The Great Park Baloon

Ali and I went to check out the balloon that we see from the freeway each day as we drive past. (This is only about 3 or 4 miles from our place.)

"The Great Park Balloon is the first major attraction of the Orange County Great Park, a 1,347 acre public space on the site of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Orange County, California.

Balloon riders will soar between 250-400 feet above the surrounding landscape, enjoying a bird's eye view of the transformation of the retired air station into the first great metropolitan park of the 21st Century." (from the great Park Balloon website)

Balloon Height: 118 feet
Diameter of Baloon: 72 feet
Volume: 210,000 cubic feet
Height of Gondola at Peak: 400 feet
View Distance: 20+ miles

The view straight down.

Some of the cool views from the gondola...

Tonka Toys

One of the old hangars

Michael Landau

Well this was a real treat for me. I got to see the Michael Landau Group live at a cool little venue called Cafe Boogaloo in Hermosa Beach, CA. It was very intimate and laid back - only about 100 people there, most of them totally unaware of the talent in the room. This meant I could stand right up front and soak it all in - I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I first heard Michael Landau way back in 1985 playing on the song Sharaya on Amy Grant's album, Unguarded. I've been a fan ever since. Mike has been a prodigious session player in LA for over 20 years, known for amazing tone and playing. He's played with everyone at some time or other and is highly respected for his creativity and diversity. Check out the Wikipedia entry for a little more background. Also, you should check out Mike's MySpace.

Mike Landau, Gary Novak and... (sorry dude, I forgot your name) Mike and Me - Yeah! (I think maybe I was more excited than he was. Haha!)

Mike live in Germany earlier this year. Listen and see why I like him: taste, tone, control, expression, feel, sense of humor - brilliant!

Tired? Thirsty?

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Jesus

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." Jesus

God Art

Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

(Matthew 6:27-29 The Message)

... Well if we all looked the same the world would be a boring place!

Llama Secrets

I think it's love!

iTunes: "mercy-kissed" Now Available

Well I've officially entered the musical digital age now that my album "mercy-kissed" has gone live on iTunes.

Click here to check it out!

It would be great if you would write a review there for me. It would be even greater if you would download a song or two (or the whole album if you want!) just to get the ball rolling. It could be your Christmas present to me. Haha! My sincere thanks to those of you who care!

Dad's Paintings

My Dad grew up around painting - his Mum was a painter and a couple of Aunties also were very good painters. As a young boy he enjoyed drawing at school but never received any encouragement and as a result let that talent sit on the shelf for many years until...

At the age of 55 I attended an ‘Introduction to Water Colour’ series of painting classes. They ran only for 5 or 6 evenings, but I was delighted with the medium and after being encouraged by comments from the art teacher, including, “You have a real talent there. Why don’t you get some paints and a couple of brushes and see what you can do?”, I decided to buy some equipment and have a go.

Ariel

Wenderholm

Stillwater

Old Man

African Lady

Andubi's Father

This one is my favorite. There's a certain anonymity about the other portraits - the "Old Man", and the "African Lady", however this guy has a name (even though Dad couldn't remember it, he remembered his son's name Andubi.) [Update: his name is Ugumako]. It was someone Dad knew personally and perhaps that comes through in the painting. Maybe it's also that he is looking directly at us with an obvious happiness. He seems to be a very warm character. The lines on his face suggest a lot of laughter through the years. He's obviously seen a lot of life but seems very comfortable in his skin. Ali thinks he looks "scary", but I can't see that at all - just a beautiful Papuan man (New Guinea) with a great hairdo and an extra nipple on his forehead.

Anyway, I'm pretty proud of my Dad's talent with a brush so I wanted to share a little of it with you. Enjoy!

These paintings are all for sale. If you're interested in finding out more leave a comment and I'll get in touch with you.

Good For The Soul

I saw Michael Gungor for the first time in June at the Saddleback Worship and Creative Arts Conference. I was immediately sold. The guy has an amazing heart. He's humble, he's incredibly talented - has a beautiful voice, is an amazing guitar player, writes brilliant songs and has boundless energy.

So when I found out he had an album coming out I knew I had to get it. This is an album I looked forward to receiving for a couple of months and was definitely not disappointed when it finally arrived.

I don't recall any other album lifting my spirit like this one - and that's saying something! This is soul-stirring stuff. I have found myself moved to the core repeatedly while listening to this album on the ipod while jogging in the morning.

The music is pop/rock/worship with great creative production - it rocks where it needs to rock and it broods and hovers where it should with some delicious ambient moments. Some great soundscapes and arrangements reinforce the strength of the songwriting. Lyrically, Michael has taken some themes not often spoken of in worship (as well as some that are) and given them fresh impact.

I love it!

Eruption In Orange County - Van Halen Live!

Eddie Van Halen gave me one of my earliest WOW!! experiences as a musician. When I heard Eruption the first time I was absolutely floored. It sounded amazing! I'd never heard a guitar sound like that before. (And admittedly, I've never heard it sound quite like that again. Eddie is a master.)


So when I heard that Van Halen would be playing in my neighborhood just before Christmas I decided I needed to be part of that history and booked my ticket within an hour of sales opening to the public. Sweet!

Got Me A Good Gig!

Mutemath Pictures As Promised

As promised, here are some shots from the Mutemath show in LA. Thanks to Bryce for smuggling his camera in. Words still fail me so here are the pictures. In fact, the pictures on their own don't convey the whole story either. If you ever get the chance to see this band you must take it! Awesome!!!

Ali Ostrich

We have been visiting the Petting Zoo at San Juan Capistrano once a week for the last month or so and Ali made a friend the other day! She was stroking this Emu on the neck like this until it actually sat down.

She must have really made an impression - the word has spread around the "big bird" community...

21 Gun Salute For Phil Wickham

Phil Wickham's last album really got to me. I loved his unique, powerful and yet intimate vocals, great instrumentation and arrangements, and fresh meaningful lyrics. He always performs with honesty and passion too.

Well, he's done it again. But this time developed it all even further. Add to that the power of amazing production and you have one fantastic record here. Let me give you a snippet of the lyric from the title track Canons as evidence:

It’s falling from the clouds, A strange and lovely sound
I hear it in the thunder and rain, It’s ringing in the skies
Like cannons in the night, The music of the universe plays

Now here's what is really cool - you can listen to the whole album online right now. Go on, check it out!

Rockett! December 1991

Yes folks! After 16 years locked away in the closet, this little promo card lets you in on a little of my past. Rockett was a Top 40 cover band in Melbourne in the 90's. Did pretty well and became quite popular. The Manhattan was one of the larger venues in the greater Melbourne area and we had a residency there a couple of times. The band started with six friends sometime in 1990 or 91. We had some fun times but I left after two years having had enough by then.

Mutemath Live!

I've had some of you on my back to post something about the Mutemath concert we went to last Thursday evening at the Avalon in Hollywood.

Alas, I have not the eloquence to express adequately the Mutemath experience! I've been waiting on photo's from Bryce as he was able to get his camera in and steal some pretty good shots. I'll post some of those when I get them. Pictures will certainly help, but my advice is to go and see them live if you possibly can. This show may just have pipped Newsboys as the best I've ever experienced (and if you've seen the Newsboys recently, that's saying something!).

The show was unbelievably good. Amazing venue - I mean, really, really great venue. You have a good view from virtually anywhere in the building. It's sort of like an indoor amphitheater. The production was impeccable. We were standing right behind the sound guy who was workin' it all night. He did an absolutely fantastic job (so I shook his hand afterwards and said so.) The lights and multimedia show added another level as well. The performance was out of this world. Very physical and passionate and yet totally disciplined and under control. Wonderful songs with memorable hooks. Great singing, energy, phrasing... Brilliant musicianship...

At the start of the first song you are hit with a full surround assault of the senses. Half way through the first song I realize that I'm standing there with my eyes wide and my mouth dropped open and I have to remember to breathe. I look around and see most people are in the same state. Euphoric!

...but still, words aren't enough!

Check out their first video Typical. These guys are crazy creative! (They learned all their parts backwards and then recorded the song in reverse!)

Old Bridge

We saw this abandoned bridge while driving around somewhere in Orange County. I can't remember exactly where it is now. But the point was that it looked great and made for some interesting shots.Lines, textures, patterns and colors.The elements and time have brought out the colors and the lines and given character - just like on an old person's face.

You can't actually get onto the bridge unless you want to negotiate this!

Wildlife At Dana Point

If you follow the 5 Freeway South until it reaches the coast you'll pretty much be at Dana Point. We have been there a few times to pass time while waiting for Daniel if he's only had to be at school for a couple of hours (it's nearby). We discovered plenty of wildlife there - especially squirrels. I imagine they eat pretty well from the scraps people leave behind, and so they are reasonably bold around people.

This little tortoise was about 6-7 inches long - just sunning himself on the bank. He wasn't so easy around people and I had to wait about half an hour and go back to the spot to get this shot after I scared him off the first time.

The rabbits and the squirrels don't mind hanging out together. I guess they probably eat similar stuff. These shots were all taken within 20 meters (yards if you prefer) of each other on the same day.

Eric Johnson in Concert

Yes indeed - I went to see Eric Johnson play live! Now that is a guitar player's dream for sure. I've been an Eric Johnson fan since the first day I heard his music (which was on one of those flexible plastic "records" that Guitar Player Magazine used to put in each month back in the '80's.) That was back in 1985 or 86. And the man is still getting better and better!

L-R: Eric Johnson, Tommy Taylor, Roscoe Beck

Eric's main pose...

Eric's other pose. Nah, just kidding... although there was a lot of this one all night! He's a guitar player not a choreographer.

Eric is famous for being an absolute, and I mean Absolute, purist when it comes to gear. This is his pedalboard - about as lo-tech as you could get. It must take hours to set up for a concert because he'd have to move each box and lead into the best position to minimize hum.

And out of the pedalboard into... a bunch more old stuff! But it sure did sound flippin' amazing!

Here's some live action. This is "Cliffs Of Dover", the song I originally heard back in the 80's. You'll see why I was hooked. If you have 10 minutes to spare watch the whole thing and see Eric doing freeform solo, if not jump in at 5:55 where the intro to the song starts.