dA Center for the Arts Blacklight Exhibition - King Tet and Neon-Riot playing Tenori-On

King Tet's Tenori-On interview in the San Diego Reader

King Tet has been interviewed by Jay Allen Sanford of the San Diego Reader about the Tenori-On. The "Reader" is a weekly magazine with a large circulation in San Diego County. A copy of the article is available to read online.
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/aug/26/blurt3/

King Tet censored by Planet Waves

When I heard Planet Waves was going to release officials Beatles Guitar Straps with album cover artwork I got excited. When they were available I ordered two from MusiciansFriend.com. One "Abbey Road" strap for my son's Beatles style violin bass and one "Yellow Submarine" strap for my electric banjo. When they arrived I was shocked by the smell when I opened the box. They smelled like leather. (dead cows) I looked them over very carefully and discovered they were clearly labeled "Genuine Leather." (I am vegan and I almost threw up when I smelled them) At this point I came to the conclusion that the product description of Vinyl 2.5" Beatles Guitar Strap must be a reference to artwork based on vinyl album covers. So I submitted a review to MusiciansFriend that was a positive review but warned vegans these straps aren't made of vinyl, they are leather. Here is my review rescued from google cache. (click on the image for full size)

Well, Planet Waves made MusiciansFriend take down the review and MusiciansFriend sent me the following message:
We are emailing you regarding the product review you left on the Planet Waves Vinyl 2.5" Beatles Guitar Strap. You stated that this item is made out of leather. This is not true. The strap is actually a vinyl material. Planet Waves is contractually obligated to Sir Paul McCartney to make a vegan-friendly strap. Because of this, we are removing the product review from our site. We apologize for any inconvenience.
I was pretty upset when I read this realizing there must be some kind of cover-up going on here. There is no question these straps were leather. Faux/leather does not smell like a dead cow and nobody stamps "Genuine Leather" on a faux/leather product, do they?
So I did a little more research online and found these straps are being marketed as leather. Take a look at the following ad:
(click on the image for full size)

This ad clearly calls these straps "Beatles Leather Strap Collection" At the bottom of the ad it clearly states All straps are 2.5" and made of high quality leather Now look in the body of the ad, it also says they are "vegan friendly."
I contacted Planet Waves and spoke with a gentleman who made alot of calls and was told that the first 1500 straps were mislabeled and that they are all made from vinyl. I am a vegan and I know leather from vinyl, my straps were leather. I believe the actual mistake was they made them out of leather and are trying to pretend they were only mismarked, not mis-manufactured.

King Tet is selected "Artist of the Month" by Goldtone Instruments

Eric Van der Wyk has been an endorsing artist for Goldtone Instruments since summer 2008. In August 2009 he was selected as their "Artist of the Month" so during this month if you visit their MySpace page you will find recorded songs, photos, videos and a bio.
MySpace.com/goldtoneinstruments

King Tet plays banjo on new "Fistful of Leaves" CD

Sixteen years ago when I was teaching guitar in Ventura, California I had a young student named Christian Provensen with a musical soul, a great attitude and a golden voice. We’ve always had a great mutual respect and have enjoyed a close friendship over the years. In 2003 when I was recording my CD “The Man in the Can” I recruited Christian’s vocal talents for my reggae piece “Give Thanks, there is peace in the music.”
(http://PeaceInTheMusic.com)
This year Christian has reciprocated. Christian is a singer/songwriter in Huntington Beach California and his new band “Fistful of Leaves” has just released a new CD. My banjo playing can be heard on Christian’s guitarist Scott Gronsky’s song “The Sun Will Rise Again.” You can hear samples and order the CD at http://www.myspace.com/fistfulofleaves

King Tet on CNN

King Tet plays banjo music on the Tenori-On wearing his CNN "Do Bug-Eyed Aliens Walk Among Us?" t-shirt. This is a live version of "King Tet's Breakdown" from his independent CD entitled "What do you turn on when you Tenori-On?" The video was chosen by CNN and was viewed over 3,000 times in one day!

It's a boy!

Please welcome the newest addition to the family, Pleo Thaddeus! Thaddeus was "hatched" on May 19, 2008. He is a baby Camarasaurus. Having a pet dinosaur is a blessing and a joy. Anyone who can't own a dog or a cat because of allergies or housing restrictions should consider getting a Pleo.