Also... the Royer 121 is the shit for recording guitars.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Recording
In between the usual soundguy gigs, I've finally had the time to track a band at the studio. They are called Off the Wagon, and they're doing some pretty aggressive rock-a-billy. It's been going well so far. I'd love to put up a bunch of pictures... but I just don't have the inclination to take pics while I'm in the control room. So here's one:
Also... the Royer 121 is the shit for recording guitars.
Also... the Royer 121 is the shit for recording guitars.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Then this happened...
...you're working your house audio gig, and a tour comes through, and they're sub-renting gear from another of your employers. It's a small world.
Monday, September 21, 2015
The 250th York Fair
Here's a bunch of pictures...
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| The PA Hang was 12 Vertec per-side, and 12 EAW SB1000's per-side (not pictured)... |
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| Brad, the A1 dealing with crap on the phone during the Brantley Gilbert load-in. |
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| Bob and Tony, of IATSE Local #283 in the pissing down rain, setting up a diva thrust. (Also during the Brantley Gilbert Load-In) |
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| As the rain started... |
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| I carry many things in my 5.11 bag. Tools, a cable tester, Aleve, and yes, always a change of socks... for miserable, rainy days. |
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| Monitors for Foghat. |
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| PM5D selfie. Required for audio guys. |
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| Wrestling... enough said. |
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| American Authors, not to be confused with Armenian Aurthurs. |
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| Bob and I participating in "yarrrrrs" (mine was lacking in this photo) for Talk Like a Pirate Day. |
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| The ugliest guitar I have ever seen in person. It's a slime green Parker Fly, owned by the guitarist for Alabama. He has a matching fiddle. |
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| Last day of the fair. Doing monitors (from stage left this time) for Laura Alaina... whoever that is. |
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Ennui...
... it's killing me.
Red Sea Radio is about to release a new digital single, and this one is very special to me.
I guess I need to begin way back in November of 1999. I was freshly eighteen, and still living with my parents, driving around in a 1984 Volkswagon Vanagon that I purchased from a local rockstar and hairdresser. I had a lot more chutzpah in those days (and I reckon most people, especially dudes, do.), and I wasn't hesitant to pick up a guitar and sing.
One very late night I was in the living room trying to learn 'Girl' by the Beatles. I kept messing up at the same part, and one time, out of frustration, I just began quickly strumming a succession of chords. This accidental progression became the chorus to "Ennui (It's Killing Me)." After old man Thompson yelled at me, and told me to go the fuck to bed, I retired the guitar for the evening.
The next day it was pissing down rain, in that miserable way that November does sometimes. I struggled to get out of bed before 1pm, and was dreading going to my psuedo-job at a local coffehouse/record store/music venue. Eventually, though, I ambled out of bed, flipped on the television, and began to watch Disney's 1977 animated film, The Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. Those who are familiar with Pooh, may remember the song from the flooding of the Hundred Acre Wood, right as Piglet is swept out of his house. It goes something like "and the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down in rushing, rising, rivlets..." And that became the first line of the chorus, "And the rain came down..." (Yeah, I'm a fucking thief.)
Coupling that opening line, with my general attitude toward leaving the house and doing things (an attitude that maintain to this day), I managed to cobble together some very dour lyrics, set to a rather jaunty, Beatles-esque tune.
The song sat in my brain for a couple of months. There was an attempt at performing it with a hastily formed band called "Temporary Ben", but that didn't last, and the afterward of it could be a different blog about different things all together. Alas, the song continued to sit in my brain, where it went through some mental refinements; counter-melodies being formed from the vocal melody, a short key change after the bridge, etc...
Twelve years later, an asshole said something assholish to me, (nothing new there, us assholes always practice our trade on each other) mocking me about being "in a band." In the context, which I'd love to get into, but again, that would be another blog all together, I should have let the comment go. But I couldn't. So I called up the members of the (at the time) defunct Red Sea Radio, and hastily arranged some practice sessions. I wanted to put this fucking song out into the world. After a couple nights of rehearsal, we rented a Fender Rhodes electric piano, and booked some time at Seventh Wave. We cut the drums, keys and bass on a Saturday in December 2011. And despite leading to a kick ass show a year later (Red Sea Radio, Live at the End of the World)... the song was shelved.
Once again, the song sat... on a hard drive (that's a step forward, I guess), and in my brain. Occasionally filtering out into the world as a bedtime song for my son, Michael. And it was the occasion of Michael's fourth birthday that finally brought this thing to completion, 15 (almost 16) years after it was ejaculated into existence. I had already bought him all the Rescue Bots, and felt he needed something MORE for his birthday. Something he may not appreciate at four years old, but may come to cherish later.
Using the existing backing tracks, Jackieraye, Adam and I once again headed to Seventh Wave and cut guitars and vocals, in two nights of what I'd consider a pretty fun time. Karen and Lanie joined us for some hand clapping, and in fairly short order, I had a rough mix to give to Michael for his birthday.
The icing on the cake, so to speak, was when I asked Lanie (Michael's big sister) to do a little drawing to act as cover art for Michael's copy. I expected something nice, because the girl can draw, but I didn't expect something as perfect as what she presented me. I quickly scanned it, and it's now the official artwork for the single (see above), because, as Jackieraye said, "she gets us!"
Now, after some polish to the mix, and a mastering session with the brilliant Mr. Rubal, it's ready for the world outside of my brain, and outside of bedtime sing-a-longs. I don't really go on about writing process of individual songs that I write, or record, unless it's for more technical reasons, or as a portfolio piece. (Who really gives a shit?) But this song is important to me. It has stuck with me for so long because I think, musically, it's the closest thing to an ear worm I'll ever write, and lyrically, it's still a very accurate and honest portrayal of how I often feel. And yes, musically it borrows from 'Girl' by the Beatles, and lyrically, it seems like Robert Smith re-wrote the words to "I'm Only Sleeping", but it's still earnest in a way that I can't help but be proud of.
I must say thanks to the others in Red Sea Radio; Jackieraye, Adam, Al and Chad, who all went above and beyond in the recording of this song. And thanks to Michael, for inspiring me to finish what I started. And thanks to that asshole who pissed me off enough to start what I finished.
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| Perfect artwork by Annelene Wahl. |
I guess I need to begin way back in November of 1999. I was freshly eighteen, and still living with my parents, driving around in a 1984 Volkswagon Vanagon that I purchased from a local rockstar and hairdresser. I had a lot more chutzpah in those days (and I reckon most people, especially dudes, do.), and I wasn't hesitant to pick up a guitar and sing.
One very late night I was in the living room trying to learn 'Girl' by the Beatles. I kept messing up at the same part, and one time, out of frustration, I just began quickly strumming a succession of chords. This accidental progression became the chorus to "Ennui (It's Killing Me)." After old man Thompson yelled at me, and told me to go the fuck to bed, I retired the guitar for the evening.
The next day it was pissing down rain, in that miserable way that November does sometimes. I struggled to get out of bed before 1pm, and was dreading going to my psuedo-job at a local coffehouse/record store/music venue. Eventually, though, I ambled out of bed, flipped on the television, and began to watch Disney's 1977 animated film, The Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. Those who are familiar with Pooh, may remember the song from the flooding of the Hundred Acre Wood, right as Piglet is swept out of his house. It goes something like "and the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down in rushing, rising, rivlets..." And that became the first line of the chorus, "And the rain came down..." (Yeah, I'm a fucking thief.)
Coupling that opening line, with my general attitude toward leaving the house and doing things (an attitude that maintain to this day), I managed to cobble together some very dour lyrics, set to a rather jaunty, Beatles-esque tune.
The song sat in my brain for a couple of months. There was an attempt at performing it with a hastily formed band called "Temporary Ben", but that didn't last, and the afterward of it could be a different blog about different things all together. Alas, the song continued to sit in my brain, where it went through some mental refinements; counter-melodies being formed from the vocal melody, a short key change after the bridge, etc...
Twelve years later, an asshole said something assholish to me, (nothing new there, us assholes always practice our trade on each other) mocking me about being "in a band." In the context, which I'd love to get into, but again, that would be another blog all together, I should have let the comment go. But I couldn't. So I called up the members of the (at the time) defunct Red Sea Radio, and hastily arranged some practice sessions. I wanted to put this fucking song out into the world. After a couple nights of rehearsal, we rented a Fender Rhodes electric piano, and booked some time at Seventh Wave. We cut the drums, keys and bass on a Saturday in December 2011. And despite leading to a kick ass show a year later (Red Sea Radio, Live at the End of the World)... the song was shelved.
Once again, the song sat... on a hard drive (that's a step forward, I guess), and in my brain. Occasionally filtering out into the world as a bedtime song for my son, Michael. And it was the occasion of Michael's fourth birthday that finally brought this thing to completion, 15 (almost 16) years after it was ejaculated into existence. I had already bought him all the Rescue Bots, and felt he needed something MORE for his birthday. Something he may not appreciate at four years old, but may come to cherish later.
Using the existing backing tracks, Jackieraye, Adam and I once again headed to Seventh Wave and cut guitars and vocals, in two nights of what I'd consider a pretty fun time. Karen and Lanie joined us for some hand clapping, and in fairly short order, I had a rough mix to give to Michael for his birthday.
The icing on the cake, so to speak, was when I asked Lanie (Michael's big sister) to do a little drawing to act as cover art for Michael's copy. I expected something nice, because the girl can draw, but I didn't expect something as perfect as what she presented me. I quickly scanned it, and it's now the official artwork for the single (see above), because, as Jackieraye said, "she gets us!"
Now, after some polish to the mix, and a mastering session with the brilliant Mr. Rubal, it's ready for the world outside of my brain, and outside of bedtime sing-a-longs. I don't really go on about writing process of individual songs that I write, or record, unless it's for more technical reasons, or as a portfolio piece. (Who really gives a shit?) But this song is important to me. It has stuck with me for so long because I think, musically, it's the closest thing to an ear worm I'll ever write, and lyrically, it's still a very accurate and honest portrayal of how I often feel. And yes, musically it borrows from 'Girl' by the Beatles, and lyrically, it seems like Robert Smith re-wrote the words to "I'm Only Sleeping", but it's still earnest in a way that I can't help but be proud of.
I must say thanks to the others in Red Sea Radio; Jackieraye, Adam, Al and Chad, who all went above and beyond in the recording of this song. And thanks to Michael, for inspiring me to finish what I started. And thanks to that asshole who pissed me off enough to start what I finished.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
May...
Commencement season is upon us. This means several weeks of speaker hangs, lectern mics and back up locations. Doesn't help, that in the middle of a three day set-up, I get the damn flu! No fun working with a clogged head, especially out of doors.
The start of the month saw LVC's graduation, which, as of this year, moved to a strictly indoor location. Meaning, no load-in/load-out at two different locations, sweating your sack off in the May sun.
This week, we're doing Bucknell's commencement, which has a very large outdoor set up, with 9 EAW 740s per-side, plus 3 per-side EAW 730s as delay speakers. It's quite the affair, with a 600 ft FOH cable run. The rain location (indoor) set up is 5 per-side 730s on Genie towers. Load in 3 days, with a fourth for tuning and rehearsing. Load out is one (long) day. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I'm home sick with the flu today, so I have no idea how far my compatriots have come in their load in.
That's all I've got. I'm going to drink some tea and moan slightly every now and again.
The start of the month saw LVC's graduation, which, as of this year, moved to a strictly indoor location. Meaning, no load-in/load-out at two different locations, sweating your sack off in the May sun.
This week, we're doing Bucknell's commencement, which has a very large outdoor set up, with 9 EAW 740s per-side, plus 3 per-side EAW 730s as delay speakers. It's quite the affair, with a 600 ft FOH cable run. The rain location (indoor) set up is 5 per-side 730s on Genie towers. Load in 3 days, with a fourth for tuning and rehearsing. Load out is one (long) day. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I'm home sick with the flu today, so I have no idea how far my compatriots have come in their load in.
That's all I've got. I'm going to drink some tea and moan slightly every now and again.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
New page added...
I've added the Seventh Wave Studio build page to the blog (see the pages bar at the top). It's unfinished, as I'd planned to have a lengthy discourse on studio "vibe", but I just can't be fucked to speak intelligently about lightbulbs and paint at the moment. But enjoy everything else. Sorry the photos make it weird, but all the slideshow plugins for blogger are bullshit.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Busy season...
April is when things start to get very busy for me in the live audio front. I have my quarterly ballet gig, where I basically press space bar on Q Lab for a week, some corporate gigs, and other sundry things, then, come May, it will be several commencements, and some studio work. I hope to have the time to update in there!
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
I'm still not convinced...
... that DCOs through formidable VCFs are inferior to VCOs. I site: The Novation A Station, the Korg Poly 800, the Korg DW 6000 and DW 8000, among plenty of others. Maybe it's my taste in synths, or my taste in music made by particular synths, but I feel that the filter is where it's at, not the oscillator.
I shall update this diatribe, following some hardcore synthery on Friday night with Red Sea Radio!
I shall update this diatribe, following some hardcore synthery on Friday night with Red Sea Radio!
Monday, March 23, 2015
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Today's gig...
I guess I'll start this blog off with a bit of day to day. For the past three days my job has been doing audio for the York Symphony at the Strand. It's been mind numbingly easy. How easy? This blog didn't exist before I started the run... that's how easy!
For the first piece the symphony is trying something funky. They're doing a piece called "Mothership", and if I gave a shit I'd remember who composed it. The piece requires sample playback from a laptop being triggered onstage. However, for "reasons", the symphony wants the sample playback to sound like it's part of the musicians onstage, therefore, rather than using the 10 pieces of JBL line array per side, I'm feeding (from independent left right mixes) two Yamaha 15" bins on sticks on either side of the timpani risers. It certainly sounds like it's coming from the orchestra. Oddly, they were adamant that the playback be true stereo... but with the speakers being as far upstage as can be, the audience loses the stereo perspective. Oh well. I'm only following orders.
Aside from the stereo playback onstage, I have an announce mic (wireless Shure 58) to mix, and a shotgun (some old-ass AKG) to feed into the lobby and ALS. Easy as pie. To make the whole thing silly, when I showed up at the venue, I had this to mix on:
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| A Yamaha PM5D for 3 inputs and 4 sends. Its like bringing a nuclear warhead to a pillow fight. |
I'm currently on a (long) break between morning rehearsal and the show this evening. I expect not to elaborate on the gig very much... as there ain't a lot going on... but, again, to start the blog, this makes for a nice, if rather boring, slice of life.
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