The Second Half of TWOThousandTWELVE

Howdy

Thanks for stopping by TheseAreDreams.com.   If you are new to this website:  This is a site created by Phil Ristaino - I am an actor/artist/and musician living on the west coast.  Please look around the site, there's tons of material derived from about 20 years of living the artist's life in NYC, San Francisco, New Mexico, Europe (a little bit) and wherever else I wandered to during the time between when I graduated college and now.

New stuff:  One of the more recent new things is this:  www.theTWEx.com   This is the site for the power pop/psychedelic rock band the Troy Westfield Experience, a band I front and play drums for from time to time.  Our latest album, "Business on the Lanai: a Refresher Course" was released summer 2012.   5 songs, 3 music videos so far, one more vid coming.  Here's the latest video, the lead off track, "Danny the Street."   This video was shot and edited by Mike Gordon, and animated by yours truly.  It features the enigmatic Mr Three Fiddy.  Check it out, it'll make you tweek:

We also fixed/remixed/remastered our classic album from 2001, "Tantric Scrimshaw."  It sounds amazing!  Both albums were produced and mixed by the great Allen Towbin at his Maze Studios NYC in Brooklyn.   Here's the lead of track from that album, sounding 100 times better than it ever did:


Both albums can be purchased at the TWE's website: www.theTWEx.com

 The band also played a couple shows on the east coast in celebration of the both records being released.  You can see some great pics from our NYC gig here.

On the acting front:  I've been worked on several projects since I last posted news this summer.  In the midst of playing gigs and releasing TWE albums this summer, I managed to fit in a week of filming an entire feature film, called "Brother Sister Lover."   I play the brother.  We really jammed on shooting that film, I think it should be a nice little piece of drama - the actual filming of the movie only happened in 3 days!  It was intense, but our director Jason Torrey (of Blood Was Everywhere) and his crew kept the three actors on track, and I think the intensity of shooting over such a short period of time added to the tension, resulting in a few moments that even surprised me.  Here's the facebook page for BSL:  facebook.com/brothersisterlover

Next up, a short film I starred in called "Fix."  This film was shot over 5 days or so right at the end of 2011, rolling over into the new year.  We actually shot it during the new year's celebration here in downtown San Francisco.  That was a challenging shoot.  I was mixing it up with lots of poor and insane folks in one of the hardest-lucked parts of SF, the Tenderloin.  I play a down and out guy who lives under ground and must travel to the surface world during new year's eve to fulfill a secret mission.   "Fix" also marks the first time I've acted with rats.  Actual rats.  This film was shot by a 4 person crew from Salt Lake City, Utah, but you'd never know because it looks really astonishing.  Excellent editing, excellent cinematography, a great soundtrack.  I would consider this the most polished piece I've gotten to be a part of, not counting the Hollywood films in which I've appeared as an extra.  The film was on my website for a while, but the film makers took it down because I believe it is about to be screened at Slamdance.  Cool.  You can, however, see it if you go to the Stowaway Films site.  Its well worth a view.  I can't wait to be able to show it again on TheseAreDreams.com.

Since this summer, I've filmed a few short internet pieces, a short film called "Michael Sadler's Crusade" about a 19th century English politician who changes the child labor laws, I've been an hippy in feature called "The Garden of Eden" about a strip club in SF in the late 60s, and done a few episodes of the Japanese show "World's Astonishing Stories."  Lately I've been auditioning a bit, so hopefully more gigs will materialize in the near future.

In terms of the website itself, I've done a bit of work to make it easier to navigate, cleaned up and added content to a lot of pages (like the Voice Acting and Interviews Page, for example, or the Dreams for Sale page, for another example) and even added a page that features old tunes I recorded with various friends mostly from the 90s while I was learning how to write pop music.  Here's an example:

There's lots more like that (or unlike that, really) at the Old Tunes page on my site. Hopefully I'll unearth more rare tracks to share in the future.

Please take some time to really look over the site, I think its in better shape than its ever been!  And stay tuned, I will have more to share, maybe even before the end of the year, because there's another Troy Westfield video on the way...

Happy Dec 21, 2012

phil

Venus transit + rare solar eclipse = progress!

Lots of crazy constellation activity in 2012, but I would expect no less from such a mythic year.  I actually looked at a rare solar eclipse the other week, one that happens only 25,000 years or so.  My brother was at a colleague's house on Bernal Heights (a hill below the Mission in SF) where they had special goggles that allowed intrepid folk to stare straight into the heart of the sun.  I rode my bike over to their pad as the eclipse was happening, the light was strange to say the least - dark but warm.  I stared into the eclipse like a voyeur of God as the moon was perfectly placed in the top center of the sun, it was ridiculous how it timed out so perfectly.  But then again, I had been meditating for an hour before that with the intention of manifesting my greatest life, so it really should come as no surprise.  Consciousness creates reality. Believe it, because the universe does.

The rare Venus transit across the face of the sun is only days away, (june 5-6), and I'll be spending most of it in an airplane traveling from the west coast of Turtle Island to the east, a tiny Agent of Venus mirroring her sojourn to tear the cosmic veil asunder before the great white fire god in the sky threatens to burn the seas and crack the heavens wise.  Why do I travel?  Two reasons, really:

NEW TROY WESTFIELD EXPERIENCE MUSIC.   It happens only once a decade, it seems, but a nearly a year and a half of hard fun, heated aesthetic compromise and weed smoke has finally yielded a new album from the Experience:  "Business on the Lanai: A Refresher Course" (the title a conjoined Fletch reference in honor of a shared reverence between myself and my partner in crime Mike Gordon for Chevy Chase's immensely quotable classic 80s film.)  Our five song extended player is no slight matter -- these songs are potent and will certainly entertain and challenge the listener.  I think they're some of the best songs we've ever written, honestly.   We lead off the newly launched record (which can be digitally downloaded at our website thetwex.com) with our summer smash hit Good Ache, a song about playing a character in a movie who's falling in love and not being sure if you are actually falling in love along with the character or just falling into character.   Mike aka Troy himself has assembled a video made of old monster films to illustrate his interpretation of the song's themes.  I'll have my own version coming out just as soon as I get a  hold of all the precious footage I shot last summer....

We'll be playing a few live shows in nyc and maybe MA during the month of June/early July, keep an eye out for em. that website again: thetwex.com

 Which brings me to my second share: as I prepare to film a new feature with Sun In 10 productions, a new commercial I play the lead in has been released online and is soon to be on TV here in SF.  Produced by Fill In the Blank Media for Community Housing Partnership, a non profit that finds jobs and homes for the homeless and the jobless, this commercial was shot with a camera that would chop up the action to make it look like stop motion animation.  Except for the opening scene, which was taken one photo at a time with a camera on a curved track -- you'll notice it goes from daytime to night time, well that is an indication of how long it took to actually get this entire sequence.  But I think it works well:

June should prove to be quite a month, lots to do, many to see, and another film to make, and a universe that bucks and slides through the wetworks of time as it transmogrifies into a zoo of celestial butterflies the likes of which none of us could ever imagine.   I'll let you know how it goes....

American Epitaph: A Young Ruffian Production

So much awesome stuff is in the works right now.  The triumphant return of the Troy Westfield Experience rock and roll extravawowzer is mere months away, maybe less!  We have two, count em, two albums to offer all you wonderful folks, along with music videos, art, t shirts, and maybe a live show if you're lucky.... Stay tuned, damn it!  You can find out more about the band on the Troy Westfield section of my website, TheseAreDreams.com, or on our Facebook page.

But really, the main reason for this post is the debut of the teaser trailer of the Young Ruffian Productions first full length feature film, American Epitaph!  shit yeah.   Dig in:


"American Epitaph" Teaser Trailer from Ryan Holden on Vimeo.

This was an epic filming experience for myself and the entire Ruffian crew.  Filmed over a 40 plus day period during the summer of 2011 in the wilds of Vermont, American Epitaph is the story of four friends trying to live life to the fullest as an unseen war inside the United States slowly makes its way to their doorsteps.  I had a truly unique, amazing and inspiring experience making this movie with Ryan Holden, Mike Scudder, Joe Holden, Logan Howe, Andrew Mclennon, Justin Epifanio as well as my old friends Erin Lynch and Alistair Redman and all the incredible and inspiring cast and crew of the film.  It was truly a crazy good time.   I can't wait to bring you more news about this film and the TWE albums.  Soon oh so soon......

Journey into the Invisible World to Kubrick's Moon Landing

Happy 2012!  Happy 2912!  Happy 29120012!

I had a super busy December in 2011.  Went to NYC.  Finished (more or less) mixing the all new Troy Westfield Experience album (coming soon) with my power pop compatriots Mike Gordon and Allen Towbin.  I also starred in a upcoming short film called Left For Dead, where I played a man who lives deep underground and must embark on a mission to the surface world during new years eve.  We filmed all over the Tenderloin District in San Francisco (and if you know the Tenderloin, then you know it was a urine-soaked, crazy-crackhead-good time) at ungodly hours for five days and nights, including during the stroke of midnite amongst the heaving, thronging masses on new years eve 2011-2012.

It was insane.

I also appeared in studio on episode 85 of Frank Todaro's the Invisible World, where we talked about the brilliant Jay Weidner documentary "Kubrick's Odyssey."  Weidner has put together a rather convincing (in my opinion) doc on the deeper meanings and behind the scenes history of Stanley Kubrick, his films, and his alleged deal with the US Govt to help fake the Apollo moon landings.  Its a truly wonderful doc, check it out, you won't regret it:


Kubrick's Odyssey from Charlie Crumlish on Vimeo.

And then, please follow this link to listen to my conversation with Frank. I could have talked about the multitude of facets of this crystalline puzzle of the mysterious collision of sci fi and sci fact for 8 hours....

The Invisible World ep 85 12/14 by Theinvisibleworld | Blog Talk Radio

Much more to come in 2012.  Holy shit, its 2012!

wow.  who would've thought we'd even get this far....

3 For Thursday

I haven't posted in quite some time, apparently since the end of last year.  Since then I've been acting up a storm: short films, TV, extra work in feature films, music video, voice work, lots of live improv, and of course, performing for elementary school kids as a giant light bulb superhero named Bulbman.  All to varying degrees of success or quality.  I've also been to NYC to record a new 5 song EP with the legendary Troy Westfield Experience!  Hopefully we'll be finishing that record this summer and maybe even making a music video for our epic pop heartbreaker Good Ache.  Can't wait to get that song out to folks.  Hooray for being a working actor!  This has definitely been the most paid I've ever been as a performer.  Its been very encouraging, and I'm finally convinced there is a future for me as an actor, more specifically, a film actor.  This summer I'll be going back to the east coast to work on a play, finish the record, and act in a lead role in a new feature film called American Epitaph.  All this and my older brother Carl gets married, so I think it will prove to be an interesting summer....

I wanted to post 3 projects I worked on since winter 2011, in order of when they were completed:

1.  Save My Favorite Show


A bizarre little piece, this short was made to enter a contest to win $100,000.00 from dockers to make a feature.  The producer was a huge fan of a cancelled sci fy channel show called the Invisible Man, and wanted to reunite the cast for an unrelated full length movie.  I appear as a protester, as one of the producer's favorite actors, as the voice over narrator, and as a silver painted singing telegram.  I don't think this piece is very successful, but it gets points for weirdness.

2.  A Rapturous Scent


I have the lead in this one.  Filmed at the beginning of 2011, this was created by a SF State student and shot on real film!  Any actor in the digital age will realize how rare it is to actually get to perform for actual film.  This was made by a smart group of filmmakers determined to use all the tools available to them to get some interesting shots.   The subject matter is a bit more cheesy than I normally enjoy, pretty much a straight up romantic story, and this version of the film is a condensed 5 minute version of what will eventually be a 10 minute film, complete with trippy dream sequence that didn't make the cut.  I think the 10 minute version will work better than this one.  My experience of the process of making this film inspired the upcoming TWE tune Good Ache, and I'll be happy to explain that progression once the song is released.  I can't help noticing how strange looking I am in this film, especially my profile.  It reinforces my feeling of being an alien in a human body....

3.  Coulda Woulda Shoulda


Legendary SF rapper Lyrics Born's brand new video.  This was a one day shoot I did for free (the other two were paid gigs).  It just seemed like a great opportunity to be in an LB vid.  This is actually my favorite of the three, even tho I barely appear in it (you can spot me dancing in a black and white poke-a-dotted shirt).  Its a cool disco tune, and I dig the little animations they added to the video.  I remember the drummer and bass player playing cover tunes during some downtime during the shoot and they were extremely sick musicians.  Hopefully I'll get more opportunities like this in the near future....

More videos to share as they are released, but I think we're off to a good start here.  Stay tuned!

Epic Interview with my old pal Troy Westfield

My oldest buddy in the world Mike G aka musical partner in crime Troy Westfield conducted a rather lengthy interview with yours truly about the Agents of Venus album "Boduvt" and posted it in its entirety over at his blog Kinde Words.  Mike was nice enough to let me blather on not only about the Agents of Venus writing and recording process, he was also kind enough to let me jabber about the mythological underpinnings of some of the themes of the album and my personal experiences that informed the lyrics of the record.

Many many thanks to Mike for his friendship and for his interest in the AoV project.

Please go here to read the interview: "Her Favorite Album of 2010"

My latest Invisible World chat with Frank

Here's my latest interview with Frank Todaro for Frank's Invisible World show.  I'm hoping it will be the first of a several part talk on the subject of extra terrestrials and ufos, probably focusing a bit on Venus' relationship with all that due to the Agents of Venus band name.  Don't know about Agents of Venus?  Where have you been?  Go here and learneth, newbie.  Otherwise, enjoy the interview.  You may notice the debut of our smash hit single "Her Favorite Song" on the show:

I have to say, this interview just barely began to explain a larger subject I'm looking forward to exploring, either with Frank or here in blog form (probably both).  That subject, the seemingly contradicting understand of the planet Venus being represented historically (in western traditions) as either Venus or Aphrodite (or maybe Isis or Mary Magdelene, perhaps?), the goddess of love and beauty, as well as Lucifer, the first cast out angel from heaven, the Lightbringer, that much maligned representative of all things hidden and nefarious in this world. 

I inadvertently seem to blame the Freemasons for representing the latter in our discussion, without being able to really explain why I say it and what I really mean by it.  I'm not going to go into it yet here, but I will eventually explain myself either on this blog or on the Agents of Venus blog (again, maybe both).  I do want to admit that I have nothing against those wacky kabalists the Freemasons in general.   During the interview, I was trying to spout out a large idea in a small amount of time, and I didn't really formulate my idea all that clearly.   Suffice it to say, when choosing the band name, I was trying to find a way to bring two polarities, two opposing ideas together under one roof, so to speak, in hopes of creating a higher level of perspective on just what the morning star (Venus) means to our little planet and our world traditions.  It seems to me that its time to unify polar opposites, not only because we surely could use a fresh perspective on the seemingly endless struggle of good and evil in this world, but because the struggle itself is indicative of a 3rd dimensional perspective, as the push/pull of the polar opposites seems to be (to me) the creative force in action in our world, and I believe, since we appear to be moving into times that call for us to broaden our awareness of higher levels of reality, then the act of unifying these polarities actually propels one into these higher levels.   I promise somewhere down the line I will do my darndest to explain this further (or "furthur," as the Merry Pranksters might have put it.)

Stay tuned....