Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts

Friday, October 12, 2012

Bein Green






The Bike Fairy left a little something in my garage the other night….or was it THEEEE LEPREEEECHAUNNNNN!

















I mean my new Santa Cruz Superlight actually comes with an AC adapter to amp up the green!











 

 Well, it's no longer as clean as my pre-ride photo shoot and actually will never be again.




So, I taped up my hurt wrist and set off for a world of greenery, up in Annadel after a 6 week lapse. Nothing too technical until I heal, but up Canyon to the lake and back had me STOKED!


 The 2012 Superlight is a quantum leap from my old 2001. 
Someone tell Kermit it's just gotten easy ‘bein green’.




 



Monday, September 3, 2012

movin on.....

 They can never be what she was to me.



Sunday, August 19, 2012

Dinosaur Foot


A band name like Dinosaur Foot conjures up primordial sounds bubbling from the ooze. Really more like modern day musical mayhem bursting forth from the garage!

This band has energy and stage presence! Oh yeah, it also has my son Garrett.

Seeing them as the opening act last night at the Red Devil Lounge was a blast......
and not from the past!

Just couldn't resist doing a little photo mash up (above) with my shots from their gig.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

so long, old soldier


With your chrome heart shining
In the sun
Long may you run. -Neil Young


I had to let her go.... Sigh.



Sunday, May 20, 2012

World In Changes



                                                                                                            
 
 
 
  


 
World in changes we’re going’ through
I’ve got a lot to learn about you
World in changes we’re goin’ through
You’ve got a lot to learn about me too
 -Dave Mason

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Change Of Season





Seasons change, people change
But you can't hold back the clock
Cause time won't stop for you and me
And the world keeps spinning 'round -Hall & Oates

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Business Per Usual




Garrett's band just performed their first gig ever at The Grind in Redwood City! Slightly nervous at first, they quickly have become adrenaline junkies looking for the next venue.

As they loaded their gear after the show, some pretty young girls even followed them into the club's chilly parking lot.





Check out my photo coverage by clicking.... BPU

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

ain't it the truth?!

Not wanting to hear another one of dad’s reggae/dub mixes, son Garrett quickly plugged his i-Phone into the car stereo. I’m usually receptive to his soundtrack given our shared, eclectic tastes in music. I even figured he’d turn me onto some cutting edge alternative or hip hop artist.

“Poor old Grandad”, crooned Rod Stewart and the Faces to my disbelief.

Whoa, the good stuff from the seventies just endures!

Here are two clips of two Rons doing two very different versions of Ooh La La.... sorry, Rod for excluding yours & by the way, Riverdance wants their choreography back. Both of the Ron versions (they co-wrote the Faces tune) are amazing; yet for me, the wistful Ronnie Lane performance resonates as the most profound and bittersweet.








Monday, April 18, 2011

Zen Men
















photo credit: music-is-a-drug



A head of a Brazilian shanty town, a Buddhist monk and a Polish gangster……what could these diverse personas share in common? It’s their dedication to the worldwide spread of Zen spirit as collaborators in the French electro hip hop label, Chinese Man Records.

From a mysterious Chinese district in the south of France (Marseilles), Chinese Man Records integrates 5 producers and beatmakers, 3 DJs and multiple video artists to conjure up their own inspired blend of hip hop, nu-break, dub, Afrobeat, Asian and traditional influences.

A 2007 Mercedes ad afforded visibility to their label in showcasing the track, “I’ve Got That Tune”. As this prolific crew has since revealed, they’ve actually got lots of tunes.

Just released on April 11, Racing With the Sun - Chinese Man takes their musical Zen to yet a higher level of audio enlightenment! Wutznot2lyke got off on Racing With The Sun, MissChang and TaBom.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

swingin it...







Jim Adams held a CD Release Party tonight for his latest solo jazz exploration ....Jazz Between Sets is now available at cd baby in case you missed out on the gig.



Jim's talents were in fine form as he interpreted timeless jazz classics for his guests to enjoy. A relaxed vibe prevailed at the atmospheric setting of Gaia's Garden in Santa Rosa.



I especially enjoyed the oh so mellow Sabor A Mi..... which Doug actually translated for us later in the evening. Good times.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Lifeboats & Follies



Grab your skateboard and get your blood pumpin’ with a little Offspring… Rancid, perhaps? Or, maybe some Tommy Guerrero?


Tommy Guerrero? ....






Skate on over to The Hurdy Gurdy music blog to catch my latest guest writer post on this fluid Bay Area skateboarder turned musician.

Friday, February 18, 2011

into the music....




Jazz Between Sets
is the new release from Jim Adams and it's now available on cdbaby.

Jim brings a mellow vibe to his solo guitar jazz interpretations which derives in part from his surf excursions....thus the title. Pop this in the deck and set the mood!

And please be sure to peruse the photo and design credits.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Musical Mastermind
















“Hey Pops, is that really how you guys danced back then?”

“Hell yeah!” And, oddly my dancing hasn’t evolved much since.

My son’s curiosity had been piqued after viewing the Danger Buds video by Chris Joss, which appears to be assembled of vintage movie clips from the late sixties.



Indeed Danger Buds caught the very essence of that place in time; yet with his music, Chris Joss does much more than explore the sixties/seventies scenario. He spans musical genres including electronica, ethereal, funk, breakbeat and beyond. His songs would even resonate in movie soundtracks, conjuring up imagery reminiscent of some fly blaxploitation flick or bad ass cop classic. Expect funky rhythms and pumped up basslines and even heavy sitar grooves. The listening is fun and engaging, with a dose of vintage reverence.

This extraordinary multi instrumentalist and studio producer is even self-taught! As a Frenchman, who had lived in London for most of the 90s, he brings a cross cultural flair to his work.

And as if some Danger Buds were not enough…. prepare to get really funked up with Optical. This video is a visual and studio masterpiece!



Check out Mo Lovin from his new release Monomaniacs, and what’s not to love? Or how about the intense Night Scare from Sticks? Picking any track at random also works; since each cut has much to offer, being the product of this diversely prolific musical mastermind!


Thursday, February 3, 2011

Code Name: THUNDERBALL







Check out my latest post as a guest writer on THG.









No, it's not that Thunderball.....but who could resist?






Some feedback c/o THG....
I need to tell u!!!!!! I waz scrolling through twitter and Thunderball's twitter
referenced space patrol! They loved it and shared a link to the post!!!!!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

coo ya now?

Check out my latest guest post on THG
The Hurdy Gurdy Music Blog.






Sometimes it’s the album cover that beckons to give a listen. Longfingah & Dub Engineers album, Coo Ya Now!, combines a pastoral Jamaican scene with an incongruously towering sound system. The intriguing juxtaposition somehow suggests technology encroaching on rustic island culture.

I sampled the track Coo Ya and realized it was an infectiously refreshing cut. I’ve probably heard it fifty times now and still have no idea what coo ya now implies. It’s not defined in the Urban Dictionary and it can’t be an ode to Cooyah Beach, Australia; so I would welcome some enlightenment on this.

Recently I caught a clip and my quandary grew. These musicians were not the dreadlock Rastas I’d preconceived, nor was the concert setting, Radau am Stau 2010, the funky island dancehall from my mind’s eye. Then I heard Longfingah’s fluent German. HUH?! Had I been duped? Actually, I’d stumbled upon a reggae band from Berlin!




PS...Just Nailed It!

Jamaican term for "look here" or "come here"

cooyah look at dis, bwoy!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

music man of mystery



Funky downtempo beats infused with jazz and hip hop, come swirling as if from some smoky late night origin. Shrouded in a sense of mystery and the exotic, the music oozes with and exudes pure mood. Time to chill with the man of mystery himself, Clutchy Hopkins.

Like the Banksy of the music world, his persona is open to conjecture. Is he the covert op of DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist or his sometimes collaborator Shawn Lee? There seem to be few records of his actual existence. Refusing credit for his session work, he would accept only cash in payment. Though his whereabouts remain clandestine, some say he resides in a cave somewhere in the Mojave Desert.

Dubbed “jazz hop”, his musical style almost defies categorization. Whether man, myth or pseudonym, the music of Clutchy Hopkins emerges on its own terms.

From “The Storyteller” on Ubiquity Records, comes the “Verbal Headlock” video, which not only epitomizes his sound, but takes the viewer on a strange and haunting visual journey.




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This post , by the way, appears in the guest writer spotlight over at:The Hurdy Gurdy Music Blog. THG is an all new multidimensional platform to enjoy, discover and explore the cutting edge of music.

And here's an encore of one of my slide shows inspired by "Ancient Chinese Secret", a Clutchy Hopkins & Shawn Lee collaboration....

Friday, January 14, 2011

the beat goes on....



The concept has evolved. (See previous post)
We even used some images I took out at Bodega Head, where 20 foot walls of surf were pounding the cliffs.

The end result seems to work with Jim's theme and I'm happy with the visuals.

Hey, as one of the potential titles proclaimed, we're 'Stoked For Jazz'!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

work in progress


I'll be collaborating on the CD cover for Jim Adams' new release. This is just something I conjured up in anticipation of my session with him.

The composite is from our earlier studio shoot with a backdrop from a Costa Rica trip I took. Jim, being an avid waterman, said he wants a surf vibe. The title is one that I'm told fellow surfer, Doug likes and I can dig it! So, I went off with the surf journey theme.... Hey I could even use one of those myself.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Hey Hurdy Gurdy Man







The hurdy gurdy (also known as a wheel fiddle) is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings.

The Hurdy Gurdy is also a platform to share and discover new music.



Though hurdy gurdies originated from medieval fiddles, this website is utterly new and cutting edge. You'll find it to be a resource for the latest music with a wealth of information about the artists behind the tunes. It's loaded with links, download sites, song samples, photos, anecdotes and video clips. And it just happens to be authored by my son, Garrett.

You'll find the alternative and the esoteric.....so check it out at at: The Hurdy Gurdy