The internet has come along way since AOL. The most interesting thing to date has been my ability to talk/connect with musicians and other working professionals in my industry so easily.
A couple of years ago I listened to a record called "Albertine" by Brooke Fraser. The record was great, but the drumming was incredible. I found out who tracked drums on the record and then using facebook of all things I tracked down the drummer. His name is Aaron Sterling. Since then I have had the opportunity and the privilege to correspond with Aaron quite a few times over online messages and then through a series of emails. He was very insightful and willing to give me some of his time and most recently he was nice enough to call me.
We talked about drumming, the industry, changes over the years, working as a drummer, LA, Nashville, etc. etc. He is currently tracking John Mayer's new record in NYC right now. The small connection I've had with him has been a blessing. It's a small thing for him, but a big thing for me.
The internet is amazing.
J
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
I Don't Really Like Movies...
Not like Jay does. But I do love documentaries! And I'd like to watch this one:
[Jay plays for this guy's sister and her husband. And they are wonderful.]
[Jay plays for this guy's sister and her husband. And they are wonderful.]
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Belong
I'm a bit particular about the art in our house. This really bothered Jay at first - he hated all the blank, empty walls. But my deal with art is that it should be meaningful in some way. I'm completely not a picture person, but I think what a lot of people do with pictures in their house is what I do with our art. So I like to either do it myself or know the person who did it, and I like for it to have a story that is significant to us in some way and represents our life at that moment in time.
Well we've just acquired a painting that fits all the criteria!
At the church we go to, there is a resident artist that paints during all the services. It's pretty incredible because he paints these in just over an hour and does it 5 times per weekend for each service (the five are usually similar with slight variations). Jay has asked him a few times if we could buy one of the pieces he's done during a service, but it never works out. Well 2 Sundays ago, I really liked his painting. So I asked him if we could buy it (he usually sells them for $250 I think), and he straight up gave it to me! It's now in our living room.
In addition to the message behind the painting and Scott's awesome artistic style, another thing I love about what he does is that he painted it on a cheap piece of 4'x3' particle board that's maybe 1/4" thick. Somehow that makes it more accessible to me. We decided to mount it to a 1x3 frame to give it some more substance. Here we are building said frame in our living room (this is the project that actually led us to buying the nail gun).
And since I'm never in a hurry and tend to have a long-term vision, I see this as having 2 friends in the future to really fill up the wall. See?
Well we've just acquired a painting that fits all the criteria!
At the church we go to, there is a resident artist that paints during all the services. It's pretty incredible because he paints these in just over an hour and does it 5 times per weekend for each service (the five are usually similar with slight variations). Jay has asked him a few times if we could buy one of the pieces he's done during a service, but it never works out. Well 2 Sundays ago, I really liked his painting. So I asked him if we could buy it (he usually sells them for $250 I think), and he straight up gave it to me! It's now in our living room.
In addition to the message behind the painting and Scott's awesome artistic style, another thing I love about what he does is that he painted it on a cheap piece of 4'x3' particle board that's maybe 1/4" thick. Somehow that makes it more accessible to me. We decided to mount it to a 1x3 frame to give it some more substance. Here we are building said frame in our living room (this is the project that actually led us to buying the nail gun).
And since I'm never in a hurry and tend to have a long-term vision, I see this as having 2 friends in the future to really fill up the wall. See?
Monday, May 16, 2011
Small Laundry Room Projects
Sometimes it's the small things in life...
We've just added 3 small, cheap organizational things to our small laundry room, and it makes me so happy. I just really really like for things to look nice and for everything to have a little spot to go home to.
First, a wall-mounted thingy I got at Lowe's to hold brooms, mops, etc:
Second, a screen thing to hide the water heater (these were actually already in our house from the previous owner, and it seemed like a good use for one - we've got 2 more):
And finally, a little drying rack we got at Ikea. This is my attempt at a panoramic to show where things are in relation to each other:
Jay's got some big ideas for the laundry room. We just bought a nail gun (!), and he's more open to projects when he's got new tools to try out.
We've just added 3 small, cheap organizational things to our small laundry room, and it makes me so happy. I just really really like for things to look nice and for everything to have a little spot to go home to.
First, a wall-mounted thingy I got at Lowe's to hold brooms, mops, etc:
Second, a screen thing to hide the water heater (these were actually already in our house from the previous owner, and it seemed like a good use for one - we've got 2 more):
And finally, a little drying rack we got at Ikea. This is my attempt at a panoramic to show where things are in relation to each other:
Jay's got some big ideas for the laundry room. We just bought a nail gun (!), and he's more open to projects when he's got new tools to try out.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
SerialBox Presents: Thad Cockrell
As I mentioned here, Jay loves this guy, recently got to play for him, and did the audio for this:
Listen to the entire set, see pics, and read the interview here. I think you can even download the audio at the very bottom of the page!
Listen to the entire set, see pics, and read the interview here. I think you can even download the audio at the very bottom of the page!
Monday, May 09, 2011
Listening To: Elliott Smith
Jay recently bought an Elliott Smith song, and I'd forgotten how much I loved listening to his moody, sad music in undergrad late at night while working in the studio building models. He committed suicide in 2003, which seems fitting for his very somber and melancholy music.
This has always been my favorite:
This has always been my favorite:
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Now I'm in a Folksy Mood
Ahhhh...people being in love:
This song has one of my all-time favorite song lyrics: "I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery..."
This song has one of my all-time favorite song lyrics: "I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery..."
6 Years of music
I haven't posted anything in a long long time. Linz (wife) is much better than me at being current.
My sister Leanne told me the other day that one of her friends enjoyed reading the new music that Linz and I listen to and post about. Lindsay said that it was only because SHE blogged about it. I agreed but added that she typically hears the music from me and THEN blogs about it. I'm just giving her a hard time. Lindsay has great taste in music. We love everything from Cinematic Orchestra to Katy Perry. I really enjoy good pop music. Leanne says she feels bad because she listens to Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. Little does she know.... hahaha.
I have been making music and playing music for six years. It's interesting to look back on what I thought was such a difficult time and realize it was all very necessary. It would be easy to look on a lot of missed opportunities as bad luck or misfortune and let some of those things overshadow the good days, great songs, great gigs, and great people. I'm very thankful for all the good.
Everyone has to learn and grow some where right? Well... at least the people who are attempting to go, do, and be better all around seem to. I think a lot of the music scene has to do with not necessarily who you know but who you are. Is he or she a good hang or do people get quiet/make a face when that person is mentioned. It's easy to know very quickly.
As a Jesus follower and a "Bible" believer - I feel like it's very true that "no one is good, not one" - basically - everybody has flaws and is capable of being a complete ass/shit/whatever you call terrible people. But truly - I really have met some great people, and I have recently decided that I'm done trying to impress the people who "I'm supposed to impress or befriend so that..." - mainly because I've missed out on a lot of good things because I was too wrapped up in an idea of a person or a gig, or a project, or a band etc. etc. etc. Plus - we all know where the pity parties lead to.... no friends, no calls, no work. I've been there and it's not a fun place to be.
In the last two years I've produced or co-produced four EP's consisting of:
Neal Mabry
Hooray For Love
Tommy Lynch
Tim Qualls
A New Band - currently with no name that is really kick ass - I'm in this band. More to come later about this.
Each project was completely different. Different songs, players, places, seasons, and people all together.
Producing music is one of my favorite things to do. It's tricky and difficult, but the rewards can be great. Some times you can give a song or a record new direction by writing something new for it - shoving it really hard out of it's comfort zone or slightly nudging it in a different direction. Some times it's taxing and some times it's effortless. The best way to be good at something is to find someone who does it well and copy them. I'm serious. You want to know the difference between a good producer and a great producer? Look for the guy everyone talks about being such a great person. You can be great at your craft, but if you suck - nobody really cares about you. If you are a great hang- then the sky is the limit.
Andy Hunt is a producer in Nashville. He is also a very well known engineer and songwriter. I got connected with Andy through my friend Ryan Booth who interned for another producer that Andy used to share a space with in Nashville (Mitch Dane). I've worked with Andy on a few things - mainly utilizing his skills to mix some of my projects. Working on a record in Nashville with him for about three days was enough to solidify my thoughts about producing and how I would approach working on my own projects. I couldn't believe how encouraging and positive this guy was. So even keel and joyful. I felt like he was genuinely glad to see his friends and thankful he got to make music. There is definitely a nitty gritty technical detailed side to producing and music, but watching Andy work inspired me. Anyways - like I said - I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities I've had. Besides - how many bands do you absolutely love that you have NO idea as to the names of ANY of the guys who are either in the band, produced the music, or worked as engineers? I would say it's more than %90. Probably closer to %99 if you are like me.
All that says is that most of the people who work in music, who are very talented, and are really great will probably never ever be famous.
The reality is that there are thousands of people in the music biz that are extremely talented in different areas of music that we will never know about. From musicians to producers to songwriters. I think the question for people like myself is "Am I ok with not ever being famous?" I think I can say for certain that yes - I am, but I'll never say I wouldn't want that. Who wouldn't?
Anyways - enough rambling. Here is a list of music (I've) been listening to for the last few years.
Thad Cockrell - To Be Loved- Favorite record of 2010 - Linz will blog about him soon and my recent experience.
Paper Route - Absence - Favorite record of 2009
I recently started listening to the Beatles. So many songs to check out. If you aren't a beatles fan - don't beat yourself up or be afraid to say you haven't really listened to them - people can get over themselves. it's OK. If you want to start with the Beatles try listening to Revolver. I think that's a good one to start with. (quick thought - if you tell someone you haven't ever listened to beatles and they give you a condescending look or say something snide = don't fear they are probably terrible... - on the other hand - if they are really nice and say - oh man check out ______________ yadda yadda yadda = be happy. they are cool)
Landon Pigg - The Boy Who Never - Great record!!
Black Dub
The Civil Wars
Jonsi - Go live
Jonsi and Alex - Riceboy sleeps
K.S. Rhoads - Dead Language
Helios
Adele - 21
The Alternate Routes - Good and reckless and true
Ben Folds - Way To Normal
The Cinematic Orchestra
Coldplay - Viva la vida - if you have only listened to the title track - shame on you - listen to the rest of the record!! AMAZING
Death Cab - narrow stairs
Florence and The Machine - (I discovered them and told Linz BTW)
The Gabe Dixon Band - been listening to them for a long time, but they came out with a self titled record and it was really good
Glen Hansard
I own every Harry Connick Jr. Record - you should too - if you like that sort of genre
BTW I listen to the Vince Guaraldi Trio - Charlie Brown Xmas - ALL YEAR LONG
Huey Lewis and The News - one band I remember my dad listening to on road trips growing up
Miles Davis - kind of blue - if you don't like jazz - buy this record
Jonsi - Go
Katy Perry
Michael Buble
Muse
Ray LaMontagne - Trouble, Til the Sun Turns black
Ryan Adams - Love is Hell Pt. I and II
Sarah Bareilles - either of her records
Sean Carey - All we Grow
Bon Iver
Sheryl Crow - 100 Miles From memphis
Van Morrison
U2
Hopefully I'll be posting more regularly
J
My sister Leanne told me the other day that one of her friends enjoyed reading the new music that Linz and I listen to and post about. Lindsay said that it was only because SHE blogged about it. I agreed but added that she typically hears the music from me and THEN blogs about it. I'm just giving her a hard time. Lindsay has great taste in music. We love everything from Cinematic Orchestra to Katy Perry. I really enjoy good pop music. Leanne says she feels bad because she listens to Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. Little does she know.... hahaha.
I have been making music and playing music for six years. It's interesting to look back on what I thought was such a difficult time and realize it was all very necessary. It would be easy to look on a lot of missed opportunities as bad luck or misfortune and let some of those things overshadow the good days, great songs, great gigs, and great people. I'm very thankful for all the good.
Everyone has to learn and grow some where right? Well... at least the people who are attempting to go, do, and be better all around seem to. I think a lot of the music scene has to do with not necessarily who you know but who you are. Is he or she a good hang or do people get quiet/make a face when that person is mentioned. It's easy to know very quickly.
As a Jesus follower and a "Bible" believer - I feel like it's very true that "no one is good, not one" - basically - everybody has flaws and is capable of being a complete ass/shit/whatever you call terrible people. But truly - I really have met some great people, and I have recently decided that I'm done trying to impress the people who "I'm supposed to impress or befriend so that..." - mainly because I've missed out on a lot of good things because I was too wrapped up in an idea of a person or a gig, or a project, or a band etc. etc. etc. Plus - we all know where the pity parties lead to.... no friends, no calls, no work. I've been there and it's not a fun place to be.
In the last two years I've produced or co-produced four EP's consisting of:
Neal Mabry
Hooray For Love
Tommy Lynch
Tim Qualls
A New Band - currently with no name that is really kick ass - I'm in this band. More to come later about this.
Each project was completely different. Different songs, players, places, seasons, and people all together.
Producing music is one of my favorite things to do. It's tricky and difficult, but the rewards can be great. Some times you can give a song or a record new direction by writing something new for it - shoving it really hard out of it's comfort zone or slightly nudging it in a different direction. Some times it's taxing and some times it's effortless. The best way to be good at something is to find someone who does it well and copy them. I'm serious. You want to know the difference between a good producer and a great producer? Look for the guy everyone talks about being such a great person. You can be great at your craft, but if you suck - nobody really cares about you. If you are a great hang- then the sky is the limit.
Andy Hunt is a producer in Nashville. He is also a very well known engineer and songwriter. I got connected with Andy through my friend Ryan Booth who interned for another producer that Andy used to share a space with in Nashville (Mitch Dane). I've worked with Andy on a few things - mainly utilizing his skills to mix some of my projects. Working on a record in Nashville with him for about three days was enough to solidify my thoughts about producing and how I would approach working on my own projects. I couldn't believe how encouraging and positive this guy was. So even keel and joyful. I felt like he was genuinely glad to see his friends and thankful he got to make music. There is definitely a nitty gritty technical detailed side to producing and music, but watching Andy work inspired me. Anyways - like I said - I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities I've had. Besides - how many bands do you absolutely love that you have NO idea as to the names of ANY of the guys who are either in the band, produced the music, or worked as engineers? I would say it's more than %90. Probably closer to %99 if you are like me.
All that says is that most of the people who work in music, who are very talented, and are really great will probably never ever be famous.
The reality is that there are thousands of people in the music biz that are extremely talented in different areas of music that we will never know about. From musicians to producers to songwriters. I think the question for people like myself is "Am I ok with not ever being famous?" I think I can say for certain that yes - I am, but I'll never say I wouldn't want that. Who wouldn't?
Anyways - enough rambling. Here is a list of music (I've) been listening to for the last few years.
Thad Cockrell - To Be Loved- Favorite record of 2010 - Linz will blog about him soon and my recent experience.
Paper Route - Absence - Favorite record of 2009
I recently started listening to the Beatles. So many songs to check out. If you aren't a beatles fan - don't beat yourself up or be afraid to say you haven't really listened to them - people can get over themselves. it's OK. If you want to start with the Beatles try listening to Revolver. I think that's a good one to start with. (quick thought - if you tell someone you haven't ever listened to beatles and they give you a condescending look or say something snide = don't fear they are probably terrible... - on the other hand - if they are really nice and say - oh man check out ______________ yadda yadda yadda = be happy. they are cool)
Landon Pigg - The Boy Who Never - Great record!!
Black Dub
The Civil Wars
Jonsi - Go live
Jonsi and Alex - Riceboy sleeps
K.S. Rhoads - Dead Language
Helios
Adele - 21
The Alternate Routes - Good and reckless and true
Ben Folds - Way To Normal
The Cinematic Orchestra
Coldplay - Viva la vida - if you have only listened to the title track - shame on you - listen to the rest of the record!! AMAZING
Death Cab - narrow stairs
Florence and The Machine - (I discovered them and told Linz BTW)
The Gabe Dixon Band - been listening to them for a long time, but they came out with a self titled record and it was really good
Glen Hansard
I own every Harry Connick Jr. Record - you should too - if you like that sort of genre
BTW I listen to the Vince Guaraldi Trio - Charlie Brown Xmas - ALL YEAR LONG
Huey Lewis and The News - one band I remember my dad listening to on road trips growing up
Miles Davis - kind of blue - if you don't like jazz - buy this record
Jonsi - Go
Katy Perry
Michael Buble
Muse
Ray LaMontagne - Trouble, Til the Sun Turns black
Ryan Adams - Love is Hell Pt. I and II
Sarah Bareilles - either of her records
Sean Carey - All we Grow
Bon Iver
Sheryl Crow - 100 Miles From memphis
Van Morrison
U2
Hopefully I'll be posting more regularly
J
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Favorite Sing-Along Song
I posted about sing-along songs once before, but this is my all time favorite (look how much fun they're having!):
(Here's the album version, which is awesome and has the all-popular xylophone going for it, but as you can tell from the live version, it really is meant to sing along to). I love love love Rilo Kiley. Perhaps you recognize the lead singer and guitar player?
[Jenny Lewis as Shelly Long's daughter in Troop Beverly Hills...she also sang back-up for The Postal Service]
[Blake Sennett as the bully in Boy Meets World]
(Here's the album version, which is awesome and has the all-popular xylophone going for it, but as you can tell from the live version, it really is meant to sing along to). I love love love Rilo Kiley. Perhaps you recognize the lead singer and guitar player?
[Jenny Lewis as Shelly Long's daughter in Troop Beverly Hills...she also sang back-up for The Postal Service]
[Blake Sennett as the bully in Boy Meets World]
Friday, May 06, 2011
Speaking of Ben Folds...
Our friend BF covered a Ke$ha song called Sleazy, which I'd never heard so I previewed it in iTunes...this version is way better:
I love how he takes ridiculous, trashy songs and turns it into something brilliant and trashy. [Note: Here we can excuse the trashiness because it's to raise funds for Japan...]
And while we are on the subject of awesome trashy covers, if you've never heard his cover of "Bitches Ain't Shit" you should probably listen to it. It's a Dr. Dre song he covered back in the day, and I've never heard such horrible horrible lyrics sang so beautifully. Seriously, just look up the lyrics...I would post them here but I'm too embarrassed.
I love how he takes ridiculous, trashy songs and turns it into something brilliant and trashy. [Note: Here we can excuse the trashiness because it's to raise funds for Japan...]
And while we are on the subject of awesome trashy covers, if you've never heard his cover of "Bitches Ain't Shit" you should probably listen to it. It's a Dr. Dre song he covered back in the day, and I've never heard such horrible horrible lyrics sang so beautifully. Seriously, just look up the lyrics...I would post them here but I'm too embarrassed.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
It's Not Just Me
I like things organized. I made Jay take me to Target last night at 9:45 because we had run out of white hangers.
So understandably, there are many images on this website that make my heart skip a beat: Things Organized Neatly.
[After looking through too many of these, I honestly feel like people like things to be organized because we are innately attracted to patterns, beautiful design, grouping objects in themes, etc. The ones with pattern and repetition really get me.]
So understandably, there are many images on this website that make my heart skip a beat: Things Organized Neatly.
[After looking through too many of these, I honestly feel like people like things to be organized because we are innately attracted to patterns, beautiful design, grouping objects in themes, etc. The ones with pattern and repetition really get me.]
Sunday, May 01, 2011
8in8
This is one of the most insane and coolest things I've ever heard of...
A few night ago, Ben Folds, who is just one of our favorites, teamed up with 3 other folks (lead singer of OK Go, songwriter Amanda Palmer and her author husband) to write and record 8 songs in 8 hours - 4 pm to midnight, west coast time. Neil Gairman (the author) tweeted throughout, taking suggestions for lyrics, album name, etc, and they live video-streamed the whole thing. They released the songs here the following morning, and then performed them live at Boston's Berklee College of Music that night.
And though they only got to 6 songs, and they're kind of weird, I'm still blown away by the concept.
A few night ago, Ben Folds, who is just one of our favorites, teamed up with 3 other folks (lead singer of OK Go, songwriter Amanda Palmer and her author husband) to write and record 8 songs in 8 hours - 4 pm to midnight, west coast time. Neil Gairman (the author) tweeted throughout, taking suggestions for lyrics, album name, etc, and they live video-streamed the whole thing. They released the songs here the following morning, and then performed them live at Boston's Berklee College of Music that night.
And though they only got to 6 songs, and they're kind of weird, I'm still blown away by the concept.
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