In Colorado

I have a recital tonight at Colorado State University. I've been here a couple of days already and I've had a great time. Fort Collins is really beautiful and the students here are great. Eric Hollenbeck, my host, is also great. We've had a good time hanging out and talking about all things percussive.

I'll be back at UCA tomorrow. Then I'll start the month long preparations and publicity blitz for the 5th Annual UCA Percussion Festival. This year we have the So Percussion Quartet, John Beck, Nathaniel Bartlett, John Parks...and me. It will take place March 2-4, so clear your calendars. More info soon.

BT

Well, they've ruined another perfectly good song

Peter Gabriel hits 'Big Time' in wrestling world - Yahoo! News

What?

This really mystified me at first. After thinking about it I have decided that it must be a ploy. Make something so bad and embarrassing that people will forward it around the internet. As a result, David Hasselhoff gets A LOT of free publicity. And...as you have probably heard, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Well, I'm doing my part. Enjoy!!!
UPDATE: Well placed sources tell me that this video actually dates from 2002.

Lorenzo da Ponte

The Guardian has a nice article about Lorenzo da Ponte. Read it and impress friends (and strangers) at the next "Happy Birthday, Mozart" concert you attend.
Guardian Unlimited | Arts features | The phoenix

Dance Revolution

In today's crazy mixed up world, it's good to know that there are still kids like this in the bandrooms across America.
(click to play)

David Byrne is getting angry

David Byrne Journal: 1.10.06: DRM

It looks like David Byrne has had it up to here. As you may know by now, I agree.

Media companies will never stop the pirates no matter what they do. The best way to minimize the impact of pirates is to be good to your customers. Instead, the media companies are treating all of their customers like pirates. They want DRM(digital rights management) software and broadcast flags and huge fines and whatever else it takes to make them feel safe. It's like they've huddled in their fort with Dave Matthews, Pink, the members of Velvet Revolver, Neil Diamond and hundreds of other recording artists. They are pushing the tables, chairs and refrigerators up against the door and hammering boards over the windows. The want us to believe that the rebel forces are trying to kidnap Dave and Neil and destroy their very souls.

Why do the rebels continue to attack? Because they know that Neil and Dave are actually being held against their will inside that fort. They must be rescued before their music dies forever.

OK, enough of that. But, if you make it easier to transfer an illegal copy of a song to an ipod than it is to transfer it from a CD that costs $18, the illegal copy will eventually prevail. If these companies want to continue to see their profits fall, then they should continue to load up CDs with secretive DRM software and push through laws that disable functions of our televisions, mp3 players and video players. People will soon realize that it's just not worth that much trouble to listen to Ricky Martin or watch Cheaper by the Dozen. Who knows...once we reach that breaking point people might actually take out their earbuds and talk to each other, play Monopoly with their family, or even join a babershop quartet. It seems the future looks bright after all.

In my life I have found that if you put your trust in people, most of them will act in a trustworthy manner. Until you feel that trust (and love) again, don't buy DRM protected CDs. David Byrne gives you a partial list. Neil Diamond is on there, and sadly Imogen Heap is as well. That's really too bad.

Sometimes, they just try to fool you, like those signs in front of houses that say "Protected by Command Security", when in fact there is no alarm. The band Chumba Wumba mentions that on this page of their website.

And here's the David Byrne link again.

David Byrne Journal: 1.10.06: DRM

Oh...and if you want to be a pirate, be sure to follow the link below. (Don't worry, it's completely legal)

Avast! Welcome to PirateMod!

The Video Game Revolution: The Arcade | PBS

Did you spend as much time as I did in the arcades back in the 80's? If so, check out this page from, believe it or not, PBS. Take the "Name That Game" quiz and test your sonic memory. Ah...memories.

The Video Game Revolution: The Arcade | PBS

Continental Shift - New York Times

A great article on how the LA Phil is finding success with NEW music

Read it fast! The New York Times will want your money for it pretty soon.
Continental Shift - New York Times

Shostakovich...Genius or Hack

An interesting article from The Guardian about the "difference of opinion" on the works of Shostakovich.

I like the part where Pierre Boulez plays the role of "Grumpy Old Man No. 1".

Only six years ago, the composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, evidently frustrated by the continuing ubiquity of Shostakovich's music in concert halls and on CD, declared that popular interest in the Russian composer was "influenced by the autobiographical dimension of his music". A modish enthusiasm for him was bound to be short-lived, suggested Boulez, for the music itself was just "third-pressing Mahler" (an allusion to the process used to extract the cheapest and most tasteless kind of olive oil).

Come on, Pierre...can't you just be happy for him?

But...since Pierre started it, here are a few quotes about him.
(from the very interesting website for The PIERRE BOULEZ Project)

"Boulez's whole life has been nothing but bluff, invective, impertinence, and conceit. He's exercised a bad influence over an entire generation that's wasted its energies in following him" -- Henri Sauguet, from 1987 interview in Gai pied hebdo..

"Boulez, who is everything I don't want art to be... Boulez, who once said in an essay that he is not interested in how a piece sounds, only how it is made." -- Morton Feldman, "predeterminate/indeterminate"

"he has, at times, presented himself as little more than a Napoleon complex with a comb-over." -- Timothy Ouellette

"[Boulez] was a regular jack-in-the-box. He was also the most arrogant of all. I thought he wrote too fast, too carelessly, that he threw in too many notes." -- Rene Leibowitz, quoted in To Boulez and Beyond

"I'm not into Boulez, but that's kind of obvious." -- Jim O'Rourke, 1999 interview

"Conductor and composer Pierre Boulez was one of the most articulate members of the French postwar musical avant-garde, but now many music lovers believe his compositions are sonic sewage. Boulez played a role in driving contemporary music into a cul-de-sac." -- Frederick Stocken, New Statesman, March 20, 2000

"And to live in a world only with Boulez would be a sad existence." -- Georg Graewe

"You could say: 'Why not invent a completely new language of music that uses none of the existing ideas?' Well, Pierre Boulez said he would do that, and who listens to Pierre Boulez?" -- Richard Stallman

"Boulez's only concern is with power. He lost the leadership of the avant-guard more than ten years ago to Stockhausen. Now others have moved in. With the need for power, where was he to go? So he chose to be a conductor. He is a wonderful musician, a wonderful intelligence. It's a pity there is no humanity there. Does he have sex? I think not. When men have no sex, they go after power in this big, obsessive way." -- Lukas Foss, 1971?

Ouch!

We should get Lukas Foss and Pierre Boulez together and let them have a "Your Momma is So Ugly" contest. My money's on Foss.

Borrow Mozart's book from the British Library

Shostakovich Centennial or not, we can't escape the Mozart 250. So, check out this super cool interactive site that will let you leaf through Mozart's catalog of his works. The high speed version is highly recommended. Turn he pages, magnify the pages, read the notes. There are other books on the site as well, but for now Mozart's book is at the top of the page.

Turning the Pages™, the British Library

Happy Birthday, DSCH

It seems that everyone is celebrating Mozart's 250th birthday this year (in fact, I'm playing a "birthday" concert with the Arkansas Symphony this weekend). Mozart is fine, but if you are looking for a nice "round number" to celebrate, how about the 100th birthday of Dimitri Shostakovich. Although he didn't die until the 1970's, he is many ways more of a mystery to us than Mozart is.

Well, at least our friends over in England remembered to do more than send a card. For the next 6 weeks or so you will be able to hear all of the chamber music and every symphony that Shostakovich wrote (if you live in Manchester).

Guardian Unlimited | Arts news | City tunes up for epic celebration of Shostakovich centenary

Back up and running

Wow! Have I been sick. Things are looking up now and it's time to practice A LOT!

Check out my new flickr.com photo albums
HERE

A few things that happened in the past month or so

My blogging has been a little sparse lately, so here's a quick catch up...

I had some great chocolate pie on Thanksgiving

Then I went to the Clinton Library in Little Rock



Then school was over and we had a percussion party (with DDR, of course)


Then I went to Mississippi and met Justin's new kitten, Beatrix Kiddo

Then I went to my grandparents for Christmas Dinner


Then I had a lovely cup of tea at my parents house as a very creepy audio-animatronic Santa looked on

My mom gave Liana a giant Yoda Pez dispenser. (She was very excited)



Then on Christmas Day, I took a nap with Harry.


Oh, and I've been listening to Liana practice that new bass guitar!

First Bass

It is Christmas Day and the trip has gone well so far. A visit to Mississippi as well as numerous stops in Georgia.

Perhaps the most exciting news is Liana's gift. She will soon be rocking hard with her new Les Paul bass and Fender amp. This is a pic of her trying it out at the music store.

Over the River, etc....

I'm off to visit friends and family for a few days. I'll post from the road about the exciting adventures that take place. I'll be in Mississippi tonight and then on to Georgia.

B

Sony Blows It

A record company has once again decided to punish those that pay full price for their CDs. If you are a "music pirate" and want to "steal" the music, you'll know the simple workaround to accomplish your task. Law abiding citizens, however, will have their computer infected with a program that will allow "internet baddies" access to your computer (and limit your ability to listen to and legally copy the songs you paid for).

Seems like a bad idea, right?. For example, a few weeks ago I had heard a lot of good buzz about the new Neil Diamond CD 12 Songs. It also got a great review in Rolling Stone. So, I head out to buy it. I can't find it anywhere. I think to myself..."Wow, with such great buzz for the album, Sony really should have sent out more copies." Turns out that I should have been thinking..."Wow, the people that run Sony are idiots. If they hadn't had to recall all of those CDs, I would have dropped 16 bucks for it."

So, this buggy digital rights managemant software cost them sales, it cost them to recall the discs, cost them to reissue bug free copies, cost them the good will of their customers(and their artists), cost them to create fixes for already infected computers, etc. And, it didn't stop anyone who knew to hold down SHIFT key while they loaded the CD from doing whatever they wanted.

Neil Diamoind, with great reviews and currently on tour, must be incredibly upset about the whole thing. While I would have bought the CD that day, the delay has allowed my "Diamond Fever" to subside and also made me not that interested in buying anything from Sony for a while. (Note: I don't think that Mr. Diamond is upset about me specifically not buying his CD, but by the fact that this same scene played out time and again around the country. And, like any good artist, he's probably upset that his fans who bought the CD the minute it came out may have already had their computers compromised.)

SonyBMG made some interesting choices in what to "protect". That includes the Art Blakey CD Drum Suit and a Flatt and Scruggs CD called Foggy Mountain Jamboree. Is bluegrass piracy really a hige problem? Maybe it is...but it seems unlikely. And while it is unfortunate, there just aren't millions of college students on high speed networks trading Art Blakey sound files.

Here's a list of CD's that you shouldn't put in your computer. By the time it's over, the list will probably be much longer.The link is to a SonyBMG page. They aren't crazy about publicizing the flaw, so it could vanish at any time.
PSI & PARCELINK RETURNS ON THE WEB | Reason / Action

For a partial roundup of stories about this situation, visit this link at BoingBoing.net
Boing Boing: Sony Rootkit Roundup IV

Guitar Picker

If you like guitars (or just want to see something cool) check this link out. I found the link at http://musicthing.blogspot.net

Guitar Picker

Here's one for the percussionists out there

Hand Drums

"My head is empty and I long for another bite of baklava"

It's not exactly "breaking news" but I have recently discovered that the DVD box set for Chick Corea's 60th birthday concerts at the Blue Note is out. It's 90 bucks for the whole box. That seems like a lot, but it's only nine dollars per disc. The lineup includes the Akoustic Band with Weckl, the Three Quartet group with Gadd, the Now He Sings, Now he Sobs group with Roy Haynes, duets with Gary Burton and, of course, a lot of the other great players from CC's past and present (Bobby McFerrin, Miroslav Vitous, Joshua Redman, Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride, John Patitucci, Avishai Cohen, Jeff Ballard, Steve Wilson, Steve Davis, Tim Garland, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez).

You can watch the trailer for the box set here. It is not a very well edited trailer and the interview segments with Chick, his bandmates, and his audience members are pretty bad as well. But, occasionally they will make you laugh (I'm not trying to be mean, just honest). The first 3 minutes or so of the trailer are quite confusing and you may be tempted to stop watching. But...don't! The trailer does include a good bit of footage from the concerts and gives you a chance to see some of the amazing footage.

So, check it out. I'm lucky enough to have an amazon.com gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket (and I've got to spend it on something). If you're not so lucky, then get your school library, your local library, or your rich friend to buy it.

More pics from China

One of the pieces I performed while in China was Halim's Fantasia-Tahmeel for derabucca and strings. Here I am just before the performance started.



















The performance went very well. Here I am at the conclusion with the conductor.



















We also got to meet many musicians from all over China. Here is Liana backstage with a musician who played many different types of flutes.



















Here we are with the entire group of musicians and dancers.

After Thanksgiving Sales

We hit the sales on Friday morning. I have never done it before, but I finally felt that it was time to be a part of the insanity. We woke up at 3:00 and arrivd at the IHOP by 3:30. We thought this would be a perfect place to start the day. Well lit, friendly, smoke free, and open 24 hours.



The only problem was this sign on the other door...
Closed from 1pm to 6am.

So, we quickly regrouped. We had to be in line at Goody's by 4:30 for the 5:00 opening. The reason being that the first 300 people received 10 gift cards. We didn't want to miss that. Luckily, just across the street was a place that would never let us down like IHOP did....The WAFFLE HOUSE. Smoky, cramped, bright yellow but still quite dingy at the same time. To make it even better, a Celine Dion fan had apparantly pumped about $5 worth of quarters into the jukebox. Boy, was Liana glad to hear that!

We called our shopping pals CK and Gaby and told them IHOP was off and to meet us at the WH. They were a little sluggish, but they finally made it.

Here I am with my friend Gabi at about 3:55am

At around 4:00 in the morning, everyone is feeling a little crazy.


We left Waffle House and made it to Goody's by 4:30. There was only one other person there, so we were all set. We got in, got the card, got the stuff, got in line, and got out. We were done by 5:20, and despite some technical difficulties at the register, none of us paid over $3 total.

Then we headed toward the other side of town and Shoe Carnival, where the first 100 people got $10 gift cards. We made it in time for the cards, and met some people in line who had just come from braving the crowds at Wal-Mart. We shared our tales of derring-do as we jumped around in the cold, trying to stay warm. We ran in at 6:00, got the card and started looking for shoes. I am proud to say that the pair of Vans that I had my eye on started at 50 bucks, but with my gift card, my coupon, and a temporary Shoe Carnival "10 minute only" mark down (that was lucky), I got them for $16.

Then it was off to Belk for some gift shopping, Office Depot for a super cheap 1 GB flash drive, and then to Hastings for the super-duper "All Used CDs $3.99 Sale". Among other amazing used CDs (My Spanish Heart, Return to Forever Retrospective, Rufus Wainsright-Want Two, etc.) I picked up the much needed Paul Simon Concert in Central Park. Yes, even the two disc sets were $3.99.

By that time we had had enough. Back to the house for "lunch". It felt late and I was starving. It was only 9:30.