| I
love making music. I have been spending every minute of my free time
working on this EP. It takes a lot of time and energy to get good
recordings. I have really fallen in love with the process. Pushing
buttons and twisting knobs is a blast. I have learned that I need to
take breaks often to keep from getting ear fatigue. I have to listen to
the recording on many different speakers when I 'm mixing. I seem to
forget that sometimes and I'm surprised when I hear farting bass coming
from the laptop speakers. Oh well I'm learning. Essential Machine is applying for NXNE and we will let you know as soon as we find out if we get in. We are also in the planning stages of a small east coast tour this summer. We will tell you more about it as soon we finalize our plans. That's what I've been up to. My vacation was awesome. I had a great time with my family. We played lots of games and had lots of treats. I miss all of my friends and family whom I didn't get to see this holiday. Love and peace, RJ |
| It was really cold today. It felt like it was in the twenties all day. I was freezing my fingers off. I read an interesting article about what to do with the U.S. automakers. You should check it out. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-neil2-2008dec02,0,7103298.story More later Love and peace, RJ |
I have been on quite a roller coaster ride these past few days. As you all know I thought my Mbox was deceased. Shortly after I wrote last nights blog I needed to charge my camera. I plugged it in to the usb hub to charge it and it didn't work. I thought wow first the Mbox now the camera. So I started checking all of the usual things. First the cable then the hub. I noticed that the hub didn't have all of the lights on. So I started messing with it. Then it hits me, what if the hub is unplugged. Sure enough I ducked my head under the desk and there it was: the usb plug on the floor. After I plugged it back in the camera started to charge right away. I then realized that my Mbox doesn't work right if there is an insufficient power supply. I plugged in the Mbox for a quick test and BAM it worked. So all of that crying for nothing. Crisis averted.
Now we have to finish our recordings. We are going to apply for the NXNE showcase in Toronto. So we need to get this EP finished!
Love and peace,
RJ
This weekend was awesome. I got the much needed rest I had been looking forward to. I spent four days with my family doing all the things we love to do. There was only one thing that happened that wasn't cool. To be totally honest it really sucked.
Kare and I decided to record some of our new material. We each grabbed a glass of champagne and sat down at the computer. I plugged in the usb cable and started clicking the ok button on all of my expired trail plug ins. I turned the volume up on my Mbox, hummed a few bars and nothing happened. At first I thought I must have done something wrong with the setup, so I double checked everything. I then thought maybe the system needed a reboot. Again no sound went in to the computer what-so-ever. I started messing with all of the nobs and buttons, I was in a full on panic by this point. Not only did I not get the Mbox working, but now it has a horrible noise coming out of the left channel. My Mbox is dead. It has gone the way of so many other electronic devices that I have used frequently. Needless to say I'm very sad. That thing made some great recordings for me over the years. I will miss it tremendously. I now have nothing to record with and no money to replace it. So that is my sob story.
On a brighter note I am almost done with Up High in the Trees, the novel by Kiara Brinkman. I am really enjoying it and will share more when I finish. (I think it will be done by next weekend).
I miss my family and friends that don't live close by. Hi everyone!
Love and Peace,
RJ
I'm beat. It has been a long week and I am having trouble keeping my eyes open. I got a lot done at work this week so I'm feeling good about that. I'm still very excited about our set at Keynote on Friday. I really miss performing.
If you read this blog please leave a comment with a song suggestion for EM to cover. I will use them in the next round of voting.
Thanks for your help.
Love and Peace,
RJ
It was very cold today. It snowed off and on most of the day. I think it only got up to 34 degrees. I like the cold and the snow. I love the way the grey sky rolls in and stays for awhile. The dark hues calm me.
Kare got some great news today. I will share more about that later.
Essential Machine is playing a set on Friday at 9:30pm. It's at the Keynote Cafe in Jeannette. Hope to see you there!
I wish Obama would consider a cabinet of peace.
I had to attend a meeting today to talk about one of my clients long term care. It was a very informative meeting. Unfortunately it was also sad. I'm always optimistic when it comes to my clients. Today I'm not feeling very optimistic. I just can't see my client getting better and coming home. I want to see it, but I can't. I've been holding on to this hope for so long now, but after all the information I received today it doesn't look good. I will continue to visit everyday and try to convince my client that coming home is still possible. If my client doesn't believe it I don't see how it's possible.
We have a a new widget on our Essential Machine myspace page. You can now demand that we come to your town and play a show. So go to our site and start demanding!
Love and Peace,
RJ
I have been visiting a nursing home everyday. As I open the first door and enter the vestibule the pungent odor of urine burns my nostrils. I have not yet determined if it is human or animal urine. Why they can't seem to clean up the vestibule, I guess I'll never know. The rest of the place seems pretty clean.
I can't help but see many elderly folks looking very unhappy. Many of them appear hopeless. I want to help them. I smile and some smile back, but many look at me as if to say 'you have no idea what it's like living here.' They are correct. I have no idea what it is like to be in that place day and night, losing my freedom and mobility. For many of those people that will be the last place they live. I want to help them.
Here is another kick ass video by the Avett Brothers!
My late night surfing on Youtube and myspace has led me on an amazing journey lately. I have been discovering all kinds of music I have never heard before. It's been a lot of fun. I will share some music with you that I really like.
I really love this song and video!
I also wanted to share this great story about 'Alex' the talking parrot. This story is amazing.
I'm still looking for suggestions on covers for Essential Machine to include in the next voters choice.
RJ
I really like this song. Tilly and the Wall are cool.
