December13th
Well, I haven’t done THIS in awhile.
I occasionally like to sit down at our upright piano and just start recording. If I ignore the recorder, I can usually relax and just play whatever comes to mind. Sometimes (but not always,) I even feel like it’s worth posting here. Here is a little thing I recorded this morning. Nothing fancy, just me at the piano while Bear naps next to me.
I really should be Christmas shopping.
December3rd
In case I haven’t made it abundantly clear, I am a musician, not a photographer. Oh sure, I can hold a camera and follow the basic “aim away from face” rule, but that’s about it. Most of the photos you see on my blog were taken by my wife Patty. She is a very gifted photographer and she frequently posts on her own blog at pattyanne.net and on her Flickr stream. I’m trying to become a better photographer just so she can be in more pictures with Isla.
Isla & Bear
Bear Hugs
As a result, most of my posts involve original music I’ve created for various clients, or just for fun. This piece is one of the latter. I’ve been switching over my recording software from Digital Performer to Apple’s Logic Pro, so I put together this simple piece of music entitled “Clockmaker” as a way of trying out the software. My goal was to complete it in four hours, but it ended up taking twice as long. Oh well.
I’d love to hear what you think.
December1st
Hey, everyone. When you get a chance today, go check out the excellent website, kellehampton.com
Kelle Hampton is an incredibly talented writer and photographer and I highly recommend you check out her website as soon and as often as possible.
I’m doing a CD giveaway there, so you can read her blog post for more information.
Good Luck!
October28th
Ever since I was a little boy growing up in the brown-tinted era known as the 1970s, one of my guilty pleasures has been scary movies. I clearly remember sitting in front of our (color!) TV in the shag carpeted, wood paneled family room watching a show featuring clips from all sorts old classic scary movies, including Psycho, Halloween and The Omen. Obviously, I HAD to see these movies.
You thought I was kidding about the Family Room?
I’ve written about this before, but excellent blogs including Final Girl and Kindertrauma have helped to bring back some great memories…memories of watching TV; kinda sad now that I think about it.
I also remember seeing the commercial for 1979′s Phantasm. I didn’t see the film until years later, but just watching the trailer freaked me out. (What’s that flying silver ball with the spikes? Who’s the creepy old tall dude?? Holy crap, that kid is supposed to be safe in bed, but these jawa-looking things start attacking him!!) OK, it looks kinda tame now, but hey, I was 8!
(Man, film trailers back then mentioned the film title A LOT)
Since it’s almost Halloween, I put together a piece of music reminiscent of the scary film music at the time. Specifically, I was thinking of the minimal scores John Carpenter wrote for most of his own movies. A lot of the films were done on a tight budget, so the themes often used synthesizers rather than full orchestras. I don’t currently have a full orchestra hanging around my studio, so please enjoy the synthy goodness!
April15th
My parents have always taught me that when you’re a part of something amazing and very cool, you write a blog post about it.
I’m proud to announce that I have been chosen to be an artist featured on Whisperings Solo Piano Radio. What am I talking about? Well, Whisperings Solo Piano Radio was founded in 2003 by a very talented pianist and composer named David Nevue. Realizing that while many people love to listen to solo piano music, there was no real opportunity to hear it on the radio. So, David went and started his own radio station…on the Internet!
Several of the tracks from my CD, All You Know can be heard there, as well as solo piano music from many other talented artists. I guarantee you’re going to hear something you like, and when you do, send an email to let the artist know. We love that kind of thing.
So, if you enjoy solo piano music (and trust me, you do) I invite you to stop whatever you’re doing as long as it doesn’t involve heavy machinery and/or child care and go to www.solopianoradio.com to learn more. Thanks for listening!
February17th
When I’m not busy staring at my 8-month daughter, I can usually be found recording music for films, commercials, and the occasional video game (although not occasional enough, mind you.) I was recently hired to score a short film for my friend, Chars Bonin over at OrangeApple Productions. Chars has been a filmmaker for over twenty years and in preparation for an upcoming event, he asked if I could record a score for one of his earliest films from 1993. Since I’m a sucker for early 1990s cinema, I quickly agreed.
This is a silent 8mm film called “Indiana Corey,” and it is just over 4 minutes long. As you may guess, it is an homage to “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” As a result, it was pretty obvious to me that the score needed to have a fun, swashbuckling feel to mirror the action on the screen. I like the way it turned out and I hope you enjoy it too. Be sure to stick around for the music over the end credits, because I seriously slapped that together in about 30 minutes. Enjoy!
December29th
I love learning new things. It’s common for me to suddenly become interested in a particular topic and just fall down the rabbit hole, reading, watching and listening to everything I can about it.
Lately, I’ve been reading up on the history of electronic music. More specifically, I’ve been learning a lot more about synthesizers and rhythm machines of the 1970s & 1980s. Since I grew up playing a LOT of classical piano, I largely ignored these synths and drum machines the first time around. Admittedly, some of the music from the era sounds a bit dated, but at the time it was something very new. (I would be a bad li’l blogger if I didn’t give a tip of the hat to the amazing synth-oriented blog at Matrixsynth. They have really helped me get all learned up goodly.)
I now have a greater appreciation of the experimentation going on at the time. As a result, I’m playing around with a lot of the sounds and will be posting some new stuff soon.
I can only hope it won’t all sound like this:
I’m also trying to figure out a way to purchase THIS thing and sneak it into the house without waking the baby and/or ending the marriage. I’m sure it’ll be fine.
photo courtesy of Matrixsynth
December7th
I’ve recently been playing with some of the music Apps for the iPad. I stress the words “playing with,” because at this point, a lot of the music Apps are little more than toys, but hey, who doesn’t like toys?
This is a little 2-minute piece I recorded on the iPad using an app called iMS-20. It’s based on the classic Korg MS-20 synth, but the app throws in a step sequencer and drums as well, so a person can construct entire songs worthy of blogging about. It was fun to play around with a virtual synth on a device I can (and will) easily misplace.
This piece is called “Cartoon Physics” and it’s just a fun thing I whipped together at the coffee shop over a couple of days. That’s right, I did something besides mooch free Wi-Fi like Moochie McMoocherson.
November15th
We had our first blizzard of the season this weekend, so it was a nice chance to stay in, drink hot chocolate and play some music. Now that Isla can spit sit up by herself, she occasionally keeps me company while I play piano. She seems to enjoy Elton John, but she really lights up when I play some Jerry Lee Lewis.
C’mon, who wouldn’t?
November7th
I’ve been having a great time with Wifey & Isla lately. Isla is getting over a cold and her very first ear infection, and other than some residual congestion, she seems to be doing just fine. As you can expect, our little girl’s mood has been improving as well. Oh, and she’s doing this now:
Of course, no good will come of that.
The weekends have become even more important to me, since I feel like I never get enough “Baby Facetime.” (This is of course different from “Babyface Time,” of which I get plenty.)
In addition to our regular weekend activities of ignoring various household chores, I’ve been giving more home concerts for Patty & Isla. Since Isla has hearing loss, she gets to sit on the piano (with moral and literal support from Patty, of course.) She seems to enjoy the music and the attention. Plus, everyone loves to sit on a piano!
There has also been plenty of simple, but important play time with Isla’s laughter filling up the home. (Yes, it’s VERY distracting!) However, one thing Patty & I still struggle with is getting Isla to sleep at night. The little girl really struggles and fusses, and it takes a while to get her from warp speed back down to impulse speed and finally back into spacedock. (Um, I’ve actually been informed that my Star Trek references are neither amusing, nor insightful. However, I still want her to live long and prosper, and I want her to ask the important questions in life. Questions such as “Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?”and “What do we do about this whole ‘whale thing’?” and of course, “What does God need with a Starship?”)
Anyway, we are finding some tricks that help, such as swaddling her so that her flailing arms don’t cause a re-awakening. We’re also experimenting with different types of music and lighting. It’s a bit like running a nightclub or carpet store.
We also met recently with a very nice family whose son, who has been deaf his whole life is now a Senior in High school and will be attending college in New York. The meeting was a great way to just talk with a family who has been down the road we’re heading. We have a lot to think about, but we know we’re not alone.
Oh, and we’re also really freaking tired.
