About 30 years ago I bought a gross of guitar picks, and I recently discovered that I was down to about six. So when I was atGuitarCenteron Pico to drop some of my meager funds on some other items, I was dismayed to find that they were out of my brand (Fender extra heavy, if you must know). So I rolled up to West L.A. Music, where I encountered sheer …more…
Arts America Blog
Jazz to Take to a Desert Island
June 27, 2012 by
Years ago, deejay and old acquaintance John McNally had a segment on whatever at the time was L.A.’s premier jazz radio station (it might have been KKGO), in which he identified tunes or albums that he would take to a desert island. Continuing in that tradition, here are a couple of albums and tunes, which if I had to live without might tempt me into less constructive pursuits.
“Out of the …more…
Jazz to Take to a Desert Island
June 27, 2012 by
Years ago, deejay and old acquaintance John McNally had a segment on whatever at the time was L.A.’s premier jazz radio station (it might have been KKGO), in which he identified tunes or albums that he would take to a desert island. Continuing in that tradition, here are a couple of albums and tunes which if I had to live without might tempt me into less constructive pursuits.
“Out of the …more…
Julia Wiedeman is Naked and Unashamed. Imagine That.
June 1, 2012 by
It’s 7:52 P.M. 31 May 2012, the golden, airless end of a humid New York day, and I’m near the back of the line waiting to get in to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, Chelsea edition, to watch my old friend B’s girlfriend take off all of her clothes. Speaking of clothes, I should not have worn the black wool sportcoat. I am a bloody fool. Right as my hair …more…
“Red Lights” Flickers but Entertains
May 26, 2012 by
Uniting the talents of Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy and relative newbie Elizabeth Olsen, the paranormal thriller, “Red Lights” addresses ghost whispering, faith healing and various psychic phenomena from a debunker’s standpoint.
Weaver and Murphy play paranormal researchers who seek to detect “red lights,” the mind games behind staged supernatural events. Enter De Niro, as blind psychic Simon, who emerges out of retirement and prepares to debunk the debunkers. …more…
Crescent City’s music and performers impress; but does hyperopera live up to the hype?
May 25, 2012 by
It’s amazing how much of our experience of the world is predicated on expectation. I can’t count the number of comedies I’ve been disappointed by because I’d heard how amazing they were, and how many events I’ve loved because I hadn’t been expecting much. Crescent City, the first production from The Industry, LA’s new opera company, suffers from this unfortunate effect of impossibly high expectations. It is, however, a pretty …more…
Grant Johnson
May 20, 2012 by
These days it’s possible for any jerk with a Fender Squier, a peace button for a pick and a bootleg copy of Garage Band to create a CD. And wading through the mountains of discordant dreck to find that one diamond in the rough can be daunting, if not downright depressing.
But every once in a blue moon a real gem shines through the dense strata of muck. Such is the …more…
SPARTACUS cast bulk up for Season 3 at intensive Boot Camp
May 11, 2012 by
It’s becoming an annual rite of passage for the cast and stunt performers of the STARZ original series Spartacus. One month before production, they undergo intensive workouts and combat training. The goal is to get lean, mean and pumped up for the no-holds barred action scenes in virtually every episode.
Stunt coordinator Allan Poppleton supervises the demanding Spartacus boot camps and notes that, “Meticulous choreographing is necessary to ensure the safety …more…
American Youth Symphony’s triumphant kick off concert for The Elfman Project
May 8, 2012 by
I can’t imagine how many people skip out on American Youth Symphony concerts because of the name, thinking, “I don’t want to hear a bunch of kids.” Let’s get something straight: when the musicians in this orchestra come together to play, they sound better than most of our country’s professional orchestras. The upper limit on age is 27; the large majority of musicians are studying their instruments full time at …more…
Sylvia: A darkly effective musing on inner turmoil
April 19, 2012 by
Independently produced opera can be an unwieldy beast. Sometimes you come hoping for the cutting edge, and get something unstaged that sounds like a failed attempt at Sondheim on an out of tune piano. Sometimes representation of the action leaves far, far too much to the imagination to make showing up worthwhile. But sometimes — most often because the composer, director, and musicians have the talent and dedication to pull …more…
Looper’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt on time travel, Bruce Willis and transformative characters
April 18, 2012 by
A time-travel action film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, Looper depicts a future where crime syndicates can send their enemies back in time to be “wacked” by killers known as ‘loopers.’ The film raises a moral time-travel paradox when hitman Joe (Levitt) working for the mob of the future recognizes one of his assigned “hits” (Bruce Willis) as his future self. Does he take him out? Will …more…
Maggie Grace Talks About Her Role in ‘Lockout’
April 2, 2012 by
Lockout is a testo-filled, high body count sci-fi action thriller that borrows a bit from Escape from New York. Only this time, instead of Snake Pliskin, it’s “Snow” (Guy Pearce) as a falsely convicted criminal.
The initially reluctant Snow eventually comes to the rescue of the president’s daughter Emilie Warnock (Maggie Grace) held captive in a space prison overtaken by crazed inmates. The plot: Rescue Emilie and our hero earns a …more…
Improvisation
March 22, 2012 by
I recently spent an evening with some good friends, enjoying a terrific paella and a few bottles of Cabernet. The conversation turned to music, and the host said something to the effect that jazz must be the most liberating and fun type of music to play, because jazz musicians are able to make everything up as they go along. Although she isn’t a professional musician, she is substantially better-informed than …more…
The Sound of My Voice…Gripping New Sci-Fi Indie
March 18, 2012 by
An intense, mesmerizsing Sundance favorite, The Sound of My Voice unfolds with eerie tension as a young couple infiltrates a strange cult.
The story follows L.A. documentary filmmakers Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius), as they follow Maggie (Brit Marling), a stunningly beautiful young woman who claims to be a time traveler from the year 2054. Her goal: to recruit and train an army for a coming civil war.
In attempting …more…
Hunger Games Mania Sweeping the Country
March 16, 2012 by
Unless you live in a cave or happen to be stranded on a remote island in the Pacific, you’ve felt the excitement mount as Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, The Hunger Games is catching fire—which, incidentally, is the title of Collins’ second book.
Of course, that’s nothing compared to the growing numbers of excited fans who have been salivating at the thought of seeing the books they’ve been devouring become a film—to be …more…
A good year to pass on the Grammys
February 13, 2012 by
The 2012 Grammys are almost here and the entertainment world is all abuzz with that annual affliction “Grammy Fever.” What exactly do these awards mean for the winners and nominees? Well, for an increasingly shrinking list of players the awards will continue to mean big-time money and exposure. But this year the field has shrunk and numerous artists who previously enjoyed access to modest pieces of the Grammy pie will find themselves among the industry’s equivalent of the 99%. Last April, The National Academy of Recorded Arts and Sciences (NARAS) elected to reduce the number of awards by eliminating 31 different categories from award contention, ostensibly to foster greater competition in fewer categories. ...more...
Sharon Marie Cline at Angels
January 17, 2012 by
Over the years, many of us in the L.A. jazz community have been dismayed to witness the closure of some of our favorite venues, such as Donte’s and Shelly’s Manne-Hole. So we definitely have something to cheer about when a new club materializes on the scene.
A few weeks ago when I caught the Red Hill Quartet’s recent gig (*), the group’s vibes player, Ricky Luther, told me about a new …more…
Guitarists Tommy Emmanuel and Joe Bonamassa
December 30, 2011 by
As a jazz and blues fanatic, I tend to have a significant case of tunnel vision when it comes to my taste in music. But as a guitarist I’m more open-minded and willing to check out other guitarists, regardless of their genre (punk rock and rap excluded).
And it just so happens that when I was channel surfing the other day, I accidentally landed on an episode of PBS’ “Great Performances,” …more…
The Red Hill Quartet
December 8, 2011 by
You never know where you’re going to run into top-caliber jazz in L.A., as I was reminded of the other day. I was checking out an art sale when I happened to encounter a particularly intriguing band playing outside the art gallery in the frigid weather we’ve been hit with lately.
As described on their website (http://www.redhillquartet.com/) the members of the Red Hill Quartet “bring the influences of African, Indian and …more…
The Artist Inspires Remembrance of the Silent Film Era
December 1, 2011 by
While some may balk at the idea of watching a film without sound these days, hopefully sustained momentum behind the Oscar contender, The Artist, will spark a renewed public interest in recognizing the largely forgotten impact of silent film classics. ...more...
The Incomparable Ted Greene
November 28, 2011 by
Here in my home town of Los Angeles, the term “genius” is generally conferred upon anybody who makes $25 million a year. But there is unwavering consensus among top-level guitarists, including Lee Ritenour, Steve Vai and Larry Carlton, that Ted Greene (1946 – 2005) was a genius of the highest order.
Ted was an unparalleled master of solo guitar, often playing the melody, chordal accompaniment and bass lines simultaneously in a …more…
California Dreaming: Pacific Standard Time in L.A.
November 23, 2011 by
Pacific Standard Time at MOCA: Under the Big Black Sun, California Art 1974-1981
Of the many changes of landscape after the Second World War, one of the most culturally notable was the shift from Paris to New York as the leading center of artistic innovation. It is a textbook event that dominates art history of the period, eclipsing developments in other regions just as at one time the Florentine artists of …more…
