I’ve Never Missed a Gig
A few weeks ago [01/10/09] I had a gig at Room 960 opening for Randy Boyer. Starting 2 or 3 days before, the local weatherman were predicting a bad storm with snow followed by freezing rain. The forecasters in New England are typically spotty at best, but have been dead on almost all winter thus far, so I believed them. By 1pm the snow was coming down, and at 2pm I had called Daddy Charles to inform him that I was coming to his house to trade my rear wheel drive Cadillac CTS for his 4×4 Blazer. He initially said no, trying to talk me out of going, but after I informed him that even if I had to take my Harley up to Hartford I was going, he agreed. My wife made similar attempts to dissuade me, but I told her I’ve never missed a gig in my life, and I didn’t plan to start now.
I usually like to get to the club around 8:30, set up my gear, and run a sound check before we open. It never take me more than 45 min to get to Hartford, but a left a few minutes early [7:30] expecting delays. The snow got worse as I headed north, and when coupled with snow plows and insane CT drivers, my time doubled to 1 ½ hours. I made it just in time to plug in and play at 9pm, rock the decks for 2 hours, and have a good time.
So I had to go against my better judgment, and take my life into my own hands… Hey at least I didn’t miss the gig. My perfect streak still stands!
The Cult of the Snuggie
Some things are just too good to pass up blogging about. As reported in, and i kid you not, USA Today, the snuggie has reached cult status in record time. In case you are wondering “wtf is a snuggie?” Its a blanket with sleeves, that instantly makes you look like a 12th century monk. As expected “cult of snuggie” videos are already on youtube:
There is also a website called snuggiesightings.com. This one is so out of control, I had to create a new category for the blog called Ridiculous.
I figure its only a matter of days before my friend and webmaster posts this on his blog without crediting me, just like he did with Bigfoot-Nessie.
Winter NAMM 2009 Round Up
So winter NAMM brought some new electronic music toys into the world, but for the most part I wasn’t really wowed. If you want a full round up I suggest heading over to CDM, where they do a fine job. This post is just about the stuff that I found interesting, and you may too.
Pictured above is the new MOTU BPM soft beat machine. That was the most interesting that came out of NAMM for me, and I will certainly be checking it out in the future.
Akai unleashed a fancy ableton live controller that is custom tailored for the software. Live 8 was also unveiled. I guess if i was into Ableton, I’d be a little more excited.
Native Instruments brought out Maschine, yet another drum machine. Its pretty cool though, it can work standalone or as a softsynth. NI also came out with the “Audio 4″ audio interface for Traktor, to which i immediately exclaimed “Big F’in Deal”
M-Audio now has an Axiom Pro line which to me just looks like an updated white Axiom. I already have a regular Axiom 25 and can’t figure out why this thing is better or worth more money. Maybe justifying details will come out soon?
And Finally, Jazzmutant updated the Lemur to v2 and announced price cuts. Don’t get excited though, its still way too expensive for us common folk. Let me put it this way, for the same price as a lemur, you could buy 8 iPod Touches, put Touch OSC on all of them, and buy an ice cream.
This one went out to the mailing list yesterday, but if you are in the area, you may be interested.
Saturday, January 24th will be the first installment of what I hope will be many. I’ve gotten together with some of my closest allies to put together a new concept in partying I think you’ll be interested in, its called Discretion.
So what the big deal? Well for starters, its Free. Also, this is an invitation only event and the invite list is limited to 50 people. The venue and pertinent info will only be disclosed to you once your RSVP has been accepted. Public info after the jump
So if you’ve listened to the newest episode [23] of The Electronic DanceCast then you probably noticed a new announcer man telling you “You’re in the mix on The Electronic DanceCast” and other various bumper type phrases that occur once or twice a show. Well man behind that golden voice is someone I consider my friend, Mark Kaplowe of Kaplowe Studios. Read on to hear to odd story of how we met, how he has helped me tremendously in the marketing department, and how a guy who rarely makes new friends [me] made a new one.
DanceCast Episode 23
If you missed my latest guest DJ appearance on Randy Boyer’s radio show BUZZ , don’t worry. You can listen to it anytime you like, since it is now Episode 23 of The Electronic DanceCast. The mix starts off with some breaks and then runs the house gambit. Leave me a review in iTunes or a comment with what you think about it. It originally aired 01/03/09 on KISS 95.7 out of Hartford, CT. Tracklisting after the jump.