Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% Society: vanityfair.com

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% Society: vanityfair.com

A Public Confession: I Am Not a Member of the SF Symphony, as stated in public media elsewhere

Yes, I mean, no. I am confused. I performed recently for a benefit on an island to a sold-out crowd. The performance went well enough, I suppose. I received many compliments as graciously as I could without my big head exploding. Two or three days later a colleague at my day job asked me about my performance, and about my being a member of the SF Symphony. I was baffled until she explained about the article in the newspaper, on the front page. She brought in the article the next day for verification. I basked in being a member of a very exclusive club for just a moment or few, and later called the newspaper to correct the error. At this point I must confess my laziness, as I never made the follow-up call that I was supposed to make, and some people think I play in the SF Symphony. I am not, and have never been a member of the San Francisco Symphony. I am too skeered. I did audition once, and got a horrible case of the shakes. This is the perfect opportunity to face down that enduring feeling of not being good enough. Has something to do with the socio-economic capitalist system, where the emphasis is on the buck, and having more than you need. Except love. Then I tried to record myself, but I did not understand the robotic requirement of the assignment, so here I sit. Think I'll go practice some.

Latham Suite Played by Stephanie

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis at Allen Temple

What a great event! Last night I played with the Cantare con Vivo orchestra and chorus in a performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. He composed it when he was completely deaf, and it is  truly an amazing work of music, with many challenging tempos, juxtaposed dynamics and athletic passages for the doublebasses. Allen Temple is a marvelous organization, and I met a lot of very nice folks there. This event was a fundraiser for their after school music program held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and was underwritten by the Irvine Foundation. A remarkable event overall. We repeat our performance tonight at the First Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek.

Home - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Acoustic Cover (Jorge & Alex...

Fresno's on the map

I got back from Fresno, California this afternoon. Last night I played there at the "The Brick Wall" with an incredible cast of luminaries: Don Burnham(Western Swing Hall-of-Famer, Lost Weekend bandleader,  pedal steel guitarist, songwriter, composer, singer, guitarist, recording artist, raconteur), Bobby Black(Western Swing Hall-of-Famer, Asleep at the Wheel, Black Brothers Band, pedal steel guitarist, recording artist, zen guy), Bob Applebaum(LA mando[lin]-to-the-max, Disneyland, sometime singer, science genius), Bernard Payton(LA shipbuider, towering ebony booming bass voice, songwriter of dance grooves for everybody, guitarist, mystery urban cowboy), Sarah Dee Burnham(lithe vocal counterparts, lead singer of Ned Miller songs). With the addition of myself, we comprised "Don Burnham and the Bolos". Way fun gig, nice folks in the audience, too.

MEDITATION...JIM PASSARD and the LOST CATS