Last Practice, First Gig, Wife Sick

In reverse order of importance, we had our last practice before my first gig with the Atomic Love Bombs, and Darla is pretty sick. It was a rough practice at first, due to the studio time interrupting real band practices, but things came together pretty quickly. I am stoked.

We’re playing First Street Billiards in San Jose on Friday the 14th. It would be nice if we could rehearse one more time, but I think we’ll do well enough without it.

Studio Wrap

We finished our three days in the studio, and man was it fantastic! All four of the songs we set out to record came together on Monday, and they sound great, even in a rough mix. Tim will be spending a time in the coming weeks doing some mix downs, and I can\’t wait to hear the final product.

Tim and I laid down some great background vocals (I think) for \”High Again\” and \”100 Mile Freefall,\” and Joe was kind enough to let me play a GREAT guitar line he came up for \”High Again.\” I think it really brings the tune together, especially below Dan\’s vocals and Michael\’s lead work.

I was particularly gratified to get some nice comments from the boys in the band for my contributions to our work. Being a new member, that means more than I can easily express.

Day Two In The Studio

Another day in the studio! Fortunately, I was feeling a bit healthier than yesterday, and I laid down two (mostly) good tracks for “I can’t see you lasting much longer.” I also laid down a track for “100 Mile Freefall,” and “High Again,” but we’re starting over on that one, so it doesn’t matter.

One more day! Sure is cool to be able to do this stuff.

First Day In The Studio

Oi! It was our first day in the studio, and man, am I wiped! I’ve done LOTS of home 4-track recording (back in the day when that was cool), and a lot of home digital recording, but being in a hot studio (AC gets turned off on the weekends where we are!!!) for 9 hours when you’re sick is TIRING!

We laid down scratch tracks for four songs, and then did some very rough demos for 8-9 more. Next, we started working on the real guitar tracks for Early Grave, one of the four tracks planned for this weekend. We didn’t make a lot of progress, but I think we’ll do well on Sunday.

And hopefully I’ll be feeling a bit better, too!

Oh, and Joe and I worked out some guitar parts for some songs, and I really dig ’em. These aren’t for our studio time, but rather some of the band’s repertoire where we hadn’t spent time on figuring exactly what I would be doing. It’s good stuff, IMNHO.

Lastly, I put Apple as a tag because we’re working on ProTools on a G5. My first experience with ProTools, but then I am not engineering it. That task falls to Tim, our bass player, who went to school for this sort of thing. w00t!

Sick. Bah. Teh Suck. Studio. w00t.

I’ve never been keen on being sick. Accordingly, I am delighted that I have a nasty-ass chest cold, especially since I am getting two crowns today, and am going into the studio with the Atomic Love Bombs all weekend.

Oh, and I am going into the studio all weekend with the Atomic Love Bombs. w00t!

We had a great rehearsal on Tuesday, and Joe and I tossed around some new ideas after the rehearsal for some new tunes. ‘Twas good stuff. I am hoping the band can finish something I’ve been doodling with for months, and Joe has two songs that I really, really dig.

Now, back to my irregularly scheduled chest cold and phlegm-filled lungs.

Atomic Love Bombs

Hmmm….41 and in a rock band. w00t! The Atomic Love Bombs asked me to officially join the band today, something I immediately said yes to. These cats make music that is not just right up my alley, it’s in an alley that runs behind the house I grew up in.

Or something. The point is that I love the tunes, I like the guys in the band, and I feel like a lucky duck to have a chance to work with them. The music is original, and I love their approach to it. Those who’ve known me for a long time will understand the band’s appeal to me if they listen to some of the live tracks on the site.

Illusion This!

Darla and I watched The Illusionist last night. It was a very good movie, though it’s always struck me as strange to have a period piece that’s completely fictionalized, especially when it mixes in a few historical figures just for fun. That’s probably just me, though.

Still, Ed Norton is always incredible, and the plot was unfolded in a compelling manner.

Spinning Wheels

What goes up, must come down. And don’t forget those spinning wheels, ’cause they got to go ’round. Or something. I feel like a spinning wheel on a roller coaster of late, at least on the poker front. About a week ago, I went on a nice run where my big cards held up, my draws came in more often than not, and my opponents donkey play paid off nicely.