Thursday, August 26, 2010

"Jackie at the Drive-In"

Yay, number #5 is up! "Jackie at the Drive-In". Enjoy!


Friday, July 23, 2010

"Jackie Visits the Studio!"



It's here! A new BlogoVision. Enjoy!
Don

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

BlogoVision Show #3 "Big Bear" adventure

Great news, another BlogoVision. This will be a two part series as big bear was so adventurous we got to shoot a lot of footage and music. Some very funny stuff too. Have a look enjoy.

Friday, May 21, 2010

"Pole Epilogue"



This is a follow up to the previous post of the "Pole Dance" club gig. We sent our roving reporter "Jackie Chin" to shoot some video of occasion. Have a look and a laugh.

I played a club gig that featured my songs and NS/Stick with 'vertical pole' dancers. Kind a "Cirque du Soleil" meets pole dancing. It was a blast. A 15ft pole and these lovely, limber , gymnastic (in hot looking clothing) ladies do some wonderful dancing. Once you get over the hot looking clothing ya get pretty impressed with the choreography and maneuvers. Sure it took me a moment to put my eyes back in my head when they first came out, and the 4 minute tunes managed to become 8 minutes as I ambled on playing and watching. I figured "Oh the songs about to end and she's still 15 feet up that pole upside down. I guess it would nice of me to keep some music going until she decides to come back down 'so's not to leave here literally HANGIN'! ......Funny stuff rolls through your head in those situations as you have to think on your feet while playing..... And heck! I've been in tougher spots before. (Wavy screen dream sequence coming)

REMINDS ME OF THE TIME.....LONG AGO!
"I was playing this Las Vegas revue. And during the rehearsal of the show there was this part where this incredibly beautiful woman comes out and sings a number that starts with me playing a walking bass line.... So she walks to the edge of the stage, looks down at me in the pit..."snaps her fingers four times" and thats my cue to begin. Great I got it, I can count to four. Flawless, she walks out to the edge of the stage, looks down in the pit where I am, gives me the snap, snap, snap, snap, cue and boom I'm in and everyones happy, rehearsal moves on.

Showtime! That evening the show starts and is going great. It comes to this rehearsed part and I'm all ready, Lights dim to silence. A follow spot light appears and out this beautiful woman comes from the shadows to the edge of the stage, she looks down, I look up.......... to see the biggest set of naked knockers I'd ever seen in my young life!!...... snap, snap, snap, snap....., snap, snap!.SNAP!! SNAPPPPP!!!!!(with a horrific scowl nowl!!!) SNAPSNAPSNAPSNAP

"I didn't know it was a topless revue show!", she was fully clothed in rehearsal! I was caught by total surprise - needless to say she never spoke to me.
Don

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Pole Position

I'll be playing some new music and trying out some new sounds at:
Club GOOD HURT MONDAY MAY 3RD 9pm Don Schiff $10.00
12249 Venice Blvd, West Los Angeles, 90066
"I'm not quite sure what to expect at this club as they feature
Cirque du Soleil style Pole Dancers.
Should prove interesting and I'll do my best to pole dance, sing and play."

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Satellite Sessions

Hi Everyone,

I did a 'Satellite session' as I call them. It is when you get called to do a recording but you 'stay home'. You get sent the tracks, you load them into your studio, record your tracks then send them back to where the session originated.

I love it, comfort of your own home, donuts within reach and coffee in hand. You run the tracks, feel the peace, the notes, you take in the spaces between the rests and really "Feeeeel' the music... THen, Okay while your in your musical ZEN zone you hear the wife yell "WHY HAVEN'T you taken out the TRASH yet!!" but ya know, it's all balance. Heck I didn't have to load any gear and drive anywhere!

Anyway, this session originated from Canada for "Carrie Graham". Lovely artist, singer/writer. I first met her when she was Kerri Anderson signed with a major Impact Records. Great album and with that album - she was nominated for a Juno award that year back in the day. I was hired to play bass and of course ended up playing Stick as well on the album. This video link I'll give you was made for the tune "Ghost"
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2012530/v2138872 I"m guessin' this was around 1993.

So now we're gettin' closer to my point that is somewhere near, I'll find it. Ah yes, so now she is Carrie Graham... Why?!?!? you ask, I'm not sure, but what I know of the story is very intriguing and mysterious... so I say to myself, "Why not ask her for more details and find out!" Well, I then must admit the other side of my brain says, "Nah! enjoy the mystery. The answer may not be as good an ending as what you think! (Maybe she just got Married!) And so....."Heck, I don't really know why the name change really. Both names are lovely and fortunately the artist is the same.

Oh yes, so did I mention I played on a cut of her new album. Sure they don't print 'em out any more, ya go to a site and download it, but you can also just listen at:
http://carriegraham.ca/track/mirrors

It has a real nice 'India ethno' (for lack of a better description) lick I put on the NS/Stick bass line prior to settin' the groove. Her style of music is I would say, Folk, New age, World. What a blend, but wonderful writing, I had a blast, have a listen. We did the NS loud 'n Proud! Yay Emmett, Ned, SE and all of us in this wonderful Stick community.
Don

PS. I got credited as playing "Chapman Stick" however to clarify - it was the NS/Stick - the part would have worked on either. Both instruments were next to each other, I just picked up the NS. I don't think they realized since they didn't see me play anything that there was any difference between the instruments and thought "Tomato - Tamahtoe"

Sunday, January 17, 2010

"Wait a minute! There's 10 seconds of Acting"

I had blast being a part of this film. It was the first film I ever scored and the first film I ever 'acted' in. THough we can hardly call it 'acting' I have done several "10 seconds of acting" spots throughout my career. I must put all of them together one day and then have a 'Blogovision' show called "Wait a minute - I'm acting!"

Joanna Cassidy said to me, "Your a very good actor", well I've carried that moment around for a long time. Looking back on that day I have to say to myself! - "Wait a minute (or 10 seconds) she was in the van the whole time, she didn't see anything - OR was it the magic of Television and she shot her scene later and maybe did see my "charge" at the van. Anyway, she was a pleasure to meet and so very kind to at least say 'anything' nice about my seconds on film.

Pat Duncan who is a dear friend thought it would be fun to throw me in a scene as you'll see later as the "10 seconds of acting" BlogoVision episodes unfold. I'm in 3 of the movies he's made. It was nice to be on the set to get of feel for what is going on while waiting for the 'shooting to 'wrap' - (Listing to me with my 'cool' talkin' ). Once production is done shooting and the editing is finished, you are then able to 'score' the music to the film. SOOO meanwhile "I chased a cars like a dog', ate all I could on the set and had fun while waiting for the editing to complete so I could write the music".

Enjoy!
Don





Tuesday, January 5, 2010

RainFall - short Video

Here's a lovely (short) video of me singing and playing the NS/Stick. The tune is "Rainfall" (d.schiff, t.winfield). Have a listen, later this year I'll have a full version of this tune out, it is one of my favorites...
Enjoy,
Don