The Autumn House

Welcome to the 1990s

I finally replaced my computer this week. I thought it necessary after finding myself whack the monitor with the palm of my hand to correct the sepia toned picture for the past two days. After my third reboot of the day, I traveled to my local discount electronics megastore and purchased a new slick black light-speed machine. My old paperweight was a Pentium II(400mhz) Compaq running(on rainy days only) Windows 98SE. When I told my friend Adam about the purchase he said "Welcome to the 1990s!"

I'm still transferring stuff over, but my widescreen monitor already helps with music scoring in Finale. Plus, the computer is fast enough that I can play Peter Gabriel's concert videos with no problem.
Running Windows Vista, I had to click on "Classic" mode to get things organized. (I've run Windows 98 for almost 10 years, and I hate how new versions hide, er, organize things). But, soon I'll have M-Powered Pro-tools running and other VSynths and music programs that I somehow made work on the old machine. Hopefully, I'll have a new demo of music stuff out by early next year. That's the plan anyway. But, then again, I planned on posting every week, too. At, least I'll save time by not playing "whack-a-monitor" every 5 minutes.

Any of these would work for Christmas...

Any of these would work as gifts for me for Christmas. Just don't forget the plutonium rods, rocket fuel or extra parachutes. And, I have to have a plug-in for my Ipod.

While I'm On the Subject of Quotes...

There is this program on National Public Radio(NPR) called "This I Believe"  I don't actually listen to the broadcast, but I download the podcast from ITunes. (Actually, I hardly listen to "live" radio nowadays.) The program is based on a series of broadcasts in the 1950s by Edward Murrow in which ordinary people share core values and personal philosophies.

This one by Judith Jameson in particular caught my ear. This quote is something I completely agree with when applied to music. But, I could never have stated it so succinctly:

"We don't just want to thrill an audience with how many turns we can do or how high we can jump or raise our legs. Plenty of people can do that with practice. We need to share our truth. When a performance stands out, it's not just the arms and legs that stay in your mind. What you remember is the feeling you get from the performance, and that feeling comes from the dancers' expression of self." - Judith Jameson

A Few of My Favorite(not funny) Movie Quotes

I guess you wouldn't call the following quotes funny, but I seem to use them in my life at least once a week. Usually, its to get through the rough spots in my life. Yes, there are probably a billion "Star Wars", Monty Python and "Young Frankenstein" quotes I could throw out there. But, these seem to be the most useful to me in a not-necessarily funny way.

From the Movie “Tron”:

Flynn:      Look, you guys know how it is. You just keep doin' what it looks like you're supposed to, even if it seems crazy, and you hope to hell your User knows what's goin' on.
Tron:       Well -- that's how it is for programs, yes, but --
Flynn:     I hate to disappoint you, pal, most of the time, that's how it is for Users, too.

From the Movie “Hunt for Red October”:

(After Jack Ryan correctly predicts an opposing submarine’s turn to starboard)

Captain:  Tell me one thing. How did you know he was going to go to starboard?
Jack Ryan:    I didn't. I had a 50/50 chance. I needed a break. Sorry.

From the Movie “Field of Dreams”:
(at the end of the film when Costner’s character Ray Kinsella
meets the young-man-ghost of his father)

John Kinsella: Can I ask you something? Is this heaven?
Ray Kinsella:  It's lowa.
John Kinsella: -Iowa?
Ray Kinsella: -Yeah.
John Kinsella:  I could have sworn it was heaven.         
Ray Kinsella:  Is there a heaven?
John Kinsella: Oh, yeah. It's the place where dreams come true.

Camera: scene of wife and daughter on porch swing at farmhouse

Ray Kinsella:  Maybe this is heaven.

(This exchange is why a song on my CD "Club Bordeaux" is titled "Maybe It Is".)

"NI!"

Sometimes, I get to play interesting gigs. Most of the time the interesting gigs aren't interesting in the way I think they will be. When I played with the Wendy Reed Band this weekend, I hadn't realized the United Way function we were doing was an after-show thing for "Spamalot". None of the original broadway cast was on tour though(Hank Azaria and David Hyde Pierce left the show almost two years ago).

I played right next to the Holy Grail, or rather, the grail shaped beacon(Naughty, Zoot!). At the entrance to the party were these huge 10 foot-mock-ups of the famous Knights who say "NI!" or rather "Eckyeckyeckyeckypikangzoopboinggoodemzooowliziv". I'm quite sure that last statement makes my geekiness certifiable.

Your Friend in Midgard Real Estate, Thor

Wow, three weeks fly by when 2 and 4-year-olds demand your attention. Plus, the whole getting ready to sell my house thing. I came to the realization while cleaning up my garage for the first time in 5 years, that I have done very little, beyond painting, to improve my current house.

In the last 5.5 years I've lived in my home, I've really done virtually nothing to improve the value of my abode. At least, not as much as inflation and a GIGANTIC ONCE-IN-A LIFETIME HAILSTORM did. Through the hailstorm's damage I received new roof, guttering and vinyl siding. Of course, the entire neighborhood did, too. So, with respect to my neighbors, my house didn't go up too much in value there.

I once had a huge 50-year-old half-dead maple tree in my front yard which threatened to fall at any time on an unsuspecting nice old lady(or wide-eyed orphan). But, one stormy night when I was writing a chart for the Autumn House studio dates, I heard this big crash in the front yard. The 30 mph gusts had knocked the half-dead tree across the street and into the neighbors yard - INJURING NEITHER CAR NOR HUMAN.  It had toppled over at the roots. So, actually, it was really most sincerely dead. Also, because it crossed a residential street(like a big dead maple bridge) the city of Indianapolis removed it the next day at no extra cost to me. Now, I just have a big hole in my front yard to put a nice planter of flowers in.

Point of this entry being: I'm generally a huge procrastinator or slacker, but the Gods seem to have a warm spot for me as far as housework. Or, maybe its just Zeus or Thor. If anybody has an e-mail, twitter or MySpace address for these guys, let me know. I'd like to thank them(short of a goat or virgin sacrifice. Well, maybe the goat.)

Maybe, I should name the band after Thor's hammer. JEFF DEHERDT and MJOLNIR! Whaddya think?

A penny for little Joshua Bell, sir?

This is a great article from the Washington Post about Joshua Bell busking during the morning rush hour. I wonder how much he would have made if he played "Brown-eyed Girl" or "Sweet Home Alabama". I wonder if more people started paying attention to people busking during their morning commutes after reading this article. I should warn any readers, the article is a long one. It also has some interesting sub-points. If the article doesn't wear you out you can read the 53 pages of reader comments afterwards.

When I lived in Boston, decades ago, I saw the exact scenes described in the article occur(with the exception that the good musicians were not the fantastic Bell). It has nothing to do with the music. It has everything to do with the situation. People are generally to busy to recognize what's right in front of them, unless they're told what's in front of them. For example, if there was a big sign that read "THIS IS THE WORLD FAMOUS VIOLINIST JOSHUA BELL" and pointing directly at him he may have made quite a killing. Or, maybe not. I'm pretty sure, though, that this is more a comment on the pace of life in the United States, and hopefully less of a comment on its culture.
Of course, they are often the same thing.

Kudos to the Gene Weingarten for such a fascinating read.

If I Have To Tell You Kids to Stop Playing that Illegally Downloaded Music a Fourth Time, I swear.....

The RIAA shows why it's winning the "Worst Company in America" contest (above, apparently, Halliburton) right here. At least, it does send the warnings three times. This apparently allows the students time to find friends with law degrees. This also sends the message, "Well, if you are not going to buy all of our music legally, then we are going to take the money from you(or your parents and teachers) anyway. So there! Take that Halliburton!".

The settlements are reported to be $4000 to $4500. So, using ITunes $.99 model, if you illegally download 4000-4500 tunes, you would break even. If you download even more, you would come out ahead. So, would that encourage students to download more or less?

Looks like Indiana University received about 28 of these notices. Ohio University received 50 and University of Mass.-Amherst received 32. Looks like IU has a bit of catching up to do, again. All the students named in the letters are identified through the IP address, which may already cause some problems. As if the IT departments of these Universities didn't have enough problems, it's up to them to match the IP address with the student involved. No spring break for IT employees.

Suing Mom, Profiting from a War it's all the Same?

A friend of mine, Darren, posted this on his blog. I think I could use a trackback here, but I'm still figuring out how to use those. So, I'll just post a direct link here.

I think its kind of interesting that profiting from a war is just one notch below suing Mom for letting her kids illegally download "Disco Duck". Actually, downloading "Disco Duck" should be the crime itself....

Gee, I hope this won't be put me out of the running for any future Grammies ;)....

Why Don't More People Know Who Kurt Elling Is?

I was a little busy over the weekend: my birthday, played for accountants, saw Kurt Elling at the Jazz Kitchen and played a somewhat impromptu solo performance and jam session during a benefit a Mickey's. I even bought new shoes(two pairs!). 

The most interesting part was watching Kurt Elling perform at the Jazz Kitchen. The owner, Dave Allee, had recently remodeled the stage area, so it sounded a little different than the first few times I had seen Elling there. But, it looked spectacular: all back-lit with blue cut-out flames. It almost looked like Kurt and his band were playing in under a blue volcano.

A formal gig for accountants at Hillcrest Country Club prevented me from dedicating the entire night. Actually, I only caught the last four or five songs starting with "Tanya Jean" and ending with "In the Wee Small Hours". Why more vocalists and people outside of jazz circles don't know who the seven time Grammy nominee is is beyond me. His recordings are great, but don't do him justice. See him live and you will hear what I mean. He is probably one of the most identifiable voices in jazz in the past ten years.