The future is now

I was just informed that I won't be able to get into The Mercy Lounge to see "Big Gun" play. Dang! Instead, I will stay at home and baby-sit brother Zach. I'm sure we'll have a splendid time.

Earlier today, as I was reading Davis Kidd magazines with no intentions of buying them, I came across the SAE RECORDING INSTITUTE. It is a year long intense engineer training program with a hefty price tag. $15000!! Bollocks! One good thing though- SAE is an accredited school; so fortunately, I will be able to use financial aid towards my attendance. That price still sucks though- but, on the other hand, that includes all text books, an Apple iBook, and Protools LE. I guess ultimately, I'll have to see how much aid I can expect to get before I'll completely know whether I'm going or not. One bonus of going is that they assist graduating students with job placement... which is completely the bomb considering the fact that it would be a major rash to get placed without alumni help-literally (coins).

I upgraded from Cool Edit Pro 2.0 to Adobe Audition 1.5 today. I also ate a really good turkey sub. It was-a-nice (Ali G).

Well good luck to Matt tonight when he reveals his buttocks to his parents for the first time since childhood. Kel- make sure you get a good photo of his hairy butt....and try to get the penis too!!

Mental Health Hotline

Mental Health Hotline

"If you're paranoid, we know what you are and what you want. Stay on the phone and we'll trace your call." "If you have low self esteem, hang up. All of us are too busy to help you." I don't know why this is funny. But it cracked me up. The guy's voice is so straight and nonemotional. Good things.

Little Nemo: Dream Master

I just went on a long ride down memory avenue. I downloaded a NES emulator and about 800 games. I came across games I had completely forgotten about like Adventure Island, Kid Icarus and Zoda's Revenge. Heather might recognize Little Nemo: Dream Master; she and I used to spend hours playing that stupid game. That crappy music in these games just has a way of bringing you back in time fifteen years or so. Freaky!

Reference

I hate to admit it, but this GUY is really good! It pisses me off. According to his blog, he is currently working with Chris Farrin on a new cd (big big producer) in Nashville. Check out "Supposed to be Beautiful" and "Mystery". Good stuff. Good stuff. ....I don't really have anything else to say at the moment. K Bye

Vintage Warmer

I just discovered a new plugin for all Direct X recording systems: Vintage Warmer. This thing is completely the bomb. Not only does it give your song more of a full and produced feel, but it also applies that warm tone, normally associated with analog recordings, onto your digital recordings. Check it out- http://www.pspaudioware.com.

I'm desperately trying to finish my 2000 word essay for History!! Buttocks! I had to take a break from it for a while though. The best part about these essays is that I have trouble writing ANYTHING about the subject let alone 8-10 pages. Bollocks! I've basically had to go back and reread every chapter so that I can atleast appear to be somewhat knowledgable.

I will be performing at The Family Wash either next Tuesday or the following Tuesday. I'll be posting the exact date on myspace as soon as I receive word. I didn't realize that east Nashville is really booming...lots of new businesses and restaurants and such. It's incredible.....literally (coins). Now that I think about it, there might be one person out of everyone reading this (all 12 of you) who has a clue as to what my "coins" remark was referring to. Ahh yessuh, that's how I like it. K bye

The Number System

I had to write the following essay for my English class about a week ago. It occurred to me some of you might like to learn a bit about the number system as well. BEWARE. If you have no interest in learning about the number system, don't waste your time reading. Thanks and have a great day.



The Number System
Since I was three years old, I have been an avid student and fan of the guitar. Before I could fit my arms around a regular guitar, I had a small plastic green one that I dragged everywhere. In my sixteen years of playing, I have won many competitions and awards for my abilities. The number system, as I have learned over the years, is an essential factor in one’s ability to perform at a professional level.

It is a bit difficult to give a quick written lesson when there isn’t a guitar to help exemplify what I am referring to. When playing songs in different keys, musicians need a chart that will allow them to easily transpose the songs: the number system. Instead of writing chord names, numbers are used- 1, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 (mostly). If you are in the key of C, for instance, C=1; D=2; E=3; F=4; G=5; A=6; B=7; C=8. If you will notice, after I got to “G”, I immediately went back to “A”. This is because there are only eight notes in a given key: Doe Rae Me Fa So La Ti Doe. Therefore, one would proceed from A through G, and then start over for the continuing notes in the next octave.

In music, chords are determined by these numbers. A major chord is made up of a 1, 3, and 5. Assuming the key of C: 1=C; 3=E; 5=G. (In other keys, the use of flats and sharps would be needed in determining the correct intervals, but that would takes many pages to explain. This knowledge will not be needed for the key of “C”.) A major chord sounds somewhat happy and full. A minor chord, on the other hand, is made up of 1, flat3, and 5. (If you will notice, the only difference between a major chord and a minor is the third being brought down by a half step) In the key of “C”: 1=C; 3=Eflat; 5=G. In contrast, a minor chord will sound a bit dark and bluesy: “Man’s World”, by James Brown, is a prime example of a minor keyed song.

The beauty of the number system is that a musician can very easily transpose between every key using it. If a song were charted out in letter form, the musician would have to take a much longer time recharting it in the new key. With numbers, he can immediately determine the new chords. For example, “II, V, I” is an extremely common progression in music. “Night and Day” is a perfect exemplification of this progression. In the key of “C”, II=Dminor; V=G; I=C. If the singer determines that she would rather sing in the key of “A”, the musician can easily adapt: A=1; B=2; C#=3;D=4; E=5; F#=6; G#=7; A=8. Therefore, II=Bminor; V=E; I=A.

This method may seem to be a bit complicated at first, but ultimately it proves to be extremely useful in the studio and on stage. The most difficult part of learning the number system is being able to memorize what the thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, are in every key. This ability, unfortunately, only comes with repeated practice. It is helpful to go up a fifth in every key: C; G; D; A; E; B; F#; C#. Next, go up a fourth in every key: C; F; B flat; E flat; A flat; D flat; G flat; C flat. These intervals, after many weeks of practice, will eventually become second nature.

Let me know if you have any questions or confusion to share with me. Thanks

Studio Notes

Well, I went into the studio for the first time yesterday (on my birthday). The enginner I worked with, Bruce Dees, was really helpful and worked extremely fast to get us out quickly. At $75 an hour, every minute is a buttocks. We first started by laying down all the guitar tracks in each song and then continued with the vocals...which went surprisingly well considering I'm not very experienced yet. Bruce Dees was so nice that even called today and left a message saying that he really enjoyed working with us and thought I was extremely talented. Funny though- his enjoyment didn't seem to bring the price down at all. But that's okay, it was worth every penny. If you haven't listened to the three songs I recorded, go to Kel's Page to hear them. Considering the amount of time we had available to record (about three hours), the songs came out sounding extremely good. Check out the harmonies around the chorus of "Sail"; it has a nice Simon and Garfunkle feel to it. I could just kick myself now, because I had originally intended on taking pictures of the studio and Bruce so that I could remember my first time. Ultimately, I guess I won't need pictures...they say you never forget your first time. Just jokes..Just jokes

Thirteen

I just finished watching a fantastic movie:Thirteen. It's about the trials and tribulations that a girl in her early teens may go through as a result of poor parenting, or unavailable parenting. Truely a superb movie...I can't necessarily say that I relate to what she went through, but I'm sure many can. This is why I firmly believe that homeschooling will not provide any better a result for a teenager. At the point where the girl in the movie begins conforming to the druggy-popular kids, the damage had already been done. You have to reach these children way before the teenage years to make sure they have the right tools to handle these types of situations.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHELLE. It is 1:00 A:M 2/14 as of this writing. Kudos on the protection of the mouse.

Chuckie Cheese

The whole family got together tonight to celebrate all the birthdays at Chuckie Cheese. The brothers gots me a "Back to the Future" model car and a sleeping bag for the Woods

Towards the end of evening, I began to get the feeling that Michelle didn't truely appreciate the Kennedy biography that I got for her. To be perfectly honest, there might even be a chance of her returning it. If I gain knowledge of this, I will think bad thoughts about Dylan.

Tonight was the first night for the family to meet James, Heather's boyfriend. Nice lad, indeed. He didn't get Michelle or me a present though. ...Not sure what he was hoping to accomplish by doing this.

Heather and her boyfriend, James. 

The "WAYDYS!!! 

I have a flippin math test that is due tonight by 11:55. But is Jeffrey gonna get it done early today? Anyone? Anyone? Nope! Something tells me that I'll be stressing over it around 11:45 tonight thinking "BOLLOCKS"!

In other news, I will be meeting up with the family later tonight to celebrate...four birthdays at Chuckie Cheese. That'll be off the perverbial hook. Needless to say, the kids picked the flippin location because they get whatever the flip they want! While searching for presents for the kids at Toys R(backwards "R")Us, I came across some seriously funny valentine's cards. I'm still trying to think of what to get Michelle for her birthday, although I've already found the bag that I'm going to place the gift in. It has negroes on it.

(Kel's voice)HEY MICHELLE,HOLD ON WHILE I SET UP THE TIMER!

Hey 

Wimbledon

I watched Wimbledon around 4:00 A:M last night....just couldn't sleep. Pretty good I guess, but then again, I always like the movies that that dude makes (Knight's Tale, Beautiful Mind). I'm gonna go into the studio Tuesday morning to record a couple of guitar vocals to at least give people an idea of what I sound like...good or bad.

I rented Jamie Kennedy X: Season 2 the other night. Funny as bollocks it was! Especially the "world's oldest waiter" bit. The part where he rides by and throws the bread on the table is so rich! I'm also partial to the zombie commercial bit....the bit as a whole wasn't that funny, but it doesn't get any better than when Jamie says to the old lady crying for her dead husband at the cemetery, "Listen. He'll be there today. He'll still be there tomorrow. Now leave"! Ahhh man. Good times. Good things

Reissues....Remasters...Dualdisks

I can't stand how movies and music keep getting reissued. I've bought this damn Back in Black album five times now. I'd like to say, "Hey, I'm not gonna submit to the recording industry by buying the new dual disks.", but unfortunately I can't. Once again, I will be spending $14.95 so that I may watch twenty-three minutes of uninteresting special features. Damn.

On a lighter note, I've posted a newer version of "Wonderful" on MYSPACE

At the moment, I am asking myself why I have been staring at a computer screen, on and off, for the last five hours. Why must I click the refresh button over and over only to find that there aren't any new postings? My brother hit it on the nose when he said, "I could accomplish in five minutes what I spend hours doing." Indeed you are right, Kel. Indeed you are right.

The demo we recorded at Direct Image can be downloaded at

HEATHER'S SITE

I've just learned something very interesting and helpful. Although this might be obvious to most of you, it took me twenty years to figure this out: If you study a bit, school is easy. Who would have thought such a thing??

Got a wagon? 

Cousins

I decided that I might like to have a record of my life to review when I am old. Luckily, I am related to the man who created blogging. Thank heavens because my big brother (he likes computers too) was unable to. Speaking of family, I am the last sibling to submit to the online journal frenzy. I also have a myspace account you may view at MYSPACE