What A Christmas

Well, it is Christmas day. The gifts that were all so carefully selected and wrapped and put under the tree are now all opened and being enjoyed by all. I must say that this was an incredible Christmas. To be honest every christmas with A has been incredible. I was spoiled. I have wanted a pair of KRK Rokit 5 studio monitors and low and behold...a pair was under the tree for me. A also got me another awesome gift, she got me a pair of Leo Fender's 1951 Telecaster patent application drawings. I saw this one day and said wow I love this, and she got them for me. I am still amazed at how thoughtful A is. We have been married for 5 years and together for 6 and in all that time she never ceases to be like this. I am very lucky and blessed to be married to such a wonderful woman. I hope all of you had as wonderful a Christmas as I have had!!!

E

Merry Christmas

I would like to take this time and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year. I hope that you and your families find the joy of this season and a happiness of being with your families.

E

A bit of sadness

I am from the North. I love everything about being a New Yorker. My home state is in my opinion the most beautiful state of all that I have been to. I am grateful to be able to serve my country and to have the honor to be stationed at Ft Benning GA. There is just one thing missing...our seasons and family. It is hard to adjust to the Christmas season down here with no cold and snow. I recall as a kid how I loved the snow and the cold and everything that came with this time of year. I also miss our family. Being so far south does not make it easy to see family. So for all the blessings I have, I do have a little bit of sadness for missing these things.
E

Not so good Influences

I have pretty much lived my life in my own way. I have never been one to go with the trends of fashion or the coolest car, etc. I am a member of several different forums and in some of them I have noticed how so many folks are afraid to leave their gear as is. They generally are new to the forums and they tend to have other folks make decisions on their gear for them. I can't help but laugh when someone says "What guitar should I get, which is better, what pickups will make me sound better, etc etc etc. What bothers me is when a new guy comes in to the forum and says I just got a new MIM Tele and I am excited...what should I change. I always ask have you even played it? I would say 90% of the time the answer is no...but then some guy says do this or that to it and it will sound great. These are the kind of influences that just rub me the wrong way.
E

Red Light fever

As a kid growing up hunting and fishing, I always heard stories of buck fever. You know when you have that trophy buck in your sights and you do everything to ensure you will get the kill shot. Suddenly you start to shake and no longer can take the shot. Well, I had red light fever the other day in the studio. I recorded everything right on the money until it came time to do the vocals. No matter what I did I was so far off it just wasn't funny. So, I did the thing any good producer would tell a musician...call it a night! Well, it was a first for me and to make it even worse, I am not motivated to go back into the studio...at least tonight I am not...but tomorrow is another day!!
E

Tis the Season...

Well, we finished up decorating our home for Christmas. Now...only one thing left to do...finish recording the Christmas album I have been planning on doing. So, this weekend I will go into Indian River Recorders and get this project all done and ready for the season. It is amazing how I am now in the festive mood. Once the album is done I will somehow try and post it here for all to enjoy.

E

Orange Is Here!!

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I have a few guys who influence me as a guitarist. Well one of my Tele Heroes Jim Campilongo's new album "Orange" is now available on iTunes. The actual CD will be released in February 2010. I purchased it and let me tell you Jim does not dissapoint! From the gritty tone of Backburner to the haunting melody of Chelsea Bridge Jim has created a masterpiece! I highly recommend this album!
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Christmas decorations

Well, today we are decorating our Christmas trees! Yes, I said Trees. We are huge Christmas fans and love decorating our house both inside and out. For us it is the whole idea of the season that we love. The way people are actually nice and homes are all decked out and there is just such a magical feeling in the air. I have spent several Christmases in war zones, at those times it was a very sad dreary time and as the old saying that there is nothing like home is so true. Once we are done I will post some pictures. When we are back home and Indian River Recorders is up an running trust me there will be festive decorations in the studio for the holiday season. Once the decorating is done it will be time to fire up the studio and try and knock out a Christmas album over the next few days. Have a great one.
E

Mics

One of the thing I love about playing guitar and recording is the gear. There is nothing like having great gear with which to record your music. A while back I ordered a new condenser mic a MXL 990 from Musicians Friend  Needless to say they were out of stock. To my surprise I receive a package on Monday from MF and it is my MXL 990. To make the deal even better, they sent it to me on a deal of the day price. So I saved over $100.00 on this beautiful mic. I was in need of a good quality large diaphram, condenser mic and this one fit the bill. I have several  Sure dynamic mics..SM 57s and 58s which are great for live performance vocal and instrument applications but for recording I really needed this mic. I have to say I am really excited to get this in the studio and do some recording with it. This mic has a wide variety of capabilities. You can record from vocals to percussion with it which is great news!! I'll give a full report once I get back in the studio in the next few days.
E