Harmony Studios - Roulette Quartet
The Roulette Quartet rent a room on the second floor of Harmony Studios, near the vending machines. They've recently relocated from New York to San Fran and are currently working on a score for an edgy art film by the Italian director Francesca Messina. Talent and mastery run thick through the members of the Roulette Quartet.
Doug Brown grew up in Chicago and began playing piano and saxophone at an early age. His father, a legal history professor at the University of Chicago and his mother, head of the Illinois Bar association, were both amateur musicians who fostered their young son's musical leanings. Doug excelled early in the Chicago Youth Orchestra and in his prep school's jazz band. He went on to the Eastman Conservatory in Rochester, where he studied composition and continued playing in various settings. From Eastman Doug moved to NYC, where he fell into the remnants of the "downtown scene" and met the other members of the Roulette Quartet.
Born and raised in Havana Cuba, Diego Gonzales grew up son of the world-renowned Cuban percussionist Bernardo Gonzales. Bernardo achieved world-wide fame through his mastery of a wide palette of latin percussive techniques. Salsa, Habanera, Samba, Bossa Nova and Merengue represent just a few of the traditions absorbed into Bernardo's style. Bernardo also intensely studied and then incorporated the polyrhythic traditions of African music into his playing. Overlapping layers of syncopated rhythmic cadences. He became enraptured by the mathematical gridwork inherent in the textures of the polyrhythms. Diego took after his father, who proved a patient and encouraging mentor to his boisterous son. The father and son toured together as leader and member of a percussion-heavy band for many years. They travelled all around the world. Diego eventually branched out on his own and moved to NYC to work with John Zorn and eventually the Roulette Quartet.
Eli Rothstein grew up in Brooklyn New York. His parents immigrated from Hungary in the 40s and joined the large Hasidic community in Brooklyn. Eli always loved the Klesmer and traditional jewish music he heard while growing up. But his life changed in the 8th grade when he saw the Incredible Skratch Piklz play a show at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). Holy shit! he thought. This music is the jam! Although frowned upon by his hyper-religious grandparents and other members of the community, Eli's parents indulged him and bought some wheels of steel for their son. This quickly led to hours and hours in the basement. Hours and hours in the well-stocked Brooklyn record stores pouring through collections. Soon Eli was ripping it up and DJing at the resurging local hip-hop gatherings. Kids of all stripes and color would gather at the local JCC on Friday nights to breakdance, rap and listen to the turntablists. It was awesome. By the end of high school Eli began to move on to more computer-generated electronic music. He used sequencers and drum machines to create fresh, cutting-edge break-beats and downtempo music. His style become more and more unusual and avant-garde. He eventually met Bill Laswell while DJ-ing a club in downtown Manhattan. Laswell and Eli collaborated on a few dub albums and then Eli met Diego from the Roulette Quartet and has been playing with them ever since.
Eric Boon grew up surrounded by classical music. Both his parents played in the Portland Symphony Orchestra. His mother second chair violin and his father the french horn. He grew up a very happy child, listening to Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Bach, and Stravinsky, singing along with his parents as they practiced, running around the Symphony hall after school as his parents rehearsed. He played piano and the tympani as a young lad. Everything was honky dory. Until... It was little Jimmy Deegan from around the corner who played Eric his first Fugazi record. Eric didn't get it at first, he thought it sounded like anarchic noise. He didn't hear the musicianship in the music. But a week later Fugazi came to town and Jimmy took Eric to see the show. The audience was fully decked-out in leather, patches, mohawks, sneers, studded bracelets and chuck taylers. The club was packed. Hot, drippy, thick, electric. With the sonic bombardment of the first guitar chord of the first song the audience erupted into a huge, lurching, frantic circular mosh pit! Eric's draw dropped and he could not believe what he was seeing.. but he could feel it. The energy of the music and crowd swept through him and he found himself unwittingly drawn to pit. Barely realizing what he was doing he leapt into the fray and began dancing, slamming and leaping to the gallivanting, pulsing, melodic Fugazi anthems. He fucking loved it!! On the way home from the show, sweaty and bloody, Eric vowed to get an electric guitar and begin rocking, pronto. Needless to say his parents were less than thrilled by this sudden shift in their son's musical tastes. But as understanding parents they acquiesced to his nightly practicing in the bedroom. His dad even jammed along with some of Eric's tight punk licks with his french horn. But in a few years Eric grew past the rip-stop conservatism of the basic punk-rock style. He started listening to more alternative heavy music like Faith No More and the Melvins. Eventually he started studying jazz theory and really took off in his own musical direction, falling somewhere along the intersection of punk, metal and jazz. He moved to New York and quickly fell into the scene, where he also met Diego and began playing with the Roulette Quartet.
big wed (from surfermag.com)
Post #1
Posted by: friend #1 at January 6, 2006 10:31 AMthis 3 weeks of XXL surf can SUCK ME.
Posted by: judahpeak at January 6, 2006 10:34 AMthis is total bullshizzy.
bring on the head high small stuff. I will be ready!!
whats with the ocean411.com website? you have a website with only one picture on it? WTF?
Posted by: judahpeak at January 6, 2006 10:37 AMI'm with you about the waves, not only does the surf suck, but I haven't had a good surf dream since becoming drylandman.
Posted by: dreamsgone at January 6, 2006 10:46 AMDamn! Without surf for so long, I have found myself focusing too much on porn clips off the I-net. It Sucks. I'm going blind!
Posted by: atari at January 6, 2006 10:49 AMsounds like some of you have been scopping handfuls from your oversized tub of powerlessness
Posted by: PNW at January 6, 2006 10:52 AMMy skin crawleth. The tingling on the top of my head seem strange as are the stars that appear like comets across my waking day. The shakes came on heavy and hard around 7pm; the mind say's no; the blood and the boody want to be fed... feed me, feed me... It's like talking to another being...
Posted by: Larry the Lush at January 6, 2006 10:56 AMA Million Little Pieces? How about fragmented shreds cast to the offshore breeze. Tattered and torn is the recovery and slow is the pace.
Beer was served four dollars a pop - I had one, sipped it like a baby sips a bottle. The film was black and white, a grainy effort and not all that interesting...
She recited The LordsPrayer with a kid in her arms and she almost came to tears but the crowd wanted more and that's when I puked.
Outside a brisk night, but not cold. An old neighbor of mine hobbled along on his crutches - his face clean but his leg was splintered, not like before, he slowly made his way towards us and I said hi; in the Richmond we helped him cross the street, carried his groceries for him. Said he liked his new neighborhood, Turk and Leavenworth. Said he was doing alright and declined the offer of assistance. From out of the sky falls a soiled Q tip - the black ghoul - a graduate of USC he say's is asking for money and we give him change and he say's, ' hey this is frisco, it is not enough...'
Oh quit complaining.
Time to look beyond your front door for surf.
Duncan and I paddled out before dawn on Big Wednesday at a break we had never surfed before.
I was amped the night before, and I still have trouble believing it was 18 feet at 18 seconds when we were doing that.
Waves were just a little behond overhead, and not all that scary really.
The Logs (6 inch diameter real logs) were a bit off-putting though.
Posted by: friend #1 at January 6, 2006 10:56 AMI'm not complaining. OB has been beautiful to look at - and trips down the coast over the past few weeks have yielded rewards. Hey atari, here's some more blinding action for ya!
Posted by: jizzy at January 6, 2006 11:04 AMthe last ride by flea with the fade on that surfline vid is uber sick.
Posted by: at January 6, 2006 11:11 AMe, they sound interesting. can you send me a link to their site? ;) i tried to google it and nothing came up.
robert frip is recording sounds for the new version of windows (vista).
Posted by: lerm at January 6, 2006 11:16 AMHow about the Snap under the lip a few waves before?
Posted by: friend #1 at January 6, 2006 11:18 AMlerminade!! again.. all fiction my man. just from the top of my head.
word!!
Posted by: e at January 6, 2006 11:18 AMSometimes I feel like the ocean is watching me with evil intentions.
Posted by: Dennis at January 6, 2006 11:21 AMthat's why i ;). you found a unique name this time.
\m/
Posted by: lerm at January 6, 2006 11:22 AMright on Lerm.. shoot.. i missed the little wink guy.
doooood!! Frip!! that guy is an animal on the ax.
Posted by: e at January 6, 2006 11:24 AMFriend #1 - At least no dead sheep or cows.
Posted by: R3W at January 6, 2006 12:01 PMReal or Fake? Do you care?
Posted by: Surfseeker7 at January 6, 2006 12:10 PMjizzy, thanks much for linking to that porn site. i should be getting fired any minute now.
Posted by: at January 6, 2006 12:11 PMAnyone going to "The Switch" show tonight at the Rickshaw Stop?
Posted by: toad at January 6, 2006 12:19 PM
Posted by: namers and claimers get owned at January 6, 2006 12:23 PMnope. but Bag of Toys is playing there tomorrow night!
Posted by: at January 6, 2006 12:24 PMRobert Frip recorded the current windows sound too. I wonder if Bill Gates is a King Crimson head? Discipline one of my all time favorites.
Posted by: 3to5setsof7 at January 6, 2006 12:29 PMthis is exactly my situation, except i don't have kids. Fucking sucks!
Posted by: at January 6, 2006 12:39 PMR3W-
The best was Rattlesnakes in the line-up.
I remember hearing about that after a heavy rain down Trestles way.
Posted by: friend #1 at January 6, 2006 01:03 PMfeb 25 sat Buckethead at the Great American Music Hall
Posted by: lerm at January 6, 2006 01:12 PM
Posted by: bagel at January 6, 2006 02:06 PMi always thought this guy should get more props..
Oh Man! GT? How about CT Live at Budakahn!(sp?)
Posted by: Music Nut at January 6, 2006 02:31 PMReal Music revisited! It's B-U-D-okan, get it?
Read on, it was the devils work indeed...
www.lyricsfind.com/c/cheap-trick/live-at-budokan/
Posted by: Get Real at January 6, 2006 02:33 PMall you fuckers moan all year long about waiting and waiting for winter swell.. now everyone is a pussy
figures
Posted by: chargehchagrechagre at January 6, 2006 02:43 PMthorogood was widely reviled for being too "slick" and sullying the blues with rock stuff. but as far as i can tell, that mainly meant his adding chuck berry stylings to classic blues songs. always sounded good to me.
Posted by: kloo at January 6, 2006 02:56 PMyeah.. i always thought George T. was good.. cool voice.. I dug "I drink alone"... not sure if that's his song.
I think he's from Blakestah's hometown (wilmington DE)??
Posted by: e at January 6, 2006 03:00 PMI saw George Thorogood, Prince, The J Giles and the Stones about a billion years ago.
HB and The Colonel might be interested in this: Bacterial Contamination at Huntington Beach, California�Is It From a Local Offshore Wastewater Outfall? Link to article.
Posted by: dano at January 6, 2006 03:04 PM
Posted by: at January 6, 2006 03:27 PMJust back from my trip south. Never connected with steve but did two sessions, westside first the eastside. Westside was thick but slow and mushy. Eastside was just a dream. Slight offshore wind, a handful of people and consistent lined up zippy waves in the well overhead range. Connected quite a few through the other peak. Add in a sunny warm day and it was California Dreamin'. I'm tired.
Posted by: kdalle at January 6, 2006 03:45 PMi hate you, kdalle.
Posted by: steamwand at January 6, 2006 03:51 PMWoah, brown wave.
Last night I went to the Blue Cube for the surf film benefit. Met Sarah Gerhardt. Threw away the minumum allowed $5 for the raffle. Only contest previously won was a cakewalk when I was 8. Borrowed a neighbor's fat board all last summer for crud conditions, wondering about options next summer. Holy fark, I won the new fish!! Played it cool by yelling and jumping up and down. Went home w/ board via N-Judah.
Yippee!!!
And that film is getting more of my money.
Posted by: s.s. sharkbait at January 6, 2006 03:54 PMCongrats sharkbait and kdalle.
Posted by: friend #1 at January 6, 2006 04:03 PMwow! that's awesome s.s.! what are the dimensions on the fish? who's the shaper? sweet.
Posted by: steamwand at January 6, 2006 04:06 PMkdalle, sorry, i'm just jealous. on days like this, i can't even believe i'm in an office. man.
I'm bummed that I couldn't get down to SC this morning to surf with you, kdalle. I'm glad the payoff for your long drive was worth it. It's going to be crowded tomorrow *&^%$#!
Posted by: steve at January 6, 2006 04:10 PMi hate you too kdalle! grrr..
psyche.. kdalle rules!
nice one 'bait!
Posted by: e at January 6, 2006 04:11 PMsteamwand: no written measurments. It looks 2" taller than me. So it's about a 5'10" Manolito fish and f***ing sweet!! Give it a spin this summer.
Nice one kdalle.
Posted by: s.s. sharkbait at January 6, 2006 04:18 PMcongrats sharkbait! :)
Posted by: welle at January 6, 2006 04:22 PMNucca
Posted by: Brian at January 6, 2006 04:22 PMcongrats sharkbait! :)
Posted by: welle at January 6, 2006 04:22 PMsteamwand-
shaper is a good friend, his boards are great, you'll enjoy it. congratulations!
Posted by: goodmorning at January 6, 2006 04:25 PMduuude congrats sharkbait, and kdalle, you big jerk. double psyche.
Posted by: bagel at January 6, 2006 04:26 PMright on s.s. sharkbait. your years of duck diving karma have paid off.
score and keep it quiet. PEACE!
Posted by: 3to5setsof7 at January 6, 2006 04:29 PM
Posted by: Namers and Claimers get owned at January 6, 2006 05:00 PMyabba dabba doobie!
Posted by: fred flintstoned at January 6, 2006 06:23 PMkdalle, why didn't you let me know you were heading down? and arrange a sitter for my kid? c'mon!!!
yeah, bait!! that will be a way different experience for you, both riding and paddling out.
Posted by: kloo at January 6, 2006 06:47 PMWay to go sharky. I think I'm gonna add a fish to my collection this spring. We can go fishin together.
I'm toally jealous of kdalle. Don't tell him though.
I saw George T in a little bar in Shipbottom, NJ in 1978. Raw powerful sound. And yes, I did have one scotch, one bourbon, and one beer. Repeatedly.
Posted by: Dennis at January 6, 2006 06:58 PMDennis, you were sposed to have the bourbon BEFORE the scotch. John lee hooker wrote that one, and died in SF in '01. You saw GT just as his big "Move it on Over" (Hank Williams) hit hit. I saw him in '80 in Manhattan when he was already kinda big but still very fun, at least to a college freshman who'd had one bourbon, one bourbon, one bourbon, one bourbon, one bourbon, one bourbon, and one bourbon.
Posted by: kloo at January 6, 2006 07:48 PMYou should know- S.S. Sharkbait is TOTALLY glamorous in addition to being a great blog friend.
And while guys were breaking boards on double OH waves Thursday morning, Judith was there body surfing. Photos to follow.
I really like smart/strong women. They are so cool.
Posted by: Bruce at January 6, 2006 09:10 PMThat top pictuire looks like Jason.
Posted by: yo at January 6, 2006 09:36 PMSurfline has some good Ghostrees footage from the other day.
Posted by: steve at January 7, 2006 12:06 AMfark, man, this weather sucks shit.
Posted by: at January 7, 2006 01:03 PMfuck, man, this weather sucks shit
Posted by: at January 7, 2006 09:21 PMfark is for motherfuckers
Posted by: yush at January 7, 2006 09:22 PMWalter, the chinaman who peed on my rug, I can't go give him a bill, so what the fuck are you talking about?
Posted by: the dude at January 7, 2006 09:25 PM
Posted by: at January 7, 2006 09:36 PMhahahhaha a chinaman peed on your rug? OH shitt niggaa im so high and drunk nigga pleas!
Posted by: Brian at January 8, 2006 01:45 AMim crazy about surfing but i have problemm
i don't know how to surf ..
but i always dream i can be the others surfer ..
Posted by: Sharfinaz at January 8, 2006 02:46 AM2 whole days without hearing about HARMONY STUDIOS.
Posted by: goodbye cruel blog at January 8, 2006 10:04 AMI can't take it anymore I think I'll kill myself.
okay ill kill you little bitch emo kid
Posted by: Brian at January 8, 2006 10:18 AMThe "new golf" - ugh
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-surf8jan08,0,5584260.story?coll=la-home-headlines
The Suits Are All Wet at These Board Meetings
# Forget golf, biotech executives and scientists go surfing to network and strike deals.
By Denise Gellene, Times Staff Writer
DEL MAR, Calif. — Rising before dawn, the head of Pfizer Inc.'s research lab in San Diego fills her thermos with coffee and follows the headlights of her Honda Element to the foot of 15th Street, where a beach parking lot is already filling up.
Catherine Mackey, 50, trudges in her wetsuit across the sand beneath a murky gray sky, a new surfboard under her arm. A few other surfers are already in the water, hoping to ride the 4-foot breakers to shore — and to network with people like Mackey.
In San Diego's booming biomedical industry, opportunity tends to come in waves — the kind found at La Jolla Shores or Black's Beach or Scripps Pier. Surfing has become a way to make contacts, get face time with the boss and arrange deals.
"It's the new golf," said 48-year-old biotech entrepreneur Laura Shawver as she prepared to join Mackey in the chilly water...
Posted by: steve at January 8, 2006 10:23 AMGod that's horrible (the new golf thing). not that we didnt know I guess.
Posted by: J at January 8, 2006 12:18 PMoh man....the author of that article just exposed all those spots to millions and millions of people!! doesn't she know how wrong that is?! doesn't she know the rules on e's blog?? she is gonna get soo OWNED!!!
Posted by: at January 8, 2006 12:30 PMGeorge Thorogood went to Brandywine High School in Wilmington DE.
His teachers never thought he would amount to much.
He was a super hard core semi-pro baseball player too.
Posted by: blakestah at January 8, 2006 04:05 PMhey Brian, thanks again for eating out my ass,
Posted by: cable tv repairman at January 8, 2006 04:39 PMjust thought you might want to know I'm HIV pos.
Jesus Brian, get a grip on yourself man! How often do you wake up and forget how you got home? The blister on your lip? Pain while sitting? Mocked openly by your roomate(s)? Pissing while sitting down? Think man think!
Posted by: Dr. at January 8, 2006 06:16 PMThose surfline vids of Ghost Trees and Mavs are intense.
Posted by: gttim at January 9, 2006 06:12 AM