{"id":4043,"date":"2010-02-09T15:11:36","date_gmt":"2010-02-09T19:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/?p=4043"},"modified":"2010-02-09T15:11:36","modified_gmt":"2010-02-09T19:11:36","slug":"have-gig-bag-will-travel-where-in-the-world-is-carmen-rizzo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noelborthwick.com\/cakewalk\/2010\/02\/09\/have-gig-bag-will-travel-where-in-the-world-is-carmen-rizzo\/","title":{"rendered":"Have Gig Bag, Will Travel or Where in the World is Carmen Rizzo?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"hht<\/a>Carmen Rizzo checks his cell phone one last time as he boards the plane at LAX.\u00a0 This is the first of several flights that will take him half way around the world over the next 24 hours \u2013 from Los Angeles to Perm, Russia .\u00a0 He\u2019s got a text message from the people he\u2019ll be performing with in Perm; they want him to come back in 10 days for another show, and they need his commitment immediately.\u00a0 He\u2019s taken slightly aback \u2013 he\u2019s not exactly sure what he\u2019ll be doing onstage when he arrives this time \u2013 but he agrees to make the return trip, figuring that as long as he has the right assemblage of tools, he\u2019ll be able to handle whatever situation is thrown at him.<\/p>\n

This is typical for a road warrior like Rizzo.\u00a0 The Los Angeles-based producer, DJ, record label owner, and radio show host is a rapidly-rising global brand, sought after for his wide range of skills that have earned him two GRAMMY nominations.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s worked with the likes of Seal, Coldplay, Paul Oakenfold, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alanis Morissette.\u00a0 He\u2019s a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).\u00a0 He also DJs a radio set heard by 14 million listeners each month on the highly influential KEXP 90.3 FM<\/a>\u00a0in Seattle.\u00a0 With so many irons in the fire, he\u2019s become extraordinarily flexible, yet fastidious in his preparation, maintaining a strict work ethic that sees him keeping regular hours in his home studio during the week and, whenever possible, not working weekends to spend time with his children.\u00a0 But this last-minute request is not unusual for Rizzo.\u00a0 He\u2019ll just roll with it.<\/p>\n

On this trip, Rizzo will be performing with a group called Huun Huur Tu, a unique ensemble of four musicians who hail from the former Soviet Autonomous Republic of Tuva and specialize in their region\u2019s native \u201cthroat singing,\u201d a technique in which one person sings multiple pitches at the same time.\u00a0 They are one of several acts on Rizzo\u2019s new label, Electrofone Music.\u00a0 He produced their new album, Eternal, which is quickly becoming a hit on alternative radio, rising to #1 on the Canada world chart and was the most added cut to CMJ\u2019s World Music & RPM (electronic) chart.\u00a0 This is to be a one-off show at the Perm Cultural Center, in Europe\u2019s Eastern-most city.\u00a0 It\u2019s cold and dark there this time of year and he doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019ll be dealing with technologically\u2026even for a city with a population of 1.2 million.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m used to traveling to places where I can\u2019t even assume they have a mult [power] strip.\u00a0 I have to bring everything,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n