Problem: You drive a Chrysler. Solution: Re-badge it as a Ferrari. Problem solved FTW.
“Wait, what? I paid good money for this Ferrari! I bought it on Craigslist.” As seen in a north Redding parking lot yesterday. This strategy probably actually works around here. Fake Ferrari, it’s ReallyRedding.
Music from Redding’s Planetarium past – Set 2
I posted the first set of music from Craig Padilla‘s mid 90’s live show a few days ago here. I believe we called the shows “Impulse-Live from Space,” but I couldn’t find any of our promotional materials. I did find a photograph I took of Craig in the Schreder Planetarium (using film back then!) with the famous horizontal axis mirror ball in the background. Most mirror balls rotate vertically, but for our planetarium shows, lights swirled on the dome from front to back. Pretty intense, as I recall it, heh. Anyway, here’s the second set. About 47 minutes. Captured like a dusty photograph, a slice of time gone by.
Planetarium2 by SkipMurphy
Impulse, Live from Space by Craig Padilla. Craig on synths and guitar, Dave Barnett (Montuno Salad) on drums and percussion, Al Mires (Music Max) on electric guitar, and Skip Murphy on more synths, lasers and lighting.
Images of snowcapped mountains over pastoral Cottonwood
Saturday was dreary in the valley, but Sunday was aptly named, as the sun exposed the mountains above Cottonwood, gleaming in snowy dress. This is looking northwest, toward Igo.
Cottonwood California is a few miles south of Redding. It’s a loosely defined large region of rural properties along Cottonwood Creek and the Sacramento River. There is a charming old western town near the railroad, and a modern gated community along the river. An altogether lovely place.
Gorgeous video
I know this one is making the rounds, but in case you haven’t seen it. Not ReallyRedding, but Really Nice photographic art. View full screen and full volume. Inspirational work.
The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.
A Bridge Bay sunset
A few images from yesterday evening at nearby Bridge Bay. Another lovely January day in Shasta County.
Beauty is commonplace around here in January. It’s ReallyRedding.
U cold?
Crabby New Year!
Buz’s Crab is a Redding institution. We are lucky to live within a reasonable radius of a truck drive to the coast for fresh Dungeness Crab. Buz’s always has fresh plenty of fresh seafood. Consequently, this is a very popular tradition around here, making for a tasty but crabby finish to the old year. Happy New Year from ReallyRedding!
Photos from today, by Skip. Buz’s is on East Street in Redding CA.
Rails -new ambient work
Feeling creative over Christmas, I recorded this ambient piece I titled Rails. A little over 8 minutes. I hope you enjoy it.
Rails by SkipMurphy
A musical gift from the Planetarium past
This isn’t related to Christmas, but I recently completed this project from the archives I’ve been editing, and so I’m putting it up. Sometime in the late 1990s, Craig Padilla produced a series of music events at the Schreder Planetarium in Redding. We played as a 4 piece band in darkness, while special lighting effects and the stars wheeled overhead on the dome. Along with Craig playing synths and guitar, I played more synthesizers, and ran some lighting. Al Mires of Music Max in Palo Cedro played electric guitar, and Dave Barnett of local band Montuno Salad played drums and percussion. I have offered some of the individual tracks before, but this is the first time I have presented the entire first set as a whole. It runs just over 40 minutes. This set of music is different when heard in totality, rather than as individual tracks.
Planetarium Show Live (Set 1) by SkipMurphy
I think it holds up very well over time. Hearing it again today , this rainy Christmas day, I am struck by just how ambitious the whole project was. It’s a fairly complex composition, played in near total darkness. As any live recording, it has some imperfections, and since it was recorded to analog 2 track, there’s no remixing. It is what it is. I feel proud of the effort, and I relish the artistic eloquence we brought to the planetarium venue. Thanks to Craig for putting the shows together, and for letting me contribute to his unique and original music. Thanks to Al and Dave as well. It was hard work, but we had fun too. Give it a listen and see what you think.
The spoken word art at the conclusion is Craig’s long departed grandmother, taken from a cherished message machine tape, speaking to us all from the across the divide between this world and the next:
Oh fudge and damn
I forgot
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Stick this machine
in your maple surple
That’s prose
This is Mom
Just being a little silly on Valentine’s Day
Love y’all.
Although it’s not specifically Christmas music, I hope you enjoy the mix. I submit that it’s the indigenous music of 21st Century Redding; it’s ReallyRedding.
Short SF film was created on low budget, high creativity
MODERN TIMES from BC2010 on Vimeo.