How to: How to:

It's a crazy octagonal Popsicle-licking world out there, and everyone and their least-favorite Goonie now has access to an internet-machine, whether it be a telephone, a mobile satellite, Snooki, or the rusting corpse of Johnny 5. (Short Circuit reference here people, try to keep up)

(not so alive now, are ya, punk?)

Regardless, everyone knows that to gain authority and respect on the sea of knowledge I now dub the, "interwet," you can't be no tuna, you gotta be a narwhal, because narwhals have a giant spike tooth, and it looks like a unicorn horn, and the internet runs on unicorns, as we all know.

(The Internet - Circa 1982, guess it wasn't the last one)

(What, you're telling me you people never watched The Last Unicorn as a kid? Man, I rocked that OG on VHS, you can't front on Mia Farrow, punk.)

So how do you convince the tuna that you're a narwhal who's read "Interview With a Vampire," more times than I watched that GIF of that dude who can sit really well?

(This tike right here went on to travel back in time and become Bill Gates. Then traveled forward in time, got hammered on Space Rye and accidentally blew up the planet, prompting him to go even further in time and create the Matrix, so he could get Neo to figure out a solution, becuase, like, that dude's The One, y'know? It's standard future history we're talking here.)

Well, I'll tell you how to do that thing that I forgot I was talking about thanks to that tangent!

Step 1: Gain 1 internet.

It's easy. Just walk into a busy office, say you've just come from corporate, and if they see that anyone's been on Facebook that day, they'll get fired. Someone will come, plead with you to save them, offer to take their computer and hide it in the janitor's closet until the boss is gone. They accept. 

Step 2: Access the CIA's secure internal server.

Look, just don't ask questions. Hey, HEY. I said I'll get you to the internet, we just need to make this little pit stop first. No, no, stop crying. You're not going to prison. Everyone knows that's not a real place. Just go ahead and select everything and hit copy... okay good, now plug in this flash drive. No, stop- uh, you have it upside down. What? Oh, I guess it was right the first time. Stupid USB... Okay cool, now hit paste. Alright, let's go, I don't feel like going to prison. Oh yeah, I lied, it's a very real place, with very real personal space violations. NOW DRIVE.

Step 3: Get on a blog site.

Look, I'm sorry about back there alright, I just needed to be sure the moon landing was real. I can't stand the thought of lying to my kid. Okay, so now you're on the interwet. Soon you'll be spearing people with your epic Narwhal horn of knowledge. So, do it. What do you mean what? Write a thing. Y'know, like, tell people how to do something.

Well, think of what you're good at. Can you make a dreamcatcher? Those things are sweet. Can you play an instrument? Guitar? Cool, play Freebird? OH. Well excuse me for assuming you weren't a talentless hack, Mr. Bieber.

Okay, so you can mostly play guitar. Cool, so write a blog about it. Tell people about chords or scales or whatever nonsense you music types know. Just make up whatever you're not sure of.

Step 4: Post-it.

Alright, you're just about swimming in the stream with all the big fish. Serious, you're about to become more popular than every character in the movie Shark Tale combined. 

(Definitely not worse Finding Nemo)

So just hit that little button that says "Post," or "Publish," or "Save," or "Delete System 32?" I'm sure they all do the same thing. And there, great you did it. You made a how to, now you're almost as cool as me. And that's a pretty big thing right there. I'm the guy who played Chunk in the Goonies.

You're kidding. Chunk was the one you thought of when I said, "least-favorite Goonie."

Well then.

I'm gonna go...

Collect whatever's left of my soul.

You enjoy this "INTERNET." you've built up around yourself. It's all lies and Facebook posts anyway.

You've changed, you never used to care about "blogs," or "fish," or "how much Chunk blows chunks." Goodbye forever. I'm gonna go make a million Youtube videos. I'm sure at least one of them will be good.

Edit: I think this is my best one, check it out.

"It's about your kids Marty! Your kids!"

Back to the Future references aside, it's a fairly accurate title, because the topic of today's blog is about the future of the media. So let's get back to that. (Ah? AH? ehhh...)

So let's face it, media is constantly changing. Every time we turn around there's a new device, or rather, an improved device, that makes the ability to instantly transfer data even faster and easier. What does this mean? It means we get stuff fast. Even as far back as 10 years ago, a nightly newscast was really the best place to get the most up-to-date information, but flash forward to today, and we see that the top stories of the evening are often summaries of what's been posted on their websites or Twitter feeds throughout the day.

We're in a transitional time, where slow, human-based media is getting consistently outrun by the mobile, fast-paced, and instant communication that has bloomed thanks to the internet, smartphones, and the growing impatience of the human race.

Where will media be in 10 years from now?

Well, it'll probably be scary. Let's face facts, if almost everything we do that's technology related is connected to the internet, it won't be long until nearly EVERYTHING, is connected to the internet, and we'll likely have some sort of connectivity integrated into our bodies somehow, which will probably lead to intrusions of privacy by everyone from the government to mischief makers. Everything we care about will be integrated into a Facebook style stream where things like videos we subscribe to, posts from people we care about, news, and other google ads style interest pieces. Will radio be necessary? Will TV be necessary? Well, that depends entirely on the consumer. Just like it always, the biggest component in media will be the consumer, how people are choosing and wanting to receive their information will be the ultimate decider of the most popular format.

Vinyl's making a comeback. Maybe the telegraph will too.

Callous Cagey Caffeine Creature Combats Crazed Candier Creating Carnal Crisis

Police responded to a complaint this morning regarding two women having an altercation at the main entrance to the Brandon RHA complex this morning. Both women were questioned by police, but so far no charges have been laid. The conflict began when one woman, who declined to comment or provide a name, parked her vehicle in the patient drop-off zone at the RHA's front doors and proceeded inside. The other woman, Jenny Spool, was waiting near the patient waiting zone, and witnessed the other woman proceed into the hospital and go directly into the Tim Horton's kiosk within the main atrium of the hospital. Jenny was waiting for her parents to arrive. She was there to assist her father, who suffered a heart attack earlier this year. Jenny, although she was waiting at the patient drop-off zone, had parked in the paid parking lot further away from the building. Her parents had just arrived at the patient drop-off zone when she noticed the other woman heading back to the car, holding a cup of coffee, and having done nothing else in the hospital but secure her caffeine fix.

It was at this point that Spool confronted the other woman, using a harsh tone to remind her that the patient drop-off zone was reserved specifically for patients, nurses, and family members assisting those people. The woman responded in kind, gesturing towards the empty parking spaces nearby. The two began to argue, and the conflict continued to escalate until finally the police arrived. After some more quiet discussion, the pair dispersed, Spool went back to help her ailing father enter the hospital, while the other woman entered her car, and left the parking area.

"This space isn't here just so you can grab your coffee," says Spool, "This space is for people who have specific health issues. If they can't park here, they may have to walk across the parking lot, and that can put certain people in danger."

The Brandon RHA recently addressed concerns voiced by the public about parking. The group recently opened parking specifically for customers of the Tim Horton's located inside the hospital. It is located near the Victoria Avenue entrance to the hotel's parking lot, and uses paid parking meters, that must be filled with change if one does not wish to risk a ticket.

Since the hospital Tim Horton's opened up in Brandon a few years ago, there have been many discussions about the negative effects the location has had on parking at the Brandon RHA. Many argue that a private business should not operate within a government-owned facility, and that the congestion of parking around the patient drop-off zone puts patients and nursing staff at risk. People speculate that many people still park in the patient drop-off zone for coffee, despite the designated parking zone put in place by the Brandon RHA.

Reel to Feel: Recording Advice from a Self-taught Novice

As anyone who reads this blog will know, I'm all about music. It's my drive, my passion, my hobby, my hopeful career; and a part of music that I find invaluable, that many people gloss over, is the art of recording.

Now I'm going to preface this right now in case the title doesn't do the trick. I'm not a professional. I'm currently in school working towards my goal of becoming an audio professional, but as it stands right now, I am not a professional. That being said, I'm no dummy. On top of having a job working as a live sound engineer for a while, I have been recording largely by myself for over 5 years, about as long as I've been writing music really.

I feel like I've learned quite a bit during my hours spent pouring over songs, trying my best to make the sound in my head come out of my computer speakers by unskillfully and blindly manipulating audio with whatever program I had at the time. So here it is, my recording tips for the bedroom rockstars, the people with almost no money, no gear, and only the base requirements for a real recording.

The first tip I have to share is one of those ones that feels like it should be obvious, but if you're simply starting recording on your own, it can be overlooked. The tip is thus: No matter what software you have, no matter what magic plugins or effects you have access to, no matter what mic you're using, you CANNOT get any sort of decent recording, if the actual thing you're recording doesn't sound good. I'll admit, there's a million and one great editing programs out there now, and even most of the free ones have decent equalization and compression effects, but no amount of gloss can make a polished recording from something that sounded terrible to begin with. When you're starting out, this can be a tough hurdle to leap, you don't have great guitars, great amps, great drums, or whatever, but if that's what you have, you also need to understand what can and can't be done.

For example, in almost all of my earliest recordings, I was using a Crate GX100H guitar amp to record all of my guitar. It's a good amp, and actually appeared on a couple studio recordings with one of my father's previous bands. So I was lucky in that I had a good amp right from the get go. The pitfall though, was that the amp didn't have a built in speaker, and the only thing I was able to buy in my price range at that time was an amp cabinet for a bass amp.

Recording those songs went pretty well, and the overall sound quality was decent considering my only microphone at the time was actually the microphone that had come with the video game Rock Band. What I noticed instantly when it came to editing though, the guitar had far too much bass in the signal, as a result of the bass cabinet driving the sound. I assumed of course that equalization, turning the bass signal down and boosting mids and treble, would fix the problem. Well, it would have, if the speaker had been putting out an abundance of those frequencies. What happened when I made this adjustment was that I had a quiet, wimpy, and non-harmonious sound, because almost all of the pertinent signal was residing in the bass frequency.

So that was the first lesson, it has to start good to end good. And also, you can't make something from nothing. If there's a lacking element in an incoming signal, digitally filling it in will never cut it.

Next up: Always, always, ALWAYS, use a metronome. It's the drummer's bane, a little click in their ears telling them when their beats should be sounding. Many argue that a metronome kills feel, and I will admit, a metronome makes it hard to do odd things with your time signatures or purposefully slow down to a grind to make emphasis to something, but it really is necessary if you're recording by yourself, or on a part by part basis. If the drummer's loose with his playing, and the guitarist is putting his part over the drums at a later time, he'll end up having to guess exactly what's happening in terms of time. When people are actually jamming in a room together, loose time is easy, because eye contact and body language convey what's happening. A waveform does not. A metronome will make it so that assembling parts will be as easy in Pro Tools as it is in Garageband, because the exact moments where edits and splits should be made will be obvious, not just audibly, but also visually on the screen. Metronomes may hamper feel, but they're a better headache cure than Advil.

Speaking of headaches, whether you're producer, musician, engineer, or all, in a recording situation, remember to always be patient, understanding, and just generally kind (especially to yourself). We never realize how much we suck as musicians until we try to record a perfect take. Sometimes it's going to take 10, 20, maybe even 50 takes to get exactly what you're looking for, and I'm not going to lie, it's a grueling experience, it's frustrating, and you'll want to quit playing your instrument and take up stamp collecting, but it'll be worth it in the end. And remember, everyone struggles, not even the Beatles could nail a track in the first take. Or even the 10th sometimes.

Next: Work within your restraints. This goes from microphones and recording, to writing. If you're recording your 4 piece band, and you decide you need 4 guitar parts in a specific part of the song, remember that anyone who hears the recording will want to hear those 4 parts live, and if you can't pull it off, you're ultimately lying to your audience. There are too many bands that only sound good on recording, don't be one of them. Also, if you're strapped for time or equipment, do what makes sense. There's a recording on my Soundcloud page that I made with my late friend Avery Hall, that's simply him and I jamming on a song we were writing. We didn't have a lot of time to spend on the project, so the recording setup was literally one microphone in the center of the room. This is by no means a great sounding effort, but it did exactly what we needed it to at that time, and honestly, the recording has a lot of character.

Now I want to talk about every novice's favorite thing: Effects. Yipee! You can make the vocals sound like they were recorded in the largest church of all time, or that the guitar was underwater, etc. This is all great, and it can add tons of feel and depth to your sound. My advice. Don't use them.

Or at least, use as sparingly as possible, and when you can, use real life effects rather than their digital equivalents. The underwater guitar thing is cool, but the general audience likely wants to hear a four minute song where the guitar sound warbly and over produced.

This brings me to what's probably one of my most sacred recording ideals. Be truthful. If you're recording alone, this isn't so much an issue, but if you're producing a band, don't embellish it. Don't make a 3 piece band sound like a minor symphony of guitars playing in a grand hall. It's true now with advanced recording software, that we can make anything sound good, but that isn't the point of music. I'm sure if Black Sabbath could have their first two albums re-recorded in completely crisp, digital HD, I'm sure they'd say no, because the inequalities and the minor hiccups were part of the sound. If the musicians themselves aren't perfect, there's no reason that the recording should be either.

So, that's it, the tip of the iceburg. There's a lot more I could divulge, but that's not the point of this post. This post is to give you the basics, some general rules to follow when tackling your first few projects. It took me a few years to accrue this knowledge through my own experiments, but it's the sort of thing we should all have from the outset.

Home recording is one of the greatest things to happen to musicians over the course of the past 100 years, and it's come a long way in the past decade, but despite this, don't expect your noodling to yield a studio quality recording.

Remember: It's not great sound that makes a great record, it's great songs. People still love a great record that sounds terrible. But nobody likes a terrible record, no matter how good it sounds.

Here's a link to my personal Soundcloud page, and the song referenced in the post:

Recording with Avery Hall

My Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/whitewaterdrummer

Today's video is a demo version of Pretty Pictures by Blinker the Star. Jordan Zadorozny recorded this entirely by himself with his home recording setup in 1997. Just a taste of what home recording can achieve. The studio/single version is also linked for comparison.

RMWF Cut-in: Thursday

C. J. 106, I'm Eric Jaworski, and I'm seriously asking, are you bored? Is there nothing exciting happening right now? Well, that's where you're wrong, thing's are going to get magical here at the Winter Fair later today, because there is an illusionist in our midst. I know for certain because I had a whole bag of cotton candy here not even a half hour ago and now it's all gone. That has to be magic. But if you want to see some more serious magic, you can catch Ted Outerbridge performing his magic show: "Pure Illusion," in the convention hall at the Keystone Center today, and I gotta say, he must be a real magician, because he's appearing TWICE today, at 1:45 and again at 6:30, now if only I had that power. So if you're looking to see something cool, or rather, to not see something, come catch Pure Illusion at the Kinsmen Hall at the Keystone Center today, it's all part of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, running all week until Saturday, and I'll be here the whole time, keeping you up to date with what's happening and what's cool. I'm Eric Jaworski, and you're listening to CJ. 106.

RMWF Cut-in: Wednesday

CJ106 That was (variable) with (variable). I'm Eric Jaworski and I'm here at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, broadcasting live, giving the scoop on cool stuff that's happening throughout the week. Today there's a really cool event taking place, that I think even an experienced fairgoer really shouldn't miss. At 12:30, in the Kinsmen Arena at the Learning Stage, there's going to be a Superdogs performance, but this isn't the same show they're putting on in Westman Place, no this event is called The Science of the Superdogs. What it is, is an informative presentation about how the Superdogs live, from their training, to their homes, to their handlers, and everything inbetween. If you, like me, have ever been mystified by those canny canines you're sure to have a good time. So come check out the Kinsmen Arena at the Keystone Center at 12:30 to see a real great show, and make sure when you're done to stop by the CJ106 booth and tell me how cool it was. But for now, here's some great music on your alternative edge. I'm Eric Jaworski, and you're listening to CJ106.

RMWF Cut-in 2: Tuesday April 1

CJ106, I'm Eric Jaworski and I have just one question for you Brandon. What. Is. Happening? What're you doing? Got any plans? You bored? Well if you're answers are nothing, no, and yes respectively, I have good news. The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is on all week, and I'm gonna be hanging out all week giving you guys updates, and ideas about cool stuff to do. But today I'm reminding you of an all time favorite. Doodles the Clown is back again this year, and he's been around long enough that I remember seeing him perform back when I was still in Elementary School, and he's just as good now, if not better. He'll be taking the stage at 5:45 today in the convention hall, but if you miss him, don't fret, he's gonna be around all week. And so will I, so pop on by CJ106 booth and say hi, I'll say hi right back. We have more music coming your way next, I'm Eric Jaworski, for CJ106.

Winter Fair Cut-in: Monday March 31

Hey people it's Eric Jaworski coming at you live, on-location from the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. Things are only just getting underway as today is just  day one of the fair. But don't be fooled into thinking there's nothing going on though. Opening I'm just getting ready to go grab some popcorn and head into Westman Place to see the Superdog's first performance of the week, which will be taking place at 3:00 every day this week in the main arena. So get the kids, get them all ready, because all through this week kids 12 and under are getting in for free, so you can worry more about getting them things like cotton candy and mini doughnuts. So come down to the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, taking place all week here at the Keystone Center, and maybe while you're here check out our CJ106 booth and say hi. Coming up we have (variable,) I'm Eric Jaworski for your alternative edge, CJ106.

Track 7: The Chain

Doublethink, doubletalk, contradictions. These are all words that are nearly synonyms with the theory of a double standard. A double standard is the concept that there are things that people do that are perfectly okay, or terribly offensive, depending on certain variables. And I'm not talking about like, the virtues of shouting at a beer bash versus shouting at a funeral or anything like that. I'm talking more like, if an African American refers to anyone using the slur, nigga, it's pretty widely accepted as being alright. But if I were to be out in a supermarket, and call across the aisle to my buddy, using that particular word, people would likely either turn to look in disbelief or look away hoping not to have to get involved.

Right there, that's a double standard, the idea that there are things we can do that are only alright depending on our race, ethnicity, beliefs, gender, age, etc. Double standards usually pass unnoticed in day to day life, but when we really look at them, we see that they fly in the face of many of the standards we're trying to reach as a human race. Double standards don't mesh well with things like gender equality, racism, and profiling. But the thing is, they exist, and often, their existence is somewhat justifiable, such as that example I used earlier. The reason why the n-word is so taboo is because it was historically used to devalue the lives of African Americans during the years of slavery. Naturally then, since the abolishment of that concept, any time a Caucasian person uses the word, it's deemed as offensive, wrong, and hateful. But, African Americans have also found a way to take all the power out of the word, by adopting it as a term for each other. Now, this creates a huge double standard, but I also thinks it represents a concept that we've moved forward a little bit in terms of ending, or at least minimizing racism, in North America.

So this roundly brings us to today's topical discussion. The Nick Cannon "whiteface," controversy. For anyone not in the know, a while ago Nick Cannon announced he would be releasing a new album, titled, "White People Party Music," (a name I somehow find racist but completely justified all at the same time, seeing as Caucasian music generally has a less soulful feel, but that's for another blog) and as a promotional stunt, he donned the outfit of a character he dubbed "Connor Smallnut," dressed in what he felt was a typical Caucasian outfit, donned a red wig, and put on what he began referring to as "whiteface."

Now, of course, this sparked public outcry, (would it be a publicity stunt if it didn't?) because naturally many white people did not care for the fact that their race was being made fun of at the expense of someone of another ethnicity who's doing better in life than they are.

As for an opinion, I take it for what it was: a publicity stunt. Cannon obviously knew his actions weren't going to be deemed by at least one person as grossly offensive, but that was the point. A debate is always good for album sales, whether the artist is coming off in an overall positive light, or a negative one. I think there's other ways to create album buzz, but on the face of it, I thought it was funny, or at least, the core concept was. I've seen enough stand up comedians to know that pointing out the societal differences between different races of people is not only funny, but it's also a little enlightening, as it causes you to look at both yourself, and other people, in a different light. I'm not offended, I'm not surprised, I'm just amused.

On to the questions!


1. Do you think this in fact a double standard and why?

I don't really think this is a double standard, because if I were to do what Cannon did, and walk into a public place, I'm absolutely certain the outcome would be the same. A great number of people would be offended by my actions, but there would be a select few prepared to laugh at the joke, because, depending on the intent of the perpetrator of course, that's all it is. A joke. But it can't be a double standard if both situations yield the same conclusion.

2. Do you think the controversy would be LESS or MORE if Nick Cannon was white and used "black face" to promote his album?

Of course it would be less. It wouldn't make sense if Cannon used blackface to promote the album. Mostly because of the album's naming, but also because instead of making a risky social statement, Cannon would seemingly be devaluing himself, which would be more puzzling than offensive.

3. What do you think Nick Cannon was intending to accomplish with this publicity stint? And do you think he accomplished it?

*stunt

I think Cannon was simply trying to create some buzz for his forthcoming album. For example, I had absolutely no clue he was even producing music until I heard about this whole spiel. I think he was also just trying to make some people laugh, because regardless of what some people may think, everyone needs a little ribbing now and again, and although it's a pretty brash thing to do, it's also effective.

4. Would this make you NOT want to buy his album? (If it were an album you'd be interested in, in the first place.)

Absolutely not, if anything, I'm a little more interested in hearing what it sounds like. Seeing the risks he's taking to try and make me buy it.

5. Are you offended by it?

Nope. Comedians all over the world have done elaborate impersonations of just about every race on this planet. This is only making such big news because it's a very popular and visible celebrity figure touching a nerve that's particularly sensitive in North America.

6. Do you think that putting on "white face" or "black face" is offensive at all? Does the intention behind the make up change your opinion?

 I don't think the concept of "face," is offensive. But I do believe that, like any joke, or word, or image, it depends on the user's intent that makes it offensive. If Cannon was out to specifically devalue people and establish superiority, I'd be uncomfortable about it, but not because he's being racist, it'd be because he's being a jerk.

7. Infer as to whether or not "we" as a society are overly sensitive to racial issues.

I think as a whole, we're a little oversensitive, but maybe not in the way everyone thinks. Now a days, people seem to shrink in fear anytime someone uses a word like, black, or white in reference to a person. It seems that we're being pressured to fool ourselves into not seeing any sort of difference between the many many different people in this world. I think this is counterproductive. Of course we don't want to make negative connotations about other people, and of course we, deep down, are all people, but that doesn't mean that we aren't different. Of course we're different, and those differences are what makes the human race beautiful. Last time I checked, a Husky and a Poodle can be friendly, and I'm pretty sure they acknowledge they're not very much the same at all.

8. How would you feel if you were Julianne Hough?

If I were Julianne Hough I'd probably feel sad because so many people are directing hate in my direction. I'd also feel fairly silly for thinking that Halloween, a holiday associated with dressing up as something spooky, mythical, or supernatural, was a good time to put on blackface.

9. If you were reporting on these two stories, in which light would you present each? Be honest. Does your race influence your choice?


In the case of both stories, I would present them as impartially as I could. Honestly, I wouldn't want to put Cannon in a bad light, because I don't feel like what he did is necessarily right or wrong, despite what readers may think. Now I know a News Director may be unhappy with my stance here, but I really don't think either person should be deviated for their actions. Maybe it's why I don't want to work in news.


Track today is The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, mainly because it's one of my favorite songs by them, and because they recently announced their coming through Winnipeg as part of their new tour, featuring all the members from the Rumours album re-united in forever. But also, because media is a chain, everything is interconnected, and if one single link breaks, you can be sure it'll be felt the whole way through.

Track 8: Use Your Power

Today's blog is an interesting one. It's almost like one of those popular desert island senarios, you know, where someone asks you something like: "If you were stranded on a deserted island with nothing but a record player, and you could only have 5 of your records, which would they be?" These questions are often really tough and take about 10 minutes to answer because no one walks around at every moment knowing exactly what their favorite everything is, but regardless it's kind of like that.

If all I had allotted for me in life was a Macbook, some A/V Equipment, and a good internet connection, how would I make money? What kind of business could I start? Well, I actually came up with a doozy of an idea during the discussion, so bare with me as I work it out as I go along.

I would create a website.

Great, well. That's a start, but there's about a billion of those now, so what am I doing differently? Well...

It's user based.

This meaning aside from structure, layout, and basic operating capacity, the content is provided by users. All well and good. Still doesn't tell you, the buyer, anything. Before I give you real details, let me give the little tidbit of background I'd give an investor:

For many years, I've been a musician, and during all that time as a musician, I've yearned to create. Now, when I first started, I had a good advantage. My father is a drummer, so I had drums hanging around my place. I play guitar, so there's guitars around, and I also grabbed a bass pretty quick. Cool, I'm halfway to being The Police. So right away, I grabbed some microphones, installed some software on a computer, and I was making music, nothing great, mostly sounded like fuzz noise, but I was creating nonetheless, but, I was only creating because I had access to so many wonderful and necessary tools right from the get-go.

I still create music, often, and although I don't get much time for recording, I have the ability now to make very decent sounding stuff, largely because of two things:

I am a multi-instrumentalist, capable of writing and performing on multiple platforms.

I have access to most, if not all, instruments I want to use in my recordings in my own home.

Recently I wanted to write some orchestral style string parts for a song, and I ran into a problem I hadn't had for a long time. I have no keyboard. And I also have very little knowledge of playing, let alone writing music on keyboard.

Now, this isn't necessarily the end of the world for me. I'm graced with knowing more than a few other musicians with gear, talent, and knowledge I can call upon to get things done. But that's when this thought hit me: What if I didn't?

I've progressed greatly as a musician quickly largely because I've been able to assemble these songs, make mistakes and learn from them, but, I couldn't have done that if I was missing even just one piece of the puzzle. And then another thing hit me: There are hundreds, if not thousands of people, like me, trying to create, who don't have access to all the puzzle pieces.

I subscribe to a few people on Youtube who make beautiful music, but their recordings usually lack because they often don't have a drummer, or a bassist, or whatever, because they either can't play that instrument, or don't know anyone who does. Because of this lack of, "fullness," their music instantly loses face, and becomes a million times harder to make marketable. Not to mention, it may not satisfy their needs as an artist.

This is where my idea comes in.

Musicians love to collaborate. It's how we get new ideas, learn, grow, and have fun. Almost every successful musical group of all time was founded on at least a bare minimum of collaboration. But these people are stranded on their desert island with nothing but their guitar and a computer.

So I'll send them messages in a bottle.

My idea is to create a website called the CoLab. (It'll make sense) The CoLab is a user driven, collaborative community, based on the notion of a Wanted page. (Now it makes sense)

It's like this, say I'm trying to create a reggae dub track. Well I have a drum kit, a guitar, and a bass. Well, that leaves me with some problems. One, I can do reggae on drums and guitar, but I have no clue how to go about writing the bass line. Two, dub and reggae music often contain electronic elements, (keyboard sweeps, electronic drum sounds, etc.) and I don't possess a keyboard.

So I'm essentially stuck. I can't create this track as I want it because I don't have equipment and knowledge specific to what I'm trying to accomplish, and I don't know anyone who can help. I can't progress any further, not without help anyway. Enter the CoLab. I take whatever of I have of this song. Whether it's an incomplete demo, some recorded clips, or even just some core concept, and I make a post on CoLab, labeling it with all the appropriate tags, and asking for experienced people to take a look or a listen, and offer up ideas, or their services, to help complete the track. Conversely, I can also browse through the artist profiles that people have created on CoLab, displaying their musical fluency, experience, preferred genres, and perhaps tracks that they've worked on before.

Now I've gone from having no means of continuing my work, to having two, and it's thanks to the CoLab. Now someone may respond to my post, offering to collaborate on the track, or maybe I'll hit up so and so in California. Who's an experienced reggae bass player. Now using file sharing and cloud storage, supplied by CoLab, I can send and receive clips I can import into my Multi-track audio editing software, and I can complete the track.

Now I've successfully made my reggae dub song, and I've worked with someone who I could theoretically work with again and again. And thanks to their profile on CoLab, I'll always have a way to contact them.

Talking a little about the site now. CoLab will largely run on a search basis, assuming there would be many, wildly different posts to sort through if you were just to watch a stream of posts. You search by using the tags that people have used to describe their work, so typing in "Rock, Guitar, Solo." You'll be shown posts, descending by relevance to your specific search words, and from that you'll be able to find someone who's looking for someone, hopefully you, to add the perfect touch to their song. A similar search will work in reverse if you're in search of an artist who can accomplish this sort of thing.

So, that's the CoLab. Core concept. So, how can I monetize this? Well, as we all know, some musicians are better than others, as mean as it sounds, it's true. So CoLab will actually have two services off of the get go. One that is completely user-based, and completely free. The other, will be a subscription based, professional site, where only artists with a professional, certified background can participate. This helps in two ways. Serious musicians with actual budgets will be able to find other, experienced musicians more easily, and more quickly, because those musicians will be a part of CoLab Elite. This also means that bedroom guitar hero wannabes will not be able to spam serious, professional musicians relentlessly, trying to get a Hendrix guitar solo on their song. (CoLab will also have a block user function available in Free and Elite formats)

CoLab Elite will also provide users with bonus content, such as recording tutorials, writing tips, and lessons, from professional musicians who work with CoLab Elite.

Now, before you ask. I have thought of the dreaded word, royalties. Artists who use CoLab, on any level, have to agree to our terms of service, which will include a statement something to the tune of: "CoLab does not encourage users to monetize songs they have created using CoLab. Any and all sales of works using CoLab are the responsibility of the artists specifically responsible for creating the work in the first place. Any misplaced or missed credit is not the responsibility of CoLab. If a song is to be monetized, users must agree beforehand on the financial nature of their creation. CoLab is not liable for any money lost, unpaid or earned through the sale of songs created using CoLab..." etc.

CoLab will gain income ultimately through Ad Revenue and the subscription service, but as far as a concept goes, I think this one that could actually work.

Track of the day is Use Your Power by Sandbaby. Sandbaby is ultimately what inspired, and convinced me, to make music by myself, since everything is written and performed by one man, Kody Yardley. And you know, doing this, I'm like, using my power, or whatever...

http://sandbaby.bandcamp.com/track/use-your-power

Track 6: White Knuckles

The topic of today's blog is about the concept of the gatekeeper. Now I'm not talking about that crazy questions dude from the bridge in Monty Python's Holy Grail.

(although we should talk about him more often) 

No, the kind of gatekeepers I'm talking about exist within the world of media. Media being everything you see hear and partake in that's created by other people for public consumption. So we're talking anything from T.V., to video games, to music, to those terrible ads in America for every single lawyer's office. Behind every single thing, there lies a gatekeeper, probably more than one, and in most cases, there's whole teams, groups, and departments of gatekeepers. You see, a gatekeeper is essentially a behind the scenes person working on media. In the example of news we could say that almost anyone other than the on-screen anchor is a gatekeeper. Because behind the scenes, the editors, the directors, the reporters, and promotions people, will all usually have a news story pass through their hands at one point, and if they make any sort of edit, whether it be an addition, deletion, change of wording, or what have you, they are gatekeeping. Gatekeeping then, is specifically controlling what information will be viewable by the consumer.

Gatekeepers are both the most constructive, and the most destructive element in media, for these are the people who control the final product, so anytime the public is truthfully and fully informed of an important topic, it's constructive gatekeeping, and conversely, when things are changed and withheld, it's destructive.

For a potent example of gatekeeping, I have current news to use. Rumors are abound right now that the lead singer of the shock-rock band GWAR, Dave Brockie, has died. He's age 50, and plays in a band that dresses like something out of a Tim Burton film, and has lived that hard rock life, so it's not the most unbelievable story, but so far there are no details at all about what has happened. Not a time-of-death, not how or what happened, nothing. The fact that he's dead, is in fact unconfirmed. It wasn't till mid day today that GWAR's management announced they will be making a statement. But at the time of writing that's still 14.5 hours away, and this story's been around since the early hours of the day.

So this then, is a great example. Any media outlet reporting on this right now are being fairly loose gatekeepers, filling the minds of the public with speculation and leaving room for wild and untrue rumors to surface. Conversely, GWAR's management could put a stop to this easily. I have no doubts that by now, they for sure know whether or not Brockie has died, but the fact they haven't told us means likely that there are still things unfolding, that being said: they're being pretty tight gatekeepers.

(Update: He is dead. RIP David Brockie.)

Now, having explained what Gatekeeping is, we have to move on to the nitty gritty of this post. I'm going to talk a bit about the case of Erin Chorney. Erin Chorney was a fairly typical 18 year old girl living in here in Brandon, Manitoba. She suddenly went missing on April 21, 2002, and left the entire town wrought with concern and questions. There was much speculation, and a thorough investigation by Police, but ultimately, no one had any clue about the whereabouts of Chorney, and time began to pass. I can personally remember still seeing printed out flyers around town by mid summer of 2003, but despite the best efforts of everyone who was initially involved, the case remained unsolved.

Flash forward a little bit, and we see Brandon Police Service turn to the RCMP for help with solving the case. Brandon Police Service had long operated with a strong suspicion that the culprit was Chorney's then boyfriend Michael Bridges, but had never been able to find sufficient evidence to actually charge him with anything, nor obtain a search warrant.

RCMP took up the job, and proceeded to set up an elaborate ruse, that would see Bridges befriend an undercover officer, and travel all the way to Calgary under the belief he was to be initiated into an underground crime organization. The undercover officers told him that to become a member, he would have to confess to a previous crime, in turn, Bridges then outlined entirely his murder of Erin Chorney, in which he choked her to death, cleaned her body of evidence, and buried it in a grave already occupied by someone else's corpse. They promptly arrested Bridges and dug up the body, finally bringing closure to a long running, and emotional case for the city of Brandon.

Now I have to wonder, if I were a reporter in this situation, I wonder if I'd have a hard time remaining impartial. Putting myself in those shoes may yield some answers.

Is this a story I would report on?

Absolutely, not only is it local interest, but it's a matter of life and death that affected a great number of people. On top of this, a man has officially been sentenced as a result of a complex, detailed, and swiftly executed police action. This story may bring back negative memories for people, but it is motivational in that there will be justice for people directly affected by this tragedy.

How would I report on it?

I'd try my best to remain emotionally detached, and focus solely on established facts, and not at all at theories or maybe even the thoughts of the public in general. A story like this can spark a lot of emotion in the general public, with a story like this, you should stay as straight laced as possible, while also remaining sympathetic to those affected by the loss.

What parts would I emphasize?

I would emphasize the police investigation, the wonderful and extensive work they did, as well as the confession. As sorry as I am to say this, by the time the confession was gathered, this case was becoming old news, and also widely known, people are aware Chorney has been missing for sometime. I would try not to emphasize the gruesome details too much, but I would not leave anything out. It's important the public has everything they can learn from this story, but I don't want to turn off readers who are faint of heart.

What would I de-emphasize?

I wouldn't touch much on the minor details that had been established before this chapter in the story took place. As I said, the Chorney case had been around for a while at this point, and many people had been actively keeping up with it, there's no need to waste space that could go to new information on what's already widely known, or no longer relevant.

Who is going to read it?

Well, hopefully much of the mature population of Brandon, beyond that, I feel because of the intensity of the story, and the high level of police work that took place, I would hope that some version, being full or condensed, of my story would make it to a national audience. At that point, I'd be looking at a much smaller demographic, likely those who keep up with police activity or gruesome stories.

What factors would affect the story and how?

Well, I suppose the fact that Chorney has been known as missing for a while would result in a scaling down of her overall mention in the story. At this point, the story is more about the confession and the police work than the murder itself. Also, I feel that the fact that Bridges had already been arrested, may lead to him being portrayed in a very negative light. Now I'm not saying that he shouldn't be, but in terms of being impartial, the story will end up slightly skewed against him.

Track of the day is White Knuckles by OK Go, off their amazing album, "The Blue Color of the Sky." I'm sure I could find a way to tie this with gatekeeping, but I don't feel compelled to. Just an amazing song.

Track 5: 50's Mashup

Hey all, today's post is a sort of evaluation of popular music in the 50's. I hope you all enjoy!

Alright, 1950’s. And only the early stuff. While we may think it’s not important, you’d be surprised at how much of this music you’ve not only heard, but you also know some of the words to. The 50’s was basically when the idea of commercial music became a household one. The average well off household was now able to afford a phonograph, amplification for live performance had gotten significantly better, and television relied on music programming much more heavily in it’s early days, before Big Brother and Duck Dynasty and cartoons and whatever. Now, before you jump the gun, there was plenty of amazing, “popular,” music, before the 50’s. But what makes ’51 to ’55 so significant was that 1951 was the first year of the Billboard Hot 100. For the first time in human history, we were cataloging sales, airplay, and fiscal statistics. This also meant that the public could for the first time really get a good idea of what was “good,” without relying on T.V. or word of mouth. So let’s start off with a fairly signature piece, you’ll probably recognize this song right off the hop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNuX7bs2qAM (Mr. Sandman – The Chordettes)

That song was only the #18 single for the year 1955, but it’s lived on and on, been covered by a bunch of artists, and is still a recognized song today. Now right off the hop, we can notice a few things that are amazingly different from the average popular song today. The first thing I noticed, is how spare the instrumentation is, at least at the start of the song. The start of the song 4 women around one microphone, a piano, and one person farther off mic slapping their knees as percussion. And that’s not made up, the only percussion is someone slapping their knees. Later on around the second verse the backup band comes in with some drums bass and piano, but they’re quiet, spare, and non-essential to the song as it’s been established. But if you were to show that to any executive today, first thing they’d tell you is it needs more rhythm. So immediately we see that in the early days, percussion was not as essential to a hit song as it is today. One thing this song does have in common with modern music today though: This song was not written by the Chordettes. No, this song was written by Pat Ballard, and then first recorded by the Chordettes in 1954. So, back then, same as today, pop artists would often utilize compositions of others, or have someone specifically write for them, to help make a hit. I’ve never been a fan of this process, but you can’t say it doesn’t work.

The biggest similarity this song holds with modern popular music is probably the most important one we can note though. This song is catchy. The melody almost instantly gets written in your brain, and the words are not only fairly intelligent, but they’re also memorable, meaning you’ll be singing it to yourself all day. And that’s the thing that the early 50’s really heralded, popular music, being the catchiest music. That may sound silly, but if you step back 4 years and listen to the song that was the #1 single overall that year, you’ll get what I’m on about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaFtsqU2V6U (Nat King Cole, Too Young)

Now I don’t know about you, but the instrumentation sounded like the background music from an early Disney movie, not the number one selling single of the year. But when popular music began, it wasn’t really as much for the kids, because back then, phonographs and singles were a bit more expensive, so the primary buyers of music would’ve been adults. So that fact resounded noticeably through the entire chart for the first few years it was around. Most of the time, the big singles were crooners like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole. One thing to notice as well is that there were no “long hits,” during this era of music, if a song clocked in a over 3 minutes, it was getting up there. Having a hit longer than 4 minutes, was unheard of, so even for a complicated piece of music like this, it was important that it could be easily digested by the general public.

One other thing to notice, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but Nat King Cole is black. And that doesn’t sound like it means much of anything, but in 1951, public segregation was still a thing, and would remain “a thing,” until 1964. So it’s very significant to note that music may have actually been one of the driving forces behind ending segregation in the United States, because for a black man, in 1951, to have the #1 selling single in America, almost certainly means that many musicians and officials are forced by nature not only to recognize him as a peer, but possibly as a superior individual.

we take it for granted how easy it is to identify a hit nowadays. Currently, it’s a dance club bass and snap rhythm, with synth leads, dangerous and computer assisted vocals with a very thick and heavy sound, and usually very distinct buildups and bass drops. But when we compare Nat King Cole’s #1 hit, to the one that came a year later, we see that the market back then was quite a bit more, tasteful, and really didn’t need trends to tell them what music was the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnHLKM8hQR8 (Leroy Anderson – Blue Tango)

Alright, let’s not dance around the point. That was an instrumental song. It was an orchestral piece by Leroy Anderson, and in the year it was released, that single outsold people like Vera Lynn, Les Paul, and Eddie Fisher. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a great piece of music, but in contrast even to the other songs we’ve heard, it’s hard to believe that this song was the most popular of it’s year. I mean, yes, it’s catchy, it’s a decent length, and it has distinguishable “verse and chorus format.” So when we really consider it, back then, it may not have been a huge surprise to have a song like this as a number one, or in the charts at the very least.

Although weirdly, I wanna talk about the number 2 song from 52’ now. Because it’s amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeIce5NsWKk (Wheel of Fortune – Kay Starr)

Did you hear that? That woman is amazing. That voice is astounding, completely mesmerizing. The instrumentation is a great mix of jazz percussion and orchestral arrangement, and the soundscape that comes with that wheel spinning at the beginning, may make this one of the best songs I’ve ever heard pre 1965. I almost get the urge to headbang to those opening strings like you would to metal, and that says something. And that brings me to my next point. If you wanted to make a hit in the 50’s, you needed talent, and I don’t just mean writing talent, I mean, you had to have mad chops. Because back then, studios were not very complex, and weren’t capable of much, you were lucky if you able to do more than a couple overdubs, and use more than a few mics at a time. Which meant that whole orchestra was recorded live to tape all at once, and that woman had to nail that amazing, amazing performance, in one take. It was essentially like playing live, if you messed up while the tape was rolling, it was on the record. Once it was set down, there was really almost nothing you could do to alter it. That vibrato in her voice was all her, because it had to be. Today, hit artists scarcely even have to practice, as long as they can do a comparable job in studio, after as many takes as they want, it can be pitch corrected and fiddled with to be “perfect.” And as far as instrumentation goes, that could’ve all been done with one keyboard.

Now when I looked at 53’s top song, I realized that even back in the 50’s, the entertainment industry was all bundled together, music, television, and movies could really all walk hand in hand. That’s because 53’s top song is literally called: “The song from Moulin Rouge.” It’s instrumental for the first two minutes of the song, and then is a love ballad for the next two. It’s ultimately not very catchy, and although it’s still a good song, you can guess that it was perhaps only due to the movie’s influence that the song became popular. And when you think of it, that’s something that’s happened pretty consistently throughout popular music. Sometimes a song that really would’ve been ignored or significantly less famous if it weren’t for the ties it had to something else.

So let’s talk instead about alternative music. Now every decade has a different interpretation of alternative music. In the 80’s Punk and Hardcore, and metal, were the big alternative genres. In the 90’s hardcore distilled into grunge and became a smash success. The 90’s alternative was heavy, dance based electronic music, using heavy sampling and synth, like the 80’s but heavier. As you’d expect, the 2000’s subsequently introduced heavy dance pop songs.

So what was alternative in the early 50’s? Rock and Roll. Through those early years, rock had never made it onto the top 30 singles of the year, and that’s mainly because it was seen by parents and adults as rebellious, loud, sin-inducing music that should be kept away from their children, but as singles got cheaper, and opinions changed, rock began to make it’s first flirtation with the mainstream in late 1954, and by 1955, the second biggest single of the year was a rock song. Now, I know it sounds as though I’m just giving the typical runaround when it comes to parents not wanting their kids to hear “the devil’s music,” but it’s worth noting that the early 1950’s saw a spike in religious participation in America. Between the president’s open encouragement of faith, and the increasing influence from emerging media, America was in the midst of a sort of Religious revival. The line from the Pledge of Allegiance, “One nation under god,” wasn’t actually added in until 1954, and the motto of “In God We Trust,” was created shortly after. So it’s then easy to understand that there was nearly public outcry when Rock and Roll music began to appear in Radio in television, but as we see, there’s no way to stifle a trend. So in 1995, a rock song, if not in fact, THE rock song, was number two in the charts. So I’ll let it play me off. I can guarantee you’ve all heard this one before, thanks for listening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud_JZcC0tHI (Bill Haley and his Comets – Rock Around the Clock)

Track 4: Rape Me

Alright, let's bring it down. Today's blog is about rape culture, and although it's something people don't like to talk about, it's something we should talk about.

First off, the main question we need to ask is, "What is rape culture?" Well, rape culture is essentially the argument that due to the openness we have in society about the concept; leading to a lower severity of the concept, and normalization, excuses, tolerance, and even acceptance, of rape within public opinion.

Now the main question I'm supposed to answer here is whether or not I believe rape culture exists.

Not only do I believe it exists, I'm surprised that anyone could possibly be shocked it exists. Rape culture has been around for literally over 1000 years, and although we saw it hushed during the last century, it's impossible to ignore the hundreds of prevalent years it saw before then.

If we think back to, say, the 15th and 16th centuries, we see a pretty severe example.This was a large time for European expansion, France, England, and plenty of other countries decided they wanted to find a passage to China from the West, and stumbled upon the undisturbed chunk of the Earth know now as North America. Long story short, they came over expecting to find no one here, but they were surprised when they found thousands upon thousands of native peoples already here. What they do? Well they decided to take what they wanted largely by force. Battles, bum deals and treachery was abound. But on top of that, it's known that a fair bit of sexual violence occurred around this time too. So were the rapists charged? Were they outcasted for their misbehavior? No. Nothing was done because back then, and before, and after, Men largely considered themselves superior to women. They were bolstered by their religion, their size, their strength, and solidarity. So although even back then it wasn't a thing that was talked about often, rape culture existed because almost no one was even so much as punished for it, and if a problem were to arise legally, the largely male authorities of the time would usually do something like tell the woman she should've been more faithful, more loving, or more tripe like that.

Now do I think this is right? Of course not. No one deserves the humiliation and hurt that comes from a sexual assault. It's a wound that never heals, and that person will always feel exploited and used. Do I think this is solely a male overpowering a female situation? Absolutely not, especially now in our sexualized society, it's possible for pretty much any one person to do any number of sexual activities regardless of what natural equipment they possess or who they're with. Although I will admit that the most common case by far involves a man mistreating a woman.
 
In short, rape culture is an abhorrent, unfortunate, and sick, flaw in human society, but it's been a part of it since the inception of humans. As much as we all hate to admit it, it's hard to imagine a society completely free of rape culture and gender stereotyping, because that involve the belief that men and women are synonymous terms, when we all know from a very early age that they are not. We should have equal rights, but we should try to celebrate our differences, rather than bury or exploit them.

Naturally, the track of the day is Rape Me by Nirvana. A song that almost got the plug pulled on them during their last MTV Awards Show performance. You may argue that this song glorifies rape, or condones it, or what have you, but really, it's artistic expression, and although I don't know Cobain's specific intent with this song, I can say that one of his most strict beliefs as a writer was that music came first, and words came after. It is what it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CK6_DIMyIY

Track 3: Crazy Eyes

Howdy all! Today you're going to get a pretty decent cross section into the inner workings of the mind that lies behind the hair. That's right, I'm answering the famous Proust Questionaire. So sit back turn up the tune, and read on.

Your favourite virtue?

Kindness for sure, you should always try to be kind no matter situation you're currently in, it will never backfire.

Your chief characteristic?

I'd like to think it's kindness, I really do try my best not to put anyone down.

Your idea of happiness?

True happiness for me lies in the rush one feels in that perfect moment with music, whether writing, performing, or what have you. Every once and a while something happens sonically that sends shivers up your spine, and it's truly hard to simply create those moments. (Although an open G chord through a cranked Orange Rocker 30 gets pretty close)

Your idea of misery?

Complete isolation, silence, solitude, and boredom. I may keep to myself sometimes, but if I had nothing to keep my attention I'd likely go crazy pretty quick.

Your heroes in fiction?

Courage the Cowardly Dog, he helps anyone and everyone no matter what perilous things are happening to him. And he's always doing something.

Your heroes in real life?

My Dad, Dave Grohl, Ian Mackaye, Phil Collins, Mike Watt.

What you hate the most?

Redundant repetition; if I already know it, I don't need to hear it, and the belief that anyone knows any better than anyone else; we've all had unique experiences on this Earth, you can't possibly know everything about anyone, so why assume you know more about the world and life than they do, and why would belief have anything to do with that?

What fault do you tolerate the most?

Chronic lateness, because I am a sufferer as well.

Your favourite motto or inspirational quote?

What goes around, comes around.

Your favourite food and drink?

Homemade Grilled Chicken Burgers and a very specific mix of Slurpee.

Your favourite qualities in a man?

Your favourite qualities in a woman?


Instead of answering those two questions, I'm just going to tell you my favorite qualities in any person, because gender makes no difference here.

Kindness, a good sense of humour, compassion, empathy, loyalty, intelligence.

If not yourself, who would you like to be?

Dave Grohl, he is essentially a kid who grew up with the rock star dream, and ended up not only living it, but becoming its greatest hero.

Natural talent you'd like to be gifted with?

The ability to draw well, to create truly expressive art using only a canvas and pencil.

Your main fault?

It would either be my consistent lateness, or my inability to commit to doing something I don't think I'll gain anything from doing.

The characteristic in yourself you admire most?

I don't give up easily. Just ask anyone who's played Risk with me.

Where would you like to live?

On the border between a large forested area, and a grand, wide open rural plain. Wide open spaces and natural beauty in perfect compliment.

The first memory you have?

Surprisingly, I believe it is a small clip from a dream, in which I'm lying in my parents bed, looking up through a hole in the ceiling at a Helicopter, or conversely, playing with my Sesame Street train.

The biggest regret you have?

Not going to Avery Hall's funeral. He was a truly great friend of mine, and I didn't ask to leave work because I knew me leaving would put them in a tight spot on one of the busiest days that summer.

The biggest triumph you have?

The continued nods of approval I get from established musicians who see or hear my work. One can truly not be the judge of their own production, so when I people I respect tell me I've produced something noteworthy, it completely validates the countless hours I spend working towards making it in the first place.

What do you appreciate the most in your friends?

The ability to be both hilarious and righteously thoughtful. We can joke all day, but when thing's get heavy, they're thoughtful and considerate.

How would you like to die?

I'm not going to.

What defines love to you?

The truth that your life would be measurably worse by the departure of someone.

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

A dog. Dogs live in the moment, never look back, never look too far forward, and have the capacity to be both amazing companions, and capable workers.

On what occasion do you lie?

When I believe that using the truth would cause feelings of hurt, without yielding positive gain anywhere else.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Music is likely my greatest love, although my dog Sadie was a very close second.

What is your most treasured possession?

My drumkit, and my Flying V. They are my main tools to leave a mark on this world.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Belief

What is your greatest fear?

Needles, nothing else in my life has actually prompted me to run away and hide.

What do you like most about your appearance?

I look like I stepped out of 1998.

What turns you on?

A key.

What turns you off?

Hangnails.

What's your favourite word?

Dysphemism

What's your least favourite word?

Girl. At least in music.

Song of the day: Crazy Eyes - Blinker The Star - August Everywhere (1998)
Crazy good live version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QqAtIAhttQ