Category: Miguel Weissman

The Bionic Blues Brother

Can I say upfront, I am a musician Composer producer that has technical knowledge, but still have a lot to learn about final cut pro and animation.

I wrote the screenplay for. The music for this new project is deconstructed from music I co-produced with the Second Fiddles about 12 years ago.. 

“What if blues music, not coal was a world’s power source, would they abuse musicians”?

These are images I commissioned Ma media arts to render.

After titles on Black background, open spotlight to photo of amplifier toggle switch.

A long animated arm with a hand that looks like Mickey Mouse turns on switch.

Blue light comes on, some humming noise and guitar tubes warm up in belly or amp.

Pan up to headshot of bionic blues brother.

He’s very sad, very pale, stiff and in pain.

He tries to move his jaw and eyes, and things just won’t work. { kind of like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz}.

His eyes move to one side as the camera pans to a tank that looks like a water cooler, next to a guard stooped over a chair snoring.

He’s wearing a fascist captains hat that is exaggeratedly pointed and boots that you would use to duck step, he’s holding his baton.

Kind a looks like Donald Trump! His arm handcuffed to the water container. The guard kicks the cooler even though he seams asleep.

Bubbles come from the top of the liquid as a small amount of the contents start to empty into a tube heading to the blues ones body.

The contents seams to be a lubricant.

He starts the kick drum, out of time, and blows though the harmonica out of breath through his mouth.

All the parts on his body are wobbly and seem almost as if they’re about to fall apart.

His face looks hopeless as he squirms, not having a switch to get the stuff in the water cooler.

After a struggle and a pleading expression, he shakes his head, his expression  said “just can’t do it.”

 The guard begrudgingly gives a dirty look and presses a big read button.

 A little more of the liquid come in and the blues brother shakes!

.

The blues one plays the harmonica through a tep in his throat! Whips out the guitar with one arm from behind his back like a bandido.

But the music sound synthetic, 

As the Blues one starts playing the blues figure along with the kick drum, playing in rhythm now. The music slowly starts to become real music.

The piano comes from his waist or where the crotch would be, it’s like a trap door or a piano cover for the keys.

The Blues One is always self-conscious, but with an air of sophistication even though he looks disheveled.

Sometimes a arm comes out to adjust his tux and his bowtie. His long back end { a grand piano} with that third leg in the back to stabilize him! 

The bass is held by another arm and another face is introduced, the bass player, is a woman!, They seam to change like a chameleon according to their whim,  the Blues One’s lover is similar!

The jug is held by another hand and arm that comes from the back, and lips come out of the ear to blow into the jug.

They start to get a little more color as they start to sing. Their body warms up, all of the parts seem to work smoothly now. The music sounds less synthetic and the music eventually becomes real players.

At this point all the instruments are introduced one at a time, their playing the guitar, the piano, bass, blowing through a jug, banging on the kick drum, singing and playing the harmonica.

Singing about Juanita, we will choose a couple images from the video. Juanita is half woman and half man too. 

Side note: The sores material for this comes from this video, But I have six more tracks { from the Second Fiddles }  to work with! So the end track { MP3 above } will be a mixture of all I have at my disposal. 

The faces and hands in the photos animate to the music!

These photos will be like a dream sequence that will accentuate the story of this song!

At one point ( when their prowess is at it’s highest ) the amp starts to extract the blues essence as their body starts to overload.

The spindles and sprockets start to turn faster, little sparks and blue steam start to come out of their ears and in the tubes inside of the amp!

Everything is smoking and their skin is dark blue.

We see the tubes, sprocket’s and spindles in side the amp extract the blues essence, splitting into tubes in many directions.

Each connection has a little blues essence leaking onto the floor. All pulsating to the rhythm of the music and going into a power source that looks like a old 1910 power converter that Frankenstein might have used. With the electrical charge going between the two metal antennas.

Everything in the room is bouncing to the music and you see through windows.

We see endless factories with blue smoke bellowing out of their long chimneys wile their moving to the rhythm of the music. ( I got that image from a Max Fleischer cartoon).

As they solo, we see dreams of Juanita and the Blues One walking hand and hand, traveling to famous cities, with selfies next to landmarks, meeting Kings and Queens and sailing on tall ships.

All the while, the one’s creativity, { the blues essence of the music } is being extracted and sucked into the tubes on the other end, and powering this factory. 

Just as all the other factories throughout this alternative universe extract this vital resorse from their captives.

As the bionic blues ones song starts to end, the tubes extract all their creative essence out of their body. 

The One becomes pale blue again. All the machinery that keeps our heroes together, start to seize and fall part.

Almost is if they were Humpty Dumpty, the one’s frail body has been put together for the last time, they slowly explode into hundreds of pieces!

Almost as if each part was an accident within an accident.

As we fade out {like the end of a Looney Tunes cartoon}. The  long arm appears and finds the toggle switch on the amp and turns it off!.

The Camera fades to black as we hear the remnants of their parts settle on the factory floor.

Only to open the spot light again to the bionic blues ones faces on the ground.

 A close up revels a smile and a sigh as they close their eyes to rest  { knowing that somehow} they’ll figure out how to do it all again tomorrow!!

End

CopyRight 2016

Miguel Weissman

comments, email the to harpburn@yahoo.com

The 80’s

Miguel Weissman’s exploration into the Manhattan, Bronx, East Village and Hoboken, NJ music scenes led to getting on wax and gigging in Harlem and deep into the East Village (Avenues A-D) at after-hour clubs. This was the advent of the emerging Black Rock, Blues, Punk and Avant Garde Jazz communities.

Miguel played with Donald Dixon, Tack Heads (Sugar Hill Gang}, Eddy Von Bach, Ghetto Fighters, Afrika Bambaata, The New Left, Spy v Spy, GTO and The Soul Squad, Sammy Carr, Johnny Thunders, Robert Gordon, Lester Chambers and Charles “Bobo” Shaw at the great clubs of the time like The 7A Club, The World Club and The Pyramid Club in the East Village as well as the Continental Divide, 55 Bar and Danceteria, to name a few.

Miguel joined a band called The Gismo in 1979. Also in that band was Stan 157, one of the original graffiti artists. The Gismo was an early R & B band. They played at after-hours clubs in Harlem. For Miguel, as the only white man in the room most of the time, this was an experience he would never forget. The love shared there was profound and he was always welcomed.

Miguel Weissman Donald Dixon

Miguel collaborated with Donald Dixon in the Bronx in early 80’s on Hill Street, overlooking the Yankee Stadium. They worked on a 4-track reel-to-reel, with a Shure 57 microphone, a delay unit and one 8-bit AKAI sampler.

Although I had a small part in this production, I wanted to add this. Never released! One of the Many artist we produced. This on has Flame and Billy Paterson { the Space Man} as well as Kamel and Shamel,two of our rappers at the time.

Miguel saw what life was like for black people in the ‘hood during a time when it seemed like the world had forgotten them. Miguel learned how resourceful this community was and risked his life going up there when crime and desperation were out on the streets! He knew back then that cops stopped men on the street for nothing at all.

There were guns shots constantly in the background. Sometimes there would be a knock on the door and Donald would explain to his clients that Miguel was here to record them and he was white. He would take their guns and bring them into the studio.

He experienced the same thing in the East Village. Going east of First Avenue back then was very dangerous! One night, Miguel was walking on 11th Street and was robbed of his Selmer Mark VI saxophone by a junkie. That’s when he decided to focus on the harmonica and music production, although he still plays the sax, flute and keyboards.

At Continental Divide, a club on 3rd Avenue and 8th Street, (the one that had a big dinosaur on top) he played with the DJs Smash and Stone, who were working turntables while he and other jazz musicians played over the top on the sax, flute and harp. They created the Acid Jazz Movement in the New York scene.

“Wet Ride, Fat Jazzy Groves 6 & 7″ for New Bread Records represents the collaborations between musicians and DJs that created the Acid Jazz Movement in New York. Miguel also worked with Warlock and Sleeping Bag Records where he collaborated with DJs Stone and Smash, GTO, William Socolov, and the Latin Rascals.

for New bread Records compiled by DJ Smash, Executive Producer; Asia Love; Miguel Weissman on harmonica; flute and keyboards; Willie Barrios, Co-Producer and drum programing.

Serenader

Gorge Timothy O’Brian {GTO} Voice and Keyboards, Miguel Weissman Keyboards and recording. Craig Randel Remix.

The New Left – Tony Boil, vocals, guitar and composition; the late Mike Hoke, bass and backing vocals; Charlie Stedmen, drums on All For You; Miguel Weissman harmonica, saxophone and keyboards. David Tannenbaum played drums later on Down in Flames and Monkey Reels. Published on Jun 18, 2013 Label: Kingpin Records Released: 1985

Blue Crew

Sammy Carr Voice, Donald Dixon bass, Janine Lilly Voice, Joe Henderson and Clifford Moonie Pusey { Crazy Mixed Up World} – guitars, Perry Robinson clarinet on {Get A Kick Out Of Life} Miguel Weissman harmonicas voice and keyboards, Bill Elder drums. Mixed by Miguel, BILL and Donald. 1987-91

Solo Punk days Recorded at Miguel Weissman’s Studio in 1982.

Miguel Weissman, vocals, bass guitar, drum programing, harmonica and tenor saxophone; Dave Sewelson, baritone saxophone; the late Mike Hoke, rhythm guitar; Mark Danie: lead guitar. Recorded 1984

This page was edited by Evens & Sue Colas

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Ambient music

Joey Havlock art and video, Designed and programmed with virtual instruments altered though computers, composed and produced by Miguel Weissman recorded 2012

Miguel created this from photos he has taken in his travels around the world.