Chimes Of Gaviota Premiere This Wednesday March 12th!

A mockumentary about the coast that will have you rock'n out to the sounds of activism!

…I didn’t invent that tagline. But I’m LOLing anyway.

Chimes Of Gaviota: Or I’ve Got The Real Estate Blues, a mockumentary about coastal development and the zany figures who take up the fight for and against was first birthed in July 2007 when Joe (the Film & Media Studies Advisor/my BFF) introduced me to a grad student, Nicole Starosielski. She was creating a program called GreenScreen where media creation would be fused together with environmentalism to bring awareness to local Santa Barbara issues. Yet, its scope is much larger. By using film and other media to shine a light on issues, real solutions can be reached.

With this in mind I researched and wrote until I came up with the idea of a mockumentary. A mockumentary is a great form because it can be equally critical and sentimental when it’s done well. I also chose the issue about development along the Gaviota coast (one of the most biodiverse places in North America) because I think public vs. private issues are really interesting and so complex, mystical and emotional. It’s completely grey.

So for my first comedy script I decided to make it very difficult, but I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. As writer I also took up the mantle of cinematographer because well…I wanted to grow in that area. My Producer/Art Director is Lisa Shapiro and Goddamn, she is an amazingly talented and intelligent individual. She sees how things work and she knows how to make things happen. She can decipher words on the page and flesh them out into a colorful reality. Evan Koehne knows how to direct. He sees actors as people, not props and knows how to get the best out of them. He also is full of ideas and we constantly came up with great pieces that were never in the script but were just as meaningful. And he doesn’t take himself too seriously; this is a comedy after all and sometimes I needed to be reminded of that. The entire crew, God Bless them all, we made such a great unit and I'm sorry If I don’t name you all, but I am eternally grateful for all of you believing in this issue and this story I wanted to tell, and being just as driven if not more than me. And my actors, holy shit, we had the best cast on the planet, no divas, no selfish models, just humble, honest, passionate folks devoting themselves to getting into character and giving way more than one hundred percent.

All fall quarter we filmed and even after I left for New Zealand they continued to toil and perfect our beautiful piece of art.

Chimes Of Gaviota: or I’ve Got The Real Estate Blues premieres at the Isla Vista Theater in Isla Vista, California this Wednesday March 12th 8:00PM and then in downtown Santa Barbara on Tuesday March 18th at the Faulkner Gallery at 7:00PM.

…But it ain’t over. The worse thing for a film to do is get made and then just lie around. Believe me, this film will go places. It has to, it’s bigger than all of us, but without us, it wouldn’t have been made.

Thank you everyone for allowing my vision to become your vision and your vision to become mine. Like the environment we are symbiotically tied to it. We are art and art is the environment.

Trailer 1!


Trailer 2!


Mp3:
Bob Dylan-"You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go"

Links:
Event on Facebook for more details
CHAOS, CLOCKS AND WATERMELON MEDIA blog for behind the scenes footage and photos
Learn more at SaveNaples.org
Learn more at GaviotaCoastConservancy.org

Final One Sheet For Indiana Jones 4

So the excitement for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is palpable and who knows maybe I'll start getting into this franchise this year.

So they premiered the final one-sheet today, thanks to AICN for the heads up.




I tend to be a big fan of these epic posters seen in most blockbuster franchises. I think it would be funny if they did this style for other kinds of films. Can you imagine this for Juno or Lost In Translation?

and just in case you missed it, here is the trailer:


Links:
Article at AICN
USA Today article
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on IMDB

YouTube Video of the Week: “Falcon _ Paaawn~ (Iyaaaaahhh Mix)”

Honestly this is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Fuck kittens and puppies, bunnies or babies, if I had my very own Kirby life would be complete. This video is so cute I want to punch someone in the face.



Links:
Guitar Hero version
Kirby on wikipedia

Chris Zabriskie: O Great Queen Electric, What Do You Have Waiting For Me? (2008)

First of all, is this really Chris, a writer for RetroLowFi? Most know Chris as the writer who tends to make lots of big statements in his hatred for certain films and bands (most notably My Chemical Romance and sadly Death Proof), but he also writes eloquent praises (most notably for the films Psycho II and Danny Boyle’s Sunshine). Either way he is a man in my mind who voices his opinions loud and proud, but on O Great Queen Electric, What Do You Have Waiting For Me? Chris sounds tender, focused and triumphant.

The album blazes its way quite easily with “I Can Be Your Love,” which has one of the coolest hooks to sing along to I have heard in awhile. I catch myself doing it in the shower, on the way to class and even right now as I’m listening to it. The song reminds me of a kind of noise-pop/electronica hybrid as the fuzz is slowly taken over by electronic warble.

O Great Queen Electric... starts out quite raucous and you could say it loses energy as it moves along, but the more I listen the more the latter half also strikes me as being as beautiful if not more moving than the first half. “God’s Will” is played tensely on acoustic guitars with Chris’s hushed vocals echoing melancholic religious apathies, “leave them now/they’re happy where they are/leave them now/they’ll watch you from afar.” And when the lone piano comes in the song (and your heart) hits the breaking point. The album’s weight shifts dramatically.

And throughout the album, Chris’s simple, but perfect orchestration of each song allows not one wasted note. On “If Only She Knew,” a simple acoustic guitar provides the backing to his yearning voice. The song comes to a perfect crescendo with a little gap of silence and then after a few seconds, he double tracks the vocals. This twofold attack perfectly fulfills the kind of reaction we would have in this kind of situation where all we want to do is scream out, “If only she knew/the things that I do.”

I find myself falling harder and harder for this album. It also makes me rethink Mr. Zabriskie too. At first I was turned off by his abrasive style of writing, but with O Great Queen Electric, What Do You Have Waiting For Me? I see a bigger and grander picture of a passionate individual so fueled by his artistic intake that he’s bursting at the seams to let it all out. This album is a disciplined, mature and joyful look into what makes Chris tick and how he reacts to this crazy world. I think if I ever get brave enough to read his negative review of Children of Men I’ll listen to “God’s Will” to understand why.

Mp3:
Chris Zabriskie-“God’s Will”

Links:
Chris Zabriskie on myspace
Preorder O Great Queen Electric, What Do You Have Waiting For Me? on his website
RetroLowFi

Snapshots: The Diggs, Springfactory and Freddie Stevenson

Foggy Ruins Of Time is getting a bit more popular these days, but don’t worry, I won’t be going all Pitchfork on you guys anytime soon. It just means I get a chance to hear more awesome music now, but I don’t have enough time to write in-depth about it all. So what I decided to do was create a segment called Snapshots where I give quick shout outs/opinions on particular artists I come in contact with. Here we go!

The Diggs:


The Diggs are a pop/punk trio based out of Brooklyn. There is no sugary sweetness here. Their sophomore album ctrl-alt-del (awesome title) on Sugar Spun Records is being released on March 11th and I think they have a great melodic melancholy to their sound. It’s very evident on the track, “Careen,” where lead singer Timothy Lannen takes on an almost raspy feminine quality that is quite haunting.

Mp3:
The Diggs-“Careen”

Links:
The Diggs on myspace
Order ctrl-alt-del on Sugar Spun Records

Springfactory:


Between Rambling Nicholas Heron and Springfactory, I think Sweden is going to be my next travel destination. And Springfactory is Peter and Lina and they make lovely pop music with a nice kick. They have a record out now on Series Two Records and the tracks I have show a lovely versatility. On “No More,” Lina’s harmonies are extraordinary and infectious as the song bounces along. If you want your pop with a little bit more zest look no further than Springfactory.

Mp3:
Springfactory-“No More”

Links:
Springfactory on myspace
Order their Self-Titled CD from Series Two Records

Freddie Stevenson:


Freddie Stevenson makes pop/rock type songs, but it’s the growl in his voice and the wit in his tongue that set him apart from others. Perhaps it’s his Scottish heritage. His second album All My Strange Companions is coming out on April 18th on Juicy Musical Creations and it promises to be filled with all kinds of funny, yet tender tunes such as “Easy Now,” which starts with the line, “JK Rowling’s been following me around…” It’s quite a humorous song with a sweet chorus that’ll have you devising your own paranoid adventures against popular authors.

Mp3:
Freddie Stevenson-“Easy Now”

Links:
Freddie Stevenson on myspace
Get All My Strange Companions from Musical Juicy Creations

Best Of 2007: Other Cool Things

So these lists took a lot longer to get out than I expected, but forgive me, as I was moving halfway across the world.

This is the last installment of Foggy Ruins Of Time Best of 2007 lists and its basically any random stuff that I wanted to mention that didn’t fit into any of the three previous categories. I became a lot busier in 2007. I made three albums and played almost a dozen shows, worked on and acted in a few school films, wrote a screenplay and started filming it (more on that soon!) and started this blog. I also started reading again for fun. It was my most productive year yet!

Best Blog of 2007: RetroLowFi


Whether it was arguing/gushing with Chris and Marc over certain contest artists’/films' merits, getting advice from Emily, discovering always great new music (from the bloggers themselves or whatever they fancied), or being given one of the most flattering, but sincerest reviews of my musical career so far I have to say that the blog RetroLowFi definitely was the place for discovering new artists/songs/movies/books in 2007.

Every writer has a unique personality but an unquenchable passion for all things in life. They were one of the biggest inspirations for starting Foggy Ruins Of Time and I am indebted to them. Thank you Marc, Chris, Emily, Nicole and John.

Link:
RetroLowFi

Best New Source Of Inspiration in 2007: The Harmonica

Foto courtesy of Alex Tengco

I’m not going to lie and say I’m not a huge Dylan fan; I consider myself to understand the legend more than anyone (or at least anyone I know), but he was the chief source of interest in the harmonica as an instrument. Step two in my harmonica cultivation was my roommate and one of my best pals, Evan. He is a wonderfully talented harmonica player and seeing him in action is lovely. He is humble, but still able to create cool licks and colorful melodies.

With those two things in my mind I bought a few harmonicas and harmonica brace in around April and I haven’t looked back. The amazing thing about a harmonica is it makes you a better musician period. It has helped me understand what keys are and how vital playing in particular keys are too. It helped my writing of songs by making melodies much more satisfying and easier to create. It made my guitar playing better too and my live shows infinitely more interesting.

Everyone needs to play the harmonica.

Link:
The Harmonica on wikipedia
You Tube video of the song "A Winter's Tale Told In Spring" featuring some ace harmonica by me

Best You Tube Video(s) of 2007: Brotherhood 2.0


I am addicted to You Tube. I watch it more than TV now. In 2007 I saw many hilarious videos, but the daily video blog Brotherhood 2.0 was special because not only did it provide humor, but it was just an interesting experience seeing these two adult brothers (activists, writers, etc.) get to share with the world everything that they were concerned about and get recognition and rally people to particular causes.

The two brothers are John and Hank Green and the goal of Brotherhood 2.0 was a year’s worth of textless communication. They communicated by making a vlog every other day. Both John and Hank are very charismatic (for nerds lol), intelligent and funny. They kept it going for an entire year, something anyone can be astonished by. I came kind of late in the game (October), but since then I’ve kept up daily and it’s a part of the day that I really look forward to.

Two of my favorite videos by the vlogbrothers:

John Green


&

Hank Green


Links:
John and Hank's You Tube page
Nerdfighters.com

Best Facilitator of My Neuroses in 2007: last.fm


I listen to music always. I say always because I don’t I ever sit around in silence. Whether I’m showering, sleeping, doing homework, I pretty much always have music on in the background. Now I used to be one to bemoan digital music, I have an incredible CD collection and a tiny record collection, but I am past that now. Being semi-neurotic and OCD, the application last.fm was a perfect fit for my love of music and my personality disorders. Now I could see literally who I was listening to and how much. I am obsessed with my charts and boy does last.fm have plenty of charts. What’s even funnier is that I am my second most listened to artist…

Link:
My last.fm profile

Best New Record Label: Wee Pop! Records


I’m out of breath from all the praise I can give Thor and Camila of Wee Pop! Records, a tiny lo-fi CD label in the UK. For some of you looking for any Wee Pop! releases in my best albums of 2007 list you probably noticed that none were on there. But, that was because they would have dominated it. Everything Thor and Camila do is filled with so much love, not because it’s a living, but it’s a passion. They pick only the best artists and every release is handcrafted perfection and they will conquer the world, no your heart. I’m a true believer.

Some of the best songs from their catalogue in 2007:

Tinyfolk-“Really, Really Blue: A Tale Of Unrequited (Perhaps) Romance and Lizardry”
Bunnygrunt-“Where Eagles Dare, Pt 2”
Desmond Reed-“First Proud, Then Sad”
Sunny Intervals-“Sunset On Parliament Hill”
The Darlings-“Emily”

Links:
Wee Pop! Records
My Wee Pop! reviews of almost all their releases!

Best Personal Achievement of 2007: A Winter’s Tale Told In Spring


I love this fucking album. Everything before this was child’s play. These songs came together so naturally, so effortlessly. The recording process itself was almost nightmare inducing due to several technological scares, but whenever I completed a song I felt so satisfied. There is no filler here, its one of the truest expressions of myself I can possibly imagine. People responded with so much love and passion for these songs that they found nuances and meaning that I never even dreamed of. I know its only the beginning for me musically, but A Winter’s Tale Told In Spring was an early benchmark that will always hold up.

Mp3:
Existential Hero-“Almost Spirited Away”

Links:
Existential Hero on myspace
Download the album on CLLCT
Review of the album at RetroLowFi

And there you have it.

Mp3 of the Week-“Southern Comfort “ By Arrah and The Ferns

So I have to rant about this more. I day after I fall in love with Arrah and The Ferns they announce they’re breaking up. Totally tragic for me right? Well it’s more about how wonderfully talented this band is and that it’s sad to see them fall apart in their prime. Their record Evan Is A Vegan is simply stunning, filled with infectious harmonies, compelling instrumentation, and beautifully sweet sentiment.

I choose the song “Southern Comfort” because it’s melancholy, has a great sing-along ending and it’s one of their many songs to put the banjo upfront. Structurally it is reminiscent to the recently popular “Anyone Else But You,” by The Moldy Peaches, but its more emotionally satisfying and less silly.

The members of Arrah and The Ferns are all going on to make more music and I wish them the best of luck.

Mp3:
Arrah And The Ferns-"Southern Comfort"

Link:
Arrah and The Ferns on myspace