Hey everyone,
Just uploaded my new tune 'Love has never been a Friend of Mine' to my MySpace page. Please have a listen and please let me know your thoughts!
I hope you love it as much as I do... Enjoy!!!
Have a nice weekend,
Gigs
Blog posts
-
Apr 17, 10:11 PMNew Song Uploaded to MySpace!Hello friends,
Just uploaded my New Tune:
'Love has never been a Friend of Mine'
Please have a listen and share your thoughts.
Have a lovely weekend, Gigs
MySpace.com/GigsMusic [http://www.myspace.com/gigsmusic
Oh... and P.S:
To those who have been following my 'Song In The Making' posts, this is the song that was made.
It was handed in on Friday which means that my school year is over - Sighs of relief...
Anyway, I just wanted to mention that I'll post a few more "Chapters" in the following weeks,
I simply had to get my priorities straight (for once), which means that:
Priority 1 = School Assignment
Priority 2 = Blogging on MySpace
Now that #1 is out of the way you should be on the lookout for Chapter 4 and beyond.
You'll now be able to hear what I'm rambling about... Sweet! -
Apr 07, 09:29 PMSong In The Making – Chapter 3Chapter 3 – “Production Tips & Tricks”
Hello friends,
Before I get started, I realize that this chapter might be a bit “Out There” for those of you who aren’t musicians. I feel as though some of the things that I’m about to discuss may even sound like gibberish to musicians who are perhaps less experienced (or tech savvy) in terms of Music Production & Recording.
With that said, today is Wednesday, and that means that tomorrow I’ll be in the aforementioned “Good Studio” at my school, recording some grand ‘Grand Piano’ parts and re-recording everything I’ve done up to this point (excluding the drums). The equipment that I have at my disposal at home is simply of an inferior quality to what I’ll be using there. Exciting indeed!
I promise pictures and details very soon, but most importantly I’m going to have a finished song for you to listen to in about two weeks!
Check back soon…Where we left off:
In the previous chapter I discussed creating “The Guide” for my song - ‘Love has never been a Friend of Mine’. Below is what the session looked at the end of last week. During the last few days, I’d worked mainly on the Drum Tracks, which meant taking the single ‘Drum Loop’ track (that had only Kicks & Snares) and creating something that was more songlike.
* Image 1: ‘Pro-Tools’ Guide Session.
Also in the previous chapter, I promised to go into more detail about the 3 FX Channels (Green) that appear in ‘Image 1’. These are the FX that I used while I was recording the Guitar & Vocal tracks, so lets start from there.
Whether you’re a musician recording in a ‘Home Studio’ environment or if you’re working in a professional studio with the help of an Engineer/Producer, one of the keys to getting a quality performance lies in the ‘Headphone Mix’. For those who aren’t familiar with the jargon, the ‘Headphone Mix’ is what the performer is hearing while he/she is singing or playing their instrument. It’s basically a combination of what you’re Recording “Now” on top of what’s been recorded previously. Needless to say it’s worth spending some time getting the levels right making sure that you (or the musicians you’re working with) are comfortable.
Depending on the song and instrument that’s being recorded, I would also recommend adding some FX to the ‘Headphone Mix’ (Reverb, Delay, etc), especially while you’re recording Vocals. When you’re recording a performance, these type of FX will make it sound much closer to how it should ultimately sound in the final mix, which will in turn make the performance better.FX used while I was recording Vocals for ‘The Guide’:
* The Vocal Channel is the one in blue and the two FX are in Green. As you can see, the Vocals are being sent through two separate Stereo Busses.
(1) Bus 1-2 = Reverb1
(2) Bus 3-4 = Vocals Delay
If you look at the top of the image, on the Green Channels, you will see that I’ve added an EQ Plug-in to both FX (marked ‘7-Band EQ3’) and also added a Reverb (marked ‘D-Verb’) on to the Delay Channel.
The idea is to customize the sound of the FX in an attempt to make everything blend together nicely.
I setup the FX and ‘Bus Sends’ before I’d started recording the Vocals and voila… It feels like I’m singing in a stadium!
Another thing worth mentioning about using FX in this manner is that they will be present in the ‘Headphone Mix’, while the actual tracks that are being recorded (in this case the Vocals) will remain unaffected. This means that I can make adjustments to the FX later on, or use different FX if I want to.
To complete the picture, here are the FX settings/parameters that I’d used while recording the ‘Vocals Guide’.Reverb_1
Vocals Delay
In terms of Drums & Percussive Tracks for this song, I'll be working with Samples. If you go back to ‘Image 1’ and have a look at the drum tracks that existed when I started recording, you’ll see 1 Stereo track (titled ‘Drum Loop’).
In the following image there are 9 tracks, one for each sound, which are noticeably “Chopped Up” into little bits. I’ve basically constructed the drum patterns using a tempo based grid. I’m pretty sure I’ll be adding a few more sounds as the song progresses, but what I have so far is a pretty good representation of what things are going to sound like at the end.
* The 3 tracks colored in Green are FX channels that I’m using on the Drums at the moment. The Reverb is pretty standard, but the Snare & Kick Delays are quite intricate. I’ll go into a bit more detail about them when I write about the mix.
In case you were wondering why I have two ‘Kick’ (Drum) tracks, I used two different samples that blended well together. One has a nice “Punchy” natural sound to it, and the other has quite a lot of Low/Sub frequencies present.
Generally speaking, if you’ve recorded real Drums and the recorded sound isn’t (and can’t be made into) what you’re looking for, you can actually add a new track to your session and paste a ‘Sampled Kick’ to play in sync with the original, and you can do the same with other ‘Drum Sounds’ if needed. This process might take a while, but it’s guaranteed to give you the sound you’re after. You get to choose it!
* Feel free to leave comments about anything. Ask questions about anything. Or just show some love.
Best wishes, Gigs -
Mar 30, 08:43 AMSong In The Making – Chapter 2Chapter 2 – “The Guide”
Hello friends,
After choosing which song I’m going to work with, it was time to get started with the production. I made a few decisions about the Style and Instrumentation for the song, and it was time to lay down the first tracks. At the end of this stage I should have what I call a ‘Guide’ or a ‘Reference Track’ to my song – ‘Love has never been a Friend of Mine’
The ‘Guide’ is basically a sketch of the song from start to finish. I’ll typically start things off by creating (or finding) a Drum Pattern that works well with what I’m playing, Record one or two Guitar Tracks on top of that, some Vocals, and keep going from there.
I’d like to say at this point that there are an endless number of ways to approach the Production of a song. Depending on the style of music, personal preferences and experiences, whether you’re recording a Live Band, and a variety of other factors (like the equipment that you have, your budget, etc.)
In other words, there isn’t one Right way to go about producing and/or writing a song, but personally, I’m a bit old school when it comes to Songwriting. I’m the “Type” that writes with an instrument, a pen, and a blank sheet of paper. In most cases I won’t record anything unless I have a clear vision of what a song is about. With that said, once the song is written and the ‘Guide’ is finished, I’ll start experimenting with different ideas and sounds. We’ll get to that when we get there…Equipment List:
1. Home Studio Desk
* (a) Mac-Book Pro, (b) M-Box Mini, (c) Pro-Tools, (d) Behringer 2030’s (monitors).2. 320GB USB Hard Drive
* Backing-Up, having the ability to transfer the song files quickly from studio to studio.
A necessary tool indeed!3. Mic & Tuner
* Shure SM-58, and a Guitar tuner (very important to be in tune at all times).4. Headphones
* I have to make sure that my fiancé (and neighbors) don’t get sick of the song before it’s finished.5. Taylor 814-CE
* What a beauty!6. Fender Jazz Bass (made in Japan)
* No need to explain.And after about 4-5 Hours of work we have our ‘Guide’...
* This is what my 'Pro-Tools' Session looks like so far.
(a) One Vocal Track, (b) Three Guitar Tracks, (c) One Bass Track, and (d) the Drum Loop that got us started.
You may have also noticed the 3 Tracks that are colored Green.
These are 3 FX Channels that I was using while I was recording (named accordingly), but I’ll get into more detail about that in ‘Chapter 3’.
At this point, I think that the next step should be working on the Drum Tracks. The loop that I had originally created (in a program called Reason) has only Kick Drums & Snares - which I have been using up to now just to play in time. By creating solid Drum Tracks I’ll have more definition between the different parts of the song (the Versus & Choruses), and a better representation of the dynamics within the song.
One of the burning issues with regards to this production is recording the Piano Tracks that I have planned for this song. With this in mind, I’ve booked already some studio time at SAE (my school), in THE Studio that has THE Grand Piano in its Recording Area.
Beyond that, I’m definitely going to re-record everything with the equipment at SAE. The Microphones, Pre-Amps, Compressors, and Recording Consoles will make a huge difference in terms of the Sound Quality of each individual track. With that said, due to time constraints, I’m going to make sure that I have everything prepared in advance, and that I know what I’m going to play when I step into THE Studio.
Oh, that just reminded me that I have to find a friend who will let me borrow an Electric Guitar!
And the craziness begins...
* Feel free to leave comments about anything. Ask questions about anything. Or just show some love.
Best wishes, Gigs -
Mar 24, 10:52 AMSong In The Making – Chapter 1Chapter 1 - "The Scrapbook"
Hello friends,
I’m about 4 weeks away from completing my first year at SAE. For those who have been out of the loop, I’ve been studying Audio Engineering since April (and yeah… I’m living in Australia).
Today I had decided to record one of my own songs as my final “Major Recording” assignment, which I will also have to write a “Serious” report about.
At this point I went through the old scrapbook, in search of a suitable composition, when I came across ‘Love has never been a Friend of Mine’ – something I’d started writing a couple of years ago.
Needless to say, you’ll be able to hear the tune pretty soon. The assignment is due in mid-April, so there’s no way around it… LOL
In short, it’s a song about having a hard time finding that ever-elusive thing called Love. Strangely enough, it took falling in Love to be able to write a song like this. And on that note, this song is dedicated to (and inspired by) the one that I Love - Melly
Erm… Anyway, while I was working on the song earlier, I’d realized that this is a cool opportunity to document something. Hence the title of this Blog, “Song In The Making – Chapter 1”, there will be additional chapters where I’ll be taking you through the entire Recording / Production process of the song. I might get a bit technical about it (here and there), but I’m hoping that people will find those parts interesting as well. Whether you’re a Songwriter, or if you’d just like to see how a song comes to life (written and produced by yours truly), please check back in the following weeks. I promise photos, SoundBits, silliness and hot chocolate.
Before I let you go, I wanted to share the song lyrics with you. More accurately, these are the lyrics that I found in that old scrapbook I was telling you about earlier. This basically means that nothing is final… Not even the songs tempo. But I’ll get into that some other time!Love has never been a Friend of Mine
I used to believe that love would find me
That out of the blue she would appear
But time goes by and still I find myself alone
Waiting year after year
I don’t know why
Love has never been a friend of mine
I don’t know why
Love has never been a friend of mine
Every time that love came near
I guess I should have held it dear
That’s if it came for me at all
The good things never seemed to last
Like faded pictures from the past
I wish that I could take ‘em back
I don’t know why
Love has never been a friend of mine
I don’t know why
Love has never been a friend of mine
I don’t know why
Just come through my door
And I’ll never let you go
I can’t wait anymore
If you’re not my friend you’re my foe
I don’t know why
Love has never been a friend of mine
I don’t know why
Love has never been a friend of mine
* Feel free to leave comments about anything. Ask questions about anything. And show some love.
Best wishes, Gigs -
Dec 30, 03:07 PMThe War for PeaceA few days ago I was floating above the Great Barrier Reef, sitting at the back end of a boat, enjoying the light breeze and reflecting on the year that’s coming to an end. I suddenly recalled a song (actually, more of an idea for a song) that I had abandoned over two years ago.
Normally, I don’t like to talk about unfinished songs. To be honest, I have a difficult time discussing (what I consider) my finished work, mainly because of issues like Self-doubt, Criticism of thy self, and The Passage of Time, which typically make me feel as though everything that I’ve done up to this point, at least on an artistic level, is pretty much worthless.
Note: Yes! I am aware of the fact that, like many of us, I’m way too hard on myself.
This reminds me of something that I had heard about Leonard Cohen, a man who I have nothing but respect for and whom I personally consider a lyrical genius. It was said during the film “I’m your man”, which is about Cohen and his music (highly recommended - both the movie and his music). The story was told by Bono if I’m not mistaken, and it was regarding Cohen’s work ethic, or writing method, or perhaps an account of what it truly takes to write at his level. Basically, it was said that it might take Cohen up to five hours to write one line of a song.
On some level, I can relate to this concept. Not to say that my results are comparable, because, as you now know, I feel as though the fruits of my labor are all rotten anyway. Nonetheless, over the last 4-5 years, I’ve been finding it more and more difficult to complete a composition, often dissecting every lyric to the brink of madness... Madness I tell you!
And enough of my self loathing. When I started writing this post I wanted to share with you a few lines from that song that I mentioned earlier. The one that popped into my head during my recent boat ride, and had suddenly returned into my life - “The War for Peace”
The song’s message is very straightforward. The concept is very simple. But because of my over-analytical tendencies, there is an unfortunate likelihood that this song may never be completed, recorded or released in any way. With that said, regarding this specific song, I feel as though I have to share it with people, especially now, even if it’s in the form of a random post in my blog.
May we all have a wonderful 2009,
May Peace be with us in the near future.
GigsThe War for Peace
The battle has been going on for far too long
When boys are shooting boys you know the man has got it wrong
Is this insanity?
An ignorant society?
We can’t just let it be, there’s only one realityI’m gonna put my helmet on n’ go fight 'The War for Peace'
I’m gonna keep writing songs until this knot’s released
You can call me crazy
You can say I’m naive
But babies shooting babies ain’t the way life should be livedHow did we come to this?
We’re just standing here throwing fists
How did this go so far? It’s time to tear down the wall© Gigs-Music 2008
-
Oct 26 2008, 10:49 PMGigs Journal - Things...Hello friends,
Again, it's been a long time since I'd posted anything... Doh! The last few months have been very strange for me, everything has pretty much changed. I've been working with a few Bands on their recording projects, working behind the sound console in music venues, and focusing on my school assignments. My brain is constantly functioning on overload! And this after years and years of not using my brain at all.
To say the least, the last 5 or 6 years of my life were very different to the way things are now, if anything, I'm not working on my own music 100% of the time. With that said and just in case you were wondering, I have been playing, I have been writing, and I've even done some recording.
You will get to hear some new stuff pretty soon, I promise, and I might upload some acoustic recordings to the Virtual Vortex (AKA - Internet, or "The Abyss") even sooner, just to see what people think. This might sound a bit bizarre but I feel like I'm keeping secrets by not sharing my songs, at least in some demented way. Personally, I think that these are the best songs that I've ever written and I can't wait for you to hear them. Seriously!
Anyway, I hope life is treating everyone to smiles. Sending you all some Warm & Loving Vibes from Australia, Gigs
* Come by and say hello - I'm only a click away...
Gigs-Music | MySpace | Facebook -
Jun 09 2008, 07:45 PM'Gigs' New Artist Page on FacebookThe fact that this is news actually proves that I'm not the brightest person around. I already have a personal page on Facebook (which I've had for quite some time now), but little did I know that you can create a seperate Artist/Band profile.
I'd just launched it a couple of weeks (or so) ago, which means that as an Internet page, it could be considered the best kept secret around (pretty much).
So... Please, Please, PLEASE! CHECK IT OUT!!!
Drop by and add some life to it: Gigs on Facebook
Best wishes,
G I G S
Gigs-Music.com -
May 18 2008, 11:22 AMGigs Journal - Walking & Talking "Green"So I finally settled into what will be my home for the next year. My first two (or so) months in Melbourne were quite an adventure, at least in terms of apartment hunting. Little did I know there were only two apartments available in the entire city when I got here and anywhere between 10,000 and One Million people were desperate to find a place to live. It was an ominous task to say the least, one that finally came to an end about 10 days ago.
The way I see it, I've basically started a new chapter in my life, and as I was making the necessary preparations that a move such as this would encompass, I'd decided to make (what I call) a "New Life Resolution". Something that some of you may not know about me is that I'm quite the "Tree-Hugger", I've been a vegetarian for almost 4 years (which is something I'm quite proud of), and among other things, I've promoted several Environmental Organizations during my extensive touring days around the U.S.
So, back to the "New Life" thing, I've basically decided to try and lead a "Greener" life. Under the general circumstances of my "Old Life" ways, it just wasn't plausible to fully walk the "Green" path. During the years that I'd spent on the road (regularly covering about 50,000 miles a year), regardless of how hard I'd tried there were simply too many obstacles (which included my fuel gobbling van). But now that I've started this new chapter, blank pages and all, I can attempt to both ‘Walk the Talk' and ‘Talk the Walk'.
The Fuel Gobbler
"A Random Rest Area In Texas"
Melbourne happens to be a great city for those who chose the "Green" lifestyle. The public transportation system is vast, so the fact that I don't have a car doesn't bother me at all. I've always done as much as I can in terms of recycling which I continue to do, I'm using cloth bags for my groceries, and to sum this all up before I start to ramble on about turning off the water faucet while I'm brushing my teeth... Generally speaking, I do as much as I can to limit my consumption.
While sitting here and writing about this topic, a wonderful slogan has found its way into my head. This could be the title of a book, a movie, or just a cool bumper sticker I guess. I must gain copyrights to this expression at once because it could very possibly turn out to make millions for someone if they decide to steel it. Jesus, maybe I shouldn't be writing this in a blog... On the other hand, maybe this blog can be used as proof that I came up with it. And maybe, just maybe, I'm acting like a delusional fool...
After that strangely long introduction, here it is:
Walking Without Leaving a Footprint
I actually ran a Google search and found out that "Names, titles, and short phrases or expressions are not subject to copyright protection". This means that it doesn't really matter whether or not I'm delusional, I can't copyright the bastard. With that said, it's 4:00am. I should be going to sleep about 3 hours ago.
I hope this post wasn't too weird for you guys, trying to communicate with people during these crazy hours is obviously not my forte. I'm now left with one very important question: "To Submit or not to Submit?"
Good night & Good week.
G I G S
Gigs-Music.com -
Apr 29 2008, 10:35 AMGigs Journal - Heaven is a place on Earth!Where to begin? Finding those first few words is always the hardest part I suppose, but once I get over that initial hump I am sure things will flow with much ease. I'm now an official Melbournian for 3 months, which doesn't mean much really, but who cares, I'm enjoying myself and if anybody has a problem with that you absolutely suck!!!
Studying has been quite enjoyable, which makes sense considering the fact that I'm studying something that I'm passionate about. For those of you who have been out of the loop, I'm going to the SAE Institute for a year, getting a degree in ‘Audio Engineering'. If things continue the way they're going I might actually stay for another year and get a full Bachelors Degree in ‘Recording Arts', which seems like a good (and very possible) option at the moment. The only issue I'm having, in short, has to do with the term 9:00am. I'm not much of a morning person, never have been, and after 6-7 years of being (pretty much) a full time performing and recording artist, waking up at 9:00am for classes is no piece of cake, more like a piece of Dry Veil!!! And when you add to the equation the fact that I'm a vegetarian, Veil is not really my proffered dish to begin with.
Anyway, back to reality. Mornings... I hate them!
And now seriously, studying a subject that you have a real interest in is a key element for anybody in Academia. I remember a few years ago, I decided it was time for me to study something, you know... Grow Up (and all of that spiel). For God knows what reason, I chose Sociology. Not to insinuate that there is anything wrong with that subject, but you have to understand that I was taking the subject in the form of online courses, while I was pretty much living on the road, and starting things off with a course referred to as ‘Introduction to Sociology' and - whatever it was called - ‘Something (?!) Statistics' is not really what I had in mind. To be more specific, it was a pain in the buttocks, and I never really followed through with that rubbish. (I'm NOT insinuating!)
The SAE Institute would be my version of - ‘What School would be like in Heaven', seriously. A school where every single computer is a Mac with Pro-Tools installed on them. A school where during a class the sounds of beating drums are resonating through the walls from one of the studios downstairs and it's considered normal (this really happened the other day). A place where Acoustically Designed rooms, with top of the line Audio Equipment, a Grand Piano, and Headphones, is considered a classroom. Is it just me or are you feeling like Homer Simpson drooling over the thought of Doughnuts right now as well?
If only classes started at noon...
Which reminds me, it's about 3:30am in Melbourne at the moment, and I have to wake up and go to 'The University of Heaven' early tomorrow.
To be continued...
All the best.
G I G S
Gigs-Music.com
