Deep Dish at the Improv!

Actually it was Saturday, May 25...

Sharon, Nick, and I drove to the Improv (right down Melrose) and saw Nick's buddy and cast-mate Dan Bakkedal performing with his improv group Deep Dish, which also featured Ike Barinholtzh from Mindy Project!

Both Deep Dish and the opening act were awesome, and Sharon later admitted she's never really seen live improv before.  Dan & his wife greeted us all, and gave Nick a hug.  We had drink, nachos, and a chicken Caesar wrap before the show - just enough to tide us over.  Lots of laughing, a great table right at the lip of the stage, good times.

We'll be back!

Just So I Don't Forget This...

Today, the Pope said that atheists can go to heaven, and the Boy Scouts voted to allow gay members.

WHERE THE HELL AM I?!

Here's to you, Norm - kicked out in 1968 as assistant troop leader of 363 because you had weight training pictures on the wall!

Meet The Old Boss

I prayed with Dr. Graham once (and worked at his film studio for 5 years) so does that mean I'm only one degree of separation from Richard Nixon?

For what it's worth, I don't believe any of the recent quotes being attributed to Billy are actually his. Billy was inclusive;  Franklin Graham is the bomb-throwing ass-wipe of the family.

It was THUS

Let me paint the scene...

A Soundelux invite-only screening of the latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, hosted by its mixer, Acadamy-award-winning Mike Minkler (his parents were also best friends with my parents, but that's another story.)

Todd AO-Glen Glenn, stage 1, one of the best mixing studios in Hollywood. Massive Screen, state of the art speakers & surrounds. Chilled beer and wine.

Just me, Sharon, and about 10 of my work friends (no Chris; he never does ANYTHING.)

Mike says: "Do you want it loud, or EXTRA loud?"

Extra!!

Then came a show so big, so sharp, and so real, that I actually clapped a couple times by accident.

And the big headliners? RUSH!  Wiping the stage with three cuts from MOVING PICTURES.  The entire R&R HOF became a sea of Rushian  SUPER FANS.

Your humble reporter was in ecstacy, and filled with mean, mean pride.

Beyond Subliminal

So, I guess the One Weird Trick is to hold it in your hand?

More Pics from Our Weekend

 The rest of the audience had a few miles on us (but not THAT many!)



















Leonesse Winery in Temecula

Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor!

Got to meet and chat with two of our favorite actor-writers at the Welk Theater last Friday.  Still amazingly talented, and incredibly open and sweet!

The show was called "If You Leave Me, I'm Coming With You" and was a kind of career summation with some very cool video clips between the live segments.

Nick's Show "Recovered" and Holding Court at Dallas' Baby Shower

Last Friday night, May 3, our whole extended family gathered at the Torrance Cultural Center (the same complex where Sharon and I first saw the Charles Phoenix Slide Show) for Nick's show RECOVERED.

Great, classic rock tunes and more recent hits as realized by the masters at Performing Arts Center West, with Nick acting as amiable host-mime-dancer.

RARE photos of the proud troops greeting the star in the Lobby! Peter Fallon, Legit producer, also attended.

Also, Nick holds court at Dallas' Baby Shower with a bunch of GURLS!

Dino's 50 Interview in Gajoob

Wow - I'd done an interview with Bryan Baker of Gajoob a while back after the release of DINO'S 50, and though it was slated for print, I just found it online!

Here's how it ends:

Tell me about the response to the album. What do you take from that?

The response to 50 has been very gratifying. Everybody loves the cover art, and it was chosen as Project of the Week at Furnace, where they took a really nice "glamour" shot for their online catalogue. Lots of people commented on the guitar parts, which is also nice to hear since I did spend a lot of time trying different chord formations, and tried playing with a certain amount of economy so that the guitar tracks were not simply aping each other (another point Don Campau likes to harp on!) People seem to appreciate the personal, humorous, and upbeat nature of the songs.

I've had a few comments about the lightweight lyrics, which is a byproduct of my quest to Stick To The Demos. In the future I will probably spend more time on that aspect, but at the same time I'm not Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan so that's never gonna change a whole lot!

Sharon was thrilled with how the CD turned out, and though she and I went through a rough phase with all our moving, she was never anything but totally supportive of the project, which is why I'm so thrilled to have her picture on the back cover with me. In fact, that photo has become one of our favorites and we had it printed on a canvas frame for our home.

http://www.gajoob.net/album.php?p=3825