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Egan's Weblog |
John Stewart on Bush “The Daily Show” is so hysterical! This latest series of “Presidential bloopers” all during a single press event. Alzheimers? Alchohol? You decide. Nothing he says makes ANY sense, and John Stewart sums up the reaction of a generation “WTF”? Here’s the link http://movies.crooksandliars.com/TDS-Hear-Generals.mov - Quicktime Video - Broadband highly recommended!!!
1) E. Coli outbreak linked to spinach. BAD 2) Outbreak spans 19 states with 109 reported cases, 1 death. WORSE 3) company selling the infected spinach decides a recall is a good idea ( no kidding! ) FARK.com 4) affects lots of brands distributed by one large company. 5) Name of said company? “Natural Selection” PRICELESS!!! ( You don’t even need a Popeye reference, wow )
Wow, so I’m back in Belmont, for a few more hours before we fly east at 6:00 am (!) Maybe I’ll sleep on the plane... but now I prefer being caffeinated and just complaining on planes, and there is the TSA to complain about. ( What is up with airport security anyway?)
We played in LA Aug 16th, as those of you at the show can attest. We stayed with former Opcode employee Bill Thompson, and his lovely wife. Turns out Joann knows them from like 7 years ago when she lived in Indiana ( as did they ). Jacuzzi / pool, huge house, great company... we did not want to leave, and I almost had to drag Joann out...LOL Also, Line 6 has some awesome guitars, one undisclosed, coming soon, the Agents of Change™ have been test driving ever since... and we like nylon stringed guitars which no one can buy, in advance, and feel a bit decadent even seeing it... It is made for the road, and so far, no glitches ( knocks wood ) Anyway, my late, and most sincere thanks to the Thompson’s for redefining supporting the arts. If I am lucky, we’ll see them again.
Here is our press release that went out in cooperation with the elegant PR skills of Dancing Nomad without which, we would appear the babbling musicians we are! ;-) If you ever need an editor, PR person, writer, I highly recommend them.
Doug Wyatt, former Opcode OMS creator, is touring to promote the release of his new CD, The Dream of ‘I’. Performances kick off in mid-August in Los Angeles at the Nova Express Cafe.
Belmont, CA (PRWEB) July 5, 2006—To coincide with the June release of The Dream of ‘I’ CD, Doug Wyatt will be touring select East and West Coast cities. Performances kick off August 16 at the Nova Express Cafe in Los Angeles (http://www.lighthousepromo.net/events.html), with others planned in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland (OR), Philadelphia, New York City, Ithaca and Toronto.
Touring with the ‘Agents of Change,’ Wyatt stays true to the CD concept, bringing in musicians Joann Ellis and Egan J. Bujak to add character and ambience to the live shows. Ellis performs regularly on the New Jersey–Philly circuit. All three artists are trained classically and shows will include solo segments.
Wyatt is perhaps best-known for writing OMS, digital music software that enabled virtually any electronic instrument to communicate with others through a single interface. His musical background includes a longish stint with Mother Mallard. He has played upfront with bands and composed background music for dancers with the likes of David Borden, Robby Aceto and Red Letter, among others. Today Wyatt continues to do good works for the world of digital music at Apple Computer.
Gathering diverse styles ranging from classical, electronic and jazz to pop, The Dream of ‘I’ represents a segment of a journey, bringing us stories and experiences from Wyatt’s past and suggesting the many future paths that may be taken. The recording departs from usual construction methods, with live musicians playing parts conceived by digital instruments. Pianist, composer and music software inventor Doug Wyatt offers us his vision of electronic music “unplugged.”
In composing the album, Wyatt used the computer extensively for orchestration and electronic sound design. He then traveled to Sweden where Christoffer Lundquist (Roxette, Ulf Lundell, Per Gessle, Ed Harcourt) produced the CD at Aerosol Grey Machine Studio. In the studio, the pair transformed the home-recordings with live performances. Wyatt himself plays the grand piano with mastery, while a Swedish string quartet enriches the soundscape. Vocals, too, contrast and blend with classic Minimoog synth sounds and other ear-stretching digital creations, with timpani, live drums, and programmed percussion completing the recording. Wyatt experiments with found instruments (such as wineglasses) and sounds made famous by composers such as John Cage and Harry Partch. Wyatt put together an interactive sampler (posted on his website) of all the instruments after finishing the recording.
The Dream of ‘I’ lures us into an intricate web that converges classical, electronic, jazz and pop genres; a soundtrack to a mythical filmscape. Often dense and contrapuntal, the CD is a refined and dramatically passionate work. Rumor has it that some 70 tracks were pared in the making of the CD. Which only means we can expect to see more from Wyatt soon—perhaps a debut during the tour?
Sonosphere Radio™ – The Sound of Your Mind Blowing
Sponsoring Wyatt’s late summer tour, Sonosphere Radio (http://sonosphere.com/Radio) aims to tease us with a sample from The Dream of ‘I’. The weekly podcast (Mondays) offers ample discussion around instruments, software and inspirations, digging into the theory and composition principles behind Wyatt’s music.
Upcoming Shows 2006 – Doug Wyatt’s Agents of Change
16 Aug. (Wednesday): Los Angeles - Nova Express Cafe, 426 N. Fairfax Ave., 9:30 p.m.
18 Aug. (Friday): San Francisco - Off-Market Theater, 965 Mission St. #250, 8 p.m.
20 Aug. (Sunday): Seattle - Historic University Theater, 7 p.m.
DOUG WYATT has been composing and performing original music since 1979. Wyatt joined the avante-rock group Red Letter in 1992, touring with them and contributing to the 1995 release, True North (V Records). He also appears on Red Letter guitarist Robby Aceto’s critically-acclaimed 1996 CD Code (Alchemy Records). Wyatt’s credentials include performing with Mother Mallard, the world’s first synthesizer performance ensemble, from 1998–2000. He played with the group for their 30th anniversary concert as well as a performance at the Smithsonian with guest Keith Emerson.
Since 1986, Wyatt has written state-of-the-art music software, for which he has attained legendary status among musicians. Indeed, many know him solely as creator of the Open Music System (OMS), which Keyboard magazine hailed in 2000 as one of the greatest technological achievements of the previous 25 years. OMS advanced the digital audio workstation by unifying communication among thousands of input devices such as keyboards, samplers, effects and mixers, and music software. OMS is dead, and Wyatt now works in the Core Audio group at Apple Computer.
Born at the crossroads of music and technology, Doug Wyatt lives and thrives there. To this day he splits his time between his own musical journey and making tools for the rest of us.
Hey, we are heading over to The Blank Club for a Spitkiss Reunion Show! Stop by and you can buy us a Beer, chill with the band, and of course be with us. ;-)
Spitkiss includes Boris, from “Lives Next to Dave and Ray” Fame, LOL! Justin “project Manager” on Doug’s new CD ( Yes, it’s OUT! Thank heavens....!)
Anyway, swing by, check out the band, buy a CD, and come say hello... so late, it may be Tuesday when we get home, so see you there!
Yes, Belmont has Lions! This is an actual sign, not far from our “Palatial International Headquarters in Belmont, Home of the Stars™. My favorite part, after assuring you it’s safe, if Attacked FIGHT BACK AGGRESSIVELY (which is something *I* always try to remember when a Lion is attacking me... sheesh!) This sign lies above a trail, from Mount Belmont peak, straight down into well... closer to where ground should be ;-) I’ll post pictures later... maybe when I make the trek - would be interesting!
OK, I’ll just throw out a few more loose pictures... epic post, I know, it was quite an evening, and you can see why... Looks a lot like Iraq, or maybe a Hell Demo, don’t you think?
Strapping in another contestant:
Court Mayhem, or ceremonial stuff...
Just “Hanging Out” LOL!
Not just mayhem and chaos, they seem organized... like a Banana Slug! and organized chaos is scary, but fun!
Marilyn Monroe dangles from the cage, I can’t say accidentally...
But you never can tell...
I guess she was up there all night huh?
Flame thrower cannon left, and exploding fiery fire™
Looks like a mob scene... hilarious!
How did I get this shot??? Left Zombie go go girls, right cage match, bottom hoards of bloodthirsty maggots!!
Since no one really paid any attention to the undead, they really went all out when they saw a camera...
Here is an ironic twist. You can fight, drink, climb 30 feet in the air ( without signing a waiver!) you can play with fire, throw it, dance with it... but No Cigarettes, in CA, even on Naval Bases.... wow... of course a girl is strung up over the door....
The air was cool, not unwelcome, it was very warm from all the fiery combustion...
Whew! I think that’s about all.... I’m thinking of hiring the Living Dead Girlz for Doug’s coming Tour... they were fun, and scary.... but they eat brains... everyone has hang ups right?