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November 29, 2006
FULLY FEATURED
Fully Featured is a term that really should scare me! I mean, I really buy into it, and whatever it is that is "fully featured" needs to work perfectly, with ALL functions as they should be, or else I am reduced to an obsessive compulsive mass of twitching jelly! Computers, TV's, cars, ..... anything that has a mass of different things on it - thats what I'm talking about. And so, this is how I find myself in Best Buy for the THIRD time in one day around 9.30pm last night, tweaking on wireless keyboards for my Playstation 3. Not really so bad, you might say, but if you then understand that I was late to meet a friend over at the Alice In Chains show, you start to get an idea of just how ..... er ...... focused (!) I was last night!! Of course, I realized late afternoon that the PS3 can go online (hence a very excited comment from me yesterday!) and it dawned on me that a wireless keyboard and mouse would enable me to browse the web from the comfort of my own couch ...... while watching it all unfold on the big screen TV. This was too much for my brain (already fried from playing Resistance Fall Of Man for hours!) and the search for the keyboard began. Suffice to say that I am on my third keyboard now, and still trying to get it all to work correctly!!!
Alice In Chains. FULLY featured. What a band, and what a show. Even with new singer William Duvall, they have a force and power to them that so few bands manage to capture these days. The Wiltern was PACKED last night, and the band sounded SO tight, heavy and menacing. The one/two punch of Them Bones, followed by Dam That River took me back to a dark place in my life ....... those two songs played back to back just like they are on "Dirt" were the soundtrack to MANY less than salubrious moments!! Great night and great band.
So as you will see, Camp Freddy did actually finish making their Christmas single, and actually arranged a release date for it!! December 12th will see the band release their cover of Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody on I-Tunes US, UK and Europe. We also plan to release a video for the song on the same day on YouTube, the Camp Freddy site, 6767, and BillyMorrison.Net. I'll link it up fully from here so stay tuned. We will be filming some of next week's show where we hope to get it together and actually play the song live!!!
Circus Diablo. Also, I believe, fully featured!!! I know its been quiet for a little while, and we are all really wanting to tell you what's going on. But we don't want to entertain any jinxes, hexes, or bad luck, so we are keeping quiet until we have everything sewn up. Suffice to say that the record release looks very promising, as does proper touring for the first part of 2007. When ink is on paper, I will tell all!!
Matt S - I have all my gaming consoles connected, so I dont get rid of anything really. PS2, PS3 and X-Box 360 games are all part of the daily experience!!!
Vixen - Yes I did see Casino Royale, and I gotta say your description of why it was excellent is WAY better than anything I could have written!!!!
Beth - All good questions, but lowly artists like myself have no idea how much a tank of diesel is! I can tell you that promoters book the venues, not the bands. And only if we are strong-armed out by teams of heavily armed police, do we leave a hotel at Noon!!
Paul - Touring abroad requires a lot of pre-planning. Some gear flies on the plane you are on as checked luggage, some gear gets shipped ahead of time, and some you rent.
Ylais - I am ALWAYS Xmas shopping! But yes, I get your point, and yes, I have a few nice pieces under my belt for the wife. The rest I'll sort out while I am on vacation.
Mary - I think we actually try and ignore the whole cyclic thing. If you try and rely on the fact that in 18 months time, everyone is gonna sound like Elvis, then you're not really understanding the point of being creative. Certainly when we wrote the Circus Diablo record, we were all just throwing in Rock riffs, cos thats what we all like, and we didnt try and guess whats around the corner, stylistically.
Kelly - I do not have my own personal MySpace page, cos I just couldnt keep up with it all if I did! Circus Diablo has a page, and I check it regularly, so get adding!! CLICK HERE FOR THE CIRCUS DIABLO MYSPACE PAGE.
Dennis - I actually have no idea if I will be doing NAMM. Last year I went down for Gibson, so I'll check and see whats going on and let you know.
Max - I gotta tell you that I didnt choose Los Angeles. It chose me. I came here WAY back in the day, because something told me that I would feel at home here. And from the moment I stepped off the plane, I knew I was in the right place. England never held my attention for more that three minutes at a time. So I kept coming back, followed the rules, and I actually chose to think that Destiny played a part as well - the job with The Cult, meeting the woman I love here, the whole Camp Freddy thing ...... I am just going with what seems to be the greater good.
To the person who has no name (??) ...... EVERYTHING runs in 1080p wherever possible, I will be going to see the new Rocky movie .... and get a name so we can welcome you to the Morrison family!!
OK. All questions answered. Pictures today are from Todd Newman. I am off to mess about with the keyboard/mouse thing for the PS3. Gotta tweak till it works. Dont ANYONE give me ANYTHING else that has ANY features on it! Cos my life cannot take any more 'fully featured' technology right now. Moving on to the weekend, and CFR, with DRIVE A as in-studio guests, and then onto next weeks INDIE Christmas Party at The Avalon. Then we release the Xmas single and video ...... and then I am off to do some Scuba Diving. Seems like a beautiful way to end a fantastic year.
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 07:14 AM | Comments (15)
November 27, 2006
THE POWER OF MUSIC
So how’s everyone doing this fine Monday morning? Or Monday evening if you are in the UK. Or Thursday lunchtime if you live in Outer Mongolia!! It’s a trippy thing, that whole time difference shit. And it gets brought home when we are doing CFR every week. Callers from the UK, from Canada, from Australia …. All listening on the world wide web. Makes me smile. Makes me actually believe that we can make a difference, however small. Also makes me realize that music is a personal thing, and that there are so many people out there just searching for a fix – the next song that takes them to that place. The place we all know and love, and miss so much. Remember the first time you heard that one sound, that one band or singer, that changed everything for you? Remember the first time you heard Guns And Roses? Or Janes Addiction? Or for me, the Sex Pistols? Whoever it was, we all had that one defining moment that made us realize what music could do to us, where it could take us, and how high we felt listening to it.
Conversely, we battle against contrived, manufactured, empty music. Constantly fed a stream of emotionless rubbish, we are forced to look deeper for the sounds that really move us. And sometimes it’s a long and fruitless search. We need to remember that what moves one person leaves another one cold. Its an intensely personal thing – when I was having my world changed forever listening to God Save The Queen, most of the UK was left staring nonplussed at the radio wondering what was going on. My point? Well, my point is this – keep looking. There is still amazing, well crafted, emotion filled music out there, and its up to you to find it. Don’t sit back and listen to your old ACDC album, content that it will always work for you. It WILL always work, but music needs you to be out there finding more great bands, great songs, great shows. I have had similar experiences throughout my adult life, and its always fantastic ….. hear a song that feels right, has a great sentiment, with a beat that shakes my soul and guitars that fill the space. I get the album, and there are nine more tracks that do the same thing!! It renews my faith in music, in the fact that my day can really be made better by a song. I doubt there will ever be another time as intense as the first Pistols song (or your first Zeppelin, or Aerosmith, or Ozzy …. Or even Christina, if that’s your bag….) but keep searching, cos the power of music is pretty much unique in this universe, and I for one love that I get to listen to it, make it, and share it.
All questions will be answered midweek. I just wanted to ….er…..whats the word?…….pontificate!!!……. today. The podcast is up on the PODCASTS page, we move into organizing the Indie Wreck The Halls Xmas Show this week, and continue working on some Diablo details for early 2007. All that kind of stuff will be coming at you during the week. BUT - breaking news .....
I can tell you that the Christmas single from Camp Freddy - a cover of Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody - will be available exclusively on I-Tunes US, UK and Europe, on December 12th. The song features Scott and Donovan sharing the vocals in the verses, and the whole band on the choruses!! It was loads of fun to record, and was always one of the best christmas songs when I was a kid. I'm glad we decided to record it, and very glad that we managed to get it out and online as quickly as we did. So go ahead and download it on the 12th - at this rate, we'll be releasing the album track by track, over a period of about 18 months!!! Now wait a minute - there's an idea .........
Peace
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 08:34 AM | Comments (28)
November 23, 2006
ITS ALL ABOUT THE FOOD
Food, football and more food!! Thanksgiving - you gotta love it!! I am going to keep this one fairly brief, but I did wanna post and say that I hope everyone had a nice day. I am enjoying the rest and relaxation - its keeping me going until I get to hit the ocean on our Xmas Scuba trip. News on Diablo should be forthcoming shortly - lets say that I am feeling a good start to 2007 for us. That is if I can tear myself away from the Playstation 3. Its just amazing - 100% HD at 1080p (showing off my techie side for a sec) - the game Resistance Fall Of Man is just amazing to play and to watch. The BluRay movies look awesome, and I spent most of yesterday buying movies and games to keep me stocked up for the rest of the week. Nex Gen gaming never looked so good. Thats about it - gonna go back and eat some more, and find a late showing of Casino Royale. I hope you all ate WAY too much, watched at least PART of Dallas's crazy win today, and had a nice day off. Back soon.
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 09:20 PM | Comments (46)
November 19, 2006
HOLIDAY FREDDY IN FULL EFFECT
Please note that this is a large file size. A high speed connection is preferred.
I am SO tired right now! Its been a few seriously busy days, and I am looking forward to spending a week out of town next week, getting some pampering at the Spa!! But its been a lot of fun at the same time. As anyone listening to last nights CFR will tell you, we actually finished another track and will be releasing it in a week or two, just in time for Xmas. We did a cover of Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody, and Dave and I played it twice on the show last night. It was a mad dash to finish the song in time to meet a Xmas deadline, and Scott was doing vocals in one studio, while Donovan was doing his vocals in another, and we were putting it all together on the afternoon of a show! But it turned out great, and I’ll get you the release details as soon as I have them.
And then, of course, we have the Camp Freddy Best Buy/Playstation 3 show that we did out there on La Brea and Santa Monica. In the street, on an outdoor stage. What a laugh! It was a great night and we had a lot of fun. The version of Roadhouse Blues we did with Scott singing and Slash on lead guitar was fucking awesome, and I personally had a blast doing Love Removal Machine with both my bandmates, Billy Duffy and Brett Scallions, AND doing Whole Lotta Love with Brett’s beautiful missus, Abby. A great night out, and now we move onwards towards the December 7th Camp Freddy show at The Avalon theater.. For the full set list and guests, as well as details of the December show, check out the official WWW.CAMPFREDDY.NET website.
Check out the V-Blog, as promised. Yes, I KNOW it took me a few days to edit it up and get it on the site….. I’ve been busy, you know!! Please be aware that as I build up towards doing some original YouTube/MorrisonTV content, the blogs are getting a little longer in length, and therefore bigger in download size. I apologize to anyone that has a problem (especially those of you with a dial up connection – if that’s you, then SORT IT OUT!!!) but I am experimenting with this shit, cos I wanna do some cool video stuff next year on the Morrison TV site and I need to see how the download speeds are, and how many people have any problems. So bear with me – enjoy the blog, and I’ll be back next week, all chilled out and resting …. Mmm, I can smell the desert winds and feel the heat as I type this. And of course, the Podcast from last nights CFR is up on the Podcasts section, thanks to Paul. Have a great Sunday everyone, and I’ll see you soon.
Peace
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 09:16 AM | Comments (16)
November 17, 2006
ITS A FREDDY XMAS
I'll be back here with a full post at the weekend, with a V-Blog from the show last night. But I wanted to let you guys be the first to know that Camp Freddy have just finished their Xmas single, a cover of Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody, and we are hoping to get it up online in a week or two. I have just left the studio having mixed all day, and it sounds great. More details to follow.
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Posted by vivelerock at 07:01 PM | Comments (18)
November 13, 2006
SEE SAW
The days whiz by in a haze of nothingness, and I am transformed inexorably into the couch monster, trawling little known cable tv stations for a glimpse of something that might numb the rotting sensation in my mind. Actually, nothing of the sort is going on, and I am healthy, busy and happy!! But the sentence started flowing and I went with it!!! Ha ha!! Someone was asking me about how I write, and that is a great example, except that normally it would all go down on paper and get edited around later. I love when stuff streams in like that - if its song lyrics, or music, its a fantastic feeling. But lately I have been working on stories - for nothing in particular right now - but just pages of text, telling a few anecdotes from the past, changing names around, messing with scenarios. We'll see - but I REALLY enjoy it.
So - Whats been going on? Well, I hit a couple of movies this weekend .... and even though the clever plot lines and shocking end of the original Saw seem to be in the dim and distant past now, SAW 3 is still a fun shock horror gore movie to see!! Its basically an hour and a half of gratuitous movie ways to kill people, but if thats your thing (and its definately mine!!) then go see it. The other one I hit was Sara Michelle in The Return. Not bad, a little slow, and a little confusing, but she looked cute with dark hair. Tonight I'm gonna rock the remake of The Omen, fresh out on DVD, so its lights out, THX surround sound on, and roll em!!
I've also been working on a Camp Freddy performance thats coming up on thursday this week. I am afraid that this one is a totally private affair, but I promise I will take the camera and grab some choice V-Blog footage while I'm at it. Its about time I did another one - seems like months since we had a decent V-Blog up here. The CF show is in Hollywood, and I will post all the details on Friday, once we have done the gig. And the other lot, Circus Diablo, will be able to get down to some business during the next few weeks as Billy will be back in LA after The Cult tour. I am hoping that Brett and I will be working together on some tunes later this week, and I have been messing around with a few riffs over the past few days as well, so lots of music in my life right now.
The CFR last Saturday was great, with Matt Sorum and myself at the helm. But unfortunately, the stream was down, so no podcast I am afraid, people. But Dave and I will be at it again this coming Saturday, and Paul will be handling the recording of the podcast, so its business as usual (fingers crossed!!)
I'll hit all the questions on the V-Blog, so for now I just wanna say thanks to all of you who remain positive on here, and are helping build a decent online community. When I look around and watch Tower Records closing, and major labels doing absolutely nothing for their bands, I become even more convinced that it is you, the consumer, that should have the last say. And its on the web that you get to do that - to discover new music - to support new talent - to build your own communities. I love it, and you are all part of it.
Peace
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 08:32 PM | Comments (39)
November 10, 2006
"OASIS" ROCK THE HOUSE
I love a good 'road' movie. Its probably the same thing that I felt all those years ago when I decided I wanted to play music. There is something about watching the backstage footage, the scenes of stages being built, the shots of endless midwestern blacktop rolling by, the interior of the bus with people sprawled out everywhere, that makes me want to write songs and be a part of the business. Its crazy really, because I now know the reality of all that, and I STILL love a good tour movie!! And last nights Oasis movie was one of the best. I went over to The Wadsworth theater to attend the Indie 103.1 FM sponsored "Oasis" gig. Now first of all, lets have our facts straight here. It was a screening of their new movie, followed with an acoustic performance by Noel and Gem. And a drummer called Terry, I believe, who is not in Oasis but was helping out with the show. Sounds like a weird evening on paper, right? Well, it was really fucking good!!! The movie was spot on, really funny (Liam on TOP form throughout the whole thing) and the acoustic songs were fantastic! A very intimate affair, and Noel showed that (as we all know), if Liam throws a fit, then he'll do a great job himself!! One of the great rock and roll bands - love em or hate em, Oasis deserve to be here, and the evening was really good, with the sold out Wadsworth Theater getting treated to some choice B-Sides and a few hits. A great end to a busy week that also included the big Playstation 3 party, with a performance by Mr Puffy P Diddy Sean John Coombs (he needs to figure out his name!). Great event - great gaming console - cant WAIT to get mine!!!
Sue - I mess around with Final Cut Pro for video. I say 'Mess around' because I have seen the guys who REALLY know that program, and they make me look like a monkey trying to put a square peg in a round hole!! But I use the program so that I can learn and get better.
Ylais - I dont think the Strutter magazine came out yet! We did it ages ago, but I believe that its a December release. I'll let you all know when it hits the stands. The NME thing is hard to comment on now, cos I havent been in the UK for years, so I dont know. I can tell you that the printed press and radio control 99% of what we hear or what we are even aware of!!!...... which is WHY the internet is the way forward.
Peebs - Good question. The answer is that doing ANYTHING Camp Freddy is not easy, just because of the schedules. The studio is no different really, because again, we have to wait for people to be available. We are, of course, able to go in and tweak things without everyone being there, but actually getting the bulk of stuff done involves some heavy logistical work!!! And regarding the VH-1 stuff - I was suprised they used ANY of me at all!!!!
Terri - Although I am a legal US resident, I am not (yet) a citizen and therefore not able to vote. Although I have to tell you that I never voted in the UK. I believe that until the politicians decide to tell the countries the REAL facts and truths, it is impossible for me to make an educated and considered decision.
Anon - Hmm. Well, I do make sure that someone else knows how I'm feeling, cos me, alone in my head, with that shit, is a recipe for disaster. And I have to say that I now know that the feeling will pass. Its easy to forget that, and when it all seems dark, I can think that it will be that way for the rest of my life. The reality is that shit changes, so I try and grab on to that thought, and hold on till the darkness passes. I also know that being of service to someone else will heal my negativity quicker than anything else. So I try to get out of my own head, and help someone else.
Jay - The truthful answer to your Nirvana question (another well thought out one, I might add) is that ALL through that part of music history, I was completely out of the game. I was too busy destroying myself with drugs and was unaware of anything making any impact on any scene at all. It wasn't until I sobered up that I understood Nirvana's impact.
Bi - WAY too much thinking going on here!!! The symbol was drawn and tattooed on my arm MANY years ago. It was part of some crazy drug thing that one of my old bands, IN2AO, was involved with, and I had a tattoo made up of Runes and Symbols. No idea what I thought it meant, but it looks great and is also a C and a D. Circus Diablo. Or Christian Dior.
Beth - MAPLE LATTE!!! Its amazing with whip and drizzle!!! Like drinking liquid IHOP.
All done for today. More gym, more working on some writing I've been doing recently, more video games. And a nice meal at a nice hotel tonight. Today is shaping up nicely. Tomorrow is an all new CFR - and I have no idea who's doing it. But I'll be there. Pics today are from the events this week. See you guys soon.
Peace
Billy
POST-SCRIPT. - Mr Dixon, is it not obvious to you? Mick Jagger copied everything he knows from me. And why is your IP address bogus? Fearful of something?
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Posted by vivelerock at 07:26 AM | Comments (32)
November 06, 2006
MONDAY ON MY MIND
OK - here we go. Another week. Sometimes its a drag and sometimes things are just amazingly good. And sometimes its all a little ...... flat. Right now, its flat. Nothing really going on. So I am keeping busy doing some video editing, some writing, a little session here and there ..... and of course, CFR. Which reminds me that tonight I'll be hosting a special one hour CFR from the Best Buy Guitar Hero 2 Launch, taking place in the Pico/West LA store at 10.30pm. The address is 11301 W Pico Blvd. (at Sawtelle Blvd.) and Dave will be doing the instore appearance, signing all yer goodies. I am sure he will join me on the couch to chip in during CFR, and I'm gonna see exactly how good some of you guys are at actually playing that game. Cos I SUCK!!!! Its a lot of fun, but I am way better at shooting things in a war game, than playing the solo from a Queen song on a plastic stick with five buttons!! But trust me - the game will suck you in...... I have been rockin out on my copy all weekend!!! (And Vixen - I think you have the wrong end of the stick there ....... I am not IN the game - although that would have been fun - I am just doing a radio show ABOUT the game!! )
As you will see, the CFR from Saturday is now up on the podcast page, and I believe that Paul will be getting up early (or staying up very late!!) and getting the hour special that we do tonight. Dont forget that by clicking on the I-Tunes button, you can automatically subscribe to this blog and have your I-Tunes automatically download the podcasts and V-Blogs directly I put them up online. So if you havent subscribed yet ..... do it now!!!
Peebs - The Xmas song was a whim that turned into a half serious effort. We are currently finishing the track and if we do it in time, it will be an I-Tunes release. The full CD thing will be the album that we have been chipping away at for two years! And thats still ...... being worked on!! Although if you were listening carefully to CFR on Saturday, I actually played a finished track from said album!!
Jilly - Yeah, I actually DID stop smoking, so yes I am serious. And yes it does fuck with your head!!!
Mark - In all honesty, Camp Freddy was just a one-time thing! So no - it was in NO WAY part of the plan to be doing it five years later!! We just did it the first time, and thought that would be it!! But the thing is, as long as its fun, why would we stop?? And favorite venue? In LA - I love the Key Club. I also loved playing Madison Square Gardens in New York. But the best venue for me HAS to be The Astoria (I have no idea what they call it now) in Charing Cross Road in London.
Kate - As I always say when asked this question, my two ideal Camp Freddy guests would be Adam Ant and Madonna. But David Bowie would be nice too!!!!
Lisa - Yeah. I have seen V and I liked the movie. And we were talking about that on Saturdays CFR. Thought it was done rather well.
Jay - Not this time mate. Bonaduce Season 2 was sans Morrison.
Danni - I have heard nothing from Mr Ant in a few years. But last saw him a few years ago at The Shepards Bush Empire and he was fantastic. Lets hope he does the reformation tour with the Ants. Its about time!!
Thats it from me - just wanted to get the podcast up, and let everyone know about the Indie 103.1/Best Buy event tonight. If you are around, come on down and join in the fun. I'll be back during the week to check in and see what you are all up to ....... questions are welcome, and hopefully we might know a bit more about the Camp Freddy Xmas show soon, so keep it here for ticket details etc.
Have a great week.
Peace
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 03:38 PM | Comments (30)
November 03, 2006
A BRIEF ENCOUNTER WITH WALL STREET
Thought I would get on here and post while the coffee does its job this morning! When I came into my office here today and looked at my calendar, I realized today is the day that I get interviewed by The Wall Street Journal!!! Bizarre, right?!?! Yep - well, apparently, its correct. They are doing something on Playstation and wanna talk to me about Guitar Hero (the game) and watch me play it while they interview me. Sounds strange, but thats today. Oh well - I thought maybe I could talk about the 12 shares I own in PorkBellies, or maybe the shift in the current high yield interest rate ................. oh - I'm sorry, I nodded off there for a second!!!! Also today, I am going to spend a few hours in the studio with Mike Clink, doing some overdubs on a Camp Freddy track we recorded last week. The idea was that we would get this track out there by Xmas - who knows if that will happen. But we will at least finish the thing, and take it from there. So I'll be doing some backing vocals, as well as a few bits and pieces musically. And before all that ...... gonna hit the gym and start to knock off a few of these 'non-smoking' pounds. I'll hit the blog again at the end of the weekend and answer any questions, but for now, thats it from me. Hope you like the self portrait I put up today. I call it - MOTORHEAD. Have a great weekend, smile ..... and don't get caught up in the negative!!!!
Billy
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Posted by vivelerock at 08:29 AM | Comments (30)