Graham Reynolds :: The Golden Arm Trio

NEWS
:: CULT OF COLOR ON THE RADIO, iTUNES AND AMAZON

Graham's newest CD, Cult of Color: Soundtrack to the Ballet, has been finding it's way onto radio stations across the country and into Canada. Tracks from the disc have been featured on All Things Considered and is charting on several public stations. For those looking to buy the CD, it's now available online for either download or purchase, at Amazon and iTunes. WDCE in Richmond reviewed the disc: “A renowned / versatile composer, Graham Reynolds has written for orchestra, opera, concerto and chamber on their own and within contexts of film, shorts and theatre. This work brings to life the three act, 11 scene ballet The Cult Of Color: Call to Color. A precise, image filled, headphone experience that brings together crime jazz, Jewish alternative, experimental sound design, dense classical passages and Asian percussion. There is a nice sense of balance and flow as dramatic, moody textures confront the ominous, atmospheric and playful. Recommended.”.

:: SALVAGE VANGUARDS UNBEATEN COMPLETES WORKSHOP

Writer-performer Shannon McCormick and Graham completed a week-long workshop of the new one-man play "Unbeaten". After sessions of structural and thematic development, the two collaborators broke off, Graham into the studio to write music, Shannon to the desk to write text. The week culminated in a performance of a truncated version of the piece for a selected audience. The play premieres in October. Here are two pieces of music from the workshop:

Charles Barkley: Omaha Stomp:

:: RUSSIAN MASTERS: CLASSICAL HOOT NIGHT PT II

Golden Hornet Project continues its 2008 Season with rocked out versions of Russian masterpieces. Covers of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and more. The stellar line-up includes the Invincible Czars, Peter Stopschinski's Delicious Food, Drums and Tuba's Neal McKeeby, violist Jason Elinoff, and Golden Arm Trio.

::ROBERT KRAFT AND GRAHAM COLLABORATE ON KEROUAC

On July 17th, The Harry Ransom Center and the Austin Chamber Music Center are putting together a Beats tribute show in conjunction with the HRC's current exhibit “On the Road with the Beats”. Luke Savisky is providing filmwork, Tosca String Quartet performs Howl, and Robert Kraft and Graham reinterpret the Jack Kerouac and Steve Allen reading from On the Road.

Robert A. Kraft has voiced hundreds of national and regional television and radio ad campaigns, anime characters and feature films. He also writes, produces and voices comedy pieces for Air America Radio's national show "Workin' It" with Jackie Guerra. If you listen to the radio, watch TV, go to the movies, or surf the web, you've probably heard his voice.

:: THE FINAL KISS FEATURING MEMBERS OF THE KIDS IN THE HALL

Director Amit Itelman's comedy-horror short The Final Kiss, with Graham's original score, had a special preview screening at the Steve Allen Theater earlier in June. The piece features comedy icons Dave Foley and Scott Thompson from Kids in the Hall as well as Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers) and Tom Ballatore (Once Bitten). Los Angeles Magazine wrote that the film was “Disturbingly funny…with top notch special effects” and LA Weekly called it “A hilarious gory short…a heart beating with love and lunatic curiosity…you'd have to be dead not to feel its pulse”. Next, Itelman hopes to expand the short into a feature-length film.

:: I'LL COME RUNNING AT THE LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL

Director Spencer Parson's I'll Come Running with Graham's original score had it's world premier at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 21^st. "Rising actress Melonie Diaz is superb as the young woman learning about the guilt and joy of unexpected love. By turns tender, tragic and darkly funny, Spencer Parsons' directorial debut is as mercurial as its fleeting romance, reminding us that the spur of the moment can be sharp indeed." -- LAFF

:: GRETCHEN IN THEATERS THIS FALL

Steve Collins' film, Gretchen, with Graham's original score, has been picked up for theatrical distribution by Watchmaker Films. The plan is a run at selected theaters this fall or Christmas season with a DVD to follow. The film, which won "Best Dramatic Feature" at the Los Angeles Film Festival, stars Courtney Davis (Lost Universe, Natural Selection), John Merriman (A Yeti in the City), and Stephen Root (No Country for Old Men, Boston Legal, King of the Hill).

:: AWARDS, AWARDS, AWARDS

Well, we didn't win them all but Graham, his collaborators and companies did ok. Here's what we won:

Choral Concert
"The Odyssey," Austin Children's Choir

Dance Concert
"Cult of Color: Call to Color", Ballet Austin

Costume Design
Trenton Doyle Hancock, "Cult of Color: Call to Color"

Lighting Design
Tony Tucci, "Cult of Color: Call to Color"

Choreographer
Stephen Mills, "Cult of Color: Call to Color"

Dancer
Anthony Casati, "Cult of Color: Call to Color"

Sound Design
Buzz Moran, "Mud" "Full Circle"

:: GOLDEN HORNET PROJECT BECOMING A NON-PROFIT PROJECT

After years of punk-rock independence, then several more under the Salvage Vanguard Theater umbrella,Golden Hornet Project has decided to become an official non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Now you're going to be able to donate money to us and count it against your taxes. I'm sure you're looking forward to that. Peter Stopschinski and Graham have become the co-artistic directors and John Riedie is the executive director. We're celebrating with one our favorite kind of concerts: percussion ensemble. 8pm on Saturday August 16th at the new Salvage Vanguard Theater on Manor Road, concert followed by a bit of a party. Hope you can come. And we have a board:

Dana Fris-Hansen: Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Austin Museum of Art
Tim League: Co-founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
David Wyatt: President of WyattBrand marketing firm
Graham Williams: Partner in Transmission Entertainment, a music booking and promotion company
Lorraine Chammah: Mother of Maurice Chammah and our parent and student interest representative
Kirk Lynn: Playwright and Co-Producing Artistic Director of Rude Mechs theater collective.
John Riedie: Owner of Rampant Arts, arts management and produtcion company
Peter Stopschinski and Graham

:: CULT OF COLOR: CALL TO COLOR SELLS OUT ITS RUN

Check out the picture of Trenton Doyle Hancock's characters come to life and hanging out with Graham and his collaborators, artist Trenton and choreographer Stephen Mills. Cult of Color: Call to Color sold out its two week run at Austin Ventures Theater at Ballet Austin. Next up for the piece is the distribution of the CD and the effort to sell the show to presenters in other cities. Look for the CD now at Waterloo Records and directly from Ballet Austin, soon from Amazon, I-Tunes and CDBaby.

:: "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED" PLAYS GOLDEN ARM TRIO

The nation's #1 radio news show has been using tracks off Golden Arm Trio's latest CD The Tick-Tock Club as transition music the past few months. We're pretty happy about that around here.

:: CULT OF COLOR: CALL TO COLOR MEDIA COVERAGE

As the premier of Cult of Color: Call to Color approaches, the media is taking note and tickets are now on sale to the public. KUT's John Aielli did extended interviews with all three collaborators on his podcast Aielli Unleashed.The Austin American Statesman's weekly arts and entertainment magazine, XLEnt featured Graham, Stephen Mills and Trenton Doyle Hancock on their cover, with an excellent article about their collaboration inside.

:: ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN MAGAZINE PROFILES GRAHAM

Electronic Musician has published an interview with Graham about his work process and the making of The Tick-Tock Club.

:: CULT OF COLOR: CALL TO COLOR EXHIBIT AT ARTHOUSE

Cult of Color: Call to Color, Notes on a Collaboration is a behind the scenes look at how the groundbreaking dance collaboration came together. At Arthouse through April 27.

:: GOLDEN ARM AT THE LONG CENTER GALA WITH CONDUCTOR PETER BAY

On Friday, March 28 Graham and The Golden Arm Trio will perform as part of The Long Center for the Performing Arts opening gala. Accompanying a film about the Long Center's construction, The Golden Arm Trio will be joined by the Austin Symphony and its internationally acclaimed conductor conductor Peter Bay. Personally checking the score and parts, marking corrections and suggestions and then meeting one on one with Graham to finalize the piece, Bay has been more than generous with his time and expertise. Self-taught orchestrator Graham meets conservatory trained virtuoso. The piece being orchestrated is "Treasure Hunt" from the album Why The Sea is Salt. Listen to the original:

:: FUSE BOX FESTIVAL AND ARTHOUSE AT THE JONES CENTER PRESENT GRAHAM

On April 24th at 8pm, in the midst of the art exhibit dedicated to his new ballet, Graham premieres the Cult of Color String Quintet, the first completed live incarnation of the music from the ballet, which itself is a surround sound recording project. Other chamber music pieces of Graham's will fill out the program. The art of collaborating visual artist Trenton Doyle Hancock and video of choreographer Stephen Mills fill the space along with samples of Graham's music and process. Click to find out more about the Fuse Box Festivaland Arthouse.

:: THE FOOTBALL PLAY

Graham and writer/improv comic Shannon McCormick are working on Unbeaten, a one-man show about professional football, commissioned bySalvage Vanguard Theater. Welcome the Omaha Oxen, Nebraska's first professional football franchise where Shannon plays the coach, star players, media, fans, and who knows who else. Featuring a new recorded score and sound design that play in semi-randomized order, the show is structured like a game, four 15 minute quarters. The show premieres on October 23rd and runs through November 22nd.

:: GRAHAM COMPOSES BERNSTEIN ARRANGEMENT

Two-time Pulitzer nominee P.K. Waddle asked a handful of Austin composers to arranged themes of Leonard Bernstein for Waddle's music and film series at the Alamo Drafthouse. Graham chose “On the Waterfront” and then narrowed it down to the timpani part from the film's overture. Transformed and expanded into an original short chamber work for two contrabasses and baritone sax, the piece premiered on February 17th.

:: GRAHAM'S LATEST ARTICLE: PORGY AND BESS

Austin Chronicle arts editor Robert Faires asked Graham to write a preview article for Zachary Scott Theater's new version of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess". The 2200 word article, including three sidebars, examined the history of Porgy and Bess and its productions and Zach Scott's place in it. The Dave Steakley re-envisioning, fueled by a large NEA grant, transforms the opera into a piece of musical theater with hopes and plans to open elsewhere in the country in the next few years. Read the this and Graham's other Chronicle articles here.

:: AUSTIN MUSIC FOUNDATIONS HOSTS PUBLIC CONVERSATION WITH GRAHAM

Austin Music Foundation was founded with the business of music in mind and that continues to be the focus of their mission. Their Small Group Sessions program is a chance for musicians and any interested member of the public to talk directly to career musicians and others for advice, guidance and ideas. Invincible Czars guitarist and Austin Music Foundation staff member Josh Robins led an interview and conversation with Graham. Audience members signed up for the February 12th event. Discussion topics ranged from how to get jobs to recording techniques to the importance to notating skills.

:: AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY AND ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE PRESENT GRAHAM AND THE GAUCHO

Graham's first full performance at the new splashy downtown Alamo at the Ritz was a new original piano score to the Douglais Fairbanks and Lupe Velez 1927 feature, The Gaucho. Programming director Chale Nafus asked Graham to create and perform the piece, the latest of many he's done in conjunction with the film society. Directed by F. Richard Jones, The Gaucho stunned audiences upon its initial release in November 1927, as Fairbanks opted to play a part that was far outside his fans' expectations. As this Argentinean bandit, Fairbanks drinks whisky, chain smokes, robs a church, and even carries on with two women at the same time before finally finding his redemption in the final reel. This was a far cry from the Boy Scout image he had cultivated throughout the early years of his career.

:: FIRST NIGHT AUSTIN

Graham and the Golden Arm Trio led Austin's annual New Year's parade in a brass band style line-up. The band marched down Congress, turned and walked up the steps of City Hall and straight onto the stage to play a set attended by Mayor Will Wynn and U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett. The awesome marching band hats were provided by the .Invincible Czars

:: OUTSIGHT RADIO INTERVIEWS GRAHAM

Outsight Radio recently interviewed Graham about many aspects of his varied work. Listen to the interview here.

:: THE ODYSSEY PLAYS TO RAVES

Nearly 600 people attended The Austin Children's Choir premiere of "The Odyssey." A few days before the performance The Austin Chronicle published a preview describing the creation process. After the concert, The Austin American Statesman arts critic Jeanne Claire van Ryzin raved about it in her blog.

:: POPMATTERS RAVES OVER "THE TICK TOCK CLUB"

The influential online culture journal was "Blown-away. These 12 captivating pieces practically project themselves from your speakers. Every listen conjures up a new 37-minute flick in your head." Read the full article.

:: GRAHAM VOTED BEST COMPOSER IN AUSTIN

The kind people of Austin voted Graham Best Composer in the annual Austin Chronicle Best of Austin poll. Here is the nice write-up the Chronicle did for it: "Best Composer: Graham Reynolds The maestro magic of Graham Reynolds is hard to define. He's a composer, a collaborator, a bandleader, a pianist, a drummer, an everyman musician destined for the great masses. Whether scoring a blockbuster movie soundtrack or playing a local gig, one thing is certain: This is a man who makes sounds unlike any you've heard. We're lucky to call him ours for now, but catch him before his star rises him right out of our city limits."

:: NEW WEB SITE

A new web site for The Tick-Tock Club is online, with lots of new content, including original fiction inspired by Graham's music. Click here to see it.

:: DOWNTOWN ON PBS

The Emmy-award winning PBS show “Downtown” features several tracks from Graham and the Golden Arm Trio. The show, a look at the people and culture of Austin, has used our music in each of it's seasons and reaches a new peak this year with 8 tunes being featured. The show airs locally and KLRU on Thursday nights at 8pm.

:: GRAHAM SCORES ALEX JONES' LATEST: ENDGAME

Alex Jones newest film, Endgame, is finished and out to the distributor, with Graham's new score. Look for it later this fall. Graham is currently working on a CD for Alex with music from both of films they worked on together, Terror Storm and Endgame. The CD will feature new mixes, clips of Alex speaking (and sometimes shouting), as well as a few pieces extended especially for the disc. The CDs are due at the end of October, look for them after that. For more info on both films or just more Alex Jones check out infowars.com.

:: DUKE: An Ellington Tribute

Graham's newest side project: a band called Duke that plays only music out of the Duke Ellington songbook. The next Duke show is June 22nd at the Hole-In-The-Wall. This will be its own band of sorts in Austin but blend with Golden Arm Trio out of town. Ultimately the plan is for the material to be developed into the next GAT album after The Tick-Tock Club. The set will consist of a mix of recognizable classics and more obscure tunes from throughout Duke?s long career. As he was a bandleader as well as a composer, and many of his orchestra?s signature songs came from various members of the band (as well as Billy Strayhorn), song choice will not be limited to material exclusively composed by Ellington but anything closely associated with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Here's the current list of tunes under consideration: Caravan, Come Sunday, Perdido, East St. Louis Toodle-oo, The Mooch, In a Sentimental Mood, Mood Indigo, Cottontail, The Shepherd, C Jam Blues, Tough Truckin?, Echoes of Harlem, In a Mellow Tone, Money Jungle, Anatomy of a Murder (Main Theme), The Jeep is Jumpin!, Bluebird of Delhi, Blue Pepper, and Amad. Anyone with a song request send an email to graham : at : grahamreynolds.com.

:: GRAHAM'S MUSIC AT CANNES AGAIN For the second year in a row, Graham's music was heard at the Cannes Film Festival. His soundtrack for the German documentary “All About Telsa” by Michael Krause premiered there this past July. Also in the film is an interview with Rude Mechs' Shawn Sides and Lana Lesley about their play “Requiem for Tesla”. Find out more at the film's website, allabouttesla.com.

:: RUDE MECHS' "The Method Gun" IN REHEARSALS

As a company member with the surging Rude Mechanicals, Graham is participating in the development workshops for the new work "The Method Gun". The piece explores the life and tragic death of Stella Burden, reclusive actress, and architect of the eponymous acting exercise which eventually took her life. The process is a rough exploratory one and at this stage motivic and textural elements are being created to form a beginning musical vocabulary for the piece with the expectation that they will evolve and change as the piece itself does.

The Rude Mechs recently signed a deal with theatrical agency Arktype, run by Tommy Kriegsmann. Coming off the success of a New York run and national touring of "Get Your War On", the new arrangement is already paying dividends.

:: FILM SCORE MONTHLY ARTICLE

"Graham Reynolds: Musician of the Future: A look back at the music of A Scanner Darkly, and a look ahead at what?s in store for its Austin-based composer."
?Last year was a dreary one for film score fans?However, one very bright spot was the emergence of a young new talent: Graham Reynolds. Reynolds composed the haunting music for the overlooked film adaptation of Philip K. Dick?s novel A Scanner Darkly, which has recently found new life on DVD. Not only is the entire score exciting and inventive, but it contains what is perhaps the single best cue of 2006, ?Little Blue Flowers.??
--Bruce Marshall, Film Score Monthly

Had a great time talking with interviewer Bruce Marshall and he was very kind in his writing about me. Check out the whole article here.

:: Management Deal Signed With Pikon Arts

Graham and the Golden Arm Trio have signed a management deal with Pikon Arts and John Riedie. Riedie has been a one-client manager with the Asylum Street Spankers with great success, Pikon Arts sees the expansion of those efforts. In addition to working with Golden Arm Trio, Riedie and Golden Hornet Project (Graham and Peter Stopschinski), are also in discussion, with plans to become a full-fledged 501c3 non-profit organization.

:: Buy Graham and the Golden Arm Trio's Battleship Potemkin DVD Now

February 10th saw the 8-years-later revisitation of Graham?s first feature length film score, ?Battleship Potemkin?. Presented by the ever-expanding Alamo Drafthouse cinema, the host of Graham?s first version, the concert/film event packed the house and brought two standing ovations. The DVD, released that same night, is a combination of scoring and sound design (Buzz Moran), from string quartets to processed sound beds to orchestra to giant floor-shaking explosions. Order it here.

:: Tuba Commision

Dr. Yutaka Kono has commissioned Graham to compose an eight-minute tuba solo piece, to be premiered at the International Tuba Euphonium Association Conference in late March. Graham will also sit on a panel of composers at the event. The piece, with the working title Foghorn Blues, is broken into five shorter pieces, each based on the same motivic material. Opening with a celebration of the glory of the tuba, the performer holds big fat Tuba low notes to let the audience luxuriate in the sound. This is followed by a hard groove New Orleans inspired movement, a pretty version of the theme, another section of intense long-tones, this time layered with multi-phonics, and concluding with a challenging, show-off movement that uses all the speedy chops the Tuba can muster.

:: Graham Scores Salvage Vanguard's "MUD"

Born in Havana in 1930, Cuban playwright Maria Irene Fornes became a pivotal figure in both Latino and experimental theater in the United States after emigrating in 1945. This play, MUD, was written in 1983 and premiered under direction from Fornes herself. Opening June 1st, Salvage Vanguard Theater presents a new production, with direction by Jason Neulander and a recorded score from Graham. Current plans for the score involved bowed saw and piano as featured instruments. Graham is the resident composer with Salvage Vanguard Theater.

:: RUDE MECHS' "The Method Gun" IN REHEARSALS

:: Graham's Brother Keith

Check out Graham's brother Keith in this great article from the Houston Press [ link ]. They call him an H-town underground legend. If you are ever in Houston you have to check out his show, which he does multiple times a week, four hours a night. Email Graham for more details.

:: Golden Arm Trio and Led Zeppelin

Golden Arm Trio took on Led Zeppelin at the Ruta Maya hosted hoot night. The place was packed and an endless stream of bands all gave their take on Zep standards. GAT took on Kashmir and Dazed and Confused, merging them into one long piece. Dazed and Confused was the extended intro, an abstracted pretty reconstruction half-Russian, half-Ravel, and featuring Maurice Chammah's violin. Kashmir was the rocker, featuring Erik Grostic's bass. Paul Klemperer added bari sax. At the last second we ran into Thad Scott at the show. Thad, one of GAT's original saxophonists was invited to join, doubled Paul's part as well as participating in the improv. According to blogger Sugar Pot Greatness, "The Golden Arm Trio stole the show!"

:: Berlin Film About Tesla to Use Graham?s Music

All About Tesla, a documentary about the inventor, is using much of Graham?s score for the Rude Mechs? Requiem for Tesla. The film will be released in 2007 by Maxim Film, a German company with no affiliation with the tastless magazine. Directed by Michael Krause and produced by Peter Roloff, fine more at their website allabouttesla.com.

:: Comics, Noise Bands, and the Golden Arm Trio

13 stand up comics and the Golden Arm Trio. 13 noise bands and the Golden Arm Trio. One was LA, one was Oakland. No two nights were the same on the GAT west coast tour, though I supposed they never are. Shows were good, Portland and Denver were particular stand-outs. And people had some nice things to say about us:

?Only in John Zorn and the late Frank Zappa can we find modern American analogues to Reynolds' wide-ranging musical sensibilities and stellar abilities.? - The Missoulian
?Irresistible? - SF Weekly
?Reynolds is a vegan who doesn't need to do drugs because he is drugs.? - East Bay Express

:: For Your Consideration

So I won?t win anything but I did submit to the Oscars, it was fun and odd to be part of that whole craziness. A composer has to submit him/herself, the studio can?t do it, the agents can?t do it. I?m not sure who?s allowed to submit, I got an email from The Academy reminding me. And then, Warner is sending me out in their ?music pack?, their promo mailer to the members of The Academy who vote on the music nominations. That process was all under a lengthy and convoluted set of rules that all referred to other rules. Bottom line was, no packaging, no graphics, nothing except for a CD with the music listed on the CD itself, text to be approved by The Academy. The phrase that is everywhere, and is allowed on the CDs, is ?For Your Consideration?. Don?t know that many people are going to actually be considering my score, but it was an adventure none-the-less.

:: Graham Scoring Austin/Denmark Film I?ll Come Running

Filmed half in Austin and half in Denmark, I'll Come Running is a new feature film by director Spencer Parson, produced by the team that did Gretchen and Old Joy. There is a bunch of pop music from Austin and Denmark but the rest of the music will be Graham's original score. The temp track is Tangerine Dream's score to Risky Business, which itself was based on a Steve Reich piece, so the score should be fun. Here's the plot summary from IMDB: A young Danish man traveling through Texas hooks up with an Austin girl, and even though they're not planning to see each other again, tragic circumstances lead her to his doorstep in Denmark. Graham will finish the score this January.

:: Percussion Concert Success Out of Disaster

As we gathered for the dress rehearsal for Golden Hornet Project's Percussion V, one of the musicians locked his keys in his car and his music along with it. Two hours later the locksmith finally came, only to find that the music wasn't in the car. With minutes to go before the start of the show, we emailed the pieces to ourselves and printed new copies out using the Rude Mechs computers. The new copies of course didn't have any of the notes or changes made throughout the rehearsal process. But, at eight minutes after 8pm, we started the concert, to a packed house. I was just hoping to get through it, but percussionist Chuck Fischer, Jeff Botta, and Graeme Francis really rose to the occasion and no one knew what had happened. The pieces ranged from David Wyatt's rocker "Whup Cream" to P. Kellach Waddle's more cerebral Chimes/Bass duo, Josh Robins of the Invincible Czars was a crowd favorite, and there was a bunch from Peter and I. Thanks to everyone for coming, the percussion concerts are always among our favorites.

:: Graham and the Rude Mechs Reviewed

"Graham Reynolds' original score as always, without fail, kicks ass." says the Austinist of the new Rude Mechs show "Have You Ever Been Assassinated?" The webzine described the show as ?Boisterous-while-intricate, convention-bending staging?coupled with the sharp dialogue and big-ideas-in-small-packages?Exceptionally witty and delightfully clever? and damn near beautiful on more than one occasion.? The Statesman called it "razor-sharp [and] ingenious". The show runs Thursday through Saturday through November 18th and Thursdays are pay-what-you-can.

:: The Golden Arm Trio Christmas Show throughout Texas

The annual Golden Arm Trio Christmas show will be in Dallas December 15th at the Double-Wide, Austin on December 16th at Ruta Maya, and in Houston at Rudyards on December 17th. The consists of a deconstruction and reconstruction of all your favorite (or maybe not so favorite) Christmas classics, most often consisting of putting them in a minor key and rocking out. Joining GAT will be the Invincible Czars performing their fantastic version of Tchaikovsky's entire Nutcracker Suite.

:: A Scanner Darkly DVD to be release December 19th

After being a hit in Britain, just now opening in Italy, and rolling out around the world, A Scanner Darkly will return to the US on December 19th with the release of the DVD. Director Richard Linklater, composer Graham Reynolds, and stars Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder teamed up to bring Philip K. Dick's novel to animated-feature-film life. DVD special features include: Features: Audio commentary by Richard Linklater, star Keanu Reeves, producer Tommy Pallotta, author Jonathan Lethem and Isa Hackett Dick (daughter of author Philip K. Dick) 2 Behind-the-Scenes Documentaries (One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming A Scanner Darkly and The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales), etc.

The soundtrack CD, featuring Graham's music and remixes by DJ Spooky and Jack Dangers, is available from Lakeshore Records now.

:: GAT Back from First Leg of Tour

The east coast portion of our fall tour is over. We had a great time, met some fun people, got into a couple of heavy ethical arguments and managed to make-up. We lugged a real piano in the faithful Dodge van and loaded it in and out on a wheelchair ramp, that seemed to get us a little attention. The press was kind to us and we got coverage in almost every city thanks to the efforts of Mod-Media. Here are a few things they said:

Village Voice: "Reynolds is a drummer and pianist who treats the piano likes a drum and vice versa in his homespun classical compositions. Drawing inspiration from Sonic Youth and Henry Cowell at once, Golden Arm treads the line that these two influences share: deconstucted and innovative recastings of any and all musical materials."
Time-Out Chicago: "These Austinites lurk in the shadows of jazz and classical until leader Graham Reynolds swaps piano for drums and rocks the fuck out."

:: A new friend in Athens, Georgia

Kevin, right, waited for over an hour in the rain for our show in Athens that wasn't to be. We loaded him up with CDs and posters, ate a good meal at Grit, and made our way home to Austin. The two photos that Kevin took are the only ones we managed to get from the entire east coast tour. I know that other people took some, if you've got them, we'd love to see them.

:: Graham works with Guy Forsyth on Soundtrack

Graham recently completed the score to "Sally Boy", a new feature film set and shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Prominently featuring Austin blues icon Guy Forsyth on steel string acoustic and resonator guitar, the music is intimate and minimalist. Guy and Graham have discussed the possibility of continuing the recording sessions at some point, with a full length album in mind.

:: Ballet Austin Commission with Trent Doyle Hancock and Stephen Mills

Ballet Austin is commissioning Graham to compose a piece for fall 2007. It's going to be a collaboration with choreographer Stephen Mills and visual artist Tenton Doyle Hancock based on an extended work/exhibit by Hancock called "St. Sesom and the Cult of Color." It's going to be a 30-45 minute piece. Check out Trenton's really cool stuff here. And Ballet Austin's website is balletaustin.org. This
picture is of Hancock's latest exhibit.

:: At the Warner Bros. Dub Stage

Outside Dub Stage 6 on the Warner Brothers studio lot, taking a break from the Scanner Darkly final mix. Pictured: Skip Lievsay, Graham, Linklater, Sandra Adair, Nic Ratner, and Jeremy.

:: Austin Children?s Choir commissions Adaptation of Homer?s Odyssey

Graham has been commissioned by the Austin Children's Choir to compose a concert length piece based on Homer's Odyssey. Work is ongoing as Graham collaborates with librettist Beverly Bardsley. The concert, on the afternoon of May 6th, will feature the more than 100 strong choir and a chamber orchestra.

:: Piano Trio Concert Success

Golden Hornet Project's last concert for Cello, Violin, and Piano was a big success: sold out house, great performances by Jon Dexter and Bruce Colson,and nice press. The Austin-American Statesman called it ?Live music at its best?Achingly beautiful?An Amazing Stellar Show.?

:: Al Green, Graham, and the Cannes Film Festival

Went to Scanner premiers at Cannes, LA, and Austin. Cannes after-party: On the helipad of a six-deck yacht Al Green was the house band, flown in specially with his 13 piece band.

:: Party with Prince and Graham

LA after-party: Prince shows up, is barricaded in the corner by couches, which is then surrounded by his bodygaurds, inside the very short Prince sits with his posse of women and holds court. One at a time, the "stars" are let in to briefly speak to his highness.

:: Austin Museum of Art Scanner Premiere Concert

Austin premier at the Paramount. We played a set of music from the film at the after-party hosted by the Austin Museum of Art.