Click on the play button to listen while you read. If you don’t see the Player, you may need to refresh the browser page. This piece was recorded live at the State Theater in Red Bluff a few years back, and is titled Trance Formation. The event was a fund raiser for the State Theater, which is hoping to undergo a renovation similar to the Cascade in Redding. It’s a fine old building, deeper, and I think larger than the Cascade. I helped with the stage setup, and my friend Craig Padilla performed solo. The performance was augmented by lighting services donated by Morpheus Lights of Redding. Those folks do many of the big-name stage shows, so the lights were simply amazing. The show was well attended, and the Red Bluffian crowd enthusiastic, as you can just hear toward the end of the recording. I think you’ll find the music to be very catchy. Enjoy! 
Backyard double petunia by Skip. Not the flower, the photo.
Ambient music piece
Ambient music, as defined by me, is music that sets a mood of some sort, and is interesting, but not so interesting as to be distracting or serve as a central focus of concentration. It’s good background music for mental activities or other such abstract endeavors. I like to think of it as music that you’re very likely to hear whilst you’re shopping in your favourite retail store. It’s not too heavy or distracting, it just provides a calming and relaxing experience and that’s definitely what you need when you’re shopping. In my opinion anyway. I think you can also refer to it as muzak – a type of soothing music that can be played in many places or buildings. This type of music is beneficial when you have a task to be getting on with and you don’t want to get too distracted.
Does any of that make sense? Well, like most art music, you know it if you hear it, and writing about it won’t help you get it. This 8 minute piece “Lunaria” mostly works for me on that level, but stands unfinished. Maybe I’ll finish it now. Maybe not.
If you are interested in hearing more music of similar nature, you can check out my fellow musician and friend Darrell (aka. Palancar) Burgan’s online “radio station” Stillstream. Some of what you hear on Stillstream falls outside the true ambient definition, but that keeps it interesting. Stillstream is a zero-revenue enterprise. Artists contribute their music, and there are no ads. Worth a listen. You might find you like it, and if so you should tell a friend. You probably won’t hear much of this genre anywhere else.
Firecrew at the Sundial Bridge, photo by Mary A. Thanks!
New music player
Clicking on the widget above plays a 17 minute piece, tentatively titled Sobriquet, that Craig Padilla and I whipped up a while back. Not really sure where it was going, or if it would ever be finished and released. It’s more of a sketch, like a painter might sketch out a piece that ends up leading one in another direction entirely. These musical sketches languish in the studio. I thought I might post a few here and there because…well, just because. I like hearing them now and again myself. It’s good music for working on projects, at least for me. Your mileage may vary! Nokia’s Ovi music player widget is pretty cool. If you like what you hear and simply must have it for your iPod, let me know and I’ll point you to the MP3 file online. You can also click on the “envelope” icon and share it with friends.
I would recommend listening to it on an MP3 player because then you will be able to listen to loads of other files too, one after another, without having to fiddle with the device. If you want, you could find podcasts, songs, and whatnot on youtube and use a youtube to mp3 con to convert them into MP3 files. This way you would always have something to listen to!
I’m quoted in the RS
A good article about buying foreclosures by David Benda appeared in the RS on Sunday. It was thoughtful and accurate. Read it HERE.
Mother doesn’t go out anymore
Just sits at home and rolls her spastic eyes
But every weekend through the door
Come words of wisdom from the world outside
Sunday papers don’t ask no questions
Sunday papers don’t tell no lies
Sunday papers don’t raise objections
Sunday papers ain’t got no eyes
Joe Jackson – Sunday Papers A cool song indeed.
Fall fishing inside Redding city limits
A cold wind blows through the Homeshow
We’ve had a booth at the Homeshow in Anderson for several years now. This Fall show was very lightly attended, coming on the heels of the stock market problems. In the past, it’s been a decent way to meet people in a non-threatening environment. We give out schwag (free promotional items like Custom Water bottles). A memorable moment from today was when a woman took my offered schwag, and when I recited my usual spiel “Please remember us if you know anyone buying or selling a home,” she replied, “I’m an agent myself” turned and walked off. Took my schwag, and cut me off at the knees all at once. That was harsh. Ow. You gotta have thick skin in this business. I marvel at her, really. I could never be that cold.
Ultimately, trade shows are an excellent opportunity to bring your products and services to a wider audience. However, in order for your exhibition to be a success, you need to make sure that you are as prepared as possible. For example, if you want passers-by to be drawn to your table you need to make sure that your corner of the exhibition hall is as inviting as possible. This year, I invested in a bright and colourful poster that I designed and printed using an online template on a website similar to MyCreativeShop. It definitely worked to our advantage as it captured the attention of quite a few people!
We have already started making plans for our next trade show. We want to come up with a new trade show banner, as well as more professional promotional material that we can utilize at events like this. Anyway at this show, the new, much lower valuations hit several people very hard. They had leveraged all their equity or whatever, and were now seriously upside down on value. Gosh, nothing like making people REALLY SAD to make a good impression at a trade show. We need a new reason to speak with people.
Things could be so different now
It used to be so civilized
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you’d only liedIts too late to change events
Its time to face the consequence
For delivering the proof
In the policy of truth
Depeche Mode –Policy of Truth Too true.
Candidates answer questions.
I attended the Shasta Board of Realtors meeting today October 8 2008 for their candidate’s forum. The lineup from left to right is Russell Hunt, Missy McArthur, Norma Comnick, Melissa Hunt, Dick Dickerson, John Wood, Ken Murray, Terry Oxley, Jim McDilda, and Gary Cadd. Norma and Melissa are running for council in Anderson, and the rest are running for city council in Redding. Shown above with Ron Largent brandishing the Shasta Voices sheet of loaded questions. The questionaire’s author Mary Machado was in attendance too, as was somebody from the RS.
Gary Cadd talked about the council agenda, and his idea to make it more council driven, and more available to the public. Jim McDilda emphasized that priorities should be put on core services like police and firefighters. Terry Oxley wants to expand Redding’s attractions to bring more tourist dollars and growth. Incumbent Ken Murray talked about his record and things he opposed like Fix 5, and Eminent Domain. 65 year resident John Wood wants to have more Town Hall type meetings in addition to council meetings. Incumbent Dick Dickerson emphasized his experience in local and state government, and explained his priorities were core city services and planning for their future. Incumbent Melissa Hunt was appointed, and so this is her first election. Norma Comnick emphasized her 3 terms of experience, and having served as mayor. Russell Hunt shotgunned his usual blast of ideas and plans from an outsider populist perspective.
If you have been following along, these folks and their positions are well known. There were no surprises at the meeting. Having watched the “debate” last night with Obama and McCain for president, I guess I expected more from this bunch. Instead it reminded me of high school. Funny. Sometimes, it seems like high school never ended.
Fortunately our cities are well run by highly paid (ahem) staff. That’s only a little tongue-in-cheek. I really do believe we have 2 well-run cities here.
First day of fall -last day of Summer
17th annual Blues by the River
Shoegaze
Hre’s a link to the MySpace page of Chico shoegazer the Soul’s Release. I love the name of this genre, shoegaze. I imagine young emo’s staring at their shoes earnestly.
http://www.myspace.com/thesoulsrelease
Anyway I like the music. There are a few tunes availalble on the page and you can download it from iTunes if you are so inclined. Ran across the page on Craigslist, looking for a vocalist. Maybe you?
In a slightly unrelated matter, I hope to see you at today’s Blues by the River. And unrelated to that, here’s a photo of the base of Whiskeytown Falls I took a few weeks ago, but never uploaded. Suitable for shoegaze soundtrack (Fallsgazing?)
Rich Wright 1943-2005
“I know we’ve made some great songs and great music,” … “but I can’t tell you why we’re so popular” Richard Wright, keyboard player for Pink Floyd. 1943-2008
Fellow keyboard player Craig Padilla called me and told me the news. It made me terribly melancholy all day yesterday. As a musician, one is influenced by others. There are a number of keyboard players that have influenced me, but maybe only Richard “Rich” Wright had the most profound impact on me. I saw Pink Floyd’s live show at the Hollywood Bowl in 1971 (I was 16) and it was such an amazing musical event that it in some ways shaped my whole artistic life. They seemed magic. His understated style fit the music perfectly. They had a grasp of something so far ahead of other bands of the era, it was like they came from another world. I can still remember the event well. The audience was electrified. (It was Quadrophonic!) The memory sends shivers. I saw them several times since then, traveling far to catch their shows over the years. I could go on and on.
When I sit down to play, it was always that undefined magic I hoped to achieve. I’m not comparing myself to Richard, but he had that to which I aspire. When Craig Padilla and I try to describe our style of music to others, we often say it has some similarity to the instrumental parts of Pink Floyd. We also did a tribute of sorts at our live show at Turtle Bay last summer, working the keyboard intro from Wish You Were Here into one of our songs. It’s hard to explain. His impact was large. I can hear his playing in my head. Like it’s part of my DNA or something.
Somebody on another blog said “I’m not sure about this old age thing. People are dying!” Too true.
Remember when you were young
You shown like the sun
Now there’s a look in your eye
like black holes in the sky
Shine On you Crazy Diamond!
Wish You Were Here ends abruptly in a Major Key. So did you. RIP Rich. You live on in my spirit. My condolences to your family and bandmates.
