Official Warning.
Warning, the artistic and chaotic exhibition of drum corps portrayed by pieces of sushi that you are about to see on Evil DCP World may be unsuitable, offensive or even profoundly annoying to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised. Furthermore, no animals were harmed in the production of the following artistic drum corps exhibition. Unless of course, you count the fish. In which case, we're sorry, but an artistic rendition of drum corps in broccoli is not quite as funny.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Time to fire up the Final Draft software ... Screenwriting Class, the advanced version, began last night. My goal of the next few months is to write a full-length motion picture screenplay. I keep going back and forth on what it will be about, and I have a few different ideas that could be interesting to dive into ... but, I think I know what I'll end up writing, no matter what other ideas pop into my head in the near future, so maybe the temporary indecision is pointless. lol.
In other news, following a genius opening ceremony, the Winter Olympics have begun. Is it me, or are a few of the events ridiculous? Especially that one where people have to mop the ice while another guy on the team plays shuffle board. That is called "curling," maybe? I dunno. I wonder if the people who mop the ice actually practice all year, or just kinda get together out in the parking lot right before they compete, a-la Crunchy Frog? I can't wait to get all the hate mail from the "mopper-guys" who train hard for four years. Heh.
Speaking of Winter Olympics Moments, a few years ago (2001?), the Renegades had a board meeting. At that meeting, as we were discussing some long-forgotten point, I turned to Jeff Demello and asked, "Jeff, rebuttal?"
Someone did not understand what I said, and asked "Who is Jeffrey Buttal?" ... which led to laughter all around the table.
Anyway ... the bronze medalist in figure skating last night = Jeffrey Buttal.
The dude actually exists.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Breaking News: The situation with Iran has suddenly gotten very serious.
Iran has renamed the Danish pastry.
Thus proving once and for all that the "Freedom Fries" incident was not quite the most idiotic thing in the history of politics and food.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Litigators are a Different Animal.
Introduction.
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of lawyers. (1) Transactional lawyers, who spend their time negotiating agreements so people can happily make money and/or avoid liability; and (2) Litigators, may of whom spend a great deal of their time fighting, provoking and plotting the demise of other litigators. Now, imagine the personality types that might logically gravitate towards these two job descriptions, and you will have a general sense of how the following came to be. Especially since I am about to make fun of one of them.
Disclaimer: This is not legal advice to anyone under any circumstances, just a general and maybe humorous discussion of a random entertainment law scene.
I went to a lunch meeting of the Beverly Hills Bar Association this afternoon, at a nice restaurant on La Cienega called "Lawrys." Today's discussion was about artist management agreements, and the current state of California law. A few high-powered Hollywood entertainment litigators led the discussion, along with Angela Watson, a beautiful actress who is also on the board of the Screen Actors Guild.
And now ... a little bit of legal context.
Lesson 1 - The Calfornia Talent Agency Act.
Besides the usual 101 legal issues that surround any artist management agreement, there is one significant legal hurdle for managers under California law. To avoid boring you with a long law review article that even highly medicated lawyers cannot stand to read for more than 10 seconds, just know that at the end of the day, it all comes down to one simple Draconian rule.
Under California law, Managers cannot legally procure employment for artists ... unless they are a licensed talent agent.
Period.
This means, for example, the manager of your local band cannot legally get the band
a gig unless he is a licensed talent agent. Truth be told, most managers don't give a [BLEEP], and they book gigs for their band wherever and whenever they want.
The chaos, however, begins once the manager has a dispute with the band. The band fires the Manager. Then the Manager tries to enforce his management contract with the band.
Kaboom!
The problem is ... if the manager once-upon-a-time booked a show (i.e. procured employment) for the band, a Court or the Labor Commission will throw his or her management contract OUT THE WINDOW ... just because of the once-upon-a time violation of the Talent Agency Act. Ouch.
It doesn't matter if the band owes the Manager money.
In fact, nothing really matters under the current law, and Managers almost always lose in court.
The score is 74,000,093 to 2.
Scene 1 = Artist wins, pays Manager nothing from now on. Contract is Over.
Grand Finale = A
rtist sues the Manager for all the money they paid him last year. Ouch.
Note, this outcome is possible even if the Manager booked the show AT THE REQUEST OF THE ARTIST.
Evil, no?
So anyway, the discussion went on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, about this point.
Then, I dumped some iced tea. Which I seem to be getting quite good at lately.
Then, the discussion went went on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on about the same topic.
Then, I dumped some iced tea. Again. Which I am getting quite good at lately. Maybe I should go pro.
Then, the discussion went went on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on about the same topic.
Then, actress Angela Watson started to talk. What captivated me about Angela was not her radiant smile, nor her knowledge of the law. It was her profound explanation of how she s
tarted her career as a successful child actor ... and then one day, she figured out her management team stole $3,000,000 from her. Apparently, the people she trusted most -- including her parents -- put their hands in the proverbial candy dish ... and tried to get Angela not to notice as her money flew out the door and into their pockets.
Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast Forward ... and a very antagonized Angela sues everyone. Including her parents.
When the dust $ettled, Angela had her money back, an accountant sat in prison, a lawyer lost his license, and I can only imagine that Thanksgiving Dinner at the Watson house was never really quite the same.
That story certainly put our discussion into the proper perspective.
Next up to bat, the Hollywood litigators lead the discussion back to the case law and legal issues. Yippee!
Suddenly ... a older litigator with silver hair from across the room raises his hand.
"Yes? ... Do you have a question?" the unsuspecting moderator asks.
The guy stands up, picks up a book, and starts out with his best Abraham Lincoln voice.
"What I am about to say will make some of you happy," he opined.
"And what I am about to say will also make some of you very angry."
Thought: Uh-oh. Here we go. Turn up the radio.
What follows can only be described as "courtroom drama not in a courtroom."
Or maybe life-imitating-art-imitating-a-tuna-casserole.
In proper legalease, the now-standing antagonized man proceeds to tell the entire panel of distinguished Hollywood litigators that they are full of shit. Well, he didn't actually use an obscenity, but he might as well have. He told them all of their information was wrong.
The fireworks are lit ... the litigator circus Kamikaze meelee begins ... as opposing enemy lawyers clench their teeth like starving animals ... others angrily spout out bizarre and often irrelevant numerical case law citations like they are being auctioned off at Southerbys ... lizard toungues and narrow rat eyes eagerly size up the competition in front of a half-eaten slice of Apple pie and a non-existent judge ... while still others dig through stained yellow paper in search of more irrelevant case citations to recite.
The litigators in the room are in a complete rage ... over an obscure legal point that has about as much relevance to your life as the average annual consumption of belly button lint by farm animals in Ecuador.
And some of them are really fucking mad.
Which is really strange. This small group-in-a-rage includes the standing-up-guy-in-a-rage, who promptly assures his place in the history books by storming out of the room. In a rage.
The whole bizarre scene would make an excellent intermission to the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Eventually, I can't stand it any more.
And I have no more iced tea to dump on the table.
I look at my watch, wave goodbye to a few lawyer pals ... and escape from the bizarre scene ...
I open the door and walk out into the Southern California sunshine.
With an amused smile on my face.
Introduction.
Generally speaking, there are two kinds of lawyers. (1) Transactional lawyers, who spend their time negotiating agreements so people can happily make money and/or avoid liability; and (2) Litigators, may of whom spend a great deal of their time fighting, provoking and plotting the demise of other litigators. Now, imagine the personality types that might logically gravitate towards these two job descriptions, and you will have a general sense of how the following came to be. Especially since I am about to make fun of one of them.Disclaimer: This is not legal advice to anyone under any circumstances, just a general and maybe humorous discussion of a random entertainment law scene.
I went to a lunch meeting of the Beverly Hills Bar Association this afternoon, at a nice restaurant on La Cienega called "Lawrys." Today's discussion was about artist management agreements, and the current state of California law. A few high-powered Hollywood entertainment litigators led the discussion, along with Angela Watson, a beautiful actress who is also on the board of the Screen Actors Guild.
And now ... a little bit of legal context.
Lesson 1 - The Calfornia Talent Agency Act.
Besides the usual 101 legal issues that surround any artist management agreement, there is one significant legal hurdle for managers under California law. To avoid boring you with a long law review article that even highly medicated lawyers cannot stand to read for more than 10 seconds, just know that at the end of the day, it all comes down to one simple Draconian rule.
Under California law, Managers cannot legally procure employment for artists ... unless they are a licensed talent agent.
Period.
This means, for example, the manager of your local band cannot legally get the band
a gig unless he is a licensed talent agent. Truth be told, most managers don't give a [BLEEP], and they book gigs for their band wherever and whenever they want.The chaos, however, begins once the manager has a dispute with the band. The band fires the Manager. Then the Manager tries to enforce his management contract with the band.
Kaboom!
The problem is ... if the manager once-upon-a-time booked a show (i.e. procured employment) for the band, a Court or the Labor Commission will throw his or her management contract OUT THE WINDOW ... just because of the once-upon-a time violation of the Talent Agency Act. Ouch.
It doesn't matter if the band owes the Manager money.
In fact, nothing really matters under the current law, and Managers almost always lose in court.
The score is 74,000,093 to 2.
Scene 1 = Artist wins, pays Manager nothing from now on. Contract is Over.
Grand Finale = A
rtist sues the Manager for all the money they paid him last year. Ouch.Note, this outcome is possible even if the Manager booked the show AT THE REQUEST OF THE ARTIST.
Evil, no?
So anyway, the discussion went on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, about this point.
Then, I dumped some iced tea. Which I seem to be getting quite good at lately.
Then, the discussion went went on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on about the same topic.
Then, I dumped some iced tea. Again. Which I am getting quite good at lately. Maybe I should go pro.
Then, the discussion went went on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on about the same topic.
Then, actress Angela Watson started to talk. What captivated me about Angela was not her radiant smile, nor her knowledge of the law. It was her profound explanation of how she s
tarted her career as a successful child actor ... and then one day, she figured out her management team stole $3,000,000 from her. Apparently, the people she trusted most -- including her parents -- put their hands in the proverbial candy dish ... and tried to get Angela not to notice as her money flew out the door and into their pockets.Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast Forward ... and a very antagonized Angela sues everyone. Including her parents.
When the dust $ettled, Angela had her money back, an accountant sat in prison, a lawyer lost his license, and I can only imagine that Thanksgiving Dinner at the Watson house was never really quite the same.
That story certainly put our discussion into the proper perspective.
Next up to bat, the Hollywood litigators lead the discussion back to the case law and legal issues. Yippee!
Suddenly ... a older litigator with silver hair from across the room raises his hand.
"Yes? ... Do you have a question?" the unsuspecting moderator asks.
The guy stands up, picks up a book, and starts out with his best Abraham Lincoln voice.
"What I am about to say will make some of you happy," he opined.
"And what I am about to say will also make some of you very angry."
Thought: Uh-oh. Here we go. Turn up the radio.
What follows can only be described as "courtroom drama not in a courtroom."
Or maybe life-imitating-art-imitating-a-tuna-casserole.
In proper legalease, the now-standing antagonized man proceeds to tell the entire panel of distinguished Hollywood litigators that they are full of shit. Well, he didn't actually use an obscenity, but he might as well have. He told them all of their information was wrong.
The fireworks are lit ... the litigator circus Kamikaze meelee begins ... as opposing enemy lawyers clench their teeth like starving animals ... others angrily spout out bizarre and often irrelevant numerical case law citations like they are being auctioned off at Southerbys ... lizard toungues and narrow rat eyes eagerly size up the competition in front of a half-eaten slice of Apple pie and a non-existent judge ... while still others dig through stained yellow paper in search of more irrelevant case citations to recite.
The litigators in the room are in a complete rage ... over an obscure legal point that has about as much relevance to your life as the average annual consumption of belly button lint by farm animals in Ecuador.
And some of them are really fucking mad.
Which is really strange. This small group-in-a-rage includes the standing-up-guy-in-a-rage, who promptly assures his place in the history books by storming out of the room. In a rage.
The whole bizarre scene would make an excellent intermission to the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Eventually, I can't stand it any more.
And I have no more iced tea to dump on the table.
I look at my watch, wave goodbye to a few lawyer pals ... and escape from the bizarre scene ...
I open the door and walk out into the Southern California sunshine.
With an amused smile on my face.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Tuesday.
The original title of this edition of Blog 7 was "Monday." But, "Monday the lawyer-day" didn't end until 10:00 p.m., and by then, I was too mentally drained to write anything on Blog 7.
So, welcome to Tuesday. Renegades marching guru aka the guy who taught 1988 Madison to march well enough to clobber the West Coast
and win DCI, Mark "Mac" McIntyre and I spent last weekend doing a clinic with the So Cal Dream drum and bugle corps. It was a fun and inspiring weekend, during which Mac reconfirmed my belief that he is one of the best marching techs in all of drum corps. Opener = on the field.Dream is picking up steam quickly ... there is talent on the staff, and many good people in the corps who love to perform. There are also a lot of really, really [BLEEP] tall people. And I mean like NBA tall. TALL. Maybe we should get them black shakos with really tall black plumes so the corps will look like Giants. Hmmmmm.
Next up for the Renegades/Dream alliance or whatever we call it, the LMS Los Angeles concert on July 7 ... with denizens of the L.A. music industry in the audience. Loud.
Speaking of uniforms ... with red shirts and brilliant scarves, the Renegades looked fantastic in the Chinese New Years parade this year ... their best appearance ever. I missed my evil pals this weekend at the parade, but like last year, I am 500 miles away and have to be strategic with rehearsals I come in for. I will see my Renegades friends soon however, and I cannot wait.
Okay. This concludes this edition of Blog 7.
Check out the new online drum corps magazine, Evil DCP World. There is a photo essay on there from the So Cal Dream weekend, to be followed soon by a intellectually stimulating representation of the Bushwackers field show, in sushi.
Later
Lee
Monday, February 13, 2006
Random thoughts re: So Cal Dream rehearsal etc. coming later today.
Meanwhile ... today is your last day to get a copy of the Renegade Journal (see below).
Meanwhile ... today is your last day to get a copy of the Renegade Journal (see below).
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