Ural RIver

Again, I must state that "Buddha's Little Finger" is truly amazing. Wow! It ends with one of the clearest expressions of awakening to one's true nature that I have ever read in any book, Buddhist or otherwise. Hands down I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Buddhist Philosophy. The author certainly knows something of the esoteric traditions of Buddhism. It wouldn't surprise me if he is versed in Dzogchen.

Curious New Music

I don't think what I've written is going to fly. Its too weird. Imagine, if you will, a dark rock 'n' roll riff played on a dark B4 organ, accompanied by an accordion playing an odd melody with a little saxophone riff repeating over and over. This with a kalimba, a full drum kit and a sample of the Beatles doing "Kansas City." Yeah, its too strange to imagine, much more so to hear. I can't see Jetsunma vibin' on this riff, but she's full of surprises, who knows what may happen. I am happy just to say that I attempted to write a piece for her to work off of, even if she doesn't dig it. I am confident that between Tara, Nathaniel and myself we'll be able to craft something. And perhaps it would be more auspicious if we did it while in Dakini Valley.

Change of Plans

Blinded By View will be in Arizona next week to record Jetsunma from the awe inspiring Dakini Valley.

I'll try to keep up on the blog, its very exciting and a great chance to fill you in with how we work and what were up to.

Tonight I'll be getting the equipment together that I'll be traveling with and I will begin working on the song that we'll be recording. It is supposed to be a bluesy R&B type piece that I am sure will also have some contemporary elements. I hear "Kansas City," or something.

Vocals make it hotter

Tara unleashed a fierce new creation today by laying down the vocals for her new song. Oh, my, is it wondrous. How beautiful her voice can be, and this with her just getting over a cold.

The working title of this new song is "Please Remain." It begins with the lyrics "Care for us, you are all knowing" which is the English translation of the heartfelt devotional prayer of the Nam Cho Guru Yoga, "Lama Khennyo". This sets the stage for an amazingly sorrowful calling out to the Lama, which then opens into a praise of pure qualities and final leads into a request to remain firm in the world to benefit. Truly a magnificent way to present a traditional practice in modern terms, with a unforgettable melody and very catchy piano part. I find that I am humming this song all the time.

Tara technically wrote this song before we began work on Jetsunma's long life prayer, so there is a similar theme, although this one is entirely in English, where as the other is mostly Tibetan. You will recall from the post on 10/10 Tara was asked by Jetsunma to concentrate on an instrument and write new material. This "Please Remain" is Tara's response, promptly written after the initial request and now completely produced.

We have two other songs Tara has written that are in the cue for production. And I must say they are all amazing. Just you wait!

Party Favors

What a night! An amazing party, everyone had a great time. To much to tell... here are some photos.

Our very own Nathaniel-Cod, a friend Monty and Harbinger's David


Tara, Nathaniel and Jacob from Harbinger

Clay Machine Gun

Wow! It is so good I have to mention it here; I am reading this amazing Russian novel called "Buddha's Little Finger." It is fantastic! Post Modern literature is very intriguing to me, and I try to incorporate elements of the genre into my music production, so although this seems unrelated, it is actually pertinent. Here is a brief little excerpt:

"Maria began thinking about how she could lighten the unbearable burden of this life for everyone who was writhing, God knows for what reason, in the grip of these black coils of smoke that obscured the sky and the sun. Her head was filled with clear, bright, uncomplicated images- there she was in a simple dress, entering a modest flat tidies specially for the occasion by its occupants. And there they were, sitting at the table with the samovar and gazing at her lovingly, and she knew that she didn't have to say anything, all she had to do was to sit opposite them and gaze tenderly back, paying as little attention as she could to the whirring of the camera. And there was a hospital ward full of people all bandaged up and lying on uncomfortable beds, and there was her image hanging on the wall in a place where everyone could see it. They gazed at her from their beds and for a while they forgot all about their woes, their aches and pains...
"This was all wonderful, but she vaguely realized that it was not enough. No, what the world needed was a strong hand, stern and unrelenting, capable of resisting evil whenever the need arose. But where was this strength to be found? And what would it look like? These questions Maria couldn't answer, but she sensed that they were the very reason why she was walking along this embankment in this city that was expiring in its suffering."

Slide Shows

Yes, we've been making a slide show, and thats all we have done for two days now. And you know, its not even related to our Productions nor the promotion of the albums. But we learned a great deal about video editing and sound for video. Speaking of video, we are beginning to look for a director and crew for a music video we want to do for one of our songs. We've been getting great responses from Craig's List, its exciting. We'll probably begin production either in December or after the holidays.

Keenan just finished a remix of "Stand By Me" so now we have 3, two more to go. We'll have a single out with all of these remixes and they'll be featured all over the net.

Harbinger was back in the studio the other day, this time just for a rehearsal. Our space is very conducive to band practice, except for the fact that is leaves me with nothing to do, oh well, at least they were able to get in some practice. And as usual they sound great.

Tara's been working on her new songs, which we should be tracking in the next day or two. Nathaniel took his song to a new level, adding an introduction and a real groovy bass line. Did you know Nathaniel plays the bass as well? Any how, its a cool song with this intro that sounds a little like a cross between the Who and Peter Gabriel, if you can imagine such a thing. And my little piece is coming along, though I suppose its a little darker than the average BBV song, so it might not turn into to something useful. Who knows.

Jetsunma is in retreat for the next couple weeks, so production will mainly consist of us creating new materail, but no finished product will come out of this period. But when she gets back I suspect we'll be on fire. Stay Tuned!

Music is Flowing!

Yesterday we worked on a new beat of Nathaniel's, one of two new songs he has been working on. Tara wrote a new song with her lovely piano later in the evening while I wrote a new song using some of the new toys I bought last week. Thats 4 new songs!

And we had a photo shoot the other day with Jetsunma that tuned out nicely.

And we are throwing a cocktail party at my house Saturday!

New Songs and all That stuff

Well howdy dew folkerooo!

Nathaniel Cod here - news is jumping out of my shirtsleeves as you read! This past week has been a blur with activity but the big news is a snazzy new song - Jetsunma's Long Life Prayer - a splendid piece worked up in only one and a half weeks time!

Still more music news is afoot - Harbinger the first band recorded here in the studio - has gained both the number one and two slots in their ourstage competition for their tracks "Revolution" and "The Odyssey" - go too www.ourstage.com and look up the metal genre to vote for them.

Keep up on the updates folks!

Times - as it is said - they are a changing!

Cod Out!