02023-09-26 | Uncategorized
Humanity has coexisted with forests.
Where forests have collapsed,
civilizations have perished.
Now, forests are collapsing all over the world.
Is this not a warning of the demise of human civilization.
Let’s at least plant trees.
– Ryuichi Sakamoto (excerpted from “more trees” website , 2007)
TREES FOR SAKAMOTO
I love that image. The ability to remain still and observant was something I greatly admired about Ryuichi Sakamoto. While performing with other artists, he would often remain still and listen, allowing things to grow until he added something. This video of his performance with Alva Noto inside the Glasshouse by Philip Johnson is a good example, but I’ve noticed it in many videos of his performances. The image above shows that same stillness.
02023-09-22 | Backstage, HuHeartDrive
Gia asked
Is there any sort of ode to petrichor on this album?
Yes. Bossa de Petricor is the title.
Mark asked
Around when will these songs be released?
I released the first one today. It’s the 6th track of the album and I think it’s a great first single. We performed this piece live last week and really enjoyed playing it. It’ll be on the setlist for a while. :-)
Songs from Rain Poems will be released over time, only on Backstage. In some cases there will be different versions available, some binaural mixes for example. I am working on a limited edition CD version but that will probably happen in the first quarter of the new year.
You can find the link to Backstage in the menu (above left) or follow this link. I added the first single dreamy afternoon (Lo Fi Flam) and FLAC and ALAC files are available for download.
02023-09-20 | History
My friend, and product manager at Epic Records, Al Masocco, had a birthday recently and I called him to wish him a happy birthday. He will be inducted into the Niagara Falls Music Hall of Fame on 15. November. Niagara Falls this year and surely Cleveland next. Congrats Al.
Mr. Masocco’s 28-plus years in the music/marketing world at CBS/Sony Music have given him a unique opportunity and the rare creative experience of working on strategies for artists such as The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Tammy Wynette, Bruce Springsteen, Korn, Ottmar Liebert, Oasis and festival and tour compilations such as Woodstock 99 and The Family Values releases to name a few.
Over the last five years with The Firm, Mr. Masocco has been given the opportunity to explore and broaden his marketing and promotional playing field through working on development strategies for Enrique Iglesias, Limp Bizkit, Dixie Chicks, Michelle Branch, Linkin Park, Jennifer Lopez, Audioslave, Puddle of Mudd, Kelly Clarkson, Snoop Dogg, Dean Martin and The Doors estates, etc.
Al Masocco
02023-09-17 | HuHeartDrive, Performance, Rain Music
I have been listening to the 18 tracks I recorded for Rain Poems and love the way it sounds. Recording is done and mixing may be done as well, as I don’t hear anything that wants to be changed. Some of the tracks have been mixed a number of times while others remain an early version.
(It used to be quite the occasion to switch from recording to mixing because analog tape recorders have two separate heads for reading the tape. One is a recording/monitoring head and the other is for listening only. The listening-only head reproduces sound in a higher quality.)
We performed one of the new pieces in Seattle and in Beaver Creek this past week and it was fun to play. We may try to arrange other new pieces for the live show.
02023-09-16 | History
While there has been evidence of women hunting, these historical discoveries have been treated more as the exception than the rule. But it seems women not only actively hunted in most societies, but their involvement in that role among the society was on par with their male counterparts.
Researchers have analyzed data dating back 100 years on 63 different and diverse foraging societies around the world and found that in 50 of the groups (79%), women were active hunters regardless of whether they were mothers or even grandmothers.
The study out of Seattle Pacific University looked at 19 North American, 15 Australian, 12 African, six South American, six Oceanic and five Asian societies and found that recorded data backs archeological discoveries from the Holocene that women from diverse cultures participated in hunting.
The ‘gatherers’ myth: Women have been skilled hunters in most societies
