I’d heard of soul, I’d heard of bluegrass, but I’d known very little about “soulgrass” until I experienced a Bill Evans show featuring Christian Howes (fiddle) and Ryan Cavanaugh (banjo) at this year’s Syracuse Jazz Fest.
Blended Genre
July 3rd, 2008Purpose Driven Band (take 2)
June 25th, 2008
Six Chasing Seven
I had the opportunity to work with the band Six Chasing Seven again a few weeks ago. They were finishing up a tour of New York and were off soon to California.
A Tour of Bayside Offerings
June 11th, 2008
First, I was impressed with Baltimore’s Aquarium, then more so by Seattle’s; and then I was sure the Monterey Bay Aquarium was the pinnacle. But recently I visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, and it became my new favorite. I also heard there may be a better aquarium in Europe.
For the price (free) however, I also thought the Aquarium at Santa Monica Pier was also nice. It’s more geared toward school-kids and does a good job tackling conservation and water quality.
Personal M.B.A. (first in a series of lists)
June 11th, 2008Here are a few books that should be on every business person’s reading list:
1) Let My People Go Surfing–Yvon Chouinard
2) True to Our Roots–Paul Dolan
3) How Did You Do it Truett or Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People–S. Truett Cathy
4) Talent is Never Enough or Thinking for a Change–John C. Maxwell
5) Take the Risk–Ben Carson, M.D.
6) Succeeding Against the Odds–John H. Johnson
7) The Big Moo or The Dip–Seth Godin
Don’t just be entertained…Study It
May 9th, 2008Animators rely on authenticity to create reality for their projects, according to Pixar’s Dylan Brown. Brown, who is the supervising animation specialist for films such as Ratatouille, visited Syracuse and gave a brief talk about new technologies at the Most Museum last week (as part of the Syracuse Film Festival). He was joined on this panel by Pixar post production supervisor Cynthia Slavens.
Brown urged the students in attendance to take advantage of their personal passions as well as pursue the goal of a traditional education. We [at Pixar] “ask why, not just how,” when it comes to examining possibilities, he said.
Slavens, a 1988 Fayetteville-Manlius graduate, gave illustrated examples of “fixes” she’s done to edit, translate and neutralize films for DVD and international audiences.
Both animators, armed with Mac Notebooks for their presentations, said they considered themselves fortunate to work in an industry that marries the disciplines of art and science every day.
The Legend of Henry C Mercer
May 7th, 2008
We were fortunate to take some interior photographs for a client this Spring. The interior featured a fireplace that was adorned with tile work by Henry Chapman Mercer. Mercer was an archeologist and very talented artisan.
Totally Trombone
May 6th, 2008The difference between professionals and non-professionals, according to trombonist and composer Michael Davis, is that even pros sometimes play out of tune, they just don’t stay there. Players learn to “listen, evaluate and adjust,” he said. These were some of his comments during a clinic he held recently at the Hotel Syracuse’s Imperial Ballroom before his evening performance. His gig closed the season for the Central New York Jazz Arts Foundation Winter/Spring concert series.
Davis, who has worked with the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra and rap artist Jay-Z, played with high schoolers Noah Kellman (piano) of MPH, Kevin Mixon, Jr. (drums) of West Genesee High, Chad Lefkowitz (sax) of Horseheads High and Jared Mulcahy (bass) of Skaneateles High during the teach-in, and told them to exaggerate articulation to make their ensemble more effective. Davis said his next stop was Des Monies, Iowa where he was participate in the Band Masters Concert Series.
Project Runway (Syracuse)
April 9th, 2008
Freedom of Expression with Fashion
Models and students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts participated in the second annual Freedom of Expression Fashion show last week. The show is coordinated by the Fashion and Beauty Communications Milestone and was organized around the Newhouse School’s year-long theme of celebrating the First Amendment.
Previous Posts
April 1st, 2008I decided to put a link here to some of the previous posts before SIF began on WordPress.
Family Matters
March 31st, 2008I took some time off last week to work with my children to produce a short for my son’s class presentation. My son produced the music; my daughter coordinated the interviews, I was in charge of finding pictures. Here are the results of our work.