"Music, the only art, which we cannot see, nor touch yet makes us feel more than man was meant to feel at all." - Myself
"Now the Sirens have a still more fatal weapon than their song, namely their silence. And though admittedly such a thing has never happened, still it is conceivable that someone might possibly have escaped from their singing; but from their silence certainly never." - Franz Kafka (from The Complete Stories pg. 431)
Wednesday:
We arrived around seven Wednesday and unpacked. It was a long day. That night we ate Taco Cabana. And then chilled out and passed out.
Thursday:
Competitions lasted through out the day. I had news photo and critical review.
Comp photo:
And critical review I did of a little band:
Southern twang played on an acoustic guitar and a basic drum set. Brian Douglas Phillips played the Oakwood Ballroom at the College Station Hilton on April 3, flavored with country, rock and a Texan drawl, he simply called it "Americana rock". With a limited vocal range Phillips had to rely on crooning to the audience much of the time, and when not playing between tracks joked with them.
Same good ol' boy or same ol' progressions? A little of both actually, many of the songs had very simple rhythmic and harmonic progressions, with quieter moments lent to almost purely guitar drenched statements. A fine example of the repetition within a song is found in "Song 1" with its flowing from verse back to chorus with little to no aural distinction.
Brian Douglas Phillips seems to have a problem with telling the audience the name of the song before playing it, they offered CDs after the set, but if you found one that you enjoyed there was no way of knowing which piece it was on the disc, if it was on the disc at all. Having played four tracks that were not on the album, Phillips' communication with the audience could be improved.
One of the more developed tracks remained nameless as the first one, but with its distinctions it rose above the original songs. With its syncopation, placing the down beat on any other beat that its not expected, the maturity of this song is leaps above the others in the form of developing the idea and direction in which its moving.
Rhythmically speaking "Song 3" has a 50's doo-wop feel rhythmically, though simple, the complexity lays in the alterations of the rhythmic element of the piece, between chorus and verse. In the verse alone there lays two separate rhythmic statements, the latter being a variation on the previous material.
Once the brothers moved into the material off the albums, things got... Interesting to say the least. From country ballads to a Marvin Gaye cover, "Heard it through the grapevine,"Phillips began to show his maturity as an artist going so far as to pull a "Dylan" as the artist said by getting a mouth-harp, harmonica, and playing along as he strummed.
Over all Brian Douglas Phillips as a band performs well together, though given the nitch they are in "Americana Rock" it sounds as though it needs to be renamed to "Coffee-house rock". Good for small areas but never meant to be played in larger venues. I'd give Phillips a 3 out of 6.
Annette, my editor-in-chief things I trashed the band, I didn't, just didn't enjoy them.
The boys and I decided to drink and I got drunk for once in a blue moon. We had fun and went to bed at around 4 a.m.
Friday:
Break out sessions were interesting, I damn near feel asleep in two of them and then the editor's round table was engaging, a bit dull but engaging. We then drove around the town, visited Texas A&M University campus, took some pictures. Went to George H W Bush memorial library. Got some cool pictures there.
Saturday:
Woke up early. Went back to the Hilton and had free breakfast, and then the award ceremony started. I won two honorable mentions in sports page design and feature photo. Left around noonish and got home pretty quickly.
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Up coming Concerts
LSO: Beethoven - Symphony No 9 in D min
Sep 29 2007, 7:30 p.m.
ETSO: Caitlin Tully - Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D
Oct 27 2007, 7:30 p.m.
LSO: Elgar - Engima Variations
Nov 10, 2007, 7:30 p.m.
LSO: A Night in Old Vienna XIX
Dec 29, 2007, 7:30 p.m.
ETSO: Holst - The Planets Suite
Feb 23, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Love you Sunshine.
<achfoo> Randy Travis can suck on a grenade.
Visions in the Desert XXII: :) Pete You Rock 
Eager
