Flashback Friday: The Time I Interviewed P.J. O'Rourke

It's been a while since I've done a flashback friday, so I decided to revisit one of my finest achievements at UCLARadio: interviewing the legendary P.J. O'Rourke. A writer whose wit is as sharp as his insight, he has earned a place in my heart as one of my top writing inspirations (as I gushed at him towards the end of our talk), in both political and personal spheres. We covered quite a lot of ground in the interview: I opened up by asking about him about The Baby Boom, the subject of the book tour he was on at the time, and we went on to discuss his time at National Lampoon and Rolling Stone, his friendships with John Belushi and Hunter S. Thompson, topical political subjects like environmentalism and foreign policy, and other books of his like Parliament of Whores, All The Trouble In The World, Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism, and Driving Like Crazy. It was an honor to speak with him, one made even greater when he said he really enjoyed speaking with me. Please check it out, and let me know what you think!

Flashback Friday: The Time I Interviewed William B. Davis

Chances are you heard the news about The X-Files being slated for a limited revival later this year. I plan to address this development in more detail soon, but for now, let's flashback to a juicy, X-Files related moment from my life: the time I interviewed William B. Davis, who portrayed The Smoking Man, for UCLARadio.

Given that he has been bombarded with endless questions about his time on The X-Files, I decided to also ask him questions about his appearances in films and his memoir Where There's Smoke: Musings Of A Cigarette Smoking Man (a great read by the way). He was beyond gracious, which is saying a lot considering that at the very end, my phone (over which he was speaking) was dying, so to preserve power, I clicked the button to turn the screen off. I clicked the button and sure enough the screen turned off, but so did the call just as he was saying bye. Horrified, I called him back to apologize, believing I made a colossal idiot of myself. But as I said, he took it all in stride, so it was all good. With all that being said, here is the full interview for your listening pleasure.

Flashback Friday: The Time I Saw The Philip Glass Ensemble

I know you're probably wondering why I'm posting a Flashback Friday on a Sunday early, early Monday morning. Aside from the fact that it gives me yet another excuse to stroke my massive ego by reminiscing about triumphs past, I wanted to make up for not posting one last week (loyal readers might remember that I instead wrote about the new sanctions on Venezuela and whether they'll lead to military intervention in that nation). Truth be told, I had been hoping to publish that post earlier during the week and do a Flashback Friday post as I regularly do, but real-life commitments (hey, remember those?) conspired to keep me from writing it until Friday, putting me in a serious quandary: repost something I wrote almost a year ago for another site about a topic I have already covered in some depth on this blog, or write an original, hard-hitting post that deals with a topic that I have yet to cover? Of course, I opted for the later, if for nothing more than to provide you guys with something not only exclusive to this blog but that also amounted to more than my little hill of beans, to paraphrase Bogey. I postponed the Flashback Friday, and am finally getting around to sharing it, the topic being my review of the Philip Glass Ensemble's performance of "Music In 12 Parts" at UCLA's Royce Hall.

This particular piece was written, like my interview with Tim Russ, for UCLA Radio, and unlike that one it was actually published on it's Tumblr blog! The original post can be seen here, in case you're interested. Seeing the Philip Glass Ensemble live was a privilege in and of itself, but I must confess that I can't help feeling a little a glum as I revisit this experience. A week and a half before the show, I emailed Mr. Glass's publicist to set up an interview to promote the concert on UCLA Radio. I thought it was a long shot, but decided it was worth a try. Shockingly, I got a reply the next day, saying it might be possible if we could work out a time. I mapped out my schedule for the next week and a half and let them know what times worked for a 30-40 minute interview, as well as the fact that I could do it over Skype or phone, although ideally Mr. Glass would be able to come into the station for a live, 30-40 minute interview. I must have crossed my fingers before I clicked "send", and if I didn't, I sure wish I did. I never heard back from them. Maybe it was too short-notice, maybe it would have been too-long, maybe it was just they lost interest. I don't know. I emailed them a week later practically begging them to let me interview him for 5 minutes, and over the phone no less. Still nothing. Yet, a year later, I still believe, given a healthy degree of ambition and commitment to my work, that someday I will finally score that interview with Philip Glass. In the meantime, let's see that review, reprinted in full below!

Concert Review: Philip Glass Ensemble @ Royce Hall 5/3

The polarizing nature of Philip Glass's work can be summed up in my experience at one of his performances at Royce Hall this past weekend. While I sat through the program for the entirety of the five hours comprising it, the couple in front of me hastily departed after only the first portion. One might assume that they were expecting something similar to Glass's soundtracks for The Truman Show or Candyman. Given the pigeonholing of Glass by amateur film connoisseurs as "the weird soundtrack guy", this is plausible. It is also unfortunate, because "Music In 12 Parts" is one of Glass's crowning achievements, easily on par with his 1976 opera Einstein On The Beach and his soundtrack to 1982's Koyaanisqatsi.

As indicated by the name, the piece is composed of twelve individual parts, which were bundled by threes into single segments, for a total of four 50-minute portions. However, there were intermissions after each portion and an hour-long dinner break was held after the second portion, so endurance was hardly an issue. In typical Glass fashion, the portions started abruptly and ended in a similar fashion. Far from being disconcerting, this was a testament to the skill of the Ensemble to ensure that the three keyboards, the flute, the bassoon, the voice of Lisa Bielawa and, occasionally, the saxophone were able to play in perfect harmony off the top. Bielawa, the sole vocalist, deserves special mention in particular. Having listened extensively to Einstein On The Beach, I expected a whole chorus to perform the vocal parts at this concert. Instead, Bielawa magnificently sang all the vocal portions and perfectly alternated between the soothing melodies and ominous crescendos the piece dictated, at times rivaling the most apocalyptic moments of Einstein. This was most apparent in Part 12 of the composition where, in very small increments, her part grew more complex each time the rest of the Ensemble played the same musical passage. It is also worth mentioning that Part 12 was my favorite part of the concert.

Of course, the keyboard players drew my attention as well. Philip Glass may be the heart and soul of the Ensemble, but it seemed that in this concert, keyboardist Michael Reisman did most of the heavy lifting, playing some truly captivating organ passages throughout. This is hardly an indictment of Glass, however. Far from it, it's quite possible that he simply deigned to play the more subdued keyboard parts. Not that I would guess that simply by watching him. Indeed, while the other players sat still and appeared collected, Glass made no effort to conceal his passion for the music, lurching forward and throwing himself back before lurching forward again, in a manner as cyclic as his music. He really felt it that night, and the audience, including this writer, did too, because it granted the Ensemble a standing ovation when Part 12 of "Music In 12 Parts", after five hours, finally concluded.

Flashback Friday: The Time I First Listened To Pink Floyd

So here we are again: another week without a single post by me. In my defense, I've spent the majority of it recovering from a debilitating injury (a pulled muscle, to be exact), making thoughtful writing kind of difficult for yours truly. Indeed, I am on some heavy-duty Ibuprofen (prescribed, in case any narcs/DEA agents are wondering) as I type this, hoping to God that it doesn't wear off soon. I did at one point try to write something (similar in tone to the serious post I mentioned last week, but about a different topic and, if it turns out the way I envision it, not nearly as long), but again, my ailment conspired to keep me from fully developing it, forcing me to put it on hold. Given that I am medicated at the moment and thus have a small window of opportunity to write, I will make it up to you all by sharing with you a Flashback Friday about one of my most formative experiences: the first time I heard Pink Floyd.

I don't remember exactly when it was was, but I remember where I was. I was in the backseat of my parent's car on the way to the Orange County Circle, listening to my Walkman (yes, dear reader, it was that long ago). I listened almost solely to The Beatles and 60s' one hit wonders at this early point in my life, but that day, I had decided to listen to something new, if you can call a band that disbanded some 20 years ago new. Before leaving for the Circle that day, I took my dad's copy of Dark Side Of The Moon. I had heard many things about Pink Floyd and that particular album, so I was curious to see what all the fuss was about.

Remember the last time you used one of these? For me, it was shortly after Lehman Bros. went belly up.

I was... uninitiated, to put it lightly. As I mentioned before, my musical palate was limited to the soft, mainly happy-go-lucky songs of such groups as The Tokens, Strawberry Alarm Clock, and Tommy James & The Shondells. Probably the most out-there thing I listened to at the time was Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles' soundtrack for the film of the same name, which speaks wonders about my musical naivete. I was familiar with bizarre lyrics like those heard in "Incense and Peppermints" or "I Am The Walrus", but as strange as the words said in these songs were, they were at least presented in a straight-forward fashion for the most part. This was certainly not the case with Dark Side Of The Moon. 

I stewed with anticipation as I placed the disc in the Walkman and hit play. I waited... and waited. I focused my undivided attention on the soon-to-be-heard music, yet I heard nothing. It was maddening, hearing people chattering, laughing, machines being operated, hearing anything and everything but the music. I even could hear my heart beat increasingly louder, perhaps a sign of an imminent anxiety attack. It was just as I became convinced that I was going insane before the aforementioned sounds built up to a crescendo punctuated by a shrill scream and ominous droning sound. Only then did it hit me that this WAS the music.

I was floored. I had never heard anything quite like that, and to this day I haven't heard anything that managed to recreate that sense of impending insanity. It took me a while to recover as the album merged seamlessly into "Breathe", but I was hooked. I devoured the rest of the album, from the passionate vocals and haunting piano from "The Great Gig In The Sky" to the mellifluous guitar chords and cerebral verses of "Brain Damage". From there, I eagerly sought out the rest of the Pink Floyd canon. I have found that while most of their albums are great in their own, distinct right, none of them quite evokes that same sense of emotional urgency that Dark Side did the first time I heard it. Well some might think I bemoan this fact, I absolutely do not. Better to have one album that does this fantastically, than to have a whole bunch that try to live up to this standard and do so poorly. 

Flashback Friday: The Time I Interviewed Tim Russ

As I mentioned in my last post, one of the perks of being in college radio is that you have reason to speak with people you normally wouldn't have.

Exhibit A: this written interview I did with actor and musician Tim Russ, who is best known for portraying Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager (I must confess though, that I knew him primarily beforehand as the "We Ain't Found Shit" guy from Spaceballs). I originally submitted this to the station's new media department for publication on UCLA Radio's Tumblr, but for whatever reason, it was never posted there. Fret not, however, for I am publishing the interview in full! Enjoy!

The Cardinal: Prior to starring as Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager, you appeared in small roles on The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and the seventh film, Star Trek: Generations, and before that you were a fan of The Original Series. With this background, what were your expectations going into Voyager? Did your experience on the show meet or exceed them?  

Tim  Russ: I watched The Original Series  along with most of the country because there were only 3 stations and one of them played the same 3 shows over and over for years. Trek was one of them. 

Upon landing my role on Voyager, I mostly expected to be working on a show that ran for at least 7 years. That was a big boost to my career. I did not expect the "extras" I received from being on the show, from the smallest thing like favors from people, to expanding my work in the entertainment business to directing and voice-over work. 

TC: Tuvok was the first Vulcan regular on a Star Trek series since Leonard Nimoy's classic performance as Spock. Was it challenging to differentiate your performance from Nimoy's, and how did you try to accomplish that?

TR: Basically, since my character type had already been established by Nimoy and others in the various incarnations, I just used those characters as a base for how Tuvok carried himself, and behaved in general.

I then relied on the writers to flesh out the character over the length of the series, with suggestions from myself as to what type of situations I'd like to see him in. For example, in the episode "Innocence", we get a glimpse into how Tuvok may have raised his own children, as unlike Spock's character, mine was married with a family.

TC: In addition to Voyager, you've had regular roles on Samantha Who? and The Highwayman, recurring and guest roles on iCarly and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and a brief-but-memorable role in the science fiction comedy Spaceballs, among others. Can you tell us what working on these projects was like for you?

TR: Each character I played outside of Voyager  was unique based on the project and the traits of each character. Basically during that time and for years after I was and still am a working actor going from one role to the next. And each role is a new challenge in it's own way.

TC: As a director, you've worked on such projects as the award-winning Web series Bloomers, the short films Plugged and Cavity, an episode of Voyager, the independent fan production Star Trek: Of Gods and Men, where you reprised the role of Tuvok alongside fellow Trek actors Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, and Garrett Wang, and the upcoming Star Trek: Renegades and 5th Passenger. What is your dream project, and how have these past projects influence your selection?

TR: I would love to work on a period piece of some kind, simply because of the opportunity to bring to life a story that takes place in a different time period. It could be as far back as ancient times, or as recent as the last couple of centuries. And of course, I would love to include pieces that would take place in the future as well.

TC: A triple threat, you have sang and played guitar in your own band for over 30 years, releasing four albums and playing live in Santa Monica as recently as last weekend. On an artistic level, does music differ from acting and directing for you? How so?

TR: Music is a unique performing experience, because you are playing music for a live audience, and there is an energy that goes back and forth between you and the audience - and it's always a little different. Plus when you are performing in a band, it's very exciting when all the players are tightly in sync with each other on a song. It's an incredibly experience, that I hope goes on for a long time.

TC: On a final note, what projects, whether they are in acting, directing, or music, can we expect to see in the near future from you?

TR: Right now, I am slated to direct a feature film in 2015 called Knights of Mary Phagan and episodes of a new sci-fi series called New Dawn. I am also developing two other feature films with independent producers. I am currently in post-production on Star Trek: Renegades.

Musically, I have written a couple of songs for a comedy feature, and may writer another one for a sci-fi feature, and I still am performing regularly in L.A.

I am cast in a sci-fi feature called 5th Passenger that may shoot soon as well as a film called The Entwined. 

And I'll leave you guys with this bit of Tuvok-related silliness!