September 2008
~ Renos are going well - I have a few stragglers coming into the studio now and then, but with my new job as A/V tech at the conference center I have less and less time. I was also dropped on the call-list for DL Sound and Lighting, so we'll see how that goes.
June 2008
~ Mostly been renovating the studio, removing much of the old HVAC system and sealing the pipes with aluminium foil tape. I'm doing sound [both head sound and monitor mix] plus recording a band on Saturday... should be a handful. I have hired help but it's still a lot to be dealing with at once. I've got my secret weapon mounted in the rack though, the Mindprint Envoice MK-II with it's AMAZING equalizer. It's a wicked unit. The kick is gonna be HUGE. And I'm using a little AT 2021 on the snare which is my new favourite.
May 2008
~ Building in the studio has slowed down due to lack of funds. Little things here and there have been happening, but nothing worth talking about. I have been doing a lot of recording lately, as well as some great work with the Port Theatre helping out with the sound down there. Had a good time with Econoline Crush and Valhalla in particular. I had a sound-related-gig in Ladner last weekend, much of the gear was my own personal stuff. I acted professional though didn't enjoy it at all, due to the second band taking well over an hour to play six songs [and the intro to about a thousand others]. They showed me no respect and it was really annoying because I didn't even know they were playing until I arrived with the gear I needed for the band I knew was playing [Silent State]. So of course last minute improvisation combined with a band full of jerks didn't help.
April 2008
- Business for me has been picking up dramatically due to an article in the Nanaimo Daily News's "The Hub" section. Here's a link for you if you happened to miss it. Everything from recording to live sound to cassette-to-cd transfer to playing guitar on some hip-hop tracks. Busy month, I am going to have to keep up on linking to bands' websites!
March and April 2008
- Not much work coming my way lately involving the studio, but have been teaching lots of guitar. Done some building in the studio including framing and wiring, it's almost time to start insulating.
February 2008
- I have been working on some audio for the adult film industry. It is basically easy work, raising the volume, removing hiss and other noise, etc. The liquid mix is becoming a great help to me, with it's subtle parametric equalizers and brick wall compression. Other than that, some mixing projects have come up - I've been doing very little actual tracking.
January 2008
- Another year gone. Slowly building up my clientele here at the new location. Hopefully by the summer I will have walls up in the control room, lounge and live room. My control room has finally been planned out and I think it will be the best mixing room I have ever worked out of. I have spent some serious time designing my cloud and the rear wall. Now all I need is a lower-profile for the rack and I'm a happy camper.
November 2007
- I've been working at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo, BC as a monitor mix soundman. Exciting, enjoyable work.
July 2007
- Laid down the drums for Al Wiebe's upcoming album. Me and Sam used some new techniques and got some wicked tones out of our "hybrid" drum kit - half Ludwig, half DW. We used a 26" 60-year-old Ludwig kick drum and a 14x6.5 Ludwig snare on the tracks. The DW parts consisted of a 10" tom and a 14" floor tom. We used heavier cymbals than normal. Interestingly, the sound called for way more room mic sound than spot mics or overheads. Sounds huge considering the mix was pretty sparse to begin with [one guitar and a bass]. Sam laid down the drums for one of my own called "Coming Home" that me and Gab are going to finish up one of these days. But we had the kit set up so beautifully I couldn't NOT record it :)
June 2007
- I have been working with this guy at work on some ideas of his, kinda cool. Me and Gab from Defected productions are still going at some tracks... I have done some editing here and there. Nothing major. I did get hired to run the Langleypolooza festival this year [again] because last year was a great show. So much fun. I also have a gig in 2 weeks at a field out in Ladner on the 23rd.
May 2007
- I want to do my own stuff more and more, and have been playing a bunch of guitar, writing little doodads here and there. I have been mixing a bunch of songs for Silent State, trying to get them ready for the Fox Seeds competition. On Saturday I have a band coming in as well, I'm going to try to get them in and out in 6 hours. I am also trying to get some more of my own tunes ready for jamming. For example, Burn... I wanna play that song but I can't get the lyrics out. Grr.
Working on some
side stuff, March and April 2007
- Well my working on other styles of music lately has paid off in ways unforeseen. I have been working in the realm of funk, jiving with the disco beats and funk wah guitar. I have laid down a few tracks that could make their way into a movie or television background somewhere. Mostly just for fun... cause it's so much fun. I have also started a musical partnership with Gab of defected productions where we write together. I have a few ideas for our first collab session tomorrow.
Recording my solo album, January and February 2007
- I've been both playing INSANE amounts of guitar and laying down tracks for my album - Old School, Time, Think About You, Run Away, Feel - all have drums laid down. Some of the acoustic guitars are laid down [the Guild on leads and fingerpicked parts, the epi masterbuilt on rhythms] and the mandolin is down. Next come the bass tracks, keys and guitars. Ooh, excitement.
Recording local group Silent State, Jan 2007
- Well, they got a bass player. Overdubbed the electric and acoustic guitars, laying down bass and vocals, the tracking is nearing completion. I've been doing some light mixing but will probbly end up giving the tracks to Jonathan to mix in his studio.
Recording local group Silent State, Dec 2006
- Rockers Rael Linford and Jonathan Birch make up this duo on a quest for a bass player. They laid down a mean rhythm bed for four songs using mostly my own personal gear, including my new Gibson Blueshawk guitar. I have been working on some basslines for their rock and roll, and just for fun here's a picture of me a number of years ago doing my ultimate bass-pose. Bass playing has never looked so cool.
Audio Restoration, Dec 2006
- Recently was asked to restore a radio broadcast that had been badly recorded for whatever reason. BADLY recorded, complete with hiss and clicks and all sorts of fuzzies. I did a great job taking out the unwanted noise but sometimes there is only so much you can do to repair. It was clean enough to hear the audio without having to strain though, and was totally listenable. Another satisfied customer.
Fat Cobra, October
2006
- I went down
to Studio Partner DEFECTED PRODUCTIONS and helped set up mics and troubleshoot
some cabling problems as well as helped things go a little smoother. It was a
good time for all, the drums especially came out sounding great. Fat Cobra is a
4-piece punk rock group out of Vancouver and has a one voice, one guitar, a bass
player and drummer. I had a particularly good time messing with a board as big
as the one at DP—in this digital age, they are becoming less and less
commonplace as people are going to stand alone preamps and all-in-one solutions
and mixing in-the-box... but the sound quality is excellent and it's a lot of
fun mixing on a big board.
Drums @
Home—Ongoing
- I have had
this idea for like EVER of recording a drum how-to-record video and now it is
becoming a reality. Topics like connecting everything from a mixer to a standard
PC soundcard to wiring a heavy-duty home studio like my own is covered as well
as mixing, effects, tips and using your band mate's gear to get a good sound is
going to be covered. It’s an exciting project that is still in the planning
stages.
World
Forum, November 20 2006
- I went down
to this hotel in Vancouver and ran sound for some charity gig—not sure what it
was about, but had a decent time save one moment of intense rage that nearly had
me turning green and smashing the place up. I got home at around 3 am and got up
at 6 am for work… it was pretty intense but I finally caught up on my sleep.