Fahrenheit 9/11

When I first started the blog, I decided I would try to be as apolitical as possible -- it just seemed like a good idea. So keeping that in mind...

I saw Michael Moore's movie Fahrenheit 9/11 tonight. I've been following Michael Moore since his first film, "Roger & Me", and I've watched his antics get more extreme and his stunts more radical. And while I do admire and appreciate his work, I've been turned off at times by his outrageousness, feeling that perhaps he's lost some credibility in the process of being so dramatic and over-the-top. But I think everyone who is of voting age should watch this movie -- it's not the whole story, and it's not an even-sided one either. And frankly, at times I thought it was a little unfocused and didn't go quite "deep" enough. But you can draw whatever conclusions you wish afterwards, and choose to agree or disagree with what is presented to you. Even if you have to tune Mr. Moore out, I think it's totally worth spending 2 hours to be a more knowledgable voter, and a more attuned human being.

Flyguy

This is a fun time-waster -- make sure you visit with the alien in the flying saucer...

http://www.trevorvanmeter.com/flyguy/

Still too many notes...

Spent most of the day orchestrating "TranZendental Danse of Joi" again... this is a long piece! Although I have the sense that in performance, it's not going to feel long at all. I'm making good time through it, and hopefully by the end of next weekend, I'll be finished with it. I've been more decisive with the choices I've been making in this piece (compared to my last piece, "Courage & Compassion"), and I'm finding that whenever I have qualms, or I start to second-guess what I've written, I go back to listen to my sketch, and I'm once again satisfied that all is well and I can proceed. It is good. Now I can't wait to finish it and get it played!

Too many notes...

Spent almost the entire day orchestrating my new wind orchestra piece, "TranZendental Danse of Joi" (well... I did manage to sneak out to a matinee of "The Chronicles of Riddick"). It's going pretty well... I'm getting close to the halfway point... I think it's going to be a pretty cool piece. It's a real crossover piece with a lot of fusion jazz influence -- today I got to the part where the bass guitar and drums really kick in...
"what?!?" you say, "there aren't supposed to be drums and bass guitar in a wind orchestra?"
"feh." says I.

Good vs. Evil

I'm glad somebody has FINALLY figured out how to rate the content of a website in a sane and rational manner!

Here's my ratings, for all you concerned parents out there...



Interested in learning more?

Dick Dale's Surf Tone

Today I was asked to record some surf guitar tracks, including a pass of double-picking (or classically speaking, tremolo picking) -- basically your picking hand is set on "rapid fire". A common technique used by mandolin and oud players, it was made popular by the legendary Dick Dale, and has become a staple of the surf-rock sound. Dick Dale's big hit, "Miserlou", was recorded back in 1962, and immortalized in recent years as the theme song of the film "Pulp Fiction".

I wanted to get as close to the authentic surf sound as possible, so I did some research on the 'net. There was a great article stating that "Miserlou" was originally a Greek folk tune (!), and that for the 1962 recording, the guitar was tuned up a half step. It also talked about Dale's amp-of-choice and his use of reverb. I also learned alot about Dale's unique sound from this picture I found on his website:


OK, first off -- he's playing left-handed, with his guitar strung right-handed! That essentially means he's playing the guitar UPSIDE-DOWN! Now if you look at the pickup selector, he's using the bridge pickup. And notice his bridge pickup -- it's naturally slanted on a Stratocaster, but because the strings are backwards on this guitar, it's slanted the wrong way -- giving him an even more biting, splanky sound on his low E (now F!) string. Also, his picking hand (which you'll notice is a blur!) is waaaaaaaaay back so that he's picking extremely close to the bridge -- giving the notes a very bright, biting attack. With the retuning, the pickup placement, and that pick technique, you just can't get a more aggressive tone than that.

My tracks came out sounding great, but that wasn't the point of this entry -- I just wanted to pay tribute to the King of Surf Guitar, DICK DALE!!!

Los Angeles to Chicago

Just arrived home on the redeye flight from Los Angeles -- y'know, people with babies should NOT be allowed to buy tickets for those flights. So after a very intense 4 days and very little sleep on the plane, I was, nevertheless, at work by 10 AM... it was a great trip, Nic and I had a great time, and I was glad to spend time with friends like Kit and Angela and Brian, Brandon Roberts (and meet his new girlfriend Heddie!), Tim and Kate, Veigar and Seri, Steve Kaplan, Eric and Hila, Damon, and of course, King Dooley. It was also a great opportunity to see other friends at the PL show -- Charles "Tony" Silvestri and his wife were at the performance, and I also got to see David and Lisa, and their 5 month old son, Zion. And we were very happy to be with Steve and Newman and Melissa, who are always great fun to be with. Just so wonderful to spend so much time with so many good people...

Paradise Lost

Nicki and I hooked up with Steve, Newman, and Melissa (Newman's wife) on Saturday morning at the airport, and after lunch with Eric, we knocked around LA for a few hours before the show. But I'm sure no one really cares about that, so here's my take on PL:

First off, it's really come together. The story has changed and developed since the last public performance in New York City, and I was totally blown away by Eric's music. His melding of operatic voice and symphonic textures, with trance beats and ambient electronica, is as natural as it is expressive; he's developed a new musical voice that retains all the elements of drama and splendor that we've enjoyed in his concert music, and allows him to explore a near-limitless palette of colors and textures. And I've always loved seeing Hila (Plitmann) and Damon (Kirsche) onstage, since they are such extraordinarily powerful performers and singers -- this performance was no exception.

Eric and David are still tweaking the show during the two-week run, so it'll be exciting to see how the show evolves from here! Great work guys! Congratulations!!!

Chicago to Los Angeles

Heading to LA today with Nicki to see friends, and witness Eric Whitacre's opera electronica, PARADISE LOST. Should be a great trip! Gotta go pack!

Wow

The company I work for is looking for another composer/sound designer. Today Jim Trompeter dropped off his demo and resume. This link is just a taste of the stuff on his resume.

And I just finished listening to his demo. My brain has melted and oozed out of my ears. WOW.

Riding the Storm Out

Here's a good way to start a Monday morning -- ride to work during a thunderstorm on a bicycle. I am cold and W-E-T. Fortunately, my backpack IS waterproof, so my manuscript of "TranZendental Danse of Joi" stayed dry...

Anybody have a towel I can borrow?

New-World Technology and Old-School Orchestration

Spent the morning with an extremely intelligent electronic music composer/computer programmer/entrepreneur named Eric Huffman, checking out this software he's developed that just might revolutionize incidental music -- here's his website (currently under construction)... I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, so I can't say anything more about it... but he's excited about my work and I'm very excited about his technology -- hopefully we'll be collaborating together in the very near future...

Then spent the afternoon out on a deck in the sun, with large sheets of manuscript paper and a #2 pencil, orchestrating my newest piece for wind orchestra, "TranZendental Danse of Joi"... short of the ensemble I was writing for, and using a pencil instead of a quill, it doesn't get much more 18th century than that!

Evil Deadline pt.5 (the final chapter)

The games are finished, and the design team is thrilled. Two more in the can... onto the next project(s)! I've got requests for TV gameshow music, some magical/mystical orchestral stuff, as well as about a dozen assorted rock, blues, and country tunes -- all waiting to be written and recorded! Gotta run!

Evil Deadline pt.4

With that crushing deadline fast approaching, I got to the studio at 11:30 AM... on Sunday. I finished up at 7:30 on MONDAY. That's right -- 32 hours straight -- writing jazz big band charts and running the recording session. The tunes sound excellent, but that's pretty much a given when you have musicians like Tom Hipskind (drums), Larry Gray (acoustic bass), Tom Garling (mult. trombones), Carey Deadman (mult. trumpets), Eric Pryzby (mult. tenor sax), Steve Zoloto (mult. alto sax, bari sax), Rob Berry (piano), and Ed Harrison (vibes)...

I am EX-HAUST-ED... and there's still more work to be done!

Cleveland to Chicago... mmm-BOP!

Not much story to tell here, just an early flight with the brothers Hanson onboard... didn't have much reason to talk to them, but they seemed like nice enough guys...

They sure is pretty...

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - Courage & Compassion

A quick stop at a Tim Horton's for coffee and donuts, and Alan and I arrive at OSU about 8:30 AM. Milt Allen is waiting for us. Milt shows us the hall where we'll be recording, and then the other rooms nearby -- we need to decide where the control room is going to be. We consider the girl's bathroom for a moment, and then opt for the slightly-farther-away-but-far-more-dignified green room. We help Alan unload the gear, and then Milt and I sit down for one last look over the score.

The musicians begin to arrive... I manage to steal a few minutes to discuss percussion options with the percussionists: Maria, Chris, and Chris. Maria and the Chrises are very open to my opinions, and are happy to try out different mallets and instruments for me. I also recognize a few of the players from the OWU gig -- Sarah (percussion - but not in this ensemble), Joe (trombone), and Zach (tuba) -- but only have a few seconds to say hello and see how they've been before the session starts.

The session begins... after touching on a few spots, the band runs the entire piece. This is the first time I've heard them perform it, and I truly can't describe the experience in words. After waiting over a year to hear this piece really performed the way I'd imagined it... it was the first time I could - just for a moment - stop thinking about the notes, and reflect on WHY I'd written this in the first place. It was almost overwhelming, and I had to pull myself back into focus so I could make notes in the score.

The session went very, very well, and the recording should sound great on the next BCM CD. I cannot express enough gratitude to Milt Allen and the Ohio State band members for their hard work and the wonderful musicality they brought to the piece. And thanks go to Alan as well, for trucking through some of the more scenic sections of Columbus with me to make this beautiful-sounding recording. I thank you all so very, very much.

Cleveland to Columbus

Meet Alan at Cleveland airport, and immediately head out on the highway. An uneventful drive, save the great conversation and a dinner stop at the ubiquitous roadside Cracker Barrel... finally we take the freeway exit for Columbus, then drive across town to the Days Inn. I'd bought the room the night before from a discount website, and judging from the neighborhood, I'm beginning to understand why I got such a good deal. When we get to the motel, the clerk is behind bulletproof glass. The woman waiting in line behind us has "Dirty Red" tattooed across her bicep (she doesn't have red hair, so I'm guessing that "Dirty Red" just might be that special someone in her life). We drive around the motel to our room, and unload all the gear from Alan's truck. All the while, Alan keeps muttering to himself over and over "...I don't care if they steal the truck...". Once we finish moving all the gear into the room, we barracade the door, and after a few hands of Gin Rummy and goodnight calls to the girlfriend (mine) and the fiance (his), we hit the sack.

(Who says the music business ain't glamorous?)

Headed for Ohio

Today I'm heading to Columbus, Ohio for a recording session of "Courage & Compassion" with conductor Milt Allen and the Ohio State University Symphonic Band. My very good friend Alan Bise will be the recording engineer, so I'm confident with these talented musicians and Al's technical skill, it's gonna sound great.

Evil Deadline pt.3

... over 14 hours in the studio today... my eyes won't stop watering (I'm guessing it has to do with staring into 3 computer monitors ALL DAY)...

Evil Deadline pt.2

12 hours in the studio... making progress, but I'm whipped.