silence

the day was overcast throughout. I drove a friend on an errand to the Thousand Oaks mall. After a pizza lunch we stood in the parking lot under the freeway talking about the ghosts of Camarillo. Later I drove my father to the hospital where the nurses had a private, sterile room set up for him while they run some tests. After that I took my time heading toward school, where I did fair on a test of descending/ascending market trends.

Now I have the XX on the headset. Anton Corbijn's "Control" on the tv. I'm editing video of sand dunes and eucalyptus treetops. There are not enough slow, sad guitars to fill the space between these objects. I need to hear a Stratocaster on a slow burn, in amongst what I imagine to be very real ghosts. I won't be able to sleep yet. Slow electric hush, please.

The empty hallways of the mental hospital, the wail of strings. It's good to keep the drums quiet, every now and again.

December DJ Project Promo

Okay, so this is me getting excited about this December trip that's masquerading as a 30th birthday present to myself, but truly, let's get idealistic and say this is all about a Revolution in SOUND. Either way, it's going to be eye opening and lots of fun for those attending, so here's a really bitchin' promo on the fly that I think is worthwhile. Feel free to participate.


PS: We're not strictly limiting the DJ action to the great outdoors. What do you think, we're retarded? Details on actual venue dates in SLO, SF, Santa Rosa and Eureka will be coming in this fall. Stay Tuned Voodoo Chiles.

landscape #1

First in a series of test runs with the new editing software. These particular clips were shot on simple digital cameras, but we will have at least one digital camcorder for the December project. The footage is from:
Bicycle-taxi down Broadway, NY 8/08
Golden State Fwy, Panorama City 7/10
Apt of Jason Bradley, Burbank 11/07
Ventura Road, Gonzales Rd. to Channel Islands Blvd,7/10

The music is "10110" by James Holden

north

I've gotten into bed before 11 the past two nights. But my computer doesn't sleep, so I don't sleep. Between iTunes and YouTube I'm up bouncing sonic ideas off the brainplate until an hour before dawn. In the background is the television, arthouse movies, westerns, Classic Arts Showcase. In the headphones is the last ten years of music discovery, searching for the gems. Trying to leave the heart on the shelf and approach the noise with a clear head. But it doesn't work. Every track left a mark.
December...December. I don't even know how to approach track selection for the project. I don't even know if I can secure the funding. But I'm going. Even if I have to drag the boys around by the smoke rings, I am going. I sat on the sand tonight and reviewed the highway-to-highway list by the light of the International Paper Plant; 5-14-58-99-46-1-101. North North West North West North North. The cool part is there doesn't need to be a reason. And I am starting the process about not caring what anybody thinks. It's not the easiest thing, but it is the most practical. There are strange people in every carport, an asshole in every booth. If you stop caring they cease to exist. Somehow. Keep the music handy. Like pills. Pillars.

rain

Dark little snippets of sound coming in from the web. It's like 2002 in the headset. Back to the days of endless rain and Livingston wine by the jug. Black outs, spending all day in bed, coming out for class (sometimes) and eating sandwiches in the rain (because it seemed reasonable). Soggy bread and wet sweatshirts (the smell of pulling that soaked thing off of her). Nothing but hazy hellos and messy goodbyes. It was always so cold for most of the school year, and the streets were greased and poorly lit. And the music never went as loud as you wanted it.

Now dark progression comes up from makeshift studios in tiny bedrooms the world over. Things we could be doing.

This December will be an experiment in taking the bedroom outdoors. It will be cold in California. But hopefully, dry. More to come. Stay awake.

effect

There is no escaping the effect that people leave on you.
Social contract.
Everybody has a radio voice. Television face.
Wring that sponge dry.
Still smells.
How many times you pick up pieces.
Social contract.

Your handshake. Your nod. Your continuing to imagine
them
when you've left the rooms.
Your signature on the dotted line.

cancer

Everything offers cancer. Almost like a joke. You drink Diet Coke: cancer. Smoking: definitive cancer. Cell phones: little radiation going a long way. So I think of all the times on all those hotel patios where I sat on the phone, puffing away between soda swigs and I think I must've cut some premium minutes off the end of my little life.

So let's be clear: it's not a societal mandate but a personal one, when I say enough is enough. If I can't improve my financial situation I can sure as hell give a little love to my lungs, my stomach and liver in the meantime. Beer and smokes have been cut considerably. Fast food is right out. Sodas of all kinds are done. With these small changes alone I've gone from 191 to 174lbs in the last month. Whoopdee shit. Most of that's probably water weight. Ultimately the goal isn't to lose weight as much as it is to get healthy. I still have an aversion that phrase --all those droll videos we saw as kids, often involving the almighty Food Pyramid or some simple minded crap. Really didn't stop Dad from taking us through Jack In The Box every morning.

For health, my goal now --in amongst the larger and more pressing goals of economic stability and creative fruition-- is to drop myself down to 160 by December and begin to tack on muscle this fall. All this weight loss has been without an exercise routine, so I'm trying to see what throwing that on top would do for me.

In the meantime, I'm going to avoid cancerous activities and continue to pump a decent mix or two onto this site every month. Until the next one, stay classy with yo headset.