Aham Oluo is a musician, trumpeter, composer, stand-up comedian, and writer whos about to make his debut as a film actor in Thin Skin.
Aham is a musician, trumpeter, composer, stand-up comedian, and writer who's about to make his debut as a film actor. Courtesy of Ahamefule J. Oluo

It's Friday!! It's finally Friday.

To celebrate hiking trails being open again and the beautiful Sunday we're all anticipating, we turn to Ahamefule J. Oluo, who created this message while walking in the woods, and whose name you might be familiar with from pieces he's written in The Stranger.

Or maybe you know him from his work in the band Industrial Revelation. Or maybe you know him from the stand-up he's done at venues like Comedy Underground. Or maybe you saw his show Now I'm Fine at Town Hall or On the Boards or the Moore. Remember when we all used to be able to go see shows at Town Hall, On the Boards, and the Moore? We thought nothing of it. We had no idea how lucky we were.

"I grew up in Seattle. It's been my home my whole life," Aham says in his message. "And I am now realizing there are so many things I have taken for granted."

For his message today, he says, "I wanted to share for the first time a short musical sequence from the film Thin Skin. Thin Skin is a film that me and a bunch of other people made in Seattle. It was directed by the great Charles Mudede. We had hoped it would have premiered at a film festival somewhere by now, but film festivals are a thing that don't exist anymore. So I decided I wanted to share a little piece of it with you here."

How did Aham's acting debut come about?

"After watching his Now I'm Fine performance at Town Hall in fall of 2013," Charles Mudede says, "I texted him and asked if he wanted to make a movie out of it. He said sure. I hardly knew him. But we began writing a script. Lindy West joined the writing team in 2017. Film was shot in fall of 2018."

You can attend a virtual screening of the production of Now I'm Fine at On the Boards here.

The big stars of the film adaptation are Aham (he plays himself), his sister Ijeoma Oluo (she plays herself), and the comedians Hari Kondabolu and Dwayne Kennedy. Just last week, Kennedy, who is based in Chicago, had a record released by Aham’s record label, Oakhead Records.

The cinematographer on Thin Skin is Sean Kirby, who also shot Police Beat. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the makeup artistry in the film:


Thinskin Movie Makeup Test Parts 1, 2 & 3 from Kevin Philbin on Vimeo.

Thank you, Aham, for the message today, and for that beautiful walk through the woods, ending at that unexpected beach.

And thank you for sharing this sequence from your film. The way your trumpet sounds as we look out over downtown? The way it interacts with the orchestral music that floats in on top? Unbelievably beautiful.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

Try to find a socially distant way to enjoy the weather.

See you again with another message on Monday.


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Previously in this series:


Trent Moormans message to the city on May 6.
Trent Moorman's message to the city on May 6.

Renée Valencias message to the city on May 5.
Renée Valencia's message to the city on May 5.

Justin Huertass message to the city on May 4.
Justin Huertas's message to the city on May 4.

Charles Mudedes message to the city on May 1.
Charles Mudede's message to the city on May 1.

Kathryn Rathkes message to the city on April 30.
Kathryn Rathke's message to the city on April 30.

Anthony Whites message to the city on April 30.
Anthony White's message to the city on April 30.

Miss Texas 1988s message to the city.
Miss Texas 1988's message to the city.

Matt Bishops message on April 27.
Matt Bishop's message on April 27.

Cherdonnas message to the city on April 26.
Cherdonna's message to the city on April 26.

Shenandoah Daviss message to the city on April 25.
Shenandoah Davis's message to the city on April 25.

Lorena Gonzálezs message to the city on April 24.
Lorena González's message to the city on April 24.

Clyde Petersens message to the city on April 23.
Clyde Petersen's message to the city on April 23.

David Ritts message to the city on April 22.
David Ritt's message to the city on April 22.

Sara Porkalobs message to the city on April 21.
Sara Porkalob's message to the city on April 21.

Julia Sweeneys message to the city on April 20.
Julia Sweeney's message to the city on April 20.

Linda Derschangs message to the city on April 19.
Linda Derschang's message to the city on April 19.

Molly Sidess message to the city on April 18.
Molly Sides's message to the city on April 18.

Nick Garrisons message to the city on April 17.
Nick Garrison's message to the city on April 17.

Tomo Nakayamas message to the city on April 16.
Tomo Nakayama's message to the city on April 16.

Rebecca M. Daviss message to the city April 15.
Rebecca M. Davis's message to the city April 15.

Heather McHughs message to the city on April 14.
Heather McHugh's message to the city on April 14.

Brandon ONeills message to the city on April 13.
Brandon O'Neill's message to the city on April 13.

Kate Wallichs message to the city on April 12.
Kate Wallich's message to the city on April 12.

Rebecca Browns message to the city on April 11.
Rebecca Brown's message to the city on April 11.

Lucien Postlewaites message to the city on April 10.
Lucien Postlewaite's message to the city on April 10.

Betty Wetters message to the city on April 9.
Betty Wetter's message to the city on April 9.

Amanda Morgans message to the city on April 8.
Amanda Morgan's message to the city on April 8.

Nancy Guppys message to the city on April 7.
Nancy Guppy's message to the city on April 7.

Jonathan Bisss message to the city on April 6.
Jonathan Biss's message to the city on April 6.

Chris Jeffriess message to the city on April 5.
Chris Jeffries's message to the city on April 5.

Lesley Hazletons message to the city on April 4.
Lesley Hazleton's message to the city on April 4.

John Rodericks message to the city on April 3.
John Roderick's message to the city on April 3.

Bill Cartys message to the city on April 2.
Bill Carty's message to the city on April 2.

Price Suddarths message to the city on April 1.
Price Suddarth's message to the city on April 1.

Kary Waysons message to the city on March 31.
Kary Wayson's message to the city on March 31.

Ellen Forneys message to the city on March 30.
Ellen Forney's message to the city on March 30.

Major Scaless message to the city on March 29.
Major Scales's message to the city on March 29.

E. J. Kohs message to the city on March 28.
E. J. Koh's message to the city on March 28.

Ken Jenningss message to the city on March 27.
Ken Jennings's message to the city on March 27.

Demarre McGills message to the city on March 26.
Demarre McGill's message to the city on March 26.

Lynn Sheltons Message to the City on March 25th.
Lynn Shelton's Message to the City on March 25th.

Timothy White Eagles message to the city on March 24.
Timothy White Eagle's message to the city on March 24.

Cookie Coutures message to the city on March 23.
Cookie Couture's message to the city on March 23.

Sarah Rudinoffs message to the city on March 22.
Sarah Rudinoff's message to the city on March 22.

John Osebolds message to the city on March 21.
John Osebold's message to the city on March 21.


Ben Gibbards message to the city on March 21.
Ben Gibbard's message to the city on March 20.

Nathan Chans message to the city on March 19.
Nathan Chan's message to the city on March 19.