Happy Birthday 2010!

No this is not a joke.

Winner: Most Tasteless Bumper Sticker

Adorable little old Japanese couple driving this big truck.

A good day on the mountain

This guy's got the right idea. Any day you can go snowboarding in a Teletubby costume, the terrorists have not won.

A Day in the Life

"Rockin' Around the Xmas Tree" on the boom box, an old senile lady in the next room screaming "HELP! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME! GODDAMN YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!" Quite a contrast. Just another day at the nursing home visiting family.

Not Dressed for Success

A grown man just walked past me wearing mom jeans, a fannie pack, yelling on his cell phone. I'd be angry too if I left home dressed like that.

The Happy Waiter

I've never had a dude as a waiter draw a happy face on my receipt.

Ch ch ch Changes

Change is neither good nor bad. Change is merely inevitable and what you make of it. Okay Armen's brain, can you turn off so we can go to sleep now?

Thai Marine uniform

Announcing the "Winner" of the Health Reform Video Challenge

Opening line: “A year from now, I’ll break my leg and my parents will have to sell our house because we couldn’t afford health care"

I haven't decided if this is hilarious, sick, pathetic, or all of the above. His parents will have to sell their house? Really? An entire house? Seriously? I'm looking for articles where an uninsured person with a broken leg lost something as big as a house and I can't find any. This was really the best video out of 1000 to sell American's on Health Care Reform? What a bunch of crap!

Stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

At Walt Disney Concert Hall. Live organist going to perform along to the original Nosferatu film.

Recording mandolin in Santa Monica

Martin Blasick tracking mandolin in Santa Monica studio for film music I'm writing.

Hu's on 1st!

The bus will always win.

Orphaned Fan of the NFL, Part 2

I'll tell you why I love sports so much. It's real. What happens on the field is one of the most real things in existence. You really cannnot b.s. your way onto a professional team as an athlete. You can "make it" in the music biz on looks and charisma alone while being an untalented, half-assed singer. You can even make your way onto the big screen as a actor who lacks the skill it takes to pull off the right accent while playing Robin Hood in a blockbuster film and still end up having a fruitful career in Hollywood. And the ultimate: one can certainly fake and lie their way into a position of power/political office with no qualifications or skills required as they pull the wool over the public's' eyes and screw things up royally.

But you can't fake hitting a baseball, sacking a quarterback, knocking down a game winning three-pointer at the buzzer, chipping in a shot from a bunker or even scooting a fake keg across ice. What? Yea, I watched curling during the Olympics, and I dug it too! Sure, there's the human variable in sports where mistakes happen with the officiating (see the immaculate reception), steroid issues and some fixed games/matches. But the talent part, that's the part you can't fake.

The Dodgers and Lakers are teams I root for at home. I don't spend a lot of time following every single team in the MLB and NBA because I work long hours and have a life beyond my teams. Fantasy sports seems like a lot of fun too, but I choose to not spend time even participating in that...um...yet.

With regards to the NFL and having been raised in Los Angeles with the Rams, I haven't had a team to root for since they left. The Raiders? Hold on....ugh....ok, sorry. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. Living in L.A. and being a Raiders fan would be a cop out. It's too easy and is even more dated than that last line I used about throwing up in my mouth. I never liked the Raiders when they were out here, and I still don't like them. And having grown up in a house where crowds were cheering in my living room on Sunday mornings in the summer, fall and winter, not watching or following the NFL would feel like never being able to have my mom's cooking ever again.

illustration by Drew Mannie, 2009

I do have my teams I like to watch, and there are match-ups during the season that I get excited about (Vikings with Favre vs. Packers - Monday, Oct 5, 2009 omg!). But when it comes down to it, I love the game of football more than any individual team. That's the silver lining for me. It's the only team sport that I watch where I follow a greater number of players and teams than in baseball or hoops.

Before this season even began I was already sucked in by the drama, controversy and the questions that can only be answered as the season unfolds. Brett Favre in a Vikings uniform? There was obviously a delivery of parkas being shipped to hell when that deal was struck. How are things going to pan out on the field for Brett Favre? Is Tom Brady going to pick up close to where he left off? In which game will T.O. start to alienate his teammates? Will Chad Ochocinco put up the numbers he says he can? Child please!

Vick and McNabb on the same team? That's like David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar in the same band at the same time. Rookie QB Mark Sanchez with rookie head coach Rex Ryan already won their first three games with the Jets. Wow! Five teams started out this season running the Wild Cat offense. You want action? You got action!

This is real-life drama to me. Call it my soap opera. This is great! I love it! Now that I think about it, I don't feel like an orphan anymore. I'm too busy enjoying the games.

Orphaned Fan of the NFL (Part 1)

Nitt Witt Ridge sign. Cambria, CA.

San Simeon coastline, California.

California sunset. Pismo beach.

View from the stage tonight.

Voodoo Lounge. Riverside, CA

Local Fires, Los Angeles California

Lots of ashes on my car again this morning. 145,000 acres burned so far; 38% contained. This is what my car looked like in the morning, living about 10 miles from the origin of the Station Fire in La Cañada Flintridge, California.

Not So Giant Robot

Another Little Tokyo gem.

Cell Phones and the Recording Studio

Here's some advice I read about in the Hot Tips section of the Harmony Central newsletter:

Turn Off Your Cell Phone

You probably know to turn off your cell phone ringer during a session—the last thing you want is some weird ringtone intruding on a killer acoustic recording. But you may need to go even further and actually take out the battery. When cell phones update, and sometimes when they receive a call, they may generate "hash" that can get into signal processors, amps, pickups, and other electronics found in the typical studio. What's worse is that this may be recorded without your actually hearing it, until you play back the recording. So, if you're involved in a crucial session—particularly if it's a live recording—you can probably do without your cell phone for a bit if removing the battery ensures you won't get any nasty interference.

—Craig Anderton

Welcome to Hell. Jacket Required.

I had a surreal moment at Dodger Stadium last night when it hit me that 1) Joe Torre's wearing a Dodger uniform, 2) Manny Ramirez is up to bat as a Dodger, and 3) my friend Jeff who's wearing a Yankee cap is yelling "Come on Manny!"

A few years ago, these three things coming together would've been a sure sign that hell has frozen over.

Blood, Sweat, but no Tears

Trail of blood I left on my keyboard after my organ solo in Voodoo Chile. The band was ROCKIN' today!

What's in a Double Entendre?

Does my horoscope telling me I'm going to "kick ass" mean that I'll have a good day, or that I'll get in a bar fight?

IANYAN Mag Article

Musician Armen Chakmakian Composes Song for Neda
By Liana Aghajanian on June 27th, 2009


The ongoing protests over a rigged election and freedom from a 30-year regime in Iran have inspired Grammy-nominated musician Armen Chakmakian to compose a song for Neda Agha-Soltan, the woman who died on the streets of Tehran from a single gunshot wound, yet has been a symbol of this new, brewing revolution and garnered an outpouring of support from all corners of the world.

“She lost her life in the street, and over and over and over again on video on the internet and news programs,” Chakmakian said on his blog.

“I didn’t use the word ‘die’ on purpose because she is alive in so many people’s hearts now, and has been an inspiration to many…giving courage to those who continue to fight for their freedom in the streets of Iran.

Watching her pass before my very eyes for something she so strongly believed in, and being so willing to put herself in harm’s way was moving beyond words.”

Chakmakian posted the demo version of the song, “Neda’s Calling,” as a free download. The song includes audio from the video of Neda’s passing, as well as a video I included in this post of a woman yelling at Basij forces violently patrolling the streets.

Chakmakian is the former keyboardist for Grammy award-winning band Shadowfax. In addition to releasing two solo album on his label TruArt Records, two of his tracks appear on the popular “Buddha Bar” compilation albums. He has also worked with composer John Bilezikjian as well as Djivan Gasparyan. Recently, Chakmakian toured South America with Circque du Soleil’s show Saltimbanco as a keyboardist. He has also exclusively composed music for televion shows “Showtime at the Apollo,” “The People’s Court” and “Extra.”

Neda's Calling - Video Tribute

A video tribute to Neda Soltan. I created this video to go along with the music I composed for her. If you'd like a copy of the music, you can download it for free from the previous post.

Download video:

Small (iPhone) | Medium (iPod, TV) | Large (TV, broadcast)

"Neda's Calling" - New Music

I've been riveted by the news and happenings in Iran over the past couple weeks, and feeling moved by the passion of the citizens of that country. Most of you by now know the name Neda. Neda Agha-Soltan was the 26 yr. old Iranian woman who was out on the street with her music teacher when a sniper shot her in the chest. She lost her life in the street, and over and over and over again on video on the internet and news programs.

I didn't use the word "die" on purpose because she is alive in so many people's hearts now, and has been an inspiration to many...giving courage to those who continue to fight for their freedom in the streets of Iran.

Watching her pass before my very eyes for something she so strongly believed in, and being so willing to put herself in harm's way was moving beyond words.

I composed a new piece of music for her. This is the demo version that I just finished writing, recording and mixing in my studio a few minutes ago. It's a free download. Please feel free to download it, share it, remix it, etc.

Neda's Calling (<- "save as" Free download)



Info:
In the beginning of the track, you'll hear audio from the video that was aired around the world. WARNING - the video extremely graphic:
YouTube Video

At 1:21 you'll hear a woman yelling at the police (military?) who are beating innocent people walking the sidewalk. She's yelling to them to beat her instead. Audio is from this video:
YouTube Video

Her translation from the youtube page:
"Hit me. Not hitting me now that Im filming?
Come on hit me. Hit me once. Weren't you just hitting me before?
How many people have you hit?
Hit. Hit him.
Yes, yes you must hit them."

They Say They Want a Revolution

Godspeed citizens of Iran.

Eric's Guitar Shop

Being a pianist/keyboardist, what do I know about guitars? Not much. But I do know a bit more today than I did a couple days ago. I always wanted to learn to play the guitar, so I bought a brand new black Gibson Melody maker guitar last summer. Why this guitar? Well, it looked cool, it's not real common, it was black, and the price was right. All systems go!

Sittin' like a proud papa

When you bring home a brand new piano, you need to have someone "tweak it out" and make adjustments because it's made of wood, strings and things that stretch and settle over time. I had no idea the same goes for a guitar, even though it's obviously made of wood and strings and things that stretch and settle over time. Ok, I just had my "duh!" moment.

So my my buddy Dean Cortez, who's also a kick-ass bassist, told me "Call Eric, he's a mo-fo and he'll hook you up. He does all my basses now."

I just picked up my guitar from Eric's Guitar Shop. Brent and Eric did their magic to my axe and man this thing feels good! I really liked this guitar before, but now I love it! Thanks guys!

Testing it out in the shop

Brent and me


Me & Eric - Hey, this Gretsch matches my shirt.
Can I take it home?


Eric and Brent...


...are busy dudes!

That time of the month? MEOW! HISS! My email to Senator Boxer

Dear Senator Boxer,
I was shocked to see your public display of total disrespect to Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh yesterday. As you know by now after being bombarded with letters from other embarrassed Californians, it is military protocol to address you in this manner.

You may be a senator, and "worked hard" for your title, but this man from whom you "asked a favor" in such a rude manner risked his life for you and our country. Your need to be addressed by your title over the consideration of who you were speaking to came off as elitist.

Please keep in mind the next time you consider taking this tone with someone that has served our country as he did, that you are not royalty, you are a public servant.

With respect,
Armen Chakmakian

Russell Martin Hits Home Run with One Drop Foundation

Russell Martin (L.A Dodgers) pledges $600k over next 10 yrs to Guy Laliberté's (Cirque du Soleil founder) One Drop Foundation! onedrop.org

Bathroom Humor

Soap dispenser in bathroom, Little Tokyo Los Angeles.

Double Take

Was Ricky Ricard's full name in the show Ricardo Ricardo?