Sunday, June 6, 2010

6-5

Today I worked most of the day on some new orchestral arrangements for a woman named Debora Petrina. We met in about the most insane way possible. David Byrne is a fan of her music and they were in touch around the time that he and I were working on our song and he recommended that we collaborate because he could see see some similarities between our work. So I agreed to work on some of her material. She is from Padova Italy and I have had a chance to hang out with her and her man friend Mirko a couple times when I have been touring through there. They sent me 2 tracks that are Debora playing piano and singing. Her music is much more complex than what I am used to so it has been a real challenge, but it is working out really well! I am planning on recording the arrangements with a real orchestra in the next week or so.
I am also trying to finish up the video and audio from my big Town Hall birthday show. I am a bit bummed because I only had 2 cameras going and unfortunately both of them are mostly doing close ups of certain elements and it never really gives a good overview of the full orchestra. It has kind of kept me from feeling inspired to work on it, but it sounds really good so I figure I might as well get it done. It is totally my fault with the video stuff... I was so flustered around that time that i did not give ANY direction. Oh well. I had to learn some how, and I have always wanted to learn how to use Final Cut Pro, so it's still all fun and good. I should be able to start putting the videos up on this blog real soon! Until then..
Heart

Thursday, June 3, 2010

KEXP Tonight!

Zac will be gues DJ-ing Sharlese's show on KEXP (90.3FM, Seattle) tonight/Friday morning at 2AM PST. It also streams.. Word has it that he might be playing a track or 2 from the my new orchestral record. If you are curious, check it.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

6-1 and 6-2

6-1
I spent the day working on a new EP for Parenthetical Girls called Privilege Part 2. We recorded most of the tracks for it about 5 months ago but touring and other things have kept us from finishing it. We just about wrapped it up but I have a few more tweaks to make. We also worked on 2 songs for a 7" for Tomlab for their 7" alphabet series. That also needs some work but will be done in a week or so.
I made pasta for dinner for my folks and Zac. I always put peanut butter in my sauce... If you have not tried it, trust me... It is so so so good! It gives it a little bit of like a Thai flavor. That reminds me, I figured out what my new life goal is. Ever since I became Vegan a few years back, I have developed a real love for cooking. I am not very good at it really but I really enjoy it. While I was on tour with Parenthetical Girls in Italy last month I was eating all of this amazing food and every time I would compliment the chef, they would say "oh it's nothing really, it is very simple", but it was so incredibly delicious. I realized that I do a lot of traveling and touring in these places known for their food. So I want to have a day off every few days on tour and on those days off, I would take cooking classes and learn how to cook all of that yummy food. As long as I could bring my lady along with me, I would truly have everything I ever wanted! Music, great food and love (not always in that order of course).
Here is a music video for a song I produced for Parenthetical Girls- Privilege Part 1 called Evelyn McHale.



6-2
Today I finished up mastering a song for a 7" for Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. It is a super awesome track. It sounds a bit like Scattered Pearls from his Etiquette record. The plan is to release it on a 7" comp for OIB records.
I also worked on re editing some tracks that I recorded for my good friend Steven Reker. We finished a full length record recently and I am super pleased with how it turned out. It has a very distinct sound. We only used 1 cymbal on the whole record so it really has an unusual sound. I am not yet sure what the name of his group is going to be yet but I am excited about that record. I was re editing the songs with no vocals in them for a possibility of their inclusion in a VERY EXCITING movie. I can't say what it is yet, but if it comes through then I will let you know what the deal is! So I finished that and now I am just working on putting the final touches on a string quartet for the Degenerate Art Ensemble. So I am BUSY!! This evening I am going to take it easy! Maybe go see this new Robin Hood movie or something!!