NAMM: Founded in 1901, 110 years ago; The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA, at the Anaheim Convention Center. This year there was a record 95,709 registered attendees, and 1,441 exhibitors.

Keeping Music Going In Our Schools

Can you imagine a world with no music? Ouch! That would be like being trapped in an ongoing nightmare. Music inspires us, moves us, brings us together. It is art, science, tradition, culture and chronicles - the essence of our existence from one generation to another. It brings back memories, it shifts our mood and it heals. Personally, I couldn't imagine living in a world without music. I toast to this year's NAMM slogan, "Believe in Music," and invite everyone, of all ages, to Believe in Music! I caught up with renowned musician Michael Murphy, after his NAMM performance with Pete Anderson opening day of NAMM. Michael summed it all up in three words when he said, "Music is Magic." Murphy is a musician, composer, music producer who lives near NOHO and has played keyboards with Joe Walsh and Seals and Crofts.

I am a musician myself and lucky to be living in the NoHo Arts District, the largest concentration of music recording venues west of the Mississippi. I get to experience musical events, talk with musicians, play with musicians, and be in heart of the NOHO music scene. But what if you are not a musician or in the music industry? Is the survival of music of great relevance to those who are not in the music business? I think its safe to say that almost everyone on the planet enjoys music in one form or another. But does everyone "believe" in music? With budget cuts threatening music education in our schools, I sometimes wonder.

One of the great things I noticed at NAMM this year was the spirit of keeping music going in schools; which translates greatly to keeping music alive. This year, NAMM had a powerful message, "Keep Music Education Strong." The NAMM Foundation launched its annual effort to recognize and support schools across the United States that support music education as part of a complete and quality education for all children. NAMM envisions a world in which the joy of making music is a precious element of daily living for everyone; a world in which every child has a deep desire to learn music and a recognized right to be taught; and in which every adult is a passionate champion and defender of that right. NAMM's mission is to strengthen the music products industry and promote the pleasures and benefits of making music.

After walking from booth to booth in what seemed to be hundreds of miles of booths, I really got the sense that the music industry is coming together to support music and arts education in schools. I came across several companies and non-profit organizations that offered great opportunities for music education. I was very impressed with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a non-profit mobile recording studio dedicated to providing students of all ages with free hands-on opportunities to make music and produce video projects.

Another booth that caught my attention was an exciting new program called CoolUp Your Schools. Greeting people at the booth, Phil Seiflein of Ethermedia gave me a full run down of the program. In the words of CoolUp Your Schools spokesman Harry Evry; "We set out on a mission to encourage students and support the critical cause of music in the classroom, and we have been blown away by the amazing outpouring of heart felt encouragement and music industry support; not just from the musicians and artists in the music industry but from businesses and foundations who recognize the critical importance of music and art education to our students experience and understanding of culture creativity and education." Mr. Evry then shared with me how this vision began with one Karaoke system manufacture offering to put specially loaded systems full off educational content into as many classrooms as possible. In the course of the NAMM show dozens of artists musicians and entertainers volunteered their talents to support endorse and support CoolUp Your Schools. Teachers and Schools interested in receiving free systems, content and support and anyone interested in supporting the program can register at http://coolup.tv.

And so with all this I feel more optimistic that the music industry will do everything possible to keep music going in schools. I left the expo feeling rewarded by the experience and joined the energizing drum circle lead by Arthur Hull in which REMO supplied hundreds of drums for all those who believe in music.

Visit the NohoArtsDistrict.com music blogs:

Brit Music Scene - David Mariam covers the British Music Scene...raised in Los Angeles, living in London for the past eight years, David is now a contributor to several top music review sites in the UK.

Jessie Payo covers the LA music scene - Jessie’s band opened for The Black Eyed Peas, Jason Mraz, Lauryn Hill, Lupe Fiasco, Etta James and Boyz II Men. Her music has appeared on MTV’s hit series “The Hills,” “The City,” “My Super Sweet Sixteen,” ABC’s “Make it or Break it” and FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”

Links:
NAAM : http://www.namm.org/

NAMM Foundation:
http://www.nammfoundation.org

CoolUp Your Schools.
http://coolup.tv

Hi Mom, guess what? I finally made it to the Land of Oz!

Directed by Martin Scorsese

The Invention of Special Effects in Films Through The Eyes Of A Magician.

You will find this review of Hugo a little different from anything you may have read about the film. It is mostly known that Hugo is a 3D adventure drama based on Brian Selznick's novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

I had decided not to read any reviews about the film before I went so that I would experience it without any preconceived notions. All I knew was based on its advertisement's description. "Twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity." Written by John Logan (screenplay) and Brian Selznick (book); I found that the story was cleverly brought to screen with a perfect balance of drama, comedy, intrigue and adventure. It wasn't until I was sitting in the theatre, watching it, that I realized it dealt with something that was very close to my heart; the history of magic and movie making. I will be focusing on the part of the story you don't typically read much about in the film's publicity: Scorsese's tale of one of the greatest magician innovators of our times.

Last weekend I showed up at the nearest ArcLight Cinema near NoHo to catch Hugo. I stood in line for quite a while waiting to buy a ticket. There were dozens of people in front of me. When it came to my turn they sadly informed me they were sold out. Boo Hoo! and I had already bought my popcorn. So I stood there in the lobby, pacifying my sadness by chugging down as much popcorn that could comfort me, Then from out of nowhere, just like in the movies, a stranger walked up to me and said, " I have an extra ticket, do you want it?" Graciously grinning like the Cheshire Cat I thanked him and ran off to catch the film which was about to start in moments.

As the previews flickered in the dark, I took my seat and the feature began. But for a moment I thought I had eaten too much popcorn. The screen was all blurry and I wondered if I was getting sick. As my eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness I noticed people wearing 3D glasses. "Oh My!" I remembered, this film was in 3D and since I did not get a ticket from the box office, I had no glasses. So I ran to the lobby, got myself a pair and made it back in record time, just in time for the opening sequence. That sprint alone burned off all the butter calories I had just consumed and I was ready for the adventure.

These were not your typical cardboard red and green 3Dglasses. They were a super comfortable, deluxe, hard framed XPAND glasses with olive green tinted lenses. Now, I have seen over 50 films in 3D and I found that they don't always integrate 3D technology appropriately. I was thrilled to discover that Scorsese uses 3D the way 3D should and needs to be used, to enhance the story. It not only enhanced the depth of field, it added depth of feeling and gave it a sense of really being there; inside the movie, inside old Paris. Without giving anything away here, some of the scenes take place inside a giant clock mechanism. The 3D version of this film puts you so much inside these clocks, you feel you are one of the cogs in the ticking machine's wheel. Beyond it being so visually immersive, Scorsese's 3D helps amplify the emotional connection that the characters have with their environment.

The opening sequence was exquisitely spectacular, worth the price of the ticket alone. Wait, I got my ticket as a gift! OK, you get my excitement. It was breathtakingly sensational, Scorsese directs a track shot through a 1930s train station that totally takes you on an E-ticket visual ride that will drop your jaws and pop your eyes out. To think I had almost missed it. If you are one of those people who miss the beginning of movies, get there early, do not miss the opening. This film is one of the best examples of using effects as a storytelling ingredient and not just for the eye candy of the effect. The effects are part of the story. Very appropriate too, since the story is about the man responsible for pioneering special effects in films.

Let me also applaud Director of Photography Robert Richardson for his visual contribution to this masterpiece. Mr. Richardson goes way back as a brilliant cinematographer to Platoon and image-rich movies such as Kill Bill. His cinematography is goose-bumping transcending, completely capturing the look and feel of Paris in the early 1900s. Having worked together before in Aviator, Scorsese and Richardson make a fantastic team in creating movie magic that makes you suspend the awareness of your current reality and completely puts you inside another very real and believable world. This film is wonderfully successful in not only bringing history back to life, but also in re-creating how some of the earliest motion pictures were made.

Being a filmmaker and magician myself, I was pleasantly surprised that Scorsese chose to tell the story of the father of special effects, Georges Méliès (1861 -1938). Méliès discovered the stop trick and was one of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves and hand-painted color in his films. Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality through cinematography, Méliès is sometimes referred to as the First "Cinemagician." The role of Georges Méliès is masterfully played by one of my favorite actors, Oscar winner, Ben Kingsley. A fascinating character, Kinglesy is perfect for the role and truly captures the essence of the spirit of a magician-visionary inventor.

The movie takes place during a very important period in the history of stage magic. Méliès was a very active magician during the catapulting era of modern conjurers. He purchased French patriarch magician, Robert-Houdin's famous theatre, specifically to do magic. Méliès created over 30 new illusions staged with comedy and melodrama, most of which are still done today in one form or another. One of the stage tricks I recently performed at the Experience NoHo event, the headless woman, is probably somewhat a related descendant of Méliès's Recalcitrant Decapitated Man.

Méliès life changed when e saw one of the very first films ever made shown by the Lumière Brothers. The Lumières are credited as one of the first inventors of Cinema as a mass medium. The short film had a train arriving at a station. People had never seen anything like this and jumped out of their seats in fear believing the train was leaping out of the screen. It's interesting to note that the Lumière Brothers were trying to achieve a 3D image even prior to this first ever public exhibition of motion picture. Here is yet another reason why Scorsese's choice to direct Hugo in 3D is so well fitting. Méliès was so stunned by the amazingly realistic illusions created by moving pictures he wanted to buy the machines to make his own movies. The Lumiere's didn't think there was a future for movies and refused to sell to him. So Méliès decided to build his own camera and so began our cinematic history.

The greatest illusionists of the early 1900s such as Harry Houdini (1874- 1926), Harry Blackstone Sr. (1885-1965) and many others, probably grew up themselves watching his movies. This was an exciting time in history where people's minds were being blown away with stage illusions and the new art form of films. As a magician I can tell you that most of us live and thrive to find ways to create illusions that will provoke our audience's senses. This movie totally captures that passion and gives us a glimpse inside that unique human phenomena that steers some of us to be part magician-part jester and the drive that makes us continue to do so, in spite of life's ups and downs.

So besides being a fun and entertaining theatre experience, Hugo can inspire all of us artists. Méliès produced over 500 movies, most of them lost or destroyed. Through the eyes of the character Hugo Cabret, played by Asa Butterfield, we gently get the message of the importance of following our dreams and protecting our creations. This is strongly conveyed in how young Cabret is so fixed on re-constructing an automaton left to him by his father. It is through this innocent kid's raw passion to bring the robot back to life that we learn about Méliès' life work.

Hugo is Scorsese's homage to the innovations created by our predecessors. With Hugo he gifts us with the opportunity to be motivated to think of new things. It reminds us that there is much to learn from what has been created in the past. It is a call to the awareness of the importance of perceiving art.

As soon as I left the theatre I called many of my magician friends and filmmakers to urge them to see this movie. Many did not know that the film was so rich in movie-magic history. One of my fellow magic colleagues, Harry Every, went to see Hugo the very next day. As Chairman & CEO at Transmersive, Harry has been involved in the business and innovation of 3D technology for years. He is quite an accomplished producer, effects supervisor and imagineer himself. This is what he wishes to share with us after seeing Hugo.

"It's a fascinating adventure in its own right that looks into the mind of one of our greatest illusionist innovators of our time. It's truly inspiring and motivating to just imagine the amazing creations they were able to produce back then. This, without any instructional books or references and with technology that by today standards barely qualifies as nomadic. Illusionists and filmmakers today could be, and should be, wanting to create new effects and run out to shoot new innovative films."

Brandon Scott is a professional magician and featured performer at the Magic Castle. He is an award winning filmmaker and a resident actor/theatre producer in NOHO. http://storywizards.com/

If you are looking for something special to do while visiting the Sawdust Art Festival and Festival of Arts - Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach , don’t miss Brandon Scott's Magic Cabaret “The URAKATAS OF URA!” at the Gallimaufry Family Festival presented at The Artists' Theatre.

Thomas Dean Kellogg, founder and artistic director of theatre fofo is collaborating once again with Brandon Scott to create a unique piece of theatre based on storytelling and magic. The two began working together in the mid 90’s, and found a kindred spirit in each other, with respect to the desire to bring magic into a more organic relationship to dramatic storyline.

“I think magic is an art form, like music and dance. It is a language as well, with a very specific vocabulary.” Brandon and I have enjoyed the challenge of using that vocabulary to build story. You won’t see anything like this being done elsewhere. At least not to my knowledge.” says Kellogg.

Kellogg has staged many productions, especially with his award winning company fofo, which use non traditional theatrical technique and multi disciplinary artists to convey a dramatic story, ideas, and themes. Kellogg was invited by the Lincoln Center Directors Lab West to present a talk and a workshop on his innovative style.