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Friday, March 20, 2009

Behind-the-Scenes Recording Footage

Recording of the final song for the album is proceeding -- slowly but surely -- just a few more sessions and the record will be done! (The hardest thing has been aligning everyone's schedules so we can be in the same studio on the same day!)

Soon I'll be announcing how you can get your own copy of the record -- I'm even considering printing up some VINYL copies (is anybody out there taking part in the vinyl resurgence?!) -- as well as providing more sneak peeks at recording and rehearsal footage, new songs and new merch.

In the meantime, I thought I'd show you a fun outtake from my last session recording lead guitar on one of the new songs. We recorded at my Guitar Guru Bob DeMarco's studio -- you'll see me playing my brand new Custom Shop Telecaster (Thank You, Fender!!).

Check out the Video Clip:

4:15 PM

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Friday, February 20, 2009

Ocarina Winner & Webcast
Category: Web, HTML, Tech

On Monday night, my magic man Andrew Goldenhersh and I will be guests on Smule's live weekly webcast. Smule is the company behind several iPhone apps, including the award-winning Ocarina. In "real life," an Ocarina is an ancient wind instrument (kinda like a clay flute). On the iPhone, you can play Smule's virtual Ocarina by blowing into the phone's microphone while simultaneously fingering different notes on the surface of the phone.

Andrew and I recently won $1,000 in an Ocarina contest for our Ocarina duet video last month -- we arranged and performed a duet version of "Carol of the Bells."

This week's webcast will be held at The Sea Palace Studio in Rancho Palos Verde (where I rehearse with her band). I'll will be performing a few songs with keyboardist extraordinaire Steve "Shag" Aguilar, bassist Al Kim, and drummer Bryon Holley, including one song where we feature Smule spokesperson "The Mule" on an Ocarina solo. Andrew will perform some magic and also perform a solo guitar piece.

Feel free to tune in and interact with me live on the webcast -- just type in your questions or comments and we'll respond! This will be a wacky, fun hour of interactive entertainment.

Monday, Feb 23 @ 7pm PST
Live Smule Webcast: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/smule

5:13 PM

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Sunday, February 01, 2009

My Night With Johnny Depp!
Current mood:

excited
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

My Night With Johnny Depp

FINALLY! All these years living in LA have
paid off! hehehe...

Now keep in mind that I've lived in and around Hollywood for a long time,
and I see movie stars & rock stars out and about fairly often (I once ran
into Brad & Jennifer in an elevator). I still think it's neat, but I don't
often get starstruck.

HOWEVER, I do have a very very very short list of people
who I am absolutely gaga over -- both for their incredible talent, and for their
their astounding "charisma" (keeping it polite for my magic man Andrew, who
will undoubtedly read this!).

All of my best girlfriends know that my
list consists entirely of: Johnny Depp.

So, the jist of the story is: one
day a couple of weeks ago, Andrew got a call from the Magic Castle (a private
club for magicians and their guests) saying that they'd like him to perform for
Johnny Depp and his friends, who would be at the castle that evening. Now Andrew
doesn't typically use an assistant for any of his magic -- he's a prop
minimalist and has a fairly self-contained act. But there was NO WAY I was
going to miss my opportunity to meet my very most favorite pirate, um I mean
actor, in the whole world!

So I proceeded to make myself useful (and
actually, I did end up having quite a bit to do). I ran sound for Andrew's show
and wrangled various animals both before and after the performance -- including
chasing some unruly barnyard creatures around the private dining room in a
floor-length emerald gown -- I'm sure it was quite a sight! The most
challenging part of the evening for me was trying to act like a normal human
being (e.g., not staring, not drooling, not stuttering or saying something
incredibly stupid) in the presence of my most favorite public figure living
today (well, Barack Obama's up there too, but I've been an adoring fan of
Johnny's since I was about 13).

To answer the most common questions I've been
asked about Mr. Depp:

1. Yes, he was very nice, a quiet fellow,
and he spoke beautiful French.
2. No, I couldn't tell how tall he was -- he
was sitting the whole time I was in the room.
3. Yes, he looked as gorgeous
in person as he does in the movies - and he was dressed impeccably well, wearing
a really cool hat.
4. He described Andrew's performance as "magnificent" and
"absolutely awesome" (which, of course, it was).

So that's a little taste
of my first Hollywood dream-come-true story of 2009!

..www.AliHandal.com - Groovalicious music about what's most important in life -- Good
Love and Bad Cats
(meow!)..

..www.GoldenHands.com - Official
website of Andrew Goldenhersh, International Award-Winning
Magician..

Ali's Upcoming
Performances:

Sat Feb 7 @ 10:30pm - Room 5,
Hollywood

Thur Feb 26 @ 7pm - WesFest at The Knitting Factory,
Hollywood

8:28 AM

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Ali on Hunnypot Radio
Current mood:

cheerful

Last night I had the pleasure of being a guest on LA's Hunnypot Radio. Hunnypot is a "taste maker network" of music fans & industry insiders who get together to discover & share great new music. They played "Pin Me Down" -- an advance track from my album coming out this year.

You can hear the whole show (including a slammin' rock set DJ'd by PJ Bloom and a super-funky hip-hop set DJ'd by Stacee Coleman) at www.HunnypotUnlimited.com

Check it out -- there's a lot of fantastic new music to be discovered!

5:11 PM

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFQ7GTDlsO0

Saturday, December 27, 2008

iPhone Ocarina Holiday Card

Happy Holidays from Ali!

6:10 PM

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Thursday, December 25, 2008

Free New Song Download "Pin Me Down"
Current mood:

amused
Category: Music

Happy Holidays!

As a holiday gift from me, feel free to download a new song from my upcoming album:

Free Song Download "Pin Me Down"

It's a recording from my new album to be released in 2009. The track was produced by Grammy winning engineer/producer Seth Horan. The musicians on the album are: Ali Handal (all guitars, vocals), Orlando Sims (bass), Christopher Allis (drums), David Leach (percussion), Steve "Shag" Aguilar (vintage keys), and Seth Horan (programming, bass).

Enjoy!

6:25 PM

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Monday, November 10, 2008

My New Favorite Author - Christopher Moore

I discovered Christopher Moore's book "Island of the Sequined Love Nun" completely by accident while on my honeymoon. It was the PERFECT vacation book -- Christopher has one of the most creative imaginations ever, and I love being sucked into his twisted world of dark humor.

I just finished reading "Lamb (the Gospel according to Biff, Christ's childhood pal)" and I also recommend "A Dirty Job."

Is anyone else out there familiar with Christopher's writings? What's your favorite book of his?

I think I'll read "You Suck: A Love Story" next...

;)

3:51 PM

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Saturday, October 11, 2008

My RadioActive Kitty Indy

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, my kitty Indy is being treated for hyperthyroidism. Fortunately, there's a CURE for it, and Indy received his treatment -- an injection of radioactive iodine -- yesterday morning. This means he's currently RADIOACTIVE and being quarantined at a local animal hospital.

My friends & family have been getting a kick out of checking in on him via his own personal quarantine webcam (yes, he's a rockstar!). We can see how (and what) he's doing throughout the day. Yesterday a cute nurse checked in on him and petted him -- ever since then he's been on the lookout for her! ;)

I've posted a photo from the webcam on here -- it's been so fun watching him!

4:57 AM

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Saturday, August 30, 2008

Bleeding For My Cat

Just a couple of weeks after my unfortunate finger incident, my beloved kitty Indy sliced and diced up my left foot while trying to escape the clutches of Dr. Evil Veterinarian (actually, our vet Dr. Cauble is wonderfully kind, but apparently, that's not how Indy sees it).

Indy ultimately failed in his escape attempt, but not before preventing his kitty mom from wearing her cute new flip flops for three weeks -- wah!

And yes, at the time, I saw the moment as a fantastic photo op -- wouldn't you?!?! Or is that just the weird kind of family I grew up in? ;)

To see the photo, email me at: ali AT alihandal.com and I'll send it to you.

4:54 AM

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