Michael's Prog Drum Blog

Thinking Out Loud

2011-12-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

Does this really need an explanation or descripiton?

Do Not

2011-11-27T12:40:00.001-08:00

I just finished this one. It is, of course, dry erase marker on the bathroom mirror. The toilet paper roll was Ian's idea. I like the way he thinks so I just had to add it. This one actually was inspired by the holiday windows I've been painting. After drawing all the Santa crap I was looking around at what people normally have painted on windows. It's mostly text.

Michael Petiford Expo Dry Erase Murals

2011-11-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a slide show I made of my Expo Dry Erase Marker Murals. I want to get this to a marketing person at the Sanford Ink Company, they make Expo markers. If you like this work, then I would ask you to post it to someone you know who might like it. Who knows, maybe there are six degrees of separation between me and the marketing director of Sanford.

2011-11-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of my classroom whiteboard. The project is on Perspective. They have to create a four panel perspective composition four sides of a cardboard box. What they do with the other two is their business. The plant thing started because a student showed me drawing what she thought would make a good Tat, so I kind of embellished what she had.

Aeroplanes

2011-11-07T20:51:00.001-08:00

Here is my latest dry erase mirror drawing. Sometimes it's nice to just do a quick drawing composition rather than some elaborate, psycho color assault.

TARDIS Halloween costume

2011-11-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

My son Ian and I made a TARDIS costume for Halloween. If you don't know, TARDIS stands for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space" and it is the name of the time/space ship that belongs to The Doctor on the British science fiction show Doctor Who. Ian (he's eleven) and I made it from cardboard boxes, electrical tape, acrylic paint, a mason jar, a flashlight, and a massive number of hot glue sticks. It was an enormous success, with people wanting pictures and facebook posts galore.

Cleanroom Sketchbook

2011-10-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from a very strange sketchbook that I kept while I was working in a cleanroom, a factory where you have wear a special suit to reduce lint and static electricity. They use special paper in cleanrooms, it feels like it's made of plastic and it doesn't shed lint. I drew all of these with a ball point pen - not my favorite medium - but I like some of the drawings. There is a long ugly section of people eating, those are called Pie Hole I, Pie Hole II, etc... The drawings area about 2" x 6"

My Perspective

2011-10-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

First drawing done with the new Pilot V-Board Master Whiteboard Marker. I am withholding my judgement for the moment. I will say gravity is an issue with this design. My son Ian got us started with some perspective then told me to take over. There is a tiny figure on the roof of the Sausage House with a thought bubble that reads, "As I watched Mark and Alecia speed away all I could think was... great, now I'm going to be sucked into that building across the street".

2011-10-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

A Sales Representative from the Pilot Pen Corporation met my Wife Chris at a vendor's fair. They are introducing a new line of whiteboard dry erase marker so my wonderful wife showed the Rep some pictures of my dry erase murals. What do ya know, Pilot just sent me a bunch of the new pens and asked me to evaluate them. I guess they think I'm qualified. So far they are great pens however, they are very limited in color choices (only black, red, blue, green, orange). Also, they seem to suffer the same problem as their competition - when you are writing on a vertical surface like a whiteboard, the pen is angled up so gravity works against you on the ink and the tip dries out.

Drawing Progression

2011-10-09T19:38:00.000-07:00

I like those videos where you see a time lapse of a work so I decided to make one. This is a simple two-point perspective with a figure sitting on it. It's starts as a light pencil sketch and I begin adding more and more ink. It's just mechanical pencil and Sharpie on 8.5 x 11 printer paper. I took the pictures with a cheap digital camera and compiled them on a windows movie making program that came with my laptop.

"Sharkmouth"

2011-09-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

This is a shot of my classroom whiteboard. The lesson is on value and texture. I tell students that once I've drawn something (like the sharks), if I use it a few times, I'll usually remember it. I tell them that once you figure out how to draw something new, you can almost always find some other way to use it or another place to put it. This piece is "Sharkmouth" and the whiteboard is four feet tall.

Expo Retablo

2011-09-10T00:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here's my latest. This is a drawing executed with Expo dry erase markers on my bathroom mirror. It is 3' x 7' and I procrastinated and went on vacation so it's taken a couple of months to complete. The title is just "Retablo" and the format was inspired by the Retablo de Ciudad Rodrigo which is currently on display in the University of Arizona art museum. A Retablo is an alterpiece, a work of art created to stand on, or behind an alter in a church. The Retablo de Ciudad Rodrigo has something like 26 panels each about the size of the two panels I've drawn here. My Retablo is just for fun. Hope you like it.

Sci Fi Roots

2011-07-26T18:44:00.002-07:00

This is the only good pic I could find of this particular piece, unfortunately the right panel is incomplete... there was water in the hole and around the bricks, but I can't find a copy and the drawing has been erased. Anyway, this is "Sci Fi Roots" 3'x7' Expo dry erase marker on bathroom mirror.

You know, because they are on mirrors, they are really hard to photograph.

2011-07-26T18:44:00.001-07:00

Firefish

2011-07-24T16:47:00.001-07:00

This is the first of my bathroom mirror dry erase murals. "Firefish" 3'x7' took about three weeks to draw.

If you click on the label "whiteboard" below, you can see all of my whiteboard drawings so far.

This one looks a bit different because I did not use any florescent markers, they have a more opaque quality. Also, I left a lot of area uncovered so that it would reflect the doors across from the mirror and create a sense of white. The title is "You Are Here" and it's 3'x7', dry erase marker on my bathroom mirror.

I don't typically do a lot of overtly political art but, living in Arizona, I've been exposed to quite a few fascist cupcakes bent on world domination and this piece is intended to ridicule them.

Curtains

2011-07-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

It's been quite some time since I've made an entry on this blog so, by golly it's high time I posted something. If you look back through this blog some you'll find a number drawings executed on whiteboard using Expo dry erase markers. I was rather proud of those for a while, however for the last six months or so, I've been doing large compositions on my bathroom mirror. I think I've gotten a whole lot better with this medium. All of it's dry erase, so it will wipe off if you bump against it and I drew it all on my bathroom mirror. This is the second of four I've completed so far (I will post the others following). Each composition is three feet tall by seven feet wide. In each composition I have created some device to allow me to leave an opening on the right side so that my wife can still use the mirror. In this case the curtains frame her side. The piece is titled "Curtains". I used a standard variety pack of twelve regular Expo's, plus a four pack of Expo florescent markers. I also used one yellow marker from some off brand. It took about two weeks to draw.

Dragons

2010-05-12T20:30:00.001-07:00

The following pieces are student work. They are 36" x 46", acrylic, pencil, marker, colored pencils, and collage. In this case the collage is Joss paper for the background. The girl who drew the dragans is a seventh grader. She copied the images from some dragons she found on line and made a few modifications. She did most of the painting too but got way bogged down and I had to assign some classmates to help her complete the collage and finish the painting.

Toys

2010-05-12T20:29:00.001-07:00

This piece is adorable. The girls who made it thought toys would be a great topic for a painting, so we looked at several paintings to get some composition ideas, then used clip art as a model. Yes clip art. Simple, iconic shapes... emblematic representations of abstract archetypes. This piece was done by two seventh grade girls and an eighth grade boy. 36" x 46" acrylic, pencil, marker, colored pencils, on cardboard.

Dragon Tower

2010-05-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

I love this one. Two completely different personality types came together and succeeded quite well. Two tough guys and two nerds. Get this, a tough guy painted the silly dragon in the foreground, and a nerd kid painted the dragon in back. I'm glad they decided to change it so the flames spread all the way across the central line, makes a nice seperation and sense of perspective. I like the final decorative touches like the scroll work across the top and the lovely, delicately painted path. Guess what... the other tough guy poured over that path for three class periods.

Sea Life

2010-05-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

One thing I really wanted to avoid in this project was the use of large areas of flat color. I wanted students to learn to modulate color using brush, pencil, and ink techniques. You know, show me gobs of texture and visual depth blah, blah, blah... These guys were the most dificult group to motivate. I had to push and push these guys (well, girls mostly) but look what they came up with. Sure, they satisfied me with the glazing and drawing in the squid so when they thought to paint the background 6 different shades of undmodulated blue I thought... okay. Nice touches like the nasty yellow teeth on the shark.

Robots

2010-05-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you put one girl with three boys. I love this one. I said, if you could draw whatever you wanted, what would you draw and the seventh grade girl took a book on how to draw animals. She showed me adorable sketches and I said okay. The boys took a long to think of what would be cool. Finaly they kind of agreed on robots, and I encouraged them to run with that. All the animals were done by the girl, the glazing in the tigers coat, the ala prima in the bunny, and the fine pencil work in the mouse and squirel. I love the two robots, one with fire in his belly and the other with cold clockwork steel. The fence was done with several rulers that have a circular hole in the end. The students used these as templates to cover the entire background with perfect little circles. They left some holes to make it really look like old chicken wire.

Animals

2010-05-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

Another middle school piece, this one was really driven by a 7th grade science geek. He convinced the group that they should do a composition progressing from fish to reptile to bird to mamal. Along the way they all learned blending and glazing, composition and design elements, collage techniques, and other mixed media methods.

Wizard

2010-05-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

Same as the last: 36" x 46", acrylic, ink, pencil, colored pencil on cardboard. This one was done by three seventh graders. One of them loves to draw anime. She drove the bulk of the composition. The sun and the wizard's coat are just amazing. I keep thinking this one looks like a miniture. I mean it looks like a scene I'd find if I pulled apart some bushes and peered into secret fairy kingdom.

Flowers

2010-05-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

This is the first in a series of images created by my middle school and high school students. 36" x 46", acrylic, ink, pencil, and colored pencil on cardboard. None of these students has ever done a painting of this scale. They worked in groups, this one was painted by four high school girls who only want to paint "pretty things". They copied from clip-art images of flowers, drew them larger, and arranged them to create a composition. They drew, then painted using glazes in the ribbons and ala prima techniques elsewhere. This is the culmination of a semester of work.

Whiteboard Mural II

2010-02-20T06:56:00.000-08:00

12' x 4' dry erase on whiteboard. This my student's work. I've been having my classes create murals on the whiteboard as part of my classwork. For this one they took random "clip art" images, enlarged them, and arranged them into a composition. If you look closely you'll see two yardsticks in the tray at the bottom - gives you a better idea of the scale.

It's About Time

2009-12-30T11:53:00.000-08:00

So I finally got RockBand II and I have to admit I'm hooked. Well, actually my son got it for Christmas but I keep playing it. This game is a blast (and not just the drums). Speaking of the drums, my RockBand kit has a Rock 'n Sock throne. I was surprised to find so much Prog on the song list... Rush, Kansas, Dream Theater. I'm thinking for my next project I'll bust out some frisk and my airbrush to trick out the guitar.

Back to Prog Drumming

2009-12-12T00:16:00.000-08:00

Wow, I just had one of the best times playing
music I've ever had. I had the chance to jam with Mauricio Sotelo of the group Cabezas de Cera, one of the premier Chapman Stick players and most avant garde musicians in prog music today (also, one of the nicest and most gracious musicians I've ever met). Mauricio and CDC were recent headliners at NEAR Fest and Baja Prog and he happens to be friends with my band partner Frank D'Angelo. Mauricio is without a doubt one of the most interesting and innovative Stick players around. We hung out, had a little wine, and played weird music for a few hours. What could be better than that?

Whiteboard Mural

2009-12-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

15' X 4' dry erase marker on whiteboard. This started when I told my students to graffiti my whiteboard. 32 markers and a couple of weeks and this is the result. They did require some direction but it's amazing how every student said they can't draw! This has actually become legendary with everyone involved claiming bragging rights. The following are closeups, left to right.

Graffiti My Whiteboard

2009-10-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

For Bell Work I had the students in three classes graffiti a section of my white board, then I added imagery on top of theirs. Their work work did not vary the line in any way and all of it was essentially on the same scale. I brought my additons in to demonstrate how to manipulate scale, line weight, superimpose themes, add such elements as visual contradiction, pun, repetition, contrast, symbolism, and color contratst, etc...

Whiteboard Drawing

2009-09-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

I've been told by one of my fellow teachers (Ms. Sheridan - teaches journalism and English across the hall from me) that I have to keep a record of all the stuff I draw on my whiteboard. These are just some border design ideas I put up to get them thinking about ways to dress up the illuminated manuscript project they've been working on.

Whiteboard Drawing

2009-09-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

I drew this on my whiteboard at school. It is NOT a reference to 9/11. It is mere coincidence that I drew this yesterday, however, it happens that a fellow teacher was in New York at the time of the attack. When she saw my silly drawing she laughed but also said it made her uncomfortable. This gave me an excellent opportunity to talk to my class about the power and purpose of art. We talked about the many uses of art beyond entertainment, such as being a means of expressing thoughts, beliefs, emotions, etc... We talked about advertising and propaganda. We talked about art's power to tap into the mind of the viewer and illicit responses we may or may not have intended. All in all an interesting classroom discussion.

Whiteboard Drawing

2009-09-05T00:58:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable... No way..... It can't be done.... two posts in the same night on the same topic.... GET OUT! Okay, whatever. Anyway, as I said in the last post I'm covering medieval illuminated manuscripts and woodcut printing in the same lesson (wow, aint I innovative?). So, to get the woodcut idea across, I keep demonstrating by drawing on the whiteboard using a subtractive method. That is, I fill in a space with black dry erase marker, then "draw" by erasing, using a paper towel to remove the ink. In this case I drew the ribbon border, then filled the interior space with black and created the capital B and the pattern around it by erasing. I love the kind of unexpected shapes that you get by working that way. And, yes, that drawing is on a whiteboard. Can't tell you why it looks yellow, must be the light.

Whiteboard Drawing

2009-09-05T00:03:00.001-07:00

Right, well it's been quite some time since I posted on the blog and it's likely much readership has fallen off. So be it. I still intend to continue this in spite of my own lack of consistency. Today's post is another whiteboard drawing done for my classroom. I'm teaching a unit on Medieval and Gothic art which contains an extensive look at illuminated manuscripts. I've devised a project in which my students will each produce their own illuminated manuscript based on their choice of a lyric, poem, or excerpt of literature. Each student will produce a recto (right hand page) consisting of the text, an ornamental capital, and a decorative border, as well as a verso (left hand page) containing a suitable illumination for the text and it's own decorative border.

In addition to illuminated manuscripts, which were typically hand painted, I've been discussing woodcut prints, a popular form in Medieval art. I'm asking the students to combine the techniques for this project. In the case of the recto, I'm requiring each to create a linocut (easier than wood) for the ornamental capital that usually begins the text. We'll print the block on parchment (modern), then add the text and ornamentation using markers. Once the recto is complete, we'll produce a verso consisting of a larger linocut image depicting, i.e. illuminating, some aspect of the text. We'll then add a decorative border to accentuate the illumination. All in all it should give the students an interesting introduction to medieval art (with a modern twist) using two of the popular styles of the day.

The whiteboard drawing that I've created uses dry erase markers to demonstrate the concept. The ornamental capital was created by filling in a rectangle with black ink, then using a paper towel to "cut out" the letter and leave patterned marks around it. This is meant to simulate the woodcut process, a subtractive method of drawing. The decorative border in this case is intended to introduce the students to the practice of creating weaving and branching patterns, something I had them practice several times as bell work. The text I've chosen is a "madrigal" by P.D.Q. Bach (Peter Schickle) called "My Bonny Lass She Smelleth". I thought it an appropriate choice because it actually parodies medieval music.

Tool Stuff

2009-08-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

I went to see Tool here in Phoenix on July 21st. Fantastic show. Anyway, one of my friends was working on the crew as a rigger. I saw him today and he tossed me this shirt, said he thought I'd probably wear it more than he would. Very cool! Thanks Mark.

In addition to the shirt, my buddy grabbed the sheet they gave him listing the various back stage passes. I thought it interesting.

New Teacher Mind Map

2009-07-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

Back to school. Meetings and training before the students come back. We have some new teachers so I drew this one while we were discussing classroom environment. It just seemed right to make him into a mind map about the subject being discussed. He seemed like he was thinking about it. Peripherals, by the way, are any ancillary aspects of or in the classroom that contribute to the learning environment.

Loss of a giant

2009-07-27T01:40:00.000-07:00

I just learned of the passing of Jim Chapin, the man who wrote the book on coordinated independence. I have to say that his book is the seminal work on drumset indentendant coordination. I discovered it in the early '70's and begged my teacher to walk me through it. Surprisingly, I introduced a student to this wonderful text only yesterday! Mr. Chapin's book is one of the finest drum books ever published and he is one of the most inspirational figures in drumset music. He is a shining example that you don't have to be a recording or performing star to be a profound and moving force in music. I don't have a single recording of Jim Chapin playing, however his book is one of the single most memorable and influential works in my library!

Amsterdam Percussion Group

2009-07-25T11:29:00.001-07:00

So I saw this group on Youtube and, being a fan of Terry Bozzio and all things percussion, I had to have it. I searched and discovered no mention of it on Bozzio's website, or any of the DVD sources I normally use. I couldn't find any reviews either. I finally had to order it through the group's website. It took two months for them to finally ship it from Holland and with glee I popped it in the DVD player only to discover that something in the formatting prevents my system from reading it. "Cannot Play" flashes on the display. Fortunately it does play on my computer so it's not a total loss. The music is wonderful with compositions by Bozzio, Piazzolla, Zappa, and members of the group. Some of it is reminescent of Pierre Moerlen's Gong. This one will get many plays!

Other One Kit

2009-06-15T23:45:00.001-07:00

This is my other kit (actually my first kit). It's a four piece 1967 Ludwig. The tom is 14" (rail consolette mount), 16" floor tom, 22 x 18" bass drum, and 14" metal concert snare (13" picolo pictured here). Good stuff.

Gig Kit

2009-06-15T00:44:00.001-07:00

Folks have asked so I thought I'd post. This is my main gig kit. The brand is Po' Boy Drums (I'm an endorser). It's a natural finish, birch and maple hybrid. The toms are 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16". The bass is 20 x 18", and the snare is 14 x 5.5". I use a double kick pedal and I typically add a 13 x 3" picolo snare on the left as well as a second foot pedal with a jam block. The cymbals are Zildjian, Paiste, and Po' Boy.

Contradictions

2009-06-12T00:57:00.001-07:00

You know, I was thinking about my favorites and I realized that I'm a mass of contradictions! Check it out:

My favorite composers are J. S. Bach and Frank Zappa.
My favorite painters are Francisco Goya and Max Beckmann.
My favorite writers are Stephen King and William Faulkner.
My favorite playwrites are William Shakespeare and David Mamet.
My favorite sculptors are Michellangelo and Claes Oldenberg.
My favorite film directors are Alfred Hitchcok and Quentin Tarentino.
My favorite drummers are Ringo Starr and Terry Bozzio.
My favorite printmakers are Albrecht Durer and . E. L. Kirchener
My favorite illustrators are Gustav Dore and Robert Crumb.

I'm sure I could continue but it's 1;30 AM. I'm tired, good night.

Demons

2009-06-11T00:42:00.000-07:00

To those who have followed my blog I apologize. I have not posted for quite sometime for the simple reason that I have been in a crisis of a personal nature that I am not ready to share publically. Those who know me intimately know my crisis and sympathize; thank you. The print I've posted is, of course, Goya's famous "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters". It, I think, is profoundly appropriate to my current situation. At present I am in fact, suffering a similar fate to that of the individual depicted in this astonishing etching. That said, I will now segue to the promotion of a brilliant documentary that I just finished watching. Goya: Crazy Like a Genius is one of the latest works by art historian Robert Hughes and it is brilliant. If you have netflix you can rent it right away. I have always loved Goya's "3rd of May", "Sleep of Reason", and "Saturn Devouring His Children" but I have never truly appreciated Goya until now. The guy was freaking brilliant. I hope you will bear with me through this difficult time, I'm certain I will come out the better for it. In the meantime I hope you'll enjoy learning about a troubled genius who understood and suffered as you and I do. Goya rocks.

Whiteboard Drawing

2009-04-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

Another whiteboard/dry erase drawing. 6' x 3.5'. Here's a hint: el bano.

Whiteboard Drawing

2009-04-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a new type of blog entry: Whiteboard Art. For most of the projects I assign my art classes I end up doing a large drawing on my dry erase white board (approx. 6' x 3.5'). I did this drawing to get the students thinking about texture, value, and blending.

Anima Update

2009-03-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, cool stuff is beginning to take shape with Anima Obscura. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Frank and I have decided to reduce the band to a duo comprising me on drumset, percussion, and Chapman Stick and Frank on midi guitar and 7 string. We are both using loopers. We've never seen an act like that (but we know it's possible because we've been performing one song that way for some time). It was a little rough going at first though. It is very difficult to time two loopers and to make seamless changes from one groove/instrument to another. Today however, we had quite a breakthrough. We're worked on a piece that begins with a bass loop on the stick, then I enter with a darbuka solo. Frank builds a slow ambient sound scape on midi, then switches to seven string and waits. I stop the bass and percussion and allow the soundscape to play solo, then on cue, I start the bass loop and Frank and I come full on with heavy guitar and full drum set. The soundscape and bass are rolling underneath us. We improv and solo over it for a long time, then I fade the bass out and Frank starts to play a gamelan(!) rhythm in 5/4 on the synth and I switch to two handed tapping on the stick. So far it's a very interesting piece.

Stupid Cat

2009-03-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

I like my last triptych so I started stretching canvases for another. My cat Fedora thinks that anything I'm working on is a good surface for resting her lazy butt. I cut the canvas, laid down the bars and stepped away. When I looked back she had her butt planted right in my work. Good kitty.

Oh of course I'm well aware that the phrase "stupid cat" is redundant.

Five Year Plan

2009-03-12T00:23:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to me, but it's been five years since I last did a painting. I've been busy with music, performing, teaching and of course I've been drawing and sketching all this time, but I haven't been painting. I've actually never been happy with myself as a painter so recently I hooked up with an old college friend whose paintings I admire. He really wants to play the drums so I offered to give him drum lessons if he'd let me watch him paint and give me tips (translate as Lessons, thanks Jon!). Well, here's the first result. If you've been following the sketches I've posted, you'll recognize that this is in the same line of thought. This is a hybrid of a Baroque triptych alter piece and a comic strip from the Sunday paper (that's why each panel is square). This is a mixed media with ink, acrylic, and collage elements on canvas. There are invented images as well as photographed images. There is ala prima painting and glazing. Each panel is 18" x 18". This is a very spiritual piece that explores my frustration with philosophy, religion, and politics. There's a strong sense of "walking into light" with the figure in the right panel. The death imagery, the flytraps, the flys, are all deliberate means to convey my current state of dissatisfaction. I'm very pleased with the shifting perspective in the composition. I also like the warm, dry, desert colors on the left in contrast to the cool, tropical colors on the right. The title is "Shooting the Bottle off the Buddha".

P.S. If you want to see some great work check out my friend Jonathan's blog. He's one of my "followers" in the top right corner above my picture.

New Directions

2009-03-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post. For those who don't know, I lost the bass player in my band a few months ago and I have not been playing out at all. The other day my partner Frank and I auditioned a bass player who had all the chops we could ask for. Unfortunately, after the audition Frank and I were both in a strange mood. As we talked about it, we realized we just don't want to play that music anymore. We felt the stuff we'd written is in many ways too restrictive and formulaic. We want something that's different from anything we've done and which offers us a new challenge. We have decided to try performing as a duo using real time digital loops. I'm using the drumset, Chapman Stick, and percussion with two loopers ( a Headrush and a Jam Man) and Frank is using two loopers as well, one with his Brian Moore Midi guitar and the other with his seven string. So far the music is very ambient. However, I think that with practice we will find the way to establish an interesting structure by switching loops on and off while creating grooves and solo sections. It's definitely a challenge but I think that's going to make it all the more rewarding.

Landscape Escape

2009-01-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

I had my middle school students do a project I called Landscape Escape. They had to set a simple geometric shape approximatel 1/4 the size of the page in the center of the picture plane. They had to use simple branching to create a forest emphasizing foreground/middleground/background and comprising a cool color scheme. They had to fill the central space with imagery that would contrast the landscape in at least three ways. This student created contrast by using a warm color vs. cool, animal vs. plant, and domestic vs. wild. I like it.
By the way, this is the work of a special ed student who suffers with Autism. He absolutely loves to draw and he loves his dogs.

Black Page Marimba Attempt

2009-01-23T23:24:00.001-08:00

So as I said, I have a marimba in my office and, since I can already play the drumset part for Frank Zappa's The Black Page, I decided to tackle the mallet part as well. Far easier said than done. This is my first try and it is indeed far from perfect, but worth documenting. I'm working the same way I did with the drum part. Generally, for the first time through, I will ignore the complex phrasing and just try to get the pitches and sticking right, then I can practice with a metronome and get the polyrhythms rhythmically correct. So when you listen to this keep in mind that I'm just sort of playing the rhythm by ear. I'm also ignoring the rolls. All I want this first time through is to get the pitches and sticking down. This is approximately the first six measures of the piece.

P.S. that's not a video, just an MP3 with a static picture attached. Not even my hands.

Black Page Update

2009-01-21T23:20:00.000-08:00

"That's right folks, don't touch that dial". I'm gonna try to keep you updated through this just like I did last year. Step by boring step! Unh-Hunh, the resolution for 2008 was to finally play The Black Page on the drum set and I succeeded, even playing it live before an audience of five or six drunken twits in a dive bar in Scottsdale, Arizona.... GOSH I'm proud of myself. The res for 2009 is to play the mallet part. Yes, since I'm now officially a music teacher, I have a marimba in my office and, by God, I'm gonna play that damn thing. Every morning I have about twenty minutes and every afternoon I've got my prep hour. I'm devoting that time to The Black Page. Presently, I can play the first four measures. I contacted Zappa percussion alumnnus Ed Mann through MySpace.com to ask for advice and he was kind enough to give me this sage wisdom... "*) transpose where necc.*) play with whichever mallet grip feels best to you* ) use normal methods (math) to conjugate polyrhythms and create a worksheet if necc to mark the subdivisions of the meter, that's what I did - it seemed to work. good luck Ed Mann". Thanks Ed! So, at this point I'm up to measure five. I'm very confident that I'll be able to complete this. Special thanks to Keith for the vibes so I can practice at home too.

More Black Page

2009-01-20T16:30:00.000-08:00

So, now that I can play the drum part for The Black Page, I've decided to tackle the mallet part. The transcription I have is for keyboard melody, so I'll have to compare it to a recording to figure out if there are any quirks I need to be aware of. The score is from an old copy of Keyboard Magazine. I'm playing it on marimba and I would love any tips if anyone's got some.

Drumset Mindmap

2009-01-13T20:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, many people have requested this for quite some time so here it finally is: The Drumset Mindmap. The right side of the map generally follows the origins of the Drumset as a unique musical instrument beginning with it's roots in the marching band music of the late 1800's, through it's development in Vaudeville and New Orleans Second line, to it's ultimate real birth in Jazz. This information comes from the Percussive Arts Society. The left side of the map explores the various instruments that have from time to time been incorporated in the set. Above are three of the most important basic rhythms applied to the set and, below are depictions of the common notation key and a typical score. I hope this meets expectations! Once again, this is on 20" x 30" x 1/4" foam core and the color was done with a combination of transparent highlighters and opaque Sharpie markers. Special thanks to my son Zane for his assistance in adding so much color. Click on the label links below for more mind maps and teaching aids.

Resolution

2009-01-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

Hey there, here's my first post of the new year. I don't know about you but it seems to me that the world is being overrun by Jerks. A Jerk has been running our country, invading others, and eroding our civil liberties for the last eight years. In fact, Jerks in power in almost every country on the globe have acted in similar fashion. Jerks in business and industry have been systematically destroying the world economy with predatory lending practices, by taking outrageous perks and bonuses, and by lying, cheating, and stealing every chance they get. Religious Jerks from every sect and denomination on Earth have amped arrogance, ignorance, bigotry, and hatred to new astounding levels. The media in all it's myriad facets from vitriolic talk radio to insipid network news has sunk to mudslinging, innuendo, and slimy ridicule as a primary export. In addition to politics, business, religion, and the media, the general population has donned jerkness as it's new mantle. The Jerk zeitgeist pervades all aspects of human endeavor. Read the comments below any video on YouTube and you'll know what I mean. Our trains and buses have signs asking us to turn our music down and give up our seats to the elderly and disabled because we're such Jerks we have to be reminded of what common courtesy is. Jerkness is so prevalent that I could list examples ad infinitum. I've been a Jerk and you've been a Jerk. In the words of the inimitable Frank Zappa, "Jesus thinks you're a jerk!". There is only one solution: don't be a Jerk. As long as one person isn't a jerk there's hope. You can be that person and so can I.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T21:47:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is... last post of the year (gotta get this in before midnight). It's been a mighty eventful year. I quit my factory job and became a high school teacher. I did a clinic for Po' Boy Drums and premiered a new fugue for an audience of drummers (got some amazing new gear too). I learned The Black Page (plyed that in a bar :-) All in all I'm quite satisfied. Especially when you consider that I adore my family. It's been a great year and I know the next will be wonderful too. I wish you all the best.

Mind Maps and The Black Page

2008-12-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I loaded google/analytics and I look around at who's visiting my blog and why. It turns out the two most common searches that hit my blog are "mindmap" and "Black Page". I get hits on both of these from all over the world... from China to Finland... from Australia to Venesuela. It's interesting because those are two relatively esoteric topics and yet there really is quite a bit of interest. I wonder if there's any shared interest between the drummers and the mappers.

Arcimboldo Project I

2008-12-09T21:28:00.001-08:00

Loosely based on the work of Renaissance artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. For this project, I traced the silhouette of each student. They then filled the outline in with images that relate to them personally. I then had them create a patterned border of some kind. Finally, I had them put some related imagery in the negative space around the head and within the border. This student is from the Pacific island of Saipan and moved to Arizona a few years ago. This is probably the best.

Arcimboldo Project II

2008-12-09T21:25:00.001-08:00

A close second to the Saipan piece. This student likes dark imagery. No, he isn't suicidal, he just likes a good bleak story and he tells it well. He ties all the pieces together well. I want to see more control of the medium. He doesn't have a strong control of value.

Arcimboldo Project III

2008-12-08T22:02:00.000-08:00

I really like this piece. She shows a great control of the medium, uses value and blends hues extremely well. It's very whimsical and you gotta give credit for that obsessive/cumpolsive border. Unlike the previous pieces, with their strong conceptual and thematic relationships, this one is a bid random. It's all stuff she likes, but the items don't relate to each other in any other way. There's no second level of meaning here. But what the hell, it's an A.

Hands Project I

2008-12-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

Here's another outstanding example. Very nice choice to use the circles. She wisely chose to use the repeating shape in different sizes. She also varied the shape by showing it sometimes entirely and sometimes partially. Furthermore, she varied the color and she modeled the surface, that is she changed the value from dark to light. I love that she made the negative space between the circles a deep solid color. This creates a third level - a background ( the red), a middle ground (the circles) and a foreground (the hands).

Hands Project II

2008-12-07T22:17:00.000-08:00

Here's another example from the same "Three Hands" project. Again, this is a student I did not expect to finish and I'm more than pleased with his choices. In this case he did use value in the background, I'd like to see him get more control over it. I know his math teacher so I know that the the geometric pattern came straight from her class... so.... hooray for this student for taking what he learned elsewhere! A further hooray goes for the placement of the hand in the center (the one doing the Vulcan salute) that appears to be holding the diminishing diamond pattern. That's an excellent design choice. Furthermore, the student understood the streangth of a red and black color scheme.

Hands Project III

2008-12-07T22:03:00.001-08:00

Ya know, here's a nice example of a fairly well done project by a student I did not expect to come through. the project is called "Three Hands" and it required the student to draw their hand in three different positions, then overlay those hands on a geometric background. Emphasis was to be placed on exagerating the contrast between organic (foreground) and geometric (background). I also asked for monochromatic foreground and polychromatic background. I'm particularly impressed that this is a student who performed at the bare minimum this semester, yet pulled out the stops on this projects. I like the use of black in the background. The color in the hands was done with a highlighter. Nice placement of the hands, close enough to create some tension. She also let them run off the page, good choice. I would like to have seen shift in value in the background colors, but all in all I think that's minor. Nice stained glass feel.

New Pic

2008-12-03T22:55:00.000-08:00

I was looking at the Po' Boy Drums website and I noticed they had changed my picture. The other picture was me behind my old Pearl kit playing my Chapman Stick. I like this new pic more. For one thing, I like the PB kit much more! I also like this pic because it was taken at a clinic I taught last May where I had a blast. They also changed my description to read "Anima Obscura/Educator". I like that.

Landscape Escape

2008-11-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

Current project for my art classes. Create a landscape, then punch a hole in it and create another world in the window. Work for contrasts, i.e. warm colors vs. cool colors, inorganic vs. organic, mechanical vs. natural, living vs. dead, landscape vs. cityscape, exterior vs. interior, aerial vs. linear perspective, day vs. night etc.. This is my sketch, they're working 12x18". I'll post the good ones.

Convention

2008-11-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

I had to go to a charter school convention today and I was bored. The lady on my left had a craby look on her face. The key note speaker wore stripes and seemed very stern. There were a lot of spot lights in the convention center. Some guy raised his hand to ask a question. There was a cowboy painting on the wall. I started to feel like the guy in the middle.

Pocket Change

2008-11-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here's my middle school percussion group performing at their first assembly (mine too!). That's Jose, Tanner, Tristan, Bryan, Logan, Nick, Carlos, and Bryce and they did a fantastic job. It's funny how you can get just as much satisfaction from watching a group of your students perform as from performing yourself, especially when they perform one of your own compostions. They played a piece that I wrote called "Pocket Change". I had as much fun as they did.

Notice the "bass bucket" on the right side of the photograph. I found that at a local pool supply store. It still smells like chlorine shock but it sounds great when hit with a bass mallet.

Metallica

2008-10-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

I saw Metallica on the opening night of their concert tour for the new CD Death Magnetic. Let me say right up front that I am not a Metallica fan, although I do like a few songs. I have a policy, however, that I will go hear any band, no matter how bizarre or outside my sphere, if you buy the ticket (my Sister in Law bought this one). If they suck, I will drink a beer. If they still suck, I will drink another beer, until such time as either they sound good, or I am drunk (in the case of Primus I just ended up drunk). This policy has served me well. I saw Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers (a show I thought I would hate) and, low and behold, I had a blast! Additionally, I saw Velvet Revolver on someone elses dime and I was pleasantly surprised. Conversely, I saw Bon Jovi when a friend bought the ticket and I later wished she hadn't wasted her money. That said, let's return to Metallica.

As I said, I am not a Metallica fan but I do like a few songs. I was, however, again pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the performance. I thought they were very polished and they put on a very energetic show. They had laser beams, flames, and coffin shaped lighting fixtures which I thought were fun (albeit campy). For me, the high point was when they performed Master Of Puppets. The audience knew every word and sang louder than the band. That's pretty cool no matter what genre. It was also a very good rendition. My only real complaint is that the sound engineering was truely bad... literally atrocious. The distortion was so bad that your couldn't make out words even when they were speaking directly to the audience. Lars' double bass drum riffs just sounded like a dull roar and sixteenth notes were indistinguishable in every lead guitar solo. From an entertainment standpoint, the show was great. From a technical audio engineering stand point, the show was an utter failure. I'm still glad I went. Somebody else paid and I had a great time.

Halloween Fun

2008-10-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

I read to my kids every night. We just finished the last two Harry Potter books and I read them a short story by pulp science fiction writer Fredric Brown. You might know the FB story Arena - it was reworked into a Star Trek episode of the same name (big lizard guy called a Gorn) - classic SF. Well, in honor of Halloween I'm reading them a story by my cheesey horror hero H. P. Lovecraft. Those who know me know I love Lovecraft. I know the stories are corney, but somehow they're effective. The good ones really are creepy. I'm reading them one of my favorites: The Colour Out Of Space. They haven't really been exposed to horror fiction so this is quite a change of pace. So far, their attention is rapt. They keep saying things like, "Dad, that's freaky!". At some point I should show them a picture of 'ol H. P... that's freaky! He looks like a character from one of his own stories.

On Halloween we're going to watch the campy old Vincent Price film The Abominable Dr. Phibes. I think they're going to love it. My favorite is the part where Dr. Phibes locks the frog mask on his victim's head at the masquerade party and it slowly clicks tighter and tighter until the poor creep's head explodes, spewing blood all over the transparent eyeballs of the mask. Of course the scumbag deserves it! Hooray for campy horror, hooray! Vincent and H. P., true kings of cheese!

The Latest

2008-10-29T22:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I haven't made a post for a while. Here's the deal: my new job as a high school art and music teacher is just plain overwhelming. On top of that, my band is loosing it's bass player. Yup, it's true. Eliot is leaving us to go to seminary college. Maybe at some point in the future we'll release a CD listing "Reverend Eliot" on bass. In the interim, however, we're looking for someone to fill his very big shoes (shoes of the fisherman?). Hopefully we'll get to do at least one more show before Eliot goes. Stay tuned, I'll let you know.

Wahoo

2008-09-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Stoked I am indeed! New CD/DVD by Deus Ex Machina, one of my favorite Prog bands. Long awaited, hooray hooray, joy, must have, get now, hear sample here "Rune" http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/deus.html

2 Point

2008-09-15T19:49:00.001-07:00

30"x20" foam core.

Oh My Goth!

2008-08-29T16:02:00.001-07:00

Can't Help Myself

2008-08-25T00:04:00.000-07:00

This is what I do while I'm sittin' around whatching the tube (maybe having a beer). I'm a multi-tasker. Like I said before, my classroom needs art. It might as well be didactic. These are all on 30" x 20" foam core. I didn't put it in this drawing (maybe I should) but all of those diagonal lines are called "lines of convergence" because they converge on the vanishing point.

16th Note Permutations

2008-08-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

Another one of my teaching aides. A chart of the 16 possible permutations of four 16th notes/rests. Take any combination of four squares to create a rhythm in 4/4 time.

Art Mind Map

2008-08-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here's my most elaborate one yet. This is on a 30" x 20" piece of foam core. All of the drawing was done with a combination of Sharpie markers and Highlighters. The classroom I'm in has no artwork up, no color. I wanted to get something up fast that has high key color and eye catching design. I wanted something original, not the usual posters of Van Gogh. I need to make a few more.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

2008-07-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

I teach a percussion class at a boy's camp every summer. I had twenty-six boys in two classes this year. I only get four one-hour sessions to teach them a complete piece for performance on the last day of camp (the tallent show night). This year I combined buckets and body percussion and it was the hit of the whole camp.

New Pic

2008-07-23T00:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture I found on my guitar player's myspace. This is me charting out one of our songs. Much of the stuff we play goes through so many time changes and stylistic changes, that I find I have to chart it out just to keep track. Frank says that's anathema to him, but for me it's all about the counting. When I play, the counting never stops. 1-2, 1-2, 1-2-3, 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and, one two three, one two three, one two three... This stuff runs through my head all the time. Granted, if there's a strong melodic line or lyric phrasing, that will effect the accenting of my counting. None the less, when I'm playing, Im counting something.

Getting Going

2008-07-23T00:08:00.000-07:00

Well here we go. The school year is about to begin and I've been working on lesson plans. I have to write lesson plans for two levels of general art, one drawing class, and two levels of percussion ensemble. Boy howdy, this is my first year as a full time teacher and this is a bit daunting. I'm excited to get started but I'm also nervous. Special thanks to my seasoned teacher friends who've been helping me out. I've definitely got big plans but I'm sure I'm in for some serious challenges. I really can't wait to get started.

So my posts of drawings have definitely been a part of this. I think I'm just getting into the mindset of being both an art and a music teacher. There are definite corollaries and I'm interested to see how I will cross over on the two subjects.

One of my seasoned teacher friends has offered to give me a set of Orff percussion instruments for my percussion classes. How cool is that? I'm almost as excited about the teaching as I am about the opportunity to have an ensemble to compose for, even if they are beginners.

Cowboy Gun Thing

2008-07-20T20:17:00.000-07:00