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22:48:30 05/17/12
It's Casual - Live in Studio B - Part 1 - The New Los Angeles
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 22:48:30 05/17/12
Part 1 of It's Casual performing live at Mevio Studios in San Francisco
For the entire performance CLICK HERE
WEBSITE FACEBOOK TWITTER MYSPACE YOUTUBE
BIO:
Like most Angelenos, Eddie Solis is pissed about the traffic on the 101. Unlike most Angelenos, Eddie Solis writes songs about being pissed about the traffic on the 101.
Solis’ band, an impossibly loud punk/hardcore duo called It’s Casual, addresses transit issues with an urgency hitherto unmatched in the realm of urban planning. Imagine Henry Rollins at a City Council Transportation Committee meeting, all neck veins and municipal outrage, and you get the picture.
Onstage, Solis’ eyes bulge amid a shock of curly hair, his throat emitting the collective war cry of a million frustrated commuters: “Los Angeles! There’s too many people! I want them to go away!”
His isn’t the Los Angeles of Priuses, Pilates and brunch, but the L.A. of undocumented immigrants, hardcore music and bus-stop delays. After nearly 10 years of ceaseless yelling, It’s Casual have a busy year ahead of them, what with slots on Fu Manchu’s North American tour, a forthcoming sequel to their ’08 ode to the city, The New Los Angeles, and, maybe, a European tour.
“We’ve been working at it and believing in this kind of music — which I call L.A. hardcore or L.A. skate rock — every day,” says Solis. His gaze is unflinching, and his voice is smog-raspened. He calls It’s Casual “L.A.’s only two-piece hardcore band” and is serious about his art. “I don’t take it lightly. It all comes from deep within.”
It’s Casual formed in 2001, the name inspired by a line in Cameron Crowe’s obscure follow-up to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, called The Wild Life. In it, a character played by the late Christopher Penn replies with “It’s casual” every time he is asked a question. Solis currently has a similar relationship with drummers — he’s between them. As far as a third member? “We kept trying to find a bassist, and they kept flaking,” Solis says.
The band’s sonic boom is amazing, considering there are only two of them. The secret to their sound is a unique pedal and mic’ing system. Solis’ guitar is actually wired to two amps for added punch. The results are so thunderous that fellow musicians have been known to come early to shows to watch him set up. (“There is a special formula with different pedals,” he explains of his sound. He’s trying to register it as intellectual property.)
It’s Casual’s first record, The New Los Angeles, came out in fall 2007, and was inspired by Solis’ commute from Pico Rivera to Hollywood. Tracks include “EZ Pass,” about the public transit ticket, and “The Red Line” (the handy subway that connects North Hollywood to Union Station). Most of It’s Casual’s songs last around two minutes and contain no more than three or four lyrics, hammering home their message with a directness most public servants and council officials have yet to master. Even Councilman Bill Rosendahl, chair of Los Angeles’ Transportation Committee, is impressed. “Music is a good way to get transportation messages across,” he says during a recent phone call, adding that he hoped It’s Casual were aware that plans for the Purple Line are afoot. “They should write a song about the Purple Line!” he enthuses, suggesting possible lyrics, singing: “The Purple Line/In my lifetime!”
It’s not all subways and off-ramps. Solis ventures into other matters. “Cholas Are Loyal,” for example, is all about the advantages of dating Latinas. And It’s Casual’s next album, The New Los Angeles II: Less Violence, More Violins, is inspired primarily by the California education budget deficit. “Do you think It’s Casual will translate in Europe?” he wonders, aware of his band’s distinctly local messages. But wherever there is a rush hour, there are people who identify with Eddie Solis.
Born and raised in East Los Angeles County, Solis is “the result of basically growing up around a gang-infested area with lots of negativity.” He turned to music and skateboarding as an escape, and was 15 when he started his first band — a Ramones cover group called Endless Vacation, which played shows in his parents’ living room. He got “the heaviness” from his father, who used to carry his young son around the house on his shoulders while listening to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and the Who. “They weren’t handing me money to buy me instruments,” Solis says, “but they were, like, ‘Hey, listen, we know you wanna do this, so here’s our backyard and here’s our living room.’ Which is pretty punk.”
His parents let him build a halfpipe in the back, and Solis would “put Slayer on the radio superloud” and learn skateboarding tricks with his friends. “That would be Friday night, and then Saturday we would have a show on the ramp and take donations to keep it refurbished.” Skate videos informed his taste in music — the teenage Solis would grab a pen and paper and pause the VCR to jot down names of bands like Black Flag, Dinosaur Junior, Hüsker Dü, “… all the good stuff on SST.”
Fast-forward to 1993, when Solis started interning at metal record label Century Media, which gave him a taste of hardcore commuting. Taking the bus from Pico Rivera to the label’s headquarters in Santa Monica every day was a formative experience, but he only lasted about a month (“Well, you know, it was a long trek”). That job led to a position at Priority Records, down the street in the CNN building. That’s where he learned how to sell records, a job he still does today as sales manager at doom-metal label Southern Lord.
Solis also worked as a publicist for Black Flag at SST, under the label’s founder, Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. Basically it was the gig of Solis’ 15-year-old dreams. “I took the job because I thought it would be great to work for an icon, a legend,” he says. It was there that he learned the philosophy of DIY.
Three years ago, while strolling down the road near the Southern Lord offices in East Hollywood, Solis came upon the Relax Bar, a 150-person capacity Thai karaoke bar with an orange awning. Solis has single-handedly transformed it into a hub for L.A.’s heavy music scene. He’s booked more than 400 thrash, doom, noise and punk bands there in the last three years. “I was going to lunch, walking past the Relax Bar and the door was open. I saw a stage and it had this dark, musty kind of vibe. Kind of grim in terms of the atmosphere but real positive in terms of what you could do there. I thought, if I could get these owners on the same page and book any format — whether it’s satanic black metal or really avant-garde stuff — that would be great.”
The Relax Bar’s owners, despite not being fluent in English, supported Solis’ vision, prompting the most unlikely cultural union since Weezer recruited Kenny G. “They had a guy translating as I tried to describe the kinds of bands I wanted to book, using metal as my main focus. I said ‘Ozzfest, no — not those kinds of bands. Stuff that’s a little more creative, full of more soul, and more organic.” He played them some It’s Casual and High on Fire and a selection of punk and grindcore CDs, and they seemed to like it. Turns out the ballad-loving Thai karaoke bar owners, like Solis, possessed an unyielding passion for DIY. “They know how much work it is to bring your gear out, record your own stuff and self-release records,” says Solis. “They are all musicians themselves.” It’s been a happy union ever since, with some of the gnarliest underground bands in L.A., from Municipal Waste to Chingalera, rocking the Relax Bar’s tiny stage amid the perpetual aroma of green curry and ginger — and, when the door pops open, the faint smell of bus exhaust.
0 Views
22:39:27 05/17/12
It's Casual - Live in Studio B - Part 2 - The Red Line
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 22:39:27 05/17/12
Part 2 of It's Casual performing live at Mevio Studios in San Francisco
For the entire performance CLICK HERE
WEBSITE FACEBOOK TWITTER MYSPACE YOUTUBE
BIO:
Like most Angelenos, Eddie Solis is pissed about the traffic on the 101. Unlike most Angelenos, Eddie Solis writes songs about being pissed about the traffic on the 101.
Solis’ band, an impossibly loud punk/hardcore duo called It’s Casual, addresses transit issues with an urgency hitherto unmatched in the realm of urban planning. Imagine Henry Rollins at a City Council Transportation Committee meeting, all neck veins and municipal outrage, and you get the picture.
Onstage, Solis’ eyes bulge amid a shock of curly hair, his throat emitting the collective war cry of a million frustrated commuters: “Los Angeles! There’s too many people! I want them to go away!”
His isn’t the Los Angeles of Priuses, Pilates and brunch, but the L.A. of undocumented immigrants, hardcore music and bus-stop delays. After nearly 10 years of ceaseless yelling, It’s Casual have a busy year ahead of them, what with slots on Fu Manchu’s North American tour, a forthcoming sequel to their ’08 ode to the city, The New Los Angeles, and, maybe, a European tour.
“We’ve been working at it and believing in this kind of music — which I call L.A. hardcore or L.A. skate rock — every day,” says Solis. His gaze is unflinching, and his voice is smog-raspened. He calls It’s Casual “L.A.’s only two-piece hardcore band” and is serious about his art. “I don’t take it lightly. It all comes from deep within.”
It’s Casual formed in 2001, the name inspired by a line in Cameron Crowe’s obscure follow-up to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, called The Wild Life. In it, a character played by the late Christopher Penn replies with “It’s casual” every time he is asked a question. Solis currently has a similar relationship with drummers — he’s between them. As far as a third member? “We kept trying to find a bassist, and they kept flaking,” Solis says.
The band’s sonic boom is amazing, considering there are only two of them. The secret to their sound is a unique pedal and mic’ing system. Solis’ guitar is actually wired to two amps for added punch. The results are so thunderous that fellow musicians have been known to come early to shows to watch him set up. (“There is a special formula with different pedals,” he explains of his sound. He’s trying to register it as intellectual property.)
It’s Casual’s first record, The New Los Angeles, came out in fall 2007, and was inspired by Solis’ commute from Pico Rivera to Hollywood. Tracks include “EZ Pass,” about the public transit ticket, and “The Red Line” (the handy subway that connects North Hollywood to Union Station). Most of It’s Casual’s songs last around two minutes and contain no more than three or four lyrics, hammering home their message with a directness most public servants and council officials have yet to master. Even Councilman Bill Rosendahl, chair of Los Angeles’ Transportation Committee, is impressed. “Music is a good way to get transportation messages across,” he says during a recent phone call, adding that he hoped It’s Casual were aware that plans for the Purple Line are afoot. “They should write a song about the Purple Line!” he enthuses, suggesting possible lyrics, singing: “The Purple Line/In my lifetime!”
It’s not all subways and off-ramps. Solis ventures into other matters. “Cholas Are Loyal,” for example, is all about the advantages of dating Latinas. And It’s Casual’s next album, The New Los Angeles II: Less Violence, More Violins, is inspired primarily by the California education budget deficit. “Do you think It’s Casual will translate in Europe?” he wonders, aware of his band’s distinctly local messages. But wherever there is a rush hour, there are people who identify with Eddie Solis.
Born and raised in East Los Angeles County, Solis is “the result of basically growing up around a gang-infested area with lots of negativity.” He turned to music and skateboarding as an escape, and was 15 when he started his first band — a Ramones cover group called Endless Vacation, which played shows in his parents’ living room. He got “the heaviness” from his father, who used to carry his young son around the house on his shoulders while listening to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and the Who. “They weren’t handing me money to buy me instruments,” Solis says, “but they were, like, ‘Hey, listen, we know you wanna do this, so here’s our backyard and here’s our living room.’ Which is pretty punk.”
His parents let him build a halfpipe in the back, and Solis would “put Slayer on the radio superloud” and learn skateboarding tricks with his friends. “That would be Friday night, and then Saturday we would have a show on the ramp and take donations to keep it refurbished.” Skate videos informed his taste in music — the teenage Solis would grab a pen and paper and pause the VCR to jot down names of bands like Black Flag, Dinosaur Junior, Hüsker Dü, “… all the good stuff on SST.”
Fast-forward to 1993, when Solis started interning at metal record label Century Media, which gave him a taste of hardcore commuting. Taking the bus from Pico Rivera to the label’s headquarters in Santa Monica every day was a formative experience, but he only lasted about a month (“Well, you know, it was a long trek”). That job led to a position at Priority Records, down the street in the CNN building. That’s where he learned how to sell records, a job he still does today as sales manager at doom-metal label Southern Lord.
Solis also worked as a publicist for Black Flag at SST, under the label’s founder, Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. Basically it was the gig of Solis’ 15-year-old dreams. “I took the job because I thought it would be great to work for an icon, a legend,” he says. It was there that he learned the philosophy of DIY.
Three years ago, while strolling down the road near the Southern Lord offices in East Hollywood, Solis came upon the Relax Bar, a 150-person capacity Thai karaoke bar with an orange awning. Solis has single-handedly transformed it into a hub for L.A.’s heavy music scene. He’s booked more than 400 thrash, doom, noise and punk bands there in the last three years. “I was going to lunch, walking past the Relax Bar and the door was open. I saw a stage and it had this dark, musty kind of vibe. Kind of grim in terms of the atmosphere but real positive in terms of what you could do there. I thought, if I could get these owners on the same page and book any format — whether it’s satanic black metal or really avant-garde stuff — that would be great.”
The Relax Bar’s owners, despite not being fluent in English, supported Solis’ vision, prompting the most unlikely cultural union since Weezer recruited Kenny G. “They had a guy translating as I tried to describe the kinds of bands I wanted to book, using metal as my main focus. I said ‘Ozzfest, no — not those kinds of bands. Stuff that’s a little more creative, full of more soul, and more organic.” He played them some It’s Casual and High on Fire and a selection of punk and grindcore CDs, and they seemed to like it. Turns out the ballad-loving Thai karaoke bar owners, like Solis, possessed an unyielding passion for DIY. “They know how much work it is to bring your gear out, record your own stuff and self-release records,” says Solis. “They are all musicians themselves.” It’s been a happy union ever since, with some of the gnarliest underground bands in L.A., from Municipal Waste to Chingalera, rocking the Relax Bar’s tiny stage amid the perpetual aroma of green curry and ginger — and, when the door pops open, the faint smell of bus exhaust.
0 Views
22:21:27 05/17/12
It's Casual - Live in Studio B - Part 3 - EZ Pass
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 22:21:27 05/17/12
Part 3 of It's Casual performing live at Mevio Studios in San Francisco
For the entire performance CLICK HERE
WEBSITE FACEBOOK TWITTER MYSPACE YOUTUBE
BIO:
Like most Angelenos, Eddie Solis is pissed about the traffic on the 101. Unlike most Angelenos, Eddie Solis writes songs about being pissed about the traffic on the 101.
Solis’ band, an impossibly loud punk/hardcore duo called It’s Casual, addresses transit issues with an urgency hitherto unmatched in the realm of urban planning. Imagine Henry Rollins at a City Council Transportation Committee meeting, all neck veins and municipal outrage, and you get the picture.
Onstage, Solis’ eyes bulge amid a shock of curly hair, his throat emitting the collective war cry of a million frustrated commuters: “Los Angeles! There’s too many people! I want them to go away!”
His isn’t the Los Angeles of Priuses, Pilates and brunch, but the L.A. of undocumented immigrants, hardcore music and bus-stop delays. After nearly 10 years of ceaseless yelling, It’s Casual have a busy year ahead of them, what with slots on Fu Manchu’s North American tour, a forthcoming sequel to their ’08 ode to the city, The New Los Angeles, and, maybe, a European tour.
“We’ve been working at it and believing in this kind of music — which I call L.A. hardcore or L.A. skate rock — every day,” says Solis. His gaze is unflinching, and his voice is smog-raspened. He calls It’s Casual “L.A.’s only two-piece hardcore band” and is serious about his art. “I don’t take it lightly. It all comes from deep within.”
It’s Casual formed in 2001, the name inspired by a line in Cameron Crowe’s obscure follow-up to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, called The Wild Life. In it, a character played by the late Christopher Penn replies with “It’s casual” every time he is asked a question. Solis currently has a similar relationship with drummers — he’s between them. As far as a third member? “We kept trying to find a bassist, and they kept flaking,” Solis says.
The band’s sonic boom is amazing, considering there are only two of them. The secret to their sound is a unique pedal and mic’ing system. Solis’ guitar is actually wired to two amps for added punch. The results are so thunderous that fellow musicians have been known to come early to shows to watch him set up. (“There is a special formula with different pedals,” he explains of his sound. He’s trying to register it as intellectual property.)
It’s Casual’s first record, The New Los Angeles, came out in fall 2007, and was inspired by Solis’ commute from Pico Rivera to Hollywood. Tracks include “EZ Pass,” about the public transit ticket, and “The Red Line” (the handy subway that connects North Hollywood to Union Station). Most of It’s Casual’s songs last around two minutes and contain no more than three or four lyrics, hammering home their message with a directness most public servants and council officials have yet to master. Even Councilman Bill Rosendahl, chair of Los Angeles’ Transportation Committee, is impressed. “Music is a good way to get transportation messages across,” he says during a recent phone call, adding that he hoped It’s Casual were aware that plans for the Purple Line are afoot. “They should write a song about the Purple Line!” he enthuses, suggesting possible lyrics, singing: “The Purple Line/In my lifetime!”
It’s not all subways and off-ramps. Solis ventures into other matters. “Cholas Are Loyal,” for example, is all about the advantages of dating Latinas. And It’s Casual’s next album, The New Los Angeles II: Less Violence, More Violins, is inspired primarily by the California education budget deficit. “Do you think It’s Casual will translate in Europe?” he wonders, aware of his band’s distinctly local messages. But wherever there is a rush hour, there are people who identify with Eddie Solis.
Born and raised in East Los Angeles County, Solis is “the result of basically growing up around a gang-infested area with lots of negativity.” He turned to music and skateboarding as an escape, and was 15 when he started his first band — a Ramones cover group called Endless Vacation, which played shows in his parents’ living room. He got “the heaviness” from his father, who used to carry his young son around the house on his shoulders while listening to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and the Who. “They weren’t handing me money to buy me instruments,” Solis says, “but they were, like, ‘Hey, listen, we know you wanna do this, so here’s our backyard and here’s our living room.’ Which is pretty punk.”
His parents let him build a halfpipe in the back, and Solis would “put Slayer on the radio superloud” and learn skateboarding tricks with his friends. “That would be Friday night, and then Saturday we would have a show on the ramp and take donations to keep it refurbished.” Skate videos informed his taste in music — the teenage Solis would grab a pen and paper and pause the VCR to jot down names of bands like Black Flag, Dinosaur Junior, Hüsker Dü, “… all the good stuff on SST.”
Fast-forward to 1993, when Solis started interning at metal record label Century Media, which gave him a taste of hardcore commuting. Taking the bus from Pico Rivera to the label’s headquarters in Santa Monica every day was a formative experience, but he only lasted about a month (“Well, you know, it was a long trek”). That job led to a position at Priority Records, down the street in the CNN building. That’s where he learned how to sell records, a job he still does today as sales manager at doom-metal label Southern Lord.
Solis also worked as a publicist for Black Flag at SST, under the label’s founder, Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. Basically it was the gig of Solis’ 15-year-old dreams. “I took the job because I thought it would be great to work for an icon, a legend,” he says. It was there that he learned the philosophy of DIY.
Three years ago, while strolling down the road near the Southern Lord offices in East Hollywood, Solis came upon the Relax Bar, a 150-person capacity Thai karaoke bar with an orange awning. Solis has single-handedly transformed it into a hub for L.A.’s heavy music scene. He’s booked more than 400 thrash, doom, noise and punk bands there in the last three years. “I was going to lunch, walking past the Relax Bar and the door was open. I saw a stage and it had this dark, musty kind of vibe. Kind of grim in terms of the atmosphere but real positive in terms of what you could do there. I thought, if I could get these owners on the same page and book any format — whether it’s satanic black metal or really avant-garde stuff — that would be great.”
The Relax Bar’s owners, despite not being fluent in English, supported Solis’ vision, prompting the most unlikely cultural union since Weezer recruited Kenny G. “They had a guy translating as I tried to describe the kinds of bands I wanted to book, using metal as my main focus. I said ‘Ozzfest, no — not those kinds of bands. Stuff that’s a little more creative, full of more soul, and more organic.” He played them some It’s Casual and High on Fire and a selection of punk and grindcore CDs, and they seemed to like it. Turns out the ballad-loving Thai karaoke bar owners, like Solis, possessed an unyielding passion for DIY. “They know how much work it is to bring your gear out, record your own stuff and self-release records,” says Solis. “They are all musicians themselves.” It’s been a happy union ever since, with some of the gnarliest underground bands in L.A., from Municipal Waste to Chingalera, rocking the Relax Bar’s tiny stage amid the perpetual aroma of green curry and ginger — and, when the door pops open, the faint smell of bus exhaust.
0 Views
21:54:59 05/17/12
It's Casual - Live in Studio B
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 21:54:59 05/17/12
It's Casual performs live at Mevio Studios in San Francisco
BIO:
Like most Angelenos, Eddie Solis is pissed about the traffic on the 101. Unlike most Angelenos, Eddie Solis writes songs about being pissed about the traffic on the 101.
Solis’ band, an impossibly loud punk/hardcore duo called It’s Casual, addresses transit issues with an urgency hitherto unmatched in the realm of urban planning. Imagine Henry Rollins at a City Council Transportation Committee meeting, all neck veins and municipal outrage, and you get the picture.
Onstage, Solis’ eyes bulge amid a shock of curly hair, his throat emitting the collective war cry of a million frustrated commuters: “Los Angeles! There’s too many people! I want them to go away!”
His isn’t the Los Angeles of Priuses, Pilates and brunch, but the L.A. of undocumented immigrants, hardcore music and bus-stop delays. After nearly 10 years of ceaseless yelling, It’s Casual have a busy year ahead of them, what with slots on Fu Manchu’s North American tour, a forthcoming sequel to their ’08 ode to the city, The New Los Angeles, and, maybe, a European tour.
“We’ve been working at it and believing in this kind of music — which I call L.A. hardcore or L.A. skate rock — every day,” says Solis. His gaze is unflinching, and his voice is smog-raspened. He calls It’s Casual “L.A.’s only two-piece hardcore band” and is serious about his art. “I don’t take it lightly. It all comes from deep within.”
It’s Casual formed in 2001, the name inspired by a line in Cameron Crowe’s obscure follow-up to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, called The Wild Life. In it, a character played by the late Christopher Penn replies with “It’s casual” every time he is asked a question. Solis currently has a similar relationship with drummers — he’s between them. As far as a third member? “We kept trying to find a bassist, and they kept flaking,” Solis says.
The band’s sonic boom is amazing, considering there are only two of them. The secret to their sound is a unique pedal and mic’ing system. Solis’ guitar is actually wired to two amps for added punch. The results are so thunderous that fellow musicians have been known to come early to shows to watch him set up. (“There is a special formula with different pedals,” he explains of his sound. He’s trying to register it as intellectual property.)
It’s Casual’s first record, The New Los Angeles, came out in fall 2007, and was inspired by Solis’ commute from Pico Rivera to Hollywood. Tracks include “EZ Pass,” about the public transit ticket, and “The Red Line” (the handy subway that connects North Hollywood to Union Station). Most of It’s Casual’s songs last around two minutes and contain no more than three or four lyrics, hammering home their message with a directness most public servants and council officials have yet to master. Even Councilman Bill Rosendahl, chair of Los Angeles’ Transportation Committee, is impressed. “Music is a good way to get transportation messages across,” he says during a recent phone call, adding that he hoped It’s Casual were aware that plans for the Purple Line are afoot. “They should write a song about the Purple Line!” he enthuses, suggesting possible lyrics, singing: “The Purple Line/In my lifetime!”
It’s not all subways and off-ramps. Solis ventures into other matters. “Cholas Are Loyal,” for example, is all about the advantages of dating Latinas. And It’s Casual’s next album, The New Los Angeles II: Less Violence, More Violins, is inspired primarily by the California education budget deficit. “Do you think It’s Casual will translate in Europe?” he wonders, aware of his band’s distinctly local messages. But wherever there is a rush hour, there are people who identify with Eddie Solis.
Born and raised in East Los Angeles County, Solis is “the result of basically growing up around a gang-infested area with lots of negativity.” He turned to music and skateboarding as an escape, and was 15 when he started his first band — a Ramones cover group called Endless Vacation, which played shows in his parents’ living room. He got “the heaviness” from his father, who used to carry his young son around the house on his shoulders while listening to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and the Who. “They weren’t handing me money to buy me instruments,” Solis says, “but they were, like, ‘Hey, listen, we know you wanna do this, so here’s our backyard and here’s our living room.’ Which is pretty punk.”
His parents let him build a halfpipe in the back, and Solis would “put Slayer on the radio superloud” and learn skateboarding tricks with his friends. “That would be Friday night, and then Saturday we would have a show on the ramp and take donations to keep it refurbished.” Skate videos informed his taste in music — the teenage Solis would grab a pen and paper and pause the VCR to jot down names of bands like Black Flag, Dinosaur Junior, Hüsker Dü, “… all the good stuff on SST.”
Fast-forward to 1993, when Solis started interning at metal record label Century Media, which gave him a taste of hardcore commuting. Taking the bus from Pico Rivera to the label’s headquarters in Santa Monica every day was a formative experience, but he only lasted about a month (“Well, you know, it was a long trek”). That job led to a position at Priority Records, down the street in the CNN building. That’s where he learned how to sell records, a job he still does today as sales manager at doom-metal label Southern Lord.
Solis also worked as a publicist for Black Flag at SST, under the label’s founder, Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. Basically it was the gig of Solis’ 15-year-old dreams. “I took the job because I thought it would be great to work for an icon, a legend,” he says. It was there that he learned the philosophy of DIY.
Three years ago, while strolling down the road near the Southern Lord offices in East Hollywood, Solis came upon the Relax Bar, a 150-person capacity Thai karaoke bar with an orange awning. Solis has single-handedly transformed it into a hub for L.A.’s heavy music scene. He’s booked more than 400 thrash, doom, noise and punk bands there in the last three years. “I was going to lunch, walking past the Relax Bar and the door was open. I saw a stage and it had this dark, musty kind of vibe. Kind of grim in terms of the atmosphere but real positive in terms of what you could do there. I thought, if I could get these owners on the same page and book any format — whether it’s satanic black metal or really avant-garde stuff — that would be great.”
The Relax Bar’s owners, despite not being fluent in English, supported Solis’ vision, prompting the most unlikely cultural union since Weezer recruited Kenny G. “They had a guy translating as I tried to describe the kinds of bands I wanted to book, using metal as my main focus. I said ‘Ozzfest, no — not those kinds of bands. Stuff that’s a little more creative, full of more soul, and more organic.” He played them some It’s Casual and High on Fire and a selection of punk and grindcore CDs, and they seemed to like it. Turns out the ballad-loving Thai karaoke bar owners, like Solis, possessed an unyielding passion for DIY. “They know how much work it is to bring your gear out, record your own stuff and self-release records,” says Solis. “They are all musicians themselves.” It’s been a happy union ever since, with some of the gnarliest underground bands in L.A., from Municipal Waste to Chingalera, rocking the Relax Bar’s tiny stage amid the perpetual aroma of green curry and ginger — and, when the door pops open, the faint smell of bus exhaust.
11 Views
20:00:00 02/19/12
Mass Effect IN SPACE and Mac Gaming Steps Up? - Press Pause Daily
[LESS INFO] 11 VIEWS | ADDED 20:00:00 02/19/12
Mass Effect heading to space and did gaming on the Mac just step up?
SHOW NOTES:
Story 1:
Gamers have been patiently awaiting the release of the third Mass Effect game, well some lucky gamer might just get their hands on a copy early, and it’s coming FROM SPACE!!!
This week EA will be launching copies of the game into space attached to weather balloons. Each copy will be attached with GPS tracking device, and gamers can go to masseffect.com and track them as they make their way back to Terra Firma. The first person that finds the game when it lands will get to keep it.
EA will be doing this promotion in six cities: New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Berlin, London, and Paris.
We have to give EA high marks for what is probably the most interesting way to promote a game we’ve ever seen. Man...I hope I get a chance to find it...
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2012/02/mass-effect-3-becomes-true-space-oddity-/1#.Tz2O23JWpe_
Story 2:
So, most gamers know that if you game on a computer, Apple’s Mac isn’t the first place you look. Could Apple be trying to change that?
Apple announced last week about the next update to the OS X operating system. They are bringing quite a few features over from their iOS mobile system, and a couple of them could be very useful to gamers.
The first is the announcement that Game Center would be making the move over to the Mac. This is Apple’s Xbox Live like online social and multiplayer that allows users to play against others. It also has matchmaking, chat, and achievement abilities as well.
The Mac version will be cross platform with iOS, and allow gamers to play against each other. Apple says that they have updated the API to make it easier for developers to add Game Center functionality to their games.
The other announcement is the addition of Airplay into the Mac. Airplay currently lets people with an iPhone, iPod, or iPad wirelessly mirror their devices to any TV that has an Apple TV connected to it. What this means is that gamers can mirror their Mac screen to their TV and use it to play their games on.
These sound pretty cool, though I doubt it will be enough to supplant the PC as the non-console platform or choice.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/16/os-x-mountain-lion/
That will do it for your daily dose of Press Pause. You can always find all our episodes over at presspause.mevio.com . You can also check them out over at our Youtube channel: youtube.com/presspausemevio .
14 Views
17:30:07 11/26/11
Updated: The Shocking Truth About Naomi Wolf's Factless Assertions
[LESS INFO] 14 VIEWS | ADDED 17:30:07 11/26/11
In an article for The Guardian , Naomi Wolf wrote this: >
In other words, for the DHS to be on a call with mayors , the logic of its chain of command and accountability implies that congressional overseers, with the blessing of the White House, told the DHS to authorise mayors to order their police forces – pumped up with millions of dollars of hardware and training from the DHS – to make war on peaceful citizens.
This follows the ongoing meme that DHS has coordinated the Occupy crackdowns on a national level; that they are orchestrating the violence behind the clearing of Zuccotti Park and others. Wolf carries this to her conclusion: >
So, when you connect the dots, properly understood, what happened this week is the first battle in a civil war; a civil war in which, for now, only one side is choosing violence. It is a battle in which members of Congress, with the collusion of the American president, sent violent, organised suppression against the people they are supposed to represent. Occupy has touched the third rail: personal congressional profits streams. Even though they are, as yet, unaware of what the implications of their movement are, those threatened by the stirrings of their dreams of reform are not.
It's a factless, incendiary assertion dripping in hyperbole, grounded in speculation that's been going on for a couple of weeks now. It began with a tweet. A tweet from Michael Moore speculating that the coordination seemed like something being coordinated by DHS and sanctioned, nay, possibly even requested, by the Obama administration.
Here are the two links Wolf provides as evidence: One to Wonkette ; the other to Washingtonsblog.com . Both articles point back to this absurd article on the Examiner.com site (a very, very right-wing Phil Anschutz, write-out-of-your-butt-with-no-evidence kind of site). Washingtons Blog goes one step further, updating with this: >
(And for those who are understandably doubtful about Examiner.com as a news source, here’s an AP story from a couple hours ago that verifies everything except the specific mention of DHS coordination. )
Got that? The headlines on both of these stories (Wonkette and Washingtons Blog) were splayed across the sites in very large heading fonts: “Homeland Security Coordinated….” and yet the AP confirms everything BUT DHS coordination. Still, that didn’t stop Wolf from ignoring the AP story entirely and writing a piece for the Guardian that included links to bolster her argument that are as factless as her hyperbole, and stem from right-wing sites with anonymous sources.
No one has a source, no one has any evidence, and the originating story which Michael Moore and now Naomi Wolf breathlessly spread quotes an anonymous source with the promise of still more to come in the future, from a "reporter" for Examiner.com who no one seems to know . Miraculously, this "reporter" got a tip from DHS that no national reporter received, and even though Mr. Ellis walks back his original accusation, he promises updates in the future. Well, it’s the future. It’s two weeks later and crickets from Mr. Ellis. Mission accomplished, though. Ask people who are paying attention to the OWS movement and they’ll swear up and down that yes, it was coordinated by DHS because MICHAEL MOORE and now NAOMI WOLF say so.
Truth: We don’t know. It isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility for mayors to consult with DHS. After all, that’s what they’re there for. To help local and state governments deal with threats, real, rumored or perceived. At best, one can conclude that maybe they did, and maybe they didn’t coordinate, and if they did coordinate, no one knows to what extent they did or whether there was any sort of "blessing" and/or mandate from DHS to what they ultimately chose to do.
The best anyone can say is "maybe". But if Wolf were not trying to stoke an international narrative she has chosen, she would have had a look at Portland, where there is some evidence that DHS was consulted because the occupiers were adjacent to federal land. >
There is another line of thinking out there that runs directly counter to the federal-coordination theory: Ruiz wouldn’t comment on this, but one well-placed city source said, in fact, that the feds were mostly inclined to leave Schrunk Plaza open. It was city officials who cajoled them into getting on board—lest they watch most of Occupy’s camp merely move several hundred feet south onto federal land. Which would have been awkward for the city. But also interesting.
Should you accept as fact the idea that the feds were reluctant and the city pushed them along? NO. Why? Because it’s attributed to an anonymous source with nothing to back it up, which makes this theory as worthy as the DHS coordination theory, or just speculation with no facts behind it.
Josh Holland at AlterNet also notes: >
Ironically, the occupation that arguably maintains the best relationship with local officials is Occupy DC, and the Washington, DC government is directly overseen by Congress.
Look, if DHS somehow instructed these cities to dress up their cops in riot gear, pepper spray kneeling protesters, use billy clubs to keep them from crossing imaginary borders, and ultimately throw the lot of them out, then yes, by all means shake your fist. But it's irresponsible for Wolf to publish such incendiary accusations -- accusations of real, physical civil war -- in an international publication, to cite magical articles with unsourced accusations and call it fact. Some might actually call it a lie.
Wolf's hyperbole does harm to the OWS movement and those honest people out there conducting themselves peacefully and with clear intent, because she intentionally tried to stir the fires of anger and discontent and anti-government sentiment on an international level. She should have to either retract or clarify her accusations.
Update Joshua Holland has written his own excellent response to Wolf's specific accusations. >
When you don’t “connect” wholly disparate “dots,” what you get is far less dramatic. Mayors in a handful of cities, responding to local political pressures, decided to break up their local occupations — decisions that were announced to the press well in advance — and were advised as to how best to do so.
One doesn’t have to like that fact to recognize that it’s hardly shocking, and anything but a sinister assault on local communities’ autonomy.
Also, regarding PERF's* involvement, an interview with the director in The Boston Phoenix : >
But what is PERF? And what role, if any, did it play in the police actions? According to PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexler, not the one he had hoped.
His organization is more concerned with improving police practices and policies, he said. He cited a report PERF published in June, which gives advice that runs exactly counter to how Occupy has been handled in most cities — emphasizing communication, respect for the First Amendment, and avoidance of violent methods at nearly all cost.
"Over the years, we've taken on racially biased policing, violent crime, the Gates-Crowley thing in Cambridge," he said. "It's not always pretty, and it's not easy, but I think we owe it to the public to identify best practices."
* PERF is the Police Executives' Research Forum, a group who views themselves as a progressive organization dedicated to reducing police brutality and establishing best practices for police officers in various situations. Until recently, they've been a big target of the right wing for their support of gun control laws.
13 Views
17:30:07 11/26/11
Updated: The Shocking Truth About Naomi Wolf's Factless Assertions
[LESS INFO] 13 VIEWS | ADDED 17:30:07 11/26/11
In an article for The Guardian , Naomi Wolf wrote this: >
In other words, for the DHS to be on a call with mayors , the logic of its chain of command and accountability implies that congressional overseers, with the blessing of the White House, told the DHS to authorise mayors to order their police forces – pumped up with millions of dollars of hardware and training from the DHS – to make war on peaceful citizens.
This follows the ongoing meme that DHS has coordinated the Occupy crackdowns on a national level; that they are orchestrating the violence behind the clearing of Zuccotti Park and others. Wolf carries this to her conclusion: >
So, when you connect the dots, properly understood, what happened this week is the first battle in a civil war; a civil war in which, for now, only one side is choosing violence. It is a battle in which members of Congress, with the collusion of the American president, sent violent, organised suppression against the people they are supposed to represent. Occupy has touched the third rail: personal congressional profits streams. Even though they are, as yet, unaware of what the implications of their movement are, those threatened by the stirrings of their dreams of reform are not.
It's a factless, incendiary assertion dripping in hyperbole, grounded in speculation that's been going on for a couple of weeks now. It began with a tweet. A tweet from Michael Moore speculating that the coordination seemed like something being coordinated by DHS and sanctioned, nay, possibly even requested, by the Obama administration.
Here are the two links Wolf provides as evidence: One to Wonkette ; the other to Washingtonsblog.com . Both articles point back to this absurd article on the Examiner.com site (a very, very right-wing Phil Anschutz, write-out-of-your-butt-with-no-evidence kind of site). Washingtons Blog goes one step further, updating with this: >
(And for those who are understandably doubtful about Examiner.com as a news source, here’s an AP story from a couple hours ago that verifies everything except the specific mention of DHS coordination. )
Got that? The headlines on both of these stories (Wonkette and Washingtons Blog) were splayed across the sites in very large heading fonts: “Homeland Security Coordinated….” and yet the AP confirms everything BUT DHS coordination. Still, that didn’t stop Wolf from ignoring the AP story entirely and writing a piece for the Guardian that included links to bolster her argument that are as factless as her hyperbole, and stem from right-wing sites with anonymous sources.
No one has a source, no one has any evidence, and the originating story which Michael Moore and now Naomi Wolf breathlessly spread quotes an anonymous source with the promise of still more to come in the future, from a "reporter" for Examiner.com who no one seems to know . Miraculously, this "reporter" got a tip from DHS that no national reporter received, and even though Mr. Ellis walks back his original accusation, he promises updates in the future. Well, it’s the future. It’s two weeks later and crickets from Mr. Ellis. Mission accomplished, though. Ask people who are paying attention to the OWS movement and they’ll swear up and down that yes, it was coordinated by DHS because MICHAEL MOORE and now NAOMI WOLF say so.
Truth: We don’t know. It isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility for mayors to consult with DHS. After all, that’s what they’re there for. To help local and state governments deal with threats, real, rumored or perceived. At best, one can conclude that maybe they did, and maybe they didn’t coordinate, and if they did coordinate, no one knows to what extent they did or whether there was any sort of "blessing" and/or mandate from DHS to what they ultimately chose to do.
The best anyone can say is "maybe". But if Wolf were not trying to stoke an international narrative she has chosen, she would have had a look at Portland, where there is some evidence that DHS was consulted because the occupiers were adjacent to federal land. >
There is another line of thinking out there that runs directly counter to the federal-coordination theory: Ruiz wouldn’t comment on this, but one well-placed city source said, in fact, that the feds were mostly inclined to leave Schrunk Plaza open. It was city officials who cajoled them into getting on board—lest they watch most of Occupy’s camp merely move several hundred feet south onto federal land. Which would have been awkward for the city. But also interesting.
Should you accept as fact the idea that the feds were reluctant and the city pushed them along? NO. Why? Because it’s attributed to an anonymous source with nothing to back it up, which makes this theory as worthy as the DHS coordination theory, or just speculation with no facts behind it.
Josh Holland at AlterNet also notes: >
Ironically, the occupation that arguably maintains the best relationship with local officials is Occupy DC, and the Washington, DC government is directly overseen by Congress.
Look, if DHS somehow instructed these cities to dress up their cops in riot gear, pepper spray kneeling protesters, use billy clubs to keep them from crossing imaginary borders, and ultimately throw the lot of them out, then yes, by all means shake your fist. But it's irresponsible for Wolf to publish such incendiary accusations -- accusations of real, physical civil war -- in an international publication, to cite magical articles with unsourced accusations and call it fact. Some might actually call it a lie.
Wolf's hyperbole does harm to the OWS movement and those honest people out there conducting themselves peacefully and with clear intent, because she intentionally tried to stir the fires of anger and discontent and anti-government sentiment on an international level. She should have to either retract or clarify her accusations.
Update Joshua Holland has written his own excellent response to Wolf's specific accusations. >
When you don’t “connect” wholly disparate “dots,” what you get is far less dramatic. Mayors in a handful of cities, responding to local political pressures, decided to break up their local occupations — decisions that were announced to the press well in advance — and were advised as to how best to do so.
One doesn’t have to like that fact to recognize that it’s hardly shocking, and anything but a sinister assault on local communities’ autonomy.
Also, regarding PERF's* involvement, an interview with the director in The Boston Phoenix : >
But what is PERF? And what role, if any, did it play in the police actions? According to PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexler, not the one he had hoped.
His organization is more concerned with improving police practices and policies, he said. He cited a report PERF published in June, which gives advice that runs exactly counter to how Occupy has been handled in most cities — emphasizing communication, respect for the First Amendment, and avoidance of violent methods at nearly all cost.
"Over the years, we've taken on racially biased policing, violent crime, the Gates-Crowley thing in Cambridge," he said. "It's not always pretty, and it's not easy, but I think we owe it to the public to identify best practices."
* PERF is the Police Executives' Research Forum, a group who views themselves as a progressive organization dedicated to reducing police brutality and establishing best practices for police officers in various situations. Until recently, they've been a big target of the right wing for their support of gun control laws.
13 Views
03:58:48 09/25/11
Meet the new Freddie Mercury...
[LESS INFO] 13 VIEWS | ADDED 03:58:48 09/25/11
Throughout the day yesterday, my Twitter and Facebook feed EXPLODED with links and posts about my buddy Marc Martel of the band Downhere who uploaded a video to YouTube a few days ago which went viral. And by viral, I mean more than 1.5 Million views in less than 3 days! The video he submitted is a recording of himself singing a cover of the Queen song Somebody to Love as part of the Queen Extravaganza competition. Queen drummer/songwriter/singer Roger Taylor launched the competition only a few days ago in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the band Queen and offers the opportunity for winners to tour in the Queen Extravaganza Live Tour in early 2012. Music fans worldwide have suddenly discovered what we downhere-fans have known for years: that Martel's Freddie Mercury impression and likeness are beyond stellar. However it's not just an impersonation - Marc's actual singing voice lends itself not only to Mercury, but in the early days of downhere, he was often compared to the likes of Bono of U2 and even former DC Talk member Kevin Max. (I really should dig up a copy of Downhere's cover for U2's Beautiful Day ; my husband and I preferred it over the U2 version, but I know that's a bit sacrilegious to say out loud.) Marc has even ventured into singing opera in the past few years, which may seem a little farfetched for a rocker, but as one commenter stated, "This guy is the Swiss Army knife of singing!"
Though it may seem like videos go viral all the time, Marc stated in an interview with WGBL that the reporter he talked to from the Wall Street Journal on Friday said it truly isn't that common. Nonetheless, views today (Saturday) have grown to more than 1.8 Million total views, and strangely enough many fans including myself have noticed the YouTube counter seems to get "stuck" on the play count for several hours before jumping up again.
I have known the members of Downhere, Marc, Jason, Jeremy and Glenn, for about 10 years now, ever since a friend at Word Records introduced me to them and asked me to edit a promotional music video for their first album release. From the moment I first heard clips of their to-be-released debut until now, they have been my absolute favorite band. I've always told them that someday I expected them to get a big break like Christian rockers Switchfoot did in 2003 when their fourth studio album suddenly sold 2.6 Million copies after being marketed to the mainstream music industry. While this is certainly not the same story, Marc's new-found fame will certainly prove to enhance the awareness of Downhere . Over the years I have heard SO many new fans discover Downhere's music and say things such as "WHY aren't you all better known? This band has so much talent!" However, I also believe that God has used their journey to keep them grounded as the most down-to-earth set of performers that I have ever encountered. Not a concert goes by where they don't spend at least 30-45 minutes after the show in the lobby greeting every single fan who wants to meet and talk with them. This deep connection to their concert goers has established a grassroots fan base for them that has grown and sustained them as a band over a decade when many Christian performers have come and gone.
FINALLY an opportunity has arisen that will shine the spotlight on these guys who spent 9 of the past 10 years touring North America in a 15 passenger van. Media coverage by outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Huffington Post , and the CBC to name a few, has just started. Whether Marc gets a chance to perform with Queen in early 2012 or not is yet to be seen, but many fans feel it would be a travesty otherwise.
Marc's Original Audition video: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dREKkAk628I)
Amazing "Mashup" video with Marc and Freddie Mercury singing simultaneously: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPhkfk8EBsI
CBC interview: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV1-9TeMS4w%feature=share)
GREAT Radio Interview out of Chicago: http://twt.fm/491745
Celebrity Values article: http://celebrityvalues.com/marcmartel.html
CNN clip: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2011/09/23/ctw-han-viral-videos.cnn?hpt=hp_c2
Marc Martel Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marc-Martel/283556381655697
1 Views
05:02:22 03/12/11
Video: New Mexico scientists study Japan quake
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 05:02:22 03/12/11
mexico -- we talked to people today with loved ones in japan. michiko pierce is originally from japan-- and her family still lives there. after seeing the destruction when she woke up this morning --- pierce began trying to reach her brothers and sisters. after several tries was able to get through to her sister. "she said i'm ok but i never heard, never felt such a big earthquake. i cannot stand up i have to hold something." pierce's family is okay. they live in tokyo-- northeast of where the earthquake and tsunami hit. we also caught up with a man visiting family in farmington. his wife and kids are in japan. "the last email message i received... which would have been shortly after midnight japanese time was that yeah every 5 to 10 minutes there was an earthquake" potter says he's keeping in touch through email and text -- and everyone is okay. some of the top minds at new mexico universities are using data from japan's devastating earthquake to study how it happened and what it means for us here at home. eddie garcia joins us now with what they're saying. in many ways this tragic and terrible event is shining a spotlight on things scientists here already know and things they didn think were possible. this was a large earthquake even for japan so there's going to be a tremendous amount of work to repair the country. doctor richard aster - new mexico tech professor of geophysics- is using valuable data collected from japan's devastating earthquake to learn. he calls the event rare and says it has worlwide rippling effects. to a certain extent, earthquakes will trigger other earthquakes even at large distances. at about the same time the 8.9 earthquake was rocking japan, tiny tremors were recorded here in new mexico at the sierra ladrones monitoring station just north of socorro. very tiny earthquake - magnitude zero as a matter of fact but detectable with sensitive instruments. the aftermath of japan's mega- quake cause thousands of other problems - the largest being trouble at a nuclear plant. unm nuclear engineering professor mohammed el-genk says tsunami floodwaters cut power to the plants coolant system - even backup generators were knocked out. but rather than a chernobl style meltdown - he says modern nuclear plants have backups for backups. it is unfortunate that what happened happened but it's really, for us in the field it makes us feel comfortable that our design works. it worked this time - but aster believes it's an ominous reminder of what can happen here in the u.s. this may, in very many ways be a likely scenario that will occur someday in northern california up through the seattle area in the united states. doctor aster tells me the northwest is part of the pacific ring of fire which is connected directly to the epicenter of japans deadly quake - and what happens there gives them more and more clues about what can happen in the u-s. back to you. to give you another ideas just how powerful the earthquake was in japan--- nasa says the force sped up the earth rotations by one point 6 microseconds. and the u-s geological survey says japan's mainland-- the honshu island--- was pushed eight feet to the east. the quake was the fifth- strongest in the world since 1900--- and the most powerful on record to ever hit japan.
13 Views
18:55:34 11/19/10
Healers and Cataclysm
[LESS INFO] 13 VIEWS | ADDED 18:55:34 11/19/10
Those of you who think Blizzard hate healers... really should read this
You may have heard that healing in Cataclysm is going to feel different. The role will be more challenging, particularly in terms of resource management. This won’t be news to a lot of regular forum readers, but I see enough “why nerf healers?” concerns that I thought it was still a worthwhile topic for an inaugural developer blog.
As a blanket statement, healer mana wasn’t a big concern in Wrath of the Lich King. You could run out of mana sometimes, but it really didn’t affect your spell choice in the way it did prior to Lich King. We think resources should be important, though. A lot of gameplay in a wide variety of games comes down to managing a limited resource, whether it's Vespene Gas in an RTS, ammo in an FPS, or even time in a puzzle game. Managing your resources well makes you a better player. Not being limited by resources can feel empowering over a short period of time, but only because it feels like you’re breaking the rules. In fact you are breaking the rules, and once those short periods of time have ended, a game can quickly lose its luster. Godmode isn’t nearly as compelling in the long term as it might seem at first glance.
Now, it is true that resource management is an even bigger part of the game for healers than it is for other roles. “Not fair!” you might be ready to cry. I used this analogy once before, and it seemed to resonate with lots of people, so I’ll use it again. Dealing damage is like a sprint. You typically want to go as fast as you can. Healing isn’t a race though -- it’s more like darts. You want to be as precise as you can. A big part of the healing gameplay is using the right tool for the right job. The resource cost of those tools is one of the things that differentiates them. Remove the resource constraint and you lose one dimension that differentiates the tools. Good healers used to pride themselves on keeping everyone standing up without running out of mana.
For a number of reasons, all of which were completely our fault, healers had too much mana regeneration in Wrath of the Lich King. Let’s look at the consequences of infinite mana for a moment.
For starters, those expensive, fast heals were never a difficult choice. Expensive doesn’t really apply in the absence of a cost, so they were just fast heals. Why wouldn’t you want to cast a fast heal? Healer gameplay became smaller because they had fewer options. Rather than choosing the right tool, everyone picked a spell such as Power Word: Shield, Flash of Light or Rejuv, and just used that spell. Over and over. We think a cornerstone of good gameplay is making interesting decisions. When your toolbox is too small (because the expensive or slow spells are immediately discarded as tools) then you are making fewer interesting decisions.
Second, since healers weren’t really running out of mana, we had to find other ways to make those raid encounters that were designed to be challenging actually challenging. That often came down to very high tank or raid damage. So now not only did healers not have much of a choice about which spell to use, but they also had to use that spell every global cooldown or risk someone dying. This made healing stressful without the reward of having made good decisions. If you healed the wrong target, hesitated for a moment, or had a laggy connection, then someone was going to die.
Third, anything that played off of mana regeneration, such as a talent, a stat like Spirit, or even a proc from a trinket, became undesirable. Furthermore, since mana wasn’t a concern, overhealing was also not a concern, and players did it with abandon. When everything is an overheal already, then stats like critical strike chance also become devalued.
Fourth, PvP balance suffered. When healers could easily heal anyone to full without fear of overhealing or running out of mana, then battles became very binary. You either killed someone or you didn’t. Nobody sat in a wounded state very long. There was no sense of a changing tide or someone coming from behind. Imagine a tennis match where the outcome of the first serve won or lost the entire match. We could have improved this situation by increasing health pools, which is exactly what we did for Cataclysm, but larger health pools with infinite mana would just make bosses feel unthreatening.
To be clear, we don’t want healers to constantly run out of mana. We want them to run out of mana when they don’t play well. And we don’t want them to always fail. But we do want them to feel good when they are challenged, and overcome those challenges to succeed. When someone is wounded, we want healers to consider whether to use a slow, efficient heal (because they aren’t in immediate threat of dying) or a fast, expensive heal (because they are). That’s called triage, and it was notably missing from the Lich King healing environment. We think triage will make healing more fun. We’re making this change not to make healers sad by nerfing them, but to make healers happy by making the game more fun for them.
10 Views
20:41:05 06/15/10
Fathers Day Gift Guide - Picture Porter 35 - RnR Geek Video
[LESS INFO] 10 VIEWS | ADDED 20:41:05 06/15/10
Michael Butler gives some Fathers Day gift ideas.
Purchase the Picture Porter 35 and support the show too!
Picture Porter 35 - Store, view, share, and manage digital photos anywhere you go
* Click on the Support tab to download firmware update and view release notes.
Firmware v1.2.1 released March 15, 2010.
Your Ultimate Digital Camera Companion
With Picture Porter 35, you can instantly back up your precious pictures so you can keep snapping away. Simply insert the memory card from your digital camera into Picture Porter 35 and download images into its built-in hard drive. You can copy and archive photos directly from memory cards, without the need for lugging around a heavy laptop . With its large LCD display, you can clearly inspect the photos before deciding which are keepers and which to need to be re-shot. Picture Porter 35 works with all popular media card formats , including CF, MMC, SD/HC Card, MS, MS PRO, and xD-Picture Card . You can also easily make yourself copies of photos taken from friend's and family member's digital cameras for instant archival of special picture moments.
The USB-Host function lets you connect USB devices like USB Flash Drives, flash memory based camcorders, hard drive based camcorders, and external hard drives to Picture Porter 35. You can connect an external hard drive to make a secondary backup of critical photos, or connect to the internal flash memory of your digital camcorder and copy your recordings to free up the internal memory for more videos.
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While viewing photos on Picture Porter 35's large 3.5" LCD screen , you can rotate, zoom, pan, view EXIF information and histogram, and play picture slideshows of your images (including RAW image content) . You can also connect Picture Porter 35 to a TV and share your photos and music with family and friends on a big screen in the comfort of your living room. Picture Porter 35 also supports various music and video formats so you can keep your collection of media content in one place for easy access and enjoy them anywhere you go.
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The PhotoMemo feature lets you record specific notes or comments with your photos, and play the comments with each photo during photo playback. The Playlist feature lets you create unique photo slideshows that can be viewed on Picture Porter 35 or transferred to Digital Foci’s Image Moments digital photo frame for playback. Other features include audio and video playback, a built-in speaker, audio recorder with built-in mic, and audio and video output.
See the different ways you can use Picture Porter 35 »
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0 Views
12:36:32 05/07/10
Defending Municipal Court & Traffic Court Tickets
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 12:36:32 05/07/10
WINNING TRAFFIC TICKETS BY KENNETH A. VERCAMMEN Too often lawyers throw up their hands when a client presents a ticket involving Driving While Suspended, DWI or Reckless Driving. While defense of traffic ticket charges involving serious motor vehicle charges may become an involved process requiring commitment and persistence, there are a number of viable defenses and arguments that can achieve a successful result. www.njlaws.com KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC ATTORNEY AT LAW 2053 Woodbridge Ave. Edison, NJ 08817 (Phone) 732-572-0500 (Fax) 732-572-0030 website: www.njlaws.com 1. The In-Office Interview at the Law Office We advise potential clients to bring in a copy of the complaint, all their papers in connection with their case, accident report, and any documents they received from the Motor Vehicle Commissions. Often times I will instruct them to write a confidential narrative if it is a case that is fact- specific or involves a great deal of detail, such as an DWI case. When the client is first in the office, we have them fill out the Confidential New Municipal Court Interview Form. We obtain background information such as their name, address, the offenses charged, date of the persons arrest, other witnesses, statements given to them by the police, their occupation and information regarding prior motor vehicle convictions. Our interview sheet also asks if there is anything else important, such as a medical condition that affects their case. This form will also let us know whether or not the client will follow instructions and cooperate with us. After reviewing the summons and the interview sheet, I ask a series of questions of the client. We request the client wait until the end of the interview before explaining their side of the story. We also ask them if there is anything else of importance in connection with the case that we should know. 2. Retaining the Attorney Rule 1:11-2 of the Rules of Professional Conduct indicate a retainer letter or written statement of fees is required for new clients. I also provide all my clients with written information explaining how to appear in court, information on surcharges, information on points, and information regarding substance abuse treatment, if applicable. Once we receive our retainer (are paid), we begin work right away. Usually while the client is still in the office, we prepare a discovery letter on the computer to the prosecutor/district attorney and court and hand a copy to the client. We occasionally call the court to advise them that we will be handling the case and to inquire who handles discovery. We check the Lawyers Diary to determine who are the judges and prosecutor/district attorneys for the county or town. It is important to learn about the judge and the prosecutor. We require a great deal of cooperation from our clients in an effort to help keep their costs reasonable. We require our clients to take photographs of accident sites and prepare diagrams and provide us with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of witnesses. I recommend that my clients provide me with a list of between 10 to 15 reasons why they should not go to jail and why court should impose the minimum license suspension. We recommend they obtain a Motor Vehicle Abstract. This provides us with information for mitigation of penalties and also provides information to be considered by the judge in sentencing. 3. Post Interview Work We also make a Motion to Suppress where there is a question regarding the validity of a stop or search. Any other Motions to Dismiss should be made in writing such as statue of limitations or lack of jurisdiction. Oftentimes in cases that deal with just one disputed issue such as the admissibility of a blood test result in alcohol or drugs, we can make a Motion in Limine or suggest a pre-trial conference. It is often a good idea to try to know how the judge will decide in order to save us a three-hour trial on a complicated case. If the court rules against us in the Motion in Limine we can enter a guilty plea contingent upon reserving your right to appeal on that one issue. 4. Discovery Phase Oftentimes we do not receive all of the discovery that we request. We send a letter to the prosecutor requesting additional discovery and request that the discovery be provided within 10 days. If we do not receive the discovery with 10 days then we prepare a Motion to Compel Discovery. In the case involving essential witnesses, we occasionally write to the witnesses and ask them to call us so that we can find out what really happened. If possible I have a law clerk call up after we send the initial letter. The attorney cannot testify if the witness provides an inconsistent statement but our law clerks can testify. I sometimes speak to friendly witnesses myself later to make a decision to determine whether or not the witnesses are credible. Upon receiving discovery, we forward a photocopy of all discovery to our client. We then discuss with the client whether or not they have a reasonable prospect of winning. In drunk driving cases we review the videotape with the client prior to the trial date and sometimes make arrangements to retain an expert. 5. Preparing for Court If it is a DWI blood case, we should make an objection to the entry of the lab certificate as evidence at trial. We are also under a responsibility to provide any reciprocal discovery to the prosecutor. Occasionally, in a court where there is only one prosecutor you should call the criminal court prosecutor ahead of time to see if a matter can be worked out or plea bargained. Some prosecutors in lower courts work part time and are not compensated for the many telephone calls they get in their offices. If we discover a favorable case, we make a copy for the judge, prosecutor, and client. Never assume the part time prosecutor or judge is familiar with all the laws. We can prepare a Subpoena ad Testficandum for witnesses to testify and Subpoena Duces Tecum for witnesses to bring documents. We have our clients hand deliver the Subpoenas and write out their own check for the subpoena fees. It is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. Over the years I have made it a practice to build up files on particular legal subjects with complete case law. I now have files for drunk driving, driving while suspended, drugs in motor vehicle, and careless driving. When we receive the hearing notice we send a follow up reminder to the client to be on time, bring all papers and call 24 hours ahead to confirm the case is still on the calendar. The client should be prepared and look neat. The Grateful Dead and Budweiser T-Shirts should be replaced with something that looks presentable. They should have their pregnant wives sitting next to them. Preparation is the key to winning cases or convincing the prosecutor of exceptional defenses. Upon arrival at court, we will attempt to ascertain if the police officer is available. Sometimes the police officer is on vacation, retired, or suspended. This may assist your ability to work out a satisfactory arrangement. There is no prohibition against speaking with States witnesses in a non-threatening way. Outside of the courtroom, I usually call out the name of the non-law enforcement States witnesses to determine what their version of the facts are. If we have an excellent trial issue but believe the judge is going to rule against us, we bring an appeal notice and file it with the Court on the Record. I keep in my car blank forms for Order to Compel Discovery, Order Mark Try or Dismiss, Order to be Relieved, and an Appeal Notice. 6. Plea to a Lesser Defense If the client is going to enter a guilty plea to an offense, it is important they understand what the offense is and put a factual basis on the record. The Judge will be angry if a person is pleading guilty to a drunk driving case and the judge asked them what he had to drink, the person insists he only had one beer. The judge will send us back to our seat and must refuse to take the guilty plea unless an adequate factual basis is put on the record. Having previously obtained for my clients their favorable background, I usually put on the record reasons why the judge should give them the minimum penalties. Letters of reference and character reference letters are helpful in cases where the judge has wide discretion in his sentencing. After the client pleads guilty, it is a good idea to also ask the client on the record if he has any questions of myself or of the court. 7. Conclusion Whether or not we have a trial or there is a plea to reduce the charge, I wish to walk out knowing I did the best you could for the client. Even if I lose, I want to have been such an articulate advocate that the client walks out saying my attorney is great but the judge is wrong. We try to be innovative and prepare new arguments. We handle a substantial amount of traffic court and personal injury cases and have put case law and certain legal defenses on our website: www.NJLaws.com. About the Author: Kenneth A. Vercammen is an Edison, Middlesex County trial attorney who has published 125 articles in national and New Jersey publications on criminal court and litigation topics. Kenneth A. Vercammen is an Edison, Middlesex County, NJ trial attorney who has published125 articles in national and New Jersey publications on business and litigation topics. He often lectures to trial lawyers of the American Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. He is a highly regarded lecturer on litigation issues for the American Bar Association, ICLE, New Jersey State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. His articles have been published by New Jersey Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management Magazine, and New Jersey Lawyer. He is the Editor in Chief of the New Jersey Municipal Court Law Review. Mr. Vercammen is a recipient of the NJSBA- YLD Service to the Bar Award. He has served as a Special Acting Prosecutor in nine different cities and towns in New Jersey and also successfully handled over One thousand Municipal Court and Superior Court matters in the past 12 years. In his private practice, he has devoted a substantial portion of his professional time to the preparation and trial of litigated matters. He has appeared in Courts throughout New Jersey several times each week on Criminal personal injury matters, Municipal Court trials, and contested Probate hearings. He serves as the Editor of the popular legal website
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19:03:50 01/15/10
Music Video Reform School VS Ke$ha and Duran Duran - MeVIO Music
[LESS INFO] 17 VIEWS | ADDED 19:03:50 01/15/10
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It's a regular dance party here at Music Video Reform School. In this episode, Jackie and Martina bring you a bit of modern flavor with a video from Ke$ha. Then they they go old school with a classic 80's video from Duran Duran.
Ke$ha:
BIO: (from allmusic.com )
Brash, driven pop singer and songwriter Kesha (Kesha Rose Sebert) was born in Los Angeles but moved at the age of four to Nashville, when her mother -- a longtime songwriter -- inked a publishing deal. (Over a decade prior to that, Pebe Sebert's biggest success came with "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You," originally recorded by Joe Sun and later by Dolly Parton.) Before finishing high school, Kesha returned to L.A. for the sake of jump-starting her own career in music; she did this despite being set up to study psychology at Columbia. She came into contact with Dr. Luke, a co-writer and co-producer of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" (among several other hits), who was impressed with some demo recordings. She penned the Veronicas' "This Love" and later contributed background vocals to Britney Spears' "Lace and Leather," both of which were released in 2008, but the biggest turning point came in 2009, when she was tapped to contribute vocals on Flo Rida's Dr. Luke-produced "Right Round," a number one Hot 100 hit. Subsequently signed to RCA, her debut album, featuring collaborations with Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco, was set for release in early 2010, led by the October 2009 single "Tik Tok."
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Duran Duran
BIO: (from lastfm.com )
Duran Duran (named after a character in Roger Vadim’s sci-fi classic, Barbarella) is an electronic pop-rock band that was part of the new wave music movement in the early 1980s. Created by Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (bass) in Birmingham, UK, 1978, with the later addition of Roger Taylor (drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), and Simon Le Bon (lead vocals), the band has sold more than 100 million records, making them one of the best-selling bands in history.
Their songs are vivid, hook-laden pop that have usually fared well on the radio, but what many remember best about Duran Duran is their iconic music videos. Though many of the videos were tongue-in-cheek, the band never quite escaped the glamorous and decadent jet set image their early videos projected.
Their first singer and original founding member was Stephen Duffy and the original bassist was Simon Colley. Several drummers and guitarists were subsequently tried, as well as a handful of vocalists after Duffy left Duran Duran early in 1979. Duran Duran performed the title sequence theme for the 1985 James Bond film “A View To A Kill”.
Like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran was among the earliest bands to work on their own remixes. From the very beginning, the band had a keen sense of style, and worked with stylist Perry Haines and fashion designers such as Kahn & Bell and Antony Price to build a sharp and elegant image, soon growing beyond the ruffles and sashes of the pirate-flavoured new romantic look.
Although the group never disbanded, it went through several line-up changes over the years - American guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (formerly of Missing Persons) was also a member of the band from 1989 to 2001, and drummer Sterling Campbell was a member from 1989 to 1991. John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor all returned in 2001 and created a stir among music media and the band’s fans. Duran Duran released the first album from the reunited line-up, Astronaut, in 2004, which was in turn followed up by many sold out shows in England, most notably Wembley Arena, where a live DVD of the tour was filmed in 2004/2005.
In October of 2006, it was announced on Duran Duran’s website that Andy Taylor had left the band. The band’s latest album, ‘Red Carpet Massacre’ was released in November 2007. They performed the album live in New York City on Broadway at the Barrymore Theater, for what was originally scheduled as an unprecedented 10-night run. A stage hand union strike shortened the run by a few nights, but Duran Duran were able to re-schedule the shows elsewhere. They went on to tour the world, ending their successful run in December of 2008.
They are also finishing 2008 by releasing a new DVD that documents the making of their now-classic “Rio” album (called “Classic Albums: Rio”), and a book called “Would Someone Please Explain?”- a compilation of questions from the “Ask Katy” area of their popular website.
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15:33:06 01/13/10
CES 2010 CESpool coverage - Loops on Your iPhone
[LESS INFO] 8 VIEWS | ADDED 15:33:06 01/13/10
Michael Butler and Sam Levin visit the guys who make Looptastic for the iPhone
About Looptastic: Mobile Mashups Made Easy
Looptastic is the performance remix tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Tear apart tracks with your fingertips. Crossfade and filter. Play live through headphones or speakers. It’s a party in your pocket.
Looptastic Producer was featured in the What's Hot section of the App Store.
"Looptastic Producer offers l33t music producers the most bang for their buck." wired.com
"You'll be mixing like a pro." Fox News "A cool and intuitive remixing environment" Electronic Musicia
"What an amazing app. The tempo / stretch control is completely seamless. This app has gone from strength to strength and I hope it keeps on going." Palm Sound
"Its so easy to perform different mixes in real time that saying it is smooth is a total understatement. A real winner! Good work guys!!" KeyWiz
"Deep [yet] easy to use." AppCraver.com
* Import your own loops in AIFF, WAV, or OGG format using an intuitive web interface. Importing requires a Wi-Fi connection to a PC, Mac, or Linux machine.
* Automatic beat synchronization makes loops of different tempos play in sync
* Manipulate the sound with any of 9 effects, including fliters, delay, repeater, bit crusher, and flanger.
* Apply effects to part or all of the mix
* Load up to four minutes of CD-quality loops per set.
* Comes with 260 loops packaged as 26 remixable tracks. This includes the complete set of Electro and Progressive loops. *** Requires that you download the Electro and Progressive sets from the Loop Store at no charge.
* Multitouch volume control with three zones and crossfader
* Record your mix for future playback on the device
* Export your mix to Mac or PC via Wi-Fi
* Tempo control using timeshifting algortihms. The pitch stays the same--only the BPM changes.
* Play up to 20 loops at the same time and mix and match between built in loops and your own loops.
* One Shot mode plays samples without time-stretching -- ideal for sound bites
* Manually trigger loops using a waveform display Tips & Tricks
Looptastic is easy to use, but surprisingly deep. Here are some insider tips for creating more exciting performances.
Quick Mix
You don’t need to wait for all the sounds to load before starting to mix. As soon as a loop icon lights up, you can drag it to the playing field and begin your performance. You can even drag unloaded sounds there; they’ll start to play as soon as they’ve loaded. (This technique works best with percussive loops.)
You don’t have to wait for loops to load before starting your performance.
Hello, I’ll Be Your Fader
Play the Extremes
The Looptastic crossfader is a lot more expressive than you’d think. Tap the extreme right and left edges of the fader on the beat to create DJ-style transform effects. (Try tapping the filter screen on offbeats, too.)
Cue & Evolve
Move the fader all the way to one side, cue up some loops in the silent zone, and then snap the fader over to the silent side on the next downbeat. That will transition to a new section in your song. Repeat this left-right, cue-and-snap movement to keep the mix evolving.
Instant Breakdown
Put all the loops except a vocal into one side zone, and then quickly crossfade to the other side to solo the vocal. (Keeping a subtle hi-hat pulse going in the center zone — which always plays — helps propel the mix along.) Now drag loops horizontally from the silent zone into the center zone, one by one, to start building up your track again.
Right now, only the vocal (right zone) and hi-hat (center zone) are playing. Dragging loops horizontally from the silent zone (left) adds them back to the mix, creating a build.
No-Stress Recording
Unlike most music apps, in which you click Record and then pray you perform something good, Looptastic is always listening. In Looptastic, you hit Record after you’ve played something great, knowing Looptastic has already captured it. This retro-recording design eliminates the “red light jitters” so many performers get.
Producer’s Cut
With the flagship Looptastic Producer app, you can really personalize your mix by importing your own sounds over Wi-Fi. (We call it Mashup to Go.) Looptastic automatically time-stretches your loops so they play in sync, but there’s also a hidden sound-bite feature: Before import, change the mode to One Shot on your computer. That disables the time-stretching so your sound bite plays normally. By setting the loop length, you can control how often it repeats.
Set sound bites to One Shot mode and Looptastic Producer will play them at the original speed. Control how often the phrase repeats by picking a bar length.
Export Control
One of our biggest customer requests was for a way to export recordings as high-res audio files. That’s now possible in all versions of Looptastic. (Except the free one, although even it captures your performance moves, so you can still record the iPhone’s analog output.) You can burn exported files directly to CD.
Got a hot tip? Send it in! We’ll feature the best ones here, along with a link to your site or YouTube demo. Support
How do I restore Loop Sets I purchased on another device or on the same device?
If you previously bought Loop Sets inside Looptastic Producer, you can download them again at no charge. Simply go through the steps of purchasing the loop set(s) again. You will not be charged a second time. You will also receive a confirmation message that you have previously purchased the item.
I’m having trouble uploading; what should I do?
It is important that your device have a valid Wi-Fi connection and be on the same Wi-Fi Network as your computer.
If your device is saying it is unable to establish a connection, try restarting it using the following steps:
* Hold the power button at the top for 5 seconds
* Swipe the "slide to power off" slider.
* Wait for the device to power down.
* Press the power button again.
You may want to try setting up an ad hoc Wi-Fi network between your computer and your device. On the Mac, the steps are as follows:
* Click on the Wi-Fi icon on the menu.
* Choose Create Network. Choose a name for your network and click OK.
* On your device, open the settings. Choose the network you created in step 2.
* Open Looptastic and press the Import/Export button.
* On your computer open a browser with the address shown on the device screen (for example, http://169.254.237.89:8080). At this point you should see the Looptastic web page.
I don’t hear the sound. What’s wrong?
* If you are running iPhone or iPod OS 3.0, make sure you update to the latest version of Looptastic. We have fixed the incompatibility in version 2.1.0 of Looptastic.
* Make sure your iPhone is not in silent (vibrate only) mode.
* Make sure the volume is turned up.
* Make sure that you have moved the loops (colored squares) to the top of the screen so that they play at full volume.
I’m having trouble with audio breakups or the application closes by itself. How do I fix this?
Try restarting your iPhone or iPod Touch to free up memory:
* Hold down the power button.
* Swipe the slide to power off.
* Wait for the unit to power down and then press the power button again.
What is the best way to create loops for Producer?
There are several good ways to create loops. Both Ableton Live and Sony Acid allow you to export tracks individually. This is very helpful for creating separate parts at the same length and tempo.
You can also use Apple GarageBand to prepare loops for Looptastic. The key is set up a 4- or 8-bar section and use the looped playback feature to set a range. Then, solo one track and export your mix to a AIFF file. Repeat for each track in your arrangement.
Here are some freeware loop editors that may help:
Mac:
Loop Editor
Audacity
PC:
Wavosaur ( Tutorial )
Audacity
The tempo is off; what do I do?
For best results, use loops that have a similar or identical tempo. Also, use loops that are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 bars in length. Looptastic Producer will do its best to line everything up automatically. If all else fails, make each track the same length.
Where can I get some loops?
Here are three demo sets developed by Adam Smith Kipnis that you can download and use with Looptastic Producer.
Operator
Kickit
Electric
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23 Views
12:37:49 12/06/09
Music Video Reform School VS Powerman 5000 and Adam Lambert - MeVIO Music
[LESS INFO] 23 VIEWS | ADDED 12:37:49 12/06/09
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Jackie and Martina are back with some more video critiques. This week we have videos from Powerman 5000 and Adam Lambert.
Powerman 5000:
BIO: (from allmusic.com )
Helmed by vocalist Spider (aka Michael Cummings, also know as Spider One or MC Spider, the younger brother of Rob Zombie), the Boston-based underground electro-metal band Powerman 5000 earned a popular cult following along the East Coast with the release of their 1994 indie debut EP, True Force, and 1995's LP The Blood Splat Rating System, the latter of which appeared on Conscience Records. Two years later, the band moved to Dreamworks (and relocated to Los Angeles), where they released a revamped version of their debut as Mega!! Kung Fu Radio.
Touring with the likes of Marilyn Manson and Korn, as well as a stint on Ozzfest, expanded their fan base and led up to Powerman 5000's 1997 science fiction-esque follow-up, Tonight the Stars Revolt! During shows and promos for the album, the band was often found sporting spacesuits and other sci-fi paraphernalia. The record went platinum, helped in part by the success of singles "When Worlds Collide" and "Nobody's Real" on MTV. The halted release of a since aborted album entitled Anyone for Doomsday? signaled the departure of longtime bassist Dorian Heartsong (aka Dorian 27) and drummer Al Pahanish (aka Al 3) in early November of 2001. A year later, drummer Adrian Ost (aka Ad7) was added to the group; bassist Siggy Sjursen joined 40 auditions later before 2002 came to a close.
Powerman 5000, including Spider and longtime guitarists Adam Williams (aka Adam 12) and Mike Tempesta (aka M.33), was then back in full effect. Transform, their fourth album, marked the band's new more punk-inspired, less industrial sound and new lineup when it was released in spring 2003. It debuted at number 25 on the Billboard charts and produced a hit in the song "Free," though Dreamworks dissolved in the middle of the album's promotion. A rarities collection appeared in 2004 on Spider's own Megatronic label; more lineup changes would occur before the eventual release of the band's fifth full-length. Williams and Tempesta exited to be replaced on guitar by Johnny Heatley and ex-Alien Ant Farm's Terry Corso. Powerman 5000 inked a deal with DRT Entertainment in spring 2006, and Destroy What You Enjoy surfaced that August. Subsequent tour dates through fall were played.
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" Somewhere On The Other Side Of Nowhere "
Adam Lambert
BIO: (from allmusic.com )
Before becoming a front-runner in the eighth season of American Idol, vocalist Adam Lambert made his name in the theater world, where he performed alongside Val Kilmer in the debut production of Ten Commandments: The Musical and landed an understudy role in a touring production of Wicked. The California native subsequently parlayed that theater background into a successful multi-month run on American Idol in 2009. Lambert's flair for neo-goth attire and eclectic arrangements made him a critical favorite, as did his dramatic tenor vocals. Following performances of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," Tears for Fears' "Mad World," and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," Lambert found himself pitted against contender Kris Allen in the grand finale, which he ultimately lost by a slim margin. Lambert was unanimously praised by the American Idol judges, however, who all but guaranteed him a successful recording career following the show's conclusion.
Although Lambert didn't win the Idol competition, he received far more attention than his castmates during the subsequent months, appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone in June ("I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay," he stated in the accompanying article, thus putting an end to the public's speculation) and eliciting standing ovations during the summer-long American Idol tour. He also signed with RCA and began recording his debut album, working alongside producer Rob Cavallo while soliciting material from the likes of Lady Gaga, Linda Perry, Justin Hawkins, and RedOne. One month before For Your Entertainment's release, Lambert released his first single, a track from the 2012 soundtrack titled "Time for Miracles." His debut album followed in November, arriving one week after the release of Kris Allen's own debut.
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6 Views
02:47:05 05/28/09
Aero Tv Innovative Audio Panel Ps Engineering's Pma8000 B
[LESS INFO] 6 VIEWS | ADDED 02:47:05 05/28/09
An Evolutionary Upgrade Keeps This Audio Panel Series At The Top Of The Game While there is no end of news concerning the major companies that populate the GA world, sometimes its the quiet little companies that really deserve more of the attention. A case in point is PS Engineering... a little company that decided it could specialize in one aspect of avionics and try to be the best in the field... and to many, that's just what they've done. One of their latest efforts is the PMA8000B -- a new audio panel coming that should go a long way towards making those long cross-country flights speed by a little quicker. PS Engineering has added a new player to its product line, the PMA8000B-MP3. This Audio Control Panel incorporates all of the capability of the popular PMA8000B, but adds an internal MP3 player that stores up to one gigabyte of music... which means pilots can leave their iPods secure in their flight bags. Pilots may upload files to the panel using a portable USB Thumb drive. Once the Thumb Drive is connected to the audio panel by the supplied USB cable, pressing the Function and Transfer Keys automatically starts the transfer process. The PMA8000B-MP3 provides audio annunciations to keep the pilot advised of the status and the completion of the transfer. Front panel buttons accomplishes MP3 On/Off, Skip Forward, Pause, Random, Sequential, and Volume Up/Down. The music is distributed to the crew and passengers according the pilot controlled configurations, also easily changed 'on-the-fly.' The user interface is accomplished with secondary functions on the standard audio panel keys, with a female voice feedback that announces the modes. This is the same method introduced by the PMA8000-SR in 2005, which proved to be a very successful way to add functions, without making the everyday controls more complicated. The PMA8000B MP3 is a slide-in replacement for the existing PMA8000, PMA8000B, and Garmin GMA340 audio control panels. The PMA8000B with internal MP3 will add about $150 to the cost of a standard PMA8000B, with a Minimum Advertised Price of $1849. The Standard PMA8000B MAP is $1695, while the SIRIUS Satellite Radio-equipped PMA8000SR carries a MAP of $2190. Aero-TV Listens To What The PMA8000B Brings To The Audio Panel Biz FMI: www.ps-engineering.com, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews Copyright 2009, Aero-News Network, Inc., ALL Rights Reserved.
