Tuesday in Dallas

02009-08-04 | Uncategorized | 8 comments

Here is a photo I took in Amarillo yesterday. (((Amarillo = Yellow in Spanish)))

I used a 99c app called ShakeItPhoto that turns the iPhone into a Fauxlaroid (fake polaroid) camera.

Speaking of iPhones (((on our bus 8 people carry 3 iPhones + 2 iPods))), what if someone created an iPod/iPhone application that contained a new album of music in mp3 form, a few nice video clips and a browser that could connect to a server to view or download the latest photos? I believe the maximum size for an iPhone app is 2GB – plenty of space for an album of high quality 320kbps music plus some video! (((maybe even Apple Lossless files!!)))

I think it is an interesting concept. Files could be locked to the application and yet they could be played anywhere one can attach an iPhone. It seems like an obvious idea – has anyone made such an app? I don’t mean apps that stream music, I mean an actual iPhone music album in app form.

More High Definition download stores are popping up.
Here is trumpet player Jon Hassell’s excellent album Fascinoma in form of a 24/88.2 FLAC file.

The Boston Symphony is selling AIFF files that are 24/88.2

You can find my posts about 24/88.2 here, here, here, and here.

I knew that “Soiled Dove” (((the name of the venue we played in Denver))) was some kind of UK slang. A brief search brought to light that “Soiled Dove” means “Prostitute”, which, you have to admit, is an interesting name for a venue in a city that has always struck me as being quite conservative. :-)

By the way, I heard from three Ottmar-Friends subscribers that went to the shows at the Soiled Dove that they like venue, that the sound was very good (((Alan’s got good ears!))) and that they enjoyed the performance. It’s nice to read comments like this:

I was at the second show. It was superlative.

I was glad the audience gave you a standing ovation. You (collective “you”) deserved it. The show definitely reinforced the idea that no matter how high-def one records a performance, it’s never as high def as the live concert.

There is just nothing as great as a live concert.

Thanks! That comment illustrates once again the need for a plural you in the English language, a problem solved by New Yorkers, who might use Yous! and Southerners, who use Y’all, but what about everyone else? :-) (((I may have had too much coffee today…)))

Alan likes to hear that it sounded great:

I read this quote somewhere recently:

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.
– Bertrand Russell

That’s the contraction of the self… and here is the expansion:

deep blue sky « neo bohemia
What is the true self?
It is brilliantly transparent, like a deep blue sky,
and there is no gap between the true self and all sentient beings.

– Kodo Sawaki

I am going to enjoy my day off in Dallas. Every once in a while we get to stay in a nice hotel, when the price is right. For example, the Teatro hotel in downtown Denver gave us nearly the same rate as the La Quinta in Salt Lake City the day before, and I think it is a very nice hotel – see the photo I took from the roof, right outside my room.

8 Comments

  1. James

    I like your idea for the iPhone album app. If it hasn’t been done already, a nice authoring app for assembling such albums would be cool. And maybe it would be interesting to have surprise events triggered by date or even location (e.g. a certain song appears after X number of days). Hmm, maybe it’s time to dust my iPhone dev kit…

    Reply
  2. Victor Hornback

    First show at the “Dirty Bird” was quite fun! You guys seemed to hit a groove a few songs in and it just kept getting better! I really enjoyed how you played La Luna that night… I mean, I always love that song but it was just fresh and moving in a different way!

    Anyway, interesting venue in light of the conversations here about things that distract from the musical experience. I like a theater setting for a concert in that the relationship between audience and performers is straight forward. In a club that serves food and drinks you have service staff moving about, people eating, etc. So, it took a little while for me to settle in to that connection with the music… All of which makes me wonder did it take you a while to hit a groove, or was it me, or was it a collaboration between performers and audience?

    Reply
  3. Ottmar

    Great ideas, James. Location-triggered photos from past tours maybe? We could also add our recommendations for nearby restaurants, cafes, or beautiful trees in the vicinity or whatever… Love the idea of surprises! Hm, like an xmas song suddenly becomes available sometime in December…

    Reply
  4. Will

    Staying at the W just down the street from House of Blues? Going to try and make it out tomorrow night for the show.

    Reply
  5. Ottmar

    Do or do not… there is no try.
    – Yoda
    :-)

    Reply
  6. Will

    Tickets printed off, ready for an 8:00 pm show time.

    Reply
  7. Adam

    Funny – Wired mag stole your idea yesterday ;)

    http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/the-album-is-dead-long-live-the-app/

    I don’t like the idea, personally – music embedded in an iPhone app can’t be taken anywhere else! Can’t play it on your computer, in a car (unless your car has AUX input, which few do). Impossible to mix with other music in playlists. Also, apps are rather battery draining. Yes, it will severely restrict piracy, but at the expense of severely restricting the owners’ ability. I know I wouldn’t pay very much money for music I’m not really “owning.”

    Reply
  8. Will

    Great show last night, music was awesome. It has been 12 years since my last Ottmar concert and was great to hear the music live again. I will say I am not impressed with HOB Dallas and their concert hall. In 97′ I was at the HOB Orlando concert in which the atmosphere and setup was great, HOB Dallas’ was a far cry from that. I guess times change, great show Ottmar!!

    Reply

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