Song 6 - "Blue Ridge Luv"
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy . . . Did I ever have the best weekend ever. Fun after fun after fun.
In customary fashion, I made up the words as I went along. I think I'm actually getting the hang of on the spot rhyming and phrasing. Someone said I was holding back. Clearly, that's still the case. However, the beat is a little happier. I know, that doesn't mean anything. It does mean I can sound a little less sorrowful.
"One day I'll learn to write happy songs" - Elliot Smith
"Perpetuation" - CLICK HERE TO PLAY SONG
This is the most complicated piece I have put together mixing/tracking-wise. With that in mind, it wraps around a crappy vocal/guitar track I put down. Still learning.
My father is currently undergoing his second week of chemo. It's a much larger storm than what I had seen on the horizon.
"Burning in the Sun" - CLICK HERE TO PLAY SONG
I was without personal time this week, save yesterday which I used for a spontaneous trip to gville. Therefore, this is rushed. But at least I'm meeting my deadline and producing work. And that, of course, is the entire point of the project in the first place.
Apparently, some people have been experiencing difficulties when trying to listen to the link. If this happens to you, please drop me an email with a description of what you are experiencing. I'm looking into it this week to make sure things are running as they should.
"Ira Glass on Making It" - CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO
No music tonight. Just a moment of inspiration I stumbled upon looking up presentation tips for a meeting I have tomorrow.
Hear, hear Mr. Glass.
"Somebody Knows" - CLICK HERE TO PLAY
One of the great privileges of living in Florida, other than copious amounts of sunshine and half-naked girls, is that you can pretty much see the shuttle launch from anywhere. I am at a particular advantage as I am 20 stories up. I was actually able to watch it rise into orbit until the Earth's rotation pulled it down into the layer of smog that covers Tampa every evening.
So this makes song number two. It might stick, though I'm not convinced yet. I was able to work my first lead guitar part in, which was a challenge in and of itself. Still getting comfortable with the idea of using a mic, and singing for that matter.
Baby steps, baby steps . . .
"Deep House Test" - CLICK HERE TO PLAY
In the spirit of Saturday night, I was playing with some deep house beats and got a little carried away. It was also my first time mixing more than two tracks. So, a little messy and far from anything complete. By the way, did you happen to see that the world is falling apart? Apparently, it's a big deal or something.
"Affecting Effects" - CLICK HERE TO PLAY
I started playing with the effects in GarageBand, because now that I am hooked up to an interface, I can plug in headphones and essentially listen to the effect of the effects on the spot. This allows for a darn good time.
I found a pretty good echo effect and tweaked it a little. Since I really only have played acoustic, it felt like magic messing around with it. I just wish I knew what I was doing.
After playing it back, I could hear that the reverb, when turned up, created some rather pleasant tones overlaying what I actually played.
"What's Another Day?" - CLICK HERE TO PLAY
Apparently, one cannot simply go out and purchase a mic. One also has to purchase an audio interface, monitoring headphones, microphone cable, and a pick-up for the guitar so that the vocals and the guitar can be recorded and adjusted separately. Also, like many other things in this project, set up requires a vast amount of tinkering/troubleshooting. The combination of this and family issues kept me from being able to sit down and work on this week's song until tonight at 8:30pm. I've crammed for tests before, and it's pretty much the same feeling and yields similar results, i.e C+ performance. But, hey, I've got 51 more weeks to get better at it.
Speaking of 51 weeks, as further motivation to not give up on this, I am going to put on a show at the end to display my final audio portfolio. Tickets go on sale now. Payment can come in the form of constructive criticism or a simple, "Keep it up/Good luck". I also accept briefcases full of cold, hard cash.
