Eddie Murphy, once-legendary American comedian, has finally* made his contribution to the emergent "Black Male Comedian Crossdesses as Fat Black Woman" subgenre with his new film Norbit. I imagine he will receive hearty handshakes from fellow pioneers Martin Lawrence and Tyler Perry.
Eddie's fatsuit is of the highest quality, as one would expect from a comedian of his stature.
If any of you cinema studies freshmen over at Tisch need something to write a paper on, you can guess what I'd recommend.
*Silly me, how could I forget his earlier work in the Nutty Professor movies?
10.02.2006
9.29.2006
take THIS, Pat Buchanan
DVD magazine Wholphin has posted a short movie to their website featuring a group of guys playing beach volleyball over the border fence between southern California and Mexico.
Check it out.
Check it out.
9.26.2006
West L.A. Fadeaway
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has a few problems.
I am willing to grant that many of these may be my problems. The West Wing approached moments of greatness, as a major network television series, which were exceeded only by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So, granted, unfair baggage.
Pilot episodes are granted significant leeway. A new show must distill the charisma of the cast, the hook of the plot and the tone of the entire series into one perfect episode. It's Herculean, and mythical Greeks comprise an astonishingly small percentage of the entertaiment industry.
Studio 60's pilot was very successful. People we like to watch were portraying the elite of a mysterious, controversial world, and the show snapped along with creative wit. Most of the necessary exposition was done cleverly (unlike on Smith, which is a less engaging version of Thief) and that which wasn't can be forgiven on Pilot grounds. Amanda Peet's performance was weak, but I envy nobody who encounters Aaron Sorkin's pages for the first time. The "Out Christian" character had potential, but also threatened to reveal itself as a fallout shelter necessitated by Studio 60's attention to religious America. And, yeah, they got me with the slick transition to the opening title. So very well!
How disappointing, then, to tune in eagerly to the next episode to discover that all the information from the pilot was recapitulated not ONCE, as substitute for a "last week on Studio 60" montage, but continuously. The audience is reminded of every character's history and interrelationships as well as the plot points leading to the current state of affairs.
Our introduction to the gritty details of live television production sank into a Dead Sea of didactic flowcharting, which may have bottomed out with Timothy Busfield's character literally listing all the departments under his control.
The prevalent tone was of such high drama that it strained to breaking the show's emotional credibility.
It bothers me that the creative team behind Studio 60 seems to think they must pack an entire season's worth of Big Moments into 42 minutes. Are they worried the show won't last? The Internet Movie Database suggests to me that the first season will only be six episodes long, so that may be revealing. I do believe that limited series are the most successful television format for storytelling, but that doesn't mean it's always going to be employed artfully.
One survival strategy may be the choice to set the show in the "real world". As such it can incorporate and refer to an infinite list of people, ideas and products with which its audience can identify.
This is an ideal vehicle for marketing, if one chooses to use it and is skilled enough to make it all ring true. That duty would likely fall to Hermes, I think. Shout-outs to the Internet Crowd are cute, too.
I hope to be proven wrong, because we desperately do need shows that deliver on the promise of talking honestly about our society. Studio 60's second episode was largely about cracking (possibly, I suppose we find out next week) under the cultural pressure, but nobody wants to watch a bad show about a bad show. I'm crossing my fingers.
Meanwhile, Fox News (you remember them)
is launching a preemptive strike against the "Armitage threatened to destroy my country" story coming from Pervez Musharraf by attempting to blame ex-President Clinton for al-Qaeda.
That al-Qaeda was, in fact, summoned into the American imagination by Clinton's FBI is not the angle here so much as the less-supportable "Bubba plum fergot to tell us!" shrug. Somebody still believes that Condoleeza Rice has enough credibility (poor thing) to tell the New York Post Clinton is a liarpants, too. This is probably the part of the job General Powell warned her about over dinner. One wonders how bad things have to get before a President pro tempore of the Senate gets hung out to dry.
And finally, on a personal note, I found out today that I did not get the job I desired at TokyoPop.
I am willing to grant that many of these may be my problems. The West Wing approached moments of greatness, as a major network television series, which were exceeded only by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So, granted, unfair baggage.
Pilot episodes are granted significant leeway. A new show must distill the charisma of the cast, the hook of the plot and the tone of the entire series into one perfect episode. It's Herculean, and mythical Greeks comprise an astonishingly small percentage of the entertaiment industry.
Studio 60's pilot was very successful. People we like to watch were portraying the elite of a mysterious, controversial world, and the show snapped along with creative wit. Most of the necessary exposition was done cleverly (unlike on Smith, which is a less engaging version of Thief) and that which wasn't can be forgiven on Pilot grounds. Amanda Peet's performance was weak, but I envy nobody who encounters Aaron Sorkin's pages for the first time. The "Out Christian" character had potential, but also threatened to reveal itself as a fallout shelter necessitated by Studio 60's attention to religious America. And, yeah, they got me with the slick transition to the opening title. So very well!
How disappointing, then, to tune in eagerly to the next episode to discover that all the information from the pilot was recapitulated not ONCE, as substitute for a "last week on Studio 60" montage, but continuously. The audience is reminded of every character's history and interrelationships as well as the plot points leading to the current state of affairs.
Our introduction to the gritty details of live television production sank into a Dead Sea of didactic flowcharting, which may have bottomed out with Timothy Busfield's character literally listing all the departments under his control.
The prevalent tone was of such high drama that it strained to breaking the show's emotional credibility.
It bothers me that the creative team behind Studio 60 seems to think they must pack an entire season's worth of Big Moments into 42 minutes. Are they worried the show won't last? The Internet Movie Database suggests to me that the first season will only be six episodes long, so that may be revealing. I do believe that limited series are the most successful television format for storytelling, but that doesn't mean it's always going to be employed artfully.
One survival strategy may be the choice to set the show in the "real world". As such it can incorporate and refer to an infinite list of people, ideas and products with which its audience can identify.
This is an ideal vehicle for marketing, if one chooses to use it and is skilled enough to make it all ring true. That duty would likely fall to Hermes, I think. Shout-outs to the Internet Crowd are cute, too.
I hope to be proven wrong, because we desperately do need shows that deliver on the promise of talking honestly about our society. Studio 60's second episode was largely about cracking (possibly, I suppose we find out next week) under the cultural pressure, but nobody wants to watch a bad show about a bad show. I'm crossing my fingers.
Meanwhile, Fox News (you remember them)
is launching a preemptive strike against the "Armitage threatened to destroy my country" story coming from Pervez Musharraf by attempting to blame ex-President Clinton for al-Qaeda.That al-Qaeda was, in fact, summoned into the American imagination by Clinton's FBI is not the angle here so much as the less-supportable "Bubba plum fergot to tell us!" shrug. Somebody still believes that Condoleeza Rice has enough credibility (poor thing) to tell the New York Post Clinton is a liarpants, too. This is probably the part of the job General Powell warned her about over dinner. One wonders how bad things have to get before a President pro tempore of the Senate gets hung out to dry.
And finally, on a personal note, I found out today that I did not get the job I desired at TokyoPop.
9.20.2006
Offense
Two things offended me between my house and the train today.
A Fox News Hummer. Of course. A death machine for the death merchants. What the hell else would those bastards use? I desperately wished I had a paint pen with me so I could have scrawled something witty like "LIARS" on their shiny black paint job. Alas.
This sign is posted on the temporary pedestrian walkway on the south side of the Triboro Bridge. Note that the sign gives zero indication on whose authority photography has been banned. Thank you, but I will photograph any publicly funded and maintained piece of infrastructure I like.
A Fox News Hummer. Of course. A death machine for the death merchants. What the hell else would those bastards use? I desperately wished I had a paint pen with me so I could have scrawled something witty like "LIARS" on their shiny black paint job. Alas.
This sign is posted on the temporary pedestrian walkway on the south side of the Triboro Bridge. Note that the sign gives zero indication on whose authority photography has been banned. Thank you, but I will photograph any publicly funded and maintained piece of infrastructure I like.
9.12.2006
9/12/01
Five years ago today:
Looking downtown along the West Side Highway from approximately Houston St.
A firehouse in the West Village.
Probably the first I saw of what would be many such posters.
I R Indeed. A wall in the West Village.
At the corner in front of the Exxon Station, Caton Ave. at Coney Island Ave. 9/12/01.
Looking downtown along the West Side Highway from approximately Houston St.
A firehouse in the West Village.
Probably the first I saw of what would be many such posters.
I R Indeed. A wall in the West Village.
At the corner in front of the Exxon Station, Caton Ave. at Coney Island Ave. 9/12/01.
8.31.2006
the violent and perilous expedients of compulsion
These pixels have been dark for quite a while, and therefore my apologies to whoever has been obsessively reloading ISOTA in search of new content.
I suppose I'm "between projects". Euro Zero Zero seems to have stalled out as an interweb thingamajig and a printed, bound version feels a bit remote. It requires me choosing to exercise the writebone to come up with some kind of text content, and then getting my layout on in Illustrator. I am, as yet, uninspired.
Seize Them! has been somewhat sidetracked the past few weeks due to certain members (namely, me) being away over several weekends. Jeff selected some bits from our old rehearsal DATs to put up on the website, so that shall be done soonwise. When we do get to practice, Ken seems to make significant progress in familiarizing himself with our material. Promising.
Some vague ideas for stickering or stencilling have begun precipitating into the brainmeat lately. Possibly they will be related to Alexander Hamilton; I've been somewhat obsessed with him lately.
What I really need is a story idea. I have an urge to write a screenplay, actually finish a screenplay, and make a movie. I lust after the Panasonic HVX200 HD camera. T'aint cheap, but t'aint really expensive either, considering. But there's no way I'm going to give into my lust and lay out for the thing without some kind of goal in mind for it. Really. Probably. Really.
That said, if anyone just got a sudden urge to be spontaneously philanthropic please don't be shy.
But like I said, I need a story idea. This should be a good time of my life for stories, right? 28 years old, had some ups, had some downs, laughed a little, cried a little... must have something to say, right?
Careerwise the status quo prevails. I have finally sent hardcopies of my reel and resume to my friend at Sony Computer Entertainment America, so if I'm lucky I might get a call from them. Another friend of mine forwarded an email to me which was calling for assistant editors in LA. I originally put it aside, but last night (in the wee hours, when rash ideas can creep past your drowsy judgement) I sent my resume off to the contact. Again, highly unlikely anything will come of it but it would, hopefully, satisfy my desire to actually be working in movies or semi-quality TV.
By the way, my dad is a rock star.
I have just passed the 10 year anniversary of my move to New York City. Perhaps there should be a party.
I suppose I'm "between projects". Euro Zero Zero seems to have stalled out as an interweb thingamajig and a printed, bound version feels a bit remote. It requires me choosing to exercise the writebone to come up with some kind of text content, and then getting my layout on in Illustrator. I am, as yet, uninspired.
Seize Them! has been somewhat sidetracked the past few weeks due to certain members (namely, me) being away over several weekends. Jeff selected some bits from our old rehearsal DATs to put up on the website, so that shall be done soonwise. When we do get to practice, Ken seems to make significant progress in familiarizing himself with our material. Promising.
Some vague ideas for stickering or stencilling have begun precipitating into the brainmeat lately. Possibly they will be related to Alexander Hamilton; I've been somewhat obsessed with him lately.
What I really need is a story idea. I have an urge to write a screenplay, actually finish a screenplay, and make a movie. I lust after the Panasonic HVX200 HD camera. T'aint cheap, but t'aint really expensive either, considering. But there's no way I'm going to give into my lust and lay out for the thing without some kind of goal in mind for it. Really. Probably. Really.
That said, if anyone just got a sudden urge to be spontaneously philanthropic please don't be shy.
But like I said, I need a story idea. This should be a good time of my life for stories, right? 28 years old, had some ups, had some downs, laughed a little, cried a little... must have something to say, right?
Careerwise the status quo prevails. I have finally sent hardcopies of my reel and resume to my friend at Sony Computer Entertainment America, so if I'm lucky I might get a call from them. Another friend of mine forwarded an email to me which was calling for assistant editors in LA. I originally put it aside, but last night (in the wee hours, when rash ideas can creep past your drowsy judgement) I sent my resume off to the contact. Again, highly unlikely anything will come of it but it would, hopefully, satisfy my desire to actually be working in movies or semi-quality TV.
By the way, my dad is a rock star.
I have just passed the 10 year anniversary of my move to New York City. Perhaps there should be a party.
8.03.2006
the other half
Okay, the Icelandic companion to the Amsterdam pictures has also gone up onto the interwebs and can be enjoyed here.
Personally, I think this set contains some of the best photographs I've ever taken.
Personally, I think this set contains some of the best photographs I've ever taken.
7.26.2006
partway there
7.14.2006
I can read!
Some thoughts on some books I've been reading, now that I've dug into the pile acquired around my recent birthday:
The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman - This volume accompanied me on my recent vacation. If you find wit and absurdity amusing, as I certainly do, you'll have no reason to dislike this book. I did find that the list of 700 Hobo Names became a little bit of a chore to get through, but there are enough gems in it to be worth your time.
Quantum Evolution by Dr. Johnjoe McFadden, PhD - A pop science book, one of a genre I've always loved, applying quantum theory to the questions of the definiton of life and the mechanism of evolution via natural selection. His propositions, in a poor summary of a nutshell, are: 1. that conditions in the "primordial soup" (whatever its nature may have actually been) could have been such as to allow quantum superpositions of aggregations of whole molecules allowing the seemingly-improbable genesis of self-replicating proteins, 2. that quantum effects on codons within DNA lead to adaptive mutations, 3. that human consciousness may be the result of oscillations in the brain's electromagnetic field(s) which behave in a quantum manner. It was an intriguing read, though one does have to wade through a lot of layman's-terms explanations of quantum theory which are not significantly different than those used in many other related books. This is necessary, I suppose, but can lead to skimming if you're accustomed to reading a lot of pop-quantum theory. And who isn't?
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins - I'm ambivalent about this book. It certainly lays out in clear terms the mechanisms by which the oligarchy of which we are citizens operates, and while these revelations should not come as surprise to anyone who's been paying attention it's still a worthy examination of the history and development of the current state of world affairs. However, it often feels as if Mr. Perkins were writing a movie treatment or prose screenplay. Some of his recollections of events are simply too detailed to not raise an eyebrow... dramatic pauses for a character to sip a drink, etc. I was also irked by what felt to me like over-repetition of key points. This is difficult to criticize as, clearly, provision must be made for readers with poor memories and those unwilling to flip backward in the book to re-read anything. Still, I'd recommend this book to anyone who desires to have their last illusions about How America Really Works shattered. Assuming, of course, you believe his story.
Imperial America by Gore Vidal - This is mostly a repackaging of Vidal's essays and speeches from the past thirty years on the topic of American Empire, with a smattering of new writing thrown in. Heavy on repetition, since most of the above writings mirror each other in scope and content. It's certainly interesting to see the paralells between our current situation and those stretching back to the Nixon administration (and most all in between), and the overall lesson, of course, is that Nothing Has Changed. That current events seem surprising is support for Vidal's observation that we are the United States of Amnesia in which no history is remembered and neither are we desirous of remembering it. This book will provide you with Vidal's arch take on the history of American Empire beginning, more or less, with the Mexican War or the Spanish-American War of 1898 depending on which essay you're reading. Both are convenient benchmarks for When Things Went Wrong, said Wrongness finding it's apotheosis in the years immediately following World War II and, after a minor dip for a decade or two, surging forward now. Still, it's a repackage ripoff in many ways. Borrow a copy if you're interested.
The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman - This volume accompanied me on my recent vacation. If you find wit and absurdity amusing, as I certainly do, you'll have no reason to dislike this book. I did find that the list of 700 Hobo Names became a little bit of a chore to get through, but there are enough gems in it to be worth your time.
Quantum Evolution by Dr. Johnjoe McFadden, PhD - A pop science book, one of a genre I've always loved, applying quantum theory to the questions of the definiton of life and the mechanism of evolution via natural selection. His propositions, in a poor summary of a nutshell, are: 1. that conditions in the "primordial soup" (whatever its nature may have actually been) could have been such as to allow quantum superpositions of aggregations of whole molecules allowing the seemingly-improbable genesis of self-replicating proteins, 2. that quantum effects on codons within DNA lead to adaptive mutations, 3. that human consciousness may be the result of oscillations in the brain's electromagnetic field(s) which behave in a quantum manner. It was an intriguing read, though one does have to wade through a lot of layman's-terms explanations of quantum theory which are not significantly different than those used in many other related books. This is necessary, I suppose, but can lead to skimming if you're accustomed to reading a lot of pop-quantum theory. And who isn't?
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins - I'm ambivalent about this book. It certainly lays out in clear terms the mechanisms by which the oligarchy of which we are citizens operates, and while these revelations should not come as surprise to anyone who's been paying attention it's still a worthy examination of the history and development of the current state of world affairs. However, it often feels as if Mr. Perkins were writing a movie treatment or prose screenplay. Some of his recollections of events are simply too detailed to not raise an eyebrow... dramatic pauses for a character to sip a drink, etc. I was also irked by what felt to me like over-repetition of key points. This is difficult to criticize as, clearly, provision must be made for readers with poor memories and those unwilling to flip backward in the book to re-read anything. Still, I'd recommend this book to anyone who desires to have their last illusions about How America Really Works shattered. Assuming, of course, you believe his story.
Imperial America by Gore Vidal - This is mostly a repackaging of Vidal's essays and speeches from the past thirty years on the topic of American Empire, with a smattering of new writing thrown in. Heavy on repetition, since most of the above writings mirror each other in scope and content. It's certainly interesting to see the paralells between our current situation and those stretching back to the Nixon administration (and most all in between), and the overall lesson, of course, is that Nothing Has Changed. That current events seem surprising is support for Vidal's observation that we are the United States of Amnesia in which no history is remembered and neither are we desirous of remembering it. This book will provide you with Vidal's arch take on the history of American Empire beginning, more or less, with the Mexican War or the Spanish-American War of 1898 depending on which essay you're reading. Both are convenient benchmarks for When Things Went Wrong, said Wrongness finding it's apotheosis in the years immediately following World War II and, after a minor dip for a decade or two, surging forward now. Still, it's a repackage ripoff in many ways. Borrow a copy if you're interested.
7.11.2006
recycling
I dug through a bunch of my old photos yesterday and scanned quite a few. They've been uploaded to my Flickr page. Some good stuff of kids I had as a camp counselor, and a portrait I really like of a student in a class I helped out with in college.
Also, I put up some pictures I took on my trip to China in 2000 and those are all grouped into a set here.
On Sunday my friend Jeff and I drove up to the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (which occupies the land the original Woodstock festival was held on) to see Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon & The Benevento/Russo Duo and Phil Lesh & Friends. Car trouble caused us to miss most of the Trey + Mike + Duo set (note: Avis car rental sucks), but what we did catch was a lot of fun and very impressive. I'll have a better sense of it once I download the full set from wherever it becomes available.
The Phil & Friends show was a lot of fun. He had Joan Osborne on vocals and man, she can sing. Forgive her for having released a silly single many years ago, folks.
7.05.2006
stop-gap. filler.
I'm sure, my dear audience, that you have been disappointed with me for not providing a detailed debriefing regarding my recent travels to the Old Countries. I offer my apologies and assurances that such postings are coming once I get my photochemicalcelluloid pictures back from the laboratory.
I can report, however, that I have created a crude web-based showreel of some of my editing work and it can be found here. You'll need Quicktime installed on your machine to watch the clips because Windows Media can suck it. You heard me.
The impetus for bringing the above into existence was an interesting coincidence that happened just prior to flying to San Diego to attend a good friend's wedding. It's not uncommon for mail to come to my house addressed to any one of a number of prior residents and last Friday a box arrived for long-departed Brett which was clearly marked as having been shipped from EBay. Upon opening the box I discovered a well-packed baseball card and thought I should, of course, contact Brett about it. He offered to send me packing materials and postage money but I demurred and told him that, oddly enough, I was going to be in San Diego the next day and that this was clearly a good opportunity to hand-deliver it and catch up.
It was during said catching up that he mentioned that there was a possibility that he could help me get work at Sony Computer Entertainment America editing for them.
So we'll see. I have no expectations, but it's an exciting idea.
I can report, however, that I have created a crude web-based showreel of some of my editing work and it can be found here. You'll need Quicktime installed on your machine to watch the clips because Windows Media can suck it. You heard me.
The impetus for bringing the above into existence was an interesting coincidence that happened just prior to flying to San Diego to attend a good friend's wedding. It's not uncommon for mail to come to my house addressed to any one of a number of prior residents and last Friday a box arrived for long-departed Brett which was clearly marked as having been shipped from EBay. Upon opening the box I discovered a well-packed baseball card and thought I should, of course, contact Brett about it. He offered to send me packing materials and postage money but I demurred and told him that, oddly enough, I was going to be in San Diego the next day and that this was clearly a good opportunity to hand-deliver it and catch up.
It was during said catching up that he mentioned that there was a possibility that he could help me get work at Sony Computer Entertainment America editing for them.
So we'll see. I have no expectations, but it's an exciting idea.
6.23.2006
takk
Takk: it´s basically the only Icelandic word I know.
But yes! Here I am in Reykjavík. Mission Amsterdam was a complete success, and Mission Iceland is progressing expensively.
A possible report following tonight´s runtur is... well, possible.
But yes! Here I am in Reykjavík. Mission Amsterdam was a complete success, and Mission Iceland is progressing expensively.
A possible report following tonight´s runtur is... well, possible.
6.18.2006
6.16.2006
6.15.2006
more seizethem.com news
DNS seems to be propagating, at least as far as Verizon's network is concerned. Some of you may still not be able to get to seizethem.com but it IS up, so be patient. The 6.3.06 show is still up for download and if I interpret the traffic counter correctly it appears nearly 20 people have downloaded the show to date.
Also, there is now a Seize Them! email listserve, which you can sign up for here. There probably won't be much, if any, traffic for a good long time but, y'know... there it is. Enjoy.
Also, there is now a Seize Them! email listserve, which you can sign up for here. There probably won't be much, if any, traffic for a good long time but, y'know... there it is. Enjoy.
6.12.2006
Seize Them!
Some news.
First, there is now a real, working seizethem.com.
Secondly, a link on that page will allow you to download a .mp3 version of Seize Them!'s performance from the 6.3.06 houseparty. FLAC version to follow shortly.
That is all.
P.S. Please be patient with seizethem.com being a little flaky over the next few days.
First, there is now a real, working seizethem.com.
Secondly, a link on that page will allow you to download a .mp3 version of Seize Them!'s performance from the 6.3.06 houseparty. FLAC version to follow shortly.
That is all.
P.S. Please be patient with seizethem.com being a little flaky over the next few days.
6.09.2006
THE STICKENING
PS Print has come through admirably, and the ISOTA QXZ stickers have arrived! The stickening begins forthwith.
musics
If any of you millions of faithful readers are looking for some live music events in New York City for this weekend, note these:
Tonight at The Delancey on the Lower East Side, my friend's band North is playing and I dig them.
Saturday night at The Bowery Ballroom is a triple threat, costume-tastic show featuring Peelander-Z, Bling Kong, and the second-to-final-ever show for good ol' Mr. Brownstone, everyone's favorite Guns N' Roses tribute. Their set will be introduced by a short video I put together for the band, so don't be late.
Here's a picture of Peelander-Z from Bonnaroo 2004 -
I'm going to try my damnedest to get at least a listenable CD of Seize Them!'s performance from last weekend burned to give to some people over the next couple of days. Just gotta keep that kick drum from peaking.
Tonight at The Delancey on the Lower East Side, my friend's band North is playing and I dig them.
Saturday night at The Bowery Ballroom is a triple threat, costume-tastic show featuring Peelander-Z, Bling Kong, and the second-to-final-ever show for good ol' Mr. Brownstone, everyone's favorite Guns N' Roses tribute. Their set will be introduced by a short video I put together for the band, so don't be late.
Here's a picture of Peelander-Z from Bonnaroo 2004 -
I'm going to try my damnedest to get at least a listenable CD of Seize Them!'s performance from last weekend burned to give to some people over the next couple of days. Just gotta keep that kick drum from peaking.
6.05.2006
and on 'til the break of dawn
The party was a "smashing success" as they say in the martini-swilling monocle-wearing circles.
Friday night was a bit of a nightmare... torrential rains shut down all the subway trains which could take me from work, in Manhattan, to home in Astoria and cabs were impossible to hail so it was a walk over the Queensboro bridge for the first time since the transit strike last December. Then upon arriving home I discovered the worst instance of basement flooding (the third flood in five days) yet which added a whole 'nother disgusting layer of preparation to handle before the party.
But by Saturday evening all was in place (minus any hot water in the house, which was unfortunate for residents and houseguests alike) and the guests were rolling in from as far afield as California, Detroit and Boston.
DJ Porkcube set up and spun an incredibly awesome mix of Brazilian tunes, hip hop, soul, dub and various other flavors for about 2.5 hours. I was gifted with a pair of source CDs of the set and plan to enjoy it frequently. DJ Porkcube's actual mix can be found in .mp3 form here and I highly recommend downloading it.
The Disgraceland Family Freakshow contingent set up in the upstairs apartment and wowed the crowd. Magic tricks, hanging weights from various piercings, bed-of-nails tricks, swallowing balloons and then requesting that the crowd staple tips into the performers with larger denominations granting access to a wider variety of target areas. I, personally, didn't get to witness the action due to crowd size but the oohs and aahs and AAAAGGGH!s were audible all over the house.
And finally we in Seize Them! performed our second ever rock show. Once every 2.5 years is not a great record but we'll see what we can do about that. Our set started at 1:18 AM so thanks to the neighbors for not calling the cops and thanks to the party guests who stuck around through the whole thing and beyond. I'll probably have live tracks posted to the ol' enterwebnets as soon as I run them through Logic to even out some uneven things in the recording.
Dave has posted his pictures of the event here.
I've been notified that the ISOTA stickers have been printed and are on their way to me.
5.27.2006
listening pleasure
First, an update on the stickers. I've contracted with the fine folks at PsPrint and they're doing a four-color print on vinyl stickers for almost $100 less than the StickerGuy folks were going to charge for a three-color stencil. PsPrint seems like a really pro outfit, or at least their website has suckered me into thinking that. Stickers should arrive several days prior to my Grand International Tour so all seems well.
Last night I spent out on the town with the fine folks from Boss Tweed, first for their show at Desmond's Tavern in Manhattan (surprisingly tasty cheeseburger and fries to be had there, by the way) and then down at the Mercury Lounge for a great show by The Dansettes. The Dansettes are a 7-piece Stax/Atlantic-style soul outfit featuring three ladies singing. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for a neo-sixties groove.
Speaking of Boss Tweed, it looks like we may be closer to choosing a song of theirs for the music-video makings. Watch this space.
Also, if you're in NYC and you like the musical stylings of Patsy Cline, you can check out the Boss Tweed side project known as "Carolyn Sills And The Poor Man's Roses". They'll be playing at Bubby's in DUMBO, Brooklyn, on Thursday, June 8th at 9PM.
Last night I spent out on the town with the fine folks from Boss Tweed, first for their show at Desmond's Tavern in Manhattan (surprisingly tasty cheeseburger and fries to be had there, by the way) and then down at the Mercury Lounge for a great show by The Dansettes. The Dansettes are a 7-piece Stax/Atlantic-style soul outfit featuring three ladies singing. Highly recommended if you're in the mood for a neo-sixties groove.
Speaking of Boss Tweed, it looks like we may be closer to choosing a song of theirs for the music-video makings. Watch this space.
Also, if you're in NYC and you like the musical stylings of Patsy Cline, you can check out the Boss Tweed side project known as "Carolyn Sills And The Poor Man's Roses". They'll be playing at Bubby's in DUMBO, Brooklyn, on Thursday, June 8th at 9PM.
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