My good friend was performing at the Hollywood Bowl on the same evening. So I was only able to attend Exposure for a few hours. I managed to catch some of the Amateur bowl and all of the vert competition.
Exposure 2017 Lizzie Armanto
Cypress High School choir program problem
My daughter attends Cypress High School (public school) . She loves to sing so she is in the choir program. Tonight there is a public performance at our local community center the only problem is not all of the parents or siblings are allowed to attend.
I gave my daughter $60 cash (enough money to by our family tickets for the choir performance). My daughter came back the next day and told me the show was sold out. She told me there would be a chance to buy tickets on the night of the show. On the night of the show I walked into the Cypress community center and asked a few of the parents if there were any extra tickets. They told me it was sold out. I asked if my daughters family could see the performance portion of the show (the show is a dinner show) I was told that the fire regulations would not allow more people than who had purchased tickets.
As I was walking to my car I began to wonder why a choir at a public high school would setup a show in a venue that would not at the very least allow each childs parents and siblings to attend? I also wondered about how fair this was to parents who could not afford to spend $20 per family member. In the summer I attended a meeting long before this class began and we were told we would have to come up with around $700 per student plus costumes for our child to attend choir. They did not tell us that we might not be able to attend our children’s public performances.
When I was young I attended Kennedy High School (located a few streets away from Cypress High School) and was in the marching band all of my years there. I don’t remeber a single performance wherein parents were not allowed to attend? Maybe this is the new way music programs run? Maybe I am missing from a email mailing list? At any rate this is the first time I have missed my daughters performance (in her lifetime).
Marlon Brando interview
https://youtu.be/F6Lm-plgObg
When I was a kid movies were my first exposure to photography and music. If you have ever looked at a picture I took, or heard a song I wrote, or listened to me play drums you heard or saw some fragment of artists like Pink Floyd, Allan Holdsworth, Miles Davis, or Marlon Brando in there. I first saw Marlon Brando in the Movie Apocalypse Now at the Cinedome Theater in Orange California with Chuck Lantz back in 1979 (or so). I became a fan of his acting and began to search out his movies. This is a long but interesting interview probably happened sometime after he won the academy award for The Godfather. It’s amazing that at one time (on television) two people could have a conversation like this (and as long as this).
Linda Suzanne Sings
Linda Suzanne set out to create a concert event that would raise money for rescue animals. During the final moments of production the Las Vegas Mass Shooting occurred. Since Linda and her husband (John Wackerman) are members of the Las Vegas entertainment community Linda decided to donate and equal portion of the the money raised for victims of the mass shooting.
Regarding too much news
“The truth is, in an age of unfettered access to the worst of humanity, we have to act as our own gatekeepers if we want to stay sane.”
Meeting with Tony Williams in Japan
Meeting Tony Williams was a special moment in my life. Even though at the time I didnt realize how much of a force he was. As a matter of fact when I was young, I used to follow all these famous drummers. In fact I studied with Chad Wackerman. And I loved Terry Bozzio’s drumming. And thought Vinnie Colaiuta was some kind of drum diety. Well after years of playing and listening to drums I began to hear Tony’s influence in some of my drum hero’s playing.
I was lucky enough to meet Tony Williams (thanks to the dude on bass in this video, Bunny Brunel). In fact one day while on the road with Kazumi Watanabe’s band Bunny asked John Wackerman and I if we would like to meet Tony. Of course we wanted to meet Tony! At the time we were all staying at the Keio Plaza. And Tony was in the lobby of the hotel. So we went to the lobby and there was Tony Williams! Of course Tony was kind and cordial. Unlike his We didn’t say too much to each other. But he had a depth to his presence that I have not sensed in many people. In the end I can only say that Tony still has a huge influence on me. And that to this day I try to borrow his creativity and individuality for my own art.
Skateboarding Stalagmite
