On Tuesday, January 15th, 2008, at precisely 11:32 am, Nic Harcourt played my song “To Fill the Void” on Morning Becomes Eclectic. What a sweet surprise to hear myself on the radio, sharing the airwaves with Sia, Iron and Wine!! Shortly there-after my inbox overflowed with emails from excited friends and fans (I hate saying fans, can we come up with a better term?) who had been listening to KCRW at the time my song was played. Text messages, phone calls, Myspace comments, eager to inform me of the news I confess, it was a rush and I thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiasm!
But, it wasn’t long before I started to wonder, “what does this mean?”… Was it a one time thing? Will he play the track again? Yes, very similar indeed to a one-night stand, particularly the stereotypical female experience, where she lays in the bed next to her lover in mental turmoil after the fact. If you don’t know what I mean, we can discuss it in detail some time over tea. Again, I said stereotypical, the assumption that she wants more, that she is or will be emotionally attached is the stereotype (and boy do I have a tangent about that).
Another KCRW DJ, Eric J. Lawrence also gave the song some love on his show Dragnet, and I have much to say about him but Eric gets his very own blog post!
Now, after 10 years at the station Nic Harcourt has announced that he is leaving Morning Becomes Eclectic, which occupied the airwaves Monday-Friday from 9a.m.-12p.m. He is still doing a weekly Sunday night show at 6-9 p.m., but after November 30th, his tenure is through.
Introducing Claire Carré, a director extraordinaire, who I recently had the privilege of working with. She has worked on feature films, television, music videos, commercials, and a documentary as a director’s assistant, including working for directors Patty Jenkins (on “Monster”), Damon Wayans, and Adria Petty. Claire is now and has recently created music videos for bands such as Brett Dennen, Rainer Maria, and Sia.
Check out this PHENOMNENAL video for Sia’s, “Soon We’ll Be Found” directed by Claire Carré.
For better resolution go to: http://clairesquare.com/sia.html
“To Fill the Void” music video shoot:
The video shoot was amazing and watching Claire at work (in her element) was even more amazing!! As a director, she is/was brilliant, talented, professional, patient, focused, a fantastic communicator. She also brought a great crew on board, all of whom were excellent at their job and incredibly nice, a winning combination. We shot it at a Diner just outside of Manhattan. The diner owner, Victor was so excited to have us there, especially since he also got to act in the video, that made him quite happy. The guy who filmed the video has done notable work in the past and I was really honored to work with him. Sasha took photos all day long and captured every fleeting moment, from the crew to the cast to Victor in the Kitchen. The cast, selected by Claire, was comprised of aspiring actors who are passionate about their art as they didn’t get paid and participated for the sake of experience and content for their resume. The “biker” guy, who I drop the pancake on and who has a tattoo all over his head (and other various parts of his body), looks intimidating BUT believe me, he is the biggest sweetheart ever!!
The premise of the video is that I work at a diner doing dishes and chopping onions. I get asked to fill in for the waitress temporarily and I’m thrilled to have a moment to shine! I make a happy face with maple syrup on the pancakes before I take them out. As I bring the dish to the biker guy, I trip and drop the plate and the pancakes on the floor. As a result, I get fired. I steal the restaurant’s plates, leave, stare at the sky and throw the plates into the air. They fly away like little saucers.
I went to the Hotel Café last night because my friend Theo Craig was in town and accompanying Brittain Ashford on her West Coast Tour. By the end of the show I was quite smitten by her charm. Miss Ashford bangs on obscure Appalachian folk instruments and sings with conviction despite the occasional rude audience member who continues to converse. Theo (bass) and Gary (drums), also known as the Pretty Girls’, were lovely as well.
I especially enjoyed “Not Here, But Somewhere, which made me think of some of my favorites, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez. Actually, Ashford’s mouth reminded me of Joni Mitchell’s mouth. Listen here:
Of course I purchased her album, “There, But For You, Go I” (released on Paris-based Waterhouse Records) along with 3 awesome pins (I couldn’t help myself, they’re so cute).
A lot of love went into my very first music video. Love + the blood, sweat and tears of Hank Friedmann, director & animator extraordinaire. He built the sets, made the characters, animated and directed the video. Brilliant. I’m his #1 fan.
INTRODUCING
Hank Friedmann – Director & Animator extraordinaire
Hank Friedmann was born in Long Beach, California on Super Bowl Sunday, 1985. Despite being born on Football’s holy day, he had neither the interest in nor the build for pursuing a career in sports. Instead, he became enraptured with the world of film and animation.
Hank’s foray into the world of filmmaking began in elementary school as a ploy to get easy A’s, and in-so-doing set a new bar for book reports. Then, for his Bar Mitzvah, his parents bought him a top-of-the-line VHS camcorder, securing his place as the kid in the neighborhood with the video camera.
As the years passed, Hank worked in sound on television & features, created the Transdimensional Short Film Festival, and produced and directed the UCLA sketch comedy program Fireside Chats. He currently works in commercial and music video editorial at Final Cut LA. He stand 5′10″, weighs 150 lbs., and is ready to take on Mr. T’s inspirational charge: to be somebody, rather than being somebody’s fool.
Unfortunately, James had to cease working on my project in order to tend to his own band. I am grateful for his contributions though. Meeting with him and Garret to jam on the songs resulted in the drum parts that we ended up recording. Did I mention that this recording thing is a process?
Fortunately, Eva Gardner came to the rescue. Eva has been playing bass in bands since the age of 14. I imagine she was one of those super-cool kids that everyone wanted be, she is still that way actually. Eva exudes confidence and her bass playing is phenomenal. She takes great inspiration in her father, Kim Gardner, a bassist who was part of the British Rock Invasion of the 60s and 70s. Eva has toured extensively with various bands in the US, Europe and Japan where she most recently performed shows opening for the Rolling Stones in the UK. She also played bass and toured with The Mars Volta when they first started in the summer of 2001. Eva is currently in a band, which I really, really love. They are called Lyra. I highly recommend listening.
I confess, it was a rush and I thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiasm!
Bluto
Carl
Stan
Hieronymus
Sven
Ralph
Leerone
A.J. & Larkin
Photos by Sasha Strauss
