Concrete drums

Handy

3d test

Stuff on my cat

Conflicting

I've been reading about current violent conflicts on wikipedia. I complain way too much about stupid things. No one tied me to a tree today and set me aflame.

Being Done

Many preparations are being made. I have a show with Turbo on June 19th. Angela makes her Burlesque re-debut in Long Beach on the 21st. I'm putting the finishing touches on the song Angela is dancing to. It's a big band cover of a well known hard rock song that she commissioned through craigslist. The horns were done fabulously and I just needed to reinforce the drums, mix it and add a bigger ending. I hope to put that to bed this week so that she can have time to work out the performance.
I have a remix project happening for a band out of NYC that Devin and I know from back in the glitter shitting days. I like the song and I get a Who Killed Love? remix out of it in the process. I have a very bad record of finishing mixes and remixes for other people so I hope this goes well.
Turbo is working on a Dream Academy song for a tribute album, Devin was kind enough to do much of the programming already, though I haven't had a chance to load in the project file and take a listen yet. I also assisted Devin Tait and the Traitors in the recording of some live drums for a couple Traitors covers that will appear on the same album.
The Turbo album doesn't need to be mentioned again, but I will add that I've decided based on the drum recording experience listed above to incorporate some actual live kit into the mix.
I do mean to get back to writing short stories soon, but it's been tricky balancing so much as it is.
S no S has sort of surprised me with positive reaction to the new album, so I have been thinking of follow up options. There are so many S no S songs in progress that I was thinking about doing something super ambitious, but I've also been considering going with the current flow and releasing a bunch of singles.

National Bike to Work Day

answers

lets set the scene, open spotify and queue up "desert raven" by jonathan wilson, now go make it lightly rain outside, I'll wait. pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee.

now that we've synced up these key elements I'd like to welcome you to this smooth easy feeling that is bubbling under the shrouded sun, who's simplicity betray's it's gravity. And all over, people suffer, and struggle, and I try and keep this in mind as my life trickles over time. What's a boy to do? I've told myself over the years that a proper reaction to the seeming imbalance in the world is perspective and acceptance. I try and identify what is good in my life, and cherish it, because to me it's not the worst thing that some have so much while other have so little, but to accept your existence as proof of entitlement is.

Time grinds on, and I've started the song over, and I've been interrupted and I've replaced one cup of coffee for another. I'm thinking about ambitious projects, and how to have life between the struggle for subsistence and creation. Actions and repercussion and decisions and consequences all roll by. I spend time asking question which have no answer, or at least not one right answer, because I don't want to miss something.

Would I like to know now, what I will know in another 34 years?

The calendar is grounding me, as I consider what I know of the busy months to come. I won't always have time to think, and I won't always think when I should. I trust my instinct, because I still live, but I hope to rely more on my mind in times to come.

Back on a Bike

I acquired a nice use bicycle last week through craigslist and I've been riding like crazy. I haven't owned a bike in over 10 years, and I had no idea how much I had missed it. I used to ride all the time as a child and a young man, even once doing the Bike Across Kansas event with my dad, which is easily one of my all time favorite memories. There is a freedom and adventure that comes from a bike, and I'm glad to be back.

I've used it to get to and from work a couple times already, and it's by far my happiest commuting experience. I ride to the subway at hollywood and vine, then catch the subway to the valley and ride to work. On the way home I've learned to pedal through the Barham pass and down around the Hollywood Reservoir. It takes about 55 minutes from work to my front door, only 20 minutes more than a car on a normal day, and by the time I'm home I have bug stains on my teeth.

here's hoping

finally

Finished?

I'm grooving in my office, taking one last listen to what may be the final mix/master of the S no S album "10 Digits". Two tracks into the listen and thus far I'm very happy. Shitty work speakers and still I'm not cringing. I'm so glad to finally be releasing this album from me, and me from it, though for the most part it was pretty painless. The songwriting was spread out over a long period of time, so it didn't feel labored. The studio was working well throughout recording, another blessing. I learned a lot this time around, it's my first totally computer (DAW) recorded project done solo by me. getting into track 3. "Who Killed Love". I love Adrienne Pearson's vocal contribution to this track, makes me very happy. Track 4, this one was a beast, but it has the distinction of having the most guest appearances of any S no S record. It started out sparse, and I've worked on it a lot, trying to get it to live up to it's potential. Ronnie's rhythm guitar is great and Angie belting out the chorus with me really drives the narrative home. This is a pretty overt attempt at telling a fictional narrative story in a pop song, something I've sort of saved for the folkier efforts in the past. Devin's organ solo at the end is insane. there are possibly 2 things that I will still have to fix on this one. that's ok. track 5. Far Out With You. This recording has been in the bag for a while, all I really needed to do was re-sing it. Track 6. Shake Off the Fever. This song tripped me out, I was surprised at the different places it took me, it's an emotional turning point in the album, perhaps one of my most positive songs to date. Look at me looking up! maybe I need to turn this vocal down a bit in verse one. it never ends. ;) This is the song that made me realize I had an album coming together, and that it had to be S no S. That solo is funny. Track 7. Under the Weather, I've considered dropping this song a few times, but I like parts of it so much that I deal with the parts I don't. i cranked the bass down last night and that helped. track 8. Dream a Memory, another tune that's been labored over and in the end, it's whatever it became, which I like but I'm not 100% confident that the song ended up being what it wanted to be. It's a different tone though, and it began by sounding like a lot of the other stuff on the album. track 9. Taming the Itch - this song was the second or third song I started working on when I got my computer back about 5 years ago. It's been patiently waiting for release for a long time. I did a bit of adjustment and re-singing, in January. I also added the whip crack and dropped a guitar part. Track 10. The Reckoning. I didn't think much of this song until Angela heard it and loved it, then I took another pass and had Devin add the chorus synth line, which set it off. Sounds good in finished form. Track 11. The Pen and the Twist - another song I've considered dropping. I've thought that perhaps I would enjoying fleshing it out further, and I may still, but I'm happy with how this version fits this batch of songs. sonically it's maybe the weakest tune here, it's a deep cut though, what ya gonna do? S no S is always more possible than perfect, guaranteed. Track 12. I'm a Mutation. ug... hearing this now makes me think it could be more perfecter. maybe not... this one has been the biggest pain in the ass. track 13 Ending of the End. I think this is done. ok, 3 tracks to slightly fix out of 13. I can do that and release this bastard next tuesday. april 9th. 4/9/13

Single Digit Countdown

I've been working on 10 Digits, the new album for my S no S project pretty steadily in 2013. It is nearly ready to go. The songwriting and demoing for the album has slowly taken place over the last 4 years or so. Many songs were originally written for Turbo Sunshine, but ultimately they did not fit that project. Over the last 4 or 5 months I've taken the demos and some new tracks and attempted to polish them, which is really a process of removing the bits that were annoying in some sense or another, and replacing them with bits that were not. Last night I believe I cleared the last major hurdle of removing a part I couldn't live with and replacing it with one I could. I plan now to make one last mix, and if all goes well I will call it done, release the thing and get back to working on the Turbo Debut and a couple on off commission works for a certain fabulous burlesque dancer. Fans of S no S do not despair, this is not a last gasp of S no S, but a brand new beginning. I hope that this is the opening volley of an all out audio onslaught the likes of which was last seen from me in the very early 2000s. Above is the original draft of the 10 Digits art work provided by my brother Devin. I've since changed a few song titles and tweaked the track order. The artwork concept is being tweaked as well.

The Reckoning

Last of the words as a 33

as the hours wind down on my 33rd year there is really only time to keep moving. As I continue to stride this is me, glancing backwards over my shoulder. There are some things I don't dare let catch me, those ugly beasts wait for me to stumble, but I have put great distance between us. The faster I move forward the the fainter they appear, and the more forgiving my mis-steps become. The majority of what lies behind is wonderful, like a wave at my back propelling me forward, begging me to keep going, do better, go further.

El

Just finished reading Hotel New Hampshire. Loved it.  Now back to cash

Farm Kids

I feel really cool that I grew up on a farm, I often brag about it. I really loved everything that came with living on the farm, the freedom, the space and all the cool shit I got to play with. I think it helps that I had really great parents to grow up with, and for today's blog I want to shout out to my Dad, who took time out of his farming to do some really great things for us kids. Here is my by no means comprehensive list of some of the neat things my creative dad did to make farm life entertaining.

1. Barrel and saddle horse swing. I only recently remembered that this existed, it was nearly washed from my old brain. Between two trees dad mounted a swing that consisted of a barrel wearing a saddle. A perfect prop for acting out all my wild west farm boy fantasies. I scoured the internet and this is the closest I could find to what it looked like. Ours was way cooler and more rustic.

2. A stock tank in the back yard. It gets ridiculously hot and dusty in western Kansas, and it's nice to take a little afternoon dip in a stock tank. Dad would often sit one near the house in the summer and fill it with water for us kids. Again, thank the internet and a random family for the visual aid.

3. This one is like the best, and maybe I blogged about it before... but seriously my dad surprised us one winter by building an Ice skating rink in our back yard. He borrowed a skid steer from grandpa, and started diggin up the back yard with out telling us why. When he'd cleared a flat section with built up sides he added a thick black plastic liner. this he filled with water. I think we thought he was building a pool for a while. Here from the interent is a fine example:

4. Square Bale House. We had a grainery building, built into the side of a hill, where you could back a truck into the lower level and use gravity to fill the truck with grain from the large container rooms above. I only remember my dad storing grain in there once, so the rest of the time we used the grainery as our club house. One year, for reasons I don't understand Dad bought square bales, instead of the usual round bales he would make from Alfalfa. He stored these bales in the lower part of the grainery, and rather than just stack them normally, he created a room inside, with a door and 2 windows. Like this, but better and with me and my siblings instead of these randoms:

5. Many kids get a sand box, and ours was no more special than most of them. Yet that mom and dad let us spill the project of the sand box into the entire side yard of our property, building a landscape of multiple cities with roads and houses, that would encompass what would come to be called "out in the sand pile". Devin should blog about this, in detail, because it's the greatest part of our farm child hood and it should be done it's justice. To sum up I'll just say this to the kids of this generation, think of Sim City, but in real life, and you are forced to play it in the 100 degree Kansas Summers, and you can not stop or your older brother will chase you across the yard with his fist in the air, and if he catches you, you will feel the wrath. There are no pictures on the internet that do this justice. Use your mind.

6. Simple Tree House - All kids should have tree houses. Our tree house was simple but great, it used a door to connect two trees. We loved it though, and it was perfect.

7. One winter dad lashed an old truck hood to the back of our 4 wheeler and pulled us around in the snow. It might have been tied to the tractor. It doesn't matter, it was totally awesome no matter how you pull it. Nothing beat a snow day at home with the family. Different kids, different farm, different time, but otherwise this is pretty much exactly what I'm talking about:

I didn't mean to get so involved in this. I need to work. bye.

Primary Emotions

It's been a very long day, one little thing after another needed done and I have been doing them. It got to be a little overwhelming and I took a short nap. Sometimes it's best to just stop, and start going again later. Last night we voted in the Los Angeles primary. It was a ghost town at the poll. I feel a little tired if I don't stop to remember how happy I am, and how good I have it.

Air Feel

against my hands in the overcast morning the air is just beyond crisp, stinging slightly as I pull my hands from my pockets to queue music on my phone. I'm glad to have wormed my way from the underground station and into the day. I feel the parts of me that are tired recede into the movement as I progress into my life. I have not heard this music in some time but I know it well, the demo tape of an artist that moved far beyond this small beginning. I'm wearing my running shoes and my feet keep a beat. Side streets are silent beyond my headphones and the buzz of the traffic a block in any direction is only known, and felt in that psychic way.

Weekend luxury

It's been nice this weekend.  A fondue party at our apartment Thursday night ran late, leaving Angela and I exhausted Friday at work. Angela luckily didn't have to work as late and came home to do 5 loads of dishes and tidy up.   I took the subway home and joined her.  
We walked a few blocks to Grub, a place my brother Devin knows well.   It was cute as can be and delicious.  Angie ordered the crab cake burger and I opted for the shrimp poboy.  I made the best decision it was decided.  Our dinner on the patio was just what was needed to kick off a weekend to relax and reward ourselves.  With the Oscars over, it was time to spend some over time money. 
We retired super early on Friday night, both of us fast asleep by 9:30.
Saturday we walked to mendicino farms for a sandwich pitstop on the long walk to feed and care for our brother's cat Bootsy.  Kitty fed and loved we walked back home.  Next up was a nap for Angela and a nice long run up runyon canyon for me.
After a run and a shower it was time for massages at barai Thai massage in silverlake.  We had yuletide money we had earmarked for just this occasion.  The deep tissue massage was just what my crimped neck and sore legs needed. 

This no

This morning we treated ourselves to pedicures, my first time. It was great then a light sushi lunch and a nap. Now I'm blogging by the window, ready to create some music.