Near the Bank of America building
You can download my latest small project, “Music for Eating Cereal”. It is comprised of five short pieces and was started and finished in one day. I wanted to experiment with short form compositions and also remind myself that you can do a whole project in a day. Some of these are kind of alright, and others not so good. That mixture of quality gives feelings of dissappointment which can be considered an emotion evoking aspect of this music–OR just unsatisfying music. I’m comfortable with either thought.
1. Would. A piece about wondering. Things enter gradually and you will or will not know what to do with them. With the entrance of random pops and clicks the listener experiences higher pitched sounds to complete the sonic spectrum.
2. You. This is about waiting for something you need. Due to the short nature of this piece, you don’t have to wait long, but when it arrives it gives a warm and energetic feeling. Clicky noise and cell phone inteerference make up the beginning, and sampled cello and piano jump into the piece for the second half. The “clack, clack” material joins it and then the piano fades us out of the piece and gives a few moments to the clicking.
3. Like. A hard hit begins this piece and a processed Japanese Ehru gently calms the ears after this first unsettling sound. The Ehru, however is lying, and the sounds continue, and worsen as a baby cry joins the noises. A solitary middle section describes a troubling path from the events in the beginning of the piece, to those in the end.
4. Some. This one starts a bit dancy, and ends even dancier. A synth lead opens the music and a man moaning a mantra type chant in hungarian relentlessly keeps the music out of a common place. A light melody drips in to satisfy the ears, and then a dance beat comes in at the end. Our chanting friend pokes back in with a few momentary stabs.
5. Cereal. Sarcasm, ill-health, and disfunction plague this song. The bass line comes staggering in to upset the already disgrunted layering of the electric piano and strings. A man continues to say “Hell I like you”, but just as you begin to believe him, he invites you to his house to fuck his sister.
A .zip file will be downloaded with all five songs in .mp3 format and album art. Download “Music for Eating Cereal” and play it at your next party!
By the Bank of America building
I like this thing.
Greetings David Rhodes enthusiasts! I am very pleased that you are reading this right now. I’ve missed you, and welcome to my new blog. You can write dirty little comments on each post if you enjoy that sort of thing (you KNOW YOU DO!) Listed below are some brief chapters on my time here in Los Angeles. I’ll spare you the depressing parts, but here is something for you to think about and enjoy! Please realize that the picture immediately above is not me. I shall call him “Dan”.
DAY JOB. I just quit my day job at l.a.Eyeworks on good terms, so now I can completely say I’m a musician. That’s all I do now. Music. I have a nice teaching job at the Silverlake Conservatory of Music and teach two full days a week. I have 28 students and most of them are getting pretty good. Others don’t practice like they should and I feel guilty when I make them cry, so there’s that balance that needs to happen. Practicing without crying. Anyway it’s a good thing. I love having the time to explore and create and think and it really feels wonderful after a year and a half of working six days a week. I was feeling suffocated for awhile and now I can breathe. I’m looking for projects and thinking about what to do next, and the uncertainty feels refreshing to me now.
MUSIC. I’ve had a few small, non-paying composing projects in the past year or so. They went well and I enjoyed the process, but of course nothing mainstream so once I post it on my site I’ll let you know. If you want.
WHAT ELSE. I was living in a small corner of Los Angeles when I first arrived. It was a nice, yet quiet spot called Atwater Village. I like it and the house I was living in, but a wild, driven character such as my self needs more, so my room-friends and I moved to Hollywood, which is just as disenchanting as most other parts of the town, but at least there’s a bit more bustle. Not hustle unfortunately, only bustle. I’m anxious to let you all know when my next cool thing happens, but I don’t know yet. I’ve nearly completed the music for a trailer that may lead somewhere, but I have nothing solid yet. I’ll keep you posted and you keep me posted.
Composer and pianist David Rhodes lives in Los Angeles. When not composing or performing for films and theater, he teaches piano at the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. For more information, please visit
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