I am writing today on a plane trip to Los Angeles, for a short business trip.
On Sunday, I went with my son Foster to get my haircut and to Home Depot. He stayed in the car on his phone while I got my hair modestly trimmed. We went to Home Depot after with the intent to go bowling and get dinner, as my wife and daughter had plans for the evening. Foster came into Home Depot reluctantly, but shared that he enjoyed walking around the store because he looked for things that might be useful in a zombie apocalypse. We went our separate ways, I found a hand wrench I needed and some panes of glass I intend to use for a wall cabinet I am making. I found Foster with his head deep in a washing machine. I got his attention and he said he was dizzy from his exercise. My wife called to let me know that she had accidentally eaten something she was allergic to and we immediately shifted gears to return home. Fortunately my wife was able to handle the reaction, and setup to rest for the evening. I then took my daughter to say goodbye to her leased horse Bella who was relocating to North Carolina. A difficult experience for all of us. Bella got treats though. Sasha and I finished watching the first Hobbit film when we returned, and then I packed to prepare for my trip.
I have been working extensively on re-organizing my creative studio spaces, both my art studio and music studio. I built all new tables for paper/paint/mixed media work. It is far better organized and proving to be much more productive to work at. I have finished a number of works on paper. I have two series. One titled Archer2021-XXX and the other RainBowX-XXX. These are fragments of my pen and colored pencil drawings, done larger on paper with mixed media (primarily acrylic, Gouache, and sharpie). I have recently started an update to my two men and a green box series. I am very excited about where it is headed. My painting style has matured and I am hopeful it evolves into some form of moving media.
My music studio has gone through several evolutions since February of this year when I had a bout of COVID and an emergency hip replacement. The several weeks I spent in our guest room quarantined wound up with a new guitar “sub-studio” I have a unique set of digital foot pedals that can midi interface with my computer, along with an Audient Sono tube pre-amp/line in guitar audio interface. I have it set uo separate from my main studio along with my guitars, so I can switch back and forth between mixing and recording guitars. My main mixing studio is still somewhat of a work in progress. I have been having bi-monthly conversations with Jim Stern, and recording “master” I was introduced to through the VP of National Sales for TASCAM. Jim specializes in high end recording and mastering. He is an expert in DSD lossless recording and is moving into Auro-3D. Our conversations have been extremely engaging and I have made the leap to mixing in 5.1 Surround, a step towards Auro-3D (5.1 as opposed to 9.1). I was able to make the surround leap without significant expense. 9.1 will require significant retooling. I have begun re-mixing my Meditation Room compositions to surround. It has been the most aurally exciting experience of my creative existence. I feel like I have been waiting for this my entire life.
I began with one track (over 25 minutes of music) and deconstructed the mix, stripping out all processing, and spread the music around the 3-d space and was overwhelmed by the potential. I have over 3 hours of music to re-engineer/mix. I have no idea how long that adventure will take.
For father’s day I was given a wonderful gift of a subscription to Master Class. I have watched classes with Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Armin Van Buuren, and am currently watching David Lynch. It has been interesting seeing how this is influencing my creative process. I am researching Techno/trance production and beginning a composition series of these styles. I have always avoided this genre but I am slowly embracing it and seeing a context.
David Lynch’s master class is un surprisingly metaphysical and practical at the same time. He strongly encourages day dreaming and writing down your thoughts. So here I am. Journaling on my plane ride across the United States while listening to my Meditation Room mixes.
