Friday, October 30, 2009

heaven.



now I know where it is.
heaven's in emeryville, california.
1200 park avenue to be exact.
you can't miss it; there's a big sign out front.
it says P I X A R.

once you get through the gates of heaven
you enter an indescribable universe.
it's where I want to live forever.

my personal version of heaven goes like this:
I live in a home depot shed in the animators section.
my formal title is: Pixar Good Will Ambassador.
my job is to greet the creative geniuses each morning
with hot cups of java and donuts and crisp conversation.
my day is spent spreading joy to the Pixar workforce,
drinking free cokes with lots of ice,
and giving outsiders the same special guest tour
I was given by andrew stanton and pete docter.

in my spare time (this is the heaven part)
I sit in the steven jobs-inspired in-house theatre
endlessly watching Pixar films and
reciting each line of dialogue perfectly.
yes, it's the theatre with the ceiling
covered in lights to match the constellations.
(exactly as the stars would be were there no roof)
look! there goes another shooting star!

Pixar is a visual feast filled with storyboards
and concept drawings and like a little boy
in a toy story shop I study every frame.

occasionally I slip into the voice-over studio
to perform a scratch voice-over
for an upcoming wonder at the same mic
used by the likes of billy crystal, john goodman,
holly hunter, tom hanks, tim allen, christopher
plummer, don rickles, kevin spacey, samuel jackson,
the ever-present john ratzenberger and so many others.
hey, you never know when a scratch vocal
just might be the perfect character voice.

in the evenings I take up residency in the secret
Lucky 7 lounge where I practice bartending
for the tired geniuses and technicians.

and lastly, as the workforce leaves
filled with happiness and go juice
I perform an improvised concert
in the vast Pixar lobby to send them home
inspired and ready to return.

that's my version of heaven.

ps: thanks andrew and pete for the best
tour diversion I've ever had.

psst: I didn't mention martha or my kids,
the power trio, or all my best friends
because to be in heaven you have to be

dead.

13 comments:

  1. Your version of Heaven is surprisingly similar to mine!

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  2. Good, now you and Randy Newman can hang out and play together. Make sure you record every second.

    Agnes

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  3. I wonder how many of the folks at pixar would say their version of heaven is to be one of the world's most excellent guitarists, songwriter, and to have the opportunity to rock out with a little band all over the world. Perhaps you could trade them for a day?

    Thanks for your post. I love to read what's going on with you. Keep up the great work!
    -Mark

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  4. Since I had a baby boy 20 months ago, I'm obsessed with Pixar films as well.

    I hope you keep & build relations with Pixar, because you have everything it takes to contribute *AT LEAST* one timeless song to a soundtrack. I can see it happening.

    By the way, do you know who played the Chapman Stick on the Wall-E soundtrack? I can't find any info on the web...

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  5. wowsers-------
    may-be------before y'all leave
    maybe a post----called------

    BACK IN THE USSR------oh sorry----just russia-
    love-peace--
    gary slick

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  6. Saw Adrian In Perm, Ural Mountains. With impatience I wait for a concert 11/9/9
    From Russia With Love

    [img]http://s54.radikal.ru/i146/0911/bf/126179d309e8.png[/img]

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  7. My guess on the Chapman stick/Wall-E sndtrck is ..Tony Levin...Just a guess, but I do know that Pater Gabriel has a song on there, so....

    Andre' Cholmondeley
    Belew Guitar Tech/TM

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  8. appearances can be deceiving even in heaven

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  9. Saw you at Brixton in Redondo Beach. Wow! Thanks! Wait... uhh... THANKS!!! :D

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  10. Tony lists the Peter Gabriel song from Wall-E on his website:
    http://www.papabear.com/discography.html

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  11. for me, your version of heaven is typical American escapism. I'm sure y'all were pumped when Mr. Obama entered the White House, and look how LITTLE has changed as he furthers the imperialist agenda. In fact, he's committing MORE troops to "die for your safety and protection.." aww, isn't that precious. You all have more important things to worry about THAN FUCKING CARTOONS!! and soon, that point will be driven home with STUNNING accuracy!!!

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  12. I think all the Musician have that dreams to top the Myspace charts and featured artist page daily .. Well, you too have that oppertunity to get your goal.. simply !!
    Using Hellofriendz.com you can easily increase your myspace plays and boost UNLIMITEDLY and get myspace plays effectively to attract record labels, newspapers, magazines, publicity and press, brand new fans, radio and television stations,venues, performance locations, A & R scouts, booking agents and all important music executives.
    So what are you still waiting for ..

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  13. To 11/23: With all due respect, neither you nor I have any complete picture of what Adrian 'worries about'. However, I would volunteer that the man who wrote "Lone Rhino", "Men in Helicopters", and "I Have A Dream" owes no one apologies. Happy Thankgiving to all!

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