It has been a rather busy and tense couple of weeks here. Those who follow my other blogs are by now familiar with - and probably sick of hearing about - the ongoing fiasco of the studio project. This has had me wound a little tight, to say the least; additional factors have only added unnecessary stress to the mix - a tight cash week, car repairs, property taxes, and surprise dental work, to name a few. Tension began rising to a fever pitch, and finally broke this week. During the intervening time, the band neither played nor practiced at all, and had not even decided which songs to do for the studio project. A desperate last-minute rehearsal was scheduled for Tuesday night, then canceled on Monday. No reason given. For once, I didn't mind, as I was at the dentist first thing Tuesday morning, having two teeth pulled. This alone went a long way to improving my outlook on life, even without the meds.
Last night, the moment of truth. We finally entered the studio, and things went surprisingly well. A considerable amount of what I had gotten myself worked into a tizzy over did not materialize, though largely because my biggest concern was finally addressed and recognized to be right - we went in without the click track, and had everything tracked in two or three takes. Smooth sailing for there. My few overdubbed solos were all first and second takes, and we even made it to the vocals on two of the five songs. Despite my initial misgivings, this should turn out pretty good. Yes, I am publicly admitting I was wrong in many of my assumptions, realizing that they were exactly that - I assumed, I projected, I jumped to conclusions. I'm an idiot. Even though I was partly right ;-)
And so, the weight of the world has been lifted for the moment. Next to be addressed - work on the car, and a gig Friday. Business as usual, in short.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Wound a Little Tight
Moodiness, angst and frustration are the order of the day. The band is preparing to go into the studio and record a demo. Next week. Last night was the first of two rehearsals for this project. And I'm here to tell you they are going about it all wrong. This is going to be such a freaking trainwreck that I don't even know where to begin describing it.
It is the classic scenario of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. Our other guitarist, who is an expert on every aspect of the music business, is pushing this through with his usual end-gaining haste. He's been in the studio twice before, and knows how things are done there. I, on the other hand, know nothing, in spite of the stack of CD's sitting here with my name on them as producer and / or engineer from the ten-plus years I spent as owner / operator of a studio. But, you can't tell him anything, so I just shake my head and try to get on with it.
This whole thing is a recipe for disaster. He is planning for failure, and doing everything possible to assure that outcome. Change everything at the last minute, practice it once or twice, then go in and rush through the first parts and go back to fix them later. I have only briefly met the engineer, and he seems like a good guy, and is by all reports knowledgeable, but I find myself a little leery of his insistence that we use a click track, especially given his reasoning. We have never played with a click before, and this is no time to start. It didn't go particularly well last night. And there is no faster way to suck the life out of a song than to lock it in to a click track. The whole line of thinking is that if we have one, it will make it easier to go in and fix our mistakes on the computer. It is already assumed we are going to screw up, and so we take steps to guarantee it. Rule number one: we aren't there to make his job easier, he's there to make us sound good.
I could go on for days about this, but it would only bore you and frustrate me more - lol. I'm hoping that I am reading into this, and it doesn't prove to be a case of somebody who is so enamored / addicted to Pro Tools that they forget the nuts and bolts of how to do things. The computer should not be what dictates how the session is run. It is easy sometimes to get so wrapped up in how to do things that we forget why we do them, and that sometimes a different approach is needed.
I really hope I'm just being paranoid, but I kind of doubt it.
It is the classic scenario of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. Our other guitarist, who is an expert on every aspect of the music business, is pushing this through with his usual end-gaining haste. He's been in the studio twice before, and knows how things are done there. I, on the other hand, know nothing, in spite of the stack of CD's sitting here with my name on them as producer and / or engineer from the ten-plus years I spent as owner / operator of a studio. But, you can't tell him anything, so I just shake my head and try to get on with it.
This whole thing is a recipe for disaster. He is planning for failure, and doing everything possible to assure that outcome. Change everything at the last minute, practice it once or twice, then go in and rush through the first parts and go back to fix them later. I have only briefly met the engineer, and he seems like a good guy, and is by all reports knowledgeable, but I find myself a little leery of his insistence that we use a click track, especially given his reasoning. We have never played with a click before, and this is no time to start. It didn't go particularly well last night. And there is no faster way to suck the life out of a song than to lock it in to a click track. The whole line of thinking is that if we have one, it will make it easier to go in and fix our mistakes on the computer. It is already assumed we are going to screw up, and so we take steps to guarantee it. Rule number one: we aren't there to make his job easier, he's there to make us sound good.
I could go on for days about this, but it would only bore you and frustrate me more - lol. I'm hoping that I am reading into this, and it doesn't prove to be a case of somebody who is so enamored / addicted to Pro Tools that they forget the nuts and bolts of how to do things. The computer should not be what dictates how the session is run. It is easy sometimes to get so wrapped up in how to do things that we forget why we do them, and that sometimes a different approach is needed.
I really hope I'm just being paranoid, but I kind of doubt it.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Just Passing Through
It has been a long and trying week, with my Mother-in-law visiting. On line access restricted, and that's the least of it. She is a decent person and all, but I have learned a great deal about my wife's family dynamics these last few days, and it is more than a little disturbing. More later, when time permits.
Just letting you know I'm still alive - lol.
Just letting you know I'm still alive - lol.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Catching Up
It is taking a little time getting used to a third blog - lol.
Let's see - the NYC trip fell through, but the opportunity remains open for future excursions.
Had quite a weekend - at Friday night's gig I recognized the bartender from the (cough) other site (cough). We had exchanged emails about a year ago, but it never went anywhere. Not sure if she recognized me or not; nothing was said either way. On Sunday I went up to DC for the monthly get-together with my acoustic group. We met at another of the players' house; while there, the neighbor across the street backed into my van, putting a sizable dent in the driver side door. Insurance was exchanged, and one more thing I have to mess with on the vehicle - I already need to replace the windshield for state inspection this month.
Hopefully things will look up this week - next week is already half shot, with my mother-in-law visiting from WI. She's not a bad person or anything, but it's a pretty small house even without an extra body to entertain for five days.
Let's see - the NYC trip fell through, but the opportunity remains open for future excursions.
Had quite a weekend - at Friday night's gig I recognized the bartender from the (cough) other site (cough). We had exchanged emails about a year ago, but it never went anywhere. Not sure if she recognized me or not; nothing was said either way. On Sunday I went up to DC for the monthly get-together with my acoustic group. We met at another of the players' house; while there, the neighbor across the street backed into my van, putting a sizable dent in the driver side door. Insurance was exchanged, and one more thing I have to mess with on the vehicle - I already need to replace the windshield for state inspection this month.
Hopefully things will look up this week - next week is already half shot, with my mother-in-law visiting from WI. She's not a bad person or anything, but it's a pretty small house even without an extra body to entertain for five days.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Maybe I Do ...
After some consideration, I think I am in fact going to make this blog its own entity. The notion of simply mirroring posts from the other site seems rather pointless, since most of my current readers (both of you - lol) are either still there, or leaving for a reason. If we're leaving, why drag the old site with us?
So, to catch up ...
It's been a busy few days here. Atop that list is a possible last-minute trip to New York - tomorrow! - which is occupying a great deal of time in managing the logistics just to make it happen. This, in addition to the monthly run up to DC this weekend.
Plenty of band business as well. Two high-profile gigs booked for the summer; a large biker rally in early June, and a night show at the Albemarle County Fair in August. Both of these on top of being out nearly every weekend on our regular appearances on the animal club circuit. Almost like a job :D
So, to catch up ...
It's been a busy few days here. Atop that list is a possible last-minute trip to New York - tomorrow! - which is occupying a great deal of time in managing the logistics just to make it happen. This, in addition to the monthly run up to DC this weekend.
Plenty of band business as well. Two high-profile gigs booked for the summer; a large biker rally in early June, and a night show at the Albemarle County Fair in August. Both of these on top of being out nearly every weekend on our regular appearances on the animal club circuit. Almost like a job :D
Friday, April 2, 2010
How Many Blogs Does It Take?
Morning earworm: People of the South Wind, Kansas. I always liked the cover of that album - a painting of a native american, in full tribal dress, wearing a space helmet with bison horns on it.
The exodus from A.F.F.continues. In an effort to maintain contact with some friends I have made there, I now find myself with blogs on four different sites, counting this one and my own. For me, two is plenty - my own and that one. So far the other two have just been mirrors for this, but I am beginning to rethink that approach. One of the departing groups in particular seems to typically chat and exchange things of a nature that really doesn't warrant an adult content warning; indeed, they could easily post anywhere - they just happened to meet there. The other, while more adult-themed, still is not oriented to blogging as supplemental hook-up opportunities. Inasmuch as they are both making the break from A.F.F., is there any reason that I should drag it along with me? Do I want / need a third? I'll figure something out - trust the process, as we say.
I see that my rooster pic from yesterday still has not appeared. No real surprise. A shame, too - that was a fine looking Rhode Island Red, and will probably make somebody a wonderful Sunday dinner some day :D As I mentioned there, their criteria for photo censorship leave me bewildered - people engaged in acts of unspeakable depravity are fine, but a simple barnyard animal is taboo? In what universe does that make any sense at all?
On the subject of photos, have you ever come across profile pics of what appears to be a good / great body, only to find out it is topped by a face that only a mother could love? It seems all too common at A.F.F. - makes me think that privacy is not the real reason most pics are cropped at the neck :D However, I am compelled to report that during an email exchange with a blog buddy there, she unexpectedly sent a face pic; opening it, I was stunned to find that she is, in fact, drop-dead gorgeous. I am very fortunate that all of my friends there are head-turners, in addition to being witty and personable ;) but this one actually made me stop and stare. Almost made me embarrassed to send one of my own back - lol.
Wishing a happy and wonderful Easter weekend to all :)
The exodus from A.F.F.continues. In an effort to maintain contact with some friends I have made there, I now find myself with blogs on four different sites, counting this one and my own. For me, two is plenty - my own and that one. So far the other two have just been mirrors for this, but I am beginning to rethink that approach. One of the departing groups in particular seems to typically chat and exchange things of a nature that really doesn't warrant an adult content warning; indeed, they could easily post anywhere - they just happened to meet there. The other, while more adult-themed, still is not oriented to blogging as supplemental hook-up opportunities. Inasmuch as they are both making the break from A.F.F., is there any reason that I should drag it along with me? Do I want / need a third? I'll figure something out - trust the process, as we say.
I see that my rooster pic from yesterday still has not appeared. No real surprise. A shame, too - that was a fine looking Rhode Island Red, and will probably make somebody a wonderful Sunday dinner some day :D As I mentioned there, their criteria for photo censorship leave me bewildered - people engaged in acts of unspeakable depravity are fine, but a simple barnyard animal is taboo? In what universe does that make any sense at all?
On the subject of photos, have you ever come across profile pics of what appears to be a good / great body, only to find out it is topped by a face that only a mother could love? It seems all too common at A.F.F. - makes me think that privacy is not the real reason most pics are cropped at the neck :D However, I am compelled to report that during an email exchange with a blog buddy there, she unexpectedly sent a face pic; opening it, I was stunned to find that she is, in fact, drop-dead gorgeous. I am very fortunate that all of my friends there are head-turners, in addition to being witty and personable ;) but this one actually made me stop and stare. Almost made me embarrassed to send one of my own back - lol.
Wishing a happy and wonderful Easter weekend to all :)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
A Wild Hare
Morning earworm: Back in NYC, Genesis. It eventually segued into Hairless Heart, just like on the album.
Gorgeous weather abounds. Even got a bit of naked hammock time in yesterday, partly just to be able to say I've done it in March - lol. Current prediction is that we'll be in the 80°s for the next few days. Sweet.
So, another April Fool's Day is upon us. Everyone run down to BK and get your free left-handed Whopper. I will be celebrating more privately here at home, with a listen to one of my favorite cd's - Bugs Bunny on Broadway. This is not a gag - google it or check it out on amazon. Those of sufficient age or interest in the history of animation are aware that those old Looney Tune cartoons we grew up with on Saturday morning are actually much older, and were originally made for theatrical release. Somebody at Warner Bros. decided that a new generation needed to appreciate these as they were meant to be seen and heard, and conceived of this show - brand new prints made of the original films, accompanied not by the recorded music but by a live orchestra, playing from Carl Stalling's original scores. Even just having the audio, this is epic. Stalling was an unheralded genius, and hearing his work in full glorious digital stereo reveals the depth of his brilliance as never before. And it is still hysterically funny, too - Kill the Wab-bit, kill the wab-bit ... =))
Gorgeous weather abounds. Even got a bit of naked hammock time in yesterday, partly just to be able to say I've done it in March - lol. Current prediction is that we'll be in the 80°s for the next few days. Sweet.
So, another April Fool's Day is upon us. Everyone run down to BK and get your free left-handed Whopper. I will be celebrating more privately here at home, with a listen to one of my favorite cd's - Bugs Bunny on Broadway. This is not a gag - google it or check it out on amazon. Those of sufficient age or interest in the history of animation are aware that those old Looney Tune cartoons we grew up with on Saturday morning are actually much older, and were originally made for theatrical release. Somebody at Warner Bros. decided that a new generation needed to appreciate these as they were meant to be seen and heard, and conceived of this show - brand new prints made of the original films, accompanied not by the recorded music but by a live orchestra, playing from Carl Stalling's original scores. Even just having the audio, this is epic. Stalling was an unheralded genius, and hearing his work in full glorious digital stereo reveals the depth of his brilliance as never before. And it is still hysterically funny, too - Kill the Wab-bit, kill the wab-bit ... =))
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