Snake Charmer and Destiny at the Stroke of Midnight

With a title like that, what do you expect? 

Well you should get ready for a grand opus from Daniel Hart, aka The Physics of Meaning.  I'm listening to a rough mix version of the album I played on a while ago, and according to Perry (who came over for dinner tonight), the mastering of this project should be completed soon.  This album sounds awesome...and I'm listening to it on my tiny MacBook speakers.  It is so cool, I'm really pleased and thankful to have been a part of this project. 

Daniel's violin playing, singing, and guitar antics have never sounded better.  There are a few different drummers on the CD, so it's been fun listening to the other guys and how they interpret Daniel's stuff.  Sonically the record reminds me of some of the old XTC records, and parts of the Frank Zappa catalog.  Anyway, it's exciting to hear this stuff again...I can't wait for the final version!

You can keep up with Daniel via his MySpace page...catch him on tour with John Vanderslice, or with one of the other groups he tours with...

Kiss Me with a mouth full of Sun Chips

Currently, you can hear my drumming and percussion on the song "Kiss Me" as part of an ad campaign over at Sun Chips.  As the song vamps in the background, a woman on a beach talks about "living brightly," and asks if you are prepared to take "small steps."  The video is...well...let's just say:  "interesting."  It starts with a beach scene, birds flying, ocean waves crashing and a spokeswoman that looks like my sister saying:

"Here's an idea that's so simple, it'll change your life.  It's called, (pause -look heavenward and smile) "Living Brightly."  Basically it's the power of small steps, the little things you do to make your life (pause, look at the camera) a little better.  For Sun Chips, living brightly means a number of things, like making delicious chips PACKED with Whole Grains - 18 grams in every serving because it's better for you, buying green energy credits, finding ways to harness the sun by (having) solar collectors at our plant in Modesto, California.  Small steps, but steps in the right direction.

For the rest of us, Living Brightly, is about whatever small things you do everyday to make your life a little brighter.  Make time for friends, wear sunscreen (evangelistic fervor building), surprise someone by buying them a cup of coffee, take a scenic detour, just because.  Or Volunteer. 

Once you get started (preach it sistah!), you'll will be amazed at the the kind of things that happen in your life, and the kinds of opportunities that just pop up.  Although the power of small steps, does bring up one small question: are you  prepared to take one?  We can all talk small steps that add up in the long run, steps that can change the world, so come on, (big smile) take the first step.  You'll be amazed at what will happen.  (Hold...look into camera, while smiling - cue John Mark Painter's accordian solo)."

Wow.  I can't begin to say how this affects me...

Frito-Lay, thanks for setting an example for all of us. 

What's next a church, your own Sun Chip religion, special prayers before we eat our Sun Chips?  A Sun Chip rosary?

Fascinating stuff from the world of advertising in this day and age.

Source:  Thanks to The Smart Set, for the tip!

David Finch: Colors

I played on Dave's newest project a while ago at Cross-Eyed Studio, and it is now out and available for you to gander at and purchase!  There is a great little write up over at Cross-Eyed that had the following nice things to say about me:

"Dale really proved his salt as one of the great studio drummers available in the area. He began by listening to and charting out each track, and then proceeded to knock each one out as though he had weeks to practice!  With tracking wrapped, we exported each track for easy re-integration into the Pro Tools files, and David headed west to spend the next year overdubbing, mixing, and polishing each track."

You can hear one of the songs in it's entirety at ReverbNation, and listen to snippets of the other songs at CD Baby.  You can then purchase the CD over at Kunaki. 

It was fun playing on Dave's stuff.  I got to use my little toy snare to create a little drum and bass beat for "The Meaning of Love" and was able to come up with some drum tracks I'm pretty proud of.  Dave is a great talent and I hope we get to work together again one of these days!

Fascinating bit about Radiohead

I stumbled upon (thanks Johnny) an interesting article about Radiohead and EMI and their negotiations regarding "In Rainbows."  The article was written by "Mackenzie P", and details info that was found in a Times article.

“We couldn’t move ahead with EMI because Guy Hands irrevocably refused to discuss the catalogue in any meaningful way," Bryce Edge, Radiohead's manager told the paper. The band were attempting to negotiate the rights to some of their previous albums, something the label knew would lead to a loss in future profits.

In her blog post, some of the details of the Times article were left out, like this quote:

"Giving Radiohead the rights to their last two albums would have presented EMI with a £4 million loss. It is believed that the band was also seeking a guaranteed £3 million EMI budget on international marketing for the new album, although their management does not accept this figure."

And this interesting tidbit:

Radiohead’s original EMI contract also had no facility for digital sales, so it would not receive royalties through sales from the iTunes store. “It’s no surprise that artists are throwing their arms up in the air,” Mr Edge said.

Anyway, The Times piece is an interesting read and I thank Mackenzie P for bringing attention to the it. Here is the link to The Times piece

and the link to Mackenzie P's blog over at MOG.

Songwriting Tool: Visual Thesaurus

I came across this the other day, and it seems like it could be a useful and creative tool for writers when they experience a block or needing a jump start for that next "hit" song.  Plug in a subject, or word, or how you are feeling and you get a number of different directions to go in.  And since the tool is visual, it's fun to see how the interface spreads out as you type in or click on different words.  Give it a try...there is a free trial, and then you can either purchase a monthly membership or pay a little more and download it to your computer.  Here is the link:  http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

What I've been Listening to: Pandora

While I'm doing some repetitive computer work here at home, I pulled up Pandora and have given it a try for the first time...pretty awesome tool.  I typed in Sigur Ros, and ended up with a really cool, diverse and funky "mix" tape of songs from bands I've not heard before.  Some friends had told me about Pandora a while back, and I think I even tried it a few years ago when I had an office job, but I'm really digging on it tonight.  I think the key was putting in the right group.  (When I did it a few years ago, I think I put in "Peaches and Herb," yeah, I know...pretty lame...).  Well here is my Pandora info, should you want to peak into what I've been listening to:

Winter Come Gently

We went to see my friends Gary and Amy Wixtrom (Amy Shreve) and their daughter while we were in Nashville and had a lovely time catching up with them and all their various projects.  Gary played me a couple of tracks from one of their newest releases, "Winter Come Gently." 

One of the songs was a new arrangement of Joy to the World.  They set the song in a minor key, which I think is awesome for Christmas songs.  I think I've always found Christmas to be a holiday filled with melancholy.  Whether it's disappointment in gifts not received or in the knowledge that as Christians we've allowed a holy day to be commercialized and fully secularized.  Whatever the case, Christmas is a holiday that is usually a difficult time for me and I find comfort in listening to songs that reflect the melancholy I feel.  Minor key songs usually reflect melancholy pretty well...so for that reason, I love Gary and Amy's arrangement of Joy to the World.

In addition to Amy's peaceful voice and celtic harp playing, the CD features John Catchings on cello and Sam Levine on whistles, recorders, and flute.  Gary produced the disc and also plays percussion, bass and guitar on it as well.

The music is peaceful and soothing and meditative.  If you get a chance check out their site, purchase a CD, or better yet, invite them to your church or school for an evening of enjoyable music.

New Year's Eve with Radiohead

If you get a chance, and if the servers don't jam up make sure you check out Radiohead's New Year's Eve show.  According to the Associated Press:

"Radiohead will perform its new album, In Rainbows, in its entirety during a pre-taped, hour-long set that will premiere New Year's Eve on TV and the Internet."

The event will air on Current TV and Current.com starting 12 a.m. Dec. 31.

I'm sure it will be a good one, as they have a lot riding on this record and their subsequent tour in 2008.

Also The Guardian had a bit more to say about it as well:

"The "songs and other bits", as Radiohead's frontman, Thom Yorke, calls them, will be shown on the band's website as well as the UK and US satellite and cable channel Current TV."

Sources:
Newser
The Guardian
The Star

Warner Music on Amazon

I noticed over at Yahoo News today that Warner will start selling their tunes on Amazon's music service.  I wonder how and if this will change the offerings they currently have on iTunes.  Sixpence and several other artists that I've worked with are either Warner Music Group artists, or are distributed via Warner's distribution network.  I still feel like iTunes is my first place to go to look for music when I need to hear a snippet or search for an artist.  I rarely buy mp3's, but when I do I usually shop at iTunes.  It will be interesting to see if Amazon starts to cut into the ubiquitousness (is that even a word?) that iTunes seems to have in my heart and mind.  Of course, the fact that I'm staring into and Apple product as I'm typing this, probably helps Apple continue to get my mp3.  Still, Amazon's Music Store feels cluttered and thrown together.  I think with their new site design, they may be able to take care of some of that clutteredness...

I hope that eventually the major record companies can figure out a way to go to a DRM free subscription model as I think that would benefit everyone ultimately...but oh the copyright and payment issues to be hammered out in order to make something like that work...I wonder if Steve Jobs will have any surprises up his sleeve (related to this) when he makes his annual MacWorld speech in January.

Merry Christmas!

I've been hard at work re-designing my blog here.  It's slowly taking shape.  As I was updating my pages, I came across this Sixpence rarity recorded back in 1995 or 1996.  Enjoy!

You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch
Artist:  Sixpence None the Richer
Produced by Matt Slocum
Engineered by Russ Long at The Carport in Nashville, TN
Vox: Leigh Nash
Guitar:  Matt Slocum
Bass:  JJ Plasencio
Mellotron Strings:  Phil Madeira
Drums and Percussion:  Dale Baker

Floratone and Influences

I'm listening to the new Bill Frisell album, Floratone, and marveling in it's simple complexity.  As I'm listening to Matt Chamberlain do what he does so well and the textures Bill and everyone else is laying down, I started to think of some of my formative influences from my college days. 

First off, I was really amazed at Dan Wojociehowski's playing the first time I saw him play, and then later fascinated at how fluid Randy Drake was, and how his left foot danced on the high-hat pedal.  Then there was Matt's playing, and alongside him - Earl Harvin.  Both magnificent and wonderful players.  Just watching them there was this poetry that you couldn't help but be captivated by.  We'd gather in Matt's practice room after drum line rehearsal and watch him read through transcriptions of various Zappa tunes and stuff he had written out.  Another formative influence was Jim White.  When he played me some of his influences and showed me where the groove was and what it meant to "lay it down," I'd never heard someone speak so passionately about playing a solid backbeat.  Other players that influenced me, were Chris Brown, and Leann Harris, with her wide ranging knowledge of percussion and styles.  And then there was that summer at Disney where Danny Gottlieb showed me what it meant to "drive" a band and play with conviction.  When I returned to school the next Fall my drum teacher could see a noticeable difference in my playing as I auditioned for one of the many schools "lab bands." 

Well, my iTunes player has moved off of Floratone and now I'm hearing Imogen Heap.  She brings up an entirely different set of memories (one of which I think was a showcase at a dark club in Vegas? where she played a few songs on piano and Sixpence played a few of our songs...)...anyway...ah memories, I thought I'd share a few with you today.

Jon Rajewski

My friend Rob Seals hooked me up with some great music that I'm now just getting a chance to listen to, and one of the artists he turned me onto I've really been  enjoying.  His name is Jon Rajewski and the disc I've been checking out is called "Still Yes."  Rob did an excellent job producing this, and I've really enjoyed the arrangements and the blend of instruments on this.  Jon's stuff reminds me of a mixture of Dave Spencer, Josh Rouse and a little bit of Jack Johnson thrown in for good measure.  There are some wonderful string arrangements and mighty tasty drum beats and percussion on this as well...(I think the drummer was Billy Hawn - but there might have been some other folks involved as well...)  Actually I found the following blurb on Billy's site:

Still Yes" was produced by Rob Seals and features a great cast of players such as: Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck), Sean Hurley (Vertical Horizon), Sheldon Gomberg (Ryan Adams), David Henry (Ben Folds), Brandon Bush (Train), Beth Balmer (Fielding).

Give it a listen if you get a chance, the disc is available on iTunes and via Jon's website as well.

 

My new favorite song

Thanks Able!

Work

This past week has been full of some fun stuff...I played a session for my friend Kelly and recorded with Mike again up in Greensboro.  We tracked 5 songs, and I was able to play a bunch of fun stuff.  I've already heard some roughs from the session and I'm really proud of the work I did and can't wait to hear the final project.  More than likely it'll end up being a 5 song ep available on iTunes, as some of the songs were recorded specifically to pitch to HBO, and some independent media companies...

I played on a track for a new friend Bill this week at my house.  My friend Mark came over with his mobile rig and we tracked the drums in my small little studio room.  I used my Blue Premier Kit and we mic'ed it with some Earthworks condensers and a D112. 3 mics baby!  It was fun to record this way, and even though my room doesn't sport the best acoustics, I think we still ended up with some great sounds.  It seemed like Bill was fairly pleased with the results, so hopefully we'll all get to do some more work together in the future.

I played at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh on Sunday and had a wonderful time.  It felt like I was in a studio, because they have the drums enclosed in a booth, and everyone monitors via in ears or with headphones.  I used my trusty Studio Kans and really enjoyed the freedom of mixing my own monitor that the Aviom system they use allows.  Mike Passaro led worship and Shelly Moore was one of the singers...so it was fun getting to play with them again.  Mike programmed some awesome loops and I had a blast listening to the loops and playing with them during worship.  I hope I get to play there again.

Max Roach, RIP.

Another great one passed along to the big 'ole jam session in the sky.

Local music blog, The Oak Room did a great write up on the man, and posted some videos and a song as well.  I won't try to out do that blog's wonderful write up, but I did dig up some links you can follow if you want.

Quote from the NYT:  "Over the years he challenged both his audiences and himself by working not just with standard jazz instrumentation, and not just in traditional jazz venues, but in a wide variety of contexts, some of them well beyond the confines of jazz as that word is generally understood."

--"Max Roach, a Founder of Modern Jazz, Dies at 83," by Peter Keepnews, August 16, 2007"

You can also find out more about Max via Wikipedia, Drummerworld, The Hardbop Page, and read the excellent article over at the New York Times.

While at the Times, look for the wonderful "Topics" article about him as well as his official Obituary.