Free Music Friday for November 6, 2009

Kind of a light week, but some good stuff. Here are this week's souful mixtapes and podcasts:

*HOT* Son Of Soul Podcast #71  DOWNLOAD

Eavesdrop Podcast #20 DOWNLOAD

*HOT* Zo! Download Just Visiting Too DOWNLOAD

nOvaJavaBlend #5 DOWNLOAD

MC Lyte's This & That mix  DOWNLOAD

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Featured on the Shifted Sound Podcast!

I'm honored to have two songs featured on the Shifted Sound Podcast. They feature new and hot independent music every week. Please point your browsers over there, download the show and add them to your RSS feeds.

http://www.shiftedsound.com/?p=575

Thanks so much to Shelby for this opportunity!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Free Music Friday for October 30, 2009

Here are some quick links to what I found this week in souful mixtapes and podcasts:

Stevie's Love 101 Chapter 4 DOWNLOAD

NOVAJAVABLEND #4 DOWNLOAD

DJ KEWLIN Around the Way Mix DOWNLOAD

EJ's Podcast: The UK Mix DOWNLOAD

EJ's Podcast: Thump DOWNLOAD

Sholanda's "Just Go" mixtape DOWNLOAD

DJ Destroyer - Anthony Valadez Audio/Visual Sample Mix DOWNLOAD

Free Music Friday for October 23, 2009

Ok, y'all. Again, no fancy presentation, but here are some quick links to what I found this week in souful mixtapes and podcasts:

Digable Planets presents Sounds of The 7th Dimension DOWNLOAD

Chinahblac Eargasmic Mixtape DOWNLOAD

Full Crate Feel Like Making Love Mix DOWNLOAD

Mono:Massive - Basement Goodies Vol.1 DOWNLOAD

Brittany Bosco - Spectrum 2.0 DOWNLOAD

DJ K.E.L.W.I.N! The Poppin' Mix DOWNLOAD

Many thanks to Bama Love Soul, Soulbounce, and Nu Soul Mag for the links. Enjoy!

Free Music Friday for October 16, 2009

In honor and in the absence of Honey's picks on HoneySoul.com, here are my observations on some good soulful mixtapes and podcasts that hit this week.

The Diamond Exchange Mixtape from Bama Love Soul Download
Jared Evan – “Radio In My Head” [MIXTAPE] Download
SOULPHISTICATED SISTAS 2.0 Download
soular grooves podcasts Phunkwhatchaheard Radio Show Ep 61 Download
Eavesdrop Podcast #18 Download
DJ Diva: New York October Download

Sorry this presentation isn't as fancy as Honey's, but I figured I'd continue the love she started for all this great music.

October 8, 2009 Morning Pages

Got up early enough to try to knock out an entry. It’s been very steady lately. Can’t really say I’ve been able to sit idle at all. Doing a lot of programming and composing, just trying to knock out some new, fresh ideas.

I think I may have painted myself into a corner with this record. Here it is, over half complete, and I continually find myself doubting if any of it’s any good. I don’t know if this is just a confidence thing on my end or if I’ve just sat on the material for so long now that it’s gone stale. I bounce between going full out with the completion of the album and completely scrapping it. I think I’m really struggling with the direction the music is going. And maybe it’s conflicting with everything that I’ve been listening to, which has been very electronic and dark. I’ve known this was going to be the poppy live record, but now I wonder if there’s really any place for that on the radio. And I guess, ultimately, radio should be the last of my concerns due to all the crap that’s spewed out nowadays. But I am seriously conflicted and tempted to just scrap the whole project.

Then, on the other hand, there’s the part of me that just wants to get this music out and heard; out of my system. The songs are good, that I know. But whether they are great I’m just not fully convinced. Maybe I’ve gone complacent. Maybe I’ve just heard the stuff for too long in my head and I’m over it. I’m going to have to find some way to make it all fresh, because at this point I’m pretty conflicted.

I think it’s also having to do with the fact that I’m really not seeing any headway being made on the musical front. Oh, sure, the local shows are going well, and I have a lot of enthusiasm from the band and our immediate following. But I just can’t seem to get us to that next level, and I feel like I’m getting...

Gah! I’m not going there. As you can probably tell, I’m fighting some inner demons, and it’s putting me in an unsure state. I guess maybe I’m feeling the fatigue of having pursued this dream my whole life and still not achieved the goals that I set out for myself. Life goes on, folks get older, the business changes, and I’m still trying to find my place in it. At the end of the day all I really have is my love and passion for the craft, but at this point I’m even doubting that.

I’m sure I’ll find some way to barrel through all this. It’s just when you’re in the moment it can be a pretty lonely place to be. I’ve got to get out of this head and somehow delude myself into believing that I will see the light at the end of the tunnel--that people really want to hear something more original that some recycled Mayer Hawthorne crap.

Worse comes to worse, I’ll probably just track what I’ve done with the band and release it as an EP. I’ve done too much work at this point to just scrap it. But I feel like maybe it’s time to take my career in a different direction, and I’m doing some serious soul-searching trying to figure what that is.

Until next time...

Something Old, Something New!

Hey gang,

Just wanted to let you know I've made available a track from waaaaaaaayyy back in the day that was never released. Click below to get your FREE download of "Into The Love."

September 15, 2009 Morning Pages

Actually getting a few moments today to sit down and crank out a morning page. I really have to get back to this. Ever since starting the permanent day job, it's been really hard to get up any earlier to log entries. That either means I'm going to have to man-up and just wake earlier or start doing these at night. Thing about the morning pages is their supposed to be stream-of-consciousness thought first thing when you wake. But I suppose as long as I'm writing it doesn't really matter what time I do it. So this will serve as a written notice that I'm going to try to do this. I was blogging nearly daily before I went permanent at the jobby-job. I miss it.

There's a lot happening; the most significant of which I have to keep a tight lid on. Suffice it to say: I have a HUUUUUUUUUGE secret I'm sitting on right now and have to wait a little while before I can blow the lid off of it. All I can say is that it's big. Monumentally big. Biggest-thing-I've-done-kinda-big.

You know, I'm normally good with secrets. This one's going to be hard, personally, to keep.

On other fronts, things are proceeding apace. Had a decent enough gig the other day in Redondo. I actually blew my voice out for the first time in years, which was a disappointment. Gonna chalk it up to the fact that I was on vacation for a good week or so before and just haven't been practicing. That'll change this week. I guess this was a warning that I'm not getting any younger and I need to keep my pipes in tip-top condition. Looks like daily vocal exercises like back in school.

Put the horn through her paces for the first time since I got her overhauled. She works pretty good overall, but there's something dicey going on in the upper register, particularly the altissimo fingerings. Going to have to call the shop today and see if I can get it back in for some fine-tuning. Let's hope they stand behind their work.

I'm really looking forward to getting the remixes from some of the people I've been talking to. It sounds like I'll be getting 3 remixes of “Granted” from Mr. Fresh. He's been really fantastic in keeping me updated. We're planning some fun things for the release. Also really psyched to hear what Big LA Todd is going to do with “Thinkin' Bout You.” I've been thinking about approaching some other DJ's that I've been enjoying remixes from. Speaking of which, I suppose it's time to post some links of some of the music podcasts that I've been checking on a regular basis.

DJ Smoove's Chocolate Soul Podcast
Duane Powell's SoundRotation Podcast
Greg Clifford's Son of Soul Podcast
Bama Love Soul
The Sunday Soundtrack

My best advice is to pay attention to my Twitter feed. Every day I stumble upon to a great podcast or mixtape. It keeps me sane at work being able to at least feed my ears with something new. These, on top of Adam Carolla and Frosty, Heidi and Frank keep me entertained most days.

So, the band has learned almost 7 songs of the new material. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get them in a rehearsal room lately because we've been playing so many gigs. I'm gonna have to take a couple Saturday's off so we can knuckle this material down.

Speaking of which, we're going to be at the Starboard Attitude in Redondo Beach for the next few weekends. Specifically, this Sat, the 19th from 4-8PM; the very next Saturday, the 26th from 4-8PM; and the next Friday, Oct 2 from 9-1:30. Should be a great time as always, and I'll try to whip out a few surprises. Last Friday we even played a little “stump the band.” And yes, we pulled off G'n'R and Bobby Brown off the cuff. We're just that dangerous.

Lots more going on, but I'm going to wrap it up for now. More later.

Woke up early enough to try to knock out a quick morning pages entry. I'm sorry it's been so long since the last one.

Week is starting off on the wrong foot, literally. Saturday, my ankle was giving me fits for reasons I can't explain. I suffered through it all weekend, finally buying an ankle brace. The pain's subsided a bit, but it's still frustrating because I have no idea why it hurts or what I did to it in the first place. And putting on the brace itself hurts like a mother because it's so tight. I'll wear it to work today and pray that by the end of the day it's corrected itself. Frustrating.

Another frustration is with the plumbing in my house. About every 4-6 months, the bathroom plumbing grinds to a standstill due to tree roots clogging up the mainline of the house. So I have to call the property managers and have them send out a plumber to run a rooter snake through the thing. It makes for a problematic morning routine, however, as the toilet doesn't completely flush and sometimes backs up into the draining of the bathtub. God this is gross; let me move on to cheerier topics.

Ok, so band rehearsal last Friday. Went pretty well, all in all. We ran four new songs that I hope to record before the end of the year. With the three that we've already been running for the past few months, that makes over half the next album at least mostly under our fingers. If you're interested in the track names of the new material, so far we're looking at:

Tootie Got Booty

Big Blue Sky

World Turns Around

November Rain

All 4 the Love of U

LeeAndra

Anything

I've been warning folks that this collection of songs will be a lot more poppy that what I've previously done. Hearing the liveness of a full band doubles this conviction. It'll be interesting doing the post production on this batch of tunes, because I will more than likely simultaneously produce electronic tracks over what we've done acoustically. So expect some kind of alternate version or remix set of the entire project this time. Something I learned from producing the last record is why make one when you can make two at pretty much the same cost.

And speaking of remixes, expect to hear remixes of some of the “State of Blue-Eyed Soul” singles. Yes, after 8 or so years I've finally opened up those songs to remix interpretations. So that means if you just happen to be reading this and your a remixer, you can get your mitts on the raw vocal tracks of pretty much any of the songs on SOBES. For your convenience, I've put the first 3 tracks on Indaba Music here:

http://www.indabamusic.com/people/philipclark/collaboration

I've also put them up at Remixin, but the admins there are telling me I need to fix the main mp3 files. Here's the link anyway.

http://www.remixin.com/user/1348/music

I'm hoping anyone will take these elements and at least let me know when they've put out a remix with them. I'll put this out there: I would love to release them on a mixtape or compilation, so bear that in mind when you remix.

Anyway, just a quick entry. Time to get ready for work in my plugged up shower.

June 8, 2009 Morning Pages

Wow. It's been a while.

Lots of stuff going on. A milestone birthday came and went. Not as traumatic as I thought it would be, and truth to tell it sort of passed by as a non-event. Not as many friends were able to make the party as I'd hoped, so I'm hoping to connect with a lot of those people soon.

Big month for the band. We've got the IE Jazz and R&B Fest this weekend in Moreno Valley. Should be a great event, and if this weekend's preview at It's a Grind coffeehouse is any indication the band is going to sound fantastic. We're really starting to gel as a group. No longer worried so much about format and learning songs, we're finally getting into a groove and getting to know each other as musicians. All the little nuances and style that each player brings to the table. It's my favorite part of playing in a group. Saturday's gig at It's a Grind was a lot of fun. I love being able to just show up at a place and start calling out tunes that we play without missing a beat.

Mocca was also this past weekend, and I guess the debut of CAG's ICONIC went pretty well. Most reports from Mocca confirm one thing: it was hot. Roasting hot. Why on earth you'd have a huge indie comic convention with thousands attending and not have basic ventilation and air conditioning is beyond me. From the sounds of things, it needs to go back to the Puck Building. Anyway, Keith from CAG touched base with me, and it sounded positive. I'm eager to hear what the feedback on the book is.

Picked up a quick lettering gig at the beginning of the month. That worked out nicely, because I could use a little extra cash for San Diego Comic Con. That's coming up soon, and the next month will be spent writing up treatments for the other ideas I've had brewing in my subconscious. As QUANTUM is sort of in a holding pattern, it's been refreshing to build some of the other universes I've had in my head for a while.

Lots to catch up on, actually, but I'm reaching the end of my carpool, so I'm going to have to wrap it up. More later.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

New Writing - The Life and Death of Talos the Bronze

Wanted to take some time today to plug some of my recent comic book work. I'm proud to announce that I have a story coming out in the soon-to-be-released ICONIC graphic novel from the Comicbook Artists Guild.





The concept of ICONIC is simple: new twists on old tales of classic literature and history. The heroes in ICONIC are folks you're already familiar with: Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, St. George and the Dragon, and others. It's 112 pages of fun and adventure targeted to comic book readers old and new.

My story involves Talos the Bronze, the mythical creature who fought and was eventually defeated by Jason and the Argonauts. Only this time, we get Talos' point of view on how it all went down.

















This story was a lot of fun to put together, and my creative partner on it, cartoonist Rafael Gonzalez has a really fun style. Rafael is an expert on giants and monsters, so it only made sense that he take on Talos.

The book itself is a monumental effort by CAG, the first truly worldwide collaboration by its members. It's debuting at the MOCCA Art Festival in NYC next month and will cost you a mere $10. More info on CAG and ICONIC can be found at http://comicartguild.com

Blogged with the Flock Browser

May 4, 2009 Morning Pages

I know it's been a long time since I've logged in here, and I'm sorry. I could blame all those things: busy, busy, yadda, yadda; but it's all a load of crap. I've needed to knuckle down and get to writing, and it's high time I did so.

So, overall, things have been going pretty well. Really well, in fact, on a musical end. The band is probably the highlight of the past few weeks. The fellas are bonding and are very ambitious about the immediate future. We did our first full night of covers last Friday. I have to hand it to them, we did 4.5 hours without excessive delays between songs or any repeats. I've got a good group of musicians. They're professional, open to teaching and criticism and also just good people. They're also very good at getting their own people to come to gigs. Reception at the past couple gigs has been really favorable. We didn't bring as many people into the last Genghis Cohen gig--and my voice was not up to snuff that particular night--but it was a good night nonetheless.

Starboard Attitude went off pretty much without a hitch. Folks were very enthusiastic about what they heard, and I actually sold a few EPs. It was good to see the Starboard folks again, and I'll probably be trying to set up a once-a-month with them. Plus, we made money! Officially the first gig that I didn't have to pay them out of my own pocket. We need more of those. At this point I can probably be able to do one original and one cover gig a month to keep the momentum going. Next goal: teaching them the rest of the originals for the next record. Question now is if I can do that before Moreno Valley. I have a feeling we'll play a similar set to our first Genghis Cohen gig at Molly Mallone's (May 12, 8PM). We've been working really hard lately; I'd like to give the guys one no-stress, no-cram gig for a change.





On other fronts, I've been prepping the highly-awaited ICONIC anthology for the Comicbook Artists Guild. The book will be a collection of new twists on old stories such as Robin Hood, Prometheus, St. George and the like. I co-wrote a story for the book with Raphael Gonzalez. It's the story of Talos the Bronze, the giant that is eventually defeated by Jason and the Argonauts. This book has been a tumultuous journey. It's both shaken and unified the group, and in my opinion will be the best thing they've put out. Clocking in at over 110 pages and catered towards education and literacy, it will be a perfect addition to any bookstore or library. Initial sales on the book look good. I'm hoping even more people get excited about it and order their copies.

On a personal level, it's a mixed bag. Things are actually going pretty well for me in my relationships. Sadly, I've lost a couple friends to death a couple weeks ago. I have another friend who's battling cancer right now. I'm turning over a new leaf, which is difficult. I have a birthday coming up, a big one. Every time that happens, I hold a mirror up to my life. Maybe that's what's contributing to some of my stress. Woke up sobbing this morning from some stupid dream. That always sucks. Obviously Freud is trying to tell me something, and maybe I'll have to find someone to talk to about it. More on that at some other time.

Anyway, it's a new day and time to take on another week. Off to the races.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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?

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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...

Blogged with the Flock Browser

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.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Please take a moment to help out my friend David...

A. David Lewis is a valued colleague and friend of mine, and also a creator who's doing some pretty relevant comic book work. Please take a moment to read the press release below, and if you're a member of the comic book community, please keep him in your thoughts come nomination time.

________________________

For Immediate Release:

For Your Harvey Awards Consideration: Read Some New Kind of Slaughter for Free!

February 19, 2009 - Boston, MA. Some New Kind of Slaughter co-creator A. David Lewis is offering free access to issues #1 and #2 of the 2008 eco-epic mini-series at his website http://captionbox.net/harveys. These obligation-free viewings are tied to the recent release of the 2009 Harvey Awards ballot; Lewis is urging people who enjoyed the beginning of the series to consider nominating it for either “Best New Series” or “Best Limited Series.”

Lewis’s original collaboration with mpMann, The Lone and Level Sands (with Jennifer Rodgers), was nominated in 2006 for three Harvey Awards, including Best Graphic Novel. Since that time, Some New Kind of Slaughter has received praise from Entertainment Weekly garnering an “A-” and from Professor M. Thomas Inge (Comics as Culture) who said the series makes it “clear why the graphic novel is the literature of the future.”

Some New Kind of Slaughter concludes this June from Archaia.

(NOTE: Neither the Baltimore Comic-Con nor the Harvey Awards are responsible for the content of this release.)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

February 15, 2009 Morning Pages

Wow. It's been awhile since I knuckled down and did a morning page. So here goes...

It's a been a fairly productive 2009 so far. I think the best thing I did for myself in my New Year resolutions was to seriously manage my time and goals. I cut a lot of fat/projects that didn't serve me directly and also took steps to make my marriage and personal relationships more of a priority. The improvement to my quality of life has been significant. And I have technology to greatly thank for most of it. Because now I have everything quickly at my fingertips, what with being able to sync all of my contacts, calendars and tasks with both my Blackberry and my Google apps simultaneously. I don't think I've ever been so organized, and I can tell you that is a good feeling indeed. I feel effective. I feel focused. I feel consistently accomplished. Also, a zero-tolerance policy for bullshit has also gotten a lot of unnecessary people out of my life. Again, a good year so far. Hope I don't blow it.

Things are progressing pretty well on the musical front. Angela's already gotten me a couple gigs for Feb and Mar., and if you're in the greater Los Angeles area, I ask you to go here to join my mailing list and get the skinny on things. I'll be playing Genghis Cohen next month, and that's a biggie because I need to draw a decent crowd. So I really hope folks will come to support and listen to some really good music.

And the reason I can tell it's going to be good is because I had my first rehearsal with the band yesterday. (Quick aside: Band, I apologize once again. In hindsight I realize it may not have been ultra-cool to pull you all in to rehearse on Valentine's Day. Next year I promise to get you that Champagne I promised yesterday). Anyway, I have to say things well swimmingly well considering most of us haven't seen each other since June. And, in fact, one of us was new to the fold entirely. I was finally able to convince the lovely and talented Nikki O'Neil to join our ranks for the foreseeable future. Conversely, I will also be joining her group sometime soon. That's how we professional musicians do some times, we scratch each other's backs. I think Nikki is going to be a great fit and I look forward to future musical ventures with her. It's amazing that we never bumped into one another when we both lived in New York. Oh, well, guess fate is funny like that some times. Like I said, the rehearsal went pretty well, and, in fact, here is 12 seconds of it right here:


Rehearsal, now. on 12seconds.tv

Things are going pretty good on the comic book front, too. Diamond's announcement a few weeks back was a real game changer. It seems like the buzzword at New York Comic Con was “digital.” And with a lot of high profile indie creators already saying goodbye to print, I can see that I'll be changing my game-plan with future projects. Am working now to digitize all of QUANTUM so far and get them to a few online distros that I've been in talks with.

Have also been talking to a couple colleagues and am assessing my strategic partnerships. That's my buzzword for the year. Like getting Nikki in the band, a lot of what I'll be doing on all career fronts this year will be a lot of “you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours” kind of dealings. And since I'm not going to spread myself too thin this time out, I will be very selective of who I chose to work with. In fact, in my mind I think I've already selected those people. It's nice to already have my year planned out this far ahead. It's amazing what a little goal setting can do for a person.

Some final thoughts on New York Comic Con. No, I did not go. And part of the reason I didn't was because of a certain group of people whom I once considered my friends and colleagues. That group has completely betrayed my confidence and turned on me. They've taken the over seven years of faithful service I volunteered to the group and utterly shat on them. I didn't go to the show because I knew I would have ran into some of those people, and it would have been completely awkward. Better to save myself the drama of such a reunion and focus on the positive. I will make it a point to attend NYCC next October when I've been able to put some time and distance between me and said group. They know nothing of respect or loyalty and are at this point dead to me. Let them put their focus and money into parties and self-congragulatory award shows that no one else cares or knows about. Their insular and geo-conscious attitudes will be the nail in the coffin of their failing activities, which are hardly creative anymore. To them, I say one final “Suck it” and “Good riddance.”





Sorry to the rest of you, but I had to get that off my chest. Again, zero-tolerance policy for bullshit. And, lesson here: don't piss me off.

Today promises to be a good one. Need to get Christy out of bed so we can go get our Valentine's brunch at Pancho's in Manhattan Beach. All you can drink champagne for the wife, that's my secret to a happy marriage. That and actually including her in your schedule. Later off to the Wellman's to celebrate baby Gram Solo's first birthday. Preparing myself for the unyielding pangs of wishful motherhood from said wife later in the day.