recording

Recording didn't go great last night. I need to figure out a better setup to pick up the bass. I always end up having to amplify the lines in the software and that makes it a little muddy and distorted. I am pretty happy with my bass line for one of Tony's songs. This was the first time I've really used muting effectively, I think. Maybe I'll have time later tonight to tweak my recording environment.

crazy in your own way

It's that fabulous holiday time again, which means the news is full of stories of crazy people doing things like stabbing their wives over turkey dinners. My family is not crazy. Holidays are great - we get to see almost everyone and we all like everyone - at least enough to eat dinner with them once or twice a year. I hear people complain about going home for the holidays and I just don't relate to them at all.

This year I discovered that my family is crazy, just in their own way. A way which is preferable to the stabbing each other kind of crazy. Due to a bad experience with an airline last month, my mother got $200 to fly anywhere this year. First she tried to give them to her mother, who didn't want them. My mom won't use them because her husband (my stepdad) won't fly. She tried to give them to my sister and she didn't want them. She tried to get my sister to split them with me, and she still wasn't interested. So they're all mine. See - my family is crazy. What a great excuse to take a vacation. Of course, the vacation I want to take is to Boston and they don't fly in to Boston. But I'm sure I'll find somewhere to go with them.

Oh - and does anyone know anything about social security? My friend's father died. His wife is getting a little under $300. That's it. No one can figure out this math - the man was in his early 70's. I'm not sure if she just isn't getting it until a certain date or if that's really it. And if so, where did the rest of it go?

creative juices a-flowin'

Last night I was playing my bass and thinking that I really needed some new music to experiment with. Today Tony sent me 2 new songs. I love when creativity works in tandem like that.

In a few minutes I'm going to my friends' house for their one-year-old's first birthday party. Then I have practice for a church gig tonight. It looks like Tony's songs will have to wait a day or two before I get to play with them.

Thanksgiving Day Remedy

I was at my mom's house enjoying Thanksgiving, except I got a toothache. Was I in a cartoon - a toothache?! So my mom whips out some vanilla and tells me to put it on the tooth. Can you believe it worked? Mom said that her mom always did that. I wonder which one of my ancestors was the first to think of that little trick.

happy

Since I have to drive 2 hours to my parents' house tonight, I got up a little early to play some bass before work. (I live in the midwest... it's about 2 hours to drive almost anywhere). Now I can get home, change, throw some things in an overnight bag, and hit the road.

I should do this more often. Playing before work puts me in a really good mood. Although it does make me want to just sit home and play bass all day instead of going in to work.

different perspective

I just finished watching Clerks. Like many good films, I've spent years hearing about how great it is and how I simply must see it. And I just got around to it tonight, because a friend lent it to me (along with Mallrats, which I will probably watch this weekend). After spending so much time hearing accolades for these films, they always leave me a little confused as to what it is that makes them so wonderful. It was a good movie and I enjoyed it, but I don't necessarily think it's deserving of cult following.

When I was an undergrad and took film courses I found the older a film was, the more I generally didn't like it. I think film is just modern story-telling. I also think it's as much a reflection of current culture as it affects it. So a film that is 20 years old loses the bulk of its relevence, and therefore much of its entertainment and/or education value.

For example, several people told my friends and I that we needed to see The Graduate [You know, with Dustin Hoffman] when it was nearing time for us to graduate college. A month or so after graduation I rented it. That movie couldn't have been less relevant to my life. Unlike Mr. Hoffman's character, I could think of at least 5 things I wanted to do with my life, the issue was funding them or finding the right job. Unlike his character, I wasn't lounging around my parents' house while they begged for the opportunity to spend even more money by sending me to grad school. I can't even remember the name of the character - I just remember the soundtrack [by the wonderful duo Simon & Garfunkel] was too loud the entire time.

I won't even discuss my opinion on Citizen Kane, or at least what I saw since I kept falling asleep during the film.

There are some movies that I can watch repeatedly and they still seem great. Office Space, The Princess Bride [ok - this is probably more nostalgia than anything else], Iron Monkey. I just wish people wouldn't get me so geeked up to see something that isn't absolutely 100% fabulous.

hellojeff

I was 14 when my older brother died. He was 23. I'm 27 now and I still think about him every day. Some days I think about him more than others. Surprisingly, it's not the holidays that are the worst. It's the random moments when I'm driving to the store or some other mundane event wihen I really miss him.

hellojeff


Silver Turtle w/ her big bro in 1978

nothing really

I have been having a difficult time sleeping lately - more difficult than usual. I wake up tired, because I've gottem maybe 5 hours sleep, but not 5 consecutive hours. I get to work tired an run around crazy all day, so I'm still tired when I get home. Around 8 or 9 pm I am wide awake. By midnight I'm tired, but I can't get to sleep. It's a boring cycle and I don't like being sleepy all the time and not having my usual supply of energy.

Got an email from an HR director at a local magazine. Could there really, actually be a career on my horizon?

influenced by everything

I was recently talking with a group of people and an artist was asked what her style was and who her biggest influence was. She had no answer other than to say that she is constantly being influenced by everything.

Whenever I read or hear an interview with a musician, one of my favorite questions that inevitably gets asked is who influenced them. This is partially because I'm a big music geek and I like to try to pick out the various influences in their playing. And it's partially because I like to check out new music and most musicians will list at least one person or band that I've never heard of before.

It's hard for me to pick just a few bands and musicians that influence my own playing. I feel like that artist I met - that most bands I listen to even a little bit affect my playing. I listen to jazz pretty often. I don't play jazz, but I really dig it. And it helps get me thinking about timing and alternate chord patterns even though I'm not applying them in the same way as a jazz player would. I don't think my own playing sounds like any of the artists I contribute with influencing me. Maybe that's the point - that I take those musical interpretations and apply them in a different way. Maybe that is what sculpts the sound I'm developing.

My favorite musicians have very specific sounds they have developed. Lately they have also been involved in bands and projects that fuse very different genres of music together. Usually when I read about their influences there are one or two surprises - other bands and musicians I would never associate them with. I hope that I stay open to very different types of music and new music. I think that being open to a variety of sounds leads to being able to be influenced by them. Constant change can only be good for developing a sound of your own.

rock-n-roll high school

Yesterday I was talking with someone about the added challenges of working with very creative people all of the time. And it got me to thinking about creative education - music, art, whatever - and wondering why certain skills aren't emphasized.

If I ever decide to open Silver Turtle's School of Music, there would be only three basic areas of study, and all 3 would be required.

1. Performance: Everyone would be required to perform all of the time, with rotating groups of students to give them as much experience as possible. I think I would require a minimum of 2 performances per month per person, regardless of who it's with or if it's solo. To support this, there would of course be the regular theory-related courses and solo instruction. There would also be workshop-type classes to teach practical, applied theory to how you perform.

2. Production: Everyone would be required to complete at least basic courses in music production. They would be required to know their way around a studio, from the nuts & bolts of recording to the more creative process of producing. And then additional advanced classes would be available for students interested in production.

3. Business: Here is where most creative educations fail, unless the student specifically wants to go in to music business and plans accordingly. Everyone would be required to take business courses. They would study topics like business models of touring bands and recording studios, management, public relations, and legal stuff like contracts.

I think that would be a successful music program because it would train the students to actually get out into the field and how to manage themselves and others once they were there.

conference fun

Today's conference was actually really good. We had speakers on everything... writing, editing, design, a total Photoshop guru, prepress work, and techie stuff.

During the very first session, blogs were mentioned in a sample article. They just kept coming up all day. And I couldn't believe how many people weren't already familiar with them.

I did learn about something cool though... http://blo.gs... a way to track all of your favorite blogs. So... enjoy.

ugh

Yesterday the father of one of my best friends died. So the day was spent on the phone and sending emails to my other friends about who was getting flowers, who was going to the funeral, who was riding with whom, etc.

Today I realized just how crazy my weekend is about to be: Friday I get to drive 2 hours to a conference - which I'll probably at least enjoy - and the 2 hours back home. Saturday I'm getting up early and driving 2 hours in the other direction to the funeral. Then I'm driving home. Then I'm going to a show with my fraternity's local alumni chapter - since I coordinated everything and reserved the tickets, I couldn't just cancel out. Sunday I have to go into work and count inventory for a couple hours. Then I have to go to my friends' kids' 1st birthday party. This will be the longest weekend ever.

Back to the funeral stuff: People dying always sucks. And there's absolutely nothing you can say or do to change anything or make anything "better". You can be there to be supportive, but that's not much. I've been unfortunate enough to have several family members and a few friends die, and it's always really hard. And you know that people mean well, but you get really tired of hearing all of the sympathy after like 10 minutes. At least that's me - I just want friends and family to be there to help take care of things and maybe distract me a little bit and to understand if I want to be alone for awhile.

If my life wasn't chaotic enough I found two more possible job opportunities - but both would require moving. #1 is in a city not too far from me, and still driving distance from most of my family, albeit longer than it is now. It's an editor position with a magazine that I'm very qualified for and I think I would love. #2 is in Chicago, one of my favorite cities, but even further away from my friends and family. (And I've been there in the winter and don't know how I'd feel about living there during all of that). The job sounds okay - it's an assistant editor for internal corporate communication and I meet or exceed every requirement. I wouldn't be so hesitant to move except: I have almost no money saved to pay for moving right now and the boyfriend will have to be willing to find a job and relocate. Which he is generally okay with, depending on the city. I'll have to give some thought to applying on my many hours of driving this weekend.

humanity

When did people become so amazingly self-absorbed? Today a customer sent a project with a deadline that just couldn't be met with all of the other work in front of it. The initial problem was that he told the first project manager he talked to that he would need it when he arrived in town the next afternoon - and then he told the afternoon project manager it was needed for a meeting at 6 a.m. (no one has meetings at 6 a.m. - what is that?!) When the afternoon project manager insisted that she couldn't promise to meet his deadline, he actually told her to bump all of the other projects already in so we could finish his. Why would he think that we would just let other projects be late? Why would anyone think that they were more important than anyone else?

Right before I left, however, there was a member of the League of Pissed Off Voters. He was copying statements of incidents from the election- people who were discriminated against, etc. It was nice to see people out trying to make things right.... or as right as possible. It's refreshing to run into genuinely nice people.

musicians' woes

My absolute favorite thing to be doing is playing music. There's nothing more exciting than making music with a few other people who are as into it as you are.

I play a church gig at Christmas - something I've done off & on for several years. There are always regular church members & a few hired hands like myself, so every year there are some new faces amidst the old.

This year That Guy has joined us. That Guy in these circumstances being the guy who is obnoxiously conceited about his ability. He's above average, but not great. And these are always the people with the attitudes - the strange need to prove themselves even though they already got the job. If he would just concentrate on his job, he'd be much more tolerable.

This weekend's rehersal was one of the worst I've ever sat through. I had That Guy sitting behind me along with a choir full of chatty church ladies. Every time the music stopped I had the annoying buzzing in my ear of the women who don't get it but I have something to say about everything and That Guy who is working out the solo he wrote himself- something no one asked him to do.

One of the most talented people I've played with in years also sits in this orchestra regularlry. He's really amazing. And equally humble- he just loves playing music, too. I just want to play some music and enjoy it.

all the little children...

November 1st one of my coworkers came in more excited than usual. This was the first election he was eligible to vote in, and what a huge election it was. He couldn't wait to stand in line for a long time to let his voice be heard.

He's only 18 or 19 and a freshman in college. Tonight we chatted for a few minutes about his major and what he wants to do when he "grows up". He's currenlty an English major and wants to write. He said he has so many ideas for stories, movies, etc. that it's almost too many ideas. One of his English professors has him helping some fellow students, so it would seem he's at least a little talented in his chosen field.

It would seem he's a got a bright future - he's already got a great attitude and work ethic (he's working full time in addition to being a full time student).

Last weekend a friend shared some quasi-insider knowledge with me: it appears our government is anticipating a need to reinstitute a military draft and they may put these wheels in motion as soon as 6 months from now. This news came via a college professor in another state who has been asked to serve on the draft board. And it's traveled through at least 2 people to get to me.

That doesn't change the fact that my immediate reaction was to think of my coworker - a young black man with potential and a future. A young black man who could be called to "serve". I don't want him to come home in a casket. I don't want him to come home with crazy war stories. I want him and all of his peers to be able to pursue their dreams without having to risk their lives fighting someone else's war.

There's a good chance my information is flawed, or maybe even an out-and-out lie. Or, maybe it's true, but a draft won't happen. But it's a scary thought.

too much chaos

I've been awake for a little over an hour and the day is already filled with randomness.

I have my resume posted on a variety of job sites. In my email I get an automated response for a position as a sales rep for an insurance company. Absolutely nothing on my resume indicates I have any experience or interest in sales or insurance. In fact, it states quite plainly that I am seeking an editing/communication-related position. (And nothing back yet on the job I want).

I can't get on the website I need to pay my cell phone bill, so now I have to go to a store to do it... boo for inconvienence. And it's like the site doesn't even exist - not just an issue with logging in.

I called to reserve tickets to a show, and instead of someone answering the phone, or even an automated system where I give my credit card #, there's a recording that says to leave my name and phone number, which date I want, and they'll call me back. Weird.

career shakeup

So after three days of mild job-searching, I have applied to exactly one job. It's an assistant editor position for a national magazine. It sounds like it would be almost exactly what I want.. as long as the pay is at least equal to what I'm making now. Which I think it should be.

There were about 4 other jobs I was qualified for or just barely under-qualified for, but they didn't sound very fun. And I'm holding out for the near perfect job. I've heard from lots of sources that even if you're a little under-qualified, if you really want a job you should apply. They're posting their ideal, perfect candidate, and don't usually expect exactly that person to show up. This is within limits, of course - if it requires a law degree, you better have a law degree. If they ask for 10 years experience, and you have 3 plus some courses that relate, never hurts to try.

The good news is that I had submitted my updated resume to my alma mater's career site, and they just approved it today. I didn't know it - but they actually read every single one - no wonder it took them 2.5 days. I know this because they said "I think your resume looks really great - my only advice..." and the advice was just to change the tense of verbs for one job listing. My friend Kevin taught me the fine art of tearing apart resumes and rebuilding them and now we edit our friends' resumes a lot. It's actually kind of fun. And helps you refine your own resume.

Welcome

Welcome to my shiny new blog. Get ready for political ranting, musical fun & observations, and updates on the search for the perfect job. (Because my job now is barely paying the bills & is annoying me). And lots of other stuff...