Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Our first podcast is up

If you can hear the embedded "Brother to Brother" intro flourish clip I added to the blog "under the hood," you might want to let it finish (it runs about 25 seconds) before clicking the podcast link below.

[UPDATE: I just added an upper right column audio bar you can use to stop/re-start the track.]

Most podcasts are in mp3 file format, and will stream via your player while they download. There is an alternate file spec with a ".m4a" suffix, which has a few more bells & whistles capability, but I opted for the straight mp3.

I recommend you use the free QuickTime player for listening. It works on either Mac or Windoze platforms. Download it if you need to and set it as your default browser audio player.

Alternatively, you can just as easily use the iTunes player for podcast listening.

I had some annoying recurrent "re-buffering" pop-up panel interruptions listening to this podcast with iTunes, though, whereas using QuickTime has almost always been quite smooth for online streaming audio.

Other recommendations: lose the Internet Explorer browser. Beyond its chronic security liabilities, it performs glacially relative to FireFox or Safari (the latter being my preference, though I use both).


Of course, all of the foregoing assumes you have a broadband internet connection. Otherwise, piping heavy graphics and audio/video bandwidth throughput is not do-able.

OK, click the link below. I did this yesterday in Garageband on my iMac. Have lot to yet learn, this one is pretty basic. Took me about four hours. Hope you like it.


(Note: on a Mac, you can simply do a control-mouse click and choose "open in a new window" so you can read the blog or other stuff while listening. On a PC the equivalent should simply be a "right mouse click" to get at the window options.)

ERRATA ABOUT THE PODCAST

I bought this inexpensive utility, "Audio Hijack Pro," to do audio "stream rips" for music (etc) to put in the podcasts. It simply captures any digital audio signal coursing through my iMac and saves it in the format I specify (e.g., mp3), which I can then dump into Garageband and edit at will. The Suits at the RIAA and their bloodsucker member companies hate apps like this, but it's really no different from saving a web page to disk. Taking such content and re-using it for profit or to otherwise devalue a copyright owner's property value is another matter -- something I would never do (see "Fair Use"). My intent is always the promotion of artists' interests.

Technology, man. Wow.

NEXT PODCAST ALREADY IN PROGRESS

Podcast number two will focus on the many musical hands of our Fearless Leader Jerry Lopez. Discussion and illustrative excerpt clips regarding this inspiring and humbling guitarist I am now blessed to call a friend.


FRIDAY UPDATE

I'm late getting this posted, 'cuz I had a scary blog crash yesterday that took all day into the late evening to finally rectify -- could not post nor see archived posts, thought I blew something up in the template html code. Yikes.

From Linda Addington, Artist Relations, Kool Kat Productions:
Join Boy Katindig at the Salut lounge in celebrating the opening of the new Palazzo! Located on the site of the Venetian hotel, this upscale setting is the perfect venue for Boy’s Kool jazz arrangements and original tunes. You are invited to be a part of the celebration!

The Grand Opening is Thursday, January 17th.

Boy is appearing 5:30 to 9:30 Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of another Las Vegas Strip opening! See you there!

THE LOPEZ FAMILY LEGACY


I extracted and uploaded from New Mexico's La Herencia a 2006 article about Jerry and the Lopez family. It's in Adobe PDF format. Fascinating, venerable history. Click here for the article.

A CHARLIE BROWN T.O.P.



Props to Lou Curalli of Chicago's TNT band.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM

My Mom the beautiful bride in 1945.

Mom and Dad and my sister Carole at our house the week before Christmas (that was a long day, but a good one). She just turned 86 today, he's going on 92. Sixty two years of marriage (I do that tune in my solo acoustic book).

As many of you know, in mid-2007 I moved them both out here from Florida so I could continue to look after them without always having to jump on that Delta midnight red-eye route LAS-ATL-MLB. They're both in nursing homes here now. When I saw my Pop yesterday, he was roaming the halls in his wheelchair looking for his room. He can't remember the number, has to see his name on the wall. He's now back into the thing of thinking I'm his brother. As of January 9th I am now his legal guardian.

Cheryl, Danielle, and I went to hang with Ma tonight, took her a chocolate birthday ice cream cake and some cards & gifts. It was nice, all things considered.

SATURDAY UPDATE

Below, the Concert for George, featuring the late Billy Preston. Nice, but it begs a salient question: Who is that unauthorized BobbyG impersonator playing acoustic? A twelve-string even?



LOL!

Also on the topic of the Beatles, some of the work of our neighbors:



And, finally, let us never forget the awesome phenomenon of the band that could have been as huge as the Beatles. Ahhh.h.h, the vagaries of the Fates...



SUNDAY UPDATE

Just listening to Ric and Jackie's fabulous 97.1 FM Sunday morning jazz show, and guest co-host today is Major Bad Boy Tom Schuman of Spyro Gyra -- and a man endowed with an otherwise lengthy and stellar rap sheet, one which includes his own development and production company, JazzBridge Music. Recall last April when Tom guested with Santa Fe all night. Man, was that ever cool.

Turns out Tom has a large and growing podcast series going on, MusicConversations on Jazz. I just subscribed it right into my iTunes. It's free, so do check it out.

I just listened to the first one. Totally, totally fine.

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