1. I'm tired. I think continual listening, especially when checking for pitch, may be exhausting. Just a thought.
2. Recently, while recording an album, I witnessed one of the most amazing vocal performances I've ever heard. It was a subject so personal to the singer, and delivered straight from the heart/gut with so much passion, that I still nearly cry when I hear it. It makes me wonder why I don't hear or feel this more often though.
3. Some small studios milk their clients dry. A friend told me a story about an artist who started recording at a studio, was told it would take $3000 and 6 months of weekend/evening time to do. A year later the project now sits at $6000 total and they owe the studio half of that, plus it's not even done. Why did the studio keep working on it? How does it get this far? I feel bad if clients need an extra day or two...
4. I was reading some other mag and the editor was going on about how much he loves gear, how he wants to buy all this stuff, and what a tempting gear-fest the trade shows are (NAMM, AES, etc). I realized how little I care about that shit. When I walk around these trade shows I see a few things I wouldn't mind owning, and a couple that might actually make my job easier, but nothing I'm salivating over. I love hanging with the gear manufacturers and engineers that are there and talking shop, but when people walk up to me and say, "Did you see anything good today?" I have to jog my brain to figure out what they are talking about. Maybe it's just me.
5. I can't stand Steely Dan but I love Pink Floyd. Would someone please take me to task for this?
6. It seems like I'll get in a rut of recording, using the same mics and techniques on every session, and then one session will push me out of my routine. I like that. It's driving me crazy when I'm working on a record and nobody gives me enough input to jog me a little. You know, ask for something nearly impossible so I can try to do it. That's when things get interesting.
7. Uhh.....
8. Reviewing recording equipment is difficult. I rarely have a day where there are no clients here, the magazine's all caught up, and I'm just sitting around with time to try out mics. So that means I try them in recording sessions, and I hate making people guinea pigs. If I throw up a mic and it sounds like shit on that source I look kinda dumb too. I'm always curious about new stuff though, even if I'm not salivating.
9. Communication is important. I've been realizing how many things I've never directly said to people, things I assume they'd know or thought I told them. It's also important in the studio. We were working for a few takes with a headphone system where one of the musicians couldn't hear our talkback mic. Boy does that set up a weird situation and make even the most secure person feel paranoid. I fixed it the next day.
10. Communication also helps when doing bookings and scheduling. I just had a client call to confirm next weekend when they were scheduled for this Monday. It's Sunday night. I need the income. Shit...
11. I've been playing a little bit of bass again! A record I'm producing has been really fun, where I'm picking musicians to hire (John Moen and Mike Clark from the Jicks, Maroons and No-No's!) and I've been playing bass, guitar, tambourine, Casio, etc. It's really fun, plus it makes me more aware of what it's like to go in and track stuff on headphones and learn new parts really fast. I'm contemplating actually recording some stuff of my own at some point even. Like I need more projects in my life.
12. As Tape Op gets larger and more well known it seems like we get a bit more "hate mail" and "hate postings". I guess this is to be expected, and we can't be loved by everyone, but it still really bums me out no matter how deranged the "hater" is. We get way more mail praising what we do and thanking us, and that's pretty darn sweet, so I guess I should just tune out the complaining whiners. They can go start their own recording magazines if they don't like Tape Op, Mix, EQ, Electronic Musician, Audio Media, 180 Degrees, Home Recording, Pro Sound News, Pro Audio Review, Recording or Sound on Sound.
13. I recorded a one-man-band in a hot dog costume singing "Now I wanna be Your Hot Dog" on my last day of work. A fitting end.