Greetings, brave bloggers:
Eva James joined me this weekend for the live debut of my new single, MT. HOLLYWOOD, for and about the rising Los
Angeles congregational church where we performed it (I'm a regular member there, folks.) I think the congregation really dug it -- they sang their part perfectly, I have to say. Anyone who is unfamiliar with this little progressive church really should come in and check it out 4607 Prospect Ave. LA CA 90027. You can see the vid at the url below or at www.fletcherrhoden.com/performances.htm:
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3806120/10424412
It was great to sing with Eva again -- we had a couple false starts earlier this year but we finally pulled it off. It was our first since doing the piano version of ON THE WINGS OF AN ANGEL at the same church back in January '08. But Eva and I are talking about a variety of different musical projects we may embark on together in the near future, so fans of such things should definitely stay tuned.
As promised, there's more big news coming up in November -- sick around, bloggies and Fletchophiles.
FR
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
New album NEW HEAVEN now online!
Greetings, interested readers:
Things are popping all over the place at Fletcher Rhoden.com, including new screenplay synopses, new music on several pages, and of course the brand new full-length album, NEW HEAVEN, accessible from the MUSIC page or the NEWS page. It's 10 new songs, all written and performed by Yours Truly, with lyrical contributions on one song from St. Paul's 2 Corinthians, 12-20, and a musical co-writing credit going to none other than Eva James. We're playing one of these new tunes at Mt. Hollywood on Sunday, Oct. 26 around 10:30 am if y'all wanna come on down to 4607 Prospect Ave. LA CA 90027. I'm also running live entertainment at the church's Winter Bazaar on Sat. Dec. 6 and will be playing throughout the day. I'm not one for many liner notes and so forth on the cds, but since this is my blog, I'm going to sketch out a few comments or notions about each song -- you can print it out and read along as you listen at: www.fletcherrhoden.com/newheaven.htm
"One Body, One Spirit": From the great and holy scripture 2 Corinthians, 12-20, familiar to any fans of the HBO western DEADWOOD.
"Mt. Hollywood": New song for, about and dedicated to the great folks at Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church. This is a deliberate aping of the Beatles, circa 1963/64. It's not an homage, I don't think, or a rip-off; I'm aping them, that's the best I can do. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?
"That's Where I Wanna Be (When the Christ Comes)": The happiest song about the apocalypse and/or rapture that I'll ever write. This is one of my favorites from NEW HEAVEN, reminding me of my old jazz-rock band Dance Hall Racket and some of my work with the more-recent Eva James Band. This is actually my first collection of new recordings since the EJB ended its run in 2006.
"Former Things": Sounds like Supertramp jumping Billy Joel behind the bathroom at Disneyland, but I still like it. Based on parts of the Book of Revelation -- not the scary parts though, the happy parts.
"Tal Vez Otro Dia": I really like this one, which reminds me of "Sgt. Pepper's"-era Beatles doing an outtake from Bob Dylan's "Desire". A Mexican-style ballad of would-be lovers meeting three times over their lives. The title translates as, "Perhaps on another day" or, more commonly, "perhaps some other time."
"Bad Boy Down": You'd think on an album that's half Christian pop, a song with this title would be about the devil. Still, it's about the Good Book itself. Has a serious Steely Dan feel, which is no coincidence, with big fat swaths of Bob Dylan too. Funny how this record showcases my influences, hopefully I've done something interest or compelling with them.
"Cry A Little": I finally broke down and wrote a song about my dog, Sarah, two years gone. Every day I cry a little. I think this would be a good one for my friend Robbie Rist to cover, it has a pop ballad feel he does very well.
"Latter Rain": This one surprised me with how much it sounded like 80's-era Grateful Dead. I stopped short of the Garcia-style lead guitar though, only one of three songs that don't have guitar solos. Hey, I like to play guitar, what can I tell ya?
"Cracker Love": A Randy Newman-type song, this was the first one I recorded, back in May. This one also could have used a big Grateful Dead-type arrangement with a long, loud guitar, but it's already over four minutes and that's with no solo at all.
"Can't Fight Love": This tune incorporates a lot of musical themes used elsewhere in the collection, so it almost has a Who-ish, "Tommy"-like theatricality, like the finale of a musical. Which isn't a bad thing, I suppose.
So there you have it -- enjoy these tunes free of charge. I think you can download for free as well. I know for sure you can't pay for them (at the moment) and if you can download 'em, you can have 'em and you can share 'em, just don't sell 'em. Stay tuned to FLETCHER RHODEN.COM because there several more exciting things coming up before the end of the year. All in all, with the acclaim of the stage play AND novella LAST TANGO WITH MARLON (trafford.com/07-2958), the webcast of my writing seminar WRITE MAKES MIGHT (2hip4tv.com) and a surge in hits on my internet shorts (by the tens of thousands), 2008 has been the best year ever for FR.COM -- and we're finishing it out in grand style.
Keep blogging, folks, and let's all have a little fun!
Fletcher Rhoden
Things are popping all over the place at Fletcher Rhoden.com, including new screenplay synopses, new music on several pages, and of course the brand new full-length album, NEW HEAVEN, accessible from the MUSIC page or the NEWS page. It's 10 new songs, all written and performed by Yours Truly, with lyrical contributions on one song from St. Paul's 2 Corinthians, 12-20, and a musical co-writing credit going to none other than Eva James. We're playing one of these new tunes at Mt. Hollywood on Sunday, Oct. 26 around 10:30 am if y'all wanna come on down to 4607 Prospect Ave. LA CA 90027. I'm also running live entertainment at the church's Winter Bazaar on Sat. Dec. 6 and will be playing throughout the day. I'm not one for many liner notes and so forth on the cds, but since this is my blog, I'm going to sketch out a few comments or notions about each song -- you can print it out and read along as you listen at: www.fletcherrhoden.com/newheaven.htm
"One Body, One Spirit": From the great and holy scripture 2 Corinthians, 12-20, familiar to any fans of the HBO western DEADWOOD.
"Mt. Hollywood": New song for, about and dedicated to the great folks at Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church. This is a deliberate aping of the Beatles, circa 1963/64. It's not an homage, I don't think, or a rip-off; I'm aping them, that's the best I can do. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?
"That's Where I Wanna Be (When the Christ Comes)": The happiest song about the apocalypse and/or rapture that I'll ever write. This is one of my favorites from NEW HEAVEN, reminding me of my old jazz-rock band Dance Hall Racket and some of my work with the more-recent Eva James Band. This is actually my first collection of new recordings since the EJB ended its run in 2006.
"Former Things": Sounds like Supertramp jumping Billy Joel behind the bathroom at Disneyland, but I still like it. Based on parts of the Book of Revelation -- not the scary parts though, the happy parts.
"Tal Vez Otro Dia": I really like this one, which reminds me of "Sgt. Pepper's"-era Beatles doing an outtake from Bob Dylan's "Desire". A Mexican-style ballad of would-be lovers meeting three times over their lives. The title translates as, "Perhaps on another day" or, more commonly, "perhaps some other time."
"Bad Boy Down": You'd think on an album that's half Christian pop, a song with this title would be about the devil. Still, it's about the Good Book itself. Has a serious Steely Dan feel, which is no coincidence, with big fat swaths of Bob Dylan too. Funny how this record showcases my influences, hopefully I've done something interest or compelling with them.
"Cry A Little": I finally broke down and wrote a song about my dog, Sarah, two years gone. Every day I cry a little. I think this would be a good one for my friend Robbie Rist to cover, it has a pop ballad feel he does very well.
"Latter Rain": This one surprised me with how much it sounded like 80's-era Grateful Dead. I stopped short of the Garcia-style lead guitar though, only one of three songs that don't have guitar solos. Hey, I like to play guitar, what can I tell ya?
"Cracker Love": A Randy Newman-type song, this was the first one I recorded, back in May. This one also could have used a big Grateful Dead-type arrangement with a long, loud guitar, but it's already over four minutes and that's with no solo at all.
"Can't Fight Love": This tune incorporates a lot of musical themes used elsewhere in the collection, so it almost has a Who-ish, "Tommy"-like theatricality, like the finale of a musical. Which isn't a bad thing, I suppose.
So there you have it -- enjoy these tunes free of charge. I think you can download for free as well. I know for sure you can't pay for them (at the moment) and if you can download 'em, you can have 'em and you can share 'em, just don't sell 'em. Stay tuned to FLETCHER RHODEN.COM because there several more exciting things coming up before the end of the year. All in all, with the acclaim of the stage play AND novella LAST TANGO WITH MARLON (trafford.com/07-2958), the webcast of my writing seminar WRITE MAKES MIGHT (2hip4tv.com) and a surge in hits on my internet shorts (by the tens of thousands), 2008 has been the best year ever for FR.COM -- and we're finishing it out in grand style.
Keep blogging, folks, and let's all have a little fun!
Fletcher Rhoden
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
New review of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON novella online
The first review of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON is up at BookPleasures.com -- and it's a corker: "Bravissimo... Amazingly well written... the dialogue throughout was exceptionally believable..." and much more.
http://bookpleasures.com/Lore2/idx/0/3890/article/
Get your copy of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON today:
www.trafford.com/07-2958
Also available at Amazon.com
Check in with www.fletcherrhoden.com/reviews.htm for ensuing reviews.
FR
http://bookpleasures.com/Lore2/idx/0/3890/article/
Get your copy of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON today:
www.trafford.com/07-2958
Also available at Amazon.com
Check in with www.fletcherrhoden.com/reviews.htm for ensuing reviews.
FR
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
WRITE MAKES MIGHT seminar now online!
Happy October, everyone:
Ah yes, the traditional month of fiscal failures, yellow leaves and what we used to call Halloween. This month, I'm happy to report that the 30-minute seminar WRITE MAKES MIGHT, Stronger Structure in Storytelling, is now up and running at 2hip4tv.com. This live program, which in person can extend up to an hour including Q&A and signings, covers the 3-act structure, scene & sequel structure and much more -- using popular films to illustrate, including JAWS, THE EXORCIST, THE GODFATHER and others. DVDs are available at the 2hip4tv store. Here's the link to watch the seminar:
http://2hip4tv.com/show.php?i=NTI%3D
Interested in booking the seminar for your college or organization, or even your speakers' bureau? The WRITE MAKES MIGHT page of the home site, www.fletcherrhoden.com, will give you a choice of bureau-friendly or direct-booking pages (the two pages are not directly linked, video clips are bureau friendly).
In other news, I've finished work on my new CD, which was mentioned in this very blog some months ago. NEW HEAVEN should be available within a month or so from my website, where a few tunes will soon be posted on the MUSIC page. One of the earliest tracks, CRACKER LOVE, is already up, but it doesn't reveal much of what the cd has to offer. This disc is almost an even balance of Christian and secular pop -- five months recording time and over a year in the writing. I'd release it now, but the recent release of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON and the upcoming release of Dylan's new BOOTLEG SERIES cd set makes me think another month might be a better time to drop my new disc. Check back in about two weeks for a few more samples from what I really think is my best collection of new tunes ever. I'll post a blog with the appropriate announcements.
In other news, my new script (with Jeanell Suggs) is just about there, and a TV "back door" pilot is next in the pipeline. Some of you may have read about this in my interview with BookPleasures.com, which spread with unbelievable speed and breadth across the internet. I've done a few others (in support of my new novella, LAST TANGO WITH MARLON -- www.trafford.com/07-2958) and several outlets have reviews upcoming, including MIdwest Book Review, BookPleasures.com and some of the nation's leading university newspapers. Keep an eye on Entertainment Weekly magazine too! All will be posted on the REVIEWS page of my home site when they come out. Because many of the reviews will be in university papers (I feel many of my potential readers of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON are college students), I may not be notified when the reviews are published, so if anybody comes across one, feel free to contact me. Contact information is all over my site (see above) and I think in my blogger.com profile. At my site, you can also check out my new novella, read excerpts, follow links to the publisher's site (the book is now available at Amazon.com too) and so on.
I did also make an appearance at the West Hollywood Book Faire this past weekend -- made some new friends and spread the word of my book around, although I was not on the official roster. A big shout-out to Jim Marquez at CITIZEN L.A. and the gang at OR magazine!
Also in other news, Eva James is back in Los Angeles, but those hoping for an Eva James Band reunion will have to keep hoping for at least a while. Eva and I came close twice to gigging as a duo recently, but for various reasons it didn't happen. With both of our lives in such states of flux, it's hard to say when or if it will. To quote a certain ex-Beatle, that would be something. In the meantime, you can view some performance clips on the PERFORMANCES page of my home site, plus our video JUDGEMENT DAY on the VIDEOS page.
Speaking of videos, my much-maligned short subject spoof, GEICO.COM: CAVEMAN MEETS GECKO has handily become my most viewed on any site. In September, the cheap-o quickie averaged (on Youtube alone) 2,000 hits per week (In August, 1,500 per week, and in July about 1,000 per week and so on). Not a ton by Youtube standards, but it's far-and-away my most viewed at about 24,000 hits since last year. What's interesting is that the numbers keep increasing, whereas most of my shorts get a lot of their hits in the first six months and the average usually drops off after that. There were even a few people who posted favorable comments, although they are in the minority. Believe me, folks, I wasn't shooting for the moon on that one -- it's just a little goof I tossed together, but I'm glad it's reaching so many people. My most recent short, JURASSIC FART CLUB, also on the VIDEOS page, has started off strong, with over 1,500 hits in the first month (the animators of JURASSIC FIGHT CLUB even sent me a congratulatory email, thanking me for the laughs!) To compare, CAVEMAN MEETS GECKO's first month brought in only a few hundred hits, although it picked up steadily as the year went on.
So after you order your copy of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON from Trafford or Amazon.com, check out WRITE MAKES MIGHT: Stronger Structure in Storytelling at 2hip4tv.com, along with their other cool programs. Then spend some time at www.fletcherrhoden.com for a variety of amusements -- and stay tuned to this blog for additional developments in all things Fletch.
Keep blogging, everyone!
FR
Ah yes, the traditional month of fiscal failures, yellow leaves and what we used to call Halloween. This month, I'm happy to report that the 30-minute seminar WRITE MAKES MIGHT, Stronger Structure in Storytelling, is now up and running at 2hip4tv.com. This live program, which in person can extend up to an hour including Q&A and signings, covers the 3-act structure, scene & sequel structure and much more -- using popular films to illustrate, including JAWS, THE EXORCIST, THE GODFATHER and others. DVDs are available at the 2hip4tv store. Here's the link to watch the seminar:
http://2hip4tv.com/show.php?i=NTI%3D
Interested in booking the seminar for your college or organization, or even your speakers' bureau? The WRITE MAKES MIGHT page of the home site, www.fletcherrhoden.com, will give you a choice of bureau-friendly or direct-booking pages (the two pages are not directly linked, video clips are bureau friendly).
In other news, I've finished work on my new CD, which was mentioned in this very blog some months ago. NEW HEAVEN should be available within a month or so from my website, where a few tunes will soon be posted on the MUSIC page. One of the earliest tracks, CRACKER LOVE, is already up, but it doesn't reveal much of what the cd has to offer. This disc is almost an even balance of Christian and secular pop -- five months recording time and over a year in the writing. I'd release it now, but the recent release of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON and the upcoming release of Dylan's new BOOTLEG SERIES cd set makes me think another month might be a better time to drop my new disc. Check back in about two weeks for a few more samples from what I really think is my best collection of new tunes ever. I'll post a blog with the appropriate announcements.
In other news, my new script (with Jeanell Suggs) is just about there, and a TV "back door" pilot is next in the pipeline. Some of you may have read about this in my interview with BookPleasures.com, which spread with unbelievable speed and breadth across the internet. I've done a few others (in support of my new novella, LAST TANGO WITH MARLON -- www.trafford.com/07-2958) and several outlets have reviews upcoming, including MIdwest Book Review, BookPleasures.com and some of the nation's leading university newspapers. Keep an eye on Entertainment Weekly magazine too! All will be posted on the REVIEWS page of my home site when they come out. Because many of the reviews will be in university papers (I feel many of my potential readers of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON are college students), I may not be notified when the reviews are published, so if anybody comes across one, feel free to contact me. Contact information is all over my site (see above) and I think in my blogger.com profile. At my site, you can also check out my new novella, read excerpts, follow links to the publisher's site (the book is now available at Amazon.com too) and so on.
I did also make an appearance at the West Hollywood Book Faire this past weekend -- made some new friends and spread the word of my book around, although I was not on the official roster. A big shout-out to Jim Marquez at CITIZEN L.A. and the gang at OR magazine!
Also in other news, Eva James is back in Los Angeles, but those hoping for an Eva James Band reunion will have to keep hoping for at least a while. Eva and I came close twice to gigging as a duo recently, but for various reasons it didn't happen. With both of our lives in such states of flux, it's hard to say when or if it will. To quote a certain ex-Beatle, that would be something. In the meantime, you can view some performance clips on the PERFORMANCES page of my home site, plus our video JUDGEMENT DAY on the VIDEOS page.
Speaking of videos, my much-maligned short subject spoof, GEICO.COM: CAVEMAN MEETS GECKO has handily become my most viewed on any site. In September, the cheap-o quickie averaged (on Youtube alone) 2,000 hits per week (In August, 1,500 per week, and in July about 1,000 per week and so on). Not a ton by Youtube standards, but it's far-and-away my most viewed at about 24,000 hits since last year. What's interesting is that the numbers keep increasing, whereas most of my shorts get a lot of their hits in the first six months and the average usually drops off after that. There were even a few people who posted favorable comments, although they are in the minority. Believe me, folks, I wasn't shooting for the moon on that one -- it's just a little goof I tossed together, but I'm glad it's reaching so many people. My most recent short, JURASSIC FART CLUB, also on the VIDEOS page, has started off strong, with over 1,500 hits in the first month (the animators of JURASSIC FIGHT CLUB even sent me a congratulatory email, thanking me for the laughs!) To compare, CAVEMAN MEETS GECKO's first month brought in only a few hundred hits, although it picked up steadily as the year went on.
So after you order your copy of LAST TANGO WITH MARLON from Trafford or Amazon.com, check out WRITE MAKES MIGHT: Stronger Structure in Storytelling at 2hip4tv.com, along with their other cool programs. Then spend some time at www.fletcherrhoden.com for a variety of amusements -- and stay tuned to this blog for additional developments in all things Fletch.
Keep blogging, everyone!
FR
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