February Fun: Cool Music Gigs & Exciting Book Preview News!
I’ll be in the Writing Batcave for awhile, but don’t worry. My cats are keeping me company! 🙂
Hello! Some fun updates for this month’s blog plus an exciting preview announcement of my next book! Right now, as you can see from the picture above, I’ll be in the writing bat cave for the rest of this month. Before I go AWOL for the rest of February, I wanted to update everyone on some fun music gigs I did in January, plus a hint about my next book! 🙂
I had a great time in January playing some really cool gigs! I played in a Glendale Philharmonic concert featuring special guests comedian Emo Phillips and actor/singer Michael Des Barres, plus a cool music video shoot with rising star Aloe Blacc. Here’s a shot of what the video looked like:
Aloe Blacc’s “Love is the Answer” music video sponsored by Lincoln Motor Co.
BREAKING BOOK NEWS! As for my breaking news on my next book? Here’s a sneak preview announcement:
Stay tune for details on my next children’s book coming out later in 2014 from Lee & Low Books!
NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: My next book is another children’s picture book biography coming out THIS YEAR from LEE & LOW BOOKS. I can’t say much else because we’re still in the final steps of the editing process, but stay tuned for a detailed announcement about the book later this spring!
NAPIBOWRIWEE UPDATE: Also, for those of you who participate in this event, please remember that my famous NATIONAL PICTURE BOOK WRITING WEEK (AKA “NaPiBoWriWee”) takes place this May 1-7, 2014. (For more info, go here: https://paulayoo.com/napi/) Our official souvenir store feature this year’s new logo is NOW OPEN. Go here to order your T-shirts, journals, coffee/travel mugs and tote bags to inspire you in time for this year’s event! http://www.cafepress.com/paulayoonapibowriweeclassic
My annual event, NAPIBOWRIWEE (National Picture Book Writing Wee), will take place this May 1-7, 2014 at https://paulayoo.com/napi Our store is now open: http://www.cafepress.com/paulayoonapibowriweeclassic
(Keep reading after the break for more info and news!)
As for my January music gigs, below are some more fun details and photos…
GLENDALE PHILHARMONIC CONCERT:Â On January 5th, I played a concert with the Glendale Philharmonic. The program featured the world premiere of “Bestemming: Cello Concerto No. 1” by renowned composer Sharon Farber, celebrating the heroism of Holocaust survivor and Dutch Resistance fighter Curt Lowens. Mr. Lowens was also a guest at our concert! Ruslan Biryukov was the brilliant cello soloist and musician and actor Michael Des Barres delivered the haunting narration. Pop culture icon and hilarious comedian Emo Philips narrated St. Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. Below are some photos from the concert:
This is my bird’s eye view of our conductor Frank Fetta and iconic comedian Emo Phillips during our rehearsal of St. Saens’ Carnival of the Animals with the Glendale Philharmonic.
This is a picture from a friend of our Glendale Philharmonic concert in January 2014 featuring guests cellist Ruslan Biryukov, actor/singer Michael Des Barres, and Emo Phillips (pictured here).
For more info on the Glendale Philharmonic, please go here: http://www.glendalephilharmonic.com
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ALOE BLACC MUSIC VIDEO: Later in January, I was one of the many Instrumental Casting musicians who participated in the ALOE BLACC music video for his song, “Love is the Answer.” The music video was shot in a gorgeous Art Deco hotel in downtown Los Angeles. It was a special music video sponsored by the Lincoln Motor Co. They did a cool concept where there are FOUR different versions of the same video. Each version is told from a different person’s perspective – Aloe, Leo (dancer), Hannah (another dancer), and Nick (a crew member), plus the director’s cut. A preview ad was featured during the 2014 Grammy telecast on CBS. The song is awesome – it’s got a retro Motown feel (I LOVE Motown) with a cool hip hop vibe.
To see all four versions, please visit Lincoln Motor Co.’s official Youtube channel here:Â http://www.youtube.com/user/lincoln
You can see me the most in the “LEO” version, especially at the 0:16, 2:00 and 2:45 minute marks!
LEO VERSION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aU8Nv9bLW8
The other versions include…
ALOE:Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S0_LyKgtt0
HANNAH:Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmn1yxTTE-Q
NICK:Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maXpSFI_UnQ
DIRECTOR’S CUT:Â https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6v6XPvu364
As a TV writer/producer, I’m used to long hours on the set of the TV drama shows I’ve written for in the past. But this is only my second time as an extra on the set of a shoot. (My first experience as an extra was in the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE. I was a Seattle Times intern at the time and did a first-person account of my experience on that set.) So I knew as an extra, there would be long hours of nap time followed by grueling hours of film time. At one point, me and three other musicians were asked to stand on the stairs and pretend to talk while dancers rushed down the stairs. I was so excited for my “special” role. I’m ready for my close up! 🙂 LOL!
I had a great time on the Aloe Blacc music video set and made a lot of new friends. We were all very impressed with the hard work and professionalism of the cast and crew of the set as well. It was a fun job! For more info on ALOE BLACC, go here:Â http://www.aloeblacc.com
Below are some pics from the shoot:
This is me waiting between takes on the Aloe Blacc music video shoot.
Me & 3 other musicians were asked to hang out by the stairs and just chat while dancers rushed past us. I am not sure I will win an Emmy for my acting. 🙂 haha!
This was my favorite part of the shoot. Aloe Blacc himself sang while we played along to the track of his song, “Love Is the Answer.” What a talented and super nice guy! Can you find me in this picture? 🙂
This was the hardest part of the shoot. We had to stand on the stairs and play while dancers twirled past us and confetti and special smoke filled the air. Aloe Blacc played on the piano at the bottom of the stairs. I felt like I was in the movie FAME. 🙂 Can you spot me?
And this was the big finale of the music video shoot. Here’s my bird’s eye view from where I stood o the stairs.
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As you can see, January was quite the musical month. But now it’s time to leave the Violin Batcave for the WRITING BATCAVE. I’m working on some TV development projects plus finishing the revisions to my next middle grade novel. I then plan to get going on my next few passion projects which include a new feature spec script, a YA novel in verse, and a historical novel! My LEE & LOW editor and I are also putting the final touches on my fourth book which comes out THIS YEAR!!!!! Again, stay tuned for the official announcement soon!
Until then, it’s back to the Writing Batcave. One of my cats, Beethoven, is already critiquing what I’ve written so far… sheesh. Everyone’s a critic!
Beethoven looks for typos in my latest draft.
In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter @paulayoo and follow my cats Oreo, Beethoven and Charlotte at @oreothecatyoo. Until the next blog, please remember… HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂
3 Responses
So glad a crit buddy told me about NaPiBoWriWee…I’ll definitely give it my best go! Thanks so much for your dedication and generosity!
Welcome Vivian! We look forward to seeing you May 1-7, 2014!
Oh, I am hoping this will precipitate the thaw of frozen ideas!
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