You Talk Loud.

Posted on February 11, 2012 by

A few months back, my friend Hunter Demyen and I recorded a podcast that we went on to call “You Talk Loud” (for reasons that are obvious if you listen to it). It sat in the can for a while, both of us unsure if we wanted to make a commitment and do something with it.

On Febuary 3rd I got tired of waiting and I approached Hunter and his roommate Brian to record a second, more official podcast. This was to be the start of what I hope will one day blossom into a media production company. We recorded the podcast the following day and ever since we’ve been building toward launching the site.

Yesterday we launched. It was a bit nerve wracking as we wanted to meet an imposed midnight deadline and there was a lot to do. I had to work my day job and Hunter faced internet problems. We had to get the show notes made, a description written, the RSS feed needed to be set up, and we needed to submit the show to itunes. It was tough, but be made the deadline.

The response has been great. People like it. As far as I’m concerned we’re already a success. The plans for phase 2 are to build a social networking audience as we record and produce new shows. I feel pressure to do a good job, but it’s the right kind of pressure. I love what we’re doing.

Visit youtalkloud.com, follow us on twitter @youtalkloud, and like us on the facebook page.

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Despot – Live at Emo’s East (10/28/2011)

Posted on November 2, 2011 by

On Friday October 28th, I went to see Das Racist with Despot and Danny Brown at Emo’s East in Austin. As is becoming the usual practice for me, I took along my recorder and taped the show. The whole night was fantastic, with a great vibe and lots of energy.

I’d never heard of Despot before that night, but I sure as hell will be looking out for him in the future. He tore up the stage and put on a great show. Unfortunately, due I’m sure to some drunken mistake, I lost half the set. In any case, here is the half I did get. Thanks goes out to Emo’s East who didn’t give me shit about recording and to Despot who was a good enough sport to let me post it.

I’m in the process of mastering the rest of the show. When I’m done I’ll put up links to Apple lossless and high quality MP3 files.

Recording was done with a Tascam DR-07mkII at 44.1Khz/24Bit.

Despot – Live at Emo’s East (ALAC)
Despot – Live at Emo’s East (MP3)

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Back in Business.

Posted on October 8, 2011 by

Return to Base.

Presonus Firestudio Mobile

My recording interface arrived yesterday after being sent back to the manufacturer for repairs. For the year that I’ve owned it, the unit has made occasional pops and clicks on the S/PDIF channels and occasionally drops MIDI messages. Neither of these problems are major, but as my warranty is running out in a week, I decided to ship it off for repairs.

Fixed?

They claim the unit circuitry was “cleaned up” and then tested overnight, but I don’t really know what that entails. After hooking it up and working on a track for an hour or so, I noticed pops and clicks again. It appeared that the fix didn’t take. I decided to install the drivers on my MacBook and plugged it in. The MacBook had some hiccups getting the interface to be accepted by Ableton Live, but eventually it all worked out. I didn’t hear any pops or clicks on the Mac, and this makes me think there is some issue on the PC. However, after a while the box stopped working altogether. It would sync up with the Mac or my desktop, but there was no sound coming out or going in. I decided to re-flash the firmware and so far it’s working fine in both OSes. Since I don’t use the S/PDIF channels, I can keep them muted in the mixer software. I also use another device for MIDI and not the one on the interface. These workarounds are what made me take so long in sending it in, as I could still record with it. It’s just frustrating to pay $200+ and not have a fully operational unit.

Something different.

My interface is a Presonus Firestudio Mobile. This little box allows me to plug in up to 10 audio devices for multi-channel recording. Since it’s firewire based, I can take it along with my MacBook for mobile recording. The preamps sound good, and I find all the inputs useful for my collection of synths and other gear. Overall I’ve been pleased with the unit, but I think my next interface will be from another manufacturer.

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Hello World.

Posted on September 20, 2011 by

A Fresh Start

Welcome to the new home for my creative output. I’ve redesigned this site to be focused on my audio work and my thoughts on recording. The last site was too general and unfocused, so now its main purpose is to release my recordings and showcase my development as an artist and engineer.

Though there’s a blog on this site, I’m only updating it with news about my progress in recording, performances I attend or conduct, reviews of musical and audio gear, and recorded material I release. For my more personal thoughts, you can follow me on Twitter or Tumblr.

A New Platform

I recently bought a Macbook Pro and I’m making the switch from Windows 7 to OS X . While at first it seemed like it would take some getting used to, I’ve found that I love OS X and I’m rapidly losing patience for Window 7.

The purpose behind the Mac purchase is that I’ve finally given in and accepted that Apple owns the audio industry. And while working in Ableton Live on my windows desktop is fine and good, if I ever hope to work with other musicians and studios, I need to learn the industry tools. That means OS X, Pro Tools, and Logic.

I didn’t see the point in throwing the baby out with the bath water, so instead of selling my desktop, I bought a MacBook. This gives me the added bonus of making my recording rig mobile and gives me more to options than were available on just the desktop. However, I predict that it’s only a matter of time before I sell my PC and buy a Mac desktop.

Some Old Business

I’ve completed the digitization of over 30 cassettes that make up the bulk of my recording catalog. Some tapes have been lost to the ages, but not too many and they probably weren’t that important.

My songs span variety of genres ranging from rock to electronic to ambient and noise. Most of these tapes were made in the mid to late ’90s, when I was at a sort of creative crest.

With the gear and technology I have now, I’m capable of cleaning, restoring and remastering these recordings, making them sound the best they can. All of this material will be released on this site.

Selling Out

The last addition to my site is a store in the form of a Bandcamp page. You can get to it buy clicking “Store” in the menu bar. Bandcamp is a way for me to accept payment for my songs. I’ve set the pricing model as “pay what you want”. This is the same model Radiohead used for “In Rainbows”. You can enter any price you want in the payment field and I’ll get paid directly. Since I make MP3s of my tracks available here, the store is a way for you to get higher quality FLAC files and make a donation.

Thanks for visiting (and reading all this), stick around for more releases.

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