Call of the Wild

Tomorrow Nic and I are leaving on a jet plane for an exotic foreign land known as Canada. We're taking a very-much needed vacation for 8 blessed days. Five of those will be spent in a cabin on an uninhabited island, that's a half-mile canoe trip from anything that is remotely populated (and I use that term VERY loosely). The cabin has no electricity, and no telephone.

That's right -- no phone calls. No emails. No snail mail. No video games, no DVD's, no late-night sit-com re-runs. No wi-fi, no cell phone, not even a short wave radio. No sensationalist news-flashes of any kind. No electric deadlines buzzing in either of our ears.

From the mire of this multimedia-microwaved monstrosity we call "Western Civilization", I am bringing a guitar, some manuscript paper, a handful of pencils, and one or two books I've been wanting to read for YEARS.

No more distractions.

No more distortion.

No more insanity.

I can't hardly wait, and I'm not entirely sure I'm ever coming back.

So long, folks...

Sticks & Stones (pt.5)

Had a great conversation with director Pete Toews last night -- the world premiere of Sticks & Stones and my return to Mountain View High School is still a go! I will be out there second week of January (along with maestro/BCM impressario Tom Leslie), and most likely, I will be performing in some capacity... the program is still being determined, but there will be more Bonneyworks than just the premiere... I'll keep you posted as the details get chiseled in stone. If there's anybody out in Loveland, CO that's reading this, give us a shout!

I also woke up this morning hearing new sections of the piece... that means it's made it's way into my bloodstream and it's time to start getting it down on paper, while it's still hot. I think it's gonna be way cool...

Sticks & Stones (pt.4)

O.K. My structure is totally set, airtight, locked-down. And this piece is ALL about structure -- if I pull it off right, it'll be like a good joke with a whopper of a punchline. Not that it's going to be remotely funny...

So now I'll start developing my musical material. Usually the elements of the material kinda "pop up" while I'm doing this initial sketching, but since the drums are not exactly a melodic or harmonic instrument, there weren't really any melodic or harmonic motives that popped up. There are, however, already rhythmic motives...

Another Day In The Life

5:00 AM - Thomas Dolby “Key to Her Ferrrari” kicks in – go jump on the shower and try not to think about the fact that it’s still pitch black outside.

5:40 AM - Jump on bike to ride to work. In the dark. In the rain. Seriously.

5:54 AM - Arrive at work. Same security guard who saw me leave at midnight last night is surprised to see me back so soon. And so wet.

5:55 AM – Start in on Mortal Kombat tune. Deadline: this afternoon.

5:57 AM – Realize that I really like what I came up with last night. Just needs a few more tweaks...

7:30 AM – Sounding pretty dang good. Take a quick break to play one round of Kart Fury (the Midway lunchroom doubles as a video arcade), to remind myself what it feels like to play a driving game.

7:53 AM – Have completed the SICKEST percussion track ever. STYLUS RMX RULES!!!!

8:53 AM – Tune is 99.9% finished. Play it for Dan Forden, he totally digs it. Upon listening with Dan, I decide I want to tweak one or two more things, and I’m done.

9:15 AM – Tune is finished. Play it for Rich Carle, he totally digs it. Notice just one more thing...

10:30 AM – Force myself to stop fiddling around and FINISH THIS TUNE. Run to meeting...

11:05 AM – stop by to check in with the lead programmer after my meeting. He’s implemented this complicated spatial sound effect that me and two other guys on the planet will actually notice, but I think it’s cool... back to studio to master the new music tracks...

12:00 PM – Lunchtime! Quick run out to Subway to grab a sandwich, then back to the studio to eat it. I’ve only got a few hours until we submit the next batch of dialogue (very little), sound effects (a few), and music (a LOT!) to the programmers...

1:54 PM – ... still feverishly tweaking soundfiles...

2:15 PM – ... in last ditch effort to stay alert, Dr. Pepper begins to administer medicinal dosages of caffeine.

2:45 PM – finish all tweaking, check in with the rest of the sound team, and send the ceremonial email to the programmers – come an’ git it!

2:50 PM – celebrate by going to play a game of Puzzle Fighter with my coworker, Chase.

2:53 PM – back at desk, disgruntled after losing, quite shamefully, over and over and over again. Note to self: must practice my Puzzle Fighter moves.

3:30 PM – decide it may be time to go home early when I sit down in a chair and realize that the entire room is making these big swooping maneuvers...

Mortal Komposition

Apologies for my bloglessness, I'm mired in a HEAVY deadline for the next Mortal Kombat... I'll catch up with ya'll soon... but I might mention that Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks is now on sale!

Don't tell him I'm taking a break... HE doesn't like it when I take breaks...

Alfred Reed (1921-2005)

"Alfred Reed passed away yesterday afternoon, 17 September 2005. His gift to the world is a body of music that will continue to thrill, charm and delight audiences in virtually every country of the world, as it has done for the last fifty years. His gift to those of us blessed to have known him was a kind and generous spirit that is all too rare." - Ray Cramer & Don Wilcox

Smart guy, that Einstein...

I ran across this quote today -- just seemed to resonate with me all day, so I thought I'd share:

"Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." - Albert Einstein

A lesson in Chaos

I don't usually post these things, but I got an email from a guy who was looking for advice on playing the guitar part in Chaos Theory mvt. 1, during the section with all the pedal tones -- the most difficult part of the entire piece. This was my response. Hopefully, it was helpful...?

Hey XXXXX - I don't have the music in front of me, and I don't want to tell you what to do with every single finger, but see if this helps... starting at letter H:

First two bars, I play in fifth position, between the 4th and 3rd string. I keep a half-barre down on the fifth fret the whole time.

The next bar, I'm still in fifth position, but I'm holding down the pedal tone with my second finger on the 6th fret, 4th string. On beat 4, I play the high note on the 2nd string.

Next bar, I slide up to seventh position, with my second finger still holding the pedal tone, now on the 8th fret, 4th string.

Next bar, still in seventh position, but now my third finger is holding the pedal, 9th fret, 4th string. I play the beat 4 note on the 2nd string.

I stay in the same position for the next half bar, then I slide up to 8th position to finish the bar, with my third finger playing the pedal (10th fret), and the high note on beat three starting on the 2nd string.

Same position for the next bar...

Then slide up to 9th position. Third finger still holding the pedal (11th fret), high note starts on the 3rd string, 12th fret, with my pinky holding it down.

Next bar: I grab beat 2 QUICKLY with my pinky on the 2nd string (11th fret), then go to my first finger, 2nd string, 9th fret, and slide and stretch my 3rd finger to the 12th fret,4th string.

The next bar, I play beat 3 (3rd string) and beat 4 (2nd string) high notes with a barre on the 13th fret with my pinky (!). It's not so bad... or you can roll your pinky and grab those notes too.

Next bar: 11th position, pedal tone on 13th fret, 4th string, with third finger. I play beat four by stretching my first finger back to the 10th fret.

Next bar: still 11th position, pedal with pinky on 14th fret...

Next bar: 12th position, pinky on pedal still (just slide it up), NOW on beat four, I barre with my first finger on the 11th position, to FINALLY put the pedal on the 3rd string.

The second half of the next bar totally breaks the nice cross-string pattern. Just do the best you can to find a good solution (I can tell you mine, but it ain't pretty)...

Eventually, you can play cross-string again, and very soon you can do it between the 2nd and 1st strings, and now you're doing contrary motion, and oh sweet jesus what was I thinking, because it took me almost a YEAR before I could play this part at tempo flawlessly. But don't worry, by that point, the band is so frikkin' loud no one will ever hear you anyway...

Hope that helps!!!

In this case, a little tablature could go a loooong way...

Sticks & Stones (pt. 3)

Thought I'd forgotten about this piece? Not a chance. In fact, I think I've come up with a whole new structure for it. This is where the other BCM guys come in handy -- I'm gonna bounce this idea off of them while it's still raw and uncooked... if, after I discuss it a bit, it still sounds appealing, then it's time to roll up my sleeves and REALLY start getting dots on (or between) lines...

Muddy Buddy

On Sunday, my sister and I competed in the Muddy Buddy race -- it's basically an offroad run/bike relay race with a few obstacles, plus alot of water, alot of dirt, and a giant mudpit. You do it in teams of two, and it's run in several locations around the country. If you're curious, here's a map of the course, and CLICK HERE for more general info about the Muddy Buddy. There are some people who take the race seriously, but by and large, it's just a good time, and a good chance to get really, REALLY dirty. My sister and I had a blast. Other than that, the pictures probably speak louder than words.

Me and Anne, fresh from the mudpit.


They told me to make a mean face. This is my mean face. How did I do?

Oh, and I also got tattooed... but THAT... is another story...

Dramatic Realization

I’m trying to write two pieces at once.

Y’see, I really reaaaaally want to write a piece called JUGGERNAUT. It’s been banging around in my brain for years now, and one day, I’m gonna find a band that’s ready to play it. The thing of it is, I could do alot of the things I want to do in JUGGERNAUT in STICKS & STONES... the only thing is, that won’t really serve the music -- if I compromise these cool ideas I have for JUGGERNAUT now, no one is gonna be interested in JUGGERNAUT later. I’d be killing one bird with two stones.

Does this make any sense to anybody?

Sticks & Stones (pt.2)

So tonight I did my first sketch of the shape of this piece. Again, no staff paper, just a pen and a blank sheet of paper; but rather than words, it's like a cross between a timeline and an impressionistic drawing. Frankly, it looks like a 3 year old got loose with the stationery again... I'd actually have the audacity to post a picture of said sketch for your delectation, but - well, I'm just not sold on it yet. It doesn't quite feel right, and I'm sloooowly learning that if it doesn't feel right now, it ain't gonna feel any better later! So I'm gonna stare at it a little while longer, maybe sleep on it...

Sticks & Stones (pt.1)

After months of letting this piece percolate in my skullpot, I have put pen to paper and begun making some hard decisions about my next wind orchestra piece, STICKS & STONES.

(For the unenlightened, this is going to be a drumset feature to be premiered by drummer/percussionist/musical badass Shilo Stroman, with the Mountain View High School Wind Ensemble, all under the dextrous baton of Mr. Peter Toews)

But instead of starting with score paper, I've started with a plain piece of notebook paper. Writing down what I want to do: feature all the different instruments that make up a drumset, display the different tones and techniques on a drumset, allow our stickman to show off his considerable skills, etc. AND what I don't want to do: avoid overwriting the drumset part (rhythm section players ALWAYS shine brighter when you give them LESS musical confinement), reserving the drummer to just playing beats, etc. etc. etc. Then I've tried to elaborate on the decisions I've made -- really make it clear to myself what I'm thinking about doing with this piece. If you can articulate it, you can do it. If you can't articulate it, chances are, it's not clear in your own mind just yet...

I still haven't written a note yet, but I've already made alot of important decisions...

unprepared guitar

Well, I was hoping to write about this cool electric guitar texture I came up with for Mortal Kombat, but after trying to use an E-bow, extra guitar picks, a nail clipper, extra guitar strings, an optical cable, a set of keys (close but no cigar), paper clips, safety pins, and any combination of the above -- I got nothin'.

The tune still rocks, though...

New Orleans

My focus and concern continues to gravitate towards the situation in New Orleans. It's a very bad situation that continues to get worse, every time I check the news. I found a particularly interesting blog being written by a relief worker that is on the ground in New Orleans -- you can CLICK HERE to check it out. There are lots of photos and live video links too. Note: I cannot vouch for all the language or content of this blog, but if you want to experience what is going on there as close to first-hand as possible, it's well worth an extended browse.

If you're interested in donating to the Red Cross, you can CLICK HERE.