Redding's Tour de 'Shrooms

Yesterday’s video reminded me that I did a sort of naturescape video/photo tour of Redding last February, and then never posted it. Take a look.

Fairy Rings in our fair city from Skip Murphy on Vimeo.

During a break in our Winter weather, I went to a bluff overlooking the Sacramento River to shoot some panoramas of my town, Redding California, poised beneath newly snow dusted mountains. While shooting, I noticed the really interesting activity that was taking place at my feet. Fairy Rings of mushrooms were scattered about around the Valley Oaks on the bluff. Evidently this is a good year for fungus of all sorts. Back in the studio, I tried to create music ‘scenery’ that reflected the photographic images, and the spirit they evoke. My first attempt at using Vimeo, which is a quite nice service. As an early experiment, I think it turned out interesting. But that’s just me. It is Really Redding.

Redding musician Craig Padilla interviewed on Dutch music website

Craig Padilla and Skip Murphy in the studio 2010
Craig Padilla and his music was featured recently at the Sonic Immersion webzine from the Netherlands authored by our friend Bert Strolenberg. Whenever I read interviews with musicians, I am reminded of the old saying “talking about music is like dancing about architecture.” For musicians, music is the form of expression. When you try to put things into words, something gets lost in translation. Be that as it may, it’s always interesting to see that appreciation for our local music crosses the Atlantic, and across all languages. Music is sort of a universal language in that regard. But if you care to witness this dance about architecture interview, click on the image below. Thanks Bert!
Craig Padilla and Skip Murphy in the studio 2010

Flash mob Bolero

In case you haven’t see this viral video. It made my morning.

Not ReallyRedding, although it would be fun.

Listen and play new music free, courtesy of the Earth Mantra netlabel

You can listen to ambient and space music free at the Earth Mantra website. Here’s a link to the latest collaborative release of a few friends of ours, and longtime fellow travellers, Jim Combs, Jez Creek, and Kevin Haller. It’s interesting and evocative music. Good for late evening reading and such, where the music finds focus in some other region of the brain. There is much other free music to be found at Earth Mantra. All worth exploring.
Earth Mantra Netlabel
The Earth Mantra label was started by our friend Darrell Burghan a few years back, mainly to offer an outlet for space-ambient works that would probably not find a home elsewhere. We remember Darrell as the artist Palancar, from the old MP3.com days. A thoroughly decent chap, whom we hold in high regard. We applaud his work to keep this small but interesting genre of music vigorous and growing. The music is free, and can be used non-commercially under the Creative Commons license, which on a website looks like this:
Earth Mantra Netlabel CC license So you can listen to this music, and share it, but not, oh say, use it for background music for your cool online photo slideshow, which you then post on a commercial, revenue generating website. Well, maybe you could use it that way, but you really should ask the artist for permission first. It’s just common courtesy, even if they work cheap, or even free. If you are interested in licensing the work of local starving ambient artists, or any of these unpaid Earth Mantra artists I’ve mentioned here for your local new media project, I can help put you in touch with them. It’s Really Redding.
PS Don’t miss listening to Silvercord – Symphony of Sighs. Perfect for writing.

Gently weeps for guitar

Ran across this bit of poignant humanity on Craigslist. Would you be willing to sell Rick his guitar back?
Redding ca guitar ad
Sometimes a guitar is just a guitar…

Our YouTube video approaches 12,000 views

Craig Padilla put up a video we made while recording some music in the studio a while back, and it’s been viewed 11,800 times since he put it up. That’s kind of fun to think about.

But there’s an oddity about the viewership. Craig divided the whole video piece into 4 parts. The first segment has garnered over 11,000 views, but the second part drops to 7,159 views. Okay, it’s not your thing, so about 4600 people chose not to watch the second segment, which had only 7159 views. But then about 3400 people skip over the the 3rd segment for total views of 10,615. Huh? Then it drops down to 8283 for the 4th and final segment. Just odd. So maybe 7,159 people watched all 4 segments? Who knows. Anyway interesting to think about our many viewers. Although not exactly viral, we had no idea it would reach so many. What would life be like without YouTube? Thanks to all viewers!

New CD combines 1894 native voices recording with 2009 ambience.

One of the big bonuses to being on the artist run label Spotted Peccary (aside from the occasional royalty check Yay!) is getting new discs in the mail from a fellow label artist. Yesterday I received a copy of Deborah Martin’s “Between Worlds” collaboration with Erik Wollo, and it’s really beautiful. When Deborah passed through Redding a few months ago, she stopped by and played me some preliminary tracks, and I was really impressed. What was really fascinating about the project was that she was given permission and access to use extremely rare recordings of Native American songs recorded in 1894 on metal cylinders! She and Erik used songs from those ancient recordings along with their modern instrumentation to make a really unique hybrid of music that spans more than a century. You can link to her project HERE, or listen to a sample of the title track, which is my favorite track, “Between Worlds” HERE. The ancient recordings of voices and melody lend a ghostly quality to some more modern and very spiritual music. Both from a technical and emotional standpoint, I found the music very moving. Highly recommended!

Deborah Martin and Eric Wollo between worlds

Summer Schappell plays the Asphalt Cowboys BBQ

Summer Schappell is the granddaughter of my colleague Bill Schappel at the real estate brokerage I worked with in 2009. She’s an up and coming singer who has performed here and recorded in Nashville. She and her band gave a terrific performance for an appreciative audience and I took some photos. We were told that many of the drive-thru customers heard the music and got out of their vehicles instead of just driving through for food. The weather was perfect, the food was really good, and there was lots of it.

Summer1 Summer2 Summer3 Summer4 Summer5 Summer6

Beguiled by bridge busker

Saturday evening at the Sundial Bridge, a guitarist serenades passersby. A child in pink is drawn to the spirited music.
Sundial bridge scenes in Redding CA
Spontaneous feet fly in the sunset air.
Sundial bridge scenes in Redding CA
Sundial bridge scenes in Redding CA
Sundial bridge scenes in Redding CA
Sundial bridge scenes in Redding CA
Guitar face, well done. You look so familiar, but I can’t place you. Anyone know the musician?
Sundial bridge scenes in Redding CA
Really Redding.