this is what i'm using

i got a question from a few people about what i use for the dj set and the spots visuals. i'm using the the fairly inexpensive but amazingly fluid and inspiring numark nuvj with arkaos software for mac osx.

last year during the spots residency at speakeasy, i used software called g-force, which i liked initially because it reacted to the audio and could be programmed liked crazy. but it looked, as my art-director friend, hunter barrow pointed out, like a really hi-res song visualizer. not organic enough. alas... every second of motion film or graphic ever filmed can potentially be used with nuvj. not bad.

republicans + killer artist + jesse payne album

this is one of the best clips i've seen regarding the election, via salon.com, could this be the real enemy ? also check this out... 1. this lady does some great art. it reminds me of some of matthew barney's work. 2. she uses dead animals. and - yep... she kills them herself. that's creepy and brilliant at the same time. here's the nathalia edenmont exhibit . and here's the rationale for the art-killings via the host gallery, wetterling. i don't really have an opinion. i just thought i should share that little art nugget. ...moving on... i got the final packaged verison of the jesse payne solo album. it was very well done. the front and back photo is of canterbury church here in birmingham. the liner book is solid white, with plain black text. very simple and clean. i like it. i'll post a pic in a few days. pay attention to rock radio in the next several weeks and you'll probably hear some promos for the album that is slated to drop in election day. ...

rubys / end scene

my good friend grey watson, with whom i play in two bands, is moving to south korea at the beginning of june for a one year teaching contract. he's in his late 20's, so this is pretty much the perfect opportunity to go abroad. this will effectively dismantle our rock trio, rubys... and will put a definite damper on through the sparks. we were planning on starting an album soon, but everyone stayed in a holding pattern until we knew what grey was going to do. now hopefully we can at least record some live demos of the new material so it doesn't get lost. at some point we might release the ep we recorded as a 5 piece at jody nelson's house in early 2010. at my age, i don't think in terms of years anymore. they go by too fast. 5 years ago, i was already recording with the spots. life moves pretty fast. anyway... so rubys will be going out in a blaze of glory. we have two shows lined up with the grenadines - one at the nick in birmingham and one somewhere in tuscaloosa...

through the sparks darfur concert clips

mark nelson, jody neslon's brother... has posted some youtube clips of the set we played during the darfur benefit show. i'm the black speck in the left corner. you can see me rocking the tamborine on a few of these. everytime i played keys or guitar i seem to vanish. even the huge black grand piano seems to be absent. great show. great sound. huge crowd. lots of fun. and i think we saved africa... ha. through the sparks proper - greg, jody, the mimikakis brothers and james... all played with a great sense of groove during this set. i had time to listen... great stuff. several new songs were played during the set. like a dove , buddy holly's gun , vampires , turn everything off . the set not only featured chad fisher, gary wheat and myself... but also featured a 7 minute multi-percussionist ensemble, which you can see the beginnings of, on the clip buddy holly's gun . the horn hook on like a dove is pure magic. the horns also sound fantastic on the final if and...

shawn avery

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