Raw, Resorted

Keep in mind there are couple mistakes in this performance, but overall he does a nice job.

Two more weeks roughly until I need to have some more of this cello piece done. It may sound tangential at times (intentional, innate) but is actually all based on slowly mutating sonorities---double stops low on the cello, morphing, not progressing, more like slithering---that I wrote last year. Granted these sonorities don't get repeated verbatim, but I stuck pretty well to the foundation, only straying from it for musicality, order, reorder and unpredictability.

At some point, second or third time through the chord mutation, I stretch each chord out to 3 measures instead of 1, this allowed me to have a lot of fun with superimposing different scales and suggesting various tone centers in and about the chords that were either too ambiguous prior, or just lacking color (Perfect 5th), melodic accompaniment, or movement when by their lonesome.

I have have nice pastorale in the works that is a contrast to the Ländlermazurkuation in that it's a more of a theme and variation on a melody than a variation on a sonority mutation (or more traditionally, a chord progression, see chacone). That being said, this pastorale is much sweeter and more tranquil. I feel that in addition to finishing that, I need to compose at least 2 or more little pithy little dances/movements to complete what I've done so far.

My Life as a Scientologist

We played at the launch pad gallery last night for Nic's art show, it was fun. It's kind of funny that that someone saw the flyer for this show and called the HQ of Scientology, who called the proprietor of the launch pad, wondering if one of their fellow nutjobs were in trouble or something. Apparently there is a group called Operation Clambake, that is trying to take down the "church" of Scientology. My band is called Clambake Combo, so if you you search for the art show, and/or my band, you will mostly get Operation Clambake websites, all of this Scientology shit had me a little worried that the ghost of Issac Hayes would come probe my sweet ass.

Arctic Blast 2008 Dominates, I Slack

Okay, there is not much snow around, but I'm still feeling like I'd like to be snowed in a couple more weeks just to get my groove back. Not ready to return to school. I didn't really work on composing over the break and had my small amount of gigs and recording sessions canceled. I'm not feeling in a musical place right now. I just want to study basketball right now for better or for worse.

Our Portland Trailblazers

My Yahoo pickup game group was pretty unsuccessful this summer. Because of the name, PDXBallers, I usually just get about one porno chick a month looking for "singles in my area."

Luckily, the Blazers have gotten off to a much better start at 15-7 after the first quarter of the season than I did organizing my little Portland-Scrub-Street League.

I'm really looking forward to watching a couple games at the Rose Garden over the break and hoping to make it to either the Mavs game on X-Mas, or Raptors Game on Blazer's Edge Night.

Random Info, here is my list o' stuff to do from a few days ago:

• Compose
• Stay off BEdge
• Study for finals
• Top off antifreeze
• Reschedule Recording Session(s)
• Go Grocery Shopping
• Get CD sleeves
• Bills!
• Ask Santa for a PS3 + HDTV + NBA2k9

art songs

Slowly chipping away at my song cycle, I have a stanza and a half-ish to go in this sonnet i've set for mezzo-soprano and piano. This is the 4th poem I've set; the imagery in this sonnet is the most sexual out of e e cummings poems i've set thus far. Lines like "hips pumping pleasure into hips" don't really leave much to the imagination, but yet I have to use my imagination to paint modal/tonal picture of the text. Imaginaaaaaaation

I have to do some editing before I submit the 3 songs i've completed for grading this term, TERM ALMOST OVER! I'm excited to write the final, 5th song over the winter break so I can move on to writing Owen a solo cello piece next term.

I'm also hatching a plan for next term to write a piece for a couple of my band mates from Clambake that have started a killer new group called Terracoustic with bassist Josh Feinburg. I'm pretty stoked to record Clambake's long belated first album at Ben Blechman's Terracoustic Studios; working and playing gigs with Ben and Tim can only help me when it comes to writing for their Terracoustic group.