Furious World Blog

Peter Himmelman’s Furious World – Feb 24, 2009

Directed by Michael Sean Wright, nicefishfilms

The Band:

Peter Himmelman, lead vocals, guitar, keys
Willie Aron, guitar, backing vocals
Al Wolovitch, bass
Andy Kamman, drums

Marc Jacobs, sound, live switch
Daniel Vendt, doing-a-little of everything

Special Guest:
Tom Morey

Recap by Ellen J. Berman

Apparently it was hot in the studio, but you wouldn’t know it by the knit caps o’ plenty on the band – one on Peter’s head and one on Al’s. According to Peter, having the AC on would blow the power. As a result, the viewing audience contemplates the next generation internet experience known as virtual smellovision : )

Song: Something That Just Blew My Way (Album: Himmelvaults vol.2) True to the groundbreaking spirit of this show, Peter and band launched the set with this totally obscure track, which happens to be one of my very favorite songs on Himmelvaults, vol. 2. For those of you not familiar with the Himmelvaults, they are a series of releases that come deep from Peter Himmelman’s archives of songs that haven’t previously found a home on any of his releases. Other times, the tracks are fabulous live recordings that capture something really special about a song. On some of the earlier vaults, there are also tracks dedicated to some of the stage banter and musical improvs we come to know and expect from Peter Himmelman. If you don’t own any of the Vaults albums, you’re missing half the story and a lot of great music!

The bottom line is this – When you hear a song from the Vaults on Furious World, you realize the precious quality of each and every episode of this amazing show. Diehard fans will hear songs on this program that Peter has NEVER played in concert. And new listeners get to enjoy a diversity of tracks which represent a lifetime of hard work and a catalogue of music that is as deep in quality as it is copious in nature.

Song: Only Innocent (Album: From Strength to Strength) What a great follow up to the first track. This has long been a fan favorite that in recent years has gotten very little air time. Only Innocent hails from Peter Himmelman’s album: From Strength to Strength, which is like an unofficial greatest hits album for many fans. More song requests probably come from this album than from almost any other. The title track of Peter Himmelman’s official “Best of” album is Mission of My Soul, which is also a track that first appeared on From Strength to Strength. You get the idea…

Segment: Phantoms of the 405
Peter reminisces about a beloved family pet from his childhood, his dog Reggie.

Special Guest: Tom Morey
What an interesting guest! Tom Morey is perhaps best known for his innovations in the surfing industry as the creator of the boogie board. But he’s much more than that. Tom showed us his intellect, his sense of humor, his skills as a musician, his modest nature, his thought processes as a true philosopher, and also a soft spoken generosity in sharing his surfing knowledge with Peter, who very much wants to be able to find a level of comfort with the sport to be able to go surfing with his 12 year old son who loves it. I find myself completely stunned by the support being given to Peter Himmelman’s Furious World by so many remarkable people across a wide variety of industries and disciplines.

Song: Georgia Clay (Album: The Mystery and The Hum) This is an early fan favorite on Peter’s upcoming album which will be released on March 17th. Stay tuned for details!

Song: Theo (Album: My Lemonade Stand) This track immortalizes Peter’s sweet faced border collie Theo in song.”Early one Sunday morning – The family piled in our car. We set out to buy a regular dog. But we came back with a superstar.” : ) Shout out to Willie Aron for great backing vocals – Great job by our special guest Tom Morey, who sat in on drums.

Segment: Turtle Talk
Who knew someone’s beloved pet turtle could impart so much wisdom in so few words?! This week’s Turtle Talk features the sage King Ferdinand dispensing very important career advice to Peter Himmelman’s intern Daniel Vendt. Amongst various pearls of wisdom he dispensed, King Ferdinand tells Daniel we must be passionate about what we do to be successful in our careers.

Song: Trembling in the Beams (Album: The Mystery and The Hum) Peter moves to the piano to play this beautiful new song, which was well received by the folks in the chatroom during the live broadcast of this episode. Some commented on the similarity from an instrumental standpoint between this track and a song called Gravity Can’t Keep My Spirits Down, which appears on Love Thinketh No Evil. From a lyrics perspective, Trembling in the Beams doesn’t tremble at all as it stands solid in its own right.

Special Guest – Tom Morey – Part II
This segment really highlights Tom’s philosophical, broad thinking nature as he shares his thoughts about the world economy and the nature of time.

Segment: Furious Folks
Furious Folks features various people in Peter’s world outside the studio. Continuing on this week’s dog theme, which probably began with last week’s revelation regarding the passing of drummer Andy Kamman’s dog Chloe, may she rest in peace, Furious Folks introduces us to Bernardo Alejandro (sp?) – the dog whisperer. : ) Actually, I think Bernardo is more of a dog trainer and doggie daycare guy who gives our four-legged friends long walks in the sunshine when their families are all cooped up in offices, classrooms, and studios. Peter hops into Bernardo’s van which is loaded with a bunch of canine clients including Theo. The group arrives at a very scenic spot for a glorious long walk. Out in the serenity of nature, Peter contemplates what people would be like if we each had a Bernardo to take us away from our daily grind. This segment takes a philosophical bend up until Peter announces that on the way back, one of the other dogs urinated on Theo’s white fur, and Peter makes a point to remind himself to wash Theo before petting him : )

Song: Flown This Acid World (Album: Flown This Acid World) – This song which represents breaking away was a perfect segue as we transitioned from the Furious Folks segment on being out in nature.

Song: Wet Matches (Album: Imperfect World) – This track’s a total rocker featuring Peter Himmelman on lap steel.

Song Teaser: Iron Man

Song: Racing Off to Nowhere (Album: Unstoppable Forces) – There are various forces in this world that seem unstoppable. For Peter, one of them is the great bass player, Sheldon Gomberg. For a long time Peter was really sucked into the tv scoring world, and it was Sheldon’s persistence that got Peter more forcused on recording his own music again. Sheldon was definitely a serious force behind both Unstoppable Forces and Imperfect World, plus his bass on those albums was just AMAZING.

Song: Discipline of Rain (Album: Unstoppable Forces) – I was so happy when this song finally found a home on a recording. It’s a song that has its roots in rabbinic teachings about the way to live our lives. As with rain, if we are too forceful or not forceful enough, problems ensue.

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After Show -

Tape rolled again, as Willie Aron and Tom Morey performed a brief jazz jam.

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After After Show -

Tape rolled yet again featuring Peter and Tom continuing their earlier discussions about surfing and music.

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Post Show Chat:

Peter Himmelman, Tom Morey, and Director Michael Sean Wright popped into the chatroom to say hello and announce that Peter Himmelman will be at SxSW Interactive performing March 13th through the 17th at the Belmont in Austin. More details to be released at http://furiousworld.ning.com