Roland RE-20

Just ordered a Roland RE-20 Space Echo pedal for my bass rig. Simulates the old tape echo boxes from the 70's. In the old units, they had tapes that would run past a record head in loops, making the echo effects. We used one in an arts rock band I played bass in during the '80's called Freaks Amor. Amazingly that unit was very robust and I don't ever remember the internal tapes breaking. This new pedal has the fat tape saturation and echo sound down pat (but without the tapes). I ordered from Musicians Friend but am posting the Amazon link.

The Bassist

Got serious about making my bass player documentary yesterday- entitled The Bassist. I begin filming in May 2011 with a special 3-4 minute solo performance of upright bassist Michael Marcus. This will be a stand alone short film and a center piece of the documentary. Later I will interview him about his views on the bass and gigging with his unique upright (wait 'til you see it). I also sent feeler e-mails and phone calls to many bass players. Hopefully I will get some interest for the project. I also set up a quick stub website page at http://www.thebassistmovie.com Took the picture of my newly acquired Ibanez SR300 in the soccer field at our Aats School for the DVD cover and website. Looks pretty damn cool if you ask me. The nice thing about this type of film is, I can spread the filming out over time and around other projects. Right now I am heavily in "Writers Mode" with the Munster Style publication and scripting Evil Undead Girlfiend & Chopper Chicas. I can be flexible with The Bassist film schedule, though I don't want it to drag on for more than a year. Hope to have this in festivals middle or end of 2012.

Massive Tornados in The Midwest and South US

April has seen some of the worst devastation from tornados in U.S. history. Alabama and Missouri just got hit. Hundreds are dead. Don't ever remember a storm season like this one.

Go-Charger Updates

383 from Dodge Monaco

Trim piece.

Go-Charger on left, new deck lid on right.

Chris Darland sent me some new pics of the Go-Charger (1966 Dodge Charger Gasser) build he is doing for Go-Kustom Films. The car is for The Legend Of D.B. Petty which I hope to shoot sometime in he near future. I have been sending small payments to Chris for a few years now and we are getting close. He just bought some body parts from a few donor Charger and got a 383 from a Dodge Monaco. Eventually this will be a HEMI car- but the 383 could work for initial filming, with the HEMI for close-ups.

Finding A New Bass Sound

In the search for new bass guitar sounds, I bought these two pedals (tho not from Amazon, but from Musicians Friend). The Boss FRV-1 has a great vintage spring reverb (and thats all it does) tone while the FDR-1 has the old Fender Deluxe amplifier sound (with tremolo and reverb as well). Going to use the pedals primarily with my bass to get a big dub-surf-twang kinda tone. The last thing I am considering is a Boss Loop Station or Harmonist for even more possibilities. I have several multi-effects boxes and pedals, but the problem with those is that they do alot of things fairly well. Having a dedicated "reverb" or "delay" pedal usually gives you more depth to the effect. Both pedals should be delivered by Friday this week.

Easter Day

Had a very mellow day doing laundry and watching movies on the Roku. First we watched the Making of Joshua Tree by U2, then the complete The Stand miniseries (6 hours total run time) and then fell asleep watching Sean Connery as 007 in Thunderball. We don't do a TV day very often. Felt good. Goodnight.

Happy Easter

We held a cool little Egg Hunt at our Arts School today. The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast running around looking for the eggs filed with changed and chocolate. One parent brought little wooden bird houses that we also hid for the kids to find. The point being less plastic. You know someone should invent cardboard, soy or some kind of biodegradable Easter Eggs. Less plastic is good.

Pumpkin The Guinea Pig

This is Pumpkin. He is a Guinea Pig. He lives in our Arts School. He is a very strange and yet very cool little guy. He likes to eat bell peppers and lettuce. He squeals when he is hungry and coos when he is happy. He has a buddy that lives in the cage next door named Snoopy. We can't put them in the same cage, because they will fight. Snoopy is afraid of people, but will coo if you can get hold of him and pet him for a few minutes.

The Always Amazing Spike Jonze

 Got Spike Jonze's new work There Are Many of Us via UPS yesterday from Amazon.com. Heard about this from the Creators Project internet TV show (on my Roku- of course). Spike has made a short film (30 minutes long) called I'm Here which has screened at various festivals and is available for free viewing at www.imheremovie.com. Being the old school filmee I am, I refused to watch it online in the hopes of buying a hard copy. After a brief look around Amazon.com, I found it available as a book, DVD  and CD combo called There Are Many Of Us (which is the title of the main theme song from the film). The packaging is awesome- I mean how else can you justify buying a 30 minute film for $20.00, but to make it available with a gorgeous hardback book and CD?

The film centers around two robot characters set in a current time alternative reality, where robots (some that eerily look like old Macs) do all the grunt work for the humans. The story is loosely based on The Giving Tree with Sheldon (bored masculine robot) and Francesca (fun loving feminine robot) playing the parts of the tree and boy respectively- though in an entirely different context. This is a very powerful and thoughtful film, even if it was sponsored by Absolut Vodka. I must say- Spike Jonze is truly a genius, one of my all-time favorite directors.

Bassist Rebornist

Started really digging into the Ibanez SDGR30. Very playable instrument with great tones. Wrote a new song for my next album with it this morning tentatively titled "Start." I am going for a Surf meet Peter Hook (Joy Division & New Order) kinda high end mixed with Dub-ish thuddy low end sounds. Problem is, that if I multi-track the parts, I will need a second bassist live. Two bassists? Sounds like Spinal Tap.

My New (Inexpensive) Bass

Just took delivery of an Ibanez SDGR300 electric bass from American Musical Supply. Roadster Orange color (like burnt orange metallic almost a copper). The neck is tight and fast and the pick-ups puts out alot of tone variance, with treble/bass boost and active electronics. I love playing this bad boy, effortless. It looks a little too "modern" for my taste (I really really dig the semi-hollow Guild Starfires with the F holes) - still form follows function and this bass functions very well indeed! Also thinking about getting a Roland GR-55 Guitar/Bass Synth to hook into the SDGR300. Versatility is what I am seeking for my new rig in the upcoming D.A. Sebasstian & The Inner Demons band. I wanna play surf, funk and blues on my bass. Lets see if this one can pull it off.

Goodbye Big (formerly) Blue Bertha

Donated Big Blue (now almost completely flat-black) Bertha, a 1992 GMC Van, to the Veterans Program. We used the Van for years for my wife's Arts School picking up kids for before and after school programs and for field trips. She ran good most of the five years we've had her, but now with a blown heater core and continually clogging fuel line it's time for her to go. She'll probably end up in a junk yard, but the cash for her sale will go to the Vets- and that's a very good thing.

Rat Rod Rockers! Video On Demand Purchase

Rat Rod Rockers! and Hot Rod Girls Save The World (Kustom Edition) are both available on Amazon.com as a Video On Demand purchase or rental. I started using the VOD services on my Roku internet television device last year and really, really dig it. For example I just finished watching the entire Farscape TV Series last week and the first season of AMC's Walking Dead a few months ago and bop over to Vimeo to watch all the strange high quality short films once a month. With Amazon, Netflix, Vimeo and Hulu on the Roku you have alot of options (not to mention Pandora and all the strange underground internet Webseries and TV Shows). You can also connect to Amazon VOD with a Boxee or TiVo or download the videos to your mobile devices (like an iPad). I can say first hand that films look excellent on the Roku and set-up was super simple. I am starting to amass a collection of films in my Amazon VOD Library. All you need is a TV and a high speed internet connection to use your Roku anywhere. I could take my Roku to a friends house and watch all my films there. The Roku is robust and about as big as two DVD cases.

How Not To Do Your Taxes Part 2

Made some progress on the 2010 tax front. Took all day yesterday to sort. Now I am working on numbers.

How Not To Do Your Taxes

It's that time again. Urgh. This is my ultra organized box and bag tax method. Don't try this at home kids.

Evil Undead Girlfiend & Chopper Chicas

Now that Rat Rod Rockers! is officially out in a few festivals and on DVD, I have been getting scripts ready for Evil Undead Girlfiend: The Re-Animation Of Issa Kross and Chopper Chicas. All my stories are loosely related by the town where they occur- Anywhere, Washington, so in a way it's like writing one big story as opposed to two smaller stories. I may have several cross-over characters between Rat Rod Rockers!, Evil Undead Girlfiend, Chopper Chicas and Hot Rod Girls Save The World ... I haven't decided yet. Dutch Von Henry (played by Tony Ririe) is in both Hot Rod Girls and Rat Rod Rockers! All stories qualify as part of The Anywhere Archives Series. You might ask- why did you make all the stories happen in the same crappy little town? My answer would invariably be- why not? I have been in solid character development for both Chopper Chicas (with Heidi Van Horne & Monica Olive) and Evil Undead Girlfiend (with Smookie Tiger, Becky Lee & Karen Kougar). We will be posting both sets of pics for the character development on their respective sites when they are ready.


Chopper Chicas- Lead actress Heidi Van Horne has appeared in many TV series, including ER, The O.C., and Gilmore Girls. She is also a writer and prominent pin-up model gracing covers of several national magazines. Monica Olive is an accomplished actress appearing in short films Overheard in NYC and Checkmate. Heidi is also working as co-producer on this film. Shannon Brooke shot the character development pics that will be online shortly.

Evil Undead Girlfiend: The Re-Animation Of Issa Kross- Becky Lee appeared in my last film Rat Rod Rockers! as Veronika Lakester (the flag girl) and is a prominent pin-up model with feature articles in dozens of magazines. Smookie Tiger has a long background in modeling and has worked with numerous professional agencies and photographers. Karen Kougar is an adult film star with numerous films to her credit.
Check the films websites for updates.

Rat Rod Rockers! Accepted Into STIFF

We just got word that Rat Rod Rockers! has been accepted into the 2011 Seattle's True Independent Film Festival. STIFF was modeled after the Slamdance Film Festival as a way to champion local and true independent films. We are happy and honored to be included this year!

Rat Rod Rockers! on Amazon VOD Rental

Amazon just added our film as a Video On Demand rental (currently $1.99 for one week) for internet TV, computer and mobile devices. You can also buy the film in VOD (Video On Demand) formats for $7.99. We did this through the Amazon's related company CreateSpace.com. With CreateSpace you can upload your film, music or book to sell on Amazon as an On Demand short run product. I love this service and what Amazon is doing for the indie-film industry.

More Mild To Wild Car Show Pics

Rat Rod Rockers! Screenings at Mild To Wild Car Show

Gave multiple free screenings of Rat Rod Rockers! Friday and Saturday (April 1st & 2nd) at the Mild To Wild Car Show in Puyallup, WA. We set up in a back room with two of the cars from Rat Rod Rockers! and one from Hot Rod Girls Save The World under the projection area. Rat Rod Rockers! screened several times Friday night and all day Saturday. I had to shut down temporarily when a Mom complained about the heavy use of the F-word in the film. We had warnings printed at the bottom of the schedules but obviously some people can't read. My wife and I placed poster easels blocking the area off with big "This Film Contains Adult Language" signs attached. This seemed to remedy the problem. The car show itself was cool- though attendance for the three day event was less than the Mild To Wild staff had expected. It may have been due to the extreme rain storms on Friday or because they moved this years show from the Tacoma Dome to the Puyallup Fairgrounds. Maybe it was the $15 per person ticket price or the economy in general. These things are hard to gauge.

During the car show, I sensed a little bit of back biting from the Street Rod crowd. This is common. These guys spend tens of thousands of dollars to have someone build them a "Show Rod" and don't much like sharing space with the do it yourself gearheads who build their own cars for the tenth the cost. These "Show Rod" guys use the term "Rat Rod" derogatorily. I overheard a few snickers and smug comments while standing behind these old guys reading my Rat Rod Rockers! posters in the hall. "Rat Rod Rockers...sounds like crap to me" or "Let's skip that 'Rat Rod' movie." On the flip side- quite a few people who did watch the film gave us very good reviews. Others commented on the setting. One photographer told me sincerely that the presentation, with the big room, cars and my films projected above them was the coolest thing he had ever seen at any car show. Personally it reminded me of some Modern Art Museum exhibit on Kustom Kulture. Overall a good weekend of promotion for the film.