This was recorded in 1992 or thereabouts. Analog tape, no computers, no plug ins, no editing, no auto tune. Song by Steve Patrick and Mark Crowell. Drums by Tony Antonelli, guitars and background vox by Mark Crowell, lead and background vox by Steve Patrick, engineered, mixed, mastered, and bass by yours truly. This band was…
The world that I inhabit internally is one of art, science, and intense emotion. The art of music is that of choice regarding harmony, melody, rhythm, sound and silence. Science, being that which is used to create, capture, manipulate, and listen to music, and the science of sound itself. Emotion, being the internal associations of,…
In the mid 1980’s, there was a device called the Linn 9000. It was a very sophisticated machine that integrated sampling, midi sequencing, and drum programming, which synced to SMPTE timecode. It was the predecessor to the Akai MPC devices that are still widely used for hip hop production. A studio that I worked at…
When I returned to St. Louis in 1988 after being in Los Angeles for six years, Steve Patrick and I became fast musical friends. We played in a cover band together, along with Mark Zellinger and Billy Franco, and we began recording Steve’s original songs after that band ended. Time and time again, Steve brought…
I recorded a lot of songs with a great St. Louis band called Passion Fish. My friend Adam Miles was the Passion Fish guitarist, and also played on ‘Rock Mountain’. See my post entitled “This is quite amazing” to hear it. A tracking session was booked at my old haunt Sidetrack Studio, and I expected…
I have been shy about myself for way too damn long and it’s going to stop. I’m too good at what I do, I’m proud of it, and I do not want to be in the fucking workforce ever again.
I am going to load this blog with anecdotes, technical stuff, music, personal stories, and so on, fully confident that I will connect with people who recognize that I am the real deal and who will pay me for what I can do to enhance the music that they wish to record.
My wife Theresa is an actress. A couple of her theater friends decided to do a film for the KDHX 48 hour film festival, and asked if I would be willing to do an original score. This was in 2010. No money, a really short deadline, and no way to see any of the footage…
This was recorded 7-3-17 at Gaslight Studio, engineered by Mark Cange. Dori Abell Ottolini on vocals, Stu Ottolini on brass, Arlin Strader on drums, Myron Williams on keyboards, mixed, mastered, and upright bass by yours truly. I printed this analog mix in ultra high resolution DSD 5.6 MHz digital. I wish I could post that!…
Steve Patrick wrote and sang this song, called ‘Rock Mountain’. This is the second version of this song that we recorded together. Adam Miles and Steve Patrick on guitars, Randy Robert on drums. Produced, engineered, mixed, mastered, bass, and subliminal keyboards by yours truly. This was done in 1991 as memory serves. Recorded at our…
I now know that the judgments I have about others have masked my ability to see my own shortcomings.
Here’s what happened yesterday that lead to this revelation.
I was going through some old hard drives and I found audio files. I listened to productions of mine that I did over 25 years ago. And some of it was great. Great recordings, great bass playing, great songs, great keyboard parts, great arrangements, great mixes. My work. All done analog, no DAWs, no computers, just a hardware midi sequencer and a sound module or two aiding my production. Finished mixes that were captured on DAT and transferred to wave files at some point.
After my initial enjoyment, I became very sad. I realized that back then, 25 years ago, I was top notch at a wide array of studio skills. Yet, here I am just another local guy who plays the bass in a cover band and occasionally participates in a cool recording project.
I began to think about some of the talented musicians I have known, and how they never got the ‘big break’, and how I thought I saw something about them that I reckoned was the reason why – some psychological quirk or something that limited them, and thankfully I was not like them. After all, I’ve been in a successful band for 20 years…
I then looked at my career, and hiding beneath the twenty years with Groovethang, was something that I did not want to face – that I am just as much an underachiever as those I speak of. And this made me very sad indeed. Why?
I was a one man gang back then and even more so now, gaining tons more knowledge and experience over the years.
I do have something to show for it. I have a nice mixing room, a nice instrument collection, and I am respected in the community for what I do. And I love that.
However…
I want more. More money, more prestige. I don’t want to work in the IT world again. I want to be like Alan Parsons or Steven Wilson, sought after and well paid for what I am, an audio – musical expert, par excellence. There, I said it, and what an ego I must have.
I identified the source of the psychological quirk which limits me. As a kid I was the recipient of a thorough brainwash campaign. For ten years, practically on a daily basis, I heard how music was a worthless pursuit, and this was conveyed to me with intense, vicious anger. This took a toll on me.
In spite of this, I excelled in my music studies, getting college level music theory together while in tenth grade, for example. My hope was that I could overcome the negativity about the music business that I was slammed with by learning and gaining experience. And this turned out to be partially true, thankfully. But only partially.
Here is the lesson. Success and skill are not related. Success requires instincts for success. I do not have these instincts. I have plenty of skills. Skills are not enough to be successful at the level I want. I’m hoping that unwrapping these old wounds will allow them to heal, and that I will someday re-calibrate my instincts for achieving success doing what I love so much.
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