Day One Hundred Nine

 I'm progressing nicely with my studies here at Pretzel Stick Studio.  I just finished chapter six which dealt with programming drums in Ultrabeat, this is Logics drum program.  Actually a very cool program, it lays out a grid based on the tempo of your project.  Then you assign your choice of various drum kits to the grid, logic has quite a few different drum kits to choose from.  After you've selected which kit your going to use you just click on  the squares, each square on the grid represent one beat, and it inserts the selected sound.  After you get your basic beat down you can then open it in the piano roll editor, which is just a midi editor that looks like an old fashioned piano role sheet where holes in the paper trigger the note to be played, there you can run a humanize function to make it sound less mechanical.  It's really a pretty interesting process, and the results are very realistic.  It's like having a drummer without having to feed him.
     I'm also working on a new tune that's giving me a hard time.  This is one of those Florida tunes, I'm hoping to get it wrapped up and recorded in time to send into the Will McLean songwriting contest at the end of December.  Wish me luck.
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
Lily Tomlin 

Day One Hundred Eight

The Thanksgiving holiday is over for another year, now there's something to be thankful for.  I love a good meal, but the Thanksgiving feast has taken on such monsterous proportions it just turns me off anymore.  I guess I'm a man of simple pleasures.  And all the over indulgance on turkey day only serves to remind me that my next least favorite holiday is just around the corner.   Consumer Day, referred to by some as Christmas, which believe it or not , was once a religous holiday.  It has now been transformed into a mass frenzy at virtually every retail outlet in the world.  Wouldn't Jesus be proud!
      Even with the world economy in a state of free fall, and North Korea having a showdown with South Korea, the sales adds in the paper take up twice the paper that the news does.  I guess it all comes down to priorities.  So while most Americans have more crap than they know what to do with, and their closets are full of mystery items from last Consumer Day, let's all run out and do it again. 
    And don't forget the decorations, an integral part of this madness.  The same folks who have diligently kept the thermostat at eighty degrees all summer to save electricity, and scolded the kids for not turning off the lights when they leave the room.  The same guy who told his wife to hang the clothes on a line in the yard instead of using the dryer will now be  plugging in a million extra decorative lights and all kinds of crazy inflatable lawn characters.  On a silent night you can step out on the front lawn and hear the electric meters buzzing away.  Oh yea, that's the sound of the holidays.  It's also the sound of global warming.
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:


Oh look, yet another Christmas TV special! How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food, and beer. Who'd have ever guessed that product consumption, popular entertainment, and spirituality would mix so harmoniously?" ~ Bill Watterson in Calvin and Hobbes

Day One Hundred Seven

I realize that I was MIA on day one hundred six, I have a good excuse, really!  I had visiting dignitaries in from out of town and had to entertain them in the only way I know how.  I prepared my world famous chicken cacciatore to rave reviews.  We also managed to polish off a bottle and a half of wine.  I was very close to crossing my threshold for insane ramblings and sharing my personal philosopies.  Fortunately my govenor kicked in before I had to be sent to my room.  It's almost to bad, because normally, I have no idea what I'm thinking, and it's good to check in with myself every now and then for an update.
   I gave them the studio tour and it turns out this particular dignitary is using the same program for recording that I am.  Yes, a fellow studio nerd!  So he picked my brain a little bit, and I passed on what I thought was any helpful advice I could think of.  One thing I've learned as I have travelled down the rocky road of music production is this, you only need to have one thing to make great sounding recordings, MONEY!  If you've got plenty of that, the rest is cake.
   Tomorrow I'll be celebrating Thanksgiving, so I'll not be reporting in. 
 Until Friday, here's your Thanksgiving words of wisdom:

Why did they let the turkey join the band?

Because he had the drumsticks.

Day One Hundred Five

What a great weekend! The weather was perfect for the Ormond Riverfest.  Sunny with a high of about eighty and cool breezes blowing from the north all weekend.
      I actually got to see a few other folks play music this time.  We're usually so busy running around from one set to the next and getting in some over due practice sessions we don't get to hear anyone else play.  The leisurely schedule was greatly appreciated.  Thanks to Chuck and Pat Spano and all the Ormond Beach Main Street folks for all the hard work involved in putting this event together.  It was great!
   I was approached by a woman after our last set on Sunday who told me she got goose bumps when we did "I'm an American", she said she has never heard a song quite like it.  She apparently is well connected in the radio business and is a personal friend of Glen Beck, you can probably see where this is going now.  Well anyway, she is convinced that this song has the potential to propel my musical career into the stratosphere.  While I don't like the idea of selling out, my options for retiring comfortably are looking more limited all the time.  So bring on the Bud Light commercials, I'm ready!
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Confidence is the feeling you sometimes have before you fully understand the situation.
   Unknown

Day One Hundred Four

Today I recieved in the mail the Will McLean Foundation compilation CD, "Soul of the Hawk."  I haven't yet had a chance to listen to it but as I drive up to Ormond Beach tomorrow I'll have a good chance to review.  The songs included on the disc are the top three song contest winners from the years 2006 -2010.  Our good friend and engineering guru Ron Litschauer put the collection together and mastered it, so I know it's going to sound great. 
    If your looking for somewhere to spend a beautiful fall day tomorrow head for Ormond Beach and hang out with us on the river. 
  Until next week, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Don't pet the dog.
     Pinkard & Bowden

Day One Hundred Three

From the looks of the world economy I'd say it's a great time to be a billionaire.  I think when they say the recession is over they're referring to that 0.00014 percent of the U.S. population.  Yes that's the actual percentage of Billionaires in the U.S. Now the same greedy bastards are cashing in there silver and gold futures for actual metal, unfortunately there is a lot more metal on paper than there is in the vaults.  This is what us folks on the streets call TROUBLE!  It's kind of like lying, but much classier and more profitable.  "In times of economic uncertainty Silver can be very difficult to get as Silver is the money of the common person."   That's a quote I really like.  I pulled it out of an article on the curent silver market.  If silver is the money of the common person than that makes me something less than common.  Because I sure don't have any of this common currency on hand.

2009 will be remembered by millions of ordinary people as the year they lost their job, their house, or the prospect of an education. For the rich, however, it was a bonanza.
The world’s billionaires saw their wealth grow by 50 percent last year, and their ranks swell to 1,011, from 793, according to the latest Forbes list of billionaires.  Oh yea, it's a great time to be a billionaire!
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:

October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to invest in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.
 — Mark Twain

Day One Hundred and Two

 A long time ago in a land far away there was an average guy with an average family who held an average job.  After years of being average he decided he wanted something more, so he packed his things one day and said goodbye to everyone he knew.  His family couldn't believe it, all they could do was wonder what snapped inside his average head.  His friends all said, yea, we saw this coming, we just didn't know when it would happen.

   So Mr. Average travelled the world in search of the thing he was sure was missing in his life.  He visited every continent, some twice, but the thing just couldn't be found.  He hooked up with women from all over, most of them thinking he was a wealthy American.  He married some of them, sometimes without knowing it, the language barrier can really trip you up.  They eventually discovered he was just an average American, not a wealthy one, and left him a little poorer than they had found him.  

    Eventually what money he did have ran out, and with it, the kindness of his so called friends.  Now old and tired and unable to take care of himself, he wanted to go home.  The family he had left behind so many years ago would take him in he thought.  They'd have mercy on him in his old age and forgive him for his indiscretions.  And it was there, sitting in a wheelchair in an airport far from his home and everyone he knew he finally realized what it was that he had been searching for.  The life he had run away from.  

  Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

“When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home”

Thornton Wilder

Day One Hundred and One

Well my new advice column isn't really taking off like I had hoped it would.  I guess most folks who know me realize my advice is worth exactly what it costs to get it.  So I'll move on to my next brain storm.
     I'm up to chapter four on my home studies.  We're getting into MIDI recording and editing now, and I don't know how much I'll use this in my normal recording process, but it's good to have a few tricks up your sleeve for those studio emergencies.  
   We've got the Ormond River Fest coming up this weekend.  Two days of music and fun right on the river in Ormond Beach.  It just doesn't get any better than that.
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:
  

"They mis-underestimated me." -George W. Bush (president?)

Day One Hundred

I made it, 100 days of this free form insanity.  I think in celebration of this land mark event I'm going to introduce a new feature to the blog called "Ask Al".   So if you've got any questions rolling around in your head that you can't seem to find a satisfactory answer to, bring them on.  It can be a musical quandary, or perhaps there is a personal issue that you need a new perspective on, I'm your man.  And if I can't find the answer to your question or come up with the advice you need to get your life back on track, you can bet I'll make something up that will make you wonder why you asked me in the first place.  So there it is, happy 100th.
    Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

“In a letter to "Dear Abby" a reader complained that a gay couple was
moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to
improve the quality of the neighborhood.
Her suggestion - 'You could move.'”

Day Ninety Nine

Ninety nine!  I'm no math whiz, but if my calculations are correct, my next entry will mean I've been annoying innocent folks for one hundred editions of this blog.  If anyone's still hanging in there,  you obviously don't bore easily.
    If you attempted to listen to the music player I had on the blog, you may have noticed it was pretty crappy.  It was my first attempt at adding a player to the site, and I think I have found something better.  I've also edited the song a bit to allow for the MP3 format which tends to sound a bit thin when played through a computers speakers.  So I added little more reverb and and beefed up the bass frequencies a bit.
I also added a few new musical ideas to the mix, give it a listen.
   Have a great weekend, until next week here's your daily dose of wisdom:

You can't make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you're doing is recording it.
Art Buchwald 

Day Ninety Eight

  Another Veterans day has come and gone, and we're still sending kids off to be shot at by folks who under different circumstances would sit down together and shoot the breeze over a cold brew.   It's to bad we haven't learned to be a little more respectful of life.  

    This weekend the Ashley Trio will be playing at the Erna Nixon Park Moonlight Stroll.  That would be Norm McDonald, Bob Bronar and Me.  The park shuttles folks in from the Melbourne Mall west parking lot and music fills the park from various overlooks on the board walk.  It's a fun and inexpensive event.

   Until Tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:

     

“There was never a good war or a bad peace.”

Benjamin Franklin

Day Ninety Seven

  Not much to report today.  I worked on some recording stuff in the morning then worked down at the cabinet shop for about half the day.  

    I think the whole world is moving in slow motion these days.  Every project I've started lately is dragging on waiting for materials to be delivered.  I think the economy has got suppliers running inventories close to the bone.  And I saw an article today saying the Florida real estate market wont get back to 2006 prices until 2030!  Holy crap Marie, we're in for the long haul.  I think I'm going to buy some stock in Spam and Beanie Weenies, those items will be staples soon.  

Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

    When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. 

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Day Ninety Six

I started the day off right with a brisk motorcycle ride into work, the temperature was perfect and the sun was shining.  This is the time of year when everyone from New Jersey wants to pack up there golf clubs and head for Florida, how can you blame them.
    I'm slowly working my way through the Apple Pro Training course for Logic Pro 8.  I'm pretty familiar with most of the operations so far, but the short cuts and key commands to speed things up are a real help.  I'm sure I'll eventually get into some uncharted territory, a little brain exercise never hurt anyone.
Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

  Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before.  ~Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Day Ninety Five & Weekend Report

The weather was just awesome this weekend, anytime I'm not sweating and swatting mosquito's I'm a happy man.  Friday evening The Gang played at the Sebastian Library, we were competing with the annual Sebastian Clambake, but we had a great crowd just the same.  These old fish haven't started stinking yet!
  Saturday we played at the Barberville Fall Jamboree in beautiful Barberville, Fl.  The air was cool and delicious and the sun was shining all day, it just doesn't get any better than that.  The head honcho caught us as we were coming through the gate and asked if we'd like to do an additional set, I'm a pushover, so naturally I said yes.  It gave us about an hour to find everyone and fake our way through a set, it went just great.  The depot stage was being run by our friend Steve Waters from M. T. Pawketts productions, and he did a fantastic job with our sound,  Thanks Steve, your our hero.  Our last set was at 4:00 on the family stage and since we had some special guests show up, Paul and Kay's grandsons, we closed the set with our new crowd pleaser sing along, Yo Ho.
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Autumn would be the perfect time of year if it weren't for those pesky holidays.
  
  

Day Ninety Four

Hallelujah, we had rain today!  According to the National Weather Service this has been the driest October on record here in the sunburn state.  My garden is rejoicing in the gloriousness of it all, I can almost hear my beets singing.
    I should be preparing for tomorrow nights gig at the Sebastian Library right now, but first things first.  The blog must go on.  Speaking of that, I'll probably be MIA for tomorrow's edition.  The troops are coming over for the library gig and I'm sure will be deep into music land until we retire.  We are also playing Saturday at the Barberville Fall Jamboree, it's a two day festival but we'll only be there for Saturday.   The weather should be great, so get out and do something fun.

                                        
Until next week, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees.
David Letterman

Day Ninety Three

It's finally over, and not a moment to soon, I'm referring to the recent elections.  I've never seen so many folks lose their minds during a mid term election before.  Now that it's over we can get back to the reality of knowing that no matter who we elect, they're number one priority will be to make sure they don't leave capitol hill until they've socked away a few million bucks for themselves.  It's standard operating procedure, heck, it may even be a law.  Now that the republicans have moved up the food chain I can't wait to see them brainstorm us out of this crappy economy.  It's funny how these guys always know what needs to be done until they're elected.   I read somewhere the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect to get different results.  Welcome to Crazy Ville!
   Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back.


...Charlie Brown

Day Ninety Two

I recently ordered a book from Amazon.com from the Apple Pro Training series on Logic Pro 8.  Logic Pro 8 is the recording software I use in my home studio.  I thought I may as well try to learn something correctly rather than faking it as I usually do, I guess this would be considered home schooling.  The book arrived today and looks to be very well organized, with a DVD of exercises and lessons.  I took a quick look through the first chapter, since I've been using this program for a while I already had a pretty good handle on a lot of the basic information.  But I have vowed to take it all in and not let my ADHD get the better of me.  I'm hoping I'll glean some valuable knowledge that I might not otherwise be exposed to, I have already noticed the first session involves a rap style song made from loops.  We don't usually do this in acoustic music, it should be fun!
     Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Your never to old to learn something new.
     Father Time
    

Day Ninety One and the Weekend Update

I'll start off with Friday's adventures.  I worked all day in Cabinet Land, not much adventure there.  Friday evening we made our way down to Vero Beach to hear our good friends The Frank, Patty, and Gary Trio, they were playing at Bodega Blue.  Frank can play almost anything with strings on it, and he does it all well, Patty is a great vocalist and guitar player and Gary plays bass with Patti and Frank when he's not playing with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra.  The did a great job as always.  The place has some really tasty food and a beer selection that would blow your mind.  They have a great line up of musicians passing through their doors, make sure to check it out if your in the area.
   Saturday, Bob "Guitar" Bronar and I worked on getting the kinks out of our sound system.   We have two eight channel boards and when the entire Gang shows up we need to link them together to have enough channels for everyone.  We've never been able to make this work as intended, but with a little patience and a lot of head scratching, we figured it out.  Now we have sixteen channels to work with, bring on the pips.
   Sunday brought in some cooler air, so I got out in the yard and did some bush whacking.  After avoiding most outdoor activities for the entire summer, it was in need of some reigning in.  I wore myself out dragging giant palm fronds out to the curb. I did my best not to get stabbed by those deadly thorns from the Canary Island Palms, I think you could really do someone in with those things.
   I guess that's enough for now, until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

   A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D.  Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B.  ~"Fats" Domino