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No, not the Cars song (I'm full of semi-obscure references). Feels like a cold/flu is coming on. And we have studio time tomorrow and Sunday. Gotta go take some vitC and pray for strength. And listen to the 2 new tunes we wrote. I can say without hestitation that this band is developing a great "sound". Venus is the best singer I've ever worked with, and one of the best I've ever heard. Trust me...the EP is going to be amazing.
Sometimes in life you have regrets. For me they seem to crop up when things are going well or poorly. In other words, when at the extremes the "what ifs" come to the fore. The latest one to run through my head hit home after 2 days in the studio, then a few nights of mixing late at night after work (and everyone is off to bed), then rehearsal where we wrote a new song as a group. The last two times we ran the song before ending rehearsal, I got chills. Those "lost in the music" chills. The chills that I get listening to certain music, felt at at the Universal Steely Dan show when they played home at last, and what I get with a lot of Simpleflower music. I wake up in the middle of the night with Back Inside and House of Lords running through my head. Haunting me.
So what of the regrets? Well, after 4 years of trying to be a rock guitarist in San Diego (and the requisite other parts of the scene), I decided to go to college. I entered as a music major, but at some point got sidetracked and ended up with a degree in chemistry. Mostly, I switched becuase I knew I could get a job as a chemistry teacher...a sure thing...employable. With a music degree I wanted to score films, but that is a tough industry...not a sure thing. Most people end up doing private lessons, hustling various gigs, just to make ends meet. Did I really want to teach music to 8th graders as a fall back position? So I took the "sure thing." And actually, I ended up getting a Ph.D. so I could teach at college, got my "dream job" at the Claremont Colleges, but eventually decided that I didn't want to do chemistry research, so I left that after 5 years. I suppose that was a bit of a risk, as I gave my notice in January of '00 before I had another job. But I landed on my feet at USC, getting a salary bump, then getting another position at USC with a serious salary bump. Along the way I got married and had a son who is now 7 (and ADHD, but that is another story).
So happy ending, right? Good job, good wife (who also is a chemistry Ph.D. and now an attorney), nice house, sweet Porsche 911SC (albeit 24 years old) in the garage. And I still play music on the side. Have cake, eat it too.
But no, instead regrets. Would have, should have, could have. What are you asking? And why? Well, when I get the chills, I know what moves my soul. Music. So part of me is really angry for not following my heart and soul instead of a "safe" route. And now, is it too late? Once you have a kid and a mortgage, it gets tough. But I can't just run away and join the circus (so to speak). Instead I try to work around the edges, and look for opportunities where I can find them. And try to think about what could be, instead of what might have been.
What does this all mean? I have to keep playing music. And look for ways to play more and better music. Try and move heaven and earth to get things created before it's too late. Do some short tours (gotta find a nanny to take my place at home). It would be a hell of a lot easier to just "settle down", cash my paycheck, and watch tv. But I can't. I have to play music. I have to play it better than I did yesterday.
Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
An interesting review of some of the mainstream articles regarding the MUDDA formed by Peter Gabriel and Brina Eno. Suffice it to say that this issue is near and dear to my heart as Simpleflower is in the studio right now. I also had a meeting with people from Sony music last week, as we will be working with them as a partner in the Campus Action Network. It is interesting to see how various parts of the industry try and "battle" the problem that the digital technologies have created.
I''ll stay away from my Digidesign, Microsoft, and other rants, but instead just stick to a brief bit on the recording industry. The elephants are still desperately hanging on to a model formed int he 60''s. It''s like ProTools is a "fad" (kinda like the radio industry when TV came along). DIGITAL CHANGES EVERYTHING. THE NETWORK CHANGES EVERYTHING. Sorry to yell, but a lot of people still don''t seem to get it. While we haven''t worked out very much of the real implications and permutations induced by living digital, even the tip of the iceberg is large. And fascinating.
Working...
Well, Bob Keeshan died today (cnn story). He was Captain Kangaroo. I didn''t really watch the show, so I''m not sure why I care. I suppose it is becuase I consider myself a child of the TV generation, as evidenced by one of my recent long lyrics. So I guess it is important in some global psychological way...
So the band next to us in the rehearsal space is loud. Damn loud. Here we are trying to do some last minute tuning of songs for studio time this weekend, and it''s a non-stop bombardment of 20-something boom-shalock-lock-boom. Man, they''re loud. Last week I threw a minor hissy refusing to play while they were boom-boom-booming along. It was just so loud that I couldn''t hear what we were doing, and thought that playing was actually counter-productive.
I''m such a prima-donna. Or prima-todda.
Well, another day, the other hand problem. This time, it''s my right hand. The pinky and ring finger don''t really want to move much. That makes plucking the bass strings a little difficult. And as an added bonus, my left thumb is acting up again. So it looks like a more ice and more rest for me, although I''ve got rehearsal on Thursday night, and studio time coming up this weekend. I''m wondering if the new medication to lower my cholesterol is causing some of these problems. Better living through chemistry.
When it rains, you get wet. And I''m a very good driver in the rain. Well, I rested my thumb until rehearsal on Saturday, and all went well. Although I still could tell that it wasn''t quite right, and I didn''t want to do much vibrato as that puts extra pressure on the thumb.
So today my pinky on the *right* hand starts acting up. Typing is a pain (pun intended). You''d think I was old or something...
So the latest trend in Spam is modified spelling of words. Most of the anti-Spam software algorithms look at word content, and by adding a number or a punctuation mark in the middle of a word, the spammers avoid the anti-Spam software. If only they could use all that ingenuity for something useful.
Well, we''re experimenting this new technology. Due to the problems with my hands, I''ve been looking for new ways to enter text without using a keyboard. In the past I''ve used ViaVoice on the Mac, but I isn''t been unimpressed. Seven write-down of writing this using NaturallySpeaking on a tablet PC. As much as I disrust Microsoft and paint entrusting or of my life to their products, the tablet has some real uses. The speech recognition software is so-so, as while it recognizes fairly well. It makes stupid mistakes and then it often is difficult to correct them. However, a hands are very happy not having to type this.
More on this as it develops...
Well, our and are usually stands for rest and relaxation. Well I''m trying to do the rest part, the relaxation is more difficult to find. It''s difficult when you think that your musical career might be an end. Of course, I always jump to the worst-case scenario. It''s the fatalistic streak in me. The problem is, a base or guitar player isn''t really much good if their hands don''t work. I even got worried enough to pull out some old piano music starts saying, if I could get my keyboard chops up. Of course that requires hands too.
Should really be this difficult to get a cell phone? All I want is for it to replace a whole bunch of devices. I want to keep track of my calendar, contacts, and tasks. I need to check my e-mail when I''m on the road. And a camera might be sassy. Oh yeah, and I won a small form factor with a clamshell. Sad to say, the new Microsoft OS smart phones look like they might be a decent choice. I might try the Samsung 600 unit and see how it goes. Then there is the whole question of which carrier to go with, although right now, I''ve been getting decent service with verizon. The search continues...
I''m still tired. To be continued...
I'm tired...
Well, what a festive couple of days. Sunday started auspicously enough, with a surf session gone bad (see previous post). Then rehearsal with a guitarist audition that was ok, but not a right fit. Then after rehearsal a slight pain at the base of my thumb. Then not so slight. Then excrutiating if I moved my thumb the wrong way. By Sunday night I was unable to brush my teeth using my left hand (and I''m left handed). Monday it remained bad, and I was unable to get ahold of my doctor (that is a whole other story). Tuesday morning it was still bad, and I managed to get an appointment to see an orthopedic guy. As luck would have it the pain subsided, but the diagnosis based on the xrays is in: arthritis. Gee, that''s just dandy. More later..
My left thumb doesn''t work, I''m left-handed, I can''t play my bass, I can barely write or type (or mouse). 20+ calls to my doctor today...either a busy signal, or a voice mail system that goes in circles. Never did get through. Thank gawd I pay hundreds of dollars a month for health car insurance...
Rehearsal today...went fine. Then the left thumb starts hurting. Now I can''t move without screaming in pain. It hurts to type this. I''ll never play music again. Time to eat a glock...
so jsepeta says: "oh, please spare us the bs. ClearChannel decides what they want to market, and the labels all have to kiss ClearChannel''s buns. while using modern tools like loop manipulators might put one into the ''britney pop throwaway music'' category, it won''t necessarily bestow her girlish figure on you. so garageband should be seen as a fun toy/tool, but not necessarily something that will make you a "star". the age of the album is dead; long live the single.
and I sez: "Not sure what part of my post was BS. I''m in total agreement about the evil that is CC, but the relationship isn''t quite as one-way/black-white as you paint it. Maybe for indies, but not for the big 5.
And I"m not denigrating loops...I think they can be used in pop nonsense as well as "serious" music (whatever that is). And I never said GB will make anyone a star...merely that it empowers people to MAKE something instead of CONSUME something. As to the quality, that is up to the person.
The dynamic between consumer and producer is changing. Yes, CC controls a scary number of radio stations. We are at a tipping point in history. The next few years will be critical with regards to content creation and the state of the commons. Tools that enable people to move into an active role help attenuate the power being amased by entities like CC via activities legal and otherwise. You only need to look to bbs'' and weblogs to see the possibilities. Go to Google, enter "miserable failure" and click "I''m feeling lucky. That result was the organized unwashed masses, not CC.
Well, another day, another bit of controversey on the OSX Audio board. I continued on my rant against those who I view as "artistes". One person made a distinction between using canned loops and making your own...with the undercurrent being that canned loops weren''t "music" but if you made your own it was somehow inherently superior. My reply:', 'sorry, but I call more "artiste" nonsense by making a distinction between canned loops and "real" homemade loops. If the final product sounds good and moves people, it is immaterial what and how loops were made. Creating a loop from a sample clearly takes more expertise, but imho it does nothing to guarantee the "musicianistic" quality of what comes out the backend.
hey, a new word.
I know web developers that poo-poo anything but a text editor for creating web pages. Then there are people that use graphic tools. Then there are people who use weblogs that automate the entire process of creating the presentation of electronic words, except for the arrangement on the page. None of these guarantees good or bad results.
Not a perfect analogy, but you get the idea. I''m not saying that musicianship is dead, nor am I saying that loops are the be-all and end-all. But, the emergence of apps like this often point out the elitism and snobbery that pervades the arts. And I think those attributes are what helps to kills the arts in society
New Year''s resolutions? Naw...too much to think about. Although I would like to sort out my electronic nonsense. Right now, I''ve got an iPod (can''t live without it), a cell phone, Palm pda, PocketPC pda, G4 laptop (can''t live without it), and TabletPC (NEC, very thing), digital camera. Too much stuff to keep track of. So why all the things? Well, for one, since I do bleeding edge media for a living, I need to have devices to test our content. I also am looked upon for advice on how to do things. Anyway, here''s my early new year assesment of my stuff, and what I do/don''t like.', 'iPod - no brainer. Great. The only thing I wish it could do is accept data input (other than with a microphone). Keeper.
cell phone - no brainer...I have to have a phone. BUT, why can''t it do something else? There are ones that do (camera, pda, etc) but I don''t like any of them. The new MS phone scares the heck out of me, and you can''t use a stylus. Frankly, I don''t like navigating with buttons, and it took me too long to figure out just how to use it like a phone. The Treo600 is too bulky and I HATE the mini keyboards....uggh. The old Treos were too big, and the Kyocera is too big too. Still waiting on this front, but I''ve got to replace my v60 as I''ve broken 5 antennas now (I carry the phone in my pocket).
laptop - no brainer. G4 ti book. I''d like to get the new Al body version, but my Ti book has been running flawlessly for well over a year, so why upgrade.
pda - well, I need one to remind me about things. It is also nice to have something to take quick (and sometimes not so quick) notes on. I really want to like Palm, but Grafitti2 is unusable to me. OK for writing a few words, but beyond that, hopeless. In a terrifying state of affairs, I actually like PocketPC2003 fairly well, and the new HP hardware is very good. I can use my 2215 for writing, although the screen is still too small for taking "proper" notes (I like to diagram). So still not perfect, and I don''t really like having MS products controlling my life. So, still undecided. I want a "new" Newton 2100, but that isn''t likely to happen.
tabletPC - an interesting beast. The OS isn''t quite as nice as the PocketPC and you have to have a special pen to use it (bummer if you''ve lost it). But the new NEC VersaPad is a great form factor, very thin and light. And it is big enough to use for taking notes...I can diagram to my hearts content. And I have to admit that the new OneNote app is pretty nice and useful. I have been using the tablet at meetings and it works fairly well. Battery life could be longer (about 2 hours), but not too bad. I still wish it were a bit smaller, but it is pretty close. Same caveat though about having an MS product rule my life.
So, the solution? Apple needs to make a tablet and/or enable data entry in the iPod. I''d like my phone to do more, and my v60 does have calendar functionality that will sync with iSync, but I can''t yet get iSync to talk to our Exchange backend at work (hopefully in January when we upgrade our back end). If my phone can do basic calendar/contact stuff (which it should), syncing with my desktop, then I''m set there. The iPod can just do music and store files, and the tablet can be used for notes, or I can use paper.
Awhile back I had thought about iPod recording audio at meetings, and my Digital Elph snapping pictures of white board drawings. Still haven''t implemented that, but it is a thought. Maybe MacWorld will bring something interesting...
Hey, I was just trying to rhyme. For those keeping track, my car is back out of the shop after an argument with a large chunk of concrete (tossed into my path by another car). I had a few modifications done, and unfortunately I don''t like them, so I''m swtiching the car back to stock. The bad thing is everything cost more than expected, so I''m out of pocket pushing 5 figures. Ouch. Now I''ve got to scramble and try and find the guy who caused the concrete to be in the freeway and see if I can get his insurance to reimburse me. Fun. Double fun. And to make matters worse, my car now has no front valence since I took the new fiberglass one off (and couldn''t get my old banged up one back on). So I shouldn''t really drive the car until next week. But then I''ve got to wait to get a valence, then get it painted, then mount it up.
Could be worse...I could have been hurt.
Well, the new year is here. To paraphrase Pete Townsend, "meet the new year...same as the old year." 2003 ended on an ausipicous note, as I had to pay out of pocket for many thousands of $$$''s in repairs on my car. It could have been worse I suppose...it could be medical bills being paid.
The new year starts off looking towards recording an EP with Simpleflower, cranking out publications at work, and working on my album. I''ve got a bunch of new tunes, and they just need to be worked out.