Busted

So it has finally happened, a Honda that I owned broke. I am on my fourth Honda, 3 of four that I have purchased I have obtained used. The mini-van which is the bus for our family (four kids for those who do not remember) had its transmission die. Apparently this was a known problem, so there was an extended warranty. Of course that ran out a month ago. Transmissions are expensive, very expensive.

So I called Honda Canada to see if anything can be done. I am still waiting to hear. Only a month out of a manufacturer known problem, a little grace for all of the loyalty would be nice.

Gear

I don't know if I have ever laid out the gear that is the base of my home studio. The guts of it is a MacBook Pro laptop fully tricked out running Logic Express from Apple. That in itself was a massive decision point for me. Should I get something like a desktop or the iMac which would have a little more storage at the expense of portability, knowing I would be doing a bunch of remote recording. Obviously I chose the ability to move around. Getting Logic Express was also a hard decision because I have had lots of exposure and some experience with ProTools. In the end, it came down to the fact Logic Express had many desireable add-ons for the pre-production process that I would have to buy to add on to ProTools.

I had wanted to buy a high end pre-amp, but this time around it was not to happen. I still may rent one for the finish vocals.

The interface I bought was an M-Audio Project Mix I/O. Eight channels, eight pre-amps which allowed me to record the drums well, my most challenging tracking for this project.



Lastly I bought a Rode NTK microphone. A very nice moderately priced mic strongest in acoustic recording (vocal, piano, acoustic guitar). There I was looking for an emphasis on vocals with the ability to record a grand and acoustic guitar.

Apple, of course, has just released a new version of of Logic called Logic Studio.



It seems like a great deal for the money. It includes the Pro version of logic plus a bunch of other powerful software. Of course there is also a break because I own Express. There is also a Express upgrade available, but the real deal seems to be in Studio. Bottom line is I have a CD to release. Perhaps I should reward myself after the release.

Back in the Studio

So I am online again as I previously mentioned and I finally got a significant editing session in this evening. This one track is giving me grief and will test my limited editing chops but I already see the time is worth it. As I listen to some of the rough mixes there are only a few touch ups throughout the other 11 songs that are needed. Unfortunately this one song is a complete re-working of the drums and I think I am just slow because this isn't my full-time job. I learned a couple of shortcuts on th mac tonight that made life so much easier. I got a lot done, so I hope to finish the drums on this song by the end of the week, leaving only those few edits on the rest left.

I have made contact with the bass player, so I will be lining up that tracking in the coming weeks, and then of course are the real piano, all of the final vocals and BGs, mix down, mastering and then production. On top of that is the design and artwork.

The hard part, as with anybody like me, is that you rarely get into a groove because it is all so piecemeal. Hopefully I can have a good run at it this fall. I love the stuff that is in this CD and I can't wait to get it done and release it. On the other hand, you want to do it right, so I am trying to make sure there that balance. That is, after all, why I set my own studio up, so I could get it done with flexibility, accessibility and control over all elements of the project. It is definitely fun to be making progress again.

Looking for a Church

Well we are back down in the old neighbourhood after all of the transition. As those who have read know, this year has been a wild one. Back in Dec of 2006 I started taking over as the interim Lead Pastor of my church to cover for the Senior Pastor. That led to 4 months of leadership and a tonne of transtition. Around that time we learned we were to have our fourth child, near the end of that time was the wild change in jobs which necessitated a change in geography and of course we no longer attended the church I worked at. So now we are in the new location, I am at the new job, the new baby is 3 weeks old and it is time to find a new church community to hang with.

I wish I could do justice to the complexity of this issue for me. I think of a book like Revolution by George Barna (his greater work here) and so many more. Having been in leadership in the church, I am sure some would say "and it is better now that you are out of it", and having filled so may of the public and private roles that encompass leading a church, well I have too many opinions.

The debate can be seen raging right now within the Christian community and certainly outside of it. I am blown away by the American news coverage on the issue of "true" Chrsitianity, and all the iterations people are seeing.

Some, it seems, will die for the institution of church, others, although claiming to be Christian seem to think it needs a complete overhaul, a rebirth, maybe even a near death experience. Both parties claim an undying love for the teachings of Jesus. and there is the rub. How does one measure one's adherence to the teachings of Jesus. By how loud one yells that they believe? Or, as Jesus himself said, wisdom will be proved right be her actions. (Matthew 11:18-19) Note the context there as well, very interesting.

Without playing all my cards (is that a respectable metaphor?) I think I am laying some sort of a framework to the difficulties. Relevancy without heresy, great teaching with outward focus. Community and family support, without a sub-culture that kills the ability to relate to everyone who doesn't go to church - the majority of everybody I know.

So the journey begins. More to come I suppose.