AJ and I will be playing an acoustic set at 9 PM tonight at Opening Bell Coffee! We have worked up some new cover songs for this gig and will be playing some freshly written original material in addition to some tracks off of the record! Oh, and some audience participation may be required, so come prepared to sing along!
NEVERBLU takes the stage right before us at 8 PM, so come out then to kick off what should be a great evening of live music! I hope to see you there.
Click the link for directions and parking information.
Opening Bell Coffee- Directions
Friday, July 13, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
A Brief Update
It has been far too long since my last blog post. So much has happened in the past three months!
Here is a list of what has happened:
- Performed at the House of Blues in LA with my "School of Rock" 5th grade guitar class
- Performed my Master's Recital
- Broke my right hand and sustained some other injuries in an epic bike accident days after my recital
- Graduated from USC
- Moved out of my apartment and into a storage unit
- Secured several job positions making it possible to return to LA in the Fall
- Drove back to Dallas from LA in 24 hours in order to make my flight to London
- Went to the UK for two weeks in order to visit family
- Went on tour with AJ Adams and played a gig in Boston
My plan is to write additional posts further detailing some of these endeavors, but life can be so busy sometimes. I have several gigs with the AJ Adams Band lined up for July and August- I will post dates as the gigs get closer.
In August, I will return to LA where I will continue teaching private lessons and working for Mobius Music Group. In addition to these jobs, I will also be starting an internship with Remote Control Productions in Santa Monica. These jobs should keep me busy and I am so thankful for all of the opportunities that have come my way.
I am very thankful for all of my friends and family who continue to support me on life's journey. Thank you for reading!
Here is a list of what has happened:
- Performed at the House of Blues in LA with my "School of Rock" 5th grade guitar class
- Performed my Master's Recital
- Broke my right hand and sustained some other injuries in an epic bike accident days after my recital
- Graduated from USC
- Moved out of my apartment and into a storage unit
- Secured several job positions making it possible to return to LA in the Fall
- Drove back to Dallas from LA in 24 hours in order to make my flight to London
- Went to the UK for two weeks in order to visit family
- Went on tour with AJ Adams and played a gig in Boston
My plan is to write additional posts further detailing some of these endeavors, but life can be so busy sometimes. I have several gigs with the AJ Adams Band lined up for July and August- I will post dates as the gigs get closer.
In August, I will return to LA where I will continue teaching private lessons and working for Mobius Music Group. In addition to these jobs, I will also be starting an internship with Remote Control Productions in Santa Monica. These jobs should keep me busy and I am so thankful for all of the opportunities that have come my way.
I am very thankful for all of my friends and family who continue to support me on life's journey. Thank you for reading!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Beach
This photo, taken by Sean Davey, is one of the most beautiful images I have ever seen. It is a picture of simplicity. Beautiful simplicity.
Taken somewhere on a deserted beach in northern New Zealand, this picture captures the vast color palette of a Southern Hemisphere sunset. The water serves as a perfect reflector, capturing every detail of the sky in mirror form. But the first thing that catches the eye is the lone vehicle. I like to think that it belongs to the photographer. After a long day of surfing, he stayed until the end in order to witness this magnificent sunset.
When it comes to photography, I have always enjoyed looking at pictures of sunsets, beaches, and cars; this photo contains all three. I believe that everyone needs to have a vivid image or "happy place" stored in their memory. That way, when life gets tough, you can be transported to a far away place, if only for a short time.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
"The Tool Works at Both Ends"
This is another great article from The Art of Manliness. It is so true that we, as a society, are becoming more dependent on technology and less dependent on the most basic of motor skills. I really encourage you to read this article and consider how you can perform "Mental CrossFit" everyday!
http://artofmanliness.com/2012/03/25/the-tool-works-at-both-ends/
"The Tool Works at Both Ends"
From chipping out spearheads in primitive times to modern day tinkering with computer chips, men have always been very connected to their tools. For thousands of years tools have magnified and extended our natural abilities, allowing us to gain power and control over nature and our circumstances and better fulfill our roles as providers and protectors. Tools enable us to mold and shape things in our external environment for our use and benefit. And that is what we typically focus on when it comes to tools: what does this tool allow me to do? But something else you need to think about is this: what is this tool doing to me? You may have heard that tools are neutral things. And this is true in one aspect; for example, you can use a hammer to drive in a nail…or to bash in someone’s head. But tools are absolutely not neutral in the fact that the tools you choose to use and how you use them not only change things externally but mold you internally. The Jesuit priest and media scholar John Culkin put it this way: “We shape our tools, and thereafter they shape us.” Or as Darren’s blacksmith friends say, “The tool works at both ends.”
The way in which you use your tools creates real biological and neurological changes in your brain, which fundamentally alters who you are.
This Is Your Brain on Tools
Scientists used to think that when we were young, our brains were pliable and easily shaped, but that after adolescence, they set and hardened like concrete. But modern technology, which has given researchers an unprecedented look at what goes on inside the brain, has completely flipped that theory. It turns out our brains are very “plastic,” and this is true not only in youth, but throughout our lives. Our brains are constantly being reshaped and rewired every day by our experiences, thoughts, and actions. And also by the tools we use. Examples of how our brains change in accordance with the tools we use are fascinating:
When MRI’s were done on violinists, it was found that the part of their cerebral cortices that corresponded with the fingers of their left hands (the digits they use to finger the strings of their instruments) were bigger than in the brains of non-musicians. But in both groups the area that represents the fingers of the right hand were the same size.
When the brains of London taxi drivers were studied, they were found to have larger posterior hippocampi, the part of the brain responsible for processing and integrating spatial representations of one’s surroundings. This area of the brain stores our mental maps—a key tool for cabbies who need to navigate their way around the city. The study also found that the posterior hippocampus grew bigger the longer the cabbie had been on the job.
The brains of the literate and illiterate have been shown to handle interhemispheric processing differently. When a person becomes literate, the organization of their brains’ cognitive activity changes, and the corpus callosum becomes thicker.
In a study with preschool children, one group of children practiced learning their letters by writing them, while another group practiced by seeing and saying the letters. A month later, the children’s brains were scanned with a MRI machine, which showed that those who had practiced writing the letters had neural activity that was greater and more adult-like than the children who had said the letters aloud.
Internet use activates a specific part of the prefontal cortex of the brain. When people who are new to the internet are introduced to it, this part of their brains does not show any activity. But after using the internet for only one hour a day for five days, they show as much activity in this area of the brain as veteran internet users do. Brain rewiring takes place in less than a week.
For example, the study done with the taxi drivers found that while their posterior hippocampi were larger than the average person’s, their anterior hippocampi were smaller; the area for spatial memory had crowded out the area for other kinds of memory, and follow-up tests showed that tasks involving non-spatial memory were more difficult for the cabbies to do.
These kinds of mental tradeoffs occur with all tools that we use. Surfing the net can strengthen areas of the brain that deal with things like hand-eye coordination, reflex response, and the processing of visual cues. It may also build our visual-spatial skills (increasing our ability to do things like rotate an object in our minds) and our working memory. But at the same time it may, some scientists like Greenfield argue, “weaken the kind of “deep processing” that underpins “mindful knowledge acquisition, inductive analysis, critical thinking, imagination, and reflection.”
The problem these days is that we’re using fewer and fewer tools in our lives. We once had a bunch of specialized tools for all the different aspects of life: paper and pencils, calendars, maps, books, hammers, saws, telephones, radios… Now we have one all-purpose tool: the computer.
And that’s making for some lopsided brains.
Have you ever seen a dude that concentrated on building up his upper body but never did any lower body exercises? The result was a beefy, well-sculpted torso, along with a pair of disproportionate chicken legs. Because of our reliance on computers, we’re developing some chicken-legged brains. We’re using some parts of our brains a ton, but letting other areas atrophy and fall into disuse. And this matters. One, because our technology may not always be around. Break your GPS, and you’ll still need to be able to read a real map and utilize your “mental maps.” Will your hippocampus be up to the task? And two, there are still a lot of areas of our lives that require parts of our brains that are not activated by the internet.
It was the fascinating (if in my opinion a little too pessimistic) book, The Shallows, that got me thinking about this subject. The author, Nicholas Carr, writes many pages on the powerful effect technology has on our brains and our thinking. But it was this short little observation from his own life that stuck with me the most, because it hit so close to home:
The answer is not to cut off your internet and throw your computer out the window, but instead to enroll your brain in “Mental CrossFit.” You’ve probably heard of CrossFit by now. It is a fitness program governed by this simple mission statement:
Some of the ways you can do that are:
Source:
The Shallows By Nicholas Carr
http://artofmanliness.com/2012/03/25/the-tool-works-at-both-ends/
"The Tool Works at Both Ends"
From chipping out spearheads in primitive times to modern day tinkering with computer chips, men have always been very connected to their tools. For thousands of years tools have magnified and extended our natural abilities, allowing us to gain power and control over nature and our circumstances and better fulfill our roles as providers and protectors. Tools enable us to mold and shape things in our external environment for our use and benefit. And that is what we typically focus on when it comes to tools: what does this tool allow me to do? But something else you need to think about is this: what is this tool doing to me? You may have heard that tools are neutral things. And this is true in one aspect; for example, you can use a hammer to drive in a nail…or to bash in someone’s head. But tools are absolutely not neutral in the fact that the tools you choose to use and how you use them not only change things externally but mold you internally. The Jesuit priest and media scholar John Culkin put it this way: “We shape our tools, and thereafter they shape us.” Or as Darren’s blacksmith friends say, “The tool works at both ends.”
The way in which you use your tools creates real biological and neurological changes in your brain, which fundamentally alters who you are.
This Is Your Brain on Tools
Scientists used to think that when we were young, our brains were pliable and easily shaped, but that after adolescence, they set and hardened like concrete. But modern technology, which has given researchers an unprecedented look at what goes on inside the brain, has completely flipped that theory. It turns out our brains are very “plastic,” and this is true not only in youth, but throughout our lives. Our brains are constantly being reshaped and rewired every day by our experiences, thoughts, and actions. And also by the tools we use. Examples of how our brains change in accordance with the tools we use are fascinating:When MRI’s were done on violinists, it was found that the part of their cerebral cortices that corresponded with the fingers of their left hands (the digits they use to finger the strings of their instruments) were bigger than in the brains of non-musicians. But in both groups the area that represents the fingers of the right hand were the same size.
When the brains of London taxi drivers were studied, they were found to have larger posterior hippocampi, the part of the brain responsible for processing and integrating spatial representations of one’s surroundings. This area of the brain stores our mental maps—a key tool for cabbies who need to navigate their way around the city. The study also found that the posterior hippocampus grew bigger the longer the cabbie had been on the job.
The brains of the literate and illiterate have been shown to handle interhemispheric processing differently. When a person becomes literate, the organization of their brains’ cognitive activity changes, and the corpus callosum becomes thicker.
In a study with preschool children, one group of children practiced learning their letters by writing them, while another group practiced by seeing and saying the letters. A month later, the children’s brains were scanned with a MRI machine, which showed that those who had practiced writing the letters had neural activity that was greater and more adult-like than the children who had said the letters aloud.
Internet use activates a specific part of the prefontal cortex of the brain. When people who are new to the internet are introduced to it, this part of their brains does not show any activity. But after using the internet for only one hour a day for five days, they show as much activity in this area of the brain as veteran internet users do. Brain rewiring takes place in less than a week.
Tool Tradeoffs
So in the case of your brain, the tool truly does work at both ends. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, it’s both. As psychologist Patricia Greenfield puts it, “Every medium develops some cognitive skills at the expense of others.” Regular use of one kind of tool will strengthen some areas of the brain while weakening the areas that don’t get exercised; our brains operate on the “use it or lose it” principle.For example, the study done with the taxi drivers found that while their posterior hippocampi were larger than the average person’s, their anterior hippocampi were smaller; the area for spatial memory had crowded out the area for other kinds of memory, and follow-up tests showed that tasks involving non-spatial memory were more difficult for the cabbies to do.
These kinds of mental tradeoffs occur with all tools that we use. Surfing the net can strengthen areas of the brain that deal with things like hand-eye coordination, reflex response, and the processing of visual cues. It may also build our visual-spatial skills (increasing our ability to do things like rotate an object in our minds) and our working memory. But at the same time it may, some scientists like Greenfield argue, “weaken the kind of “deep processing” that underpins “mindful knowledge acquisition, inductive analysis, critical thinking, imagination, and reflection.”
The problem these days is that we’re using fewer and fewer tools in our lives. We once had a bunch of specialized tools for all the different aspects of life: paper and pencils, calendars, maps, books, hammers, saws, telephones, radios… Now we have one all-purpose tool: the computer.
And that’s making for some lopsided brains.
Enroll Your Brain in Mental CrossFit
Have you ever seen a dude that concentrated on building up his upper body but never did any lower body exercises? The result was a beefy, well-sculpted torso, along with a pair of disproportionate chicken legs. Because of our reliance on computers, we’re developing some chicken-legged brains. We’re using some parts of our brains a ton, but letting other areas atrophy and fall into disuse. And this matters. One, because our technology may not always be around. Break your GPS, and you’ll still need to be able to read a real map and utilize your “mental maps.” Will your hippocampus be up to the task? And two, there are still a lot of areas of our lives that require parts of our brains that are not activated by the internet.
It was the fascinating (if in my opinion a little too pessimistic) book, The Shallows, that got me thinking about this subject. The author, Nicholas Carr, writes many pages on the powerful effect technology has on our brains and our thinking. But it was this short little observation from his own life that stuck with me the most, because it hit so close to home:
My mind…[is] changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I feel it most strongly when I’m reading. I used to find it easy to immerse myself in a book or a lengthy article. My mind would get caught up in the twists of the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration starts to drift after a page or two. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel like I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.How many of us could say the same thing about our own minds? And this inability to focus affects not only how we read; while we have come to expect all areas of our lives to function like the internet by giving us short, constantly changing little bursts of information, many areas of our life stubbornly continue to function in the slow, linear fashion that they have for hundreds of years. Going camping, sitting through a church service or a college class, giving someone our full attention during a conversation…if the only tool we’ve been using is the computer, the chicken legs of our brain easily give out during the “strain” of such activities. Everything outside the net feels a lot more boring than it used to. But there are some experiences in life you don’t want to scan and skim your way through, but would rather completely lose yourself in. So how do you maintain the ability to truly immerse yourself in life?
The answer is not to cut off your internet and throw your computer out the window, but instead to enroll your brain in “Mental CrossFit.” You’ve probably heard of CrossFit by now. It is a fitness program governed by this simple mission statement:
The aim of CrossFit is to forge a broad, general, and inclusive fitness. We have sought to build a program that will best prepare trainees for any physical contingency—not only for the unknown, but for the unknowable. After looking at all sport and physical tasks collectively, we asked what physical skills and adaptations would most universally lend themselves to performance advantage. Capacity culled from the intersection of all sports demands would quite logically lend itself well to all sport. In sum, our specialty is not specializing.This philosophy not only works for your physical body, but for your mental capacity as well. In your daily life you should seek to “punish the specialist” by building up all parts your mind and preparing it for anything and everything by using a wide range of tools, not just the computer. You want as many areas of your brain to be as fit and game as possible.
Some of the ways you can do that are:
- Using pen/pencil and paper daily by keeping a journal
- Reading one whole book each week (mixing ebooks and real books is even better)
- Reading magazines with long articles offline (Studies have shown that when you read articles that include hyperlinks–like this one–you comprehend less of the material.)
- Taking up a hobby that uses your hands and fixing things yourself
- Walking and cycling instead of driving
- Practicing how to use a real map
- Cooking your own food
In Understanding Media, McLuhan wrote that our tools end up “numbing” whatever part of our body they “amplify.” When we extend some part of ourselves artificially, we also distance ourselves from the amplified part and its natural functions. When the power loom was invented, a weaver could manufacture far more cloth during the course of a workday than they’d been able to make by hand, but they sacrificed some of the manual dexterity, not to mention some of their “feel” for the fabric. Their fingers, in McLuhan’s terms, became numb. Farmers, similarly, lost some of their feel for the soil when they began using mechanical harrows and plows. Today’s industrial farm worker, sitting in his air-conditioned cage atop a gargantuan tractor, rarely touches the soil at all—though in a single day he can till a field that his hoe-wielding forebearer could not have turned in a month. When we’re behind the wheel of our car, we can go a far greater distance than we could cover on foot, but we lose the walker’s intimate connection to the land.For millenia, tools have helped us live our lives more fully, and it is wise to pick up and master the new ones that are developed. But it is up to us to continue to use tools consciously and carefully, in order that they may allow us to be more, and not less, alive.
Source:
The Shallows By Nicholas Carr
Monday, March 26, 2012
New Music Discovery: Imagine Dragons
The history of popular music is littered with countless examples of the indie rock band, slaving away at the local level and finding mainstream success only after spending several years as "unknown or undiscovered." Bon Iver, formed in 2007, just won Best New Artist at the 2012 GRAMMY Awards. Kings of Leon is an even better example, having been a band since 1999. They eventually experienced major commercial success in 2007 with the release of their single "On Call." The point being: it takes several years to really "make it" in the music industry.
Listening to 106.7 KROQ (LA's alt. rock station) and driving back to my apartment in Culver City last week, I heard something that really caught my ear. The music was new and the band relatively unknown. After some research, I found out more information about the song and the band that I was discovering for the first time.
Imagine Dragons was formed in Las Vegas in 2008 and began capturing local attention almost immediately. After releasing two EPs, Imagine Dragons became "Las Vegas' Newest Must See Live Act" and "Best Local Indie Band 2010." Despite this initial success and early touring efforts, they did not experience mainstream success until the release of their first major label EP entitled Continued Silence. Released on Valentine's Day of this year, this EP is far and away the most exciting new music that I have heard since Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto.
The lead single on Continued Silence, "It's Time", is the song that I heard on the radio. The track commences with a thundering drum rhythm united with hand-claps that gives way to the song's first hook, a simple melody played on mandolin with piano accompaniment. The sound is both pure and raw. The song unfolds in layers as the vocals of Dan Reynolds roar above the building accompaniment. The first chorus further increases the intensity by adding synthesizer and a more pronounced piano melody. The wails of an E-bow coat the following verse and bridge adding to the tonal palette. The closing two choruses provide glimpses into the song-writing prowess of Imagine Dragons. The entire song is perfectly paced and has a fresh quality in the realm of the pop song. I have no doubt that this band will be huge one day. Probably very soon.
The rest of the tracks on Continued Silence are brilliant as well. The album contains several dance-worthy tracks that incorporate hip-hop beats into a rock and roll setting. If I had to compare Imagine Dragons to some bands, I would say that they are similar to Temper Trap, U2, Coldplay, and Snow Patrol. The guitars are loud, the rhythm section is powerful, and the vocals howl with intensity and world-weary swagger. Imagine Dragons have served their time on the local scene. Now it is time to bring their music to the world. Keep your eyes and ears open for these guys because they are on the rise. Please give these guys a listen. I promise that you won't be disappointed.
Listening to 106.7 KROQ (LA's alt. rock station) and driving back to my apartment in Culver City last week, I heard something that really caught my ear. The music was new and the band relatively unknown. After some research, I found out more information about the song and the band that I was discovering for the first time. Imagine Dragons was formed in Las Vegas in 2008 and began capturing local attention almost immediately. After releasing two EPs, Imagine Dragons became "Las Vegas' Newest Must See Live Act" and "Best Local Indie Band 2010." Despite this initial success and early touring efforts, they did not experience mainstream success until the release of their first major label EP entitled Continued Silence. Released on Valentine's Day of this year, this EP is far and away the most exciting new music that I have heard since Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto.
The lead single on Continued Silence, "It's Time", is the song that I heard on the radio. The track commences with a thundering drum rhythm united with hand-claps that gives way to the song's first hook, a simple melody played on mandolin with piano accompaniment. The sound is both pure and raw. The song unfolds in layers as the vocals of Dan Reynolds roar above the building accompaniment. The first chorus further increases the intensity by adding synthesizer and a more pronounced piano melody. The wails of an E-bow coat the following verse and bridge adding to the tonal palette. The closing two choruses provide glimpses into the song-writing prowess of Imagine Dragons. The entire song is perfectly paced and has a fresh quality in the realm of the pop song. I have no doubt that this band will be huge one day. Probably very soon.
The rest of the tracks on Continued Silence are brilliant as well. The album contains several dance-worthy tracks that incorporate hip-hop beats into a rock and roll setting. If I had to compare Imagine Dragons to some bands, I would say that they are similar to Temper Trap, U2, Coldplay, and Snow Patrol. The guitars are loud, the rhythm section is powerful, and the vocals howl with intensity and world-weary swagger. Imagine Dragons have served their time on the local scene. Now it is time to bring their music to the world. Keep your eyes and ears open for these guys because they are on the rise. Please give these guys a listen. I promise that you won't be disappointed.
Spring Break 2012- Friends and Family
I cannot believe that it has already been a week since I was in Texas! Time is really flying by and I am becoming aware of how quickly graduation is approaching. Two weeks ago, I started my Spring Break with the knowledge that it could very well be my last (that sounded more morbid than intended- what I mean is that Spring Breaks are traditionally celebrated by students or those in the education field and I may never have an official Spring Break again). In that spirit, I vowed to make it a memorable one. It certainly was.
On Saturday, I met my good friend Daniel for lunch and was able to catch up with him and hear about his life. Daniel is a friend from my home church and I have known him for over ten years. We always enjoy grabbing food and catching up whenever I am back in town. After lunch, I had to drive home (rather quickly) and change into my suit for the wedding double header taking place that afternoon and evening. Julie came to pick me up and we drove to Fort Worth in the pouring rain (which had started while I was at lunch). The first wedding took place in the chapel at the NAS Joint Reserve Base. The bride was a college friend of Julie's, so there were plenty of Horned Frogs in the building! It was a really nice ceremony and reception! The only problem was that we had to leave the reception early in order to make it to the second wedding ceremony in time. We left the base with about 45 minutes to make it to the next location (the chapel on TCU's campus). The rain was really coming down at this point, but we made it across town with plenty of time. The bride for this second wedding went to high school with Julie and I. Julie actually went to elementary school with her as well! It was another beautiful ceremony and reception and good times were had by all. The rain persisted until we left the reception at around 10:45 PM. The only downside to this evening was the fact that the clocks sprung forward, robbing us of one hour of sleep.Sunday morning came rather quickly, but it was wonderful to be back at my home church, Metrocrest Presbyterian. I played guitar, my Mum played keys, and my Dad played bass. Playing in the "family band" is always a blast! After church, Julie and I came back to find Brother Bear at the doorstep!! He returned from Waco after having played at the Big 12 tournament. We all enjoyed a nice lunch together and then Julie and I met up with Steve and Albert (two friends from high school) for Bubble tea. I always enjoy hanging out with old friends. For a few hours, it seems as though we have accessed time travel by taking a trip down memory lane. Reminiscing about the past is something that I love doing and this afternoon brought forth strong feelings of nostalgia. I hope to be 50 years old and still in touch with high school friends (I have actually known Steve and Albert since Middle School).
Julie and I then planned our discussion for that evening's Bible study. That night, we had a great discussion of the Believer's Prayer in Acts. Another thing that I love is small group Bible study. It is so encouraging to hear how people are being used by God! It was another fantastic night.
Monday was a rather chill day that consisted of practice and hanging out with my brother. My brother and I are very close, so we really took advantage of the fact that we had the same spring break. We went running, watched a fair amount of NCAA college basketball and American Dad!, went to several sporting good's stores, and ate amazing home cooked meals (this isn't the grand total of our activities, but these were certainly the highlights). Monday night found Julie working late, so I got a chance to hang out with the family.
On Tuesday, I slept in for a while and then finally rolled out of bed so that I could hang with another old friend, Parth. He had just put the finishing touches on a wicked custom-built guitar made out of a cigar box, so we spent the afternoon playing with it. After hanging out with Parth, I went back to Coppell to have a belated celebration of my Dad's birthday. Julie came over and my Mum made a really excellent curry (traditional British fare). We ate cake and did the whole birthday thing as a family. Another great evening was had by all. If you didn't already know this, I love my family.
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| Yes... those are my legs and my new shoes! |
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| The Downtown Canadian- Brady Heslip |
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| Swift Meat Packing Plant- Ft. Worth |
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| Julie and the Horned Frog |
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| Frog Fountain |
Saturday morning was spent fueling up for the afternoon's 5K. The race was called the Pickle Palooza and it was enjoying its debut as an official race. Everyone was wearing green and the atmosphere was really fun. Willy and I decided that we would try to stick together as much as possible. With the sounds of Run DMC blasting from the event speakers, we approached the starting line to get into ready position. The horn sounded, starting the race, and we were off! There was a large crowd to wade through at the beginning, but it started to thin after the first quarter mile and Willy and I settled into a rather quick pace. We picked off runners one at a time and managed to hold 10th and 11th position for a while. Even though the pace was fast, we were feeling pretty good as we ran downhill with the wind at our backs. The hill turned into a winding trail that ended at a turnaround point where a water station was positioned. At this point, I was feeling exhausted, but we decided to keep up the fast tempo. As we made our way back through the winding paths of the course, we encountered our first problem- an onslaught of about 500 runners heading straight for us. We managed to weave through the crowd and came out of the trail feeling fully drained. And that's when the fun run became a pain run. As we turned the corner to begin the long hill climb, we realized that the wind would no longer be behind us. The wind beat down upon us with furious gales that didn't dissipate. It took all of my strength to keep moving. I eventually told Willy to press on as he was looking strong. I ended up stopping for about 15 seconds to catch my breath as I was physically spent with about a half mile to go. After regaining some strength, I willed my legs to move forward. As I rounded the last turn, I gave one final sprint to the finish, glancing at the clock to see if I had reached my goal. I had wanted to run around 22-23 minutes and Willy and I had wanted to come in 1st and 2nd place in our age division. Well...
I ran a 22:18 (7:11/mile split) and finished 2nd in my age division (19-24 yrs. old) and 9th overall. Willy ran a 21:35 and finished 1st in our age division and 6th overall. Mum ran an excellent 34 minute 5K and finished 8th in her age division. These results were nearly identical to last year's Bearathon results! It was great to get outside and compete with my family. Hopefully Dad can come to the next one!
Saturday afternoon was spent in recovery. After some relaxation, I went to the mall with Julie in order to help her pick out a bathing suit. I thought it only fair since she helped me find shoes. After some shopping and several successful purchases, we went back to my house for dinner. My Mum made fish 'n chips and it was superb (I love home cooked food!) After dinner, Julie and I drove to Allen to spend the evening with Doug (my old roommate) and Parth. We had fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day by playing cards and drinking Smithwick's. Another evening spent in great company.
Sunday morning came and brought forth another much needed worship service. I was able to lead the singing which is something that I always love doing. After church, Julie and I ate lunch at my house before falling asleep on my couch. I was mostly packed at this point (and by mostly packed I mean that my suitcase was empty). I packed my stuff while Julie slept and then I fit in one last go on my Rugby Xbox game. After that, I had a cup of tea (PG Tips) and then got ready to head to the airport. I sat at my gate, watching NCAA basketball on the TV and thinking about the next time that I would be home.
These trips back home are reminders of how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life (if you have read this far, then I include you in this sentiment). Whilst many of my contemporaries jet-set off to the beaches of Florida or some of the "world's greatest cities," I choose to come home. Not because I have to, but because I want to. Seeing my family, Julie, and my friends reminds me of what is really important in life. Sure, going to the beach is great, but the beach doesn't love you back or laugh with you. The greatest food in the best cities can never live up to the feeling of eating a home-cooked meal (that's right, feeling- home cooked food doesn't just taste better).
Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted. -Paul Pearshall
Living away from home has taught me many things, but the greatest thing that I have learned out here is the importance of family and friends. Everything else in the world can seem wrong and yet your loved ones will always be there for you. I will never take them for granted.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
"Four Basic Life Lessons from Basic Training" by Mike Inscho
I follow a blog entitled The Art of Manliness and this was posted a couple of days ago by an enlisted Army officer by the name of Mike Inscho. I really appreciate his application of skills learned in basic training to "real world" situations. Enjoy!
As an enlisted member of the Army, and now an Officer, I’ve gone through what was essentially two separate stints at basic training. The first as enlisted and the second as an Officer. During the training, it’s difficult to see the lifelong lessons being drilled into you. Now, however, years after finishing, it’s easier to put a finger on those lessons and apply them to everyday life.
1. If You Can’t Carry It, Wear It, or Shoot It, Leave It Behind
When I would travel in high school, my bags were packed with everything that I might need in an encounter. It might get cold…throw in a few hoodies. What about rain? Take the rain jacket. Doing laundry sucks…I’d better take 3 pairs of underwear and socks for every day I’m going to be away just in case. Seven days in the Carolinas required the same amount of baggage as moving to a new house.Drill Sergeant, in his infinite wisdom, was about to teach me a more efficient way to pack my bags.
One day we were told we were doing a ruck march the next day and were handed a packing list. This packing list was mandatory, and everything on it had to be packed in our ruck sacks or worn on us.
“The stuff on the packing list is more than my ruck sack can hold…how am I supposed to bring the extra gear I might need?!”
After that first ruck march with 10 days worth of gear and change of clothes, my ideas about packing changed drastically. If it wasn’t 100%, absolutely crucial to my survival, it wasn’t packed. A uniform, two or three changes of undergarments, a poncho, and some bungee cords were all we used, and therefore, were all we needed. Twelve undershirts is unnecessary when you’re only gone for ten days. Nobody cares what you smell like and that same space could be used for food or ammunition.
How to Apply This Lesson to Everyday Life
Do you need a walk-in closet full of dress shirts if your job requires a hard hat and a tool belt? Do you need six different methods of making coffee when you end up just stopping by a coffee shop anyways?
Take an inventory of everything you use, and donate or sell everything that hasn’t been useful in the last four months. How do you decide what stays and what goes? Do what I do. Twice a year, turn everything you own backwards. When you look in the dresser drawer, you’ll see the backs of your shirts; in the cabinet you’ll see the back of the peanut butter jar. Then, when you use an item, turn it back around so it’s facing you. If you don’t use it, leave it alone. After four months, everything that is still facing away from you is donated or sold…no questions asked.
2. Run, Shoot, Communicate
Every morning we did PT, and every PT session included some sort of running. If we were ever on a real world mission and had to get to the objective, we knew we could run to it. Next, if we weren’t on a live range, we were practicing basic rifle marksmanship drills. We knew that if we ever got into a real world firefight, these techniques would be second nature and give us the ability to protect ourselves and our teammates. After that we communicated. Radios, written orders, hand and arm signals…eventually our squad got to the point that our communication was almost telepathic. Our Drill Sergeant constantly reminded us that all we needed to be a successful Soldier was to be able to run, shoot, and communicate. If you can do those well and your squad can do them well, all of the extra stuff is icing on the cake.How to Apply This Lesson to Everyday Life
What do you need to do to be a successful husband? Provide care, love, and resources to your family. Nothing else should be your focus until these needs are met.
What about a successful bachelor? Grandfather? Boss?
The type of man you want to be can be simplified to a few basic characteristics that, when done successfully, lead you to success. Prioritize your life and focus on the “need to haves” before you even think about the “nice to haves.”
3. Practice Mindfulness
My second round of basic training granted me a bit more freedom and opportunities outside of training. Still, training was the priority, and one day I found myself back on the range to qualify with my weapon.“I’ve done this a million times. No sweat…BANG! I wonder what they are serving for dinner tonight…BANG! What about the gym…BANG! Are they even open today…BANG!”
On and on that went for all 40 targets. My mind on the mystery meat that would be served later for dinner. It should have been on the mechanics of marksmanship that were drilled into my mind and body during my first round at basic training. I finished my ammunition and awaited my score. No doubt it’d be a 28/40…or maybe even a 30/40 because I’d done this a million times, remember?
9. I shot a 9 out of 40. Talk about embarrassing.
How to Apply This Lesson to Everyday Life
Proficiency does not come from one attempt…not even dozens of attempts. To do something well demands your concentration and for you to practice mindfulness, regardless of how many times you’ve done that task before. If whatever you’re doing isn’t important enough to you to demand your full attention…why do it?
4. Outranking Someone Doesn’t Equal Control of Them
One of the Army Values is Respect, and it’s defined as “treat people as they should be treated.” So even if someone outranks you, if he has shown that he can’t keep track of his equipment, you are well within your rights to treat him like someone who can’t keep track of his equipment. Rank does not automatically mean you get to boss around everyone below you.Case in point, during Officers Basic Training, myself and 39 other brand new Second Lieutenants made up a platoon that was “advised” by a group of Staff Sergeants and a Sergeant First Class. From the standpoint of the military’s hierarchy, we were being led by people we outranked.
This wasn’t an issue until our field exercise. At times like that everyone’s temper is much, much shorter than usual and the easy way out tends to become the trail most taken. After we came back from a tactics exercise in the woods, someone realized that he had lost an important piece of equipment. Not something important to him, or assigned to him, but something very important to the entire platoon and the responsibility of our Sergeant First Class advisor. The search for it was half-assed on our part, and the Sergeant First Class decided we needed punishment. Except we outranked him and he couldn’t punish us the way it’s normally done in the Army (mass amounts of push-ups and other exotic, and exhausting, types of physical training). The one thing he could do to us, was hold us in formation for as long as he pleased and wherever he pleased. It was late June, in southern Georgia, and our base was made up entirely of low tents and gravel. Obviously the best place for him to keep us in formation for the next hour was out in the open as the temperature rose to 100+…and that’s exactly what he did.
How to Apply This Lesson to Everyday Life
If you’re a manager, or a boss, or a leader of any type, you need to realize that your position doesn’t mean your subordinates have to automatically bend to your every desire. They don’t even have to respect you.
You earn the respect you are given.
Wrapping Up
These four basic life lessons are nowhere near a complete guide to being a man. They are, however, things you commonly see many men pay no attention to. Practice these lessons daily, one at a time until each one is mastered, and I’m willing to bet you’ll see all parts of your life from a new perspective, and find yourself closer to winning the battle that every man fights–whether soldier or civilian–of becoming the man you want to be.Thursday, February 23, 2012
Ticket to Ride- Valentine's Weekend 2012
I know that it is two weeks overdue, but I am finally getting the chance to write about the wonderful weekend that I had with Julie. I am so glad that she came to visit the weekend before Valentine's Day!
I picked her up from the airport on Thursday morning (as an aside, Thursday morning is a great time to fly into LAX!) We went back to my apartment and then I had to rush off for a jazz lesson. After my lesson at USC, I came back to the apartment and we ate a late lunch. Following lunch, we went to the grocery store in order to buy stuff for the two meals that we would be making each other. After shopping, I had to go back to USC for studio class and Julie stayed at the apartment and made dinner. By the time I got back, Julie had dinner waiting for me. It was amazing! She made perfectly seasoned Tilapia (with fresh lime juice), Parmesan potato wedges, zucchini, and warm sourdough bread. Julie is one excellent cook and she definitely spoiled me with that dinner.
After dinner, I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. We were going to exchange Valentine's Day gifts, but my roommate, Erik, introduced us to this iPhone game called "Ticket to Ride" and we became slightly obsessed with it! We played until it was time to watch "Jersey Shore." I know that it is absolute trash TV, but it has become a weekly tradition for our apartment. At any rate, it is one hour during the week when my brain is completely turned off! At this point, Julie had been awake for nearly 22 hours, so we decided to call it a night.
Friday morning, I made Julie breakfast and we ate with Erik. After breakfast, Julie and I decided to go to the beach for an hour or so. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect and we both got some sun. The beach is about 10 minutes from my apartment. I am so blessed to live so close! After our beach trip, we came back and ate lunch before I had to be at my 2:00 PM rehearsal. The rehearsal seemed to last forever and I may have played a few games of "Ticket to Ride..." After rehearsal, I came back and made Julie stir-fry for dinner. It wasn't quite as good as her Tilapia, but there were two clean plates left at the end of the meal, so I called it a success. After dinner, we exchanged gifts. Julie got me I Am Second (a book of Christian testimonies) and some boxers from J. Crew. She also made me a CD with songs that remind her of us. It is an awesome compilation that traces our relationship through all of the years that we have know each other. Wow, she is too good to me! After the gift exchange, we met Ben and Chris (friends of mine from the sax program at USC) for drinks at the Roger Room and then ended the night at the 3rd Street Stop. During Julie's most recent trip here, she became "best" friends with Ben, so it was a great evening for all of us to hang out. We enjoyed ourselves so much, that we lost track of time, and didn't end up getting back until 1:30 AM.
Saturday morning was definitely a lazy morning. I got up and made breakfast again and then Julie and I relaxed (we played "Ticket to Ride" again- what did I say? Slightly obsessed?) After chilling, Julie and I took Erik and Alana (my roommates) out for ice cream at a place called Scoops. It is an amazing ice cream shop that makes homemade flavors that are all unique (Mint Jim Bean, Guinness Cheesecake, Bacon, and Lavender Honey are just a few of the flavors that they have made). The menu changes each day, so it is always an experience. I have never been disappointed. Following ice cream, Julie and I decided to go to the beach again. This time it was too cold to lay out, so we just walked along the pathway. It was super windy, so we didn't stay too long. It was still nice to be outside and see the water. After the beach, we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond so that I could get another big coffee/tea mug like the one Julie gave me for Christmas (I love drinking tea and the big mug means more tea). When we got back to the apartment, we just relaxed and watched TV (I think that the Hangover was on). I drank PG Tips out of my new mug. It wasn't long before we were getting ready to go back out again.
Julie and I went to El Compadre on Saturday night and it was a great evening! Our friend, Caroline, planned a quasi High School/TCU reunion. It was great to see Chris Rhea after nearly five years! It was awesome to hear about his life and what he is doing these days. Chris and I served as drum majors in high school and it was so cool to reconnect- High School band only came up a few times. Being the nostalgic person that I am, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire evening and the many trips down memory lane.
Sunday morning came a little too quickly as I had to get up extra early in order to serve as an usher at church. Julie was a great sport and came along with me. She actually ended up serving as an usher as well- handing out bulletins accompanied by one of her winning smiles. It was great! After church, she also helped me serve at the Community Group fair. After that, it was a quick lunch at the apartment before I had to take her to the airport. Thankfully her flight wasn't delayed as all of the later flights were cancelled due to inclement weather in Dallas.
It was a truly wonderful weekend that came and went far too quickly. I cannot believe how time flies. The great news is that I will be back in Dallas in two weeks! I look forward to seeing everyone back home very soon.
I picked her up from the airport on Thursday morning (as an aside, Thursday morning is a great time to fly into LAX!) We went back to my apartment and then I had to rush off for a jazz lesson. After my lesson at USC, I came back to the apartment and we ate a late lunch. Following lunch, we went to the grocery store in order to buy stuff for the two meals that we would be making each other. After shopping, I had to go back to USC for studio class and Julie stayed at the apartment and made dinner. By the time I got back, Julie had dinner waiting for me. It was amazing! She made perfectly seasoned Tilapia (with fresh lime juice), Parmesan potato wedges, zucchini, and warm sourdough bread. Julie is one excellent cook and she definitely spoiled me with that dinner.
After dinner, I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. We were going to exchange Valentine's Day gifts, but my roommate, Erik, introduced us to this iPhone game called "Ticket to Ride" and we became slightly obsessed with it! We played until it was time to watch "Jersey Shore." I know that it is absolute trash TV, but it has become a weekly tradition for our apartment. At any rate, it is one hour during the week when my brain is completely turned off! At this point, Julie had been awake for nearly 22 hours, so we decided to call it a night.
Friday morning, I made Julie breakfast and we ate with Erik. After breakfast, Julie and I decided to go to the beach for an hour or so. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect and we both got some sun. The beach is about 10 minutes from my apartment. I am so blessed to live so close! After our beach trip, we came back and ate lunch before I had to be at my 2:00 PM rehearsal. The rehearsal seemed to last forever and I may have played a few games of "Ticket to Ride..." After rehearsal, I came back and made Julie stir-fry for dinner. It wasn't quite as good as her Tilapia, but there were two clean plates left at the end of the meal, so I called it a success. After dinner, we exchanged gifts. Julie got me I Am Second (a book of Christian testimonies) and some boxers from J. Crew. She also made me a CD with songs that remind her of us. It is an awesome compilation that traces our relationship through all of the years that we have know each other. Wow, she is too good to me! After the gift exchange, we met Ben and Chris (friends of mine from the sax program at USC) for drinks at the Roger Room and then ended the night at the 3rd Street Stop. During Julie's most recent trip here, she became "best" friends with Ben, so it was a great evening for all of us to hang out. We enjoyed ourselves so much, that we lost track of time, and didn't end up getting back until 1:30 AM. 
Saturday morning was definitely a lazy morning. I got up and made breakfast again and then Julie and I relaxed (we played "Ticket to Ride" again- what did I say? Slightly obsessed?) After chilling, Julie and I took Erik and Alana (my roommates) out for ice cream at a place called Scoops. It is an amazing ice cream shop that makes homemade flavors that are all unique (Mint Jim Bean, Guinness Cheesecake, Bacon, and Lavender Honey are just a few of the flavors that they have made). The menu changes each day, so it is always an experience. I have never been disappointed. Following ice cream, Julie and I decided to go to the beach again. This time it was too cold to lay out, so we just walked along the pathway. It was super windy, so we didn't stay too long. It was still nice to be outside and see the water. After the beach, we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond so that I could get another big coffee/tea mug like the one Julie gave me for Christmas (I love drinking tea and the big mug means more tea). When we got back to the apartment, we just relaxed and watched TV (I think that the Hangover was on). I drank PG Tips out of my new mug. It wasn't long before we were getting ready to go back out again.Julie and I went to El Compadre on Saturday night and it was a great evening! Our friend, Caroline, planned a quasi High School/TCU reunion. It was great to see Chris Rhea after nearly five years! It was awesome to hear about his life and what he is doing these days. Chris and I served as drum majors in high school and it was so cool to reconnect- High School band only came up a few times. Being the nostalgic person that I am, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire evening and the many trips down memory lane.
Sunday morning came a little too quickly as I had to get up extra early in order to serve as an usher at church. Julie was a great sport and came along with me. She actually ended up serving as an usher as well- handing out bulletins accompanied by one of her winning smiles. It was great! After church, she also helped me serve at the Community Group fair. After that, it was a quick lunch at the apartment before I had to take her to the airport. Thankfully her flight wasn't delayed as all of the later flights were cancelled due to inclement weather in Dallas.
It was a truly wonderful weekend that came and went far too quickly. I cannot believe how time flies. The great news is that I will be back in Dallas in two weeks! I look forward to seeing everyone back home very soon.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Stranded: The Desert Island Album
The premise is simple. You are stranded on a desert island. The question is more complicated. Which album will accompany you as you wait to be rescued? There are so many sounds in the world and there have been countless beautiful musical examples from every generation and from every corner of the earth. But the question asks for one record. Admittedly, I have extremely diverse musical tastes and it saddens me to think about a life without access to all of these sounds. However, as soon as the question was proposed, one album came to mind and would not depart. This particular album transported me through several difficult phases of life. It was there for my first love, and for my first heartbreak. It was there through all of the awkwardness of puberty and the alarming self-assurance that comes from feeling on top of the world during the last days of high school. It is an album that I have listened to countless times and never tire of hearing- even after owning it for nearly ten years. To pass the time on this desert island I will have Weezer (Blue Album) on repeat.
The answer surprised myself. Why wouldn’t I choose The Beatles (The White Album) or David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars? The question was not: what is the greatest album of all time? Rather, the question is much more personal than that. The question cuts to the core of why we listen to music at all.
Released in May of 1994, The Blue Album entered the music scene at a time of fusing genres and expanded soundscapes. The metal of Guns and Roses was dying a slow death as guitar bands traded in blazing solos for simplified power chord songs. The mid-nineties ushered in a feeling of “anything is possible” with bands like Green Day re-defining punk and hip-hop thriving as a genre. From this, Weezer rose with a debut album that would come to empower many young, insecure and impressionable musicians to pick up guitars. The Blue Album’s electro-synth keyboards, harmonica, and three part vocal harmonies distinguish itself from grunge; the bare bones sound of Nirvana and the hypnotic, edgy Soundgarden leading this grunge movement. Mixing hard rock elements with pop sensibilities was just beginning to happen in the early 1990’s and Weezer crafted its songs to allow the two seemingly different worlds to unite. As a result, Weezer reached out to the under-represented populace who played Dungeons and Dragons and listened to KISS; a slight contrast from the also misunderstood Nirvana fan base, which consisted largely of flannel-wearing post-punk youths rising against popular music. The members of Weezer (lead by frontman Rivers Cuomo) were not afraid to identify themselves as nerds and they ushered in the “post-grunge” era where the sounds of popular radio began to meld with the grunge/hard rock paradigm. Cuomo, with his trademark dark-rimmed “Buddy Holly” glasses, became the voice of disgruntled, self-proclaimed nerds everywhere. At the age of 15, listening to my father’s classic rock collection, I was so desperately seeking a band that could voice the same struggles and emotions that I was feeling. I found myself drawn to the primal wails of David Bowie and the furious speed of Iron Maiden, but I still felt a void unfilled. After hearing “Say It Ain’t So,” I immediately realized that what I had been waiting for was Weezer. This record quite literally changed my life. Hours would pass as I would listen to those ten songs over and over again until I could sing every lyric, match every harmony, and nail every guitar lick. I became obsessed with playing the guitar.
In lieu of presenting a full personal history, I can just say that this album still elicits the same feelings today. Every time I hear that unmistakable introduction to “Say It Ain’t So” or the guitar/keyboard interplay on “Buddy Holly,” I feel that same sense of belonging and hope that I felt as an impressionable 15 year old. And with that comes a certain amount of nostalgia. In many ways, I long for the nineties again. From a sonic standpoint, The Blue Album is a quintessential example of nineties post-grunge power-pop. The hiss and hum of analog tapes is present and the raw, distorted guitars create a wall of sound that is yet unknown in the digital age. The guitar feedback captured on this album is reminiscent of the noise rock genre and provides some of the album’s most breathtaking moments (I challenge anyone to listen to “Only in Dreams” and not get chills as the feedback of the guitars transforms into a soaring counterpoint that crescendos to the reprise of the main melody). To me, Weezer brought the visceral nature of hard rock and pop music song structures together in one perfect package. Today’s music misses the mark on this point.
To put it simply, I have such an admiration for every second, every lyric on this record, because it stuck with me during a very important time in my life. It was only years later (after really studying the music) that I realized the brilliance and universal appeal of The Blue Album. So, on this desert island, I will be riding waves of nostalgia and feeling truly content. It sounds too good to be true and some may say that this can occur only in dreams. Say it ain’t so.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
AJ Adams' CD Release Party This Friday!
This Friday, I will be taking the stage with AJ Adams to support the release of his debut record, Heart to Give. Albums will be on sale for $10!! AJ will be playing with a full band including Leland Byrd on bass and Doug Harbord on drums. We will be playing most of the tunes off of the new record and some cover songs.
The show starts at 8:00 PM and there is NO COVER! We are playing in the Voodoo Lounge (bar/restaurant area) at the House of Blues Dallas (<- this is a link to a map)
The address is: 2200 North Lamar Street, Dallas, TX
It should be a great time and we look forward to seeing you there!
For more info check out: http://www.ajadamsmusic.com/AJ_Adams/Home.html
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Pro Tools: The New Abbey Road?
"It has become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity." - Albert Einstein
It is a cold, dark night at 54th Street and 9th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Inside the massive 100,000 square foot building are five large recording studios, but only one is open tonight. A team of audio engineers, producers, and other brilliant musicians is waiting in anticipation and staring through the thick glass window. Inside the studio and backlit by a single, fading light, a man is slumped over the piano. Working alongside the hum of analog tapes, Bruce Springsteen is staying up late and working on his masterpiece “Born in the U.S.A.”- an album that would go on to become a beacon of hope for the working man following his dream. However, this place where dreams were made is now no more. Once known as the Hit Factory, this historic recording space has generated 41 Grammy nominated recordings; the birthplace of countless classic albums is gone.
It is a warm, summer night at 54th Street and 9th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Teeming with youthful energy, the busy streets provide a perfect backdrop for the creative mind. In a penthouse condo several stories above the street sits a solitary man lit only by the glow of his computer screen. He has just put the finishing touches on his debut album. Through the power of Pro Tools, he has created an album filled with the sounds of Stradivarius violins, vintage Gibson guitars, and Steinway grand pianos. He has tuned every single note of his vocal melodies to perfection. His computer has replaced collaborating musicians, producers, and engineers. The birthplace of the modern-day hit can fit on your desktop.
Recording studios like the Hit Factory are closing all over the world. The main catalyst is a decrease in demand for recording equipment and studio space brought on by an increase in technological development. A MacBook Pro with Pro Tools and an interface can now deliver a broadcast quality album ready for digital distribution. A process that used to be a team effort is now a one-man affair. Technology has affected all aspects of our society, but I maintain that the music industry is taking the hit most personally.
Change is inevitable, but rarely easy. In the never-ending search for perfection, our society has created some truly remarkable pieces of technology. The growing trend in the music industry is a movement toward a computer-driven method of music production. Today, there are many software packages, such as Logic Pro, Cubase, and Pro Tools, which serve to diminish the need for mixing desks and other studio equipment. Launched in 1991, Pro Tools is now considered an industry standard having revolutionized every aspect of the recording process. Pro Tools functions as a Digital Audio Workstation that provides a virtual mixer and a multi-track tape recorder, replacing the need for a physical mixing desk. Using keyboard commands and a mouse, one can balance levels, mix tracks and add MIDI sounds. The software is easy to install and one can grasp the mixing/editing process in a matter of months. Pro Tools is that intuitive. Prior to the development of this digital software, a team of producers and engineers would balance tracks on a mixing board and maintain the equipment as sound files were transferred onto large tape machines. Editing was done by literally splicing into the tape and re-recording the part. Now, a Pro Tools user can record and re-record parts with just a few clicks of the mouse and spacebar. Tracks are stored in external hard-drives and can be edited using the Pro Tools editing window. Here, the user equalizes tracks in order to create optimum balance and blend. Digital effects can also be added to any recorded part.
Third-party developers have created countless plug-ins that can be purchased in addition to Pro Tools. A plug-in has a specific function that enhances the recording, editing, mixing and effects capabilities of the Pro Tools software. Through the use of plug-ins, a musician can summon vintage guitar tones, amp models and other exotic instruments that would otherwise be impossible to use. These plug-ins have changed the way in which we record. Before plug-ins, musicians had to use the instruments and amps that they owned. The gear in the recording studio shaped the sound of the album. Now, thanks to the increasing accessibility of every sound ever generated, a musician is just a few clicks away from capturing the “perfect” sound.
Several plug-ins have become standards in the industry such as the “Velvet” plug-in which provides access to emulators of 1970’s analog keyboards. Another plug-in called “Strike” contains five high-definition drum kits with twelve instruments per kit. Plug-ins make it possible for a cheap guitar to sound like Jimmy Page’s signature Les Paul or can take the place of real instruments all together. However, one plug-in has gone on to be called the “Holy Grail of Recording.” It has raised our expectations as listeners and changed the recording industry forever. Auto-tune is the plug-in most widely used in the recording industry today. When engaged, Auto-tune can correct the pitch of an entire vocal/instrumental melody or can be used to correct individual notes. It can turn the most average of singers into a pitch-perfect performer. At Auto-tune’s core is a mathematical formula called autocorrelation. Prior to Auto-tune’s inception, this formula was used to determine suitable drilling sites for oil companies. Andy Hildebrand, a seismologist, was successfully using this formula throughout the 1990’s to save oil companies millions of dollars. After being asked to create a program to fix out of tune vocals, Hildebrand began to tweak with autocorrelation and had a working solution for pitch correction by the end of 1996. In the same way that autocorrelation helps engineers to detect drilling sites, Auto-tune employs the formula to find the correct pitches for any given melody. The only information that Auto-tune needs is the key signature of the song and then it fixes the out of tune notes in real time.
Auto-tune has been used not only for pitch correction, but also as a vocal effect. First heard in Cher’s 1998 hit, “Believe,” Auto-tune was used to give her voice an otherworldly sound or the effect of singing underwater. The effect was achieved by adjusting Auto-tune’s retune speed. By setting the retune speed to zero, the input pitch is changed to the output pitch instantly and the resulting sound is both jarring and automated. Increasing the retune speed allows for more natural pitch correction and this technique is Auto-tune’s most commonly used feature today.
“I think Pro Tools is highly inappropriate to record music... It's too easy to correct mistakes; it's too easy to fix things. We hear this sort of clean, plastic perfection that's been applied to all the tracks. That is not the kind of music we grew up loving and listening to and wanting to be a part of.”- Jack White (White Stripes, The Raconteurs)
It has become too easy to fix the little imperfections that used to add character to a song. If Auto-tune had been available during the recording of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s…” Ringo Starr’s “sang out of tune” line would be sung in tune. Even in this age of Auto-tune, there are some vocalists who refuse to use it. “Come Away with Me,” Norah Jones’ 2002 debut hit contains vocal imperfections as the singer delicately slides into notes with great emotional effect. With Auto-tune these would all be removed, eliminating the human element. In its place, we hear a false sense of perfection that is often exposed when we hear a live performance that sounds shockingly different to the album cut. Auto-tune has created a generation of lazy singers. Knowing that an engineer is going to fix any mistakes, a singer no longer needs to strive for something better. After a few takes, the engineer selects parts out of each and melds them together to create something fake. This part is then processed with Auto-tune and reverb to further enhance perfection. Artists like Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen made recordings that contain a passion, energy, a vibrancy that I find missing in a great deal of modern-day recordings. The songs created before all of this technology were so emotional because the voice was human. Unprocessed, raw, and pure.
And there was a great deal of humanity present on all aspects of yesterday’s recording process. Men and women hard at work behind the glass performed the tasks of today’s computers. Bands used to gather together in one room in order to write and record. Now the recording process is happening alone in a bedroom or in different time zones, as musicians are able to send audio files over the Internet. We are replacing the human effort with the more efficient, closer-to-perfection computer process. In turn, we have lost something. This could explain why there is currently a movement to return to analog recording. For years, third-party developers have been hard at work trying to make digital software that emulates analog recording. Why is that? Because the sounds of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s are worth imitating. Each decade brought forth its own unique sound that shaped the music of that time. The music changed because the people changed as well. Now, in this current age of computer-perfected music, I hear no distinctive sound. We have replaced the organic recording process and, in turn, we have lost our voice. Popular radio is filled with a conglomeration of sounds from all decades as artists search for their voice. In a way, the computer has brought all of these sounds together in one unified time period. But we are very much lost, as computers are not affected by current events. The hiss and hum of analog tape and vinyl recordings is replaced with a crystal clear digital sound. The music of the digital age is missing something that analog recording captured. Our technology has certainly surpassed our humanity.
Pro Tools and other software have effectively replaced the need for the recording studio. For the first time in history, recording technology is accessible for anyone with a computer. This software opens up the world of recording for countless artists who would otherwise be unable to afford studio time. It is a time to celebrate the young artist rising up without the hassle of dealing with a major record label. These are all good things and it is an exciting time. However, no matter how fantastic the technology gets, nothing will ever match the experience of trained professionals coming together to create. An amateur using Pro Tools will create an “amateur sounding” album because he lacks the training and experience of a professional. There will always be a difference between the amateur user, dabbling in recording, and the trained audio engineer. These technological advancements will continue to diminish the need for musicians, producers and engineers, but the computer will never fully replace the work of a human being. A computer can never match the creative capacity and cathartic effort of humanity. There is an energy that exists when people come together to create music and the end result is better than the sum of its parts. I feel that computers make everything too mechanical and all we hear is individual parts. Yes, Pro Tools can quantize sounds, and crossfades make everything crisp and clear, but there is still something missing. Computers cannot synthesize the chemistry that is clearly present on so many classic recordings. Would “Born in the U.S.A.” sound the same if Bruce Springsteen was accompanied by a computer instead of the powerful E. Street Band? Would the wail of Mick Ronson’s wah-soaked guitar found on “The Man Who Sold the World” sound the same if he had run his guitar through a digital processor? These and numerous other classic recordings will go down in history as purely human effort.
Many will insist that Pro Tools and Auto-tune are just ushering in the next era of recording. Like the invention of distortion and the electric guitar before that, technological advances are necessary steps in the evolution of music. But my concern with this latest advancement is that humanity is being replaced. The electric guitar enabled acoustic guitar players to create the earliest sounds of rock and roll. Distortion allowed them to play with an expanded vocabulary of effects. All of these innovations enhanced the music-making process, but did not replace it. Pro Tools and Auto-tune have replaced teamwork and hard effort. In order to find this generation’s sound, we must look past all of these technological advancements and re-discover the music that inspired us. The music that lies between the grooves of the vinyl 45’s, covered in dust, lying dormant in boxes, attics, and garages, waiting to be awakened from their long slumber.
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