Away for a few...

I'll be away from here for a few days... Going down to Florida for Sue's sister's wedding. We'll probably also see my friend Brad from High School, who lives in the Tampa area.

So, updates when I get back. Enjoy the break...

Music's coming together...

Tonight, I've been working on the music for the song I'm in the process of writing. I have a basic structure now, with verse/chorus, but am still refining major/minor chords. I've figured out that I write a very basic, usually two chord progression first, then start embellishing the chords to find neat additional combinations or voicings to the music.

I'm making this sound a lot more thoughtful and planned than it is. It's really just trying to find something to back up the words at this stage. My basic vocal track I recorded helped a bit, but I was too out of time to record anything to that vocal track. And, I'm not quite ready to record music yet. I've also learned not to push the process at this point. It's good to work on it, put it down for a bit (after writing down the chord changes above the lyrics as they stand now, of course), and let it sit so I can come to it fresh. The lyrics will also have to be revised a bit to fit the rhythm/sound of the music, which is fine. I'm hoping to write a bit of an intro to this piece, musically, but haven't started to develop those ideas yet either.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, at least as of now, I have a pretty haphazard writing process for this song. More to come later on!

NP: T.O.O.L. - Don't Worry, Be Happy

Out by the snack bar...

The Residential Cluster I'm in charge of here at Dartmouth, the East Wheelock Cluster, is special for a lot of reasons. One of them is the fact that there's a snack bar that's open each night (save Saturday) from 8pm-2am. I'm trying something new this year, where I'm going to hang out here each Monday evening from about 10pm (after my staff meeting) until about midnight. I've already had a bunch of casual conversations out here, which is neat. I like working with college students. It's fun.

So, while I've been out here, I've updated my website. There's now a bunch of music up, mainly from the era right after college, although there is a T.O.O.L. clip up, along with the most recent thing I've done, a version of the Moody Blues song "Out and In." Great fun. The old stuff is also entertaining. I'm waiting to put more stuff on the site until I hear final word about the space I'll have on the server. Obviously, music takes up a lot of memory, and I don't want to push it too far right now...

I did record the vocal track for the song I've been working on. I did it after work today, and got enough of a working version down to begin to think of music for it. I think that will be the mission for tomorrow evening. I have to call my friend Joe McGlinchey, and also start packing for my wife's sister's second wedding this weekend. Packing won't take long, but I just want to get it done...

NP: The sound of the Brace Commons Ice Machine

I'm Indexed

A few years ago, reporter Barry Seaman came to Dartmouth's campus to do research for a book he was writing on present day college life. He stayed in my building, and I got to chat with him for awhile. It's finally published, and it's called "Binge."

I haven't read the book yet, but I am indexed in it. I'm mentioned twice, once cited correctly, and the second time slightly incorrectly. I'm looking forward to seeing what the book says...

So sue me...

Okay, okay, I didn't get around to recording my lyrics yet, but I think that I have them in good shape... I think Tuesday night will be when I put some of this stuff on tape, or perhaps right after work tomorrow. I'll see how I feel.

I've been putting a lot of my CD's on computer, to continue developing the playlist for my own personal radio station for when I'm exercising or working on the computer here. I've put a lot of my comedy CD's on here (Carlin, Pryor, Dana Gould, Richard Jeni, amongst others). Music I've put on here this weekend include Yes, ELP, and various offshoots of those two bands.

I'm a big fan of British progressive rock, bands like the aforementioned two, along with Genesis (with and without Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett), King Crimson, and others. Frank Zappa and Queen also make up large portions of the 1600 CD's that Sue and I have when our collection is joined. For more modern music, Radiohead is up there, and Phish used to be good, before they took up the mantle of the Grateful Dead. Other artists worth checking out are John Cale, Jeff Buckley, Mike Keneally, and David Bowie.

I've been listening/watching the new ELP DVD, Beyond the Beginning, while working on the computer today. It's a good overview of a lot of early live stuff from the band, much of which I haven't seen before. Sue thinks they're a bit self important, and I suppose they are, but I enjoy good portions of their catalog, perhaps because of the pomposity. Not stuff I'd listen to every day, but their work does it for me when I'm in the right mood.

NP: ELP, Pictures At An Exhibition