Tour of Relient K's Tour Bus [Vado TV]

Here is the second video in a two part series from my interviews with Ethan Luck & John Warne of Relient K. They took me for a tour around their bus and I must say I learned a lot--although most of it was (somewhat) useless information. For instance, Relient K eats a lot of chips, you can't go number 2 on the bus because they don't have a poo-grinder, and Relient K depends on an atomic clock to get them on stage "lickety split". Another positive, Ethan Luck always has his Vado HD on him. That champ. Go see his videos on Vimeo- he is quite the cinematographer.

Interview with Relient K in Las Vegas [Vado TV]

My job is all around lovely, but the highlights come into play when I get to go out and interview musicians. I have grown up with music, studied music, play music- so it's only right that I would want to work in music. Creative has a killer HD pocket video camera called Vado that makes the whole process that much more simple. This next bit is going to come off as a sales pitch, but it is in no way intended as such. I have been interviewing people for the past couple of years in two separate jobs and every video has a different format. The Vado is super slim, has a wide-angle lens & the ability to use an external microphone if you want. When I am filming on my own, I am able to just throw the camera in my pocket (literally), sling a tri-pod over my shoulder & I am all set.

So, I flew out to Las Vegas on Sunday and got to sync up with Relient K at The Joint venue inside Hard Rock Hotel. Sunday concluded their 3 week tour with Paramore and a band called fun. In this particular video Ethan Luck, drummer, and John Warne, bassist, and I chat about life on the road, mountain climbing, what it feels like to be in a 10 year old band & we discuss the option of them changing all their names to an anagram. All around good fun, I am sure you will enjoy it. Be sure to check out their music & see them live if you get a chance- they are absolutely fantastic.

A conversation in 3D

Late 2009-Early 2010 Creative held a contest for film students all over the US appropriately called Vado Film Contest. Film schools from UCLA to NYU participated. Each school was given a bunch of Vado cameras for students to use. The turnout was incredible, due in part to the substantial prize packages--not only a ton of gear from Vados, speakers, and cash prizes--as well as winning an internship with a Hollywood film producer. In addition to all of this, we had a panel of Expert Judges who came from all genres of film production. Director Phillip Noyce (Clear and Present Danger, Rabbit Proof Fence, Salt), DP Ken Arlidge (Full Metal Jacket, Army of Darkness, The Crow) and Ride Film Industry great Yas Takata were among the expert staff.

The Expert Panel also included creative visionary Matthew Ward. Matthew has had the privileged of working with a handful of some of Hollywood's most noted filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, the Wachowski brothers and most recently he has worked with Robert Zemekis on Polar Express and Disney's A Christmas Carol. Matt joined me on the balcony of my San Francisco apartment and let me ask him a few questions about how he got his start in film, what his role in Pre-Visualization entails & how he uses Vado to create 3D videos at home.

Fun with The Ruby Suns

In true 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon form, The Ruby Suns and I are connected by only 2 degrees. My great pal Claire is high school friends with the tour manager of The Ruby Suns. It took just a few emails to get connected with front man Ryan McPhun & strike up a conversation. Ryan is Californian born and bred until he decided to follow his travelling soul across the globe to Auckland, New Zealand where he formed Ryan McPhun & The Ruby Suns. The band has gone through a few iterations up until it's current state. I met up with the band at one of my favorite San Francisco venues, Bottom of the Hill. We all piled onto a small couch in the green room and chatted for about 20 minutes. Most of it was complete and utter nonsense, which certainly made for an interesting editing process. In the end, the video turned out wonderfully. This is yet another highly recommended show. All the guys are up-beat, whimsical in output, yet serious in craft.

Outasight so outta sight

Outasight and I met up at the LRG party in South by Southwest 2010. Outasight packs a killer show- he is classified as hip-hop but he encompasses so many genres. His beats are strong, lyrics are poetic and his melodies are thick and ruddy. Classic rock & 50's big band remnants find their way into his songs, making each one a complex treat.

Outasight, born Richard Andrews, gave our audience some words of wisdom for making it in the music world as well gave some insight into what SXSW offers.

Going home with Kelley James

While working the LRG party at SXSW 2010, I got to meet and interview a ton of incredible artists. We had a few minutes to chat before each interview making it difficult to really get to know a person or latch on to one's personality. This was not the case with Kelley James. He was personable and captivating right from the very beginning. His presence immediately pulls you in and makes you feel comfortable, I instantly felt like I was having a reunion with a long lost pal.

Not only is he a charming individual, he is impeccably talented. His music filled the room and halted everyone in attendance.

Fly Gypsy. Mormon Cowboy.

I reserve the right to change my mind, but this could be--hands down--the best interview I did at SXSW. Fly Gypsy performed at LRG's party on St. Patricks day down at Aces on 6th Street in Austin. The part that you don't see, is this is actually the second time we filmed this interview because I pulled a rookie move and forgot to turn the microphone on. Fly Gypsy were such dolls about it. They kept their energy up, laughed with me and chatted, once again, about their time on stage.

Fly Gypsy has a #1 freestyle out of 132 on DJBooth.net and their single 2 Step reached No. 1 spot on college hip-hop charts.

New Team, New Beginnings, New Goodies

I am delighted to announce that I have joined a new company: Creative Labs, the company who brings you Zen, Sound Blaster, and Vado HD Pocket Cams (to name a few).

And speaking of Vado HD-- I went to SF Outside Lands this past weekend, something I am convinced has become an annual tradition, and filmed all three days with my new toy. You might be thinking that any opinion I give you will be a skewed and biased one, and perhaps that is true. Yes, that is true. BUT, I am also a beginner. I am familiar with the name Creative, I know their products through what I have seen in advertising. When it comes to experiencing Creative products, I previously drew the line at speakers. I was genuinely stoked to get started using my Vado HD.

I'll start off by saying, I love the extra contents they throw in: a silicon skin, carabineer clip for the padded carrying case, and HDMI cable. Plus, there is an option for an additional battery for the camera which is perfect for me because I am always filming exorbitant amounts of things and then forgetting to turn things off. The camera has an auto standby/sleep phase that it goes into when you stop using it for a while. When it's in this phase you can revive it by hitting any button and the screen will flash back up, otherwise it shuts off after prolonged non-use.

I filmed Day One with the thought, "well, here goes" in the back of my head the whole time. I knew eventually I would get home, upload the videos and there would be the proof- either the product is great, or it isn't. When I got home and started listening/watching the clips from the day, I was impressed. I mean jaw-drop impressed. I have used small video recording devices before and they are complete poop when you take them to concerts. Their mics can't handle the blast from the speakers. You know when you are walking somewhere and a car drives past you blasting music inside? The doors rattle, the trunk rattles, your ribcage rattles? I am sure it sounds just peachy inside the car- but outside it sounds like a death rattle. Well, that is what other cams recordings sound like. The Vado HD was sort of a miracle--a Godsend to me, the concert addict. The recording was crystal clear. I could hear a variety of crowd noise that didn't over-power the sound of the song. (Except for the one time that the guy next to me insisted on clapping to the beat--not in time--right into the microphone. That time, I couldn't hear the music. Frankly, I was a bit mad at him- not the Vado.)

Below are all five videos I have created from the three days. I have kept them all short, each is under a minute and a half, so that you can stay entertained and don't have to sacrifice half of your day watching. ;) Let me know what you think, ask me questions, show me your videos, make requests on what you want to see next. I am happy to listen, answer, watch and oblige.

Day One:

Q-Tip and Blind Pilot

Day Two:

Raphael Saadiq and JJ Grey & Mofro This one has a particularly funny dance battle between me and my good pal Tim Heitz

Bat for Lashes and The Mars Volta

Day Three:

Morning Benders and Brett Dennen

Calexico and Lucinda Williams