A Little studio blog…

Just a quick update here in 2010. I’m working on a new CD of late, look for something perhaps within the next few weeks. It’s a combination of tracks assembled from the Fusion, Kaossilator, M3 (the new one) and Wavestation.

I’m a big fan of completion rituals. While there’s nothing wrong with things just simply quietly finishing, there’s also a lot to be said for the explicit action of declaring something officially “Done.” To that end, this was a bittersweet week for me. To have Dinner for One go on sale is one of those times. Much of the music in this particular CD seemed to be self-writing, and just poured out more from an emotional center.

I find myself surprisingly quiet in the aftermath of the release now. No euphoria of finishing, and no sense of urgency to start the next big project either. Simply a quiet sense of calm, and a sense that a project is done, and was done to the best of my abilities.

I have no idea how well it will sell, if folks will like it more or less than any of the other CDs. That’s an interesting thing, as the creator of a work, you can have this sense of ownership in the creation, but you don’t always know how others will like it. Jazzed Edge was one of those projects that some folks were pretty stoked about, and others really didn’t get at all. I know that’s often the case with the electronica music.

All that said, hopefully by this time next week it will have hit iTunes, and maybe there will be a few people listening to the tunes and digging them.

Until then, I think I’ll just stay quiet, mellow, calm. That seems to be the way now.

Peace – Steve

Well, the new solo CD is done! I sent copies off to CD Baby last week, and got an email today that they have been received. Usually it takes about a week or two for the CDs to show up on sale at their site, and also on iTunes.

I’m pretty happy with the finished CD, it was a very different project from the Kaossilator tunes and the synthy electronica. Dinner for One was really a collection of music from the heart. I hope that shines through.

I’ve been re-reading Zen Guitar lately too. What a wonderful little book. I should probably write a post about it sometime. It really causes you to stop, and just focus on playing and improving and listening and making the music that is in your own heart and soul. Somehow I’m pretty sure that’s what this is all about.

Well, I’m going to sign off, but I’ll update when Dinner for One is officially out there and you can buy a copy or hear some sample tracks. I could post them, but I have all the other website updates to do (like creating an posting a .zip file for all the Water Vapor tracks).

Peace! Steve

It’s been a while since I posted. A lot has been going on. I’ve gone from a full-time job to back on consulting gigs. That has taken a lot of my time, trying to either find consulting clients or a new full time place (or a contract position). Welcome to the new economy.

I am working on some new music. I have a few tracks assembled for a solo piano EP or CD. I’m not sure which. I’m taking my time with it, letting the music come to me, recording as it crashes over me. It’s a different experience to record it. I’m simplifying, playing just solo pieces, new compositions, and letting them just be based on a feel, a vibe, where the Big Cat seems to move my fingers.

On the technical side, I now have it set up that I can play directly into the digital piano, and record it on my trusty old QY-70. What a great little machine. From there, I can play the files back through the piano, and record from that. It’s funny, I have all of these various pianos at my beck and call via the Fusion, and also via the QY, but I still like the Grand in the Casio the best. It just sounds better than the others. Go figure. To each their own. After recording that way into the BR-600, I can then import into the PC and use Tracktion3 for editing. I do like that. Also, I’ve been taking the midi files from the QY-70, routing them through the Boss GS-10, and capturing them in Tracktion3 too. I’ve been testing out some software that takes the midi files and creates scores from it. Cool stuff.

Anyhow, I’ll continue to post when I can. I’m not sure if anyone reads or subscribes anyhow, so maybe I’m howling at the moon with these few words.

I haven’t forgotten about Two Flights, and Mercurial Pursuit is on an indefinite hold. Two Flights may see the light of day as a giveaway, and Mercurial Pursuit just hasn’t come together in a way that really moves me. Maybe I just have the sequence wrong, I’m not sure. It wouldn’t be that hard to pump it out though.

I’m also looking to simply things in the studio, getting rid of some gear, and focusing more on basic music. I’m finding a little hint of peace in front of the piano, lately it’s been about the only place that I really get any, and even then, it’s pretty infrequent. Such is life.

Enjoy, listen well, and play often — Peace, Steve

Things are up and running here again. After a break to get used to the BR-600, and some reorganizing, things are set up in the studio/office again. I’ve got two songs finished with the BR. Pretty cool stuff – guitar pieces more in the line with Reflexive.

I still have Two Flights in a working state – I’m probably going to push that out as another freebie on the website, kind of in the same way as Water Vapor was released. It’s pretty cool, but it’s still a concept piece, and part of me just doesn’t feel quite right about charging anyone for personal use for Two Flights since it was done as a piece of truly experimental music. That said – if you want to pay me…heh heh.

I also haven’t forgotten about the long and languishing Mercurial Pursuit CD. I’ve been considering rolling the best of the new BR work in with that CD and doing a slightly longer but fuller CD, with a broader scope. Then again, I may keep all of the new stuff as a BR only CD, and release Mercurial Pursuit with the existing material. Decisions…decisions… Mercurial Pursuit is very, very eclectic, from a solo piano piece, solo guitar, and some solely electronica things. I want that breadth on that CD, it’s really a compilation of a lot of disjointed thoughts – hey, is that really what’s bouncing around up there? All kidding aside, I think it’s a pretty good CD. Probably the only real question on Mercurial will be what to do with Aztec Opus. It’s currently a nine minute track, and it fits in sequence about halfway through the CD. Unfortunately, I suspect that even loyal listeners zone out of nine minute tracks unless you’re Miles Davis (which I am certainly NOT!). Also, such a long track creates a very natural barrier to the later tracks. One alternative is to put a silent gap at the end of the CD past the final closing track which is a reprise, and then put the Opus. Or alternatively, putting a mix-down Aztec Opus and then the final “bonus” track of the full nine minute mix. I’m sure I’ll sort it out, and then that one will be closer to release. Maybe by Christmas time.

Anyhow, for those who venture in to read this, that’s the latest news in the studio. It’s nice because I do have the Fusion and Piano set up together, the microKorg has a good spot at my working desk, the GS-10 and the BR-600 are easy to access, and I’ve got the Ovation, Variax guitar (and bass), Steinberger, and even the
‘51 all at the ready in just a few seconds. The drum kit is set up, and the full latin set up of tumba and bongos are also ready to go. It’s nice finally have the full rig really ready to fly. Heck, I can even hear out of the monitors and they don’t take up the full desk anymore!

Well, I’d best get some mixing and tracking done. Enjoy the tunes, thanks for reading, and keep an eye out on the main page for new tunes very, very shortly!

I missed my faders. It was really that simple. Having gone from a Zoom PS-04 (with the 128MB SmartMedia limitation), to a Zoom H4 (with SDHC and virtually amazing recording clarity), it all came down to the faders. Just last weekend, I took the plunge and decided to get a Boss BR-600 multitracker. I did a lot of research, and narrowed it down to the Zoom MRS-8 and the BR-600. The only negative that I saw going for the Boss was that it is limited to 1GB CompactFlash cards, which are not terribly easy to find. However, they still can be found at under $15 (unlike those 128MB SmartMedia cards which are now like slivers of gold!), so I knew that I could get a few to stockpike for the future.

Now to the good stuff…about the BR-600 and what I plan to do with it. First of all, it offers a sweet suite of COSM modeling capability. I have a GS-10, so I was already familiar with many of the models and what they could do. It basically puts a whole slew of Boss pedals in a small form factor. Second, it has FADERS…lots of them. Well, faders for tracks 1-4, 5/6, 7/8, Rhythm, and Master. Third, and this surprisingly mattered to me a LOT more than I realized – it has a drum machine built in. Don’t worry, we’re coming back to talk about that in a bit. It also has a 1/8 stereo line in (for Kaossilator magic), and stereo condenser mics on the front.

I’ve had the chance to try it out with my variax guitar, and I’m absolutely thrilled with it. For capturing ideas quickly and easily, it is simply remarkable. It is about the size of a small form factor laptop (more like an EEE than a SONY or Dell these days). It came with a slip case that can hold the BR-600 and the manual for taking it back and forth to work – I’ve been doing a touch of drum programming over lunchtime to tweak it. And the sound quality is quite excellent.

Now, about the drum machine… Roland created a PC-based drum editor package that you can use to connect up your BR-600 to your PC to create your own rhythms. You can customize the drum sets (it even allows a short burst of samples of your own drums – yay!). You can use the PC software with a drum grid to lay out patterns, and you can sequence the patterns in a timeline. It even includes a little quick play setup to hear what you’ve got. The thing that I found that I missed the most from the PS-04 (after the faders…) was the built in drum machine that the PS-04 offered. I liked the Zoom FAST programming scheme, and how I could create my own drum info on the fly. While the MRS-8 offers that too, the MRS-8 was larger than the BR-600, and thicker. I really wanted something I could take nearly anywhere (both run on batteries or AC). The MRS-8 didn’t include the drum programming software, but you can buy it – but the BR-600 drum package is free. I found it very, very easy to use.

There are a TON of features on the BR-600, I have barely touched on them, and I have struggled a bit with the manual and getting my head around all the various ways I can route the loop effects, insert effects and mastering. However, it was so quick to just cable in, pick a drum track, record a track or two, hook up the Kaossilator, bounce the tracks down, and have something to listen to. Moreover, I can then edit the drum track independently and set up exactly the fills and backing that I want. Finally, exporting to the PC involves using a USB cable and the Boss translation software to convert the BR format to a standard WAV. Just like the old Zoom conversion, it is easy to use. Mastering involves just choosing the mixdown and applying an effect. I haven’t quite figured out if I can tips and tails the songs using the BR-600 or if I’ll have to do that in SONY CD Architect, but that’s pretty easy either way.

All in all, this is going to flat out be a BOON to creativity and capturing ideas. Moreso, it will help me structure the next wave of songs and keep the timing and magic flowing. Thanks Roland/BOSS!

I may post a few things as I get them recorded just for grins. I still have to finish up Two Flights, and I am yet to decide if I’ll just post that like Water Vapor or do a full release. I also have Mercurial Pursuit in the works, however some of the new songs may find their way onto Mercurial Pursuit. Stay tuned… Steve

I’m a sucker for guitars. While I’ve been doing my CDs so far this year as Kaossilator releases, I play a Variax Bass at church on Sundays, and I own too many guitars. By the way, the Variax Bass is a GREAT instrument, probably the most versatile guitar or bass I’ve ever played or owned.

I “bought” the AE-28 using a gift card that the family gave me for father’s day, so the net price was a whopping $6 and change. It was a wonderful feeling to add to the guitar “collection” completely guilt-free (well, only $6 worth of guilt). I’ve always been a fan of the Applause and Ovation lines, and a few years ago I looked pretty seriously into an Ovation. I wasn’t crazy about the deep bowl guitars, and the action on all of the ones that I tried seemed to be just a bit too high. I had a client in Cincinnati, so in the evenings, I often would head over to the music stores, and try out the guitars just to see what the different models sounded like. I developed an affinity for the Applause line, even though they were the second line of the Ovation family, I liked the action better. There was an innate playability in many of them, although as with most guitars, there were some duds along the way too. So I’ve always kept my eyes out on Craigslist for a possible Applause for fun to noodle on. After a while, I was just plain lucky enough that a used one came into Pianos ‘N Stuff in Pittsburgh (great shop – terrific folks!!), and I decided to take a look. Well, it was a short look and I brought it home.

So now I’ve been playing more guitar again, and my wife, daughters and brothers have been encouraging me to return to my “roots” and work on an acoustic album rather than the electronica I’ve done for the past year or two as my primary recording focus.

It’s with that in mind that I’ve been debating whether to release Two Flights as an electronica record (all Kaossilator), or if I should use it as the base/backbone, and layer the Applause and a pure mic’ed acoustic shimmer over top of the Kaossilator madness… such possibilities. I’m leaning toward an electronica release for Two Flights as another free Kaossilator album (like Water Vapor), and then going to work in earnest on the acoustic tracks.

Anyway, regardless of the new release, the Applause is a great addition to the gang of guitars, and how can you not love the “ovation-y” sound. There is a unique set of harmonics that these guitars have, a sort of sweetness that folks say you either love or hate. Given that it’s playable, and sounds good…it’s all good with the “new” AE-28. Yay!

So over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about new ideas. New concepts, new music, new design methods (I work in the design area of industry), and also new ways to present information. I am increasingly inspired by folks who truly develop a new idea. I’m also increasingly discovering just how “innovators” are just repackaging old ideas in new forms. Now that sounds an awful lot like criticism, and I don’t really mean it that way – you see, novel innovation is a remarkably big deal. It’s also remarkably rare.

Every day I read through the posts and usually visit the site sciencedaily.com. I know, I could have made that a link, but go on, type it in, then add it to your own site list…ok, so maybe I will hyperlink it…sheesh. All kidding aside, when you read Science Daily, you are always astonished by the depth and breadth of things that folks are studying. I read the neuroscience posts religiously for work reasons, but I often tour the other areas as well, mainly trolling for ideas or ways in which we might connect research ideas into thought chains. Now, back to this whole notion of new and original ideas…when I read Science Daily, I often find REALLY new ideas. Things that haven’t been tried before, or things that operate at such miniscule levels of detail (nano goodness) – that well, we haven’t even really been able to hypothesize what’s going on there previously. Which leads me to…

The not so new ideas. Recently a CNNSI author wrote about folks avoiding taking showers in the NFL by taking a “shower pill” (that means NOT taking a shower…). Now the author was quite pleased with this “new” concept. However, that was an idea my Dad used to joke with me about 25 years ago. In the military, if you got called out on a mission on short notice, you might need to take a shower pill to get there on time! Perhaps a new interpretation or location for a very old joke.

Even more not so good ideas…if you’re not familiar with Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint, then you should go read about it! 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 point font – that’s how to give a venture capital presentation using powerpoint. Except actually, that 10/20/30 rule is adaptable to LOTS of situations if you actually want to give a presentation that folks pay attention to. Now I’m not claiming Guy to be a genius incarnate (after all, he did turn down becoming the head Yahoo once…), but the 10/20/30 rule is pretty useful. Which brings me to things like Presentation Zen, or Pecha Kucha or also insight. All of these are cool, neat things. But Presentation Zen isn’t all that far away from Guy’s 10/20/30 rule. And Pecha Kucha and insight aren’t that far removed from Toastmasters! Yikes – I must be old to remember that Sister Cleta made us all give short speeches and encouraged us to be Toastmasters. See, I really did pay attention in 7th and 8th grade all those (n) years ago (n>25 for those counting).

I guess the point to this is that when we think about new ideas, we need to think back about how they relate to old ideas. There’s nothing wrong with recombining things, remixing, revisiting, and reviving great ideas. Heck, if you want to, read Ben Rich’s Skunk Works and you’ll discover that the core idea for faceting which was integral to the development of the original F-117 Stealth Fighter was part of an old math paper dusted off that inspired some creative cats.

Whatever your deal, whether it is design, music, art, engineering, food (always a good thing) — whatever it may be — just keep it real, and please, please, pay a little respect to those who came first. And when the idea really is that new, that rich, that cool – then embrace it and realize your great fortune – because lots of “new” ideas really are just packaging.

Peace!

Hi all,
I didn’t forget about folks, in fact, things have been pretty busy. Since the last update and the release of Water Vapor, I’ve had a little bit of sales success with Jazzed Edge, and even some sales of my earlier Reflexive CD on iTunes! That’s great because it serves as inspiration to keep working on things.

Just last month we had a family vacation to DisneyWorld, and on the flights down and back I brought along the Kaossilator and my Zoom H4. I ended up composing some new tunes once we went over the 10,000 foot barrier and the use of approved portable electronic devices was permitted

The tunes have been downloaded into CD Architect, and I’ve listened to them and have been working on a sequence. As yet, they are purely unedited, a set of Kaossilator only tunes. I’m debating whether to release them as a CD (there is about 42-43 minutes of music), or if I want to use them as a backbone and layer an entire suite of acoustic guitar over the top of the music. The working title is Two Flights.

I’ll probably mess around with them this week and into the weekend to see if they sound better as-is, or if they sound better with a counterpoint of acoustic goodness. Stay tuned.

CohesiveForce represents a classic example of the tiny indie label – output of the label is invariably a niche product. Friends and family make up the core audience of any small producer, the fact is, sustaining a business model that works requires sales that go beyond just those who would buy something to support a pal.

Siver’s CDBaby provides a marketing avenue for physical products (you can buy indie CDs there), and iTunes and other digital media warehouses represent an opportunity to purchase a track (or an entire album) worth of music – even music which has incredibly tiny demand. CDBaby and iTunes are fundamental enablers of niche products and the long tail, and the internet by definition enables global reach.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Anita Elberse discusses an interpretation of the Long Tail phenomenon, and offers some pragmatic recommendations for those of us that have products or services in the Long Tail. Elberse’s article is a great read.

I found her analysis to be spot on – success begets success, the long tail is long and flat and getting to be longer and flatter. For those products that live in the long tail, the only way out is increased interest by customers. The only way for one to achieve a level of commercial success remains to contain costs, promote & sell, then promote & sell…it’s called business for a reason.

To those of you who read this, and to the others who have downloaded Water Vapor, the new Kaossilator and Mini-KP album, and to the folks that listened and made suggestions – thank you! One of the good things about the long tail is that it IS long, and that given the state of digital assets, it isn’t perishable.

It’s hard to say if and when the Kaossilator-driven music and other music that CohesiveForce is supporting will emerge from the long tail – but hope does spring eternal.