The flood gates have officially opened...
While not much progress is making its way up onto the interwebs, I've been all kinds of busy behind the scenes. After trying for a couple of weeks to talk myself out of it, I've decided to retrack the vocals for my first little ditty. Since I blew up the headphone outs on my 410 (the thingy that makes all the sounds go in and out of the computer, for the non-music techie gear peeps), that should be interesting.
I also got very, very sidetracked over the last couple of weekends working on new songs and trying hard to not getting sucked into start reworking old songs. Trying to do one thing at a time is sometimes harder than just doing it all at once.
And I've been working on the artwork for the website and single releases. It's amazing how a few minutes into working in Illustrator turns into a pseudo-productive three hour time warp of perfectionism. To cap off a decent evening of avoiding my shiny new television, the web host for my site decided to go to bed before I did. I'm not too happy that it posted a home page with broken links but there's nothing I can do about it until it gets its beauty rest.That's alright. I'm remembering now how much I'm not a fan of creating and/or maintaining websites. (Guess I'll cross that off my "if I ever need more money someday" potential jobs list.)
-Hector update:
Turns out, he despises "work on music time" more than my ex-roommate (which I wouldn't have thought possible). He's been sighing and yawning loudly for the last four hours. Guess I should take him on a run tomorrow while I'm still pretending that running the mini-marathon next spring is a good idea.
Hope everyone had a happy Halloween.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Fresh paint, fresh start.
So, I guess it turns out I wasn't lying when I said I was leaving Lafayette. It's a bittersweet breakup but a necessary one all the same. I have some great friends and talented music buddies up there that I shall miss and hope to see again soon, but the commute was slowly killing me (and quickly killing my car). After making up my mind, bumming a room from my 7 year old niece for a month (thanks Pick!), driving around some of the worst parts of Indy trying to find an affordable rental and moving ALL my stuff twice (most of it is still in one piece), here I am.
First post from the new office studio. :-)
**I'm telling my self that this is a guilt-free way to put off unpacking the rest of the stuff that I have no idea where I'm gonna put yet.**
I'm excited to get back to working on music again since it's been a while. And for the first time in, uh, ever I have my own little space to do it that won't get the neighbors seriously contemplating (or actually) calling the cops on me. The next door neighbor has a wood shop in his garage. I'm pretty sure power tools are louder and less entertaining than MIDI programming and badly sung scratch vocal tracks so we can probably come to a compromise about noise levels, lol.
So I guess it's time to actually get down to work since I'm running out of reasonable excuses to continue putting off releasing the first song. Once the updates and installs are ready to go, Ima start peeling the fresh paint off this new place.
~Hector update: (Yes, I talk about my dog more than most people talk about their kids.)
He's learning to like it here. Although I'm pretty sure he thinks heaven is a five acre slice of fenced property that comes equipped with pony studs to play chase with and a side-kick pup that shares his disdain for squirrels. And cool kids that like to dance and "accidentally" drop people food treats for him. Fortunately there is a very nice park a few blocks away to visit and his mom *might* have just signed him up for a doggy meet-up group. He's spoiled, but he ain't rotten.
First post from the new office studio. :-)
**I'm telling my self that this is a guilt-free way to put off unpacking the rest of the stuff that I have no idea where I'm gonna put yet.**
I'm excited to get back to working on music again since it's been a while. And for the first time in, uh, ever I have my own little space to do it that won't get the neighbors seriously contemplating (or actually) calling the cops on me. The next door neighbor has a wood shop in his garage. I'm pretty sure power tools are louder and less entertaining than MIDI programming and badly sung scratch vocal tracks so we can probably come to a compromise about noise levels, lol.
So I guess it's time to actually get down to work since I'm running out of reasonable excuses to continue putting off releasing the first song. Once the updates and installs are ready to go, Ima start peeling the fresh paint off this new place.
~Hector update: (Yes, I talk about my dog more than most people talk about their kids.)
He's learning to like it here. Although I'm pretty sure he thinks heaven is a five acre slice of fenced property that comes equipped with pony studs to play chase with and a side-kick pup that shares his disdain for squirrels. And cool kids that like to dance and "accidentally" drop people food treats for him. Fortunately there is a very nice park a few blocks away to visit and his mom *might* have just signed him up for a doggy meet-up group. He's spoiled, but he ain't rotten.
Friday, August 12, 2011
So little time, so many distractions...
Ok, I'll admit it.
*drum roll, please....................*
I am a professional procrastinator.
It's my version of ADHD. I get really excited about working on something, start working on something and then get distracted by all the other "somethings" I want to do and jump into those head first when the first something hits a couple of snags or gets tedious. Sometimes this works in my favor because a little time away from a project usually helps it breathe better. Many times however, procrastinating causes me to forget what the h-e-double-hockey sticks I was doing in the first place. Full-fledged member of Procrastinators Worldwide in action, right here.
I also have a hard time blocking out things like the dishes aren't done or the dogs are going bonkers from not having been walked in the last10 minutes... And now, the NFL is back in action. *Sigh* "It's a conspiracy!" (Just kidding, I really can multi-task. Maybe not "multi-accomplish" but I can multi-task with the best of 'em.)
Anyway, much to do. I like starting projects from scratch but that's probably because I haven't done it in a while and have forgotten how much prep work is involved. Wandering off on my own into the big, scary musical world was an eventuality, but this ain't gonna be no big-bang. I feel like Wall-E right now, making my little trash bricks and trying to build up a city of skyscrapers one brick at a time. So. In order to bring levity to that overwhelming problem, I'm starting my "Book of Awesome." Not really a book though, just an ongoing blog with updates every time I think of or come across something I deem awesome enough to be listed. Hopefully it doesn't degrade into me bragging about what a great driver I am since I spend most of my free time commuting.That could turn malicious and cynical in a hurry...
"Real Life" Update:
~It was really nice to see (almost) all of my family this last weekend. My last grandparent, my grandmother, turns 90 this year. She seemed to really enjoy her party. And the lake is always a good time, although I had a fun time explaining to my coworkers that no, I did NOT get punched in the throat over the weekend. It's merely a bad idea whilst tubing to try to hold onto the tube with your chin when pulling your fellow tubing enthusiast out of the wake at 40mph. (Flying off the inner tube and landing on your face is also bad for your sinuses. FYI.) Also, I've decided I'm a very cool cousin-aunt for being able to remember the names of all my cousins' kids. Because of that minor miracle of memory prowess, I'm giving myself a mulligan on their exact ages/birthdays.
~Am pretty excited about the Warrior Dash this weekend. I hate running. I don't use the "hate" word a lot, but it applies here. If you're gonna get me to run, either start shooting or throw beer and fire into the mix and I'm there. 20,000 people all preparing for Zombie Apocalypse at once. Should be a riot!
~Someday soon, I'm gonna leave you, Lafayette. I'm over this commute. I did one winter of 75+ miles one way on a sheet of ice, not doing it again. (See below definition of "Soon.")
Music Update:
~The first single is still in the same state it was a couple of weeks ago when I said I'd finish it soon.
**"Soon" in "Emily Time" really means "whenever I get refocused long enough not to get distracted again and actually work on it." FYI.**
~However, I have been chipping away at things like social networking accounts, website prep work, ASCAP registration and so on, but just haven't finished the mix yet. Ain't gonna do all that work for nothin'! Been trying to figure out if I want to just put it out or talk some really nice (sucker) person into helping me mix and master it on the cheap. We shall see.
Goal for next time:
Spend less time explaining that I'm a procrastinator and more time explaining how that effectively motivated me to get something done. Might be a while, lol.
Cheers til I get around to this again.
*drum roll, please....................*
I am a professional procrastinator.
It's my version of ADHD. I get really excited about working on something, start working on something and then get distracted by all the other "somethings" I want to do and jump into those head first when the first something hits a couple of snags or gets tedious. Sometimes this works in my favor because a little time away from a project usually helps it breathe better. Many times however, procrastinating causes me to forget what the h-e-double-hockey sticks I was doing in the first place. Full-fledged member of Procrastinators Worldwide in action, right here.
I also have a hard time blocking out things like the dishes aren't done or the dogs are going bonkers from not having been walked in the last10 minutes... And now, the NFL is back in action. *Sigh* "It's a conspiracy!" (Just kidding, I really can multi-task. Maybe not "multi-accomplish" but I can multi-task with the best of 'em.)
Anyway, much to do. I like starting projects from scratch but that's probably because I haven't done it in a while and have forgotten how much prep work is involved. Wandering off on my own into the big, scary musical world was an eventuality, but this ain't gonna be no big-bang. I feel like Wall-E right now, making my little trash bricks and trying to build up a city of skyscrapers one brick at a time. So. In order to bring levity to that overwhelming problem, I'm starting my "Book of Awesome." Not really a book though, just an ongoing blog with updates every time I think of or come across something I deem awesome enough to be listed. Hopefully it doesn't degrade into me bragging about what a great driver I am since I spend most of my free time commuting.That could turn malicious and cynical in a hurry...
"Real Life" Update:
~It was really nice to see (almost) all of my family this last weekend. My last grandparent, my grandmother, turns 90 this year. She seemed to really enjoy her party. And the lake is always a good time, although I had a fun time explaining to my coworkers that no, I did NOT get punched in the throat over the weekend. It's merely a bad idea whilst tubing to try to hold onto the tube with your chin when pulling your fellow tubing enthusiast out of the wake at 40mph. (Flying off the inner tube and landing on your face is also bad for your sinuses. FYI.) Also, I've decided I'm a very cool cousin-aunt for being able to remember the names of all my cousins' kids. Because of that minor miracle of memory prowess, I'm giving myself a mulligan on their exact ages/birthdays.
~Am pretty excited about the Warrior Dash this weekend. I hate running. I don't use the "hate" word a lot, but it applies here. If you're gonna get me to run, either start shooting or throw beer and fire into the mix and I'm there. 20,000 people all preparing for Zombie Apocalypse at once. Should be a riot!
~Someday soon, I'm gonna leave you, Lafayette. I'm over this commute. I did one winter of 75+ miles one way on a sheet of ice, not doing it again. (See below definition of "Soon.")
Music Update:
~The first single is still in the same state it was a couple of weeks ago when I said I'd finish it soon.
**"Soon" in "Emily Time" really means "whenever I get refocused long enough not to get distracted again and actually work on it." FYI.**
~However, I have been chipping away at things like social networking accounts, website prep work, ASCAP registration and so on, but just haven't finished the mix yet. Ain't gonna do all that work for nothin'! Been trying to figure out if I want to just put it out or talk some really nice (sucker) person into helping me mix and master it on the cheap. We shall see.
Goal for next time:
Spend less time explaining that I'm a procrastinator and more time explaining how that effectively motivated me to get something done. Might be a while, lol.
Cheers til I get around to this again.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Day 1: Maybe it's time
After years of threatening to let someone else besides my dog (and helpless, random, polite suckers) listen to the songs I muddle with that somehow manage to make it past the "hey, that's a good idea, too bad I'm {insert completely inconvenient time to have a creative idea strike} with no way to remember this" stage, I think it might finally happen. For better or for worse...
My idea for this blog is to share music that came about for whatever reason AND that "whatever reason." Tell the story behind the madness, in other words. Having spent years in rock bands trying to market music to people on a larger scale, I miss being able to share the human side of art and creativity. (And, quite frankly, I think I'm hilarious.) I've been through a lot and (hopefully) will keep myself out of enough trouble to go through more.
I'm not really worried about how the songs are received, although I think some of them are worth sharing and are pretty attached to them. And I'm not too concerned about making a living off of them. Most of this music has already kept me alive in some shape or form, and frankly, I just want to share.
So here I am, "Day 1," which is more like "Day 3,298." I currently have several songs that are in various random stages of "done-ness" that will eventually get enough attention to turn into something worth listening to, but I think it would be most appropriate to start with the first song I ever truly wrote on my own. That is, once I get the vocals re-tracked and finish mixing it... but that shouldn't take too much longer. In the mean time, I'll keep you posted with progress and funny stories of my ridiculously long commute, my dog's shenanigans, roommate wars, etc. And if nothing else, it'll be a well-kept diary of what an amazing procrastinator I am.
Peace and cheers.
My idea for this blog is to share music that came about for whatever reason AND that "whatever reason." Tell the story behind the madness, in other words. Having spent years in rock bands trying to market music to people on a larger scale, I miss being able to share the human side of art and creativity. (And, quite frankly, I think I'm hilarious.) I've been through a lot and (hopefully) will keep myself out of enough trouble to go through more.
I'm not really worried about how the songs are received, although I think some of them are worth sharing and are pretty attached to them. And I'm not too concerned about making a living off of them. Most of this music has already kept me alive in some shape or form, and frankly, I just want to share.
So here I am, "Day 1," which is more like "Day 3,298." I currently have several songs that are in various random stages of "done-ness" that will eventually get enough attention to turn into something worth listening to, but I think it would be most appropriate to start with the first song I ever truly wrote on my own. That is, once I get the vocals re-tracked and finish mixing it... but that shouldn't take too much longer. In the mean time, I'll keep you posted with progress and funny stories of my ridiculously long commute, my dog's shenanigans, roommate wars, etc. And if nothing else, it'll be a well-kept diary of what an amazing procrastinator I am.
Peace and cheers.
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