ONOFFON

[onoffon]

Here's a cool one - I mentioned a while back, that an Egyptian journalist who writes for the largest arts and entertainment magazine in the Middle East, El Kawakeb Magazine, did an interview with me via email. Well, she sent me a JPEG of the published page and I hope to receive a copy(ies) of the magazine for my archives. It's not a great image but it's very cool, nonetheless. I'll post the translation on another post -My father's story is truly international. I can't thank the writer, Mai Farouk, enough for this wonderful publicity.

[onoffon]

Here is the translation of my interview from the article in the previous post - most of you already know of what I'm talking about -STARS ABROADMai Farouk"In his interview with El Kawakeb Magazine by e-mail, Von Babasin says:- I hope to visit Egypt...1-Tell me more about the movie you are making about your father?'Harry Babasin's Jazz In Hollywood' is a documentary about an unsung hero of jazz bass. Touring with such big bands as The Benny Goodman Orchestra and Woody Herman's 'Second Herd', Harry came to Hollywood in 1946, where he helped define the 'west coast jazz movement'. His innovations include pizzicato jazz cello and the birth of the bossa nova, while also starting one of the first musician produced record labels, Nocturne Records, in 1954, whose landmark 'Jazz In Hollywood' series set the standard for 'cool' on the west coast. Not only was Harry an accomplished musician, but he helped many now famous jazz musicians get their starts in their careers and even served as mentor and father figure to some. A wonderful example of this come's in the movie, 'The Band's Visit', the award winning 2007 Israeli film about an Egyptian band's visit to Israel. In the film, the leader of the band says that he is a Chet Baker fan. He says, 'I like Chet Baker. I have all his recordings. From the beginning, with the Harry Babasin Octet, to the last concert in '88.' This illustrates that Baker's first recordings were with my father. Receiving the sponsorship from the New York Foundation for the Arts to help produce this important film is extreme validation of my father's musical contributions and my life's work.2-What is your Artwork and what is the best you have done?Being raised literally surrounded by the entertainment industry, I have extensive backgrounds in all aspects of music, film, and video production and direction. Music has been a constant in my life, though I have worked in many different capacities in film and video. I worked for a number of years with special effects crews on such movies as 'Airport '77', 'Jaws 2', 'The Incredible Shrinking Woman', and John Carpenter's 'The Thing', and as a credited Grip on the film, 'La Bamba', for director, Luis Valdez. I directed a music video for a group I was with, Uranus, for a song I wrote, 'Lonely Streetfighter', that garnered sporadic airplay and a label deal with a German record company, ZYX Metal. I became production manager and director for an independent music video company and had a video I directed, 'Blast', nominated for an Independent Screening Award at the 1984 Billboard/MTV Music Video Conference. Another group I was with, The RH Factor, performed at the 1988 Long Beach Jazz Festival, after which music and film joined for me when we wrote the underscore, featured songs, and even appeared in the 1992 feature film, 'Forever', starring Sean Young and Diane Ladd. My latest musical ensemble is called ONOFFON. We have been together for eleven years and released three CDs in that time. We continue to receive critical acclaim from every corner of the globe. We were named 2005 'Artist of the Year' by the International Online Music Awards. In the following year, the IOMA's named our latest release, Bridge to Presage, 2006 Best Album, and in last year's event, I was named 2007 Best Bass Player and our drummer, Dave Goode, received Best Drummer honors. We receive airplay around the world and our music has been used in productions by FOX Sports, the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, and Food Network, as well as a dozen different arts and independent films. I am currently fiscally sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts to produce a documentary film about my father's life and career called, 'Harry Babasin's Jazz In Hollywood'.3-What is your opinion about the American movies and is it going forward or back?While I don't appreciate the mainstream American entertainment industry filling our airwaves full of gratuitous sex and violence in the name of profit, I still feel that the film industry in particular celebrates and nurtures its movement of independent filmmakers. I am always encouraged to see small budget, independent, and foriegn films get more and more recognition at film awards ceremonies. The Independent Spirit Awards shows the heart and soul of the film industry and truly gives me hope for the future and art of filmmaking.4-Do you know any one of the celebrities Egyptians or Arabs ?I've worked with hundreds of celebrities in film and music but I can't say that I know any of Egyptian or Arab descent.5-Have you visited Egypt before?I have not had the good fortune to visit Egypt before, but I would certainly love to sometime in my life.6-What is your opinion about the Middle East and Egypt?Since I was born and raised in Hollywood, what I love most about your part of the world is that you have thousands of years of social and cultural history to celebrate - the 'cradle of civilization'. California only has a few hundred years of history with the film and music industries our only true cultural contributions. Also, since I am of Armenian descent, I feel an attraction to the entire Middle East.7-What is your opinion about the Palestinian cause?I believe every group of people deserve a 'homeland' - unfortunately, this invariably leads to armed conflict and wars. We need to realize that we are all part of the same human race and that we have to work together for the good of mankind and the planet we live on. Too many wars have been fought in the name of nationality, race, and religion. I have to say, I love the Olympics. It brings the world together in sport - pride without hate, competition without bloodshed, we rejoice in our similarities and respect our differences."Again, huge thanks to Mai Farouk and El Kawakeb Magazine for giving me the opportunity to receive such wonderful publicity throughout their part of the world...

[onoffon]

I made a new friend on my FaceBook page today - someone contacted me after I commented on something Derek Sivers had posted - this was his first message to me -"Wow! Harry Babasin - there's a name I haven't heard in a while. My old man was a fan."Well - how cool is that? How nice that this guys father liked my father's work and it made such an impression on him growing up, he remembered... so, I thanked him for his comment and told him a little about the film - he came back -"Hi VonLooking forward to seeing your documentary about your father. My dad was a jazz fan, so I was exposed to a lot of great music growing up. Your father's music was part of that heritage. I am honored to met you.Cheers,jim"No, Jim, the honor is all mine...

[onoffon]

Well, another year has almost passed. I've been so close - closer each time - more and more support from so many wonderful people. Going on my third year of my NYFA sponsorship.It's daunting and awe-inspiring all in the same breath.I recently received another recommendation posted over on my LinkedIn.com page. It's really a wonderful website for professional networking - a myspace but for like minded business contacts.Here's my latest recommendation -Von Babasin - LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Von/BabasinLinkedIn RecommendationsJ Steven Opp has endorsed your work.Dear Von, I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. Details of the Recommendation: "If you have ever had the pleasure of speaking with Von, then I'm sure that you recognized his passion for his project and life. I am especially impressed with his strong and honest character. I'm rooting for him in every aspect and hope that I can be of help to him now and in the future. Whatever you do, make sure you don't miss out on any opportunity to witness or share in his vision."It's really amazing to have people like Steve say such things about me based on speaking with me a few times over the phone. Much like the support many of you have shown me in just reading my posts here - I have to count my blessings...Thanks to everyone who has been my friend here in the TAXI community. It's hard to convey how deeply I appreciate you all.Merry Christmas - Happy Chanukah - Happy Kwanzaa - have a wonderful holiday season however you choose to celebrate it!!!!

[onoffon]

Let's file this one under the heading "weird and quirky"...It seems that the words "Baba sin" are an Icelandic slang term for "father". So, someone in Iceland found me on FaceBook and, over the last three days, I've had more than 50 friend requests from Icelanders!One guy actually made a group called 'Synir Baba sin' and I'm what I'd affectionately call their mascot... It's all good - they've all been very nice and I love having all my new friends from Iceland...

[onoffon]

Wow - what a night I had last night.I went to a famous L.A. jazz club called The Baked Potato, owned by keyboardist, Don Randi. Don was a member of the original "Wrecking Crew" - the group of legendary studio musicians that recorded with everyone from Elvis to the Beach Boys to Wayne Newton throughout the 60's and 70's. It was Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame drummer, Hal Blaine's 80th birthday party. Of course, every musician in the room knew, or knew of, Harry Babasin. Don Randi knew him quite well - the rest looked up to him in an awe-inspiring way - Hal Blaine, Max Bennett, Chuck Berghofer, Gary Coleman, Gene Cipriano, and others who slip my mind right now.The high point of the evening for me came when I met one of my personal bass heroes, Leland Sklar!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!! I got to shake his hand and have a nice conversation with him - he knew of Harry and thought it was wonderful that I was trying to honor him with the documentary. How personally inspiring it was to me...Toward the end of the night, Hal actually got up and played a few tunes. He spoke afterward and, believe it or not, I actually gained additional insights to my father's artistic integrity and musical identity. I can't expalin it now but I most certainly will in the film...An amazing night!

[onoffon]

Oct 14, 2008, 9:33pm, onoffon wrote:I have to say, it doesn't happen very often these days, but there's nothing better than having someone buy one of our CDs.A few days ago, a gentleman in Great Britain decided to buy our latest CD, Bridge to Presage, from our CD Baby page. He just found it on the site and bought it. How very cool...Then, today, I get another email from CD Baby. Apparently, this gentleman enjoyed it so much that he returned to buy copies of our first two CDs also, Surrender Now and Your Mind.How cool is that?!?!??!!!??Success is measured in many different ways. In our own little way, today was a wonderful success... As a very pleasant follow up to the post above, I happened to visit one of our CD Baby pages today and, lo and behold, it turns out that the gentleman from Great Britian who bought all of our CDs apparently returned to review each one - Surrender Nowhttp://cdbaby.com/cd/onoffonFive Starsjoe.ukauthor: Mr J Westcott"what a diverse band of sounds. jazz fusion instrumentals what great musicianship arranged at the very top of ones game. you must get this album."Your Mindhttp://cdbaby.com/cd/onoffon2Five Starsjoe.ukauthor: Mr J Westcott"for me onoffon cant do a thing wrong. one word amazingly brilliant. ok two words. extraordinaire. ok three then...."Bridge to Presagehttp://cdbaby.com/cd/onoffon3Five Starsjoe.ukauthor: Mr J Westcott"this is one of the best albums i've put my pound notes on in a long time so if you got half a brain about great music then this is one of 3 onoffon albums you've just got to get."joe.ukauthor: Mr J WestcottFive Stars"i have already done a review on this album but im sorry i didn't write what i should have and that is. wonderful. talented. impeccable playing bunch of the highest extraordinaire tremendous musicians that as blown me away. this for me is a master peace of brilliant music. so from the bottom of my heart i thank you."I guess he liked Bridge to Presage so much he felt compelled to review it a second time... Our sincere gratitude to Mr. J Wescott for his wonderful opinions about our music...

[onoffon]

Haha, Steve - he was the dashing Hollywood jazz star in his day!I wanted to post something not self promotional - but joyfully inspirational.When I started working at the tender age of 21 at Universal Studios in the special effects department, I worked with many, many special effects men and women. There, of course, were the grizzled old veterans who had worked on films dating back to the silent era, and everything in between. Those of us who started around the same time had grown a special bond between us - learning on the job and flying by the seat of our pants. One such close friend of mine was a guy by the name of Burt Dalton. We had an inside joke, Burt and I, because we (very vaguely) looked alike - and many of the grizzled old veterans used to get us mixed up all the time - so he would call me Burt and I would call him Von and we'd always laugh about it. He was a great guy - hard worker - and good effects man. I even attended his wedding back in the 80's.I tell you all this because last Sunday night, I was very happy and priviledged to see my good friend, Burt Dalton, receive his first Academy Award for his participation in the visual effects team for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.It was a very special feeling to see someone who I knew so well receive an award like that. WAY TO GO, BURT!!!!!

[onoffon]

In the category of "opinions are like *ssholes, everybody's got one", I just received an almost forgotten review request I made from a website that used to be Gods of Music but is now called cOnsensus. They have a group of four or five reviewers listen to the same song and give an average "consensus" review of that song. So, last year sometime, I requested a review on our song, Weekend in Montreal, and this is what finally came back -Consensus Music Reviews -http://www.c0nsensus.com/Song: 'Weekend in Montreal' by ONOFFONhttp://www.c0nsensus.com/reviewDetail.php?requestID=1051Score: 7.14 / 10 MongoKnowsRecords gave a score of 9.12 / 10. Comments were: Dis be da classic Jazz - cruisin' into the future. Everybody in this band is seasoned. They know where they are and where each other are. This is one of those all to rare situations where everybody involved is listening. Great Piece from the Pros.. BEYOND BONEZ Scoring: Songcraft: 9, Recording: 9, Freshness: 9, Musicianship: 10, XFactor: 9.5 nb gave a score of 8.5 / 10. Comments were: Wonderful fusion composition I love the swing start. Deluxe jazz chops and the tenor sax delicious and unpredictable fiery and passionately sexy. The dynamic changes were timely and created depth to the masterful performance. I would love to spend a weekend in Montreal. Scoring: Songcraft: 8.5, Recording: 9, Freshness: 8.5, Musicianship: 9.5, XFactor: 8 Axeman gave a score of 6.37 / 10. Comments were: Interesting jazz that's on and off at times. Terrific sax playing, and the musicians clearly know what theyre doing. WOuld probably be a great live show. The recording suffers from the sax being too high in the mix, making it tough to hear the interaction with the other instruments. Also, the segues between themes could be a bit smoother. I'm no jazz authority but i enjoyed this one. Scoring: Songcraft: 6.5, Recording: 4, Freshness: 8, Musicianship: 9, XFactor: 7 Joga gave a score of 2 / 10. Comments were: Oh my, I might turn this off. The beginnings is so busy that I get a headache. Sometimes that is ok, when it feels musically inspired and is played with a great deal of feeling, but this is just...a lot of sax. When I get to the calm part, I know for sure that techniques is a bit more prominent with the saxophonist than playing from the heart. I have listened to quite a lot of jazz, and this needs to either be spiced up in the busy parts to make it experimental and maybe interesting then, or softened up with a lot of heart all over to at least send some sort of a message to the listener. As it is now, I'm just confused over what you're tryig to show/tell me. I'm bored. Scoring: Songcraft: 1.5, Recording: 6, Freshness: 0.5, Musicianship: 5, XFactor: 0I would venture to say that the last guy probably shouldn't be reviewing jazz but that's cool - it's an honest opinion and it shows how alien jazz is to some people. Even with his score of 2, we averaged 7.14, which qualified us to be on their 'best of the best' page, at #103 -Consensus Music Reviews - Our PicksThe Best of the Best!http://www.c0nsensus.com/ourpicks.phpYou'll notice our song, The Gift Must Always Move, still holds the #29 spot with an averaged score of 7.80.If you're not into instant gratification, feel free to submit some music and wait a year or more...

[davekershaw]

Wow Von!A range of 1.5 to 9 for songcraft and musicianship 5 to 10! There really is nowt so queer as folk!!