Recording sessions have started for a new “album” of songs by Josephmooon, but their completion and release schedule in 2022 remains unknown. Working on three songs at a time, producer Ian Nice recently asked if the next triad was ready to go. I had to confess that while Ronan had sent in some new lyrics,Continue reading “Good writing habits”
Author Archives: billpaige
Movie Trailers Go ‘Boom!'(er)
If you seek evidence that Baby Boomers continue to influence the soundtrack of popular culture, look no further than the trailers for two upcoming blockbuster movies, The Matrix Resurrections and Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Both are set to songs written and popularized between the years 1966 and 1968, “White Rabbit,” by the Jefferson Airplane,Continue reading “Movie Trailers Go ‘Boom!'(er)”
Mooonmemories
Here’s an excerpt from “A Hack Or A Whore,” Chapter Three of the highly entertaining rock memoir, Everything I Know I Learned From Rock Stars.” I know which one I’d choose today. “The runaway train pace of rock writing and editing continued in 1978 with Triad and the Illinois Entertainer, as well as Lively TimesContinue reading “Mooonmemories”
Speaking of World Music
The recent plane-crash death of Brazilian pop star Marilia Mendonça and her music producer illustrates how little most of us know about the cultural music enjoyed by people in other parts of the world. As music seems fairly provincial in that regard, curiosity, research, and physical effort are the roads every music fan must takeContinue reading “Speaking of World Music”
Lesson Plan: The Fame Game
Josephmooon often wants to talk about fame. What does it mean to be famous? Who is more famous than so-and-so? When will Josephmooon be famous? Once again, Ronan opened a recent session with questions like, “Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met?” “Who’s more famous, Donald Trump or Albert Einstein?” Of course, he alreadyContinue reading “Lesson Plan: The Fame Game”
Mooonmemories
Among Josephmooon’s earliest supporters is Koh MrSaxman, a celebrated Thai music master whose melodic saxophone compositions and improvisations surf atop the waves of multiple genres from pop to jazz to chill electronic beats. Based in Bangkok and known for collaborations around the world, Koh MrSaxman visited Hua HIn last weekend to perform at the HOPContinue reading “Mooonmemories”
Show your work!
Who doesn’t recall those odious school assignments that demanded that students “show their work?” Woe be to those who “knew” the answer, the destination, but perhaps were a bit fuzzy on the intellectual roadmap that was followed to get there. No counting on fingers and toes allowed! When I recently tried to engage Ronan aboutContinue reading “Show your work!”
soft power myth
Why am I writing about “soft power?” Because for some reason, the Thai government, and subsequently the media and private sector spokespeople, all have started citing Thailand’s alleged “soft power” on the most inappropriate occasions. Most recently, it was a few Tweets from Russell Crowe, who happened to be in the Kingdom shooting a newContinue reading “soft power myth”
Lesson Plan
A few topics on the table for this week’s JosephZooom session: The recent auction of a truly iconic guitar, Les Paul #1, built and “modded” by the man himself, Les Paul. Not the first electric guitar, but the first one that EVERYONE wanted to play. (I’m a Telecaster guy, finding the LP a bit tooContinue reading “Lesson Plan”
The First Cell Phone Call
Wow. So, get this Mooonmemory from 38 years ago. On October 13, 1983, I called my Mom from the back seat of a black limousine cruising southbound on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. I was 29 years old, working for UPI, and covering a BIG business story – the inaugural day of commercial cellular phoneContinue reading “The First Cell Phone Call”