Day Fifty Two

It was back to Palm Beach again today, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this mission is finally complete.  I don't think I can stand going to that job one more time, only to be reminded of the vast superiority of the chosen ones.   Hey You, don't lean anything against that wall, take your shoes off, your not going to make any dust in here, are you?  Oh it must be grand to be insulated from the dust covered reality that is the real world.  
      I didn't have any time for musical pursuits today, but I'm sure I'll make up for it tomorrow.  
Until then, here's your daily dose of wisdom…

I totally have no other talent and I would be totally out of work if I did anything else.
Neil Young

Day Fifty One & The Weekend Update

The weekend update is pretty lame this week, I didn't really do anything exciting at all.  I spent a few hours recording and re-recording some tracks.  Doing some edits and experimentation, I always wanted to be a mad scientist, but I never thought that was an actual job.  That goes under the heading of things your Mother never told you that would have come in handy.  Yes, you can be anything you want, even a mad scientist.  I'm sure that's what the Beavers mom would have said.  But alas, it was not meant to be, I've had to settle for just being mad.

    Today was relatively uneventful also.  My main project today was creating a Corn Hole game for my daughters baby shower.  I know what your thinking, a corn hole game for a baby shower?  How unique!  Exactly, none of those sniff the diaper games for this mother to be.  We thought we might call it The Diaper Toss or something.  I'm sure it will be good for a laugh or two,  and who doesn't like throwing a soiled diaper across the yard?  

  Well that wraps it for today, heres' your daily words of wisdom:

 I was born with an adult head and a tiny body. Like a 'Peanuts' character. 

Jon Stewart 

Day Fifty

Fifty days of this insanity, at least my one follower hasn't bailed out yet.
     Well it's Friday, and we have no gig this weekend, it's good to have a breather after last weeks double header.  But I could have handled playing again this weekend, as long as it was not on the other side of the world.  The traveling is the hardest part, and you can easily spend more than you make in gas and lodging.
Fortunately there are many kind hearted folks who are willing to give a traveling musician shelter from the storm.  You meet the nicest people playing music.
   I worked in the studio today for a few hours.  I have a bunch of tunes that I've recorded rough tracks for, now I need to dig in and get them cleaned up and ready for actual production.  As they say at recording engineers anonymous, "One song at a time".
That's it for today, have a great weekend!  Here's your final words of wisdom for the week:

Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you'll suck forever. 
Brian Wilson

  

Dat Forty Nine

I visited the eye doctor this morning for a routine check up.  The Eye institute is a nice facility, the only problem is that they always have those Fox and Friends clowns on the television in the waiting area.  I guess living here in the republican stronghold I should expect this kind of thing, afterall they have to keep their customers happy.  It's fun to watch the zombies sucking up all the propaganda and never even realize it's a big joke.  I don't know how we got to a point in time where this kind of entertainment passes as news. It's frightening for the future of the world.   I think you could sell people on pulling their own teeth if you had the right celebrity spokes person in your marketing program. 
       I was checking out the Logic Pro Forum today and one of the regular contributors came up with a novel idea.  A challenge for the month of septemberr to put together a new production by the end of the month and submit it to the other forum members for review.  The main rule for this is to use only Logic Pro for the entire production, no outside software or programs.  You can record vocal and instrument tracks and use any of Logics software instruments.  It sounds like a fun project, I may just sign up for it.  Sounds like a good way to get some feed back on a project from some outside listeners. 
  That's about it for today, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

  Television is the triumph of machine over people.
Fred Allen

Day Forty Eight

The primaries are finally over, and not a moment to soon.  Now to prepare for the full blown, dirt slinging, dog kicking, cat scratching mid term elections.  I have to question the sanity of anyone who would want to get involved in such a demeaning contest.  Which pretty much explains why we've got the assortment of knuckleheads we've got running our country.  Egomaniacs and sociopaths, or as some like to refer to them, Democrats and Republicans.
     I got to squeeze in a little recording to day.  There was an electric guitar part that I wasn't completely satisfied with, so I thought I'd do a little touch up on it.  It worked out just as planned.  I set up a region to punch it in on a track that contained a couple short guitar passages that weren't in the way of where I needed to record.  I recorded it twice and grabbed the best take to replace the original track I needed to fix. Abracadabra there you have it.  A slight volume adjustment and it slipped right in like it belonged there.  I love it when a plan comes together.
Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls." 
George W Bush
  

Day Forty Seven

As the economy slowly implodes, we may find that the things we thought were so important are just meaningless garbage, rammed down our throats by some corporate advertiser.  Think about all the things we are tied into, the internet, cell phones, cable/satellite TV, mortgages, car payments, credit cards.  We're so hooked up we can't even imagine putting an antenna back on the roof and receiving only twelve channels of garbage instead of the typical one hundred channels of garbage you get on cable.  Someone is getting rich off of our inability to think for ourselves, and I can guarantee you, they're already rich enough.  It's time to look in the mirror, and try not to think about that crazy new gunk that makes your eye lashes longer and more glamorous, that may or may not cause blindness, and be thankful for the simple things.
Yes, it's time to get off the merry go round and onto solid ground.   Can I get an Amen?
   All right now, back to business.  I laid down some more vocal tracks  today using the new mic.  After finding the sweet spot and adjusting the pre-amp slightly, it really shines.  I think this is a keeper.  It brings the vocals out in the mix without pushing the volume.  Mucho Gusto!
Well that's enough for today, here's your daily words of wisdom:

“The gap in our economy is between what we have and what we think we ought to have - and that is a moral problem, not an economic one.”

Paul Heyne

Day Forty Six & Weekend Update

Sorry I didn't have a Friday report, but the band was playing a gig in Eustis that evening.  So I'll just have to squeeze four days worth of crap into one report.
      Friday we played the State Theatre as part of a fund raiser for the Lake County Folk Festival along with Jonathon Hodge, fiddle player extraordinaire accompanied by Larry Dolamore and Cyd Ward, super songstress, doing the solo thing.  It was a fun evening and we wrapped it up with one of those super sonic everyone on stage Ashley Gang sing alongs.   Good times.
    Saturday we hung out at our favorite retreat, Joel and Margie's house of refuge, and ate ourselves into a coma.  Then prepared for our gig at Olivia's Coffee House.  Another wonderful evening of music, car crashes and a lot of laughs.  The folks in Eustis spoiled us rotten, no wonder we love that place.  Make sure to check out Olivia's if your ever in the area, they're not just a coffee house, they have some really great food there as well.
    Then there's today, back to the grind.  I'm still working on the Palm Beach project, but it's nearing completion.  The bad news is once it's done I'll have to go back to the devils lair to deliver it, lord protect me!
   The new microphone arrived today, it's a beautiful thing.  I set it up and ran a test track to make sure it was in good working order, all is well.  I'll need to work with it for a little while to get familiar with it's sound characteristics, but I think it's going to get me a little closer to recording nirvana.
  That's it for now,  here's your daily dose of wisdom:

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?"
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Day Forty Four

I don't get it, if  4 is spelled f o u r, why is 40 spelled f o r t y, the english language is a mysterious thing.  This is one of the reasons I never excelled in school, my apparent disdain for authority. I just don't like rules, even if they seem to make sense, I just don't like others telling me what to do.  While this independent streak may sound noble, it has caused me nothing but pain.  And still, I seem to have no control over it.  There should be a twelve step program for  the hopelessly independent.  But now that I think about it, I'm sure it wouldn't work out.  As previously stated, the hopelessly independent would never take the good advice that would be necessary to correct their abhorrent behavior.  Besides, in my small but conclusive study on the subject, I have determined that it is a genetic flaw.  And after all, if you can't blame your parents for all of your short comings then what good are they. 
      I think I got off track there, but that's the good thing about this blogging thing, there is no track. 
I have finally had some communication with my E-bay guy, he was starting to make me a bit nervous.  He has assured me that the microphone will be overnighted to me.  So I should have it in my grimey little hands very soon.  My biggest concern is that I'll have to re-record all of the vocal tracks that I've already  finished.
Oh well, it never hurts to get in a little extra vocal exercise. 
  I think I've cleared my mind now, here's your daily dose of wisdom:


Do not be surprised when those who ignore the rules of grammar also ignore the law. After all, the law is just so much grammar. ~Robert Brault

Day Forty Three

We're shifting into high gear now in preparation for the weekend shows.  Everyones accommodations have been taken care of, the set list has been configured, and now we just need to get all our gear together.  It's a lot of work this music thing, and there's not much money in it.  But when you get on stage and see a bunch of folks out in the audience singing along with you, that's the best paycheck your ever going to get.  Now if I could just figure out how to pay the electric bill.
    I'm still in the process of tweaking the drum tracks on the latest tune, but I think I'm getting close to what I want it to sound like.  I've sent it out to the rest of the band for critique, they haven't flamed me yet, so I guess it's working for them.  Being in a band can be a delicate situation, we're all good friends, but occasionally someone will  get their twinkie stepped on.  It's just the nature of things.   Then we do damage control,  have a beer or glass of wine, and put it behind us.  It's just like running a small country, we don't have universal medical care either.
That's about it for today, here's your daily words of wisdom:
  

“Modern music is as dangerous as cocaine”

Pietro Mascagni quotes (Italian operatic Composer. 1863-1945)

  

Day Forty Two

  I was called into service again today on another mission to Palm Beach.  I haven't yet had a change of heart about that place, it still gives me the willies.  I've decided if ever I accidentally become wealthy, I wont flaunt it.  That's just so tacky.

    On the musical front, I'm awaiting the word that my new mic has been shipped.  I've got those waiting on the  E-bay blues.  I'm looking forward to firing that baby up.  Let's hope it meets my expectations.

   I worked on one of my latest creations today, I thought some drums would work well on this tune, so I hunkered down with my computer and put together a drum track.  I'm not well versed at this kind of stuff, but I think it came out pretty well.  I really need to have a drummer come in and tell me what I did right and what's totally screwed up.  Constructive criticism is always a good tool.   

   I guess that's it for today, here's your daily words of wisdom:

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.  ~Cree Indian Proverb

Day Forty one

Another week begins here at Renaissance central.  I can tell it's going to be a winner.  We are gearing up for our monster tour of Eustis this weekend.  The band will be playing two nights over there, Friday at the State Theatre with some of our good friends, to raise funds for the Lake County Folk Festival.  Then Saturday evening will be at Olivia's Coffee House, which is just a stroll away from the theatre. We'll be digging deep into our bag of tricks for this one, we've got three hours to air out some new stuff and the classics.   Eustis, the best small town in America.  As voted by the Ashley Gang.

    In other news, I finally nailed down one of these elusive TLM49 microphones on E-bay.  If this transaction goes through without any hitches we should be upgraded sometime next week.  From what I understand, this mic can even smooth out the dreaded Filet-O-Fish effect.  A major problem for singers who have consumed any number of fast foods before a recording session.  Something about those trans fats that just stick to the vocal chords and wont let go.  They should have a warning label on the wrappers: "Caution this food substitute may cause gooey vocal tracks".  

Well that's it for today, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

  Making mistakes is a lot better than not doing anything. 

Billie Joe Armstrong 

Day Fourty

I ventured out into the yard to do some weeding and hedge trimming this morning, they tell me it's very
therapeutic, by  9 O'clock my left arm was paralyzed and I was a sweaty mess.  My electric hedge chopper took it's toll on me, I was all gimped out for a couple of hours after finishing my mission.  It's just not safe out there yet, I'll wait until October to finish this project.
    So after cooling down and washing up, I headed into the studio for some recording activities.  The song I recorded yesterday needed some lead guitar parts, I'm no lead player, but I thought it might be fun to experiment.  So I plugged in  the old electric and searched through my collection of software amp simulators, and came up with a sweet sounding set up.  I managed to lay down some pretty cool sounding stuff, if it can survive the test of time, I may even keep it.  Once again, the aluminum foil test must be incorporated.
Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

 I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
Elvis Presley 

Day Thirty Nine

Is it Thursday already?  There should be a support group for people returning from vacation, it could help ease them back to reality.  Maybe I'll start one, it could be fun messing with their heads while they're still unable to defend themselves.  All these great ideas and no marketing skills, it's a real shame.
    I managed to put out some promo stuff on the infamous facebook page today.  I hate to bug the crap out of people with an onslought of promotional stuff they could care less about, but I guess that's how you get their attention.  As I said, my marketing skills are not my strongest asset.  Which makes me wonder, what is my strongest asset.  I don't really know, I'll have to ask around.
   I also sat down and recorded one of my latest creations, I think it went pretty well.  I wont really know until I've gone through the cooling down period, an essential recording technique. What sounds like gold on Monday might be aluminum foil by Wednesday.   I'm kind of leaning towards some drums and bluesy guitar for this one, or maybe saxophone.  We'll see how things develop, and if it passes the aluminum foil test. 
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:

My ultimate vocation in life is to be an irritant.


-- Elvis Costello

Day Thirty Eight

Today I found myself in Palm Beach on a mission of mercy.  Talk about conspicuous consumption.  The people that live there must have gold plated toilets and silk toilet paper.  I'm pretty sure that heaven will look a lot like that, but without the Rolls Royce's on every corner.  All the perfectly manicured lawns and hedges, and a lawn crew in every yard.  I'm only guessing, but it's probably pretty cool to be that wealthy.  Funny  how you never see an Obama bumper sticker on a Lamborghini. 
   To be honest, it was kind of a creepy place.  It almost felt a little to perfect, like it's just a cover up for some really twisted goings on.  I was glad to return to the other side of the tracks, now this is real life baby!
   Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Money can buy a pretty good dog, but not the wag of his tail.

Day Thirty Seven

I'm Back......  We had a great time in North Carolina this past week, the weather was a bit warm, but nothing like our Florida summer heat.  Sitting on the back porch in the cool morning air, drinking the first cup of coffee  while watching the humming birds buzz around the feeder, it just doesn't get any better than that.  We took a ride on the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad, I think it would be considered a tourist trap, but it was really kind of cool.  The train runs through the Nantahala gorge, right next to the river where you can watch the kayaks and larger rafts running the rapids.  Next time we go I'm renting a kayak and giving it a try, what could go wrong?
    We also visited with all my family members who now call NC home, they bailed out of Florida after the storms of '04.  I think my Mom and Dad suffered PTSD after those storms destroyed their house, it wasn't pretty.  Now they're just praying that next winter isn't as bad as the last one.  I hope it's not, they're running out of places to move to.
    On our last day there we had a BBQ at Mom and Dad's house, chicken and ribs along with all the other BBQ standards, it was pretty awesome.  We also got in a few rousing games of Corn Hole, it's not as scary as it sounds.  The politically correct call it Bean Bag Toss, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Well that's about it for today, it's good to be home.
Here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles called electrons, that you cannot see with the naked eye unless you have been drinking.

Dave Barry 

Day Thirty Six

I've been at this for thirty six days without missing a beat, but the time has come for a short intermission.  I'll be heading out for North Carolina tomorrow morning and will probably not be in close proximity to the internet for most of the week.  So I'll take notes of our adventure in the pines and update the blog when I return.  I'm really looking forward to some cool mountain air and some sweet rolling hills.  I know of no better cure for the summer time blues.  While I love Florida for about nine months of the year, I truly hate the summers here.  One of my crazier friends actually goes through the entire summer without turning on his AC.  He hasn't yet figured out why no one will  pay him a visit during this time of the year, his sister even told him she would not visit him until the fall.  Maybe he really does it so everyone will leave him alone?  I'd prefer people stopping by and bugging the shit out of me rather than live without the comforts of air conditioning.  Oh well, as Mom used to say, "to each his own".
   Have a great week, until I return, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

No vacation goes unpunished.  ~Karl Hakkarainen