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August 23, 2005
I'm back from FL
Visited my mama in FL who is recovering from breast cancer - she not only conquered it, she attacked it like 9 ninjas against a plastic bag (the bag being cancer, not my mama). She's awesome and quite the inspiration. And really fun to sing with in the car with her pal Terri - even if it was unchained melody.
Being back things have picked up a bit. Barry and I (Barry more than me) is working with John Havlik of the Krannert Center and Paul Young (two of our former teachers and in general mentors of all things cool) on a project called End of Cinematics. It will play for one night, Sept 17th, and if tickets are still available you should get the rest of them. Because I saw the beginnings of the set today, and it's so amazingly unreal that I can't really put words to it. But my jaw dropped and with what brain I had left I said, "holy shit!" If you catch the commercial on TV, starting to air Sept 1st I believe, that's what we worked on. The four of us had about 30 seconds to create an animation for one of the songs that will be playing in this multi-media masterpiece. I knew I was getting involved in something cool, but meeting Mikel & everyone else involved and seeing the set made me realize how friggin' lucky I am.
yeah, wow.
And then I went over the class schedule with Paul, whom I'll be assisting. We're working with high school students who I'm pretty sure are smarter than me when it comes to the programs we're working on. But I'll have a chance to teach the design end of it with Paul. If this program existed when I was in highschool my business would be 10 years old by now. It's an amazing set-up.
So, pretty much I've learned that I've walked into projects that are way over my head . . . or at least I thought they were at first. And learning that Anni Poppen and Barry Abrams have a lot more to offer than we ever knew. I mean, I know we're talented creatives, but I also know we have a long way to go. And I feel like we're putting ourselves in the right projects to grow. Which is a really great feeling. Hopefully you agree Barry!
OK, enough shop talk, I'm gonna go make some dinner, relax to either a movie or bad TV, and go to bed early because I have my first day of school tomorrow and I don't even know what I'm gonna wear. o....ma....gawd!
heart, anni
August 01, 2005
Rawk & Roll(ercoasters)
This weekend the Violents (my old band) reunited for a four-song quickie in the 1st Annual Rawk & Rollercoaster weekend. I hadn't touched my bass since the last show we played in September of last year. I can't even explain the energy it created, the hole it filled, or the cheesiest of smiles it put on all of our faces. We played with one of our fav Chicago bands Fourth Rotor. They're so great to listen to, to hang out with, and to look up to. Yeah, wow, you need to keep an eye on their shows and see them some time. I'm going to work on getting them down here. We also played with Mad Science Fair, C-U boys ex-Hot Glue Gun, AD/HD, Guilt, & more. They have a new CD coming out really soon definitely worth owning. And Terminus Victor who also have a their 2nd CD coming out, but I'm guessing is nothing like seeing them live. Even if you're not into drum machine, 2-man, bass, git, loud music you still need to see them at least once. They turn the smallest of venues into stadium standards with lights, sound, and a voice that would fit into the World Series of Rock I saw in 8th grade with Hurricane Alice, Great White, & Skid Row. Yeah, Scott's voice can take up that much space! Last night at the Rail was Cameo Turret (a new band moved from Montana, I missed them but heard great things),Lil Isaac & the Dirty Stank (Mike, owner of Cal's where we played the night before in Chicago, from Chicago), Camero Rouge (ex-the Drapes, another fav band of Chicago, bass player Andrea went on to do this band, good stuff), and again Terminus Victor.
Outside of the rock shows and seeing our pal Aimee back in from New York I'd have to say my fav was going to Gurnee for the roller coasters (hence, Rawk & Roll(ercoasters)). I paired up with my pal Grrr who isn't a fan of rollercoasters but loves the water rides. And I won't touch a wooden rollercoaster. Are you kidding? Once piece of wood falls off and the whole thing collapses in my head. Yet, by the end of the day we went on Batman, where your feet are dangling as you scream thru loops, corkscrews, and drops that send your tummy into your throat. Then we went on Raging Rapids, crashing into freezing water and landing under waterfalls. Needless to say, we were soaked! Then I soloed it on Superman, which was for the best for Grrr, because I thought I was going to die thru the entire ride. Which is great if you love the feeling of controlled fear! This ride has your entire body parallel to the ground emulating flying. Crazy, crazy, crazy! Voted the scariest ride I went on that day. Then we went on the Demon, old school from when I went to Six Flags 10+ yrs ago. It has double loops and double corkscrews, flashing tunnels, and great screaming potential. Voted most likely to knock yer head around until brain oozes out your ears. Following we met up with Aimee and went on the classic American Eagle, or Screaming Eagle (notice now that Grrr has been on two terrifying coasters and I'm about to go on a wooden coaster). All wood, no loops, no corkscrews. And for my hometown friends in Hampshire, IL – it brought me back to the days of Rollercoaster Rd. Voted my favorite ride of the entire day. Oh, and Most Likely to Make Me Throw Up was ironically the swings. The swings. What?
What's the point of all this? I had a pretty scary weekend. Forcing myself to get through things that I don't regularly do anymore: get on stage, play songs with my fav girls that I haven't practice with in 11 mos, allow a machine to hurl me around high in the air and fling me any which way it wants to. Nerve-racking, yes. Rewarding, more than I can explain. I encourage you to do something this week that scares the hell out of you (on what ever level you want)!
heart, Anni
