Happy New Year from BtJ

The world domination has only begun...2006 will be The Year of the Rock.

Thanks to all who made this year so amazing and groundbreaking in a million different ways...the best is yet to come.

In the meantime, enjoy this slightly unsettling picture of Jani Lane, sent to me by persons unknown. Well, okay...Eric Helzer.

what are you doing the day before the day before new year's eve?

You're going to see our old friends Jairus & Scooter perform!

WHO: Jairus & Scooter
WHERE: Bethany Village Grill in Beaverton
WHEN: Thursday, December 29th

From our good friend Steven Poor:

"Rick, now we KNOW that [name of a certain BtJ band member] haunts Amazon.com:

Review of: Subdivisions, a tribute to Rush
December 18, 2005

Some background info for the ignorant masses. Take a close look into who actually contributed into this CD and you'll see some interesting things...like Alex Skolnick from Tras-Siberian Orchestra! Yeah, TSO ROCKS, I just saw 'em LAST NIGHT in Philly...and the Skolmeister does it RIGHT! Stu Hamm, I mean, c'mon, the dude was with Satriani, pick up Dreaming #11 and just listen to the bass lines...sweeeeet! And for all you Winger bashers out there, you don't appreciate SQUAT as Kip Winger is one HELL of a great songwriter. Make fun of the hair band/girlie-rock/opera-dance-stepper all you want...but you simply CANT deny Kip has added MUCH to 80's rock music. ALex, Stu, and Kip, thanks fellas. This CD is EXCELLENT!!! Keep making that sweeet rock music out there!!! 'Cause you guys and Rush are the last ones doin' it!

One more thing, Dream Theater hasn't done a decent album since Images & Words, so how about everyone stop clammoring for them to do Rush covers. sheeeesh."

Best..... Christmas Card..... EVER

You may remember Mike Vaughn as the extremely talented voice actor who portrayed brother Dave and Gary Silver on the Bigger Than Jesus DVD.

Today I received his Christmas card.....



(yes, that's him)

Inside it reads: "may all your holiday wishes come true."

Indeed.

who is this guy?

he sat in the front row at PSU and he's all through the movie.



if you know him, tell him I think he's awesome!

if you've been wondering...

Just what is this whole Bigger Than Jesus thing about?

Well, my friend, here's a little montage which clarifies nothing... but the band looks badass and that's the important thing.

What about those Little Dudes?

One of the worst moments of my life was when I had to look Little Dude Joseph's dad in the face at the DVD release party and explain to him that his son didn't make the final cut of the movie.

A few people have asked why the Little Dudes aren't in the film, and I now give the same answer I gave to Joseph's father...

There were nine total appearances of the Little Dudes. Seven of them filmed beautifully. Two of them did not. There were various reasons for this, all of them relating to one thing -- not enough prep time to make sure everything looked as good on camera as it did to the live audience. They were but one of many challenges we faced due to this same dilemma (see also "glowing white sugar cube").

Because the Little Dudes served a very important purpose -- giving us the date of the section of the story that followed -- they either all had to work, or none of them would work. There was no way to cut just one Little Dude and keep the others, because the dates were too important. So it was a real all-or-nothing situation.

And try as I might, I just couldn't make those two aberrant shots look good. In fact, they looked distractingly bad. Again, due in no part to the Little Dudes themselves.

So I had to make the extremely unpleasant choice of cutting them altogether.

I did create a montage of the ones that looked good on the Supplemental Disc, and I used a couple of them in the DVD menus. And of course they still received proper credit in the movie itself.

Some things just work better in person, and to the folks who were there that night, the Little Dudes will always be remembered fondly as part of the live experience. But they just didn't all work on camera the way we'd hoped.

A Compliment for US is a Compliment for YOU!

Bigger than Jesus, like rock and roll itself, is a project by The People, of The People, and for The People. As such, it's gratifying to see that folks are diggin' it in such a huge way.

This is also a great reflection on the myriad band members, crew personnel and other members of the BtJ team. That people are bonding so strongly with the finished product speaks well of everyone involved. You rule!

From the mailbag:

Well all I can say is WOW!
BTJ was not what I expected... And actually
I was not sure what to expect, Rick with his normal
rants plus a band??? no no no.. this was something
better something that blew my mind, sucked me in. it
was a journey through music, a journey into, dare I
say, Rick. Since I got it on friday I have watched twice
and plan on inviting friends over this weekend to
watch it again. Man I want to sit here and go on and on and on about
how fucking awesome it was but I am just speechless.
it made me remember music and things from years
ago when all we had was "am" radio and then came
records and music like I had never heard......
FUCKING AWESOME JOB!!!! RICK YOU KICKED
ASS! JONI GREAT FUCKIN JOB!!! You guys made my year
with this film!!!!! Definetly worth the wate!
-Troy in So. Oregon


Got my BTJ DVD the other day. Damn it rocks so
hard!!! I've already shown it to a few friends who have asked me to burn
it for them. I have told them " no, a true rock fan would want a REAL
copy of this." And thusly directed them to the BTJ website. Keep on
ROCKIN!!!!!
-Chris V.

Just ordered my second BTJ for my friends whom grew
up in the Tri-Cities. They will love it. They actually where
in Ephrata but they talked the same about the whole zone.
-Mike B.

And, about Rock Roundtable:

The cable show rocks! Keep it up. Loved the band at
the Sabala's show, too. The hair-flipper guitarist with the VH 5150 guitar was incredible! Plus, that had to be the most guitars I've ever seen a single band use. Very cool.
-Scott G.


Such comments are the highest praise there is. Muchas gracias.

jingle bell rawwwwwk

The holidays are upon us! But alas my partner in crime is currently without a radio show, which means I can't force him to play Corey Feldman's stirring rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock" against his will.

Rather than deprive the world of this delight, I offer it here for download. Behold.... it's a Corey Feldman Christmas.....

Rock Roundtable Returns

The second episode of Rock Roundtable airs Friday, December 16th, at 11pm, on CNW (Comcast channel 14.) This is the episode that was aborted due to technical complications awhile back, so be sure to check it out.

(For best results, drink heavily beforehand, and view with several music-loving friends. Hilarity, arguments, and fistfights will ensue.)

one man.... on an island.... at the edge of space.......

I went to see King Kong with my family for my birthday.

Two thoughts...

1. In a world where Peter Jackson exists, I'm not worthy of operating a handicam.

2. Cinetopia is the coolest movie theater on earth.

From the Mailbag

It's always good to know that people dig what you do. At the risk of wallowing in our own Indisputable Genius, I did want to post an email or two from some folks who have purchased and enjoyed the DVD. The first (chosen more or less at random), comes to us from a guy named Jesse:

"All I have to say is oh my fucking god. What a show. I got my copy
today in the mail, and watched both dvds. (With my bottle of Bookers). I didn't
realize how much time and effort goes into something like this. I
loved the outakes and how much the BTJ crew did. The the reason I'm a
fan even without you on the air is you're not a sell-out. I fucking hate
sell-outs. You are keepin' it real (gay, I know, but it's true.)

Joni, the BTJ crew, and you outdid yourselves with this production.
Thanx for keepin it real and not forgetting who your die-hard fans are.

Cheers

Jesse"

Gracias, mi amigo. Thanks for the support...it never goes unappreciated.

new downloads!!

Check out the new "downloads" page on the website for some new stuff, including the BTJ House Band rocking in a short video, and a 2 1/2 minute long trailer for "The B-Sides" (which y'all would have seen at the party the other night if the DVD player at Sabala's had worked).

Click here, beetches!

DVDs for sale on line

to the countless folks who asked where they could buy them online, I set up a page for getting in those orders before christmas.

makes a great gift, ya know...

click here

(Most of the site is still under construction)

did anyone take pictures the other night?

I saw a zillion camera phones flashing all night long... did anyone get anything good? If so, send 'em to nerdygirlfilms@hotmail.com and I'll post them (with proper credit of course) !

love from oregonlive.com...

Chris Snethen, the best damn blogger at oregonlive.com, posted an awesome write-up of our party... check it out!

What Can I Say?

You were perfect.

To the band, thanks for rocking like nobody's business.

To the crew...thanks for helping to make the vision a reality.

And to The People, thanks for being there...and thanks for believing.

You're golden, all of you.

-Rick and Joni

life just got a little sweeter...

on the eve of the release of my first feature-length motion picture and the greatest party of my lifetime, the universe has chosen to bless me with yet another gift. Yes.... that's right.... Wil Wheaton is now podcasting.

Dude could read the fucking phone book for an hour and I'd listen.

The Gathering of the Faithful

Alright, ladies and germs, this is it. For the first time in seven months, and after a multi-year journey, we meet this coming Saturday the 3rd...as only we can.

Saturday, 9pm, at Sabala's Mt. Tabor (4811 SE Hawthorne), the Bigger than Jesus release party takes place.

On tap for the evening:

-The entire BtJ cast and crew, as well as your pals from The Rick Emerson Show: Tim Riley, Clyde Lewis, Sarah X. Dylan, Storm Large, Aaron "Geek in the City" Duran, Davey Nipples, Joni DeRouchie, F-Matt Peterson, Jen Lane, Dennis Pittsenbarger, Iain Gordon, Scott Dally...and many more.

-The BtJ house band will be screaming through a set of hard rock classics from the stageshow, and there may be a few surprises there, as well.

-We'll be screening never-before-seen footage from both DVDs, including the brand-new documentary I Was a Teenage Dirtbag.

And, of course, you'll be able to buy either or both of the Bigger than Jesus DVDs. (If you've pre-ordered, this is the place to pick them up...)

(Pre-orders will close at Midnight, Friday night, but DVDs will also be for sale at the party. Order online at http://www.biggerthanjesus.net/trailer/dvd.htm)

So...come one, come all...we'll see you there.