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.
More and more old Redding Photos
Mary A. saw the old photos I posted yesterday, and sent me a link to even more old Redding photos online at UC Davis. Check out this one of Swimming in the River Imagine swimming in the Sacramento River now. Brrr! Part of the Eastman Collection. 38 lineal feet of photographs. There are lot of other search terms that turn up interesting bits of bygone Redding. Anyway, you can search any keyword in the collection HERE.
Arboretum Fire 2008 Photo by Mary A. and used with permission (I hope)
I was going to post the swimming image itself here, which was donated to UC Davis in 1994, but they wanted $50 for a courtesy fee. Which is probably appropriate, but I don’t really have the budget for it right now. But even better, you can look all you want online for free. I called the Shasta Historical society about the photos I used from their site and they said it was probably OK as non-commercial use, but you should at least be a member, which is only $20. So now I’m a member. You might consider it too if you like looking at history, and think it should be preserved.
From their website: “Jervie Henry Eastman was born, July 20, 1880, in White Cloud, Michigan. His family moved to northern California in 1886. Continue reading “More and more old Redding Photos”
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.
Photograph
Birthday number 53 is near for me. My maternel -Ma tante (aunt) Doris sent me a 30 year old photograph as a gift. On the right are my maternal grandparents, Henry and Cecile. Karry and I are on the left, circa 1978. My middle name is for Henry, who was an automobile mechanic.
Continue reading “Photograph”
Fire in the neighborhood again
Pfft. The power went out only for a second. Enough to reboot. Later the sirens came.
We’re told it was woodpecker this time. Last time it was a flaming squirrel.
With a light breeze at my back, I feel better about this. It’s not moving fast and it’s going the other way.
A nervous neighbor gets the woodpecker story. Photos by Skip.
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
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.
/>
Cosmos sulphureus (Yellow Cosmos) appropriately near Sulphur Creek -photo by Skip
