what is going on in your musical life

does anyone have the Zoom H1? Is it useful?

It is useful if you want to record things using the built in mic and then transfer them to your computer for editing. The Sony that I have is pretty comparable. It's what I use to record gigs and also sample things.

I have an H1. Mainly I use it for sampling and also recording acoustic instruments away from the computer, but it can also be used as a USB mic. The sound quality is good, but it does pick up a lot of room tone. There's one 3m x 3m room that I record vocals in that by way of makeshift acoustic treatment has a fully stocked bookshelf along one wall and thick curtains along another. Vocals with an SM57 sounds fine, but with the H1 it sounds like I'm recording in a concrete bunker. Also the built-in mics are very sensitive. Even with something like an acoustic guitar I'm adjusting the input level way down, so it might be tricky to use for recording a drum kit.

Listening and being kinda blown away on the mastered tracks my band just got back from Carl Saff is what I got going on right now. I think it all turned out pretty good.

that dude stays busy

Congrats; good mastering is a species of wizardry.

In my musical life I think I might be sitting in on bass for a rockabilly outfit next week. Which makes perfect sense, because the things I am good at are: (1) sorta punky drumming, (2) mostly folky guitar-playing, (3) sometimes playing New Wave covers with a mandolin on my porch.

I'm singing in a concert full of Bach family music on Sunday. I'm the soloist in the following Johann Michael Bach piece, which means I get to be Jesus:

https://youtu.be/NCzA8F_S510

wait you weren't already Jesus?

Djesus

Now it's official!

I had never heard of Johann Michael Bach. That link is a pretty good recording.

After listening to that link, I feel a bit dirty posting my bands new riffage.

https://trunnionrecords.bandcamp.com/album/heavy-elements

sounds good!

I'll post a recording from our concert once I get it and verify that I don't sound terrible.

Collaborated on a spacey, funk/jazz tune with my friend who included it on his album which was released today. Very happy with how it turned out:

https://jasonamullinax.bandcamp.com/track/outbreak-monkey

Enjoying this. What did you play?

Thanks! We passed the song back and forth. He sent me two drum loops and I added the bass, autoharp, and most of the keyboard sounds. I sent it back to him and he had vibes and sax added by some other friends

i'm painting all the zeros in a book of million digits, and i made the accompanying music out of a few older tracks from 2012/13, one a kind of simple chance-based synth sequence, the other a collage of orchestra warm-up noise loops. it's 50 minutes long but it really flies by because that's about how long each page of zeros takes. an intense ambient race to the finish!

https://soundcloud.com/weinventyou/painting-zeros

Approximately once a month I sing solo at an evening service as part of my church gig. I did that this Wednesday; the organist was coming from another service in Cambridge that ran late and didn't make it to the church until about 3 minutes after our service was supposed to begin, so we didn't get a chance to rehearse. Fortunately, we discussed this possibility earlier and chose a piece I know backwards and forwards that we had done together before, so the whole thing went smoothly. Perhaps the most gratifying thing was a couple of tourists who came in for the beginning of the service and started to sneak out after the sermon, only to stop at the door when I started singing and stay for most of my song.

(I sang an excerpt from Mendelssohn's Elijah; here is a recording of a performance I did last year.)

Also, the Mountain Goats album I contributed to was released today:

https://themountaingoats.bandcamp.com/album/goths

Well, the NEWEST mountain goats album you've contributed to, right?

ha yes, that is more accurate

I have been taking long lenghts of dialouge from my favourite movies and making stupid eGarbage garageband backings for them. very good to listen to in the car!

So a while back I attached myself to a new band that had a singer and a drummer. I told them I would be happy to play guitar, bass, mandolin, or whatever. They said they needed bass most, so I became the bass player. I am enjoying this.

They added a guitar player who could play lead (which I don't really do). But I have this nagging sense that there's a difference between "lead guitarist" and "only guitarist." I feel like the sound gets thin when he solos, but it is a bit "samey" when he just plays chords. I keep finding myself wanting to add a rhythm guitar part, an acoustic guitar, or a mandolin part. Whenever I do so that helps vary the texture, but then the bass is gone.

In my ideal world, the band would add another multi-instrumentalist who is willing to switch off at least some of the time. Pass the bass around, do rock-paper-scissors.

ha, i am starting to understand why people prefer the leanest band possible now that i am trying to wrangle >2 adults at a time.

lots of things going on in my musical world but mostly i am excited because i am going on tour for the first time. we leave 2 weeks from yesterday. goal #1 is to make this a good experience. i have reasonable expectations and there are only 2 of us, and we get along/communicate well. it should be really fun!! i am only playing snare and floor tom too, which reduces the hassle.

That rules, enjoy!

Good luck LL, break a stick (or whatever)

Yay! have a fun tour.

Thanks! I am so eagerly anticipating this that I'm trying to be cool and control myself so I don't wig :)
We are only going out Wed-Sun so it's not super long, and I am playing my hometown but at the end when we will be relaxed and able to have a good time. I think that is what is giving me the most potential to freak out -- hometown show?! What is even happening

Hey that's great LL, hope it'll be a great experience for you!

Is there decent a tour van? :)

Just a car, we jam econo
Lol

:D

So stoked tbh

Wow, LL, really excited for you! Glad things are going so well.

Did another evensong cantor thing at my church gig yesterday on this preces and responses by Anthony Piccolo. I did not get a recording unfortunately.

However, this Wednesday my wife and I will be recording study tracks for a musical being written and produced by a friend of ours and hopefully I'll get some recordings out of that.

Got my first unfinished guitar body and supplies from Reranch, have to hit Home Depot for supplies and then I can start sanding it and getting on with things.

What are you building?

Either a Telecaster or an Esquire. Went with copper ala this - http://www.reranch.com/gallery/copperpbass.htm

i'm painting all the zeros in a book of million digits, and i made the accompanying music out of a few older tracks from 2012/13, one a kind of simple chance-based synth sequence, the other a collage of orchestra warm-up noise loops. it's 50 minutes long but it really flies by because that's about how long each page of zeros takes. an intense ambient race to the finish!

https://soundcloud.com/weinventyou/painting-zeros

― Karl Malone, Friday, May 19, 2017 6:52 PM (three weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is beautiful

i have been recording clips to keep busy and starting a new low key project that feels more casual: https://soundcloud.com/bachelornumberthree

writing for solo piano

https://soundcloud.com/he_records/just-for-gone-for-solo-piano-mike-hanley

Painting Zeros is excellent concentration music

thanks surm + dog L!

tour was excellent on all levels, i did not wig
would do again

new things:
-- this friday i am supposed to (and plan to i guess) play In C in a one-time ensemble. it's an endurance test for me, which of course i am looking forward to.
-- while on tour the woman whose set was after us ran up to me after our set and asked if i would join her, so i said sure. we listened to a little of her music on the way to the show but it was very unstructured synth washes and no vocals. she assured me her set that night was loop based and i could just follow that. she looped mostly vocal parts and added some synth sounds. it was indeed easy to follow and i enjoyed it a lot.
-- friend who plays with me regularly painted a mural in a city park in honor of our ongoing jam/band and i am hoping to get someone to let us play with them in the next few months. we'll see how that works out.
--last but not least, ilx all star jam is meeting a second time, that will be excellent

yay

yay!

Can personally affirm the excellence of the Brooklyn stop of the tour, pls tour again

congrats!

who made the ILX related song Vamoose?

I really wanna do a collaboration with LL but it sounds like you have an awful lot on your plate already!

-- while on tour the woman whose set was after us ran up to me after our set and asked if i would join her, so i said sure. we listened to a little of her music on the way to the show but it was very unstructured synth washes and no vocals. she assured me her set that night was loop based and i could just follow that. she looped mostly vocal parts and added some synth sounds. it was indeed easy to follow and i enjoyed it a lot.

sounds so neat

I really wanna do a collaboration with LL but it sounds like you have an awful lot on your plate already!
HMU October or so and we can make something dark and gnarly for the winter! i'm into it.

Ooooh, definitely! <3