The random droppings from the mind of Heath Allyn

I tend to go for long periods without blogging (especially since I twitter so much now) and as time goes on and more and more things accumulate it becomes more daunting to try and write about it all to play catch up. So inevitably I end up with a post like this that just spills out a dense summary of my recent life.

First, as most of you probably already know, Jess and I split up a while back now. She moved out and is moving to Seattle this week for a great opportunity with her job. There's no big drama, no bombshells to drop or anything like that. It's all very cool and amicable, just a case of us not being right for each other. I've been incredibly public in the past about my entire life including relationships but there was a point when I started playing things closer to the chest and keeping some elements of my life a little more private. Still, I'm pretty much an open book so no need to walk on eggshells or anything. I'm fine. In fact all in all my life is pretty great. Which leads me to...

Now with that news out of the way, the next development in my life is that I've met someone. After Jess and I split up, I got to talking tosomeone on Facebook that I'd actually gone to school with up through 9th grade. Being that my 20th high School reunion is coming up, a bunch of us have been reconnecting on Facebook. I never really knew her in school. I knew who she was (her name is Tina for future reference) but we weren't actual friends or anything. I don't think we ever even actually met or spoke to each other but we knew a lot of the same people and as it turns out grew up less than a mile or two from each other and went to a lot of the same places frequently. The more we've talked the more we're can't believe that we never managed to really know each other back then. At the moment, it's a long distance relationship (though we have met in person and will be seeing each other again in July) but still amazing and totally fulfilling.

As most of you know I live my life very publicly. If you read my blog/twitter/facebook then I think it's pretty easy to get a good idea of who I really am and what I'm really like. Apparently Tina had found me very intriguing from the moment she added me as a friend. Of course, at the time I was also married so she didn't really pursue that line of thought. Quite often there are fun comment threads on her page involving lots of cool folks. I started participating and leaving more comments and such and once she found out I was available, we started some pretty heavy flirting. Facebook comments led to messages, texts and then phone conversations. We very quickly realized there was some serious and rare chemistry between us. We had a LOT in common and yet just enough differences to make us interesting and have areas in which we could enrich and educate each other. And she's hot. Seriously, like Kelvin scale hot. She makes the sun sweat. Part of me wants to just go on and on about it here and part of me wants to not say too much as it's still new and sort of special and precious to me. Suffice to say we formed a fast, intense, deep bond for a lot of different reasons.

Next up in all the news that's fit to print: Lars and I filmed three scenes from the feature film we're trying to get funding for "Brimstone Orphans". We wanted to film some samples to submit for various grants and to use for further fundraising purposes. It was by far he most ambitious and most professional thing we've ever done. We had an awesome crew of about 25 people who were all immensely talented and more than that, were genuinely excited and enthusiastic about the project and being a part of it. Thanks to many generous donations of time, equipment and materials, we shot for about $2500 what should have cost more like $10,000 or more. We picked three scenes from the script that we thought showed the various tones and atmospheres of the story and that would make a good sample of what we wanted to do with the full feature.

Life has been very turbulent, wonderful and magical for me for a long time now. As I've said before, there's something in the air lately. I believe big things are just over the horizon. Even though life can be full of vertiginous highs and heart-wrenching lows, I am incredibly lucky and happy to be who I am. Who wants to live a life of mediocrity in the middle anyway?

A couple of times over the past week or two, "Boys of Summer" has come up on my iPod or on the radio. I've always like the song but these recent listenings really struck me with the idea that I thought it would make a really cool, slow, haunting acoustic version.

And so, here ya go.

I took a long walk late tonight, as I do on many a night, pondering life's little mysteries and journeys. It was beautiful night. A great temperature, if a little bit on the humid side. There was a big round moon lighting my way and keeping me company, surrounded by a slight caused by the light cloud cover. A cool breeze was blowing in that way that makes it feel just perfect across your face. I searched through myself looking to discover just what it was I wanted at that very moment. What was my core desire at this particular and unique point of existence in time?

And I discovered that one of the strongest desires that came to the surface was this: I wanted to know that everyone I cared about, everyone I knew really, hell everyone who deserves it (I'll let you decide for yourself what criteria define that)...I wanted to know that everyone was happy and good. That throughout whatever else might be going on in your lives, I hope you are as happy, fulfilled, loved and lucky as I am.

As I crested the top of the hill in my neighborhood, I could see my city beyond the treetops. I love my city. I love the people in it. I love all of you. Tears came to my eyes and I smiled. I smiled knowing that this is my time. Something is in the air. I can't explain it. I hope it's your time too.

I got a call form my agent saying that Mike Judge's new film "Extract" was doing a few pickup shots and they were interested in me possibly being a double to stand in for Jason Bateman. I met with a couple of people on the production and they took some photos and asked if I would be willing to go get my hair cut to match Jason's in the film.

Cut to the next week, when I went to the salon and let them use some screen shots from the movie to match my hair to Jason Bateman's. After a long day of post-production on our own scenes that we'd shot the week before (wow, I really need to blog more...that's a whole other story) I got home at 3 a.m. and I set my alarm for 8:00 a.m. to give me plenty of time to be at my 9:15 a.m. call time.

I awoke at 9 a.m. to realize that a soft relaxing static had apparently been going off since 8. At some point I had accidentally pushed a radio button that was not assigned to a station so when the alarm went off, instead of the radio waking me up, a soft static made sure I stayed asleep. I jumped out of bed, called them to tell them I'd be about 15 minutes late. I did a quick shave and headed out.

Tonight we performed the last show of our run of "The Tempest". As with every play/film/project I do, the ending is bittersweet. Part of me is happy to be done and to move on to new exciting things and part of me is sad that it's over. This profession is so strange in that you tend to form relationships very quickly and sometimes intensely. You become a family during the course of the project and then you all go your separate ways when it's all over. If you're lucky, you stay in contact with at least a few of them and even more rarely you end up with some actual friends.

There's always a bit of a let down when I've finished a band gig, play, or film. While I'm performing I am so perfectly in my element and fell like I'm doing what I was put here to do. Then it ends, the applause dies down, the audience disappear and I carry my things back to my car and drive home alone. It's such a dichotomy. One moment you are the center of attention to a large group of (hopefully) adoring people and the next you are alone. I've always found it a bit of a strange feeling but at the same time you bask in the high of the performance you just gave.

After posing the question of whether I should shave off the facial hair I grew for the show, I decided tonight that I needed to shave it, at least for the moment. I needed the change. I needed to symbolically cast off my character. Besides, at the rate my beard grows, I could have it back in a few weeks, so really no big deal. I snapped this pic because I felt it really symbolized the moment. Fresh from the shower, eyeliner washed off, face clean shaven, I have cast of Sebastian into the many roles of my past.

So I've been informally asking people this but thought I'd open it up to the internets! Let your voice be heard!

Don't judge these two pictures specifically, they are just indicative of the choices.

Many more photos can be found at my Facebook profile or my Picasa Gallery

Although most are of me without facial hair but there are some more with also.

In which I demonstrate my new Rainsong Carbon/Graphite guitar while trying not let my perfectionist nature obsess over the mistakes, rocking camera (both literally and figuratively) and other details of this intentionally "raw" captured performance.

What do peanut butter, pudding, roaches and Shakespeare's "The Tempest" have in common? They're all part of this brain dump!

*Heath and Lars are teasing Casey because he is the only one who declined getting a milkshake*

Heath: Mmmmm, man this is quite possibly the best milkshake I've ever had.
Lars: Yeah, same here. You called it.
Heath: In fact this may be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth in my 38 years of being alive. This shake has enhanced my life. I am a better person for having had this shake. I feel I will be happier, more successful and have a deeper ability to love because of this shake.

I have finished my latest musical composition. My last song, Triage, was a pour-your-heart-out-raw-emotion type thing so I felt the need to compose a companion piece that was just a rocking, fun, catchy, upbeat, punny kind of song. The result: Tech Support. This is hopefully the final mix but as I listen to it on more systems and get feedback I may fine tune it a bit. As I do I'll always upload the most current mp3.

Well I know you don't need anyone's help, your own ability more than suffices.
But it's so much better to let somebody else check out your motherboard or plug in devices.
So let me take care of all your modern frustrations.
I'll be your boffin probing all of your workstations.
No viruses detected I'll keep everything running smooth.
Optimizing me and you!

I wanna be your tech support, 24/7 I'm there on site.
And though I mean it quite literally, if it sounds like innuendo then that's alright.
I wanna turn you on, tune you up, tweak your settings til your satisfied.
Just let me be your tech support and I'll fix everything right.

I'd love to fill your iPod, I'll make sure that it's never out of sync.
I'll calibrate your entertainment center, keep your cables coiled without a kink (unless you're into that).
I'll defrag you at your every whim, keep you spinning at 10,000 RPM.
Increase the bandwidth of our connection til it's off the chart.
Just like the throughput of my heart!

Chorus

Hardware, software, anywhere you need me there.
Hi-Fi, Wi-Fi, you and I, a twisted pair.
Just grant me access to query your source,
Until my fingers are tired from textual intercourse!

I wanna test you out, open your ports, double check your wiring and get rid of your shorts.
I wanna scan your disks, make sure you don't overheat, configure your peripherals, re-plug and re-seat.
I wanna turn you on, tune you up, tweak your settings til your satisfied.
Just let me be your tech support and I'll fix everything right.

My latest recording can be found here.

Aside from that, I know it's been all quiet on the blogging front but I don't have much I want to say here at the moment. More video blogs coming. I have also been Twittering quite frequently though!

Coming soon: hopefully a better camera! Test complete. We now return you to your normally scheduled programs.

When I make hot chocolate, I used to warm up milk then add the cocoa mix. However the water kettle is much faster. The problem there is that then your cocoa is so hot, you can't drink for 15 minutes. Tonight I found the magical solution.

Boil Kettle. Pour water over cocoa until it a little over half way full. Then fill the rest of the way with cold milk! Now it has the creamy goodness of the milk, the speed of the kettle, and is at a drinkable temperature as soon as your done! Awesome!

Here is the original uncut "version of "Out of Many, One"

Much to my surprise, I actually think I like the shorter cut better. While there are some cool things in the longer cut that I missed in the shorter version, I think the shorter version just flows better.