Pioneering Animation of Sleeping Beauty

(Article published in today's San Francisco Examiner)

One of the most beloved Disney animated features ever made, “Sleeping Beauty” took nearly a decade to reach the screen from the time that initial production started until it was released to critical and audience acclaim in 1959. An almost obsessive attention to detail and quest for quality were among the reasons behind the long timetable, which ultimately resulted in a visual richness and exquisite sense of style that has remained virtually unmatched ever since.

San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the film with a special exhibit, “Once Upon A Dream: The Art of Sleeping Beauty,” featuring everything from original model sheets and copies of pencil sketches to behind the scenes photos and actual animation cels from the production of the fairy tale classic.

Disney artist and illustrator Ron Dias, whose personal collection provides the bulk of the material for the exhibit, looks back fondly on his time spent on the film and the creative design of the production, which was handled quite differently than previous Disney projects in that everything had to adhere to the lush designs of one person, Eyvind Earle.

“Walt, being the innovative person that he was, was always looking for something different and new. He was actually worried I think that everything was looking quite moldy-fig and having the sameness to it.”

“Sleeping Beauty” was the first major project that Dias worked on, joining the Disney team in 1956 at the age of 18, working as an Inbetweener and Clean Up Animator, where he helped draw the intermediate frames to create the seamless animation that gave life to the characters of Princess Aurora and the devilishly evil Maleficent.

“It had to be precise and exact, or it would jitter and jump—and we had to make sure that we were looking at the model sheet at all times, because she was designed so differently than any other character,” says Dias. “We had to make sure that it not only moved smoothly, but did not look awkward. When you look at a character you look at their face, their eyes, and a mouth that’s moving, and she moved smoother than almost any other female character.”

Visitors to the exhibit can catch a glimpse of the great efforts that went into such a lavish endeavor, back before the time of modern computer animation when talented artists had to hand paint each individual frame, giving it a look and feel that no computer program could ever hope to achieve. The exhibit also features examples of Dias’ later work, including animation cels and concept art from films such as “The Little Mermaid,” “The Secret of NIMH,” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”

In the years since he stopped working on feature films, Dias has done many projects for both Disney and other notable companies, providing artwork for books, DVDs, limited edition lithographs, and even theme parks. He still gets fan mail from people of all ages, and loves to meet the people who have grown up with his art.

“I’m finally beginning to realize how many people we all have touched, and we’ve put so many smiles on faces—that’s really a wonderful thing.”


If You Go:

“Once Upon A Dream: The Art of Sleeping Beauty”
Exhibit open through January 10, 2010
Where:
Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission St., San Francisco
When:
Opening reception with artist Ron Dias, Saturday, August 15, 7-9 p.m.
Regular gallery hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Tickets: Reception is free; regular admission $2-$6
Contact:
(415) 227-8666, www.cartoonart.org, www.rondias.com

Pissed Jeans Hit Bottom of the Hill

(Preview published in today's San Francisco Bay Guardian)

Specializing in a brash, raucous, and infectious brand of rock, Allentown, Pa.'s Pissed Jeans mix fuzz-drenched rhythms and caterwauling vocals. The band's latest album, King of Jeans (Sub Pop), hits record store shelves today. The standout blistering ditties include "She Is Science Fiction," "Request For Masseuse" and "R-Rated Music." Here's hoping the group sears your ears with live versions tonight.(Sean McCourt)

With Mi Ami and Hissing Wound.

9 p.m., $12. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. (415) 621-4455, www.bottomofthehill.com

Brian Posehn Brings The Laughs To San Francisco

(Preview published in today's San Francisco Bay Guardian)

Getting his start doing stand up in Sacramento and San Francisco, comedian Brian Posehn has also added his hilarious talents to a wide variety of other media; he has starred in TV programs such as "Just Shoot Me," "Mr. Show," and "The Sarah Silverman Program," and has had parts in several films including Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects.” A devoted fan of both horror movies and heavy metal, Posehn co-authored the graphic novel “The Last Christmas,” a tale about Santa after the apocalypse, and he released the album “Live In: Nerd Rage” (Relapse Records) in 2006, featuring the side-splitting parody song (and even funnier music video) "Metal By Numbers," where he skewers modern “false metal” with his searing lyrics and growled incantations of “Cookie Cookie Cookie!” (Sean McCourt)

8 p.m. Thu.; 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Fri.-Sat. $18.50-$20.50. Cobb's Comedy Club, 915 Columbus Ave., SF. (415) 928-4320, www.cobbscomedyclub.com.

Welcome To The Nightmare: Stellar Corpses Unleash New Album

(Article published in today's Good Times)

Though most people may like to think of Santa Cruz as a quiet beach town, some locals know the area also has a dark side—one part fictional, as seen in the cult classic vampire movie The Lost Boys, notoriously filmed here in the 1980s—the other very real, as seen during the 1970s when a string of serial killers terrorized the mountain communities that surround the city.

It should come as no surprise then that a band that embraces the more monstrous side of things has been born here: Stellar Corpses have been making a name for themselves locally and globally for nearly four years, mixing psychobilly, punk, rockabilly, surf rock and more, while striving to avoid any pigeonholes. Featuring Dusty Grave on vocals and guitar, Matt Macabre on drums, Dan Lamothe on bass, and Emilio Menze on guitar, Stellar Corpses released their debut EP, Respect The Dead, in 2007, toured Europe in 2008, and a new full length album, Welcome To The Nightmare, has just come out on Fiend Force Records, exploring a fuller breadth of styles.

“There’s something that everyone will like on the new album, we have such a wide variety of stuff that we listen to—everything from Jimmy Buffet to Slayer,” Macabre says.

The instrumental title track kicks things off in high gear for the album, followed by the shout-along anthem “My Shadow.” “Cemetery Man,””One More Day” and “When You Don’t See Me” are among the other standout tracks on Welcome To The Nightmare, which is being unveiled at this week’s CD-release party at The Catalyst.

“Our predecessors, the guys who were doing rockabilly to start with, they were taking country and the blues and doing their own thing with it,” says Grave. “We just feel like we’re continuing that tradition, and being true to ourselves.”

That independent attitude has fueled the band’s journey down a darker, richer path—chances are you won’t hear many other area groups play a song like “Hale Bopp,” a frightfully catchy tune that tells the infamous tale of the mass suicide of the Heaven’s Gate cult, set to a Bo Diddley-on-steroids beat.

Info Box:

Stellar Corpses’ CD Release Show
Friday, July 31st
9 p.m.
$10-$12
The Catalyst
1011 Pacific Ave.
Santa Cruz
(831) 423-1338
www.catalystclub.com
www.stellarcorpses.com

Who Ya Gonna Call? Ray Parker Jr. Set To Perform At The Boardwalk

(Article published in today's Santa Cruz Sentinel)

With an instantly recognizable tune and the familiar refrains and shout along responses of “If there’s something strange/ in your neighborhood/ who ya gonna call?” the “Ghostbusters” theme song likely brings back a flood of fun memories for anybody who grew up in the 1980s, or was a fan of the hit movie and much-played music video.

Written and performed by Ray Parker Jr., the theme song for “Ghostbusters” opened the blockbuster movie about a group of somewhat zany paranormal investigators starring Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Rick Moranis. Released in 1984, fans have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film with the recent release of a special edition Blu-ray DVD and a new high-tech video game that came out earlier this year, both featuring the catchy theme song.

“We didn’t know it was going to be a record, we didn’t know it was going to be anything. To be quite honest, today we’re talking about like it’s a big deal, but at the time I was doing it, it was not a big thing,” says Parker, who is performing at the Boardwalk on Friday night.

Prior to getting the “Ghostbusters” gig, Parker was known in the entertainment business for a string of well-received songs as a solo artist, as well as having a reputation for being a stellar studio musician, having performed with people including Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Barry White, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross among many others. Near the end of the production of the movie, the producers and director approached him to write a theme song for the horror-comedy.

“They liked my other songs, and so they just wanted me to write one for the film—who knew it was going to be that big—I thought I had big records before, but that was like hitting the ball out of the park,” says Parker.

“They showed me the film, they didn’t have any music in it yet, the director kind of described what he was looking for, and I only had a few days to do it, because they were running out of time—the film guys always start late on the music—and that is the song that came out of it.”

Parker wrote, recorded and produced the song in a mere two and a half days, recording in a Hollywood studio he owned at the time, playing almost all of the instruments himself, aside from a few overdubs that his friends helped provide.

“That was my girlfriend and her friends yelling [‘Ghostbusters’] in the background, so I got them on it,” laughs Parker.

The accompanying music video for “Ghostbusters” ended up being a star-studded affair, featuring Parker singing on a variety of neon and mist filled sets, while the cast members danced and sang along with him in Times Square, and celebrities who weren’t even in the film turned in appearances, such as Chevy Chase and John Candy.

“It was a lot of fun to make, especially the New York scene with all the Ghostbusters guys and me, and it was sort of a monumental video. We got on MTV at a time when they said they weren’t playing any black music on MTV.”

Parker, who is still recording and touring a good portion of the year, recently released his latest solo album, “I’m Free” and spent part of the summer touring in Europe, performing at events including the Montreaux Jazz Festival. He still enjoys playing the “Ghostbusters” song, and says he looks forward to meeting his fans on the beach tomorrow night.

“I think the song is a huge blessing, ‘Ghostbusters’ seems to transcend time. I have a son who is 8 years old; he and all of his friends know it. As the new kids grow up, they all like that song, it’s really interesting.”


Info Box:
Ray Parker Jr.
6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Friday, July 31
Free.
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
400 Beach Street
Santa Cruz
(831) 423-5590
www.beachboardwalk.com

USS Hornet Splashdown 2009

(Preview published in today's San Francisco Bay Guardian)

USS Hornet Splashdown

In July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to ever walk on the surface of the moon, and the famous quote, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" was relayed around the world to an enthralled television audience. When the historic Apollo 11 mission was over and it was time to return to Earth, their capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean, where the aircraft carrier USS Hornet was the main ship to recover them. Today, the Hornet has a place of honor in San Francisco Bay as a floating museum, and the majestic ship is hosting a special three-day event, Splashdown 2009, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of these groundbreaking accomplishments. Aldrin and several other crew members from the mission will be on board, sharing memories with visitors, who can also enjoy interactive exhibits, displays, receptions, talks about current space exploration, and more. (Sean McCourt)


6–10 p.m. (Sat/25 and Sun/26 10 a.m.–5 p.m.), $6–$25
USS Hornet
707 W. Hornet, Alameda
(510) 521-8448
www.uss-hornet.org

More Than A Decade Later, The Dude Abides

(Article published in today's San Francisco Examiner)

When the Coen Brothers' bizarrely brilliant comedy “The Big Lebowski” was initially released in 1998, it didn’t fare so well at the box office. In the decade that has passed, however, it has become a bona fide cult classic, inspiring such fervent fandom that in 2002 the first "Lebowski Fest" was held in Louisville, and the event has grown every year since.

Bay Area fans can join in on the celebration of the film that starred Jeff Bridges as the Dude, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and Julianne Moore with a host of events this weekend at “Lebowski Fest San Francisco,” which is part of a 15 city tour put together by Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt, who came up with the idea of the festival while working as vendors at a tattoo convention.

“To pass the time we were quoting lines from ‘The Big Lebowski.’ Low and behold, the people next to us joined in and started quoting along with us,” says Russell. “We had this moment where we realized that we were not alone in our obsession and love of the movie, and we were like, ‘If they have this tattoo convention, why can’t we have a ‘Big Lebowski’ convention?’”

Russell and Shuffitt, along with some friends, rented out a run-down bowling alley and invited people to come dressed as their favorite characters and to have a good time—the turnout was much bigger than they had expected, and the festival has continued to grow in popularity, and now travels the country.

“It just keeps getting bigger and weirder and it’s a lot of fun. There are still plenty of surprises and several moments where I’m left scratching my head,” says Russell.

Friday night’s festivities will include a costume contest, trivia contest, and of course, the mass consumption of white Russians while bowling, or rolling rocks, as one would say in the parlance of Lebowski-speak. The party continues on Saturday night as the Fox Theater in Oakland hosts live music acts including Har Mar Superstar and a screening of the motion picture that started it all.

Russell and his cohorts have even written a book about the “Lebowski” phenomenon, “I’m A Lebowski, You’re A Lebowski,” (Bloomsbury, 2007) which lead to their first and only interaction with the Coen Brothers.

“When we asked if we could write the book, they sent a one sentence official response, which was, ‘You have neither our blessing nor our curse.’ It was very Coen-esque I guess,” Russell laughs.

If You Go:
Lebowski Fest
Where:
Classic Bowling Center, 900 King Drive, Daly City
Fox Theater, 1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland
When:
8 p.m. Friday,
7:30 p.m. Saturday
Tickets:
$22.50-$32
Contact:
www.lebowskifest.com