An Alibi on the Way

I trust the Heart, more than GPS.
December has been a busy Month. Our Family flew to San Jose on the 8Th and came back to Bellingham on the 13Th. Though we looked several months back, it was nearly half the cost than closer to Xmas. I would rather spend the $ on Audio Gear, than padding an Airlines Bottom Line. My Brother seemed to feel I ought to be there on the Day of Xmas, though the rest of my Family seemed comfortable with the Proxy, or as I said while Presents were being opened, a Prequel. I really make an effort at respecting my Brother’s wishes; He is the one who introduced me to B&H. That is were TV Stations buy their gear, as do a lot of Photographers and Audio Engineers.
Having my own businesses has helped me to learn many skills, and practices, which I have found useful; and I want to be of use. I can’t say what the difference is between Needs and Wants; I don’t think they are completely separated. We have a Need for some Wants. I guess I think about these things. My Family puts up with me and greats me with a smile more often than not. My son thanked me the other day for adding Stations to the TV. Public Television is now in Bellingham, and I did an Auto Search on our TV, and found a few new ones: another Shopping Channel and a Spanish Station. Oh and a Music Channel added by 12! I rarely watch TV, which continues to change.
I met with a TV Producer several years back, strategizing on how to create a Local Music Show. I remember saying that the InterNet would swallow TV and ask for more. My son doesn’t even know a world of TV coming from Antennas. It is only another choice of Media, VHS, DVD’s and TV, may go the way of the Tape Cassette. They may well linger. I bought a USB Record Player for under $100 on B&H for myself for Xmas. I put on Dylan’s Slow Train Coming 1st, followed by Robert Sarazin Blake’s Vinyl LP, Kissing Last Night’s Smoke Stained Lips. No disrespect intended Mr. Blake, I listen to you a whole lot more than Dylan! I put on Van Morrison’s Common One after, then the Who- It’s Hard. Neil Young- On the Beach. Elton John’s Captain Fantastic (yes, I like some Elton). I have on Lou Reed’s awesome Record, New York. Been liking this Turn Table! I got to remember to turn the Record though!
I listen to Local Music more than 90% of the time, and have for years. I feel very fortunate. May Providence Live Long and Prosper. She is known by several names, though the Founding Father’s used Providence. The Ancient Greeks did too. Viva!
Our 1905 House is coming along, still feels like a good ship, though needs a lot of work. My daughter is excited to be in her new room. Emery slept in his room as well. We needed to paint over the watermelon pink, which my daughter says was her choice at 8. She is hosting a New Year’s Eve Party, with her Girlfriends. I have a recording Gig at Boundary with Jasmine Greene. Her partner Scott, Greene is playing guitar too; I hear good things. [Recording Tonight in the Tap Room, Stone Jones is working Sound. He and Mike and I, took over the Cabin Tavern last Friday for Astronauts and Air Balloons followed by Amish Warfare. We have all worked together before, and we saw it as a good opportunity for Stone Cloud to put on a Show, and Record in a friendly Venue. It was fun. I enjoyed helping with Sound, and being part of a team. Used mu Spirit M12 Board, and recorded though my MOTU’s.I thought my Mackie Thumps Screamed, though Mike is still incredulous about Powered Speakers. I think it was about right, a little Loud, though hay, it’s Punk Rock!]
I recorded the band Skitnik on the 19Th, up on High Street near the Armory. I worked with them at the Jamboree this last August. We have been in Dialog, for some months. RJ hosts the Band’s Practices, his Living Room was voted best Acoustics by the band. I planned the Session in advance best I could, listening to live recordings from the Jamboree, and relearning the 7 members’ names. Stephen I have known for a couple decades, we met through Carpentry, though also Music, and Juggling where near. He was in Nobody’s Fools, a Local Trio which performed Juggling and Feats of Daring Do! They are missed. Practicing with a small Drum kit, Kick, Snare and Hat instead of Flaming Torches, he was the last to join the ensemble; he adds the Spunk and Cool. Amiel plays a Big Saxophone, and does an amazing job of not playing too loudly! He has co-ordinate our Project. Ellie also plays Sax, with energy and grace. Carrie may intimidate the timid, she plays accordion and saw; she would be at home in a Traveling Roma Camp, our on Stage at the Edgiest of Clubs. The Other Accordion is played by Jeff aka Bones; he also plays Horn and Concertina! He is a Dapper Dresser too. If you live around here he’s likely caught your eye with his dance moves at many a venue. RJ plays Mandolin; it adds a backbeat to the Band, and also says northwest, which is hard to do when much of the Music is from Europe. Alex plays Clarinet, and he plays it with a power which brings one back nearly a century, to the Jazz of the Roaring 20’s, and the legendary Cabarets of Europe before the Flames of Freedom faltered. And he does this without much ado.
Skitnik took the Recording Session seriously, and played very well. We recorded for around 2 hours. I had 3 Microphones on the Drums (Kick, Snare, and Overhead) and another microphone for every Member of the Band. I think we have 6 good songs! The Web is a handy tool for exchanging Music. I used a USB drive to give Rumors the a year’s recordings from their monthly Sunday Night Extraviganza’s. Mike Cloud runs Sound, and got me the Gig recording shortly after the 2011 Jamboree. It has been great experience, and I have worked with many excellent bands. Learnening how to record Loud Rock ain’t the same as the Jamboree or David Lanz!
Please Mark the Date! On February 1ST, at the Blue Horse, Bob Paltrow and Burning Clover are having a CD Release Performance! I am really looking forward to this Show! I started working with Bob in 2006, recording his Band, the Patriots of Tomorrow. It changed my life. The band encouraged me to work with the Sound Board. Not only did it improve the recordings, I found I love working with Live Music. The Pats as I affectionately call them were my 1st Band. And after several years’ effort, I learned 1st Hand, why it is called a Break Up! Yet we all continued to work together, just not exclusively. I still haven’t got the Dream Recording of the Patriots; I Am glad I ahve tried! I haven’t given up, and though Cheri says she has retired, she promised to play at my upcoming 50Th Birthday on September 1st.
I need to be involved with a variety of Artists and Music. Fortunately this is still legal, and not uncommon, though not talked about, much. I do work at Networking. I know some great Artists, and some are my friends. I have sought my peer’s advice, and striven to co-operate. It is the hardest work I have done, except for Building a House (in 2000) and raising a Family (A Work in Progress). I have never been surer of wanting to learn anything, than Music,
There are a lot of Artists, and many are more talented than me. I try and help, though it is harder than it looks! I learned through Traveling, and also through remodeling many houses: Have a plan and be prepared to change it! This has been my approach with Music, and perhaps at the end of the Day, my life story.
I assisted David Lanz at a Benefit at the Amadeus Project (TAP) on the 15Th. I was thrilled to be able to work with him again at TAP. Last year on the 17Th (Mom’s B-Day) I did Sound for his Trio. He kindly let me record; though have felt somewhat intimidated, working with the Material. I passed on some Tracks from last year, which is one of my great joys (as Gay as the word is) in my life. The Captain speaks true! My friend Mike Cloud, loaned me a couple of precious German microphones (Seinheiser’s) to record, what David Lanz calls the “Best Piano in Town” (Schimmel, only 50 were crafted in 2000).
This year I used microphones of more humble origin, though they handmade in Olympia WA, by Cascade (M39’s). They are beautiful, and perhaps fairly Clones of the aforementioned microphones from German (and 1/4 the cost). I feel lucky, blest to record such good music. I did some research on the Web, at Sound on Sound (SOS) on recording pianos. I was able to hear samples of Audio uses various recording techniques, which focus on where to place Microphones. I had some ideas, and focused on the use of a pair of Condenser microphones above the Sound Holes (in a type of Coincident Stereo Miking (X-Y). I did it a little different, than the example from SOS; I couldn’t be happier with the results, and am likely to continue this practice for a while…
On the 5Th of December the Gallus Brothers played at Boundary Bay Brewery, in the Main Tap Room. I hadn’t seen them since last February at Winter Stomp, with Smoke Wagon at the Lincoln Theater in Mt. Vernon (Hometown of Glen Beck). I missed the Foghorn String Band, from Portland, which I regret because they are the Bee’s Knees. My Ride however, (my Friends Mike and Rob) can only take so much Proto Rock and Roll, at least not without access to Whiskey and/or Beer.
The Lincoln is a fine Theater, a Venue I hope to experience again. I called Rob, asked about recording the Show at Boundary, and received tacit approval. I have made several informal recordings at the Jamboree, with their peers, of various Artists and Venues, to the point I felt that Lucas and Devon wouldn’t blink about my practice. I used my 2nd H2 Zoom by Samson, and my SONY MS Stereo Microphone. My 1st H2 was a gift from my Family on my B-Day in 2007.
I put over 500 hours on it! It is still the best Digital Recorder for portability, quality and price. There are several good digital recorders under $200. Look for ones that record in WAV, sometimes called PCM. 24 Bit is a must for the serious, though a lot can be done with 16 bit WAV and MP3. Things get more complicated after Stereo.
Lucas and Devon are our Treasure. For those who don’t know them, perhaps think of them as Time Travelers who escaped Prohibition and Poverty of the Depression, yet Magically Managed to bring Bushels of Music of a Bygone Era. They do this not in intimation of anyone, they are Unique, yet I can think of no other Duo living, which is more Authentic. Now I like them both as an Act, and also with their friends the Crow Quill Night Owls (Alex and Kit) who often take in Strays from some of the finest in the Land. This year they accompanied Baby Gramps at the Jamboree as the Telepathic Brats.
It was the Fulfillment of a Dream, recording them, as is being an Archivist of the Jamboree. I was making Bootlegs (the Deadhead Kind) since 2008. Last month, I mentioned the pleasure returning CR Avery and the Boom Chasers their Performance at the Jamboree that Year. They had never hear it, and Doc told me “I got it All”. We are working on a Documentary about the Last Waltz Concert at the Green Frog which Stephen Ray Leslie and He, Produced the Amazing Collaboration and Tribute! We hope to make the Experience, more available, with a Screening in Bellingham and Vancouver at a Future Date. I think we need a Video Editor, though we have focused on the Integrity of the Sound Track first. It’ll be worth the wait.
I hope to work more formally with the Gallus Brothers, and Crow Kin. I am not feeling a rush. They already have good CD’s and Audience. I am making and changing plans… Although somewhat noisy, the Tap Room was a fitting Venue. I hope to pass the recordings on soon. They keep improving, and that is a good direction. It would have been So Much Easier for me 5 years ago, to have bought Pro Tools (The Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW), instead of the crazy Paths I have journeyed, yet I am so pleased with where I have ended up, can’t say I would change a thing. I wish I had experimented Live more perhaps, yet I really dislike Feedback.
Funny thing though, I dig feedback as in people making comments. Nobody said anything about my Satire regarding the President and Governor of Washington State. I thought it was clever, and it made me smile. Yet hay, can’t say I am good at this humor thing. Vonnegut says mention Death people will laugh more. Seems like a Bummer to me. I talk with my son. I guess Dying might be like falling asleep, or more like not wanting to wake up, feels too good to end? I have been near to few people, shortly before their deaths. My brother, and Sister in Law, and I were with our mom when she died in January of 2007. I am thankful to have been there. We all miss her. Cancer is taking too many; Way too many.
I finished the Ukulele Class at the Unitarian Fellowship. It feels great to be reading Music again. Not fluidly yet, though I can Call the Tune! Stairway to Heaven has been a great work out. And I try and play it all the way through, or I never do. Amplifying my Uke was a Thrill I have dreamed of since I was 12! Well, not a Uke specifically, yet it sounds like an electric guitar. I crank up the Overdrive knob on my Amp, till just before it howls. Of course I try and wait till the kids are out of the house, and give them the big Finale when they get back!!! “Who can bear to be forgotten?”
I bought another pair of 12” Speakers, Mackie Thumps. I did a lot of research and came back to buying duplicates of my first Main Monitors. They sound good. They cost less than most powered speakers. They are the lightest thing out there too. Their weakest feature is that they are small, and some people don’t talk anything but BIG seriously. I want to support All Age Shows, and I like the practice of using more Speakers, rather than having Louder Speakers. I want children to be able to be at Shows whenever appropriate. Don’t get me wrong, I love Rocking Out! Yet I want to keep my hearing thank you. Some sacrifice may be worthy for the greater good, yet I bet Pete Townsend of the Who (yes sadly I can’t explain), wishes they had placed the speaker in front of the Band more often than behind, as was a common practice in the 60’s.
I have found learning from Need, to be very educational. I didn’t think much about Monitors a decade ago, though I check them out, and the microphones and amps, likely before most of the Ladies. I have bought Monitors because Musicians want them, and I am trying to make musicians happier, even though Monitors complicate a Sound Persons life more than 2 girlfriends. Ok maybe not that much. It’s that feedback. It is more difficult for Musicians to hear themselves on Stage than known. It is harder than it looks!
I saw my buddy Rick down in the Bay. He took me hiking up in Cupertino, and for a couple drinks in Monte vista, where my mom grew up. They walls of the Bar are covered with hundreds of dollar bills, with messages written by customers and left on walls and ceiling. It is relaxing to sit with money all around.
We went to the Alibi, on El Camino. That is the Road between the 24 Missions in California; which began before the American Revolution. The Alibi is a small bar; couple Pool Tables, Juke Box. I have been in there several times with Rick. Folks know him there, and I now know a few there too. We Keep I touch and we talk about the real. He has been struggling; worked as a Roofer for 25 years, strong as an Ox. He lost his home, about a year back, an RV he called Beggar’s Tomb. Neither of us is seeking pity. Though the Brave New World that our Father’s worked many long hours all through the Cold War, didn’t work out the way we thought.
Our Families are spread out, many have left the Bay. When my Grand Parents were alive, we had an Extended Family. It still exists, though we rarely gather. A world sputtering with Tech, while many still do not have clean water, let alone housing and meaningful work. There’s much to do. We are not talking, not near enough.
2012 didn’t go the way I planned; I can count on that in 2013. And even if I could change a thing, and believe me, I have wondered about a thing or two. I caused pain, which I do regret. Yet, yet, yet! I am working on the real, how else would we learn? There are things I want to improve, mostly myself. The Universe keeps expanding, so may we too. All the best to you and yours! Thanks for listening. I am thankful for the opportunities, these gifts and storms. R.A. Hull