I received my new Apple wireless keyboard and mouse today, awesome pieces of equipment. I've been trying to record myself, and I can tell you it's not easy running back and forth from the computer to the chair with three mic stands in the way. Someone or something was going to get seriously injured. So now all I need to do is program in some key commands and set the keyboard next to me on a small table and Voila! I'm thinking that I may be able to pass an OSHA inspection now.
My E-bay items are nearing the exciting final hours tomorrow. The end game frenzy is really the best part, I can imagine all those bidders with their own quirky methodology for getting the final bid in at the precise last moment. You've got to love the competition of it all, who needs soccer!
I'll let you off easy tonight, until tomorrow.
Your Daily words of wisdom:
"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
Bill Gates
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Day Twelve
I managed to control my intake of muffins today, for as Ben Franklin once said, " A little bit of Muffin goes a long way." He may have been referring to something else, I don't know. That may not be a direct quote, but creative license can make for a much more enjoyable reading experience.
I spent some time in the studio today mixing and massaging some tracks, searching for the holy grail.
It would have been great to have had this equipment and musical interest as a young sprout, I can only imagine the many hours I could have wasted while accidentally learning a useful trade. But I was raised in the firm belief that no one enjoys their job, and that going to work every day and doing something you hate is just a fact of life. I never even questioned this philosophy, did someone say no re-do's?
I started working on a new song today, it's coming along well. I should have it pretty well wrapped up tomorrow. I'll take it for a spin and see if it has any staying power. You never know if it's a keeper until you've worked all the kinks out and played it for a while. If you lose interest in it, then it probably isn't worth dragging around and irritating people with. A lot of folks are to polite to tell you when you suck, this is when your friends are very important to the process. I've been writing for a while, so I pretty much know when I suck, but it's always good for someone to confirm your suckiness.
Until Tomorrow
Today Words of Wisdom:
Bacteria is sometimes the only culture some people have.
I spent some time in the studio today mixing and massaging some tracks, searching for the holy grail.
It would have been great to have had this equipment and musical interest as a young sprout, I can only imagine the many hours I could have wasted while accidentally learning a useful trade. But I was raised in the firm belief that no one enjoys their job, and that going to work every day and doing something you hate is just a fact of life. I never even questioned this philosophy, did someone say no re-do's?
I started working on a new song today, it's coming along well. I should have it pretty well wrapped up tomorrow. I'll take it for a spin and see if it has any staying power. You never know if it's a keeper until you've worked all the kinks out and played it for a while. If you lose interest in it, then it probably isn't worth dragging around and irritating people with. A lot of folks are to polite to tell you when you suck, this is when your friends are very important to the process. I've been writing for a while, so I pretty much know when I suck, but it's always good for someone to confirm your suckiness.
Until Tomorrow
Today Words of Wisdom:
Bacteria is sometimes the only culture some people have.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Day Eleven & Weekend Update
This weekend was HOT!!! I'm pretty sure everyone else from the state has either headed for the Carolina mountains or has hunkered down in the AC. I usually go through a Summer depression, similar to what the northern folks go through in the winter months, cabin fever Florida Style. Except for the occasional trip to Home Depot and the grocery store, the paparazzi probably wont catch me out on the streets.
I did get in a short recording session with one of my regular studio peeps on Sunday. Things went really well and she was here and gone in a flash. We layed down the guitar and vocal tracks for one of her songs and then did a track of harmony vocals. There's nothing better than someone who comes in and knows what they want to do, and just does it. Ahmen!
Today was relatively uneventful. I worked on mixing some tunes, I believe there is some kind of magic in the art of mixing, I need one of those Harry Potter wands. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, oh, they are!
I also made some of my Magic Muffins, pat. Pending. I came up short on some of my standard magic ingredients and had to improvise, yes, scary. I got hooked on these things a long time ago, like some kind of muffin junky, I can't get this muffin off my back. It's a major undertaking to whip up a batch of these things, the ingredient list is as long as my arm, but like every good junky, I have no choice in the matter. At least not until someone performs a muffin intervention.
Until tomorrow, I'm off to get a muffin!
Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
~Sicilian Proverb
I did get in a short recording session with one of my regular studio peeps on Sunday. Things went really well and she was here and gone in a flash. We layed down the guitar and vocal tracks for one of her songs and then did a track of harmony vocals. There's nothing better than someone who comes in and knows what they want to do, and just does it. Ahmen!
Today was relatively uneventful. I worked on mixing some tunes, I believe there is some kind of magic in the art of mixing, I need one of those Harry Potter wands. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, oh, they are!
I also made some of my Magic Muffins, pat. Pending. I came up short on some of my standard magic ingredients and had to improvise, yes, scary. I got hooked on these things a long time ago, like some kind of muffin junky, I can't get this muffin off my back. It's a major undertaking to whip up a batch of these things, the ingredient list is as long as my arm, but like every good junky, I have no choice in the matter. At least not until someone performs a muffin intervention.
Until tomorrow, I'm off to get a muffin!
Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
~Sicilian Proverb
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Day Ten
Sorry I'm late with the Friday report, but we went out to dinner last night with our good friends Norm and Maggie. Norm sings, plays percussion, and accordion in The Ashley Gang, and has been a musical compadre of mine for some time. Maggie is a wonderful person and the perfect compliment to Norm's normishness. They are relocating about four and a half hours north of us, so this was the big kiss off. We will miss Norm's peculiar insight into the world, he knows things that most folks don't want to know. Cover your ears Helen!!
My E-bay adventures have leveled off, I'm watching things percolate right now. I think I may actually sell this stuff. I'm starting to look around the house for other things I can put a price tag on. This is a good way to clean house and put a little money in the pocket, heck, nobody will miss that big TV that was just hanging around on the living room wall!
I'm pondering upgrading my recording program, I use Logic Pro 8 right now, and I've really come to like it. But Logic Pro 9 has been out for a little while and I hear it calling my name. It has some new and exciting features that 8 doesn't have, someone get this devil off my shoulder!
The rest of my recording rig works great and I think will be with me for some time. I use a Fireface 800 to connect my inputs to my Mac Pro, it works flawlessly and sounds great. I have two Aphex stereo tube preamps and an Avalon designs VT737sp, the only other thing I'm lusting over, right now, is a Neumann TLM49 microphone. I'm using an Audio Technica 4050 for vocals right now, and it really does a great job, but, there's that devil again!
I guess that's a wrap for today, or yesterday. Here's your words of wisdom.
If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day.
John A. Wheeler
My E-bay adventures have leveled off, I'm watching things percolate right now. I think I may actually sell this stuff. I'm starting to look around the house for other things I can put a price tag on. This is a good way to clean house and put a little money in the pocket, heck, nobody will miss that big TV that was just hanging around on the living room wall!
I'm pondering upgrading my recording program, I use Logic Pro 8 right now, and I've really come to like it. But Logic Pro 9 has been out for a little while and I hear it calling my name. It has some new and exciting features that 8 doesn't have, someone get this devil off my shoulder!
The rest of my recording rig works great and I think will be with me for some time. I use a Fireface 800 to connect my inputs to my Mac Pro, it works flawlessly and sounds great. I have two Aphex stereo tube preamps and an Avalon designs VT737sp, the only other thing I'm lusting over, right now, is a Neumann TLM49 microphone. I'm using an Audio Technica 4050 for vocals right now, and it really does a great job, but, there's that devil again!
I guess that's a wrap for today, or yesterday. Here's your words of wisdom.
If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day.
John A. Wheeler
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Day Nine
OK, so I have a few extra musical gizmos hanging around the studio, and I figure I can tidy up a bit by selling them on E-bay. I do a mini photo shoot of everything, and get them all listed, feeling like I've accomplished something. Then sit back and wait.... for all the stupid questions I'm going to get. One guy asks me if I have a picture of this particular item working? I don't know how a picture of a CD duplicator working would really prove anything, but I plugged her in and took a couple shots with the lights on. Yes, another happy customer. Then I get a question about a guitar preamp, asking if I can describe the tones which are possible from this unit.
Oh man, this is not going to be as easy as I had thought. I sent him back a list of the various controls on the unit and hoped he had a good imagination. I guess I could have said something like, "dude the tones from this mother will melt your panty hose", but I've never actually seen this happen, so I'd be lying.
It's obvious to me, and probably anyone who knows me, that my career as a salesman would have been a very short one. My interpersonal skills are somewhat lacking, I've even been described by some as grumpy. "He's the nicest grump I know" is the usual description people give of me. But I manage to remain up beat even in the midst of adversity. It really throws people off to encounter an upbeat grump, they just don't know how to handle that.
Well I think that's it for today. Here are your daily words of wisdom:
Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it. ~Author Unknown
Oh man, this is not going to be as easy as I had thought. I sent him back a list of the various controls on the unit and hoped he had a good imagination. I guess I could have said something like, "dude the tones from this mother will melt your panty hose", but I've never actually seen this happen, so I'd be lying.
It's obvious to me, and probably anyone who knows me, that my career as a salesman would have been a very short one. My interpersonal skills are somewhat lacking, I've even been described by some as grumpy. "He's the nicest grump I know" is the usual description people give of me. But I manage to remain up beat even in the midst of adversity. It really throws people off to encounter an upbeat grump, they just don't know how to handle that.
Well I think that's it for today. Here are your daily words of wisdom:
Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it. ~Author Unknown
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