"Every creative thing leaves home and gets into trouble somewhere out there. Me and this bamboo are all about connecting to each other and getting in creative adventures: that’s it." Born in 1974, my Chinese astrological sign is the tiger -- the Wood Tiger to be specific. This year, 2022, is a Water Tiger year, [...]
At the great risk of angering testosterone-riddled (or, deprived?) metal fans everywhere and for all time, I decided to make the bold choice of titling--and deriving the artwork for--my "heavy metal bamboo album" directly after one of the iconic power-metal albums from the early 80's, Dio's Holy Diver. This was the zenith of this brand of "power [...]
BEFORE - the sum total of my Dio library before Dio Days 2015 AFTER - The expanded DIO library after Dio Days 2015 DIO - Lord of Roar secret compilation click here Ronnie James Dio is one of the legends of rock. Actually, he is a legend of metal, hard rock and [...]
"A 'master' has clear awareness of what he knows and doesn't know. He has the confidence and resources to continue his explorations and guide others on theirs." One year after earning my shihan (master teaching license) in Zen shakuhachi flute, I then added the Bonus Arm Diplomas---i.e. tattoos. These were created in collaboration with an incredible [...]
I consider my Zen shakuhachi playing to be part Tony Iommi and part Watazumi. This is the inward self, or a concept of a part of it. The outward shakuhachi self is turning into part Danzig and part Zamfir. A similar combo, but more Z's are involved. Z is for Zen. Sometimes. Maybe. Our Primary One [...]
As I became infatuated with the sound and possibilities of the bass clarinet back in 1995, a timeline unfolded that we have a good perspective on now as another Era draws to a close on September 12 in San Francisco. The following brief outline centers on the existence of a "heavy chamber music" bass clarinet quartet, [...]
This micro-collection of iconic metal songs has been brewing for quite some time in that same part of the brain that used to make "mix tapes": how to introduce a complete uninitiate into the world of metal? This is not intended to be a "best of" or definitive (as if that were possible) collection, but rather [...]
Working with Jesse Solomon Clark is always a pleasure: he knows how to fit me into what he is doing to the benefit of the overall project. Scoring Cicada Princess from Jesse Solomon Clark on Vimeo. Ghost In The Shell: Sessions from Jesse Solomon Clark on Vimeo.
John Denver and the Muppets sing the 12 Days of Christmas Highly entertaining holiday music. 2nd only to Bob and Doug McKenzie's version of this song. Last year I released a Christmas album and wrote an entry about Christmas music. So what's the deal with this time of year? I feel [...]
Greetings fellows humans. It has been a long time since a blog post here. It has been an incredible year of cultivation and contemplation as I moved out to the woods in Marin County and have been making lots of Pu-Erh post-fermented dark, earthy tea and playing lots of shakuhachi and Taimu. Today it is also a [...]
