Mile Long Post-It

Writin' like a madman (redux)

2010-02-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, "autocomplete" remembered I wrote a blog entry with this same title last year...hopefully my songs will be more original :-). Off to a great start - got six written so far (5 yesterday, 1 this AM), and hope to get at least two more done after work tonight. I'd be a happy camper if they were all written by end-of-Wednesday.

I tend to write the whole project quickly and up-front, and then spend a day or two of "getting to know you" with the tunes before recording: I'll try them in different tempos, different keys, different styles; also will fine-tune some lyrics and whatever else can use help. If current pace holds, I should be able to start recording (drum programming, actually) Friday or Saturday at the latest - a good weekend for it as I'll be hangin' around town in anticipation of Sunday's SuperBowl anyway (go Colts - if they win I get 1st place in the work pool!)

Rock on!
(cross-posted from http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,13542/)

33 days and a wake-up...

2009-12-29T06:18:00.000-08:00

Can't believe RPM'10 is just a month away! This'll be the 3rd Mile Long Post-It album, and quite possibly the last: Not necessarily my last RPMChallenge but probably the finale for MLPI in it's current format/sound.

That means the '10 album (working title "At Least Three") will have to be the best (always leave 'em smiling)!

Chillin' at the caba; lovin' 2kMi on CDBaby...

2009-04-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

Havin' a great weekend up here in NorCal - my 1st real summer-like day (>75 on the deck). Gonna be an amazing year yet!

After much procrastination, 2kMi, the sophomore Mile Long Post-It release is available at CDBaby: http://cdbaby.com/cd/milelongpostit2. Love CDBaby, as along with cd distribution, they do a great job packaging up a mp3 release with a nice scan of the album cover, that is high-quality and no DRM (digital rights management). Plus the mp3's don't require the physical resouces a cd does - another nice thing (so the mp3 version is a few bucks cheaper!). Although it is nice to have a nice cd pkg to hold and check out (guilty pleasure). Either way, it's a great release with a nice variety of new material.

Next...probably lookin' to round up some musicans for Mile Long Post-It live shows - most likely an acoustic group to get going, but who knows what could happen. With two cd's of material, I figure ther are 10 or 11 tunes that would make a great little live set.

That's it for now - feel the urge to play some of those cool new 2kMi tunes now. Be excellent to each other and rock on!

Mp3's to MySpace; next few wks...

2009-03-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

Just posted three tunes from "2kMi" over on MySpace (www.myspace.com/milelongpostit). Glad to finally have some mp3s out there as I've been in low gear since completing the challenge Saturday morning.

The next few weeks are going to remain flush with post-RPMChallenge activity. Top of the list is getting the cd duplicated - top question is what changes if any I'll make before sending it out for duplication. I'm proud of the version that was completed for and submitted to this challenge, but with that goal accomplished, I'm toying with fixing up the mixes a touch (low-mids are missing) and resequencing the track order. I'll blog on how it shakes out. Also still want to blog about the rest of the recording process, and need to get the promo machine rolling, redo the MileLongPostIt.com website, maybe add a "lyrics" section....oh, and sending a copy off to the copyright office wouldn't be a bad idea.

There's a great thread on another blog now about selling vs. giving away one's RPMChallenge album. Some very interesting opinions. I'm firmly in the "both" camp - I'll be giving away plenty of copies of "2kMi", but will also distribute - that is, sell - via CDBaby again for both physical (cd's) and download (mp3's) versions.

That's it for now - more coming soon....Rock on!

(Cross-posted to RPMChallenge: http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,12524/)

Psyched for last day of tracking

2009-02-21T08:30:00.000-08:00

Ah, as the sun is rising above a crisp San Francisco morning, I see my last day of tracking (recording) for this challenge: Background vocals, keyboard parts (mostly mellotron, little piano, maybe some horn stabs), and guitar solos are all that is left. Almost bittersweet - the last week has felt somewhat stressful but also incredibly rewarding and fun! The time actually recording the guitars and vocals is SUCH huge fun...well, somewhat moreso the guitars but it is also a trip slapping on the headphones and dancing around like a diva doing the lead vox:-).

So by the time nightfall comes around (the Animal's "warm San Francisco Nights" the imaginary soundtrack behind this paragraph) the recording of all (ten) songs for the sophomore Mile Long Post-It release - still tentatively called "2kMi" - will be "in the can" as the groovy cats say. This daddy-o is on-target to start mixing tomorrow, and with 07day:12h;57min left, I'm on schedule! Wow.

Also got to get going on artwork, duplication, website updates, etc., but not really in the mood now - sounds like a good Sunday task!

As promised and by request, here's the technical lo-down on some stuff done over the last few days:

All rhythm electric guitar parts were done on either an Epiphone Casino (think Beatles) or an Ibanez Artist (think early-80's double-cutaway). Guitar into a Fulltone OCD pedal (most amazing pedal ever!), into a Fender Champ 12 amp (snakeskin - a critical part of the sound), to an AT3035 mic, into Toft ATC-2 preamp/EQ. This was a nice change from last year where it was done direct (via a Line6 POD), and getting "the amp sound" REALLY opened up the guitar sounds - much more organic.

Lead vocals ended up thru a ribbon mic - the "TapeOp group buy" mic that is basically a Nady clone. Into the Chandler TGChannel preamp/eq. Tried a few other mics including some much more expensive ones, but the ribbon just sounded the best on my voice and was the most natural "in the track" with the other parts. My 1st time doing vox with a ribbon mic - learn something new every day!

Just over a week to go - kinda sad. But REALLY lookin' forward to completing this album - some real good stuff!

Rock on!

(Cross-posted to RPMChallenge.com: http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,11805/)

Jammin' rules!

2009-02-20T09:53:00.001-08:00

Just about to jump into a busy day of RPMing...got 4 electric (rhythm) guitar parts, and all lead vocals on the agenda before bedtime. Am happy with the acoustic gtr tracks as well as the other electric gtr stuff done in the last few days. By popular demand I'll post the detailed recording notes for those things in nausiating detail later.

Yesterday? Zero RPM. But an amazing day! Had a great jam with my regular dobro player and a new bass player (along with my acoustic guitar). LOVE playin' with other people! Such a great way to improve as a musician, and soooo much fun. We were all in good form yesterday - jam's even better when it sounds good!

Mile Long Post-It is a solo project - I do all the writing, recording, playing and (almost all the) signing - 'cept for the female background parts :-). I love workin' alone on it. But, for the sheer joy of "making music", nothing beats playing with others!

Rock on!

(Cross-posted to RPMChallenge.com: http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,11759/)

Bass done; tuner tip; weekend off (kinda)

2009-02-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Smooth sailing yesterday tracking the bass parts - now done for all (10) tunes. Was the first real use of a new bass (to me; actually "used" but in good shape) - an Epiphone "Les Paul Special". Sounded mostly great, and was pleased the intonation is good. For the recording geeks (like me!), signal chain was from the bass into the direct input of Chandler TG Channel (preamp/eq) into a Distressor compressor (set to "optical" mode). I think the sound is pretty good, but will scrutanize further come mixing.

Here's an old-school tuning tip when doing bass/guitar overdubs (in the "control room" or in front of the DAW) - Set up an aux send or similar from the bass/guitar input and patch the aux output into a tuner. MUCH easier than plugging/unplugging to tune. Did this using the audio interface's (MOTU 828mkii) little "monitor mix" application to send the bass/guitar input signal directly into "output 7/8", and then just a 1/4" cable from Output 7 into the tuner. Doing this on the MOTU (instead of in the recording software) worked great as there was always signal to the tuner and I didn't have to do anything in my recording software itself or in each song-project.

So with bass and drums done (and rough mixes to prove it :-) I'm taking the weekend off from RPM (kind-of) to chill and spend some quality time chillin in a woodland cabin with Ms. Mile Long Post-It. "Kind-of", you ask? I won't be doing any recording, but do plan to learn and rehearse acoustic and electric guitar parts (just playin' along to the aformentioned rough mixes). Well, and maybe start recording the acoustics later today (Fri) and after we get back on Monday. Can't really "turn off" RPM, can ya!?!

Rock on!

(Cross-posed to RPMChallenge website: http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,11302/)

Ahead or behind schedule?

2009-02-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

So, day 11 [RPM2009], got my songs written and arranged, and drums programmed for 9 of 'em (and expect to complete the last in a few hrs). Last year it took me to day 22 to accomplish this, so I should be happy with this year's progress. Emphesis on "should be", as I'm worried...plan is to start bass parts later this evening but I somehow suspect that Jack and I will end up strapping into the Syracuse/Connecticut game instead (go 'CUSE!). Wouldn't be a big deal but I'm gonna be outta town Fri-Mon and can see the time slipping past (like sands thru the hourglass). Might bring a small mobile setup along for the weekend, but suspect there will be more time spent on that as a technical exercise than an actual recording opportunity so would like to avoid it. But I digress...

I want to be done with all recording on 2/21 or sooner to have PLENTY of time to mix (and master, and do artwork, and...). Figure I still have to record:

Bass
Acoustic Guitar (rhythm parts)
Electric Guitar (rhythm and texture parts)
Guitar solos (acoustic and electric)
Lead Vocals
Background Vocals
Keys (Piano/Organ/Synth)

Given this weekend (and President's Day) to record, I'd be in Schaffer City, but I'll be 100 miles away from the gear. Hmmm.

Well, as Pops used to say, this is indeed a "happy problem". Gettin' to make music is such a blast, and RPM is just the best thing to keep me on my toes...now back to the dance.

Rock on!

(Cross-posted to RPMChallenge website: http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,11177/)

Songwriting "done*" (with an asterisk)

2009-02-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Days! Music and lyrics are done* for the 10 songs going on Mile Long Post-It's RPMChallenge 2009 cd (tentatively titled "2kMi").

Why the asterisk? 'Cause these tunes are in rough shape right now! Veeerrry rough shape. But the turds are laid, and now are ready for polishing (pardon the expression, phew!). I think I did a blog last year called "polishing turds", blabbing in some detail about taking rough drafts and working them into final cd form.

I want time for the songs to live and breath before recording 'em. Last RPM I spent waaaay too much time doing the initial writing (2 weeks!), and then had like a day to do arrangements and then right into recording (not my best approach). This year, I'm determined to have 3-4 days to play these drafts in different keys, different styles, different tempos - to flush out "what works" and "what needs help" before getting near a recording device.

Amazingly, this might work out. I want to start tracking (drum parts) on Sunday, so have about 4 days to whip these songs into shape on the 'ol acoustic guitar. Will try to post some rough drafts in a day or two.

Still, this is a nice hump to be over early in the project. Off to grab some lunch and then start workin' the tunes!!! Rock on!

(Note this is cross-posted to the RPMChallenge site: http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,10600/ )

Writin' like a madman

2009-02-03T09:20:00.000-08:00

I REALLY want to get the songwriting part of this challenge done ASAP, and have been VERY lucky so far. Got five songs written already, and it's looking like I really might get all 10 done before the end of week.

I like having a chance for the songs to "breath" before recording them - to try playing them in different styles and different arrangements. And practically, in different keys (to find the sweet spot for my voice). Also to allow time to fine-tune and fix things before starting recording.

I'd like to get the remaining four written before end-of-Wednesday and plan to start recording on Sunday. That would be AMAZING and I'm optimistic that I can pull it off.

Rock on!

(Note this is cross-posted to the RPMChallenge site: http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,10453/)

One day and a wakeup...(RPMChallenge 2009)

2009-01-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

It's here It's Here it's Here (almost!!!)...no, not Santa(!), but RPM2009! I had a total blast doing RPM 2008 and can't wait to get rolling this year. Gonna spend the next 1-day-11-hours (according to the handy "countdown" clock on the right of this page) chillin, relaxin' with my sweetie, raging it up a bit. Then wake up on Sunday AM and get writing! And then get SuperBowlin' (man, if only Plaxico had left that gun at home I might be watching the NYGiants try to go back-to-back, but no such luck).

I'm aiming to complete all the writing during the first week (by endOfDay 7-Feb). Gonna make for a busy week but if I write one song in the AM before day job, and another in PM after day job, I should be golden. This'll leave a few days to nail down arrangements, and then almost three weeks to record, mix, master (as it is), and ship. Last year it took me 2 wks to write, and trying to record/mix/master/ship in the remaining two weeks was hairy...very hairy.
Last night, spent some time updating software (latest BFD patch) and setting up a default "template" in my recording software for RPM tunes. Basically, two audio tracks ready to go, and multiple outputs from BFD (which is my drum "plug-in"). BFD is amazingly powerful with a ton of options - last year I did all my drum mixing within BFD and just sent a stereo mix to the recording software (SONAR), but this year want individual outputs from BFD going to Sonar to allow for a bit more flexibility during mixing. That is, SONAR will see separate Kick, Snare, Hat, etc. outputs. A PITA to set up, but once the template is done I'll be able to reuse it on all the songs.

Anyway, really excited to CHILL the next few days ("day", I guess), and then rock out with my (proverbial) *ock out for the next month! Good luck to my fellow RPMers and cheers to all visiting/supporting RPMChallenge!

(note this is cross-posted to the RPMChallenge site: http://www.rpmchallenge.com/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,291/task,show/action,view/id,10037/

Summertime Lazies...open mic's

2008-09-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Ah, September..."sumemer's almost gone" is a few weeks behind us. Took much (most (ALL)) of August off from a music/creativity angle, but it was needed. Back "in training" with acoustic chops and working MLPI into the rotation.

And that rotation will be seen at an open mic near you (ok, near me) in the next few wks. Gonna do a few covers, a few originals, generally have some fun. Ireland's 32 down on Geary has what looks to be a fun Wed nite thing. I'm ansy to play out but the open mic scene doesn't thrill me - maybe it'll be different this time around but either way I'm PSYCHED for it!!

The write way!

2008-04-23T19:23:00.001-07:00

Regular Songwriting and Guitar Playing = Peace of Mind.

Some folks work out. Some meditate. Some do religion. Some do drugs. Some hug Redwoods. Some howl at strangers. Some do all of these at the same time.

For me, it's the guitar playing and songwriting...I find when doin' both everything else makes sense. The revealed truths can be harsh sometimes, but that's part of the fun...

...and is great writin' material.

Rock on!

iTunes, MySpace, oh my (and be my friend like Bob Dylan?)

2008-04-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Mile Long Post-It is now available on iTunes. Exciting stuff, as they certainly are the standard of music distribution these days. I think electronic music distribution (of high-quality formats anyway) is a wonderful thing as it saves the resources needed to make and subsequently dispose of cd's or dvd's (or whatever other physical media's on the horizon).

Also spent some time revamping MLPI's MySpace page - have six tunes up and turned off the "autoplay when visit page" feature - kinda pisses me off when I visit other websites that do that so I'm restraining. Highlight here is that I'm (apparently) now friends with the one and only Bob Freakin' Dylan. Six degrees of separation get closer all the time. Anyway, come on by and link a tune or friend on up MLPI!

Treat me right

2008-04-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

So finally gettin' around to some acoustic treatments for the studio. This is to make the rum a bit less "muddy" sounding, and let me better hear what I've recorded and am mixing. Looking mostly at Auralex products, and they actually offer a free service to analyze your room and then advise which of their products to buy. Why not - I'm givin' it a shot, although sketching the studio is taking quite some time 'specillay with my lame handwriting ("measure twice" would be wishful thinking!). Currently workin' Craigslist and Ebay (post if you have some available :-). Next up's gonna be some new monitor speakers - been using Mackie HR824's and while they're fun to listen to, I'm not really hearing what I think I need to - especially with how vocals "sit" in a mix. Considering Adam A7's or Dynaudio BM5a (I think they're called), but wanna do the acoustic treatments first while I still have the HR824's so I'll hear the difference on spkrs I'm used to.

But for now, there's a sidewalk sale with two acoustic guitar's available about to start...gotta go...

RPM Jukebox; MLPI Unplugged...

2008-04-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

So what could be better - well, almost as good as anyway - as scorin' MLPI's debut cd from CDBaby...how 'bout listening to it FOR FREE! The good folks at RPM Challenge have created a jukebox with all this year's participants. Check it out http://www.rpmchallenge.com/jukebox then click the Library tab and do a search on "Mile Long Post-it". Cool, eh? While your there, check out some of the other cool and interesting stuff RPMers cranked out in February.

Still spreadin' the gospil of Mile Long Post-It to friends, co-workers (like it or not :-), and on the web. Kinda on the fence of just how much promo I wanna do on this before moving onto the next project. I'm a huge fan of this project, but have to acknowledge there are some limitations (29 days that's gonna happen) and I'm thinking I want to save a big promo push for a creation I'm 200% behind (I'm about 110% in favor of current MLPI! - pretty good!).

And also toying with MLPI Acoustic - or is "unplugged" better? Anyway gonna try and sell the idea (few tunes worth anyway) to my dobro pal Ian and see if we can whip a few into shape.

Rock on!

MySpace/MileLongPostIt is up...kinda...

2008-04-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Updated Mile Long Post-It's MySpace page (cleverly called http://www.myspace.com/milelongpostit). Put a quick blog entry pointing over to this one, as I'll be using Blogger exclusively (vs. tryin' to keep up separate blogs at RPMChallenge, MySpace, Blogger...). I was tempted to host the blog at milelongpostit.com, but why reinvent what others have already set up. I am thinking about putting a forum site up though - might be fun, and would be more interactive than bloggin'.

Anyway, mixed feelings on MySpace. Gotta admit I don't spend much time on it, but with it being so popular, I "gotta be in it to win it" I guess. Also figure since it's free there's really no excuse not to - heck, any avenue to get these tunes heard is a good one.

Now who do I send "friend" requests to...

CDBaby is cool!!

2008-04-06T00:21:00.000-07:00

MILE LONG POST-IT is now available from CDBaby - a great independent music distributor. I'm most psyched 'bout their mp3 download offerings, as they offer a great quality product (high quality MP3 no DRM!!) and I can set a great price point (5 bucks for download - c'mon!) and still have CDBaby get paid and walk away with a few duckets. One really great thing about the downloads is they're "green", or "eco-friendly" to the last generation :-) - that is, no plastic being created. Beautiful thing.

OK, back off my soapbox, the other really cool thing on CDBaby is the high-quality previews. You can check out the first 2 minutes of a song (not 30 seconds...two minutes!) at a real good quality (don't try this on dial-up). Man, online music rocks!

Two weeks little news

2008-04-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it's been two wks since I added to this blog. While the RPMChallenge was happenin' I blogged nearly daily and found it a good thing to track progress. OK, and a bit of a self-cheering-section, but why not :-). Aimin' to get somethin' of substance posted here over the weekend - we'll see.

Today - getting CDBaby distribution stuff wrapped up for MLPI. Cool group, and I'm glad to be workin' with them. Next will be MLPI website updates, and then "game plan" for what to do next with MLPI: Gotta consider how much more time/effort to put into a project that's "done". In quotes, 'cause I'm undecided on how much I want to push it. I think there's some great stuff on the CD but also some dicey stuff, and I'm toying with keeping the promo limited, and really pushing my next effort (which has already begun...but that's a story for another blog). We'll see.

Website up; promo continues

2008-03-20T17:04:00.001-07:00

So I (finally) have a skeleton website up at www.milelongpostit.com. Over the next couple weeks I'm gonna fill it out a bit more, with a guestbook, better email form, more blogging (of course!), and more about the music. Also maybe some audio samples, although I may wait 'till CDBaby is all set up as they'll do all that anyway. The new website is on Linux hosting which is new to me having done mostly Microsoft-based sites previously. Interesting to learn cPanel, and might really take the opportunity to learn some open-source stuff.

A bunch to-do yet before SteveTime(tm) kicks off but find myself with the decidedly new-gen question: Do I use the time to install TurboTax, or SecondLife...

Stebe Shepard signing off....

Movin' to Blogger...

2008-03-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

Somewhat swollen from all my MLPI blogging, I'm gonna move to blogger... more soon and Rock on!