under construction! Don't be alarmed, new layout coming soon...yeah right

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Until The Very Last Moment Trailer Hits The Web!



Yes, this is my film, but hey I want to show you kids what I've been doing so I won't feel so bad about ignoring the blog for the last month or so.

Features a song by Tinyfolk in the trailer and will be released in March!



Links:
Film updates here!
Tinyfolk on Myspace!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Artsweek Reviews: Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)



This week I saw Mike Leigh's beautiful little film, Happy-Go-Lucky, featuring a star making turn by Sally Hawkins who I am now madly in love with.

Check out the review here.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Mp3 Of The Week: “A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology” by Riverboat Gamblers


foto by Sam Holden

Last week I was lucky to come upon the new single by Austin, Texas natives Riverboat Gamblers. The song, “A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology,” will be on their new album, Underneath The Owl.

The song at first came off as a slightly generic rock song, but what makes me ultimately want to write about here is its deepening sense of surreal underneath the pumping licks and strong sense of melody.

If you listen closely to the song (without looking at the lyrics, that’s cheating!) all these weird images pop up. The refrain repeats, “Like a pick in a hollow-body,” and I swear I heard something about tentacles. Its overall effect is pretty cool and has that “double-take” thing going for it.

Look out for these kids, Riverboat Gamblers I’m pretty sure will be big and I hope they keep things this weird. I mean their new album is going to be called Underneath The Owl! How cool is that?

Mp3:
Riverboat Gamblers-"A Choppy Yet Sincere Apology"

Links
Riverboat Gamblers on Myspace!
Volcolm Entertainment

Artsweek Articles: Shiny Toy Guns In Concert



So for the most recent Artsweek I saw Shiny Toy Guns play at local bar/club Velvet Jones. The opener The Delta Fiasco were truly the highlight. You can read the entire article here.

Links:
The Delta Fiasco on Myspace!
Shiny Toy Guns on Myspace!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Artsweek Review: Snow Patrol's A Hundred Million Suns (2008)




Another CD review this week, Snow Patrol's A Hundred Million Suns.

You can check it out here.

*EDIT
So apparently I'm not allowed to post even one song from the album. The least they could do is ask me to take it down instead of removing the page. Sheesh. I even have a disclaimer on the side...

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Artsweek Review: Tom Gabel's Heart Burns EP (2008)



This week I have a review of Tom Gabel's (from Gainesville, Florida's Against Me!) solo EP Heart Burns on Sire Records.

Check it out here.

Mp3:
Tom Gabel-"Harsh Realms"

Link:
Tom Gabel on Myspace!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Artsweek Article: CAM-CON 2008


What's cinematography?

Another late article, mainly focusing on American Cinematographer's Society (ASC) conference that came to USCB this year. I felt like I was watching Grumpy Old Men...

Anyway check out the article here.

Mp3:
Paul Simon-"I Know What I know"

Artsweek Review: W. (2008)



A bit late I know, but you can check out the article here. It got more edited than I am happy with...

Adam Balbo: Big Kid Now (2008)


I could really go for a cup of coffee

Adam Balbo, a folk singin’ bluesman from San Francisco, California has recently released his new album/EP Big Kid Now and I must say I’m a little disappointed.

Big Kid Now begins with a lot of promise on the title track springing forth with light drumming, springy guitar and Adam’s unique gravely deadpan vocals uttering clever jokes a mile a minute, “You have a heart; it's in your chest/On Tuesdays, you put on your Sunday best/You can use a fork; chopsticks, too/Knives, ice cream scoopers, & spoons/You take three times one; divide five by two/You know what Brian Boitano would do.”

After that song, I started to lose interest. “The Snakeman” delicately steals the melody from Bob Dylan’s “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” as does the slightly ponderous “Stain On My Shirt.” The former might be redeeming if he didn’t sound so tired.

And that’s how most of Big Kid Now sounds like, tired. On the almost unbearable “Monkey Goes To Breakfast,” I swear all the musicians including Adam fall asleep. The organ sounds straight out of Sunday school and the drums are dull and unimaginative.

“16-Bar Blues Love Song” stirs the pot back up a bit if it weren’t so banal and ultimately as formulaic as the title suggests.

Actually I kind of like “Stain On My Shirt,” a duet of sorts, Adam’s deadpan vocals shared by an equally deadpan female singer responding to an insubstantial incident involving ketchup manages to reach out further than its scope. It closes the album nicely, but it took some time before I began to enjoy it.

Adam Balbo has a unique voice and shows lyrical promise on Big Kid Now, but I wish he’d wake up and put a little passion into all of it.

Mp3:
Adam Balbo-"Big Kid Now"

Link:
Adam Balbo on Myspace!