Panda Conspiracy

Time is flying by. I can’t believe winter 2012 is upon us in full effect. It’s been quite a while since the last Panda show but so much has been happening! I started a new rock band  called Mtns. & Tunnels. I play guitar and sing in this band and TJ has been helping produce the record. It’s sounding great and due out this year! Have you heard our bassist Sandy Dickerson’s Uke project? He’s been creating some real sweet music and has become quite the aficionado on the Ukelele!  I’ve also been doing some international touring playing keys and horns with Publsih the Quest. Good times, Onward and upward!  As far as Panda Con, we are officially taking a break due to a combination of health and personal reasons. I would love to do another album and some more touring but can’t say when that will be. It’s been real!

Peace,
Chris

It’s true. No full on Panda madness at this years Summer Meltdown Festival But thats no reason to be sad!! We are excited to announce that members of Panda will be there performing throughout the weekend.

Saturday night (Sunday actually) 1:30 am catch Chris Poage on the Village stage performing solo on guitar. Also on that bill is Olivia De La Cruz and Michael Gonzalez.

Later on that same morning. . .11am catch Panda’s bassist turned Uke player Sandy Dickerson on the beer garden stage. Good times! See you at MELTDOWN!!!

Lost Gonzo band (mid 70's)

Never heard of this group? If you were not born in the 50′s you probably wouldn’t have. The only reason we know about them is because of TJ’s crazy vinyl collection. After doing a little digging, I’ve come to find there may be more to the Lost Gonzo band then meets the eye.

This group of Robbie Robertson inspired Texans performed at Austin City Limits 3 times in their 40+ year career. Not to mention a set at Willie Nelson’s now infamous 2nd Annual 4th of July Picnic!  With names like Jerry Jeff Walker and Michael Martin Murphey, (Now a member of the Texas country music hall of fame!) you know they’ve gotta be good!

To make a long story short Panda Conspiracy will be covering one of their songs at next weekends Brewers festival at St. Edwards Park. The tune is called Wilderness off of their 1976 Thrills album. The song has an elusive reggae feel to it blended with great lyrics and sweet changes. To me this song is a clue in understanding why Bob Marley choose to mix his brand of reggae with Texas studio musician John “rabbit” Bundrick just 3 years earlier on the album Catch-A-Fire. Apparently American country musicians were listening to reggae in the early 70′s and were more open minded then most people think! But don’t bother rushing to download a copy or searching for a youtube version of it online. . .It doesn’t exist! It’s crazy that such a piece of history is not online in a digitally download-able form!

Yes, this is a real street corner and Yes those are real people! This  is called Tilt Shift photography. Good friend Ken Roeder divulged the secretes of this technique to me the other day. He explained how it was possible to make your own tilt shifted lens as an alternative to spending $1500 for a manufactured one. The best part is that you can use this lens on video cameras as well! As I work on the music video to the Panda Conspiracy song Cherry Tree.. my brain is rushed with ideas and concepts for the future. For a six and a half foot tall person such as myself, the thought of looking miniature is quite enticing!

Were back, new shows added, lots more to come, new songs, new website, new album this year, new new new. See you around!!!

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So much to blog about so little time! I’m going to do some back peddling the next few days here and try to recap the last week because it kicked so much ass! So for this post I will start with the epic Laser Prom party we threw with Delhi 2 Dublin on June 3rd. Sometimes concerts aren’t really worth writing about. Trust me, Ive seen enough to know this as truth. Luckily Panda Conspiracy doesn’t do those kind of shows. Take Laser prom for example: Thursday night, Sold out, Laser madness, crowd surfing and an all round great time! I may be a dude but I love to decorate and appreciate an eye for style as well as creating atmosphere. That is where DJ Shape Shifter came in and KILLED it! He draped colorful black light sensitive fabric and converted the Wild Buffalo into a magical neon palace. Not to mention that he’s my new favorite DJ! Shapy spun sets at the beginning middle and end of the night and always picked the choice cuts keeping the crowd pumped up and dancing the ENTIRE night! We did our part to warm up the stage and welcome BC’s Delhi 2 Dublin to rock the 2nd set.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is it is just as important to do a killer opening set as it is to headline. My goal is to be associated with great concerts start to finish every time regardless of who plays when. Big thanks go to the crew responsible for pulling this off! Austin with Build Strong, Ken from Soulful Elements as well as Marika, DJ element, Jeff Silverman and Chris with Nth Degree Lasers, and the Toledo. We are fortunate to be surrounded by such talented and creative people in our scene!

This is pretty cool. A random dude named Nick walked up to me on the street out front of the Comet before our show and asked if he could review Panda for his blog. . . Of corse I said yes! But I have to admit. . 99% of the things people tell a band at their shows are total bullshit. This time we were pleasantly surprised when we got a message on our facebook page from Nick! Check out the Music Generalist’s latest blog posting! He’s got some great picts too!