Somebody Slap Me!!

Democrat…..Republican….Independent….I could give two (*^^ a’ (*^%^. The thing human beings existing on this earth need to realize is politicians in any country, of any party, and of any belief are not there to represent you. These people represent an idea………..an idea that normal everyday humans have nothing to do with anymore. The waves of time have distorted power and amplified it to such an extent that corruption and greed seem as intricate as breathing itself. I have nearly stopped caring.

Growing up I was excited by the possibility of causing change. I have carried this excitement into my adulthood, mutated though it may be, this excitement has a purpose. So many members of my generation are afraid to speak up, convinced there is no reason to change what works……….somehow convinced that what we are doing today will work forever. Sorry Generation X, but what we are doing to the world will not work long at all. Your ability to enrich and secure the lives of people other than yourself and family is a gift, though at times it may seem a burden.

Should God be in school? Should Abortion be Legal? Should we cut taxes? What’s going on with government spending? Is Global Warming Real? Is the Apocalypse Upon us? Should we blow up the world before they blow us up first? Daunting isn’t it. I had a conversation with my wife and mother recently and came to this conclusion thanks to their help. Government should not tell me what to think. Government should not be in my Bedroom, Household, or Business. Government should not be so much about Morality and Christianity and Freedom. Government should run the country plain and simple.

I have been trying to watch the beginning of the debates and come to an extremely scary conclusion. These politicians are not different from American Idol Contestants. They might as well be Pop Stars, or Reality TV divas, or on the cover of Teen or Gossip Magazines. Our society is becoming such a joke, and what do we do, re-elect and watch intensely for what these dumb (&*^% do next season. "They want you to answer like this, say something about this, comb your hair the other way, wear the black suit it makes you look more powerful, smile, kiss your wife, hug the special kid, act strong, show your hip youthful edge." Soon Hilary Clinton will shave her head, check into rehab, and steal Brad Pitt from Angelina Jolie. John McCain will walk into the debates with 50 cent rapping “Wankstas” like he is Mayweather ready to challenge Terrorists to a cage match. Obama will make a cameo appearance on TRL promoting his new Pop Single “Paris Hilton’s Jail House Love Affair” a duet with Mary J. Blige. Somebody slap me!!

I need my elected officials worried about U.S. and world Economics, not Gay Marriage. I need my elected officials to make quick decisions in times of crisis, not answer every question based on what the surveys say. I need my politicians to fight for justice, not revenge. I need my elected officials to improve health care and the quality of life, not bicker over Abortion, Church, Morality…I mean what a joke like any of these politicians have real Morality. I don’t care what you care about Democrats. I don’t care what you care about Republicans. I don’t care what you care about Terrorists. Because you have forgot the most basic of truths………you need to care what I care about first. And not based on a survey of Caucasian Middle Class Males in my age range who are married to minorities and listen to Hip-Hop music. This doesn’t work when you are dealing with living breathing human beings. Knowledge is Peace. Peace is Knowledge. When the Media crumbles so will your corruption. 1

What's The Reason?

Why is it that every producer I talk to recently is so anti-Reason? I personally have been using this program for years now, and when combining budget with functionality believe it to be the best Bang-for-the-Buck in the Biz right now. I create almost all of my tracks mixing Reason with outside instrumentation and loops in Rewire Mode (a mode that allows Reason to be combined with your Pro-Tools Session via an invisible virtual snake) It adds far more functionality and room for creativity than 16 tracks on an MPC or Triton. Not to knock these amazing machines, which I use also, but why make your songs with one method? Every producer has there own personal opinion of what works best, most of it based on habit, and availability. This is just my opinion, based on conversations I have had with several producers in the last couple of months, and should only be considered factual information if you are a producer and musician of the same school as me.
How do producer’s opinions form? Gossip? I do know one thing for sure, nearly every producer I have spoken to about Propellerhead’s Reason has stated that the sounds are thin and the program is too complicated. Several of these producers later admitted to never using the program. Thin sounding and too complicated……….Makes sense if you run off of presets and don’t know much about signal flow……but then what kind of producer are you? I guess I’m sick and tired of producers who buy Bangin’ Dirty South, Timbaland and Dr. Dre kits for the MPC and walk and talk as if their drum kits are the best thing since sliced bread. Like they just got a call from Jay-Z for a beat they made yesterday (their second beat ever by the way). Like their beats knock so hard god opens the door to see who’s there. Come on…Try designing something unique and different sounding, some of my favorite dub records have very thin sounding drums which adds to their character. If you want thick, punchy, or trunk rattling drums, reason gives you the base and capability to design them, it just doesn’t pre package them for you.
People always misjudge what they do not understand. Reason’s creative platform is significantly different than the one used by any other software, and may be daunting at first. However, remember, just because Kanye West uses an MPC doesn’t mean you can’t make a Kanye beat using other hardware or software. Reason has samplers also, and synths, and drum machines, and matrix sequencers, and effects units, and a vocoder, and graintable synthesis, and the combinator, and Dr.Rex for loops, and a Mastering Suite, ReWire and much more. Learn what all of these do, and how to operate them properly, and Reason may not sound so thin anymore. Don’t forget you can also fatten up your tracks with Pro-Tools Plug-Ins in real time. Maybe Reason is just too much for some to handle. Maybe Not. I’ll sign out with this…………………..The practice of copying other producer’s style and creative process is slowly killing our music….believe your ears, not the Gossip! Peace and knowledge……….Bear the Astronot. If “The Source” and “XXL” jumped off of a cliff would you jump too?

The Artwork: An Opening Statement.

(Cover Art for Turntable Kachina "Sound is Matter Vol.001" Wait until you see the "Cricket Songs Artwork"........AMAZING!!)

Ian Castruita and I started our friendship when we were both under 4 feet tall. Everyone has a friend that they did everything with, the only difference, I stayed in touch with mine. We were in the same class in school, and shared one thing in common, imagination. We built forts, drew pictures, and pretended we were ninjas. Neither one of us had a great grasp on reality, and maybe that is why we always got along so well……we created a world to suit our own liking.
It began when Ian invited me to his house, which was right across the street from our elementary school, to play Kaleico Vision one afternoon. We played “Popeye” for hours. At this time in the evolution of gaming Popeye was basically the same concept as Donkey Kong, a series of latters and angled shelves, and if you got past Bruto, a kiss from Olive Oil. We tried for hours to climb to the top without being barreled down in the process. Nothing much has changed. Except the barrels are bigger, and less relenting.
Ian was always an excellent artist. He would draw intricate designs of spaceships, flying skateboards, and magical weapons, that we would use to develop role playing games. I remember eating his parents’ excellent Menudo and Tamales, and losing hours of time trying to pass Legend of Zelda in record time, or defeat Mother Brain. I would bring over mixtapes I concocted by removing the commercials from radio shows on Power 92.3, and while they echoed in the background, Ian would draw up the blueprint to our plan. A secret plot to takeover the world.
Time warp…….and now it’s 2007. Both Ian and I are now over 4 feet tall, and I don’t know about him, but I still build forts, and swear to my son that I am a trained and skilled ninja. Ian, just like me, passes time at a day job to pay the bills. Both of us have been starving artists for years. Ian is an extremely skilled sketch artist, comic fanageler, and paint brush percolator (whatever that means.) I’ve been battling the beastly music industry for years, and finally have found the light at the end of the tunnel. Several albums ready to release this year, and guess who did the artwork for all of them, and all of my photography…my best friend…..Ian Castruita.
Rejection becomes part of an artist’s life. A good artist is often rejected over and over….fails time and time again, and has to find a way to create even while facing the intruding possibility that…..he/she may never make it. By make it I mean “Make A Living As An Artist,” not be the next tabloid in People Magazine. I always have a lingering feeling that Ian and I face this possibility together. That we travel in tandem, silently dodging the sharpened blade of the “Society Norm Samurai.” Whose blade can sever a man’s creativity and dreams in a split second………The killer of Art………but could he ever catch such well trained Ninja? Not in this story.
The artwork to an album is a story within itself. A glimpse into what the artist felt, how the artist looked, and where he was when he made the music. My story is a story of triumph, hard work, and struggle. The fight to make music, even when every aspect of society and principle of life has drilled me with the oft repeated “It’s too late! Why don’t you just make it a hobby?” Ian’s story is the same. But in the end, this artwork is a personal story; it is a story of friendship……one friend who banged on pots in the kitchen……one friend who drew on the walls….two friends who will continue to help each other far into the future. For more info check out Ian’s stuff blog which includes a link to his portfolio @ en-blog.blogspot.com Enjoy Earthlings.