tinnitus
Mood:  down
Now Playing: rrrrriiinnnnnnggg...
I hope it is temporary, but over the past week or so, I've noticed that I seem to have tinnitus in both ears. It is only noticeable when the room is totally quiet, but it sounds like 3 or 4 ring tones in different keys blended together...rather unpleasant.

I'm usually pretty good about wearing earplugs in loud situations, so I don't know why this is happening. Hope it is just a stuffy-head thing. I have been kind of congested lately.

Anyhow - if you are a musician - Wear Earplugs!!! You don't want to lose your precious hearing.

And that's my rant for today...

Oh: last night, I made a scratch recording of the main theme for the film score I'm working on (the hidden) and the arrangement turned out pretty satisfying! If only I hadn't gone and accidentally recorded the click track to the instrumental tracks, it would've been usable for the project. Oh, well...starting fresh is probably a good idea.

Custom blog designs are awesome!!
Mood:  suave
Now Playing: Raymond Scott: Kodachrome
Whoopie!
Now that Tripod offers advanced customization features, I can make this blog look like it belongs with the rest of my site design!!!

Still working out some of the design kinks (a.k.a. my coding limitations) but holy cow I love how this looks!!!

Yes, I still exist!
Mood:  special
Now Playing: Tom Waits: Bone Machine
Greetings Gentle Readers!
I know it has been a long time since I've updated. My apologies. Lots of stuff going on leaves me with little time for updates.
Here's what I've been up to in the past couple of weeks:

Played a show with The Sob Sisters at Paradise Lounge as part of the Frolic Room burlesque/variety show. Also joining us onstage was Ms. Kitty Heels with her Singing Saw. We had a wonderful time, and will return for a second performance on December 14th. Check out our site for photos!

Ms. Kitty Heels was also kind enough to lend her lovely Saw Stylings to a track on the new Twink record, which we recorded the very same evening as the performance at Paradise. {I also play cello & double bass on the new Twink record. And there are many other fine collaborators as well - too many to list here.} We spent the better part of last Saturday in the mastering studio and will return for final adjustments tomorrow.

Also on the Sob Sisters front, we just finished up with a short film score for a Silent Ghost Cinema production. More news on that once the film is live on their site. But I must say, we had too much fun with it!!

On the Wisteriax front, my Infinite Sector friend Karyon from The Netherlands has made not one, but two fabulous remixes of my "Voyage of the Lovecraft" track. You can download both of those from his site, as well as the collaboration piece we did called "Black Outside." Black Outside has also been made into a "remix pack" for the folks at Infinite Sector to play with, so we'll see if anything interesting comes out of that.

And finally, last but certainly not least, I sat in on an overdub session for the upcoming Beat Science record. Not sure what the album will be called, but what I heard of it was very impressive! I added cello & shortwave to one track, and some shortwave to a second track - but I'm not sure exactly what they'll end up using. Ms. Kitty Heels also sat in on the session and recorded some Singing Saw. I can't wait to hear the final mixdowns - really great stuff!!

Finally: Static Voyage album release!!
All right! Now available on the Infinite Sector label, the piece I recorded for the Burning Man 2003 sound installation...74 minutes of cello, fx, and shortwave radio transmission. A Journey from chaos to meditation and back...I bring you Static Voyage!

fall = busy
Mood:  vegas lucky
Stuff continues to be absolutely crazy. Where do I begin?
Here's the short list:

Friday I found a superduper package on the doorstep when we arrived home...My new favorite gadget! A stompbox-sized mixer that allows me to run up to 4 instruments through the same signal chain. How dangerous is that?? I immediately hooked it up to my shortwave radio & single oscillator theremin to try it out. Got some interesting recordings of a numbers station broadcast - the first one I've ever come across, in fact. I think that's a pretty good omen!

This coming weekend, I'm doing 3 totally unique performances. {what to pack?? what to wear??} With my new mixer device, I can finally bring the shortwave radio onstage! What better excuse will I have than this Saturday night when I'll sit in with Beat Science on two shows? The first set is as it sounds: funeral procession music & dirges. The second show will contain an improv soundtrack to a 10 minute experimental horror montage called "Outer Space," among other things...like a Burlesque number to which the lovely Miss Firecracker will be doing her thing, yowza!!

show 1 : Music For Funerals
9:00PM EST @ Zeitgeist Gallery
1353 Cambridge Street / Inman Square
Cambridge MA / 617.876.6060 / $10 suggested donation

show 2 : Music For Horror Film
Promptly at Midnight @ Coolidge Corner Theater
290 Harvard Street / Brookline MA
617.734.2500 / $30
{opening set for the Coolidge Corner Theater's 4th ANNUAL HORROR MOVIE MARATHON!!}

And last but certainly not least:

Sunday, Oct. 26th The Sob Sisters are opening for Turkish Queen, Dreamchild, and Tim Mungenast, w00t! We're on around 8, so don't be late. (whoa, i believe that was a rhyme)
Skybar: 518 Somerville Ave., Somerville, MA
just $5 to hear 4 bands! and a singing monkey! {ok, i am lying about the monkey}
617-623-5223

Let's see...
I also accepted an invite to play as part of the PK string quartet for a very special Paula Kelley show in mid November. Holy moley I just realized that will be a monumental event because I'll be sharing the stage with my lovely & talented real-life sister for the first time ever. Seriously. (well - except for when our folks used to make us dress up & perform holiday music duets for their friends at parties. but i'm trying to block out those memories so i'll have to say that doesn't count & let's just forget i mentioned it, ok?)

Um, and I also may have an upcoming wisteriax interview in the Infinite Sector's new webzine to coincide with my little album release. More on both of those things later...
And of course there's the upcoming RSO concert which I've got quite a few rehearsals for in the next couple of weeks. Um, so yeah I am pretty busy. If I seem a little distracted {read: insane,} please forgive me.

the Science of Beats...er...Beat Science!
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: I Am Not An Animal; I Am A Human Being: Beat Science
Met up with an interesting fellow this weekend from the band Beat Science. Looks like we may do a collab of sorts later this month. I think it will be lots of fun! Check out their site & tunes - really swell stuff. Scary clowns and all...

In other news: Still waiting on the Burning Man/FZC release. As soon as I know anything, I'll post here.

I'm toying with the idea of doing some self-releases via mixonic.com in the near future. We'll see how things shape up. I am mad at myself for not putting a live show together this summer...but then again I was working on other fun projects & I guess that's all that really matters. Isn't it??

a pleasant surprise
Awhile back, I received an inquiry from an experimental DJ in Cincinnati called Klarc Qent. His show, An Afternoon Bizarre, is probably best described as an exercise in sound-collage. And he was looking for some material to use. It seemed like an interesting & fun idea, so I obliged.

Anyhow, I'd almost forgotten that I'd sent him 3 improv recordings I made with shortwave & cellonoize. {I like to give people more than one option...} But the other day I found a lovely package from DJ Karc Qent on my doorstep - Two excellent cds!

One consists of the 3 improvs I sent him, completed with various collaborative layers, including recorded performances by Matthew Lewis, and Michael Griffin...really unique & fantastic stuff! Apparently, those 3 tracks will be included on his upcoming release, "Klarc Qent & Friends," which I'm very excited to hear more about!

The other CD is Mr. Qent's "Junk Jazz" album, which I believe one can purchase through his website. It is an "appropriation" record, with lots of artfully rearranged samples from jazz and avant garde performances. Very recommended listening :)

Hmmmmm...
I've not been doing much wisteriax recording lately, as my cello efforts have been mostly focused on getting the Sob Sisters off the ground. But I made an interesting purchase today at a toy store that may make for some nifty stealth field recordings. It is called "Spy Ear," and apparently allows the wearer to pick up and amplify faraway sounds. I will be testing it out in the office this afternoon, haha.

finally...
Now Playing: Incus: Burning Thread
Got my copies of the long-awaited Incus album this weekend. Turned out very well. Hoping for some upcoming performances so I can check out the new lineup.

Also hoping that the album gets some good reviews. Always nice to read reviews of an album you put a lot of work into - especially if they're positive reviews.

Oooh - the Paula Kelley cd release party is tonite too. A swank affair! I think I'm going to wear a gown I picked up recently at my favorite Vintage/Thrift shop. It looks like a bridesmaid's gown or prom dress from about 1964 - in lilac lace and blue chiffon. {heh - if i don't wear it tonite, i can't think of any other occasion it would be appropriate for...honestly}

Last Sunday's performance at O'Brien's went well - despite the bar's crummy sound system. Thanks to all who attended - hope you enjoyed the show!

A friend sent me some pictures, so I'll share them. Funny thing - I look kinda like a werewolf in the second one, and Scott has a very strange light-aura. But check out Ms. Ajda the Turkish Queen's outfit! She looked more stunning that usual.

Anyhow, Symphony rehearsals have started up again so I'm quite busy with that, and with the new project I still haven't revealed yet.

Oh, what the heck...if you've read this far, then you deserve to see the new site. Keep in mind that it's a work in progress. Introducing:
.:The Sob Sisters:.

Wow.
So I got 2 comp. albums lately that I've got to tell you about.

Firstly, went to see Turkish Queen last weekend at Pan9, {fabulous show, btw!} and they surprised me with a copy of their long-awaited E.P.: Cusp
The songs are innovative and quite moving, what a talented duo they are - but really - I''m here to tell you about the packaging. It is such a little gem! Picture a die-cut letterpress folder that's purple chipboard, filigrees galore, with purple and metallic gold ink...and the cd itself is purple and gold as well. The graphics and materials are just so elegant. And their music is lovely & quite unique. I always find them inspiring, because they do something different each time I hear them, and it always sounds good. Anyhow - you must go to the very next T.Q. show, and pick up Cusp for yourself:

Sunday September 7th
O'Brien's in Allston
3 Harvard Ave.
here's the flyer
{yeah, and i'm sitting in with them too. a little self-promotion is what this blog's all about anyhow, isn't it?}

Another nice surprise came in the mail yesterday, after a very stressful day at work...The brand spankin' new, hot off the press {actually i don't even think it has been released yet} Paula Kelley cd: The Trouble With Success or How You Fit into the World
And a thank you note with an invite to the upcoming {swank !} cd listening party was enclosed.

I couldn't wait to hear how the songs turned out, so I popped it in the discman right away, and listened to all the tracks with the "PK Orchestra" on them first. What an album! Seriously...this is one of the the finest, most well-produced, most well-orchestrated "local" albums I have ever heard. My ♥ is bursting with pride to have my name in the credits. Oh, and my very talented little sister plays multi-layered solo violin parts on the intro and exit pieces - stunning work! Bravo to all involved!

Just an aside: It really is wonderful to work with such gracious well organized people as the aforementioned 2 groups. I'm wowed. {if you're observant, you may also note that i still have not received a comp copy of the album i slaved over & took precious vacation days to track on last year...and its been out since july. isn't life full of contrasts...ahem.}

P.S. I swear that after Burning Man is over, I will have an announcement about an album release of my own. And another very special new project debut. Sorry to keep y'all waiting...

P.P.S. If you are reading this, mister ¢¢...i forgave you a long time ago. hello. hope you're doing better than you claim to be.