Music +Technology = Great Big Smile

I've recently come across a couple of websites that affected me in two ways: they were both absolutely inspiring and also gave me a medium sized amount of reassurance that the internet is not completely full of rot.

The first is Thru-YOU
This is a project by a guy named Kutiman who decided to remix YouTube videos. The idea is simple enough. People have been remixing music for decades, using bits and pieces of other songs, riffs, even live recorded "noise" to create new songs. Kutiman took the next step (which I find simultaneously brilliant and obvious) and looked to the internet for musical ingredients. The outcome is mind blowing in two ways- the first is that the end result of his cutting and pasting is so good. The level of quality that Kutiman achieved through endless assemblage of home videos is unbelievable, in sound quality and listenability. This isn't just a gimmick or some sort of cute, "look what I did with the internet" kind of thing, these are songs that I would actually listen to.
And that leads me to the second way that Thru-YOU blows my mind- even though I would listen to the music in my car or while making dinner, I can't because this is music that must be watched. Each song stands alone as a piece of music, but the beauty of the project is that the music is only half of the fun. The real Thru-YOU experience is seeing exactly where every element that you hear is coming from, and the resulting shock after you realize that the bass is just some guy in his garage, the horn blast is coming from a jr. high band recital and vocals are coming from a young mom on her webcam... with her baby on her lap. Gives me goosebumps every time.

The second discovery is Playing For Change
This project is similar to Thru-YOU in that it unites musicians around the world by involving them all in the same song. The difference is that the musicians know what they're getting themselves into. Playing For Change creators Mark Johnson and Whitney Burditt and their team traveled around the globe to record street musicians performing a set of songs. They then edited the performances together to create a group of songs being sung simultaneously in Israel, Africa, Ireland and many other countries around the world. The resulting sounds and images are as beautiful as the idea behind Playing For Change, that music is the best way to unite the human race. It sounds cheesy, I know. But check it out. Cheese done this well is worth looking into.

Can I ask you an honest question?

Why do children stare at me? Seriously.

My wife says it's because I'm so handsome.
I think it's because of the man boobs.

A Thinly Veiled Metaphor

All my life I've loved golf. I loved it so much that I eventually went to golf school to learn all about the game with hopes to some day be a pro. After graduation I got a job at a small country club, in no way the big leagues, but definitely a step in the right direction. I started out doing paper work and was soon promoted to caddy. This was pretty exciting because it got me out on the green, handling the golf clubs, learning the course and getting advice from rich men on their lunch breaks. But pretty soon I realized that while I was getting a lot of millage on the course, I wasn't actually playing golf and because of this my game was starting to suffer. This wasn't that big a deal since I knew that plenty of people played golf as a hobby. It was probably more relaxing and more fulfilling that way anyway. The problem for me was that after a full day of caddying I had no energy left to work on my own game since my back hurt so much from carrying other peoples clubs around all day.
Now don't get me wrong- I've learned so much about the game of golf from everyone here at the studio, I mean, country club and I know that if I ever get to play again I'll know exactly what kind of club to use in any situation. That's a good thing. And I definitely appreciate the atmosphere and all the friends I've made at this particular club, let alone the fact that I am able to pay the bills because of all this. It's just that some times I feel like my golf game would be better if I worked at a grocery store. That's the part that makes me sad.

Halloween!!!

I had this costume idea in the back of my brain since earlier this year and I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off since it involved sewing and basically a lot more planning than I ever feel like I have time for. But I guess it worked out.

We looked everywhere for an appropriate Alice type dress but it turns out that stores just don't carry blue dresses these days. Luckily a friend at church had one that we were able to borrow. So there you have it, Alice and the Cheshire cat. Having featured Alice in Wonderland music at our wedding I was kind of afraid of giving people the impression that we were Wonderland freaks. Because, for the record, we aren't. But seriously, how could you pass this up?

Where's Boo?

The old news is that I've been writing music on my computer for a while and sometimes post songs on Myspace under the name "Where's Boo?". I've just been so busy over the last few years that I haven't gotten around to adding anything new.

That leads us to the new news- I've posted a new song called Tico Tico that you should all check out. I have been listening to a lot of old jazz/pop/lounge music from the 50's and 60's and for a while had been thinking about doing a Where's Boo? cover of a number of my favorite songs. I figured it would be cool to listen to, but would also be good practice for me, especially since I've been a little blocked musically lately. So click on over to Where's Boo? check out Tico Tico, and if you haven't yet, listen to the other songs too. You might like them. And if not, sorry.

Larry Kowalski 1957-2008

As I was growing up, there was never a family dinner that uncle Larry would not bring his little tray of mustards to. As a kid I didn't understand this. "What, Larry, our mustard isn't good enough for you?" I don't know where this bitterness came from. Anyone who has shared a meal with me knows that I am a sauce man. Whether it's BBQ, Ranch or anything made with peppers, you will seldom see me eat anything that hasn't first been thoroughly drenched in something else. So you would think that I would appreciate a fellow flavor lover, especially one that would later become the owner of a successful chain of Barbecue restaurants. Apparently, he knew what tasted good. But for whatever reason I didn't see this, even as I spread Larry's cranberry stone-ground all over my Christmas ham.

When Larry and my aunt Carol got divorced I didn't notice the lack of sauces on the dinner table and that might have been because by that time I had become a collector of condiments myself. When Thanksgiving was at our house there was always a full supply of mustards, whether it was Jack Daniels Old No. 7 or the peculiar tube labeled "Senf" that was brought back from a trip to Switzerland. It didn't matter whether the bird was deep fried or roasted, I had that turkey taste covered.

It wasn't until Larry's memorial service on Wednesday that I realized the difference between our collections. While my mustard remained in my mom's refridgerator, Larry's was mobile. But this was not because he couldn't stomach the yellow stuff, it was because he had found something better and he wanted to share it. Larry was a man who knew what was good and he wasn't one to hold it to himself. He was a man who loved life, but better yet, he loved sharing life with others. I wish I could have seen this earlier, because really, what else is there?

Larry, you will be missed. And thank you for sharing.

Bros with Balls

So... I created this blog to show artwork but I've been so busy getting MARRIED that I haven't really done a lot of art.

But I did want to post this sweet picture from my bachelor party taken by my buddy Sheldon from work, and also let anyone who happens to come across this blog know that I've started a Flickr account and will be putting up some pics from this year, mainly that bowling night, our honeymoon in Yosimite, and documentation of my frickin' sweet mustache that I had to toss before my wife agreed to be my wife.
Look at some pictures!

Also, my sister Julianna has been keeping a really good log of the wedding happenings on her blog. I thought about putting some wedding stuff up here but I figured she was doing such a good job I might as well direct anyone interested in the wedding to her blog instead.
So check her out!

Hopefully some time soon I'll have some bits of creative business to show off. In the mean time, enjoy the pictures.

...Did I just tell you to check out my sister?