Well, if you haven’t heard it through the grapevine, I did not make the trip to Texas. Unfortunately my wife, who is a cancert survivor, had a medical episode yesterday which requires me to be close at hand. It was hard to tell the guys in the band that for the second year in a row that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill my promise to record them. They’re a great group of guys and I appreciate their understanding and well wishes for my wife Donna. Hopefully they will do it again next year and I can finally mark this off the bucket list. So much for the bad news. The Albuquerque Intertnational Balloon Fiesta kicks off this Saturday with the first mass accension of 2016. Even after forty plus years it’s still awe inspiring to see hundreds of balloons filling the sky. If you haven’t been here to see it, you should make plans for a visit. Be forewarned, the motels and B & B’s get booked a year ahead so make plans early. Take care and remember, “It’s just another day in paradise”.
Texas Recording Road Trip
Time to start packing up the gear for the trip to Texas. It’s 350 +/- miles to Brownfield, Texas and I don’t believe they have a music store in B-field. That means I would have to drive to Lubbock 40 miles away if I needed something crucial for the recording process. I’m not at all familiar with the music stores in Lubbock so I’m taking everything except the kitchen sink with me and hoping I don’t need the sink. The band consists of 4 guitar players, a bass player and a drummer. The last time I saw them they used 4 vocal mics so I’ll take 4 Shure SM58’s or they can use their personal mic if they choose. The amps will each get a Shure SM57 except the bass which will be a DI through my Sans Amp Bass DI. For drums I plan on SM57’s for snare, rack toms and hi hat. The kick drum will get a Shure SM7B and the floor tom will get a Sennheiser 421MD. For over heads I’m using two Cascade M39’s. That leaves one stereo input channel on the console for emergencies. I may try to record a couple of room mics through my Zoom H5 recorder. I haven’t decided on which mics I might use for this. The room mics will be the experimental part of this mix especially since the room has about the same acoustics as a warehouse or high school gymnasium. The Soundcraft Signture Mtk22 console will be the interface going to my laptop by USB. I’m going to try to video record the gig as well using my Logitech C920 cameras into OBS. That is IF it doesn’t bog down, freeze or crash the computer. I need another “Puter”. Unfortunately it is my understanding that because of copyright laws I cannot live stream the concert. I thought there was something about a “single event not for download” that might apply but I’m not finding any positive information about that. I never intended to charge for a CD of the concert to make money or even pay expenses. This is strictly a labor of love. That being said, if you want a copy of the audio or video recording, here is the situation. I can give the audio wav. file and video MP4 file to the band and make my own copy but that’s it as far as I know. Anyone wanting a copy would need to speak to one of the band members. I wish I could give ’em out to everyone who wants one but my retirement fund ain’t that big and a copyright lawsuit is NOT that cheap. Also, I cannot publish the video or audio recording to Youtube or any other internet distribution platform. It’s going to be a lot of hard work but hey, it’s still gonna be a blast!!! Those of you around the area should come out and see a really great rock and roll show. Come by and say howdy to the guy with the headphones on. That’ll be me. Don’t forget to click on that “Like” button and leave a comment. Take care and remember every day is “Just another day in paradise”. Here are a few pics of some of the gear.
Rock & Roll is here/hear to stay!
Good news everyone. The Emeralds are playing another gig in the same little town where they began. Starting out as a bunch of highschool friends inspired by the likes of Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison. Elvis, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry and a host of rock & roll’s founding fathers, they went on to record with Phil (The Wall of Sound) Spector. They were and still are an inspiration to me both for their musical abilities as well as their ability to hold a guitar for more than 20 or 30 minutes at a time now that they aren’t spring chickens any more. My shoulder and back hurt just thinking about it. I owe them a lot for motivating me to make a life in music and the arts and entertainment business. That being said, I will be heading to Texas to record the “longest continually working rock & roll band in West Texas”. I’m hoping to record my preparations for the trip, parts of the road trip, and an interview with the band for an upcoming podcast. Also there is the possibility that I may be able to stream the concert live on a one time basis for those of you who can’t be there. Getting a good audio recording is the first priority. Everything else will be “gravy on the chicken fried steak that I hope to get while I’m there,” if it all works out. My lovely wife will be going with me if she feel up to the trip. I hope so. It’s a long drive to take alone. It may be a bit too much for her right now though.
That’s it for now. Take care and remember, “It’s just another day in paradise.”
Terry John Davis
The Website, podcast/webcast a work in progress.
Wow! I had no idea what is involved in setting up a web page, and developing a webcast/podcast. Who talked me into this anyway. My friends that’s who. Oh well, I listened and now I’m hip deep in the digital pond. Once the technical bugs are worked out and I get some material organized, Then the real work begins. Pre-production, graphics, writing and recording some theme music for an open and close, contacting guests for interviews, organizing a set for the video casts ad infinitum. If you’re reading this, then thanks for being patient. The web site is still a work in progress also. I’m hoping to launch the podcast/webcast in time for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it. Take care. It’s just another day in paradise.
Welcome to my world
Hello everybody. Thanks for visiting my site. I started this site mostly as a way for people to get to know me and my music. I’ll be linking my SoundCloud site and some other stuff as I learn what I’m doing. I hope to inspire other people to try to find their voice in a world full of blaring noise. It doesn’t matter how old you are, your race, creed, color, sexual orientation, religion (or lack thereof), or anything else. Music is the language of the universe. It holds no bounds. It discriminates against no one. It allows you to express emotions in a way that is inspiring and beautiful. Life is a journey and music is playing on the magic carpet ride ahead. When I leave this world, I hope to leave it a better place than when I came into it. If through music, words and/or performance I have done so for just one person then I will leave this world a happy man. Take care and remember, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”. Make it a great one. So long for now.
Terry John Davis
P.S. I’m an old dog learning new tricks so please be patient with me when it comes to my website, podcasts, live streaming and anything else internet related.
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