Friday Night Still Life

Yet another diner still life. Yes, I'm a nut.

Hallo'een in NYC

Hallo'een in NYC

Shameless Plugs

Because you have money, and I don't. Seriously. Let me pimp my art and ideas at you, and for a nominal fee, you too can hang them on the wall, or wear them for all the world to see!

http://phrogie.deviantart.com/prints/ - My dA Print Shop
http://110713.spreadshirt.com - My Spreadshirt Shop


And, of course, as soon as there's PopRANT stuff available (soon!), I'll be posting about that as well :)

Friday Night Still-Life

I had actually been taking a phone cam shot of the cheque... But saw the opportunity to snap a little diner still life photo. Eh, I liked the composition without having to move anything.

Ramblings of a Mad Woman

It's been a busy couple of months, even after the holiday season is long past. Turns out that I get less sleep during the weekends now, than I did over the work week. I'm not complaining about that, actually... but I am waiting for the day where I crash for 72 hours straight. I'll just have to remember to turn my phone off right before that happens ;)

PopRANT is almost done recording. Seriously. Tracy did the last of the guitar bits last weekend. We did random percussion bits the weekend before that. Week after next (hopefully), we'll have a conga part for Lonely (by Frank Malabe... bass god and general all-around "good guy" not to mention my musical guru, and the one person who's managed to call me on my shit). After that, a couple keyboard parts... and then final vocal recordings (not necessarily in that order). And then the fun part of mixing and production.

Crap. I gotta get that artwork done, I guess. At least it's started.

At the same time, the question still goes: how do we go about playing live? We've toyed with the idea of just doing a duo bass and guitar... but let's face it, we're -both- percussionists: a lot of the music needs some kinda backbeat at the very least. So do we break down and get a drum machine? I'm afraid we'll lose the visceral nature of the music itself by relying on something mechanical. I already know that Tracy has major issues with even working with a click track. Too sterile for her. It has no soul. Me, not so much trouble... hell, I love the fact that I don't have to second guess the timing (Tracy and I groove together when she's on drums... but there's this technical side to me that just let's go when I know the "one" is where it's supposed to be without my having to think about it). But yeah, maybe a little sterile sounding.
Another idea would be to bring both guitar and a set, and then switch off as necessary. Which might also mean my having to learn those parts as well. Yes, absolutely possible... but also a waste of time, when I could be going over bass parts for new songs. Or better: writing new songs that utilize my voice better (this album: not showing off my voice to my best extent. Not even close.)

So... that leaves us where we've been all along: looking for a guitarist. Funny thing is, we don't even care so much about skill level (hell, when I was brought on board, I knew nothing about the bass... well not enough to make any kinda difference. Sure, I had musical experience. I sang. I played all manner of percussion. I played cello for a few years a million years ago. Not completely clueless... but I had to learn an instrument from scratch.)... we need someone who's into the music... who's dedicated, and who's going to pump -our- creative juices, while we pump theirs. We don't care about age. Or gender. Or race. Or financial background (TOO much... they need to be able to afford their own equipment, and to be able to chip in for band expenses). We don't care what yer musical background is (only that you have one). Tracy and I have hugely DIFFERENT musical tastes (there are a few things we agree on, but we'll argue more often than not).

Will it be possible to exert some influence on the recorded stuff alone? The internet is a big place... and a lot can happen out in cyber-land. I've read about bands or solo artists who've done it all themselves, and then went to gain some fame on the internet. That requires some marketing savvy... which I hope I have enough of. We'll see, I s'pose. In the meantime, things can wait until the album is finished... can't push a product I don't have yet (despite gaming companies (and other companies too) being able to do just that)

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Work should be interesting for the next couple of weeks. And not in that fun way, that it never manages to be anyway. Over the course of the next two weeks, we'll have three people out on vacation (one for one week, two for another week), and three people leaving to go to another store, that'll be opening up later this month. All of these people are full-timers, at least specialist level or higher. I'm a little concerned. Not stressed yet tho. No, that'll come -after- the weekend, because if I feel work-stress over the weekend, I'm liable to kill someone. And then that's one -less- person who'll be able to work, because I'm sure I'll either be incarcerated or dead. -smiles sweetly-

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Speaking of the weekend. Headshot day part tres is happening this Saturday. I participated in the last one (couple of weekends ago)... and was quite pleased with the results :) Prolly won't particpate in this one... but I'll be there. I'm just too facinated with the camera and such. The working end of it, that is... there's still a lot I can learn, which I'll then apply to my 3D art. And, of course, more fodder for me to touch up and hone my photoshop skills. One of these days, those will come in handy.

Anyway, let me sign off before people start coming in. Ciao for now.

In Sickeness, and In Health...

Okay, that title sounds like I'm contemplating marriage. I'm not. In any way, shape or form.
That said...

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The sickness part comes from an incident that happened last week. It started on Sunday, during a recording session with PopRANT. Everything was going fine (well, kinda... I was not on the mark music-wise, but that's neither here nor there), until I got some food into me. And bam! Out of nowhere, I got hit with what I thought was the worst bout of heartburn I'd ever had. Bad enough that I wound up losing the contents of my stomach.
Took that night, and the next day to recover. A little queezy for some of it, but mostly okay.
Next night, I go back to work. Was fine until about 5am... and then hit with pain again. Enough this time that I left work as early as possible, got home, and had Mom drive me to the ER.

Long story short: turns out it wasn't heartburn. Was my gall bladder. Was in the hospital for 3 days. Had it removed. Now recovering from the three small incisions they made in order to take it out. Could have been a whole lot worse. Oddly enough, despite not being allowed to eat or drink ANYTHING for a day and a half, and then being on clear liquids for the next two days... and then eating sparsely, as I got used to solid foods again, you'd think I'd have lost some weight.
No dice.
-sigh- ah well. At least my colour is good again.

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More sickness: turns out that from the 2nd day of my hospital stay on, Mom was having difficulties breathing. I was released on a Thursday, by the following Monday, we'd be headed back to the ER, this time for her. Yes, I yelled at her for not saying anything sooner.
But, since then, we've been joking to everyone that the reason she went in was that she was jealous of me.
We did manage to confuse the ER staff tho... wound up with the same physician on staff, who had the "I know you from somewhere" look on his face. By the time I left that day, he had told me "no more family members here for at least 2 weeks." I told him that it was good that it was just Mom and me then, and that I don't plan on coming back any time soon.
Mom was released today, so all is well. Of course, she was bitching because she had planned on going to AC this week, but that just means that it's definate that she's better. She'll get to go next week.

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Photoshoot number 2 is this weekend. I was supposed to go out last weekend and scour the area for the things we need for the shoot... that didn't happen. Sure, I was out of the hospital, but I was still in recovery mode. It's gonna be a last minute thing, I think. Especially as it's Friday mourning already.
At least I have most of my outfit.

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Recording is going well, I think. I can say I don't remember the last parts of the last recording session (yeah, you've already read why, so I'm not repeating it), but I've got the rough mix recordings of it. The others think it's too... "clean" at this point. I told them to calm down, it's not finished yet. Things will be just fine. Looking forward to getting to the vocal tracks... tho I've still got to lay down scratch vocals for my own two songs. We haven't touched one note for those yet.

Hopefully, we'll be able to play out soonish, too... it would be nice to be able to support the CD when we get it finished. Haven't even considered the idea of a CD release party... we prolly should at some point.

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A'ight. Enough for now. Going to go back to work. Or rather, go back to watching my coworker try to stay awake, but manage to just sleep. While standing. I'm too amused to even be angry at this point. Tho I'm not discounting the fact that I may be later. Whee.

I Am a Heartless Bitch

It's September 12th. And I'm quite thankful that it is, because that means the 11th is over.
What happened 6 years ago was tragic, horrific and many more adjectives I'm not inclined to think of. But it was 6 years ago. The media is treating it as tho it really happened yesterday. I even heard tale of a radio station somewhere out west that replayed the entire broadcast from that fateful morning. Holy War of the Worlds, Batman! How many people, I wondered, tuned in during the middle of it, and thought we were being attacked again?

So irresponsible.

No. People will not forget. Certainly not in our lifetime. Not that we're even given the option, considering how it's shoved down our throats every year. Yes. It was tragic. But does anyone think that the people who did lose people involved are going to get -any- kind of closure because of this? It's like a wound that's barely healed, and then someone comes along and rips out the stitches... just to remind you that you have a wound. Uhm... thanks, the pain -was- actually a reminder, I didn't -need- you to come along and make things worse.

I swear people can be such asshats.

What gets me is the places that are honoring those lost that really have no business in doing so. Tonight, our local, minor league baseball team read off a list of all the Long Islanders that lost their lives that day. I can only imagine, small stadium, filled about halfway with kids, having this solemn affair, most of the poor kids (some of whom might not even have been born yet at the time) wondering what the hell is going on. A moment of silence after the list is read... aaaaaand play ball!

Let me repeat it once more: this was a horrific thing that happened. I hope that such a thing never happens again. I feel for the people who lost someone that day. I myself, still can't go by the site and not feel absolutely sick to my stomach. But seriously, enough of the media bites.

Recovering from the Weekend

Ups and downs. That pretty much describes from, really, Thursday onwards.

Thursday: go to my appointment to get my truck inspected. I don't expect any problems, but I do expect them to keep it overnight, if only because I'm not about to get up -that- early to go get it when I can pick it up after work the next day.
Phone call #1: Okay, so there is a problem. One that causes me to not pass inspection. Something about ball joints on both of my front tires. Major safety concern. And a reason as to why my front tires are wearing on the outer rims, as opposed to the center treads. Oh, and yeah, it's gonna cost me about $600 to get it fixed. Not counting replacing the tires and getting an alignment, which "isn't necessary now, but will be shortly." Joy.
Phone call #2: Aparantly, the place where my mechanic gets his parts from screwed up. One number difference, and instead of delivering the front ball joins, they deliver the read ball joints. And it's too late at this point for them to do anything about it. They're going to have to sort out the mess in the mourning... which means, I'm not picking up my truck in the mourning, but rather sometime between noon and 1pm.

Have I mentioned that at this point, I'm supposed to be swapping vehichles with Michele, because she's in need of the bed to transport many MANY chests of ice to a wedding she's working Saturday? AND that I was planning on getting up early on Friday to have dinner with her and Bill before karaoke. Sleep? Feh. Who needs it?

Friday rolls around. Let's not even discuss work. The past two weeks have been... rough. Summer is definately over. I sleep for a couple hours on getting home, get the phone call to come pick up my truck (no more problems. Yay!), and put a strangle-hold on my wallet, as I cough up six bills. I get back home, manage to not sleep so much more, and get up early and go have dinner.

Dinner consisted of mostly Bill and I discussing business: first, me and my band using his studio for recording (more on that later)... and then his wanting business cards. Oh, and Michele soliciting for a "thank you" when the album comes out. It was funny. Ya had to be there.

Karaoke night. It's the last night to qualify for finals in the contest. Now, let me explain something... I had pretty much written the entire thing off as of a few weeks prior (not going to discuss here), and even though I was still singing my all, I had, at this point, stopped expecting anything. The contest didn't even start until something like 1:30am. There were 4 of us this week... and truth told, when they announced me as winner for the week, my jaw just about hit the floor. Not that I thought I was bad (on the contrary, I've had several weeks where I thought I was a serious contender, if not outright winner, and then managed to not win after all), but I had thought that another girl had it. In the end, she wound up as a "wild card" pick, so really, I wasn't far off. I'm still convinced that if the contest had happened earlier in the evening, she had a much better chance of taking it. And I would have wound up judging (which I still take as a compliment)... which in and of itself might have been very interesting.

Saturday. Rehearsal. There was one song that was in contention between Matt and myself. For weeks, he's been struggling with trying to hit notes without sounding like he's hurting himself (I believe the phrase I used to describe it was "it sounds like someone's trying to grab ahold of your lungs... by reaching up through your testicles." I swear I have such a way with words sometimes -smirk-) I was pulling for him. Honestly. But we're just a couple of weeks away from starting the recording sessions (ahem. GLEE!), and a decision had to be made. Of course, now the concern is that I'm going to make an angry song sound a little too... sweet... but it's far easier for me to sound angry, than it is for Matt to not screech out those notes. I have some practicing to do, tho. If nothing else, it should be an interesting contrast for me vocally... I now have two songs on the album... and they're going to be back to back. Angry to forlorn.

Saturday night. So there I was, hanging out with the Mary and the folks from Misss Guided (yes, three S'es)... they're in the windup of their first set (of three, with only 4 to go in that set)... when the cops come in. Band's not allowed to play any more. -blink blink- First some nonsense about the bar not having the licsence for live music, despite the fact they have a cabaret licsence. Next, we find out that the bar across the street has to shut down it's band too. Oh, and the mayor is outside as well, enforcing it all. -blink blink- Much later, we find out that it had to do with someone getting mugged in the train station parking lot the night before. You know, because live music causes that, and not the lowlifes that hang out in the trainstation at wierd hours. BUT... a loophole was found. The bar locked the doors, and suddenly, they were playing a private party (and people inside were told that if there were still friends/family coming, to give them a call when they got there, so they would be let in). I guess the word I'm looking for here is clusterfuck. And drama. But at least it wasn't my drama, so there's something to be thankful for there at least.

Of course, about 2:30 rolls around, the band's just about packed up and talking about getting food... and my phone let's me know I have a voicemail. It's Michele. Now remember, she has my truck...

Remember also that all 4 tires -did- pass inspection. Yes, the two front ones would have to be replaced soon... but should last me a little bit (they were also rotated to the back, so that my two "good" tires were in the front, where I needed the traction). Seems to me a "little bit" turned out to be less than 24 hours later. Michele called me from the Southern State... where she was pulled off to the side of the road, after having a blow out. Long story short, the parkways on LI are "restricted" to AAA vehichles... meaning that if I get someone to come out to fix my truck, I have to pay them, and then get reimburesed by AAA. It turned out to be another $125 or so. I finally made it home around 7am Sunday. The rest of Sunday was spent in bed. Sleeping. About 24 hours or so worth of sleep.

So I get to drop by Goodyear later and spend more money I don't have. It's a good thing my raise is kicking in this month. I've already got the next two or three paycheques spent.

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So... highlights... I managed to be Week #15's winner in the NY Karaoke & DJ contest at Finn's Pub. Kinda cool. Sarah did not let me down (I sang Sarah McLachlan's Possession... hear it on their website! It's #15 at the bottom).

Photo isn't horrible either... considering what time is was, and how little sleep I had gotten, I'm looking pretty good.

I suppose I should start thinking about what I'm going to sing this week, neh?

Holy shitte! We're going to start recording this month! Project that's something over 6 years in the making (and almost a year since I climbed on board). I'm excited. I can't even begin to imagine how Tracy and Matt must feel. I know they had both given up on it at one point... and to see it resurected... and actually going to production? Words fail me. If all goes well, a photoshoot will also happen early next month... and then I get to start on the graphic design portion of the album. I should start thumbnailing soon, to save some time. If it gets timed the way I think it might, the album might be finished and out in time for my one year anniversary with PopRANT.

Very cool, indeed.

Egads, It's Been A While...

And I can't even say I've been slacking because I've been so extremely busy (I've been no busier than normal). I've just been... slacking. It's been well over a month since my last real post... couple of things have happened since then.

One: I had a chance to perform with the Ghosts of Electricity at Katie's of Smithtown. Was for a live recording, and I've had a chance to listen to some of it already. One of the (well, in actuality, it's two seperate songs, they were just combined into one entity) songs are alread posted in their MySpace page. I played djembe for this show, and sang a little back up for their closing song. Unfortunately, they wound up getting feedback on a number of pieces, so those will probably bet getting rerecorded in a studio setting, which is fine by me. I'm of the same mind that Bill is: don't want to release anything that's less than perfect ;) In any case, I'm looking forward to doing it, and I'm glad they asked me to be a part of this project.

Two: I had a brief moment where I played with Lewd Buddha. They were playing a private party (which I had also been invited to), and at one point the generator that was supplying their power ran out of gas. But John Bottone didn't miss a beat and went into a drum solo, with Tony picking up on it right away. Me, I took it upon myself to run to the back line and pick up a stick or two and started a counter rhythm on cymbal and blocks. Frankie even joined in on some conga. When the power came back, I finished up the piece with 'em and then quietly went back to my seat.

Three: I finally got my Bass Floor Pod in, and have started to play with it some (for those who don't know, it's a pre-amp device that gives my bass a lot more options, sound-wise, among other things)... I think the main challenge will be to settle on a basic sound that I want to use as a basis, and then changing up as needed. Right now, it's almost too many options, and it's kinda overwhelming. I'll get a chance on Friday to play more, and to hear what it sounds like with my amp (all I've heard it thru is my headphones so far).

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Oh! I've been recorded at karaoke. Check it out here: http://www.audio.nykaraoke-dj.com/audio_003.htm and then scroll down to Sue G. They said they have other recordings of me... I'm going to have to ask them one of these days to burn me a copy, so I can hear what else they have.

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I know I'm forgetting things... I know I've done other things the past couple of months, but I'm just blanking now. I'm sure part of that has to do with the severe lack of sleep I'm on right now (woke up stupid early this morning, and then couldn't get back to sleep. Not for lack of being tired, more because of the wicked bout of indigestion I was battling. Hate that.)

Oh, on work-related notes, my store is one of three in the country that is piloting the new software bundle. I'm excited about it... and apprehensive at the same time. I mean, I love this stuff. I've done testing before, and I love being a part of the process. The problem comes with coworkers who aren't as familiar with it, and who just bitch that "such and such doesn't work" or "this is buggy. It sucks!" not quite getting the point that yes, things -are- buggy... that's part of our job: to find those and report them, so they can be fixed. And then there's the learning curve. A lot higher than maybe it should be. But then, people are resistant to change. But... in the meantime, at least I get to play with the updated software.

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Anyway, back to work for me. Got some things I have to finish up before 6am (yeah yeah, 2 hours away, plenty of time... still tho, better to finish it now instead of at the last minute). Already yawning like nobody's business. Yay.

Yeah, I'm on Gaia Online. Sue me.