So it’s pride month. I don’t know when June became pride month but apparently it is. I’m not a member of the LGBTQ community so I’m not hip to all of the events. I know people in the community but I really don’t give much thought to them being in that community. Why? Because for the most part as I understand it, all of the Letters in the community name really show some indication of preference sexually and if we aren’t interacting sexually, does it really concern me? I think not.

I’m not anti any of these letters. I just don’t think it really involves me. I’m not interested in those topics or in stopping you from being interested if you are. It’s just not on my radar like that. It also goes for the work you do. I’m also not interested in pushing or prohibiting your agenda. I’ve got other things I’m more concerned about.

Novation has recently been posting little questions on Instagram in celebration of pride month. I suspect it’s to show support and ally ship for the movement. I normally wouldn’t be concerned (see above) but these questions seem very insulting. The fist question I saw was “Who is your favorite LGBTQ musical artist?” followed by “What is your favorite LGBTQ podcast?” Both questions in my opinion are very insulting and demeaning in the since that they reduce your hours of hard work and passion down to your bedroom preferences. Why can’t I like your music just because it is good music? Is there such a thing as Gay Music? Is Lesbian LoFI a new genre?

Now don’t get me wrong, I get just as frustrated with any and all additives associated with these things. I’m not actively seeking Black chill beats or Female Music Production or Asian Jazz or Indian country or Dentist hip hop or whatever. I like MUSIC. I often will add a song to my like play list just based on the groove and the bass line. I don’t stop to consider if the Artist is a part of a certain community or has a particular sexual preference.

A lot of the labels we’ve introduced in society are taken as the only thing that makes you cool. Being Black doesn’t make me cool. I don’t want that to be the defining thing about me. I don’t want my legacy to be based on my skin color. I’m also not interested in defining you based on your lifestyle. Being LGBTQ or any other letter doesn’t make you COOL. It’s what you do with your talents and how you treat other people that interest me.

So to Novation I don’t have a favorite LGBTQ Artist or PODCast. I just listen to Good music and interesting podcast because the content interest me, not because the creator fits into some group.

Kirk Franklin was on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Series this week. Hearing some of his songs took me back to when I was a teenager going to New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. In those days it was just a little white church building on the corner. Eventually that building fund blew that building up into what stands there now.

I’ve long since moved across the state and I haven’t visited in a long, long time. But I had some great memories there. Most of them involved my friends AC and Shy. We did a lot together and we were very involved with the youth ministry program. Didn’t know it then but those times were so much simpler. If we weren’t at home we were at school. if we weren’t at school we were at church and if we weren’t at church we were at home with somebody from the church.

For me school was the thing you did to pass time until it was time to get together with your friends from church. Your church family really was family. I’ve got countless stories that start “This one time after church…” Good or bad every thing in life happened with people from church. I miss those days. Especially since we’ve been so Isolated during the pandemic.

It was nice to think about that time. and hear that music again. I might have to put together a cover or two soon. In the mean time check out my reaction video and I’ll catch you next time!

So we are wrapping up 6 days of dealing with a broken furnace. Really it should be 6 days of dealing with warranties but let’s not be nit picky. Adulting can be hard and annoying but being able to laugh at a situation as you are going through it, can be helpful.

Stay warm folks!

So here we are in 2021! I’ve not been keeping up with blogging much over the last year. I think 2020 had plenty of world changing events to keep everyone busy. I was one of the lucky ones that had a day job that allowed me to continue working well from home. Also, moving into a new house in July of 2019 also was a saving grace. Even though my children were forced to “work” from home as well, we did have enough space. I re arranged my office/studio so many times you’d think it was a weekly requirement. As we get the new year off, I’ve got several projects in mind. Some home improvement ideas, some self improvement. One thing I’ll try to do amongst all of it is continue to put out some music. I always feel better when I do. Here is one of my latest tracks. I’m pretty proud of the way it turned out. More on the way! Cheers!

So I'm sitting here days away from a milestone birthday. The big four zero. I've seen many friends hit this number this year. I also have friends who don't even remember this year yet it remains one of the few milestone birthdays left for me to look forward to. I have lots to be thankful for, even in this imperfect world. I’m getting too old to let anger and fear drive my daily routine. With that said, I will continue to count my blessings and find Joy where I can. Happy Birthday to me!

Since we’ve been on lock down for … reasons. I’ve been kind of quiet in this area. I’ve been blessed to have a job that I can effectively do from home. The kids have pretty much been at home for months and it’s finally starting to warm up. I’ve been out watching them play in this new socially distanced environment.

This song and video represent some of my thoughts.

In these times it's easy to let your mind wander even while enjoying some time out side with you kids. This is the story of one such time. While I was watchi...

This past weekend my Oldest son went to his first High School Dance.   Which is to say his girlfriend asked him to Her first High School Dance.  Apparently his first dance did not interest him (Homecoming) so he skipped it without even mentioning it.

So really, I should say, My Son escorted his girlfriend to HER first High School Dance. 

Luckily, we are good friends with her family, so we made a whole evening out of it.  The moms sipped wine and mused about how their sweet babies where growing up.  The Dads pretty much made jokes the whole time.    Okay maybe not the whole time … we did take a moment or two to pray. They really do grow up so fast. 

I could end right there but that wouldn’t make much sense. I had to ask the question; what music did the DJ play???

I’m just getting home from a long much needed vacation with my wife.  For her 40th birthday I decided to take her to Disney World. Trip planning started last year as a surprise and I paid for it in March.  I also told her about the trip dropping the surprise a bit early.   Now you may be wondering why I would let the cat out of the bag early.  After all, this could have been a cool surprise revelation moment when we un-boxed magic bands over dinner. The excited squeal and hugs given out in a crowded restaurant would have been movie magic.   The reason I didn’t go that route is quite simple, I don’t know enough about Disney to properly plan a trip there.

I’m not an amusement park guy to begin with and I’m also not a true Disney fan.   I like some of the things Disney owns like Marvel, Indiana Jones and the older Star Wars movies among others but I’m not really engrossed in the entire Disney catalog.   I fully accept that Disney as a company is very successful and that success is due to millions of fans loving their properties. The launch of the subscription streaming service Disney plus followed by it almost immediately being hacked should be proof enough.  What I’m saying is I’m not that guy.

My wife grew up loving Disney.  Her uncle worked at Disney Years ago.  She has memories of road trips with her family.  She has favorite sections of Rides.  She has a list of things to see and do.  She could probably sing all the Disney show tunes on command without batting an eye.  When we got married, I played the waltz from Cinderella as she marched into the room because I knew it was something she always wanted to be played at her wedding.  So, to make sure this very special Disney vacation was everything she could dream of, I decided to let her do the planning.

This was no easy feat as she is a very considerate person and wanted to make sure I would have fun too. I’ve mastered the art of not answering her questions about what I want to do at Disney. Instead I would find ways to let her suggest the thing she was most interested in.  For example, “Do you want to go to Epcot or Animal Kingdom?”  Seems like a simple A or B question.  In these instances, I opted for C, which in simple terms is whichever she wanted to do. However, I can’t simply say those words.  Instead I needed to ask leading questions that would draw out what seemed more interesting to her. Essentially, I got her to talk herself into planning what seemed like the most fun use of the time specifically to her and then enthusiastically endorsed her “suggestion”.     

At the end of the day I had a blast at Disney not because of what we did or didn’t do at Disney, I had a blast at Disney because I was with her.   I love spending time with her more than I dislike large groups of people and amusement parks. If I had been at Disney alone but with the same itinerary, I would have been miserable.   Her presence made all the difference. Holding her hand as we push through all the crowds; standing in line sharing inside jokes and knowing looks; watching her tear up over meeting various characters; riding the Skyliner just to say we did it;  talking to almost every cast member displaying pins to round out our collection;  all these things are beautiful memories that I will treasure. Sure, they happened at Disney but more importantly, they happened to us.  Maybe that’s the true magic of Disney, it’s a place you can go to with the people you love and make memories, while random parades of dancers Princesses and Cartoon characters give you something to talk about.

I got a pair of mouse ears with my Name on them to display in our adventure cabinet.  And I’m not against the next trip to Disney.  As long as it is with her it will be a magical experience.

Since I started playing the bass guitar there have been plenty of opportunities for me to learn new songs. Usually I can pick them up pretty quickly but there have been a few songs that really had me scratching my head. Either because of my lack of experience or the sheer complexity of the bass line this songs were a challenge for me. Here are 5 songs that really kicked my butt.

Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder

 Written and Performed by Stevie Wonder as a tribute to Big Band Jazz Composer Duke Ellington, this tune highlights that classic sound with a powerful horn section.  The tune is very upbeat and catch and the chorus is sometimes followed by this extended unison run that dances all the way up the fret board and walks back down to a solid landing right before either ending the song or heading back into the main groove.  Its not something you can fake because the whole band is playing the line at the same time.  For me it was just as fun as it was challenging to learn.

Salvation is here! - Hillsong United

 This was a new praise song we were doing at Keystone.  Hillsong put out songs that just seemed different and had more interesting guitar parts that our lead guitarist at the time really enjoyed.   After really listening to this song a couple of times while the guitar part was really rocking.  It was the bass line that kept me up at night.   Pretty much driving 16th notes sprinkled through out the song were bad enough but, the bridge nearly did me in.  This song will remain a nemesis song just for the bridge.  The bridge drops to focus on just the bass and drums with the bass line doing some 14th fret string crossings with an up-tempo 16th note pattern.  Jumping from string to string until it walks down an octave and repeats the pattern before landing with a big final chorus of Salvation is here!    If I could actually perform the riff right and land in the right spot I would usually flub the easy 8th note driving final chorus because I would be too excited about actually pulling it off.    I will note that Lincoln Brewster redid the song and the bridge section is a bit more chill than the original.   Doesn't have the same effect to me

Tom Sayer - Rush

This prog rock classic features odd time signatures and interesting rhythmic shifts through out the song.    The church band got together to play this at our drummers senior recital at Cornerstone University. This was an intense song to learn but it was amplified when we were doing it for his grade.  Sure the highlight was his drumming prowess but, I didn't want him to get a ding because I lost count in the middle of this well known song.

Blue Sky -The Allman Brothers Band

This is a true Guitar jam song, but the bass line isn't boring by any stretch.  The bass line moves all over the place and flows like a long solo. The key was realizing that the pattern was a series of arpeggios moving from chord to chord.  I think the time crunch to learn this song didn't help either.  I know playing this at church helped because most people would be focused on the dueling guitar solos and not notice that I didn't "exactly" play the bass line note for note, but lets keep that quiet.

Monster - Edge From Falling

If  you look at the liner notes for the EP this song was released on you'll notice that the bass player for this song is called out as Yours Truly.   That might lead you to wonder why that bass line is on this list.   Honestly I would really need to get in the shed to even play it again.   I used to be an active member of Edge From Falling but I stepped down to focus more on family. The band continued on and had rotating bass players for a bit.  When it came time for them to head into the studio again  I was asked to write and record a fitting bass line for this new track.  When I first heard the bass less track I could not "hear" a bass line.    I was stressed.  I asked for a chord transcription of the guitar parts to try and spark ideas but I was coming up blank.   As the studio date approached my stress level increased  until I hit some kind of Zen level of calm and made up the beginning  bass line days before the recording.   We made adjustments during the session and finally the lead guitarist had to play the final riff because I couldn't quite match the rhythm of his guitar solo.  He played his part on my bass for the last two bars of the song and the rest is history.   If I was ever called to sub for the band I would definitely need to sit in the shed with it for a good while to pull it off live.  They might want to prep the recording just in case.

What challenges have you had to over come in your journey?  How did you feel when you finally climbed that mountain.  Do yo still struggle with them or are they child’s play now.   Leave a comment and let me know.

See you next time!

Today I spent the day writing a song. I even slept in. Didn’t have any place I had to be. I was just free to relax and create. In my normal day to day, someone some where needs something from me. Usually it’s some task on their list that they are hoping to avoid by having me do it for them. Sometimes I’m just the expert at that particular topic and it makes sense for me to be involved other times I’m not. Over time, even things you generally enjoy can lose there flavor because you are just tired. I’m not going to rant for long in this post. There are two takeaway Items from today:

1. Take a break

2. Plant a tree!.

#TeamTrees. A group of Youtubers following the lead of MrBeast have started publicizing a fundraiser designed to get Twenty Million Trees planted by 2020. The Arbor Day foundation has pledged to plant a tree for every dollar donated. For More information Checkout https://teamtrees.org/ for more information!

This time of year brings so many things: fall colors, fall jackets, Pumpkin Spice Everything and Halloween. In this VLOG I reminisce about some of the scary moments from my past and I write a new song along the way!

A quick search online will usually reveal more than one free piano at any given time.

My earliest memories of music involve listening to my mother play the piano in the basement at bed time. She would get us ready and send us to our rooms for the night upstairs and then slip into the basement for some alone time. She would play various hymns and the melodies would travel through the duct work. I never knew how long she played because eventually her gospel lullaby would carry me off to sleep.

 Now that I have kids of my own and space for it in my own home, I've been looking into getting a piano.  I have very romantic Ideas around having an actual piano.  I see the boys taking lessons. I see myself actually learning a bunch of songs. Christmas song a-longs, impromptu jam sessions with my musical friends. Love songs for my wife because she wouldn't care that I only got piano lessons and not vocal training. Oh, what a wonderful world that would be!

 That is, of course, not realistic in the least. Sure maybe I could make the boys take lessons but at some point, if there is no real interest, I will want to save on that bill. I would love having one near by but I also have several midi keyboards in arms reach most of the time.  Eventually the piano would be come a nice flat surface for pictures and knickknacks. 

 The truly interesting part of this whole conversation is the cost.   Without even knowing the day you are reading this there are probably many "free" upright pianos available. Check Craigslist, Facebook Market Place and others and you will find many pianos that are free for the taking as long as you are willing to move them yourself.   There is even a Piano Adoption Site where people list their old family Pianos to try and find them a good home. 

 Now I use "free" loosely.  "Free" piano usually means I would need to be willing to move said piano myself.  With the right equipment and time that is very possible, however most of the time I'm probably going to want to look into  professional Movers. 

 Next, once I move (or have moved) that piano I will probably need to be tuned. Depending on how long it's been since it was played It may need to be tuned multiple times to get into a playable state.   Again unless I already have that particular skill set, I'll probably need a pro here as well.  

 Finally, with a free or used piano there is going to be some needed maintenance  beyond tuning.   There are a lot of moving parts in a real piano time can take it's toll.  Depending on how long this "free" piano sat in a house church or other location, It may not have been played or cared for in years.   If I’m going to spend the money to restore this instrument I'm probably going to want to maintain it and keep it in working order else it will just end up in another "free" ad in the future.  My "free" piano just became an expensive investment.

 While I would love to have a "real" piano in the house and invite you over for some old time sing-along parties, I'm probably going to opt for a simple Electric piano that my kids can use for lessons. Something that sits in the living room where it’s free and available to all who want to play.   I'll occasionally sit down and play some tunes from time to time.  I may even keep a bass or guitar near by to have some jam sessions with my kids on a winter night.  Who knows maybe I'll become proficient enough to accompany my 5th Grader on a Clarinet Solo.

“Change is inevitable, growth is optional.”

— John C. Maxwell

This spider has been building it's web on the side of my garage for a few days. It has also made the mistake of attaching it to my trash can. In about 4 days, the can is going to be moved from the side of the garage to the curbside. This spider is just making a living and an event outside of it's control will disrupt it. How will the spider react? How do we react to the world changing around us? How do you react?

One of the main challenges of learning music production at home has been setting up my environment to be conducive to the creative process. When I have an Idea, I need to quickly get to a point where I can get it down on my computer so that I can expand on it later. A major part of that process Is workflow in my chosen digital audio workstation (DAW), Ableton Live. I’ve created a custom template that will load certain settings for me automatically so that I don’t have to waste time getting the project into a state that I can work with. It also saves me time by loading my favorite instruments so I don’t have to waste any time finding the right sound to start. I can change the sound later but at the start of the project I just want to get a rough Idea in place. (I’ll talk more about that template in another post).

Another part of this process also involves having my most used physical equipment in a ready state to help me make music. I keep my Bass Guitars out of their cases and in stands ready to be picked up and played through out my studio space. I also have a couple of regular guitars out just in case as well. My midi keyboards used to cause me some issues. My more portable keyboards typically would rest in my backpack with my laptop in case I wanted to have a change of venue. My main midi keyboard used to sit on my desk between my normal keyboard and mouse and the computer monitor but that tended to cause problems when I needed to type or use my mouse. This weekend I decided to solve that problem by adding a custom slide out tray to my desk. I got the Idea from a YouTube video but I decided to put my own spin on it since I would be purchasing the materials instead of using reclaimed parts. (If you are interested in that original video you can find it here. ) I think it turned out pretty well! While I was in build mode I also decided to make some custom speaker stands to get my studio monitors to a better position as well.

I really enjoy the process of making a vague Idea into something tangible, especially if it helps me become better at doing the things I love. I’ve got some other items I need to address in this room like sound treatments and maybe a mini fridge for longer sessions but every day things get just a bit better. It is an exciting time!

See you in the next one!

We live in a world where content is is readily available at our fingertips. Most people carry around devices that contain more technology and computing power than the first astronauts used to get into space and to the moon. Surely we can do something pretty cool with them, Right? As it turns out there is a lot you can do, If you know where to start.

Let’s talk about 3 things I learned to do with my google pixel 3 that will help me create content.

Blogging:

I started my website with Squarespace because it seemed to get started but had all of the advanced technologies under the covers. I also like that the templates already adjust your content to fit a multitude of devices. One day, on a whim, I pondered if I could edit my site from my phone. I was delighted to find out that there was an iPhone app already available. I was sad to hear that the Android version was “coming soon” . Lucky for me there was a beta version available that I immediately signed up for. Who knew that my early career as a software tester would aid me in something fun in my personal life! I was in the beta for like a week before the app was released to the play store.

The app has all of the features I think it needs. I can post create and publish blog posts. I can even make some edits to genera page contents. The best feature, In my opinion, is the ability to post images directly to my galleries. All of the pictures I take come from my cell phone so the ability to post them to my site is amazing.

While we are on the subject of pictures.

Photo/Video Editing:

The camera on the pixel 3 is one of the best out there, according to all the Tech YouTubers I watch (on my phone while standing in line or sitting on the “throne”). I may not be an expert on cell phone camera’s but I do like the pictures and videos I’m able to get with this phone. I also like that I can do some light editing on the go with the built in photos app. I know there are some better and fancier apps out there but I don’t actually have the know how to use them (yet).

One really cool and free app I found out about for video editing is Quik. Quik is a simple video editing app from the folks at GoPro. I’ve never owned a GoPro but after using this app, I may just put it on the Christmas wish list. Just loading a video I’d shot on my phone generated a pretty interesting short video. The app used some internal algorithms to put together something interesting and even picked some music to go with it. I of course said “no thanks” to that and started to make it my own.

First thing I did was dump the template musical selection. I make music so this sound track will be furnished by me. Also since it’s my song I don’t have to worry about copyright strikes! (Bonus!). Next, there is a highlight feature that would make sure certain sections of the video are played while others are skipped. Using this I was able to pick out the 3 or 4 moments I wanted out of a 5 minute video of my boys just being goofy. I was also able to add some still images, Title screens, and other videos to the mix and it was able to come up with cool transitions that matched pretty well with the downbeats of the song.

I’ve been trying to get a handle on Lightworks and Resolve for video editing and I don’t think I could even come close to what this app did in just 10 minutes of “messing around”. Don’t get me wrong I’m sure that with either of those programs I could far exceed the capabilities of the Quik App but again, It’s not a skill set I have (yet).

Since we are talking about videos, lets talk about the sound quality of said videos.

Enhanced Audio for my Videos:

Now I’m in the process of enhancing my home studio. Next items on the list are room treatments to get the best sound possible in this room. Hardwood floors and High ceilings don’t help. In the meantime I did get a shotgun microphone that I can attach to the phone that has helped with sound quality of my videos. I’m happy to have this as it will help with vlogging if I decide to go that route. One really cool thing I just learned recently is that I can plug my Focusrite Scarlett Solo Audio interface directly into my pixel 3 and record audio from it. This took some tinkering and I didn’t find any help guide on the internet that talked about this specific combination, but it works. The phone apparently puts out enough power the interface via usb. Also andriod apparently has drivers for the Interface. Now in my case I found out that the inputs are coming in as mono chanelles. Meaning input 1 is routed to the left speaker and input 2 is routed to the right but I found away to get my bass signal to “sound” like a stereo signal in the recorded video. I’ll have to publish a blog post about that process but I’ll start uploading videos with the finished product.

Now there is a lot more I do with my cell phone. This is just a short list of things I learned in the last few weeks. I didn’t even think about trying to connect the audio interface to the phone until the day of this writing. My phone is used every day from emails to bill pay. I even use the phone for the two-factor authentication process before I can even start my day job.

What do you use your phone for? What other cool things can you do with it?

Music is a medium that has the power to convey Ideas and feelings like no other. I heard a song named Komorebi by a Japanese artist named Hidetake Takayama. It's a piano driven instrumental that for some reason I just really enjoy. I can't really explain why, but this song was my jam for a long time. I finally decided to research the title and thanks to the power of the internet, I was able to learn that there is no direct english translation.

The first Google result mentions a meloncholic longing or nostalgia for a person place or thing that is far away from you. It goes on to say the interplay between light and leaves as sunlight shines through trees. Further results mention the the kanji for the word is built by three other words: tree, escape and light. Another entry says the closest phrase is Dappled Sunlight.

All of that works for me. I don't know the Hidetake's original intent but I get a sense of remembering with a touch of longing for happy days gone by. I think of my sister, my bother, my father. I think of the simple times when my biggest worry was something too stupid to even remember now. Happy times when tomorrow really didn't matter. Times sitting in the shade on a hot day with people who aren't around anymore. Dappled Sunlight.

At the park with some friends getting used to the new neighbor hood we would soon call home.

A lot has changed for us this summer. We sold our house and had to move out just at the end of the school year in June. We won a small bidding war for a new house in a neighborhood closer to my son’s new high school. We lived in a Trailer in my mother in laws back yard for most of June and the first half of July. We moved into a new house and suddenly we had neighbors who didn’t seem crazy. Also we now live in a neighborhood that we are okay with the kids going out side and playing. It all seemed so fast and yet parts of it just seemed to drag on.

This tiny camper was home for a few weeks. I’m over camping for awhile!

We were able to fit everything else into one 10 x 15 storage unit.

This weekend is the last weekend before my two youngest start school. Where did the time go. My wife just got home with the initial school supplies they will need to start the year. We just emptied out the storage unit that temporarily contained our entire lives. (Well maybe not our entire lives, we did keep the basics with us in the trailer but it wasn’t lost on me that we were able to stuff every thing else into one 10 x 15 storage unit. ) The one thing that living in this new house in this new neighbor hood has really shown me is how different things can be from one day to the next. How so much can change in an instant.

I think the biggest change I’ve experienced this summer is a change in perspective. Things I felt were years off or maybe even unobtainable seem very possible now. Changes I didn’t think I could make don’t seem so far fetched anymore. New mindset, new environment seems to be highlighting new possibility. As my boys start a new school year I’m hoping they also see new possibilities and opportunities.

Especially my middle son who has struggled these last few years . He is too smart for his own good. Where I can see a very clear and short path to success, I feel like he looks for the most difficult and convoluted path he can find through any and every task. I at times can see the wheels turning in his mind to not give you the obvious answer to any seemingly simple question. Ultimately he is bored. We all know it but in his refusal to answer the questions, the educators have to treat him as if he didn’t understand the question. Which is frustrating to every one involved. I tell him they won’t unlock master mode for him if he refuses to play the game on normal at least one time.

In any case. I truly hope this series of changes that has happened to and for us this summer will put him in a place where he can see things from a new perspective. I hope we can finally get him into an environment where he can thrive and truly grow. My goal isn’t simply to keep these tiny humans alive. I want them to live!

Our Last Day at our Old House. Leaving “home” for a new adventure.

So tonight I'm out with my beautiful wife enjoying the musical stylings of ELO with special guest Dahani Harrison. Gotta admit I wasn't as familiar with the music as the rest of the arena, but I had a good time. But to be totally honest, time with my wife makes everything better!

After what seems like a life time, I’ve decided to start blogging again. This is something I found therapeutic in the past. Musing about the seemingly random happenings of my day to day life. Giving people a glimpse of some of the inner workings of my mind. Since I’ve always got a song running through my mind, it helps that I’ve started producing music as well. This site will hopefully serve as a good venue to showcase all of my “random” thoughts, both literal and musical, and very possibly help bring some sanity to my sometimes chaotic life!