Hella Solutions blog: "Document. Share. Inspire."

I’ve finally got some time opening up. If you are in need of any audio production (including tape syncs, interviewing, and editing) please don’t hesitate in contacting me.

When I was growing up in the 1980s - for those of us who were in bands - one of the coolest places to play was the all-ages spot called the Gilman Street Project. And you know what? The place has survived all this time; giving young people a safe and ‘clean’ place to play music, hang out and meet friends.

But the landlord has recently increased the rent so high that the future of this amazing resource is in immediate danger of being killed off. Do you want to make an immediate impact in the lives of young people? Donate to the Gilman Street Project! Today!!! I did…

www.924gilman.org

Culture jamming – imho – is best seen by the works created by the minds that are the Billboard Liberation Front. By subtlety modifying advertisements in the public space, these “culture jammers” express an opinion about how they feel about the public space being inundated with advertisements (so-called “a-political” advertisements). Letting advertisers take up massive amounts of space creates an environment where it becomes increasingly more impossible (read too expensive) for artistic and political voices to have a place in the public sphere to express themselves – freedom of speech is effectively taken away by the fact that in order to adequately speak you have to have millions of dollars.

Another point to remember is that advertising is NOT a-political; rather it is a HIGHLY political medium (capitalism is about as political as you can get, right?!).

So, culture jammers see our common public sphere being acquired by private, political interests and this acquisition is at the expense of cultural interests that reside outside of capital. I totally agree and love the idea of re-interpreting advertisements and putting them back out into the public. I can’t say I’m as good as the folks at BLF but, personally, I don’t really think it’s about “being good”.

About the image. The public transportation train in the SF Bay ARea is called BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and their police force has committed some serious blunders in their time but most recently they went over the edge. One night on the train there was a ruckus and the police took some people aside for questioning and felt one (Oscar Grant) was being uncooperative. So one of the officers forced Oscar to the ground and while Oscar lay face down on the concrete, with his arm twisted behind him, the cop proceeded to shoot him in the back. Dead. This whole scene was caught on video from various sources and no where is it clear that Oscar was ever resisting nor was his behavior warranting the use of a taser (the weapon the cop says he was intending to go for). Anyway, it’s a really, really sad story of which BART has not really made any significant changes that people can see. I mean they haven’t shot anyone lately so I reckon that’s a good thing. But when I saw BART’s new “…and you’re there” advertisements the first thing that came to mind was the above image. Not a masterpiece but you get the point.

Here’s an older image of mine. One in which I received my very own cease-and-desist letter from those wonderfully wealthy corporate attorneys at BofA…

[original BART image; BART video; original BofA advert]

If you enjoyed Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds” then you should like the true, non-fiction story of Leopold Trepper. In the book The Great Game, Trepper tells the story of how he came to create and lead one of the most effective spy networks fighting against Nazi Germany. It’s an intriguing story that I’m surprised has never made it to the silver screen. I highly recommend reading the book!

Rest in Peace, Leopold Trepper. You are not forgotten! February 23, 1904 – January 19, 1982

Click below for The Great Game.
The Great Game: Memoirs of the Spy Hitler Couldn’t Silence

Not a wonderful way to round out 2009 but I reckon “that’s life”…I wish it wasn’t. Admittedly, I haven’t listened to a lot of Amacher’s work but what I have listened to I love! A truer use of sound you will not find. And a much better eulogy you can read HERE (with a sample of her work).

Indeed! I’m trying to learn myself consistency. Consistency in producing audio, consistency in blog posts, consistency in going to the gym, consistency in being consistent. What a pain! For example, in trying to remain consistent in creating blog posts, I find myself ranting and pontificating about social and political issues that I’m passionate about. Then I find myself deleting those posts as I’m concerned of what potential clients might think seeing these thoughts outside of really knowing me. So, today I am taking a stab at writing about “the process” (aka the creative process) and all that goes into trying to make it as an entrepreneur and independent radio producer. Clearly I won’t shy from my ideals but starting this day forward I am going to edit myself….<grumble, grumble…that’s more like censor myself…grumble, grumble> Am I listening too much to my marketing guru friends?

It’s a very sad day as we just lost one of those voices that I thought would be on the radio forever – kind of like we imagine our parents, you know? Anyway, her voice is firmly imprinted in my mind so I reckon that is a good thing but honestly, why did she have to die so young (52)?!

Read More on Andrea:

KPFA.

Obit.

This morning I’m heading to Phoenix, Arizona to cover a hip-hop show being put on by the Campaign for a United America Hip-Hop Project. The show is in protest to the most recent and outrageous actions of local Sheriff Joe Arpaio who chained together 100′s of incarcerated immigrants and marched them through public streets into a “tent city” in the middle of the desert. Arpaio invited media and the public to witness this public humiliation. I’ll be producing several pieces from this event; some of which will be audio-blogged at www.imagine2050.org in the next couple of days.

Click HERE for a link to the event flier.

As most any independent artist does I had a day job to pay bills. That “day job” was at a local store called Elephant Pharmacy (www.elephantpharm.com). Since the beginning of January there has been a growing rumble of serious financial troubles. Products not being restocked, no new DVD rentals being offered, displays disappearing permanently, etc. This morning I got THE call…the below pretty much sums it up:

February 3, 2009

It is with a heavy heart that we post this notice: Elephant Pharm, which has served over 1 million customers in four Bay Area markets, has closed indefinitely. As a small business, we’ve been hurt by the terrible turn the economy has taken and the tightening of the credit market. It’s been a very special six years since we started this drugstore revolution, and we certainly couldn’t have made it as far as we did without you—our customers.

We hope that you will continue your pursuit of a good, long life, well lived.

http://www.elephantpharm.com/closed

Not that I planned on working at this place forever but it was a solid little gig, good people, and a cool business…with the mighty words of Steel Pulse I am engulfed by unemployment:

And the struggle goes on—

Some say the earth
Will keep on turning
Dread times are near
And I’m not joking I a warning
As we continue that same old moaning
The chosen race just keep on begging yeh
And I wanna know who’s responsible?
They don’t give a damn no

Here’s an interesting bit of audio that someone uploaded online. Apparently there was a “police action” recently in near-by downtown Berkeley where shots were fired. Downtown Berkeley is not a big urban city place so this is a bit unusual and scary. The weirdist thing is there was really no coverage of the story in any local papers. Thanks to qik.com (a service that lets users upload video/audio via cell phone).

Click HERE to listen.