I saw this beautiful image on Facebook, captured by the always amazing Rachel Hatch. Curating it here for those of you who come to this blog looking for all things Redding. #ThisisRedding
Click to enlarge.
I love the way the stage light reflects from the interior decor of Cascade Theatre. I wish I’d been there in person instead, but this photo is just delightful. Thanks for letting me use it here, Rachel.
Learn more about the Northstate Symphony at their website.
Summer Schappell performs on national TV show
Local girl Summer Schappell appeared on a national TV show called “The Voice” this week. She did great, and you can watch it here:
Summer Schappell is the granddaughter of Bill Schappell, with whom I shared an adjacent desk at the real estate brokerage in 2009. Back then she was a very young, up and coming singer who had performed around Redding and recorded in Nashville. She and her band gave a terrific performance for an appreciative audience at the Asphalt Cowboys BBQ that year, and I took these photos and posted them here on Really Redding. Looks like a lot of hard work is paying off for Summer. I happen to know proud grandpa Bill had a hand in that effort.
Years of work to leads to “overnight success,” that’s Really Redding.
Listen online to Redding composer Craig Padilla
Somebody assembled a playlist of videos at YouTube of only Craig Padilla’s music. It has a real nice flow. Great music to put on while working this rainy morning. I like to open a window in my browser to the link and let it play on in the background while I work.
You should try it.
The videos are mostly fan-produced, which is nice. What’s not all that nice is that Craig gets no pay for play. I see some ads, so somebody somewhere is getting paid.
The music “industry” model has been broken for some time now. But I know some artists are finding different ways to get paid. If you like what you hear and wish to support the artist directly, you can make a purchase at Craig’s website by clicking below. Craig and his family would appreciate it.
Interestingly, you can also find Craig Padilla in Wikipedia. Local talent recognized.
Anderson Summer Concert series to host Tempest tonight!
It used to be the Mosquito Serenade, but now it’s called the Summer Serenade. A free concert series held in Anderson’s lovely River Park on Wednesdays. Tonight they are having the celtic rock band Tempest again. I ran this post below back in 2009. It looks like their lineup has changed a bit, but the spirit remains. I am re-posting to get you in the mood for this evening’s show. I loved the way the chain of dancers formed!
At first only the youngest kids are dancing, since they are more in touch with the muse.
But soon, the group of dancers grows larger, as the bigger kids join in.
Like a chain reaction, the group of dancers builds.
This band is hotter than than an Anderson July.
Soon the whole crowd is one single pulsating organism, throbbing to the rhythym.
Yes, you have them in the palm of your hand. Nice work.
What a terrific venue! This free concert series is a longtime Anderson tradition. Thanks to all who contribute and sponsor. And Tempest, well, you blew us away!
New music from Redding artist Craig Padilla
My friend Craig Padilla posted this performance video of his recent composition, Challenger Deep. Please give it a view/listen.
Part of the charm comes from knowing that he created this using a modular synthesizer built by his friend and northwest micro-manufacturer, George Matson. For any synth-geeks out there, you’ll know this is a fairly minimalist hardware synthesizer setup on which to compose, in an era where mega-synths exist in software and apps. For everyone else, please simply enjoy this composing/performance of a lovely work of ambient and evocative northstate style music for what it is, by a widely regarded master of the genre.
Believe it or not, this 2014 music is available on vinyl from the artist.
So, enjoy. It’s Really Redding.
Your planet, as seen from low orbit -right now
The ISS has HD cameras, and offers a live feed. Here is your planet, below. Press play. Wait a bit. If black, it’s probably night for the ISS. If grey or brown, it’s switching cameras. Be patient. Sunrise comes every 45 minutes for our intrepid crew and station, so check back soon. It’s worth it. Toggle “Best” and “Fullscreen” down at the lower right for the full effect.
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Reflecting on Earth’s surface from space in realtime, it’s always amazing to me just how thin is our atmosphere. Enjoy breathing much? Given our behavior as a species, you’d think it wasn’t all that important to us.
This is a good live feed on which to meditate. It’s Really Redding.
Edit: Here’s some great ambient music with which to view your planet.
Atmospheres 1990 by Craig Padilla and credited to Skip Murphy (me) begins after the excellent John Serrie piece. Very nice compilation. However, I am not part of this piece of music.
“Regarding that track “Atmospheres 1990″: I hadn’t met you yet. That’s a track by me and Bryan Arnold. It was also the first recording of mine that received radio airplay… DJ Ron Dare played that to open his radio show (at KCHO) before he did a big marathon of my music tapes I sent to him.
-Craig”
Funny how stuff gets around on the interwebs.
Tracklist:
0:00 – Jonn Serrie – Starmoods
15:44 – Craig Padilla & Skip Murphy – Atmospheres 1990
26:28 – Sparkle – Over The Horizon
32:20 – Bass’Flo & Ziyal – Looking Back From The Edge Of Time
39:18 – Purl & Sinius – We Don’t Belong Here
48:32 – Purl & Sinius – Blue Water (World Exclusive)
59:26 – LucienMusique – Dreamed Life
1:05:23 – Sean Mackey – New Zealand Sprawl
1:10:26 – Sunlight – The Reborn of Life
1:14:32 – Sparkle – Mountain’s Pray (ft.ECHO)
1:19:50 – Sean Mackey – Roads (ft. Lambert McGaughy)
1:25:11 – Sean Mackey – Mountain Republic (nExow Remix)
1:29:07 – CMA – Without You
1:35:06 – Sparkle – Sunrise
1:40:49 – Jacoo – Desolation
1:44:50 – Kaj – Flashback
1:48:05 – Moseqar – Daydream
1:52:55 – NVprod. – I Miss You
1:55:35 – Sparkle – Memories (ft.Samlion)
2:02:21 – Phaeleh & Clubroot – Unharmed
2:07:40 – CMA ft Sacred – Loose Ends
2:11:30 – Sparkle – Leaving Roads
2:18:38 – Jacoo – A World Of Peace
2:22:03 – Owsey – In A Decade Full Of Dreams
2:29:09 – Ambientsketchbook – Peace
2:33:42 – Ludovico Einaudi – Le Onde (Ellipsis K Remix)
2:37:41 – Ludovico Einaudi – Nuvole bianche
2:43:23 – Dub-Eden – Nord Wind
2:48:21 – Dub-Eden – Source Of Life
2:55:05 – Sparkle – Memories (ft.Samlion) (Ellipsis K Remix)
2:58:08 – Tom Day – Flemington
3:01:55 – Dub-Eden – The Last Of Us
3:07:44 – Elysian – Sent To The Skies
Slovakian video artist adapts Redding music
Chill out for a Sunday evening. Vojtech Matlák is a video artist in Reca Slovakia. Recently he created this mashup of video imagery set to Redding musician Craig Padilla’s Spirit Signs. 8 minutes of introspective meditation awaits:
Craig’s instrumental music has always been very visual for me, and evidently for others as well. Interesting that the internet allows this connection between artists half a world apart. Yet not really apart at all. It’s Really Redding.
A rare performance by musician Craig Padilla tonight
As seen in a newsstand in McCloud California. News of a rare public performance.
Thanks to Jon Lewis for the journalistic heads-up in After Five. Craig Padilla will be playing in Red Bluff tonight.
Come out and support this unique homegrown artist tonight in Red Bluff. Then spotted in a music store window. Big news. Craig Padilla hasn’t played his hometown in years. Now’s your chance to see and hear this Ambient and Electronic Music artist from the Northstate, now known all over the world.
7:00 PM
Tickets just $15 and go to benefit a Red Bluff scholarship fund.
Red Bluff Elks Lodge
355 Gilmore Rd
Support a local artist and benefit a scholar.
DEVO memories in Redding
Somber to learn that guitarist Bob Casales of Devo has made the transition to his next performance. Condolences to family, fans, and band mates evolved and de-evolved. In memorial, I’m re-running this post that I also re-ran last year when drummer Alan Meyers passed. It puts focus on people of my general age. More behind us than ahead. Man, the 80’s were awesome, though.
When DEVO came to Redding
Wow, was it thirty years ago? Looking through an old box in the closet, I ran across these photographs I took at the Redding Civic when DEVO came to town in 1982.
Are we not men? We are DEVO!
Sure, it looks like the singer is wearing a flower pot hat, but DEVO fans know them as “Energy Domes.” I was a fan back then, but not enough to have bought a ticket. A friend gave me the ticket. Her 15 year old daughter won the seats from a radio promotion, and mom really didn’t want to go. Front row! Hence, the good shots. The show was much better than I expected.
This was the era of the “It’s a Beautiful World” single, which was a show highlight.
It’s a beautiful world we live in,
A sweet romantic place,
Beautiful people everywhere,
The way they show they care
Makes me want to say,It’s a wonderful time to be here,
It’s nice to be alive,
Wonderful people everywhere,
The way they comb their hair(Chorus)
It’s a beautiful world (three times)
For you (three times)
Everything I’d heard by DEVO was sort-of deliberately sterile sounding, I think. Art music. Almost a parody of itself. Certainly a sarcastic reflection of pop culture.
The funny thing about pop culture is that even self-parody acknowledgement of its own banality becomes more pop culture, perhaps even the best of it.
What I wouldn’t have guessed was how hard they rocked. Obviously, having risen through the punk clubscene, they’d learned to move an audience. This wasn’t studio music played live. They engaged the crowd, playing it hard with abandon. Up front, and hearing mostly the stage monitors, I was impressed. A tight rock band.
Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh has gone on to become an accomplished artist in both film scores and visual arts. An extremely impressive list of accomplishments by any measure.
They still play as a band too. The DEVO webiste had recent video from a SF show at the Fillmore.
Amazing.
I like the final image in my series. You can tell this was taken some time ago. Outstretched arms aren’t holding up cell phones recording the moment. We were just in the moment.
I think that’s Bob grinning ear to ear. I know I was. All photos by Skip Murphy, 1982.
Redding style train song from Still Married
We are a train town in Redding. But if you want to ride out of town, the only passenger train leaves just after closing time at 2:20 am. That’s either pretty late, or awfully early, depending on your perspective. Cheer up. You can listen to a song about it by talented local music duo Still Married at this link:
http://www.stillmarried.net/whiskeytown
“2:20 is a lonely time for leaving
Plenty of regrets onboard this train
I know to every time there is a season
2:20 is the time to ride away”
2:20 may be the time to ride away, but 420 works for some too, evidently.
Redding bound train on a mural in nearby Cottonwood California. It’s Really Redding.