Last Friday, I played the TURF:IDADA Art Pavilion opening. It was a last minute gig. Mainly, because nobody realized that their big gallery opening didn't have any music whatsoever and that it might be a bad thing. At least, not until the night before.

During my breaks, I wandered around and checked out all the installations. Most of them were way cool. Some of them I couldn't figure out. (Sorry, that's the breadth of my modern art critique: "way cool" or "can't figure it out"). It's free and open to the public all the way up to the Superbowl (Jan. 14-Feb. 5 Tues.-Sun.). I should have used my Iphone to actually videotape the art. Some of what I felt were the most affective installations were video driven(an installation by artist Jawshing Arthur Liou) or reacted to the way people reacted to it(an installation utilizing night lights) or both.

I really loved most of installations. Better yet, I thought my kids would really like some of them:

(The game in the middle actually works and is coin-free!)

But, then I thought, they might also get some ideas from some of them:

I showed the pictures and they both want to go. I'm just not sure I'm ready for the after effects.

Here's one installation I couldn't figure out when I was there:

I am playing in a one-off show with a Deep Purple tribute band called "Burn" in a couple of weeks. Here are a few things I learned about the band I was, before now, only slightly familiar with:

1. You can add/replace ALL the members of the band, and even the style of music you play, and still be successful. Fans have gotten so used to this with Deep Purple they term the first four variations MkI, MkII, MIII and MIV. (In actuality, there were more than four, these were just the most successful of the groups.) Now, I know many groups go through many variations especially in prog-rock and metal. But, Deep Purple has to have one of the most extensive rosters for a medium size band. Here is the chart someone made up for Wikipedia:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/1a9862f6946b1ce39392e0741b3dd4f4.png

2. In an age where most recording was not done easily by computers and through the internet, Deep Purple(Mk II) put out 7 albums in roughly 3.5 years. I thought I was lazy before, but now I REALLY think I'm lazy. Keep in mind, "Machine Head" and "Made in Japan" were among these. So, they were not terrible recordings for the most part. Also, the metal/prog-rock music they were playing at the time was not uncomplicated. I can say that, now that I've had to learn "Highway Star".

3. Jon Lord was a tall man. Early on he used to rock his B3 back and forth on stage while playing with a ring modulator on top. Its amazing to see in the first place(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ-lSTlUnfA ) . Then, you realize, that B3s are not small instruments and this giant has his leg up on it and is riding it like a stallion. I've tried to do this with my Motif on an X-stand. It doesn't have the same effect. I'm a midget riding a miniature pony. That said, I can produce most of my sounds on my light weight Motif(I'll probably use two of them though).

4. I thought some of the later Deep Purple was actually early Whitesnake. That's because David Coverdale(aka former Mr. Tawny Kataen) was the lead singer at the time. I believe they call this Deep Purple(Mk IV) or Whitesnake(Mk 0.5). In the tribute band, we're doing "Sail Away" and "Stormbringer".

5. Dear Mr. Ritchie Blackmore:

As you are one of the best/first heavy metal guitarists I have a question: Why do you like rainbows so much? I noticed a famous Deep Purple concert there is a rainbow hung across the stage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1sAkZF7SCQ) There are a couple of mentions of rainbows in Deep Purple lyrics. When you decided to leave Deep Purple(the funk version) to start your own heavier metal rock band, you named it "Rainbow". Were "Unicorn", "Fairy Wings" and "Strawberry Shortcake" all taken?

Today, through a button pushing mishap, I lost a few sequences to some new original songs. Of course, they were not backed-up yet. I actually accidentally factory reset my Yamaha motif XF. This is my reminder to anybody who had not backed-up financial data, photos or sequences to back them up now. Luckily, only the most recent songs and new patches were lost. I guess I'll just have to see how good my own hard drive(the one in my head) is. It is usually glitchy at best. I know the new songs were called "Last One Out The Door" and "Crack the Mountains". So, that's a start. Now, let's see if I can remember all the drum and bass parts.

Yeah, I know everyone is Christmased out, or probably should be. But, l've had this idea to make an Xmas album for awhile, now. Yes, I have some original holiday songs to put on it. However, most people buy an Xmas CD for at least some traditional Xmas tunes. These often cost what is referred to as "money". Lots of money, sometimes. But, I suppose it is well spent if your in love with the song. Here are the selected cover songs so far: 1. Vinter Vonderland.
2. Hark, Harold the Angel Sings.
3. Santa Clause is Coming to Town.
4. Silver Bells

There will be more. Then, just like small mammals, we'll just have to see who survives in the litter.

I hereby declare the day after Christmas to be Lego assembly day. This year the kid's received a record number of kits to be assembled(with a LARGE degree of help from their parents).

This year's kits were:

1. Sith Infiltrator(2 of them): 310 parts X 2

   

   Probably the most difficult one to assemble. That's why, my wife did it twice.

2. Hogwarts: 466 parts

   

   This one is kind of cool. Little details like a snake, crystal ball, globe, beds, mirror and potions classroom.

   It's the smaller of two Hogwarts sets. We didn't get the more expensive one.

3. Land Speeder: 163 parts

   

   I like how details I don't even notice(one of the engines has no covering) are accurate to the movie.

4. General Grevious Starfighter: 454 pieces

   

   Cockpit slides open. Lots of parts move. Some kind of opening assembly in both pods.

   Pretty cool.

5. Sith Nightspeeder: 214 pieces

   

   Actually has a small projectile launching capability. Falls apart easily, though.

6. Geonosian Starfighter: 155 parts

   

   The Geonosian stuff has cool spheres in the design.

   In total: 2072 + extra pieces(always some of those) will be vacuumed up or stepped on in the next few months.

   This is what it looked like a day after assembly day. Tomorrow, they all will probably be "modified".