Festivus for the Rest of us!

So...occasionally, the news can be funny. I mean - funny in the sense of irony of some sort, or one of those "what? this is really in the news?" kinda moments. Remember all the wonderful Sarah Palin interviews leading up to the 2008 election? Well, Charlie, don’cha know that for Tina Fey’s phenomenal impersonations of Palin on Saturday Night Live, occasionally the writers went right to the interview transcripts for material. This was sometimes funnier than anything that could have been written.

Let’s go now to the Theo Lacy jail in Orange County, California. It seems that Malcolm Alarmo King - booked for drug charges in April and suspected of being in the country illegally – saw that salami was on the jail menu. From the Orange County Register:

And that didn’t quite fit in with the fitness buff/ gym clothes model’s lifestyle. So King…asked for kosher meals. That was not because of his religion, but because they were healthier – and the 5′8″ 180 lb King wanted double portions to maintain his physique, said his attorney, Fred Thiagarajah. Judge Derek G. Johnson signed off on the high-protein double portion kosher meals for King. That didn’t sit well with the Sheriff’s Department – which pays for the food. Kosher meals are more expensive than the regular jail fare–and reserved for those with a religious need.

King eventually pleaded guilty to the sale or transport of a controlled substance. Two other felonies were thrown out…it was sentencing time...and King still wanted his meals to be free of salami. At this point, Judge Johnson said that he needed a religion to put down on the order to allow the special meals to continue. King’s attourney said “Festivus,” and the order was granted – three non-salami meals a day.

It was argued...the case was presented...that Festivus is a completely fictitious holiday – having been given to the world through an episode of Seinfeld (and this is true. It was a holiday made up by the father of one of the writers). Despite the proof given, “the judge’s order stood. No salami.” They might've well stuck with his original - admittedly farcical - religion...which was listed as Healthism. King, at the extra expense of the Sherrif's Department, was able to get his Salami-free meals for two months before the county got the order thrown out.

King is currently awaiting deportation, and some are questioning the wisdom of those who made the decisions regarding King, and his dietary requests. Check out the comments at the OC Register for more on this. And check out this clip - from Seinfeld - on the wonderful tradition of Festivus!

A Big But and an Even Bigger Dinosaur

  

A big But? Yeah. I know. I spelled it wrong. If that’s what you were thinking.  I’m thinking of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. He had been dropped off at a roadside diner by Large Marge – a spectral truck driver.  He was giving Simone, a waitress, some advice, and she said, “I know you’re right, Pee-wee, but…” He cuts her off with, “Everyone I know has a big 'But'. C’mon, Simone, let’s talk about your big 'But'”. Now, while they were chatting, they were looking out at the night sky – through the mouth of a large  dinosaur. They were IN the dinosaur. A T-Rex, to be exact. To be even more exact – this one.

Over the last five years, I kept meaning to stop by this thing. I mean, it’s not out on some Hollywood tour. It’s just down the road about 30 minutes. Just out the 10 East at the far edge of Cabazon.  So maybe we were placating a 4-year old. She got to see some big dinosaurs. Maybe we were slipping into a juvenile curiosity about “that place from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”!  I know I was.

The T-Rex (named Mr. Rex) is actually one of two large (redundant?) dinosaurs on the premises. In 1964, Knott’s Berry Farm sculptor and portrait artist Claude K. Bell, began work on “Dinny” (seen above), using metal salvaged from the construction of the nearby I-10. From Wikipedia’s entry on the subject:

           

Bell was quoted in 1970 as saying the 45-foot (14 m) high, 150-foot (46 m) long Dinny was "the first dinosaur in history, so far as I know, to be used as a building." His original vision for Dinny was for the dinosaur's eyes to glow and mouth to spit fire at night, predicting, "It'll scare the dickens out of a lot of people driving up over the pass." These two features, however, were not added. With the help of ironworker Gerald Hufstetler, Bell worked on the project independently; no construction companies or contractors were involved in the fabrication. The task of painting Dinny was completed by a friend of Bell's in exchange for one dollar and a case of Dr Pepper.

Now – Dinny was constructed to call attention to his café…as if a big sign saying EAT in the middle of the desert wasn’t attention-calling enough.

Bell was right, to the best of MY knowledge, that Dinny is indeed the only dinosaur in history to be used as a building. You don’t know this walking up. You generally assume that any dinosaur you see – if you were to see one – wouldn’t be used for a building. But then you see a door near the beginning of the tail…

...and then a staircase going up...

...turns out...it's a gift shop. Smile. Your(e) on camera.

Now is the time to mention that the current owners seeeeeeeeeem to be of a Young Earth Creationist stance. A cursory glance at their website will show this. I only mention this because what you have now, in the middle of the gift shop, is a collection of items from various stages in the Earth’s evolutionary process – side by side with signs, and various forms of literature by leading Young Earth Creationists, explaining how the evolutionary process is completely impossible and un-provable. With all due respect. I truly find it a fascinating display to see these things side by side, and it’s well worth a look. 

The same kind of fun continues if you pay the nominal fee to go into the Robotic Dinosaur area. The fun of having 4 or 5 mechanical dinosaurs tell you – actually say to you - with their little mechanical speaker-box, that evolutionary origin of life is impossible, and yudduh yudduh, yudduh…(I paraphrase). But again – truly – all due respect. No matter what literature you find at this little roadside attraction, no matter what their website says and points to, I don’t want to use this as a forum in which to compare anyone’s personal beliefs with that of something much more plausible. My purpose is to point out something kind of cool, about a minute off the highway.

Stop by. Give it a look. Buy something in the gift shop. It really is a kind of a cool experience. Really. It’s of a rather grand scale. Just in case you never saw Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, the person you see next to next to Mr. Rex's foot stands about 6'2". The little pink spot (we call her Lola) normally stands around 3 feet. If you're even SLIGHTLY into roadside kitsch - stop off for a few minutes.

And if you go in the Café…

...Tell ‘em Large Marge sent ya...

...I’m sure that this couldn’t possibly get old.

(((and take the 3 minutes to enjoy the link to "The Terrifying Tale of Large Marge)))

Steel Panther

                                     This is Spinal Tap.

                                                        
                                        This is…not.

                                  (But we’ll get back to that)

So – in between cataloguing my jazz LPs, sorting through my ambient and classical discs, and listening to something really reflective by Eric Satie…it was a trip to a local grocer, where a friend offered up some tickets for something a bit different…Heavy frackin' Metal! Well, one band was. Two other bands were just good, hard, edgy rock. Refreshing. Then there was the headliner – Steel Panther!

On the surface, these guys seem like a spandexed hair-band stuck in the 80’s.
(((and believe me – those stuck in the '80's, spandexed hair-bands are still out there. As soon as I MySpace friended Nikki Sixx, I started hearing from a bunch of ‘em. But back to Steel Panther.)))

Check ‘em out though. Dig just a bit. Dig below the stereotypes of the rock n’ roll lifestyle of fast music, loud parties and beautiful women. These guys are a parody band, and they push these stereotypes to the nth degree. They’ll have you mixing the rock with fast parties and loud women. Ralph Saenz provides lead vocals under the name of Michael Starr. The (phenomenal) lead guitarist, Russ Parrish, goes simply by the name of Satchel. These two had played together previously in Atomic Punks – a David Lee Roth era Van Halen tribute band. At this point, Ralph Saenz had the look, sound and mannerisms down so well that he held the nickname of David Lee Ralph. True enough. It’s been said that he looks and sounds more like David Lee Roth than, well, David Lee Roth. Having seen them – I’d have to agree. Oh. And did I mention? Saenz holds a PhD in English literature from Berkley, and was an Assistant Professor before turning to the world of glam. Rounding out the group - bassist Travis Haley as “Lexxi Foxxx” and Darren Leader on the drums as “Stix Zadinia” (say this one out loud a few times). All four have their shtick (and mascara) down to a “T”, and clown, mimic, and pay homage to ‘80’s rock, while throwing in a few originals to boot. And conTINually riffing on each other. A fantastic show that’ll keep you laughing. And singing. And occasionally cringing.

Another highlight of a Steel Panther show is the appearance of celebrities – getting called from the crowd to the stage. I mean…it’s LA. The Sunset Strip. They’re there. Past shows have anywhere from Steve Stevens, Kelly Clarkson, Pink, or even Billy Ray Cyrus showing up. The night I was there was no exception. The first to be called from the audience was bassist and songwriter Billy Sheehan, who used to play with post-Van Halen David Lee Roth, and later, Mr. Big. Another bass player to get called from his table that night was Jeff Pilson, formerly of Dokken. Ray Luzier, drummer for Korn for the last few years, joined in on stage, as did Shannon, lead vocalist from “Dia” – an all-female Ronnie James Dio cover band. I really shoulda been wiped out by much earlier in the evening, but these guys kept it going until near 1:30. At this point, ya wander the crowd and find out that all of the previous bands have stuck around for the rest of the show, and are easily accessible.  Steel Panther does this every week.

This has gone on too long, but I must include: The lineup started with Yolanda and the Stolen Boys, a band out of Australia touring for a few weeks in the US. I hadn’t heard of them before, but they were a great to see live, and it’s unfortunate that not a lot of people had made it to the venue yet. Kinda surprising, in that online pics of the Key Club on the Sunset Strip show lines of people going around the block. The next band was XNO (pronounced, ZEE-noh). This was the Metal band to which I referred, and the energy level stayed high as the place slowly filled. The group to follow, again, was one that I’d not heard of, but glad to have caught…Honeysmash. These guys – and XNO are locally based and I’ll definitely be seeing them again.

Go to Steel Panther’s official website. Check out their videos. Go YouTubing and watch some of their interviews, and surprise celebrity cameos.

You may be highly offended.  

But then again…you may just laugh your ass off. Give it a shot.

The Human Canvas, part 2 - The Bra Strap

A few months later...the story continues. We had just finished making costumes for a short film by Lydia Hicks. It was a cool mix of some tie-dye and some paint. Thankfully, there were no set "rules" on what the designs had to look like...

...and they turned out well. Also, due to a last minute cancellation, my garage got cleaned (well, half anyway), and some of my art ended up being used for an "art gallery" scene.

Done painting costumes, we turned our attention to the human canvas. We had talked about a shoulder piece, something around the belly button...or this:

The original idea was to have a woman, shirtless, covering her breasts with her hands. I would then draw the straps back in - including something going over one finger...as if the finger were just under the strap.

This was the third or fourth layer of color...

...and zoomed out, for effect.

Tired and (more importantly) out of ink, this is where we stopped.

I'll have another go at this...next time I find a willing (or asleep) participant. For a project like this though, I may have to graduate to body-paint. We'll see.

(the continuing adventure is being chronicled. Go to "The Human Canvas" tab near the top of the page, and scroll down)

Paul Rodgers and The Human Canvas

Wow. I recently posted a blog about my interview and concert experience with Paul Rodgers. You know...Free. Bad Company. The Firm. QPR. Paul Rodgers.

                                                                                 ( photo taken from his website )

On the same day, I updated the  "The Human Canvas" section of this page - a spot dedicated to me drawing on people. I suddenly saw a HUGE amount of traffic coming to my site. Some 7 - 10 visits to the Paul Rodgers blog...Close to 100 checking out this human canvas thing...in less than one day. Wow.

There's no section for visitors' comments on that tab, so now this is available.  More importantly  - The Human Canvas page will be getting updates, as the adventures do continue, so please...check back.

And thanks for stopping by.

Paul Rodgers

One quiet afternoon, not too terribly long ago, I had the opportunity to interview Paul Rodgers.  Many know his name.  For others, the name oughta ring a bell. It really oughta.

Beyond his many solo projects, he was the front man for (in order) Free, Bad Company, & The Firm.  He recently (circa 2006) toured with Queen providing lead vocals.  Mind you, they made a point of labeling it as Queen WITH Paul Rodgers, as opposed to trying to replace Freddy Mercury.  It was a concert of classic Queen, along with big songs from Rodgers' previous bands.  Nobody but the audience sang We Are the Champions – giving us one of those Freebird type "nobody else sings this one" kinda moments.  In 2008, Queen and Rodgers finished wrote and recorded all original material for a follow-up QPR (Queen + Paul Rodgers). We broadcast the first concert at KVCR. I have yet to see or hear any of the follow-up stuff.

Paul appeared Saturday at the Fender Center in Corona, CA for a very special concert.  It was to honor the 10^th anniversary of the Kids Rock Free program.  This is a musical mentoring/tutoring program implemented to help counter the fact that SO MANY middle and high schools have lost funding for music and arts.  A similar project is the Rodgers Rock Pack, which includes Queen's Brian May, and many others.  There were many honors exchanged that day and night, including a Congressman's official thank you presentation to Paul, and, what I thought was really cool, a framed, really large F (shaped like the F in Fender).  The F was made up of an incredible number of guitar picks – all signed by folks like Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Steve Miller, etc etc etc.

The concert opened with a performance by the (at the time) current version of The Fender Benders.  This is a group representing some of the young men and women going through, or who have gone through, the Kids Rock Free program.  They performed several 80's rock covers, and one original.  When Rodgers hit the stage, the song lineup included, of course, Bad Company tunes, a killer take on Little Wing, and closed with Free's, Alright Now.  There were also plenty of Rodgers originals, an acoustic set, some hardcore blues, and even a Coasters cover – Youngblood.

I interviewed Paul a couple hours before the concert.  One of primary things I got out this was what a down to earth, REAL person he is.  Someone I was able to joke with – and crack up. In addition to some info about current projects, I asked him about some advice he had gotten some time in his 35 plus year career - something from someone who influenced him, or that he looked up to.  Paul told me of Joe Bradley, who helped to manage a group he was in "...in the early days..." in his home town of Middlesbourgh.  The man gave Paul, what he said were, the four basic tenets of surviving in the business.  These were:

                        (1) Get there early.

                        (2) Do a good show.

                        (3) Get Paid.

                        (4) Try to get home safely.

I was expecting (and so was he) something more akin to Taoist philosophy.  In a way, it is.  This is what Paul has lived by.  Whatever we do for a living, we should all follow this.

Much and many thanks to Deb - at the Fender, Paul's Manager – Chris Crawford, and his publicist – Paki Newell...  Many thanks also to KVCR's Peter Park, running cameras, driving to the event (I still owe him gas money), getting set up quickly, and then hanging out while we played hurry up and wait.

Rockabilly - at age 73!

It was THE Premier Hillbilly, Rockabilly, and Bluegrass Festival for the Inland Empire, presented by Ruffneck Entertainment (thank YOU Darcie and Heather)! 2 Stages and over 20 Acts over 2 days! A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend. Well, I made it to day two, anyway. The headliner was Wanda Jackson. You may ask, “Who?” I did. Then – with just a bit of research…wow!

Wanda Jackson is called The Queen of Rock n’ Roll, the 1^st Lady of Rockabilly, and credited as the 1^st female rock n’ roll singer. I have yet to talk to her about these names being placed on her, but I will.

She started early, around 1949 or so, winning a talent contest at the age of 12. This led to a daily show on a local radio station, KLPR. She was heard by Hank Thompson, and after graduating high school (which she insisted upon doing) soon was on tour, with a bill that included folks like – oh…Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly – all in the earliest stages of their career. Did I mention Elvis? She toured frequently with him, and it was he that encouraged her to sing rockabilly. She was also a cast member on ABC-TV’s Ozark Jubilee, in Springfield Missouri from 1955 to 1960. Here, credited as being the first to put glamour into country and western – the fringe, long earrings, etc. She was also innovative in recording – placing, say, a country song on one side of a 45, and a rockabilly number on the other.

It's easy enough to find video of Wanda. You’ll find classic country, with Queen for a Day, blues-based rock with Riot in Cell Block #9, rockabilly, jump blues, and boogie woogie rhythms, with Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On and Long Tall Sally (to name a few). She’ll introduce “…the most beautiful love song ever writtena love song, dedicated to all y’all…”, then launch into Hard-Headed Woman. Nice!

Jumping ahead some 48 years, and leaving out a few details, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame only last year, and also received a lifetime achievement award. Also – very recently - Jack White – of The White Stripes contacted her for a recording project. She said she didn’t listen to his stuff, but that didn’t matter. She was soon recording at his place in Nashville. You Know I’m No Good (ala Amy Winehouse) among other tunes to be released on a new album out in January 2011.

In the 80’s – my image of today's rockabilly looked like this:

As of a few weeks ago… 

Wanda Jackson is 73 – and got EVERYBODY on their feet! Thanks again to Darcie and Heather, Rick Dulock (from KVCR), and everyone else involved in making this a spectacular event!

Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace

So this started with me looking for live music on a Sunday evening. Several bands were relatively nearby, but I was getting a little bit picky, and almost hung it up for the evening (I’ve recently been spoiled by meeting a lot of people who I’ve put on the air for a bunch of years). Just when the evening almost boiled down to deciding what I needed from Lowes, my buddy Tom Bell told me about Pappy & Harriet’s, and we went online to check out the house band. We decided, “Eh, this could be good”. This was an incredible understatement.

Pioneertown is near Joshua Tree, making it ideal for visitors from Palm Springs, Redlands, 29 Palms, and anywhere in between. People from around the world come to this area. I mean - It's Joshua Tree. A lot of people even come to the area simply because of U2's album (it is a great album). From the website, "In 1946, Pioneertown was founded by a group of Hollywood investors with dreams of creating a living movie set -- an 1870's frontier town with facades for filming and interiors open to the public...Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Russell Hayden, and the Sons of the Pioneers (for whom the town was named) were some of the original investors and personalities who helped build and invent Pioneertown. More than 50 films and several television shows were filmed in Pioneertown throughout the 1940's and 1950's." Pappy and Harriet's itself looks like something out of movie (or, two or three or...). There's good reason for this. At Pappy & Harriet’s, the floor is made up of rough-hewn old oak plank, and the walls are covered with posters and flyers of the many, many groups to have passed through. As soon as you walk in, it feels like a roadhouse. Don’t expect Patrick Swayze keeping order, with an occasional appearance by Sam Elliott. Here’s a mix of locals, college students, desert/mountain hippies, marines, and a few bikers. Everyone is there for the same purpose – to have a good time, have some good food, and experience some great music. The staff all have a cool aesthetic as well. This may be hard to put into words, but if ya go – you’ll understand. Maybe it's the tattoos, but maybe that's just me. It just feels like a hip crowd.

We timed the drive out well, and as the band got started as we settled in. Well, I should say that a few people on stage started playing. In essence -- one guitarist started pickin', another one started strummin', and the drummer started drummin'. Soon - before ya know it - two more guitarists are there - a bass as well. They all just slowly join in with what's going - giving a gradually thicker and thicker texture to what we were already enjoying. They launch into a few more numbers as yet another guitar or two show up, along with another percussionist. Somewhere between some Dylan and some (mostly) originals (and the band stopping to notice a new disco ball above them) I noticed that the guy partially blocking my view started playing the fiddle - later, keyboards. Turned out to be Bobby Furgo. You may find him on some of your Leonard Cohen discs. When some woman with a small guitar and a kalimba showed up - I thought it was some local hoping to play a bit. She was introduced to me later AS a local-yokel. Turned out to be Victoria Williams. She's been living in the area for the past thirteen years, and is there most Sunday nights. At some point, the band played Crazy Mary, and Tom leaned in to tell me they were covering Pearl Jam. I only found out later that this is a Victoria Williams tune. Pearl Jam covered HER. Another mainstay of the group is Tim Easton. I told him I knew his name, but didn’t know why. Hm. Coulda been his five albums. It also coulda been the fact that he’s been on World Café a few times, with another appearance slated for September. He gave me one of his discs, and it’s stayed in the cd player all day today. 

I don’t mean to take anything away from the other singers/players. The entire group is a veritable “who’s who” of players. At a cursory glance it may seem like a veritable “who’s that?” but if you dig just a bit, you find that even if you don’t know THESE folk – you know the people they’ve played with. Even today, people will just show up – with no warning. People like Ricki Lee Jones. People like Robert Plant. Others to make appearanes - Billy Corgan (of course there were pumpkins smashed that night), Dave Navarro, Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven...What IS this place?

4 ½ years ago, they kept one waitress on Sundays to handle the 3 tables that MIGHT be used. Today, Sunday Nights are popular in the area, and the place is packed. Not in an uncomfortable club scene kinda way, though. The tables are full, and the sand-covered beer garden area retains a comfortable sized crowd. It’s almost received some sort of cult status. It’s become a place where EVERY Sunday evening you can see a musical collective -- trading leads and supporting each other. Nice. They call it "church".

Earlier in the evening, as my friend Tom and I got there, we saw a guy with a guitar and amp walking up. I joked, "I guess the band hasn't started yet". This is a good time to mention that if you see a guy with a guitar walking up to a Pappy and Harriet's Sunday night gig - it doesn't necessarily mean the show hasn't started yet. It just means that there'll probably be 5 guitars that night. Or six. Or seven. Or...........

And all this because needed something to do when I got the date wrong on when I could go see Poncho Sanchez.

Smooth Jazz - in defense?

In defense of the musicians…but not the music, per se:

My wife was told by a friend, "Ah, smooth jazz early in the morning.” (I paraphrase)Technically speaking – we had it on really loud the night before while I was painting the kitchen. Priya was only making people AWARE of it the next morning, posting a link to a video OF it.

Thing was – it wasn’t “Smooth Jazz”. We’re talkin’ Compared to What?, via Les McCann and Eddie Harris (Montreux 1969). I was asked, “Um, Compared to What’s not Smooth Jazz – right?” (I’d had a relaxing morning up until that point.) She didn’t really think it fell into that category, but – better check, when accused. So this led to quite a discussion, trying to define this - this Smooth Jazz.

Smooth Jazz is a marketing ploy – a branding gimmick. That’s how it started out, anyway. It’s grown to become a format, though more and more stations are starting to veer away from it. With the format, it’s become a genre.  Yeah. NOT the other way around. What we’re really talking about is the lighter side of contemporary jazz. That’s what it was – though there has continued to be a synthesis and expansion.

Smooth Jazz as a type of music – Wikipedia says it’s also known as contemporary jazz. True enough that Smooth Jazz may be contemporary jazz, but contemporary jazz is not necessarily Smooth Jazz. Clear enough? The early roots of Smooth Jazz have jazz artists covering pop tunes, in an attempt to find some crossover success. This started to be blended in with 101 Strings, or other light, non-threatening (elevator) music which could be found on the easy-listening stations. Soon enough, a few stations took this, and the lighter side of some incredible fusion or other contemporary jazz groups, and tacked the word smooth in front. Some of the early groups? The Rippingtons, Fourplay, Spyro Gyra, The Yellowjackets, and Pieces of a Dream, among others. Later, folks like Norman Brown (one of my favorites), Candy Dulfer, Dave Koz, Boney James, and even Chick Corea were to be included. Mind you – these are not Smooth Jazz musicians per se, but rather musicians who have some of their music (often, the lighter, gentle side) played on Smooth Jazz stations. 

I’m rather thankful that the two Smooth Jazz stations  around where I live incorporate some funk, groove, and R&B as well. They’re good stations (The Wave, out of LA, and KJJZ in Palm Springs). I’m also thankful that some of the jazz festivals nearby, while occasionally branded as “Smooth”, have had some top talent on their bill. Two in particular – Grooves in the Grove, at La Quinta Resort and Spa in Palm Springs, and the Champagne Jazz Series put on by the Thornton Winery in Temecula. The latter was rather pricey, but again – top line performers.

Anybody who’s ever known me (in the context of jazz on the air) would be quite surprised to hear of me defending Smooth Jazz. Fine. I’m not. I’m simply defining it. I am however defending many of the players – and some of the stations – who are branded as such.

NPR and fundraising

I was going to call this “KVCR is My Source for Travel, but that title was already taken by a friend.  Please though, check out that blog.

Around a year and a half ago, a friend of mine was complaining (on facebook) that it was fundraising time at his local station. He wasn’t complaining about the fundraising pleas per se, but rather that one of the local hosts continually fumbled anything she wasn’t used to saying (I couldn't help but think of the PA announcer from M*A*S*H - the movie). One of his friends made that comment that she really hated all these people begging for money, and that this was the time she turns off the radio and gets all her favorite NPR shows via podcast. I jumped in to remind her that us “begging for money” (listener support) is a part of what even makes her little podcasts possible!

I went on to point out a lot of what NPR offers every day: in-depth news…going beyond the headlines or some flashy sound byte. The sound bytes are there, but they’re the type of sound that makes you think you’re, oh…sailing along a river…or running next to a tank in Afghanistan. Or in some jazz club or music festival somewhere. Only yesterday, Victor Wooten was on Talk of the Nation. He didn’t just talk about playing music…he was there bass in hand. We heard it…and experienced it. Long story short (too late), NPR and public radio bring you what you cannot get elsewhere on the dial. And you learn – whether you meant to or not.

It’s easy to pledge financial support to your local public radio station. And that’s just it – when I talk to people, or blog, about supporting public radio…that’s what I’m talking about. I’m not trying to drum up support for the station I work at (though you CAN make your pledge of support at kvcr.orghttp://kvcr.org/). I’m trying to convince people to support whatever public radio station they listen to. One dollar a week, 5 dollars a month…you decide how much. Any - any - amount can be spread out over a year.

The simple fact is that if everyone who listened gave – even only a dollar or two per year - we wouldn’t have to go on the air at all for these pesky little drives.

If you listen – thank you. If you’re a contributing member – at any level – thank you all the more. We really couldn’t do it without you…and you are why we’re here.

Make your thoughts known - here, and at your local station.

Grooves in the Grove - Jazz Series

Sitting on a large lawn among the citrus trees - with the Santa Rosa mountains behind you.

photo taken from the La Quinta Resort and Club website

This is the setting for a new jazz series, Grooves in the Grove - presented by La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs. Cool!

They’ve lined up top performers from around the country, with influences from all over. Several of the musicians fall into the smooth jazz category, but if that’s not your thing, don’t let it keep you away. A lot of raw talent in everyone on the bill, and believe me – they’ll be going beyond the quiet, easy to listen to drive that some smooth jazz stations prefer (thankfully, the “smooth jazz” stations around where I live go beyond this middle of the road, non-threatening form). The folks in this lineup are musicians. They’ll be bringing jazz. And Improvisation. And Feeling. There’s plenty of funk and fusion on the bill as well. Groups like Hiroshima (jamming since 1974), Greg Adams & East Bay Soul, and Jeff Lorber Fusion with Eric Marienthal. I regret missing the first show, which featured Michael Paulo and Rick Braun (but unless I’m mistaken, Paulo at least will be back with the East Bay Soul guys). With the exception of November 12^th, the series continues Fridays through November 26^th, and it’s quite reasonably priced – something I can’t usually talk about on the air. I’ll be going to at least a few of these shows, and thanks to all involved for helping me to get interviews lined up.

Go to the La Quinta website for the specific lineup. Again – it’s a good one, with guitarists Marc Antoine and Paul Brown this coming Friday, and Hiroshima next Friday. While you’re at the site, there are tabs for you to get a sampling of the music of the artists. Don’t stop there, though. You’re already online, so it’s not gonna take much more to go to the websites for each musician or group. Some have interesting bios, and hearing more of their music and knowing a bit more about them might get you to what promises to be a great new jazz series.

This blog may not do much for readers in Kentucky, Houston, or say - Buenos Aires, but if you're in the Southern California area - it'd be worth stopping by. As the La Quinta folks have said - "It’ll be a great way to end the week – and start the weekend."

If anyone makes it to any of these performances, let me know.


Also - what's your favorite music festival experience?

Dustin Lance Black - in Redlands

Got Milk? Didja see the movie yet? Ya wanna hear from the writer? The film (and many associated with it) took numerous awards in 2008, and was nominated for 8 Acadamy Awards in 2009.
                                 

One of the winners, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black will be speaking at the University of Redlands Wednesday, September 29th. That's at 7pm at the Orton Center on campus. Black is an American screenwriter, director, film and television producer, and LGBT activist.

In addition to the afore-mentioned Acadamy Award for Milk, he's won two Writers Guild of America Awards for his work on the TV series Big Love. He grew up in a devout Mormon military household in San Antonio, Texas and graduated UCLA's School of Theatre, Film and Television with honors. Black started out as an art director before transisioning into directing documentaries, commercials and music videos. He'll soon make his narrative feature film directorial debut on What's Wrong with Virginia, to star Jennifer Connelly, from his own original screenplay. Thanks to Raja Bhattar for allowing me to lift much of the writing of the flyer onto this blog. Thanks also to the University of Redlands Pride Center, the office of Campus Diversity & Inclusion, ASURI Executive Director of Inclusion, Chaplain's Office, and the Johnston Center (and all else involved) for making this opportunity possible!

Sci-fi Author Robert Balmanno

“Hi. I just wrote a book.” I had just seen a dog that I wanted to point out to my wife. It looked like Asha Maya Weiner, one of ours – had she been something more specific than the half-blind chihua-wiener type she portends. So we were in a Border’s Bookstore in Sunnyvale, California. Yes, the dog was in the bookstore. We never made it to where the dog was, but while discussing how long we had until our friend was done with her pedicure, we heard - off to the side, “Hi. I just wrote a book.”

We turned and saw a man in his late fifties, sitting at a table, looking up at us and smiling. He was an unassuming man – just as excited to meet people interested in his works as anyone there might’ve been to meet an author they enjoy. Imagine Peter Jackson, if he were really, really cleaned up – and someone has just asked about The Lord of the Rings, or “just what is a hobbit, anyway?” That’s where we were. We spent the next 10 minutes or so talking to Robert Balmanno, pen in hand, and surrounded by stacks of The Runes of Iona.

This is the second book in the Blessings of Gaia series. While it is a follow-up to September Snow, the first of four planned books, it does stand alone as a complete work.  “Following the traditions of George Orwell’s 1984, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the work is set in a dystopian near-future”. The books are in the realm of Sci-fi, but ring as a possible truth for our future. To continue to quote from Balmanno’s website, the setting is in a war-ravaged, environmentally damaged world. The stakes are nothing less than saving the world from further environmental recklessness, while fighting against a corrupt and totalitarian world government.

      It doesn’t take much of a stretch of the imagination to guess where inspiration for these books came from. It also wouldn’t be much of a stretch for us to end up in the setting of Balmanno’s works. Maybe that’s why sci-fi can be so appealing to so many. Maybe this is why these books will continue to be a success. Again though – The Runes of Iona is a stand alone work, so you’re not commited to a series of books by picking up the one. If you do want a series though, this will more than meet your needs. Robert is currently working on the third installment in the Blessings of Gaia series, Embers of the Earth.