In light of recent events, I have temporarily converted this blogsite into a donation site to raise funds to help pay for the burial of my nephew Francisco Kitiona Marcelo (Little Kit, as we like to call him).
For more details, please click HERE.
Thanks to everyone for their love, kindness, and support during this time.
-gordon
Norah Jones is one of those artists for whom I rush to the record store when they release a new album. This list of artists who I do this for is very small. Next Tuesday, Nov. 17, she releases her forth album “The Fall”.
I’ve been an admirer of her work ever since her first huge release, “Come Away With Me”, which sold millions of copies and garnered Grammys for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, and a whole slew of others. I’ve often thought that she won all of these deservingly but also prematurely. Honestly, I think her work has only gotten better. Her second album had more of a country/jazz sort of sound, and her third album (my favorite so far) was very dark and contained songs that were mostly penned by her. She has shown steady and consistent artistic growth over the years–taking risks with her musical approach and style.
This new set of songs may be her boldest collection yet. In fact, early reports have shared that she mostly plays guitar on it and has enlisted producers and co-songwriters she’s never worked with before.
The lead single for the album offers strong indication that this album steps much further from where she started. It is a song called “Chasing Pirates”. While it contains her trademark tinges of sadness, it is a light and infectious little tune–the kind you can listen to while at a picnic or strolling through the park.
Her voice is in top form and the keyboard work, which is some kind of organ that I can’t identify, gives the song a very fresh sound.
This week’s Video of the Week is the new video for this lead single. I think it’s actually the best video she’s ever done. With a soft, neutral palette, she moves from reality to a whimsical dream world seamlessly, and she looks gorgeous all the while.
Here it is, folks. Chasing Pirates . . . .
I know what I’ll be doing next Tuesday.
-gordo
So I thought I’d just talk about a couple of other things I’ve been up to lately . . .
I’ve been reading this new book lately, or rather, I’ve been savoring it by reading tiny bits and pieces here an there. While I was in Huntsville, Alabama last summer, I stopped in at an small used books store. Lo and behold, I found this sitting quietly on a shelf . . .
This is exactly the kind of book that someone who authors a blog called “Where Pianos Roam” would absolutely love. “The Piano Shop on the Left Bank” by Thad Carhart is about an American living in Paris who reclaims a long-forgotten passion of his. You can easily guess by the title of this book what that passion is.
While walking his small kids to their school on the weekdays, he passes by a curious little storefront. As days and weeks pass by, he notices pianos of varying shapes and sizes being moved in and out of its front door. His curiosity grows until he finally gets up the moxy to walk into that same front door. Little does he know that there is an enchanting world waiting for him to inhabit–as if he was a prodigal son finally returning home.
I am only a third of the way through this book, and I am honestly dreading finishing it. I’ve been carrying it everywhere but constantly resisting the urge to read it. Much like my sushi craze, it is a special treat I’ve been saving for times when I crave a special delight. Every page of this book is just yummy.
I am going to do a full review of this one as soon as I am done with this . . . whenever that might be.
I do have a small project that I’ll be working on this month. I am going to be sending out my first annual holiday greeting card in early December. I have some cool ideas for this card, and when my friends see it, they’ll DEFINITELY know that it came from me.
If you would like to be added to my holiday greeting mailing list, please feel free to email me at gordon(at)gordonroque(dot)com. I’ll even gladly be on yours if you want to trade addresses.
Well, that’s it for this Sunday.
I hope you all have the best week ever.
-g
That’s right! Later this afternoon, I will be the special musical guest on Nashville’s WRVU 91.1 FM radio station. This is Vanderbilt University’s radio station and one of the top college radio stations in the country.
The show is called Queer Talk Radio, and I’ll be interviewed by DJ Ron. I’ll be there to talk about my music and to perform one or two of my songs. If you live in the greater Nasvhille area, feel free to listen in between 3:30P and 4P Central Standard Time. You can also listen through a live stream online at http://www.wrvu.org if you live anywhere else around the world.
It’s gonna be so much fun.
-gordo
Regina Spektor is a sparkling gem in the world of pop music right now. Quirky. Uncompromising. Hugely orginal. Her new video for her song “Eet” is evidence of all these things. It is one of a few new lovelies from her latest album “Far” . . .
Her lyrics are often thoughtful and imaginative, and she boasts quite an enviable vocal range. Most of “Eet” is sung in a high register that is not always at falsetto. Of course, her piano playing is also first rate.
She presents such a warm and unpretentious vibe both on-screen and on stage. I can’t say enough about this woman.
Here, for your enjoyment, is the new video for “Eet” . . . .
More soon,
-g
Surely enough, my life lately has been quite busy. I’ve been quietly toiling away at other projects that have needed my attention for quite some time. I cannot get into those now, but I can share a few other things . . .
As many of you know, my nephew, Francisco Kitiona Marcelo, was born last Saturday. He a was born around four months premature and came in at a whopping 2 lbs, 10 oz. I was able to take my mom to visit him last Thursday. He is doing well and has started to eat breastmilk. Any day now, he’ll start to gain weight and become the fat and plump baby that I know he’ll be. We are all gearing up for a festive baby shower that will happen soon.
Last weekend, I decorated my friend Laurel’s house for her Halloween party. We were able to get mannequin body parts that were strewn around the house. I was going for a creepy, avant-garde kind of aesthetic, and it all went over quite well . . .
I was extremely proud of how this project turned out. I like to come up with a theme and use a bunch of found objects. It’s really a lot of fun. I have a few decorating projects in the works already. Good times. (By the way, that mirror ball in one of the photos is actually one that I own. It is one of my prized possessions that I hope to use in my own home some day.)
I’ve also spent a good bit of time upfitting my music gear with much-needed accessories. My Roland synthesizer now has a sturdy black bag that it can be carried in when I go to my gigs. (I found this bag at 50% off and saved a bunch of money)
There will be a protective slip cover for my big Roland keyboard amp from now on. (I once had to transport my gear from my car and into a venue in the pouring rain. Since I did not have any kind of tarp to cover this expensive piece of electrical equipment at the time, I used a bunch of my clothes that I packed for the trip as covering. Needless to say, I didn’t have much to wear that weekend.) I also plan on getting a new bag for my regular Casio keyboard that isn’t torn and actually fits. Yay!!
On the knitting front, I finally started that basket-weave patterned scarf I’ve been yacking about. I am almost halfway through in spite of all the crazy things I am working on . . .
Next Saturday at 3 PM CST, I perform live on the radio for the very first time. It will be on WRVU 91.1 FM. You can listen locally here in Nashville and online at wrvu.org This is going to be so much fun!!!
Well, this is it for now. I will have more to blog about very soon!!
Have a Happy Sunday!
-g
It’s been a crazy weekend folks. I spent Friday night at Nashville’s Belcourt Theater helping a friend perform at a burlesque show. I actually spent most of the time backstage knitting.
Most of Saturday was taken up with helping another friend get her house ready for a Halloween party. I was in charge of decorating, and I used mannequin parts and red x-mas lights to decorate the main dance room. I’ll have photos soon. It was pretty wicked.
The big event of the weekend was when I my younger sister Lloyda gave birth to a baby boy at Centennial Hospital here in Nashville, TN. He actually wasn’t due until April, but he arrived early nonetheless.
My sister is still deliberating on his name.
Here he is, all 2 lbs. and 10 ounces of him (14.5 inches) . . .
I got to meet him for the first time yesterday in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU). He has the tiniest hands and the tiniest feet. They’re going to keep him there for 10 weeks, and I am going to visit as much as I possibly can.
Aside from being born pre-maturely, he’s pretty healthy otherwise.
I wish I could blog more, but I am off to the hospital for another visit!!
More soon.
-g
I have some good things to report . . .
First of all, my Mom is being released from the hospital today after undergoing some fairly heavy-duty surgery yesterday. She’ll be resting up all this week towards a full recovery. Yay!!
Secondly, there is now a brand new Oreo and Buttercup episode now available for viewing in the Oreo Gallery. Just go HERE.
This episode is the long-overdue sequel to Oreo’s Big Date with Optimus Prime. This time Buttercup, the oh-so-rowdy bench, gets a little action!!
In a few days, I unleash a brand new issue of The WWoG. This is my very colorful monthly e-mail newsletter . . . .
The October 2009 issue will be full of some fun images and all kinds of goodies. This will kick off a very heavy promotional campaign for my last two shows of the year which are a live radio broadcast for all the world to hear on Nov. 13 and a special Thanksgiving show at Cafe Coco in Nashville on Tuesday, Nov. 24. To subscribe to the newsletter, just click HERE to fill out the subscription form.
Up next, you may have noticed that this blog has a brand new look. This renovation has taken a good bit of thought and planning. The next phase is the expansion site which will be the new home of all previous Oreo and Buttercup episodes. They are going to get their own very roomy online space.
I’ve also been working on a bunch of other things, but I’ll save all of that for a later time.
Hope all is well in your world!
-gordo
Okay, so I’m breaking my rule again. These featured videos are supposed to have something, anything, involving pianos, but I am going to abandon this rule for the second time this month in favor of one of the most beautiful, brilliant, and ingenious performances I have seen in a long time.
I am generally not a fan of reality shows, but I have to admit that I love the show “So You Think You Can Dance”.
This show travels all around the country to recruit some of the best dancers to compete for the title of America’s Best Dancer. The contestants are physically, artistically, and emotionally challenged every week by having to perform choreography and dancing styles that are often not their own. It’s an amazing show to watch.
In a recent episode, a young man by the name of Teddy Tedholm danced in the Boston Auditions. When auditioning, dancers are either chosen to do choreography or, if they are already extraordinarily good, get a ticket straight to Las Vegas (where the contestants are whittled down to a mere Top 20).
Teddy, or Mr. Fancy Pants, got a ticket straight to Vegas. Even the judges could not deny how original and clever he was. All of this happened on the strength of his performance (which by the way is danced to a sweet little song by Jason Mraz called “If It Kills Me”). It is whimsical, comical, magical, brilliant, gorgeous, and even a little heartbreakingly sad.
I absolutely LOVE this . . .
I have come to find out that Teddy did not make it into the Top 20 in Vegas, but wherever he is, I hope he keeps on dancing. Imaginative people like him are like the purest of diamonds–of a clarity and brilliance rarely seen and highly treasured.
Thank you so much, Mr. Fancy Pants.
-g
