As I left the party I called a friend of mine who was gathering with his family for an “end of life” conversation with his Dad. While driving back to ATL he was almost t-boned by an 18 wheeler after being rear ended by someone who caused him to spin out into oncoming traffic. Yet he was able to avoid a horrible accident. After conveying the shock of the event, he was able to find joy and happiness in the fact that everyone was ok and only minor damage was sustained.

I don’t like pronouncements. I would rather actions demonstrate rather than declarations. But I will say this: I would much rather be in the company of friends, family and others who are able to find joy in life. And I would much prefer to be in the company of people who do what they say they will, or at least let you know they can’t (I ran into a couple of folks at the park who through recent actions revealed their personal unhappiness to me). It took me a while to grow up to be that kind of man. But now I am here. Thankful for the gift of health and life and to be able to try each day to do better. With joy.

Out of curiosity, I did a quick search of photos of Dr. Dre in the studio. I was curious if I would see a picture of him in the studio with a PC and cross platform software. No. He was running Apple Logic which only runs on a Mac. The other thing I saw in the accompanying article, was he had been working at Paramount Studios (no longer affiliated with the film company BTW). The studio and he had a payment issue to be worked out. That happens sometimes with businesses so I hope that is worked out soon. But the larger thought for me was, why didn’t he build a series of private rooms in a warehouse space, but then I guess Santa Monica Blvd is convenient to a lot of things and he could probably do without the headache of running a studio(AC/Maintenance/security).

This forced me to rethink. None of the programs I mentioned above were what I would use to add live multi-track parts or develop samples (other than Logic 9 and because my workhorse machine can only run Logic 8, that is an issue). So while driving to the Soul Vegetarian Restaurant Sunday night (I was doing meatless Sunday), I thought, what makes sense here? I’d moved my Windows XP studio machine with an RME Hammerfall ADAT pci card, downstairs (I never noticed how noisy that fan is but I guess that means the music will be louder). The machine has a clean OS installation and very little software. I had an OEM copy of Samplitude I tried to install but I think the serial number was too old. I did some research for a basic multi-track audio recording program that would allow tracks to be set up and banged out, uploaded to a server (yes I have a server and NAS that functions as one as well) and fine tuned on the other system. I wanted to use the Harrison Console adaptation of an open source audio recording program but unfortunately its only available for Mac and Linux machines.

I had been aware of the program Reaper but never got to really know it. I installed it, watched a couple of videos

and am in love with this program. I know its developers think all of their options are pretty obvious. I guess they are for software designers but for me, I have to learn the commands to do what I need but its a clean, elegant and highly powerful program. This along with a two track editing program will cover my needs for this machine. The other part of this is, my Yamaha 02rv2 console which was sitting in a corner waiting for a little attention became the life of the party. Because the audio card is all digital, it needs a front end. The other thing is, the Projectmix i/o doesn’t have a talkback setup to communicate with musicians over headphones. One has to purchase additional hardware to have that capability. The Reaper program it turns out, has built-in support for the Presonus Faderport which allows for control of the program just like in Logic or Live. The price of a license for Reaper is 60.00 after a 30 day evaluation period. Barring any major system crashes, this will be my PC DAW program of choice.

In light of his tax issues (I read that he currently owes the IRS around 2 million USD), and his lack of legal or political background (at least that I am aware of), or the fact that he has not been a resident of the country for five continuous years (a requirement to run for President in Haiti), why would he want the job?

One of the things I got out of my house was an audio receiver I purchased around 1978. It stopped working a few years ago and wasn’t from the era of remote controls for audio gear so, I took it over there. As I put this heavy piece of electronics into my car, I thought about when it was purchased and where I was in my life at the time. It was when I was employed by the Chic Organization Ltd. and working consistently. This piece represented that time period but the unit did not have any emotional attachment for me. I thought about this because I see people on TV shows who can’t part with things they don’t have a use for. Seems like when their departed loved ones purchased it, its an emotional thing sometimes. In most of these cases the loved one purchased something because it was something they liked at the time and it was something they could afford as opposed to an heirloom to be kept in the family for generations. Or land. Which as Ms Shirley Sherrod mentioned in her highly edited speech, some misguided folks are quick to get rid of.

I go back to the idea that material things can trigger memories. But as we evolve is it possible to be happier with less of these things (that at some point will clutter our homes) and more memories and pictures?

We are thankful to have been able to share some joy with Dr. Ben. Unfortunately, its now a month later and his wife of over 50 years has made her transition. Sending condolences and love to the Ben-Jochannan family.

Here are a few pictures from a happier moment. Video to follow!

Click here for Chord Chart

I Love My Woman (Jones)

Brian has some problems
And he doesn’t know just how to solve them
And so, In his rage his fist hits the skin
Of the only one who truly loves him
And he says, he says

(Chorus)
I love my woman as her face hits the floor
I love my woman as she runs for the door
He don’t want no other as they take him away
Not much more love can she take
As he loves his woman

Sandra sits in wonder
Is it her fault, she don’t make him happy she said,
“I should have things ready for him
But I get behind with three kids, job and rent”
And he said, he said

(chorus)

I’m not talkin’ about some talk show entertainment
I’m talking about the future of a nation
When patterns are not broken and words aren’t spoken
How will the child survive

And its mother
And the mother

Brian, he says

(chorus)
I love my woman as her face hits the floor
I love my woman as she runs from the door
He don’t want no other as they take him away
Not much more love can she take
As he loves his woman

“I love my woman” he screams
Tears in his eyes
I love my woman
As she fears for her life

He don’t want no other as they take him away
Not much more love can she take
As he loves his woman

Anyway, earlier tonight at the Black Arts Festival here in ATL, there was a Brasilian concert featuring Ivan Lins, Olodum, along with other Brasilian performers. The special guest was Ms Cassandra Wilson.

Let me just say that most of the performances were exceptional. Its how we got there that was troubling. First off, the president of the NBAF welcomed everyone to the show at the onset. I think he should’ve been the MC for the evening as he was personable and animated about the event. Unfortunately, there were set changes with no information given about who was coming up next, how long the breaks would be, things of that nature. A few words would’ve gone a very long way.

The first performers up were billed as a dance company but it was either a two person company or they were principal dancers with a larger company. The music they performed to was reminiscent of something by Paul Hindemith. But with more harmonic tension without resolution. It was an odd way to start a show billed as a Brasil celebration type of program.

After a singer and band did some classic bossa nova, Ivan Lins and his unit came out. That man played some of the most well crafted songs I’d heard in a long time.

The thing was, 2/3 into Ivan Lins set, he announced a special guest would be joining him on stage. But then he had to wait another song, then another AND another. Finally we thought Cassandra Wilson would join him but no. Out of the blue, the lovely and talented Ms Rachelle Ferrell steps on the stage and does a duet with Ivan Lins in Portuguese. Then they roll out the Steinway grand and she does a very very long version of I Forgive You featuring the Ivan Lins band. Then Ms Ferrell did another piano/vocal piece that sucked all the oxygen out of the room. Ms Ferrell did a performance that many in the audience responded favorably to yet it seemed out of place to me as the music of the evening was about subtlety and finesse. As a musician its great to know all the technical tools. As an artist, its great to not have to use them to make your point. I did give her credit for stretching herself and going for notes slightly beyond the call of duty.

Next, Ivan Lins came back on and introduced Cassandra Wilson to the stage (after the unseen announcer introduced her-bad stage production). She did a couple of understated, musically appropriate things. The band left the stage, her regular guitarist joined her and they did a piece she said was Brazilan inspired via Mississippi. After they left the stage, there was another awkward pause while amps were being moved around. Then Olodum (6 drummers, 1 female and 1 male singer) came on performed 3 short pieces and the night was over.

A very odd but ultimately enriching evening of artistry for a very receptive audience.

I purchased a USB floppy drive unit to read old notator sequencer files so that I could archive them. The drive sees the disks as empty and asks if I want to reformat them. This is all leading me to a conclusion I didn’t expect. At some point, you have to cut your losses and move on. At least I do. The thing about the analog synths is I can achieve similar results in software and it be repeatable with less tuning issues, etc. I know some purists will gasp at that proposition, but I have to say that THOR in Reason is a very powerful machine that has the ability to emulate most analog synths. Not to mention a user of Native Instruments’ REAKTOR has developed an Oberheim emulation program.

As far as the musical ideas on the sequencer disks, that is a bit more problematic. But most times if an idea was developed past a certain point, there was a cassette tape made of the idea to listen to while driving. So its not a complete washout. Its just sorting through cassettes which is time consuming to say the least.

There was one song in particular I have lyrics for and I remember fairly well except for the chord structure of the verse. It was almost like the bass line and chords met almost haphazardly. But being a creative person, I can come up with something I can live with. Otherwise, time to look forward to the new.

One way I keep it in perspective is to look to the example of Edgard Varese. He lost most of his early works in a fire. Compared to most of his peers, his output was not as great. But the works that have been preserved more than make up for the loss.

Bill Lee from Apple who invited me to this class was doing something nearby and kept looking at me like, “Oh Good Lord.” Needless to say, yet again, I turned wherever I am into the “’round the way section.”