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Sunday, June 19, 2016

STEVE'S WEB ACTIVITIES

Here's a list of my ongoing activities.

The gallery at www.ArtWanted.com/artist.cfm?ArtID=47665 displays a variety  of  my paintings, photos and other images.

You can also use  Google browser--stephen kearney artist paintings artwanted.com--to bring up a nicely arranged search retrieval of about 100 representative s.k.works--before it drifts off into irrerlevant stuff.

For fashion design go to shardy-arts--Steve's gallery/boutique affiliated with PAOM.

To see steve's videos it's http://YouTube.com/user/cyclopster --the quirky stuff includes music videos, sets of paintings, dogs, seashells, road trips,comedic acting, etc.

To read steve's books search   Amazon Kindle steve kearney and you'll find Kearney Blarney (family humor)and also Cosmic Wormhole Web System (sci-fi).

My extensive music discography can all be heard at https://soundcloud.com/stephen-kearney-7.Most of it's available for downloading at the usual places.

Distributor CD Baby has an artist's writeup page and also a place for comments on Ace Shardtrix--The Drawbridge; Steven Starjet--Love Wheel; Steve and Ace--Blue Night, and Smashups!; Riffin Spiders--Tune the Moon, and Welcome to Mars!  More titles are coming soon!

Then there's this site--bogfrogjog.blogspot.com--essays and whatnot.

Direct links for most of the above  (ArtWanted, Blogger, SoundCloud, and YouTube) can be accessed at https://about.me/stevekearney99.me.
















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Friday, March 21, 2014

PUTIN' PUTIN DOWN

Hillary Clinton’s comparing Vladimir Putin to Hitler may have opened a Pandora’s Box for  Cold War revivalists, conspiracy theorists and political gossippers.

So here’s my beginners list of 10 eerie parallels between Put. And Hit.:

*Highly charismatic heads of state,

*Masters of national propaganda machine,

*Little tolerance for political opposition,

*Tapped into national yearning for a return to glorious Empire of previous century and earlier,

*Rewrote national constitution to extend power grip,

*Held power in shakey economic times,

*Hosted an Olympic Games,

*During which chided for anti-progressive stance on social issue (Aryanism; gay rights),

*Swift early military campaigns explained as “annexation” (Sudetenland; Crimea)

*Trying to reacquire border territory lost in aftermath of prior war (WWI “punitive” settlement; Cold War).

Sunday, March 16, 2014

A SIMPLE SOLUTION


Businesses that want to be allowed not to serve gays should simply be required to post this policy somewhere prominently so that anyone patronizing them could tell what upstanding bigots they are.



Thursday, October 17, 2013

WASHINGTON REDSKINS NAME CONTROVERSY

People are clamoring for the scalp of the Washington football Redskins. They want the “Redskins” to cease being the “Redskins“ They want to change the team’s identity!



It’s because everyone thinks that “Redskins” is a derogatory racial slur referring to skin color and bigotry. But actually, “Redskins” refers to the color of paint that certain Indians located in what is now Newfoundland used to paint their bodies--it was red. It’s as simple as that!



This red color would be flashing quite boldly during wartime, giving them a spectacular aura!  Settlers called this particular Indian tribe--the Beothuk--“Red Indians” for the lavish body painting. As that noble tribe is now extinct, sports teams such as the Washington football Redskins may be seen as doing honor to the Beothuk--preserving their memory!



When that National Football League (NFL) franchise in the 1930’s, then in Boston, took the name “Redsins”, it’s likely that the impression they wanted to make was one of toughness and prowess on the field of battle. Note the prominent use over the years of a spear in the team’s logos and on their helmets--hardly pejorative!



Back in the day, it wouldn’t have made sense to call a particular tribe the “Red Indians” if all Indians were already considered “red.” It would have been redundant. In fact, all Indians weren’t as a rule referred to as “red” or “redskin” or “red anything”. That’s more recent.



In lieu of name-changing, the Redskins could be encouraged to refine their image by making the Indian’s appearance on the team logo more realistic--a lighter skin tone matching that (estimated) of the Beothuk Indians, and highlights of a bright brilliant red pigment applied as best as we can tell they did.



Proud Redskins owner Dan Snyder can say it was all one big misunderstanding. Problem solved. Game Over. Now if winning some real games was as easy!



Sources:

The Quebec History Encyclopedia

The Smithsonian Book of North American Indians

Wikipedia--Washington Redskins

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

STEVE & ACE RELEASE SMASHING SMASHUPS! CD



For this cd-full-of-mashups--Smashups!-- Steve & Ace have tapped into their own catalog--transformationally electrified--and mixed in some potential future hits along with a decent amount of improvisation. At times, if you’re familiar with the material, you can pick out hooks from the originals. But the real magic of Smashups!comes from the creation of wholly fresh-sounding work here.



Steve--the man, and Ace--the guitar, have been making music together for quite a long time, but this is their first effort as an electric, multi-track outfit. As usual, the sound is rather unconventional. It’s sort of like hard rock meets new age crossed with classical mixed with a kind of punk metal avant-garde adventure movie soundtrack..



The guitar sound has a 50’s feel--with modern effects added. Methods of strumming the guitar produce percussive sounds that serve as rhythm makers. And so a wall of sound is constructed, in effect, from nothing more than one guy and one guitar--with utilization of a pickup, an amp, a pedal or two and some software



The vocal stylings range from cathedral--esque chanting to mock TV newscasts and commercials. Some of the “voices” are created by Steve’s playing the guitar a certain way; others are spawned in the studio by the layering of tracks. Which is to say, most of the vocals on this record are self-generated yet more or less “found.”



Overall, the sounds evoke epic visual dreamscapes of frenetic activity, as well as moments of serenity and wonderment, that are highly cinematic! The voices seem to be coming from a variety of depths and with a diversity of purpose and urgency. Some of it sounds like radio transmissions--having problems with interference.



Enjoy it over popcorn! Sounds best played loud! Cheers!


Now, a related post.
More on Steve & Ace’s new record “Smashups!” What they’re doing here can be seen as a rather revolutionary fusion of rock with classical.



They take your basic rock hook--sticking out like a sore thumb--and embed it in the composition. This way it can grow on you.



A couple or more guitar (tracks) play the same song/chord changes out of sync and/or in a different style or tempo. This provides some harmonies and some dissonance. Another guitar (track) usually plays an entirely different song or a medley of some--creating a polyphonic effect.



Often, guitars improvise or noodle around. There is an occasional solo/prominent bar or two. These serve to develop the theme, a lynchpin of classical music structure.



The drum section of a R&R band is covered by Steve & Ace with guitar percussives. Certain ways of interacting with the instrument can produce rich sounds that are rhythmic yet not overly melodic. At times, elements of the mix are rather industrial, or like a jet, or the wind and its effects.



Vocals are shared by a plethora of voices that seem woven into the mix. You’ve got a range from really high-pitch Alvin & the Chipmunkish to bassy Darth Vader-like. There are delighted voices saying things like “oh, joy” and “we’ve just won a million dollars” to desperate voices such as “what’s going on?“ and “we’re going under!” Expressions range from the mundane “it’s like 32 degrees outside”, to big questions like “where is the body?“ It’s a cornucopia of voices, really--Gregorian chanting alternates and overlaps with Dante’s Inferno, making it potentially polyphonic both vocally and guitar-wise..



To trump the devil’s advocate: if all of this sounds like the perfect recipe/storm for a train wreck kind of record, let me assure you--Steve & Ace is/are no gimmick. The music may sound like a train wreck at times--literally--but not figuratively The unique style on display here developed out of years of guitar practice sessions, a plenitude of weeks-at-a-time songwriting marathons, hundreds of hours recording vocals and acoustic guitar (3+ cds-worth), and decades of listening to a great variety of music (including one decade of regular show going in NYC--from CBGBs to Carnegie Hall).
Rock On! (With Class)

PS--When somebody mentions classical music, the first thing one generally thinks of is a symphony orchestra. While Steve & Ace’s wall of sound could be considered an update in that vein, the music also bears a striking resemblance to classical chamber music--as if a string quartet’s two violins, viola and cello have been transformed into electric guitars.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

HOCKEY RUINED BY TOO MANY BLOCKED SHOTS (by anyone other than the goalie)

The annual Washington Capitals playoff disappointment has drawn the accustomed debate over how, and how much the team and/or their front office ought to be shaken up.


One recurrent complaint is that the team’s freewheeling, aggressive offensive style of play, which is rather effective in the regular season, fails in the playoffs because the opposing defenses play harder.



Rather than accept this compatibility problem, it’s possible to take a more aggressive strategy. The Capitals should push to have the National Hockey rules modified, or clarified, to address the tactics other teams are using on defense. Theses tactics include sprawling in front of shooters to block the shot.



The risk vs. potential payout ratio for this behavior is too high for defenders during most regular season contests. But with so much at stake in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s like you’ve got multiple goalies out there.  Imagine if during the Major league Baseball Playoffs and World Series, the position players all started pitching from various locations--it would be pure chaos.  Extreme defense trumps a good offense.


That’s an angle the Capitals--and anybody who really appreciates the aesthetics of good sport--could take in arguing their point. Surely the official rules of hockey forbid teams from having more than one goaltender on the ice at anytime. These players who are using their bodies as human shields are de facto part-time goalies.


Do soccer rules permit any player other than the goalkeeper to use their hands to deflect shots on-goal? Of course not! It’s time for hockey officials to review the rulebook and take some appropriate action. A player who goes to the ground of his own accord so as to block a potential shot on goal ought to be penalized.

Goaltending should be for goaltenders only. Sliding proponents might say that we shouldn’t restrict the movement of a player and that it’s not fair to do so since it punishes those who are good at it. My reply is that someone being good at cheating doesn’t excuse it. If a soccer player trips up the one with the ball it’s a foul--no question.

If laying down to block shots is OK, someone ought to bring out a pair of Sumo wrestlers. Together they should be able to effectively seal a 4’ x 6’ hockey net--one is the goalie, the other a defenseman. You could skate 4-on-5 and never lose.
They'd have to change the rules!