blutonic relationship

Well folks, I think it’s high time for some good ol’ self-promotion (right Bob — like a blog isn’t like one big giant ego trip all by itself…)
After messing around for a couple of years playing for anyone fortunate enough to own a grand piano, the scrappy little jazz trio I play in got a gig that should offer something more in the way of compensation besides the hearty “you guys were great” or as much bar-b-q as we can eat.

Ladies and gentlemen, bluetonic invades the unsuspecting Sapphire Hotel this coming Sunday night, December 10th at 8:00 PM.

After several weeks of begging, electric cello-monster Gideon Freudmann finally relented and agreed to put in a guest appearence with the group. There's also a few surprises rumored that I can neither confirm nor deny at this time, but it looks to be a total gas — I can hardly wait…

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster™ and all the usual outlets…
Well, actually, there’s no charge to get in, but you’d better buy something while you’re there—you can’t just sit there watching the band! And don’t forget to tip your server!!

I love you all,

b ÷ ]

Carothers House Concert Wrap-Up..

You know, it's funny, I think Craig Carothers has played here 10 times in the past few years, and for some reason during all those shows I've never thought to take pictures — probably has something to do with the fact that I'm running around like a preist with a secret the day of the show trying to get everything ready.

It's a shame because he's consistently transcendant, and I always end up wishing I had some record of the evening. This time was no different in regard to racing around like mad to get the house in shape, except that this time I did manage to snag a few jpegs of the performance for posterity.


True to form, Mr. Carothers once again had people at turns either bawling like infants or cackling like teenage girls—what a talent.

Good times, good times...

Thanks again to everyone who made it out.

Got Flash?

If I ever meet Jonathan Gay, I’m gonna kick him in the nuts... either that or buy him lunch. It terrifies me to think about how much time I’ve wasted looking at stuff like this.

Now consider how much time this fella spent writing the script.

And yet, I still can’t look away...
(bonus points if you can name the tune.)

craig carothers house concert; saturday november 18th

Some of you might’ve noticed that I’ve got my apporach a little backwards here, posting Gideon Freudmann’s Dec 2nd house concert last week, and then posting Craig Carothers’ November 18th show today. But c'mon—Jack Elam!

Seriously though, if you’ve been, you know how quickly Craig can fill a room, so if you’re thinking you want to reserve a seat or two, you’d better do it sooner than later.

Just drop me a line and let me know if you want to come.

See you here!

*Yikes...*

I wonder if this is what it was like in Rome during those last days.

For those of you who like your irony well-done, here’s an interesting bit of trivia (for laughs, swap out “Romans” with “United States”—hilarious!).

“The largest organised rival of the Romans was the Persian Empire to the east, occupying modern Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Persians were the political descendants of the Parthians who had revolted away from Greek rule following Alexander's conquests and, thereafter, successfully resisted Roman invasions.”

Maybe the end really is near…

Excerpt copyright © 2002 Adrian Dorrington http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/uc_dorrington1.htm

TaborNeighbor™ House Concerts

After several quiet months, the Tabor Neigbor™ House Concert Series gets going again with a bang (or was that more of a “boing..?”).

First off, prodigal brother-in-law Craig Carothers will again grace our presence as he makes his Fall swing through the Northwest on Saturday, November 18th. Tickets are $10, doors open at 7:00 PM.

2 weeks later, Gideon Freudmann plays here on Saturday, December 2nd, at 7:00 PM. Do yourself a huge favor and click on Gideon's name up there; go on now, I’ll wait...

After you do that, prepare to email me your reservation, because you are not going to want to miss this one!

Gideon plays this wacky electric cello that bears a striking resemblence to one of those cartoon boat anchors. He runs it though a series of digital looping effects, allowing him to, as his press kit states: “…conduct a virtual symphony from the body of a single instrument.” Or as I state: “…cause everybody’s jaw to hit the floor in utter astonishment.”

In case you don't believe me, check out this interview with Gideon on NPR’s Weekend Edition, then be prepared to email me your reservation...

Two [Artichoke] Heats as One

Since my rocking Flash-tacular design website is still sort of, uh, “gestating” — I thought I’d use this space to post some of the recent work I have simmering. To wit: this poster I did for Stumptown folk legends Kate Power and Steve Einhorn of Artichoke Music. There isn't a muscian's life here that hasn't been touched in some way by their humble music store on Hawthorne. People who know them affectionately refer to Kate and Steve as “Mr & Mrs Artichoke,” which is why there is a pair of artichokes on the poster. (awww...)

Not only are they are two of the nicest people in town, they recently took home a 1st prize trophy at the 2006 Kerrville Folk Festival for Kate’s warily poignant ode to one of the first Oregon soldiers killed in Iraq, “Travis John.”

I had breakfast with them recently, and am giddy to be able to work with artists so highly regarded on several new design projects. (did I mention they own a music store..?) Frankly, I’m also looking forward to the challenge of working in a genre rife with so many nasty clichés.

Should be a gas—stay tuned…

¿Que Paso Gato?

For some reason I have this random factoid floating about in my head that states the percentage of people who begin blogs who actually stick with it is like 2. Percent. No kidding.

I have this artist friend who sort of got me started doing it. In fact lately I've been checking hers out to see if she's as big a slacker as I am—she is. She hasn't put anything up since August 3rd when she posted the brilliant (there's that word again) "OK GO" video—which was amazing. However neither she nor I have written anything since. And for those of you who "blog" (of course now it is a verb, I think William Safire said so), you know that posting a video is what you do when you can't think of anything intersting to write about...

…like the new KITTENS in our house!!! We got them from the Oregon Humane Society last month, after our dearly beloved "Gizmo's" 9th life finally came due. We inherited Gizmo from my dad, so I'm not positive of his exact age, but I am confident he was old enough to buy beer.

So long old friend...

But now — time for new kittens!!!

I joke of course, but there was something about the whole experience that felt oddly like swapping out an old water heater. Indeed Daisy, our 6 year-old, was crazy excited about getting a new cat even while Gizmo lay wheezing on the kitchen floor unable to make it to his Meow Mix. From eulogy to cattery was less than a week. Isn't the innocence of small children adorable?

Our new little friends came from the Humane Society "pre- named." — ladies and gentlemen, this is (or was) "Nutmeg" and "Tippy". When we picked them up they said we could rename them if we wanted (doesn't that confuse them?), so Daisy said she thought that instead their names should be "Nutty" and "Tiptoe".

And so it was...