Ron's Log

I'm On A Boat

And I'm sure it's going exactly like this.

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, 1925 - 2012

Wow, this is one of those where you say "Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was still alive?!" He died today at home in Bavaria.

Before adolescence Dietrich was inducted into a Hitler Youth group where, he recalled years later, he was appalled by the officiousness as well as the brutality. His father died when he was 12. And he had just finished secondary school and one semester at the Berlin Conservatory when, in 1943, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht and assigned to care for army horses on the Russian front. He kept a diary there, calling it his "attempt at preserving an inner life in chaotic surroundings."

[In Italy], on May 5, 1945, just three days before the Allies accepted the German surrender, he was captured and imprisoned. It turned out to be musical opportunity: soon the Americans were sending him around to entertain other P.O.W.'s from the back of a truck. The problem was, they were so pleased with this arrangement that they kept him until June 1947. He was among the last Germans to be repatriated.

With all that, he was still only 22 when he returned for further study at the Berlin Conservatory. He didn't stay long. Called to substitute for an indisposed baritone in Brahms's German Requiem, he became famous practically overnight. As he said, "I passed my final exam in the concert hall."

John Amis: "Providence gives to some singers a beautiful voice, to some musical artistry, to some (let us face it) neither, but to Fischer-Dieskau Providence has given both. The result is a miracle and that is just about all there is to be said about it."

Donna Summer, 1948 - 2012

The Empress of Disco, Bostonian Donna Summer died today in Naples, Florida, after a fight with cancer. She was born in Dorchester (a part of, not a suburb of, Boston as the L.A. Times misreports) in 1948. She was in glee club in Burke High. From Wikipedia:

In 1975, Summer approached [producer Giorgio] Moroder with an idea for a song she and Bellotte were working on for another singer. She had come up with the lyric "love to love you, baby". Moroder was interested in developing the new sound that was becoming popular and used Summer's lyric to develop the song. Moroder persuaded Summer to record what was to be a demo track for another performer. She later said that she had thought of how the song might sound if Marilyn Monroe had sung it and began cooing the lyrics. To get into the mood of recording the song, she requested Moroder turn off the lights while they sat on a sofa with him inducing her moans and groans. After hearing playback of the song, Moroder felt Summer's version should actually be released. Although some radio stations refused to play it due to its suggestive style, "Love to Love You" found chart success in several European countries, and made the Top 5 in the United Kingdom.

In the mid 1980s, Summer was embroiled in a controversy. She had allegedly made anti-gay remarks regarding the then-relatively new disease, AIDS, which as a result had a significantly negative impact on her career and saw thousands of her records being returned to her record company by angered fans. Summer, by this time a born-again Christian, was alleged to have said that AIDS was a punishment from God for the immoral lifestyles of homosexuals. However, she denied that she had ever made any such comment and, in a letter to the AIDS campaign group ACT UP in 1989, she said that it was "a terrible misunderstanding. I was unknowingly protected by those around me from the bad press and hate letters... If I have caused you pain, forgive me." She went on to apologize for the delay in refuting the rumours and closed her letter with Bible quotes (from Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians).

1 Corinthians 13:

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

More Donna Summer YouTube videos here.

The Big Picture: Coachella

The Boston Globe gives its Big Picture treatment to Coachella.

Desert Daze

The L.A. Times blogs about Desert Daze, the 11-day music festival on-going until April 22 at Dillon Roadhouse.

Bartender Nancy Nelson said the crowds had been at 400-person capacity all weekend so far, a mix of wandering Coachellans and L.A., O.C. and Riverside locals. For more info, she referred us to the manager named -- we kid not -- Jameson Walker, a man clearly destined for a job in barkeeping. That's like being an astronaut named "Atlantis Voyager."

Vans 66 has several photos from the event.

The Abigails:

The Hindu Pirates, part 1:

Part 2.

Juju.

Bleached.

NY Times Blogs Coachella

Photos.

At Coachella When The Night Comes.

A Coachella Festival United by Dance Music

"Flying Lotus by josh bis (not the NY Times).

More About Desert Daze at Dillon Roadhouse

The Desert Sun has an article about the upcoming music festival at Dillon Roadhouse April 12 - April 22, Desert Daze by Moon Block Party. The article includes some misinformation about and digs at the city, but if it didn't have that you wouldn't know it was The Desert Sun.

"I'm doing it because it's a game changer," said [Dillon Roadhouse owner John] Nielsen. "We did get the acre-and-a-half behind us, so we'll be using that for parking and camping. There are going to be food trucks and it will be a true festival. The city said we could play music 'til 10 p.m. and then it will go inside until 2. I'm as blown away as I've ever been that the city did this, but they did."

To Serve And Protect

I've heard worse renditions of Bohemian Rhapsody:

Story here.

Desert Daze Festival

This will be a music festival taking place out at Dillon Roadhouse from April 12 through April 22, with something going on every day. Here's their Facebook page. Here is their hippie-dippie graphic.

This is organized by Moon Block Party who also organized a multiple-artist event in Pomona last June.

You can read the official press release for Desert Daze Festival here:

Moon Block Party has just announced their first annual Desert Daze Festival, an 11-day festival held in North Palm Springs [sic]. Although there is a suggested $5 donation, every day of the festival is completely free!

Desert Daze Festival is set to take place April 12-22 at Dillon's [sic] Roadhouse, 64647 Dillon Rd., North Palm Springs [it's in Desert Hot Springs!]. Moon Block Party is a community effort to facilitate the ever expanding growth of the human spirit. The huge celebration is set to include over 111 bands across 3 different stages. Aside from music, there will also be live artists, visual installations, hand-picked food vendors.

They suggest a "$5 donation," but I don't think you should interpret the word "donation" to mean that any charity is getting anything from this. At least they don't mention a charity. Oh, hold on, possible correction. Keep A Breast Foundation is listed as one of their sponsors, so maybe they will receive some of the proceeds.

Their web page includes this information on where to stay:

SECRET SPA MOTEL INFORMATION – - -

Moon Block Party will be taking over a top secret spa motel near Dillon's Roadhouse for 11 days. Located on an energy vortex, the spa offers 5 natural mineral hot spring pools, a large swimming pool, a sauna, a bbq area, free wifi, and massage therapy. We will have live music and DJs by the pool every day, and food trucks before and after the festival each day. In order to keep the motel exclusive to Moon Block Party Desert Daze bands, artists, and friends, the location and name of the motel will remain top secret until you book your rooms.

To book your room please e-mail moonblockmotel@gmail.com to begin the process.

Anyone care to engage in a game of Name That Spa?

This should be very interesting, possibly very entertaining for many, and very beneficial for Desert Hot Springs and nearby areas. Without making the least little effort to check my facts, I think I can say this with assurance:

• Tony Clarke is not involved.
• ALL permits will be obtained.
• Dillon Roadhouse and Moon Block Party have, at their own considerable expense, arranged to have fully sufficient security on hand to deal with traffic and other issues that arise.

Disney Hall Recital

I went into Los Angeles last night to see Bob & Ken before their flight home to Boston today and thank them for bringing so much New England rain to southern California. While there we went to hear an organ recital by Isabelle Demers at Disney Hall. She didn't play this Mendelssohn transcription there, but you might like it anyway.

Just an ordinary errand bike for riding at night in the rain in downtown Los Angeles.

The complete set of photos is here.