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GretchenYanover.com is the website for cellist Gretchen Yanover. Gretchen is a really amazing cellist. She has recorded with Built To Spill, KJ Sawka, The Stares, and Twrst to name a few. She plays in the Northwest Sinfonietta and with various classical duos and quartets in the region. Gretchen has also made a solo recording called "Bow and Cello". This is such a beautiful CD! I speak truth here. It is not just bias because I married her either! |
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CWIS.org is the website for The Center for World Indigenous Studies. My dad, Dr. Rudolph Ryser, formed this not for profit many years ago when I was a little kid. He has a PHD in "Foreign Conflict Resolution". He is an amazing man. If you Google his name, you'll find so many things he's done and been involved in. Do look him up, he's very worth the time. |
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HarmonicaPocket.com is the website for The Harmonica Pocket. I play with Keeth Apgar (the founder of this group) quite a bit. Keeth says that this is a "band", but I say that this is his solo project. They're his songs, he books the shows, he has the final say on everything artistic, he pays me at the end of the night! Lorne Watson, the drummer in Harmonica Pocket, agrees with me. I mean, we love playing in the group, don't get me wrong. But I feel that it would be more successful if it was marketed/promoted as Keeth's project. I think that selling it as a "band" ends up being confusing. I want to keep playing with Keeth. His music challenges me to play in ways that I don't play with other groups. Lorne has said the same to me. I really enjoy recording with Keeth and plan to do so for many years to come. |
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digRecords.com is the website for dig Records. I own this record label though I have decided to retire it. This is just not the direction I want to go in life. I would prefer to focus on making music and art rather than the business of selling these things. I do acknowledge that the selling of music and art is important to sustain these things in this society and I must still keep my mind partially there. I just don't want to make it the focus. |
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RonnieV.com is the website for drummer, Ronnie Villanueva. Ronnie lives in Los Angeles now, but at one time he lived in Seattle. He played drums for me in my live Acid Jazz group, "Pangaea", now called "Futomaru".I learned about him when he played in a funk outfit called, "Apolo Creed". While playing in Pangaea, Ronnie and I became good friends. In 1995, we took a trip together with our friend, Ricci Gurango (who played bass in Pangaea), to the Philippines. We stayed in the PI for about a month with relatives of Ricci G's. What a great experience! I still long to go back! |
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IQBeats.com is the website for Steve Scalfati's production company, "IQ Beats". Steve and I have been friends since high school. We lived together in Los Angeles while attending Dick Grove's School of Music. He is such a "Wow!" guy! He is known around Seattle mostly as a keyboardist, but he is a really bad-ass saxophonist! He has been doing studio production for years. After he left ReelWorld Productions he and his business partner, Michael Berlin formed IQ Beats. They have been very successful! Check them out, I'm sure you'll be impressed too! |
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HighChildren.com is the website for the Seattle Hip Hop group, "The High Children", also known as "THC". I went to High School with MC Jamal. LSDJ played in my live Acid Jazz group, "Pangaea" (now called "Futomaru)". I know LoOn-e through Steve Scalfati. Steve and Eric Huber recorded the first THC record, "Halluc the Nation" in California and brought LoOn-e up to Seattle with them. LoOn-e met LSDJ while performing in Pangaea and they began to collaborate. I brought LoOn-e into SharkSkin and, lo and behold!, he brought with him MC Jamal! I hadn't seen Jamal in some years. Now, all three of these guys (whom I know separately) comprise The High Children. They are really dope! Get one of their CD's at digRecords.com! |
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Forums.Xbox-Scene.com is the forum for the website, Xbox-Scene.com. I've been thinking about Xboxes a LOT lately. This is a great forum where you can find out just about everything that has to do with Xbox. I have a version 1.0 (made in Mexico) Xbox. It's not modded (yet). Steve Scalfati gave me this Xbox after he left it powered up on "pause" and unattended for 2 weeks! Needless to say, the machine didn't work so well. I'm putting a new Samsung DVD drive in it and that should get it going again. Been thinking about trying a TSOP mod on it, but we'll see. |
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JohnWicks.com is the website for drummer, John Wicks. Wicks really can play. I met him through CD Littlefield many years ago. CD and John went to Central Washington University together. When CD and I were in the Hungry Young Poets, John moved to Seattle. We tried him out for the spot as the Poets drummer. At the time, it wasn't a perfect match. John was practicing like crazy though! He formed the jazz project "Bebop and Destruction" and has just been blowing doors ever since. Wicks is now in Los Angeles playing his ass off! |
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MarmaladeJams.com is the website for the improvisational Soul / Funk group, Marmalade. I play with Marmalade every Thursday night at Tost. This group is really excellent. When I first began playing with them, it was fun, but not always the most challenging or interesting musically. Now though... it rocks! The whole group has risen to a new level. PachaMama Project took Marmalade to France and Spain in the summer of 2005 for 7 weeks. This did wonders for the band musically. We made a CD for the France Tour called, "Volume One". We've had a great deal of talk about making a studio recording. This is my wish. Make it so. |
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StingShark.com is the website for the band, StingShark, lead by guitarist Brian Ray also known as, "StingShark". I've played with Brian for years. Originally, I met him in Phat Sidy Smokehouse where we played together for over 10 years. I also played with him for a little while in the Ganja Farmers. I hired him for a couple years in Futomaru while we hosted "Horns and Vinyl". When he began recording StingShark, I was more than happy to write tracks for him. Then we played some shows, it was all a lot of fun! Currently, we both play in Marmalade every Thursday night (and sometimes more). |
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Buddhaful.com is the website for Buddhaful clothing. Buddhaful Mike (as we call him) is one of the keyboardists in Marmalade. This is his clothing company. He makes very hip t-shirts, hotpants, hoodies, and the like. It all seems to be going very well. I see his stuff at hip little boutiques up and down the coast. I even saw some in a few stores when we were in France! Check it out! |
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dadadaRecords.com is the website for Da Da Da Records in Iowa. I met the founder, Thomas Krenzel Doggett, on MySpace. Really trippy. He is a saxophonist as well and has been doing music similar to myself for many years. He seems like a real cool guy. You should check him out. |
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LorneWatson.com is the website for Drummer and Teacher, Lorne Watson. Lorne is an exceptional drummer. I perform with him in the Harmonica Pocket. He also runs a chamber orchestra call Loop 2.4.3. Again, he is a very accomplished percussionist and he really seems to enjoy playing "classical" music. |
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KJSawka.com is the website for Drummer, Kevin Sawka's group, KJ Swaka. KJ Sawka (in my mind) is realy Kevin. He does dope live Drum & Bass all by himself. Add to this Kent Halverson and Christa Wells, then sprinkle on a slew of guest performers and there is some extremely interesting music happening here. I really dig his sound. |
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La-Jam.com is the website for the French Hip-Hop / Ragga group La Jam (also known as "La Jam Session". These guys are dope! When Marmalde went to France in 2005, we met MC Ti Couli of La Jam. He turned out to be a great friend. Some of us tracked on their new record. We hope to do more with them in the years to come! Now, in French: La-Jam.com Est le site web pour l'Hip-Hop/Ragga groupe La Jam (aussi connu comme "La Jam Session". Ces garcons sont dope! Quand Marmalade est allé en France dans 2005, nous avons rencontré MC Ti Couli de La Jam. Il s'est avéré être un grand ami. Certains de nous avons traqué sur leur nouveau rapport. Nous espérons faire plus avec eux dans les années pour venir! |
