An up-close and personal look at the places, experiences, and life on the road as a Worldwide Product Evangelist for Adobe’s Dynamic Media products…oh, and some tech tips too!
Hello, my friends! Well, it's taken several weeks, countless hours, and lots of cross-continental Adobe SHARE file exchanges....but the Chip Hanna music video is finally complete!
As referenced earlier, this project was part of a new series of assets that the Evangelists have developed for our road shows (along with our shows on AdobeTV) and the entire thing was filmed live, cut, processed, color-corrected, stylized and remixed in CS4 (with the audio post completed in Audition 3). Here's a brief look at the before, mid-way, and 'after' looks/sounds from the original multicam cut:
Now, as you can see from the 'before' video, an enormous amount of work was done in post. On the video side, the picture was brought back to life (pulling out what was seemingly not there, thanks to there only being 3 PAR-64s on stage at the venue). And on the audio side, it was a matter of upgrading the sonic mix to sound equal parts live and clear, minimizing the often sterile artifacts of having a soundboard audio capture. For the video processing, I turned to my friend and Adobe colleague, 'Magic' Max Hagelstam...
Hello friends. Having reached my 100th post last week, I felt like I needed to upload some new content to Vimeo, and showcase a bit more of the cool work that I've been doing alongside pals Karl Soule, Kush Amerasinghe, and of course, Johnny Encore.
And as the title of this post suggests, I'm referring to Johnny's mid-autumn hit single, You're In My Heart and InDesign. If you haven't seen the video already, I think you're really going to enjoy this. For starters, it takes advantage of the new Cartoon effect in After Effects CS4. However, there's SO MUCH going on in this piece you really just have to experience it to believe it. Enjoy it here, in glorious HD with Stereo audio, courtesy of Vimeo...
On the audio side, because of some 'difficulties' that Johnny was having with certain members of the Acrobats, I had to step in and wound up playing drums and Hammond organ for the piece. In Johnny's words, "The original take simply wasn't DIRRRTY enough. Make it so." And so, I did. Be sure to check out 'Short & Suite' on AdobeTV for details on how this was made, crunchy-sounding, cartoonified-brilliance and all.
Hey there, friends. Well, it's amazing how certain posts can go somewhat unnoticed, and with something like a musical instrument (and a personal tale of love to go along with it) suddenly, the comments start flying in! It's great to see that many people are interested in these kinds of stories/rants, and I'll be sure to try and do more in the future.
That being said, there were several requests to actually 'hear' what this bass sounds like. Well, until I get around to uploading my proper recordings, I went ahead a captured a short little video, playing a few riffs, showcasing the tuning, the intonation, and emphasizing just how big and thumpy this bass can be (completely untreated, by the way...no compression, no EQ, just amplification). Here it is...
Hey friends! This is one of those posts that I felt compelled to write, simply because a feeling was re-awakened inside of me, prompting my need to shout-aloud about it!
What's that feeling you say? Well, LOVE of course! Love...for my instrument. Now, before your minds go wandering in the gutter, let me state that I'm speaking of my Rickenbacker 4003 bass. ;)
Love is all you need...especially when it comes in Fireglo
I've had this particular bass nearly twenty years, and it was truly the sound and the instrument I always wanted (at least, on the 4-string side; on the keyboard front, it was always a Minimoog and a Fender Rhodes Suitcase '73). Yes, the Rick is what Paul McCartney played on 'Paperback Writer', as well as on Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour (and, nearly all of Wings) Chris Squire of YES, Geddy Lee from RUSH, Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple; they all played them. But the primary impetus for wanting one was the tone, the thumpy, legato nature of the sound, and the purity of each fretted note.
The point of this ridiculous rant is this: If you're lucky enough to play an instrument, and you possess the one that you purchased years ago (years before you could even afford such a thing) and you nurtured, and cared for it greatly, and played it until your fingers bled, you'll find that it ALWAYS has the same effect on you, every time you play it. Even when lots of time goes by. And then, suddenly, you plug-in one sunny, Saturday afternoon. You haven't tuned in almost a month; you fret a chord in the upper register (but still below the 12th fret). And when you release, the sound is not only PERFECTLY in-tune, but the intonation, the tonality, the quality of the sound, of this one chord is simply MUSIC to your EARS...well, then you'll KNOW that you've been having a love affair with an inanimate object.
Nearly 20 Years, and still going strong. I love you, Rick...enbacker.
Hello, my friends! Well, here we are, a mere 24 hours or so before the 'holiday shutdowns' begin all over the world. I for one will be embracing a few 'free' days; but that being said, there's much work to be done! What am I referring to specifically? Well, check this out...
Now, I don't mind telling you that this is really *all* about the musical score...at least for now! The Evangelist Team is working on a whole new series of 'goodies' that we'll be showcasing in seminars around the world in 2009, and the first 'completed' portion is our new musical theme, scored, engineered and performed by yours truly. ;) Oh yes...the creative juices have been flowing rapidly, and it feels great. I haven't really scored anything like this in quite some time, so it felt great to be back in that mode, even for a little while.
And yes...that's REAL whistling, and yes, that's ME doing it. All in all, the session (recorded in Aud 3, of course) is comprised of multiple instruments, many doubling one another. But one of the highlights? the GRUNTS and CHANTS (provided by each Evangelist, in his own unique voice). If you've ever watched any of the classic 'Spaghetti Westerns' from the early/mid 60s starring Clint Eastwood, the 'feel' of this track should be very familiar (and heavily inspired by one of my composition idols, Ennio Morricone). I hope you like it.
Oh, and the video that is currently accompanying this music? Yeah...it's totally temporary. Not to sneak too much...but we WILL be creating a new 'Movie Trailer' (Mr. Soule is working on it right now!); but what you're seeing here is just some 'temp' video, presented in full-stereo sound, courtesy of Vimeo.
And with that, my friends, I'm going off to continue working on some other 'elements' of this project..that is, until the holiday cookies are finished baking. And then, well, it's Holly Jolly time for me..
Hey there, dear friends! Well, this is a very special day, as I'm happy to present (and effectively, SNEAK) the new, as-yet-unreleased Johnny Encore single, PHOTOSHOP DREAM GIRL.
This track has been in the making for some time, and because we haven't yet released it on Adobe TV, I simply couldn't take it any longer. With the brilliance of Kush Amerasinghe and Karl Soule in the edit bay & me at the mixing desk, we created a totally new, totally unique Johnny Encore experience. And naturally, this all takes advantage of new features in Photoshop CS4, After Effects CS4, Premiere Pro CS4 and Audition 3. Check it out NOW!!
And the BEST part about this video?? It's presented to you, here, IN TRUE STEREO SOUND!! YES! Special thanks to VIMEO for being so awesome and actually allowing HD vids with stereo sound. I'm a happy, happy man. ;)
Stay tuned for the next batch of Short & Suite episodes on Adobe TV, as Karl and I will cover the making of this musical masterpiece (and you'll get to hear the raw elements of how I created those backing vocals, and the overall late 50s vibe of the original pop tune).
Small claim @ FAME, and the magic of the iTunes Store
Hello, my friends! I had started writing this post from the Netherlands, when Greg, Rufus and I had just kicked off the final week of our European CS4 launch tour. It's since taken me a week+ to get back to it! However, this post is entirely about music. In fact, it's about two very recent experiences that truly highlight the music buying issues we face in the retail and online worlds.
Case in point, I made my usual patronage to FAME in Amsterdam upon arrival Saturday evening. And like last time, though I wasn't able to acquire EVERYTHING on my 'list' (yes...I do make lists when I enter 'the temple'...hehehe)...the selection was pretty good this time around, and I wound up snagging a couple of gems, recently re-issued and re-mastered, and left feeling happy. The selections this time around: Fela Kuti (two albums, remastered, Zombie from '76 and Open & Close from '71), Brian Auger Oblivion Express (Closer To It, '73), West, Bruce & Laing (Whatever Turns You On, '73), Metallica (Death Magnetic, 2008, and the source of much controversy...but that's for another blog post), and lastly, the remaster of The Who (A Quick One, 1967), and the last Who remaster I needed to replace my old 80s-era MCA CD.
A small, but rocking (and totally eclectic) selection from FAME
A typical experience, and though the selections have thinned out over the last year or two, FAME continues to rock. I just love the place.
However, 24 hours prior to arriving in Amsterdam, we had just finished our final gig on the Nordic CS4 tour, and I was desperately in need of some musical inspiration. Not for any particular reason; I just needed to rock out --- and to do that, I was going to grab some Deep Purple. (obviously, a release that I didn't already have)...So what did I do? I went to the iTunes store, found what I was looking for (an archive release from Montreux '69, available in iTunes Plus) and began purchasing, waiting for the rocking' times (and the fab Gillan screams!) to begin.
note: for those who aren't aware, the iTunes Plus versions are 256kbps AAC, *without* copy protection, and currently the highest quality available on iTunes
BUT...the moment the download began, I noticed a problem...the file sizes were simply too small for the files to be 'iTunes Plus'
Hmmm. Perplexing. Perhaps I was mistaken? Perhaps my compression math was off? Or, was I right? READ ON, as this is where the story gets good...
Greetings, my friends! So, this post will be slightly unlike any other, as I'm actually featuring some other stuff that I've been doing (largely, in lieu of sleeping) over the past few weeks.
From time to time, I still mix and master the odd record, single, album, and generally, I'll do this so that (a) it keeps the chops up; and (b) I get to use the materials as 'demo material' on the road. As such, I've recently completed mixing on a soon-to-be-released single for famed Star Trek band, Warp 11.
What was totally cool about this particular project is that the band had heard my Johnny Encore records (via "Short & Suite" on AdobeTV) and really wanted me to 'produce' them (ie, rich background vocals, lush, spatial instrument sounds, etc), giving them a new sound, a new approach, reaching, dare I say, a New Frontier; well, musically anyway. ;)
Now, seeing as they're a seasoned punk band, I really wanted to do something different. SO...here's a little vid that I cooked up (which will likely appear on their site) giving you a sneak of the chorus to one of their new tunes; I worked out a 'slightly' new arrangement for them. Take a listen.
What else can be said after that? Stay tuned, live long, prosper, you know...
Happy New Year, everyone! Well, I certainly hope that you had a great time ushering in 2008. For me, it was especially cool, because I had the opportunity to record and play alongside a classic blues-pickin' legend, Fuzzy Island.
After a few quick phone calls, the meeting was set, I hauled a bunch of mic stands, a couple of nice condenser mics (AT4041's and an AT4030, as well as an old-school Shure SM58 dynamic) and my trusty MacBookPro (running Audition 3 with my MOTU Traveler) and we set-up the mobile studio and began tracking! Naturally, as I was tasked with playing acoustic bass, I brought along my Martin B-1. Fuzzy *also* plays a Martin, 60s era, and the sound is simply fab.
But before I get to the details, here's a brief look at the setup...
So, Fuzzy and I have actually played and recorded together before. And what's especially cool about rockin' out with a classic blues cat is that, well, there's absolutely NO rehearsal! yeah, baby. We pick a tune, we might strum through the form a time or two...and then we "roll tape" (so to speak). And that's exactly how this session went down! We didn't have a lot of time, but we were able to meet up over 2 days (for approximately 4 hours total) and we managed to capture 7 master takes! It was an incredibly fun time, and the music (and the joy of making it) really comes through during the session recordings.
And with that, (and as I had my trusty Canon Tx1 handy) I was simultaneously snapping photos in-between takes. Afterwards, I decided to do a couple of rough mixes, burn a little reference disc for Fuzzy in Audition 3, and send him on his way with Photos, a rough mix of all the tracks, and the good vibes from the two days of pure music heaven.
Over the next few days, I decided to compile a short, 1:30 clip of photos and music; edits from two of the songs cut on day 1: "CC Rider", a classic, old-school blues tune (made famous by everyone from Mississippi John Hurt to Elvis); and "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" (again, a classic, dating back to the twenties: one of the most famous versions comes from none other than Bessie Smith, circa 1923).
Take a look (and LISTEN) here: (and hey...I've also included some of the pre-take banter and such...good times...and I just *love* when records include all the talking. That's really what makes you feel like you're there)
So there you have it, my friends. Another score for Audition 3 doing live recording, on-location (so to speak), and an absolutely magnificent time for me, making the start of 2008 great! If you're interested more in Fuzzy, be sure to check out his MySpace page (which is still under development). I believe there are a few tunes up there that you can listen to and download. Also, as I finish mixing and tweaking the recordings, I'll probably post some additional bits here and there.
