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Games, Music and Magic: Pacific Symphony + Video Games Live
Watching a Pacific Symphony show is always memorable, and watching any show outdoors under the night sky is always extra special. So when the Pacific Symphony presented “Video Games Live” at the Verizon Wireless Ampitheater last week, it was quite an experience! My tween son and I arrived just in time for the show to start. The sun had just began to set and onstage there was a pre-show costume contest which was won by a young Mario brother. A video screen showed funny clips like the video of Ms. Pac Man being chased down New York streets by ghosts; and later throughout the show there were funny clips from…
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Pacific Symphony Presents ‘Video Games Live’ Concert
I love them. Call them musical mash ups or crossovers, if you will. When two genres of music or even two worlds of pop culture collide, I’m all over it. That’s why the forthcoming shows of the Pacific Symphony have got me all excited. Next week, Pacific Symphony gets its game on for a special summer concert featuring video game music. “Video Games Live” is created and produced by legendary video game producer Tommy Tallarico. It is a multimedia concert experience featuring the best music and video from the most popular games past and present. I’ve seen videos of other choirs and orchestras performing music from video games like Super…
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Game on! Thoughts of E3 2013
Loud, crowded and pretty spectacular would best describe the annual E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Massive booths, video walls, robots, mechs, and yes, pretty models spice up E3, where new games premiere and new products launch. The last time I had the privilege of attending an E3-related event was the launch of Microsoft Xbox Kinect in 2010. (Thanks Stacey Soleil.) That day I was a hero to my husband and two sons for getting them into the super exclusive launch of the game-changing (literally) Kinect. We walked the blue carpet and were led to an interactive Cirque Du Soleil-like experience. Since that first taste of…
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Music Monday: Visit the GRAMMY Museum in Downtown L.A.
I was between event at LA Live on Saturday when I decided to check out the Grammy Museum in Downtown LA. And let me tell you, the $12.95 admission price was well-worth it, especially if you are a music lover, or if you are a tourist looking for things to do in Los Angeles. I am not a tourist but I might as well be, coming from Orange County. Navigating freeway traffic from our close counties makes me sometimes wish I could hop on plane, after all! But I definitely am a music lover. Photo below taken from http://instagram.com/thegrammymuseum/ Explore 166 genres of #music on this interactive table … #FeelThePowerOfMusic…
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Experiencing Wondercon for the First Time
Anaheim Wondercon 2013 was a super fan-friendly convention, where comic book and sci-fi fans could dress in costume, purchase merchandise, attend panel sessions, and watch movie previews, short films, and even try out new video games. Unlike other bigger conventions, this con was geared towards fans coming together rather than being focused on swag and marketing. The real comic book nerd in the family was my brother but I read comics too. I can still remember how my mom, in an effort to organize things, bound together my brother’s comic book collection into a leather bound book. It seemed cool at the time, but we realized that binding them together…
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When Social Media Friends Meet IRL
Like many things in this new world we live in…it all starts with a tweet. Yesterday, I carpooled with Marie Walker Riddle of LivinLime.com, who incidentally I met on Twitter years ago too, from Orange County to Los Angeles to attend The Getty Social at the J. Paul Getty Museum. While it is always a good day to visit the Getty, in my opinion, Saturday was perfect. Clear skies, not too much traffic and a chance to socialize with some of the movers and shakers of the SoCal social media world – count me in! There may have been no real agenda, save for an inspiring talk by Nic Adler…
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Music Monday: Alt J for Your Listening Pleasure
Just a quick SoundCloud of new tunes on this Music Monday. You wonder, what do these three songs have to do with each other… first of all, I like them. Second, they share this quality of sounding like multiple songs in just one track. They start slow, then fast, then rock hard and then sound totally different somewhere in the middle. It’s almost like ADHD songs – (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Is this a new trend? Take a listen to British band Alt J, and American indie bands Cloud Nothings and Foxygen.
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Bright Whites by Kishi Bashi on Music Monday
Surely you’ve heard that catchy song that accompanies that new Windows 8 ad. It’s the kind of song that you like more and more, the more you hear it, and it is by the awesome singer, violinist, composer K Ishi Bashi or Kishi Bashi, who has collaborated and toured with Of Montreal, Regina Spektor, and Sondre Lerche. The video that accompanies the song is strangely beautiful, just like the song. But get this– according to the YouTube description, the song includes “common idioms” throughout the video. For example at 2:51 into the video is “Break a Leg”. You can search the rest of the 49 idioms. As for me, I’ll…
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Music Monday: Take a Walk with Passion Pit
Passion Pit is one of those new bands that have crossed over the alternative radio stations into the mainstream, and it is probably because their music is so catchy and bouncy and happy – or so it would seem. One of the more popular tracks from their album “Gossamer” is “Take A Walk,” currently featured in a Taco Bell commercial. Despite it’s upbeat tempo, listening to the lyrics closely, and you’ll hear the hard-luck story of an immigrant, a person who loses everything due to bad investments and so on. In this Tiny Desk Concert, the lyrics and music of Passion Pit are stripped down and yet remain infectious.
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My Guest DJ Selection
In my own mind, I am a cultural icon, but only so I can pretend that one day I will be featured in KCRW’s Guest DJ Project. KCRW’s Guest DJ Project invites actors, authors, chefs, athletes,directors, tech entrepreneurs and more to share their musical passions. During the show the Guest DJ gives deep insight into their lives and their creative process through their musical choices. In the show, they share and discuss songs that have inspired and moved them. Since today is Music Monday on the blog, I thought I’d share a random sampling of music that mark sdistinct periods in my life. They aren’t the best songs from those…