Sesame Street roasts the Spiderman Musical with their own “Spidermonster”. They make light of the many technical problems and also a reference that the music is Bono’s first Broadway musical. Spider Man: Turn Off The Dark opened on Broadway to bad reviews, then closed for a revamp and reopened to somewhat better reviews.
Neil Patrick Harris’ 2011 Tony Awards Opening Number.
This is an old Dalai Lama Joke, but doesn’t have the same feel when it’s told to the Dalai Lama.
Zarkana opens in mid June 2011 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. “Merde” to all the cast and crew over there. We’re all very excited to see what the New York critics say. Looks like a fantastic show!
The Venetian Macau has changed it’s tune as of around Spring 2011. I don’t mean this in a symbolic sense, it’s literal. And maybe I’m the only one who has noticed or cares – it’s quite possible.
When I first started working at the Venetian Macau in April of 2011, all the background music piped through the hallways and upper shopping canals was Vivaldi. I’m pretty sure it was all Vivaldi all the time; specifically the Four Seasons. At the time I commented how much I loved it. The recordings were great with fine string performances. A friend said “Just wait, after six months you’ll be sick of it and never want to hear it again.” But I didn’t find that was true. I loved the music when I first heard it and still loved it three years later.
Everybody’s afraid of zombies… But try to imagine your self waking up from the dead… How would you feel?
So I’m talking with a friend here in Macau, China about stocks and I asked them if they knew about the terms Bull Market and Bear Market. They said yes. The Bear Market is when stocks go down. They said the phrase comes from the old West in America. The cowboys would sit around and got very bored so they decided to bring in a bear to fight with a cow. The bear lost to the cow. So a Bear Market means the stock is losing.
Oh c’mon, that’s just so darn cute. I asked them for clarification, “The bear lost to the cow?” and they said most certainly, “Yes!”
- WHAT: Auditions for the Northwest Boychoir
- WHO: Boys Kindergarten – Third Grades. No previous music training needed
- WHEN: Saturday, May 21, 2011.
- WHERE: By appointment at 5031 University Way NE, NB2 at the University Heights Community Center
- WHAT ELSE: Call 206-524-3234 to make an appointment and learn more about the Northwest Boychoir – or email nwc@northwestchoirs.org. More info at: http://www.northwestchoirs.org
If you’re within driving distance of Seattle, WA and know any boys age kindergarten to third grade with strong music interest then I highly recommend checking out the Northwest Boychoir. I count my years with the Northwest Boychoir (5th-8th grade), and the shows I was cast in as a result of the organization, as the single most worthwhile musical education I ever received.
I have an endless list of silly things that I think I might do someday and I’m going to add this to the list: Building an Electric Laser Harp. A friend of mine is an expert electrician so that might be possible. Of course after I master astro photography, my grand musical/opera and a host of other seemingly important projects.
Check out the astro time lapse photography of TimeScapes: Rapture from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo. I found this by looking at the video work of Tyler Giner at http://blog.tylerginter.com/?p=562
I just saw this video on YouTube. The videographer (is that a word?) used my music for a short called “Dramatic Drink”. I just absolutely love it. It’s perfect. Major kudos to “damname” on YouTube for creating this.
Here’s a video I made for a lens comparison on the Canon 5D Mark II using Final Cut Express, MPEG Streamclip and ProTools 9. Footage is automatic settings with tripod at 25 (23.98) frames per second. Lenses in the comparison are:
- Canon 24-105mm f/4L
- Canon 50mm f/1.4
- Canon 15mm Fisheye f/2.8
- Tamron 20mm f/1.8
There’s been a lot of talk about how streams can affect an artist’s income for audio downloads. When an artist puts music up on the internet for paid downloads they usually release a full CD (the “Release”) which customers can download either in full or the individual songs (the “Songs”) at a lower rate.
Sunday March 20, 2011 artists and techs from the Cirque Du Soleil shows ZAIA, KOOZA and ZED took a group photo on the ZAIA stage at the Venetian in Macau, China. We (the ZAIA crew) were happy to host them in Macau while they awaited updated reports on current events in Japan following the tsunami.
We think that this is the first time three different performing casts from Cirque shows have all been together and shared the stage. You can click on the image for a larger view.
Email question received:
Dear Conrad -
I enjoy your blog. It’s a great chance for outsiders to get an inside look at what it’s like to be in a Cirque production. I write because I recently posted a video on Cirque’s Facebook Casting page and have two questions with respect to the use of various flutes in ZAIA.
1. How many different flutes are used in your current production?
2. To your knowledge, are there other current Cirque shows that are scored
exclusively for the flute? (either concert flute or other world flutes)
Thanks for your time.
Better than videos of babies giggling – here’s a dog playing a piano and howling. If you want real news go to CNN. If you want silly stuff come here. 
I especially like the last couple seconds where the dog seems to contemplate whether he’s truly finished expressing himself or not. It’s a serious moment.
On Sunday March 20, 2011 the Cirque Du Soleil show ZAIA celebrated it’s 1,000th performance. The ZAIA cast had a big party at the Venetian casino in Macau along many of the artists and crew from the ZED and KOOZA shows. Here are some videos from Aomen (Macau) TV that I believe were released in December, 2010. It shows behind the scenes talks with a trapeze catcher and artistic director in the ZAIA show.
Hard to believe it’s been over three years since we began training in Montreal for the show. It’s been a very interesting time here in Macau, China!
For some reason I was thinking back on when I used to play piano at Knott’s Berry Farm in the Calico Saloon (and sometimes subbing at the old Bird Cage Theater melodramas). We did short Old West themed shows and in the summer the Can Can show. The piano style was so much fun. Barrelhouse and Scott Joplin style music. Lots of improvisation ham.
When you play the ragtime style several hours a day on a regular basis it’s a wonderful feeling. Really gets the chops in place. Add to that the camaraderie and competition of the other pianists doing the same thing in different shifts – and you really get in the zone for that style.
I found this article very interesting. A CNN crew is taken away by police while filming in Beijing.
http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/28/getting-harassed-by-the-chinese-police/
As a personal rule I do not post Cirque Du Soleil information that has not already been released to the public. That is not any directive from management. Just a personal guideline. I feel ok to post this since it has already been published publicly at:
“Cirque has decided yesterday to transfer all its employees currently in Japan to Macau (China). These preventative measures touch the staff and artists of ZED, presented at Tokyo Disneyland, which is closed for the next 7 days, and artists and staff of Kooza, presented in Fuji Dome in Tokyo, which is also cancelled until further notice. Artists and staff will benefit from the support of the Macau colleagues and will be able to pursue their training at the Macau training centre.”
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