More sad news from Jerry Gaskill, the solid, amazing drummer from King’s X. I previously posted about Jerry’s heart attack that took him off the stage for months, though he has recovered. However, Jerry has now lost all his possessions due to the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. There is a fundraiser going on now to help him get back on his feet. I hope it’s successful in some way. Hang in there, Jerry!
I mentioned before that I was interviewed for a documentary about Feel Good Music Coalition, the label that features my music. I got to speak about my own experiences, my friendship with Simeon Lawrence (Young Sim), and my general thoughts about the media. Not a ton of my interview made the final cut, but I am still featured here and there. The documentary was produced by Fill It In Productions and directed by Nano Lara. My interview was filmed in Georgia by a young man named Ian Mortensen, who did not previously have any camerawork experience, but he did a great job. Enjoy!
A friend of mine suggested that the Curiosity rover must obviously listen to the music from Hello Dolly, because rovers like musicals, and for some reason that didn’t ring true to me. What kind of music would Curiosity carry on that 4 GB hard drive? The answer, of course, is Dream Theater. Here are the Top 10 reasons why:
I finally have a studio set up in my new apartment and I’ve gotten some song ideas down for a new musical project. Odes was a very fun, but draining, solo project, and after I got done I needed some time to decompress a bit. However, I have always wanted to do a project with my friend Benjamin Zabriskie, whose music I was introduced to on my mission. He’s a family friend originally from Kentucky, and has done some great solo music, but right now he’s also playing guitar in a surf/pop band called The New Electric Sound that is releasing an album in just a couple days. My brother Thomas will also be playing drums or percussion and singing his signature awesome vocals and harmonies. He has been playing drums and singing in a cover band called Fourscore in Lexington, Kentucky.
Our band will not be called Sad Pterodactyl. I am going to experiment a bit more with electronic instruments on this album, and Benjamin and I have decided that there will be a spiritual element as well, though it may be less obvious than on Odes. It is definitely in the rough/planning stages (though we have three song ideas recorded at this point) so I will keep all of you updated on the progress. In the meantime, check out Benjamin’s and Thomas’s projects. Rock over London, Rock on Chicago.
I found out at least one other musician has been inspired by the Odes of Solomon – a guy named John Schreiner put them to music (my album was simply inspired by some lines and images from the Odes of Solomon, his is a direct adaptation). As such, I have created a small page to gather information about such modern adaptations. It will probably be updated pretty infrequently, but hopefully the information will be interesting and inspiring.
