Third World U.S.A. - Hurricane Katrina

I was glued to the television set last night watching the aftermath in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. My god...it's the first time in my life that I remember seeing video/images of any part of the U.S.A that resemble a third-world country. What a shock. These are some photos from CNN's website taken by local citizens.

I still wonder why so many people chose to stay and not leave the area when they had ample warning that this thing was coming their way. Then again, I remember working on the 11th floor of a Disney-owned building in Glendale when the fire alarm sounded. Our supervisor yelled something like, "Wait! Don't go anywhere. I'm going to find out if this is a false alarm." EXCUSE ME? "MIGHT BE..."? Out of about 30+ people in the office, I was the only one that said, "Fine, you find out while I get the hell out of here." and I bolted down the stairs and left the building (it was a false alarm). It was a big building. I don't remember seeing anymore than maybe 25-35 of us standing there in the courtyard looking up at the building waiting to see what was going to happen. So maybe it's human nature to stick around and wait to see what 'the other guy' is going to do.

My wife and I donated to the American Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund. I invite you to do the same. Every little bit helps. They also have a link on the site for anyone that wants to volunteer.

Photo from August 29, 2005 8:20 a.m. EDT

Gashouse Dave Gig

I'll be at Jax Bar & Grill on Sat. Sept 10th from 9pm-12am playing keyboards with blues guitarist and singer Gashouse Dave and his band. Venue: 339 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91203 (818) 500-1604. Here's a map. The Gasman is going to do some serious damage that night, so come on out!

Armen In The Middle

I got a call from the music supervisor of the TV show Malcolm in the Middle. They're going to use a section of Enchantress from my Ceremonies CD in a scene that's supposed to take place in a tent at Burning Man. The episode will air on September 30. This is the first time a track from one of my CDs will be aired on an internationally syndicated TV show!

Fire House Ribs Gig

Over the weekend I was up in Big Bear, CA playing keyboards for saxaphonist Jessie Allen Cooper's band. We were at a place called Fire House Ribs, etc. The owner, Dennis is a former firefighter. This place is a cool BBQ joint 7,000 ft. up in the mountains about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. We played some "smooth" jazz, some blues, and a bit of classic rock thrown in for good measure.

The drive

The venue


The setup


Doug Lunn taking over my keyboards!


My dinner


Victor, the head kitchen dude



The gig with "Fosco the local" sitting in on sax wearing formal attire

R.I.P. Robert Moog

Robert Moog, a major pioneer of the electronic synthesizer died on Sunday. His work and inventions have had a huge impact on my life. Thank you Bob! May you rest in peace.

Here's the Yahoo story
Moog Music Inc.
Moog family Web site

Don't tell your mom!

I got to hang out with with my totally-cool, three-year-old nephew Jake on Sunday. I went to pick him up and before we left, we raided his mom's hair care products so we could spike his hair. It came out looking awesome!

I use him as a subject of my "photography" often. I love this one from a few months ago:

The Short-Order Composer

In the world of composers, I've found that there are two types: Type 1, "The Chef": The type that labors, suffers and sweats over their work as they hone and polish each little detail of the music which is very precious to them; and Type 2, The Short-Order Cook": the crank-out-the music--as-fast-as-I-can type. Neither method is proven to produce "better" music than the other because it's always going to come down to the composer, not the method. I've mostly written for myself or the bands/artists I've been involved with and have used "The Chef" method. But a recent job composing music for some television shows changed that for me.

In television-music, they need the music NOW!!!! and they'll send it back over and over and over again to have you re-write sections that they feel don't work for them. So there's no use slaving over it and using the "what-does-god-want-to-say-through-my-music?" technique that I tap into when composing music for myself and my CDs. It doesn't work for this gig. What works is the "how-do-you-like-your-eggs? comin'-right-up!" approach. It's very cool because it allows me to use a different muscle...it's a different and very cool process for me and I'm enjoying not feeling so attached to the music.

A couple of composer friends I spoke with told me it's most always the music tracks that they didn't spend a lot of time on that seems to get the most use. And the more the music is used, the more residual income the composer earns. So for this particular gig, I'm going to put on my short-order composer hat and crank this stuff out. I might post some of them another time. As for now, bon appétit!

"Gang of Hope" Interview

I was interviewed by Silva Mirzoian today for a program called Gang of Hope. The interview will be part of a video series called The Sky's The Limit. It will be used in an afterschool program that and will eventually be distribituted to every school district in the country. The idea behind Gang of Hope is to support and inspire the students as they are exploring career opportunities and to share some insight from people who have achieved their goals, are successful and making their dreams come true. I was honored that they chose to interview me as part of their series.

Silva is truly an amazing and inspiring woman who is also an author and "Wealth Builder & Life Enrichment." Check out her Jump Start Your Life®" site.

Silva's Sites:
successrolemodels.com
2jumpstartyourlife.com
http://www.passionsdreams.org/