Rain & Magik

It was the Bicentennial year, 1976, and the driest California year of the century was wrapped up in red, white and blue. All year, it seemed, we were celebrating the nation's birthday by stitching up Betsy Ross era bonnets, drawing flags on whatever surface we could find and studying up on our founding fathers. I remember collecting the special Bicentennial quarters featuring the colonial drummer and how our school teacher solemnly detailed the importance of the Declaration of Independence. By the day of the big celebration, the 4th of July, though, summer was as marked by the drought as it was patriotism.  As a kid, the drought was a curiosity as much for the concern expressed by adults as it was by the strangeness of not being able to get relief from the heat by running through sprinklers. We easily fished trout out of puddles that once qualified as the local creek, we let the lawn go,  had less fruit on our trees and reduced the fireworks celebration to some sparklers. But while it had lasting repercussions, that dry spell was only  a year. Time went speeding ahead, the rainclouds returned, and soon we were back to contending with flood years (1982). Living with extremes was growing up in California.
Like everything, extremes are relative, and as familiar as it is, in many ways, our current drought is dissimilar to that of the 1970s. The California Weather Blog has a comprehensive comparison of what's going on now vs. then.
So how welcome it was to wake up to the sound of rain on Sunday. How magical it seemed again for clouds to form and drop water, rinsing the air, rinsing the streets, cleaning off the car we haven't washed to add to our 20% reduction of water use. Most of all, it just felt good. I threw on a rain jacket ran/walked to my favorite cafe, not caring I was getting wet for the sheer joy of needed water received.
Speaking of magic, we went to the Magik*Magik Orchestra 5-year Anniversary Concert at The Fox in Oakland on Friday. A celebration of the amazing work of orchestra founder and director Minna Choi, who continues to innovate and expand the sonic landscape with her "made-to-order orchestra for artists and creatives."  
The concert featured a whose-who of Bay Area and beyond indie music acts (ala John Vanderslice, Rogue Wave, The Dodos) who've employed the orchestra for their recordings (Magik*Magik is the house orchestra for Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone studio) or otherwise performed with the orchestra, as well as the also stupendously-amazing Pacific Boys Choir. Highlights of a night of sonic excellence were performances by The Lonely Trees' John Van Deusan (below)and Diana Gameros. But really, the night belonged to Minna and her already-incredible body of work.  Wowza.

ASCAP, Souls & Sessions

Silverlake mural

Last week was a packed few days of yoga practice and the ASCAP EXPO in Southern California. Encinitas and LA were sunny and happy in all respects. ASCAP was, as in prior experiences, a great mix of networking, know-how and inspiration. I caught up with songwriter friends, received some nice feedback and even heard a fabulous talk by Carly Simon. I had not fully appreciated Simon's career until hearing this recap of all her hits and overview of her rich and varied career in music. Slim, composed and still in full voice, she spoke candidly about the auspicious beginnings of her career, the stammer that plagued her confidence and ultimately helped her find her singing voice and her writing process. She's a true artist!

Oakland Symphony premier of Art Khu's Symphony of Souls

I flew home with just enough time to get to the Paramount Theater to witness the premier performance of Ark Khu's Symphony of Souls by the Oakland East Bay Symphony. It's no secret in the Bay Area and in jazz circles that Art is an amazing musician. I've been extremely fortunate to know him as well as have some of his piano and guitar playing on several of my CDs. Seeing this premier just confirmed to the world how great he really is. There were two premiers during the program, "Notes from the Philippines," one by Khu and another by Victor Noriega, and both were met with standing ovations as well as enthusiasm from conductor and musical director Michael Morgan. Along with a Cello Concerto by Dvorak and an overture taken from Mendelssohn, it truly was a great night of music for East Bay symphony goers.

Being surrounded by other songwriters and composers for three days is motivating to say the least. I was glad to have a session scheduled Saturday after all this musical richness. Half of a very beautiful sunny day Saturday was spent in the studio recording basic tracks for a couple of new songs. The next project has begun!

Bass, drums & coffee