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.

New Art Link! JD!

Go to the Art Links for a new addition. Well...it's the first, anyway. JD is a site linking you to art and music! This is among several of my favorites of JD's.

                                                      talking man, running woman
                                                      22"x30" - charcoal on paper

Stanley Clarke

I’m fortunate to be interviewing Stanley Clarke in the next week or so, and then I’ll be seeing him and speaking to him in person when he plays at Catalina’s in Los Angeles on October 15^th and 16^th. I’m sure there’ll be a post interview blog, but in the meantime…

 

In prep, I’ve been listening to whatever Stanley Clarke I own, and occasionally hitting YouTube for more. My first exposure to Clarke was through the album Live 1976-1977, which kicks off hard with the title track from his 1976 release, School Days, and then flows through 9 tracks – all but one live – before closing with Vulcan Princess, originally on his self-titled release from 1974. Live 1976 - 1977 – and others to be discussed later - should be on anyone’s shelf as a good representation of some spectacular jazz-rock fusion.

If that’s what you’re into.

If it is, you need his latest. Released in June, 2010, I’m upset that I didn’t get it until September (although his media contact did send me one as soon as I contacted her). Simply called The Stanley Clarke Band, this release has been compared to his first three albums, and rightfully so. It is a wonderful fusion, but not just jazz and rock. It’s more like a movie soundtrack – accompanying many events, but tied together in a cohesive form. The album is comprised of tunes written by members of the band – not just Clarke. And it feels like a true collective – not leaning toward one instrument or another. It opens with Soldier, written by pianist Ruslan Sirota, which puts his concerns over global conflict into a musical context. Before long (track four) you’re into pure, raw funk, with I Wanna Play For You Too. As with the opener, the rest of the album doesn’t seem to be a collection of individual songs, but - rather, 63 minutes of a sonic soundscape (to borrow from Echoes, and John Diliberto), flowing through several movements, taking you to and through many places – accompanied by a myriad of feelings.

One last note (to coin a phrase) on this album: So many jazz musicians insert humor or some sort of homage into their works. Sometimes this is simply in the title of a piece. On this album we have a song that is incredibly multi-layered not only in structure, but in title as well. Sorting out the title of the 8^th track, Larry Has Travelled 11 Miles and Waited a Lifetime for the Return of Vishnu’s Report, we get an homage to Larry Coryell’s 11^th House, Miles Davis, Tony William’s Lifetime, and the groups Return to Forever, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Weather Report. Whew!

Clarke says it’s going to be his last electric album he’s gonna do for a while. But with The Stanley Clarke Band, he’s adding to the legacy he’s already left.

Frank Zappa Day

September 19th has been named "Frank Zappa Day" in the town of his birth - Baltimore, Maryland. 

Here and Now, from WGBH in Boston, mentioned today that September 19th, 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Zappa's testifying before the PMRC senate hearings. The PMRC was trying to promote a rating sytem for albums, after Tipper Gore brought Prince's Purple Rain for one of her children, and was shocked when she heard the song Darlin' Nicki. Gore, and the rest of the PMRC, then came up with the "filthy 15" - a list of some of the biggest moral offenders in music. What Here and Now did not mention is that beyond Zappa, John Denver and Dee Snyder also testified. Zappa, Snyder, and Denver all spoke quite well on the subject, and the complete transcript from the hearings is a wonderful read. The above drawing is one I did some time in the late '90's to early 2000's. It's taken from the cover photo on The REAL Frank Zappa Book. Another wonderful read!

Welcome!

This is a new site dedicated to art - and the arts. Many of the blogs here will be regarding interviews with musicians or other artists, along with my reactions to venues, performances, or perhaps simply some random art seen in some random place. The first several will be reposts of earlier blogs - tweaked with photos, audio and video links, and other fun. I hope to include copies of old radio shows that I've done - jazz, Celtic, and more. I also hope to be providing links to venues, artists, or other sites which I believe in...or perhaps they simply caught my eye. My work in public radio has allowed me to offer to those interested something which cannot be found elsewhere. As I'm currently at an all news and information NPR affiliate, I hope to continue this here.

Thanks for stopping by.