March 27, 2009 Morning Pages

So, how the hell do I start?

Oh, hell. We totally killed it!

Words cannot begin to describe how well things went last night @ Genghis Cohen. It was simply a near-perfect night. Not a perfect gig--at least on my part--but pretty damn near. Pretty much everything that could have gone right last night did. It was a nice change of pace. After a couple years of playing one-man-stupid-cover-gigs at sports bars for the bartender and sometimes 2 other people, it was a pleasant change of pace to be playing my own material hang having a whole room of folks enjoy it.

But before I get into all of that, though, let me comment on the restaurant that is Genghis Cohen, and then I'll later focus on the music venue. Although Christy knocked the décor as 80's retro, I actually enjoyed the look and feel of the place. All of that paled in comparison to the food, which was top notch. We downed a helping of pan-fried pork dumplings that totally got us stoked for the main course. She had the Kung Pao Chicken (her go-to dish) and I had the Cilantro Spicy Shrimp. Have to say it was all very tasty. We were very well taken care of by the staff had and weren't rushed out of the booth after. A very pleasant dining experience overall, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for good Chinese food in Hollywood.

Now for the gig. First of all, kudos to Lindsey, who was working the door at the place and made sure everything was taken care of for us professionally. The only disappointment was that for some reason the terms of my contract with the venue changed over the past month. So I had to clarify a few things with her. More on that later. Also deserving of big ups was Evan, our sound man. Haven't listened to the board mix that he recorded for us, but from what I could hear in the house and the feedback from the audience, we sounded pretty tight. He paid attention to my cues (less reverb on the lead vocal) and kept everything well balanced.

I couldn't be more proud of my musicians last night. Every single one of them. First off, they were all punctual. Didn't have to worry about anyone showing up late or not having their poop in a pile. Second of all, they looked perfectly classy, which I had requested at the last rehearsal. We were a good looking group, completely appropriate for the type of music we were playing. And then there's the actual execution of the songs last night--like I said, not perfect, but pretty damn near. The only thing I can remember being off was the ending of “Big Blue Sky,” which we flubbed, and maybe the tempo of “Twenty Days,” which was just a little rushed. Very slight mistakes which in no was affected my feeling of the performance. For my part, I have to say I was in really good form. I felt confident, no vocal issues at all, and it felt like the gig as a whole was pretty well paced. In the actual moment, I could see people in the crowd grooving in their seats.

That was gratifying, to actually see folks enjoying what we were doing. I guess I'm used to the indifference I get when I did my cover sets, also known as musician's hell. I think I almost got resigned to the fact that I'd never have a good show again. Last night was a breath of fresh air and something sorely needed to break the sports club curse.

I'm going to wrap this entry up soon, but I can't do it without thanking a number of people who went out of their way to show up last night. First up, my South Bay peeps: Wellman, Scott, Ram, Robb Fulcher, Susan. Every single one of you made my night with your enthusiasm and presence. My workmates: Jason, Patricia, Steve and Keon. Please tell everyone what they missed out on and how much they need to support the next time. Christian Beranek! Dude, I know how busy you are; thanks for taking time out of your night to be there for me. It meant a lot. Jeremy Ross, what a pleasant surprise to see you! Dax, thanks for coming with CB. I look forward to jamming with you sometime soon. Also, friends of my bandmates and folks that hung out after the preceding act: THANK YOU! Angela Meday! You rock my world!

Ok, more later. Did I mention I feel good?

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March 26, 2009 Morning Pages

Well, today's the day.

Really crossing my fingers that all the begging and bribing I've been doing will pay off in actual butts in seats. Sure, everyone says “I'll be there.” But it's really not until downbeat that I'll truly know who's simply give me lip service or who's serious about supporting. This is the worst part about being a musician. Day was, I used to believe there was a “if you build it, they will come” mentality to what I did. But in a music town like LA, clubs expect--nay, demand--that the acts that play their venues bring their following. So the responsibility has moved from the venue itself to try to fill the audience to the acts that are performing.

It's a real catch-22 for new acts. It's what makes it the toughest part of what I'm having to do since I moved out here. I took me a good 2 or so years to build my New York fanbase. Sadly, a lot of people in LA haven't even heard of me. So I've been working my ass off to try to change that.

Thank God for the internet. Facebook, Meetup, Google and ReverbNation have really made my life a lot easier in terms of dealing with this. I can, at the very least, keep my friends in the loop easier than knocking on doors and making phone calls. The ease of creating events and inviting folks with a certain region to said events has mercifully been streamlined for the artist who is self-managing and promoting. So has circulating PR. Thankfully, newspapers and media outlets are now just an email blast away.

Anyway, here's hoping all of that homework will get my numbers into the club so I can actually pay for this shindig. I realize that I've only got one or two more of these pay-for-play gigs in my budget, then I'm going to have to do something else. But I'm in it to win it, and this is an investment I believe will pay out in the end.

I fell pretty confident, actually. The only question marks in my mind are with the first new song. It's physically challenging, for both me and my bass player Noah. It'll also be a WTF moment for the audience, and I'm not sure they'll know what to expect. Volume will be a concern, as Genghis Cohen is a pretty small room. The first two songs of the set are powerful, so I expect some stern looks from the soundman. Then we'll settle into the groovier stuff. I guess my biggest fear is that I don't scare the crowd off in the first two tunes. But recently I've come to learn that sometimes art has to challenge its audience. I'm genuinely interested in seeing what the reaction will be. Let's hope we execute it well. I have no fear after the first two songs. We're just coming out of the gate with something no one's expecting from me.

For the bands part, they're pretty tight. Nikki, God bless her heart, has been working her ass off to learn these songs in a short amount of time. She's got a lot of talent, and it's great to have a feminine element to the band. Man, if I could also add a female keyboard player who could sing, I'd be gold. Putting that out to the internets.

Calm, reflective and relaxed today. Really trying not to think about the gig too much. I'll listen to a couple songs over my lunch just to mentally visualize performing those first two songs. But I really don't want to be bothered with anything until tonight. To anyone reading this in the LA area, you're going to catch an amazing show. Please spread the word if you can not attend to your friends. We're going to have a really fun time, and the band is going to tear it up.

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March 13, 2009 Morning Pages

Carpooling again. What a fantastic way to get a little writing done.

Well, it's official. We're in the two-week window where I'll really start pushing the Genghis Cohen gig. That's right, on Thursday the 26th I'll be bringing the band to LA and rocking the stage. So please let this go out as a general call to everyone with the in the view of this blog that lives in the greater Los Angeles area. I need you to come out and support! This is the only local gig on the books for the foreseeable future. Depending on how it goes, I may book more, but I know I'll be focused on rehearsing the band for the next record. To that end, the set list will probably look something like this (not in order):

Flipside in the Ghetto
Free My Mind
Romeo and Juliet
Thinkin 'Bout You
*undisclosed cover tune*
Tootie Got Bootie
Big Blue Sky
It's Only Love
Twenty Days
Only Woman on the World (time providing)

See that? There are two NEW songs that are going to pop into the set this show. That gives you, the audience, the opportunity to hear brand new Philip Clark material before anyone else in the world! How cool is that? Plus, you really need to hear this band. They really are talented, exceptional musicians. There's really only so much pimping I can do; you really just need to come see this for yourself.

Please go to http://reverbnation.com/philipclark for more info, or if you're on Facebook you can probably search for the event there, too. As long as your there, please add me as your friend and also add my fan page.

As long as we're talking about links, here are links to my various homes in the social networking scene. Please feel free to add these:

http://twitter.com/philipclark (my Twitter feed)

http://blip.fm/flipside (my DJ handle)

Speaking of, my friend Scott and I were having an interesting conversation last night. What with all these social networks out there, it's very easy to get your message to the masses, whatever it is. Scott was reading an article and pointed out that there are basically three kinds of twitterers: Mindcasters, Egocasters and Marketers. We observed that the best people to follow are the mindcasters--those that have interesting thoughts and observations and simple share them with the internet. The worst kind are the egocasters--those that simply tweet "check me. Me, me, me." Marketers are a necessary evil to any social situation.

That said, I know I try more to be a mindcaster, although I know that early on I started as an egocaster. with all the new sites and features coming out, it becomes more and more apparent that this is the age of digital narcissism. It's a potential danger for we as artists to get swept up in it all and stick to the business of creating.

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March 11, 2009 Morning Pages

I always say it's been a minute. Well, it's been a minute.

Carpooling with the girl today. Instant advantage is that I can sit in the passenger seat and write while she drives. It's a better way for me to take care of business on what is usually a wasted hour while I commute to work. In New York it was easier: sit on the subway and take care of whatever work I had. Out in La-La Land it's a little more complicated. Being a slave to the 405 only gives me a couple three things I can knock out during drive time. I can make phone calls, sadly, only to the East Coast; because, of course, it's too early to call anyone in LA. I can record voice notes for either story or song ideas. That, I don't do enough. Just haven't organized enough to do it, plus there's the added step of having to transcribe any such notes to the computer later. Most of the time, I listen to music; either stuff I look to for inspiration or rehearsal tapes or new compositions that I've bounced down to perfect. I just hate feeling like I'm wasting that time. It's two hours out of my day, and I don't get paid for it.

And so it is that I'm actually knocking out a morning page while my wife cranks out fair-to-middlin' Top 40 and Country music from the radio...

Oh, quick aside here. WILL EVERY PRODUCER ON THE PLANET STOP USING AUTO-TUNE?? Every fucking song I hear now has some gimick-y vocal track that's over-saturated with the god-damned Auto Tune plug-in. I think 10 years is long enough for this trend to die a quick and painful death. And let me add, DOING IT TO STEVIE WONDER'S VOICE IS A CRIME WHICH SHOULD EARN WHATEVER PRODUCER A LIFETIME SENTENCE IN GUANTANAMO BEING ASS-RAPED BY GREAT DANES AND FED COCK SANDWICHES EVERY MEAL. It is singularly the worst thing to ever happen to Popular music. The fact that the watershed moment for Auto Tune was a Cher tune should be a major fucking clue that it was a bad, bad, bad idea. Here's an idea, learn how to sing or perhaps even work a talk-box. Something that takes actual fucking talent.

Oh, and the Gitmo thing should just happen to Kanye anyway.

There, rant over. Ah, that felt good.

This is awesome, halfway to work and I've already generated over 400 words. As much as I fought the whole carpool thing with the wife, it might actually be a good idea. Plus, added bonus, I'm keeping miles off the leased Mazda. Lesson for next time: make sure the iced coffee is made. Winchell's will be the first order of the day once I get out of the car.

Ok, lots going on lately. Taking care of promo for the upcoming gig at Genghis Cohen (March 26th at 10PM, folks. I'll be making a big fucking deal out of it soon). This is one where I simply have to bring out bodies to support, so I'm a little nervous about it. Also, it's really the first real visible original gig here in LA-proper. Will probably be begging, borrowing and offering sexual favors to all of my friends and colleagues in town to get them to come out. The good news is that the band sounds pretty awesome and I'm adding new material to the set. I guess I shouldn't be to concerned with playing old SOBES songs, considering not a lot of folks out here have heard them. But I'm really trying to get into the head of the new record, and definitely after this gig I'll be teaching the band all the new stuff. I think the strategy will be to have rehearsals at least twice a month for the foreseeable future. I like rehearsing. I miss it. It gives me a chance to bond with my musical family. Not only will I be able to get the next record tracked, but I'll also be able to work up some cover sets. Doing to original showcase is well and good, but I know building a fanbase will entail getting to the regular clubs and doing some cover gigs every now and then. They're also arguably more profitable. Every gig and rehearsal is a financial investment at this point. I'd like to be saving money for the stuff I know I'm going to need later this year, like video production and recording costs. Regardless, it will all be seriously underground budget. The key is to come up with quality ideas that don't require a lot of overhead.

Well, rolling up to the jobby job. More later.

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My Quickie WATCHMEN Review, Pt. 1

So last night I was one of the reported $4.5 million worth of people that attended the midnight screening to Watchmen. Overall I was pretty happy with the results of what is being touted as the greatest comic book movie of all time. Much like the movie, I'm going to try to cram a lot of information in a little amount of time and give you the best quickie review I can given my impressions on about 8 hours of sleep after the fact.

**SPOILERS FOLLOW!! DO NOT PASS THIS POINT IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED**

My initial impressions of the movie are that this was about as good of a Watchmen flick as Hollywood will be able to deliver. Zach Snyder and his screenwriters were about as faithful to Moore's epic as they could be, given the fact that they had to cram 12 issues worth of very dense story into less than 3 hours (I will be buying the extended cut DVD and the Tales of the Black Freighter/Under the Hood DVDs when they release). So, you have to bear with the fact that the entire movies was extremely compressed and hurried. You just had to. You had to be able to grab on at bar one and hold on for dear life as the entire opus unfolded. And for this fact, I have to give up lots of props to Snyder for his pacing, right up until about the last 1/3 of the movie where it just gets to be very rushed. I could see each chapter rolling by at a pretty decent pace until after the prison break (and even really, after Jon and Laurie leave Mars), then it really careened to a finish. Kudos for the powers-that-be for keeping it on track for that long. In fact, my general disappointment begins and ends with the fact that the final "act" (we'll get to that in a second) seems very hurried. All of that aside, this is a really good comic book adaptation.

Why this was a great comic book flick and should be a lesson to those making them:

This is probably the first comic book adaptation, with the exception of "Sin City" where actual dialogue and panels of the comic are treated so faithfully into the end product. In my opinion this is crucial to adapting a work this like. Many critics I've listened to so far and really on Snyder's case about this, but it's my opinion that this is how all comic book movies should be done. Where Hollywood goes wrong in bringing comics to films is that they change too many things and are not respectful enough to the source material. I can say with pride that the first 1/3 of this movie is pretty much page-for-page, line-for-line of what Moore intended. Rorschach's soliloquy at the beginning, although rushed, is near perfect for setting the tone for this film. The fact that so much of the graphic novel is kept in this movie is a real testament to how much Snyder loves it and his craft. Critics and reviewers need to take note: this is what we, the comic book faithful want to see. And this is what those that aren't familiar with the genre NEED to see. This is absolutely the best representation of Alan Moore's (and Dave Gibbon's, respect) vision come true-to-life that we have seen to date. In this, we finally got to scratch the surface of where Moore's genius lies. Yes, it's lofty. Yes, it's dense and confusing. But SO IS THE ORIGINAL WORK, and as a result this movie does an exceptional job at capturing it and making it accessible to the mainstream. So, I'm not upset about the fact that Snyder stayed so close to the comic book panels and dialogue when making this movie. I relish it, and I appreciate it, and I would advise every other director and screenwriter planning on making a comic book movie to do the same. That's why they call it an adaptation. Stick with good source material and you can rarely go wrong. What changes that were made here were few, and they didn't bother me so much that they ruined the original vision.

Why linear storytelling should be abandoned and why the critics should get over it:

Another complaint that I'm hearing about this movie from the reviewers is that this movie jumps around too much; that there is no real 3-act structure, and the whole thing gets diluted with bouncing from current events to flashbacks and origins. Again, this is the whole point. Moore's original volume had three disparate stories going on at the same time and also covered all the ground work for establishing all the characters backstories and why the Watchmen universe was as it was. Again, this is part of the genius of why Watchmen worked. It was dense, it was bold, and it jumped around a lot.

This is the twenty first century, and film critics need to let go of 3-act structure and linear storytelling every once in a while. Look at why works like "Memento," "Lost" and "Pulp Fiction" are so well received. Sometimes you have to break away from what's been done, and typical structure, and all that and simply present the work in a manner that works best. Chronologically, there is very little wrong with Watchmen. The only serious deviations that I saw versus the comic made sense to me at the time. But to pan the movie because it jumps around or is confusing is playing into the hands of those that read the graphic novel for the first time and don't get it. It's supposed to be dense. It's supposed to jump around, and it's supposed to make you think or wonder what the hell is going on. This is why Watchmen is such a strong piece of art in the first place.

Pt. 2 forthcoming...

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March 2, 2009 Funeral for a Friend

This could go on a bit, so those of you that like the mini-blogs, please step along.

I can't say I'm one of those people that knew Cori Desmond well. I wish I could be one of those people, but I'm not. I'm just one of those people who have been drawn to the news of her murder and had to--just HAD TO--be at her service today.

I will give you what backstory I can. I'm a musician, and as such we musician folk have been known to play at the local pub now and again. When I moved to my new home of the Beach Cities of Los Angeles, I had the fortune of being hired to play a number of joints in my neighborhood. It's what a new musician does to build a crowd and make a buck or two. That's how it was when I had a resident Wednesday night at the BAC Street Lounge in Redondo Beach. I would go every weekend and do my stupid little cover gig (a nomenclature which will more than likely be capitalized in the near future) and be on my way. In my travels I met a girl who was local to the bar scene there, who had been a regular bartender and patron. This was my first meeting with Cori. She was a lean, cool, bubbly girl who instantly radiated...

Glee.

Can I say that without it sounding much too much gayer than it is?

Just. Out-and-out. Downright. Gayety.

I'm sure she got mad, upset, drunk, pissed--any of those other things you might put on someone. But all I got from every meeting or seeing Cori was just outright glee. She had a smile that lit up any space you happened upon. I never got a chance to really sit down and talk with her, but I did see her and say hi to her several times. And you just could not leave the room without remembering her and that damn cheerful smile.

That smile haunts me today. Today I took a personal day. I didn't see it coming, and I wish I could have just gone about business as usual. But today I had to stay in my community and pay my respects to someone that I can honestly say that my days will not be the same without seeing. This is no crush or infatuation or anything like that. I just have to say a very special girl has been wiped from the face of our planet, and I've been personally effected by her loss.

So much so that I was compelled to attend her service today. This will probably come of as some kind of review, but I'll really try to stick tot he facts. I have to say; it's probably one of the most beautiful memorials I've attended. I'm no stranger to loss or funerals. I've lost a lot of important people in my life: my cousin Larry, my Aunt-in-Law Karen, my Grandfather, my Aunt Sandy. Friends, colleagues, and all. The older I get, the more good people pass from this earth. I will probably have a whole other entry about that soon, but not now. Anyway, there I was, smack-dab in this church, mourning the passing of a friend I hardly knew, but felt somehow connected to.

I didn't do it for me. I didn't do it for anyone else. I just needed to BE there. Maybe for my new home and my community. Maybe to just lend my support to the family that had this girl stripped from them. I just had to be there.

I'll admit, it was long. 2 hours, to be exact. But it was the best two hours I spent today. I can't give the play-by-play. I won't cheapen the thing by doing that. I can say that we filled a huge church, and a family grieved, and we grieved with them. I will say the pastor, John Cusick, as eloquent, moving and respectful. I remember him saying, in a prayer, something like “and respectfully to whatever you believe, we say this in Jesus' name...” I found that actually very appropriate. No one was hammering any gods or mandate on anyone today. Any more than anyone was mandating that we all feel sad, or happy or angry. We all felt it all. Several family members came and gave appreciation for Cori. And it was all moving. Cathartic. The music, the sermons, eulogies, the image and video tribute, the memory cards. It was all as perfect as it could be. Every person in that room was there for a singular purpose, to send this angel that was lost to us skyward.

Yes, forgive me. It's lofty. It's trying to be poetic. And if it feels like I'm trying to blow it all out of proportion for a my own selfish blog, forgive me. But I was moved. Not only by the loss, not only by the ceremony, but by every thing that happened after.

We Irish know that after a good funeral comes a wake. Sad to say I didn't attend the main reception because I didn't feel close enough to the Desmond clan. I wouldn't just intrude upon a “Family and close friends of the family” get-to-gether. But I did go to the bars that Cori was last seen at. I wanted to drown my sorrows with the people that were there the night she was taken from us. So there it was that I went back to my local taverns, Bogey's and The BAC Street. And I was happy to engage people that I'd seen several times there but had never introduced myself to. One thing about a loss, you can't ignore the person you sit across the bar from any more. You're feeling the hit. He is to. About time you shook hands and exchanged names.

There's a whole gamut of things that has gone through my mind today. I know there's blame, and rage, and fear. Really, a lot of fear. I heard the story of how some people in town blame the staff at Bogey's for not letting Cori in when she was beating on the door at 2:30AM. How maybe, if someone had just let her in, this would all be different. Then I hear stories about how several other women in the neighborhood, also bartenders, have been attacked. One was even recently attacked and nearly abducted, like Cori. I try to console my friend who now feels the looks and hushed whispers from a community that's asking “why didn't you just let her in?” To those people I can only say that hindsight is 20/20, that even that act might not have changed anything, and that people have to be allowed to do their jobs.

This is a tragedy. And it's shocking. We're all dumbfounded by this. We're all shaken. But you can't blame the bar industry, or the city, or anyone else.

Except for the son of a bitch that did this. And he will see his day of justice.

What I would say is that the local law enforcement needs to WAKE UP. There are bad people on our streets. There are gangs, and perverts, and all of that. Burying it will not change what's happening. There are the Beccas and the Coris and the Chantelles of this town, and it's high time we all started looking out for each other.

I was mugged once, and this is the only common thread I have with what's happening here. I watch the news today, and I see story after story about an assault here, a beating here, a murder there.

There has been a murder here, on my turf. Someone I may not have been really close to, but was nonetheless relevant. A scholar, and artist, a friend.

I'm venting. Really, sorry, venting. And I've only really captured half of the moment today. I don't know if I did it justice, but it's out there.

I wrote some kind of hollow words on the “memory card” they gave us all to fill out during the ceremony. I guess I've paraphrased it here, and I hope I've expounded on it somewhat. Maybe that's some kind of closure for me. I'm sure it's only scratching the surface for everyone else.

Godspeed, Cori. I feel cheated that I never got to tell you what an angel you were. I'm sure everyone else does, too.

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