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Photo Credit: Kristin Burns
I’m thrilled to announce that To Be Friends, starring Joelle Carter and Todd Stashwick, written and Directed by Jim Eckhart, produced by Aaron Eckhart, and soundtrack composed by me has been given the honor of opening the Boston Film Festival!
Check out the trailers here… http://www.tobefriendsthefilm.com
I’m on ‘Get Real’ with Shaman Durek tonight 9 p.m. PST. Listen online at http://www.indie1031.com and please tweet your friends!
Yesterday I recorded strings for a song produced by Kerry Brown, and engineered by Kevin Dippold. It’s a graceful, beautiful song with a quiet sadness to it that is exquisite. I created a four part charted string arrangement, and then played it on cello, viola and violin… ah, the magic of the studio! Always so inspiring in Kerry’s super creative studio in Beverly Hills. Looking forward to his upcoming compilation, The Beverly Hills Sessions.
That was yesterday… tomorrow I’m playing at Topanga Film Festival. It’s an awards event for David Lynch, a screening of some of his short films, and the premier of Being In The World.
I’ve invited Doug Lunn to come play with me, the legendary bassist and a long-time collaborator, and a new friend, guitarist Zachary Crocker. It seems appropriate to play our main instruments, but also to experiment a little… so expect musical saw, acoustic bass guitar and an assortment of electric violin pedals.
Dusted off my shoes, and ready for music here in L.A. So ready, in fact, that I’ve been recording new material at Strings Central, and also, finally, after decades, I’m living my dreams and… got myself a cello! I’ve wanted my own cello since I was 6 years old, but like some of the best things in life, I waited and waited and only now realized this special dream.
Well, it was worth the wait. I’m totally appreciating it, super excited to play it every day, and got to play cello live for about forty people last weekend at a salon in Pasadena.
And I’m recording cello basslines for my violins and viola to play over. They’re loving the mellow cello foundation so they can soar high and bright.
hello cello…
I’m in the middle of the desert somewhere between Palm Springs and Tucson, Arizona. This iPhone tech is crazy! So I am tweeting this tour every day with photos at @ilovestrings Come ride with us as we rock!!!
I played a secret warm-up show with Imaad Wasif on Thursday June 17th. It was at Andrew Mudrock’s studio in Eagle Rock, and was filmed for future release.
I’m playing an event for Simon Cowell at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills today. It’s a celebration of British achievement in the Golden State, hosted by Bob Pierce, the British consul in Los Angeles.
I’m playing strings covers of classic British rock, including Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bowie, Led Zep and more modern chart-busters, like Duran Duran and The Cure. It’s been a really cool process pulling apart these classic songs and finding out what makes them work. Also refreshed my memory about the incredible quality and sheer volume of hits that UK artists have contributed to the world.
I used to write string arrangements and record strings for Fame Academy, the BBC version of Pop Idol, which is the original name for American Idol when it started in the UK.
It was a fantastic experience, because the songs the contestants want to sing are the most popular songs of all time for a reason! Superfun finding out what makes a song like Coldplay’s Clocks tick.
Check out this cool animation.
I’m going on a US tour with two bands: Imaad Wasif, and The New Pornographers. Instead of sitting back stage eating candy, I’ll play for both bands.
Two nights at the Henry Fonda Music Box in L.A., and a zillion nights in far-away places like Tulsa, OK. Two fantastic bands, very different musically, but equally beautiful and great vibes.
It’s all going so fast, I can’t quite keep up on the blogging as well as the playing! Short version of recent events is, I played a mini-tour with David J (Bauhaus) last week. Superfun time, nice to get an excuse to wear heavy eye make-up and a swimsuit on stage!
And then I played a show last night in Venice for Afghan War veterans, such a deep cause. It was organized by Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), freshly back from the premier of Iron Man, which he composed the score to (along with a ton of AC/DC tracks). I got to play with legendary MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, and Jason Heath and the Greedy Souls.
The first EP of the new Smashing Pumpkins 44 song album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope is a limited edition box set called Volume 1: Songs for a Sailor. It will be officially released through Martha’s Music / Rocket Science Ventures on May 25, but I’m excited I got my copy today from Amoeba Music in Hollywood.
It’s a wooden box silk-screened with the image here, with a fuzzy velvet insert that holds the four-song CD, a new fifth track on a marbled vinyl 7″, and a small leopard stone obelisk. I also got the limited edition fuzzy velvet and UV poster.
If you want yours, go find it now. The pre-orders are selling like hot cakes at local independent record stores across the world, as well as online at Amazon.
