I am proud to announce that my first book is now available to the public!  The book measures in at 10 by 8 inches and is filled with 74 pages of full color glossy images.  It shows off the various styles and subjects I like to play with.  Makes a great holiday gift for the art enthusiast or pop culture geek.

Check it out at Blurb.com

While we were waiting for the event  to being video messages were shown on the big screen. These were messages from: Jimmy Page, Brian May, Lemmy, Green Day, Dream Theater, Anthrax, Death Angel, Aerosmith, Slayer, Hatebreed, Dillinger Escape Plan, Lamb of God, Wolfmother, Mastodon, The Scorpions, MSG, actor Peter Coyote  and several sports stars as well.  One of the funniest clips was from U2 – in a group therapy session, spoofing Metallica’s documentary movie Some Kind of Monster.

So check this out, the first opening band was The Soul Rebels  - a New Orleans brass-band who came in blasting their arrangement of  Enter Sandman!   The came walking in from behind the audience from the lobby.  The followed it up with Battery and ended with The Memory Remains.  This one was actually my favorite. They took the main riff and turned it into what would be great intro-music for a boxer or for some kind of sporting event!

Metallica walked onto the stage to welcome us all and then to introduce the host for the evening comedian Jim Breuer. He was hilarious telling jokes, impersonating  Lars and James, Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne and Brian Johnson of AC/DC.  He also did a little game show where 3 audience members came up to test their Metallica trivia knowledge.

The band took the stage again to introduce the opening act,  a band called  Lääz Rockit.   The were on stage for about 30 minutes before Metallica got on stage to work. Here is the evening’s setlist:

Suicide & Redemption

Master of Puppets

…And Justice for All

Of Wolf and Man

Fade to Black

The Thing That Should Not Be

I Disappear

The Outlaw Torn

Hell and Back

Blitzkrieg performed with Joseph Guariglia – an audience member who played rhythm guitar perfectly with  James.

For Whom the Bell Tolls with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains!

Nothing Else Matters – also with Jerry Cantrell.

So What! with Anti-Nowhere League’s Animal (Nick Culmer).

Tuesday’s Gone with  Gary Rossington (Lynrd Skynrd), Pepper Keenen (Corrosion of Conformity/ Down), Jerry Cantrell, and Jim Martin (Faith no More).

After the stage cleared,  James said to the audience, “You know he’s here…So let’s just bring Jason out here now.”  At this point everyone in the house went crazy as former bassist Jason Newstead walked out towards the center of the stage. Hugs were exchanged as the audience was chanting his name for something like 2 minutes!  He strapped on a bass, stood next to current bassist Rob Trujillo as  James Hetfield barked out the opening words to Fuel!

Jason stuck around to play Fight Fire with Fire.

Next Glenn Danzig (Misfits/Danzig) walks out and performs Die, Die My Darling and Green Hell.

As if the evening couldn’t have been any more amazing, James addresses us again saying,” Our next guest is a heavy metal icon… and the weirdest thing is that the older he gets – the better he sounds.  Ladies and gentlemen…  Mr. Rob Halford!” Yes, Rob Halford of Judas Priest – that Rob Halford!  He came out and rocked the song Rapid Fire.

Finally, to close the show, Metallica asked everyone who was on stage earlier to come out and join them for their classic Seek and Destroy.  We’re talking everyone: Laaz Rockit, Jason, Jerry, Pepper, Jim, Danzig, Animal  - and the Soul Rebels brass band.  They all took the stage and practically brought the house down.  Near the end of the song a couple hundred balloons were dropped along with confetti.

Simply put it may have been the most amazing concert I’ve been to so far!  Here are all the photos I took that night (plus a few i added from Metallica’s site):

Here it is folks. A preview of the big project I’ve been hinting at for months.   I’ve been wanting to do something like this for years and I finally got serious about this earlier this year.

So for the last several months I’ve been working on new art, retouching some older art, designing the layouts, choosing fonts, organizing, selecting and then revising, revising and even more revising!

It was a thrill to come home from the office last night and see this sitting on the table waiting for me!   Just a couple more weeks and my book will be available online.   It’s 10″ x 8″ and has 74 pages in full color on glossy paper!

Today is Gandhi Jayanti – the (142nd) celebration of Mohandas K.  Gandhi’s birthday.  The United Nations has designated this also as International Day of Non-Violence.

This year I feel his birthday is more relevant than it has been in decades.  In the west he is perceived as some kind of Dalai Lama-esque figure who spouted out quotes that Americans love to put on t-shirts and bumper stickers: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” or “Be the change you want to see in the world.”     He energized and led millions of Indians to rise up and throw off the shackles of British rule through non-violent disobedience.

Previously, we had made several attempts to forcibly push the British out, but those  like the Indian Rebellion of 1857 ( also known as the Sepoy Mutiny) led to even harsher rule from our colonial masters.  It took several decades of speeches, rallies, and  protests which also led to many in the freedom movement having to endure beatings, imprisonment, torture, and in some cases death either in violent crackdowns or executions.   Eventually, his work led to India’s freedom in 1947.

Many also don’t know how profoundly Gandhi’s philosophies had affected Martin Luther King Jr. It was King’s 1959 visit to India that led him to say “Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity.” It was these core principles of non-violent civil disobedience that powered the American Civil Right’s Movement in the 1960s. Like Gandhi, King also was martyred by an assassin’s bullet. Both paid the ultimate price to make sure the countries they loved became better places.

Last December the world witnessed the beginning of the “Arab Spring” set off by the Tunisian Revolution ousting longtime dictator Ben Ali. Then Egypt and the fall of Mubarak. Like wild fire we saw the protests spread to Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria, Jordan, Oman, and Syria just to name a few. Libya’s revolution turned into a civil war, but it seems by and large the protests throughout the Middle East have been mostly non-violent. The spirit of Gandhi’s philosophy and methods are alive and well.

Finally, I hope President Assad of Syria and his cronies realize that the world is watching you and that history will remember you as bullies and cowards. The Syrian people are still out there protesting despite the killings and brutal repression by the state. My heart goes out to them. I hope their nightmare ends soon. Ironically, I can sum this up with one of Gandhi’s quotes:

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Last Thursday night (July 22nd)  Brent and I got some yummy Japanese food (Nara Sushi) and then went to see one of the biggest bands of the last 20 years – Soundgarden!  Back in ’97 it was a big deal for hard rock/metal/grunge and alternative plans to hear that this influential Seattle band had called it quits.   It was great news to hear that the band decided to get back together and tour!   They played a 2 hour set of amazing ear-bleeding rock and roll.

I’m so glad I got to see this show with Brent!

Here are some youtube videos from the night:

*photo by Rez Graham

Here it is, my latest tattoo of the Hindu Goddess Saraswati.  She is the goddess of knowledge, music and art.

A few months ago, I finally drew a design I was happy with:

The most important part of the story though, is that the phenomenal Angelique Sanders of Maryland was spending some time in San Francisco. She was a guest artist at my favorite tattoo shop: One Shot Tattoo which conveniently is located a mere 4 blocks from my home!  So after trading emails for 6 months we finally met.  She took my original artwork and did her magic!  I was lucky enough to get a day she didn’t have any appointments…really just a few before she was leaving San Francisco.

I spent 6 hours chatting with Angel as she worked on my arm.  She did it all in one sitting.   This is my fourth tattoo and the first by a female tattoo artist.  It was an awesome experience.   Most of the time I could barely feel the needle.  However, I also finally learned first-hand, that getting inked over bone is not pleasant at all.   This is the first time I’ve had a needle work over the wrist-bone as well as near the elbow.  Not fun…though now that I’ve been through it – I know I could endure it on my other arm. Not only did she have the magic touch, but the healing process was much quicker this time.   It was all healed up about a week later. Usually my tattoos have taken closer to 14or 17  days to completely heal.

I continue to work on the designs for my sleeves and can’t wait to get worked on again by Angel!  She’s got a great sense of humor. She’s an amazing painter and tattoo artist. I’m looking forward to her next California trip.

* “Desi”  (sounds kinda like “they see”)  in several Indian languages   refers to people or things from India.  It can roughly be translated also as “native”.

Spent the day with Kristen at the Cal Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.    I got to see some amazing animals and the remodelled facilites are amazing.  They include a roof with 2 domes with vegetation growing all over it,  a great aquarium, and an amazing 5 story sphere (inside the museum) that houses a self-contained tropical rain forest eco-system.   It’s hot and humid and features a variety of trees and flowers, birds and an amazing collection of butterflies that fly all around you and a river with 5 foot long catfish swimming around.

Then we had Vietnamese food for dinner.  An awesome sunday I’d say.  All the photos were shot on my new HTC phone with an 8 mega-pixel camera.

]]> http://mrsidslounge.com/archives/1550/feed 0 http://mrsidslounge.com/archives/1530 http://mrsidslounge.com/archives/1530#comments Wed, 18 May 2011 05:31:38 +0000 Mr. Sid http://mrsidslounge.com/?p=1530

 

Today EA gave me my first plaque for working on and shipping a game.  Hopefully I can collect a few more of these =)

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Yep, I’ve got some new tattoos to show off.

Click to enlarge *photo by Rez Graham

click me

My latest tattoo is  of Ganesh, the Hindu God of success, lord of beginnings and the remover of obstacles. Ganesh is to be honored first before the other Gods and Goddesses, so I felt it was appropriate to sacrifice my flesh to him first before my planned tattoos of other Hindu dieties.

It took 2 sessions, roughly 5 hours total to get this finished.  Doug Fortin at One Shot Tattoo did a great job. He took my original artwork (on the right) and added his magic touch.

I also  had some more work done to this piece with the Lion Capital of Emperor Ashoka (which is over 2300 years old and is the national emblem of India).  I went back to One Shot Tattoo back in September and met the owner Dave Bobrick.   Though the original artist I worked with no longer works at the shop, Dave offered to take over and he colored in the design in orange, yellow and red as per the artwork I brought in a year earlier when I first got this piece.  Dave is a fantastic artist, runs an excellent shop and pleasure to speak with.  The colors are very subtle, and often seem to change dramatically depending on lighting conditions.

What does the title of this post mean?

“Desi”  (sounds kinda like “they see”)  in several Indian languages   refers to people or things from India.  It can roughly be translated also as “native”.

Last night Kristen and I met up with Tom & Todd.  We had some excellent ramen at Genki Ramen and then headed over to the AMC Van Ness to see the Coen Brothers’ remake of True Grit.  I love westerns and this one is a classic.  I loved this movie. As it was ending I realized that i didn’t want it to end! Anyway, this is a 5 star movie.   Everything, from script, acting, action, etc. was 1st class.  Just go out and see it.  Go hit Genki Ramen as well!

If you didn’t know already the San Francisco Giants won the World Series tonight by destroying the Texas Rangers!  So after the game we decided to go out for dinner in our neighborhood. As we got to the

intersection of 9th Ave. & Irving St. we saw road flares, and police cars, and a lot of people yelling and dancing. Some guy in an apartment across from my favorite pub (Yancy’s Saloon) decide to DJ this

impromptu party and was blasting music from his laptop and some big speakers.   The street cars were stuck in “out of service” mode, and the people were out in force…most wearing their SF Giants gear and chanting “Let’s Go Giants!!!”  The news tonight showed similar celebrations all over the city! I think it’s great.

Anyway, enjoy these pix I took from my phone.

I just wanted to say that I am proud to be Indian.

Happy Independence Day India!

Jai Hind.

So for about 2 weeks now, I’ve started shaving with a straight razor (or cut-throat razor as the British sometimes call it).   Here’s my kit:

Women I know think it’s slightly crazy and most guys I know think its totally bad ass.   As I was starting my first cut-throat shave my wife posted on her Facebook:   “So Sid has started shaving with a straight razor. Let the countdown to widowdom begin.”  

L O L.   In reality, I’ve had a thoroughly enjoyable time learning how to shave this way.   So far I haven’t had any serious mishaps.

I first had the idea to do this about a year ago or so.   Over the last 8 years or so the price of my Gillette Atra 2 cartridges have steadily increased.  As time went on, not only did the prices go up but availability has been greatly reduced as well.  So I briefly thought about switching from the razor my dad gave me  22 years ago to one of these new-fangled Mach 3 shavers with some crazy amount of blades.  More blades do not make for a better shave. In fact, studies have shown them to push hairs back into the skin causing irritation and bumps for many men.  And cost? much more than my old Atra 2′s.    And forget about electric razors – they don’t work for me at all.  (Besides a shave without hot water just seems uncivilized.)  Around the same time, I started moving away from aerosol shaving creams and lathers.  They are cheaper, but also end up in landfills with my discarded razor cartridges.

A perfect 50/50 split of economics and going green.

After these 2 weeks I can now definitely say I am never going back to shaving with replaceable cartridges and I am getting some of the smoothest, closest shaves I’ve ever had!

So far this has been a crazy action-packed year – and I’d be lying if I said it was all fun and games.  Scary to think that summer is just starting and it feels like a year’s worth of life has been crammed into 6 months.

First off, the best job I’ve ever had in my life came to a sudden end.  Activision shut down my studio  Underground Development.

Then we learned we had to move as our landlady just had a baby. She and her family we’re going to move back into her condo when our lease was up. We just moved last year!

If you read my last post, then you know my wife’s grandmother passed away recently.

It hasn’t been all bad though.  I’m back working on The Sims franchise at Electronic Arts.  I’ve joined a great team, and I’m an artist doing art for a living- making video games!  I am living the dream!

Finally, we’ve moved into a wonderful flat in our favorite neighborhood in San Francisco.  I love the Inner Sunset!

I’ll be back later…

On the 11th of June  we lost my wife’s wonderful grandmother.   She was my 3rd grandmother.  As my grandparents were in India I only got to see them in 5 – 7 year increments.   With the recent loss of Po Po, I actually miss them all more now.    Jun Sau Lee lived for 86 years.  An educated woman (from a time when many women of her background didn’t have the opportunity), she left China with her husband Gilbert to start a new life here in America.  They worked and sacrificed and gave their 5 daughters a better life than the one they had.
Click here to read her obituary.

I want to tell you about my relationship with Po Po.    I dated and married her oldest grand daughter.  It didn’t matter to her that I wasn’t Chinese.  Infact, a few years later she started saying that somehow an Indian would marry into the family as some sort of karmic repayment for the treatment she received from an Indian doctor in Hong Kong when she was pregnant and carrying my future mother-in-law.    On our wedding day, Po Po gave me a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek and in her broken English she said loudly “My new grandson!”  She was an amazing cook who would not let me leave her home without eating. It didn’t matter if I’d just come from a meal with my parents or if I had eaten somewhere else.   She was very sweet to me, and her generosity was beyond anything I deserved.  For awhile we would come home with 2 bags of homemade pork buns – 1 for me because she knew I didn’t like the meat as sweet as everyone else did.  Earlier this year I had a sore throat and she said I should suck on pieces of ginger. She said she’d give me some. What she gave me was a bag full of ginger the size of my fist!  These are just a few small examples.   We didn’t communicate much verbally due to language – but somehow affection and respect where transmitted.

I will never forget the generosity, acceptance, warmth and affection that showed me.  Rest in peace Po Po.

I wanted to introduce you to the newest member of my arsenal:  My Res-O-Glas Valco Airline “JB Hutto” reproduction.  It’s angular futuristic appearance led to some players calling it the Jetsons guitar!

A few months ago I wrote about the guitar I was designing from parts. (http://mrsidslounge.com/archives/948)

Then, a few weeks ago I posted a photo of my current guitar collection.  (http://mrsidslounge.com/archives/1001)

I picked up this beauty on February 12th, and since then I’ve been playing it practically everyday.  I figured maybe it’s time to finish this story!  This is my reproduction of the classic Valco Airline  fiberglass guitar built between 1958-1968.   Valco also sold these guitars under the brand names of National and Supro.  I ordered most  of the parts online and had guitar building and repairing GENIUS Keith Holland put this together for me after I was referred to his Guitar Hospital in Los Gatos, California.

Parts:

• Res-O-Glas body kit from Guitar Kits USA (you can arrange the electronics as you see fit & use almost any neck or pickups!)
• Eastwood Airline Neck (fcustom Corian nut and frets filed down)
• Acoustic Rosewood Bridge base with roller bridge on top
• Tone Pro tuners
• Bigsby vintage-style tremolo (TP 3643-001)
• neck pickup: GFS  Power Rails Humbucker
• brigde pickup: GFS Crunchy Rails Humbucker
• electronics: 3-way pickup selector switch, coil-tapped humbucking pickups controlled by 2 push-pull volume knobs

This guitar is simply amazing!  I can play everything from Surf and Jazz to Thrash Metal.    The guitar’s fiberglass hollow body gives a rich full sound.  I play through a Line 6 digital amp modeler running through my Roland Jazz-Chorus 120 amp – allowing me to have a vast array of sounds to play with.   Tapping the neck pickup allows me to play fantastic sounding surf and rockabilly and when I’m playing Hendrix-style stuff the tone I get sounds better to me than my Stratocaster!   Using the bridge pickup alone can get me some serious hard rock and brutal heavy metal tones depending on the amp models I select.   I’m just starting to play with odd tapped and non-tapped  combinations of both pickups, but this is the first guitar I’ve owned that sounded wonderful regardless of amp or effects settings or whatever style I felt like playing.

It’s even cooler knowing this guitar is one-of-a-kind.   I might even  get around to posting some video of me playing this thing!

We’ve been in our “new” place for about 9 months or so now, and we’ve still only put up one piece of art.   Here is a giclee print of my work “The Searchers” on canvas. It is a great feeling whenever I see a piece of my digital art out in the real world.    This photo is from about 2 months ago…  yeah I  know, I need to post more often.

This is one of the few pieces of  my digital art that exists in a physical format.  You could say this is an extremely limited edition piece.  The only other one hangs in the home of my friend Mr. Jason Fanoe.

You can see this piece and more of my art here.

My Guitars (from left to right):

1. Agile Valkyrie (Gibson SG copy)
2. Agile AL-3000 “Rootbeer” (Gibson Les Paul copy)
3. Res-O-Glas Valco reproduction (custom built)
4. 2000 Gretsch 6120- Brian Setzer Signature model (1st edition)
5. 1994 Fender ’62 Reissue Stratocaster
6. 2007 SX-SJM 62