Strange World of Van Conner Blog

VALIS to play Georgetown

2010-12-16T07:15:00.001-08:00

Click here to find out about our show December 17th

Hammond M3 repair and connect to Leslie 130 project Video

2010-12-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a short video I made to demonstrate the Leslie 130.

Hammond M3 repair and connect to Leslie 130 project

2010-12-12T23:20:00.001-08:00

I have been working on this for a few months now. I wanted to share some of what I have been up to at home. I purchased this Hammond M3 many years ago at the Stanwood Lincoln Hill Senior Center thrift store. I used it for several years but when we moved into our current house I put it away and didn't use it. A few years went by and when I pulled it back out it had stopped working. Recently I decided it was time to get it going again. I studied up on the tone-wheel feature of this organ and realized the problem was probably one of lubrication to the tone wheel. Lucky for me the original owner kept a can of Hammond oil inside the organ. This didn't do the trick to I resorted to good old WD40 and after several hours of work she started back up again.

I then turned my attention to an old Leslie 130 speaker I ran across at a yard sale. The guy was a bass player and had hauled the thing all the way from across the Sound only to get it home and not be able to get the thing going. He gave it to me for free along with the control center and cords. I started doing online research and realized it has a built in amp (50 watt). This would make it much easier to hook up to the M3. I joined an organ enthusiast board online and was guided by some old timers on there. After 3 weeks of frustration I finally had a break through tonight. I forced my family and dogs to come out and check it out. They were not as excited as I was to hear that thing finally working after who knows how many years. Video to come....

Hello December 2010!

2010-12-12T23:10:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start blogging again. December 2010 and I am about to start an online record label called "Strange World Records". The first release will be in January 2011. I have not firmed up all of the bands to be featured yet but stay tuned to this blog for information.

Blog is back

2007-04-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hello,

This is my first posting in about 6 months.

Got some new pics.....

Boat and House

Elk at NW Trek

Looking forward to getting out in the boat this spring. Getting sick of the rain. I might have to move to Arizona or somthing. Can't take the dark and rain anymore. Maybe next year I will do some seasonal work down south to get away from it all.

VALIS LIVE NOVEMBER 29th 2006

2006-11-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

Sucking the 70's vol. 2 compilation out now on small stone!!!

2006-11-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

Sucking the 70's vol. 2 compilation out now on small stone!!!

sucking the seventies vol. 2 is out now on small stone records. it features some kick ass heavy rock bands doing songs from the seventies. we do an obscure RUSH song. check it out!!!!

Sucking The 70's, Back In The Saddle Again is AVAILABLE NOW. This is a very limited edition. Don't expect it to be on the shelves of a store near you. Get one now or regret it later. Just click the AVAILABLE NOW link above to go to the SECURE Small Stone Records online store, tell us you came from MySpace!

Disc 1:

1. Sasquatch "Are You Ready"
2. Puny Human "Crazy Horses"
3. Clutch & Five Horse Johnson "Red Hot Mama"
4. Dixie Witch "Rock Candy"
5. The Brought Low "Don't Lie To Me"
6. Novadriver "Sin City"
7. Colour Haze "One Way Or Another"
8. Alabama Thunderpussy "Man On The Silver Mountain"
9. Dozer "Mongoloid"
10. Acid King "The Stake"
11. Halfway To Gone "Honky Cat"
12. Antler "Those Shoes"
13. Brad Davis "Outlaw Man"
14. Gideon Smith & The Dixie Damned "Season Of The Witch"
15. Whitey Morgan and The Waycross Georgia Farmboys "Running With The Devil"

Disc 2:

1. Throttlerod "I Just Wanna Make Love To You"
2. Red Giant "Saturday Night Special"
3. A Thousand Knives Of Fire "Bonie Maronie"
4. The Glasspack "Rock n Roll Singer"
5. Roadsaw "When The Levee Breaks"
6. Greatdayforup "Super Stupid"
7. Fireball Ministry "Turn to Stone"
8. Los Natas "Born To Be Wild"
9. Scott Reeder "Two Of Us"
10. Orange Goblin "New Rose"
11. Mos Generator "Garden Road"
12. Honky "Snortin' Whiskey"
13. The Muggs "I Don't Need No Doctor"
14. Amplified Heat "Neighbor, Neighbor"
15. RPG "Parchment Farm"
16. Valis "Dreamweaver"

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Arthur Lee Dead

2006-08-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

One of the all time rock heros..........

Arthur Lee, the talented and oft-troubled singer and guitarist for the influential '60s-era band Love, died in a Memphis hospital after a lengthy battle with leukemia, according to his manager. He was 61.

"It was a complete surprise to me.

He's had leukemia for the past few months, but he was coming along until this past weekend, when he just crashed," Mark Linn, Lee's manager, told MTV News. "He passed away at around 4 p.m. [on Thursday], with his wife Diane by his side. Arthur had the uncanny ability to bounce back from everything, and leukemia was no exception. He was confident that he would be back onstage by the fall."

Lee, a native of Memphis, moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s to work as a session musician and songwriter: One of his earliest compositions, "My Diary," was recorded by R&B chanteuse Rosa Lee Brooks, and the sessions featured a young Jimi Hendrix on electric guitar (Lee and Hendrix would later collaborate again, with one song called "The Everlasting First" appearing on Love's 1970 album False Start, and another called "Girl on Fire" emerging on a 1994 single). Lee formed a surf-tinged instrumental outfit called the LAGS, but in 1965, influenced by bands on the burgeoning L.A. rock scene, such as the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas and Buffalo Springfield, he decided to form Love, which was originally called the Grass Roots but the name was already taken.

Love would begin playing in hip L.A. clubs, and their heady mix of folk, psychedelia and proto-punk earned them a cult following and a contract with Elektra Records (which until that point was primarily a folk label). They released their self-titled debut in 1966, scoring a minor radio hit with their punked-up cover of Burt Bacharach's "My Little Red Book." The following year brought the more ambitious Da Capo, which includes a 19-minute jam called "Revelation" that spans the album's entire second side.

By the time Love released their third album, Forever Changes, in 1968, they were one of the most popular and influential acts in Los Angeles (they used their clout to get their friends the Doors inked to Elektra), but that album would, well, forever change everything.

Lee had earned a reputation as being both an incredibly talented — and increasingly troubled — songwriter and musician, and Forever Changes showed him both at the top of his craft and the bottom of his despair. The album perfectly fuses folk-rock with subtle psychedelic touches, adding horns and strings to the mix to form a sound that's truly Baroque in scope and execution, while Lee's warbly vocals and head-scratching lyrics only hinted at the mental anguish he felt inside (it has since been widely reported that when he was making the record, Lee was sure he was going to die, so he wanted it to serve as his final statement).

Though the album was never a huge commercial hit in the States (the band's odd refusal to tour outside California unquestionably played a role in its limited success), it has since earned its rightful place alongside other psychedelic touchstones of the day, including Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn and the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle. And in the decades following its release, Forever Changes has only grown in stature and influence: Everyone from Robert Plant to Siouxie Sioux to Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Magnum has touted the album's sonic grandeur and psychic frailty, and a Rolling Stone poll cited it as the 40th greatest album of all time.

But Forever Changes would also spell the end of Love as fans knew them. Increasingly paranoid and erratic (and reportedly fueled by drugs), Lee fired all the original members of the band, hired a new group of musicians and continued to release records under the Love name until the early '70s. In 1972, he would release his proper solo debut, Vindicator, and gradually fade from the public's eye.

He performed sporadically over the years, but it wasn't until 1995 that he would surface again, though under much more unfortunate circumstances. He was arrested after breaking into an ex-girlfriend's apartment and trying to burn it to the ground. Soon after, he was arrested again, this time for firing a gun into the air during an argument with a neighbor. These two convictions, coupled with a drug-possession charge he had picked up in the 1980s, ran him afoul of California's "Three Strikes" law, and Lee was sentenced to 8-12 years in a state prison.

The mantra "Free Arthur Lee!" became a staple on message boards and in record stores, and on December 12, 2001, Lee was indeed freed after serving six years of his sentence. Soon after his release, he gathered a new group of musicians and began touring Europe and North America, on one tour playing Forever Changes in its entirety.

Lee was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia this year, and in May, after three rounds of chemotherapy failed, several benefit concerts were held in Britain and the U.S. to help him cover his medical bills. In June, longtime fan Plant headlined a benefit in New York.

Lee released many albums over the years, but there is little question that his greatest work lies on Love's first three albums, songs from which make up the bulk of the 1995 retrospective Love Story.

— James Montgomery, with additional reporting by Jem Aswad

Art Bell gets Hitched again

2006-07-27T16:40:00.001-07:00

As some of you may have heard Art Bell headed to the Philippines and got himself a nice new wife.

We would like to congratulate Mr. Bell.

-Van

Art Bell gets Hitched again

2006-07-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have heard Art Bell headed to the Philippines and got himself a nice new wife.

We would like to congratulate Mr. Bell.

-Van

Hello Everyone

2006-07-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I am back to the blog.

I am now working in downtown Seattle at Walt Disney in the Smith Tower. Pretty wacked out. Good job though. The square is crazed.

VALIS show coming up September 22 at the Comet Tavern in Seattle. We are playing with the Ones and another cool band tba. Our first show in about a year. We are working on songs for our next cd. Working title is "Who wants to live forever" Of corse I have not told the rest of the band that is the working title. Oh well. They will find out when they read this.

Adrian has a very cool new band called All Time High. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/alltimehighrock

I have a new myspace site with music on it. Check it out at http://www.myspace.com/vanconnermusic

Email me with any questions or comments you crazy mutha fers.

Ban makes customers disappear

2006-02-24T15:31:00.000-08:00

From the Highline Times (www.highlinetimes.com)

Ban makes customers disappear
By Sara Loken
Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Two months after Washington’s statewide smoking ban took effect, some Highline area businesses are feeling its impact.

Although it’s still too soon to tell what effect the ban will have at some businesses, others were feeling its effect within days of the new prohibition on smoking in public places.

“We’ve seen business decrease about 40 percent almost immediately after the ban,” said James Rowland, top bartender for the Dugout Lounge in Des Moines. “My wages were just cut in half.”

But, said Roger Lorge, manager at The Yardarm in Des Moines, “It’s too early to tell its effects.”

Gambling and liquor sales are down, and some clientele has been lost, said Lorge. “Without our food business, we wouldn’t make it. Hopefully, food will carry us through.”

“We do what we can, but I would love to see the ban gone,” said Rowland.

Local casinos are feeling new competition with the smoking ban.

“People are going to the tribal casinos to gamble and smoke,” said Rowland.

“The state has really tied our hands,” said Brian Toms, owner of Rascals Casino in Burien.

Non-tribal casinos can’t really do anything since the tribal casinos still can allow smoking as well, said Toms.

He saw a decrease in customers as early as the second day of the ban, which went into effect in December.

“There has been a pretty dramatic decrease,” Toms said.

But some casinos aren’t feeling the drastic downturn in business that resulted from the ban at other casinos.

It hasn’t created a significant change, said Chad Marker, shift manager for Northstar Casino in Tukwila.

“We feel the effects more on the weekends,” Marker said. “We’re lucky because we’re not close to competitors. We’re thirty minutes away from tribal casinos.”

While there has been no increase in customers since the ban went into effect, there has been only “a marginal decrease,” said Marker.

Winter weather could also play a role in the decrease of customers.

“The older couples that used to come in don’t anymore because they don’t want to go in and out of the cold,” said Rowland.

Northstar Casino made an outdoor smoking area with heaters.

While the smoking ban has affected some businesses, law enforcement officials say these businesses have been good about keeping the smoking outside.

“There has been good compliance from businesses because we have not had any calls come in regarding smoking,” said Burien Police Chief Scott Kimerer.

If a call were to come in pertaining to the smoking ban, police officials would treat it as a low-priority call, said Kimerer.

The first night after the ban was enacted a few police officers came in and checked around, “but that’s the only time,” said Lorge.

But Lorge is optimistic about the new ban. “It’s a lot nicer environment to work in,” he said. “It’s a wave of the future.”

Spaceport on the way

2005-12-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

By JANE WARDELL
AP Business Writer
Dec 13 9:11 AM US/Eastern

LONDON - Virgin Galactic, the British company created by entrepreneur Richard Branson to send tourists into space, and New Mexico announced an agreement Tuesday for the state to build a $225 million spaceport. Virgin Galactic also revealed that up to 38,000 people from 126 countries have paid a deposit for a seat on one of its manned commercial flights, including a core group of 100 "founders" who have paid the initial $200,000 cost of a flight upfront. Virgin Galactic is planning to begin flights in late 2008 or early 2009.

New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans said construction of the spaceport, to be built largely underground in the south of the state near the White Sands Missile Range, could begin in early 2007, depending on approval from environmental and aviation authorities.
ADVERTISEMENT

Virgin will have a 20-year lease on the facility, with annual payments of $1 million for the first five years and rising to cover the cost of the project by the end of the lease.

"Experts predict that thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment will be created in the next 20 years as the private sector develops new commercial markets in the space industry in New Mexico," Homans said in London. "Virgin is the beginning and many other space companies will follow."

Virgin Galactic said it had chosen New Mexico as the site for its headquarters because of its steady climate, free airspace, low population density and high altitude. All those factors can significantly reduce the cost of the space flight program.

The spaceport, to be located some 25 miles south of the town of Truth or Consequences, will be constructed 90 percent underground, with just the runway and supporting structures above ground.

Stephen Attenborough, the Virgin Galactic executive in charge of marketing the space flights, said the 100 founder members were committed to "stepping up to the plate" and boarding a flight early in the operations.

"Many of the others will need to wait until the price comes down and will want to wait for proven reliability and safety," he said.

Trevor Beattie, a London-based advertising director who paid for his ticket within days of Branson's announcement of the company's launch, said he was not concerned about safety.

"My only concern is that the longer they leave the launch, the more likely we all are to be hit by a bus," said Beattie, who has dreamed of going to space since watching the 1969 moonwalk.

Branson formed Virgin Galactic after watching SpaceShipOne, a craft designed by Burt Rutan and funded by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, become the first privately manned rocket to reach space last year. SpaceShipOne went on to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize with two suborbital flights in five days from Mojave, Calif.

Virgin Galactic has a deal with Rutan to build five spacecraft, licensing technology from Allen's company, Mojave Aerospace Ventures.

Virgin Galactic plans to operate its initial flights from the Mojave base ahead of the projected opening of the New Mexico spaceport in late 2009 or early 2010.

Virgin Galactic also unveiled its logo _ the pupil of an eye incorporating an eclipse. Branson's iris will be used for the final design.

Branson is due to join New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson in the United States on Wednesday to unveil the spaceport plans.

I am back

2005-11-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

Hello all.

Just wanted to let you all know I am back and doing well.

Been a month since I posted here. Seems like less then that.

-Van

Fellow Tonyaphiles;

2005-10-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

More news about a Tonya fight, but unfortunately not the type we were
hoping for.

Various sources such as the AP, CNN, the Oregonian, etc. are reporting
that police were called to Tonya's house on Sunday after an altercation
she had with Christopher Nolan, aged 27, who was subsequently arrested
on various domestic assault related charges.

Nolan's name will be familiar to long-time Tonyaphiles; he was with
Tonya when they were pulled over by a forest ranger for alleged illegal
posession of alcohol back in 2002 - a charge that was subsequently
thrown out by a judge with an admonishment to the prosecutor that it was
a waste of the court's time. His exact relationship to Tonya is not
clear; Tonya is quoted as describing him as her boyfriend, but Nolan
says he's just her room-mate.

http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/articles/2005/10/25/ap/sports/d8df7ma89.txt

The local rag the Columbian has more details:

http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/10252005news12149.cfm

This dude got my dream to happen to him, he met her.. - Van Conner

There is one positive piece of news: Tonya is planned to return to the
Chiller sci-fi & horror convention this weekend. Hopefully this latest
incident will not interfere with those plans:

http://www.chillertheatre.com/gt/gtc4.htm

Terry Hall
Head of Special Duties Section
Portland Ice Skating Society - New Zealand's Tonya Harding fan club
http://www.geocities.com/portice

ROCK IS COMING TO TOWNS

2005-10-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

Current rock show list...
11/11/05 - Musk Ox at Susnet Ballard (Seattle, WA)
11/25/05 - VALIS at Hells Kitchen in Tacoma
12/02/05 - Musk Ox at The Funhouse Seattle Wa
12/30/05 - VALIS at The old offramp now El Corazone, Seattle WA

Sounds like some people I know...

2005-10-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/BL/0510/Tight_Bros_-_Excerpt.mp3

From Adrian...

Go here, the new VALIS hang..

2005-10-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.nwsource.com/ae/scr/edb_vd.cfm?c=r&ven=25945&s=nws

All that's Heavy of course

2005-10-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

Buy Champions..

2005-10-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.smallstone.com/3.0/order.shtml

http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1508900/09022005/thompson_richard.jhtml

http://www.vinylmagic3.it/product_info.php?products_id=6493

https://www.freakemporium.com/cgibin/list_label.cgi?label=Small%20Stone

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

http://catalog.songsearch.net/catalog/v/valis.html

http://www.discoweb.com/es/common/info.aspx_$Ref=599591$Title=Champions+Of+Magic_.html

Very good review...

Valis have never known the sort of stability that comes with releasing two albums in two years, and for the same record label -- that is, until 2005 -- and Champions of Magic, their fourth overall and second for Detroit's Small Stone. That's not to say that they're dialing it in, either. A generous serving of 15 songs comprising a full hour of... [+] Continue

Valis have never known the sort of stability that comes with releasing two albums in two years, and for the same record label -- that is, until 2005 -- and Champions of Magic, their fourth overall and second for Detroit's Small Stone. That's not to say that they're dialing it in, either. A generous serving of 15 songs comprising a full hour of new music is on hand here, and, stylistically, the group is also still breaking new ground. Well, in a retrograde fashion, anyway, since Champions of Magic finds these Seattle veterans reconnecting with many of their alt rock roots following a surprisingly straight-faced flirtation with hard rock styles a year earlier. Not so straight-faced that they came off sounding like Boston, mind you (more like Monster Magnet), but enough to make new songs like "Indian Giver" and "Mealworm" -- with their distinctive, psychedelic guitar licks à la Screaming Trees, and thrumming rhythm looseness à la Mudhoney -- sound like a return to norm and form. Admittedly, leader Van Conner's frequently weak, at times off-key vocals remain a hit-and-miss proposition (see him struggle through "Pass Me By" and "Paper Doll," among others); but his dark sense of humor similarly boosts album highlight "Kill the Ones You Love" well over the top. Thanks to the likes of "Transmuter" and the two-part "Universe," space rock sound effects continue to be a part of the overall equation (after all, this is a band that lists "Lemmy from Hawkwind" among their thank-you's!), but discreetly so, making them a nice change-up, not a dominant gimmick. In short, as long as the listener has no problem with Valis' seemingly intentional lack of performing discipline ("feel" being the operative word), and nurtures a healthy interest in the previous decade's Seattle scene, Champions of Magic is well worth the tasting. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide

All Music Guide

2005-10-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll

CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC OUT TODAY!!!

2005-10-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

This item is in stock.
Title: CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC
Artist: VALIS
Label: SSO-Small Stone Records
Catalog #: 59
Released: 9/6/2005
List Price: $14.98
Allegro Price: $11.98 20.03% OFF
You Save: $3.00
Media Type: COMPACT DISC
# Units: 1
UPC: 709764105920

As far as debut records go, Valis’ Vast Active Living Intelligence System was about as close to perfect as you can get. Swirling guitars mixed with a thundering, explosive rhythm section the way Jack Daniels mixes with Coke, and heavy, riff-laden rawk took the listener just far enough into the stratosphere to leave his head swimming in the ether.
Thankfully, Van Conner knows that “close” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Thus is born Champions of Magic, five new sludge-drenched gems added to the previous brilliant tracks – not so much a reissue as a redux, like a conversation started, stopped, and then picked up again years later.

Formed in Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters’ basement back in 1996, Valis started as a casual side project. All veterans of the Northwest scene, the boys began paying their dues once again, sharing bills with the likes of Fu Manchu and Queens of the Stone Age. With the release of the now-complete Champions of Magic, in addition to last year’s Head Full of Pills, Valis has come full circle. Connor and the boys are poised atop the majestic peaks of the Northwest, ready to show the world what music can be. Look for a trail of destruction to follow in their wake across Europe this summer, and pray the boys visit your town this fall.

Valis features ex-members of Screaming Trees and Tad.

“As I hear it, Valis know what they’re capable of, and they have every right in the world to flaunt it…this, right here, is the future of rock ‘n’ roll. Each one of these tracks is a virtual reality trip into your wildest and most bizarre dreams. Valis have created a musical prophetic vision.” – Roadburn

“Watch out world, because rock heavyweights Valis are coming to a town near you. Valis, containing members of the legendary TAD, Kitty Kitty and Screaming Trees, [are] pure rock and roll mixed with the fuzz/psyche these guys do so brilliantly.” – StonerRockChick.com

Track Listing:
Indian Giver
Transmuter
Universe
Pass Me By
Mealworm
Kill The Ones You Love
Universe 2
All Phase
Paper Doll
Love Loader
Pilots House
Venus In Red
Skylight Myrical
Going Down High

Near-Earth Asteroid 2004 MN4 Reaches Highest Score To Date On Hazard Scale

2005-10-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

The orbit of 2004 MN4 about the Sun is shown in blue. Much of the asteroid's orbit lies within the Earth's orbit, which is the outermost white circle. The positions of the asteroid and the Earth are shown for December 23, 2004, when the object was about 14 million km (9 million miles) away from the Earth.

Read all about it here!

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news146.html

Stuff For Sale From ME...

2005-10-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you buy them I will have coffee with you, you buy of course :).

My VAN
http://seattle.craigslist.org/car/101297383.html

My BASS
http://seattle.craigslist.org/msg/101286253.html

Well, I guess its time to start..

2005-09-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

Start to talk about my "other life" here.

Lets start with my job. I am a software test engineer at a TV company in Kirkland, Washington called Digeo. http://www.digeo.com

We just won our 2nd Emmy award.

Check out today's press release..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Moxi™ Media Center Brings Home a Second Emmy®
Media Center Features and Multi-room Technology Build On Award-Winning User Interface
KIRKLAND, Wash. — September 29, 2005 — Digeo, Inc., the developer of the Moxi™ Media Center
software platform, today announced that for the second year in a row, it was awarded an Advanced
Media Technology Emmy®. This year, Digeo’s Moxi Media Center is being recognized by the National
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) for outstanding achievement in the category of the
Creation of Non-Traditional Programs or Platforms. The award, which recognizes the Moxi Media
Center’s innovative new features in multi-room technology and digital lifestyle applications, was presented
as part of the 57TH ANNUAL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING EMMY AWARDS yesterday in
Princeton, New Jersey.
“This is the first time that an advanced media technology has been honored with an Emmy Award
two years in a row,” said Shelly Palmer, Chairman of the Advanced Media Committee of NATAS. “I think
the Moxi Media Center captured the imagination of our Blue Ribbon Panel because it empowers
audiences through its simple, intuitive user interface. The Moxi user experience is a “best practices”
example of how technology can and will assist television viewers as they evolve into media consumers.”
Deployed in nearly 200,000 homes, across more than 80 markets by seven cable operators, the
Moxi Media Center is a cable set-top-box platform that combines a built-in digital video recorder (DVR)
with a number of exciting media center capabilities. Among the features recognized by the Academy are
a unique, low-cost, multi-room technology that brings all of the features of the media center to a second
TV in the house; an optional built-in DVD player; an mp3 jukebox and photo library; and the Moxi Ticker
which provides instant access to weather, sports, news, and other information in a compact area beneath
the TV image.
“We’re thrilled to be recognized by the Academy for the work we’re doing to dramatically improve
the entertainment experience for consumers,” said Mike Fidler, CEO of Digeo. “We are laser focused on
(more)
giving cable operators the technology and applications needed to provide their subscribers with the best
experience possible, and based on the Academy’s voting on our new features, we are doing just that.”

# # #
About Digeo, Inc.
Digeo serves North American cable operators by providing media center platforms that deliver superior economic
performance and higher subscriber satisfaction over an extended useful lifespan. Combining industry-leading
innovations in user-interface design, multi-room architecture, and media center chipsets Digeo is uniquely positioned
to reinforce and extend cable's inherent advantages over competing distributors.
Moving beyond the simple DVR and digital set-top box, the Moxi™ Media Center supports and enhances key cable
initiatives such as On Demand, HDTV, VoIP and OCAP while extending cable services to encompass the full range
of consumer digital media such as music and photography. As the most widely deployed cable media center in North
America, the Moxi Media Center has delivered proven economic value and subscriber appeal.
Backed primarily by Paul Allen's Vulcan, Inc., Digeo has offices in Kirkland, Wash.; Palo Alto, Calif. and Longmont,
Colo. For more information, please visit www.digeo.com.
About The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, whose mission is to recognize excellence, is a professional
service organization for all aspects of the Television, Cable and Satellite industries. Its symbol of excellence, the
Emmy, is awarded in Sports, News/Documentary, Daytime, Technology, and Public/Community Service. Regional
Emmys are given in nineteen regions across the United States. Beyond awards, the Academy has extensive
educational projects, scholarships, publications, and major activities of impact to both industry professionals and the
viewing public. For more information, please visit the website at www.emmyonline.tv.
For more information, press only:
Robin Rees, Digeo, Inc., robin.rees@digeo.com, 425.896.6086
Sheila Bryson, Sparkpr for Digeo, Inc., sheila@sparkpr.com, 415.321.186
Digeo™ and Moxi™ are the trademarks of Digeo, Inc.
Use of the trademarks and service marks of the National Television Academy (“NTA”), including the mark EMMY®, requires the
prior express written permission of National Television Academy.
All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

New cd out .... soon

2005-09-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

In a Past Life...

You Were: An Albino Monk.

Where You Lived: China.

How You Died: Hung for treason.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

The Reviews are starting to come in for the new CD, out now?

2005-09-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

Reviews
valis "champions of magic"
label: Small Stone
website: http://www.smallstone.com

What's impressive about Valis is that it has not only the ballsy blues brashness you'd expect from this smoked out branch of the rock-metal scene but also a rich, saturated - yet not overdone by any stretch of the imagination - sense of melody. It's like friggin' gorgeous stoner metal. I'm not kidding. And yet, for all the in-your-faceness this brand of music summons, there's a certain subtlety to how all the elements of the sound weave and mix together, creating a living, breathing, life consuming whole.

review written by: Upchuck Undergrind

(back | add comments (0))

Another old school rocker is lost.

2005-08-31T00:59:00.000-07:00

Subject: RIP Voi Vod's Piggy roadburn@...
Send Email

This is some really bad news...
walter

VOIVOD guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour passed away Friday night (August 26)
at approximately 11:45 p.m. due to complications from advanced colon
cancer - so advanced that the disease had spread to his liver. D'Amour
slipped into a coma Thursday night and died less than 24 hours later in the
palliative care unit of a Montreal hospital, surrounded by family and
friends. He was 45 years old.

Quebec City newspaper Le Soleil reported yesterday that D'Amour - who was
diagnosed with colon cancer earlier in the summer - first entered the
hospital for a routine operation, but several complications led his doctors
to suspect more problems. Then the grim verdict was revealed: the cancer,
already too advanced, was inoperable.
Only two months ago, D'Amour was in the studio working on the 14th album
from the Canadian thrash-metal pioneers VOIVOD. More than two dozen tracks
are believed to have been demoed for the CD, for which the group recently
inked a deal with The End Records. However, the band were forced to put
studio work on hold while bassist Jason Newsted (ex-METALLICA) was treated
for tendonitis.
Newsted was a huge fan of VOIVOD before he was invited to join and he
remains a great admirer to this day. "They created something a long, long
time ago that may have been emulated many, many times since - but nobody can
do it like the original," he offered.

Prior to his hospitalization, D'Amour laid down guitar tracks for a reunion
CD from the legendary AUT'CHOSE, a '70s band from Montreal. That album is
expected to surface next summer.

Troy is the Word

2005-08-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

So, as some of you may know all of the VALIS boys are very into the world of the man, the myth, the legend, Troy Hurtubise.

From the Ursus suits to Firepaste and beyond.

Check him out at these links Adrian Sent me.

http://www.improb.com/news/2003/oct/troy-flamerproof.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_Hurtubise

Musk Ox will rock

2005-08-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hello All.

Musk Ox continues to work out new songs and build the foundations for our first cd and live shows. Look for new pics in the next few days.

In the meantime buy some shirts and stuff.

Tonya Harding Updates

2005-08-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Fellow Tonyaphiles;

as you've probably guessed, there isn't much going on in Tonyaville at
the moment. Linda Lewis tells us that Tonya has been doing occasional
meet-and-greets and has been invited to box in various places. She also
tells us that there is at least one major project under development but
that at this stage it is still under wraps, so we really can't say
anything.

In the meantime, here is a site that hopefully may be of interest.

http://www.cruelladekwan.com is, as its name suggests, a Kwan site, but
there are also video clips of other skaters
(http://www.cruelladekwan.com/otherskaters.htm), including Tonya
http://www.cruelladekwan.com/otherskaters/harding.htm).

There are 6 videos including Tonya's 94 Olympics Long Program (the one
she re-skated due to the broken lace), 91 National 3-axel, and 94
Nationals Long & Short Programs, LP scores and an interview.

The latter is the one where, in between a massive dose of asthmatic
hacking and coughing, Tonya says she "knows who my true friends really
are", a statement that is always cited by Tonyaphobes as "proof" that
Tonya is guilty. It's supposedly meant to be some kind of deep, dark,
coded thank-you message to Eckardt and his boys for their work in taking
care of Nancy, but it's patently obvious from her comments later on in
the interview that she's actually referring to her fans and sponsors.

There is also footage of Midori Ito in action that's worth a look too:
http://www.cruelladekwan.com/vf/otherskaters/ito/

Quality is variable - the interview is good, but unfortunately
rapidly-moving stuff like skating jumps don't compress well and tend to
look blurry. If you're studying these for technique you'll be wasting
your time. The sound is also rather hissy (oh WHY didn't people buy HiFi
VCRs for taping this stuff?). Don't attempt to play the videos "on the
fly" - if you're on a dialup it won't work and on broadband you'll
overload the server. Some of the videos have what sound like Japanese
soundtracks.

As an interesting aside, we learn that Tonya's horoscope for that week
stated:

"A long cherished goal moves within reach. You feel elated! The outside
resources or talents you need are available. Your leadership skills put
you ahead of the pack."

If you've ever wondered whether astrology was a load of bollocks then
this will remove all doubt.

Terry Hall
Head of Special Duties Section
Portland Ice Skating Society - New Zealand's Tonya Harding fan club
http://www.geocities.com/portice

Ulysses Conner on the "Joe and Dylan Show"

2005-08-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

The weekly Joe and Dylan show features my son, Ulysses Conner.

The Joe and Dylan Show Is an Internet Radio Show
Hosted by the Creators of Filmwave.com...
The Conner Brothers!

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK'S SHOW:
STREAM or DOWNLOAD
August 8th, 2005

Ulysses Conner aka Rob Halford Jr.

2005-08-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out and had a great time on July 30th.

Check out some pics.

http://community.webshots.com/user/slugworth/1

If you know what's good for you...

2005-07-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

you will come on down!

Canadian lab to test 'sasquatch' hair

2005-07-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Tue Jul 26,12:48 AM ET

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The debate over the existence of sasquatch, aka Bigfoot, an ape-like creature said to haunt the wilderness of western Canada has entered the world of modern DNA testing.

A laboratory will test hair samples that several residents of Teslin, Yukon, say were left when the large, but so-far mythological creature made a late-night run through their community in early July.

University of Alberta wildlife geneticist David Coltman, who agreed to do the tests as a favor to a colleague, said on Monday that scientists have cataloged the DNA of nearly all large animals in the Yukon such as bears and bison.

"So we'll compare it to all of that, and if it doesn't match anything, then it's potentially interesting," said Coltman, who suspects the hair was actually left behind by a much more mundane Yukon bison.

"If sasquatch is indeed a primate, then we would expect the sample to be closer to humans or chimpanzees or gorillas," Coltman said.

The legend of a large, hairy, two-legged creature lurking in the mountains of western Canada and the United States dates back to before Europeans settled the continent. This was the second report of the creature near Teslin in just over a year.

In the latest sighting, a group of Teslin residents told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. they heard branches cracking and saw a large human-like creature run by a house. It left behind large footprints, they said, and the hair tufts that were given to wildlife officials.

Coltman expects to have his results on Thursday and said that even if the hair turns out not to be from a sasquatch, the process should serve as good way to get students interested in the field of DNA testing.

"It's sort of like a wildlife CSI story," he said.

Thanks to Steve for the tip off.. -Van

New Photos and buy my VAN

2005-07-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hey...

Got new photos of VALIS in Belgium and Photos of VAN For Sale

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS

Email me for info if you are interested in the van at vanc@digeo.com

Thanks

Sasquatch sighting reported in Yukon

2005-07-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last updated Jul 13 2005 08:30 AM MDT

CBC News
A group of people in the Yukon community of Teslin say they saw a sasquatch or bushman over the weekend, the second reported sighting in the area in about a year.

Nine people, some of them children, say a large human-like figure covered in hair passed by a window of a house. They later saw it standing behind an abandoned car near some houses in the community, which is located 180 kilometres east of Whitehorse.

Chucka Choumant and Trent Smarch are two of the people who believe they saw the sasquatch.

The men said they heard trees snapping and creaking even though there was no wind at the time. The figure they saw was nearly three metres tall and moving fast, they said – too fast for them to keep up even when they were running.

The creature left behind some evidence, the men said: a footprint about twice the size of a human's, and a small patch of hair found in the area that has been sent to a conservation officer in Whitehorse.

Teslin resident Roger Smarch measures the footprint left behind after the creature was sighted.

Those who say they saw the creature would like the sample to undergo DNA testing.

FROM JUNE 7, 2004: Yukon villagers believe they saw Bigfoot
Tales of sasquatch sightings aren't new in Teslin. For example, Doug Smarch remembers hearing about a large hairy man coming close to the community about 40 years ago.

"There's old-time stories. They said there were such things," said Smarch.

"I don't think that nine people that seen it could tell the same story. They wouldn't be able to tell the same story if it wasn't true."

*** OTHER STORY REFERENCED ABOVE.....

Yukon villagers believe they saw Bigfoot

Last updated Jun 7 2004 04:03 PM CDT
CBC News

Village of Teslin, 160 km south of Whitehorse on the Alaska Highway

A Sasquatch sighting has tongues wagging in the Yukon village of Teslin.

Two people say they saw the fabled bushman, also known as Bigfoot, cross the highway at the construction zone near the Teslin airport.

Marion Sheldon and Gus Jules were driving down the side of the highway on an all-terrain vehicle on Saturday evening.

They reported the sighting to Conservation Officer Dave Bakica.

"They claim they thought it was a person standing beside the road, but couldn't tell from all the dust," said Bakica.

"By the time they turned around to look back they said this person was completely covered in hair and took just two strides to get across the whole Alaska highway."

Bakica said the pair told him that by the time the got back to the location, the person or animal or thing had disappeared into the bush.

Teslin is 160 kilometres south of Whitehorse.

The conservation officer said he searched the area for tracks but they may have been wiped out by Saturday evening's rain.

Both witnesses appeared very shaken by the sighting.

Sheldon and Jules say they don't want to talk about the experience until they have consulted with local Teslin Tlingit elders.

For thousands of years sightings of the elusive, bipedal ape-man have been reported, throughout North America's Pacific northwest and as far away as China.

The creature has long featured in First Nation oral traditions.

Bigfoot believers, a small group of dedicated scientists among them, say the primate is likely the offspring of an ape from Asia that wandered to North America during the Ice Age.

LINK:For more information on other Bigfoot sightings The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

Some believe there are at least 2,000 ape people walking upright in North America's woods today.

An adult male is estimated to stand at least 2.4 metres (8 feet) tall and weigh 360 kilograms or 800 pounds.

The hairy creatures are described as shy and nocturnal.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization web site reports a sighting in south-central British Columbia, near Kamloops on May 17.

A resident said that while driving he saw what he believed to be a father and son Sasquatch near the side of the road, getting a drink of water.

New CD pushed back to September

2005-07-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

I talked to Small Stone today and they have decided (with our support of course) to push the release date of "Champions of Magic", a re-release of our first CD with 5 new songs including..
Venus in Red 2005
Skylight Myrical
Going Down High
Dream Weaver
One other song I can't think of right now.

We hope to get it out in mid-September.

OK?

We were gonna play this but wimped out.

2005-07-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

WHAT THE HECK FEST.........

Saturday July 16th
What the Heck Fest
w/ All the Filthy Animals
@The Watertown (9PM-12AM)
Anacortes, WA

What-the-Heck-Fest is a world famous music festival that coincides with Anacortes Ship Wreck Festival. The festival runs Thursday the 14th through Saturday Nite. Fanny Alger will host a no holds barred freak show on Saturday the 17th at the Watertown. Bellingham's All the Filthy Animals (used to be called zero-9) will also be playing.

Knw-yr-own records will be releasing a compilation CD featuring many of the bands that are playing the festival. The CD will include a brand spanking new Fanny Alger recording of Quinn's Anacortes anthem called "The Brown Lantern".

You can check out the festival schedule @ www.knw-yr-own.com

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Saturday Aug 13 (Notice this is a new date!)
Stu Fest, @ The Sport's Keg
Burlington, WA
w/ Second Coming

This Everybody loves Stu and it's his birthday. Fanny Alger will play with Second Coming from Seattle in a huge outdoor beer garden in downtown Burlington. This show was originally scheduled for August 27th, but nobody could wait that long for all the fun. So, we bumped it up to the 13th.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Saturday Aug 20 (Just Added!)
Flotsam Fair, on Guemes Island
w/ Tommy Tutone, Voodoo Spoon, and many more

Yeehaw... Fanny Alger is scheduled to play again with 80's pop legend Tommy Tutone... Yes, the same 867-5309 Tommy Tutone. Rumor has it that Tommy will sing a few songs with Fanny Alger like Folsom Prison Blues and the Gambler. Also, Fanny Alger board of director, Jon E Catt, will be playing drums in Tommy's band.

The festival will start early (noon i think) and run all day. The festival features poetry, local arts, crafts and 7 bands. You'll ride the Guemes Island ferry to get to this shin-dig... so check the ferry schedule and show up early.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Coming in September
Oyster Run Weekend
@ The Brown Lantern in Anacortes

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

MENDOZZA - on tour now in CANADA (our friends to the North)

2005-07-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

MENDOZZA - on tour now!

Thursday July 14 - Courtenay BC @ The underground Pizza (all ages) with the Belushis

Friday July 15 - Victoria BC @ Logans Pub with the Belushis

Saturday July 16 - Nanaimo BC @ The Cambie Hostel with The Belushis

Friday July 22 - Vancouver @ Pub 340 with Motorama

look at www.mendozza.net sign our guest book!!

listen at www.myspace.com/mendozza

The Links

2005-07-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Websites:

www.valisrocks.com
www.smallstone.com
www.tonedeaftouring.com
www.vanconner.com www.purpleoutside.com
www.filmwave.com

VALIS IMAGES

2005-07-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hello all.

Lots of images for you..

CLICK HERE FOR VALIS LIVE Euro and USA photos and more!

Pat almost drowns in the Atlantic

2005-07-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

When we were in the Cornwall area of England...

We stopped at a beach, I can't remember the name but we were told to wait there for our tour manager to show up in a few hours. It was a wonderful place with giant waves, lots of surfers, bathers and lucky for Pat, lots of life gaurds.

Pat and Wes ventured out into the surf. The spent most of their time between the wrong flags. You see, bathers are to stay between one set of flags and Surfers between another. They were in the surfer area.

At one point they came in and Wes demanded that I follow them out into the deep water. The water was freezing cold and I couldn't take it. Also the power of the waves was so strong that I feared I wouldn't make it back. Well, I went back to the beach and sat with Sean, watching the surfers. After sometime I notice a very tired Wes coming into the beach. No Pat. I said, were is Pat? He was looking back into the Ocean, I don't know, I barely made it in myslef. Well, after several minutes of no Pat I started walking into the water, yelling for him but couldn't see him. Wes then pointed to the Lifegaurd raft was out beyond the surfers.

As the boat sped in I could see two hands rasied with the sign of the goat horns, it was indeed PAT! They had snatched him from the sea just before going under. He would like to thank the surfers who helped him and the people who sped to his rescue.

That night he helped a young man earn the title of town coaster flipping champion in a local pub. Thanks for everything!

-Van

Hello and Welcome

2005-07-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

Hello all.

I had technical problems with my old VALIS blog so I am creating this new one. I hope to have the old one up soon but for now, this is it.

The band, VALIS is back from Europe. We had a wonderful time filled with insanity and near death experience.

Some of the highlights were...
Patrick almost drowns in the Atlantic
Wes stole the Van
Adrian was drunk 24/7
Sean won the "Rock Womenizer 2005 Award"
And I shaved my head.

To bad tehy don't have a spell checker on here. Oh well, I shall not be stopped by this.

Thanks to Greg and Rich for making it all work.

Be here tomorrow to tell you all more and give you picture links.

Thanks

Van