lookin' under the hood

Today I got a peek into the audio guts of Mortal Kombat -- we're not talking about the gloss and finery that you as the player hear -- we're talking about the actual implementation, design, and file management that goes on behind the scenes. It was, in a word, mind-blowing. Spreadsheets that would befuddle the shrewdest corporate accountants. Organization that would send a Fortune 500 CEO on a Harvey-Wallbanger-and-super-glue bender. Intricacies that would make a Swiss watchmaker blush. It's a very slick operation, and I don't care what it is -- it can be a Bartok string quartet or a Wankel rotary combustion engine -- I do love learning to understand the complicated inter-workings of a well-designed machine.

Blitz blitzkrieg

Things at Midway have started off with a roar... quite literally, actually. The last three days, I've been creating loud, boorish crowds chanting team cheers, rude jeers, and spilt beers -- for Midway's new football game, BLITZ: The League. I've got multiple tracks of voices, handclaps, footstomps, and bleacher rumble, and I'm shifting, layering, and mixing them so that they sound like a real live crowd of drunken idiots. It's an interesting challenge putting together something rhythmic so that it sounds good, but not too good...

flourescent lights suck

How do you drain all the creative energy out of a space? Light it with flourescent lights. Y'know, like the ones they have in office buildings. They'll zap the creative whammy out of you every time. And as soon as you shut those suckers off and light the room with something else -- desk lamp, lava lamp, gas lamp, small fire in the middle of the carpet -- the positive chi flows right back in. Sounds really stupid, I know, but I'm not the only person whose noticed this, and I don't know why it is, but it seems to be true. Don't believe me? Try writing your next symphony from a desk in an office cubicle at the ACME Paper Clip Supply Company in Hoosegow, Iowa...

The bane of my creative existence

Day One

Today was my first day at the new job with Midway. It was like sucking down a six-pack of Pepsi after swallowing a few packs of pop-rocks -- definitely fizzy and over-stimulating. Everything was new. Finding the bathroom was a whole new adventure. I've got a TON of new gear and software to learn, not to mention the processes and the general culture of the teams; but the guys in the sound department are really supportive and cool. My gear wasn't even all out of styrofoam before I was working on an upcoming game release!

My new boss. Just kidding. Kinda.

Doing it Jetson-style

Had a meeting with the boys of BCM -- Eric, Steve, and Newman -- to discuss the future of BCM -- all via video iChat. I could hear them AND see them, in real time. Way, way, way too cool. (I tried to take a screenshot, but it didn't work out -- check out the BCM blog for a different perspective)

Plans were hashed out. Cool stuff is on the way...

Getting my Tao on

I was thumbing through a back issue of "Electronic Musician" last night, and I noticed a quote from a film composer who said he considered the film to be the melody, and what he did was write the counterpoint against that.

I've always loved how art and my artistic process can reflect and inform life. It's interesting for me to focus today on how I can be the counterpoint to the melody of life's experiences...

Seventy-Five

This morning I woke up early and decided to write a short story based on a dream I'd had a few weeks ago. It was a great creative outlet and I had a great time getting it down on paper. I'm still cleaning it up, and not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I figured I'd throw the beginning up here, just for yuks. At this point, the story is called, "Seventy-Five":

There was dried blood on the floor of the hallway. It wasn’t alot of blood, just a few small, round droplets that were spaced about every one or two feet down the hall. Normally, Ed wouldn’t have noticed, as he tended to hustle nervously through every moment of his waking life. But tonight, he was especially nervous, and it seemed to make every detail of the city stand out in technicolor. Details like the small, dried-brown circles on the dirty linoleum floor in these unfamiliar surroundings didn’t do much to calm Ed’s nerves, and neither did the stifling heat of this August evening.

“Haven’t these people ever heard of air conditioning?” Ed whined to himself, as he ran his handkerchief under his collar and over the back of his neck. Ed was a squat, sweaty man, a chronic case of heartburn and bad breath wrapped in a cheap suit. He had a small mouth and beady eyes that were jammed into a round, doughy face, and he walked hunched over, like he was hiding a secret more important than a sizable paunch under his wrinkled jacket.

Ed continued to follow the blood trail down the hallway. As fate would have it, it seemed to end at the very door of the apartment Ed had come to visit. 6D.

Ed’s knees felt weak. Just as he thought twice about knocking, he heard the rattle of the doorknob and the door swung wide open. A gust of hot, burnt air burst forth from inside the apartment, and a dry, gaunt old man stood in the doorway.

“Thought someone was out there.” the old man said. His voice was calm and solid, and the echo in the hallway gave it a metallic ring, like the old man’s fillings were made of bell brass. “You Ed?”

Sketchy

I hear alot of beginning composers asking how to start writing, or what is the right way to start. The answer is, "you just start" -- but that's probably a little too Zen for the room, and isn't all that helpful if you're trying to find your bearings on a new piece.

Every time I ever sat down with a big sheet of manuscript paper and decided to WRITE, it's turned out disasterously -- by that, I mean the piece never got finished. Eventually, I was too intimidated by filling in blank page after blank page.

The blank page is as daunting as you make it -- I've heard about one composer who writes at the top of each page "nobody cares", just to dispell the notion that what he's writing really matters. I understand the reasoning, but I find that a little dismal and defeatist. I prefer my mother's favorite analogy: how do you eat an elephant? The answer is: one bite at a time.

Every piece of music I write begins with a sketch, and I don't confine myself to a set process or style of sketching. I just try to get down the aspects of the piece that come the easiest to me, with the notion that I'll fill in the blanks later. The sketch could be a "lead sheet", with the basic tune and chord changes, or maybe even just the tune. It could be a kinda topographical timeline, where I try to draw a line that represents the texture and shape of the overall piece. It could be a list of descriptions of musical events I want to happen within the piece, or it could be a few parts I've banged out into a sequencer. Whatever it is, it's the start of a plan, and I continue to develop that plan until I'm ready to actually engage that dreaded blank page. And by that time, my intentions are so clear in my own mind, that I really am just filling in those blanks!

And sometimes, I talk about music...

Yesterday afternoon and this morning, I was able to put together a pretty good sketch of the first of five pieces for unusual string quartet (2 violins, (amplified) classical guitar, and electric guitar). It's in 7/8, and while the melody is EXTREMELY simple, it modulates around alot and I'm trying to keep the harmonization interesting. I'm hoping to spend alot of time on it today, and I think it'll be done this week.

I'm really excited about these pieces -- besides the fact that I like writing for the actual musician/friends I know who will be playing these pieces, this ensemble provides an interesting ensemble to write for. Most of the time, I conceptualize them like a standard string quartet -- with the classical guitar as a quasi-viola voice, and the electric as the cello (the ranges of these instruments are very similar). Other times, I think about one of the guitars like a piano, with the other as a more melodic percussion instrument; and sometimes, I think of the guitars as the outer voices (bass and soprano) with the violins filling in the middle. I always try to consider the nature of these instruments, and the styles and idioms their respective players are used to, but in terms of voicing and filling out textures, it sometimes helps to conceptualize them altogether as a more standard ensemble.

(unless I get distracted tomorrow, I think I'll talk a little about sketching out music)

Freeky-Deeky-Distortion

I got an itch to clean out some of the lesser-used gear in my studio, and I've thrown some more guitar pedals up on Ebay. These are VERY hard-to-find items, and I thought about holding onto them, before I thought better of it -- I'm a player, not a collector, and these pedals just haven't found a way into my sound arsenal.

The first is a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal that's been totally tricked out by a company called Doobtone. Besides replacing all the cheap-o pots and plugs, he's also added two more switchable distortion diodes to the circuit, so you can have tri-diode distortion if you want! You can read more about it by clicking HERE.

The second pedal is a Boss Xtortion pedal. This is a rare, discontinued pedal, and there are rumors that it was the secret to Kurt Cobain's sound... I don't know if that's true, but I will say that this is a freaky, psycho-sick pedal and doesn't sound like any normal or vintage distortion I've ever come across. I considered using it for performances of Chaos Theory, but it was kinda noisy (99.9% of distortion pedals are) and because of the wide dynamic range, I need my rig to be as quiet as possible. Click HERE to check this sucker out.

Happy bidding!

The reality of my surroundings

I'm Pullin' a Newman at the neighborhood coffee house, and I've got to describe the current scene. Besides the non-stop ebb and flow of undercaffeinated yuppies:

I've got Newman live onscreen, showing me his new computer and piano. We're doing a one-way video iChat via wifi, so I can see and hear him, and he can hear me. Very, very Jetson's...

there's a homeless woman sitting at the next table, talking to herself while enjoying a hard-begged cup of coffee...

there's a 12 year-old girl (at least, she looks 12) wearing skin-tight black pants, and sporting looooong florescent pink fingernails and toenails, smoking a cigarette by the door. She looks quite nervous, and keeps glancing all around her, like her mom might catch her in this getup (nevermind the cigarette)...

there's a guy sitting at a table outside, wearing these HUGE gold bracelets and rings, and smoking a hookah that he brought himself. Just watching him put this thing together and load it up took 10 minutes!

sitting near him (outside) is one of the barristas that works here -- on a break and stuffing her face with a Subway sandwich. This is a blessed relief because she's been boring all of us within earshot with every bit of minutae about her wedding plans... and her voice is LOUD...

It's amazing what you notice when you look up from the computer once in a while!

Oh what a difference a break makes!

To all my loyal blogophiles, my sincerest apologies for not making my daily blog-quota. I've been enjoying a very rare and -- in retrospect -- much-needed break from the norm. I'm 2.5 weeks into my 4 week break from another's employ, and while it has been busy and productive, it has been devoid of any real stress or set routine (aside from going to the gym every morning).

I've been catching up on those bajillion items that I've been putting off. I've been eating healthy, and I've been getting regular exercise. I've been enjoying the sunny weather during the day, and I've been getting a decent night's sleep every night. I've been practicing, and doing some arranging (see yesterday's snarky entry about Pachelbel's Canon), but I haven't been under any heavy deadlines or stressful situations. And let me tell you, the benefits are amazing. For the first time in literally YEARS, music is popping into my head again -- music that is original and I'm EXCITED to write.

The first project? 5 pieces for a rather unique ensemble: 2 violins, (amplified) classical guitar, and electric guitar/bass (he'll be switching between the two). And I honestly can't wait to get started!

FOR SALE:

One gently-used, one-of-a-kind transcription of the very popular Pachelbel-brand Canon, arranged for solo classical guitar. Perfect for your cousin's wedding. This is a fairly faithful rendition of the original "D" model, and with a simple de-tuning of the sixth string, this transcription will keep your Canon in the original key. Be the first on your block to own this original, halfway-decent arrangement, because as far as I can tell, here ain't another one out there that's worth diddly-squat! Save yourself the hours of frustration making your own, and spend those hours practicing this rather difficult transcription. In excellent condition. Entire Canon has been well-rehearsed, but only the first eight bars of it were actually used (the church was small, about three times as wide as it was deep -- so it took about 12 steps for the bride and her father to get to the altar). Seriously inquiries only. No weirdos.

Christmas in June

Got a list of the gear they're getting me for the new composer job at Midway -- thought you might like to see a few of the new toyz:

Mac G5 - Dual 2.7 Ghz with 4 GB RAM and an extra hard-drive
2 17" flat-panel displays and a video card to support 2 displays
Digital Performer 4.5
Sound Forge 8
Pro Tools HD2 Accel
PT 192 Digital I/O
MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV
Gigasampler 3
Spectrasonics Atmosphere
Spectrasonics Trilogy
Spectrasonics Stylus - RMX
Native Instruments Reaktor 5
Reason 3.0
Waves Gold Bundle
Synful (check the audio samples out, they'll blow your mind!)
Metasynth 4
Melodyne 2.6

Ah, the smell of fresh gear... and on somebody else's tab!

Bazooka-shnoz

Back from Salt Lake City -- and it seems that nature has been doing it's frenzied dance of love in earnest -- my hayfever has been lying in wait for my return. It's charged up my sinuses like a pack of wild pollen-pygmies, firing mini-blowdarts laced with itching powder into my eyes, ears, nose, and throat. Claritin, my antihistamine-of-choice for many years, doesn't seem to be doing the trick. So until the pollen count goes down, everyone around me is ducking and weaving to avoid being caught in the snot-fire, every time I sneeze.

Scenes from Salt Lake City

Here are a few pictures from the first day of orchestra recording for Jerod Tate's score to "Urban Indians in Los Angeles", part of a two-part series called "Native Americans in the Twenty-First Century", to be aired on PBS in November:

goin' to Salt Lake City

No, this is not more self-invented slang, I really am going to Salt Lake City. My friend, Jerod Tate, has scheduled two days of orchestral recording sessions for a documentary he scored. He asked me to come out, produce the sessions, and play a little guitar -- as in "not many tracks of guitar"-little guitar -- not like a "ukelele"-little guitar. I'm at the airport gate at Chicago O'Hare airport. They're boarding any minute... I'll be back in Chicago on Sunday, but hopefully will have internet connection in Salt Lake... the Mormons must surf the 'net too, right?

Pullin' a Newman

Ever wonder if you could start a National trend? Maybe I'm thinking too small -- perhaps I should attempt an International PHENOMENON...? Naw, a little ambitious for the moment, let's start with this:

At the moment, I'm flopped out in an overstuffed chair in a coffee house, my laptop burning a radioactive hole in my leg, as I enjoy the freedom of a wireless connection to the internet, and the same ubiquitous, over-earnest, "alternative", folksy-pulp-pop-rock music that is piped through every coffee house, everywhere in the universe. If I wanted to, I could walk up to the counter, hail either the dredlocked, over-pierced barrista-vixen OR the perfectly-sullen, perfectly-tousled, rocker-boy trainee, and order myself a coffee-infused drink -- like a mocha-frappa-lappa-cappu-chai -- and enjoy the very same jitters and over-anxiousness that caffeine-swillers the world over claim to enjoy... however, I have chosen a bottle a water instead.

This got me thinking... nowadays, this is a common cultural occurance. Plenty of people take part in this ritual every day, but what do they call it? Take my buddy, Jonathan Newman (aka "Newman"). Newm does this every day like clockwork -- in fact, if I can't reach him on his home phone, I know he's either:

a. out for a coffee and some webwork (if it's the morning)

OR

b. out for a jog (if it's the afternoon)

And that's when it hits me -- I'm Pullin' a Newman.

Now I don't expect this to catch on immediately, but if you, faithful blog-reader, would just consider, the next time you're going to a coffee house and logging onto the internet, and someone asks what you're doing, you just smile and say-

"I'm Pullin' a Newman."

Eventually, they'll catch on.

You doubt it?

Give it a couple of months... we'll see who has the last laugh.