Late Bloomer

My Excellent Adventure As A Recording Engineer

I suppose it's inevitable.  You play an instrument.  You join a bar band.  You take ownership for mixing the horrible stage sound.   But that's not the end of it.

Sooner or later, you're going to be drawn into recording the band for the same reason as you took ownership for the stage sound: ain't no one else going to do it for free!

The last few months, I've learned how to do this -- sort of.  It's been a lot of work, but really fun!  Don't worry, professional recording engineers (e.g. people who really know what the hell they're doing) aren't going to be threatened by wannabes like me.

But we did end up with a bunch of cool tunes that are fun to listen to.  And -- best part -- I learned a boatload in the process.  I'm now half-dangerous! 

And it wasn't all that hard.

Gear Recap -- February 2018

I get some nice "thank you" notes from people who have stumbled across the blog, and gained perhaps a bit of insight on playing music, bands and -- of course -- gear!

It goes without saying that I am hugely appreciative of the great people on forums who have pointed me in the right direction from time to time. People helping people.  All good.

Since there have been some significant changes, maybe time to paint a complete picture of current reality? 

Life is different -- and better -- these days.  It's a new world, and I want to share.

My general philosophy on gear is that I'll keep spending money until I get something I like, at which point I'll stop and go in another direction. 

And, well, right now I'm pretty maxed out in most directions.  Well, for now?

So maybe a good time to take stock of where I am, gear-wise.

Fighting The Good (Health) Fight

Ok, so I've shared with all of you my experiences with bands, gear, etc.  Some of you have found all of this useful.  Hey, I like to share what I've learned?

Now we're going to get into a more personal -- and perhaps more relevant -- topic.  How do you fight aging and unhealthy lifestyles?  All sorts of us keyboard musos aren't exactly young anymore. 

Aging is a thing.

Crack the code, and you'll have more joy as a musician.  BTW, having healthy relationships with spouse, kids, etc. is major. But that's not what this blog post is all about.

Deal with the health thing, I've found that all sorts of good things will happen in your personal life as well.

Losing My Religion: How IEMs Changed My World

For those of you who follow me, you know I've been in search for the ultimate stage sound for many years. 

Many killer Nord boards, many killer self-powered PAs.

I could write a book with all I have learned.

And, for a while, I was very much happy with my deal.  I could show up to any gig, and bring serious tasty sound. 

Enough that folks would go "hey, what's that?"

But things changed a bit when I assumed responsibility for evolving my band's sound.  If I'm responsible, then I'm going to own it. 

And I ended up in a seriously better sonic nirvana as a result.

My New Love Toy; The Nord Stage 3 Compact

I've always been drawn to Nord boards.  Since I discovered them years ago, there's no going back. Red, baby.

When the details of the Nord Stage 3 became available, I was right there, checking it all out. Nords have always had a lot of buzz. Sort of like Porches, but for a whole lot less money.

They're good at what they do.  I've never, ever regretted buying a Nord board ever.

But the new Nord Stage 3 takes it to a whole new level. 

This is no minor upgrade, it's a bevy of serious enhancements from the Nord Stage 2, which was no slouch.  Some major, some minor, but taken together -- whew!

Within the three models, the Compact spoke to me: all of the firepower, svelte form factor, and organ drawbars!

I've had mine for a few weeks.  But -- just now -- I'm starting to wrap my mind around this instrument.  Not an easy task. 

Thankfully, I have mucho Nord experience: Piano 2, Electro 4 D and my recently sold Stage 2.  But even with all of that previous ground, this is a seriously impressive board, with a non-trivial learning curve.

I've spend a few hours doing some testing vs. my existing boards.  I'm playing through a Key Largo, and a pair of RCF TT08a speakers.  No headphones, going for live sound.  There was a Vent II involved at points.  Not a bad test bed, eh?

Just to be clear, I'm only going to talk about the features that impressed me for live gigging..  The interwebs will tell you about everything else.

Allow me to explain why I'm so impressed? 

Maturing As A Musician

I  I must be getting older, wiser, or maybe a bit of both.

Over the last few months, my playing style has evolved nicely.  Not in terms of physical technique -- I've always had the ability to pretty much play what I want to -- but more around what I choose to play when I'm performing live.

Quality, not quantity.

For much of my playing career, I wanted very much to be acknowledged as a talent.  It affected the way I played.  Sort of an ego hound.

Now, I don't care so much. 

And I'm playing much better as a result.

Making Peace With Your Situation

I've written before about getting chill with whatever semi-satisfying gig you've found as a weekend warrior.

Let me tell you how my situation is working out?

The basics?  I've got chops and decent talent, but not enough to play top-line gigs.  I have a well-paying day gig that provides more than enough $$$ for toys and whatnot.  I don't want to do a solo or duo act, I prefer to play with an established group.

If they want to go touring, or try to hit the bigtime, that's not my deal. So I'm trying to maximize my happiness in my little local bubble. 

Bring some game, make everyone sound better, have fun.  That's my deal.

I've found a band that's working for me.

Music I like, band members who are committed to getting better, and putting in effort to make it happen. 

We suck much less than we used to ... so it works for me?

Not a bad set of musical goals.

Avoiding FMS

FMS -- Frustrated Musician Syndrome -- is endemic in the bar bands that I play in.  You'll also see it in strong evidence in various music forums, like Keyboard Corner where I hang out.

I used to suffer greatly from FMS, but then learned a few things, and -- no more!

I have the luxury of doing this for fun vs. trying to make a living.  But you'll find that even hobby musicians get very frustrated, maybe more so that the gigging pros.

So it's worth a discussion, isn't it?  If you're continually frustrated, you won't be having fun, and then what's the point of it all?

Long Live The Dead

We haven't talked much about musical genres here, but maybe it's time.

This post was triggered by a fellow Keyboard Corner forum member who had discovered the Grateful Dead / Jerry Garcia legacy very late in his career.  He was somewhat skeptical coming in, but then found that he was really starting to dig the music, the musicians and the crowds that showed up.

Welcome to the party, dude!

Musical genres can be intensely personal decisions, but -- I am here to make my case -- if you're a gigging keyboardist, check out the Dead.

Yes, we'd all like to play prog rock, or fusion jazz, or whatever -- but becoming Dead-icated has its rewards for the casual musician.  I'm a huge fan.

And it can be challenging stuff.

New Toys -- QSC K8.2

I think everyone who reads this blog knows that I have massive GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) for amplification.  Guilty as charged.

My Nord keyboards produce awesome sounds, it's all about translating that to the audience in challenging circumstances: smaller venues, noisy guitar players, indifferent audiences, etc.  

But I have learned my craft well.  In the small circles that I play, I have heard that I have earned the brand of "that keyboard guy" mostly on the basis of my attention to sound.  

Bring game, or go home :)

My condition is made worse by two factors.  First, I have sufficient disposable income to indulge my hobby.  Lucky me.  Second, my wife told me a few years back "stop selling your stuff" because she caught me offloading gear -- and then buying it again when I missed it.  

So the inventory grows, and grows.

Which puts me in a nifty place to make gear recommendations.  Nothing like having a freakin' pile of gear at your disposal to make informed comparisons :)