Getting those awesome recordings of live shows in the mail was really fun back in the day. That one summer where I didn’t have a job and just sat around burning CDs and licking envelopes - I will long for a 3 month stretch like that forever. With this looming recession though, I may be unemployed soon - giving me lots of time to trade CDs. It’s too bad that no one actually uses CDs anymore and most shows are downloaded these days. I enjoyed the personal side of it.
Three things arriving by mail this week:
1) A new turntable, 25% off the store price. I bid well on eBay for once. It’s small and can be used for summer deck sessions. It’s a good thing that records still exist and that some bands still make them an available media type for their albums. It’s also a good thing that tapes are non existent.
2) Cajon. This arrived yesterday and is by far one of the coolest instruments I’ve ever touched. If you thump the center of it with the heel of your palm, it makes a very real kick sound. Hitting the top corners with your hands gives it a snare (real snare wires in the back), and if you hit the foot pedal you get a nice tom sound out of the faceplate.
3) Tape Op (book). About creative home recording. Hopefully I’ll be able to get something out of this.
Nick and I hung out and he introduced me to an artist named Mario Spinetti (myspace.com/mariospinetti). This guy has a gorgeous, shimmery voice that sounds beautiful when quiet or loud. His songs are well written, well recorded, and he has an a cappella track called Delirious which drives me crazy. You can listen to his whole EP on the myspace site and buy it for $6. It’s important to support this artist so we can see more come from him. He might be the future of melody.
Spent some time writing and setting up a soundscape - the drum samples I’m using now are from a real drum kit, so it sounds eerily genuine. Nick wants a song about how lucky we are, and my idea is to play with the idea of chance and chain effects.
Watched Six Feet Under series finale again with Liza. May be the best final 10 minutes of any show ever. The kind of finale that is so final and so provoking that you can’t help but let it resonate through you the rest of the week.
The new bathroom is done, and the shower is hot, finally. My sinus pains (weird eye dull throbbing) moved down to a cough, and now is moving into a full blown cold. Nothing I want to do more than get into bed and sleep it out. I don’t think I’ve had a sick day since High School, and even then I went to school. It felt so important, and I remember thinking I’d be way behind if I didn’t go.
Still no word on the clearance. It’s been approximately 4.5 months since I submitted my package, and 2 months since my personal interview, and colleague interview. This is more than within the normal time frame for these investigations, but it’s getting frustrating. So much to learn and no access to the tools from which to learn.