(the garoffice during SPP4 mixing. I’m finishing the mix on the machine I started it on, my laptop. To facilitate multi-tasking, and avoid moving my crappy speakers from machine to machine, the laptop is setup in front of the desktop. I right hand mouse the desktop and left hand mouse the laptop. I keep notes on the desktop, as well. It’s kind of ludicrous. For my upcoming mixes on other records [oRSo9 and orso9rmx, MSP, MD8ME, SleepWalks, Kenton Camerata, Brother X, My Special Porpoise, ect] I am sticking with the desktop. To that end I just re-installed Live on it. I am abandoning ProTools for mixing. I can’t see launching it unless I need Pitch n Time, at this point. Mixing with Ableton is faboo.)

I’m pleased to say that we’re closing in on the final mixes of the fourth Stowe-Pembleton Project record. A few more good days, like I’ve had this past week, will get it in the can. And then it’s off to Soul Note. We’re pretty confident they’ll pick it up for release as our third release on their label.
But the third SPP record, embarrassingly, is still not mixed. D’oh! Heaven only knows if the label it was originally recorded for will still be interested. Rest assured getting SPP3 mixed is high on my spreadsheet of things to do. Well, item 13 of ~59, anyway. But since some activities exist in overlapping states, it’s higher than 13 might seem to suggest.

Research for Vile Dead continues. Which is to say I’m watching zombie related tv and film, as well as horror and supernatural flicks. I’ve been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes. This weekend I watched The Hunger (the first 2/3 is awesome. Then it’s downhill into complete, “quick, wrap it up, we’ve used our allotted 70 minutes! Screw linearity, comprehensibility, plot, characters and everything that’s happened in the film thus far, we need a quick ending. Oh hey, could you throw in a twist! Don’t worry about it making sense, this a vampire movie with David Bowie and lesbians, we can’t lose!”) and Hellboy II (Lots of fun to watch with absolutely no promise or pretension to being anything else.) I must admit, I always love the research phase of projects, but VD is particularly enjoyable.

Yesterday 23E Studios hosted a little tea party in the front courtyard of the garoffice. Our overlords, the Nightmare City City Council, were in town and wanted to check up on us. I think we passed the spot inspection. They declared the garoffice very nice, and expressed a strong faith in our ability to be productive in the 23E complex. While here they picked up their tribute for the year, the Nightmare City arcade from the Disembody installation/set. And their outfits from that film for use in future NC ventures.

(This is the courtyard. In the pic it is setup for mixing SPP4. It looked much nicer for the NC3: no computer paraphernalia, just my blue teapot and white cups and saucers.)

You’ll note from this post that the rebuilt desktop is performing fine thus far. I yanked out two internal drives, and hope to replace them soon with much larger drives for the logging and editing of Disembody. That’s one of the first things that came up in my logging strategy session with my father. The other big thing at this stage is establishing the best possible naming system for the clips. And defining parameters based on future uses of the footage. To that end I’ve begun a catalogue and timeline for the footage.

In other Disembody news, the NC3 think they spotted the dumpster from Disembody still residing in an alley in Chinatown where we filled it. The dumpster company has still not carried it away. Why not?
In sad Disembody news, 20th Century Props, where 23E rented theater seats for the Morgellon, is selling off its props and closing its doors. Oh, if only we could buy those seats for future projects! They’re being auctioned off, but A) I’ll be on tour and B) I have no money. So…

Above is some of the messy Copy Lake/My Daddy Ate My Eyes setup for our coming shows (and hopefully tour) in July. I’m mixing a MD8ME demo today. And rehearsing for the shows every day for the next many weeks. Also working on new material for Forever What?. We hope to rehearse in August in preparation for shows in Fall. With luck we’ll start gigging out semi-reguarly here in LA starting in September.

First I want to mention that we get so many compliments on the black and white arcade game, I absolutely love pointing it out to people along with the disembody poster.

Amy and Skye have their short films showing tonight so were open a lot later tonight. But I don’t have to be in costume so I am enjoying myself lol

I fly home tomorrow, as I have already said. I suppose I am writing now because, ultimately, I’m bored.

I was watching the film tonight, because I haven’t ever sat down and watched the entire thing before, and I was really entertained and impressed by David in particular. A lot of what he said about the project made a lot of sense to me and to the people I could hear talking in the audience, his opinions on the booze in the confessional are really entertaining as well. I also was entertained by Carol Anne and Keturah, I think the whole audience got a laugh out of the “cute boot” comment.

I just want to say that I am really impressed with the turnout and the film, I know that we all would like to see different things in the film and all of that good stuff, but I do think that it turned out really well. Good job to everyone, I hope to hear from everyone soon.

The candy boxes are going to be started today. Erin sent me this pic of samples they did last night. This is not the final look of the boxes, but various tests. It gives an idea of how beautiful these are going to be when completed, though.

I am so excited.
To get all the candy, Jonny drove to four Wal-Marts in the Omaha area. LOL.

As well, Keturah sent me her coming soon ad for the calendar and it is fabulous. I’m not posting it here because it should be a wonderful surprise.

The other ads will roll in later today. We’ll go to print tomorrow.

I spoke with Hanif last night, and his catalogue essay is coming along. It is really exciting to see it develop.

I installed the teasers in Fringe’s windows today. They look amazing.

Carol-Anne and Keturah are, from what I hear, now working around the clock. Day jobs 8am-6pm, studio making ceiling panels 6pm-2am.

Ote sent me a rough of the Japanese distro poster yesterday. And today a new version, both are below. They are really coming along.

Nobu and I spent an hour or more yesterday trying to work out the film title in Japanese. In the end we’re using the kanji, Ketsu Nikku Ghe Datsu.

Again, I can’t even begin to express how amazing the folks at 23E Studios are. It really blows my mind how hard we’re working.

It’s not final, because not all of the crew has weighed in, but I’m really excited that we might name the theater

The Morgellon

What a great name for a theater.

I was brainstorming names with Skye and Elise today and we came up with that. It’s frakkin’ sexy is what it is.

S&E showed me a couple of rough edits they made from the Making Of footage. Okay, yeah, I’m almost always excited, I know, but seriously, they looked so good. And not just because I think this project kicks ass.

Or maybe just because I think this project is really exciting.
I don’t know.

In good news, my friend Mik mentioned to me that he thought his girlfriend, my friend Adi, had a full size popcorn machine. And indeed we may be digging that out of storage come July 6 or 7 to drive down to LA and install in The Morgellon. Sweet!

I met with investors yesterday and today. I’ve begun collecting money, which is cool. Of course, I’ve begun spending it, too. Jake got a check for $1000 today for the architectural model. And I spent almost $400 on materials for Carol-Anne’s and Keturah’s ceiling. I spent $70 Fed Ex’ing screens to Jake (and of course Fed Ex delivered them several hours later than promised and paid for.) Another $100 went to Alex to buy DV tape. Etc.

But we’re still unbelievably close to our budget. I can’t believe that every time I do the budget it evens out one way or another.

Jonny is working on the arcades, he just sent me an invoice for the joysticks. Our theater is going to so kick-ass. Popcorn, candy, soda, and an arcade. Hell, we’re gonna have trouble getting people into the theater to watch the film our lobby will be so cool.

Speaking of which Kathryn put the sleeves on my usher uniform last night. She’s making pants next. Jack and I are going to look so good in our matching outfits.

My main concern at this point is the ceiling. We’re three weeks out and it is simply impossible to have a meeting where Ted or David can make it. Both canceled on Thursday, our final build meeting. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with David that morning. And twenty minutes with Ted that night. As it stands I think it’s safe to say they have adopted antithetical opinions as to how the ceiling is best installed. I suspect the hammer waiting to fall in my future is the installation of the ceiling, as we still have no plan and no budget estimate for it. And I’ve decided to re-measure everything the day I get back to L.A., Weds.
LOL
Every stereotype you hear about working in the building industry it turns out is true. Even in a small gallery when installing a temporary wall and drop ceiling.

Tomorrow I meet with Ali and Terry to go over plans for the concession stand. Which I haven’t yet drawn up or figured out. So, obvs every stereotype you hear about artists and musicians is likely true, as well.