5.31.04

Back from Tape Op Conference 2004. Didn't get to stay for the whole thing, but what I was there for was great. Thanks to Hillary Johnson, Dave McNair, and Michael Brauer for rescuing the Freelancing Panel from oblivion (all the original panel members ended up working through the conference, so up to the last minute it was anyone's guess who was going to end up doing it). I was especially blown away by the first night chat and award thing with Cosimo Matassa - check out his interview in the last issue of Tape Op. That guy is incredible. And thanks to Heather Hawkins for recommending Mother's for breakfast. Yum.
Now we barbecue.

Another few more good things:
1. www.rathergood.com/swearotron.html
2. MX-80 Sound
3. Graham Coxon
4. Two If By Sea
5. guitar music of Leo Brouwer
6. Richard Clarke "Against All Enemies"
7. the Forms (again)
8. two cool used bookstores in the French Quarter
9. Little Labs
10. just about everyone I met at the Tape Op Con
11. www.proj7.com

5. 26.04

The Channels song "Storytime (in the street of spies)" is finally up on the mp3 page - check it out ... I am about to leave for New Orleans where as it turns out I will not only participate in but actually MODERATE the "Freelancing" panel at Tape Op conference 2004 ... I'm really looking forward to it, even though I am the only original member of the freelancing panel NOT to have ended up working on the weekend of the conference ... a dubious distinction. That's right, everyone else who was originally on it is now gainfully employed making records this weekend. This will be a topic for the panel to discuss ... as long as they promise to go easy on me. Anyway I'm excited to be in New Orleans and to go geek out again, especially since I missed it last year.
Listening to the Hidden Hand mixes. I haven't rocked out to guitar solos like this in a long long time. Bruce Falkinburg mastered it himself this weekend and I'm eager to hear the results.

Top Ten of the moment:
1. grilling out
2. the new Graham Coxon record
3. John Woo's commentary track on the otherwise lamentable "Paycheck" DVD (listening to John Woo gush about Alfred Hitchcock for 2 hours - believe it or not - almost makes the movie OK. Almost. I guess this says a lot about my admiration for John Woo)
4. Apollo Quartet demos
5. Reason Adapted for Digidesign
6. the Denver Airport Conspiracy
7. Wino
8. Pilot to Gunner live (on and off stage)
9. Part Chimp
10. Battles "EP C"

5.17.04

Tomorrow we begin mixing the Hidden Hand. I love this band and I'm sad to see the project's end in sight.
Not too much else to report at this stage ... rehearsing for the Channels DC show on the 24th, plotting and scheming for more shows ... Strategizing for another recording session with Tone in early June. I can't wait.
Channels took some band photos recently with a couple of different nice people and wore out their patience with our sincere hatred of being photographed. We'd really rather submit photos of our dogs ...

Top Ten Precious Things of the Shop 5/04:
1. the Office
2. Alan Douches
3. finally getting a grip on the MIDI part of ProTools
4. Darren Zentek
5. Atomic Music, College Park MD
6. Franz Liszt
7. Fortean Times
8. Donald Rumsfeld getting emo with the troops in Iraq
9. Bruce Falkinburg
10. "Cops of the World" by Phil Ochs
(here are a few stanzas reprinted without permission - he wrote this in 1967 or something):
"Our boots are needing a shine, boys
Boots are needing a shine
But our Coca-cola is fine, boys
Coca-cola is fine
We've got to protect all our citizens fair
So we'll send a battalion for everyone there
And maybe we'll leave in a couple of years
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Dump the reds in a pile, boys
Dump the reds in a pile
You'd better wipe of that smile, boys
Better wipe off that smile
We'll spit through the streets of the
cities we wreck
We'll find you a leader that you can't elect
Those treaties we signed were a pain in the neck
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Clean the johns with a rag, boys
Clean the johns with a rag
If you like you can use your flag, boys
If you like you can use your flag
We've got too much money we're looking for toys
And guns will be guns and boys will be boys
But we'll gladly pay for all we destroy
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

Please stay off of the grass, boys
Please stay off of the grass
Here's a kick in the ass, boys
Here's a kick in the ass
We'll smash down your doors, we
don't bother to knock
We've done it before, so why all the shock?
We're the biggest and toughest kids on the block
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World

When we butchered your son, boys
When we butchered your son
Have a stick of our gum, boys
Have a stick of our bubble-gum
We own half the world, oh say can you see
The name for our profits is democracy
So, like it or not, you will have to be free
'Cause we're the Cops of the World, boys
We're the Cops of the World"

5.4.04

Recording the Hidden Hand at Phase in College Park. We're almost done with basics and it's going great. I'm a little fried because thanks to everyone else's day jobs, we're working evenings and into the wee hours of the morning ... but I suppose those are the best working hours for their sort of conspiracy-fueled doom heavyosity. While the world sleeps, the Hidden Hand works its secret machinations ... or something like that. I love to record people who sort of "are" their music - don't know if that's the best way to put it or not, but the sound just seems to flow out of this band and really cool ideas just come out of thin air. They have the hugest guitar and bass tones I've ever heard. In summary: I'm stoked.
The Channels mixes are more or less done; everyone's signed off on them & they are sounding really good -a vast improvement over the rough mixes we've been listening to for a while. I just want to bounce them out of ProTools and onto 1/2" analog, but gremlins seem to have been messing about with the alignment on my MCI machine down at Phase, and right now it's just about fucked, so today I'm off to Inner Ear to borrow Don Z's. 1/2" MRL tape & restore the MCI to its former glory ... beautiful day to drive all around the greater Baltimore/DC metro area, so I won't complain too loudly. Anyway, once this last stage is done, I'll be able to get a song up on the mp3 page ... FINALLY.
I have also been doing some trancey-sounding remixes of a couple of them, which is enough fun that I actually almost feel a strange kind of guilt. I might post one of those too if I feel daring.