Spooky Cowboy

Sundance Day 5

2010-08-16T23:42:00.000-07:00

Gotta catch up....

The last few days have put us into a bit of a routine. On Thursday, we got our first cue to score: a scene from Disney's "The Tooth Fairy". A challenge for me as I've not worked on many fully orchestral scores. Turned out to be a lot of fun.

On Friday, we got to see all our our different versions in the screening room. Very cool to see how everyone interpreted even the tiniest details. We also got to see George Clinton's original version as well as the written score. It was interesting how many of us did many of the same things that he did.

We were then given our next cue: a scene from the period film, "The Great Debaters" starring Forrest Whittaker and Denzel Washington. This was scored originally by our program director, Peter Golub. Our guest composer at this same time was Randy Edelman. We watched our scenes together on Sunday morning.

That afternoon we had "off" so most went hiking but I had my family stop by for a quick visit. The night ended with all the composers at the Owl Bar with Peter.

Today, we all worked on our most recent cue: a scene from "The Taking of Pelham 123". For some reason, I got through this one fairly quickly and was able to move on to getting ready fir my 10 minute presentation tomorrow for the directors that are coming out.

Sleepy now...

Sundance Day 1

2010-08-11T22:16:00.001-07:00

Great first day. I showed up at about noon and the other "fellows" trickled in shortly thereafter. That interesting few minutes where no one knows one another and the awkward silences. Having a nice lunch out of a box with my name on it added to that first-day-of-school feeling. Didn't last long. So interesting to slowly discover each person' background, musical and otherwise and quickly find how much we have in common. Ran back to our 70's era mountain home for a few minutes nap. I was particularly tired, having stayed up past 5 am trying to cram in (out?) just one more project before I left. That, and pack. At 4:00 we met on the benches under the trees for our orientation and to meet with our first teacher, George S. Clinton. A "welcome drink" at 5:30 was truly most welcome and I had the opportunity to sit near George and start the questioning. So much experience and great humor. We then had dinner followed by a screening of our first cue, a scene from "The Tooth Fairy" that was scored by Mr. Clinton. We watched it without music and then went over the spot sheet (?). After that we watched another of the many films he has scored called "The Last Days of Frankie the Fly". Questions/answers followed. Now sitting here writing this and about to go home for the night. More tomorrow.

Done

2009-07-08T13:38:00.003-07:00

Finally turned in the last of the Indie library pieces and the paperwork. Also just finished a track for Wayne Burton. Tonight I'm picking up Jamen and driving down to Orem to see some friend's bands perform. Yes, I said Orem. I haven't been to the mall there for many years. Should bring back some great feelings from my adolescence.

Indie '09 Library

2009-07-06T16:19:00.002-07:00

I'm editing vocals now for the last tracks of the "Indie '09" library for Non Stop Music. It's been a big project and I've learned a lot. I had to deliver 15, 2 min long songs, complete with lyrics and vocals. I haven't been writing complete songs (especially lyrics) for a very long time. It took a few tries but it came back and now I want to do more. I also got to work with friends like Jamen and some new friends like Marcus Bently and his band mates Nate and Cameron. Talented guys and fun to work with. I'll hopefully have this wrapped up by tomorrow.

Uhhh...

2009-01-16T02:05:00.002-07:00

Ok, kids. I'm gonna try to pick this back up. I was posting for a while on the "family" blog, "Belly to Baby to Family". Kindra came up with that name. I thought she and I would both work on that one but then she started her own, "Babying the Buddah". Somehow, "Belly to Baby to Family" just didn't feel right as my own personal blog title, so...

I'm back to Spooky Cowboy. Not really sure what the name means but I used it to describe a kind of music I love to make and it just stuck for me.

I'll use it for work and family writings since the two are pretty much inseparable for me, what with me workin' at home n' all.

I'd write more tonight but since it's 2:15 am, I'll start tomorrow.

Studio Ceiling

2008-06-04T09:00:00.002-07:00

So, I've been very happy with the new studio as far as functionality goes. Cosmetically, I've still got a ways to go. I've left the joists above my head open and filled with 2 layers of cotton insulation. It sounds really good bud looks like a construction site. I'm going to cover it with fabric soon but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to deal with the can lights.

Jamen

2008-05-07T21:09:00.007-07:00

This afternoon, I met with my talented friend, Jamen Brooks, to talk about finishing up a second album. We finished his first solo album, Sleepyhead, way back in 2000. One of my all-time favorite projects. It was good to pull up a few unfinished songs and find that we have some strong material to work with. Jamen has a great ability to write sweeping melodies over surprising chord changes. So, we're in the process of assessing where we are with material, then moving on from there. We spent about a year working on Sleepyhead. Since it's been 8 years, I'm thinking we should move this one a long a bit more quickly.

LNA Video

2008-05-04T22:57:00.004-07:00

So, one of my very favorite projects I'm involved with is Late Night Alumni with Ryan Raddon, Finn Bjarnson and Becky Williams. Here's a video from the song "I Knew You When" shot a couple of years ago. Yes, that is a magic Rhodes that puts out acoustic piano tones.

In it, I'm wearing a t-shirt from another favorite artist I work with, Jamen Brooks. More on him later.

Updated Gear List

2008-05-03T23:04:00.012-07:00

This will be boring to most but I'm updating this here as a personal inventory.

Computers:

Mac Dual 1.8 Ghz G5 (Still using this. Definitely the longest use of any computer I've ever owned.)

Muse Research Receptor
Mac 1.2 Ghz G4 iBook

Audio I/O:

Lucid AD 96/24
MOTU 2408 mkII
PCI 424 card
MOTU 308
MOTU 828

Digi MBox 2 Mini
UAD-1 Card

Mics/Preamps:

Brauner VM1
Blue Baby Bottle
AT 4030
2 Octava MC 012-01
SM 57
2 Brent Averill APIs

Purple Audio MC77 Compressor

External Keys/Sound Modules:

Hammond B-3
Rhodes Mark II Stage Piano
Conover upright piano
Farrand & Votey pump organ
Roland JP-8080, D-110, S-760, Juno 106
Yamaha TG55,CBX-K1XG
E-MU Xtreme Lead-1
Sequential Circuits Drumtracks
Ensoniq EPS 16+, Mirage
Korg microKONTROL
Aleses QS6
Etherwave Theremin

Software:

Digital Performer 5.13

ProTools 7 LE
MOTU Mach 5, MX4, Electric Keys, Symphonic Instruments
Native Instruments Massive, Elektrik Piano, B4II, Pro-53, Kontakt, Kompakt, Intakt, Absynth, Reaktor, Guitar Rig, Spektral Delay, Battery 3, FM8, Vokator
Spectrasonics Atmosphere, RMX Stylus, Trilogy
Sampletank 2
Steinberg PPG Wave, Attack
EWQLSO Silver, Gold and Platinum Orchestral Library
Garriton Personal Orchestra
Voices Of The Apocalypse
StormDrum
Pluggo '74
PS03 Drums & Percs
GMedia M-Tron, Oddity, Imposcar, Minimonsta
Antares Auto-Tune, Filter, Kantos
Reason
ReCycle
A bunch of free-ware FX/Instruments

Other Instruments/amps/FX:
Fender Telecaster
Jerry Jones 'Dan Electro' electric guitar
Dan Electro 'HoDad" electric guitar
Tacoma acoustic guitar (currently 'hi-strung')
Norman acoustic guitar
Fender small nylon string
Fender Precision bass
Ampeg amp
Line 6 POD
Some Cheap-O accordion
Some Cheap-O glockenspeil
Vox-Box (think Frampton)
various small hand percussion

Monitoring:

I monitor through a pair of ATC speakers and a PSB sub.
I use a PreSonus Central Station and a Behringer 8 stereo channeled rack board just for monitoring.

I use no patchbays. Simple, direct lines to AD
I drive 2x20" monitors from my G5 and drive video I/O with a Canopus AVDC-100 to a Sharp Aquos LCD display.

I have a Hafler Pro2400, a pair of Yamaha NS-10s and a Wharfedale speaker I'm configuring for 5.1 monitoring.

...Meanwhile...

2008-05-03T21:00:00.007-07:00

Oh what a difference THREE YEARS makes. I laughed today as I pulled this up and read what little I had written. Last night, Kindra and I had dinner with a few of our ultra-cool musician friends (including, but not limited to: Ryan Raddon, aka Kaskade, Finn Bjarnson, Mike Roskelley and their spouses) and Finn started talking about his blogs. It prompted me to revisit this and see if I can use it to keep connected as well as organize some thoughts, plans and ridiculous dreams in the way that only writing can do. Kelly Hyland started hers immediately and I've been prompting Kindra to get one going for a long time, in association with her website, kindrafehr.com.

I also have a blog for my daughter, Aria, but since we're expecting our 2nd child in about 5 weeks, I think I'll discontinue that and make a general family one.

I'll try keep this one geared towards musical work and creative endeavors...

Bing and ???

2005-04-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

So, I just spent the last 10 days in San Francisco with my family and friends. I delivered some string arrangement tracks for a very talented artist named Quinn Luke a.k.a. Bing Ji Ling. He's been working on a new album with an old friend of mine, Merkley???. Very cool stuff. These two were then kind enough to offer to turn the tables on me. They produced me singing on one of my own songs that I had with me out there. It was a first. No one's ever even offered. After about 30 seconds of feeling awkward, they helped me get a performance I never would have gotten on my own. I've always struggled with how to work the direction of my vocals. So, I now feel like I've actually taken a good step towards creating an ever-elusive album. Hold me to it.

Audio Blogger

2005-03-23T23:49:00.000-07:00

OK, this is a bit strange but you can call a number here and post voice messages remotely. So, if and when I get to go on another world tour, I can leave messages and update this blog without computer access. Useful...?

Everything Must GO!

2005-03-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Alright, space is tight for me and I hate to see working gear not getting used. So, I thought I'd post a list of some gear that's just sitting around here. All this stuff works (or at least it did last time it was turned on). The prices listed are what I think they're worth or what I would expect to pay at some dirty pawn shop. These prices ARE negotiable. To make you feel like you're getting a real deal (or guilty), I'll also list what I had to pay in ( ).

Alesis ADAT BRC $150 ($1,000)
Oberheim OB-1 (organ module with sliders) $50 ($499)
Ensoniq Mirage (rackmount) with library $50 ($899)
Roland S-760, FULLY loaded with library $150 ($1,100 Aaaarrrgh)
Ensoniq EPS 16+ with library $150 ($1,800)
MOTU MTP AV (pre-USB) $50 ($395)
2 Re 'An 48 point patch bays $30 for both ($90 ea)
YAMAHA MIDI rack with 3 modules (for that must-have David Foster 80's sound) FREE (given to me)
Digitech DHP-55 harmonizer $50 payable to Rich Dixon
Ibanez DMD 2000 digital delay $25 ($500)
SampleCell II PCI card with libraries $50 ($899)
Roland OctaPad $20 (?)
JUST ADDED: E-Mu PROformance Piano module $40 ($300?)

Of course there's a bulk discount.

Make me ANY offer. What I need is a new 88-key controller. So anything I can get to put toward that will be helpful.

The Gear List

2005-03-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

OK,

I get asked a lot of questions about the gear/software I'm using so I thought I'd present my my current (as of March. '05) gear list.

Computers:

Mac Dual 1.8 Ghz G5
Mac Dual 1 Ghz G4
Mac 1.2 Ghz G4 iBook

Audio I/O:

Lucid AD 96/24
MOTU 2408 mkII
PCI 424 card
MOTU 308
MOTU 828
UAD-1 Card

Mics/Preamps:

Brauner VM1
AT 4030
2 Octava MC 012-01
SM 57
2 Brent Averill APIs

External Keys/Sound Modules:

Hammond B-3
Rhodes Mark II Stage Piano
Conover upright piano
Farrand & Votey pump organ
Roland JP-8080, D-110, S-760, Juno 106
Yamaha TG55,CBX-K1XG
E-MU Xtreme Lead-1
Sequential Circuits Drumtracks
Ensoniq EPS 16+, Mirage
Korg microKONTROL
Aleses QS6
Etherwave Theremin

Software:

Digital Performer 4.52
MOTU Mach 5
Native Instruments B4, Pro-53, Kontakt, Kompakt, Intakt, Absynth, Reaktor, Guitar Rig, Spektral Delay, Battery, FM7, Vokator
Spectrasonics Atmosphere, RMX Stylus
Sampletank 2
Steinberg PPG Wave, Attack
EWQLSO Silver and Gold Orchestral Library
Garriton Personal Orchestra
Voices Of The Apocalypse
StormDrum
Pluggo '74
PS03 Drums & Percs
GMedia M-Tron
Antares Auto-Tune, Filter, Kantos
Reason
ReCycle
A bunch of free-ware FX/Instruments

Other Instruments/amps/FX:

Jerry Jones 'Dan Electro' electric guitar
Dan Electro 'HoDad" electric guitar
Tacoma acoustic guitar (currently 'hi-strung')
Fender small nylon string
Fender Precision bass
Ampeg amp
Line 6 POD
Some Cheap-O accordion
Some Cheap-O glockenspeil
Vox-Box (think Frampton)
various small hand percussion

Monitoring:

I monitor through a pair of Yamaha NS-10s and an NSB sub powered by a Hafler PRO2400 amp.
I use a Mackie 16 stereo channeled rack board just for monitoring with a Neutrik 24 point patchbay.
I drive 2 17" monitors from my G5 and drive video I/O with a Canopus AVDC-100 to an LG 42" plasma display.

Welcome

2005-02-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's what I plan to submit here:

Things I've learned, ideas and questions.