So wow. I went to the Cafe Coda CAMMIES acoustic show partially because I like good songwriters, I love the human voice, I work at the CN&R so I need to represent, but mostly to finally see MaMuse.
I've heard about them about twice a week for a couple months now and I know they're moving their cd's well and getting some good festival gigs. One of the women in the duo started coming into Empire Coffee right after I opened it, would quietly drink tea, we had mutual friends and she would always be on her bike.
So for all these reasons, I've been really wanting to see them. Let me tell you, I was about as floored as I can get over living musicians in that vein of music. Perfect harmonies, excellent lyrics, catchy sing alongs, and moments of transcendent musical beauty.
MaMuse played and sang from a depth of spirit that is truly hard to find and they will do anything they want with their music. I've seen Cat Power live and they are in that echelon with more of a Ditty Bop's sensibility.
Very impressive...check them out if you haven't already.
http://www.mamuse.org
The CAMMIES folk show is at Cafe Coda tonight at 8pm. I have love for folk music. I've always enjoyed good poetry, good singing and good songs...so if done well, folk music encapsulates all of the above.
Favorites include Nick Drake and Johnny Cash. I love the Johnny Cash gospel songs and he also wrote a kids album that I love. It's a little bit buried in his catalogue but worth finding. Especially if you have wee ones.
I'll be down at Coda around 9pm I suppose. I haven't seen MaMuse yet and of course have heard many good things so I'm looking forward to that. I'll be packing the field recorder in case any moments of inspiration come and I have to use some sounds (with their permission of course maybe). Hope to see you there.
<-- (Logan 5 & Basic with their racquetball fly girls)
So in my quest to become a better electronic musician and composer, I am loading my Macbook up with more RAM and getting ready to bust out Ableton Live 6 on the thing. Since I have no patience in my old age to completely relearn a new DAW all by myself, I have enlisted the help of Logan 5, a man of many talents who knows much more about the app than me.
In response to my request for help, he replied with a payment plan of sorts: racquetball, one time a week. I of course complied and am looking forward to these racquetball adventures although I've played the game once or twice in my life. Years of martial arts training under my belt has convinced me that I can handle this indoor flourescent lit game. Spending time with my fellow electronic musician, fellow dad, fellow married guy with 2 kids is bound to be a good time no matter how you slice and sequence it.
I requested that we wear short shorts with tube socks and headbands with the Atari logo on them with the cheesy plastic eye protectors. I'll be shopping for thrift store tennis shoes soon.
Game on y'all.
What a place. What potential. What a crowd. What gifted people live with us in this town.
Those were my thoughts I walked away with on Saturday night. TION is a place that a lot of things could be born in. I loved the huge projection wall and the sound was great until it broke.
I'm really glad that the show is over. Anytime I play out I get all stressed about handling music that was made in the past. I get so sick of my tracks and inspired to move on and make more in different directions. I get my creative license back after a show and end up experimenting again. I'm looking forward to sitting down, late at night or early in the morning, to put on my headphones and write piano pieces or design sounds that are pretty much unusable but a lot of fun to create.
I don't want to play for a while. Maybe an open mic to test out some meditative ambient piece. Another thing about playing a whole set is that I get really bored with myself. It feels so self-indulgent. About 40 minutes into it I start to think about how much more fun I could be having experiencing other people's creations, reading my friend's new book, staring at a mural, standing slack-jawed in front of La Fin Du Monde. 30 minute sets are better I guess.
Kyle Delmar called me out on the infrequency of this blog. I'm back on track with that and thanks for holding me accountable. I didn't know anybody actually read this.
Raul Gonzo's film awaits and I was having a lot of trouble getting creatively invested into that effort with the TION set looming large. Well now I'm free at last and can get back to work.
I had a lot of fun on Saturday night. Keep an eye on that place, the potential is oozing from the walls. It will be interesting to watch what is or isn't realized from that.
To those who came out, thanks so much and I'm always enriched by the people I meet and inspired by other art and mediums.
GRAND OPENING of TION is tonight babies.
Lot's of Music and excitement will be there. Many bands, artists, circus freaks, etc.
And basic will be on at
12:30am
See you there.
www.sparktheevolution.com
So I'm playing the grand opening of "TION" if that's actually how they're spelling it. TION is the brainchild of Ty Gorton and others. The plan is a mysterious blend of things. Event venue? Warehouse of hard core underground creative innovation?
I hear there's 3 stories! I hear there will be the most epic sound system! I hear graphic design, film, websites, record labels will merge with a circus-like dream studio. People will live there too?
This is all rumor...all speculation. I sense it will be something very special, an elevation of Chico art and artists. A laboratory of artistic and business experiments, a petri dish for dreams to flourish or turn into really stinky, blue moldy funk. I don't know. Whatever it's going to be, I'm really looking forward to it.
All I know is that Ayrian is putting together a night of psycho beats on Saturday November 8. I'm writing special tracks for the occasion. The one in the works is featuring some mangled b-boy breaks constructed with tr808 samples, some deconstruction sound design techniques, samples of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr........and stuff.
I'm excited for this show, I think it will be the largest sound system I've ever played out on, so bring your epileptic seizures and fear!
I will be in costume. Theatrics are necessary for this special occasion.
This place may change the landscape of Chico arts forever.
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