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August 30, 2007
August 27, 2007
natural sounds in the studio
I’m pleased to report the cicada recording project is mostly going great. Unfortunately, guitars and vocals occasionally also get into the mix.
Another great thing about the constant 85-dB whine of the cicadas is the way they mask the ringing in my ears. Who knew an insect could be so useful?
August 25, 2007
of sailing ships and sealing wax
I’ve been really busy lately; besides the fact my web work (my freelance “day job”) has picked back up, I’ve got three recording projects going on. Two of them even have deadlines, so something might possibly get finished!
Anyway, here are a few things I need to post before they get too moldy:
- If you haven’t read this op-ed written by seven NCOs fighting in Iraq, you need to. It’s much more complex and believable than the simplistic “the Surge is working” fantasy being spoon-fed to us by all the Powers That Be. (I bite my tongue and will not start a rant on spineless Democrats. Will not. Will not. For now.)
“In a lawless environment where men with guns rule the streets, engaging in the banalities of life has become a death-defying act. Four years into our occupation, we have failed on every promise, while we have substituted Baath Party tyranny with a tyranny of Islamist, militia and criminal violence. When the primary preoccupation of average Iraqis is when and how they are likely to be killed, we can hardly feel smug as we hand out care packages. As an Iraqi man told us a few days ago with deep resignation, ‘We need security, not free food.’”
- The amazing Les Paul is still going strong. Besides guitar work fine enough to earn his place in pop music history (not to mention the Gibson guitar bearing his name), the man invented multi-track recording, as well as reverb and echo techniques without which modern popular music is simply unimaginable. At age 92, he still plays a regular gig in a Manhattan nightclub. He was the subject of a recent American Masters program on PBS.
I remember a cartoon from a while back: it looked like The Jetsons’ world, spaceship cars and a giant nightclub floating in a starry sky, with a marquee reading “Tonight: George Burns.” Well, George didn’t quite make it, but I wouldn’t bet against Les Paul.
- If you’ve been reading here for a while, you’re probably aware that I’m more than a little skeptical that all the hoop-jumping we have to do to actually get on an airplane these days makes us one whit safer. I’m happy to say I’m not the only one who feels so. While searching for something else the other days, I ran into a post by one Becky Akers called The Cheesy Blockheads of the TSA. It turns out she has found a rich vein of humor to be mined in the TSA. A few other titles: Brace Yourself for a Hoot, Bombers Can’t Banter, The TSA in Atlanta, A Belt and Suspenders Kind of Agency, The Case of the Killer Cosmetics, and Sippy Cups as WMDs. There are more, but I’m sure you can find them if you’re interested.
- Finally, speaking of humorous female writers, Terry Castle’s Travels With My Mom is priceless. I won’t even try to describe it. Via James Wolcott’s blog at Vanity Fair—I frequently have no idea what he’s talking about, but he’s almost always entertaining as he does it.
Hope you all are surviving this beastly heat. Actually Kansas City got a break yesterday from weeks of heat indexes above 100°, but the temp is going back up again. The weird thing is how the light has changed to that of autumn. Looking outside in the afternoon, if it wasn’t for the air conditioner running you’d almost swear the leaves will be changing any day now.
August 17, 2007
for Roach
I’m so sorry to hear that Max Roach has died.
I never listened to him a lot, but he turned my brain inside out.
When I was a junior in college and had been playing drums maybe three years, Max Roach came to the University of Kansas. (I should point out I was not studying music at college. Unfortunately, aside from a clinic here or there, I’ve had no training on drums whatsoever). Admission was free for students, though, and I had heard this guy was a big deal.
I went to the auditorium, which was not crowded at all, only to see an empty stage. Please understand, I was an idiot*: at that point, the best drummer I’d ever seen live was Tommy Aldridge with Black Oak Arkansas, and a large part of what impressed me was how he could play a big double-bass kit with (I counted) 11 cymbals. He was definitely a great drummer—so what was with this empty stage?
Eventually this little black guy walks out carrying a single small floor tom and a pair of brushes. He proceeded to play music, all by himself, and he didn’t just play the metal brushes on the top head of the drum, like you’re supposed to: he used the hook on other end, he used the rim of the drum and the side, and at one point (the crowd stood up and cheered) he rolled a brush sideways across the drumhead with the palm of his hand in a complex polyrhythm. Eventually, I got it. Equipment is a means to an end; any sound you make is legitimate as long as it serves its purpose; and it’s all, always, all about making music.
I never looked at a drumkit the same way again. Thank you, Max. You did many things for many people, but that’s what you did for me, and that’s a lot.
*I still am. But these days, I’m a much more experienced idiot.
August 15, 2007
ex-nothin'
I’ve tried three times to write a post about how good the John Doe/Dead Rock West show last week was (truth in advertising: I played with the opening act, Howard Iceberg & the Titanics). It turns out that if I tell everyone who will listen what a great show it was, I have no energy left for a blog post.
I’ll just say if you do get a chance, check out John Doe at a live gig or on his latest (excellent) CD. I also highly recommend Dead Rock West (their MySpace page has two complete songs and some radio stuff), who backed Doe after playing a set of their own strong material. I ordered DRW’s CD Honey & Salt, but it hasn’t gotten here yet.
It was an evening of sophisticated punk (if that makes any sense) mixed with twang and a little touch of folk, played with consummate musicianship and incredible energy. I mean, John Doe is 52, but I haven’t seen many players half his age rock so hard. Special props to Cindy Wasserman, who with Frank Lee Drennen handles lead vocals for DRW. Any woman who sings with John Doe is going to be compared to Exene (who co-fronted X with Doe), but Wasserman was up to the task.
While Doe’s material includes one of my all time favorite songs, “Fourth of July,” (and “The Golden State” from the new album looks like it may be headed for that list), it was actually the cover songs that put the show completely over the top. They ended the set with The Beatles’ “Revolution” (“Be sure and vote,” Doe said. “It’s the one thing you can do to make a change.”). The three-song encore ended with a version of “Gimme Shelter” that absolutely blew the roof off of Davey’s Uptown, with Doe taking the part of Mick Jagger and Wasserman that of Merry Clayton. “We’re outta here. We can’t top that.”
No shit.
Update: I forgot I took some pics. My ancient camera doesn’t handle low light very well, unfortunately.
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August 05, 2007
Sunday and sundry
- I knew the average American’s ignorance of geography is appalling, but it’s even worse than most of us dreamed: here’s an NPR story about how many Americans don’t even know that New Mexico is one of the 50 states. Funny and frightening.
- I know how rarely I comment even on the blogs I read every day, so I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to comment here—maybe even more so when they post a contrary opinion. You probably won’t change my mind, but at the very least it’s good for me to re-examine my chain of reasoning.
I had a commenter the other day who appears to have not to understood the post he was commenting on, a fact I pointed out in an answering comment. He responded by posting two more comments which were even farther afield, comments which I denied permission to publish. Please, if you do comment, make it a response to my post and not a generalized rant on politics or a profession of your own religious faith (or a denigration of the faith of others). Come on, it’s easy enough to set up your own blog for that kind of thing, for free, even.
The one exception to the rule above is personal greetings from people who don’t know how else to contact me. I’ll send you an email—and don’t worry, even if I publish your comment, Movable Type won’t display your email address. - For anybody remotely curious as to what I do for a lving, or one of the things I do, here are a couple examples which recently went live:
- Barsotti.com—long-time client Charles Barsotti needed an update to his site to promote a new book of his dog cartoons, They Moved My Bowl. He provided me with artwork and a storyboard for a Flash animation; I found some sound effects and built the thing. Neither one of us is sure how well suited his stuff is for animation (at least on such a limited budget), but you can judge for yourself by taking a look at his site. Charley is a legendary cartoonist—if you have read The New Yorker, Playboy, Fast Company or any number of other publications in the last 40 years, you’ve seen his work. I feel privileged to work with him, but more to the point, he’s just so damn much fun!
- CL Nationwide, Inc.—a transportation broker based in the KC metro area. I worked with them over a period of months to design a new logo and web presence. This is a good example of how client feedback can lead you to designs you would have never come up with on your own, and I mean that in a good way. It took longer than either of us expected, but I think it’s a unique design.
- This one has been making the rounds lately, but if you like cats you’ll want to see it if you haven’t already: the Mr. Lee CatCam. I’ve meaning to post this for months but never seem to get to it.
- Finally, speaking of cats, 18-year-old Ms. Tigger is starting to show signs of frailty. She has started using the carpet behind my office computer as a litter box. I took her to the vet, and apparently she has a certain amount of kidney disease (inevitable in a cat that old) and hyperthyroidism. I’ve started giving her thyroid meds twice a day and she seems calmer, but the smell in my office can be unbearable, especially when it’s warm and humid (um, Kansas City in August?). Anybody know a good kitty odor remover? I’ve tried several without a lot of luck, and Febreze and incense aren’t particularly good alternatives either.