Last Post...

...of the year. #50 here at the new R&R


And what a year it has been.

I have learned so much about the people around me. While I don't think I've figured out life's mysteries, I certainly feel more enlightened and informed by the chance to live such an eventful life.

Thanks to everyone who helped me through some rough and tumble times. And thanks to those who trusted me with your deepest, darkest secrets.

See you all on the other side...

Decade Drama

Dear everyone who is celebrating the end of the decade:
That's next year.
Due to the fact that there wasn't actually a year Zero, the tenth year was... wait for it..... 10.
So the beloved 200x decade ends at the end of the 2010 calendar year.
So all of these Rolling Stone 'Best of the Decade' lists are a bit premature.

Then again, RS has been known to have a bit of a hair-trigger. Lightweights.

However, centuries and millennia are appropriately celebrated as the counter rolls over another digit.
Y2k was a good one, I spent that night sitting on the steps of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

(I wanted to be close to a church- just in case.) Nothing happened other than a sweet fireworks show at the Embarcadero.
10 before that, I was on a dark cold street in the south end of Utah County, burning illegal incendiary devices and demolishing garbage cans. I didn't know it at the time, but my life as I had known it- for the entire 4 years of my post-adolescent life- was in the process of changing. Quickly and permanently. Friends and family were shifting, changing. Priorities and focus were being modified, the 90s were here, and the strangest, most difficult times of my life were close at hand.

Just reflecting: None of my grandparents lived through a century or millennial passing, but I've lived through both.
Yet another thing I don't have in common with them.

Aspirations 2009

When I grow up, I want to be a big fat lazy piece of shit douchebag that blames everyone else for my problems and can't take any responsibility for anything I do.
I will call in to work sick as often as possible. I will use the slightest discomfort to drive me into bed, for days at a time, while I chow down on pain pills and make everyone get me stuff.
My world will be about me, and everyone else is in it to serve my own personal drama.

The End.

Missed Opportunities

I love live music. Almost every kind of live music. except Country.

And Charlotte Church and Celine Dion, but that's all a different story.

This year I've been soooo close to seeing a bunch of great bands, but have missed the chance by a few inches or hours.

I had the chance this summer to see, over a 3 day period:
Tool
The Killers
Lou Reed
Snoop Dogg
Andrew Bird
TV on the Radio
Of Montreal
Silversun Pickups
Airborne Toxic Event
Kaiser Chiefs
Gomez
Neko Case
among almost a billion others

Missed them all. Darn work. And $400 plane ticket change fees. And $350 hotel rooms.

But I did see Depeche Mode, Fleet Foxes and Band of Horses.

Obviosity

Feeling a bit hit over the head with a 'WooHoo let's party' message

Black Eyed Peas- opening for U2 in Las Vegas 10-23-2009

First song: "Let's Get It Started" Hahaha I get it, it's a little winky winky joke to the listeners.

6 or 8 more songs, most of which were forgettable.

Last song: The latest hit single "I Gotta Feeling"

'That tonight's gonna be a good night...'

Repeat 'good night' over and over until we can't even see anymore due to the bruises on our heads.

Their set could have been summarized as follows:

"Started"
Fergie is a skank
Will has bad shades
Dancing boom-boxes
40 minutes of cotton candy pseudo-soul
"Good Night"


Goodnight.

Vampyr

So. There's a bumload of talk these days about 'Sexiest Vampires' and 'Best Vampires' of all time and other such nonsense.

I'm jumping on the vampire rating bandwagon and offering my own list. You'll find nobody named Edward, Buffy, Lestat or Angel here, I've stuck to the hardcore, not-quite-so-pretty vamps.
Well, there's some pretty boys, but not pretty like Angel.

Top 10 Vampires of all time:
#10: Max Shreck- Shadow of the Vampire. Willem Defoe. Awesome treatment of 'Nosferatu.'


#9: David- The Lost Boys. Before he became Jack Bauer, Keifer was a sweet vampyr.


#8: Count von Count- Sesame Street. Scary and educational at the same time. Beat that!


#7: Count Orlok- Nosferatu. Pretty much started the genre. And is still a good watch.


#6: Count Dracula- Nosferatu the Vampyre. A lesser known but finely done flick. Check it out.


#5: Count Dracula- Horror of Dracula. Saruman as Dracula. Woohoo!


#4: Count Dracula- Bram Stoker's Dracula. Gary Oldman kicking daywalker butt. Awesome.


#3: Count Dracula as portrayed by Bela Lugosi. Holy crap. I saw this one when I was a youngster, and it scarred (scared?) me for life.


#2: John- The Hunger. David Bowie. Bauhaus. Susan Sarandon. A life-changing movie.



And the #1 vampire of all time:

.
.
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.
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Count Chocula.


Don't argue. You know it's true.

Art Nerves

I've spent a lifetime backstage at events: sporting events, concerts, plays, festivals, etc

The environment behind the scenes of any event can be very tense. 'Is anybody going to show up?' 'Will I remember the words?' 'I hope that horse doesn't buck me off during the gun battle again' and such. Musicians are usually very calm about their experiences. Actors are less mellow- they often explode in furies of emotional chaos that could make an insane asylum look normal. Nevertheless every performer is unique, so my generalizations are weak at best. Just observations.

The one thing that I've always cherished about the experience of doing live performances is the 'house open' half hour, where you've finished all the preparations, all the elements are in place, people are getting into their costumes/performance clothes and the audience is filing in.
This is also usually when the food is provided and the paychecks are handed out.

I've seen musicians with pretty crazy pre-show rituals, everything from substance abuse to yoga. From vocal exercises to jogging.
Actors also have rituals and routines. Bonding exercises with fellow performers, stretching, meditation and medication.
Technicians usually use the time to make out with each other or have farting contests (in the case of amateurs/beginners) or balance their checkbooks, check email, call home and talk to the kids, do some auto maintenance, etc. (professionals/more experienced.)
My own ritual is simple. I find a way to detach from the chaos of life and get into a zone where nothing exists but the show. Sometimes I do this by watching the sunset. Sometimes I go into a dark room and do breathing exercises. Occasionally I listen to some music or watch a video. Usually though, I self-hypnotize as I walk to my work position. In an amphitheater I finish my onstage checks and head up to the control position. By the time I'm in position, I am tranced out to the point of being able to focus singly on the performance at hand. I've seen pictures and video of me working in which I was not behaving as I do in real life, nor did I remember having the pictures taken. Very strange at best.

OK. The catalyst for this rambling rubbish was this:

I've dealt with performing artists forever, but not traditional artists. You know- painters, sculptors, visual artists. The other day I was lucky enough to work on a project with a couple of very talented visual artists. We did the installation and things were going well. As I cleaned up, I felt a very familiar sensation. That old feeling that the 'house is going to open in 15 minutes' and I needed to clean up, get out of the way, eat some food and prepare for the performance. The funny thing is, the artists had nervousness and rituals very similar to the things I have seen countless times before.

Art is art, regardless of the medium.