Wednesday, December 2, 2009

RAWards Nomination

I have been nominated for the 1st Annual RAWards show on December 12th, 2009. Hooray!! A few months back, I played an event for RAW at Cherch Lounge in Fullerton and it was super cool. They have a very cool mix of music, fashion, comedy, and art of all sorts. Everyone was great and I thoroughly enjoyed the event. I have feeling the awards show will be even better.

Please come support all the indie artists (music, comedy, painting, fashion, etc...), and come to the event on December 12th. You can RSVP here - http://www.rawartists.org/rsvp

Huge thanks to Heidi and the crew for the nomination!

Alec

Monday, November 30, 2009

Silence Is Golden

It has been one month since I have returned from my third 10-day, silent meditation retreat. The style of meditation I practice is Vipassana meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka. Of all the various forms of meditation and yoga I have practiced, I find this to be the greatest. A lot of these practices create blissful feelings on the surface level of the mind and body, and maybe on a slightly deeper level - which is good - but Vipassana works at the root level of the mind, eradicates deep seated mental complexes, and uproots the sources of our suffering. It is the meditation technique that was discovered by Siddhartha Guatama (the original Buddha), and it is what led him to full enlightenment and liberation...aka, Nirvana.
Although this meditation technique is from the Buddha, it does not require anyone to be a Buddhist, nor does it try to convert anyone from their religion. It is completely non-sectarian and it stresses that suffering is a universal problem, so it is offered as a universal remedy. All are welcome and there is no weird religious or cult-like vibe going on at all.

This technique of Vipassana has been maintained in its pristine purity for the past 2,5000 years in the country of Burma (now Mynamar) and recently began spreading throughout the world again. If you wish to learn more about it, you can check out the website - www.dhamma.org

What I got out of this retreat was the wisdom that no thing outside of myself has the power to make me unhappy or happy. It is 100% my responsibility to choose how I react to any experience. This is easy enough to understand intellectually, but by sitting for 10 days and meditating for 10 hours a day (with breaks of course) I got the opportunity to see how the process of reaction, suffering, happiness, etc... unfolds within me, and learned it all on a deep experiential level. I feel happiness that is independent of outside circumstances and am able to maintain balance in the midst of turmoil.

I also got a ton of inspiration for music and have been recording non-stop since I got home. I just finished recording the first of two albums I am working on. The finishing touches are being put on it and it will be released soon. This album is called "Pain & Joy". The songs were written in 1999 & 2001, and I finally got the inspiration to record them properly. This album will be available on http://alecbridges.bandcamp.com for all to download for any price they choose (including free). 100% of the money made from this album will go towards a program I am creating with some friends that will be for people that want to go to one of these 10-day Vipassana retreats but cannot afford to take the time off. These courses are run completely by donation, so in actuality, it does not cost anything to go to them, but it can be hard to afford taking the time off to get away. My hope is to find other artists who want to contribute music, paintings, clothing, ANYTHING!, to this fund so that everyone that wants to attend a Vipassana meditation course is able to.

Stay tuned for more information on the new album and other happenings.

Be happy!

Alec


Friday, November 13, 2009

LA Music Awards Update


Gimme a "L"!
Gimme an "O"!
Gimme a "S"!
Gimme an "E"!
Gimme a "R"!

That spells LOSER!!!!!!

Woohooo! I did not win the Triple A album of the year at the Los Angeles Music Awards.
I was not able to attend the voting party because I was at a 10 day, silent meditation retreat and although Matt Russell went in my place to represent the DVD and got a ton of people to vote for us, my lack of an appearance put me out of the game.

If I could go back in time and do it over again, I would still go to the meditation retreat because I got A LOT out of it. More on that later...

Peace and thank you to the people at the LA Music Awards for the nomination,

Alec

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Bird In A Cage Video

Here is the video for "Bird In A Cage" from the live DVD.
If you want to see more, you are going to have to suck it up and buy yourself a copy!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

LA Music Awards Nomination

Good news! My live DVD, "SongCheck Live Presents Alec Bridges Live..." has been nominated at The Los Angeles Music Awards for the Triple A (Adult Alternative Americana) Album of the Year!

There is going to be a voting party at The Whisky in Hollywood on Thursday, October 8th. If you are around and can take time out of your busy schedule to stop by and vote, I would be stoked! (All of the information is on the flyer pictured above).

If you have yet to get a copy of the DVD, you can find all the info on it a few blog entries down...http:​/​/​alecbridges-​the109blog.​blogspot.​com/​2009/​06/​dvd-​is-​here.​html

Thanks for checking in.
Enjoy the day,

Alec

Friday, July 10, 2009

Alec and the DVD In The Coastline Pilot

Check out the article on the DVD in the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot, Friday, July 10th, 2009. Thanks to Ashley for writing the article!

Coastline Pilot - July 10th, 2009 - A Musical Journey Homeward










If you want to grab a copy, you can go to any of the following places:

ONLINE
The 109 Blog
The 109 Blog - The DVD Is Here

SongCheck Live
www.songchecklive.com

IN THE REAL, PHYSICAL WORLD...huh?
Fingerprints
4612 E 2nd St
Long Beach, CA 90803
(562) 433-4996

Sound Spectrum
1264 S Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651-3116
(949) 494-5959

The Guitar Shoppe
1027B N.Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Tel: (949)497-2110

Enjoy the day,

Alec

Sunday, June 14, 2009

The DVD Is Here!!

Exciting news...after over a year of waiting, you can finally get your very own copy of my new live DVD. It features 17 songs (three of which are brand new) with my entire band (Nate Wood on drums, Jesske Hume on Bass, Sean Woolstenhulme on guitar, and Tyler Chester on keys), interviews, a special guest performance by Marianne Keith, and other fun stuff. We worked super hard on it and are very proud of it!

Go ahead and getting a copy here - alecbridges.bandcamp.com

Alec Bridges Track List
Better All The While
Exit Sign
Bird In A Cage
Circles
Look Inside
Fall Down
On The Outside
Ocean Inside
Cape Town
Summer And The Rain
Nothing Left To Say
Move
Goldrush
* Exit Sign - Alternate take (plays during the slide show)

Marianne Keith Track List
Kiss Me In The Rain
Promise You
Make You Mine
Strike

You can also pick up a copy in the real, physical world at the following places:

Fingerprints
4612 E 2nd St
Long Beach, CA 90803
(562) 433-4996

Sound Spectrum
1264 S Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651-3116
(949) 494-5959

The Guitar Shoppe
1027B N.Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Tel: (949)497-2110

Here is the trailer. Enjoy!

Friday, June 12, 2009

Summer Solo Acoustic Shows

I just booked a handful of dates at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach, and a few other places, for the summer time!

All of the Sawdust Festival shows will be a solo acoustic mix of originals and covers.
There are lots of cool local artists set up with their booths, yummy food, and drinks for you to enjoy while I play.

Here are the dates:

July 16th - Laguna Beach Promenade - 5 - 6pm & 9 - 10pm
July 17th - Sawdust Festival - 5:00 - 9:30pm
July 21st - Sawdust Festival - 5:00 - 9:30pm
July 26th - Sawdust Festival - 5:00 - 9:30pm
July 29th - Picayo - 8 - 8:30pm
August 2nd - Sawdust Festival - 5:00 - 9:30pm
August 10th - Sawdust Festival - 5:00 - 9:30pm
August 20th - Laguna Beach Promenade - 5:00 - 6:00pm
August 20th - Cherch Lounge in Fullerton - 9:30 - 10:00
August 22nd - Picayo in Laguna Beach - 6:30 - 10:00
August 24th - Sawdust Festival - 5:00 - 9:30pm
August 25th - Blue Laguna in Laguna Beach - 9:30 - 11:30
August 28th - Coffee Pub in Laguna Beach - 7:00 - 9:30
September 17th - Laguna Beach Promenade (with the band) - time TBA
September 19th - Picayo in Laguna Beach - 6:30 - 10:00

I will have CDs and DVDs available if you have not already gotten them.

And here is where the Sawdust Festival is located:

Sawdust Festival
935 Laguna Canyon Rd
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 494-3030
www.sawdustartfestival.org

See you there,

Alec

Friday, April 24, 2009

Summer & The Rain on MTV's TRUE LIFE

Hello there!

I Got some exciting news the other day...
My track "Summer & The Rain" will be on the MTV show, TRUE LIFE, Saturday, April 25th at noon!
Finally, my dreams have come true and I'm going to be a rock star on MTV! (kidding).

Here is a link for some info on the show: http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/truelife/series.jhtml

And as if you don't have enough social networking sites already, here is another! It is all about MTV Soundtracks / Artists...
Who knows, maybe you'll find some new music on there: http://soundtrack.mtv.com/profile/alecbridges

Thanks to Keatly and the good people at Pig Factory.

Also, I sent the live DVD off to be printed up! It will be available in a couple of weeks!
Details to come.

I hope all is well with you.
Enjoy the weekend,

Alec Bridges

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Martin - The Sounding Board Magazine

Check it out!  There is a blurb about my DVD project in the Martin Sounding Board Magazine - Vol. 26.  Thanks to Chris Thomas at Martin for hooking it up and to Katie Oswald for the nice photo!

The DVD will be released middle of 2009!