music as fuel

My son Jason shot some video of our show at the Orange County Fair. He wasn't so focused on the show but was making some great comments along the way. I don't know if he was going for an art piece, but he sure got one. This was shot on a Flip video camera and edited with iMovie. Click on the image below to watch the video on YouTube.

The Buzzie musicians are:
John McElhenney: vocals and guitar
Robbie Rist: guitar and vocals
Derrick Anderson: bass
Marc Joseph: drums

The song "Just Another Day" was written and performed by John McElhenney.
©2009 All Rights Reserved, Happy Mac Tunes (ascap).

Many thanks to David Bash and the entire staff of International Pop Overthrow.

The video is also available on

Vimeo
Yahoo
MySpace
Blip.tv

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/buzzie-live

The photostream is also available on Flickr.

And now by popular request is the raw footage of She's Gone, the song behind the video, un-edited and narrated by Jason.

Vimeo
YouTube
Blip.tv
MySpace

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Lucky we were to have a professional photographer in the audience. Here’s the email she sent on Monday with the attached photos.

I photographed your band because of your great energy and passion for your music.  I was just compelled to!  Love the music!

Photographically and Musically Yours,
Christina Baldwin
http://www.christinabaldwinphotography.com

Blessings. @jmacofearth

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Before we were FC we were Johnny Rocket
Blue Landing Strip Patterns - J and J from the Bridal Path Treehouse in Austin, Texas
Hey Mama - J and J from the Bridal Path Treehouse in Austin, Texas
Changes In My Life - J and J from the Bridal Path Treehouse in Austin, Texas
In The Beginning - J and J Live from Mt. Bonnell in Austin, Texas
Poems of the Past - J and J from the Bridal Path Treehouse in Austin, Texas
We Can All Be Friends - J and J from the Bridal Path Treehouse in Austin, Texas
Just Might Be - J and J from the Bridal Path Treehouse in Austin, Texas

Felix Culpa at Brainstorm Studios with Ron the Man!

As Close to Austin City Limits As We Could Get
Hey Girl - Caught Live at the University of Texas | City Limits Studios
Music Is The Magic - Caught Live at the University of Texas | City Limits Studios
Set Me Free - Caught Live at the University of Texas | City Limits Studios

Less Than 15 Minutes of Fame - But What a Rush
Local Licks Live Intro - Jodi Denburg
Caught You In A Feeling (rough demo)
As You Like It Holding Back the Night (JMac demo)
Lifeline - (JMac demo of FC Song)
Not Alone Again (JMac Demo)
Clear Designs (JMac Demo of FC song)

We Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now!
Permalink: http://bit.ly/felixculpa-playbacks

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It's fun to see them having fun. After their dismal tour movie I could hardly imagine any of them smiling. And here they seem to be having fun doing a retro cover of New Order. Enjoy. @jmacofearth

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So what is it that keeps my beloved Taylor from getting the love it deserves? It was like the birth of a child when I was able to afford this lucious guitar. My fingers were well worn, I changed the strings every couple months because I was playing them so much they became dull. I was in the studio recording songs like a madman... What's changed?

Kids? But that's no excuse. Work? And while that's a pretty good one, it does not hold at the moment while I have a breather to ponder my next move. Energy? Nope, I'm as boyant as ever, rising early staying up late and catching a nap in the middle if the day affords it. Inspiration? Perhaps, but that's not a very good reason. If we paused our creative production to wait on inspiration or "muse" we would be silent much of the time. Joy? Health? Time? Nope, all good on those too.

But something bigger keeps us from singing our song. Something that goes beyond the fact that my Taylor is STILL DUSTY now in Feb. 09! The only thing that even comes close, that is big enough to repell my spirit is fear.

That's got to be it. I would be guessing, because I am not conscious of being afraid of failure or embarrassment at the moment. But I have always had the artistic repulsion from my "studio, journal, practice" what ever it is, when I have not be in the "mode," when I have not been doing it. So if I just DO IT, will I do it more?

I am full of inspiration and expression of thought. I am beating the crud out of the RockBand drums. I am as happy as I have ever been. [That alone is quite a statement!] But I am also content. In a zen way, I am not urgently needing to express anything. I don't have a broken love story to tell, I am quite elated with where I am in my marriage. I could write about job angst, except for the moment even that has passed.

But something is holding that Taylor just a few feet from my hands and keeping it there. I brought it out of it's case back in July when I wanted to propel my fingers into action. And since then I have picked it up and plucked a couple of times. And my kids, who are not used to hearing me play and sing, were quite supportive and excited to hear me playing. But it didn't sound as good as I liked. I didn't remember the songs that were so fluid in my soul. The guitar was hard to tune, because the strings were so old and dull. And I did not have the burning desire to continue. So in a zen world I would say I am content.

Back a number of years I was playing a festival in Los Angeles with my band Buzzie and a girl in the car asked a question. "So is it better to be content with your life. Or is it better to be intent and striving for more."

I believe Michael Carpenter, from Australia, who was playing on stage with me said, "Striving, definitely. Endlessly striving for the next song, the next note or tone. Striving to express myself."

When it was obviously my turn to talk I said, "I don't know. I am very content right now with my wife and kids and regular life back in Austin. And I am also aware of my lack of striving at this festival. I am happy to be here and all, but I am also missing my ordinary life back home. So I would have to say, content. But that's not very good for my musician cred or my productivity."

"No," she said. "I can see that in you."

@jmacofearth permalink: http://bit.ly/songwriting

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If you graduated high school after the 80's you might have missed the HUGE impact ACDC had on the rebellious and angry youth of the late 70's and 80's. Unlike KISS who provided some glam anger, brothers Young and Bon Scott blew the lid off every hard rock "old school" band we knew and loved. [My bands were Aerosmith, The Who and Zepplin.] And in doing so they paved the way for bands like Judas Priest and G-n-R and even Nirvana.

The sheer repetitive headbanging beats, with mean and raw lyrics were more connective than the punks of the Sex Pistols or the Ramones. With ACDC you could sing along with songs like "Highway to Hell" after the 1st chorus. And it was almost impossible not to do the headbangers head bop while listening to the most-rockin songs. My next door neighbor, when he was giving me his Tama Rockstar drum kit to "store" in my garage/studio said he learned drums because of Back in Black. If you know the song you know the infectious, /Dun, dd dun, dd dun, deedoobeedoobedum, dd dun, dd dun/ that pulled my friend out of geekiness into the dark abyss of rock n roll.

And I have tweeted a lot about how RockBand 2, the version I got for my birthday in November, has changed my approach to the recording studio and my enthusiasm for making music again. And how many of my friends, similarly situated between their 30's and 40's, were also RockBanding alone and with friends all through the holidays this year. Nary a day went by when someone on my tweet list wasn't saying: how much time they spent; how much fun they had; what their party was like with ROCKBAND. So a couple of weeks ago I bought the ACDC FAN Pack for Rockband. Rather than just getting the PS2 game this one came with a concert shirt from "Black Ice" [their latest moderately successful new disc] and a DVD "directors cut" of some show they did in a Madrid bullfighting stadium, called "NO BULL." And of course the PS2 TrackPak.

[A moment of revelation: Why and I not listening to ACDC on iTunes right now as I write. Click, launch, select play. Okay, got that taken care of, going Bon Scott era with Powerage.]

So I would say I've spent probably 20 hours on Rockband 2 up until yesterday. And I've gotten through most of the songs in "medium," even the ones I don't like. But yesterday I put the ACDC Trackpak in and just about blew my hands off.

There are a couple of non-hits in the selections, but as each song is revealed along the path of performing, I was like, "She's Got the Jack!!!! Woohoo! Dirty Deeds! Yeah! and then finally "Back in Black. Oh yeah!" And when I got up this morning, after exchanging Valentines with my lovely wife and cuddly kids I was off to "finish the set." And I plowed through the last 6 songs on the 18 song set. By that time my son was aching for the TV.

"One more song, on medium this time," I told him. As I finished "Thunderstruck" with a big drum solo, I asked, "Can I do ONE MORE SONG?"

"No."

And I turned over the cable selector and turned off the stereo. But I was exhausted and exhilarated. I can't wait to call my neighbor over to show him Back in Black RockBand style. My guess is he will dig it too.

There are a few funny things about the ACDC Track Pack though.

I like the remakes better than the Brian Johnson versions of the Bon Scott-era songs. A lot better.

Angus is a stacked black female guitarist wielding a logo-ed an often highlighted Fender Strat. I don't think I ever saw Angus with anything but his Gibson SG. But of course Fender is the sponsor. And you know they could never do Angus's antics justice in animation. I DO really want one of the Fender Precision base replicas, but I have enough REAL guitars to no start collecting RockBand guitars and paraphernalia. [What are the origins of that word para-pher-a-lia? I wonder.]

I have never seen ACDC live in concert. [A moment of silence, for Bon Scott.] And since Bon Scott died in 1980 I never really had a chance, but watching the No Bull DVD I'm kinda glad. Bon Scott, from what I've seen in videos was a rockstar embodied. Brian Johnson, no so much. Angus is still great. The songs are still great, I just don't find myself having the same empathy for the "older rocker" that I do with say, Robert Plant or Pete Townshend. His antics on stage are bazaar and lame. IMHO.

But the ACDC Track Pack takes my already heightened fascination with RockBand to a new height. Even with the few clunker tracks, it rules! It takes me back to a time when I would take a few friends to Taco Bell at lunch and we would speed (really fast) down the new Loop 360 and our ears would be ringing from the Fosgate powered versions of Black In Black that blasted out of my VW Sirocco.

Rock On!

@jmacofearth permalink: http://bit.ly/acdc-rocks

Note: I have requested a developers kid from both Harmonix and the other programers and game companies asscociated with RockBand because I would really like to put some of my songs, or some XTC or Beatles in RockBand format, but they have not responded at all. Nada. Nothing. Bummer. ;-(

Dedication: This post goes out to AC who rocks along with the best of us. Dude, rock on!

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Something about water, darkness, funk and precision.

Please help yourself to the free MP3 file Deep Ambient Fin - Martian Dust Devils (7:04/9.8mb)

And check out the downloads page for even more gifts.

permalink: http://bit.ly/mdd-download-2

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The idea was articulated first in a PPT deck. My goal was to simplify the message and state structure and agenda for the project.

Current lesson: No one will be as passionate about your project as you.

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DATE: Wednesday January 7, 2009 TIME: 10AM CST / 8AM PST (length of meeting > 30 min) CAMPFIRE ROOM for Today: to come CAMPFIRE GUEST PASS: to come FACILITATOR: John McElhenney @jmacofearth Agenda for January 14, 2009 A. socialwiki.org - wiki structure discussion (5 min)

1. a. current structure
2. b. proposed changes
3. c. evangelists or area moderators/editors/writers

B. purpose of this project (10 min)

1. social media self-awareness
2. building a collaborative and open platform for the social media discussion
3. collective mind writing and tribal knowledge from all disciplines of social media
4. free expression, not corporate controlled or advertising/marketing funded
5. a virtual team collaborative experience for all members (because once you have been part of a well funtioning virtual team, you won't ever forget it, and you won't be satisfied with anything less than honesty and clarity
6. a powerful place to document the growth and collision of social media and business, social media and search and social media and society
7. developing though leadership through the use of collaborative technologies and the crafting of intelligent documents, articles, white papers, case studies of social media as it changes our world
8. because team and collaboration are fun

C. Standup Checkin (2 min X number of attendees ± 12 min) D. Captured Action Items Recap (2 min) E. Facilitator selected for next meeting (1 min) For any questions or more information please email john.mcelhenney@gmail.com

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