Who the hell am I kidding, things rarely go as planned.

I’ve been without my studio machine for over a week now. Fortunately I have a very capable lappy to work with. However, when you’re told 5 days and it’s stretching past 7 it’s more than frustrating. Lots of us like to think we’re superhuman and can predict when we’ll get something done. Then life gets in the way.

I’m 90% finished with the cataloging of music for the library I’m working on for a rather nice deal and that should help provide additional income for years to come. 90% done with the CD’s I’ve got right now. However, there are about 5 CDs that are wrapped up on the computer that has been in the shop and that’s frustrating because I’m spinning wheels without it.

Today I have a writing session. That will be an exercise for us without all the tools I’m used to working with. Especially when I’m supposed to output a kickass mix with top notch material. I feel a little naked without the sounds I normally work with. On the flip side it will likely lead to exploring some different things to achieve a great result.

I still feel like I’m limping along without the power I’m used to.

Also, Dorian has been limping since I’m guessing yesterday late afternoon. I’m not sure why that would be. He wasn’t limping yesterday morning. Hmmmm… Makes me wonder what he’s doing when I’m not around.

Well that’s interesting, as I’m writing this I got a phone call from the co-writer letting me know they have a doctor’s appointment that ends up killing the writing session. That’s disappointing and a blessing at the same time. Now I’m able to put more time on the library and not worry about the tools being missing for the writing/recording. Maybe the shop will get the machine done today and I’ll be back in business later tonight.

In the meantime, I’m going to leave you with a song about being without things and or people that you really get used to being with. If there is a band that got the whole industrial dark vibe down as well as Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails it would have to be Stabbing Westward.

About two years ago I went to a show here in LA that had the lead singer from Stabbing Westward in a new band that he was playing in. There were a lot of Stabbing Westward fans there. It didn’t strike me as hard as the SW material. It was still a fun show.

Despite the very dark nature of their material there’s some quality to it that I can really get into. I’m not a very dark person, at least not on any kind of a regular basis. Maybe for a fleeting moment every couple of years. Otherwise I can only appreciate their creation from a creative standpoint and not as something I’d actually relate to. However, it still seems to resonate with the crunching guitars, the desperate vocals, the pounding bass, and the additional noise they layer in. It’s got ear candy to go and I dig that.

How about you, you hurt and limping along right now?

I will recap a little bit of my last couple of days seeing as how I finally made good on not trying to force myself to the daily maxim while on vacation. Friday was an eventful day. Started off with picking up an iPhone 3Gs, then came a writing session with guitarist Troy MacCubbin (if you’re a Tatu fan, you’ll know who he is). Following that I caught the weekend box office winner (again, if you keep up on that data, you’ll know what movie that was – and yeah, my balls are still intact. The movie was funny).

Then I got a text from a buddy, Randy. He asked if I would be up for a jam session at his place. A couple of hours later I was there. A jam session that started around 2:30 am. It was a great group of people assembled for the jam. Lots of music was played and it was a fun time as usual. I got to bed around 6 am.

Shortly after waking up around 10, I was getting myself together for a trip to Vegas for a friend’s birthday party.

I got there, dropped off Dorian at a friend’s house so he’d have a dog to hang with. Then it was off to the Hard Rock Casino. I walked in to the room everyone was in and the fun began. A shot of patron, along with a room service burger and fries. Then it was off to the circle bar to drink and mingle. I took a short break from the party to play some poker with one of the other party goers, Matt.

By the end of the night the birthday boy and I ended up parting ways at 5:30 am. I got back to my buddy’s house at 6 am. Then again up around 9 am. Two all nighters and very little sleep in a row. Spent some time talking to my buddy before the trip back to Los Angeles.

Of course there were a lot of details left out of the birthday night party. I will have to leave them out to protect the innocent.

Which brings me to the musical selection for today. I’m going only on a title connection and even then it’s an opposite thing. The whole what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas thing is getting old right? Well at this point I do know that despite all the friends I do have that live in Vegas, I don’t really think I could ever stay in Vegas to live. But I love to visit. I know I get there several times a year.

Linkin Park has certainly got the spark that would be fun to be in Vegas. There’s that edge that people are looking for. That desire to be edgy or on the edge to have fun, yet do it in an organized and controlled manner. Right? That’s the key behind Linkin Park’s sound. It’s a very controlled kind of edgy. I actually like the way they balance the crunchy guitar, loops, singing, and screamo. It works very well. And of course it’s worked well for them, they do remain fairly popular.

If you’re not familiar with this song or the band, you may be hiding under or rock or under the age of 6. Either way, I would recommend that you go explore.

Speaking of being so connected… I watched an editorial piece on CNN today as well. It was about how there is information and connection overload with the internet. I’m gonna have to go out on a limb and say that I’m probably one of those people that have hit the wall with being over connected. Facebook, Twitter, a website, a sagging myspace page, and other sites that I tend to frequent are actually starting to get a bit boring. As I was watching the story unfold, I began to think how I really made a concerted effort to continue blogging a year or so ago when I was on vacation. On vacation and out in the middle of nowhere.

Don’t get me wrong, I really dig showcasing music here. However, I think this year when I decide to vacation and unplug I will do exactly that. Unplug. I may preload the blog with posts that state I’m on vacation that will only have the song for that day. And not much else.

The one person they quoted in the piece was Trent Reznor who is fairly famous for his music under the name Nine Inch Nails. Apparently Trent is about to pull himself offline as much as possible and announced this to the world. More power to him. I’m not sure why there is a need to announce it. Oh wait, I did the same thing a moment ago. Though there are sites where I used to be a staple poster on a regular basis, that I did not tell I was taking a break and I’m sure they don’t really miss me all that much. Though when I do make the occasional post now, people do ask what I’ve been up to.

And since attention spans are dwindling to the point of being only good for 140 characters ala twitter. I think it’s best I get on to the music since this post is running on…

As I sit here resting from the big improvement I’ve made to my back yard (yes, it’s now under control and looking better), I’m listening to iTunes DJ play thru songs in my library. Earlier I heard a Nine Inch Nails song, so I figure what the hell, lets go with that. It’s also timely as I got an email from a service that provides daily insight to a thought on life and last night it was about not putting family or close friends on a pedestal with your loving feelings of them. I know my mom meant well telling me about my yard, and it’s a direct reason as to why I cleaned it up today.

I know that the song ends up questioning the concept of why someone would get all the love in the world. The very nature of someone getting all the love goes against the grain of the email that I got. Lyrically I can understand why someone would question that concept. It should be questioned.

What I dig is how the song starts very sparse – but somewhat complex. The drum beat is fairly involved. And Trent is singing a simple melody over it. Then little by little pieces of instruments get added. Kinda parallels how someone might begin to notice bit by bit how someone else is getting all the love. Suddenly it will dawn on the antagonist that it’s overpowering and has become too much. I also like how Trent changes the direction at the end of the song where it becomes more major and shifts the focus. Because of that shift I think this has become one of my favorite Nine Inch Nails songs ever.

If you haven’t got this song or the CD it’s high time you get yourself over to iTunes or Amazon and pick it up.

Seems last night my body decided it would be a whole lot more fun to have a fit of coughing. I felt like I had some touch of something in the lungs. Not fun. Especially when you’re coughing so much, so hard, that your eyes nearly pop out of your sockets and go bright red. Even more fun is when you cough with no result to spit out.

It all leads to very unrestful sleep.

Not a great way to get a long day of writing and recording started. Oh well.

With that having been typed, the first session of the day (Aubrey) has arrived and we need to get a vocal down before I have to run to another studio to start a new loop CD with my buddy Robert. Thus I will need to the song…

I’m gonna leave ya with another version of Hero Unexpected. This is the remix version as created by Chris Hellstrom. It’s got a much more industrial vibe. That’s the kind of course that Chris likes to play on. He’s a big fan of Charlie Clouser and Nine Inch Nails. Enjoy and make sure you get over to iTunes or Amazon.

I suppose that I’m weird. I like to call my friends by their name when I’m talking to other people about them. Usually prefaced by, hey my buddy Mike, or my friend Chris, or you know Erin did that, or Sarah has such and such, etc. I’m not sure of the psychological reasoning behind why people wouldn’t refer to their friends by name. But I do find it odd. That’s not to say that I haven’t once in a while said “my friend once did that.” But usually somewhere in the conversation their name still came up. Of course here on the blog, I will attempt some anonymity without using last names and such because it’s not their blog and generally they’re not public people.

Someone reading this must know the reason behind that. A psych student or perhaps a practicing psychologist? Could you either leave a comment here or email me why this happens. I’m curious to know.

Which brings me around to a tune called You and Your Friend. Mind you, the song is nothing about friends calling each other by name, but it is definitely about getting to know each other in a rather intimate way. Snake River Conspiracy didn’t write the song, actually it was original conceived by a group called T-Ride. While the SRC version is cool, T-Ride’s is cooler, however it’s not available on any of the digital services.

The irony on the lyrics changes drastically when it’s sung from the standpoint of the female. Pay attention to the lyrics closely and you’ll understand what I’m meaning there. There are spots in the song where I’m absolutely in love with the harmony created between the chords and the melody. It’s got a great vibe that isn’t commercial. It doesn’t follow any standard song writing form which is another reason that it is so damn cool. It’s got a flow that works despite not following any songwriting rule in terms of structure.

Don’t ya think?

The only drawback to it is, it makes it harder for the general public to accept a song when it’s not of typical nature. O the world we live in.

Remember a few days back – the whole New Years thing – where I was discussing working on balancing work and non-work life (being human). Well, there’s two projects I’m working on for music that I should had some things done for for today. However, they haven’t been finished yet. There’s a third thing that I was hoping to have finished today, that likely won’t get done now due to time spent elsewhere yesterday. This bummed out the person I was doing something for. Especially when he contacted me at 11:30 p.m. to ask if I was going to work on it last night.

I said no. That I needed to have time to myself. That is my goal this year, time to be me without the work. To go do stuff with friends. In fact, I had to skip going to do something with a friend yesterday around 5 p.m. because I was still attempting to catch up at that point with things for the day. But by 8:30 p.m. I had to force myself to stop. How many times do you find yourself working from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. or later? Leave it to a driven musician to do it a lot.

I don’t want to be bitting the hand that feeds, but essentially I had to put a foot down and say I’d miss my own imposed finish date. It happens. Which where I come to Nine Inch Nails for today’s first Future Friday. If there is an artist that has attempted to figure out the concept of selling music in the digital age in a more public manner, I’m not sure I know who it would be. Trent, the mastermind behind Nine Inch Nails has been a pioneer in a lot of things. It’s not an easy road to blaze in music. Believe me, I know.

I have a whole lot of his music because I think he’s extremely creative. I’m probably one of those nutty dudes that pays for it too. I think he’s worth it. I will say to hear him complain that people won’t buy everything he does is a little off. An artist can’t expect to have a fan buy every single thing they do. I will say that it’s comments like that that probably help to lead to more sales though. Why? Because many people will often spend more time listening to stuff they hate than they will listen to stuff the love. I’m not really one of them.

However, due to this little slice of the web you’re reading now, I do have to slog thru a lot of music that I don’t like. The bonus is I can turn it off in seconds and move on. I don’t force myself thru something I don’t like.

What is it that I dig about The Hand That Feeds? Let’s start with the intro. That filtered version of the mix with the static, where you get a low volume snippet and can hear an additional synth in there. He’s a master of directing his people to put lots of ear candy into a song. It works. Then the mix slowly kicks in and boom you’ve got a bit of a disco era beat under a pumping rhythm of bass and guitars going in a circular motion of notes. It’s the kind of beat that gets your foot tapping, your head moving back and forth. It’s infectious.

Lyrically it’s about being a slave to your job, your money, your life, whatever it is that provides you with your desire to please someone or something to remain happy. And what happens? You become a servant.

Some of us are more public about who we serve. Who do you serve?

Dig it? Get it legally. It’ll make you happy, it’ll make Trent happy, and it’ll make me happy. Be happy!

Ethay inerday/eliday onway 3rday Eetstray Omenadepray ervedsay obablypray ethay orstway Itespray andway ethay orstway Crayèemay Brayûlayéeway I’veway everway adhay. Eriodpay arbay onenay, uckedsay assway. Utbay ethay ompanycay Iway asway ithway asway eatgray. Osay atthay ademay upway orfay itway. Ethay eliday osedclay ownday osay eway ovedmay otay ethay Airmontfay andway entspay imetay attingchay aboutway allway ortssay ofway ingsthay inway ethay obbylay. ‘Illtay airlyfay atelay, orway earlyway. Ependsday onway owhay ouyay eesay imetay.

Oneway ofway ethay ingsthay eway attedchay aboutway asway Inglesay ofway ethay Ayday. Iway adhay entionedmay owhay Iway idday ingsthay onway occasionway otay icespay ingsthay upway aroundway erehay. Otay ebay unfay. Iway eganbay otay onderway ifway Iway aven’thay eenbay endingspay enoughway imetay inway avinghay unfay ithway itway anymoreway. Oremay ikelay itway adhay ecomebay away itbay ofway away objay andway orkway. Eingbay esslay adventurousway andway ittlelay undanemay.

Ethay unnyfay ingthay isway, eadershipray isway owinggray itequay away itbay ownay. Obablypray ueday otay oyeurismvay ofway away usicianmay andway ethay usicmay ehay ickspay orfay eoplepay otay earhay, Iway on’tday owknay. Iway oday owknay atthay Iway issmay omesay ofway ethay unfay ostspay Iway idday enwhay Iway artedstay outway. Ikelay away Ickday andway Anejay ypetay ostpay. Atthay asway unnyfay. Orway evenway ymay Ackbay otay ethay Uturefay ostpay. Atthay asway alsoway eallyray artsmay. Osay odaytay, Iway ingbray ouyay ethay Igpay Atinlay ostpay. Owhay etterbay otay eaturefay anthay Enttray Eznorray andway Inenay Inchway Ailsnay incesay e’shay oneday away ongsay aboutway igspay. Everalsay actuallyway.

Ifway ou’reyay away anfay ofway Enttray orway avehay eenbay eadingray usicmay ewsnay inway ethay astpay earyay. Ou’reyay obablypray awareway atthay ehay yingtray eallyray ardhay otay igurefay outway usicmay inway ethay Internetway ageway. Inway asecay ouyay idn’tday owknay ehay ecentlyray eleasedray away ewnay albumway atthay isway eefray orfay ownloadday. I’mway otnay uresay owhay atthay iguresfay inway otay ethay ‘Iway entspay away ontay ofway oughday ecordingray isthay, osay ouyay ouldshay ustjay avehay itway orfay othing’nay ypetay ofway usinessbay odelmay. Iway owknay I’veway oneday away eakdownbray ofway ecordingray ostscay onway Inglesay ofway ethay Ayday eforebay. Etslay aysay atthay eople’spay erceptionpay ofway owhay uchmay away ecordingray ancay ostcay isway everelysay arpedway enwhay eythay elievebay usicmay ouldshay ebay eefray.

Eitherway ayway, isthay omescay omfray anway olderway albumway ofway INNAY. Ifway ouyay on’tday avehay ethay Ownwardday Iralspay, ouyay areway ayway eprivedday. Oday ourselfyay away avorfay andway ogay agsnay itway – aypay ethay anmay owhay eatedcray itway. Ehay, itshay onay, eway usiciansmay atthay achieveway eatnessgray aypay earlyday otay ingbray isthay uffstay otay ouyay.

Avehay unfay, andway opehay ouyay enjoyedway itway!

A good portion of the unaired pilot made it to the pilot that did air. There were several story lines that ended up getting changed and one that got axed. The good thing about the edit it is it brought the many stories left over into better focus.

Editing ideas. It’s easy to come up with ideas. At least for me. The hard part is taking those ideas and refining them. Tweaking them. Honing them. Crafting them. Maybe one time in a thousand you can get lucky on the first shot out of the gate with an idea and it’s perfect in it’s inception. However, the reality is most ideas need to be molded, shaped and tweaked into greatness. I think there’s a great line from the movie Finding Forrester, where Forrester (played by Sean Connery) tells a young apprentice to write the first draft from the heart. Then go back and edit it later.

Some people start editing from the get go. I know, I sometimes do it. However, it’s a lot easier to let something roll, get it into a tangible form, then go back and edit. I’m sure it’s similar for movies, TV, sculpting, acting, obviously with music, and probably any creative field. As I’ve stated on the blog before, I’ve started taking a lot of time tweaking things from my original ideas now. The tradeoff in the time spent is the response I’m now getting. While the output has been a bit less, what has come out is so much more.

In the spirit of a group of creative people, you get a lot of worlds coming together. Sometimes it works, sometimes, it doesn’t. When it works the sparks fly and things happen. Thus comes my resurfacing of a hit for a group called Powerman 5000. They took original ideas and turned them into their own greatness. I don’t know a lot about the group but I do know my path has crossed with the original bassist Dorian, and one time drummer Adrian. Dorian I met on the east coast while going to music school. Adrian, actually played drums for me early on for a few gigs. The small world got smaller when I found out he was Dorian’s roommate for a while. I had a tape from a band that Dorian was in prior to Powerman 5000.

I like the energy and the spark that is flowing through this song. Don’t you? What’s your original idea? How are you going to turn it into greatness?

(** Disclaimer: If Powerman’s label decides to collide with me, I’ll have to go supernova on the audio and melt it off the server. The post will remain to show that I appreciate ideas and their editing. **)

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock Radiohead has just released their latest album. That in and of itself isn’t really the amazing part. They have decided to release it via the Web prior to being in stores. What’s different is that they a have not set of price. Instead, they are allowing their fans to choose what it is worth to them. Actually, the concept isn’t really that amazing. Bands have been doing this for quite awhile. The main reason why it is news worthy it is because it’s a major band.

Essentially they are lucky. They have been able to use the machinery that so many people are angry with. They have used it to gain a huge following. It is because they have a huge following that they can now safely release music on their own. They have enough fans that they can sustain a career. I can name you five artists right now doing this same thing. Unfortunately they don’t have the benefit of having been put through the machinery. Thus their story gets ignored.

Along comes Trent Reznor, who had days later announced that his next record will also be priced by the fans themselves. Nine Inch Nails is the name of his band. Just like Radiohead Trent is making news. Also like Radiohead Trent has had the benefits of being signed to a label. Regardless I’m a fan of both of them.

So as I stated today marks the first time I’m going to showcase a band for a second time that isn’t directly related to me. I can remember the first time I heard this song. I can remember the girl I met dancing to this song. I was in Colorado in a club in Denver. It was a damn good time. Her name was Tammy. We dated for several months and eventually I moved away. Months later she started dating my old roommate and eventually they got married. See, there’s that Good Luck Chuck thing happening.

I strongly believe that music is worth something. It’s the primary drive behind me doing this blog. What’s your feeling about it? Is music worth something to you? Why do some people believe it should be free?

(** Disclaimer: If Trent’s old label decides to put a hole in my head, I’ll have to put a hole in the server where this audio resides. The post will remain to show that I believe it’s best to cater to fans – not fight them. **)

If ever there was a time to think about self preservation, it’s when you learn things about decisions that you wish you knew before you made them. All around we see it. I watched a CNN video clip this morning that really smacked of paranoia. Scary thing is, it was serious. It was about a concept called The Perfect Day and was all about terrorism. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Truer words have never been spoken. Out of the mouth of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Despite that bold leader we now have a country that has been primarily run by fear in recent time. Why?

For me personally, I don’t choose to live that fear. I will say it gets tiring to hear about it all the time though. When does it end?

Some bright things have been happening around me lately. Though early to predict but my situation should improve from the mess I’ve been in for the past 9 months in the next few days. Despite that, I still have a mess to clean up after things have improved. One that I should have had the foresight to avoid in the first place. Chalk that up to a momentary lapse of reason. The road to self preservation can be a long one.

On the opposite spectrum of the terrorist thing is that software I use to create music has been upgraded today. It’s always fun to get new software for music. This update to Logic Studio looks to be very promising in terms of shortcomings Logic has had in the past. Not that I bitched much about them. I like to create and if it means a work-a-round so beit. Now it seems those work-a-rounds will be gone. That’s good, one less thing to worry about – as Forrest Gump would say.

If ever there was a band that could hold a candle to Nine Inch Nails, it is/was Stabbing Westward. I’m a mismatch for this genre in my own writing & recording. I love Nine Inch Nails a vast majority of his material anyway. Same goes for Stabbing Westward. Sonic soundscapes of epic proportions. That’s how I explore their world. It was a style I was enamored with for a while. So much so that I really wanted to create music in that genre. The problem was, I didn’t come from a background of feeling like dirt all the time. I didn’t have the look. I didn’t fit in. Think round peg in square hole analogy.

I admire people with this much angst that can express it in a form that makes sense. Converting sounds and meshing it with distortion and noise then reshaping it rhythmically and sonically is an art form in and of itself and very few people do it well. Very few.

Ever get in a rut? Feel put down? Ready to explode? Wanna mire in that for a while and much around in it? Look no further, Stabbing Westward is a great way to bathe in it. Get in, and get it now.

(** Disclaimer: If Stabbing Westward’s label decides to take action where I’ll need to save myself, I’ll have to burn the audio off the server. The post will remain to express how I’m looking up at the light and still clawing to get to it. **)