Tuesday, April 29, 2008

JD Band Live in Videorranch

Being technically inept (I can't figure out how to stop my watch from beeping 20 times every day at 8:11 a.m.), so I don't know exactly how to describe Videoranch, and why I might want to wander around in a virtual world, except to hear the Jerry Douglas Band play.

The announcement below came via JD HQ, and it's legit. There's a free trial period, which would enable one to hear the upcoming concert. I have no connection with Videoranch.



Jerry Douglas Band LIVE in Videoranch!

The Jerry Douglas Band will be playing LIVE in Videoranch on Wednesday May 7th, at 3PM Pacific Time. This is a virtual concert so you attend by logging on from a computer. You do not have to leave your house! Bring the performing arts into your home and be a part of a live audience of music lovers!

Show Times Around the world:

Pacific Time: 3PM to 4PM

Mountain Time: 4PM to 5PM

Central Time: 5PM to 6PM

Eastern Time: 6PM to 7PM

UK Time: 11PM to 12 Midnight

European Continent: 12 Midnight to 1AM

New Zealand Time: Thursday, 10AM to 11AM

Sydney AU: Thursday, 8AM to 9AM

Tokyo: Thursday, 7AM to 8AM

What is Videoranch?

Videoranch is a 3D world on the internet, where LIVE musical performances are video-cast, seamlessly embedded, and viewed, in real-time, by a virtual audience made up of people logging on from all over the world. To attend the show, you need high speed internet access and newer computer with Windows on it (Intel Macs work great if Windows is installed).

WATCH IT LIVE: Go to www.videoranch.com, click Enter, then click on the "Visit Videoranch 3D" link on the front page. This will take you to a page where you can download the browser and log in as a "Visitor". You can become a "Ranch Regular" by signing up for a FREE 7 Day Trial from the same page. No payment information necessary. Ranch Regulars have unlimited access and full software functionality! Note: 7 Day Trials are set up manually by Videoranch, so please sign up well in advance of the show.

INTERACT WITH THE ARTIST: Once inside Videoranch, you can move around, dance, cheer, chat and meet other Videoranch patrons. Jerry Douglas and the band will be able to see your Avatar and read your comments LIVE, so be sure to let them know how much you are enjoying the show! Ranch Hands will be on duty to help you and will greet you the moment you log on.

Find out more information by emailing vr3d@videoranch.com or calling toll free 1-866-727-2639.

KPIG radio will be simulcasting the show. www.kpig.com

Below is a blurb from Singer and Musician magazine. This might help give you a sense of what the experience is like to attend a Videoranch concert:

"Imagine a place where the air is clean, the temperature is always in the pleasenties, you are surrounded by nice folks and there's a live band that knows you by name. Plus, there are free movies and hot air balloon rides. It's VideoRanch, a virtual world cooked up by Michael Nesmith (One-time member of the Monkees and, more importantly, music video pioneer). Feel free to roam the ranch at your leisure, and then check out the event calendar for upcoming live groups. I popped in on a Sunday afternoon and was immediately greeted by name (my chosen nickname) by the house band, Ranch Dressing (these guys are great!). A bit later, The Refugees took the stage for a full hour live show. Other performers have included The John Jorgenson Quintet, Eliza Gilkyson, James McMurtry, Laurence Juber, Laura Love, Mumbo Gumbo, The Greencards, Ledward Kaapana, Tony Furtado and Jason Nesmith. What makes this so unique is that the band is actually playing in real time from a studio. And, as they know who is coming and going, they can interact with you (actually, your avatar). It's very much like just hanging with some friends and listening to some great music is in an intimate, outdoor atmosphere. And, after the band has gone home, you can stroll the ranch's tree-lined cobblestone walk-ways in search of some interesting and fun surprises or even get a look at the virtual facility from in the sky onboard a hot air-balloon." --------------- Robert Lindquist, Singer and Musician Magazine

Jerry interviewed by Richmond Times-Dispatch

Jerry Douglas, a native of Warren, Ohio, talks here about hearing Flatt and Scruggs in Cleveland, playing with Alison Krauss and Union Station, and his band's upcoming new album.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Gopher broke

The University of Minnesota newspaper goes out in search of Minneapolis street musicians. Good news - he found some!

Friday, April 18, 2008

New Haven show - May 8

Jon Swift and I will do a show that we're excited about -- May 8, at Audubon Strings, 63 Audobon Street, New Haven. It will be purely acoustic, and the shop seats about 25. I love playing acoustically, and not having to worry about levels, cords, etc., etc.
We tend to be looser and the show is enhanced. We start at 7:30, and will probably do one long set.

For tickets, call 203.772.4722, or go to audubonstrings.com

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Another street musician movie

Nathaniel Ayers was a classmate of cellist Yo-Yo Ma at Julliard. But Ayers suffered from schizophrenia and ended up on the streets of Los Angeles. LA Times columnist Steve Lopez wrote about Ayers and other homeless and the services that they need.
A book, "The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music," by Lopez is due out soon, and will be made into a movie starring Jamie
Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., I learn from a column in Editor & Publisher.

I'm very glad for Mr. Ayers, but I hope that this doesn't reinforce the stereotype of the street musician as mentally unstable or otherwise unable to function in larger society.

But movies about street musicians are hot. In the past year, there've been Once, August Rush and High School Musical. Just kidding about that last one.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

I always knew that the reporters for the Independent Mail in Anderson, S.C., were the most intelligent newspeople on the planet.

This from an article about Dana Keller and Laurie Jennings Oudin: "Mr. Keller plays pedal steel, guitar and the dobro, an instrument known for its difficulty to master."

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Helping hand

A street musician in Trinidad and Tobago needed some help to find a place to live. The community stepped forward. The story here.