers Canvas Commuter Backpack was up to snuff. We hooked him up because at the time, the Brothers Banjo did not have many stocking dealers in New York City. The rest is history.
Seelie recently relocated to the City of Angels. We reached out to see if he'd be up for a little run at Banjo Brothers #Five Things. He was. Here it is.
(PS: Seelie gave us some amazing images to use. Check these out.)
BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU RIDING?
TS: Currently I’m riding a Specialized AWOL. It’s a great all-arounder and I’ve been enjoying pushing it’s abilities on more rugged terrain
BANJO BROS: WHERE ARE YOU RIDING?
TS: On the AWOL I’ve taken it through the Canadian Rockies on the Great Divide Trail, up into the mountains and out into the desert around LA and on the weekly Passage group ride. I had a great time taking my first run at mountain biking at the annual Mountain Bike Oregon festival last summer. This summer I’m looking to complete my cross-country tour with some friends who tour on customized tall bikes. We’re looking at routes from Seattle to Minneapolis.
It’s a beautiful, dynamic, fascinating city but there is definitely a decent learning curve to understanding SoCal/LA norms. Also trying to bike to get everywhere has a very different meaning here than in NYC. The sunsets here are amazing… every day!
BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
TS: Listening: Henry Rollins radio show on KCRW, NPR, KXLU, The Current, my old punk mix tapes in my car; Watching: Field of Vision docs; Reading: Nomadland by Jessica Bruder, The Intercept, FT special Projects, and I gotta say I really miss Gothamist/LAist (RIP).
BANJO BROS: WHAT ARE YOU COOKING/EATING/DRINKING?
TS: I’m pretty new to LA, so I’ve been enjoying getting out and exploring all the different and especially weird food and beer in this town (like heavy metal hamburgers, Titanic-themed restaurants, mexican sushi and finding the best fish tacos). At home I like to cook a lot of Japanese/Korean-inspired rice bowl variations. I’ve also really been into cardamom in my coffee.
BANJO BROS: WHAT'S STUCK IN YOUR CRAW?
TS: I’ve been fixated on exploring and understanding Los Angeles since moving here. I spent a long time in NYC, so the switch to LA is a bit mind-bending. It’s a beautiful, dynamic, fascinating city but there is definitely a decent learning curve to understanding SoCal/LA norms. Also trying to bike to get everywhere has a very different meaning here than in NYC. The sunsets here are amazing… every day!
MORE ABOUT THE FIVE THINGS INTERVIEWS FROM BANJO BROTHERS
A big Banjo Bros. thank you Tod Seelie for participating in this week's edition of Banjo Brothers' Five Things. These short interviews about life and bicycles will appear every Friday on the Banjo Brothers Blog. If you liked this FIVE THINGS from Banjo Brothers you should check our our full series of past five things interviews.
Would you like to be interviewed for Five Things?
Use the contact form on our website to send us a note. See you next Friday. Also, since you're here, we do need to mention, Banjo Brothers makes a whole line of tough, practical and affordable gear for cyclists. Thanks for reading.