Tape Op changed my life

So for those of you who know me, you may find it odd to hear i work at a bank.. that I sit in a cubicle and help people purchase homes and relocate with their companies. You might also find it strange to know that I haven't played my guitar yet this week and it is Saturday.. I haven't played with my band in a month either.. and if this seems all strange to you.. imagine how it feels to me. 

Earlier this month I started a new chapter of soul searching I would call it. I started asking questions about where I should be and now that i've done so much, where do i go from here? The answers have come in strange ways.. but they have come. 

The day after I didn't eat I received a quarterly publication that I had signed up for last year but never received. It's free so it's only sent out to random subscribers each quarter unless you pay for the subscription. I received mine.. and in it are the stories of engineers and producers from the music industry that were expressing their roots and what made them successful. As I took this magazine with me to work, to the bathroom, in the car, I still can't stop reading these articles. It's everything I've ever wanted to do. Record and produce.. If this wasn't enough a letter from my sister came in the mail previous to this. I had expressed to her some of my concerns about where i wanted to be in my life and who I was right now. Her opinion was I was trying to do what I wanted all the time and not listening to the higher power. I took this to mean I was supposed to be giving up my music.. to do "family life" -- turns out maybe the powers that be would have me pursue my dreams and talents and make something of it and quit using my family as an excuse not to do it. So I will.. Music Business and music technology.. 

its been good since i made up my mind and that tells me.. it's all what it's supposed to be.

Old Skool Monday 37337

It's super cool when bands that inspired me release albums around the same time. You think Beck, Weezer, The Foo Fighters would ever play a show together? It's been a while since my last update.. the problem has been that I usually blog from my now defunct iPhone. As of tomorrow this problem should be somewhat abated in that I got a decent bonus in my last paycheck at an old job and I should have the means to purchase a new one. In the mean time.. I picked up two new records these last few weeks that I find pretty interesting. Make that three.. Beck has a new record out. More on that soon as I have not listened to it thoroughly enough to justify writing anything about it.

 

This Alkaline Trio record could be the big one for them. There's a few tracks that are just acoustic renditions of other tracks on the disc so that could have been cooler. I still really like the production and feel of this disc. If you haven't listened to them, you should pick it up and try not to do it when you're depressed.

The Offspring's new record Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is pretty rad. It has an old school sound reminiscent of Smash, which is pleasant to me due to the fact that Smash and Out Come the Wolves were my first two albums. I'll just say that he is sounding more like Weird Al and less punk rock but if you can get passed that, you've got a pretty good record. We'll ignore the Ace of Base that I had from somewhere in my CD collection.

Other than that I now work for the man at Bank of America, I'm a loan officer. So if you're buying a house, you call me, I feed my baby who has a mohawk. You like babies with mohawks.

I think sometimes, working two jobs, taking 2 accelerated courses, and taking care of a family and church responsibilities will kill me. Like that guy in Japan who just died working on the new Camry. He worked himself to death with 90 hour weeks. Nothing is worth that. So don't work so hard that you can't spend time with your loved ones. Don't cop out because it's hard or you won't ever have what you want. It's a clever game they play. Check this -- Viewzi.com is local grown and it's rad.

Life and a soldier.

Hey. It's been a long time and I have no time. I barely have time to keep up with playing an instrument, taking care of a wife and baby or a new outside sales position. I'm completely bummed because I missed the foo fighters, bob dylan, deathcab, the jicks(steve malkmus), and a ton of other acts I would have loved to see. I could blame it on a family or that I'm older and it doesn't matter but the fact is debt. I can't justify spending $20 on a show when I owe $1000 on a card.. or two.. but I have found a purpose so to speak in my music. I was listening to Hurricane, bob dylan.. and the story telling is amazing. In one song he covered an entire life. I want to do that.. then it hit me.. one record for one life. 10 to 12 songs that cover moments in a life from start to end. cradle to the grave to plagiarize a bit. The record I'm writing is a short EP; 3 or 4 songs about the conception, and still birth of a friends child. As sad as that sounds it will easily cover the emotional gamut. Since I wanted to write just 3 songs I chose a short life and now find it more difficult to single in on individual moments when it's such a complicated subject. The B-side so to speak will be a song about a soldier. I had a dream the other night I was in world war 2 and my company was running through a field when they came under fire and I got shot in leg and couldn't walk. Then the man next to me exploded and we were in a mine field. No one could come back for me with out risking explosions.. I couldn't move for fear of explosion or getting shot so I just sat and contemplated what it would have been like if I had made it back home. To kiss my son or to sing him silly songs about life and things that don't matter. It should be good. 

I'm always asked why I write so sad. It's where I put it all.. I'm not a sad individual. I may be pessimistic at times but for the most part I am happy. If I don't write and put it here, I slip into depressions and it takes weeks to get out. It may be sad but it is truth. That is all.