Rock Band Category

Nicole Russin-McFarland

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Interview with Nicole Russin-McFarland

am·bi·tion

amˈbiSH(ə)n/
noun
a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.

I love associating with talented people. But talent alone won’t make you successful. You need ambition. I seek out ambitious people to work with because ambition is infectious.

Nicole Russin-McFarland definitely has the “‘biSH”.

Tony Coke: Nicole, catch us up on your background. You’re from Illinois, yes? Have you always been into music?

Nicole Russin-McFarland
Illinois in the USA! Not much happens there – and that is exactly why I feel I developed any skills I had better than had I grown up in London or another exciting, thriving place. The most you can do in Illinois is go to some museums, go to the state fair downstate in Springfield, or visit the lake. Or go shopping. We have some seriously world class shopping similar to Manhattan or Paris there in downtown Chicago. I have studied music since I was five years old. I am so glad my parents made me study it as well! Possibly the greatest gift you can give your child is knowledge.


Tony Coke: I know you have several projects going on, tell us about your latest musical endeavor.

Nicole Russin-McFarland
My film score for our movie, The Eyes of Old Texas, currently on iTunes. I co-composed it with the very talented rocker and celebrity chef, Brian Tsao. Brian did an amazing job on the metal rock aspects. I worked all the classical music. Some songs are purely my work with orchestral sounds. Some are his. And the really, really unique work that’s so unusual and oh so good? The songs blending orchestral music with rock!

Tony Coke: So, not only are you working on a movie, you wrote the soundtrack and released that entirely on it’s own, before the movie was released?

Nicole Russin-McFarland
We crafted a very unique and interesting soundtrack for a cartoon movie we are currently in the slow process of finishing. With animated films, most people overlook the sound. You’ll have the generic elements of someone being sad, so “Oh Mr. Director, hello! Why don’t we have the clarinet dip down two notes? And when we have them happy, we can do the violins in no real pattern making a bunch of noise that really sounds like the warmup for a live orchestra? The audience is too dumb to care about music!” I highly disagree with this method. A cartoon movie is a real movie and needs to be treated like one. Any movie, period, needs a precise theme. We have a theme throughout the movie which inspired the title of the movie. Our movie is based on “The Eyes of Texas” theme song from where I graduated, The University of Texas at Austin. This theme is so classic and awe inspiring to millions of people who know how famous my school is. The sports events all play it too – check out our many Olympic athletes who are, like me, UT Austin alumni. The song is so meaningful. So not using it in a story that I actually got the idea for years ago when I went to school there would be terrible. I had to work on that theme.

Tony Coke: It sounds like you identify very closely with the visual side of music and the emotions it helps create. Is that a path you’d like to continue on in the future?

Nicole Russin-McFarland
I always work on writing down my themes so when the time comes, I can pull one out and have ideas ready, whether it’s for my future work or if someone wants to hire me. I definitely want to set myself up in the future to be animating movies regularly and composing the film scores for them. Animation is truly meaningful in my heart. I love it so much. Between any romantic comedy and animation, I’d rather go watch the latest Pixar or DreamWorks Animation film! And I really want to begin treating kids like smart people via my work, both as a film director and composer. Kids are little adults. I used to hate when I was so small how people would talk to me in a dumb voice and treat me like I didn’t know anything. I knew, as did other kids. We on the playground mocked their fake voice changes when they spoke to us. We knew everything. Children are worthy of good stories, funny jokes, silliness, and more from a grown-up’s movie. However, it’s not often done. And nor are strong film scores.

Tony Coke: I agree, I remember feeling that way as a kid also. So what is up next for you, what can we look forward to?

Nicole Russin-McFarland
Wrapping up directing and animating this movie this year so it can be ready to hit the film festivals! In The Eyes of Old Texas, we have a whole plotline on the “disaster takes place in 2017!” We have to be ready for film festival audiences to have the movie in a timely manner. So we’re gonna hustle until this thing gets done and done beautifully!

Tony Coke: Great! Best of luck to you, let us know when it’s finished, I’m anxious to see it!

Website: OfficialNicole.com
Twitter: @nrmcfarland
Instagram: @nicolermcfarland
Facebook: @russinmcfarland

Inspired by an Annoyed David Bowie: My Solemn Oath as a Host, and an Interviewer

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OR:

‘I, Pallas, Do Solemnly Swear . . . Never to Ask Stupid Questions.’

 

I had hoped to one day interview David Bowie . A girl can dream. Now that day will never come, but the wish was not entirely pie in the sky.
I began producing my own radio show ‘Pallas’ Dutch Invasion’ in the Spring of 2015. My initial intention was to feature successful, and also up and coming, and even underground Dutch bands. I’ve had the honor of featuring the internationally successful Dutch bands Taymir, and Birth of Joy, among others.
However, my show took a rapid and unexpected twist, and before I knew it, I was interviewing inconic musicians such as:
Jazz great- Lee Ritenour, Fee Waybill-front man of The Tubes, Tony Levin – King Crimson/ Stick Men (Official) bass and Chapman Stick player, Pat Mastelotto-King Crimson/Stick Men drummer and session player, Markus Reuter -touch guitar player of Stick Men and his solo works, and legendary Progressive Rock guitarist , Steve Hackett of Genesis, and solo works, to name a few.

Interviewing these legendary musicians is an honor as well as being a daunting undertaking. It is also a great pleasure, but not without pressure.
Preparing for an interview requires much research if it is to be done well.

I promised myself, to never ask dumb questions. I’d be damned if I were to bore my subjects, or make myself look stupid.

Viewing this compilation of interviews of ‘David Bowie Gets Annoyed’ (see Youtube link below), solidifies my commitment to research my subjects deeply, and to always go in well prepared. It’s the least I can do. It’s a sign of respect, it sets the subjects at ease, and, it hopefully makes for great journalism.

As a die-hard David Bowie fan since the age of 13, I was thrilled, when as a professional dancer, I came very close to having had the opportunity to work with him in 1987 on his Glass Spider Tour – choreographed by Toni Basil. I was one of the last two in the running for the ballerina role, but, sadly, I didn’t book the gig.

Now, with my new endeavor as a host, interviewer, and producer, I’d dared to dream, and hoped to create an opportunity to interview David Bowie perhaps for Pallas’ Dutch Invasion and elsewhere on radio and film. But sadly, that too shall never come to pass . . .

If I ever feel myself getting lazy or distracted while preparing for an interview, I’ll whip out this film of ‘David Bowie Gets Annoyed’ to remind myself to keep the bar high.

Until now, I seem to have done well, having received the following encouraging feedback:

Vicky Jenson, Director at Dreamworks Animation:
‘You project a knowlegable professional persona, worthy of interviewing these giants of music’….
‘ ….. In the interview (with Steve Hackett) Pallas’ understanding, preparation, and experience, allowed her a nimble poise and facility with her subject, putting the legendary musician at ease.

Tony Levin:
‘Thank you for not asking any trite questions!’

Lee Ritenour:
‘That’s a great question….These are hard questions!’

Steve Hackett:
‘I hope you don’t mind that we’re going off the page of your prepared questions.’
Pallas: ‘No! It’s great! Let’s keep going with the flow’

So, by virtue of writing this short piece, I wanted to make a commitment, in writing, to YOU, my dear listeners, readers, and followers, as well as to my future interview subjects.

I, Pallas, do solemnly swear, to never ask stupid or trite questions. Amen.

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This is the second of three pieces I am writing inspired David Bowie. The first from a dancer’s perspective, this one from the point of view as an interviewer, and next, will come a piece about how David Bowie, the man and artist has touched and inspired so many of us so deeply, and with such longetivity.

After writing the third piece, I think I will be able to join so many friends and colleagues, and finally allow myself to mourn his passing fully.

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This article was originally published on

January 13th, 2016 on PALLASDOTCOM

Chemical Refugee

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Tony Coke: Where are you guys from? I’m guessing not from the streets of Compton.

Chemical Refugee: Chemical Refugee are from the streets of the red light district in Sydney Australia.

Tony Coke: Oh Kings Cross?!?! I went there once accidentally, thanks to a hilarious cab driver. How long have you guys been making music?

Chemical Refugee: We have been together for 2 months.

Tony Coke: Wow, and you already have a single out?? That’s pretty impressive.

Chemical Refugee: We are promoting our first debut single “Therapy Song”.

Tony Coke: What are your current goals with Chemical Refugee?

Chemical Refugee: We want to be the first band to play on the moon, we have contacted NASA so the ball’s in their court.

Tony Coke: lol… I’ll send them an email and see if I can’t help that happen for you. What’s coming up next for you guys?

Chemical Refugee: Whats coming next besides our trip to the moon?
We are relesing a single a month in the build up to the album.

Tony Coke: Cool! Good luck! The first single sounds good, I’ll keep an eye out for the next one.

Cascade Riot

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Tony Coke: Who are your top 3 favorite musicians? Who do you want to be compared to?

Cascade Riot: Rather than listing out individual bands/musicians we would instead like to go on record as saying we are inspired by many different rock bands from all eras and all sub-genre’s. In fact, we all grew up loving a lot of classic rock bands and some of those bands are actually a big part of the reason we exist. Eventually we went on to discover lots of different stuff from punk to metal to your mom. As far as who we want to be compared to, the answer would be anyone who doesn’t suck.

Tony Coke: What real-life situation inspired your bands music?

Cascade Riot: There is no one particular thing that inspires our music. We are inspired by everything. Our Code Red EP has a song about an unidentifiable creature attacking a town. Where did that come from? Hell if we know. Doesn’t matter though – it came from somewhere. We just roll with it. There isn’t anything on Earth that CAN’T inspire a song.

Tony Coke: Is the artistic process lonely? How does the band counteract the
downs?

Cascade Riot: The opposite. Playing & creating music is what we do. It’s when we’re not doing that that things feel weird. We all have jobs and responsibilities and this is our outlet.

Tony Coke: What do you dislike about the genre your involved in?

Cascade Riot: Elitism.

Tony Coke: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Cascade Riot: Keep your junk away from the blender.

Tony Coke: lol… That’s very profound! Where can people connect with you and listen?

http://soundcloud.com/cascaderiot/sets/code-red
http://cascaderiot.com/
http://twitter.com/cascaderiot
http://www.facebook.com/cascaderiot