Thursday, January 06, 2005
Ellen Meister
This is my good friend, author Ellen Meister. She is one of the most terrific women I've had the pleasure of meeting. We're partners in crime at New York City Zoetrope meet-ups (Zoetrope being our on line writing community). Though of course Ellen is no criminal, that would be me. Anyway, without further ado, let me post what I read about her in the "Recent Deals" section of Publishers Marketplace this morning:
5 January, 2005
Fiction:
Debut Ellen Meister's debut novel, GEORGE CLOONEY AND OTHER SECRET LONGINGS OF THE APPLEWOOD PTA, a frank suburban comedy about three PTA women who are transformed when Hollywood announces plans to shoot a movie in their town, to Carrie Feron at Morrow/Avon, for publication in early 2006, by Andrea Cirillo and Annelise Robey at the Jane Rotrosen Agency.
arobey@janerotrosen.com
*************
How freaking cool is that! To give you a little more info, Ellen signed a hardcover deal with a major publisher and this is her first novel! I mean, you know her book is amazing because that just doesn't happen in today's financial climate. Way to go, Ellen!
Here's a link to Ellen's Publishers Marketplace webpage.
And in a shameless bit of promotion on my own behalf, here's a link to my new, improved Publishers Marketplace webpage
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Okay at last! Some more photos from the studio...
Last night, taking a much needed break after hours of recording, we have, left to right, Marky Ramone, crazy Joey Randazzo (if you read my book The Tour, he's the one who drank water out of my son's dirty rain-soaked sock, put on a dress to sing a punked out version of Scenes from an Italian Restaurant...and is just the consummate performer on stage)and of course next to Joey is my handsome wildly talented drummer son, Eric, and next to Eric is one of the best 17 year old female lead guitar players in the universe - Ms. Grace Hollander (yep, also mentioned in The Tour).
And here's one of Marky jamming out. Wow. I wonder what it must feel like, being the lone surviving Ramone. Kind of surreal, I'd imagine.
In case you're wondering where daughter Julie is, she's both the photographer and the recording engineer. But I hear a rumor someone snapped her pic so as soon as I get it, I'll post it!
Whoops -- this just in -- here's a couple more pics:
That would be Marky on drums and Grace Hollander and Madison Flego on guitar...and if you read The Tour, you already know how I feel about Madison and her fantastic vocals, plus she plays a mean guitar as well. Both of these girls are the two sweetest people you'd ever want to meet.
And that's Madison and Marky again, and the kid hunched over and hiding in the hooded sweatshirt is Madison's boyfriend and my adopted son, Louie, one of the best 18 year old male lead guitar players ever - he'd embarrass some seasoned vets...this kid grew up with my kids and he'd pick up a guitar when he'd come over to play video games since we have guitars out in stands all over the house and I could tell he had enormous talent so I hooked him up with Paul when he was fourteen/fifteen years old and now he's making a fucking CD with Marky Ramone and oh man, Eric said I have to stop mentioning the other stars involved or I'll get them all in trouble.
Hang on - Julie's in that photo! That's her in the denim coat and jeans with her face (of course) turned away from the camera.
Anyway, I'll get even with Louie for hiding when his pic was being taken - here's one of him on stage this summer in the red t-shirt and tan shorts. That's Haffie on the far left - another awesome guitarist and mentioned prominently in The Tour, and of course Napoleon again on vocals, my son on drums, and our resident diva, Teddi in the skirt and if you squint hard, daughter Julie is in there, too, playing bass on the right in the back.
So. I'm still not allowed to tell any studio stories but I did find out one thing: Both kids in unison said "Marky is really, really nice!".
When feeling bored and depressed I go to Google...
While I wait for them to wake up and upload the pics of Marky Ramone from yesterday, I googled my kids and found these awesome pictures of them in concert:
Here's Julie:
Here's Eric, looking so young I can't believe it - this was only a year and a half ago but what a difference that makes when you are 17 (and you decide to grow your hair really long)
But of course here's how Eric looks now sitting behind the drums - just in concert with Napoleon Murphy Brock, Julie, C.J. on guitar, and Napoleon's friend Steve on keyboards:
Here's one of the crowd watching them perform in adoration and you can see my blonde head in there, in the front middle, next to Ric, the guy in the white hat and yellow press pass around his neck (and that would be C.J.'s dad, Ric, as formally introduced in The Tour archived here)
And here's one of my future son-in-law Matt looking even younger than my son last year though I suppose a year with Julie would age anyone (ha ha)...
Here's Julie:
Here's Eric, looking so young I can't believe it - this was only a year and a half ago but what a difference that makes when you are 17 (and you decide to grow your hair really long)
But of course here's how Eric looks now sitting behind the drums - just in concert with Napoleon Murphy Brock, Julie, C.J. on guitar, and Napoleon's friend Steve on keyboards:
Here's one of the crowd watching them perform in adoration and you can see my blonde head in there, in the front middle, next to Ric, the guy in the white hat and yellow press pass around his neck (and that would be C.J.'s dad, Ric, as formally introduced in The Tour archived here)
And here's one of my future son-in-law Matt looking even younger than my son last year though I suppose a year with Julie would age anyone (ha ha)...
Monday, January 03, 2005
So a couple of things..
My kids are in the studio recording I Wanna Be Sedated with Marky Ramone right now so hopefully I'll have some gossip tomorrow. This really bites -- my son has given me all kinds of dirt on bands that have recorded at Studio 4 (formerly Ruffhouse Records) but I can't blab any of it here...I could get him in trouble. He's told me some really fun stuff about some really famous bands. So if anyone wants to buy me a drink....
Secondly, while I'm not losing, I'm not doing great in the Best New Blog 2004 competition. They're posting numbers now and I have 25 votes. I'm losing to the guy with the shoe fetish for fucks sake! So I'm begging now - if you haven't voted yet, I'm on my knees here, and don't forget to verify your vote when they email you by clicking on the link in said email or your vote won't count. Please don't let me lose to feet...
Oh, to make it easy, vote here
Third, go lock your doors, kick the kids out of the room, and read an excerpt from my new novel, Three Days in New York City
And finally, buy this book by my pal Tom Saunders! It so, so rocks! Brother, What Strange Place is This?
So, to sum it up - (1)I'll have more recording gossip tomorrow one way or another, even if I can't tell you all the really good stuff )(well, Marky Ramone, like um, how good can it be...I'm gonna hope for funny); (2) vote for my blog, and most importantly (3-4)buy my book and Tom's, and err (5) I've now gone two consecutive days without white sugar or flour and I feel much better. I'm even giving up alcohol until further notice.
Okay, until Friday night, anyway. But drinking = Friday night = long standing tradition.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
My kids are in Grammy Magazine!
And they even used the photos I took on tour...of course that's my daughter Julie right in the middle with the bass...and that's Ms. Lauren Pollock singing on the left, and Ms. Julia Ranier on guitar on the right.
(Oh, and in case you missed it and you're new to my blog, if you want to read MY version of the tour, scroll the archives here - I've written over 65,000 words and gotten an entire book out of it)
GRAMMY Magazine - December 27, 2004
The School Of Rock's Unorthodox Lessons
School provides students with the skills and knowledge to rock
Last year, Paul Green watched proudly as select students from his Paul Green School of Rock performed alongside former bandmates of the late Frank Zappa on a stage in Germany. The event was "Zappanale," a weeklong festival in honor of the late Zappa and his complex music. Witnessing his students whip the German crowd into a frenzy, Green recalls feeling delighted…and challenged.
"I'm sitting there watching the show, and all I could think is, 'How do I top this next year?'" Green said while at the School of Rock headquarters in Philadelphia.
Green recently provided the answer to his own vexing question: The Paul Green School of Rock Tour, a 16-day jaunt featuring 24 of Green's best and brightest students, launched this summer at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles before moving on to Colorado, Utah and Nevada. The tour, which serves as students' post-graduation thesis, gave West Coast audiences a chance to judge the effectiveness of Green's teaching methods.
Green's students, ages 12-17, performed a full two-hour set of hits by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Yes, King Crimson and others, or a full set featuring the music of Zappa.
Although all of the students are school-age, the School of Rock Tour will not be showcased at public schools. Just like the unorthodox lessons he teaches at his unaccredited school, Green believes the tour is about succeeding on his own terms.
"Schools bind your hands so much," Green said. "It's great not to be tied to other bureaucratic levels. What we have now, the freedom is amazing. We play [the Dead Kennedy's] 'Bleed for Me' and we change the words to Afghanistan. I couldn't do that [in public schools]."
Green's many fans aren't complaining about the maverick instructor's untraditional teaching methods. Erika Flory has two children enrolled at the School of Rock. She says the experience has not only brought her kids closer together, it has also given them an appreciation for excellence.
"I've seen [Green] conduct rehearsals, and it's brutal honesty," Flory said. "He's not going to tell a kid, 'That was really good,' when it wasn't. Paul has said that none of his criticism in rehearsal will hurt the kids as much as a bad performance will, and I tend to agree with that."
Branden King, a 19-year-old drummer from Redding, Pa., drives hours every week to attend Green's school. Initially a fan of modern rock acts like Korn and the Deftones, King credits Green with broadening the drummer's musical horizons.
"I've become a way better musician because of Paul," King said. "I've learned that there's a lot of hard-to-play music out there, and that's helped me and challenged me a lot. I play in three bands now, and I have Paul to thank for that."
The teaching method that has parents and students raving begins when Green assigns new students a private teacher (Green's faculty consists mainly of former School of Rock students). New students are taught scales, chords and how to solo on their chosen instrument, including guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals or marimba — the latter for those tricky jazz-rock Zappa passages.
Though Green dissects and performs songs by groups as diverse as Black Sabbath and Radiohead, a few classic rock acts are referenced consistently. For composition, Green teaches the music of Pink Floyd ("they made records that sound really good…their music is deceptively simple"). Led Zeppelin provides the basis for many guitar lessons ("Jimmy Page's guitar playing is so interesting and diverse"). For vocals and harmonies, Green has students examine the music of Queen ("their harmonies were not only different, they were often weird"). Finally, students learn the music of Frank Zappa for overall rock education.
"Zappa is one-stop shopping," Green said. "There's a little jazz, a little funk. Blues, metal, some classical — it's all there in Zappa's music."
After a mere three months, new students are required to perform at least three songs in front of parents and fellow students.
"If you play well, people will respond and you're never going to forget the feeling," Green said. "If you play poorly, then you'll get a polite but unenthusiastic response and you'll practice better next time. It's the carrot-and-stick approach."
Asked to comment on the unorthodox School of Rock method, a representative at the National Association for Music Education in Reston, Va., said Green's approach to music instruction doesn't sound insufficient or overly extreme.
"A child that did not like [Green's] teaching style would probably not continue at the school," said the Association's Director of Member Programs, Ardene Shafer. "Some kids like the challenge of performing right away, while others just want to learn an instrument for their private enjoyment."
According to Shafer, the School of Rock's unaccredited status does not necessarily invalidate Green's teaching methods.
"In most cases, accreditation probably means that a school has met several standards, one of those being that the instructors have gone to college and are educated in the discipline they teach," Shafer said. "That's not to say that all unaccredited instructors don't have degrees. It just means that their school has never gone through the rigorous process of accreditation and that students may get an education that's more fluid and flexible."
Though Green's approach to music education is somewhat unorthodox, there's no denying its media appeal. Until recently, he toiled in relative obscurity at his self-named school in downtown Philadelphia. But Green was still doing much of the teaching and administrative work himself, and he had to work another job to make ends meet.
But enrollment skyrocketed after the Jack Black comedy became a Hollywood blockbuster.
"I was actually thinking of suing [the movie's producers], but getting the run-off was better karmically," Green said, employing the curious combination of cynical humor and '60s-style philosophy that is his personal trademark.
Green has since become something of a celebrity. His students have appeared on MTV's "Total Request Live," and they are slated to be profiled on the "CBS Evening News With Dan Rather." Green and his school have also been featured in The New York Times, Spin, Tracks, Mojo and Reuters.
The School of Rock is also the subject of a full-length film documentary that had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival this summer. Produced by Sheena M. Joyce and Don Argott, "Rock School" was hailed by the Los Angeles Times and the L.A. Weekly upon its June 18 festival screening, and it was the first film to emerge from the festival with a major deal (Newmarket Films plans to release the rockumentary in 2005).
Green is seizing his moment in the spotlight. He is incorporating the School of Rock and opening franchises in New York and San Francisco. The franchising idea was inspired by Steve Nicolazzi, a Philly-area sales manager with three children and a nephew enrolled at Green's school.
Nicolazzi gained knowledge of effective music education through his own personal experiences. As a teen growing up in the '70s, he found traditional guitar lessons uninspiring. "It was like homework," Nicolazzi remembers.
Now, having watched Green transform his kids into enthused rockers, Nicolazzi has nothing but praise for Green. In fact, Nicolazzi is now a School of Rock staffer.
"Just recently I had some parents come up to me with tears in their eyes," Nicolazzi recalled. "Their son had just got up there and played 'My Generation.' The kid's father just gave me big hug, and said 'I can't believe you did this.'"
(Bruce Britt is an award-winning journalist and essayist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Billboard and other publications. He lives in Los Angeles.)
(Oh, and in case you missed it and you're new to my blog, if you want to read MY version of the tour, scroll the archives here - I've written over 65,000 words and gotten an entire book out of it)
GRAMMY Magazine - December 27, 2004
The School Of Rock's Unorthodox Lessons
School provides students with the skills and knowledge to rock
Last year, Paul Green watched proudly as select students from his Paul Green School of Rock performed alongside former bandmates of the late Frank Zappa on a stage in Germany. The event was "Zappanale," a weeklong festival in honor of the late Zappa and his complex music. Witnessing his students whip the German crowd into a frenzy, Green recalls feeling delighted…and challenged.
"I'm sitting there watching the show, and all I could think is, 'How do I top this next year?'" Green said while at the School of Rock headquarters in Philadelphia.
Green recently provided the answer to his own vexing question: The Paul Green School of Rock Tour, a 16-day jaunt featuring 24 of Green's best and brightest students, launched this summer at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles before moving on to Colorado, Utah and Nevada. The tour, which serves as students' post-graduation thesis, gave West Coast audiences a chance to judge the effectiveness of Green's teaching methods.
Green's students, ages 12-17, performed a full two-hour set of hits by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Yes, King Crimson and others, or a full set featuring the music of Zappa.
Although all of the students are school-age, the School of Rock Tour will not be showcased at public schools. Just like the unorthodox lessons he teaches at his unaccredited school, Green believes the tour is about succeeding on his own terms.
"Schools bind your hands so much," Green said. "It's great not to be tied to other bureaucratic levels. What we have now, the freedom is amazing. We play [the Dead Kennedy's] 'Bleed for Me' and we change the words to Afghanistan. I couldn't do that [in public schools]."
Green's many fans aren't complaining about the maverick instructor's untraditional teaching methods. Erika Flory has two children enrolled at the School of Rock. She says the experience has not only brought her kids closer together, it has also given them an appreciation for excellence.
"I've seen [Green] conduct rehearsals, and it's brutal honesty," Flory said. "He's not going to tell a kid, 'That was really good,' when it wasn't. Paul has said that none of his criticism in rehearsal will hurt the kids as much as a bad performance will, and I tend to agree with that."
Branden King, a 19-year-old drummer from Redding, Pa., drives hours every week to attend Green's school. Initially a fan of modern rock acts like Korn and the Deftones, King credits Green with broadening the drummer's musical horizons.
"I've become a way better musician because of Paul," King said. "I've learned that there's a lot of hard-to-play music out there, and that's helped me and challenged me a lot. I play in three bands now, and I have Paul to thank for that."
The teaching method that has parents and students raving begins when Green assigns new students a private teacher (Green's faculty consists mainly of former School of Rock students). New students are taught scales, chords and how to solo on their chosen instrument, including guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals or marimba — the latter for those tricky jazz-rock Zappa passages.
Though Green dissects and performs songs by groups as diverse as Black Sabbath and Radiohead, a few classic rock acts are referenced consistently. For composition, Green teaches the music of Pink Floyd ("they made records that sound really good…their music is deceptively simple"). Led Zeppelin provides the basis for many guitar lessons ("Jimmy Page's guitar playing is so interesting and diverse"). For vocals and harmonies, Green has students examine the music of Queen ("their harmonies were not only different, they were often weird"). Finally, students learn the music of Frank Zappa for overall rock education.
"Zappa is one-stop shopping," Green said. "There's a little jazz, a little funk. Blues, metal, some classical — it's all there in Zappa's music."
After a mere three months, new students are required to perform at least three songs in front of parents and fellow students.
"If you play well, people will respond and you're never going to forget the feeling," Green said. "If you play poorly, then you'll get a polite but unenthusiastic response and you'll practice better next time. It's the carrot-and-stick approach."
Asked to comment on the unorthodox School of Rock method, a representative at the National Association for Music Education in Reston, Va., said Green's approach to music instruction doesn't sound insufficient or overly extreme.
"A child that did not like [Green's] teaching style would probably not continue at the school," said the Association's Director of Member Programs, Ardene Shafer. "Some kids like the challenge of performing right away, while others just want to learn an instrument for their private enjoyment."
According to Shafer, the School of Rock's unaccredited status does not necessarily invalidate Green's teaching methods.
"In most cases, accreditation probably means that a school has met several standards, one of those being that the instructors have gone to college and are educated in the discipline they teach," Shafer said. "That's not to say that all unaccredited instructors don't have degrees. It just means that their school has never gone through the rigorous process of accreditation and that students may get an education that's more fluid and flexible."
Though Green's approach to music education is somewhat unorthodox, there's no denying its media appeal. Until recently, he toiled in relative obscurity at his self-named school in downtown Philadelphia. But Green was still doing much of the teaching and administrative work himself, and he had to work another job to make ends meet.
But enrollment skyrocketed after the Jack Black comedy became a Hollywood blockbuster.
"I was actually thinking of suing [the movie's producers], but getting the run-off was better karmically," Green said, employing the curious combination of cynical humor and '60s-style philosophy that is his personal trademark.
Green has since become something of a celebrity. His students have appeared on MTV's "Total Request Live," and they are slated to be profiled on the "CBS Evening News With Dan Rather." Green and his school have also been featured in The New York Times, Spin, Tracks, Mojo and Reuters.
The School of Rock is also the subject of a full-length film documentary that had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival this summer. Produced by Sheena M. Joyce and Don Argott, "Rock School" was hailed by the Los Angeles Times and the L.A. Weekly upon its June 18 festival screening, and it was the first film to emerge from the festival with a major deal (Newmarket Films plans to release the rockumentary in 2005).
Green is seizing his moment in the spotlight. He is incorporating the School of Rock and opening franchises in New York and San Francisco. The franchising idea was inspired by Steve Nicolazzi, a Philly-area sales manager with three children and a nephew enrolled at Green's school.
Nicolazzi gained knowledge of effective music education through his own personal experiences. As a teen growing up in the '70s, he found traditional guitar lessons uninspiring. "It was like homework," Nicolazzi remembers.
Now, having watched Green transform his kids into enthused rockers, Nicolazzi has nothing but praise for Green. In fact, Nicolazzi is now a School of Rock staffer.
"Just recently I had some parents come up to me with tears in their eyes," Nicolazzi recalled. "Their son had just got up there and played 'My Generation.' The kid's father just gave me big hug, and said 'I can't believe you did this.'"
(Bruce Britt is an award-winning journalist and essayist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Billboard and other publications. He lives in Los Angeles.)
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Yay! I'm a finalist!
Robin Slick: In Her Own Write
Yay! I just found out I'm a finalist for Best New Blog, 2004! Oh please oh please vote for me - I'm one of ten selected out of like, a zillion other bloggers so I'm freaking out. You can vote right here
Oh man, how cool is this!
P.S. ONCE YOU VOTE, THEY WILL SEND YOU A VERIFICATION EMAIL TO WHICH YOU MUST RESPOND SIMPLY BY CLICKING ON THE LINK. OTHERWISE YOUR VOTE WON'T COUNT
Grrr...
Why, why, why does my favorite on line writing site always go down on holiday weekends.
I think the SYSOP does it on purpose so we all have to spend time with our families, I really do.
We'll get even with you, Ivan. Watch your back!
Three Days in New York City
So here's the background on the publisher of Three Days in New York City:
About Phaze
We are a "Traditional Publisher." We select books based on the quality of writing, story entertainment value, and sales potential. We are open to first-time authors, as well as authors who have been previously published and want to put their books back into print. We are extremely selective about the books that we accept for publication. The quality of the story and the entertainment value are paramount! Our current acceptance rate is around 2%
Book Availability, Promotion, and Advertisement
We register your book with Books-in-Print US and Books-in-Print UK, along with registering it with the Library of Congress.
All of Phaze print titles are available through Ingram's, both US and UK. Your print book will appear in Ingram's catalogs, which are distributed to 20,000 bookstores and libraries throughout the US and Canada, and is always available in the Ingram's database.
All of the online booksellers, such as Amazon.com, Borders.com, B&N.com, Alibris.com, BooksAMillion.com and many more purchase copies for resale through Ingram's. In addition, Baker & Taylor, the largest book wholesaler in the US distributes our print books.
Our print books are being sold at:
Amazon (US)
Amazon (UK)
Amazon (Canada)
Amazon (France)
Amazon (Germany)
Amazon (Japan)
Books-A-Million
Blackwells (UK)
Barnes & Noble
Buy.com
Alibris
Half.com
Powells
PickaBook (UK)
FictionWise
Joseph Beth Books
FetchBook.Info
TextbookX.com
BiggerBooks.com
eCampus.com
Collins Booksellers (Australia)
Chapters.Indigo.ca (Canada)
Wal-Mart.com
VarsityBooks.com
eBookAd.com
FictionWise (coming soon)
Books.OnTheWeb.com
SuperBookDeals.com
Our print books are returnable, so they automatically qualify for ordering by any of the thousands of brick-and-mortar bookstores.
Readers can also purchase your print book directly through the Phaze website. We generally discount books purchased directly from us by about 10-20%. We reserve the right to offer any discount on any of our titles.
Phaze is brand new, and I am one of seven authors under contract. When we signed our respective contracts, we granted paperback, hardcover, and e-pub rights. Because Phaze is so new, they've made the decision to release their entire catalogue as e-books at first in hopes of having all titles in print in the near future.
I've had a long strange journey with this book but I'm glad it's reached a resolution and the people at Phaze are great. I'm currently working on the sequel, which is called Another Bite of the Apple but my publisher has already given it the nickname of "Another Bite" which is very cool.
Anyway, they've published the entire first chapter of the book on their website as a tease, and if you are so inclined...
Friday, December 31, 2004
News from the recording studio...
(Photo of Phil Nicolo behind the mixing board while being filmed by Don Argott for the upcoming DVD)
So yay! Finally I got a few minutes with my son, Eric, who spilled all the gossip coming out of the recording studio this week. I'll also be posting additional pictures of the Rock School musicians in action as soon as I can figure out how to download this freaking camera...grr...where is Julie when I need her.
Anyway, the kids are recording at Studio 4, owned by producer Phil Nicolo. Phil has been telling them stories about the industry all week, and my son shared some of them with me...just great little vignettes. For one thing, Phil told the kids that the Beatles and Frank Zappa are the reason he does what he does. He's a total Beatle maniac, and he talked about what it was like doing the remix for the Lennon/Plastic Ono Band CD.
"It was the call everybody in my business waits for."
He was referring to being tapped to handle the remixing of "Do the Oz" for the John Lennon-Plastic Ono Band reissue.
Nicolo helped produce the 1999 Cibo Matto LP Stereotype A which featured Sean Lennon on bass guitar. From there, he became involved in the still-in-progress second solo album by Sean.
Yoko didn't attend the sessions, but liked the direction in which Nicolo was helping Sean bring his music. Nicolo said that Yoko's in a tricky position with the fans, especially when it comes to John's unreleased stuff. They're really curious, but in that let-me-see - no, don't show me way.
He was working in his studio when Yoko phoned him to tell him that she had rediscovered a track that the Plastic Ono Band had recorded on April 17, 1970. "Do the Oz" was a benefit for a British underground publication called the Oz. Yoko was putting together reissues of John's first and last solo records, "Plastic Ono Band" and "Double Fantasy" - and wanted to include "Oz" as a bonus track. The song had been released previously, but it had been assembled quickly and wasn't fully finished.
The only stipulation Yoko made was that Phil not add anything to the existing tracks which he was assembling from the original session.
Despite what he felt was a major restriction, Nicolo said he got lucky anyway because a horn section, led by saxophonist King Curtis, had been previously recorded that went mostly unused in the original version. John's guitar line was a constant throughout as well.
He put the parts he had into his ProTools computer software and juggled the elements to create a party atmosphere, with Yoko's vocalizations dropped in at -- ha ha -- explosive junctions.
He said that when he first met Yoko to the do the final mix, she began the session by expressing regret that she'd placed any restriction on him. She told him he could start over if he wanted to, using all of the elements and tricks in his bag.
He declined the offer. He told her he was glad she did stipulate no additional material be added, because by being forced to use what was there, he had to be creative in a different way.
And it was all there. Nicolo said he just uncovered the magic.
So that's one little story about Phil Nicolo. Eric's been telling me such incredibly interesting stuff that I can't tell you how excited I am that my kids are being recorded by this man. And the CD will be available everywhere in March, 2005! I mean, like, all over the world. And while they're recording, Don Argott, director/producer of Rock School, is recording them and all of this footage will be released with the DVD of the movie.
Happy New Year indeed.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
This is an amazing book. If you love short stories, this is a collection so brilliant it will take your breath away. If you don't love short stories...well, I suggest you get over it and sit the hell down and at least pretend to be intelligent and have a read because just maybe you'll understand what I'm talking about. Rarely does something come along so special.
Anyway, you can order it on Amazon.com right here
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