Just signed up to mobile blog! Hello 2009!

Current Projects - June 18th, 2009

So now that I am no longer teaching, I have the summer to create. What am I creating?

I currently created a new youtube page: www.youtube.com/rocketblog in order to post my musical endeavors. There you'll see open mic clips, my video blogging and band and musician clips.

I am also currently writing for examiner.com as a musicians examiner. The link there is: http://www.examiner.com/x-4653-Chicago-Musicians-Examiner Please subscribe.

Then, in addition to completing a painting for my brother and the play he is involved in ("True West" in Milwaukee, WI), I am writing new songs and preparing for the monthly Open Mic we hold at Wesley United Methodist Church (in the basement), every 2nd Friday of each month. This has been incredibly enjoyable and we've had some amazing musicians come out.

Thanks to every one who helps all of the endeavors become a reality.

Lastly, I'm planning for after-school programming to start this fall in Cicero. More to come soon.

If you know musicians who are interested in being interviewed for the Examiner articles, please let me know. You may contact me at kristaacoustic@gmail.com.

:) Thanks everybody!

NEIL TURK

"Roll with it." - Neil Turk

In January of 2009, native-born Clevelander Neil Turk decided it was time for a change. After having played the Cleveland scene for over ten years, he packed up a megabus to find new Chicago Intentions who believed in positive and real-life music. When he was 15, he received a guitar and amp from his aunt and uncle, and his 13 year old cousin Anthony Zart got a drumset. While barely knowing how to play three chords, they instantly formed a band called Atrophy. They had started on cardboard instruments and pots and pans, so getting instruments they could actually play was lifechanging. They started several bands while looking for the perfect bass player. During 1996 and 1997 they completed their first makeshift, 3-song cassette demo which was very limited. From 1997-1998 Atrophy recorded their first EP, "The Dirty Hair EP" with Don DePew at 609 Studios. Only limited copies were pressed.

Atrophy was short lived - a year at best, and with new members the cousins formed yet another band; that is, The Atomix. From 1999-2000, they recorded their first real album, "You're Enjoyment, Our Embarrassment," followed up in 2001 by another full-length CD entitled "Teaser, " recorded in Kent, Ohio in an apartment with Ray Terri. Anthony was and is Neil's first choice for art and design.

After the Atomix split up in 2003, Neil and his cousin went on to pursue their own projects. Neil started another rock n' roll band called "The Potato Bugs." They recorded "It's All the Same," released in 2004 at the Lava Room Studios. The
Potato Bugs played for a couple years on and off and then split up. Neil went solo, playing acoustic guitar and harmonica. That's when Neil was inspired to start The Intentions. An Intention is anyone who plays at any time and at any point with Neil and believes in his music, whether it be a one time studio session or a lifetime of musical dreams they can share together.

Neil currently plays at various clubs, open mics, and train stations and is looking for new Intentions in the Chicagoland area. Only serious musicians need apply.

"Life is a song, sing it!" - Neil Turk

Neil Links:

neilturkintentions@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/neilturkandtheintentions
http://www.youtube.com/ Search: Neil Turk

To buy Neil's CD, visit:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/neilturk

Examining - Does anybody even read anymore?

So, I've started writing for the online Chicago Examiner. I am the new Chicago Musicians Examiner and I can't wait to see all the praise and criticism that comes with taking that sort of risk. My first article is on Scott Parrish and his "mad" creation of "The Kill T.V. Show." My mother didn't seem to understand it but she's probably my biggest supporter in this endeavor. Something about interviewing and spending time with other musicians just seems terribly comfortable and enlightening to me. Perhaps I can relate to their quirkiness, insightfulness, and restlessness...

All is good. Of course, I just have one question - Does anybody even read anymore?

If you are so inspired, check it out. http://www.examiner.com/x-4653-Chicago-Musicians-Examiner

Krista on twitter - http://twitter.com/myiheartmusic

Scott Parrish & The Kill T.V. Show

Robots, cyborgs, sledgehammers, television sets... oh my!

The Kill T.V. Show is both a live performance and an independent television show and was created by Scott Parrish as a reaction to news and media propaganda. Scott performs live, with shows that consist of smoke and lights and volunteer audience executioners who with sledgehammer in hand, destroy the machines that raised us. During the performance, Scott orchestrates a night of television smashing and video DJ play, and during it's brief 3 night run on the Chicago Access Network, The Kill T.V. Show satirically expressed humorous criticism of our human tendency to let the media instill in us emotions we're sometimes too complacent to access on our own.

I asked Scott to give me some insight. What inspired the creation of The Kill T.V. show? He responded that he came to see a "hypnotic control of himself and those around him," and there was the "selling of the Iraq War," this "dangerous thing that we're all hypnotized by."
He so chill-ly explained that he realized "With modern technology, we didn't have to rely on what Hollywood wants us to see, but we could make our own entertainment. We're not as dependent on these people who are manipulating our thoughts and our opinions. They're manipulating our view of the world." He stated that he noticed a "general malaise," and "the only thing we got excited about was the differences between us."

I met Scott at the Gallery Cabaret during open mic. My bandmate and I were looking for another collaborator and saw Scott play bass. In getting to know Scott, this is what I have come to realize... He is an encyclopedia. The man really knows and does a lot. He also plays bass for the Mystic Figs, practices scales on both stand-up and electric bass through a program developed by legendary studio musician Carol Kaye, creates green screens for his video endeavors, and draws and paints. For the Kill T.V. Show, he creates the skits, writes and plays the musical accompaniment, and does video editing and effects.
His haunting music tells tales of machines and humanity's impending doom - but he's the least gloomy person I've ever met. Scott is a positive soul, a delight to work with, and an inspiration to watch.

Maybe there's hope for us yet.

For more on The Kill T.V. Show, and Scott Parrish, visit:
The Kill T.V. Show on Veoh
The Kill T.V. Show on Myspace
The Kill T.V. Show on Youtube
or email: p_lownotes@yahoo.com