From the Drummstick to the EXP, Part 2

My previous blog looked at my journey from my original percussion controller, the "Drummstick", to the newest Zendrum, the "EXP". When the Zendrum EXP finally arrived, I was ecstatic, especially after having seen early photos of it posted on my facebook page. I'd already set up all of my studio gear in advance and when I was in Europe, I downloaded a copy of the updated ZenEdit, and even mapped out the EXP's trigger placements. I quickly learned that I actually needed to be more flexible, because those early set-ups didn't last very long!

Everything worked great; even my wireless MIDIJet Pro performed perfectly. I'd used the settings from my Zendrum ZX as a starting point, and they translated to the EXP quite easily. One of the first things I noticed was the wonderful placement of the strap locks for me by David Haney. Haney knows my penchant for playing vertically, and on the model he made for co-designer John Emrich, the lock seemed to be placed lower, to accommodate Emrich's left-handed style of playing, one of the best new features of the EXP's design.

Emrich appeared to play his EXP a bit horizontally, and seemed to have no difficulty in accessing the 9 triggers on the lower left side of the EXP. I however, don't play the Zendrum that way, and endeavored to use my right hand  to reach those triggers. That worked for me much the same way Chapman Stick players use their right hand to reach the strings at the top of the fretboard. After a few days spent getting the EXP to perform as well as the ZX did, I still found I wasn't using the left side as much as I'd hoped. Suddenly, I'd remembered Emrich's video of the EXP, and how he switched positions to play the EXP, either sitting or standing, or by changing the way he hung the EXP on his shoulders. Simultaneously, I recalled a recent Washington Post article on the Jimi Henrdix Experience's rare appearance at a theater in DC, and his right-handed guitar playing.

 Without another thought, I quickly switched the "neck" from my left shoulder to my right shoulder ala Hendrix and voila; both hands had a full range of access to both sides of the Zendrum, just as a Chapman Stick player might; I had my vertical approach and my left hand was free to roam about the body as never before! The wonderful, serendipitous irony of Jimi Hendrix and his black Stratocaster; calling the newest Zendrum the "EXP"; my black, "Jimi Hendrix" ZX; and my experiences with both creating and playing the Drummstick had now come full circle. As soon as I reprogrammed a few of the EXP's triggers, I was truly good to go. My ability to "finger roll", and to suddenly have 29 triggers to play with, (compared to the 16 triggers of the Drummstick and the 24 triggers of the ZX), was both exciting and enlightening. All the crashes, splashes, chinas and assorted percussion that were missing before, are now part of my regular setup. I could now also trigger multiple samples and chords.

There were more surprises waiting for me with EXP, like the MIDI volume control knob on the back; it was just amazing to watch the fader move on my GarageBand Pop Kit as I never had that feature on the ZX. After successfully programming and storing several kits, I was even able to recreate my composition, "The Girl of a Thousand Days"; a melodic piece I used to perform on the Drummstick with bells, vibes and chimes. The EXP's extra 13 triggers provided me with even more melodic combinations I'd never before had access to.

With the EXP now functioning well, it was now time to delve into the world of ZenEdit, the software program for the Zendrum created by Darin Kadrioski. Using a Tascam US-1800 USB/MIDI interface, my first task was to download and use the latest version, (2.4.1) to backup my new EXP settings on the MacBook. ZenEdit saw the Tascam and loaded my "old school" edits from EXP perfectly. I haven't tried to load any setups from ZenEdit to the EXP yet, but with these new setups, that will be coming soon.

 All in all, the EXP has been a dream come true, and I'm super pleased at what Haney and Emrich have created. For me, it's the best of both worlds; It can be played vertically, or horizontally; as a melodic, or an all-world percussion instrument.

The sky's the limit really; I'm about to record several projects over the coming months, while exclusively playing with the EXP in tandem with Chapman Stick, trumpet, keyboards, MIDI guitars, 7 string basses; musicians from Portugal, France and England, and music ranging from jazz to folk, rock and avant garde! The adventure indeed continues, happily now with the Zendrum EXP.

The Men of Steel

I was in Europe when "Man of Steel", the latest update to the Superman was released. I'm a long time comic book fan of both the DC and  Marvel superheroes, and after recovering from jet lag, I finally managed to catch it. As regular readers of my columns know, I have a thing about remakes, especially when it comes to comic book heroes. The biggest challenge these film makers have is to make those classic stories relevant, to find a new way to retell those iconic tales with each new generation; and without sacrificing the things about them that made them great. With the exception of the gratuitous, CGI destruction of Metropolis during the last 30 minutes, this is perhaps, one of the best of the Superman films or TV series made to date. Now I've seen every single film and TV series ever made about the Man of Steel, so I will share my thoughts about each of them, and why I think this latest version ranks among the best.

I'm afraid I'll have to leave the animated versions out for now; there's been a ton of them to feature Superman and Superboy. Most of them are horrible, very few have great plots and just as important, great animation. I'll revisit them in a later column, but for now here's a brief look at the best known film and TV versions.

Superman: 1940-1950
Not much to say about these old serials with Ray Middleton and later Kirk Alyn, except these were the first; made during World War II and after, they followed the formula of the day; low budget effects, gangster bad guys, and cheesy animation. Alyn and Noel Neill (Lois Lane in the George Reeves Superman series), had a cameo appearance as the parents of  a young Lois Lane in the 1978 Christopher Reeve film.

The George Reeves Era: 1951-1958
 This was the most popular of the early Superman series and one of the best known. Good music and a decent cast usually overcame the silly plots, and Reeves was actually a very good actor, however, being typecast as Superman and pressures both internal and external proved too much and Reeves ended up taking his life in 1959.

The Christopher Reeve Era: 1978-1987
Clearly the all time favorite of all the actors to play Superman, Reeve brought the franchise back to life. Although a bit campy, an all-star cast featuring Marlon Brando, Susanna York, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty and Valerie Perrine gave the Superman films the credibility and stature that would propel the the films to legendary status. After "Superman II", (which features a plot similar to the latest film and Terrence Stamp as General Zod), the following films were terrible; actors like Robert Vaughn, Richard Pryor and others couldn't overcome horrid plot lines. Helen Slater would play "Supergirl", alongside Peter O'Toole, Mia Farrow, Faye Dunaway and Brenda Vaccaro, but by then, the franchise had "jumped the shark" and the Christopher Reeve era came to an end.

Superboy: 1988-1992
With music and titles akin to the Christopher Reeve era, the TV series Superboy sought to cash in a franchise already on life support. Played first by James Haymes Newton and later by Gerard Christopher, Superboy suffered from all of the aforementioned ills of bad plots and a low budget.  Lights years away from the 1950s in terms of animation, it never took off. The creators of Smallville surely learned from the mistakes made in that show and improved upon them, most notably by never having "Superboy" in costume, and by capturing the teenage angst made famous by Joss Wheadon's popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Lois and Clark, The New Adventures of Superman: 1993-1997
I'll confess, I never liked the Dean Cain/Terri Hatcher Lois and Clark series, despite its early rating success and popularity. Its focus was more on their romance; soapy and silly, much like the Wonder Woman series with Linda Carter, or the Greatest American Hero with William Katt and Connie Selleca.  There was never any real drama; the villains were stupid, the plots even more so. Eventually America agreed and it was cancelled.

Smallville: 2001-2011
A killer opening theme song, really great music, the handsome Tom Welling, and a formula made famous by the aforementioned Buffy series, helped make Smallville the series Superboy never was. The series introduced Lex Luthor, Lana Lang, Jimmy Olson, and Lois Lane in a way never done before. A great ensemble cast kept the series alive, (Terrence Stamp was the voice of Jor-El, and even had a cameo by Christopher Reeve before his death), however it may have reached to far with crazy plot lines, and the under-budget introductions of Green Arrow, the Legion of Superheroes and others. The series made a point of never showing Clark Kent in the Superman togs until the very end, and followed the modern versions of the Superboy stories and graphic novels. Despite the flaws, Smallville may be remembered as the best of the Superman TV series.

Superman Returns: 2006
Brandon Routh did a decent job of reviving the franchise in Superman Returns; like the Spider-man reboots, the 2006 version takes all of the previous into account and tells a story that attempts to bridge the nearly 25 year gap between it and the Christopher Reeve films. On its own, a decent film, especially with Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, however Routh had to battle several hurdles; the love America has had for the late Reeve, and the modern popularity of Welling. Too much too overcome perhaps, and Routh eventually decided to eschew the opportunity to play the Man of Steel again.

Man of Steel: 2013
I'd watched Henry Cavill in the BBC's most recent take on Henry VIII in the "Tudors". Cavill was great as Henry's best friend, the 1st Duke of Suffolk, but I was shocked to see him cast as Superman. Cavill was great however, and his British accent was gone, (I can't say the same for Russell Crowe and his Australian accent).  Great cast with Lawrence Fishburne, Amy Adams, Christopher Meloni, Richard Schiff, a superb Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, my biggest complaint about the film was the over the top final 30 minutes of the film where Superman and General Zod basically destroy Metropolis, (couldn't they take the fight to the moon?).

Costner and Lane were indeed excellent as Jonathan and Martha Kent and really made the film for me. Their homespun, mid-western ethics and common sense are what made Clark into the "human" he would grow to become. Director Zack Snyder gets it and this is why the Man of Steel and the TV series Smallville succeeded with John Schneider and Annette O'Toole as the Kents. At least Glenn Ford's all too brief appearance as Jonathan Kent in the 1st Reeve film briefly touched on this all important part of the Superman story, and the other TV and film Kents never really did.

Russell Crowe was OK as Jor-El, although it's still a little weird to see African-American actors playing characters that were traditionally white in the original comic books, like Fishburne as Perry White, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in the Avengers or Idris Alba as Heimdahl in Thor, but if Hollywood didn't cast these great actors, we likely wouldn't see any black actors in these films at all. Perhaps our society is changing for the better, one role at a time.

Taking into account our penchant for CGI driven film making, and a story told more times and more ways than any other superhero franchise save Batman, Man of Steel is a fantastic retelling of the Superman story, one that will stand the test of time and still pays homage to all those who donned the red and blue cape and costume before.

The 12th Annual Outsound New Music Summit

Every year, the Outsound New Music Summit showcases some of the most innovative and pioneering new music that is happening in California and beyond. Many of the artists scheduled to perform on the 2013 12th Annual Outsound New Music Summit (left to right Opera Wolf, Kevin Robinsons from KREation, Jordan Glenn's Wiener Kids, #Max, Fernando Lopez-Lezcano, Joe Lasqo, Ritwik Banerjir, Ilya Rostovtsev, The CCRMA Ensemble, Matt Davignon, Fuzzybunny, Hasan Abdur-Razzaq, David Molina's Transient, LA Jenkins, Rent Romus' Lords of Outland, India Cooke, Karl Evangelista, Lewis Jordan, Kyle Bruckman's Wrack).

Now in its twelfth year, the New Music Summit will feature during cutting-edge experimental and ambient music, twitter-fed performances, improvising software musicbots, electro-acoustic performances, found-object and tape-player interactions, as well as traditional instrument ensembles bending the acoustic paradigm in new and startling ways. Featured during the seven-night festival will be cutting-edge experimental and ambient music, twitter-fed performances, improvising software musicbots, electro-acoustic performances, found-object and tape-player interactions, as well as traditional instrument ensembles bending the acoustic paradigm in new and startling ways.

Fourteen bands will perform throughout the week, including the finale on Saturday, July 27 of Kyle Bruckmann's Wrack, with guests Darren Johnston and Jeb Bishop, premiering …Awaits Silent Tristero's Empire, a 2012 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commission.

"The New Music Summit is the 'little festival that could,' said Outsound Presents founder, Executive Director and curator, Rent Romus. “We present music where most fear to tread. We feature unique world premieres, amazing unknown young artists, and seasoned masters deserving of more credit across the myriad spectrum of music, many of which reside right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Summit is special on the West Coast because it supports the local community in a professional festival environment."

The Festival begins on Sunday, July 21 at 3:00pm, with a free Communications Workshop for Independent Musicians, led by Bay Area bassist/bandleader and arts organizer, Lisa Mezzacappa, followed by the popular and free Touch the Gear Expo from 7:00pm-10:00pm. A hands-on experience with sound-producing gear and instruments, Touch the Gear is an interactive, family-friendly event that allows the public to roam among 25-30 musicians and instrument inventors with their various different configurations of “gear” -- everything from oscillators and electronics, to planks of wood with strings attached. An avant-garde “Maker’s Faire,” all attendees get to make sound and experience how the instruments work, in an environment that demystifies technology, while inspiring creativity.

This event is free to the public.

On Monday, July 22, the New Music Summit presents its annual Composers Symposium from 7:00pm-9:00pm. With the theme Compositional Trace Medium and Traditional Strata, this conference will feature the 2013 New Music USA Metlife Creative Connections recipient composers Rent Romus, Lewis Jordan, Matt Davignon, Fernando Lopez-Lezcano, and Ilya Rostovtsev, discussing the elements of their compositional styles and how they navigate the worlds of modern compositional techniques and processes, combined with individual forms of experimentation. There will be a Q&A segment for attendees. This event is free to the public.

The music takes off on Wednesday, July 24, at 8:15pm, with three original perspectives on composition and improvisation in an acoustic program entitled Drift Flow Swing. Featuring the bands Opera Wolf (Joshua Marshall, Crystal Pascucci, and Robert Lopez); KREation (Kevin Robinson, Aaron Kahn Caroline Cirone Tony Gennaro, Evan Jiroudek, John Schwerbel)and Wiener Kids, (Aram Shelton, Cory Wright, Jordan Glenn)the boundaries of acoustic instruments will be stretched to their limits. This event is $12 General ($10 advance), and $10 for students.



On Thursday July 25 starting at 8:15pm, five electronic and futuristic tricksters and masters of digital synthesis will explore the theme Vibration Hackers -- featuring theTwitter-fed, audience participatory computer programming group #MAX, followed by Fernando Lopez-Lezcano, performing his computer sound synthesis 3D soundscape piece, Knock, Knock…anybody there?. In what will truly be an improvisation between man and machine, Ritwik Banerji and Joe Lasqo will perform on saxophone and piano alongside their improvising software musicbots “Maxine” and Maxxareddu” with Warren Stringer providing live interactive video. Ilya Rostovtsev will explore the sonic potential of acoustic instruments within an electro-acoustic studio composition in a piece entitled Understatements (2009-2010). The evening concludes with the CCRMA Ensemble--fromthe Stanford Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics--performing an improvisation featuring Roberto Morales-Manzanares' "Escamol" interactive systems, Chris Chafe's multi-channel celletto, Rob Hamilton on the Berdahl Resonance Guitar, and daxophones built by John Granzow. This event is $12 General ($10 advance), and $10 for students.

On Friday, July 26, the Summit will present a triptych of bands that explore both live and pre-recorded sounds whenever they occur, in Emanation & Artifacts: An Evening of Objects, Electronics, Tapes, & Found Sound. The evening begins with Transient, the electro-acoustic, ambient, experimental soundscape project of David Molina, who incorporates found-object instruments, field recordings and electronics. The Pmocatat Ensemble is an 11-member group led by Matt Davignon, playing and manipulating pre-recorded tape-based sounds (taken from the members’ acoustic instruments), and played back according to the conducted graphic and textural scores. Fuzzybunny is a high-powered electronic improvisation and composition trio consisting of Chris Brown, Scot Gresham-Lancaster and Tim Perkis, which The Wire calls "a total meltdown of the senses.” This event is $15 General ($12 advance) and $10 for students.

Saturday, July 27 is the New Music Summit Finale, with The Axiom, featuring three world premieres of fiery compositional free-form jazz. Starting the evening is Rent Romus' Lords of Outland featuring Hasan Razzaq & L.A. Jenkins, presenting a new suite of original compositions, The Proceedings of Dr. Ke, inspired by the essays of experimental psychologist Dr. Charles Ponce. Lewis Jordan's Music at Large with Karl Evangelista, will also debut an original suite of music, Only Children, incorporating scored and improvised sections, and spoken word. Kyle Bruckmann's Wrack features special guests Darren Johnston and Jeb Bishop, and will make the world premiere of …Awaits Silent Tristero's Empire, a 2012 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commission, inspired by the fiction of Thomas Pynchon. This event is $15 General ($12 advance) and $10 for students.

Outsound Presents, a nonprofit arts organization
12th Annual Outsound New Music Summit, Presented by Outsound Presents and KFJC 89.7FM
July 21 – 27, 2013
Community Music Center
 544 Capp Street, San Francisco, CA, 94110
All Ages, Wheelchair Accessible
July 21-22: free
July 24-25: $12 General ($10 advance) / $10 Student
July 26-27: $15 General ($12 advance) / $10 Student                                                    
Festival Pass $45 ($38 advance)
Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/381977
Web: www.outsound.org/summit

Travelogue Europe: Portugal, Spain and the Pyrenees

On Tuesday, we left the chillier confines of "merry olde" England and arrived in warm, and sunny Lisbon, Portugal. I was reunited with a long-time musical ally, the Angolan-born, Brazilian raised Carlos Martins. Carlos was an excellent host, and showed us a side of Lisbon not seen by most tourists. Lisbon was surprisingly buoyant; the kids were out of school and the plazas were full of energy and life. The tiny, aged cobblestone streets are a bit slippery, but with an eye towards caution, we'll manage. Lisbon has been called the San Francisco of Europe; it has its own version of the Golden Gate Bridge, the hills and the cable car trolleys are a lot like home, and the monuments to the earthquake of 1755 is a a sombre reminder of the volatile nature of this region.

Our first stop was a lovely, outdoor restaurant high atop Lisbon called "Lost in Espalnada"; great views, great food and a colorful atmosphere, I highly recommend you make it one of your stops if you visit. A Thursday night music series of world, jazz  and blues is icing on the cake.

Castle Sintra and the Trolley Cars

Like the ancient castle in Carccassone, France, Castle Sintra, aka "The Castle of the Moors", is a big attraction and shines like a beacon on the skyline of Lisbon at night. Unlike Carcassonne, the castle wasn't very successful at defending the town against the Spanish invaders, and changed hands more often than not. The little yellow trolley cars of Lisbon have both an old world charm and a cute look about them that make them really unique. These things go up and down streets the size of alleys, and go where no car dares to travel. I'm not sure if San Francisco has one of these in their trolley collection; if they don't, we need to get one.

Near the town of Alverca, Carlos and I performed at the eclectic Roxy Romeo Club, once a stop for a variety of acts, the club is now only used for private functions and special events. Francisco, the owner of the seaside club, is a man who loves music, and runs the club with his wonderful wife, son and daughter. There are shops, and fantastic restaurants in this hidden cove on the Atlantic; the crowd was enthusiastic and appreciative. Portugal turned out to be one of the best parts of the journey.

The Pyrenees, Bihleres en Ossau and Spain

After sightseeing, and performing in Portugal for several days, it was time to return to France for the last concert with the rest of the Wilbur Rehmann Quartet. The devastating floods in Lourdes caused an estimated 1 billion Euros in damage, and wiped out a few roads in the south of France. Our journey would take us past that region, to the foot hills of the Pyrenees mountains, and a town south of Pau, in the valley of Ossau. Bilheres en Ossau sits high atop the Pyrenees; this lovely village boasts some of the most spectacular views and wonderful bed & breakfasts. The Gite Auberge de Ossau hosts a summer jazz series and it was amazing to perform outdoors with a spectacular backdrop, and the locals who even lined the walls of the village to see our sold out shows.

The following day, we decided to venture over the border with Spain, some 30 miles away to the town of Gallant de Gallejos. The border station between France and Spain is now a vandalized, derelict outpost, left as a reminder of the dictatorship of Spain's Francisco Franco. Once manned with security police armed with sub-machine guns and automatic pistols until 1976, it now stands as a grim monument against the backdrop one of the most pastoral settings on earth, teeming with hikers, families, shops and restaurants. The town of Gallant de Gallejos is a beautiful resort area, rebuilt with modernity, but without losing its old world charm. The town now has summer music festivals, films and a ski resort open to visitors from around the world.

Now back where we started nearly a month, ago we decide to enjoy a bit of dinner in Toulouse. An old world city with a beautiful plaza, Toulouse is the aero-flight capital of France. All of the aeronautic engineers are here and the French have recruited them from around the world. This has been a fun and exciting journey for us. So plan to take a trip, rack up those frequent flyer miles, and experience other cultures and peoples whenever you can. You'll be very glad you did! L'adventure se poursuit!