<-- (Logan 5 & Basic with their racquetball fly girls)
So in my quest to become a better electronic musician and composer, I am loading my Macbook up with more RAM and getting ready to bust out Ableton Live 6 on the thing. Since I have no patience in my old age to completely relearn a new DAW all by myself, I have enlisted the help of Logan 5, a man of many talents who knows much more about the app than me.
In response to my request for help, he replied with a payment plan of sorts: racquetball, one time a week. I of course complied and am looking forward to these racquetball adventures although I've played the game once or twice in my life. Years of martial arts training under my belt has convinced me that I can handle this indoor flourescent lit game. Spending time with my fellow electronic musician, fellow dad, fellow married guy with 2 kids is bound to be a good time no matter how you slice and sequence it.
I requested that we wear short shorts with tube socks and headbands with the Atari logo on them with the cheesy plastic eye protectors. I'll be shopping for thrift store tennis shoes soon.
Game on y'all.
So Friday night I went over to Logan 5's new home studio he built in his garage. It is a proper set up indeed. Sound damping, thick walls with something called "green glue", a sound damping product apparently. The central core computer stands like an altar.
Logan 5 is an encyclopedia of knowledge on many fronts. Studio building, electronic music labels, DAW's --- he's a good guy to know for a guy like me. There are many things to learn from this man...the keeper of the Temple of Boom.
More producers need to show up next time. I hope some day that it will become the meeting place for an electronic sound terrorist cell where we can plan insurgent beats on open mics and concert halls.
... I was nitty-gritty beat editing now.
... I was wearing flip-flops.
... I could beatbox
... more people understood my motives
... I hadn't spilled coffee on my jacket
... Reason had direct recording capabilities
... my music was better
... I had studied music theory when I was 3
... cigarettes weren't so wonderful to smoke
Off to a nice start with the Bumper Car City soundtrack. Just wrapped up the beginning of the opening sequence and am setting down the headphones now that I have a nice kernel to work with later. We'll get into the nitty-gritty beat editing later.
Having lots of fun with the project already and love that there's nothing else looming over my head so I can give this project my undivided attention. I think that people who know my music won't expect the soundtrack to sound the way it's going to. I'll upload little samples of progress later.
I had a great weekend. Today, the highlight was cooking up this pasta dish with napa cabbage, ham and carmelized onion in a cream sauce. Sawyer, my five month old was sitting at the table in his new little table chair now that he can almost sit up on his own. My 2 year old was messing around in the living room with his trains and trucks.
I was cooking, which always makes me happy. I was going to work on music tonight but decided against it, I'd rather do it tomorrow early in the morning.
I had the beginnings of a song in my head on the balcony smoking a cigarette just a few minutes ago. A song that feels like a contented weekend with my family I love so much. The two boys that are so incredibly different but obviously brothers, and my beautiful wife. Sometimes I feel like I fell into the American Dream by accident, except that mine is the real one that so many others misinterpret and become miserable in the quest to achieve something that seemed to come to me because I was destined for it.
Weekend...a track to start tomorrow on Monday.
Free at last. I just composed this little piano + synth ditty last night. I used to make these little sketches often, but haven't lately so I'm making an effort to experiment more and write little quick tracks. Many times, these sketches lead to elements that end up in more composed pieces. I wrote this in one take per each of the three tracks.
It was so much fun to make something that I had no expectations or self-imposed pressure with. Enjoy this glimpse into my sketch book.
What a place. What potential. What a crowd. What gifted people live with us in this town.
Those were my thoughts I walked away with on Saturday night. TION is a place that a lot of things could be born in. I loved the huge projection wall and the sound was great until it broke.
I'm really glad that the show is over. Anytime I play out I get all stressed about handling music that was made in the past. I get so sick of my tracks and inspired to move on and make more in different directions. I get my creative license back after a show and end up experimenting again. I'm looking forward to sitting down, late at night or early in the morning, to put on my headphones and write piano pieces or design sounds that are pretty much unusable but a lot of fun to create.
I don't want to play for a while. Maybe an open mic to test out some meditative ambient piece. Another thing about playing a whole set is that I get really bored with myself. It feels so self-indulgent. About 40 minutes into it I start to think about how much more fun I could be having experiencing other people's creations, reading my friend's new book, staring at a mural, standing slack-jawed in front of La Fin Du Monde. 30 minute sets are better I guess.
Kyle Delmar called me out on the infrequency of this blog. I'm back on track with that and thanks for holding me accountable. I didn't know anybody actually read this.
Raul Gonzo's film awaits and I was having a lot of trouble getting creatively invested into that effort with the TION set looming large. Well now I'm free at last and can get back to work.
I had a lot of fun on Saturday night. Keep an eye on that place, the potential is oozing from the walls. It will be interesting to watch what is or isn't realized from that.
To those who came out, thanks so much and I'm always enriched by the people I meet and inspired by other art and mediums.
GRAND OPENING of TION is tonight babies.
Lot's of Music and excitement will be there. Many bands, artists, circus freaks, etc.
And basic will be on at
12:30am
See you there.
www.sparktheevolution.com
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