Day 8

Day 7 - Conducting Practice

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conducted by Petter Walhback, John Fee, Beth Caucci, and Chris Beckstrom
music by Ludwig Van

Day 6 - Tour de Los Angeles

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On our first real day in Los Angeles, maestro Andy Hill took us on a whirlwind tour of the entire metropolitan area. Driving a 15-passenger van, our fearless leader took us to each of the internship locations to introduce us and help us get a handle on the terrain. We made stops at Warner Bros, Disney, Fox, John Debney's studio, Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Studios, Mark Isham's house (apparently we went to the wrong building and missed him!), John Powell's mountain-top house/studio, and finally Blake Neely's Cow on the Wall studio in Encino.

One of the many interesting parts of the day was our walk-on role in TNT's "The Closer." We were walking around Raleigh Studios, and we noticed there was filming happening. Some guy asked us if we wanted to be in "The Closer," and in a moment we were on a fake crime scene, with fake doctors and police, with very real cameras and movie-type people everywhere. So when there is a "Closer" about a murder on an LA studio lot, look for a bunch of star-struck aspiring composers in the background

We ended the extremely long day with margaritas and great mexican cuisine at Lucy's in Hollywood. Due to our extended hours and my video camera dying, we didn't get much footage. Based on our experiences yesterday, I might rethink the whole film/edit/score a movie everyday idea... It might not be the most practical idea I've ever had.

Day 5

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music composed by Chris Beckstrom

Day 4

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original music composed by Beth Caucci, John Fee, Nick Skalba, and Chris Beckstrom

Pictures from Days 2-4

Due to exhaustion from 3 days in a car and the thin air in Flagstaff, we weren't really able to post everything in a timely fashion... So here are some images from Day 2, 3, and 4. (Click on the pictures to zoom in)

I was especially taken with the desert landscape; the harshness, bleakness, and inside-an-oven-like sensation. Check out our Day 4 video for more moving pictures of the desert.
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New Mexico (Albequerque and other locations)



















































Views of the Mojave Desert, Arizona and California































































































<-- Arriving Oakwood Apartments, Hollywood, California, our home for the next month

Day 3

current location: Flagstaff, Arizona
music composed by Beth Caucci and Chris Beckstrom

Where to get the best BBQ in Amarillo

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current location: Amarillo, Texas
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I realized that I made a grave error, and am obligated to wrong my right! After all that talk of the great BBQ and people of Amarillo, I failed to mention where we went to have the great experience.

The Country Barn in Amarillo, Texas has the best BBQ brisket I've ever had! That's where the crazy mirrored bathroom, giant cowboy statue, and really awesome people were.

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Also this morning I was thinking about Route 66, and how I've played the song "Route 66" probably a million times with various groups, and now I'm following the song as we travel to LA. It's crazy that I am putting images, smells, tastes, and sounds to these names that are so familiar to me! Bobby Troup's lyrics are like a textual map telling us where to go. Here they are:



Well if you ever plan to motor west,
Take my way take, that's the highway that's the best.
Get your kicks on Route sixty-six.

Well it winds from Chicago to LA
More than two-thousand miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Route sixty-six.

Well it goes through St. Louie, Joplin, Missouri
Oklahoma City looks so, so pretty.
You'll see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona, don't forget Winona,
Kingsman, Barstow, San Bernardino.

Won't you get hip to this timely tip
And take that California trip.
Get your kicks on route sixty-six.

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So far I've gotten a lot of kicks on Route 66! And some good BBQ.

Although just for the record, the giant crosses scattered across the landscape really freak me out. Yesterday we saw the biggest cross in the western hemisphere... Wouldn't that money have been better spent feeding a small country in Africa than showing how much you love God? I don't know Jesus, but it seems like his humble demeanor would agree...

Day 2 - "If you're thinking about messing with Texas, don't"

This morning we had a delicious and chipperly-served breakfast at the Waffle House in Joplin, Missouri. Fueled with coffee and heartland of America pride, we hit the road.

Our first attraction was the famous blue whale of Route 66. It turned out it wasn't as cool as we thought, but maybe in the past it was a good hang.

Then we hit the tallest pop bottle sculpture in the world. Also anti-climactic, because there wasn't even any pop in it! At least put some Mountain Dew in there or something. It also emitted a horrible loud high-pitched tone every few seconds, probably to keep little kids (or us) from getting too close.

As we traveled into Oklahoma we were barraged with a constant stream of advertisements for "Indian Trading Post," "Indian Hand-Made Moccasins," and "Indian Apple Pie" and things like that. We stopped at the "Trading Post" but they didn't have my size leather jacket with super long tassles, nor did they carry my brand of 10 gallon hat. I'm sure I can pick those things up tomorrow...

Probably the best attraction was the one that wasn't really on the map: the wind turbines around Wethersberg, OK. There was something hypnotic and soothing about them, but there was also something threatening and terrifying about them. I had the sudden urge to pick up a lance and charge them, just in case they were keeping some girl prisoner or something.


Then we got to Texas. I've heard a lot about Texas, and of course I've had ideas about what Texas is, what is stands for, and what the people are like. After a few short minutes in Texas I think I understood things a little better... Texas is friggin HUGE, and Texas in intense. Walking around at the welcome center, surrounded by waving plains stretching as far as the eye can see (which is really far) inhabited by little clumps of hearty grass and zealous trees clinging to the arid packed soil- it makes one feel very small. The sun beat down on us like a warming lamp keeping us warm until we're served, and the air against our skin was like an open oven door. I know that there are even more extreme locales waiting for us tomorrow in the desert, but nevertheless I was taken by the intensity of Texas. Maybe Texans have a right to be proud of their fine state: after all, they have conquered the land, made things grow, and made an uninhabitable land their home.

Perhaps the thing that best sums up the state and its people is the Texas-shaped BBQs that are at every rest stop we drove past. In one fell swoop the functional piece of art seems to express Texan pride and love of barbecue.



We decided that we should eat the best Texas has to offer, so we asked a local for a good BBQ joint. The place he suggested was definitely an experience; the best kind of experience. It was by far the best brisket I have ever had in any state. The place was full of Texan charm, the wait staff was great (the owner even cleared our plates) and the food was beyond terrific. At times we felt a little strange, as if we had left the United States and entered another country. (Maybe we had?) George Bush and conservative stereotypes ruined Texas for me and many others, but I think the delicious food and charming people of Amarillo have wiped the slate clean as far as I'm concerned. Any place than can produce food that good is ok in my book. I'm so glad I got a chance to have some famous Texas BBQ during my short stay in the state. Hopefully I can come back sometime for seconds, and maybe get one of those 18 oz. fish bowl drafts...

Our route

Here is our proposed route:


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Day 1 - pictures

Here are some pictures from Day 1










Road ready, leaving Park Ridge, Illinois














Funk's Grove, Illinois - When we stepped out of the car, our ears were bombarded with hitting on the one, taking it to the bridge, and lots of syncopated 16th notes.









The global diva with a local














The St. Louis Arch(es?)
































In Missouri, they government constantly fights against a non-stop onslaught of vending machine vandalism and stealing. In response to the threats of vending machine terrorists, the state of Missouri keeps their machines locked behind bars, and the candy inside at a steady 145°.

Day 1

current location: Joplin, Missouri
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Woke up this morning at 6:30am in order to pack all my stuff, had coffee, packed the car, hopped in, got gas, got some fruit at Jewel, stopped in Schaumberg to have some Subway- THEN WE WERE OFF!

In Caucci's new Corolla we rolled down what was once Route 66 and headed towards sunny California.

As we rolled through St. Louis, we contemplated the meaning of the St. Louis Arch and whether or not there were offices in it. If there's an elevator, if it goes up, it must just come down on the other side!

That reminded us of chips, and we pondered the origin of those little black things in tortilla chips... anyone know what they are and how they get there? Also how we definitely need to stop at a mexican restaurant, hopefully closer to the mexican border.

Our first rest area in Missouri was desolate and really hot- the chained and barred vending machines dispensed over-priced melted candy bars. The bathrooms had a really cool thing though: automatic hand soaper/washer/driers. We didn't have to touch a thing! Which is good because in general everything was pretty gross except the 21st century hand cleaning machines.

We stopped and had some Steak and Shake in some town outside of St. Louis (by the way, since that's the only big city in this state, is everything really outside St. Louis?). I really like the way Steak and Shakes are the same everywhere- whenever I go into one, I think of all the good times I've had there over the years, and because the layout is the same I feel like I'm coming back to an old hangout. Except this one had a smoking section and was in Missouri.

As it got dark, it got really dark! It's crazy to me to look out the window and see no lights but headlights. I think that things will only get more desolate and far apart as we head west. Maybe as people get farther and farther apart so will the deer; I really don't like deer.

By about 10:30pm we made it Joplin, Missouri to the Super 8 with the free wireless internet. We immediately got to work importing the video we shot earlier, putting it in Logic, scoring it, putting them together in iMovie, getting that movie on YouTube, starting this blog, typing this text, and embedding the video in this blog for your viewing pleasure. Today's video blog features Beth Caucci and myself - Chris Beckstrom, aka the Documenterrorists- and this time I scored the video.

The idea is to update this daily and share with you all our travels, so check back often!

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for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Arch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_and_shake