Tech Specs vol. III

...which I would love to build in the future. It is my hope that the now empty space on the other side of my garage will someday be my music room.

So I am planning and budgeting and designing the space. I would like to start construction in the spring of 2011, but you know how quickly time can slip away.

http://sketchup.google.com/

Tech Specs vol. II

In Pro-Tools however, each microphone becomes a separate mono track. So after you record all those drums you can listen back and adjust each drum to get a more balanced sound.

Need more bass? Less snare? Want to use EQ or compression? All of this and more is available in post with Pro-Tools.

As you can see, I'm excited about the new equipment and looking forward to really using it. Now if only I had a nice, new, smoke free, acoustically treated studio to keep it all in...

Tech Specs vol. I

Here's a little look at the recording equipment for the Acid setup. I use this Yamaha mixer to bump several microphones down to one stereo signal. For example; when we record the drums we'll mic the kick, mic the snare, and use a pair of overhead condensers.

Then everything goes into the 1/8th inch mic input on the laptop.

Each take becomes one stereo track. Guitars and vocals and additional sounds all get overdubbed later, and are separate tracks. Here's what that looks like:

Acid can only make one new track at a time. All four drum mics get mixed down into one track. The old expression of "garbage in garbage out" definitely applies. Because you cannot adjust the individual drums in post production, the signal at the 1/8 inch jack is final. The drum sound has to be right before you press that red button.

Dropping Acid (it's not what you think)

Every Bella Dramatic song for the past 10 years has been recorded with Sonic Foundry Acid 2.0

This month we are setting up to use Acid for the very. last. time.

I'm in the middle of switching to Pro-Tools 8, a much more professional piece of software. Once it's up and running Pro-Tools should drastically improve the sound quality of future recordings. But first let me tell you a little story...

About a year ago decided it was time for an upgrade, after all, 10 years is a good run for any computer program. Are you still using the same operating system you used a decade ago? So I got permission from my loving wife to spend $250 on Pro-Tools. What an exciting day that was! I was installing it on the laptop before the UPS truck was out of the driveway.

The first snag was a memory issue. The program won't run on the laptop. No problem, $60 for a little RAM upgrade and we are back in business. I'll just double click this exe...CRASH! Unlike Acid, Pro-Tools will not record audio from the sound card. You need a dedicated USB interface to even start the thing. Oh boy, so much for that $250 upgrade. So I begin to shop online for a supported USB audio interface. The unit that I want goes for $500 on most websites. Ouch! But Julie catches a break and wins a brand new one on Ebay for $350.

Now Pro-Tools boots up for the first time, I even recorded a scratch track. Happy with that, I attempt the first overdub. CRASH. You bonehead! Laptop hard drives don't spin fast enough playback and record at the same time! "You've got to have power" It becomes clear that if I'm going to do this right I need a new computer. A desktop with lots of RAM and 2 hard drives: one for the OS and one for the audio. Once again Julie to the rescue. She goes to the Dell outlet and finds a great open box deal. Several weeks go by and the new compy hasn't arrived yet. When we call customer service they discover that one computer had been sold twice. Awesome.

Dell makes it right by sending a better computer for the same price! Sweet! 64 bit Windows Vista with 8 gigs of RAM and duel hard disks. Perfect. CRASH! There are no 64 bit drivers for the audio interface, I need a 32 bit OS. After several more customer service phone calls to India; Dell sends a 32 bit Vista disk over night. Now, finally, 4 months and $960 later, the switch is complete! "It's alive, ALIVE!"

I have started playing with Pro-Tools and made a few demos, but there's a lot to learn. This is a powerful new setup and I need some time to get comfortable. Am I upset about how much money we spent? Not really, I mean this did get out of hand - $250 can become $1000 pretty fast. But the previous set up lasted ten years, and I feel like this will too. One last song with the old gear and then we are finally dropping Acid. It was a good run.

What's next?

Over the last few weeks I've blogged about the history of music along two parallel timelines. I tried to select the most significant song of each decade and illuminate a path from the blues of the 1930's to the music of today. To the 4 or 5 people who read, and even commented, I want to say thank you.

I would like to continue to blog, but maybe change the format. Posting Youtube links to other peoples music is interesting in the short term but ultimately meaningless and empty. So I'm looking for a new angle. I would like to make this a little more personal.

Over the long thanksgiving weekend I plan to start recording the final song for my next album (and it only took 4 years!) I'll try to upload some video and give you a behind-the-scenes look at our recording process. That's the plan for now, and that's what's next.

2003a

"Y'all don't wanna hear me, you just wanna dance"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xe9Ur0wEsY&feature=related

Runners up: Jay Z, T-Pain, Eminem, Lil Wayne, and Ludacris.

1994a

At the time I was too busy listening to the Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Weezer, Sonic Youth, and Pavement, to pay any attention to the Notorious B.I.G. I was so deep in my little alt rock world, that I was missing a bigger picture, ignoring some of the best music of the 1990's. I do remember when Hypnotize came out, and when he died, but I didn't really discover his music until more recently. Christopher seems like a cool guy. One question though... Why would you cheat on this with this???

Other notable artist of the decade include: the Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and 2Pac. But Biggie had a special talent for piling up rhymes on top of each other and making multi-syllabic rhymes sound silky smooth. I believe the young people call that "flow" ?

Amazon.com

1987a

In the early 80's Kurtis Blow and Grandmaster Flash started the trend of hip hop with a social agenda. But in the late 80's Public Enemy, and NWA took it to a new level and showed suburban middle class America what life was like in the inner city.

Ice Cube reminds us that theres are some good times, but violence is always just around the corner.

1979a

Who ever posted this on youtube made an unfortunate typo...

That Rapper's Delight is the "first" rap song is total misnomer. However the Sugar Hill Gang did introduce rap to a wide (read: white) audience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Kool_Herc

Forgive me if this seems like an obvious choice. Tomorrow I promise to deliver something a little less predictable.

1965a

Whatever James Brown did, he always did it cool. The man wore funky like an overcoat, and tied his shoes with soul. James Brown didn't need a belt. He was so hep his pants stayed up without assistance. So of course his music is groovy.

Some consider his 1962 live album the birth of the break beat. I had to choose a song from the 60's but he got REALLY funky in the 70's. Check him out.

1950a

In alternate 1955 the piano of Little Richard trumps the guitar of Link Wray. He certainly is an energetic performer. Unfortunately, this is from one of those TV shows in the 50's where you would lip sync to your record instead of performing live. So the band looks a little lethargic here.

What was Richard really saying? "I got a girl named Sue... I got a girl named Daisy." Tutti Frutti means multi fruit flavors. "All rooty" was hep cat slang for "it's all right." So what's really going on here is; Little Richard is bragging about all the different ho's he slept wit!

These lyrics were famously cleaned up because the original words are so filthy I can't type them here. While guys like Little Walter and Muddy Waters were singing about girls they had lost, Little Richard was singing about all the girls he had bedded, and that's why he's my pick to kick off the alternate musical timeline.

Great Scott!

Remember that scene in Back to the Future II where Doc explains the time paradox? Biff used the almanac to change his own destiny, and create an alternate reality, referred to as 1985a. He only made one small change in 1955, but the consequences of that change sent shock waves across Hill Valley for the next 30 years.

Suppose we revisit the rock n roll time line and make one slightly different pick in the 1950's. What effect would that have on all future song selections?

Perhaps the reason it was so difficult for me to select a rock song to represent the 2000's is; rock is no longer the dominant genre, and the best songs being made right now do not feature the electric guitar. After all, rock is not the only valid form of expression.

Over the next few days I would like to draw an alternate musical timeline for you. A list of the most significant hip hop songs from each decade. Ready? Okay. We'd better back up or we'll never get this thing up to 88 miles per hour.

2000's

It was difficult to pick the song that had the most effect of the world since Y2K. Arguably, because there hasn't been one. Already, at 29 years old, I catch myself starting a sentence with "these damn kids today..." Many Gen Xers feel that rock died with Kurt. Could that be true? Isn't anyone making music that shows respect to the blues of the 30's and 40's , without getting bogged down by grunge and alt rock?

Jack White - almost single handedly carrying the rock torch into the new millennium. In the limited release film "It might get loud" Jimmy Page totally passes him the baton. Fell in love with a girl was a breakout for the Stripes, but it doesn't end there. Icky Thump rocks harder then anything else on the radio. My Doorbell is my personal fave. You Don't Know What Love Is might bring you to tears, and the video for Denial Twist will blow your mind!

Honorable mention should go to Blink 182; the young folks seem to identify with them. Wolfmother can lock into a sweet groove that is sure to make you bob your head. Coheed and Cambria are taking "concept album" to a new dimension. Yes, rumors of rock n rolls death have been greatly exaggerated.

So, my friends, never doubt that four chords can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Although, Margaret Mead would disagree.

1990's

This list is not about favorites. This list is about cultural impact. Todays song embodies everything we've been discussing; a catchy melody, senseless lyrics, and a strait 4/4 beat played with the passion and intensity that can (and did) change the world. Take a moment here to watch that video, even if you've seen it a million times before. Right click "open in new tab" and watch it, it's ok, I'll wait...

Teen Spirit changed us. We started wearing flannel and Chuck Taylors. Alienation was the new identity. Alternative was the new mainstream. Teen Spirit was the Louie Louie of the nineties - it wasn't ABOUT anything, but some how it spoke to us. At the same time, however, it was destroying us. After Nevermind, anyone who played a pop melody on a fuzzy guitar, was just a Nirvana copy cat. Kurt took a cliché to the top of the charts. Who could fill his Doc Martins?

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" has to be THE song of the 1990's. Beck's "Loser" was good. White Zombie's "More Human Then Human" was good. "Enter Sandman" was all over the MTV. Not owning a copy of Weezer's "Blue Album" was up there with covetousness and idolatry. The Smashing Pumpkins were a force to be reckoned with. But battle cry of Generation X is

"a mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido."

For the comments: Where were you, who were you with when you first heard this song?

1980's

AC/DC - the name means raw power. The Young brothers, Malcolm and Angus had already been making music under that name for almost a decade when this song hit the charts. (Sorry that it has to be a link, embedding is turned off for some reason.) I really feel that this song is in line with the 12 bar strophic roots of rock.

AC/DC is still churning out 4/4 rock songs with provocative titles, their sound hasn't changed much in 36 years.

Runner up: Van Halen - Hot for Teacher

Tomorrow we explore the decade when I was a teenager; the 1990's. What do you think the song will be?

1970's

One band totally pwnd the 70's.

One song totally dominated the airwaves.

This is not my personal favorite Led Zeppelin song. It is, however, the most requested song in FM radio history.Plus it made THIS possible.

1960's

A lot, I mean, a lot of great music came out in the 60's. The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Aretha, Ike & Tina... but if I had to pick one song to carry the rock & roll torch, to bridge the gap between the 50's and the 70's I choose Satisfaction. "He can't be a man cause he don't smoke the same cigarettes as me." Mick's strut, Keith's fuzz tone - guitars were starting to get distorted now thanks to Link Wray.

It really was a close call between this and the Who - My Generation. Of course the Beatles were important and influential, but just try to pick just ONE Beatles song to represent the decade of the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, civil rights, and the war in Vietnam. Go ahead try, I tried, and I tried, and I tried, but I can't get no satisfaction.

1950's

I picked this song because it was so influential, not to say that other songs weren't important. Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins; all important rock stars of the 50's. But Link Wray took four chords and played them with such attitude, such conviction, that this song was banned from some radio stations! That's right, banned, even though it's and instrumental, the name "Rumble" implied gang violence and the sound was just too wild. So, who was influenced by this song? Well for starters...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_Wray_and_his_Ray_Men

1940's

1930's

It all started here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Road_Blues

Four chords can change the world.

Margaret Mead said "Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has." Musicians would disagree. About once per decade, when the music scene is getting stale, something new comes along BOOM blows the barn doors open. These are pivotal moments when the course of rock and roll, indeed, "the world" is forever changed. Often the song itself is very simple; four chords, very sparse lyrics, but infectious, unforgettable, and unlike everything around it. Over the next few days I'd like to post what I think have been the most influential moments in rock and roll for each decade. Feel free to disagree, or comment, or flame. But don't get yourself too worked up "I know it's only rock and roll...but I like it."