Asbury Park entertainment power couple John Decker and Renee Maskin are pictured in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They have collaborated on several award-winning videos. PHOTO BY JOHN DECKER
Filmmaker-videographer-photographer John Decker and singer-songwriter Renee Maskin are an Asbury Park entertainment power couple who’ve collaborated on two award-winning music videos to complement their heralded individual works. The couple recently won an Asbury Park Music Award for their 2023 clip for “Scrimshaw” from Renee’s “Shimmer” LP. Both that vid and last year’s “Wonderland” clip won the Makin Waves Video of the Year Award. “Wonderland” is a self-released single that followed last year’s “Is It Real” album, her fourth since 2022 for her former label, Mint 400 Records.
In the 27-year history of the Makin Waves Awards, Renee has won the most with seven, also Female Artist of the Year three times, Songwriter of the Year, and Band of the Year when she was a member of Lowlight.
Since the fall, John has been touring the world screening his latest film, “Portrait of a Monastery,” an ethereal meditation on the rhythms and rituals of New York’s Holy Cross monks whose peaceful way of life, work, pray is an antidote to the division and violence that plague our world. Among the film festivals where the 40-minute documentary has won John Best Cinematographer awards are Berlin Indie Film Festival, Cine Paris Film Festival, New York Independent Art Film Fest, LA International Art Film Festival, and Alpine International Film Festival in Switzerland. That makes a quarter of the film awards John has won since 2016 in addition to those for his stunning photography.
I spoke with Renee and John about their personal and professional partnership, their recent works, their future plans, which for John includes an unusual, touching horse tale, “Levon a Love Story,” and for Renee, shows April 12, 503 Social Club, Hoboken; April 25, Listening Lawn, Toms River; May 2, Tuckerton Porchfest, and May 28, The Vogel, Red Bank for BOBfest, Pat Guadagno’s annual birthday tribute to Bob Dylan. We also spoke about the joy that art brings them. I hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as I did producing it.
How and when did you meet?
Renee: We met on Valentine’s Day in 2020. I was playing a show with my old band, and a mutual friend introduced us. It was a very brief hello, but John liked the music and very kindly offered to take a photograph of me at some point. And then the pandemic lockdown hit. A year or so later, we finally circled back to the photo session. We talked a lot about music and quickly became friends.
Did you collaborate on music videos before or after you became a couple?
Renee: After. Now we both help each other out a lot, artistically and otherwise. It’s a really special thing to share.
What do you enjoy most about working together?
Renee: We understand each other’s aesthetics and where we’re coming from, which is actually pretty rare and special. John’s a good ‘bandmate.’ I can bounce ideas off him and trust his feedback. And I trust his ideas and his vision. When we’re making a video, or taking photos, or whatever we’re working on, I know it’s going to be something that I’m proud of.
John: There’s a natural synergy between us. I trust Renee’s artistic sensibilities as she’s also a visual artist. She makes a great sounding board.
Will you be screening the ‘Wonderland’ music video and/or any of John’s films at upcoming film festivals? If so, when and where?
Renee: “Wonderland” is streaming away on my YouTube channel: youtube-nocookie.com/@ReneeMaskin, and John’s current film, ‘Portrait of a Monastery,’ is going around the festival circuit. It’s been screened in several countries and has been winning some cinematography awards too.
Which of the music videos you’ve worked on together have won awards at what film festivals and when?
Renee: ‘Sage’ and ‘Scrimshaw’ were both screened at the Garden State Film Festival in previous years. ‘Scrimshaw’ won at the Asbury Park Music Awards this year for the ‘Gap Years Best Music Video,’ as well as a Makin Waves Video of The Year in 2023. And ‘Wonderland’ has won the Makin Waves Video of The Year in 2025.
John, which of your films have won what awards? Please describe the films and an IMBD link.
John: My film, ‘Portrait of a Monastery,’ is currently still competing in festivals. To date it has won seven awards and has screened in 17 festivals in six different countries. Five of the awards were for cinematography which means a lot to me personally. My last film, ‘Marjorie Eliot’s Parlor Entertainment Harlem,’ was very close to my heart, as I adore Ms. Eliot and all that she does. For a truly unique New York experience, I highly recommend checking out one of her Sunday afternoon concerts. That film has also screened in festivals worldwide and won an Audience Choice Award in London.
John, what inspired you to make ‘Portrait of a Monastery’ and why?
John: Back in the ’90s, I made a documentary film about street children living in Honduras. The film was used to help raise funds to build a brick-and-mortar shelter for some of those kids who were living on the streets. There were no film festival screenings, awards, or fanfare surrounding the project, yet I still see it as the highlight of my career for the difference it made in the lives of those kids. I’ve longed to make another film like that since then, and this was it.
I stumbled across Holy Cross Monastery through a Google search eight years ago while looking for a silent retreat. I was so moved by the experience that in 2020 I decided to become an associate of the monastery. Practically speaking, as an associate, you seek to bring monastic values, such as prayer, work and service to God and neighbor, into your daily life. It’s a way of living, a way of moving through the world in a contemplative way. The monastery and the grounds surrounding it are very beautiful and so every time I’d retreat there, I’d have these encounters with beauty. Often it was just these isolated, quiet, incidental moments that make up daily life at a monastery, but over time, these encounters started to add up and play out like a film in my imagination. I thought if I could record these encounters cinematically and string them all together, I would have a film. Something I could then share with outsiders as an entrée into this world without having to explain it all. And so, one day I decided to pitch this idea to the community, and they were thrilled.
Our goal, we decided, was to film over the course of a year in order to capture the rhythms and rituals of life at the monastery throughout the seasons, and we were able to raise the money to cover basic production costs. In the same year I started production in 2024, I was awarded an individual Art Grant from the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, which allowed me to add much needed additional production dates to the calendar as the project evolved from a 10-minute short to a 40-minute feature. In the end, the film was just a big love letter to the Benedictine monastic tradition and its relevance to those living in the world today. Monasteries are like bomb shelters to a world in tumult. I’m hopeful this film will inspire others to experience for themselves the riches this tradition has to offer.
Renee, what do you like most about John’s films and why?
Renee: John has an amazing eye, so first and foremost, his work is just so great to look at. But he also finds real poetry in his subject matter. ‘Portrait of a Monastery’ is a great example of this. Each scene is like a beautiful photograph, but you also get a real sense for who these monks might be beyond the artful composition. They’re alone in prayer, then they’re laughing and playing games, they’re doing the dishes, they’re worshipping. Each scene, the sanctified rituals and the everyday tasks, holds an equal weight. It’s beautiful on a lot of levels.
John, what do you like most about Renee’s music and why?
John: Renee’s voice and music just resonates with me. It speaks to my emotions and imagination in such a special way. The way all good art does. I was sold the minute I first heard her sing.
Renee Maskin walks on a misty Asbury Park boardwalk en route to another gig. PHOTO BY JOHN DECKER
What other awards did you enjoy most about the recent Asbury Park Music Awards?
Renee: Winning for ‘Scrimshaw,’ which we made together, was of course the highlight. But the awards have always been a great way for the creative community in Asbury Park to come together and pat each other on the back for all the work we do. It was a lot of fun.
John: It was an all-around fantastic show, and it was a rush stepping onto the stage at the Pony with Renee to receive the award. I was thrilled just to be a part of the festivities, and it was all for a great cause.
Renee has won the most Makin Waves Awards throughout their 27-year history with seven, including the aforementioned Video of the Year Awards for both of you. While I realize they’re not as big a deal as some of the other awards you each have won, what does having won so many MWAs mean to you and why?
John: Every artist wants an audience for their work. It’s how we connect with others. I don’t think in terms of hierarchy, I think in terms of connection. Personally, I am thrilled and honored for these recognitions. It’s fuel to persevere through the hard times of living the art life. I’m thankful to MWA for their support. It matters.
Renee: They mean a lot! Twenty-seven years of writing about the music scene, you’ve seen and heard it all. I’m personally grateful that anyone is aware of the work we’ve been doing, let alone wants to recognize it with an award, so thank you for the votes of confidence over the years.
John, what films are you working on now and when and how will they be released?
John: I just started filming a mini doc titled ‘Levon a Love Story.’ It’s a touching story about a woman, Erika Sherger, and her special bond with a blind horse named Levon. I had gotten to know Erika while making a music video for her. She’s an incredible singer-songwriter, and when she told me about her horse, I asked to photograph them together. Witnessing her interacting with this majestic, almost mystical-looking creature, I realized that still photos alone wouldn't do this story justice. It needed to be a film.
John Decker’s next film is “Levon a Love Story,” a touching story about a woman, Erika Sherger, and her special bond with a blind horse named Levon. PHOTO BY JOHN DECKER
Renee, you were commissioned to write ‘Fool’s Gold’ for TEDxAsburyPark. How does the song relate to their recent ‘Fool’s Paradise’ event?
Renee: It actually didn’t relate entirely. I told the TEDx folks that I’m a cat, hard to herd, and they seemed to accept this with good humor. They named the event ‘Fool’s Paradise’ but used the title more as a springboard for the literary idea of The Fool as a speaker of truth in works of literature and beyond. Bob Dylan and others have written about fools and jesters in their songs, so it’s certainly not an unprecedented song idea. But the title of the show, ‘Fool’s Paradise,’ which in its original use in ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ basically meant a ‘false promise,’ spoke more to my sensibilities as a writer. So, I went with that. And the TEDx folks, as well as the audience, seemed to respond positively to the song, so it all worked out.
Will ‘Fool’s Gold’ be your next release? If so, when and how? If not, what will be and how?
Renee: Nope! That was a one-off, although considering its warm reception, maybe I will put it out sometime down the line. I have other material being recorded and other new releases to announce later in 2026 though.
Renee, how often do you perform with your trio, The Wilder Tide?
Renee: We’re still really just getting started. In my experience, bands take a little more time to cook, so to speak, than playing solo. Because we can’t all be in the same room all the time, it takes a little longer for the songs and sound to develop than when it’s just me solo with my guitar writing every day. But we’re having a ton of fun, and we’ve just added a fourth member and we’re working on a record and booking more gigs for the spring and summer.
What made you want to work with Wilder Tide’s Eric Pierce and Chris Dubrow?
Renee: I’ve known those guys for a while now, more or less since I showed up in Asbury Park 12 years ago. They’re cool, straight-forward people. They play well, and with their own style and personality. And they’re hilarious. I figured getting us three together to play songs would work out well.
Are you recording with them? If so, what are your release plans?
Renee: Yes, we’re recording a record in a combination of tracking in our individual home studio setups and with Rudy Meier at Yung Bull Studios. Rudy’s also with bands like Yawn Mower and Tide Bends. We’re going to put out a few of songs this spring in an EP format, but there’s a full record shortly following.
Are you still working with Mint 400 Records? If so, what do you like most about working with label owner Neil Sabatino?
Renee: I am no longer with Mint 400, although I feel nothing but gratitude to Neil for the five or so years I spent on the label. It went by like a flash now that I think of it. I joined up around 2020/2021 after the pandemic. He definitely helped me get my solo momentum started and helped me release a lot of records I’m proud of. And Neil is continuing to help a lot of really amazing bands in New Jersey and around the world, and I’m thankful to have been a part of that history and music family.
A portrait of a filmmaker. PHOTO BY RENEE MASKIN
John, in addition to film festivals, do you have any other screenings coming up?
John: ‘Portrait of a Monastery’ has just made its way into academia. It’s currently being screened to seminary students at Princeton Seminary as a way to introduce them to contemplative life. It likely it will screen at Yale after that from what I've been told.
Any interesting photo shoots and/or projects coming up for you, John?
John: Other than the ‘Levon’ film, I’m continually making videos for a nonprofit that I co-founded with a friend of mine, Danny Sanchez, called Mary’s Garden Media. Our focus is to create content aimed at helping survivors of suicide loss. And I’ve been getting hired to do more work around music -- portraits, album covers, music videos. I love music and the artistic freedom that comes with these projects.
What awards have your photos won and when?
John: As far as photography goes, I rarely enter competitions. That said, I did receive a jury award by Peter Barbarie, curator of photography at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, back in 2014. It was for a series of photographs I made that was entered into the Perkins Center for the Arts annual photo competition. I’m proud of that one because he’s an incredible curator.
Did your photography lead to filmmaking or did you always want to be a filmmaker and a photographer?
John: I actually wanted to be a painter more than anything, but after I picked up a super 8 film camera for the first time back in art school, I just knew this was my natural medium. I did an internship my senior year of college in Ireland working on music videos and was later hired to shoot super 8 film and video for U2 during their Zoo TV tour at the then Giants Stadium. My interest in photography came afterwards when I started to print still frames from my super 8 film reels. For me now, the two mediums are inextricably linked, and I switch between them constantly.
Is there anything I didn’t ask either of you on which you would like to comment?
Renee: Thanks for taking the time to interview us. We really appreciate being featured as the Makin Waves Artists of the Month!
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and Instagram and contact Bob at [email protected].
