Common Tone

Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me.

2010-02-14T07:46:00.000-05:00

We're back.

Sort of.

Stay tuned.

Happy Holidays!

2007-11-30T19:16:00.000-05:00

A very cool yule to our fans from your hardworkin' Common Tone music buffs! We have all kinds of ideas for our 2008 shows but we haven't had enough egg nog yet to get them rolling (okay, soy nog in Dave's case). As soon as the holiday dust settles, look for episode 11 and part two of the David Amram interview.

Our new website, www.commontone.com, is under construction, as they used to say back in the dim & distant '90's.....at least we own the domain now. Whew.

Write to us at commontone@gmail.com!

At long last......our own home

2007-10-25T09:21:00.000-05:00

We didn't need a subprime mortgage to get it, either........yes, it's our very own domain and we're fixing it up and decking it out for your visual delight. It's www.commontone.com and it's coming soon. We'll still have this blog, but soon it will be "redeployed" as an element of the vastly reconfigured www.commontone.com main page, courtesy of the active imagination and fledgling Flash skills of James Landon Jones. Stay tuned.

David Amram Symphonic Premiere in San Jose

2007-09-30T09:27:00.000-05:00

David Amram's newest composition, which he discusses on part 2 of our conversation with him (coming up on episode 11) -- Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie -- premiered last night in San Jose, California in a performance by the Symphony Silicon Valley conducted by Paul Polivnick. Read all about it here and here.

Common Tone X

2007-09-26T21:34:00.000-05:00

Our tenth episode has been buffed to a high gloss shine and is now sterile, squeaky clean, and ready for listening. Enjoy.

Oh, and Mr. Amram, your rap du Common Tone was priceless.

Photos from The Amram Session

2007-07-29T11:55:00.002-05:00

Photos: Alaina Allen

The Amram-a-thon

2007-07-28T07:55:00.000-05:00

David Amram regaled us with story after story on Wednesday night, and I do believe he had enough to carry through until Thursday morning. I can't think of any musician who has more to say about composing and has worked with a wider array of people over the course of his career. You won't hear much from us [applause] but, trust me, we aren't missed during this segment. :-) Editing and post-production next week, then we'll send the finished product out for your consumption in two parts, most likely. Stay tuned.

Episode #10 To Feature David Amram

2007-06-28T16:43:00.000-05:00

Currently in pre-production is our 10th episode, and we're celebrating our "10th anniversary" (as it were) with a very special guest........we'll be bringing you an interview with one of the legends of American music and one of the most often-performed contemporary composers in the United States, David Amram.

Mr. Amram was the first composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic and has amassed an astonishing reputation as perhaps classical music's top master of eclecticism. He's been called "multicultural before there was such a thing as multiculturalism," and his unique fusions of symphonic, jazz, folk, and ethnic music have been delighting audiences the world over for more than fifty years now. At the age of 75 he's still going strong with a full plate of performances, lectures, workshops, commissions, and articles for 2007. We are sure you will enjoy hearing from this amazing and legendary musician.

To round out the proceedings, we're dipping back into the CT archives for our favorite bits to celebrate our making it to double digits (who'd have thought it?). Yes, it's The Best of Common Tone and our interview with composer David Amram coming up on CT #10 sometime in mid-July.

As always, we encourage you to write to us so we know that the ether works both ways. Cheers!

Episode #9 is now here

2007-05-24T20:49:00.000-05:00

#9 is here and ready for your ears, in case you're not a subscriber and don't get the RSS feed automatically.......in which case, what are you waiting for? Click one of the links down below to the right and become a proud Common Tone subscriber today!

This episode features the second half of our interview with composer Karen Amrhein as well as a surprise appearance by a certain taekwondo master with a propensity for playing the harmonica........hmmmmm..............

We've been welcomed back into Mr. Jobs' Neighborhood

2007-04-28T14:33:00.000-05:00

James Landon did a bang-up job ironing out all the technical issues and Common Tone is now safely ensconced back in iTunes where we belong. Click on one of the links over on the right to bring up yer iTunes and check out our listing there, or subscribe if you haven't done so already.

Episode #9 Is On Its Way

2007-04-14T00:07:00.000-05:00

The pre-production has begun, and boy have we done some spring cleaning. Keep your ears open. Our 9th show will be infiltrating them before the end of April.

Michael Hersch Cello Sonatas

2007-03-17T11:40:00.000-05:00

After the new episode of CT went out, by coincidence, I got an email from Michael Hersch, whose music we discuss on episode #8 and will go into further on episode #9, letting me know about a recital of unaccompanied cello works by his colleague Daniel Gaisford at the Peabody Conservatory, our old stomping grounds
(and Michael is on the composition faculty there now) this Friday, March 23rd, at 8:00pm. It's in the Goodwin Recital Hall and admission is free. If you happen to be in the Baltimore/Washington area it would be a good (and somewhat rare) opportunity to hear his chamber music live.

Gaisford will be playing both of Michael's solo cello sonatas, the first of which is 40 minutes long and the second of which is 42 minutes long - it's a hefty program, to be sure. You can get an MP3 download for the first one at Daniel Gaisford's website, and you can get the second one on CD at all the usual classical music outlets.

-DG

Common Tone #8: March 2007

2007-03-16T19:44:00.000-05:00

Our March 2007 episode, #8 overall, is now uploaded and ready for listening. Featuring part one of an interview with composer Karen Amrhein (with part two ready to go for episode #9), there's a glitch here and a digital artifact there, but overall it's another jolly collection of information, mixing serious observations with irreverent yammering as only Common Tone can do it.

CD'S MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:

--Karen Amrhein, Fresh Produce (2004), mix of chamber and orchestral music; self-produced and available at www.happylemonmusicpublishing.com as well as at iTunes.

--Karen Amrhein, Still Life (2005), chamber music; MMC Recordings #MMC2136; available at www.happylemonmusicpublishing.com, MMC Recordings, and via all online & regular retail outlets that sell classical music titles.

John Harbison, The Flight Into Egypt And Other Works By John Harbison (1990), chamber & orchestral music; New World Records #80395-2

The Raveonettes, Pretty In Black (2005); Columbia Records.

TECHNICALS: Format: MP3, 192kbps Size: 55mB Duration: 39:10

Coming Soon: Episode #8

2007-03-14T19:15:00.000-05:00

It seems like only yesterday that episode #7 was born, kicking and screaming into this world as all good episodes do. We didn't care that it wasn't perfect; all we asked was that it have ten fingers and ten toes. But here we are, one week later, ready to drop another 'cast on humanity. Yes, the rumours are true. It's almost time for the release of Common Tone Episode #8. Currently in pre-production, CT8 should be in the can and on your table late this week. Stay tuned, and charge those Pods.

Behind the scenes

2007-03-07T11:05:00.000-05:00

Some snapshots of what putting out an episode of Common Tone looks like......a hardworking James Landon Jones makes a cameo appearance (or his back does, at any rate):

Common Tone #7 - We're Back

2007-03-07T07:58:00.000-05:00

Common Tone #7 is now available, the first new episode in a year and a half. It's a short one, basically getting our feet wet and getting reacquainted with the old gear and accustomed to the new gear. We had planned on talking about composer Michael Hersch and doing a phone interview with composer Karen Amrhein but we had to postpone those segments to the next 'cast.

Welcome back and please write to us at commontone@gmail.com to let us know your thoughts, visit our lil' slice of retail heaven at www.zazzle.com/commontone, and be our friend at MySpace!

TECHNICALS: Format: MP3, 192kps Size: 18mB Duration: 13:20

Coming Soon: Common Tone Episode 7

2007-02-12T21:55:00.000-05:00

Common Tone #7 is currently in pre-production and should be released later this month. Episode seven will be the first new episode in more than a year. In honor of our momentous return, we have re-released the original six Common Tone episodes. CT episodes one through six were originally released in 2005 and have been unavailable since early 2006.

We hope that you enjoy these first six shows and that you'll stay tuned for episodes seven and beyond in the coming months.

In the meantime, please leave a comment or drop us a note at commontone@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for your continued interest and support.

Visit Us At MySpace

2007-02-10T11:54:00.000-05:00

Check out our brand new MySpace page at myspace.com/commontoneshow and be our friend. Everyone can use a friend, right?

News From The Trenches

2007-02-10T10:39:00.000-05:00

Resident composer David Gaines is currently working on a new concerto for baritone saxophone and chamber orchestra (you heard right) for Seattle baritone saxophonist James DeJoie. This new piece will be recorded this fall in beautiful downtown Bratislava by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra under its principal guest conductor, Kirk Trevor. The results will be braised in a zesty brown sauce, tossed with chopped scallions, and then mixed with DG's Jubilee for euphonium & piano and Suite Of Changes for viola & mallet percussion (featuring marimba virtuoso Nancy Zeltsman) prior to being served with an aggressively chilled bottle of Night Train Express on a CD of contemporary chamber music to be released on the MMC Recordings label sometime in late 2008.

Our first podcast of volume two, round two, whatever you want to call it will be up & rolling in a few weeks, featuring discussion of our Rip Van Winkle-like arousal from a year and a half's worth of slumber (the equivalent of decades in the 'net world) as well as a survey of the current state of contemporary music & the media. Stay tuned.

Like He Said...

2007-02-08T23:10:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's good to be back.

We're back

2007-02-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

Yay, us.

After a year and a half of Cagian silence, we resolved our differences and shook hands. Now it's time to get back to getting you in touch with your inner Schnittke. Look for our next episode at iTunes or any one of a number of podcast feeders (there are a lot more of them out there now than there were back in the dim and distant past).

Meanwhile, entertain yourself at our Zazzle store and please post there (or here) with your comments and suggestions.

It's good to be back. :-)