I ran across this intrepid reporter getting video of the cheap $2.12 gas at Arco yesterday. Never thought I’d see that again. Later I went by there after he’d gone, and they had dropped it again to $1.99. That news video didn’t last long! Send out the reporter again.
This tune titled Indian Spirits is another piece from our live series at the Schreder Planetarium, as promised yesterday. It features Craig singing. Here’s the lyric sheet: “Ahhhhhh.” Hee. Well maybe it’s Uhhh, not exactly sure about that, it’s been a long time. Anyway I enjoyed hearing it again today, and I hope you like it too.
Fall comes to town
Right after Veterans Day in Redding we can expect a frost. Not yet, so far, but soon.
The musical excerpt Lithium is from Craig and my CD Planetary Elements Vol 2, released on the Space for Music label. It was recorded live at the Schreder Planetarium on Magnolia Street in Redding around 2004. Here’s the story of the music. We played as a duo under the dome, while Brian Grigsby ran the planetarium visuals. It seats 64 people. We’d played there before but this time we decided to play improvisationally. We planned to play floaty synthesizer textures and ambient soundscapes. We deliberately didn’t play much beforehand, except to setup, so we wouldn’t know what each other was going to play. Here’s the kicker: playing in the planetarium is done in total darkness. We even had to cover the the LED displays on the synthesizers so their dim light wouldn’t bleed onto the dome. So here we were as usual, playing improvised music in total darkness.
About 10 minutes in, I started up a sequence texture that had a mildly rhythmic bass drum in 4/4 time. I figured Craig wasn’t going to like it much actually, so I thought I’d fade it up and then back down. To my surprise, Craig launches into a full-on lead synth line over the texture. Now, it’s going somewhere. At some point based on Craig’s stellar lead, I transpose the sequence, and follow along.
I guess the piece stands on it’s own, and would be otherwise unremarkable beyond that, except to us. Both of us were thinking, where the hell did that come from? It sounds planned. It wasn’t.
One of those weird moments you get after playing music with somebody of like mind for a decade or so. In the dark. It still weirds me out to hear it. Where does music come from?
Photos by Skip on Northpoint in Redding, Fall 2008
My Great Great Grandfather, Civil War Vet
This is John Rodney in his later years, wearing the Union uniform he wore fighting for Vermont in the Civil War. We’re told he never really recovered from the war, in terms of his health, but we see him here looking proud, about 120 years ago. Happy Veterans Day John. We salute you. John Rodney was the great grandfather to my favorite veteran, my dad.
My dad George, received 3 Bronze Stars in Korea. He was in the Army then, and he noticed the Navy guys seemed to have a better gig, so he joined the Navy reserves after getting out of the Army. I don’t know many who served in two branches of the military. My dad is a pretty special guy.
Last week I took him to have cataract surgery here in Redding at Shasta Eye on Butte Street (thanks!), and he is really grateful about being able to see so well now. Except when he looked in a mirror. Who is that old guy? I know the feeling! Probably John Rodney felt the same about his photograph.
A News Cafe Birthday party
We attended last night’s one-year Birthday Party for Food for Thought / A News Cafe. It was a blast. Lots of people I hadn’t seen in quite a while, and very well attended considering the rainy weather.
I did one of those “stick out your arm with the digicam and take us both” shots here with hostess with the mostest Doni Greenberg. Big fun!
Write-in candidate for City Council, Philbert Fountain performs his magic with a Sharpie.
The Jim Dyar band was really perfect for the gig. I was happy to see Marvin Allen there, on the left. He’s one of my very favorite Redding musicians. Truly a talent. I wish I could have spent more time just enjoying the band, but good food from Andrea of the Bakers Love blog, and lively conversation filled the room. I also wished I had brought a better camera.
A really fun moment for the night was meeting Craig and Erin Friedman of the Still Married band and blog, and realizing Craig and I knew one another from way back when. I’d been to their blog, but didn’t recognize him. Also I didn’t realize until the party that I knew Ann from Infinite Designs from years ago. It’s a small world. A world with excellent birthday parties, too.
Beyond the Portal artwork arrives
We received preliminary cover art for our new CD collaboration project on the Lotuspike label “Beyond the Portal“. I think it looks pretty fabulous. Very exciting! I can’t wait to have the production CD in hand. I have to share this artwork with you.
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This is the follow up release to the earlier Path of Least Resistance by Craig Padilla and Zero Ohms. Here are 3 short snips from that project:
Craig and Zero were kind enough to invite me to participate on this next project, whose artwork you see here, due out soon. Stay tuned!
New music widget
I found a new music widget, and thought I’d try it out. This is an unfinished pieced titled Cloud Study, I’ve been working on, and now posted on SoundCloud. Worth a listen perhaps while looking at old photos of Shasta County at the Shasta Historical Society’s website. They have hundreds of interesting old photos online, and you can lose a few hours just looking around there. It’s so great they keep these available. Anyway I hope you enjoy the music. This ambient piece veers into trancey electronica.
Old photos of our town remind us we have seen economic cycles come and go.
Photos used courtesy of Shasta Historical Society. Please consider joining us.
Makeover
My blog gets a much needed makeover today. I’ve posted a Craig Padilla synth pop classic from 1996, The Gift, for your listening pleasure while you look over the new format. I hope you like it.
Geese waterski on the Sacramento River in Redding, Fall of 2008, photo by Skip
5000 views and counting
Since I’ve been posting my music, I thought I’d check on Craig’s YouTube channel to see how our music video was doing. We’ve had more than 5000 views as of today. There are several positive comments, which is rather like getting worldwide applause in slow motion. This was a live-in-the-studio performance of Stellar Nursery, and the music we recorded here ended up on our most recent CD, Analog Destination, released on the Groove Unlimited (Netherlands) label in May 2008. We split the video onto 4 parts to fit YouTube’s format better, and here is the first part:
If you click on the video directly, you can get to the other 3 parts of this song, and see some other Craig Padilla videos.
Clemency
This musical fragment is tentatively titled Clemency. I grant you clemency herewith, and hope that you offer me the same, because I may need it someday. As may we all. Let’s keep this word handy in our lexicon. Mercy can sometimes be in short supply.
This musical sketch by Craig and me goes on for a little more than 13 minutes, in longwinded contrast to yesterday’s synth-pop piece. It’s not exactly ambient, but not melodic either. It floats somewhere in-between, and remains thus unfinished. Some of it “works” (in musical terms) for me, and some less so. It requires a bit more listening to see what we can learn and perhaps adjust. Or perhaps put it back in it’s box, out of sight and out of mind. If this sketch doesn’t “work” for you, I beseech your clemency. And offer mine. It is what it is. We were just looking for a spark of some sort.
You and I have been on a bit of a musical journey this week. I like the little Ovi music player widget very much. As I wrote on my music page, all work and no play makes us dull. So the old saying goes. Work and life are inextricably tied together when you do real estate for a living, and you can’t really separate your work from the rest of your life most of the time. That’s OK. But late at night, when at the controls of a musical instrument, I sometimes feel as though I’m not at work. As mentioned when I started posting music sketches earlier this week, your mileage may vary.
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Cosmos sulphureus (Yellow Cosmos) appropriately near Sulphur Creek -photo by Skip
Red Bluff synth-pop by Craig Padilla
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.