A Winter's Song

Busy winter, I've recorded 13 new songs in various stages of completion. Some are for my new record Idolizer coming out in the spring. My classmate Jim Ferguson wrote lyrics for a few of the tunes, which we had the excellent Vikki Gurdas sing in late January. Another song, I've sent to former bandmate J.D. Dragus for guitar contributions, and I'm messing around with the "Machinima" images for a robot dance tune called Reptilian Brain.

Also collaborating with Lonnie Gordon, the great Bronx-born L.A.-by-way-of-London soul singer, pictured above,

Whee!

Keith Richards and Stephen Sondheim

Over New Year's weekend, I read Finishing the Hat and Life, which represent two totally different approaches to songwriting by Stephen Sondheim and Keith Richards, but with one common goal: great songs. Both have deep respect and detailed awareness of their forebears, and each are fanatics for the right rhyme, in Sondheim's case, and guitar riff, for Richards. Inspiring stuff.

Reptilian Brain Machinima Re-Mix

Settling in with Stephen Sondheim's brilliant new book Finishing the Hat for the holidays after uploading version one of my Reptilian Brain music video featuring images remixed from Machinima artist Lowe Runo: Reptilian Brain_version_01.

Re-mixing Mania

I'm having fun with the Prelinger Archives. The site allows you to download copyright-free film clips, so I patched together a bunch of old home movies from the 1938 Worlds Fair and used it as a music video for my "Unemployment Polka," now on YouTube.

I am also stitching together a bunch of animated "Machinima" characters for a new song called "Reptilian Brain." Robots, aliens, girls and guitar players all go into the mix.

Stay tuned for completion!

New Songs With Lonnie Gordon in Mind

I'm working up songs featuring lyrics by high school buddy Jim Ferguson for British soul singer Lonnie Gordon. Before contacting me, Ferguson reached out to Gordon, who's a pretty sensational singer as you can and hear from her YouTube clips .

Unemployment Polka Music Video

I had fun this weekend with found footage from the copyright-free Prelinger Archives: I've posted a music video today for Unemployment Polka as featured in my musical in progress Wrecking Ball. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LzL4jvF3q4

New York City rules

Flew to New York to play some songs for BMI Musical Theater Workshop. Afterwards, I walked from Word Trade Center neighborhood north to Washington Square Park, site of an LSD trip I'd had several years earlier. The parade of humanity, needless to say, was overwhelming and fizz-popping reminder of what I miss the most, living in Los Angeles: people, walking