Gypsy Jazz on 4th Street
Paul Mehling and some members of his Hot Club of San Francisco performed in a casual setting outside of Peet’s Coffee on 4th Street in Berkeley Wednesday Dec 21st. Mehling performs exceptional gypsy jazz guitar in the style of the French legend Django Reinhardt.
For more information:
Hot Club of San Francisco
Fourth Street Berkeley
Bright Eyes Friday evening - Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
Bright Eyes closed the evening Friday night Sept 30th at the Rooster stage of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate park. Music all day long on 6 different stages with a mix of folk, old-time, rock-n-roll music and more.
Bright Eyes Friday Night at Golden Gate Park
The festival runs three days – Friday Sept 30th – Sunday October 2nd. The event is completely free and funded by Warren Hellman. It is estimated that 60,000 people will attend the event each day.
Parking in the area can be difficult. There is ample bicycle racks available. Try to ride your bike or take public transportation in if you live close by.
More info: http://www.strictlybluegrass.com/
Street musician drumming & dancing Friday evening
People in trees for a better view of Bright Eyes
Oakland Art Murmur
Every 1st Friday of the month the local art scene comes alive at the Oakland Art Murmur. From 6 pm to 9 pm the art galleries are free and open to the public. Musicians abound on the street and in many of the galleries. 23th Street between Telegraph and Valley is closed to traffic and there are craft vendors. Galleries are open between 22nd & 26th Street. A great vibe… check it out…
For more information:
http://oaklandartmurmur.org
A few years ago Apple made a big announcement at Macworld in San Francisco. It wasn’t a new dazzling hi-tech computer, iPhone or iPod but the announcement that the iTunes Music store will sell all music download without any digital rights management (DRM) copy protection.
Previous music purchases from iTunes contained DRM (digital rights management) copy protection
Previously if you purchased music from iTunes the files were encoded as an AAC protected file which would only play on an iPod or other Apple related device. If you wanted to put your music on a non-Apple device such as another manufacturer’s digital music player or stream to say a Tivo - the music files would not play. The way around this was to burn the encoded music file to a CD and then re-import the file from the CD back into your computer in a different format such as the popular mp3 or as an non-protected AAC format.
Truth be told – the copy-protection was not necessarily Apple’s idea but was implemented mainly at the insistence of music executives which did not want people to give away and share their music purchases.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s master guru, had made a public statement earlier indicating that Apple believed DRM was no longer feasible and expressed the idea that they wanted songs sold without DRM. EMI was the first to offer songs without copy protection and the rest of the major labels followed suit.
Are iTunes songs though now really DRM free? Well, sort of… however, the audio files embed the original purchaser’s name and email address. You may want to be cautious if you are sharing songs purchased from the iTunes store with others due to this fact. The embedded purchaser’s name and email address allows the song files to be traced back to the original owner. What Apple will do with this information is anyones guess.
Name & email address embedded in a newly purchased iTunes song
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I recently became Level 1 certified in Apple’s newest cutting edge high end audio recording application Logic Pro 9 (part of the latest version Logic Studio). I am a long time user of Logic.
Apple Logic is a great tool for singer/songwriters and composers and provides a great deal of flexibility when recording or composing. It is often very hard to be 100% perfect when recording a track – you may have some great moments and a few not so great. One of the newest features is the ability to lay down multiple versions of a track (say for example a lead vocal) and select the various portions of each take to create a composite or ‘best of’ take.
Want to add a little piano or hammond organ to a track? Logic comes with a plethora of great samples such as pianos, hammond organs, horns, etc that can be triggered with a standard midi keyboard.
When you are ready to step up and have tested and certified engineer record your project send me an email or give me a call. I specialize in singer songwriters, acoustic projects and small bands. I can import GarageBand tracks directly into Logic Pro 9. I can also import your wav and aiff tracks.
Joe Rizzo
Cosmic Circuit Studio
Engineer, musician, producer
510.868.9323
Peter Rowan performs at Jerry Garcia Day, San Francisco
Every August 1st Jerry Garcia day is celebrated at the Jerry Garcia amphitheater in McLaren Park, San Francisco. Friends and fans of the San Franciscan native gathered for a free festival with music in the transcendent spirit of Garcia. This year was the 8th year of the annual celebration and featured musical performances by Check Engine Light, Front Street and Friends, Peter Rowan and Melvin Seals with JGB. The outdoor amphitheater is located in the Excelsior district of San Francisco - Garcia’s childhood neighborhood. McLaren amphitheater was renamed The Jerry Garcia amphitheater after fans petitioned the city of San Francisco. August 1st marks Garcia’s birthday. The Jerry Garcia Amphitheater is located at 45 John F. Shelley Drive, San Francisco.
For more info:
jerryday.org
Khi Darag performed at People’s Park in Berkeley on Saturday June 5th as part of the Berkeley World Music Festival. The music blended elements of many different styles of music including surf, klezmer, pop, trance and more. A difficult band to describe but definitely worth checking out. Listen to samples on their web site.
More info:
http://khidarag.com
http://www.berkeleyworldmusic.org
We recently posted a few vintage clips of some local musicians performing in the San Francisco Bay Area. There are a few clips from a live performance in Black Oak’s Bookstore in Berkeley, California from 1992 and some clips from the Freight and Salvage. Check our YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/cosmiccircuit
We recently opened a Twitter account. Twitter allows you to receive ‘tweets’ or posts from various people, businesses, etc. If you would like to receive tweets from Cosmic Circuit, click on the link below.
Stay connected! Follow us on Twitter 
Saturday night Dec 5th was Musical Night in Africa at Ashkenaz in Berkeley with Kotoja, the West African Highlife Band, Afrobeat Connexion, the Nigerian Brothers and DJ Mike Onas. Musical Night in Africa is a decade-old Ashkenaz tradition produced each year by Nigeria’s Babá Ken Okulolo. The night began with an opening Libation Ceremony with Babá Ken followed by the Nigerian Brothers and some excellent rhythms. Each band had very strong hypnotic dance rhythms. The night ended with Kotoja and an excellent horn section.
For more info:
ashkenaz.com
kotoja.com
AfricanMusicSource.com
Apple recently unveiled a new version of their flagship video editing application Final Cut Pro 7, part of the newest Apple Final Cut Studio suite.
I recently became a ‘Certified Pro’ in Final Cut Pro 7. I have had a level 1 certification since Final Cut 5. I am also certified professional in Apple Logic Pro (Audio).
Cosmic Circuit Studio offers video editing, DVD authoring, audio services and other post production services. We work on many custom projects for businesses, artists, musicians, etc. Call or email for more information or assistance with your next creative project. For more detailed info check cosmiccircuit.com/video
Joe Rizzo
Apple Final Cut Pro Certified Professional
Toll Free: 1.877.793.4195
Local: 510.868.9323
John Prine (right) joined Lyle Lovett (left) on stage Friday Night in Golden Gate Park
The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival kicked off the weekend with 3 days of free musical acts at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Lyle Lovett headlined the event on Friday evening with John Prine warming up. Gillian Welch, Jorma Kaukonen, Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Steve Earle & The Bluegrass Dukes were some of the bands that performed on Saturday. Steve Martin, better known for his acting abilities and his hit movie ‘The Jerk’, ended his set Saturday with a rousing rendition of ‘The Simpson’s’ television theme song.
For more information check:
http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com
Gillian Welch Saturday in Golden Gate Park
Steve Martin on banjo Saturday afternoon
The 35th annual Solano Stroll in Berkeley served up plenty of local musicians, artists, food vendors and shops this Sunday Sept 13th. The event covered 26 blocks and was heavily attended. Surf bands, mexican dancers, caribbean steel drums, orchestras, one man bands, literally something for everyone. If you missed it, check it out next year…
For more information:
http://www.solanoavenueassn.org/strol.htm
The Cheeseboard, located in the ‘gourmet ghetto’ district on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, not only serves up great gourmet pizza but also has live music. The lines for pizza are typically long and out the door – but the wait is definitely worth it. The Lee Gaines jazz trio performs on Fridays at 5 pm and other musicians and groups often perform on different days. The Cheeseboard serves lunch 11:30 – 3:00 Tuesday through Saturday and dinner 4:30 – 8:00 Tuesday through Saturday. The Cheeseboard was founded in 1967 as a collective and has become somewhat of a ‘must experience’ Berkeley institution.
K.I. Nicholas Three Piece Band
Lee Gaines Trio performs most Fridays
For more information:
The Cheeseboard
1512 Shattuck Avenue
Berekely, Ca 94709
http://cheeseboardcollective.coop
(510) 549-3055
Sandy Rothman and Stu Allen performed at Ashkenaz in Berkeley, California August 6th with Brian Godchaux on fiddle and Justin Purtill on stand-up bass. The band performed a mix of old-time and bluegrass classics. Stu Allen performed lead vocals and acoustic guitar. Sandy Rothman, who previously has done acoustic work with Jerry Garcia (Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band ‘Almost Acoustic’) and performed with Bill Monroe, played mandolin, dobro guitar and lent backing vocals and lead on a few tunes.
www.well.com/user/smarcus/sr/Sandy.html
www.stuallen.net
www.ashkenaz.com
I recently upgraded our studio’s audio recording software to Apple’s Logic Pro 9 (part of the new Logic Studio) and have been putting it through the paces. New to Logic Pro is the ability to add and embed written notes to each track and project. This is very handy for writing down microphone settings, pre-amp settings, and mic placement, etc. A new feature called ‘Flex Editing’ allows you to adjust the timing of various sections of a take without having to splice and cut up the track. For instance if a few chords or drums hits were a little late or early these areas can be moved easily now with the Flex Editing tool. Flex editing also now works even when compositing various areas of multiple takes in a take folder into one cohesive track. There is now more granular control for setting the entire volume fader of each track. There are new guitar Amps, pedal boards, and variable speed recording.
Performing live musicians may be interested in the upgrade to Mainstage 2. Mainstage now has the ability to play audio files as backing tracks via a ‘Playback’ plugin. There is also now the ability to record your live performances to either a .wav, .aiff, or .caf file. The ability to customize a template including set lists, images, mapped volume knobs, notes is really great. There is also a ‘Looping’ plugin and also support for rewire software instruments.
Le’ema Kathleen Graham just released her Snake Yoga DVD. The DVD features unique snake-like yoga poses and postures, an animated visual chakra meditation section and a printed booklet. The DVD provides the option of subtitles for the deaf and/or hearing impaired. There is an option to play the DVD with ‘music only’ – useful when you are familiar with the poses and yoga routine.
Cosmic Circuit Studio assisted with some of the video editing, DVD menu design, DVD authoring and subtitles.
To purchase the DVD or for more information check: www.snakeyoga.com
www.goddesswork.com
Lyell Davies and Rick Franklin just released their Brain Injury Dialogues documentary film on DVD. The film provides interesting insights into the often misunderstood or misdiagnosed lives of brain injured people. The footage was shot in the San Francisco Bay area. The DVD contains extra bonus features, extra scenes, has the option of displaying English subtitles. Cosmic Circuit Studio assisted with the DVD authoring and subtitles.
For more information, to view sample video clips or to purchase the DVD check: braininjurydialogues.org
Amoeba Music held an Andy Warhol Factory party at a warehouse space in Emeryville on Friday March 6th. Velvet Underground cover bands performed and local artists displayed works in 9 different rooms. The warehouse space was set up similar to Andy Warhol’s original Factory in New York city. Various local artists were silk screening in the style of Warhol.
Amoeba Music has a wide selection of new and used music and often host musical performances in their retail stores. Amoeba has locations on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, on Haight Street in San Francisco and in Hollywood, California. More info at: http://www.amoeba.com/content/factory_party_wrap_up.html
http://www.amoeba.com
Marianne Barlow, a local singer song-writer, just finished recording her full length 12 song ‘Magic Words’ CD at Cosmic Circuit Studio. The tracks feature Marianne’s vocals and acoustic guitar with some cello, sax, and flute. A rowdy chorus of women added backing vocals to the track ‘My Right Breast.’
backing vocalists on 'My Right Breast' track
Listen to an audio sample.
For more information on shows or obtaining a CD, check the web at: mariannebarlow.com
myspace.com/mariannebarlow
