Back in 2002, I wrote a short piece about Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and its disastrous 1913 opening night in Paris. A fitting start for a work that has shocked the classical world time and again. And little did I know that six years later, Stravinsky would be back to haunt me.

This past year, I had the privilege of working with the Metropolis Ensemble to launch a completely reimagined version of the infamous work called The Rite: Remixed. Alongside the director, Andrew Cyr, composers Ricardo Romaneiro, Ryan Francis, and engineer Leo Leite, we charged headlong into uncharted waters to produce a groundbreaking live remix at the intersection of electronic and classical music. A revolution of the revolution.

In a matter of months we had three concerts lined up for the world premiere, including an expected audience of 10,000 people in Brooklyn and a live broadcast on NPR. No pressure really! Fortunately, my dear friends Gareth Paul Cox and Kyrié Cox came on board to produce this spectacular documentary for the occasion, which we just released (along with a highlights page that includes press, photos, and audio from the concerts).

The concerts (and some hangtime with Deerhoof) were off the hook. It's not every day that you get to experience a chamber orchestra and electronica mashed, smashed, and fused together... stuff that's never ever been done before quite like this. Think Shania Twain shaking up the country and pop industry in the 90s but without the cheesy lyrics and leopard print dress (although we did use some incredible jungle-themed artwork by my friend Christopher Reiger in our marketing).

The one thing that continues to amaze me about The Rite (both the original and the remix) is just how loud it is. Massive, uncontrollable, primal, gnashing-of-teeth loud. It shakes you to your core, convincing you that the very ground beneath your feet will erupt to the sound of molten cymbals and fiery trumpets.

After an amazing time in Colorado, I hurried back east to spend a week with my family for Christmas in the quiet mountains of rural Virginia. And like most families, we are not without our traditions: we toured the neighborhood decorations, watched George Bailey and Billy Mack find the true meaning of Christmas, ate lots of fudge and cinnamon rolls, and opened one gift on Christmas Eve (new pjs of course). But we started some new ones as well: assembled a 750 piece puzzle that glows in the dark, ate breakfast with our neighbors, and fell asleep together on the couch to carols on the stereo. Next stop: Hawaii!

Follow my trip on Flickr, Dopplr, and Twitter.

I spent the first leg of my Christmas Zoom in snowy western Colorado, joining a dozen of my dear friends who have spent time working together in Nicaragua with incredible organizations including Love Light & Melody, Manna Project, International Justice Mission, and Discover the Journey. We spent three days tucked away in a log cabin on Mount Crested Butte, about four hours west of Denver in a high alpine valley surrounded by 14,000 foot peaks and four feet of fresh powder. It was epic. We shared stories from across the globe (Congo, Iraq, Nicaragua, Birmingham), laughed till it hurt, ate amazing homecooked food (everyone in this group can cook, let me tell ya), danced in our pjs, reflected by the fire, caught some priceless video moments, sang Christmas carols, swapped secret santa gifts, sat in the hot tub while it snowed (and/or attacked the current 'tubbers with snowballs), and flew down the slopes on sleds, skis, and boards.

And then with a quick drive back through the mountain passes, we each said our goodbyes and headed across the country to continue our celebrations at home. Next stop: Virginia!

Follow my trip on Flickr, Dopplr, and Twitter. Update: Jonathan made a short film about our adventures. And we launched our own Flickr Group to share everyone's pics.