Monday, April 20, 2009

Morning has broken.

So, Donkey Punch turned out to be centered around just that. But the movie actually wasn't as bad as we feared, might have had something to do with keeping our expectations low. I'm not saying I recommend it, but if you've got nothing better to do, it won't ruin your life.

Today is Christopher Flaga's birthday. He is 27 today, which is hard to grasp since he was like 11 or something when I first met him. And my baby brother Mario turns 21 at the end of May, which is even more hard to believe, as many of his diapers as I changed. Everyone's getting so old... which I guess beats the alternative.

I've picked up so many new students that I really need to get better organized and more disciplined about creating lesson plans. Maybe it's not completely necessary; the lessons tend to go very well, but I just feel better having something specifically prepared for each person. That's actually what I should be doing right now.

First, gonna cook up some breakfast for me and wifey, though.

Friday, April 17, 2009

...and that's a wrap.

Studio work is done for the day, maternity clothes have been gotten, and we survived the carnival. And Zoe won two cakewalks in a row. I wish there had been a Powerball walk and she'd have won THAT twice, but I'll take the cakes I guess.

Now for some quality time with wifey. We got a movie at Blockbuster that's called, and I'm not making this up, "Donkey Punch." For those of you who don't know what that means, consider yourself lucky. For those who do, you understand why we decided we couldn't live with ourselves if we walked out of there without that movie in our hands.

I have no idea what it's about. But it's called "Donkey Punch." I mean, if you saw a movie called "Dirty Sanchez" or "Cleveland Steamer," tell me you wouldn't rent it. You would be lying.

...and it goes on...

All done at the studio for today. Got some good percussion tracks laid down and a few extra vocals. So far, it sounds pretty good, but the mixing/mastering process will really decide how it comes out. We're using a Tascam standalone recorder, and it's really a pain in the butt.

Oh well, off to Georgetown now. I'm getting some free maternity clothes for Sara, since we're really broke. If you haven't seen the Lexington Freecycle site, you should totally check it out. Everything is free and local, which ROCKS. I've already gotten enough free carpet padding to do my whole house, saved me close to $300.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LexingtonKYFreecycle

Hit it up, it's very, very cool.

Hasta luego!

Another busy day...

I was heading into Doo Wop Shop to start my lessons yesterday and let out a heavy sigh. (I love teaching, I was just tired.) Chase said something like "Hey, at least it's just one more day to the weekend!" And I was like, "Yeah, for you." Sometimes I envy these young guys with no real responsibilities to anyone else. But then I remember how much I love my family and my career, my students... it's totally worth it.

So today I'm off to record Alien Blue in the studio at 11. No idea how long that will take. Afterward it's the Garden Springs Elementary school carnival with my wife and daughter. That should be interesting; I can't remember the last time I was at a school carnival. Better bring some cash and a camera, I guess.

Got some really cool stuff going on with my career. I'm up to 28 private guitar students and seem to be adding 1 or 2 per week, which is awesome. (Now if only I could figure out how to attract more students to the group classes at the North YMCA...)

There's a guitar performance clinic with Muriel Anderson coming up on May 6th, which I will definitely be at and hope to bring a bunch of students with me. As Dave McLean puts it, she is "certainly one of the best guitarists walking the planet" so I'm pretty stoked about seeing her play and teach live.

Oh, but before that we've got the SDML Guitar Recital at the Beaumont YMCA on Sunday, May 3rd. I finally have a student performing a song in it. I'm thinking of playing one of my originals, too, but haven't really decided yet. Need to get more rehearsal time in. With so many students and other music projects going on, it's hard to find time to actually work on my own stuff!

On that note, though, I met a really cool bass player named Ethan. We jammed for a bit (using the drum machine, which is a bummer) and seem to get along pretty well musically and personally, so maybe a cool project will come of that. Just need a singer and a drummer now, preferably if the singer can play rhythm guitar.

Also been talking to Darren Zancan, my former bandmate from Down Jupiter. We seem to be patching up our differences pretty well, which is good because I really like the guy. Just had a difference of opinion that we couldn't get past. But there's already been mention of a side project and/or radio show, so that's interesting too.

Alright, all this typing is annoying my sleeping, pregnant wife, so I better knock it off.