Bonnaroo Music Festival

Our special correspondent, Durham bassist Brian Preston, made the journey to the Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tennessee a couple of weeks ago.

D: Sounds like you had a great time Brian. Tell us, what were your favorite bands?

B: Well the thing I learned about Bonnaroo is that there is so much going on all the time you really only see a small fraction of the action. Out of the bands I saw my favorites were Stephen Marley, Umphreys McGhee, Metallica, Zappa plays Zappa, and Grupo Fantasmo. Pearl Jam was pretty good too.

D: Excellent! How long is the drive to Manchester? At least we're not talking Manchester, England!

B: From Durham NC to Manchester TN is a good 8 hrs 30 mins. But alas, it takes longer for stops and to enjoy the beautiful Smokey Mountains as you head into Tennessee.

FYI, From Durham England to Manchester England is only 2 hrs 10 mins (131 miles!)

D: Bonnaroo is a true multimedia event. Did you check out the art and movie offerings?

B: Art was everywhere... exhibits of all kinds. There was a very cool fire exhibit that climaxed with giant smoke rings being propelled into the atmosphere... over the Metallica show!

D: Did you run into anyone you know from around here?

B: Amazingly, No! But each camp neighbor in our area was from NC: Charlotte, Wilmington, Greenville...

D: Thanks for that report Brian!

BitWorks West Visits Joe Cocker's Ranch

As some of you may know, our marketing director for the western US resides in beautiful Durango, Colorado. That would be my sister Julie. She just sent me this note:

I just returned from this little town called Hotchkiss here in Colorado. Believe it or not, the famous musician, Joe Cocker, lives on a ranch in an even smaller town right near there called Crawford. So, he put on a show at the little fairgrounds in Hotchkiss as a benefit for his children's foundation. It was cool.

One fun memory I have of Joe Cocker dates back to when I was in graduate school, studying robotics. We visited University of Utah's robotics lab on a trip years ago. U. of U. was known for its work on the Disney animatronics robots. In the lab, they had a robot without skin--all the guts exposed--who was singing and dancing to a Joe Cocker song. So, if you're ever at a Joe Cocker concert, make sure it's not the robot.

Anyway, Julie also mentioned that she enjoyed dancing with Jeff from Aspen, so Jeff, if you happen to be reading this, you should drop Julie an email: julie at bitworksmusic dot com.

Sunfold Releasing Debut: "Toy Tugboats"

Raleigh's Sunfold is the alter-ego of the band Annuals (who are playing TONIGHT at the Carrboro Arts Center). While Annuals' compositions generally spring from the keyboard of Adam Baker, Sunfold is the work of guitarist Kenny Florence. "Toy Tugboats", due for release mid-July, features a wide range of guitar-based tunes, showcasing Florence's rock solid chops and various musical styles, ranging from progressive rock to jazz, and a bit o' country. It's more laid back than Annuals' acclaimed "Be He Me" album, and way more jazzy. If you are a fan of jazz guitar and progressive rock, "Toy Tugboats" may be the thing for you. In a word: arpeggios!

If you catch Annuals this evening in Carrboro, you may hear a few Sunfold pieces in the mix, as they finish up their latest US tour. You will be hard pressed to find a more talented group of musicians.

Stay Tuned

It's been pretty slow on the blogging front lately. I have new music to review and am finishing up work on the long-awaited multimedia album release. We have been traveling a bit, so no exciting updates for you!. Come back soon...

More Fun With Animals

This video has been making the rounds lately. BitWorks Music endorses Barack Obama for president, and this parrot for VP.

You Can't Read This

Well, looks like BitWorksMusic.com is down today! I cannot reach my ISP, and can't even read my email for the last several hours. Of course, this means I'm completely freaking out. No email!? Emergency! It's almost 100 degrees (F) here today, and my car is in the shop, so we're pretty much hanging around the house here. At least we're breaking out the recording gear.

Have a nice cool day.