Beware! The Leopard

2009 Year of the Leopard

Looking back on 2008, I am slightly amazed at what I managed to accomplish.  I completed a move across a wild and troubled sea, I got married, wrote a ton of tunes, and played my first solo shows, one of which I even got paid for.  I met a bunch of great new people, and solidified my relationships with my long-term friends.  In other words, 2008 was a pretty great year.

I'm hoping that 2009 will be just as successful.  Hope, of course, isn't all I'm going to be relying on though.  I want to push myself harder in 2009.  While 2008 was great experiment in finding out who I am and what I want to do, now that I have more direction, I want to push further along this road in 2009.  This will start with a move to Toronto, where I have more connections, and a more stable economic base than in London, and where the music scene although tough to crack will hopefully yield some fruits. 

I also have a lot of ideas for songs, albums, and merchandise for this year.  The Top 5 things I want to implement in the coming year are:

1.  Quality recordings, at least 1 EP and possibly a full-length LP. 

2.  Create some merchandise.  I have a great idea for a T-shirt that I'm developing with an awesome graphic designer friend, and there are some other ideas in the works.

3.  A mini-tour of Southern Ontario relying on the hospitality of friends from Montreal to London, ON.

4.  Live in an apartment that has some room for an efficient, functioning, home studio.

5.  Develop a pay-what-you-will download section of the website so that fans can have easy access to the quality recordings that will be accomplished in "1".

In conclusion, I'm looking forward to what adventures 2009 has to offer.  It should be a great year.

Happy New Year to everybody out there reading, and thanks a million for your support this year.

Another succesfull gig...

Last night's performance at the Phoenix went off with a minimal of hitches, which was nice.  I'm still getting used to the whole looping experience, and I managed to pull of a really neat version of "White-Coated Wolves" which I will post later this week.  Due to time and space constraints (Hiro where are you when I need you?)  I was forced to use another singer's keyboard.  Normally not a problem, the only thing was that the 88-key behemoth took up a lot of stage space, making it difficult to position all my gear properly.  Not to make excuses for the couple of technical glitches that did occur, but I'm really not supposed to do the splits on stage.

In a similar vein, I've been really satisfied with the way the electric guitar is sounding though the Sansamp Blonde.  It has just the right amount of grit, so that I can pull off the bluesy guitar parts that I love. 

Next gig is January 14th at the Edinburgh Cellars in Islington.  I hear it's a great venue, so I'm looking forward to it.  Now to just get myself to practice.

Distractions

The Top 10 things that distract me from making music:

10 - the Internet

9 - Fantasy Football

8 - Movies

7 - the Internet

6 - new music

5 - books

4 - the Internet

3 - work

2 - sleep

1 - the Internet

Do we see a pattern here?

Short Notice Gig!

I've managed to squeeze out a slot at the Phoenix on Sunday, come on down for a great time.  Check the sidebar for details.

Also keep your eyes peeled for news of the venue for the gig on January 14th!

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

Searching for my voice

It wasn't under the bed, or in the closet, or stashed in my undershirt drawer that fails to close properly because the cheap plastic rail is broken.  In fact, it wasn't anywhere in the apartment.  Nor was it in the high street, currently flooded with a dangerous combination of people super-anxious about Christmas, and other super drunk about Christmas.  In fact, after weeks, and months of looking, I still have not been able to find my voice. 

I thought I was nearing it when I got into looping and started writing songs that I could put more vocals into because I wasn't focused on playing an instrument.  Then I started writing songs that used the looper to allow me to give blues-ish guitar solos during my performance.  Now I don't know if it's me, or if it's because I listened to way too many blues records when I was a teenager. 

Neonfoxtongue my other half, and a great artist in her own right, has posted a sign on our fridge that speaks of the 10 things you should do if you want to be a miserable artist.  One of these is "frequently compare yourself to other artists" or some such thing.  I've been listening to a lot of "indie" music these days including Andrew Bird, Hawksley Workman, Vampire Weekend, Antony and the Johnsons, and others, and I am constantly comparing my songwriting prowess against them.  It's not just the lyrics, which make me think that mine are written by a six year old whose been fed on a diet of Spice Girls for too long, it's also the composition of the music itself. 

I tend to revert to the blues because it is the form I know, and find it easy to express myself within.  However it is a form which tends to be musically and lyrically simple, for some reason I denigrate my chosen voice, as not being "good enough" or "complex enough" for it to have artistic value.  This is a bit ridiculous on my part as nobody would hesitate to say that the Blues is an artistic pursuit. 

I guess all I'm trying to say is that I'm still searching for my voice, and I need to be more confident in myself to avoid denigrating the art that I am creating. 

Losing fidelity - Part I

Since the dawn of the recorded age humans have been working towards ever increasing quality of reproduction.  We started with holes in paper, grooves in wax cylinders, then moved to grooves in vinyl, magnetized pieces of metal on plastic, and then organized pits printed on aluminium affixed to a plastic disc.

Throughout this period, we were always improving in fidelity (although some still say that vinyl sounds best, while I say it just sounds distorted in a way that is pleasing to the ear).  However, over the last decade, with the advent of digital compression and a desire to carry around entire record collections in our pockets, humanity has embraced the MP3.  Now I will admit that they are incredibly useful pieces of computer code.  They are convenient, cheap, and easy to access.  Plus you can manipulate them far easier than you can their physical counterparts.  One thing they lack though is fidelity.  I'm not going to go into the debate about "high quality MP3" vs. "CD quality", because most people don't use high-quality mp3s.  128kbs/s seems to be the norm, although occasionally they push it to 256.  This is so far below the quality of a CD that it is ridiculous.  What bothers me is the incredibly rapid propagation of the MP3 by people who don't realizing what's going on. 

Take a look at the Youtube.com phenomenon.  You have highly compressed video and audio streamed directly to the public.  I know of more than a few people who use Youtube as their method of listening to music, and/or searching out new artists, etc.  The fidelity of songs on Youtube borders on the sacriligious.  It is impossible to find songs on the site that have good signal to noise ratios, or are not horribly compressed to the point where the bass end becomes one big muddy mess.

As CDs become less popular, and mp3s increase their ever growing dominance of the recorded music realm, will humanity be forever doomed to listening to tunes of dubious fidelity?  

Next week -- Part II:  lossless compression and the curse of "loud".

Gear review - Sennheiser HD-202 headphones

Six months ago my trusty cheap ear-buds for my Samsung media player died.  I decided I wanted to step up to something a little more comfy, as I find ear-buds generally don't fit well in my ears.  Given that I was working at the recently deceased SoundControl, I decided that I should see what I could get.  My choices were limited to Beyerdynamic DT-70's or the HD-202.  I plugged both into my little mp3 player, and was blown away by the HD-202's.  All of a sudden I experienced a full sound, deep bass, nice highs, and punchy mid-section.  Nothing seemed to be lost, where as the DT-70s sounded flat.  There was a reason for this.

The HD-202s are fantastic consumer headphones, and I picked them up for a song.  However, they don't function well as monitoring cans.  Upon leaving my trusty home studio last year, for the blue/grey smoke of London, I also left my nice Samson Resolv 5a studio monitors.  Since then I've been monitoring my mixes with whatever is lying around, and lately that has been the HD-202 headphones.  I have to say that as far as monitoring headphones go, they really shit the bed.  I mean, the lows get all mucky, and my mixes don't translate well to any other systems.  They're just not clear enough to base my mixing decisions on.

In conclusion, the HD-202s are excellent consumer headphones for the avid listener, as I've enjoyed them with everything from ear-bleeding metal to the bassiest of hip-hop beats, and they've performed well; but for the aspiring audio engineer, throw these babies in the bin before your mixes become any more lopsided!

Luckily enough, I have a friend who will lend me some Beyerdynamic DT-250s to try out.  If I like them, you could see another gear review here shortly.

Pet Peeve #1003 - "Indie"

So having jumped on the goolge reader bandwagon, I was perusing my normal subscriptions when I came across the "recommended" section on the right hand side that takes a look at what type of blogs you are subscribed to and recommends others in a similar vein.  I notice Indie Rock Cafe, and get a little bit excited, until I realize that most of the bands they promote have absolutely nothing to do with the concept of "indie".  Check out the link, Tokyo Police Club are not "indie".  While they may have been grinding out their existence a few years ago, and their first EP was released by a small alternative label, Saddle Creek Records, the label of their first full-length, is not an indie label, it is distributed by Warner Bros. for Christ's sake!

Indie has really jumped the shark as a label for artists who are working completely independent of mainstream music business.  Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for what bands like Tokyo Police Club have been able to achieve, and how they've done it, but the whole concept of indie is that you are independent.  Most bands will go through an "indie" phase, I mean there was a time that REM wasn't signed, or heck, I'm sure Van Halen was grinding it out in the bars of LA sans affiliation with a big name label, but once you sign on that dotted line, you lose your "indie" status.  Using indie as a genre definition is a bit lame.  I mean there are loads of true "indie" bands who don't sound anything like the Killers (which the aformentioned blog would have us believe are "indie").  Throwing some synth lines into a rock song does not "indie" one make. 

Much like "punk" has been used and abused as a genre defying term musically, "indie" is going the same route.  So what will truly independent artists have to do to be recognized for their achievements?  Any ideas?

Christmas gear wishlist

Given the current economic climate and the financial state of everybody who might be purchasing me Christmas gifts, couple with the fact that I'm not greedy, nor selfish enough to expect anybody to buy me a 2000 pound present, this list is less about what I want others to get me, and more a reminder of what musical gear I want to purchase for myself when the means/space are available to me.

1.  Genelec 8030 or 8040 monitors. 

These monitors are hands down the best monitors I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.  They are crystal clear, with no muddy lows, no horrible mids, or ear splitting highs, in other words, they are the perfect monitors for mixing music on, and a fantastic contribution to any studio, home or professional. 

2.  Kawai MP8 mkII digital piano or Kawai CA-51e piano

I know, I know, I just got a Nord Electro 2, what the heck do I need a piano for right? wrong!  While the Nord is the perfect instrument for my stage setup, I really do enjoy the feel of wooden piano keys under my fingers when composing piano based pieces, and the action of the Kawai pianos is in my opinion, the best.  Both of these pianos feature full-length wooden actions, giving an authentic acoustic piano feel.  No other digital piano comes close at the moment to what Kawai is doing.  The piano sample is absolutely phenomenal, and they have got electric piano and organ sounds a plenty as well.  The MP8 would be my studio choice, but the CA-51 in polished ebony would be a beautiful, and practical furniture piece for the lounge.

3.  Shure 55SH microphone

This is the microphone I want for live performance use.  There is something about the vintage look coupled with the rock-solid Shure quality that appeals to me.  I think it would give my stage show a little bit more pizzazz and encourage me to have a bit more showmanship behind the mic when performing.

4. Roland TD-9KX drum kit

I'm not much of a drummer, but I really love playing drum kits, and this electronic kit is the perfect combination of Remo brand mesh heads, incredible drum samples, and something I can plug headphones in so that I don't drive my other half up the wall.  If you've never tried a Roland mesh-head drum kit, I encourage you to go do so, they feel and sound awesome.  They also have full midi-functionality, which means that they are the perfect addition to the home studio for somebody who wants something a little more "human" in the drum department, i.e. me!

5. Sibelius notation software

Being a classically trained musician I much prefer having music written down than just memorizing it.  Sibelius is a great piece of kit that allows you to automatically notate what you're playing (as long as it is via midi).  For composing string parts, or even just remembering piano lines, this is a great tool. 

6.  Mackie control universal pro

Some people claim that mixing tracks with a mouse is just a quick and rewarding as mixing with a proper mixer, but I think they're idiots.  The MCU gives access to all your tracks quickly and effectively, and will work with almost all the sequencer software on the market.  I already feel that I've let myself off easy by not going the analog route (mixer, tape, outboard hardware, etc.), so giving myself some knobs and faders to turn would make mixing a much more pleasant experience, and less of a chore.  Couple that with the fact that you can make the faders move all by themselves, and you've got something cool to entertain your friends with at parties.

7. A 22" LCD monitor

This one is really an add-on, but I'm getting sick of editing my music on one screen, I would much prefer either the 2 X 19" setup I enjoyed previously, or at least one 22" screen so that I can mix and edit waveforms at the same time. 

Given that I've listed a few thousand dollars worth of musical equipment, I know it will be a while before any of this stuff comes my way, but I hope that I've given some insight into some good quality equipment.

The many uses of the internet

So apparently "Twitter" is the new Facebook, and everybody is on it.  Ok, not everybody, but I thought I'd give you all another way to follow The Leopard on his magical musical mystery tour (completely devoid of Yellow Submarines). 

So check out the cool widget on the right hand side of the screen, and if you're a twitterite, feel free to add my page "bewaretheleopar" -- like everything else on Twitter, the name is truncated, not mispelled. 

In other new things, I've finally completed the horrendous task of building a drum track for Escalator Ballet, so now I've just got to do the rest of the instruments and the vocals and I'll have at least one song completely finished from a recording perspective. 

I'm hoping to put out a limited edition EP of all my older songs, including Escalator Ballet sometime in the new year.  Keep your eyes and ears peeled!