Writing music before I record it.

Our new studio room is getting there. Mattresses over windows and in practice rooms help get the tone right for lots of jammin’, We just happened to have an old mattress.

New old concept around here.

One of the things I love about having recording equipment is getting ideas, and throwing them on tape. For the album we are on right now, the record button isn’t getting pressed until all the music is written.

I am learning the process of turning my computer into an old console virtually. Since I don’t plan on using AI features or repairing files, I don’t need extensive tools for that. It’s going to sound good before mixing begins.. just need a console.

You may have a home studio, but do you have a writing station? lol.

We are set up in the dining room with a writing station, an instrument or two, spiral notebooks, maybe a phone.. and that’s it. The songs are being written in their entirety before we even turn any equipment on. All of them. Writing phase, recording phase, mixing phase, mastering phase. 20 songs. It’s a cool way to be. It’s not the only way, but a cool way.

I blame this recording experience in Houston for my current philosophy. I got to play with these files and I had never mixed anything like them before that. They just sound good. I like that kind of mixing.

When you play it on an instrument and sing, does it sound good before you record it?

I am in love with the idea of making songs you like hearing before recording even comes into play. The rehearsal. The time with guitars. The conversations with Keri. The editing. It’s easy to skip a lot of that, but that’s the fun part for me.

I say “work in progress” a lot. When I am happy, I am usually working on something… like a recording and mixing space.

The voice muscle loves practice.

Vocals seem to appreciate this method too. The more I sing a song, the better it sounds. Period. Don’t know why I act like I don’t know this for myself. I do.

The Myrtle has a high range for proximity effect. It’s just not designed for being up close. I put a pop filter on mine even though I don’t need it. If anyone uses it, no proximity effect that way. The singer stays back. Everyone wins.

No jank!

There’s jank in a lot of hurried music out there. I’m trying to go for no jank, just smooth.

Why rob myself of the parts I enjoy doing?

What I really love is writing and making records. If I take out the ingredients required in making songs how I like, not only am I in an unfamiliar territory sound wise, I’m not having the fun I’m after to begin with. It’s like robbing myself, before anyone even hears it.

Bliss.

About mixing.

Mixing isn’t my strong suit, but I’m learning that great performance, solid material, and recording well make for the easiest of mixing. If I’m not a good mixer, my best shot at making something folks want to hear is capturing great performances. There’s not much to do to them in the computer. But repairing files? See ya. I’ll just play it right.

Sadie likes to hang out in the writing station too.

Back to the writing station.

Everything goes back to writing it all in the dining room with Keri, to me. There’s something in that. It makes the home studio better. Practice, thinking, application, research. What’s wrong with that stuff?

It has to do with practice.

I like jamming a lot and recording that too. But for me and Keri’s kind of music with lyrics, harmonies, and structure, practice makes perfect.

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Gene Simmons has been a jack ass my entire life. Nothing new. I don’t like the rock and roll hall of fame either..But it is because Gene is in there.

I mention the liberal leaning commentary in the editorial. The conservative side is ridiculous with it too. No one gets out alive.

Editorial:

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

Alarmist, Alarmism, Alarms..

We live in a crazy time, no doubt. I would never say we didn’t. To some folks that means opportunity. I’m talking about alarmists. All kinds of journalistic heroes I grew up with have gone the way of alarmism. Even former Whitehouse cabinet, yep. Folks I used to respect a lot, now shouting for ratings.

I spent a long time thinking about burnout.. I read about it. I watched a film on it. I came up with “Burnout can disguise itself as frustration at not being heard. And it often does.”

Burnout is different.

It’s one thing to be frustrated and burnt out no one hears you or knows whats going on. But it’s another thing entirely when your sense of yourself has to do with getting folks riled up. I know this. I have struggled with it, honestly. It has little to do with message in my case. It has a lot to do the dust I manage to kick up.

A friend calls this song a “macabre fiesta.” I like that.

Some painful examples.

Robert Reich, Sy Hersch, Rachel Maddow just to name a few have gone the way of sounding like they need me to worry for them to get paid. I don’t need the help. I’m perfectly capable of worrying about the end of the world myself. In Sy and Rachel’s case, they work for outfits where ratings come up a lot. They’re all smart people. They know.

HCR

Heather Cox Richardson may be the best and smartest historian we have. It’s possible. But if you follow her on anything, every single day her message is the end of the world. I don’t even disagree with that. I just don’t need it from the smartest historian around.

Protest does not have to involve fighting. In fact, I’m pretty sure I have only ever been in one fight in my life.. but lots of protests.

The fascists are here, (what do we do)?

Part of trying to help in a fascist takeover is finding your job. As far as I can tell, many times that’s just your job. For some reason, folks have abandoned post in media and gone for “the sky is falling.” I think it sells more, but I don’t have the data to prove it.

Fighting fascism involves of lot of doing what you were going to do to begin with and saying “fuck the bastards.” This is not a panic button situation, but a get to work one.

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