Post The Third - UnderTow

In studio B between takes and every one has gone out for a smoke which I think I'll pass on. I started this post in the middle of the UnderTow Session Part II, in which we're recording 6 songs. Today is Wednesday a few days later so I don't have too many comments about that session at this point. The band was kind of wierd during that session. During the initial sessions which we started in november of '03 we had a lot of fun. But somehow I felt like there was a very aggressive vibe in the studio this past weekend with people being very confrontational and easy to get angry. I did blast some people with headphone noise at some point which I am sure was incredibly loud - it's that awful thing that happens when you've got something patched into a channel and you've cranked the send to their headphones and then you move a patch point and that makes a big huge pop in their cans - i've done that at least twice in my life and it's not good!
Last night I "Mixed" some gerbil tunes with Helmut (or is Cyrano?, I can't remember who's who...) It might take a while considering there are 13 songs to mix and only a few evenings left at our disposal. I don't know that i'll be the person to finish working on that material, but I don't really care either.
Today is the first real fall day - it's what you'd call Sag-Ri-Ri in hebrew; which comes i believe from the word Sa-Goor, which means closed. Either way it's a windy grey day and the temperature according to the times is 53 degrees.
I've been sending out copies of Put Your Gun Away like mad and getting back some interesting responses, but none of the rampant excitement that I'd like to get. Actually, that's not true. People are digging it but I seem to be unable to present it to some people whom i'd like to give it to. Let me rephrase: I gave it to SS and he hasn't said a word about it; which freaks me out a little because I'd like to give a copy to CPS because I think he'd hear some cool things on it he might like to use on his record, but i'm afraid to give it to him because SS never said anything about it. I feel like those guys might think it's immensely un-melodic or something, which it very well might be.
Any way - that should do for a moment. Off to breakfast and other communications.
;)

Post The Second - And the Gerbils Vacate....

I actually have had nothing to do with the Gerbils since sunday. Day two of Gerbilization went more smoothly than day one, so we'll just leave it at that. We made some decent recordings and now they have thirteen songs to their record though I plan to ignore one that has never had any work done to it so I am treating it as an outtake.. We'll see if anyone notices.
I spent today making press packets and trying to make some cool graphic cards for aformentioned press packets. It's too bad it's largley a futile effort sending out press packets to clubs and radio stations. I don't think most people I send the stuff to cares at all. Maybe 10 percent of the recpeints could give a fuck. But what are you going to do? I have to try, and I enjoy messing around with texts and images and printing them onto whatever cool or nice papers I might have around the house.
Karyn has gone more than a week without a cigarette - I am very happy for her and impressed. Her habit was so heavy it is no small feat for her to have gone so long without. She was most difficult during the very first days, but has gotten much better of late, though it does seem like she's teetering a little on the edge still.
I for one have been enjoying myself and our house without the cigarette smoke and without the constant nico-nagging. You know, going out for a smoke at a restaurant, or having to go get smokes in the middle of the night and so on.
The Rays had two great rehearsals in a row and we made major breakthroughs with some of the new material, and even some of the old material. We have two shows scheduled for october which is kind of right around the bend and I feel pretty good about the band in that sense. We just need to find a keyboard player, and I know who that needs to be but I havn't gone ahead and put that into motion.
Tomorrow I hope to make some headway into the Spring Comp mailing which is rapidly turning into the Fall Comp, and I was hoping to get to Mr. Hermans tune and comp the EBow I had recorded last week; that needs to happen soon. Also demos need to be made of a couple of Rays tunes that I think can be revived or reworked.

First Post/Barking Gerbils of leprosy

So this is my first blog post as you can tell from the amazing title I've created. Today is another day in the studio with the barking gerbils of leporsy (names have been changed to protect the guilty) and I have to put up with Cyrano and Helmut for at least eight hours. Yesterday they were intolerable, and I discovered that Cyrano works in short loops, an average of four or so, I guess. This makes him difficult; Imagine that he's got an idea: he'll have a holding pattern on that idea, which he won't release from untill you prod him to let it go. If it's a suggestion and you're trying to make that into a reality, he just keeps hammering at me even if I tell him that I am attempting or realizing his desire. There is little left to the imagination, which is what I believe bums me out about interacting with a lot of people in a studio setting.
The other bummber about yesterday was that I was just rushed the whole time I was in the Studio from the moment I set foot there. And this is with a group of people who've been in recoding studio's many times in their lives. The real bummer is that I am doing this for an unknown amount of compensation, and a year or two into the project that's really hurting me. I want to just have fun with it, but when there is an 8 piece band it's hard to enjoy yourself without a plan.
Well, off to the war again. Perhaps today will be more better!