More Cowbell . . .

More Cowbell . . . updated.

For those who have been asking, here is some more Cowbell.

I posted this picture originally in Facebook as a response to so many people who keep referencing the Saturday Night Live bit about the recording session where the producer (played by Christopher Walken)  comes out over and over again saying, "I need more cowbell."  Which eventually works up to the statement that  . . . "I've got a fever, and the only thing that will satisfy it is More Cowbell. I Need More Cowbell."  The dutiful cowbell player (played by Will Ferrell) proudly clanks away exhibiting all the tensions and resolve that so frequently occurs when musician struggle over issues of volume, speed, tempo or what ever.  It's a funny bit, and most people  know have seen it when it was first broadcast many years ago, April 8, 2000 if I am correct.

So, now approximately 13 years later the joke keeps getting referenced over and over again which is the reason for my posting.  Lately I've taken to re-writing the joke.  Certain Drumming Community websites, the ones the post hundreds of random pictures of drums, and drummers have shown a few with extra large bass drums.  I've added my comments as . . . "I've got a fever and the only thing that will satisfy it is More Bass Drum . . . I need More Bass Drum."

Weightless by Marconi Union

Here is something to help you keep your mind off of all the stress and worry about the end of the world, or just anything happening in your world. Take a few moments to simply relax and refresh in this Audio "Weightless" environment.

This is considered by many to be very relaxing and may also be used to help one get to sleep at the end of a day. Call it Music Therapy if you will.

http://soundcloud.com/justmusiclabel/marconi-union-weightless

Monkberry Moon Delight (Akapella Mix)

Monkberry Moon Delight (Akapella Mix)




Here's an interesting bit for all of you Paul McCartney fans.  The vocal only track of Paul's Monkberry Moon Delight, which first appeared on his RAM album in 1971 is an intense and high spirited tune with some very abstract and interesting lyrics.  As it is mixed here, with no backing tracks, you hear Paul and Linda's naked vocal tracks, and you get a sense of how versatile Paul's voice really is.  Many singers who have abused their voice as much as Paul does in this tune would have had serious vocal problems after singing like this for even a short period of time.


For comparisons, I've posted links to the stripped down Acappella version above, and the full original mix version as posted on You-tube shown here with the original Album Cover. This was a really great record in my estimation, and I believe it was the second record Paul released after he left the Beatles.


Just another example to this man's emmense talent and creativity.

Next Steps

I'm making good progress now, working several different projects every day. 

One of the projects I want to discuss today is the cartooning, or drawing projects I'm doing.  I've been working on developing some cartoonish characters, mostly by drawing faces and upper bodies together.  In some instances I'm going back to some earlier drawings and redrawing those early characters with a bit more refinement and skill.  I'm at the stage where I want to expand my efforts at drawing these characters.  I plan to do that by drawing several sets of the same characters, but from many different angles and with several different expressions.  I'll run each character through a range of emotions and facial expressions, and different body postures. 

Would you like to dance?

Eventually once the drawing gets up to an acceptable level, then I plan to begin plugging the characters into some story lines, or jokes, or whatever I come up with.  I need to also begin thinking about what kind of environments and locations I might be able to place the characters into.  But much of that will depend on the stories I'm trying to tell.


I fully expect that these characters will begin to take on a life of their own.  They will develop individual personalities, and I suspect that I may even be shocked at some of the things that will develope with these people.  I'll try and remember to treat them kindly.  I hope they don't become too unruly or out of control.  This will be interesting to watch as it goes along.

A Memorial Day Remembrance -- You have changed my life -- Thank You!

Someone, a few days ago posed an important question.  What was the one thing, or personal single, one resource, blog, book or website that really changed your life, or inspired you to be who you are today?

With the Bible being the most obvious answer for me, and Jesus the central character most influential in changing my life completely. There are many people who have played significant roles in helping me change my life at key turning points in time.

One profound life changer was a person named Ed Ragozzino.  He passed away in January 2010.  While I knew of him he lived and worked out of Eugene, Oregon. Ed Ragozzino gave myself and many others a simple bit of advice that has changed everything, and forever, in the most positive of ways.  I only wished I would have had the opportunity to thank him for the profound impact he has had on my life. 

Ed Ragozzino was the head of the Performing Arts department, and a Theater Director of great skill and respect in his community.

What Mr. Ragozinno did for me, he did as a teacher, and as an employer.  One summer I worked in his office while he went on vacation to Hawaii with his family.  Shortly before that time I had been taking an Elements of Acting: Voice class at Lane Community College in Eugene.  The class was taught by various theater arts instructors.  While in this class, Ed Ragozinno taught it just one day, but the advice he gave that day, I took to heart, and put into practice at that time and have continued to follow that advice, and will continue throughout the rest of my life.

Ed's simple yet powerful suggestion was for anyone who felt they lacked confidence, or were insecure about being able to present themselves as an actor or even a human being. Mr. Ragozinno said that if you'rer shy and need to develope confidence, to get away somewhere by yourself and begin reading things out loud.  Read the Bible, read Time magazine, read anything and everything you can get your hands on, but read them out loud. I have been doing this ever since.  What it did for me happened very quickly, and was in effect a pernament change for the better.
I will always remember and be thankful for Ed Ragozzino and the impact he had on my life. I could go on and on about all the great things that have happened as a result of taking his advice.

While working in his office that summer, my job was to remove all of his books from his very well filled book shelf in preparations for the painters that would be re-doing the office that summer. He jokingly said, "Your job was to remove all of these books, take them home and read all of them out loud. Cover to cover." I've been doing that now for years.  I do much of my reading out loud.  I used to frequently doze off while reading in my early college days, but after doing as Ed suggested, I found it to be great fun, to read out loud, to try on different voices, to play the parts of all of the characters in a story.  I became not merely a passive reader, but an active participant in every thing I read.

After taking Ed Ragozinno's advice and reading aloud, I found that much of my initial shyness and lack of self confidence merely faded away.  I found myself in a short period of time talking to more people than I had talked to over the course of my whole life up until that point.  Prior to that I had a terrible fear of using the phone, of simply calling someone up for some bit of information. 

For me, I had to get used to hearing the sound of my own voice.  Ed taught that the actor's voice is one of the most powerful and important tools he owns.  I still, by nature consider myself a bit of a shy person, an introvert at heart, but now I know that I can rise to the challenge and interact with just about anyone any situation will call for.  At some points in my ongoing studies of Communication Arts, I've had the opportunity to enquire of others into how they might view me and my personality.  Several people have said that to them I appear to be very confident and self assured.  This is not how I've often seen myself, but when I look at my actions objectively I can see how the perception of confidence can be seen in me.

In answering the original question -- it was not solely a blog, or a book, or a website, but a theater director, and acting coarch who has recenlty passed away.  I will always remember and be thankful for Ed Ragozzino and the impact he had on my life.  I could go on and on about all the great things that have happened as a result of taking his advice.
For additional information on the life and contributions of Ed Ragozzino please see the following links.

http://special.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/updates/24403951-55/eugene-ragozzino-theater-arts-center.csp

http://edragozzinomemorial.wordpress.com/

Koinonia: Celebration - Live from Montreux 1984

Koinonia: Love this, all of them, but especially Abraham Laboriel. It doesn't get much better than this anywhere. I liked these guys music way back when, I just wished they had been more well known in the States. They were awesome in my book. The cut is worth watching for the whole 14:40 minutes, especially for Abraham Laboriel's bit at the end somewhere after the 12:00 minute mark. This is an example of giving it your all, and leaving it all out on the stage. Love it. By the way . . . The Kit drummer, Bill Maxwell was the producer and drummer on most of Keith Green's recordings. And of course Alex Acuna is a legend in his own right.

Words to live by: Make Good Art

This is great advice from writer Neil Gaiman for anyone in the Arts. Well worth your time to listen to this 20 minute speech.


Neil Gaiman, the celebrated author, in a speech to the Graduating class of the University of the Arts Class of 2012, spoke at length providing advice for those pursusing a career in the arts, and how to achieve those goals. His advice is timeless, and can be more broadly applied to achieving goals in any field.

My favorite part is as follows: 

"Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health and in all the other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do.


Make good art.


I'm serious. Husband runs off with a politician? Make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by mutated boa constrictor? Make good art. IRS on your trail? Make good art. Cat exploded? Make good art. Somebody on the Internet thinks what you do is stupid or evil or it's all been done before? Make good art. Probably things will work out somehow, and eventually time will take the sting away, but that doesn't matter. Do what only you do best. Make good art."

I wish I had heard this advice several years ago, it is practical, and timeless.  Enjoy, and then go out and "Make Good Art."  There is no reason to do anything else but, "Make Good Art."