A lot can happen in a week

Ok, I have leased a townhouse with my fiance. It's great! It has a basement, complete with a full bathroom, laundry room, rec room, and MUSIC ROOM! Now this is a rental so any sound proofing I do will have to be easily removed. My current thoughts are to install a layer of drywall or sheet rock over the wall with maybe a half inch of air space between. That way layers are created with the sound barriers thereby depleting the sound better. Then I'll hang some heavy and thick velvet curtains so the place looks nice. The room is open so I'll have to double the curtains on that one side, and I'll have to figure out something for the ceiling, but I think it's going to be very possible.

Additionally, I've discovered a new song called "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's. It's a fantastic song that I've learned how to play with my style of playing. Hopefully, I'll learn how to play the actual picking later, but for now, it still sounds good to me. I'll hopefully debut it tonight at open mic night.

Ok, looking to a busy next two weeks as we move into our new place, and got to the Outer Banks for more wedding planning, and getting used to my new, much longer and worse, commute. I'll post when I can.

Leonard Cohen

Today is gorgeous. The weather is warm and breezy, and much longed for after the coldest february in memory. I am so ready for the warm weather. I played my guitar at lunch. I thought about taking it out of my car and playing on the grass and day dreaming of a lunch-time concert. That would be funny. But I just played it 3 levels underground in my car. I haven't played much this week at all and felt I need to shake the rust off for my hosting duties at the Calabash open mic tonight. Hopefully it will be warm enough to bring out lots of people and we can open the patio.

But while I was in the happy playful mood I was reading some of my usual go-to blogs on the internet. A post about Leonard Cohen caught my fancy. I looked him up, read his biography a bit and some of his poetry. I found this poem he wrote called Teachers:

TEACHERS

I met a woman long ago
Her hair the black that black can go
Are you a teacher of the heart
Soft she answered No

I met a girl across the sea
Her hair the gold that gold can be
Are you a teacher of the heart
Yes but not for thee

I met a man who lost his mind
In some lost place I had to find
Follow me the wise man said
But he walked behind

I walked into a hospital
Where none was sick and none was well
When at night the nurses left
I could not walk at all

Morning came
And then came noon
Dinner time a scalpel blade
Lay beside my spoon

Some girls wander by mistake
Into the mess that scalpels make
Are you the teachers of the heart
We teach old hearts to break

One morning I woke up alone
The hospital and the nurses gone
Have I carved enough, my Lord
Child, you are a bone

I ate and ate and ate
I did not miss a plate
How much do these suppers cost
We'll take it out in hate

I spent my hatred every place
On every work on every face
Someone gave me wishes
And I wished for an embrace

Several girls embraced me, then
I was embraced by men
Is my passion perfect
No, do it once again

I was handsome, I was strong
I knew the words of every song
Did my singing please you
No, the words you sang were wrong

Who is it whom I address
Who takes down what I confess
Are you the teachers of my heart
We teach old hearts to rest

Teachers are my lessons done
I cannot do another one
They laughed and laughed and laughed and said
Well child, are your lessons done
Are your lessons done

Since this is his poetry, and not a song (at least that I can tell), I think I'll try to put it to some music. I, like many before me, have learned to play Hallelujah and will most likely play it at my wedding, but I would love to put something else of Leonard Cohen's into my playlist. Something obscure that no one would really know, but, if I made it big, I could get some "street cred" for doing it.

just an update

Well, no further progress. Still haven't talked to Ponch about what I should do. Too much going on and I certainly don't expect him to return my call about the matter, he's done so much for me over the years on this stuff already.

Masked Marvel had a good show on Saturday. We played second and I let the other drummers of the evening share my drumset for smooth, quick transitions. We probably played the best show up to this point, which means that our show on Friday at the Red and Black should go like gang busters. We practice again tonight to work out a few kinks.

Otherwise, Annika and I went to Montclaire (Dumfries) to look at a townhouse. We hate that we love it. Its perfect for us in everyway except how far away it is. It even has a good basement for me to soundproof and do the recording deal. So we'll see if we get it. We will take another look on Saturday.

bad computer

So, I was unfortunate last night after all. It's getting to be that favorite time of year where everyone becomes Irish as St. Patty's day approaches, so even luck decided to turn into Murphy's Law last night. I stopped by Ponch's house to pick up a usable OS for the new computer since Dell apparently forgot to ship my parents original disk. Ponch actually gave me two to use just in case. Well the first one had a bad serial number. The second one rebooted my system, formatted my drives, copied the files, then restarted. And the restart went into a loop. It just kept loading the bios, then restarting. I tried to boot from the disk again, and that works fine, but as soon as windows wants to restart, it just goes into loop from the restart. So, it's for stupids. I'll have to pick the brains of someone who knows something. UGH!

In the mean time, I did learn America, Fuck Yeah! enough that I can fake my way through it. So that's cool. Always find a reason to smile. Life gets you down but there's always a reason to be happy. Tonight I'm practicing with Masked Marvel. That and we are drinking Yuengling and Whiskey. It's not Whiskey & Wine, but that's a personal thing anyway. This band likes to rock a little harder so wine won't do.

Hope for today

Last night was dead at open mic thanks primarily to the snow. I played a few songs that I haven't played in years as requests from the girls that work there. My confidence in doing songs I'm not sure I know all the lyrics too had drastically increased. I feel really good about it. Thankfully, Ponch and EJ made it out, as did a new artist, Charlie, with his father, Tim. I let Charlie play to his hearts content since we were pretty dead in the water with paying costumers. We ended early I packed and went home with Annika.

Some notes on songs I need to learn: Say it Ain't So by Weezer (why I haven't already learned it really is beyond me); America, Fuck Yeah! by the South Park Guys in their movie Team America. Those will be great additions to my live show.

Ok, besides that, wish me luck tonight. Hopefully, I can figure out a way to get an OS on this new computer and have it set up and ready to record before bedtime. That would be sweet!

Open Mic Night

Whew, what a night. I was barely at Firehouse Grill and it was still enough to tell a story. I knew Ponch could take care of it, but I still showed up for Charlie and JoAnne just to put in some face time on the front end. So I made sure Ponch and EJ (The Brothers Apaga) had everything they need. But it turns out they could have used better mic stands and mics. I gave them one of my mic stands and then realized I don't have my 2 new and good mics! Good thing I discovered that fact before showing up to my open mic tonight. But I called Calabash just to check, and Aaron assured me I had just left them there last week (smooth move, Dave).

Anyway, They grabbed my instrument mic to use for vocals and did the set up, then I got on stage and introduced myself and the Brothers Apaga and giving the talk for Charlie. Then I played a few songs. It must have turned out alright, because I got a pretty good reception and nicely surprised expressions. That always makes me feel good. And as I discussed with the guys that night, I chalked it up to experience. Which really is how it goes. The more you get up in front of an audience, the calmer and smoother your performance will go.

I finished my drink and drove home to the waiting fiance. Even then 6am came too early this morning. I am exhausted. I may need a power nap before going to my open mic tonight.

Recording Theory

I have class on Monday nights at George Mason University. I'm currently taking Macroeconomics and I'm in pursuance of a Masters in either Public Policy or Economics, tho they tell me there is the conbination "Public Choice" that I might want to consider. Anyway, last night just before class started I was talking to Ben. He is a fellow drummer that I met at Firehouse Grill and he has a band that has changed people and names many times over the past couple years. But always he and his guitarist are together. I think they are very good guys. He was telling me about his timing; he thinks he can't keep time to a metronome. He thinks it's especially bad when they are recording, he just doesn't like how it sounds.

Now, I'm no recording engineer. I have never taken a class. But I have been in several different studios and watched closely what the engineers do. It's a definite art form that I don't intend to master (I just want to record music my way and I don't care if you like it or not). These guys know their stuff and I can tell you it takes a lifetime to master these specific skills. One producer told me once that you never have the same guy master a recording that has just mixed it, AND the guy that masters it better have at least 10 years experience and some grey hair. I believe him. However, I also believe in the power of technology and I think the Mastering programs out there today have advanced enough that you can get a comparable sound without needing the years of experience and specific color hair. I said comparable, not better.

The reason I bring this up is because I've been day dreaming about recording for years now. And I've also learned a lot from the guys I have worked with. I have come up with a theory that I wasn't sure was entirely a new idea but telling Ben about it really seemed to open his mind about how to finish his recording process.

I told him to start a recording with a metronome and the singer/guitarist. Essentially record a real track but use it as a scratch track. Then track the rhythm sections but also use them as scratch tracks, each of them. When all of that is done, re-record everything but without the metronome. Have the guitarist go in there and play with the rhythm section only. Then have the rhythm section play again to just the guitarist and the other half of the rhythm section. When all is done have the singers record their final tracks and then mix only those last tracks.

The reason I like this is because good music to me is about feel. The musicians need to feel the music and not feel chained to a metronome to make the beet fit. Listening to the music is the most important part. But you also don't want foolish unkept music... usually. So using the metronome as a guide is important, but not for the track you want recorded... you want to follow the music. Ben seemed very receptive to this thought. And it had me thinking just how often recording engineers and musicians recorded this way. I know studio time is expensive so when not as rich musicians go into a studio they try to record the best version on the first take, but if I'm going to have my own studio, I might as well make the time factor work for me. I may not have the greatest skills or equipment, but I'll make the best out of what I do have to work with.

In the mood for a post

Just in the mood for updating. Still haven't done anything towards recording. But a good friend of mine runs the original open mic (well, the original to me, it's how I know anything about it) over at Firehouse Grill in Old Town Fairfax. He's been doing that gig for probably 5 years now. But he asked if I would take over tonight. I want to. I would like to. But as stressed as my schedule is, and with an almost completely differing schedule with my fiance, I have to pass. Well I thought I did. I said yes to him knowing that if, in fact, I could not, I could call my friend Ponch to do it as he usually subs for me at my open mics. Well, now I'm told it would be best if I at least show up at the beginning and get the ball rolling. I'm ok with that, you get all the front end, without having to stay the whole night and not get sleep for a 6am alarm. But you also barely get the pay. Which is most of the reason I want to take over tonight. My fiance wants me to call the owner, whom I know very well, to see if I can talk my way out of it and just let Ponch run it. It is worth it to her to have me home for the night at 9:30 instead of getting the money I'd get otherwise, even if I'm home by 10:30 or 11. I see her point, we don't have any time together this week until bed time. None, really Monday through Saturday despite essentially living together. Then we spend all of our time together sleeping. I know I can call the owner and tell her the situation and all will be just peachy, but I think that reflects poorly on me. I think the best scenario is for me to go out there, start the open mic a little early so I can play and have a beer with the bartenders and friends, make sure Ponch is ready to go, and then leave to be home with Annika as soon as possible....

... And this is why I don't have nearly enough time for recording. Did I mention I also have practice with Masked Marvel tonight at my house in Alexandria at 7pm? So I woke up at 6am in Alexandria to drive to Tyson's Corner by 9am (1 hour in traffic), so I'll drive back to Alexandria (usually about 45 min) by 7pm and then drive out to Old Town Alexandria (25 min) by 9:30pm only to return home in Alexandria again asap... we are shooting for 10:30/11ish here. Then wake back up at 6am and do it again.... Only I'll be at my open mic by 8pm and won't be home till 2am....

At least Thursday night I will have some time back in the recording. Also, Annika claims to be babysitting for a while friday night, so I might actually have time, if all goes well, to do some REAL recording for a change. Oh I hope this is not me getting my hopes to high.

Small progress

Ok, life has not shown any slowdown! wow. But last night I hung out with my parents and fiance in the kitchen of my parents place. Annika did homework, my mother was able to burn irish songs and a learning video for her schools, my father helped me and Annika in our work, and I fixed their new computer. It is completely updated with the latest and greatest plus the little niknaks that they requested. They are ready to roll with the new computer.

This means I can take their computer, wipe it clean and set it up as a dedicated recording machine. This is exciting. But, I have class tonight, band practice tomorrow, open mic wednesday, but I think Thursday I'll have time to do it. I will need that long to find an OS that I can install cleanly anyhow. But These are good healthy steps.

I also made it to the Shotglass / Jackie Gino show this weekend... I should mend that to say I arrived on time for Shotglass but had forgotten my wallet in my jacket at my friend Wesley's friends house way across town. So after a lot lot LOT of figurative roadblocks, we made it to see Jackie Gino. And they put on a great show per usual, but they also inspired my writing juices again. I picked up a guitar this morning and, with their style in mind, started to write a new rift. I doubt anything will come of that rift (not that good) but it makes me want to sit down and write some more. Just need the time.

I also finally put the rest of my heads on the RetroSpec, and she sounds so much sweeter with those heads. A Rich deep sound that is no longer plasticy sounding. I get to practice with Masked Marvel tomorrow night and will get to break the heads in proper with their lively sound.
Hopefully friday I'll have some new info regarding my new recording machine. But, a lot to do in the mean time...