Happy Birthday Anne!

Today my baby sister turns 31, on the 31st of the month, and its a blue moon tonight (that means it is the second full moon within the same month).

She thinks this has some profound meaning.

I think she's a complete wackadoo.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA BANANA!!!

odds and... odds

I read in the news today that a woman was arrested, handcuffed and detained for 3 hours because she was eating a candybar in a subway station... you've got to read this one to believe it.

now playing

So my current game obsession is "Wakeboarding Unleashed".  Its filling up all the cracks in my spare time... which isn't much to begin with.
 
Its made by Activision -- the same guys who make the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series, and anyone who knows me knows that I'm a THPS addict.  Seriously.  Its kooky. 

This game is very similar -- you can boardslide, do flip tricks, grab tricks, link your tricks, etc.   And the controls are very similar, so if you've got the Tony Hawk controls wired, its an easy transition for your skateboarding-to-wakeboarding thumb-wrestling-dexterity. 

Now I'm not saying "Wakeboarding Unleashed" is even cooler, but I will say there are some added challenges that make it a little more challenging and a lot of fun.  The biggest difference is the rope -- the programmers have done a great job with the physics between you, the rope and the boat pulling you along.  It really adds a whole new dimension to lining up and executing your tricks.  And the game is gorgeous -- the water and water effects are really impressive.

I guess the game has gone over like a fart in church though, because its already on sale for cheap all over the place.  If you're a Tony Hawk junkie who's already maxed out "T.H.U.G." and needs something to do until your next THPS fix, then I HIGHLY recommend you check you "Wakeboarding Unleashed".

Obama

"…Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let's face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. … I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on Earth, is my story even possible.

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation, not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That is the true genius of America, a faith in the simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted…

… Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes.

Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of America.

There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America -- there is the United States of America.

The pundits, the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states; red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats.

But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. 

We coach Little League in the blue states and have gay friends in the red states.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it.

We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope?

… Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope. 

In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation; a belief in things not seen; a belief that there are better days ahead.

… I believe that we have a righteous wind at our backs, and that as we stand on the crossroads of history, we can make the right choices and meet the challenges that face us.

…Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. Thank you. "

read the full transcript

A rose by any other name would just sound stupid

Let me start by saying I hate titles.  Hate them hate them hate them.  I always have -- they're the bane of my compositional existence.  Why, you ask?  Because there is no other aspect of the presentation of music that will have more impact on an audience; while at the same time, will have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with what they're hearing.  And to make matters worse, the title sets the first impression -- its the eye-popper or the eye-roller.  Done well, its the firm handshake, the confident smile, the pair of expensive shoes (hey guys, evidently women notice this).  Done poorly, its the limp handshake, the piece of spinach caught in your teeth, AND the old chewed-up slippers covered in dog drool, with hole-y mis-matched socks, all rolled into one.

When I first started writing music, I tried to avoid the title issue altogether.  My first composition was called "Untitled".  But I knew I wouldn't be able to keep that up for long... otherwise I'd have to start numbering them ("Untitled #2", "Untitled #3", etc. etc. etc.) and that seemed like a cop-out.  So I went the anti-social route -- the next two pieces I wrote were called "Is" and "If".  These are the kinds of titles that tell the audience nothing, except where they can stick their titles. 

After that, I began writing alot for modern dance and film, which was perfect for me, because nobody CARES what the music is called!  I was happy.  I was content.  I was also fooling myself, because sure enough, I start writing concert music again, and once again, everyone wanted TITLES.

So I try to come up with something that serves the music, and that people will like.  And I really sweat these things out.  Oft-times, I think about it for months.  And when I finally come up with something I like, I'll bounce it off of other people, and sure enough -- NOBODY likes what I've come up with.  Seriously.  Its a phenomenon.  

Take my publishing company -- AVSICTISM Music.  Nobody liked it then, and nobody likes it now (I was still in my "anti-social title phase" at that time, so the name stuck).  I remember I asked my dad what he thought of this title and he told me it sounded like some kinda social disease.  And you should hear the ridiculous titles I came up with for the movements of Chaos Theory... thank God Eric Whitacre finally told me I should just call them movement "1","2", and "3".

So here I am once again -- I've finished a piece of music I'm really excited about, and I've come up with a title that I thought was cool.  And after reading this thread on the BCM Forum, I am convinced that I have come up with THE WORST TITLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE.  It might seem like I was trying to do it, because according to these experts, no title has better fit the qualifications of being 100% pure, unadulterated, unmitigated pidgeon-poop.  According to these guys, its the kind of title that'll make you elbow the guy next to you -- a total stranger, and say:

"Hey, didja see this one called-"

And he'll interrupt you saying:

"Yeah -- I was actually just about to read it out loud in a really sarcastic tone of voice -- like I was asking a question."

And you and that guy will laugh, and the couple next to that guy will notice and say:

"Are you laughing about that title in the program?  We read that a few minutes ago and immediately thought -- who does this composer think he is?!?"

And the young woman sitting in front of them will spin around and say:

"Ohmygod!  I was TOTALLY thinking the same thing!"

And pretty soon, the music has started, and everyone in the audience is still engrossed in the discussion of how lame my title is, and they don't hear the piece, they just keep talking about it's lame-ass title...

I'm at a loss.

Maybe I'll just call it "Untitled #2".

Eskimo Roll, anyone?

Do you have any one thing that you HAVE to do before you die? For some, its making a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca or Jerusalem. For others, its delivering pizzas to the Swedish Bikini Team's locker room. For me, its white-water kayaking. I'm not exactly sure why, but for quite some time I've felt compelled to do this. I think its from going on river trips in a big dumpy raft, while watching kayakers nimbly surfing the eddies and popping endo's in the sink holes. Too cool. I'd still be craning my neck and looking back longingly at those river-rats, frolicking amongst the waves and boulders, while my bloated-blimp-of-a-raft floated farther and farther away from whitewater. So I decided this summer, I was gonna draw a line in the sand -- this summer I would learn to kayak.

The cool thing about Lennox Armstrong is that he's not the kind of guy who'll hear that kind of statement and just ignore it. Nooooo -- to Ox, busy work-schedules and incomplete orchestrations are a sorry excuse for postponing one of life's necessary adventures. So with great good cheer, he pulled up to Nicki's doorstep at noon, his bright red kayak strapped to the roof of his Volkswagen Golf. Nic and I jumped in the car and we headed for Lake Michigan. There was a decent chop today, so we needed to find calmer waters -- a harbor perhaps. Parking almost proved to be our undoing, but we found a spot. It wasn't the ideal location, but the water was flat enough that it would be easier to learn on. We were at Dog Beach, just off of Lakeshore Drive -- you must picture the scene. While Lennox is demonstrating proper paddle techniques, and Nicki's toes are being nibbled on my pollution-altered-mini-mutant-fish, and I'm blinding everyone onshore with my perfect pale pasty pallor (this is what orchestrating indoors every weekend will give you!) -- Rover keeps running over with a waterlogged tennis ball in his mouth, and Spot is humping my leg. But Lennox is a patient teacher, and despite the distractions, he manages to get both Nic and I to the point where we're fairly comfortable in the kayak -- at least when we're right-side-up.

Upside-down is a whole other story.

One of the early techniques one must master is the Eskimo roll -- y'know, where the kayaker flips the kayak so their noggin is about 3 feet below sea-level, then they miraculously comes popping back out of the water, like they'd meant to do it all along. This is an important skill to learn for two reasons:
1. It looks totally badass, and
2. If you do accidently flip the kayak while traveling through rocks and boulders and churning whitewater, you're gonna wanna get your head out of the water AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

The first half of the roll is easy -- its the second half that is a little more difficult to master. Lennox demonstrates this technique several times. And, being the joker that he is, he'd painted "HO HO HO" in big white letters on the bottom of his red kayak. So with every demonstration, for a split-second, he's sharing a little Christmas cheer with the dog-owners along the shore. Nicki and I would later find that when we were attempting our Eskimo Rolls, it could be more-appropriately interpreted as "OH OH OH" -- and since our rolls typically took alot longer, and were often aborted about half-way through, it could be easily enjoyed by the slower readers.

It was great experience, and my enthusiasm for this challenge is far from dampened. And Lennox gave a positive review of our progress for first-timers. I'm totally psyched for my next chance to hang upside down in diesel fuel and dog doo-doo... just one of the many perks of city life!

His name is Prince

I don't know what to say...

I'd been waiting about 15 years to see Prince live in concert, and after all that anticipation, I have to say -- I was not disappointed. Prince is an amazing performer, an exciting guitar player, a great singer, and a brilliant musician. AND his band is also unbelievable -- totally flawless and totally funkalicious. There's a very good reason why the man is considered a legend and a genius -- and he demands that you recognize it in everything he does. Everything about the evening had Prince's style written all over it -- from the purple floodlights outside the stadium the turned All-State Arena into "Prince's House"; to the hour-and-a-half wait for him to come onstage; to the outrageous jams and re-arrangements of his tunes; to the gold-plated microphone and the purple acoustic guitar. I'll remember the smallest details of this show for a long, long time.

Quote of the Day

"For the sort of people who like that sort of thing, that's the sort of thing they like." 

The Satisfaction Paradox

"Customers will not generally remain loyal to a supplier for practical reasons alone.  Customers are most likely to remain loyal only to suppliers who satisfy both their personal and practical needs.
 
Customers whose personal needs are satisfied have a strong tendency to remain loyal, even when offered alternate choices that may be superior in satisfying practical needs."

I learned this today in a horribly-misguided all-day seminar I was required to attend.  This mandatory attendance came from the same authority that required that I bark like a dog the other day.

(think about it...)

Too late for Alanis

Last night I went to see Alanis Morrisette and The Barenaked Ladies playing at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park.  Due to a late start and a loooooong drive, we managed to miss the entire opening act, and all but the last verse of Alanis singing "Thank You"... so we pretty much arrived for the stage change.  The jumbo screens were set up so that during the break, everyone in the audience could send text-messages via cell phone to the rest of the crowd -- some funny stuff and a great way to pass the time.

 

Finally BNL took the stage and as expected, put on a great show.  If you haven't seen them before, I highly recommend going to one of their concerts.  They don't take themselves too seriously -- they're very funny and extremely spontaneous, while at the same time, are top-notch musicians and play a T-I-G-H-T show. 

 

For the pre-existing BNL fans: I saw them about 7 years ago in Cleveland on the 4th of July -- they had this big hairy roadie grilling hot-dogs onstage the entire concert, and between numbers, the band would toss the the dogs into the audience for people to snack on.  And when the line "we wouldn't have to eat Kraft dinner" came up during the tune "If I Had $1000000", the entire stage was engulfed in a bright yellow haze as the audience pelted the stage with dried macaroni and packets of day-glo powdered cheese.  This was before they were HUGE, so I guess I was part of more of a "cult following" back then.  There was no cloud of cheese and pasta this time, but they did have a synchonized-shopping-cart dance routine that was just hysterical.

 

Next concert is Friday -- I'm going to see PRINCE!!!!!  Yeah baby!

Bark like a dog

Occasionally I do things that some people might find... undignified.  Today I had to bark like a dog.  Not a big, manly dog -- nooooooooooo... I had to bark like a small, yippy, not-really-a-dog-type-dog.  And I had to record it.  Now I probably could've hidden this recording for a while, but you know -- just like the 8"x10" glossies of that lost weekend in Tijuana with the donkey and the tube of super-glue -- SOMEHOW the evidence eventually ends up on the Internet.  So rather than tuck my tail between my legs (pardon the pun), I've decided to share my new-found talent with the world -- yes folks, behold the full studio take of Jim Bonney barking like a wee dog.
 
Make sure to listen for the growling and wrestling with a chew toy.

TranZenJammer kids

Gathered 3 more percussionists (and a couple of 4 gallon plastic buckets) to try out some beats for "TranZendental Danse of Joi". A very cool, eclectic group --

Lennox Armstrong, part-time percussionist and full-time funny guy, founder of Canine Care, a large-scale dog-walking business here in Chicago. I like hanging out with Lennox because he's part free-thinking entrepreneur, part artist-lunatic; and whether it's jamming with Carlos Santana or wild adventures in the barrio, he's always got a story to tell (while ever-interested in what you have to say).

Lennox' buddy, Cary Hayes (apologies if the spelling is wrong, dude), was also able to make it. Cary is an excellent drummer, and besides being an asset to the jam session, was also a really fascinating and knowledgable cat. He's been studying alternative energy sources (like solar and wind) when he's not windsurfing in gale-force winds on Lake Michigan, or planning his 3-week rafting trip through the Grand Canyon (which he's been on a waiting list for TWELVE years to get on!). He mentioned they can take 16 people with him -- man, if there is room on this trip, I AM THERE.

Francisco "Patch" Paz -- the ringer in the group. Patch is an extraordinary percussionist and composer. Besides having great skills and chops as a drummer/percussionist, he's unbelievably creative -- almost intergalactically so. He came up with some of the coolest sounds and improvs, but unfortunately I have NO IDEA how I could possibly notate them. I was very lucky he had time to jam with us, as he just got off a European tour with Engelbert Humperdink (some interesting stories from those gigs!).

The basic groove behind "TZDoJ" is the mixed-odd-meter repetition of 7/8,7/8,12/8,2/4. The guys picked up the groove quickly and we were off and jamming in no time. It was a very cool hang and a very cool time -- besides being very helpful for me, there's just such amazing energy created when several guys can lock that beat down, while banging the bejesus outta buckets!

OK -- enough %@&*ing notes!?!

Ladies and Gentleman, the orchestration for "TranZendental Danse of Joi" is finished! I can't wait to hear it -- I really departed from typical wind orchestration on this one, and kinda reconceptualized the ensemble as a jazz big band with additional orchestral winds and brass. I also threw out the typical percussion ensemble (no timpani, no cymbals, no bass drum, etc.) in exchange for more of an urban/street sound (4-gallon paint buckets, dowel rods, flower pots, etc.). I also added some African, Latin, and Jazz percussion instruments for extra color.

There's a percussion break that still needs to be worked out (but I'm getting some guys together to help me with that tomorrow), and there's still a solo to write... and then, of course, there's the copying of the score into the computer, the proof-reading, then extracting the parts (and there are a LOT of parts), proof-reading the parts (did I mention there were a lot of parts?)... and then I've gotta find someone to PLAY it...

BUT THE ORCHESTRATION IS FINISHED!!!

[if you'll excuse me, i think i need to lie down for a moment...]

Keepin' it Goth

I've been listening to the soundtracks to the first two "HELLRAISER" movies today... man, there's some really cool orchestration in the underscore!  Christopher Young wrote the music for those films.  He was one of my teachers at USC -- a very eccentric cat, but a very giving teacher and a very kind soul -- and an excellent film composer.  Anyway, if you can handle the heebie-geebies, the music is definitely worth checking out.  
 
(This is NOT a picture of Christopher Young)

THE JUGGERNAUT

Have we gotten so good at convenience, efficiency, and instant-gratification that we now trivialize the virtues of patience, tolerance, and consideration?

Have we gotten so good at demographic identification, mass-marketing, and promotion of cult-of-personality that we limit expression and exploration in music, film, and art?

Have we gotten so good at expanding profit margins, streamlining production and labor, and satisfying share-holders that we downplay the importance of ethics, responsibility, and integrity in business practice?

Have we gotten so good at psychoanalysis, behavior-modification, and medicating our minds and moods that we inhibit ourselves from truly feeling the full spectrum of life's experience?

Have we gotten so good at double-speak, underhanded mud-slinging, and spin management that our political leaders can't remain focused on real issues and fundamental values?

Have we gotten so good at dynamic sound-bytes, catch-phrase headlines, and pseudo-celebrity-sensationalism that we fail to get enough facts to really comprehend what's going on in the world?

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."  -- Albert Einstein

personal appearance

For those who have been keeping track, I shaved off my mustache last night.

For those who have not been keeping track, I look exactly the same as you remembered.

Mountain King

Just finished a game called "Mountain King" -- the game designer wanted to use Edvard Grieg's "In The Hall of the Mountain King" from "Peer Gynt Suite no.1". It was on an extremely tight deadline -- about a week. I didn't have much time to mull things over, and there was no budget to hire live players, so in the midst of meetings and distractions, I whipped up this "synthestrated" version of the tune in two days... it would've been nice to have more time to find better samples and patches, and to tweak the MIDI data a little more, but in this instance, it should do the trick. You can listen to an mp3 sample and see what you think...

Its not the work that's exhausting, its the compromises.

Roadtrip! Day 3

The concern-of-the-day on Saturday was trying to get up to Traverse City before dinnertime, while still trying to surprise my mum. It turned out that we were never going to surprise her -- my dad had accidentally cc'ed her on an email earlier that week... but she was very pleased nonetheless, and we had a great time celebrating at Haddie's restaurant in Sutton's Bay, with my parents, my sister (who flew in from Baltimore for the occasion), and my parents friends, Greg and Trish Phebing.

Next morning -- woke up, packed up, and headed over to Nicki's parent's house. Quite by coincidence, they only live about 45 minutes from my parents! Nic's folks are building a store next to their house -- Nicki's mother and sisters make really fine all-natural soaps, lotions, etc. The house has been framed and sided, so very little imagination was needed to see the main store, the cashier's desk, the office, the prep room, etc. It'll be very cool to see it finished, especially after seeing it as a work-in-progress. We checked out their barn (chock full of Nicki's grandfather's treasures), and walked down to the lake behind their house. Nicki climbed the old grain silo (just to be sure she still had it in her). We had some pizza and told more stories, then sadly had to climb back in the car for the final push home.

By the time we got back to Sweet Home Chicago, the odometer said we'd put about 1300 miles on the car in the past 3 days. It was a long weekend, make no mistake -- but a really, really great time for Nic and me to see friends and family, and for us to be together.

Roadtrip! Day 2

Got to Jason's place with just enough time to change and get to the ceremony. Alan and Heather's wedding was behind the Cleveland Museum of Art, right next to a large lagoon. Alan and I were classmates in college, and it turned out that our former professor and longtime friend, Bruce Egre, was officiating the ceremony. He'd become an ordaned minister for the occasion, and had finished the last of the necessary paperwork that morning! It was a short ceremony, but very beautiful and emotional.

After that, we headed over to Alan and Heather's backyard for the reception, which ended all-too-soon, so Nicki, Jason and I headed over to a local jazz bistro called "Night Town", where we ran into another old friend of mine, Bob Ferrazza. Bob is a fantastic jazz guitarist -- teaches guitar at Interlochen School of the Arts and Oberlin College, and still plays and tours with a number of jazz heavyweights. I engineered his first album for the Koch Jazz label, and since I've been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have him play on a few of my jazz charts.

Saturday morning and we're back on the road -- headed to Traverse City, MI, to celebrate my mum's 60's birthday.

Roadtrip! Day 1

Headed out to Cleveland for my good friend Alan Bise's wedding today. Nicki and I are gonna stop by Jason Vieaux' apartment beforehand to relax and change clothes. For those who don't know Jason's playing, best get wise... he's a truly amazing musician.

Highbrow, Lowbrow, Voodoo Aesthetics

I've been meaning to enter an excerpt from this essay by Robert Walser for quite some time... my thanks to Milt Allen for introducing it to me. In this essay, Walser uses the work of guitarists like Richie Blackmore, Steve Vai, Randy Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc. as an example of the perpetuation of the classical music tradition.

This is the closing paragraph:

"Heavy metal musicians' appropriations of classical music help us to see "high culture" and "low culture" as categories that are socially constructed and maintained. Like "highbrow" and "lowbrow", the deployment of such terms benefits certain individuals and groups at the expense of others, and their power depends chiefly upon intimidation. By engaging directly with 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century composers and performers, by claiming them as heroes and forebears despite contemporary boundaries that would keep them separate, and by mastering and recontextualizing the rhetoric and theoretical apparatus of "high" music, heavy metal musicians have accomplished a critical juxtaposition that undermines the apparent necessity and naturalness of cultural hierarchy. The specific meanings of metal's appropriations in their new contexts are of great importance, of course. But for cultural criticism, perhaps the most salient legacy of the classical influence on heavy metal is the fact that these musicians have "comprehended the high" without accepting its limitations, defying the division that has been such a crucial determinant of musical life in the 20th century."

Chiropractor

Went to a Chiropractor for the first time last night -- I've been having back and chest pains since the car accident. Veeeeery interesting. My chiropractor's name is Dr. Susan Borrelli. She seems very kind, likable, and very knowledgable. After diagnosing my posture, pain, and range of movement, is seems things are a little twisted around in my lower back and neck, and the seatbelt seems to be a likely suspect for causing the damage. Susan does a lighter touch form of therapy, and 99% of the time I was on the table, she would use one or two fingertips, with less pressure than it takes to change channels on a TV remote. All the while, she's explaining what she's doing with ligaments or tendons or pressure points... fascinating. The effects were rather extraordinary, and I definitely felt "adjusted" when she was finished. She was able to do a lot of correction in an hour. I'm going to have to go back a few more times...

Buffalo Wings

This is from the archives -- my original website -- back when there was a thing in my life, known as the BUFFALO WING. Read on, all ye carnivores:

Where can one get good Buffalo wings?

Some of you might not take this question seriously, but I mean to tell you that when it comes to hot wings, I'm all business. For the unenlightened (and some bar-owners I've run into over the years), let me start with a few quick identifying characteristics for an acceptable chicken wing:

First of all, a wing should be extremely well cooked and crispy on the outside, without an excessive amount of fatty skin hanging off. And aside from a generous slathering of hot sauce, they should be very, very nude. They simply cannot be dipped in batter. If you get a wing that has been dipped in batter, the establishment is definitely trying to cover something up. And Lord knows -- IT MIGHT NOT BE CHICKEN.

Second, your wings should be served with celery and bleu cheese sauce. Now, I've never been a huge celery fan. And with any other dish, I hate bleu cheese. But the short-order chefs of the world shouldn't start substituting stuff in hopes of some kinda gourmet renaissance via common bar food -- tradition is tradition. And in this modern age of cellular telephones and the Playstation 2, if we haven't found anything better to accompany hot wings and a cold beer, it probably ain't gonna happen. The worst setup I ever encountered was a side order of ranch dressing and carrots -- do I need to tell you how the wings were?!? Also, points deducted if you have to ASK for celery and bleu cheese on the side, and extra points for big-ole chunks of bleu cheese in the sauce. And if they say they don't serve celery and bleu cheese, that's a very bad sign. My advice is to get up and walk out; or change your order to something with bacon on it. You can't screw up anything that has bacon on it.

Third, and this one's important -- as soon as the wings arrive at your table, the vinegar in the hot sauce should have the same effect on your sinuses as a good shot of smelling salts. And you won't have to breathe deep, 'cuz the fumes from those little beauties should charge up yer nose like an crazed yak in heat. It's a sensation you never get used to. So if you don't experience the "Whoa!" effect, THE WINGS AREN'T HOT ENOUGH. And folks, don't mess around with Bar-B-Que sauces and Lemon-Pepper sauces and Chinese-Fortune-Telling sauces -- remember, you're there to experience the whole spicy-buffalo-wing-gestalt!

Now, I've traveled all across this country and burned my mouth off at a hellova lot of the scummiest, rowdiest juke-joints (and they do tend to make your better wings). I've gone on holy pilgrimage to the original birthplace of the almighty wing, the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY (big plump wings, but otherwise, they were nothing to write home about). I've frequented tiny sports bars in backwater towns like Waldo, Ohio (GREAT fried baloney sandwiches, but pretty so-so wings). I've tried the wings at those trendy, yuppie joints with cutesy-ass abbreviated names (and they all SUCKED), and under extreme duress, I've even been known to take my chances on the wings at Mexican restaurants and in Irish pubs (FYI: so far, the Mexicans have fared better than the Irishmen. But then again, the Mexicans were the ones who served carrots...).

There was a punk-rock bar called the Euclid Tavern in Cleveland, OH. that will forever hold a clotted place in my arteries. When I was in college, you used to be able to get 10-cent wings every Tuesday night. And if they ran out of pitchers for beer, they'd serve it up in old apple juice bottles. This was a classy joint. Their wings weren't always consistent -- but when they were good, it was a religious experience. And when they were bad... they were still pretty dang good! They only had three kinds of wings: "mild", "hot", and "suicidal". For newcomers, I'd always strongly recommend "hot"... I knew they'd thank me the next morning. But alas, back taxes and a suspended liquor license have closed "the Euc" indefinitely...

So the reigning kingdom of wingdom is a little patch of heaven-on-earth called Yakzie's (pronounced by the locals as "YAH-seez") -- across from Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. This place makes a hot wing any self-respecting (though limbless) chickens would be proud to call their own. And if you're looking for how hot to get 'em, I recommend ordering them "Oh My Gosh - Wet" ("wet" means extra sauce).

(If this all seems a bit odd, you should hear me go on about Kung Pao Chicken and BBQ-Pulled-Pork sandwiches...)

(1/26/02)

Independence Day

Today I grabbed Nicki's car keys (still haven't replaced the car I totalled back in May), and headed to Home Depot. I bought two 5-gallon paint buckets, some 1/4" dowels (which I cut to 15" lengths), and 6" clay flower pot base. Hooked up with two friends -- Lennox Armstrong and Jeremy Rumas, and proceeded to beat the Hell outta this stuff... all part of the creative process, I assure you. I'm experimenting with some different textures and techniques for "TranZendental Danse of Joi". I've seen kids playing these buckets on the streets, and I really want to work this sound into "TZDoJ".

I then went to a do-it-yer-own-dang-self-car-wash and cleaned out Nic's car. She drives dogs around in it all the time, and the car now has thick fur upholstery. It took almost 2 hours to get the better part of the interior clean -- not a perfect job, but its a big improvement, and was a nice surprise for her when I brought it back.

Then went home to orchestrate, and under the rockets red glare and the bombs bursting in air, I FINALLY finished that section I'd been agonizing over for the past few days. I consulted my Blatter "Instrumentation/Orchestration" textbook and Rimsky-Korsakoff's "Scheherezade" to double-check my woodwind flourishes, and bit the bullet and made the section-in-question one long, two-and-a-half octave climb. Should be a hoot.

Raining waaay too many notes

I'm listening to the rolling thunder and watching this heavy rain fall as I continue orchestrating "TranZendental Danse of Joi"... a very cool vibe to be working in. I'm stuck on this middle section -- it's the first reoccurance of the main theme, and I can't decide how far to go with it. I'm also experimenting with some woodwind flourishes, and need to look at some other scores to see if I can get away with what I'm hoping to do.

Houdini

So I was asked to write music for a game based on the famous magician, Harry Houdini. They wanted a tune that sounded like Katchaturian's "Sabre Dance", so I created this short sketch to see if they thought this would be in the right direction -- kinda George Gershwin's Sabre Dance... they liked it, but decided against this direction and want to try something else -- that's OK -- happens all the time, and I'm already working on a new tune... although I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to create a "Scott Joplin-esque piano rag, only fuller, and more timeless".

Here's an mp3 of the MIDI sketch they tossed out... see what you think... maybe I'll use it for something else...?

Corporate Update

The company I work for has switched from a 40-hour work week to a 50-hour work week, with no change in pay. They've also gone from flex-time to core hours, meaning you have to be there between 10 AM and 4 PM -- you then set regular hours that overlap this period of time.

Can they do this? You betcha. I'm on salary. They can do whatever they want.