Mystic Journey Concert

I love performing at festivals! There's an energy about them that I can't describe. This 3-day event was a fundraiser for the Topanga Community House. It was a blast playing with Suzanne Teng and Mystic Journey. (Thanks goes to my sis, Ani for taking the cool pics!)

Gilbert, Suzanne, Ray, Barry, Armen


Armen, Barry, Ray


Fritz, Armen


My view from the stage


We weren't the only ones having fun! This dance move is called "The Bohemian Chop."


Looks like this person brought their own form of sunscreen.

Memorial Day

Lighting a candle and remembering those who sacrificed themselves for our freedom on this Memorial Day...

Mystic Journey Rehearsal

I did a rehearsal with Suzanne Teng and most of her group, Mystic Journey last night. We were rehearsing for a performance at the Topanga Days County Fair in Topanga Canyon, California. We're going on at 2pm on Sunday the 28th. Check out the cool, funky rehearsal room at their home in Topanga.

Suzanne in her cool hemp pants, Fritz and Barry


Gilbert Levy's percussion alcove (Gilbert performs with me and appeared on Caravans)


Concert Flyer

What a Move! Whew!

We just moved to a new place and I finally got my studio up and running. A friend of mine told me that he read that sometimes moving could be the most traumatic experience a person can have only second to the death of a loved one. Well, it wasn't THAT hard for us, but it certainly wasn't on my list of 10 Things More Enjoyable Than Being Bit by a Rabid Dingo. I was mainly concerned whether to move my studio to a commercial location, or keep it in my house. I decided to keep it by my side since I've never been without some kind of recording studio since I was a teenager.

It's amazing at the minimal amount of equipment it takes to produce high quality recordings these day. And it can all be done in such a small space. I recorded 99% of Caravans at home.

Workstation portion of my studio:

Now I've heard it all - Armenian Obscene Call?

Glendale, California is sometimes an interesting place to live. The Armenian population here is second only to the population of the mother country. So when I pick up the phone it's not too unusual to get a wrong number from someone speaking in Armenian. Armenian telemarketers will call as well. I get called from AT&T (side note: I always ask "You know I'm naked right now?" and that seems to get them to hang up quickly) and once from a woman who made her best attempt at selling me a cemetary plot for Forest Lawn Mortuary. I even get calls in from Armenian speaking campainers near the elections, be it Presidential, State and local politicians.

As of Yesterday, I think I heard it all. The phone rings, I pick up and hear a guy on the other online. It's obviously a man speaking with a lisp in a very feminine tone. In Armenian he says, "Hello dear. What's your name dear?" Mind you, I have several friends who rarely use their real voice when they call me - just to be funny. None of those guys speak Armenian except one, and he speaks a different dialect of Armenian than the guy on the phone, so I'm stumped. But I had to ask, "Dino? Is that you, you crazy bastard?" Again in Armenian, "Hello my sweet, would you tell me your name?" and he started breathing heavy. I put on the speaker phone so I could brush my teeth and be somewhat productive while figuring out who this could be. "Dino, is that you, you sick pervert?"

Caller: "I'm going to put on some Arabic music now. Maybe I could entice you to give me your name dear." [Festive Arabic music starts to play loudly in the background]. Now I'm laughing which causes me to accicentally start to spit toothpaste out onto the mirror! The music stopped after about a minute and the caller came back on. "Let me turn off this stupid music and get back to you. Now will you tell me your name sweetheart?"

With toothpaste in my mouth, laughing, I replied "My name is Varoush you sick mother. Do I know you?" It's usually at this point in the call where my friend will come clean and have a good laugh from entertaining himself. But the phone was silent and he kept asking the same question, so I hung up and never received a call back. Hmmm...I think I was just contacted by an Armenian Obscene Phone Caller!

Amazing Performance! (Terry, Alex & Doug)

I spent Friday and Saturday night at a club in Hollywood called the Baked Potato watching four amazing sets of some very difficult and wonderful music being performed by Alex Machacek (guitar), Terry Bozzio (drums) and Doug Lunn (bass). Terry is one of my favorite drummers of all time, and he's also of the most exciting drummers that you could ever see. I discovered him while he was a member of the band U.K., and also a member of Frank Zappa's group as well as Group 87. He then founded a band called Missing Persons in the 1980's. Doug is one of my favorite bassists, and I'd never heard of Alex until Doug told me about this gig. I'm glad I now know who he is because it was really wonderful listening to him play. Needless to say, I was really excited about seeing them all play together on Friday night, and I loved it so much, I went back on Saturday night to watch another two sets!

So the story is: Alex and Terry have a band with Gerald Preinfalk (bass clarinet and saxophone) called BPM and recorded a CD titled Delete and Roll. They had had planned this gig in L.A. without Gerald, and so they decided to call Doug. Doug rehearsed with them for about four hours and did an amazing job playing this music that most accomplished musicians could not even read (lots of polyrhythms, time signature changes, etc. - Kind of similar to doing complex math equations while rubbing your tummy, patting your head, chewing gum and feeding your pet hamster!)

Musicians Flakey? Let me tell you about...

There's a stereotype that musicians have, there have been many jokes written about it...the stereotype of being flakey. However, it's not a glaring part of my life. The guys I work with are extremely responsible. Now, I'm at the very beginning stages of building a house, and I'll tell you where I do see a great deal of flakiness (and I'm not talking about philo dough) running rampant - in the construction business. Ahh...I see many of you nodding in agreement! You know, the guy helping remodel your home who says, I'll be here tomorrow at 9am, then doesn't show up? How about the landscaper who promises to have it "done by Wednesday, for sure! You can count on it!" Let's not forget about contractor who doesn't show up for five days in a row and ignores your calls for all five days and then shows up on day six to work and - oh, yeah, pick up the check for the balance of money that's owed to him. My favorite are the guys that you call because of a referral from a friend, and they never return your call to hire them! I guess they don't need the work.

What is it with them being so flakey? I can see it's an accepted thing in the industry. It's "just the way we do business. Sorry. It won't happen again." Talk about a profession where there's a lack of integrity. I have a handyman that helps me do work around the house. This guy rocks! He's pretty much on time, stays within his estimates, and does great work! I appreciate him big time! Thanks Tony. You're awesome!

Irony

I was helping my parents with their once-a-centennial garage cleaning. In addition to finding artifacts dating back to the Ming Dynasty, I uncovered this valuable gem below.