Well we had a great time at the benefit and I hope all of you who were there enjoyed the show. A gigantic thanks to all the performers, Susana who organized it, and Cozmic for donating the space to make it happen. We raised more than our goal amount, the raffle and silent auction were huge successes. And our belly dancers were just awesome!
Wow, the past couple of weeks have just been crazy as we’ve continued auditions for Psychanaut plus getting our acoustic/electric set ready for the Cozmic Pizza benefit July 29. Tonight we’re trying out some congas and hand drums which will be an alternate to our normal trap kit for this show.
We’ve just confirmed a benefit to help raise funds for wildlife and bird rescue in the BP Gulf Oil Disaster. As you know, I’ve been doing all I can to help out, and what I do best is music…so here it is.
July 29th Thursday night at Cosmic Pizza, Psychanaut will be playing, there will be performances by belly dancers (and we’re working on having dancers to some of our songs too, thanks to the fabulous Barbie Gregg), And another performer or band will be added to the lineup soon. Luckily, Susana Romatz is organizing the event, and I’ve heard that there are wonderful goodies being donated from local stores for lucky people to win in a raffle.
It just feels so great to be able to join together with other caring, talented people in working together to help out. I’m looking forward to meeting more wonderful people as we network together to make a great show!
Please mark your calendars early and PLEASE bring as many people as you can. We’ll have a lot of fun while helping our precious wildlife in this time of dire need. Rockin the Rescue!
I’ve been pondering the intense changes that are happening among many of the wonderful people I know right now – precipitated by the BP Oil Genocide/Disaster. I have noticed that I am not the only one who feels deep changes happening.
This is an update of part of a previous post – but people keep asking me, so I’m posting just and updating it today. If you want to read the rest, it’s in the posting entitled BP Gulf Oil Disaster. I apologize for the length of this post; I hope to revisit this again and make it more succinct. It’s a work in progress.
PS – (If you’re just here to find out what’s happening with the music, mixes and shows, this post has basically nothing about that. Sorry.)
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You ask me what we can DO?
There are meetings this Tuesday June 8th – World Oceans Day - for caring people to get together and brainstorm more ideas to help out with the BP Gulf Oil Disaster and make real change. The Eugene Oregon meeting is at 8PM – you can get the details here: :http://www.meetup.com/HuffPostGreen/4071/
To find a meetup in YOUR area: http://www.meetup.com/HuffPostGreen/
Here are some great suggestions from HuffingtonPost:
“The Earth does not belong to man; Man belongs to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”—Chief Seattle
You haven’t heard from me on this blog for a while, because I have been consumed with the tragic Oil Gusher in the Gulf and the damage it’s doing. Millions upon millions of animals and birds, 20 wildlife refuges, and many species already endangered are dying before our eyes. Other than donating what we can to environmental groups who are frantically working there even now, I would guess that most of us want to do more.
By now everybody knows that the tragic catastrophe we have warned about for so many years is upon us. There are an average of 200 oil “spills” per year. But this time, the devastation is so terrible and frightening that perhaps even the “drill baby drill” crowd is rethinking their folly.
Here in the US, we have missed many opportunities for positive change. Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House and corporatist Ronnie Reagan tore them down. We refused to move into the 21st Century and continued our addiction to oil, and our money and treasure continues to flow to multinational corporations and the few wealthy CEOs who currently rule the world.
We’ve finished the remix of Gravity Well. You can find it here in the sidebar, and also at Psychanaut music page. Or if you’re a friend of mine on Facebook, look for the tab called “tracks” on my facebook page.
I wrote the lyrics for this one specifically for the Labyrinth project, and it’s about unconsciousness so it is a bit darker than most of our songs. And yes, I did get the inspiration for it from a musician friend of mine
The song “Arriving” has rarely been performed live yet, and even rarely played in rehearsal, so it’s been a bit nebulous to record. It really needed big harmonies, which we didn’t have in Rock Scarlet, and I’m hoping to add extra background singers with Psychanaut to perform this one live.
the song is a bit laid back in energy, kind of hypnotic and spacy. Initially we recorded very basic tracks for it, to allow us to develop it’s energy and see where it takes us. The drums were really simple, no fills or frills, and we used a slide guitar for the lead riff.
I’ve recorded the vocal tracks in almost every style, from big and loud rock to soft and breathy before deciding upon the approach that best suited the song. Usually I know right away how I want the vocal, but this tune is unique. It’s one that really encompasses the hybrid style that is Psychanaut.
We’ve been on this one for several days in a row now.
Several of our older songs and almost all of the new ones fall into the Labyrinth Collection that will be featured on Psychanaut.com. It’s a musical story (although any song can stand on its own too) of Universal Consciousness taking physical form, and having a myriad of life these experiences on the way to remembering itself. These last days in the studio working on the songs for this collection have been super productive.