house-on-hudson

more rain before morocco...

2006-07-22T13:04:00.000-04:00

saturday, 24 hours or so before we travel - greg is already in marakech w/barbara as is his sister & brother-in-law. i travel with michael c and alan b tomorrow from jfk. very excited. elisa bought us a marantz flash recorder, a new shotgun mic and some camera doo-dads. i spent time with the gear to make sure i dont bungle on the spot - s'gonna be fun!

gave elisa a treat at a day spa in tarrytown; i'm sad she wont be w/me to see stuff - we share each other's eyes well.

so - i'll try and send a pic or post while there...

til then - cheers
jdc

jeepers

2006-07-20T08:20:00.000-04:00

had guests 'to the house' wednesday, the 19th. ostensibly, it was meant to be a casual conduit for mark s to interface with hind, john, and michael c. additional guests and a pleasant afternoon meant for nice talks and introductions. the italians were among us - elisa had to exit as the 1st guests arrived but everyone was impressed that a zazzera was in the house - and all marvelled at the copious display of art in our crib

michael came late to the show but we were able to rig up a couple recordings - some video and then audio - from mark s describing his actions in making the initial tour happen as well as what stuff means - hind, john & michael talked a lot about our unseen supporters on these tours...

in the meanstance, i've been rehearsing my kit, making sure i can plug things in quick and smart - ready to run and gun in earnest for a week - i've been working out lightly but am compelled to ramp up the intensity - i dont have the same endurance i once did...

might migrate this whole thing to a new .mac account i grabbed...i'll keep me posted

cheers
jdc

sunday bliss

2006-07-02T22:40:00.000-04:00

after sunset on this battery-charging sunday - the smooth of dub beautiful collective - itunes radio is fucking unbelievable! - the skies have been pregnant all day with notions of bursting but rustling trees and limited sprinkles have left me in a powerful, charged, exuberant state of mind - i'm ready to rend the challenges ahead into s'more sized bites...

the pics are snaps from california. a much deeper album is up on elisa's .mac account

this gallery is mostly with my cousin lance... http://homepage.mac.com/emzazzera/PhotoAlbum93.html

this gallery is the amazing tidal pools and cliffs at cabrillo state park... http://homepage.mac.com/emzazzera/PhotoAlbum92.html

(cut/paste links)

thanks to elisa for posting fast and clear

so - it looks like the game is afoot for the next middle east experience - (though i might wonder if morocco is considered 'near-east'?) i will be going to hopefully film several different experiences - material for a music video? interviews and culture color for a doc or two? concert/performance footage of the band in morocco? opportunities aplenty, no doubt.

most key to me will be to experience another adventure with these people i've known for years now - my friends, colleagues, peers - pretty cool shit.

cocoa's mojo

2006-06-27T00:41:00.000-04:00

san diego - we're here with ted, pam, ariela, ethan, t.h., sybille & their dog cocoa - we had yummy chinese food and now ted & t.h. are working out the particulars of their presentation which will happen during one of the sessions that ted will be chairing

san diego is fine as ever - we only saw a wee bit so far but tomorrow we'll hook up with lance for some more local color as well as a few pops out to the water to see some californ-i-air...

and the conference on solar energy and renewables? ted is a fairly large presence there so it will great to screen our doc in front of informed folk with a smart host - excelsior!!

jdc

bands make nice

2006-06-25T19:47:00.000-04:00

iXnay performed last saturday, the 17th of june, at Freddy's Backroom in Brooklyn. we went on after Liza & the Wonderwheels and there were some friends on hand to receive us and make us feel welcome - and it was greg's birthday!

i must say, however, how warm, cool and gracious Liza and the lads really are.

Ian, Joe, Andy and Liza always seem genuinely interested in what the other bands are doing that they share bills with and are atypically generous with their gear and their time - liza or ian will typically turn knobs on the house sound, while joe will make sure the drummer(s) are comfy... good people!

thanks, you guys, for making us feel warm at another fun gig!

jdc

another sunday

2006-06-25T12:45:00.000-04:00

my mate and i leave for san diego in the morning - ted stern invited us to come present and speak at an energy conference - ted is chairing certain panels and, in addition to us with our documentary 'solar circus', will be presenting a paper with t.h. culhane - who is a co-star in our doc!

i'm also very excited to see my cousin, lance - a promise of good sushi dinner and some beers with my cousin!

mostly, just to experience another climate - different air - with elisa, will be excellent!

we'll try and post from san diego

jdc

second

2006-06-24T11:54:00.000-04:00

i wont keep numbering the posts - its novelty wore off as soon as i finished typing 'second'...

it rains today, here by the river twenty miles north of manhattan. its been wet for the last three months. as the established leaders of our free land continue to hedge against acknowledgement of anything wrong environmentally, we witness the results and affects of this non-problem through abnormal weather patterns that become the stuff of alarmist rants...

there is a chance i'll be allowed/invited to go along on circus guy's next tour of the middle east - this time through morrocco - and if it does manifest, i'll be keen to record how people there deal with their environment; we did a jaunt through kuwait last fall and the theme was water conservation and awareness - most of the people we encountered seemed more interested in owning fast, noisy, oil & gas guzzling boats than protecting and caring for the delicate and vital reef that was just a mile offshore from kuwait city...

there's a lot of work ahead...

jdc

first

2006-06-24T02:29:00.000-04:00

this is my 1st posting...

i will start very slowly - a picture for now

jdc