May 2014 – Christmachine

For Those Looking to Join a great Pono Community….

Posted on May 30, 2014 by admin

****UPDATED AT BOTTOM OF POST**** July 22, 2015…(Admin.)

The http://ponopeople.org/index.php pono people website is beginning to stir at this time so if you want to learn more about the Pono Hi-res project go check out the site. There’s some really good people over there that have some good technical knowledge of the technology that is going to be released in October. The Pono Store is supposedly opening in July so you can talk about all this and more at the .org site.

Enjoy!

http://ponopeople.org/index.php

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****UPDATE****

Just posted today at the pono people website by founder K. French.

“Transition from PonoPeople to the official PonoMusic Community

PonoPeople!

Greetings all. And welcome to you fine folks that are finding us for the first time thanks to Kickstarter Update #31. This applies to you all as well.

First let me thank you for being a part of this community and presenting tons of great information and input on so many topics. You all are awesome.

I want to be clear with my intentions with this place. My intentions for starting PonoPeople, and aquiring a group of fine gentlemen to help develop and moderate, were to bring forth as much information in one place as possible to help educate Pono backers and supporters and for others to share with us what they know when regarding hi-res audio and its many components. This need has been met, 10-fold it seems. So thank you for that.

Soon enough, we will begin a transition from this site to Pono’s official online community, which will contain everything we’ve begun here, effectively making this place obscelete and unnecessary. It has never been our intention to take away from anything that could make the Pono brand successful, which includes things such as this, an online forum. Therefore, this place will eventually be shut down after we’ve made this transition (well after the new Pono community is established, I’m sure).

When the new community kicks off, I encourage all of you to direct your inquiries, comments, and general excitment to Pono’s online forum instead of here. This will help in ensuring a smooth transition.

Because we are working with the PonoMusic Team directly in certain avenues of the site’s development, we’ve been invited to, and have the priviledge of, speaking with them in a one-on-one manner to provide suggestions and get the general landscape of such developments (regarding the online community).

Therefore, I’d like to open up this topic thread to any suggestions that you all may have in the new site’s development, as we will be presenting them in a few weeks to the PonoMusic Team. Many of the suggestions that have already been brought to our attention in this ‘FAQ & Suggestions’ forum have already been brought to the attention of the PonoMusic Team, and I have already recieved word that much of them have been addressed and will be a part of the new community on the PonoMusic site (favoriting threads, a ‘real-time’ comment section, etc.).

So, this is your chance to speak up about anything that you may want us to present to Pono, regarding the new community. We are ALL part of the groundwork of something big here. The ‘original 200’ or so, as it were.

Let’s hear what you have! ”

http://ponopeople.org/index.php

****UPDATE**** July 22, 2015

The Pono People web board is now just used for archiving. The new address is for the Pono Music Website. You have to sign up and log in, but it’s a great resource for all things Pono! New Link Below

Store:

https://www.ponomusic.com

Community:

https://www.ponomusic.com/login?ec=302&inst=15&startURL=%2F_ui%2Fcore%2Fchatter%2Fui%2FChatterPage

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So there you have it…thanks for all your support!

Cheers and Bless Bless!

CM ☕

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Please do not reproduce this article either all or in part without the expressed written permission of the author who can be reached via the “Contact” section in the header menu. You may link to the article if you wish, all that we ask is that you give credit to the respective author…”Christmachine” wherever you post a link. Thank you.

The day that I told myself I would never ask for an autograph again…thank you Jewel Kilcher.

Posted on May 30, 2014 by admin

The last few days have been interesting to me because I have been trying to decide on what to write about and why. I have several ideas that have been in the forefront of my thoughts that I think would be interesting to people. My problem is how to approach some of these subjects. As I am not looking to add to any controversy, my intention is not to post experiences that would bring more viewers, but to explain some of my experiences in a historical context. I don’t want to be become a name dropping tabloid, but it’s hard to explain many situations without being specific. I guess it’s just best to say that what I write has no intention of harming anyone. I like to think out loud as I write and I guess I will try to just use a first name when I can. The first name in this story is a dead giveaway but then again it’s not a sensitive subject. So I have some interesting reads coming soon, so stay tuned.

I thought I would just briefly touch on a topic that I find interesting because at one time, I loved getting autographs from stars when I was young. I started to collect them at a young age, We all know, many of us, when we meet a star it feels almost instinctual to get an autograph (A photo as well). Well as I explained before that I worked amongst stars at a young age and it was considered off limits to do photographs or ask for autographs while working. It makes complete sense, even though at one time I enjoyed the signature, it feels very awkward when you are their security detail, so I tried to always honor that code. I will admit that there were times when I was off duty but still with the star that someone would take a picture of me with them and at some point later they would give me a copy. I found that when I had clicked with a star they would on occasion pose with me and I would play along in fun.

Slowly over the years I began to work with stars on multiple occasions and had free access to anywhere I wanted, that I began to look at stars as just regular people. Which obviously what they really are…that is until everyone attacks them. Anyway at some point the star honeymoon lost it’s luster and I did not care who someone was, I just treated them as I did everyone else. I even had the backing of my management because they knew I was kind to people, cared about their welfare, and some celebrities I had to work with were pains in the arse (To put it lightly). My team knew if I had a problem with someone, they really had to be jerks because I would always put up with a lot of bull.

So with that all said it’s interesting that there was a time when I drew a solid line in the sand after working with a star musician who is highly respected in by her fans and peers. At the time I met her she was not famous yet but she was well on her way, and soon after her fame would explode her into the stratosphere.

In the summer I would stay in a resort town that had musicians and other big artists come and play nearly every night at the local venue on the strip. Not the strip you’re thinking of. Anyway there was an acoustic artist coming that night, who was on the rise, and because I knew the security there I said I wanted to come down and check out the show and I would help work her security detail. So basically I just went down and got my credentials and just stood around her dressing room area to make sure that nobody wandered in. At some point she left her room to head toward the stage, and she put on a fabulous acoustic set. Sometimes solo and sometimes with a small band depending on the song the band would come and go. It may have been half acoustic and half with a band, either way,

So everything was going well, I got to see the show and I walked her back to her room backstage and I asked her if I could get her anything, she slams the dressing room door in my face. I thought ok…let’s all chill out. I actually smirked because I got the strange feeling the beginning of a diva fit was swirling right in front of my eyes and I’d never experienced that even with well known divas.

Soon the time came when someone from her team came by her room to get her to sign autographs and do the “Meet and greet” with several fans. She came out of the room looking as if she was ready to rip someone a new, you know what. She sat in a chair and listened to the fans as they asked for autographs. There was one person at the end of the line who seemed intimidated by meeting her…I could tell, but this was common. So this person gets to her and says something to the effect of ‘I don’t want to bother you for your autograph…I just want to tell you how much your music helps me to cope with life’, and also about how great the show was. So Jewel fires back “thanks” (with a sarcastic look on her face) and looks to her handler and says ‘is that all for tonight’…barely even acknowledging the person. This person leaves looking seriously bummed out. The handler says she has to take one picture with a family that I think won a photo with her from a radio contest. They were asked to hold the station call letters in the photo as someone takes a photo. Again Jewel looked as if she was put out.

Listen, I know everyone has a bad day or string of days, but suck it up for the fans at least for a ten minute “meet and greet” after the show. She did not even try to fake it for that ten minutes it was so obvious. That situation with Jewel happened nearly twenty years ago and I never purchased any of her merch even though I liked her music. When a song of hers used to come on the radio or whatever…I would change the channel. Jewel Kilcher is the only star that I ever met that I loathed. I forgive her now…whatever right, I don’t know what was going on in her world and I don’t hold grudges. I can actually say that I thank her because of her I never thought of stars the same way, they are just human beings that go through troubles like the rest of us. Every other star I have ever worked with was kind to me, so that moment is chalked up as a learning experience.

Thanks for reading, more interesting articles to come!

Cheers and Bless Bless!

CM ☕

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The Las Vegas Adventure…Calling Dr. Thompson Part #2!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by admin

What the hell is all that noise…can’t a man get any sleep around here, I thought angrily. I was on the floor next to the bottle of ether and the sweet smell was permeating the air around me from the strainer lying next to my head. My head pounding, I was confused as my nose was caked with crystals…coach was sitting on the bed reading The Atlantic, saying “For the thousandth time it’s time to go”. He exclaimed The Eldorado was waiting out in front of the hotel and he was praising himself for the fact that he had waited until night for us to leave for So Cal. He knew the heat was rough on my constitution, as my coach these were the things I needed help with and thank God he did it well. There was good reason to keep him around.

I arose to fix myself so as to not tip off any of the neuro-typicals in the casino. I was not going into the bathroom again, not falling for that one. I had no control in that place like I did at home. I was able to adjust my tuxedo to the point were everything looked somewhat straight. I needed a new one as soon as I could get it, this one was worn out. I went over to my suitcase and as I was shaking and the bottles rattled…I took my medication from my organizer and noticed that I had missed two days worth. Had I been out for three days, I thought…well it would not be good to triple and catch up because we would be on the road and I did not want to leak out of the car into a puddle in the desert in the middle of the night.

We hurried through the casino to the caddy which I could see parked out in front of the hotel. Thank God for room check out because I could not face anyone in my present condition. Suitcase in the back and coach and I in the front we set of on the 15 to head towards Anaheim. It was so freaking hot, even at midnight, I could barely catch a breath as the air was so hot and dry and we had not even reached the desert yet. There was a warm six pack of Coca Cola on the floor of the front, I opened the sweet nectar and even though it was very warm, there was solace in just wetting my tongue.

I began to think and sometimes that can be a bad thing, but not now as I was comforted by the thoughts that had followed me my whole life. You see I don’t know if I believe in reincarnation but you know how people just have a feeling of what they may have been in another life? Well I had them often and strangely enough I feel as though I was a lifelong patron at an opium den. It was not about the drugs and getting high, for me it was about being in a state of dreaming and neutrality. That is no movement and fully sedated for days on end on a hard wood floor with only a small pillow to elevate my head to the pipe and burner, just in case I woke. The least amount of movement necessary to go back to my dreamlike state. I am instilled with the notion that there are no worries about money or time or responsibility. There is nothing but sleep for weeks and months at a time. There is also no chaos associated with this notion either so I must have had the funds to continue endlessly. No negative association either…I can’t fully grasp it but I imagine it’s like heaven on earth. I also can’t get any orientation as to where in the world I am participating in such a state of sloth.

Oh my God it’s getting so hot…is all I could think about. I can barely breathe, I imagine what it would have been like during the day. I was thankful for that! Next thing you know I start getting pelted in the face and chest with huge cockroaches…WTF!!! What the hell is going on…I could see coach ducking under the front of the windshield as I yelled at him what the hell was happening. He told me this sometimes happens in the desert, he’s heard. It was not cockroaches it was giant grasshoppers…billions of them falling from the sky. I could hear them popping as the tires rolled over them. I think they call these things locusts, you know like in the bible…was the world coming to an end. Coach and I were screaming nonsense back and forth at each other but I did make out him saying that we would make a stop for gas at a tiny glowing station way off in the distance. What a relief, an end to this madness.

We pulled in and although it was lit up there seemed to be no one there, we pumped our gas and I could see these f’ing humongous grasshoppers fall from the sky as we took shelter under the awning. After filling the car we went into the office and there was a man sitting there in AC watching an old black and white television. “Rough night out there. eh boys.” Rough night I thought, what the hell is happening, he could tell I was confused and he looked like he had not seen anyone in days. “Oh the locusts” he said…”Yeah what’s with all the grasshoppers”, I said. He proceeded to explain that every several years this happens. Every several years!!! The night we head through the desert is the one time in several years…what madness. I looked at the temperature gauge outside and it read 130 degrees Fahrenheit at close to one in the morning.

So I guess we should just get in the car and continue on our way as if this was relatively normal. Well we did so and after another half hour of pulling these beasts from my hair and teeth, it miraculously began to subside. Anaheim could not come fast enough…but we made it in a few hours and got to our hotel right across the street from Disney Land. I crashed on the bed after taking another dose of medication and I feel deep asleep. The nightmare was over, and as strange as it sounds the LA air was a nice departure from the desert breath of death. I went out like a light.

I awoke the next morning and after fixing myself a bit and some meds…I was able to carry on. I thought it be good if I did not get too blitzed before we would go to get our press credentials at the convention center. I thought things could not get any stranger so early in the day, I stepped out of the hotel room for a breathe of fresh air. Oh no, yes it was happening in real life, I think. Right when I walked out the door sitting a mile away across an empty parking lot was WTF, Walleyworld! Yes from the movie…I know it was disney land but it looked like Walleyworld with the empty parking lot and everything. I was in another dimension and had to get out of there, at least during the daytime, as it was too crazy for even me to handle.

I woke up coach in a panic and said we have to leave immediately because the outside world was closing in and we’d be lucky to get out of there alive. I grabbed my suitcase made sure everything was fastened down because I did not need clinking all day as we visited the convention booths. It was all a blur but after getting our credentials we went to a reception, I think it was for Washburn and who do I see right away but Nico McBrain and he was with Frankie Banali I think, and the new singer for Iron Maiden. Anyway I went straight over to him and gave him a big man hug and said, “where have you been all my life ugly.” He laughed out loud and since we both had free beer, the party was ready to begin full swing. We got so loaded, we were knocking over potted plants and tables and chairs and people. Sounds obnoxious I know but it was Nico…that was my queue to go hog wild, funny thing is he started getting wild. We were yelling and singing…I knew every word to every Maiden song and he was impressed. Others were not…but again it was Nico and when In Rome. This went on for a few hours and we ran into Mike Inez…I think he was in Ozzy at the time…maybe AIC…I forget. I’m writing this from memory and do no fact checking so you get what I got. Mike was laying low in his leather cowboy hat…I wanted to trade my visor for it but he would not. I was a a wild obnoxious guy in a rusty tuxedo. What did I expect.

Any way there was a piano there and Charlie Farren was there and playing elton songs and we were all singing our lungs out for a few hours till they kicked us all out of the hotel lobby. Everyone was pretty drunk and someone slipped some E into my beer. Vavoom and I was off…we went to see Greg Allman jam at an adjacent hotel and see Buckethead tear it up. He was amazing and it was still in the time period where he was wearing the KFC bucket on his head before he got attacked over copyright. The night was young and I was raring to go. As it was dark…boy does time fly, there was no sleep for me. Next thing it was morning after going from hotel room to hotel room all night and meeting people that where as crazy or crazier than me.

Well it was the next day and as I reflected on the day before, I thought there was no way it could get any crazier and I was wrong. Coach had given up and gone back to the hotel room without me last night. I found it better kicking it with Nuno Bettencourt for a while just shooting the shit about music, it was then that a girl caught my eye. She looked my way as well, so I said goodbye Nuno and got with this girl and she was real friendly. She worked for a LA newspaper and she said, “You want to go over to the convention center and see some booths as well as get passes for parties”, that would be going on that night (My sentiments exactly). At some point I ran into coach, he looked really annoyed, and I could’nt help but think ‘hey poopy pants, who is the party pooper now?’. I was having such a great time and his recommendations were going unheeded. No offence to him, so I hooked him up with Jay from White Zombie and he was able to do an interview with him so coach was happy.

Walking around the booths with my girl pal…we eventually came to an area with a lot of commotion and I asked somebody what was the attraction. Someone said that it was Pam Anderson signing autographs and Tommy Lee was with her. So who did I run into all pissed off and jonesing Nikki Sixx. It was weird because everyone was falling all over Pam and Tommy that no one seemed to recognize Nikki but me. We had a chat and he was as pissed off as I thought…Sixx sense. He was waiting for Tommy to finish with Pamela…and that seemed long off so after a sudden rush of photographers. You see when I went up to him, the photographers relized who it was and started snapping shots and that’s when he got really annoyed. So we got out of there so we could get got sorted…he was in a much better mood after that. Nikki wanted to get back with Tommy so we head back to their both and waited for them to finish.

So it was the second time running into Tommy in two weeks across state lines no less…he recognised me and we had a quick chat…after some nonsense, Tommy was a real chill guy…not edgy like Nikki. Nikki was cool too, he just had better places to be…ahem. Tommy had the “I could hang out here all day” attitude just real a sweet guy. It was as if I’d known him for years even though we had really just met. He gave me his secretary Karen’s number written on a Doc McGhee business card and said if I was ever in LA again to hit him up and “come and check out the band in the studio”. That’s how cool he was…awesome!

So there was reception after reception..I got to hang out with Jake E Lee which was a real thrill as well…super cool guy. Rock star after rock star blitzed out of my mind and coach was even happy…could it get any better. There did come a point in the day that Coach said he had some work to do and communicate with his editor. So I told him I would be fine without him as long as I stayed with my girl and not leave the confines of the convention and hotels. That was it for coach…I was on my own. We got invited to a party at someone’s crib in Malibu who will remain nameless. If you’ve ever seen the parties that they had in the movie Boogie Nights…that’s exactly what it was like. The music was loud, nude, and very very high. The party went on for three days and two nights…I was tilled! We danced and crashed and danced and swam and caught crazy sun. My girl slept in one of the many bedrooms while I rallied on.

At some point in the middle of day three she wanted to take me to her place in Orange County. I was so numb and could barely talk, I obliged and went back to her place and slept for four days straight. I woke to her nudging me on occasion as well as a bowl of cereal here and there. When I finally woke from the stupor…she told me that she wanted me to live with her. This was followed by trips to the sunset strip to see 311 at the Whiskey and chill out at the rainbow. Life was really good and I was well stocked with incidentals. So I did not need to leave for a few weeks. One of the best benders I’d ever had. What happened with the girl, well I said we could communicate by phone, but I never saw her again. I love LA but when I got home that time, one of my many adventures in LA over the years I took the longest shower I have ever taken in my life. Oh yeah and I returned the tux.

Braindamage Inc.

Thanks for reading my nonsense, more interesting articles to come!

Cheers and Bless Bless!

CM ☕

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2days Vids #14…A little something for every1…[Video-Direct Links] ~NSFW~

Posted on May 27, 2014 by admin

Today Up On Christmachine Audio Reference Music Server :

Reviews for individual albums or sets will be posted HERE (The Main “DAY” Page) but daily Videos & Playlists will be posted in the Playlist “Night” Feed Blog. Again you can access it from the “Playlist “Night” Feed” button in the header menu below the “HOME” button. Or you can get there using the links below.

Todays Favorite Videos #14…A little something for everyone…~NSFW~[VideoDirect Links]

http://playlists.christmachine.com/youtube/todays-favorite-videos-14a-little-something-for-everyonevideo-direct-links-nsfw/

See You Later! Thanks, as always, for your support.

Enjoy, more interesting articles to come!

Cheers and Bless Bless!

CM ☕

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Doc Keyaza Photographer…Doc’s Shots! [Sample Gallery Post]

Posted on May 25, 2014 by admin

Today Up On Christmachine Audio Reference Music Server :

I thought it would be good on occasion to do a Doc Photo Post. I was looking through his photos today and damn do we have some amazing history to show. This post is only another sampling but some of the photos I got today are stunning!

Click On Photos to Enlarge!