Brett Lyda: News

Here are some neat pics of my near-crumbling tooth which will be crowned in late October. $1200 ouch!!!

Wanni, Matt Purse & Jeff Boxer chillin in the nosebleeds.

I thought I'd pause for a just moment and say hi to everyone and share with you, via the written word, the latest comings and goings in the Life of Me.

Having completed two seasons of 'The Bachelor' it was time for a break. Wanni & I decided to head down to the casino and play a little poker. I got really lucky and won $6000 dollars in a freak jackpot hand. This was most excellent news because we were leaving for Kauai for an entire month and now could afford to really do it in style (see below for YouTube clips).



When we reached the airport, things continued to go our way. They overbooked the flight and offered us $1600 (plus meals & lodging) to stay one more day. So they put us up at the LAX Hilton where, coincidentally, Amma "the hugging lady" was having a big to-do. It was great fun and a lovely vibe. We ran into a handful of friends and even got a hug from Amma herself. And if that wasn't cool enough, the $1600 persuaded us to book two more trips (a wedding in Connecticut and Xmas in Texas) before we'd even caught air.

Kauai, of course, is the most beautiful place in existence. Miles and miles of undisturbed Paradise yet enough plumbing and good food to appeal to those who still desire a little Cali in their roll. We invited our friends George Bernardo, Monty Messex, his wife Kim and their two sons Bella & Max, and South Pasadena neighbors Dan and Teresa Tillman to come share the pacific bliss. Wanni constantly pushed for endless activites. My mind said 'no' but my body kept saying 'yes'! There was the 18 mile kayak adventure around the island, the helicopter to 'the wettest spot on earth', the nine ziplines across the Princeville valleys, the secret sea caves, the hidden waterfalls, the massages, the best snorkeling ever, the excellent food (if you're ever in Kauai, try the Olympic Cafe and their regional spicy pork dish! Mmm!!). And, of course, the obligatory celebrity sighting (this year it was Rob Lowe).



By the end of it all I was fully recharged and ready to return to our lovely home, our fine friends, and my exquisite brand new iMac and begin again the work on my solo recordings and commence construction of the Kauai movies. The crazy thing is how it all played out so effortlessly and without a hitch. I still had some money left over and something inside me just knew we were gonna be ok. Wanni must've known too cuz we started to plunk down for a few more long overdue comforts such as a new bed and an iPhone (I waited a full year year for this). And just to make everything all sweet and happy at the end, I did in fact land a nice five month editor gig that pays great.

As for the Evangenitals, you may know that I'm not playing with them at this time and gosh, I'll tell you it feels soooo good now that emotions have subsided and some time has finally passed. Juli & Co are up and running again and playing shows just like the old days and I feel like a little baby rooster who finally grew a pair made some really hard choices. I'm not even sure if anyone really knows why I split, but the short version is that we just wanted different things. And I'll bet they, too, are much happier without me and all the coaching and prodding and disciplinary leanings. Juli is amazing and I wish them the very best. Perhaps one day down the line we'll work together again. There's still an expanded version of the first album and maybe a rarities set in the vaults, so who knows?

Lastly, it's good to be home. Wanni & I are getting along swell. I've got a good job. I'm working with some really talented professionals on my first record (George Bernardo and Jeremy Underwood- Yay!!). I've been making little movies from Kauai. I'm surrounding myself with oodles of love and talent, which is exactly what I need right now.

XOXO

Brett

The Cure were absolutely riveting at the Hollywood Bowl. Check out their CRAZEEEEEE looking guitar player, Porl Thompson! I was also really digging the band's inspiring 'benneton-esque' demographic. LOTS of twentysomething latinos and smatterings of every other nationalities (including vampyres!).

That's right, NEW ALBUM. Every night I go to work on The Bachelor but during the day I'll add a few more brush strokes to my FIRST SOLO ALBUM EVER. Right now it looks like 10 songs (from about 30 contenders) are fitting fit quite nicely together. To see a mark-up of a few more possible covers CLICK THE PIC!

Congratulations brother Trey & Mrs. Erin on their first child Beck Lyda. I'm an uncle!

It's taken about four years for the conditions to ripen but it's finally desert flower season in the Anza Borrego Desert. Click the pic to see a few highlights!

Here's the latest Inflatable Minute webisode I edited along with uber geniuses Addi Somekh and Peter Taylor. FYI, the great songs in the clip are from favorite sickling Alanna Lin whose long awaited new album is out now. Watch the clip for more info!

My Dad knows a kindly Mexican housekeeper whose dream was to become a professional singer. But life had other plans for Maria, like raising her children and tending to her husband who is ill. During winter of 2005, Dad shelled out $700 bucks and bought some audio equipment and we recorded Maria 's vocals right in his house in San Antonio, Texas. I took the files back to California and preceded to flesh out the tracks with instruments and other trickeries. For Xmas 2007 the album was completed and returned to Maria. I was told that times were especially tight and Maria ended up giving out autographed copies of her record to friends and family as presents. It doesn't get any more satisfying than that. I'll have it on iTunes soon and Maria will receive quarterly checks everytime someone downloads her music. In the meantime, you can listen in the music section here or on myspace. Oh. CLICK THE ALBUM COVER TO SEE A COOL MARK UP OF BROTHER TREY LYDA'S ALBUM ARTWORK!

Our good friend Eliot had two "Front of the Line" passes to spare so Wanni & I took the train to Universal Studios for the full tour. Neither of us had been there since childhood. The Mummy roller coaster was fun. The Jurrasic boat ride was also cool. The tour itself was AWESOME. But on our way home, we decided to squeeze in the deceptively lame House of Horrors attraction. From the beginning, it just looked like some cheezy silent film memorabilia tour for the grannies to dig (you know...Frankenstein's mask, Dracula's cape, Wolfman's teeth etc). But then you have to walk through a series of tunnels and...well, I really shouldn't spoil it. Just find yourself some cheap passes and check it!

Click the picture to find all about the Evangenitals very first U.S. tour! It was a crazy ride with plenty of good times, bad times, madness, trash talk and heartbreak.

My girlfriend treated me to a limited release screening of "There Will Be Blood" at the ARCLIGHT! Daniel is great. Paul Thomas Is great. The story is good. But damn, this movie is LONG. That's all I'm saying except that I expected just a little more from P.T. this time around. He is, after all, one of this generations greatest filmmakers.