Guerillabeatz

Giving Balsamiq a sp

2010-10-14T12:04:00.001-05:00

Giving Balsamiq a spin... Kind of fun

On the validity of local area music awards

2009-12-10T23:46:00.001-06:00

I've been a supporter of the Madison Area Music Awards since its inception because I believe in its mission. The shameful lack of support for the arts in our country in general, and the lack of awareness of local and regional arts is a constant point of alarm for me. Organizations like the MAMAs fill a void that our federal, state and local governments refuse to fill (at our own peril in my opinion).

With this in mind, I find myself bitterly disappointed with local artists (read: musicians) participation, and ultimately respect, for organizations like the MAMAs and their efforts.

START RANT
If I hear or read one more comment, article, blog or tirade about the pointlessness of local arts awards shows, I don't think I'll be able to contain myself. I've met too many "artists" that regurgitate the same criticisms of events like the MAMAs, claiming some "artistic" higher ground because of some perceived inequality in the event. It makes me sick to my core to hear people tear down the MAMAs, or some other organization that does perceivable good in our community, while doing nothing to change the situation.

I won't even go into the economic benefits local music gains from the MAMAs and their kin. What never ceases to amaze me is that we're given a chance to build a stronger community, and rather than participate (democratically) people choose to launch into verbal and written assaults. Rather than recognize the achievements of their peers, musicians in our "community" (and I use that term very loosely) choose to dismiss the work of others in the community and the meager recognition they receive.

Charles Ives once said that "Awards are badges of mediocrity", and I agree in many ways. But if awards of questionable merit are the only option for a rallying flag then I say, in our present situation, get on board, do something to change it or shut the hell up.
END RANT

I hope that this is the last pointless tirade I feel compelled to write on this subject. I recommend that any musician or artist that reads this join the MAMAs and contributes. They do music and the arts more good than harm, which is more than I can say for most musicians and artists.

Holidays and Notes

2009-12-03T16:14:00.001-06:00

I've suffered from a temporary work stoppage this week due, in part, to the Thanksgiving holiday. I was lucky enough to have TWO Thanksgivings this year. Thursday with my best friend, Sara, in Milwaukee. And Friday with Les, Patty, and Bill, whom I also love dearly. I spent the rest of the weekend with Les and Patty in Black Earth, which was a welcome reprieve from my daily routine.

This week also ends my five year run subsisting solely on my income from music. I started a new job at APS in Madison on Tuesday. I'll be focusing on developing their online dispatch system which should prove to be a good challenge, as I'm the only developer AND the project manager.

Also, I've rededicated some time daily to actually practice! I'm focusing on developing my improvising skills over standard jazz changes. As well as finally integrating some ideas that I've been developing for the past few years into my playing.

As far as the Nostalgia project (I need a snappier name for this), I'm spending some time exploring the subject in personal writing, and in my sketchbook. I'm beginning to consider what a performance and/or document of the work should look like. I think this will at least help in determining how I orchestrate the results of these experiments.

I've also begun writing for a new project. Something a little less "serious" than the Nostalgia project. I'll be talking with some people this weekend about participating. Maybe I'll get things together quick enough for a January or February gig. Also, I'll be performing with Danielle Brittany on Dec. 30th. Come out and hear what happens when I play real pop music!

WIP: Nostalgia Instrumentation

2009-11-24T13:32:00.001-06:00

I've been thinking this week about the instrumentation for this work on nostalgia. When the idea first presented itself to me I'd thought of writing for a string ensemble. Probably as I was working on a string quartet at the time. I'm still attracted to the idea of using traditional strings, but I wonder if an ensemble consisting of more iconic instruments from the various musical movements from which I'll be drawing my source material.

I also wonder if, should I choose to use the guitar in the ensemble, if I should consider myself as the person to perform in the ensemble. The composer as member of the performing ensemble is pretty well established at this point in Western concert music, but I question whether or not I would be able to bring sufficient energy as a performer, conductor and composer. Much less art director, promoter, publicist, etc....

Right now, I'm mulling over the use of a live percussionist verses someone using a sampler or laptop (laptopist, samplist, ??). I love the modern drum kit, but I don't want the work to be perceived as pop or rock music. It will certainly have elements of both, but I'm not interested in contributing to the garbage heap of either genre, and certainly not interested in more "arty" forms of either. That perception may be unavoidable if there's a drum kit and a guitar.

I watched this interview with John Zorn last night. I've always found his focus on working in a community to be interesting. At one point he talks about a piece he'd written that wound up being orchestrated and performed in numerous ways before he found what he considered the proper instrumental combination. I wonder if I shouldn't just start writing and wait to see who actually wants to participate in the work. This could prove an interesting approach.

WIP: Work update

2009-11-19T01:31:00.001-06:00

This is just a quick entry, mostly for my benefit, to keep my momentum going. Starting this blog has certainly helped me focus my ideas for this work. I gave myself a goal of writing here at least once a week. It's amazing how a simple task like that reap such great rewards.

So on to the work... I think that the ideas about performing in geographically diverse areas is one that should be put on the back burner. If this idea comes to fruition and my interest doesn't wane, I may revisit the idea. I also think that using visuals may prove to be more distracting from the intent of the piece, as my focus is on exploring and (hopefully) eliciting nostalgic responses through music. However, I'm becoming more comfortable with the idea of using sampling and other technologies.

I was speaking with a friend about this project and he brought up an interesting potential for the piece. He thinks that this has the potential to prove, in some ways, how separate we all are from each other. We were talking about how unique the American culture of the past fifty years has been. For the first time, perhaps, we have people from completely different generations, locations and cultures that have consumed the same art and entertainment. My example being the fact that my parents' generation grew up with the Beatles and their music often elicits strong nostalgic responses. And just as that music was a soundtrack for their lives, so it has been for the succeeding generations. So, it's possible that members of both generations could have nostalgic responses to the same music. Now, this was possible before, but not to the same degree.

Audio and visual recording technologies have made this possible. Now a musical piece is no longer confined to the span of its initial performance and those witnesses. However, what I find truly interesting is that subsequent generations can experience the same events almost as if they were happening now. For instance, my mother saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. So did I, in reruns and documentaries. To my mother, the Beatles were a group of young men from England that played rock 'n' roll music. And they were to me as well. When I was a child, without the benefit of television and film, rock 'n' roll would have been my parents music and the music being created by my peers would necessarily be labeled something else (and quite possibly sounded completely different). I wouldn't want anything to do with rock 'n' roll as that would be 'old people' music. So, in some ways, my relationship to the Beatles is much the same as my mothers.

I find this interesting, also, in light of the essay on music as 'Time Travel' which I wrote about previously.

P.S. - My mother didn't really like the Beatles, so our relationships to the Beatles are fundamentally different. But I think you get the point.

WIP: Nostalgia Ideas, part deux

2009-11-13T15:20:00.003-06:00

Why
have we had to invent Eden, to live submerged in the nostalgia of a
lost paradise, to make up utopias, propose a future for ourselves? -Julio Cortazar

Location

Performance in a public space. Musicians could be stationed at specific locations or, if able, could be in motion. Their route could be personally chosen, plotted or determined by a set of rules (e.g. turn 90-degrees to your left when a dog crosses your path). This could also be done in a private space, but a certain amount of randomness is lost in a controlled environment.
Work is divided into N parts. Each part is performed in a different location. This could be adapted to small spaces (e.g. the hallway, the bathroom, the stage) or to almost any larger scale, although in different cities/states/countries could prove extremely difficult to stage (or experience in totality by any one person).
Video or stills projection of locations with great cultural importance (e.g. Berlin Wall, Ground Zero, Kent State, Perl Harbor, etc.) could be either viewed on a screen on stage or in various locations in the performance space.
Use of amplification and signal processing could be used to affect the perception of location (e.g. reverb to create a sense of distance, monitors located about the performance space).

Experience and Identity Narrative

Setting could recreate a "common" event for which people are nostalgic (e.g. Thanksgiving dinner, a birthday party).
Audience participation: a set of cues could be devised from common actions (e.g. someone coughs, turns to their left, etc.).
Audience members could be queried for songs that evoke nostalgia. Performers could then improvise renditions or play in the styles of.
A game of "Memory" could be devised as part of the piece a la Zorn's game pieces

WIP: Location and Nostalgia

2009-11-13T15:20:00.001-06:00

It is a curious emotion, this certain homesickness I have in mind. With
Americans, it is a national trait, as native to us as the
roller-coaster or the jukebox. It is no simple longing for the home
town or country of our birth. The emotion is Janus-faced: we are torn
between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and
strange. As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have
never known. -Carson McCullers

I wrote a little (probably too much) about the hyperreality in which we live today in my last post. As I'm dissecting my own idea of nostalgia into manageable parts (memory, identity, triggers), I began to think more about location and its relation to things nostalgic and musical. I mentioned iPods and the origins of the string quartet, and begun thinking about how location affected musical experience. If you wanted to hear more viola, you had to move closer to the viola. The invention of recorded sound and amplification both altered this relationship fundamentally. No longer do we have to attend a concert in order to experience music, nor do we have to be particularly concerned with where the best seats are in the performance venue. Now the best seat in the house is our own recliner or whatever seat we take on the bus. In fact, location is almost superfluous to musical experience. Much of the music we hear that is written today is composed by a person at a computer, alone in a studio with headphones on. It's experienced in a film, a television ad, at the mall or through earbuds while jogging on a treadmill.

But how does location relate to nostalgia? I know from my own experiences that my feelings of nostalgia are often tied to a location, specific or general. I recall fondly my experiences living in the South in spite of the fact that those were some of the most painful and tumultuous years of my life. Or The Dorothy Heralds' rehearsal room in Beeftone studios, Angie Plant's kitchen in Minneapolis, my apartment in Evanston. Each location represents a different time that evokes feelings of nostalgia for me. Of course, experience is tied to location and nostalgia a function of experience. So, if location is no longer inexorably linked to musical experience, but is a component of nostalgia; how then to deal with location in a musical work about nostalgia?

Location has been the subject of much thought in music performance and composition over the past century. A small forest has probably been dedicated to papers decrying the social limitations of the concert hall and its roots in cultural imperialism and classism. Ives used musicians located in the audience to mimic the everyday American experience. John Cage's infamous 4'33'' was conceived as a call to experience one's environment as music. Laurie Anderson recently debuted a work in which the listener can hear the music only when standing in a very specific location.

WIP: Technology and Time Travel, Memory and Nostalgia

2009-11-13T15:19:00.001-06:00

"Time is what prevents everything from happening at once." - John Archibald Wheeler

I came across an essay this evening that has provided me with even more considerations for this work on nostalgia. In the essay the author describes the act of composition as "fixing -to a greater or lesser degree- the internal life of an abstracted period of time". Time Binding, he calls it. And the score or recording becomes a Time Capsule. He then discusses the varying degrees to which time may be bound and the dimensions that can be bound (timbre, harmony, rhythm, etc.).

The author supposes the Time Capsule can be manipulated. It can be performed verbatim, or altered by playing divisions of the Time Capsule in a different order either planned or arbitrary. This manipulation of the Time Capsule is mimetic of memory. Psychology and experience tell us that every time we revisit a memory it is altered. And, in actuality, that memory doesn't exist until we recall it and therefore that memory is created in the process of recall. This begs the question in music, what is Beethoven's 5th Symphony? Is it the London Philharmonic recorded performance from May of 1983, or the Portsmouth Sinfonia's incompetent performance last spring, or is it the score (Time Capsule) itself?

Memory and it's unreliability are indelible aspects of nostalgia. Is the "golden haze" of memories long past possible if time were encoded in Hi-Def from all available perspectives and available at will? Doesn't this potential exist in our hyper-real world of iPods and YouTube (or radio and television)? Forgetting has been called "the one kindness that time affords". How does this new inability to forget affect the forging of identity narratives?

It seems that any work on nostalgia would have to address the dimension of memory and the affects of technology on our personal narrative, for what is nostalgia but an expression of that narrative. And as we forge our identities, memory and forgetting play powerful roles. And our collective memory plays a similar role in the narratives of our families, communities, nationalities and races.

I'm beginning to wonder how a string quartet or piano solo could possibly address the subject of nostalgia in any meaningful or poetic way. Our daily lives mimic the hyperreality of the movies (and many of us are the subject of "films" e.g. YouTube) and television. We are surrounded by music wherever we go. We can access the events of the world in near real-time regardless of our geographic proximity. String quartets were originally written as parlor entertainment on a Saturday night. Dad would pickup the latest piece on his way home from work and he, Mom, brother and sister would perform it that night after dinner. Would writing a string quartet about nostalgia then become an act of fundamentalism? A cry for the wholesale return to "Family Values"?

Curious.

WIP: Nostalgia and Technology

2009-11-08T05:00:00.001-06:00

I've been thinking about the implications of using sampling in this series. I asked a good friend who has close ties to the electronic/dance community here in Madison (and throughout the world) about my conundrum. He felt that the use of the terms "remix" and "mash-up" refer to techniques that are essentially the same as re-arrangement, juxtaposition, and re-composition. I'm inclined to agree with him as I see no difference in the product aside from the means of production.

This presents an opportunity and a challenge for me. I feel freed up to exploit samples and loops in a way I didn't previously. But, I'm unfamiliar with how to exploit these technologies in any way aside from improvisation. This means that if I choose to include these technological developments I will have to do more research.

As an aside, (not completely unrelated) I came across an interview with Marc Ribot recently in which he said something particularly appropriate to this puzzlement. "Everything is a function of [sic]the available technology, because it’s hard to conceive of what is completely unavailable."

The Problem with Post-Punk

2009-11-08T04:43:00.001-06:00

I went to see the United Sons of Toil show at the Frequency on Friday. Great show. The opening acts, Disguised as Birds and Ampline were both very good. However, USoT definitely grabbed me the most. They played one of the best sets I've seen here in Madison since I relocated here six years ago.

Yet, I'm uneasy about the whole experience of hearing them for the first time. They've garnered a lot of really good press here in Madison. And they deserve twice that which they've received. The thing that concerns me is that the music and the show were both so referential that I found myself comparing every musical phrase and every convulsion to some other group. Whether it be Tortoise, DNA, Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr. or Gang of Four. I was reminded of something Marc Ribot said, "The problem with post-punk is that it's hard to dress the wound for all the screaming". (I'm paraphrasing)

From what I've read, and certainly from the lyrics and other text the band produces, they've got a bone to pick. A particularly far-left bone at that. I don't have a problem with this whatsoever. I'm the sort that doesn't talk about politics for fear of being accused of sedition. Yet, from a musical standpoint, I have to wonder if aural assault is too referential to be effective.

Regardless, it was refreshing to actually hear a band so dedicated to what they're doing. I love the volume, the feedback, the aggression and the compositions. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this group.

WIP: Nostalgia Ideas

2009-11-04T00:37:00.001-06:00

At this point, most of my thoughts about this series center around using popular songs from the post-WWI era as source material. Although I'm aware of certain works in the classical/Western Art Music/Folk traditions that could be relevant (e.g. Recuerdos de la Alhambra), I think that manipulating modern songs using a combination of modern harmonic/rhythmic techniques (and potentially technologies) would produce the best results.

As I've been researching the topic I've started to think in terms of hip-hop/electronic music. Instead of "collage" or "polymeter", terms like "mash-up" and "remix" have consistently surfaced. However, I'm skeptical that these techniques can be applied to composition that doesn't take advantage of sampling technologies. If, for no other reason, that the unique timbre of a recorded performance can't be reliably recreated without the sample itself. Yet I still wonder if it's possible to tap into the musical developments of the past 30 years without using the technology that enabled them.

So, some ideas...

Recompose popular songs using modern harmonic/rhythmic techniques such as matrix operations
Using sections of disparate songs to create a pastiche
Layering different voices from disparate songs a la Ives or Zorn
Apply the rhythms of one song to the melodic/harmonic voices of another

Of course, all of these ideas could be applied to older, and possibly more importantly, public domain material. During this time I've also begun to explore my own culture through the music of my distant ancestors, and the idea of "mashing up" the folk melodies of Norway and Scotland with modern popular song is interesting. However, I'm not sure that it's possible to do this without the results sounding like a Wal-Mart "Jazz Loon" sampler.

WIP: Nostalgia quotes

2009-10-24T16:56:00.001-05:00

It's never safe to be nostalgic about something until you're absolutely certain there's no chance of its coming back. -Bill Vaughn
Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! -Owens Lee Pomeroy
Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days. -Doug Larson
Things ain't what they used to be and probably never was. -Will Rogers
True nostalgia is an ephemeral composition of disjointed memories... but American-style nostalgia is about as ephemeral as copyrighted déjà vu. -Florence E. King
Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being. -Albert Camus
It is a curious emotion, this certain homesickness I have in mind. With Americans, it is a national trait, as native to us as the roller-coaster or the jukebox. It is no simple longing for the home town or country of our birth. The emotion is Janus-faced: we are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have never known. -Carson McCullers
A society that has made nostalgia a marketable commodity on the cultural exchange quickly repudiates the suggestion that life in the past was in any important way better than life today. -Christopher Lasch
It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice. There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia. -Frank Zappa
Why have we had to invent Eden, to live submerged in the nostalgia of a lost paradise, to make up utopias, propose a future for ourselves? -Julio Cortazar
In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by an aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine. -Milan Kundera
Backward turn backward o time in your flight Make me a child again just for tonight... -Elizabeth Akers Allen
Later, it would occur to me it's the emptiness we mistakenly call innocence. -Sol Luckman
When you have really exhausted an experience you always reverence and love it. -Albert Camus

WIP: More on Nostalgia

2009-10-24T16:27:00.001-05:00

Currently reading an article, by Linda Hutcheon entitled "Irony, Nostalgia, and the Postmodern".

Interesting fact, nostalgia was a term coined in 1688 by a 19-year old Swiss student in his medical dissertation. Who would have thought that what is now used as a marketing ploy was once a considered a medical condition...

WIP: Nostalgia

2009-10-24T03:26:00.001-05:00

Source: Merriam-Webster Online

Main Entry: nos·tal·gia
Pronunciation: \nä-ˈstal-jə, nə- also no-, nō-; nə-ˈstäl-\

Function: noun

Etymology: New Latin, from Greek nostos return home + New Latin -algia; akin to Greek neisthai to return, Old English genesan to survive, Sanskrit nasate he approaches

Date: 1729

1 : the state of being homesick : homesickness
2 : a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition; also : something that evokes nostalgia

I never connected nostalgia with homesickness. Interesting. Anyway, I'm posting as I'm working on a set of compositions about nostalgia. I'm hoping that posting various bits of research here will help me complete the project.

Wow... really insigh

2009-10-19T22:03:00.001-05:00

Wow... really insightful article about music, aesthetics and how environment influences both... http://htxt.it/pevz

RT @gridinoc:

2009-10-08T12:28:00.001-05:00

RT @gridinoc: http://htxt.it/kj55 Woah... this is kind of scary... wish I spoke German

Oh yeah, and #pirate

2009-09-19T20:19:00.001-05:00

Oh yeah, and #pirate

Looking forward to t

2009-09-19T20:18:00.001-05:00

Looking forward to the night in MKE...

Making a mixtape for

2009-09-17T21:06:00.001-05:00

Making a mixtape for a DJ is more intimidating than you'd think...

It's been a very goo

2009-09-16T22:22:00.001-05:00

It's been a very good day, but I can't wait for this weekend!

Nice! Meeting with a

2009-09-16T15:21:00.001-05:00

Nice! Meeting with a former client tomorrow to discuss them giving me more money!! Whoohoo!

Off for a bike ride

2009-09-12T13:33:00.001-05:00

Off for a bike ride with my father and brother-in-law...

Latest project is do

2009-09-10T17:16:00.001-05:00

Latest project is done and awaiting sign off! Glad I don't have to worry about it this weekend!

Something to make yo

2009-09-09T02:48:00.001-05:00

Something to make you feel good before bed... http://htxt.it/rGMO

Heart warming bedtim

2009-09-09T00:08:00.001-05:00

Heart warming bedtime story for me... http://htxt.it/g7M6

Back from MKE apartm

2009-09-06T21:55:00.001-05:00

Back from MKE apartment hunting. Thanks to DJ Erika Jean and friends for the great time. Special thanks to Ken for saving the day!

Beating the streets

2009-09-05T12:59:00.001-05:00

Beating the streets in MKE. Beautiful day by the lake

Rockin' The The's 'G

2009-09-02T02:24:00.001-05:00

Rockin' The The's 'Giant' before bed. Matt Johnson rulez!

Wow... http://htxt.i

2009-08-31T20:46:00.001-05:00

Wow... http://htxt.it/II9R Her song choice at the end is unfortunate though

Need a website? Ours

2009-08-28T21:13:00.001-05:00

Need a website? Ours works, why doesn't yours?

I'm so disappointed

2009-08-28T18:01:00.001-05:00

I'm so disappointed that I missed Dan Deacon when he was in town... http://htxt.it/vlbh

...and exceptional t

2009-08-28T14:48:00.001-05:00

...and exceptional things will happen, Elizabeth...

Another day at the m

2009-08-28T10:25:00.001-05:00

Another day at the mobile office. I really want a burger, but I think it's still too early... hmmm

First client's a go!

2009-08-27T15:44:00.001-05:00

First client's a go! Feels good!

Due to issues beyond

2009-08-25T14:30:00.001-05:00

Due to issues beyond our control, promised swanky updates are delayed yet again... sorry folks!

in the final push fo

2009-08-22T21:25:00.001-05:00

in the final push for Monday's launch... Check back soon for swanky updates for your optical nerves!

What a foodie day! F

2009-08-22T17:45:00.001-05:00

What a foodie day! First Himalchuli... now I'm off to have yaki soba!! Yum!

a little work, then

2009-08-22T14:25:00.001-05:00

a little work, then off to King St. for Stiltwalkers!! Then more work!

Holy cow Batman! I l

2009-08-21T14:50:00.001-05:00

Holy cow Batman! I love this song! http://htxt.it/ZI7X

Feels good to be wor

2009-08-21T14:23:00.001-05:00

Feels good to be working for myself... Diggin' on http://htxt.it/NU14

Looks like the Ander

2009-08-20T22:14:00.001-05:00

Looks like the Anderson account's a go! Break out the good china darlin'!

Michelangelo's for s

2009-08-18T21:56:00.001-05:00

Michelangelo's for some coding fun... Can't wait for Monday. Stay tuned!!

Editing recordings f

2009-08-17T18:35:00.001-05:00

Editing recordings from yesterday

Lykke Li - Youth Novels

2009-08-11T15:30:00.003-05:00

My friend Sara gave me a mix CD a few months ago with a song by Lykke Li entitled, "Little Bit". I was really struck by the song. I found it touching with it's simplicity and the innocent sound of her voice. I picked up her album, Youth Novels and wasn't nearly as impressed. However, somehow it's found its way back into rotation on my iPod. I really can't believe I didn't enjoy it upon first listen.

Listening to Alice R

2009-08-11T08:03:00.001-05:00

Listening to Alice Russell http://htxt.it/5C6C and counting down the time until I'm out of a job. Feels good!

Shoot... I missed Ly

2009-08-10T22:49:00.001-05:00

Shoot... I missed Lykke Li in Chicago... twice!

Rain, rain

2008-09-21T17:08:00.002-05:00

So I thought I brought an adapter for my laptop's power supply, but I was mistaken apparently. The power supply has three prongs and every outlet in Japan has two. So, this will most likely be a quick update.

It rained for a majority of the day yesterday. We were lucky enough to get through the East Garden of the Imperial Palace in the morning before it started raining too much. We also toured the Museum of Modern Art and the Craft Gallery. All of which were fascinating. Unfortunately, as with most museums, photography is strictly forbidden. We've been taking the subway, which has been surprisingly easy to navigate. The travel guides that Becky brought all seemed to indicate that transferring between lines was difficult or confusing, but we haven't had any trouble whatsoever.

Today looks like more rain so we're going to try finding a department store in Shibuya that's connected to the largest cultural center in Japan. This should be interesting. Hopefully I'll be able to find an adapter for the power supply so I can write more and post some of the photos I've taken so far.

A Quick Walk Around The Block

2008-09-20T16:02:00.004-05:00

From last night, yes Nathan, they do have 7-11's in Tokyo. It's really interesting to see the American chains that have been imported to Japan. McDonald's is of course everywhere, the biggest difference being that they're open 24-hours a day.

Hotel Villa Fontaine Roppongi Annex

2008-09-20T03:22:00.003-05:00

Okay, we just got to our hotel in Roppongi, the Villa Fontaine Roppongi Annex. It's pretty nice and seems to be in a good location. The train stop is about a block away. It's a little odd that when I do a Google search my browser is redirected to google.co.jp. I would have thought I would still be able to access the english version of the site, but apparently not without some work on my part.

Once we got off the bus from Narita it didn't take us more than five minutes before a gentleman and his family approached us asking where we were from and wishing us a wonderful experience in Japan. You couldn't have scripted the encounter more perfectly.

For those of you involved in the discussion of just how long the flight is from Chicago to Narita, it's exactly twelve hours in the air. We actually arrived a little earlier than projected. The weather is nice and mild, in fact it doesn't feel like the projected 80 degrees and 90% humidity. Customs and immigration were a breeze. The food on the airplane wasn't too bad, but it's definitely too much once you've eaten it three times in one flight.

I was going to start shooting pictures at Narita, but I felt too tired and didn't want to fall into the stupid tourist role right away. I think the biggest difference between Japan (or at least Metro Tokyo) and South Korea is that there seems to be a higher ratio of English to non-English signage. It almost makes it feel even weirder.

Anyway, I'm going to get cleaned up and I think we're going to go out and find a ramen shop or something. I don't think we're going to get too far today, it's after 6pm and Becky and I are both pretty beat from the trip. More later!

Tropical Storm Sinlaku

2008-09-18T15:08:00.006-05:00

I just double checked our departure and arrival times for tomorrow and discovered that Tokyo will be getting hit by tropical storm Sinlaku when we arrive at 1:45 am! It just goes to figure. I can't imagine why I have visions of the city being destroyed as I arrive. Maybe I've watched too many anime and Gojira movies.

Update: Apparently I am unable to tell the difference between AM and PM as we landed just before 2PM local time.

T-minus Ten Hours Thirty Minutes

2008-09-18T15:08:00.002-05:00

So I'm leaving for Tokyo in less than eleven hours! I'm planning on keeping a log of my trip here so check back in the next couple of days for stories and pictures. It's been a dream of mine to travel to Japan since I was very young. I grew up watching Hong Kong kung fu and Japanese monster movies with my father. This was a great source of inspiration for me and one of my fondest memories. My father would comment about martial arts demonstrations he'd seen in his travels in the Navy. Stories of 90 year old men disabling ten attackers and breaking cinderblocks with the tips of their fingers. You can imagine what an impression this would have made on me!

Enough of the trip down memory lane. It's time for new memories to be made!

A great weekend for music

2008-04-23T13:39:00.002-05:00

I think that I saw the most incredible band this weekend. Nick and I were watching Austin City Limits and the artist was Femi Kuti. <...dramatic pause...> <...wait for it...> WOW! I can't remember seeing a tighter band of that size. There must have been at least fifteen people playing on stage. Fast tempos and complex melodies without a note missed, all while dancing on one foot! Absolutely amazing stuff!

On top of this, Nick went to Mad City Music Exchange for Record Store Day and came home with a bunch of CD samplers, a Ventures LP and a Toots & The Maytalls anthology. So Sunday I went music shopping. I'd hoped to find albums by Femi Kuti, his father Fela, and the new Marc Ribot album. I only found one Femi Kuti disc, but by luck I also found the first albums by Suicide and Gang of Four. Two albums I've always known I should have in my collection but never found when I was looking. All three albums are fantastic.

I also picked up tickets for the Tegan & Sarah show here in Madison on May 6th. Oh yeah, and next Monday I'm going to go see the band Prog. Man, music really is the best!

Last chance to dance

2008-04-14T14:22:00.004-05:00

Had a mostly productive weekend. Aside from the Attack of the Drunken Roommate on Saturday night, everything pretty much went down as expected.

The Dorothies are going into the studio again tomorrow. We're going to try to track two new songs. I'm looking forward to getting them behind us. We also have some studio time booked in another two weeks. Hopefully we'll be able to get another song completed by then. If nothing else we should have five new songs for our trip out east next month.

I have to finish up my taxes tonight. Everything is going pretty well there. It looks like I'm going to owe less than last year, which makes me want to file an amended return as I think I may have missed some things.

I've also discovered, just this weekend, one of the best albums I may have ever heard. The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. I'm really surprised that I hadn't heard this until now. But, more on that later...

To be thankful

2008-04-14T13:33:00.003-05:00

It's Saturday night, 9pm and I'm working right now on the Good-N-Loud website. I don't know if any of you have heard Arvo Part. He's a composer from Estonia. I'm listening to his music right now and I'm finding it hard to concentrate on the work I'm doing. I know, you're probably saying "Well, turn it off then! Why complain about it to me?". Well, I'm not complaining. The music is just so incredibly moving. Simple sounding in the way Erik Satie's music sounds simple.

I watched the German film, "The Lives of Others", last night and I'm reminded of a scene. The protagonist, who is a "borderline subversive" playwright living in early-80's East Berlin, is seen sitting at the piano. He's just discovered that a dear friend and collaborator has just hanged himself after being blacklisted by the GDR. A few nights previous this friend had given him the score to a piece of music entitled "Sonate vom Guten Mensch" as a gift on his birthday. The protagonist is playing the piece and speaks. "Do you know what Lenin said about hearing Beethoven's 'Apassionata'. He said that if he continued to listen to the music he would never be able to complete work on the revolution. Can a man hear this music and be entirely 'Evil'"? Much of the impact of this scene comes from the music, which was written for the film. However, what our protagonist doesn't realize is that he's under full surveillance by the Stasi. In the scene we see the officer listening to this event. This typically 'Evil' man is awestruck by what he hears and begins to weep. He weeps for his own life which has become that of a marionette, hollow and directed. He has bartered away his own humanity.

Arvo Part's music is like this. So achingly beautiful, so direct in it's connection to the 'soul'. An entire piece is derived from perhaps a single, simple major triad, the foundation of Western music. Simply arpeggiated by a piano, or sung in wordless harmony. All melody, motion and decoration is assembled from the overtones of these three notes. As if trying to reach the ear of God in a whisper. The cold, frightened, tired whispered prayer of a man lost in the darkness of his own life. An action, painfully sacred. I can hear my own self reflected in this pool of sound.

I am inspired by the lack of selfish ideas vying for attention. I am delivered to the place I imagine and hope someday will be my life . The delight of these dreams gilded with the heartache of wavering commitment. Why is the glorious simplicity I hear so heart-rendingingly difficult to achieve. This is why I will always choose art over religion, psychoanalysis, patriotism, sex, money, politics, meditation or any of these things humans trust to lend meaning to their lives. Art is all and none of these things.

The Search continues...

2008-04-12T17:49:00.003-05:00

So I've spent most of the day thus far sending out resumes and responding to want ads for wedding musicians and freelance web developers. It certainly gets a bit tedious at times.

I've started working out this week. Just doing 20 minutes of standard calisthenics in the morning before biking into work. I need to drop some of the winter insulation. And despite having to browbeat myself into doing it I very much enjoy the feeling I get afterwards.

I've also started to recover the music I've lost in the Great Laptop Debacle of 2007 (GLD07). Not music I've purchased, but the music I had written. So far I've got two pieces mostly recovered. One nice thing about this process is that I have a clean slate to work out these older ideas. I'd definitely written myself into a few corners. I also didn't realize how many waltzes I'd started writing over the past few years.

I've also taken responsibility for generating content for the Dorothy Heralds' site. This means I'm now blogging in two places. We'll see how long I can keep that up! I'd like to see us get a media player, a gallery and a few other things going. But I think I'm going to have to wait.

Anyway, hope all three of you are well (Hi, Mom!). More to come later!

Giving Ceaser His Due

2008-04-08T11:51:00.004-05:00

Yep, started my taxes last night. Thankfully I haven't gotten to the part where they tell me that I've got too many deductions and that I run the risk of being audited. I'm always amazed this time of year that I've made enough money to actually owe the government money. I remember when I was making three or four times as much as I am now and I would always get back everything I'd paid in over the year. And I won't go into my problems with the way my money is being spent by our government. I don't have time and I don't want to wind up on some FBI list.

So, more rehearsal tonight, and more recording next week Tuesday. I started working on the Good-N-Loud website again. I have to thank Rebecca for the use of her old laptop. Without which I wouldn't have the pleasure of harassing Steve (GNL owner) to get me a copy of the shopping cart software he wants me to use.

Ack, yet another year has past!

2008-04-07T10:38:00.002-05:00

Well, almost a year. It's ridiculous that I haven't posted here in almost a year.

Anyway, what's new? A whole lot I guess. The Dorothy Heralds are up for "Best Electronic Song" at this year's MAMA's. Please stop by and vote. Remember, the sign-up fee goes straight to the Madison school district and is earmarked for music related education. If you want to contribute to this great charity AND vote for us, you can hear the nominated song on our MySpace site (and hopefully on our website by the end of today). Oh, it's the one called "What Goes Up". It's somewhat representative of our more "dance" oriented direction.

We'll also be traveling to the east coast again in May. I'll post dates here later. I guess I'll leave this at that for toady. I've got to keep something for the next post...

Contessa says...

2007-06-12T14:21:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update yet again (I know those of you who read this are eagerly anticipating another diatribe about something, don't worry, it'll come). The Dorothy Heralds' album, 100 Unnamed Things was just reviewed at Contessa Says. Check it out!

In other news, TDH is booking a lot of shows on the road for the summer and fall. We're working on some dates on the East Coast for Sept./Oct. which is really exciting. Otherwise, I'm still trudging along working on various projects.

More later...

Website Updates

2007-06-08T16:57:00.000-05:00

For those of you that do actually visit my website from time to time, I've been working a bit on it. Not a whole lot of new content just yet, but there's audio, video and new lessons in the works. Stop by and check it out some time.

Have fun!

See The River Rise

2007-01-20T16:02:00.000-06:00

I attended the Sunshine For The Blind release party for their new (and first) album, See The River Rise last night. Lorenzo's Music opened the show. I arrived after Lorenzo's had already started. I've heard their latest album, Solamente Tres Palabras and it's great, but I think they really shine live. Mark Whitcomb's easy-going stage manner and off-the-cuff brilliance as a guitar player is extremely engaging. Plus he's playing a vintage Sunn Stadium amp these days. Leslie West for days!

Sunshine For The Blind played second. I'd only seen them once before a couple of years ago and hadn't been impressed at the time. Since working at DNA, I'd heard bits and pieces of the new album. They surpassed all of my expectations last night though. Absolutely great rock music! They sounded great. Their drummer, Daphna, is absolutely rock solid. I hope I get the chance to play in a band with her some day! I talked to Brian earlier in the day and discovered that the album has been nigh on ten years in the making! Congratulations to him and the band!

I left the show with a bit of an emotional high. It's inspiring to hear original music performed with such passion. Just what I've needed lately. Thursday night I sat around with my roommate listening to Sonic Youth and System And Station. I've been going through my CD collection and listening to albums I haven't touched in years. Nick wasn't familiar with Sonic Youth and I wasn't familiar with System And Station. We were both impressed with the other's choices. I have to say I'm looking forward to the next time S+S is in town. I'll definitely be at that show.

All for now...

Quick Update

2007-01-18T14:54:00.000-06:00

The Dorothy Heralds played a few gigs last week. Thursday we were at the Blue Chalk Club in Middleton. It turned out to be one of the most fun gigs I've played with the band. We opened the show for the Thursday night house band, Avengers Assemble (sorry, no link). Afterwards a jam session ensued. By the end of the night the group was ploughing its way through '80's classics such as Journey's "Separate Ways", Night Ranger's "Sister Christian", Van Halen's "Jump" and Styx's opus "Come Sail Away". We were in stitches!

Friday night took us to The Klinic in Madison. Our friend and co-worker Marcus opened the show with his new group, The New Clear Solution. Very interesting band. The drummer used nothing but an electronic kit and the bass player did double duty on groove boxes and mixer. Next up were our friends Spin Spin Coupling who are no longer all about sensitive arena rock. They're all about the sloppy rock apparently. Great band. Loud. Very Loud. But a great bunch of guys that write good songs. We finished out the night with a great tight set. The band is really developing a new persona on stage and in our playing. We're becoming much more comfortable stretching out on songs. I'm getting this sneaking suspicion that the next album (yes, we're already planning the next one) will bring the rock in a way we've yet to do.

In other news, I went to the Sol LeWitt show at the MMoCA last Saturday. The show was great. I found the works displayed eye-opening. However, the best part of the show for me were the two hand-written Steve Reich scores on display. As my roommate Nick would say, "it's awesome because it's real, ya know?!". I guess it's strange to have something affect you so deeply and yet never feel connected on a certain level. I know that Steve Reich is a real person, but seeing the scores gave me a different sense of connection than I'd ever experienced. I suppose it's akin to seeing your favorite artist in concert for the first time. Not quite, but somewhere in the ballpark.

I'm starting to do some production and engineering at DNA now. It's a bit nerve-wracking running a session (even if it's just one other person aside from me), but enjoyable in the end.

So that's all for now. Look for part two and three of my rant about the Madison Area Music Awards soon!

Madison Area Music Awards

2007-01-10T03:41:00.000-06:00

Over the past year or so I've been a party to a number of conversations about the music scene here in Madison. From musicians and promoters to retailers and club owners, every single person or entity has expressed some form of disappointment and fear. Most of these conversations begin with how the music industry has changed with the advent of file sharing, cheap home studios and the internet. They then proceed to other issues such as increased energy costs, the economy and other such big picture issues. In many ways I agree with much of what people have had to say, however I'm surprised that the conversation rarely, if ever, addresses the changes in our culture and more specifically, the changes in our values as a society.

I've spoken with many people that were of age during the so-called "Golden Age" of pop music. Namely, the 60's and 70's. A time when music "meant something". The point I try to bring up in all such conversations is, what has changed exactly? My theory is that music and the economy haven't really changed all that much. It's the perceived value of live performance that has changed. When I ask what was so great about seeing a performance during this Golden Age, people have many different answers. I then bring up the communal experience of attending a performance. Without exception, every person has agreed that being in the same place as five or fifty thousand of your closest friends was a tremendous benefit of seeing live performances. Can you imagine being eighteen, hanging out with your friends and having every other stranger be willing to share their beer, weed or board tape of the band's last show in Omaha? Or better yet, having a great chance of hooking up with someone of the opposite sex for the night? What other benefits were there to be had?

I won't labor over why these things apparently don't happen (or at least with the frequency they used to according to most) anymore. The point is that either a) we as a society don't desire (value) these types of experience anymore, or b) the conditions that enable these experiences don't occur, or don't occur in the right proportions. If a majority of those consuming the live performance experience were of the eighteen to twenty-five age bracket, what are people of that age doing now? Is it that video game consoles, DVDs and social networking have really moved in to fill the role that the communal experience once did? If so, why? Are these avenues really safer or more fulfilling? Do they just fit more conveniently into our busy schedules?

I don't know that I can answer these questions. At the MAMAs Registration Kickoff tonight, I spoke with some people about this. I asked, "If the communal experience is so undervalued now, then why the advent of the so-called 'super-church'"? The best response I received was, "cult thinking". So then, how do we as performers implement this "cult thinking"? How can we make people feel that seeing a band, or heaven forbid, following a band provides them with some form of identity? Is it possible for anyone to do so? It seems that multi-national corporations have been working at this for some time. Is there something that the independant artist can learn from the taste makers at Nike, Apple and Coca-Cola?

In related thoughts, this post on the Daily Page forum caught my eye. Unfortunately, I think the discussion has missed the point. I don't think that it's possible for Madison to have a healthy music scene in the traditional Seattle, Haight-Ashbury, East Village sort of way. Firstly, it's too small. Second, contrary to popular belief, Madison is just as blue collar conservative as most every where else in Wisconsin. (Yes, there are pockets of old fashioned hippiedom, but this faction really seems to be dying out and slowly replaced by the Westside liberal fashionistas) My challenge to the bands in Madison for 2007 is that if you're not good (i.e. you suck), then stop trying to impress your friends by booking shows that you're not going to promote and no one aside from said friends is going to attend. Or, on the other hand, find a place where you and your friends can all hang out and play and have a good time. That's how scenes start, bar none.

And my challenge to club owners, suck it up and change your format. I personally don't like playing shows with two or god forbid THREE other bands. But I sure as hell am not going to go watch three or four bands play for thirty minutes each and spend thirty minutes each setting up and tearing down equipment. I hate to break it to everyone, but nobody wants to pay to see that. So, here's the plan. One band (maybe one opener, ONE I said), three one hour sets, no cover, charge an extra quarter a drink, band either gets a guarantee or gets the extra cash. Everyone wins in this situation. Bands that draw people who patronize the venue get paid. The venue isn't out any extra cash. More people would be willing to just walk in and check things out. Hmmm.... doesn't seem like rocket science to me. Other things that could be done, let's beef up the "safe ride home" service that the tavern league provides, or maybe have an all-night shuttle service downtown and in the surrounding area.

I could really go on about this, but it is 4:30 AM. I'm going to start researching how to implement this "branding" thing. I'm also making a resolution to go see at least two local shows every month starting now. I have no excuse, I need to be checking out the competition. What about you?

P. S. Blogger's spell checking function doesn't seem to be working in Safari since they've upgraded the service. I apologize for any creative spelling that may have occurred in this post.

New Perspectives

2007-01-07T23:57:00.000-06:00

I love teaching.

I had a lesson with a friend, Eric, who has written some really good music. Normally, I would have been a bit cautious of agreeing to giving lessons to someone whose work I admire. However, since his main instrument is the keyboard I was much more receptive to the idea. He was interested in finding a new way to approach the guitar, and I thought if nothing else I have a slightly unorthodox approach to the instrument. The few hours we spent together was really amazing for me. What started as a discussion of how I approach the fretboard and writing guitar parts developed into an exploration of what are really the governing principles of music.

I'll probably wind up writing up a lesson on my site (which is sadly in need of some updating) that covers some of what we talked about. But what was so amazing about the lesson was that, as I talked about how I approach the guitar, I began connecting a lot of the divergent ideas I've been exposed to lately. It was a bit like one of those fabled eureka moments drawn out over the course of three hours. I really feel as though the act of exposing someone else to these ideas I hold to be true helped me to grasp them in an experiential way. To not just believe them to be true, but to experience them as true.

Unfortunately, most teaching encounters don't produce these results. At least in my mind. I wonder if there is a way to increase the possibility of this happening, both for me and my students. It's obviously harder when the subject matter is of a more mechanical nature, and when the student isn't prepared or lacks the interest and drive to explore the subject matter for themselves. So how does one overcome these obstacles? Is it my fault for being unable to find the approach that allows the student to connect with the information? How does one go about learning to do this? Maybe this is where I need to focus my energy.

In other news, I just found out that there's a show of Sol LeWitt's (sorry, no homepage and I'm tired of linking to Wikipedia) work at the MMoCA. I'm not intimately familiar with his work, but I'm definitely fascinated with the New York scene at the time he was there. I'm hoping to have the time to see it this weekend. From what I understand, his work is concerned with structure in many different ways. As this is a concept I'm dealing a lot with in my writing, I'm hoping to find some inspiration, or at least discover some interesting questions.

¡Nevermind the Bollocks!

2007-01-06T01:06:00.000-06:00

Firstly, I think I'm addicted to the upside down punctuation. ¡Thanks Apple for making it so easy to use Unicode!

Second, my roommate Nick is a pretty big fan of older punk music. So I've spent quite a bit of time watching documentaries on his two favorite bands, The Clash and The Sex Pistols. Last night I watched a pretty good one on the Sex Pistols. I was not only surprised to find out just how much of the whole "punk" thing really came from John Lydon, but also just how influential reggae was to the band. I suppose when you record one album in your career, and it's when you're still learning to play an instrument, the chances of expressing your influences are pretty thin. It's also surprising to discover how close the band were in their early careers.

I have to admit that the malaise I feel about music right now is, at least in part, inspired by being exposed to the history and music these people made. The honesty and passion with which they performed is at once inspiring and terrifying. It's hard to see that and then listen to music today (or yesterday) and stomach the lack of dedication to an ideal. Whether it be a social, political or spiritual idea. That belief that things can be better and the hope that through artful criticism the world can be made better seems so vital to truly good art. While it would be narcissistic to imagine that this is the first time in human history that art has been so closely aligned with commerce, it certainly feels that way at times.

I really wish that something would come along and turn my head around the way that Coltrane, Pollock, or Nabokov did. Perhaps this is just a wish for some external catalyst to force a change in either my art or my life in general. On the other hand, perhaps it's the realization that the study of music is truly and endless pursuit. Imagine how many songs have been written with the same three chords (most of rock 'n' roll, the blues, folk and a surprising amount of Western classical :). And people are still writing new songs with the same three chords! Composers have been exploring the possibilities of the violin for over four hundred years, and the guitar has yet to gain prominence as an instrument worthy of attention.

Little updates...

2007-01-05T00:18:00.000-06:00

Not much happening right now. I've been working at DNA a lot recently. I'll be getting together with Gary and Timatron 2.0 on Saturday to run down some new charts I've been writing. I'm hoping to get the pieces in order for a recording, if not for some performances in the near future. Actually, I'm more hoping for the chance to perform before an audience in a non-pop music context. The biggest difficulty is what to call the group. Maybe ¿La Tortuga?

The new pieces are actually pretty old for the most part. I'm hoping that working through them with Gary and Tim will spark a new direction for me. I've been reading Arcana: Musicians on Music, in addition to some interviews with Marc Ribot. All of this reading has been very inspirational, but I feel as if I need some auditory inspiration to really jump-start my writing again. I've been listening to the new Frisell record with Paul Motian and Ron Carter and some older Tim Berne discs. Unfortunately they're not providing the inspiration I'm looking for. I may have to spend some time this weekend searching out some new music. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!

Hark! The Dorothy Heralds Play...

2006-12-26T17:39:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. I know it's not very fashionable to enjoy this time of year, but no one ever accused me of being fashionable.

[BEGIN TRANSMISSION]
Item: Short show report[STOP]
The Dorothy Heralds played a show last week with Reason for Leaving and The Optimistic at Madison's The King Club. [STOP]
Fun was had by all.[STOP]
The Optimistic write cool songs.[STOP]
Reason for Leaving rocks.[STOP]
You're sad because you missed it.[STOP]
[END TRANSMISSION]

In other holiday news, I have to mention that I received a copy of the long out-of-print Arcana: Musicians on Music as a gift this year. For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge fan of John Zorn, who compiled and edited this collection of essays. A number of the contributors have been hugely influential players in their respective fields, and not just to me! I was ecstatic to finally have a copy of the book, as I've been trying to track one down for years. I've just started reading and it's already been very challenging and revelatory.

Myra Melford's essay, Aural Architecture: The Confluence of Freedom has already inspired two new compositions. It's also helped me complete a piece that I've been working on for the past six months. The way in which she expresses parallels in her compositional processes with the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture has given me new faith in my attempt to directly connect my own literary influences with my music. She's also renewed my interest in actually studying Varese's techniques.

Bill Frisell, who is a huge influence on my playing and writing, contributed an essay entitled, An Approach to Guitar Fingering. Over the years Frisell has mentioned in various interviews some of the ideas presented in this essay. However, to have his thoughts collected in one place and presented with exercises and a few short etudes is fascinating. The etudes aren't difficult at first glance, but reveal the depth of his approach to the guitar with just a few attempts. I'm sure these pieces will become an integral part of my own study.

Other essays have been just as revealing. This book will undoubtedly become a constant companion for years to come. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking to expand their musicianship. Some of the writing can be pretty dense and may only reveal its value after much meditation, but those that have the desire to uncover its value will be rewarded well.

¡Muy Divertido!

2006-12-10T23:52:00.000-06:00

It's finally over! The Dorothy Heralds' release party for our new CD 100 Unnamed Things was last night. We pulled out all the stops for this one. Lights, sound, VIP party and free admission for the first 100 people. Aside from a longer than planned setup time, everything went off without a hitch. Attendance was high as were spirits. We took a lot of chances with this show and I think they paid off well.

We started the night with retooled versions of "Inverno Rosa" and "Now" from our last album Projections. "Inverno Rosa" was made moodier by reducing the instrumentation to piano, guitar and voice. Kevin's keyboard line didn't change much, but the addition of some Frisell-ian swells really ornamented the beauty of the melody. Gary actually sang the high harmony which is still amazing. "Now" was rescued from the noise/improv excesses of the past. Gary and Tim wrote a Medeski, Martin and Wood sounding groove. Kevin and I chose a more minamalistic, Massive Attack style ambience. Then we performed "Angel" by Massive Attack which we combined with our song "I Don't Care" from Projections.

Next came the album in its entirety. Everything was played pretty much the way it is on the CD, with the notable exception of "Play" which we've combined with Björk's "Hyper Ballad". It's one of my favorite pieces to perform. We superimpose "Hyper Ballad" over the bridge of "Play" and then end with the chorus of "Play" being sung over the chorus of "Hyper Ballad". It's an emotionally powerful piece for me, and I think that comes across to the audience.

After performing the songs on the new album, we performed "Interiatic ESP" by The Mars Volta, "Synchronicity II" by the Police and "Sunless Saturday" by Fishbone. Those have to be some of the more challenging and enjoyable covers we've done. It's been a dream of mine for quite a while to perform "Synchronicity II" on stage. We were actually asked to do an encore which was a pleasant surprise. We did "Beautiful" from Projections but improved around it a lot. Thanks to Tim, we've actually gotten to a place where we can improvise as a group. It's so very refreshing!

DJ Anonymous spun some great stuff to close the night. And for those of you that couldn't stick around a spontaneous jam with Anonymous and the band occurred at the end of the night. I really hope that we'll get to work with him more in the future. His remixes of our album sound incredible.

Thanks to everyone who made last night possible and to all the people involved in the production!

New CD Soon!

2006-10-07T16:13:00.000-05:00

The new CD is done! The artwork is done! The release party is booked!

Yes, that's right! Just a few months behind schedule, The Dorothy Heralds new album is in the can! Entitled "100 Unnamed Things", the CD is a really good representation of who we are, where we're going, and what we sound like "live". I'm listening to the final masters and they sound great! We'll be going to press by the end of October. The Madison release party will be at the Café Montmartre on December 9th. We're planning something really special. A bit of theater, a lot of music, and maybe a few unnamed things. DJ Anonymous will be spinning. He's in the process of remixing some tracks from "100 Unnamed Things" so you may hear some of that also. I've heard it and am quite impressed!

In other news, I've moved to the east side of Madison yet again. Technically it's Monona, but it's only a twenty minute bike ride to work so I still consider it Madison. (As opposed to the twenty minute drive from Middleton) The place is pretty nice. Living in a place with an actual backyard and a deck certainly is nice. I'm still unpacking some things, but hopefully it'll be all done soon. Biking to work has also been really nice. The weather has been perfect for it!

This week I was finally able to recover some data I thought I'd lost from the hard disk that died earlier this year. I was thankfully able to recover all of my arrangements and scores. This means that I should be able to get my portfolio together on time for CalArts and The New School. I just sat down and went through the recovered scores last night. I was pleasantly surprised to hear some good things. I may actually be able to finish the string quartet project I was writing at the time of the crash before the end of next month.

Principles of Art

2006-09-27T00:21:00.000-05:00

Tonight the Dorothy Heralds did an interview for the show Radio Literature on WORT here in Madison. The interview will broadcast this Thursday, September 28th at 7PM Central. For those of you not in the Madison area, you can listen via the Internet here For those of you who don't know, WORT is a community supported radio station here in Madison. No, not "Public Radio" in the PBS, "All Things Considered" sense. It's actually a non-profit, publicly owned radio station. You may be confused about why we'd be spotlighted on a show that focuses on "poetry, fiction, non-fiction and children's literature from Wisconsin". A fan of ours, Keenan, is one of the hosts. The tie-in is that Keenan, who is a writer himself, has a lot of ideas about how work in different disciplines not only influence each other, but how they work from the same universal principles.

He's also a friend and co-conspirator of Jess, a local filmmaker we're working with. Jess is producing (and directing and all that other stuff) a film and has asked us to contribute to the soundtrack. This has, of course, been very exciting for the band as we've always looked to film as one of our main inspirations. To finally be involved in the medium has been a bit of a dream come true for us.

During the interview, we talked about the growth of the band and how we write. One of the ideas that came out was that in the process of developing as an artist, you begin to trust your "instincts" shall we say. You're presented with an idea, or concept, and instead of working out a response, or "solution", by analyzing, you react in something of an emotional way. As time goes by, those responses become more appropriate and poignant. They become the "correct" responses, or the ones that make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. I can't help but think of this as the response to the touch of a lover. Instead of calculating a response, the response is immediate and "true". Almost in a Zen sense.

Ranting Against the Machine...

2006-08-26T14:40:00.000-05:00

I'm sick of Madison. More over, I'm sick of the music I hear in Madison. I've become convinced that over 99% of the music performed in Madison is just plain boring. The music that occurs in this town is often the most recycled, mid-life crisis, Blatz-league crap. The musicians in Madison tend to fall into one of the following categories:

aging punk trying to relive youthful glory of "sticking it to the establishment"

rocker gone country because it's "where my roots are"

UW music grad that thinks that playing in a group with his/her professors is the greatest

aging metal guys that jump on every 'alt*' bandwagon to come down the pipe

I didn't include the Pabst drinking hipster crowd as they're generally just one of the above in disguise.

As John Cage said, "I'm not scared of new ideas. It's the old ones that scare me." I tend to agree with his statement, at least in principle. It's so frustrating to have to listen to CDs and bootlegs and mp3s to hear any new ideas. Or just to hear some honest-to-goodness art. Something that actually speaks to life and experience today, rather than simply regurgitates the experiences of others from bygone times.

I want to blame the sad state of music here (and most everywhere it would seem) on the accessibility of cheap instruments and promoters/booking agents desire for a quick buck. However, I can't. These seem to be a part of a larger problem in our culture. A problem of product and passivity. A problem that I'm not interested or equipped to address at this point.

Happy Wednesday!

2006-08-23T12:27:00.000-05:00

Been pretty busy this past month. Tracking on the Dorothy Heralds' new album has been complete for a while. We're waiting for mixes from Bill Connors up in Minneapolis. Should have them all by the first of September! You can hear a preview of our new song 'Nora' at our MySpace site.

In other news, it looks like I'll be working on a couple of infrastructure projects for DNA Studios. I'm very excited to work with Brian and Mark as they're both very creative and open. I'm still writing material for a CD to be released this year. Hopefully I'll be able to get it done in time to submit for the WI Arts Board Fellowship Grant. All I need is scores and recordings of three pieces. Don't know how I'll be able to do it, but it'll be fun trying.

By the way, the Dorothies are in the MTV2 "On the Rise" competition. Stop by and vote for us by clicking here. I'd like to thank A Planet Named Janet and Dr. John's Fortress for spreading the word about this.

Update: We're at second place locally! Thanks for everyone who's vot(ed)/(ing)!

...and the world keeps turning...

2006-07-06T21:58:00.000-05:00

I've received a mix of one tune from The Dorothy Heralds forthcoming studio album. I have to say that I'm very impressed with the job Bill has done. He's really making the song shine. This is the first time on any recording project I've done where I can actually hear everything. All the parts are occupying their own sonic space and it sounds wonderful! I'm anxious to hear more!

It looks like Trinity James has a shot at opening for Bon Jovi at their Pittsburgh show. For those of you who don't know, I've been rehearsing and recording with Trin over the past few months. The band is starting to hit their stride in rehearsals. The Bon Jovi gig is on July 23rd, so that may be this bands first gig! Support us by voting at 101.3 KDWB's website!

Update: I failed to mention that Trinity is listed under the name The Good Ones.

Late Studio Post & Future Plans

2006-06-28T17:40:00.000-05:00

So I was able to complete guitars for The Dorothy Heralds' new album a few weeks ago. Since then Katy, our vocalist, has laid a majority of the vocals and everything is sounding great! We just shipped a few tracks off to our friend Bill of All The Way Rider to mix. We're giving him free reign over the mixes, so I'm anxious to hear what he's going to do with them.

In other news, I'm working on some new material for my group Tank! I'm currently reharmonizing "Experiment In Terror" by Herny Mancini to get my feet wet. I hope to bring more of a Naked City aesthetic to the material. I'm also thinking of putting together a smaller group to do some Cuban music. I really miss doing the Cubanos Postizos material, and I figure I might actually get more than one or two gigs with the group.

Good times...

2006-06-08T01:56:00.000-05:00

I began tracking guitars for the new Dorothy Heralds album today. We're a little behind schedule right now, but not too badly. I was able to get down four songs completely and half of two others. I'm really excited by both the sounds and the performances we're getting. The best part of it all is that they are really coming together to underscore the moods evoked in the songs. I also have to mention that my one big solo on the album came out perfectly on the first take (see last post re: one takes). It sounds like a cross between Marc Ribot, Django Reinhardt and me.

We were also lucky enough to have Rob Dz come in and lay some rhymes on our tune, "Nora". The tune was inspired by an experience Gary (bassist and spiritual leader of the Dorothies) had at a convenience store. I won't go into the whole story, but the tune is about being dissatisfied with ones life and still being complacent about it. I have to rave about not only Rob's performance, but just how well he captured the essence of the song and enriched it. The tune was great before he came in, but it's 100% better with his perspective added. Gary and I were so giddy by the time he was done. Smiles from ear to ear.

Tomorrow I'll be in again at DNA Studios early. I'm hoping to be done in time to make the Bill Frisell show. I've seen Bill a number of times, but his music has affected my life and who I am as a musician tremendously. I never tire of hearing him. More tomorrow I guess...

That time again...

2006-06-02T22:54:00.000-05:00

This Saturday, my group The Dorothy Heralds, is going into the studio for a couple of weeks to record our second full length album. I'm really excited as the material reveals some new directions for the band. We've also experienced some incredible growth as a group over the past two years. You can expect music that explores rhythm and groove a lot more than our past material. And although there's less movement harmonically, it's more thought out and in a sense more complex that where we were previously. Also, for you Musos out there, more solos!

The past two years have seen a lot of changes in this group. We're now a four piece with no permanent drummer. We've been lucky enough to have Robert Schoville of Reptile Palace Orchestra fill in for the new recording. His presence during the writing process has had a big impact on the group. His mastery of percussion and overall aesthetic has been a great boon.

As I'm preparing for my own parts I've come to appreciate the idea that "composition is improvisation slowed down". I always thought of this as something of a truism, but the past few days working on ideas for solos, etc. have begun to reveal the depth of this statement. Of course, I still have a twinge of guilt for working on the parts before hand. I've spent a majority of my musical life championing improvisation in its purest forms, and here I am working out melodic ideas for solos. In fact, I feel at times I'm actually writing them instead of trusting the moment to provide inspiration. I suppose this is what happens when your own money is on the line.

However, I think this will become more a part of my daily routine. Taking changes and writing out lines away from the guitar. Or taking melodies and writing variations. The process allows you to let certain things in and others out. It reminds me somehow of this quote from Stravinsky's The Poetics of Music.

"My freedom thus consists in my moving about within the narrow frame that I have assigned myself for each one of my undertakings. I shall go even further: my freedom will be so much the greater and more meaningful the more narrowly I limit my field of action and the more I surround myself with obstacles. Whatever diminishes constraint, diminishes strength. The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self of the chains that shackle the spirit."

Think of it this way, in space you have no ability to move without something to push against. I wonder what this says about the nature of strength itself. I suppose that's enough for now. I'm going back to writing chord subs and such.

Studio Updates

2006-05-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

Spent the weekend recording with Josh Harty at Studio 23 here in Madison. This was the second time I've recorded with Josh, the last time was a humorous disaster one weekend in Minneapolis. Ask me about it sometime. The session went much more smoothly this time around. Mark Hisey of the Selfish Gene and Joe Martinson of Auburn were the rhythm section this time around.

Friday night we all setup late, rehearsed and did a couple of takes of one tune, "One Particular Day In December". These takes were discarded the next day after changing some mics on the drums. Saturday we got a late start due to a flat tire, but we managed to get all the bass and drum takes that day. Josh had a bit of a meltdown when it came to recording his tune, "Which Way I Go". The tune is probably his most commercial, which of course doesn't sit well with him. We tracked two versions, one was a New Orleans-type shuffle, the other a slightly slower reading of the version he does live currently. Otherwise, the Saturday went down without a hitch.

Sunday I tracked both rhythm and lead guitars. Takes went pretty quickly. In fact I was able to do a few in one take which is a bit of an ego trip for musicians. One tune, which I only know by the name "Letter", wound up with a completly different guitar part than the one I've been performing with Josh live. I normally play a baião rhythm for the verses and a Scofield-in-Cuba type solo. What wound up going down was more of a detuned Dick Dale type single note line through the whole tune, including the solo. I'm really excited to hear how it turns out in the mix! Other hightlights were the solo on "Empire Bar" which gave me chills, and the banjo on "One Particular Day In December" (a one-take affair!).

I'm really excited to hear this record once it's done. I think the group did a great job of interpreting Josh's vision for each tune and for the record as a whole. I also have to mention the engineer, Jeff, who was really efficient, laid-back and helpful all around. The studio itself was a joy to work in. It's a very creative space with a buch of old broken down instruments strewn about in a couple of rooms that look like a well used artist's studio. Jeff has a great approach to getting sounds and performances out of people. I think that if I can get Tank! back up and running this summer, I'll probably work with him to record. A great experience all around this weekend.

The record is slated to be released on or before July 1st. Look for it in stores, on the internet, and if Josh remembers, at gigs. It promises to be a great record!

We're making records, that what we're doing! (pt. II)

2006-05-13T18:02:00.000-05:00

So, as promised, an update on record making activities this weekend. Unfortunately, there's nothing to report. Sessions have been cancelled (at least I found out yesterday) for the weekend. I may wind up back at Effigy this week for a couple of hours. Apparently the guy from Candlebox will be laying a solo on one of the tunes this Monday.

I can't say that I'm entirely disappointed with the way things have turned out. I definitely had my own ideas about how and what I should play on the session. Jack, the engineer/owner and now producer, had different ideas. So I can't say that I'm surprised that I'm being moved off the session. I just kind of wish people would be straight forward about it.

I definitely learned some good lessons this past week. One, unless you're paying me, I'm going to play it my way. Period. End of story. Actually, unless you have a really good reason and are able to explain that reason to me, AND you're paying me a lot of money, I'm going to play it my way. It's not worth the frustration and time for me to do otherwise. People ask me to play on their records because of who I am. If they want something else they can go find it.

Two, the amount of preproduction on a project should be at least an order of magnitude greater than the amount of time spent in the studio. Of course, this is if you have a limited budget and want a decent outcome. This will be of particular use to me as I prepare for the next Dorothy Heralds album and my planned recordings this summer.

Three, I'll never feel bad about playing someone else's part and not getting it in one take. I guess this kind of goes back to what I was saying above. If I have to read a chart and watch someone for cues and try to cop someone's feel at the same time then I'm already doing more than I should be expected to do. I won't feel bad because if I'm in this situation, then I'm helping someone out of a bind.

In closing, I do want to thank everyone that was involved in the session. Thanks of course to Trin for having me there. Thanks to Bill, Buddo, and Gary, all great guys to play and hang out with. (Bill still intimidates the hell out of me.) Thanks to Perry and Jake at Effigy for their input and hard work. I'll let you all know if anything else happens with this. If not, next on the plate is Josh Harty next weekend. I'll be playing banjo and guitar on that one. I'll also be spending a lot of time finishing up demos for TDH this week.

Have fun!

We're making records, that's what we're doing! (pt. I)

2006-05-09T12:42:00.000-05:00

I spent this past weekend at E Multimedia Studios (formerly Effigy) working with Trinity James on what will hopefully become his first full length album. It was definitely interesting to experience what has been hyped to me as "the best drum room" in Madison. Cats on the session were Trinity of course, Buddo of Last Crack fame, Gary Chin from the Dorothy Heralds, and Bill Collins of All The Way Rider.

The session was supposed to be a one day lock-out where we went in, got sounds and hashed out the tunes live in the studio. However, through whims of destiny it became a multi-day session that I hope will be completed this next Sunday. Saturday (Day One) most of us sat around while the engineers were getting sounds. Then suddenly I was recruited to play Trin's guitar parts while he was singing. From there the whole group of us were rounded up to play. Unfortuneately, Bill, Gary and I were all reading charts and a number of mistakes were made. Instead of just fixing the missed notes, etc. We wound up cleaning up the drum tracks and calling it a night.

The next day, Gary laid basses (with a pick!) and I came in for a missing Bill and laid basic rhythm tracks. Trin's going to be in the studio laying vocals this week and Saturday I'm scheduled to go back in to lay fills, color and solos. Hopefully this will all turn into an album by next week. If not, he'll have a pretty decent sounding four to six song demo that he can sell at shows. I'll post again after this weekend with events and thoughts on the whole process. It's the month for studio work. Next week, Trin again. Week after, I'll be recording Josh Harty's new record. Two weeks later, The Dorothy Heralds sessions begin. Whew! (My eighth notes should be pretty damn even by the time I'm done with all this!)

Live TDH, Live!

2006-04-29T08:05:00.000-05:00

I played the Klinic in Madison with The Dorothy Heralds last night. It was our first time playing there and I was pleasantly surprised. The sound was okay, but the people really made it worthwhile. The staff were all very nice and accommodating. I have to mention the decor as a stand out attraction. The bar area is done up in this pseudo-fifties style with diamond steel plating all over the place. So it winds up being this sort of weird psychobilly sort of vibe.

Fermata opened the show and they're showing improvement each time I see them. More than anything else I think I like their writing. Yes, they're all individually very talented, but there's something about the songs and arrangements themselves that resonates with me. Hope to see them more in the future.

Spin Spin Coupling were up next and I was duly impressed! I'd never heard them, nor did I know that they ran with not one, but TWO bass players and TWO guitar players! Talk about a wall of sound. Good vocal harmonies and catchy songs with big chorus'. The effect of their six-string bassist doubling guitar lines in the same octave was very cool also. May have to steal that idea... hmmm.

Last night was our first show with Mark Heise, drummer from Madison's The Selfish Gene. We only had three rehearsals with him and he performed brilliantly. The band as a whole had a few rough spots, but nothing that seemed to bother the crowd too much. In fact, we wound up playing until closing time to a fair sized crowd. Since the band knows so many tunes after playing a bunch of cover shows, we started to whip out some old favorites. Songs like "I Want Candy" had people doing the hand jive, but the really interesting story is about "99 Luftballons". Les Crews and his wife were on hand for the show as well as a few friends of theirs. They had just finished judging a battle of the bands at Verona High School and apparently one of the bands covered the Nena hit. So they took our rendition as a sign that they were in the right place . Funny how that happens, two totally unrelated bands in two totally unrelated venues play the same tune on the same night to the same audience. I'm just wondering where the kids at Verona High School heard the song. Considering they couldn't have been more than one or two years old when it came out. Not quite synchronicity really, but close.

Enough about last night, we (TDH) are playing the Hat Trick Lounge with EZ Street West tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota. I'm looking forward to being back in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes. Just as long as I don't wind up driving back home to Madison after the gig like the last time I was there. (Zornfest @ the Walker Arts Center) For those of you that won't be joining us tonight, Michelle's group Two Timer at the Pitcher's Mound. Check them out if you can, great time and great guitars! (*Yay for guitars!*)

Website goes live... almost...

2006-04-17T13:09:00.000-05:00

So thanks to Michelle (Thanks Michelle!!) I finally have an honest to God URL for my website. Some things are still in the works (like the email newsletter). I'll have more lessons posted before the end of May. I'm also hoping to have some audio posted soon.

In other news, The Dorothy Heralds are now in pre-production for our new album. We're still writing a couple of tunes, but we're mostly working on demos and scratch tracks at the moment. For those of you who are interested, we are doing a presale for this album to cover studio costs, etc. Here's a list of packages that we're making available:

Price	What you get
$15	one (1) personalized copy of the next studio album prior to its release.
$25	one (1) personalized copy of the next studio album prior to its release and one (1) TDH t-shirt.
$50	One (1) personalized copy of the next studio album prior to its release. One (1) personalized copy of either Projections or The Basement Sessions One (1) TDH t-shirt Your illustrious name in TDH’s liner notes
$100	One (1) personalized copy of the next studio album prior to its release. One (1) personalized copy of either Projections or The Basement Sessions One (1) TDH t-shirt Your illustrious name in TDH’s liner notes A place on our guest list for TDH’s August CD Release Party Access to TDH’s VIP section at the CD Release Party (complete with snacks, drinks, and other fun surprises)
$200	One (1) personalized copy of the next studio album prior to its release. One (1) personalized copy of either Projections or The Basement Sessions One (1) TDH t-shirt Your illustrious name in TDH’s liner notes A place on our guest list for TDH’s August CD Release Party Access to TDH’s VIP section at the CD Release Party (complete with snacks, drinks, and other fun surprises) An invitation to TDH’s exclusive listening party. We’re renting a room and throwing a party—be among the first to hear the new album in the company of other friends and fans!

If you have any questions, or are interested in purchasing one of these packages please email me.

Little updates

2006-03-28T12:45:00.000-06:00

I've been spending a lot of time working on music for the string quartet album I'm planning. The line up is probably going to be two cellos, guitar and violin. I may replace one cello with either trombone or another violin. I think I'm going to title it Alone Is The New Together. Seems appropriate, not only because of the way the music is coming about, but also due to the "new" phenomenon of blogging, IM, etc. It'll be fun. And definitely interesting.

I've been listening to a lot of Tom Waits work lately. (Speaking of which, I should update the "Listening to..." section here) Marc Ribot's contributions to his work will probably stand out in my mind as some of the most inventive in popular music. There's an interview with him at the All About Jazz website where he gives a little insight to his compositional process. It was a very interesting read for me.

Other than this, I'm going to be working on some string arrangements for some other people. Hopefully I'll be able to post them here or at my site when they're done. I'll also be doing some duo work with Josh Harty in the near future. I've also been working through some transcriptions of Django Reinhardt solos and some Mingus tunes (especially, Weird Nightmare). I think it might be fun to do a gypsy jazz type band with more of the punk rock aesthetic. The Mingus charts are incredibly inspiring. You can see Ellington all over his work. Beautiful stuff.

And the winner is...

2006-03-19T14:21:00.000-06:00

So my group The Dorothy Heralds were up for a number of Madison Area Music Awards last night. We were nominated in seven categories: Best Electronic Song for 'Beautiful', Best Unique Song for 'Now', Best Classical Song for 'Inverno Rosa', Best Overall Artist, Best Electronic Artist, Best Unique Artist, and Best Classical Artist. Whew, that's a lot of bests.

We were fortunate enough to win for Best Electronic Song and Best Classical Song. It was a complete surprise as the artists in each category are some of the best that Madison has to offer. I feel a little awkward writing about this as we thanked most everyone last night. But I'd still like to mention Robert Schoville, who performed the batucada section of 'Beautiful', Dave Adler, who arranged and produced the strings on 'Inverno Rosa', Biff Blumfumgange, who performed all of the violin parts, and Russ Pollard, who performed the cello parts. It was a real surprise and honor to win last night. Maybe I'll have more to say later...

Electric Masada

2006-02-28T12:07:00.000-06:00

So I was lucky enough to have been able to attend Electric Masada's performance at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis on February 17th. I have to say that it was one of the most exciting and rewarding musical experiences of my life. Not only was this the first time I was able to see Zorn live, but Marc Ribot, Joey Baron, Cyro Baptista, Ikuo Mori, Trevor Dunn, Kenny Wolleson and Jamie Saft are all part of the group. With the exception of Jamie Saft who I was unfamiliar with at the time, each of these musicians have had an impact on my life and music, either as a member of a different group or individually. Ribot being the most obvious as his solo albums and collaborations with artists such as Tom Waites and Elvis Costello see constant play on my iPod. In fact I'm still working on transcriptions of his solos on the Rain Dogs album.

The night commenced with a talk/QA session with Zorn. I have to admit that I would have driven the four hours just for this. Zorn spoke at length about the importance of community in his work. He also discussed the process he uses for his soundtrack work, which was enlightening. He also spoke of the importance of art in our current situation and how artists actually suffer when commercial concerns enter into the picture. It was also humorous to hear his disdain for the "jazz" label.

After the talk we commenced to the theater for Electric Masada's performance. The band started late due to flight delays, etc. To my surprise the theater was set up amphitheater style and we were in the fourth row! This afforded us a great view of the band. In fact Michelle was delighted to be sitting directly in front of Cyro Baptista. Zorn kicked off the first tune and I was immediately enthralled. Then as he started to direct the improvisation I was struck with utter amazement. I was finally witnessing exactly what I'd contemplated and theorized for years. "How does he do this?" was the question on my lips every time I listened to Naked City or Cobra or any number of his improvising groups. The rest of the show kept me in this state of awe as the band proved itself to be inventive and consistently musical (this is something many small improvising groups can't always maintain, much less eight piece groups!). Absolutely incredible.

Lame song lyric reference here...

2006-01-27T04:51:00.000-06:00

I actually decided to write a post this time not about what's going on in my life per se, but about a band that's long dead and gone but whose influence is still reverberating in my daily process as a musician. That band is Naked City, John Zorn's "composition workshop" that was formed in the late 80's. Naked City was a band comprised of some of Downtown New York's brightest stars at the time. John Zorn, Joey Baron, Fred Frith, Bill Frisell, and Wayne Horovitz created some of the most intelligent, humorous, aggressive and beautiful music I've ever heard.

Since the middle of the past century and the birth of rock 'n' roll, few new forms of music have been created or discovered. Hip hop, punk, and so-called "free" jazz are probably the most important. That band proved that despite a lack of novel form in music, there could still be innovation in the context of a traditional rock 'n' roll band, and more importantly a new way to relate to music as a whole. They tried to show us how Ornette Coleman, Ennio Morricone, Henri Mancini, hardcore punk, lounge jazz, blues, surf and an endless list of musical styles were part of the same continuum.

I first heard the band when I was in high school and I have to admit that not only the cover of their debut album, Naked City, but the music especially scared and disturbed me. In fact, it does to this day. But it's only recently that I've realized how much their output has meant to me and influenced what I do as a musician. Just listen to "California" or "Now" on the Dorothy Heralds' last album. Jumping from Nü-Metal trash to McCoy Tyner-inspired country chord melody to Coltrane-type chord cycles in an electronica context? I can't deny that it was Naked City that led me to the mental disorders that make me do what I do musically. Maybe you should try them out also....

There were bells, all around...

2006-01-20T13:34:00.000-06:00

The Dorothy Heralds played our fist show in a few months last night at the High Noon Saloon. We debuted a number of new songs that we're hoping to record in June. The band was loose, but the energy was high and the audience seemed to really enjoy the show. Our use of sound clips and instrumental transitions has definitely improved and is really adding a lot to our show. Lots of fun, and a lot of lessons learned. Thanks to everyone that braved the cold to come out last night!

As you may have heard, CTM is closing its doors on their 2006 season due to financial troubles. This really hit me hard as Gary, Kevin and I were set to do the music for at least two more productions. I was able to attend the final show of Stuart Little and was impressed with the overall production. I had some issues with how the work we did was used (underused, actually), but all-in-all a good show. The Isthmus had good things to say in their review. Here's hoping that they're able to work things out and start producing again.

So after a night of being a rockstar I get to go teach others how to do the same. Not too bad... heheh.

A Day In the Life...

2006-01-11T13:11:00.000-06:00

Updates, updates...

Stuart Little has done well from what I've heard. The reviews have been critical of the pace of the story and lack of character development. This is really a critique of the script more than anything else. I found one review at Madison.com. Please send me links if you find other reviews.

Next week Thursday, Jan. 19th my group, The Dorothy Heralds will be performing at the High Noon Saloon. It's gearing up to be a really good show. We're starting to incorporate musical and sampled segues between songs. Also, 90% of the set will consist of the material we've been writing the past few months. We're going in some interesting directions. I'm hoping to get someone from Kiki's out to review the show. We're also beginning to incorporate props into our show. Any of you who saw us at the Annex a few months back may understand.

My mother, Janet Nelson, was interviewed at Cupcakes Take The Cake. It's a fun read. I never knew about my mother's secret passion for cupcakes. Also, she's posting a lot of her work on her blog. Check it out...

I think that's it mostly. For now at least...

Teaser

2006-01-06T11:24:00.000-06:00

Just an FYI for those of you who are interested, I just updated my website with a new photo (as some of you have requested) as well as two guitar lessons. Please check them out and let me know what you think.

In other news, CTM's production of Stuart Little opens tonight. All music and incidental sound effects were done by Gary Chin, Kevin Lozada and I. I've seen the production through a couple of stages and it promises to be very good. Check it out!

Dreams

2005-12-31T11:28:00.000-06:00

So I had the coolest dream last night. I dreamt the I somehow got the chance to record an album with Nels Cline. We were at DNA Studios recording and he said that he liked the sounds I made. It was all really surreal, as most dreams are. Of course, near the end of the dream I made the mistake of expressing my awe of him. Thankfully all he said was, "Please, don't say that". I obliged him until my phone rang this morning.

Work

2005-12-29T22:15:00.000-06:00

So I'm on a little break from recording the soundtrack for CTM's production of Stuart Little. Just thought I'd write about the session a bit. Mark from The Selfish Gene is playing percussion. I'm really impressed with his playing. He's never heard any of the music until tonight and he's pulling out some really nice stuff. His time is impeccable also! Seems to be a very creative player.

Brennan Connors (sorry, no website, no link) is playing tenor, soprano sax and flute on the session. Brennan played with my group Tank! for a while before moving to Chicago to work on his degree at Roosevelt University. It's great to hang with him again. He's one of the best musicians I've ever played with and also one of the chillest cats ever. Very inspirational.

Gary from Tank! and The Dorothy Heralds is playing some trombone. Kevin from The Dorothy Heralds is playing midi files, etc. mostly. It's always a pleasure to hang and work with those guys. I guess that's why I work with them so much.

Slim from Good-N-Loud is engineering the session. I'm really beginning to like working with him. Great ears, funny guy and a great work ethic.
Anyway, the session's going smoothly and the beer is flowing freely. I'm sure some stories will come out of tonight, so stay tuned!

Derek Bailey is dead. Long live Derek Bailey!

2005-12-27T13:25:00.000-06:00

I wasn't planning on posting another entry here until after the New Year, but the news of Derek Bailey's death came as a shock to me. I haven't followed his career that closely, but his book Improvisation had a huge impact on me. I'm not sure how it holds up as a scholarly work, but being shown how the thread of improvisation is woven throughout the history of music was a revelation for me.

I checked out some of his early recordings last night and I had another realization. Listening to his early recordings I finally was able to draw a line between his work and Bill Frisell's playing. This came as a complete surprise to me as I'd always wondered what Bill was channelling on the segues between tunes on his live trio album from the 80's. That album was a huge influence on me, both my approach to the instrument and conceptually. I'm still trying to figure out how to capture the beautiful abandon and angular melodicism displayed on that recording. This gives me another piece of the puzzle!

Rest in peace, Derek!

Derek Bailey's record label, Incus
Site with audio and video clips, etc.

Christmas Time Is Here

2005-12-26T10:58:00.000-06:00

... and gone.

I had a great Christmas this year. I got to spend it with some of the most important people in my life for which I'm very thankful. I completed a short EP of Christmas carols arranged for solo guitar for my family. My parents seemed to enjoy it which was a bit of a confidence booster. While playing the CD for my family, my brother-in-law asked who it was. This also was a big confidence booster!

This time of year tends to be a time of reflection for me as I'm sure it is for many people. I feel pretty good about my acomplishments this past year and I'm looking forward to a very challenging 2006. Lots of plans to execute. Many opportunities to take advantage of and to create for myself. Here's a little peek into my plans for this next year.

Gigs, gigs, gigs

Recording a new Dorothy Heralds album

Recording the first Tank! album

Touring

Release of the new Josh Harty album, One Particular Day In December

Completing a rhythm guitar book

Starting school full time

More sound design work

I'll also be working on an album with Michelle Sawyer, the vocalist/percussionist in Tank!. You should check out her band Two Timer. They're a lot of fun and a great group of people.

I'm also looking forward to getting the website completed. I'm working hard on getting some lessons and audio up before going live. Also working on that damn press kit... blech!

Among other things of course.... See y'all next year!

Heh, so that's what blogs are about...

2005-12-16T23:33:00.000-06:00

Not posting... ever....

Oh well, I've been working on my site at N8spg. I've had a lot happen in the past few months since my last post here. I won't try to get into it all, but for some highlights...

The first weekend in December I went up to Minneapolis to record the new Josh Harty album. It was a blast. A lot of crazy stuff happened that weekend. I haven't heard any of the mixes yet, but from what I did hear it's going to be pretty cool.

I've been working on music for the Madison Children's Theater's production of Stuart Little with Gary and Kevin from the Dorothy Heralds. That's taken up a lot of my time lately. The show opens Jan. 6th 2006. We'll be recording all next week most likely with Slim from Good-N-Loud. Slim's got a great ear and a pretty neat guy all around. He's also recording the pre-production demos for the Dorothies next album.

Other than that I've been keeping busy with transcriptions for my group, Tank!. I'm also working on an album of Christmas carols arranged for solo guitar, etc. I've also been reading a lot. The therapist I'm seeing has recommended a number of books, which I haven't gotten around to purchasing yet. She loaned me one that I'm almost done with. Thinking about one's personality and how you deal with the situations in your life has been sort of refreshing for me. It's amazing how you can feel a certain way about a decision or action, then you sit and look at it and your feelings about it tend to change. So much for the unreflected life....

So, that's all for now. I'm eagerly awaiting the Bill Frisell and John Zorn performances in Minneapolis next year.

Oi...

2005-06-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

So it's been a while... seems like the typical way these things go. You start off with the intention of posting everyday, and within days or weeks you've begun to neglect your new blog. Oh well!

So I've started picking up a few more students, and I'm on track to never have to get another day job again! I have been concerned about how young some of my students are. Having to teach a 5 grader can be a little nerve wracking. I don't want to make her do boring scale exercises the whole time, but then again should I really be teaching her "Crazy Train"? I thought that maybe working with her on clavé would be cool, but is that too advanced? I don't know. I just know I have to figure it out by Monday....

My new group Tank! played a couple of shows this week. In the rehearsals leading up to the shows this joke got thrown around:
Person One: What's the name of your band?
Person Two: Jazz band.
Of course this is one of those jokes you just have to experience during a six hour rehearsal. While we all had a great laugh with this one, something dawned on me during the second tune of our first show this week. I'm onstage and we break into the tune "Tank!" (from which we've obviously derived our name) and I realize that there's no way we could be called a "jazz band" or that even the music we're playing could be called "jazz". It's too loud and it rocks too much. I think we've begun to capture that punk-like aesthetic exhibited by players like Marc Ribot. Not that we're on that level, but I think we've begun tap into that attitude while playing some pretty difficult music.

I want to thank Dave Esmond for putting the show together. I was only able to catch the very end of his set, but it's obvious that he's a very good player that serves the tune rather than his own ego. He's also got a great tone! You can check him out at Home of Squirt.

We played yesterday at the UW Terrace. It was an interesting gig. It was definitely the first time I could hear our vibraphone player onstage! The sound guys there really are fantastic. So, yesterday was probably the hottest day in Madison so far this year. Absolute hell on stage. So we get through the first set and take a break. After our set break a storm rolls in over the lake. While this may not be an issue for a lot of bands, it was for us. We're in the middle of a tune, in fact I'm in the middle of a solo, and I'm really getting into the moment. Suddenly, the wind picks up and music stands, etc. start blowing over! Well, that's fine and good right? Except for the fact that I don't have the tune memorized, and my music is blowing all across the Terrace! Thankfully, there were some very kind people that grabbed what they could and passed the sheets back to us. We were able to finish the tune and get loaded out before it started to rain too badly.

I also have to thank my good friend Sean Gillette for reminding me to write my thoughts here. He just started a new blog here. Stop by and say hello sometime...

858 1-4

2005-04-07T15:46:00.000-05:00

Again, I'm not keeping up with this as much as I'd like. Updates, updates, updates.

Met with the guys from the Weather Report thing. It was an interesting night. Lots of old war stories thown around. Of course some expectations were presented, or hinted at rather. It's a bit odd to think about, but I'm already in groups with three of the four cats. The idea is to use Weather Report as a jumping off point. Sometimes the hardest part of starting a band is determining the group's identity. Having an initial idea like this is generally a good thing, as long as no one tries to restrict it to that initial identity. Groups have a way of turning out some wonderful and surprising work when they're allowed to grow in an organic fashion.

I'm still looking for the right day gig to give my life some financial stability. It's difficult when I've committed to so many different projects. However, the music that I'm creating now is definitely benefitting from all the time I've been dedicating to these projects. It's just like anything else (as I'm fond of saying these days), just putting in the time will make all the difference in the world.

I'm finally redeeming all the free tunes I've won from iTunes. I just grabbed the new Bill Frisell album, Richter 858. It's pretty amazing. For a long time I was starting to worry that Frisell was just going to stick with the whole ambient americana thing he was doing for a while. It's nice to hear him stretch out more. And of course, I am partial to dissonant musics so I'm in hog heaven right now.

...and they did

2005-04-02T13:04:00.000-06:00

So a few days away from this and you'd think I'd have accomplished something. Well, you're wrong. Politics with the various projects I'm in are going well at least. It'll be interesting who sticks with all of them and who actually winds up on the bandstand at the first gig. The Weather Report gig (tentatively titled "Six degrees of Weather Report") is starting to get interesting. Not only are the tunes pretty easy (except for the fact that I'm copping Wayne Shorter on a guitar, a GUITAR!) but there's a ground swell of ideas to actually modernize the tunes and make them our own. It may just turn into a real band instead of a pick-up gig of sorts.

That's enough for now. I've got to do some work on the website (which can currently be reached here. Have to put up a lesson area, etc. So stay tuned for my reveiw of the El Clan Destino/Youngbloods Brass Band Show a few weeks ago.

Have fun!

And you thought the beats stopped....

2005-03-30T02:30:00.000-06:00

I've only been awake for thirteen hours at this point, but damn it still seems like a long day. Lots of practicing (reading through the Charlie Parker Omnibook) and lots of searching for jobs. Not a whole lot out there that will let me set my own hours. Made coffee and forgot about it for two hours. Now that's abuse.

Got together with Gary (bassist from TDH and ELQ). He's putting together something of a Weather Report tribute band. Now there's a new idea, put together bands that play just like the great jazz combos. Funny. The reaction he's been getting from people when they find out is also humorous. Everyone expresses an interest and then almost sarcastically wishes him "good luck". We sat down tonight to pick tunes to work on before the first rehearsal. I tell you, sometimes I'm amazed that these guys are venerated by jazz-heads and musos. There is some really sickly-sweet schlock on their albums. God it's horrible. Should be interesting carving out space in the group as a guitar player though. I'll definitely be able to straddle the sax/synth division.

Need sleep. Have to make sure to bring my homework from two weeks ago to class. Ugh. I-IV-V-I progressions in E minor. yay.

A long winter night....

2005-03-29T02:27:00.000-06:00

So, now that my stint as a contractor ("sub" contractor that is) for the State is up, I've decided that this of all times would be perfect to increase the amount of time I spend with a guitar in my hands. However, it seems that for every twenty minutes I spend practicing or writing; I spend an hour and twenty minutes with my fingers blazing at the keyboard. Go figure.

My spy-jazz quartet (The Evan Lurie Quartet) had our first gig this past Friday at the Hemingway Cigar Lounge in Fitchburg, WI. Thanks to all of you who came out. A number of trainwrecks were avoided and a good time was had by all. The night didn't start off so rosily though. I have to give a big thanks to Anthony Cao and his girlfriend for being so gracious when they walked in and saw our rigs set up. Apparently there had been a mix up in the booking since the management had changed. Anthony, I owe you a drink or two!

Otherwise, looks like we might be hooking up for a celebration of the Taco Bell Boycott coming to an end. (http://ciw-online.org/ for more info) If everyone can do the show (and we can get on the bill), we'll be doing a few tunes from the Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Prostizos albums. Fun.

Must return to working on the website, http://www.guerillabeatz.com.

Guerillabeatz

Giving Balsamiq a sp

On the validity of local area music awards

Holidays and Notes

WIP: Nostalgia Instrumentation

WIP: Work update

WIP: Nostalgia Ideas, part deux

WIP: Location and Nostalgia

WIP: Technology and Time Travel, Memory and Nostalgia

WIP: Nostalgia and Technology

The Problem with Post-Punk

WIP: Nostalgia Ideas

WIP: Nostalgia quotes

WIP: More on Nostalgia

WIP: Nostalgia

Wow... really insigh

RT @gridinoc: ﻿﻿

Oh yeah, and #pirate

Looking forward to t

Making a mixtape for

It's been a very goo

Nice! Meeting with a

Off for a bike ride

Latest project is do

Something to make yo

Heart warming bedtim

Back from MKE apartm

Beating the streets

Rockin' The The's 'G

Wow... http://htxt.i

Need a website? Ours

I'm so disappointed

...and exceptional t

Another day at the m

First client's a go!

Due to issues beyond

in the final push fo

What a foodie day! F

a little work, then

Holy cow Batman! I l

Feels good to be wor

Looks like the Ander

Michelangelo's for s

Editing recordings f

Lykke Li - Youth Novels

Listening to Alice R

Shoot... I missed Ly

Rain, rain

A Quick Walk Around The Block

Hotel Villa Fontaine Roppongi Annex

Tropical Storm Sinlaku

T-minus Ten Hours Thirty Minutes

A great weekend for music

Last chance to dance

To be thankful

The Search continues...

Giving Ceaser His Due

Ack, yet another year has past!

Contessa says...

Website Updates

See The River Rise

Quick Update

Madison Area Music Awards

New Perspectives

¡Nevermind the Bollocks!

Little updates...

Hark! The Dorothy Heralds Play...

¡Muy Divertido!

New CD Soon!

Principles of Art

Ranting Against the Machine...

Happy Wednesday!

...and the world keeps turning...

Late Studio Post & Future Plans

Good times...

That time again...

Studio Updates

We're making records, that what we're doing! (pt. II)

We're making records, that's what we're doing! (pt. I)

Live TDH, Live!

RT @gridinoc: