New Years Eve

Couldn't have asked for a better time.


Started the night off with dinner with friends downtown at the restaurant Six Penn. Spent a few hours there eating, relaxing, downing white russians and listening to stories about our friend's recent trip to Argentina.

After hanging at the restaurant and bar for close to 3 hours we walked over to the Cabaret at Theater Square for a Carnavale/Rio themed New Year's party. The place was packed with a couple hundred people and the vibe was great. The Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra was the main attraction of the night, playing two energetic sets of afrobeat, boogalo and reggae music.


I got to go backstage and goof off with the band between sets. (The fun you can have when you find a pair of glasses in the dressing room.)



Big, big thanks to Ray (Kokolo) and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for hooking us all up on the guest list for the night. (which made the night all the more sweeter since tix for the event were over $60 per person)


Awesome night with awesome friends.

Been Awhile ...

Been laying low, gearing up for the holidays ... staying busy with:

* The Steelers Season ... and watching all NFL Football in general



* Reading - Been enjoying those 33 1/3 books. (a series of books written about important and/or seminal music albums)

Just finished:

Just started:

** Took my parents to see the musical Mamma Mia this month. I didn't know what to expect from a musical based on ABBA tunes but it was actually very good. My parents thoroughly enjoyed it. My father and I were two out of about a dozen other males there for the show. eh ... No lines for the bathroom.

** I've recently been asked to record piano for a local musician/friend for his two new albums. Boogaloo music. 18 tracks over two albums. All covers from the likes of Pete Rodriguez, Ray Barretto, Joey Pastrana. I have all of the songs at home and I'm trying to learn the music as we speak but it's been pretty tough. I don't have any background in Latin/salsa/meringue style piano playing but I'm doing my best to catch up and learn. We'll see how this project turns out over the next few months.

Ballet Maribor

'M' suprised me by getting tickets to the 'Radio and Juliet' ballet this past Saturday. Part of Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts, this was a modern take on Romeo and Juliet set to the music of Radiohead.

The choreography was amazing ... and hearing Radiohead tunes blasted at the Byham Theater was thilling.

here are some clips:

Atlanta Visit, Oct 3rd - 9th

Just got back from Atlanta this week. Visiting with the 'Bowser-Kyles' ... cracking jokes with 'Buddy'. We did the usual. Hanging out in the Atlanta fall weather, a trip to Stone Mountain again, played some Wii, went to the movies, listened to music ... basically chilled.

'Buddy' showed me her 'no fear' bungee jumping skills.



Last year at this time I was down in the ATL hanging with the Dalai Lama ... this year, The Black Crowes. Funny how that goes.

Saw the Black Crowes perform with Phil Lesh and his band (former Grateful Dead Bassist) at the new Verizon Amphitheater in Alpharetta on Sunday Night. Pretty amazing show. Tons of 'Deadheads' in attendance. It was great to hear Phil Lesh play all Grateful Dead tunes. Chris Robinson even came out and sang along to one of Garcia's songs.



The Black Crowes' set wasn't a greatest hits collection as was their set I saw in August but rather contained lesser known tunes and long 'space' jams between/during songs. It was still a great show.



Another great trip to Atlanta.

Recent Happenings ...

Last week, I checked out the restaurant Seviche for the first time ... a Nuevo Latino tapas restaurant and bar located on Penn Avenue downtown near the Convention Center. I met my friend 'Em' there for some after work cocktails and we sampled some fresh seviche:

ASIAN TARTARE w/ Ahi Tuna
Seasoned with soy sauce, scallions, sesame oil and capers. Served on sushi rice and nori rolls with white truffle oil wasabi mayonnaise and Tobiko caviar

FIRE AND ICE w/ Hamachi (Yellow Tail Snapper)
Our traditional seviche recipe prepared in a spicier version with habanero peppers and red onion and topped with a cool homemade prickly pear granita.

AVOCADO AND CORN SEVICHE w/ Salmon
Marinated in fresh lime, jalapeno, cilantro, scallion, red onion, avocado, corn and red pepper

The seviche was excellent and the prices were not too outrageous. There are drink specials throughout the week and the rest of the menu looked rather tasty. I liked the atmosphere and the service was great ... I can see hanging out there again soon.

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Friday, 'Litl' and I succumbed to the peer pressure and went and saw The Dark Knight on IMAX ... cause ya know, 'everyone is doing it'. Pretty amazing film. We ended the night over at 'Z- Lounge' with 'Mrs. Jones', 'JimmyAndrewForest' and others to hear 'Bassclown' spin some records.

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On Sunday, 'Em' and I went to Highland Park to listen to some Jazz music. Reservoir Jazz is a summer series showcasing some of Pittsburgh's greatest Jazz talent every Sunday afternoon, free in the park. The weather was beautiful and the place was packed with families picnicking, BBQing, playing and hanging out. Very nice relaxing vibe. (and only about a mile from my house!)

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Last night, 'Em' and I went to Regent Square Theater to see Werner Herzog's latest documentary, 'Encounter At The End of the World'. The movie is a visually stunning exploration of the Antarctic community of McMurdo Station, headquarters to the National Science Foundation and home to eleven hundred people during the austral summer (Oct-Feb). Herzog, narrating the film himself in his typical surreal yet sincere fashion, examines human nature and Mother nature, juxtaposing breathtaking locations with the profound, surreal, and sometimes absurd experiences of the marine biologists, physicists, plumbers, and truck drivers who choose to form a society as far away from society as one can get. We both really enjoyed the film especially the questions it raisied about our (in)human nature (Herzog is consistently good at doing this, yo).

The Bowser-Kyles invade PGH.

You may know them from the hit 'How I spent MLK Day' and the popular series 'Atlanta Visit Day 1 - 5' ... this time 'Beaner', 'Bowser' and 'Buddy' took time off their Western PA tour to come and visit me in PGH and boy did we have some good times.

'Buddy' (aka 'Jamhands') stopped by on Tuesday to wreak complete havok on my house. I introduced her to the magic of the polaroid camera and she told me that my house was 'pretty' but that it clearly 'did not have enough toys'. We then had a nice lunch that consited of sliced turkey, strawberries, carrots, cheezits and gummi bears.


Tuesday night, 'Bowser' took 'Buddy' to grandma's house while 'Beaner' (aka 'Gus Macker') and I went down to the Byham Theater to see The Black Crowes. It was an intimate yet lolud and rocking experience catching the band in this small 1300 seat theater. The band played for a good 2 hours, mixing it up between songs from their new album, older albums and even some rare b-side material. They also jammed out some songs into very psychedelic medleys ...

The setlist:

Movin' On Down The Line - (2008 Warpaint)
Goodbye Daughters Of The Revolution - (2008 Warpaint)
Sting Me - (1992 The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion)
Another Roadside Tragedy - (1997 Unreleased)
Nebakanezer - (1996 Three Snakes and One Charm)
There's Gold In Them Hills - (2008 Warpaint)
Poor Elijah - Tribute To Johnson (Medley) (1970 Eric Clapton Cover)
Driving Wheel - (2007 Brothers of a Feather)
Whoa Mule - (2008 Warpaint)
Girl From A Pawnshop - (1996 Three Snakes and One Charm)
My Morning Song - (1992 The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion)
Twice As Hard - (1990 -Shake Your Money Maker)
Oh Josephine - (2008 Warpaint)
Soul Singing - (2001 Lions)
Wounded Bird - (2008 Warpaint)
- encore -
Feathers - (1995 H.O.R.D.E. Tour Promo Disc)
Mean Town Blues (1969 Johnny Winter Cover)



Wednesday afternoon, 'Bowser' and our friend 'Zerbs' (aka 'Lehman') came back into to town to join 'Beaner' and me for an afternoon at the Mattress Factory, Carnegie Museum, and lunch and cocktails in Oakland.



The four of us then went to Soba Restaurant in Shadyside to partake in their Corn Festival Tasting Menu. (we were joined by 'Bassclown' and 'BJ' aka 'Hair Extensions'). This was another fantastic tasting menu just like the one I went to in June except this time the 'secret ingredient' was corn.

The chef started us off with a tasting of Coconut Milk and Ginger Soup

1st Course:

Corn Brulee w/ chili lime salad
Corn and Crab Fitter with soy dipping sauce
Corn and Littleneck Clams with chanterelle mushrooms and yunnan ham sauté

2nd Course:

Halibut Ceviche with corn, plum tomatoes, peaches, chili's, cilantro and crushed coriander oil

3rd Course:

Grilled Medium Rare Flank Steak with roasted corn, tomato, onion, thai chili's, basil, lime and soy sauce

4th Course:

Toasted Steamed Cornbread with cardamom honey peaches, whipped crème fraiche and salted caramel popcorn

We also had the wine pairings with dinner (a Chardonnay, a Riesling, a Cabernet and then an Ice Wine for dessert)

The tasting menu was very fulfilling ... I mean, starting off with a crab cake and creme brulee is pretty hearty ... and the ceviche was out of this world with the combination of halibut, chili's, tomatoes and the surprise taste of peaches. The portion of flank steak was very, very generous too. The corn was prevalent in every dish but it definitely wasn't the main star. Most of us felt that the cornbread topped with cracker jacks was a little lackluster of dessert after an extravagant meal like that but I enjoyed it since I never eat cornbread. Overall, I thought the meal was incredible and I can't wait until their next one. (October: Vegetarian Indian Tasting Menu)

We ended the night having cocktails in Shadyside ...

Everyone left yesterday afternoon, bringing an end to my midweek-mini-vacation.

The Roots

I just got in from seeing The Roots live, a free show that was a part of Carnegie Mellon University's Spring Carnival. I was practically the oldest one there but it didn't matter. This is the second time I've seen The Roots here in Pgh and the experience was just about the same as the last; THEY KILLED IT! rocking a 2 hour show that spanned Hip Hop, Jazz Fusion, Heavy Metal and even some Bob Dylan.

I don't own a single Roots album, yet I'll always go see them live because of the kind of show they put on. You can't top the energy, talent and skill these guys have. They are not just a hip hop band. Heck, they even have a tuba player in the line up this time.

Tonight, along with their usual set of Roots songs, they played their medley of old hip hop songs that I've heard them do before. But this time it started off with Iron Butterfly (In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida) that went into Incredible Bongo Band (Apache), then there was Talib Kwali (Get By) into Biz Markie (You got what I need) into Old Dirty Bastard (Shimmy Shimmy Ya) into Tribe Called Quest (Award Tour), some Snoop Dogg (Who Am I, What's my name) into Mims (This is Why I'm Hot), Afrika Bambaataa (Planet Rock) into Salt and Peppa (Push It) plus many more that I can't name but surely recognized.

The Roots also completely surprised and amazed me with a their own version of the Mars Volta 'Con Safro' which included them shouting Jame's Brown-like phrases back and forth like 'Get on up', 'Get in to it', 'Soul Power', etc.

Of course, their own songs were awesome too ... but what was most interesting was their 'break' between sets when Captain Kirk the guitarist, Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson the tuba player and ?uestlove, the drummer, performed an epic 10+ minute version of Bob Dylan's 'Masters of War' that started off with the National Anthem and included some riffs from Led Zeppelin's 'Dazed and Confused', The Gap Band's 'You Dropped a Bomb on Me' and Jimi Hendrix's 'Machine Gun'.

Here it is performed at Bonnaroo in three parts:
Part 1 (Gap Band riff towards the end)
Part 2 (?uestlove drum solo with crazy effects)
Part 3 (Captain Kirk guitar solo with 'Machine Gun')

The Roots came back on and did a few more tunes, finishing with, of course, 'The Seed' but what made my night, and what threw the crowd into a frenzy was their short cover of Curtis Mayfield's 'Move on Up' at the end. Whooo!

A great night for a free concert (free parking too), beautiful weather and a decent crowd.

Note: BOOOO! to my friends 'The Jones'' and 'Clover' who bailed out on going with me at the last minute.

Still running with the Devil

Okay internets ... settle down. Stop the rumors.

According to the Van Halen website, only a few recent tour dates have been postponed while Eddie VH is undergoing 'a battery of comprehensive medical tests to determine a defined diagnosis and recommended medical procedures.'

Still, not exactly the iron-clad reassurance that I was looking for.
Hopefully they can make it until March 21st when I'm supposed to see them.

Movies I watched in 2006 ...

While we are at it ... here is my list from 2006.

2006 watched films

Some of my favorites:

The Devil and Daniel Johnston - Great documentary about a manic depressive musical genius.
Dogtown and Z-Boys - Flawless documentary film by Stacy Peralta about the 1970's Zephyr Skating Team. Nice narration by Sean Penn too. Oh ... and an incredible soundtrack.
Elizabethtown - Cameron Crowe does such a great job of translating all the eccentricities of a family to the screen.
Junebug - Great original character with great character development. No cliches here. Amy Adams shines.
The Last Laugh - a 1925 silent film with superb filming techniques such as long shots and difficult crane maneuvers.
Alice - a Jan Svankmajer film telling the story of Alice in Wonderland using tons of bizarre and surreal stop motion animation mixed with live action.
Nightwatch - A Russian Fantasy/Thriller part Science Fiction tale about vampires and the fight between good and evil with tons of superb special effects. Plus the most creative use of subtitling ever scene.
Roll Bounce - 1970s roller-skating coming-of-age comedy. Enough said.
Three Extremes - 3 stories by Japans top Horror/Thriller directors including Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Gozu) and Chan Wook Park (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance)
The Squid and the Whale - Written and Directed by Noah Baumbach, who was co writer of Kicking and Screaming (1995) and The Life Aquatic, the film is semi autobiographical about his dealings with his parents divorce when he was younger.

Films of the future

Ugh ... five (5) days of eating Turkey leftovers, a couple of dinners with friends (some visiting from out of town), one (1) or two (2) hangovers plus three (3) 70 mile round trip drives to and from Beaver County (Quiptown Beatdown) and Pittsburgh (Eastside) which included two (2) family dinners and two (2) days of picking up 'new to me' furniture from my grandmothers house ... this is how I spent the T-Day extended holiday weekend.

But before all of that ... I recently went and saw Beowulf IMAX 3-D. Yup, the hype got me. I usually don't go to the movies. Well ... I venture out occasionally for classic films, re releases, indie or foreign flicks but I rarely go see the latest studio film while it is still in the 'cinaplex'. I just don't like seeing films at these big stadium seating, Dolby-loud-as-hell, usually attached to some mall-type-theaters which are typically crawling with distracting teens who will watch anything and eventually get on my nerves (I was there once). Don't get me wrong, I love film ... I just like to watch film in a controlled environment, like my living room, where I can control the viewing setting and experience the film in it's fullest.

And again, normally, Beowulf would be the last type of film that I would go see on the big screen. I'd get to it on my Netflix queue ... someday ... but a friend of mine and I agreed that we wanted to experience all the hype regarding the IMAX 3-D ... and man, we were not disappointed. The phenomenal 3-D effects were absolutely incredible and put a smile on my face for almost the entire length of the movie ... but it was not the only thing that got us. Surprisingly, the acting, animation and over the top action sequences were all top notch. As for the motion capture work, it was really good. The characters looked extremely real sometimes, and other times they looked hilariously fake, but in the end the filmmakers have come a long way since the 'dead eyes' animation of the Polar Express days.

Of course, at the beginning, there were plenty of gasps and giggles from the audience, mostly coming from the younger crowd in the theater ... mostly due to a few campy 3-D effects (spears and swords thrust out into the audience) and the half Danish and half 'old English-ness' of the dialogue and story, but, after a short while, I think everyone began to calm down and take notice that the film was actually pretty good.

Overall the film was one hell of an experience. It has the thrills for both the action/fantasy fan and the cinemaphile trying to follow the modern progressions in film making. (Is this the future of cinema?) The depth of field that the 3-D gave, drawing the audience 'into' the film itself, was breathtaking at times. On a beastly IMAX screen it feels like you are in the same room as these people on screen. (I caught myself ducking and blinking a few times thinking I was about to get hit by something coming out of the screen) ... but I have to say that the film was also good because of the great direction of Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump) and solid script adapation from Roger Avery, Hollywood’s go to man for pulpy comic-book stories (Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Killing Zoe) and Neil Gaimen, our modern representative of fantasy intellectualism (Sandman comics, Mirromask, Stardust). In the end, my friend and I agreed that the film would play okay in 2-D, but we would strongly suggest seeing it in it's big 3-D format if you can.

The Polyphonic Spree

I went and saw the Polyphonic Spree last night. The show, albeit brief, was pretty awesome. The Poly. Spree are an energetic band to say the least ... with 23 members including a 10 piece choir, a pair of keyboardists, as well as a percussionist, drummer, bassist, guitarist, flautist, trumpeter, trombonist, violinist/violist, harpist, French horn player, and an electronic effects person.

My only complaints about the show were that 1) it was an all ages show so if you wanted to drink you had to stay in a roped off section out in main the lobby of the venue and 2) since it was all ages, the show had to end at 11pm because of some all ages curfew law.

I can deal with #1. I don't have to drink while watching the band.

and #2 wouldn't bother me so much either ... if only the two opening bands, who I didn't watch, didn't play so long leaving the Poly Spree only an hour to perform before the magic hour of 11pm was upon us.

Seriously, The Poly. Spree didn't go on stage until close to 10pm leaving them 1 hour to perform. They ran through 4 or 5 songs (it's sometimes hard to tell because they play medleys of some songs together) and then they said goodbye and left the stage. They came back onstage for a brief encore that consisted of 1 medley and 1 song ... and that was it ... they were off the stage, house lights came on and it was only 10:58pm.

a one hour concert?!?!

oh wait ... there is a number 3.

3) There was a $5.40 ticketmaster charge on top of the ticket price. The show cost $15 and then Ticketmaster charges 1/3 of that price on top for services. A third of the ticket price in fees!?! I'd definitely rather give it to the artists!

Anyway ... the show was still good even though it was short. They started out big, doing the whole cutting out the heart from the red curtain thing ... and they had these cannons that shot confetti into the audience during the first song ... the energy from the band and the crowd was intense ... too bad it all couldn't have kept going on into the night ... here is set list from what I can remember:

Running Away

Hanging Around / Get Up and Go

Live or Let Die

It's the Sun


Encore:
Light and Day / Ride Captain Ride + one other song


... and I was definitely disappointed that they didn't play their cover of Lithium by Nirvana.

Film, friends and beers.

Finally made it to one of the films during the 3 Rivers Film Festival last night. My friend '$hell' suggested that we see the movie 'Irina Palm'. Crazy movie about a grandmother working in a porn shop in order to raise money for her ailing grandson. (and by working I mean working) Dark and funny. '$hell' had free passes to the theater so it made it all the better. She and I also grabbed a Hoegardden over at D's before the flick. (best place in town for hot dogs)

A few other friends joined us for the movie. It was a nice night to be out in Regent Square (a residential area town about 5 miles from my house) ... nice to be in an area that has a movie theater and pub that you can walk between. It reminded me of what it was like to live near shops/restaurants/entertainment venues that you can walk to (especially since 3 of our other friends who joined us all live withing a few blocks of the theater and they all either walked or biked over). I miss that about living in Morningside - there is really no where I can walk to to get a bite to eat, grab a coffee or see a movie. I have to drive to everything.

Anyway, my friend 'Soy Sos' was at the film with us last night and after the movie he and I got to talk some more about me remixing a song of his band's latest album, Telomere. We've been talking about it since the Art's Festival this summer. He actually sent over the entire album to me this morning so I could listen to the songs and pick which one I want to work on. Cool deal ... I just need to get off my butt and try to be creative.

I also stopped in at Kelly's for one last drink after the movie last night. Sat with my friends 'Meg F.', 'Selecta' and 'SMI' to do some much needed catching up regarding the DJ music scene in Pittsburgh. I've been out of the loop it seems.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

I set aside the rest of my Saturday afternoon to watch the premiere of the new 2007 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "Running Down a Dream" documentary on the Sundance Channel.



Covering nearly 40 years of his musical history, the film has Petty navigating every pop sea change that came along in his life ... following him from his days as a hippie kid (in his first band, Mudcrutch) to his period passing as a "new wave" star in the late '70s, to his canny transformation into an MTV video star, then networking himself with the grand likes of George Harrison and Bob Dylan and, finally, to his current role as elder statesman.

The film is 4 hours long (yeah ... that's a lot of Petty) but the length is bearable, feeling like there is not a wasted minute as all of the tension, history and inspiration of the band's life unfolds.

... and they had it all ... typical Rock and Roll BS; corporate chicanery, legal showdowns and a long string of musical mutinies, plus personal stuff ranging from divorce and child abuse to drug addiction and even arson.

A very decent documentary even if you are not a fan.

Atlanta Visit - Day Two - Part Two

Saturday Oct. 20th
Evening:

In the evening we attended our first event on Emory University Campus, Mystical Arts of Tibet: Sacred Music and Sacred Dance for World Healing performances. The show was about two hours long and consisted of Drepung Loseling Monks chanting (multiphonic), dancing and playing various instruments. The performance is endorsed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama (and produced by Richard Gere ... no, seriously) as a means of promoting world peace and healing through sacred performing art

On a side note: I wasn't at the venue more than 10 minutes before I already ran into someone from Pittsburgh.

As we were approaching the venue, looking around for a line, etc., a woman standing by herself smiled and offered info that the doors to the place had just opened and that they were letting people in. She mentioned that she was waiting for her niece to return from taking her camera to the car since they were not allowing any photography within the place. We talked for a bit then said goodbye and as we turned to walk away I saw a familiar face walking towards me, pointing and saying, "That is my Aunt you are talking to! How do you know her?!" Here it was a friend from Pittsburgh, wondering how it was that we were talking to her Aunt out of the blue like that ... my friend and I had known that each of us would be down in ATL for the events but made no prior contact to meet up or anything. Great synchronicity that we would run into each other that way.


Here is what we saw:

First Performance (1 Hour):

1) Nyen-sen: Invocation of the Forces of Goodness

In a tapestry of instrumental and vocal sounds, the monks invoke creative awareness within themselves and the audience. They enhance the spirit of goodness in the environment as a prelude to the performance of Sacred Music Sacred Dance.


2) Man-del: Purifying the Universe

As they sing in the multiphonic style typical of Drepung Loseling's dominant role at the annual Monlam Chenmo Festival, the monks create a world as seen through the eyes of inner perfection. This is sent forth as an offering for world healing and is symbolized by the raising of a silver base on which mounds of rice are poured in a geometric pattern.


3) Sha-nak Gar-cham: Dance of the Black Hat Masters

This ancient dance for the elimination of negative energies and hindrances is in the style known as drak-po, or "wrathful." The implements held by the dancers symbolize the transcendence of false ego-identification on the outer (the environment), inner (the emotions), and the secret (thesubtle body-mind link) levels. Their movements symbolize the joy and freedom of seeing reality in its nakedness.

4) Tak-tsey Tong-ya: Intense Encounters of the Third Degree

A demonstration of the tradition of Tibetan monastic inquiry. Two monks engage one another in a process leading to the deeper levels and implications of spiritual experience, thus enhancing the mind of enlightenment.


5) Seng-geh Gar-cham: The Snow Lion Dance

In Tibet the snow lion symbolized the fearless and elegant quality of the enlightened mind. When a healthy and harmonious environment is established by the creative activities of human beings, such as through the performance of sacred purification and healing music, all living beings, here represented by the snow lion, rejoice.

Second Performance (40 minutes)
1) Dur-dak Gar-cham: Dance of the Skeleton Lords

To remind the world of the ephemeral nature of all things, and of the liberating and balancing impact of an awareness of this reality, two monks appear as the forces of goodness manifest as Cemetery Lords. These are Dharmapala, or "Protectors of Truth," with the message to point the mind toward authentic being.



2) Ten-trul Yul-tru: Purifying the Environment and Its Inhabitants

Chanting in the multiphonic tradition, the monks hold up a mirror and draw into it the reflection of the world and its living beings. They then purify these through sound and meditation, as symbolized by the act of pouring waters from a sacred wisdom vase over the mirror. Traditionally this piece was performed whenever an environmental, social or individual healing was required.


3) Kha-dro Ten-shug Gar-cham: Dance of the Celestial Travelers

Five dancers, symbolizing the five elements and five wisdoms, together with three musicians, invoke the sounds and movements of the Celestial Travelers, the mystical beings from another world whose blessings strengthen the forces of life and light. These beings visit our world in times of stress and danger, bringing with them the creative energy that inspires harmony and peace.



4) Sang-tsol Zhi-jo: Incense Offering & Auspicious Song for World Peace

The monks send forth the smoke of incense, which the wind carries into the ten directions as a subliminal force invoking peace, harmony and the ways of creative living.

Still very busy ..

Tonight and tomorrow should be my final meetings regarding the programming and scheduling of the Alt. Trans Festival happening this Friday. I have not been too involved with the event planning this time around (my biggest contribution was setting up and coordinating people to do Chair Massages at each of the sites during the all day event). Too bad too since they are paying $35/ hr to the people involved in helping with the coordination and execution of this event.

Tonight is also the first planning meeting for the next step in the 48 Film Project. Another short film must be made, this time competing on a National Level. Hopefully I can contribute some more original music to the project.

I also have a few friends arriving from out of town this Thursday to stay with me through the weekend so we can attend our Alma Mater's homecoming. I'm not too big on celebrating the place it took me 5 years to graduate from due to failing grades ... I go up there for an excuse to hit the Outlet Malls.

I also have been working on a new song:
Untitled #10 (incomplete lo res version)
Contains elements of:
Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks (for the drums - sped up and rearranged)
The Shadows - Scotch on the Rocks (for the bass line - also slightly rearranged)
and some song by the Syd Dale Orchestra (for the horns)

Another Busy Weekend

Saw some bands, ate some great food, hung out with friends.

Saw the great psychedlic, organ, funk duo Eymarel play live at the shadowlounge. If you ever get a chance to seem them please don't hesistate.

Hit up the Ellsworth Avenue Arts Festival and caught local friends Soma Mestizo onstage.

Got to see Brother Mike DJing some deep house music outside at the festival.

Checked out the Duke of Ribs competition at the Union Project Saturday afternoon. Got there late so I only got to sample 2 of the 11 chefs competing. Still worth it though. Plus I stuffed my face on some Mac n' Cheese.

I also finally got to put a face with the voice of Tony Mowod, legendary Jazz radio personality, since he was a judge of the rib contest.
He looked nothing like I thought he would.

This Thursday

Jack's been nimble ... Jack's been quick ... Jack's got a new EP coming out this week.

There will be free CDs of Jack Wilson's latest EP given out this Thursday at the Shadowlounge. The new EP will feature a new remix I did of the song 'One Day at a Time' - an original song Jack and I did together over a year ago. You'll have to come out to the show to check it out.

Jack will also be performing that night with his other collaboration, Wovoka.

... and don't sleep on catching the psychedelic organ sounds of Eymarel from North Carolina.

Plenty of talent and entertainment this Thursday Night ... all for $5 ... plus free CDs and free Hors d'oevres from Kevin Sousa, nationally known for his Alchemy Dinners at the Bigalow Grill.

Mullets and Fireworks

I got to see Styx play at PNC Park last night after the Pirate Game. The show was not bad but they didn't actually play a full set since their appearance was part of the 'Skyblast' event which included a fireworks display during the concert. It was kind of a weird set up because Styx would play a song or two and then the stage would go black and then fireworks would start going off coordinated to songs by other aging, classic rockers played over the PA system. After the brief sound and light show, Styx would come back on and play another 'hit' or two and then lather, rinse, and repeat - Fireworks, Boom, etc.

I did get to see and hear them play 'Blue Collar Man', 'Fooling Yourself', 'Lady' and of course the favorites 'Come Sail Away' and 'Renegade' so it was worth it (even if Dennis DeYoung is no longer with the band).

Incidently, the Pirates won the game too, 10 to 7 over the Mets. The game was pretty exciting; scoring in every inning except the 9th and the Pirate's managed to hit a ball out of the park (completely out of the park - something you don't see everyday) ... but it was a long game (3 hrs:15 min) ... and very hot and humid (82 degrees at the first pitch). The park was sold out, and not just on paper, I'm talking it looked like there was not an empty seat in the house.

Thanks to 'Moon Over Pittsburgh' for the tix.

48 Hour Film Project Update 4

Yesterday was the awards ceremony and final screening of the ten best pgh films submitted to the contest. I didn't make it to the show because I was hosting people at my house but was at home eagerly awaiting a text message with the results. Around 8pm I still hadn't heard anything from the film maker so I texted asking, "so how did the film do?"

my phone lit up instantly with a response, "we won!"

Ha ha ha. I literally jumped out of my seat.

A little later I received another text message stating, "We also won Audience Choice, Best Editing, Best Direction (honorable mention) as well as Best in the City. We're making another movie for the national contest."

Wow ... that is completely awesome and I am so excited for Orionvega Designs. I'm also pretty psyched that I was a part of the whole project, even if it was in such a small amount.

Prizes for City Winner:

• A Trophy
  
• Filmapalooza: The City Winner will be screened at Filmapalooza, the official 48Hour Film Project Awards Weekend, held in the past at SXSW in Austin and Cinequest in San Jose.


• National DVD Distribution: A selection of the City Winning films will receive distribution on DVD.


• Second-round contests: US City Winners are eligible for the Fall Shootout and HD Showdown.

and now ... on to the national competition.

You can go here to see the results yourself.

and you can check out their short film that won it all at this website.

48 Hour Film Project Update 3

Just got the news ... the film made it to the final ten which will be screened during the awards ceremony tomorrow. I hope this means the film won some type of award ... (best music perhaps?) ... We'll find out tomorrow.