Conrad Askland

April 4, 2007

Why this scientist believes in God

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. His most recent book is “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.”

Scientist Francis Collins has stated publicly that he believes in God, specifically Christianity and Jesus Christ – and also states “evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true”.

As a lead on the Human Genome Project he has a detailed understanding of DNA and scientific protocol. Yet this intellectual also states a belief in God, assumably the Trinity of Christianity.

In my not so humble opinion we need more people like this. It is a good thing to have learned professionals that back the progress of science, have a commitment to their faith – and can have both without tearing down the other. Many of you know my personal “little red wagon” is the Evolution-Creation debates and how absolutely Neanderthal it is to read most Creationist arguments – makes about as much sense as the Salem witch trials or putting Galileo under house arrest. But here we have someone on the forefront of scientific research who also declares their faith loud and clear.

I like that. It’s a good thing. He makes me proud to be American, proud to be a Christian, and proud to be a human.

Article Excerpt:

Actually, I find no conflict here, and neither apparently do the 40 percent of working scientists who claim to be believers. Yes, evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true. If there was any lingering doubt about the evidence from the fossil record, the study of DNA provides the strongest possible proof of our relatedness to all other living things.

Read the full Scientist Collins Believes in God CNN article.

April 4, 2007

Don LaFontaine – Movie Trailer Voice Overdubs

Don LaFontaine is that cool gravelly bass voice you hear on all the movie trailers. The voice that says something like “In a world where boredom ruled the day….SOMEONE had an idea….” – or fill in your own catch phrase.

Don has been recording overdubs for movie trailers for several decades now. Any of us that go to movie theaters and see the motion picture trailers have his voice firmly engrained in our head.

Many YouTube trailer spoofs try to copy his vocal sound for their trailer overdubbing, to give it that real “Hollywood” feel. Congratulations to Mr. LaFontaine on a great career, and thank you for making those movie trailers entertaining.

April 1, 2007April 1, 2007

Keytar Photos

Thanks to Gary Brown for these photos from our half time show for Disney’s High School Musical. I ham it up by playing a Roland Keytar through a JP8000 synth. The best part is at intermission when the kids come down to the pit to see all the musicians. On some shows I’ve let the kids each take turns playing my Keytar. They start by asking “What’s that?” and I say “It’s a keytar!” – then they say “What’s a keytar?” and I say “It’s a keyboard that wants to be a guitar!” – and the great thing about kids is: That’s a perfect reasonable explanation to them and they accept that. I’m sure it makes it more fun for them to watch the half time show after they’ve seen the keytar up close and played it themselves.

Audiences have been really fantastic for this run. They are very enthusiastic to jam with the band by clapping and singing along to our jams. Each show’s jam is a little bit different – and I know each night how much the crowd enjoyed it by their lion-like screams and yells when we’re done. Life is good.

The keytar I use is the Roland AX-1 – I used this for a couple shows when I toured with Freddy Fender but he didn’t care for it much – “Dude, why do you have to play so many notes?” – I don’t think he ever heard of Keith Emerson.

It was really fun to dust off my keytar for this show. Disneys High School Musical is very “bubble-gummy” – and the keytar came to mind as the perfect complement to the show. Opening night I picked it up out of storage and we worked up a jam with the band.

I predict the keytar will be the new secret weapon of the Vikings when they regroup and once again being their world domination.

HISTORY OF THE KEYTAR

A keytar is a keyboard or synthesizer worn around the neck and shoulders, similar to a guitar. The word “keytar” is a portmanteau of “keyboard” and “guitar”. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement, compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands.

Originally the creation of guitarist Steve Masakowski, the keytar was commercially introduced in 1978 as the Moog Liberation. The first Liberation owner (#1001) was Spyro Gyra keyboardist Tom Schuman (with numbers 1002, 1003, and 1004 owned by the band Devo).

Perhaps one of the earliest printed use of the term “Keytar” was circa 1980 in an interview of Jeffrey Abbott (owner of Moog Liberation #1005) by Tom Lounges of Illianabeat magazine (now Midwest BEAT Magazine)

The keytar was made popular in the 1980s by hair bands, as well as synthpop and New Wave groups. Changing trends in music diminished the keytar’s popularity shortly thereafter. The keytar has enjoyed new visibility due in part to software innovations from companies like Musiclab (RealGuitar), UltimateSoundBank (PlugSound) and the Williams (Keytar V-1).

THE ROLAND AX-1

The Roland AX-1 is a keytar (a shoulder-held clavier keyboard worn like a guitar) that does not produce its own sounds but controls other devices (such as keyboards, sound modules, and samplers) via MIDI.

Henrik Klingenberg of metal band Sonata Arctica played an AX-1 before upgrading to a Roland AX-7.

More recently, Jake Hallman, pianist for Eric Lee Beddingfield and County Line was seen playing an AX-1 at several live shows, a rarity in country/Southern rock music.French Maestro Jean-Michel Jarre has used the AX-1 Both a Black(with customised lower Octave having reversed colour keys)and also the Red Version during his Europe in concert tour back in 1993

Imogen Heap formerly of British pop duo Frou Frou sported an AX-1 while touring with Frou Frou and on her solo tours.

ALTERNATE NAMES FOR A KEYTAR

* keyboard guitar
* Synth-Axe
* remote keyboard
* portable keyboard
* belly-synth
* synth guitar (not to be confused with MIDI Guitar)
* master keyboard (as most were used as MIDI controllers)
* electroponce
* Schmidtkeytar
* Kaytar
* Piano guitar (in french Canada)

Peter Bridgman – Bass Guitar

Oscar De La Rosa – Percussion

Luke Hansen – Guitar

David Bridgman – Drums

More pics of Conrad with his Keytar

Brianne Weaver – Keyboards

April 1, 2007

Apple Calls It Quits After Four Decades

APPLE CALLS IT QUITS AFTER FOUR DECADES
========================================
Computer Icon Goes Under But Brand Will Continue

San Francisco April 1st, 2017

In a surprise announcement by Apple Computerâ€™s Board of Directors, Apple offices and warehouses will begin liquidation as part of its chapter eleven bankruptcy application.Â The Macintosh computer brand which briefly dominated the 1980’s and revolutionized the home computer industry will continue under a private labeling deal with Microsoft. The rival company has owned 12% of Apple since the year 2000.

Apple shares began a sharp decline after their cash cow products, the iPod and iPhone, lost traction to Verizonâ€™s â€œFug-Fone,â€ a cellular device pre-loaded with the combined catalogs of the three major record companies, as well as Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft with their $10 a month subscription services. â€œLoss of market share and the litigation by music publishing concerns has put us in an untenable position,â€ said the Board.

Apple will be holding close-outs of its12 remaining stores this weekend.Â Extra police will be on hand in response to Mac-loyalists who threatened to blockade and reside in the stores in protest.

Left over inventory will be donated to, AppleCares, a non-profit Foundation who will distribute the goods to underdeveloped nations in need of iPod accessories.

Appleâ€™s CEO, Steve Jobs has been in seclusion and could not be reached for comment.

APRIL FOOLS!!!

April 1, 2007April 1, 2007

Pit Band Musician Photos – High School Musical

Exceedingly rare and vintage pit band photos of the musicians for Disney’s High School Musical presentation at McIntyre Hall 2007. These musicians were VERY fun and intense to work with. When we get a tight groove going on it feels more like we’re cruising down the street with the subs cranking.

UPDATE – MORE BAND PHOTOS HERE!

Most of the musicians I’ve worked with before on other productions and they are all my first choice players to work with right now. They consistently rise to the occasion and raise the bar where most others would have folded and settled for “just ok”.

These photos are courtesy of Gary Brown at Stage Images – he’s doing a lot of photography for live shows now and prints are available online. Gary is kind enough to spend a little time taking pictures of the musicians which they REALLY appreciate. Pit orchestras are usually overlooked when it comes to photo opportunities, so players rarely have pictures of themselves playing their instruments.

But Gary, I think I should point out that all of these musicians are devlishly handsome except for me. I think you accidentally hit the “ugly” button when you took my photos. Does anyone know a good photoshop airbrush artist?

UPDATE 04/07 – Gary took some new pics of me and I really like them. Check out the KEYTAR PHOTOS – Thank you Gary!

HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC BY DISNEY – PIT BAND PHOTOS

Oscar De La Rosa – Percussion
Oscar is the “mojo” of our group

Luke Hansen – Guitar
Luke grows guitar amps in his backyard

Kyle McInnis – Guitar and Saxophone
Plays the best “Mario Brothers Theme”
this side of the Mississippi

In the Orchestra Pit
Throw a flank steak into the pit – we’ll keep playing

David Bridgman – Drums

with Peter Bridgman – Bass

Conrad Askland – Conductor and Keyboards
Five keyboard rig for fast changes

Conrad warms up the crowd for Act II
with his “Keytar” – a keyboard that wishes
it was a guitar

View from the Drums looking up at the Balcony
in McIntyre Hall – Skagit College Campus

The Band is Focused and Intense

Brianne Weaver – Keyboards

April 1, 2007

PHPBB Mysql Error Fix

If you get error notices on mysql using phpbb – view the database structure in PHPMYADMIN and see if all tables are listed. If you only get a partial listing with an error message for a particular table, here’s how to fix it.

In PHPMYADMIN with your specific database called up click “SQL” – this will open up an SQL query window where you can insert a repair command for the particular table malfunction. If the table error is “phpbb_search_wordmatch” then you can enter this in the MYSQL Query window:
REPAIR TABLE phpbb_search_wordmatch

Then click “go” – on larger databases the process may take a while. My experience has been that usually only one table will be corrupted in a database at a time – and usually occurs after a server reboot.

***************

Sample error message for above fix:

Error in deleting post

DEBUG MODE

SQL Error : 1034 Incorrect key file for table: ‘phpbb_search_wordmatch’. Try to repair it

DELETE FROM phpbb_search_wordmatch WHERE post_id IN (172970)

Line : 419
File : functions_search.php

March 29, 2007

On Hope

Hope, like the gleaming taper’s light, adorns and cheers our way; and still, as darker grows the night, emits a brighter ray.

– Oliver Goldsmith

March 29, 2007

The Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken

March 29, 2007

Ray Cham – HSM Song Composer – Dies

Our condolences to the family of Ray Cham. Ray was one of the songwriters for Disney’s High School Musical.

Ray Cham, 2006 Emmy-nominated Songwriter/Producer, passed away in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 4, 2007. Cham passed away from injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident. Cham was 35.

Ray Cham was described as …a great musical talent & genius, who hadn’t even begun to tap his full potential yet.
– Ron Fair, Chairman, Geffen Records

Ray Cham was co-writer with his brother for music and lyrics to “Get Your Head In the Game” – arguably the most well known song from High School Musical. He was also a 2006 Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Original Music with Getcha Head in the Game.

We are currently running High School Musical and I can tell you that the “Getcha Head in the Game” song is one that really binds the cast together. It’s a great positive message for everyone, not just kids. I think it’s every composer’s desire to create music that outlives themselves, and in that respect the Cham’s have hit a bullseye with this song. Kudos on that.

RAY CHAM is survived by his wife Alexandria Cham, two children Raymond Jr. and Romijn of Los Angeles; and his brother, Emmy-nominated co-writer Greg Cham of Los Angeles.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Ray Cham started his career in 1998 working as a musician and arranger for TLC, Aaron Hall, Morris Day, Tracy Spencer and Brandy. He was a producer, arranger, musician and songwriter, having written for Christina Aguilera, Sting, Mya , Sounds of Blackness, Miami Sound Machine, and Hoku. He developed and arranged the live shows for many artists including Toni Braxton, Kenny Loggins, Monica, Earth, Wind & Fire, Aguilera and Destiny’s Child.

Most recently he was a songwriter, producer and music supervisor for many of the Disney musicals and television shows – including the CHEETAH GIRLS and HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL. He was a 2006 Emmy nominee for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song GET’CHA HEAD IN THE GAME that he co-wrote with his brother Emmy-nominee Greg Cham, and recording artist/composer and Emmy nominee Drew Seeley. He was music supervisor and composer for the Disney Channel film GOTTA KICK IT UP, and most recently wrote, produced and did tour arrangement for the CHEETAH GIRLS CD and tour.

Through his company Last Man Standing Inc., he was developing talent as well as writing songs for the next HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL movie and CD, as well as developing Seeley as a solo artist. Ray Cham most recently worked with Seeley on the recent HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL live show where Seeley was the male lead vocalist.

Memorial services will be held on TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2007 @ 11:00 a.m.

Pre-Service @ 10:30 a.m.

Westchester Christian Church

(site of Breath of Life Seventh-day Adventist

8740 LaTijera Blvd., Westchester, CA 90045

General viewing will be held on:

MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2007 @ 4:00 p.m. â€“ 8:00 p.m.

Holy Cross Mortuary – located at:

5835 W. Slauson Ave., Culver City, CA. 90230

March 28, 2007

Con Anima Vocal Group – St. Petersburg, Russia

Con Anima is a small ensemble of operatic vocalists from St. Petersburg, Russia. Small in number, but by no means small in sound or passion. They performed recently at my church, Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church. I could not find reviews of them online so I wanted to let you know what they are like as you consider going to one of their concerts or having them perform at your church. (Short read: They are fantastic!)

I knew that they were from St. Petersburg, that they had all graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory and that they were Russian Orthodox. My guess was that this was going to be very heavy, intense music – very dark and compelling to Western US ears. And it was exactly that. Con Anima has a sound that takes you on a ride through the centuries, a timeless sound.

Visit their website at Con-Anima.spb.ru and you listen to a Con Anima Vocal Sample.Â Their sound is even more compelling when heard live. This is a group that I don’t think any recording will ever do it justice – It’s a visual and auditory combination that will lift your mind to new heights and inspire the depths of your sould.

For our performance we only used a mic for song introductions – no sound reinforcement is really needed for this group if you have a good acoustic environment. The bass vocalist alone has more vocal power than most entire church choirs. They are accustomed to filling opera stages with sound and when you get five of them toghther, well, It’s Big!

They gave a one hour concert with a combination of Russian sacred favorites, and also a mix of Russian “gospel” and classical music. The first half was a capella and the second half a refreshing mix of piano accompaniament, solos and duets.

Con Anima does well at presenting a faith-based concert that would be equally comfortable for any denomination to experience. The power of their delivery speaks for itself with obvious dedication to the spiritual drive behind their music.

If you like early music, chamber music, Russian music or music with conviction – you will love Con Anima. In all honesty, unless you were born under a rock you will absolutely love Con Anima.