Hello, ol' friend!

I've been having a great time getting reacquainted with Photoshop and graphic design lately. Started working on a new music project and when it came time for a logo and myspace profile design, I looked up some photoshop tutorials (not because I need them, but because I wanted some new ideas). I only looked up some 3D text tuts, but those sparked my creativity and ingenuity to experiment in other ways. This got me back into graphics like I haven't experienced in many years, where I've been manically spending several hours straight in photoshop while the rest of the world dissapears into oblivion (I haven't really missed much, lol). But now it's time to get back to the project's music and hope it lives up to the image I've created for it. I think it will, though ;)

w00t! Leather Day has arrived.

Got the 2 pigsuede hides in today and am now ready to start the next batch of straps.



The two hides (the yellower leather in the pic) came in the same color, you might call it a camel or cornmeal color. To be honest, I was hoping to get a different color on each hide (maybe the trick is to order assorted colors on separate orders?). I can live with this, though, because I'd rather have two hides in a color like this, an earthtone which is easily usable, than two in some oddball color (like this rather horrid turquoise I've seen) that I'd have a harder time using.

There's enough material here for maybe 7 straps, I can get well over a dozen if I order some additional middle-layer veg split. May do that since I need to order a couple other items anyway. But first, I'll design a prototype strap (since this is a different style from my last batch), that'll give me a much clearer idea of what I can get out of the rest of the leathers.

New Track: Continue...

I know it's my birthday, but instead I'll give you all a present... a new piece of music titled Continue...

I wrote this piece back in 2006 --as a matter of fact it was 2 years ago this coming Friday. It's not the piece I mentioned in my previous post, actually it's not even one I planned to work on this weekend. It's been sitting on my hard drive this whole time because I had hopes of doing more with it. However, to date nothing has jumped out at me so I figured it must be done already... wrap it up and push it out before I do something to ruin it :)

Click Here to listen

Meantime

Got word my leathers will be here next Wednesday (w00t!). Can't wait to kick out some new straps! In the meantime, I've been working on music. Adding some extra parts to an older ambient guitar track and wanting to finish up some others that have been lying around. Don't hold me to it, but maybe I'll have a new track to post before I dive into the straps.

Shuttle Sidebar

Just created a little sidebar extra to display the remaining Space Shuttle launch info. As you probably know, the Shuttle fleet is scheduled for retirement in 2010, so these are the last shuttle flights we will ever see. Due to a number of issues, there's little chance of ever seeing another spacecraft like this. The fleet is expected to be replaced by the new Constellation system beginning in 2014, which will be extremely reminiscient of the Saturn V rockets used during the Apollo program that took humans to the moon. If we ever see another airframe-styled space vehicle, you can bet it will only be from the likes of Scaled Composites (Burt Rutan) or some other private-sector company.

Just wanna say...

I'm a bit tossed on champers and merlot right now in celebration of our new president. I hope I pass out soon cuz I absolutely cannot wait to wait (lol) WAKE up tomorrow and confirm it wasn't just a dream :)

Yes, he did the ending, too!

I was certainly hoping he would because it's a perfect fit

Stuck In My Head

Over the summer I found a cassette at my dad's house. It's front-to-back live music recordings of my great-uncle and three other family members (who I believe are another great-uncle, great-aunt, and first cousin). A few tracks were recorded at one of their homes (in Laramie, Wyoming), and all but one of the rest were of a performance in Woods Landing, WY. Not sure about when, though I'm guessing in the 80s or 90s. All but two of the songs are covers of classic country western songs (some going back to the 30s and 40s).

I'm not a big fan of country music but there is something cozy and familiar about the classic era of the genre. My great-uncle was a 100% genuine cowboy/farmhand and, though I may have only met him once, he and the rest of my family up there lived the image and lifestyle to the letter. I loved going up there to visit with my dad, who thoroughly loved it (he was raised there for a few years and attended Laramie University).

Recordings like this are rare, especially in my family where --despite the large number of musicians we can claim-- it's been all too common a tragedy for them to be accidentally erased or otherwise destroyed. I remember one visit when I got to experience my great-grandpa, great-grand-uncle, and great-uncle perform their favorite songs in great-grandpa's living room, just as they often did. Guitar, fiddle, accordion, and character-oozing vocals. Music just doesn't get any more real than that! I think my dad recorded that performance only to have it accidentally taped over (possibly by me) years later.

So, when I found this tape, I knew it was my duty to preserve it. It felt as though I had been handed one of, if not the last surviving copies of some sacred text. This weekend I recorded it to hard drive and will next begin trying to revitalize the music (noise-reduction, equalization, etc.). Following that, I'd like to package it up in a true CD album format, complete with a quality cover, liner notes, etc., and then make copies for the family.

I've only listened to these songs once through, and I've listened to a bunch of other music since. But for the last couple days I've awaken with them in my head, where they seem to remain on endless loop throughout the day. And I'm already noticing the signs of how it may likely affect my own music. It's reminded me of how simple, straight-forward, and genuine music can (and maybe should) be to be effective --and that it's not even about being effective at all, but just about telling a story.

No, I didn't make this...

but the idea is intriguing, LOL

The Next Batch of Straps

So, I'm really wanting to get started on another guitar strap but I don't have all the material I need yet. 2 hides of pigsuede are still on backorder. What I did this time was order some "mystery package" leathers, the mystery lies in what colors I will receive. I figured I would make a batch of 3-layer straps from whatever color-combos I had to work with (3 layers of thin leathers sandwiched together, makes them more flexible than 1 or 2-layers of thicker leather).

For the top layer, I received a huge piece of black grained cowhide and a smaller hide of slightly olive/grey-colored pigskin. I also have a large piece of natural veg-tanned split (suede) which is for the middle layer. Just waiting on the bottom layer stuff to show up. Fortunately, the black will go with whatever other colors I end up with (though I was hoping for something more interesting than black). Hope I get something that matches that olive/grey hide.

Also trying to think of how I can give these straps some uniqueness. There are several places that make similar straps and they generally only have their name or logo stamped/printed on them. These thinner, grained leathers don't work the same as the heavier veg-tan stuff I've used when it comes to drawing/carving/dying designs. But I have a bunch of scrap leathers that I might be able to put to use 3-dimensionally, plus a few other ideas.

Still, I find it easier to get ideas when I have all my materials in front of me.