RARWRITER.COM                                )

August 2009 Edition

CONTENTS

In this Edition

Featured Artists

Artist Resources

Music Reviews

Book Reviews

Publisher Essays

Cinema

About RARWRITER.com

Archives

SPECIAL SECTIONS

RARadio

Literature

Fine Arts

Commercial Arts & Modeling

Media

Politics

Soundscan Charts

Distribution List Sign-Up

SPECIAL REPORTS

Artist Dream Project

Artist Management

THE "LINKS AT RARWRITER"
At Large
Austin
Australia
Boston
Canada
Chicago
Colorado
Europe
Miami/Florida
Japan
Los Angeles
Minnesota
Nashville
New Orleans/Louisiana
New York City
Philadelphia
Phoenix
San Diego
San Francisco
Scandanavia
Seattle
United Kingdom

 

E-MAIL CONTACT:
Rick@RARWRITER.com 

 

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RAR TUNE OF THE WEEK:

Tribute to a Young Artist - This week's RAR original is a loving tribute to Joni Mitchell, though that is actually young Kate Bush in the photo above. The bohemian call to arms is shared in the swimming melodies and rhythms of youthful aspiration and the beckoning of western frontiers. Click on the cover above to listen to "Chelsea Girl".

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Click on the MySpace Music graphic or on this RAR on MySpace link to hear selected RAR originals...

 

 

 

 

...or click on this RARWriter Music Page link to go to the RARWRITER.com Music page to hear a variety of tunes from the RAR catalog.

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FEATUREDARTISTS:

Click here to go to the Featured Artist page: 

 

MATTHEW MAGENNIS - FILMMAKER

 

SAM BROUSSARD ON REPUBLICANS

DOUG STROBEL ON ARRANGING

JACO PASTORIUS

 

and more!

 

Photos, streaming MP3s and more!!!

ESSAYS

Oh Kaiser! You Are Killing Us! - A real life account of the nightmare that is U.S. health care. (See a note on image above - Death bringing freedom - on the Essay page.)

Entering A New Era of Political Obfuscation

A Government For the Banks, By the Banks

Cracks in "The Rock" Obama

Design-Build with Dufus and Gomer

How Do You Know?

Would That Be Proper?

The Renewed Spirit of Meanness

Early Take On Obama Administration - Business As Usual - "I Am the Change"

Are We Bailing Out and Incenting the Right People?

The De-United States of America

Poverty In the Suburbs - Nowhere to Run!

America: Growing Stupid

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MUSIC REVIEWS
(click here)
:

RAR reviews new LPs from The Boxmasters (Modbilly), Mad Buffalo (Wilderness), Leslie and The Badgers (Roomful of Smoke) and the Donovan-produced Violeta album Everlasting Love.

RARWRITER.com resident Musicologist Doug Strobel Reviews CDs from The Volker Strifler Band, The Shamblers, Dan McCorison and Misner & Smith. And more...Vintage Mink, Dave Rude...

Diana Olson reviews Brothers on Fire from The Vintage Mink.

BOOK REVIEWS AND MORE (click here): Read earlier RAR reviews, including a look back at David Halberstam's The Reckoning, and Alan Greenspan's book "The Age of Turbulence."

 

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ARTIST INDEX:

Click here to go to the Index page to find the artists profiled on the Links at RARWRITER.

 

J. Vermeer -  "The Artist In His Studio"

 

"THE LINKS AT RARWRITER" - Links to information on creative communities of the following cities, regions and countries:

At Large

Austin

Australia

Boston

Canada

Chicago

Colorado

Europe

Miami/Florida

Japan

Los Angeles

Minnesota

Nashville

New Orleans/Louisiana

New York City

Philadelphia

Phoenix

San Diego

San Francisco

Scandanavia

Seattle

United Kingdom

 

ARCHIVES: Selected features from past editions.

 

RARADIO: Click here to go to the RARadio page to hear innovative acts from across the spectrum of musical genres.

 

POLITICAL LINKS -

points of view not necessarily endorsed by RARWRITER.com

 

DAILY KOS: STATE OF THE NATION

ATLAS SHRUGS

FACTCHECK.ORG

Top 10 Political Websites based on Internet usage (from http://www.hitwise.com/political-data-center/website-rankings.php)

1. www.huffingtonpost.com 8.58%
2. www.realclearpolitics.com 5.36%
3. www.barackobama.com 4.44%
4. politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com 4.33%
5. www.politico.com 4.11%
6. www.dailykos.com 3.52%
7. elections.foxnews.com 3.23%
8. www.freerepublic.com 3.13%
9. www.johnmccain.com 2.1%
10. www.townhall.com 2.09%

FEATURED LINKS:

The Gibson guitar folks have a Lifestyle zine section on their website that is well worth checking. Click here.

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RARWRITER.com Annual "State of the Union" Report 2008-2009.

Click here for information about RARWRITER.com viewership and the further development of the RARWRITER enterprise.

 

RARWRITER
CONTRIBUTOR PROSPECTUS

RARWRITER.com is exploding with new readers, new artist profiles, and new business opportunities. Would you like to become involved as an editorial contributor? If you are a great writer or photographer with particular knowledge of your creative community, and you are looking for publishing credits, contact us at Rick@RARWRITER.com for a copy of the RARWRITER Contributor Prospectus to learn what involvement can mean for you.-RAR

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Spotlight on Edo Castro & Friends at RARWRITER.COM

 

Edo Castro & Friends - June 29 at Larkspur CafÉ THEATRE

RAR would admit to having a soft spot for the folks at Passion Star Music, who in many ways epitomize the ethos toward which RARWRITER.com strives. Whatever their circumstances, the Passion Star people - Lisa Star and Ray Cooper, primarily - are in pursuit of quality and excellence. They have that lifelong focus that I have found to be peculiar to "jazz people," their passion expressed in a musical language not really imagined as a pop blend, but more as a savory

The event upcoming at the Larksuper Café Theatre is bringing together a core sampling of the community of which Passion Star is a part. It is an intriguing blend of players, each described by Lisa Star (pictured below at the mic).

 

Passion Star Music and Murphy Productions Present: Edo Castro & Friends. Friday,  June 29th. $25. Larkspur Café Theatre Theatre opens at 6:30 for dinner and show is at 8:00 pm. Online Ticket Sales: TIX.com. Visit Passion Star at: Passion Star Music.com.

 

We look forward to celebrating this evening which marks our one year milestone and thank Murphy Productions for all of their tremendous support of music & local artists such as ours. We hope you can join us. We are the last act that Murphy Productions will host at the Larkspur Café Theatre besides their fundraiser/community jam the following evening. We look forward to lot's of great musical fun with Daniel and Erma in the future.

Joining Edo will be Hemisphere's Ian Dogole on percussion, Deborah Winters -singer/songwriter, Lester Levy -guitarist, Blue --Apache Song Catcher/windflute player, Paget Campbell -electric guitar, Jonathan Moe -percussion and more including Passion Star's own Ray Cooper and Lisa Star. Up and coming singer/songwriter, Karys Melnitzer, opens the show. This evening will be showcasing an amazing and diverse array of local artists. The evening features primarily original compositions.

Artists in order of appearance:

 

 

LISA STAR OF PASSION STAR MUSIC

 

Karys Rhea (pictured left)

A couple of years ago, one of Deborah Winter's students, singer/songwriter Karys Rhea, worked with Ray Cooper/CoStar Studios to produce a demo with three songs Karys had written. We were all impressed with this young talent and her fresh sound. She plays guitar and I will accompany her with some background vocals. Check out her Myspace.com site for more samples of her music. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edo Castro (pictured right and top of page)

Edo plays multi-stringed basses including fretless. He has mastered a performance looping process that allows him to melodically solo over his own bass "pads". The result is a wondrous formation of textures and he will be performing several of his compositions from his CD "Phoenix" as well as some new songs in addition to playing with the other featured artists. http://www.edocastro.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue (pictured left)

Blue is an Apache Songcatcher. He plays an ancient instrument called a Wind Flute. These are unique instruments that have been played in Blue's family for over 1,000 years. He and Edo will open the main portion of the show with a song entitled: Gift of Blue http://www.bluefluteman.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ray Cooper (pictured left at the piano, right at the board)

Ray has written a composition especially for this event and will feature most of the musicians gathered for the evening. Ray will be playing the grand piano and synth. The song will also be accompanied by visuals created by Ray and a wonderful visual artist, Priscilla Huber. Ray will be playing on a variety of tunes as well.

 

 

 

 

 

ray and edo in studio 880: Ray Cooper produced Edo's Phoenix album.

 

 

 

 

 

Ian Dogole (pictured left)

His arsenal of global percussion instruments includes: udu, cajon, hang, talking drums, mbiras, dumbek, balafon, dholak, cymbals and many more. Ian will be accompanying many of the artists throughout the evening and will be soloing on a mysterious instrument called the Hang (pronounced Hung) and more. It looks a bit like a flying saucer but sounds like steel drums -- played with the hands. It is an amazing sound! Check out more about Ian and his many projects & talents at http://www.iandogole.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Deborah Winters (pictured left)

Many of you know this lovely singer/songwriter. Deborah will be playing some of her original compositions including "I Am the I Am" and "Venice." She will also be singing on various numbers throughout the evening including a Miles Davis tune called "Blue in Green" with Edo and Ian. http://www.deborahwinters.com

Lester Levy: Lester brings his amazing passion for acoustic guitar music to the stage. He is returning to his musical roots after many years and we're glad he is!

Lisa Star (pictured left with Edo during the Phoenix sessions): I will be joined by everyone on my composition, Shining Bright. I will also be singing throughout the evening.

Paget Campbell (pictured right)

Paget joins us from Seattle WA. Paget is an electric guitarist I met in high school and I've been following his musical career ever since. Paget has played guitar with many cover bands in the Seattle area over the years, including Coed, Phoenix, and Restless. Paget's influences include Pink Floyd, Santana, Steve Lukather, and the Dan Reed Network. Paget is lead guitarist for Pop Culture, a Seattle dance band. However, I know that this guitarist has artistry that takes him beyond the dance floor. We're happy that he could come down from Seattle and join us on a few tunes for this evening. http://popcultureband.homestead.com/band.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Moe

Jonathan is a wonderful drummer & percussionist and we're glad that he can join us. He has worked with us on several projects and always adds a positive and joyful feeling to all that he does.

 

 

 

©Rick Alan Rice (RAR), August, 2009

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