blog.andrelareau.com

So, I've moved hosting for the Counterpunch web site to a new host. Well, the DNS people are moving with the greatest of trepidation, which is to say really fucking slow, so when it's all going to be up and running is anyone's guess.

I decided to switch from LiquidWeb to a Dotster VPS package, since I got a coupon for 25% off from Dotster. I have used Dotster for years for DNS redirects and stuff, so I trust them. With the 25% off coupon I'm paying $2.80 more per month for a full blown VPS through Dotster than I was for shared hosting at Liquidweb. Good deal.

The biggest thing I'll miss about Liquidweb is their free support. Dotster only offers free support on stuff that's on their end; for "educational" incidents, you have to pay for a support ticket. Liquidweb offers help on anything, from configuration to "how do I redirect email" to whatever. However, in the three or four years I've used them, 100% of all such calls have ended in, "sorry, we don't offer that on shared hosting accounts." With root access on the VPS I can do anything I need to do. And since I am a rather accomplished UNIX guru at work, I don't think I'll have much trouble administering the box. Plus, the new VPS uses Plesk as opposed to Liquidweb's CPanel. CPanel is kind of lame.

So, once the DNS people get the domain names transferred, I will be updating the Counterpunch web site. Finally. Yeah. I know. It's been down since June. But here's what happened. I took the web site down, planning on revamping it for a week or two, tops. And then guess what happened? We got a record deal with Radtone and had to re-record our album. So the web site was effectively shelved because I had to spend every waking moment on recording.

Once that's done, the plan is to finally figure out a good visual theme for this blog. I have been slacking on that too. I changed this one back to the default theme in order to remind me to change it to something that doesn't suck every time I look at it.

Posted by dre at 02:00 PM | Permalink

Got at b3co.com!

Neato!

Posted by dre at 04:49 PM | Permalink

Even the fire escapes look like they're decorated by a five-year-old. No wonder the place is so damn expensive.

Got on A Wilhelm Scream's guest list. Woo hoo! Those guys are great. They played extremely well, also. It was a treat watching all the excitement from the stage. The crowd was totally into them, it was cool.

No pictures because when I wondered to Nick if they'd let me in with my camera, he said, "no chance." So I left mine at home. Holy crap I could have taken 1,000 pictures last night.

Today is Valentine's Day. Who fucking cares? I'm staying late at work and getting some shit done. Hallmark holidays be damned.

Posted by dre at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I just discovered that Movable Type is free. I find this out now, after I've spent like 3 months tearing my hair out getting WordPress and Folderblog to cooperate. With Movable Type I can do it all with one piece of software, I don't need two different freaking blogs.

Rats.

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Posted by dre at 02:02 PM | Permalink

How hard is it?

Really?

Is it that difficult?

"LOOSING" is something you do with an arrow. "While loosing his arrow, he dropped his bow." As in "to loose." (Or, in France, Toulouse.)

"LOSING" is what you do with your keys. "Losing your keys is very inconvenient." As in "to LOSE."

Loose, used as a verb, is pretty archaic. Mostly people use "loose" to describe the type of pants that I'm wearing. If you're describing losing your files or losing your mind you wouldn't want me to let loose the grammar police on your ass, would you?

Please, people. Just read it over once before you hit "Submit" or "Save" or :wq for you vi types or c-x for emacs or WHATEVER. Spare me the headache of trying to figure out what you were REALLY talking about.

Posted by dre at 01:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Its decision to ditch the camera business altogether includes the cessation of its colour film and photo paper business, in which it has trailed Eastman Kodak of the US and Japan's Fuji Photo Film. more @ BBC News...

Is it just coincidence that, last week, I just sold my Minolta SLR bodies and lenses? Weird...

Posted by dre at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

More and more we go out the door...

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Posted by dre at 01:01 PM | Permalink

This is a test of the emergency MySpace crossposting capability of my blog.

EDIT: And this is the response I got...
Blogs are currently disabled for special maintenance. They will be available again in about 20 minutes.
Sorry for the inconvenience. 1/16/2006

MySpace sucks.

Posted by dre at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

on the virtual front
Messing with the stylesheet on this blog (click over if you're looking at this on livejournal). Still have some work to do but comment if you like the new look so far. Changed the URL. Registered a new domain name for my photo blog. Created a placeholder page for the time being. Upgraded my Mac Mini to Tiger.

on the music front
Played another show in Nick & Sam's basement on Friday. Wrote a new song and the melody is running through my head right now so I know it's halfway decent. Getting excited about the possibility of recording again. I've been so burnt for so long that it seems like I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

photo
Walked around Woodfield Mall on Saturday with Kristen and took pictures after eating sushi at Todai. It felt great to do something totally creative and totally unrelated to any of the other crap that I've been busying myself with. I feel recharged.

Coffee is back in my life.

Posted by dre at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So, in an effort to not be so sickly all the time, yesterday and today I didn't have any coffee, and instead I have been getting cranberry/apple juice from the vending machine when I am thirsty. They also have orange juice, but it tastes even worse than the cranberry/apple juice, if you can believe it. It's in metal cans. I am thirsty again but wulughueaughhh.... it's starting to give me the willies.

When will they make a version of coffee that has vitamin C in it? And vitamin D? And is black and filthy as anything and tastes like a mix between chocolate and creamy death? I WANT THIS PRODUCT! PLEASE, GODS OF COMMERCE, SMILE UPON ME!!!! I IMPLORE YOU!!!

Posted by dre at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday we got our CD mastered by Dan Stout at Colossal Mastering. This was my first trip to a mastering studio and I was pretty nervous about my mixes being good enough. Once I got past the nerves though it was a great experience.

He had I think two oscilloscopes going, one on his computer(s) and one in the rack. He did the following that I noticed:

1. Collapsed the stereo image on the guitars, which made the guitars very present but they weren't stomping on the vocals as much. The end result is, it sounds very "three dimensional" compared to the mixes I gave him. How? no idea.
   
2. Added some EQ to the very tippy top end and the low end. He made the bass sound pretty huge and present. Each song had different EQ curves, which I think he did by ear, but the end result is that all the songs sounded like the same CD... I don't know how you'd even approach that, it was completely baffling.
   
3. Made it loud. It's not as loud as, say, the newest Bad Religion CD, but it's definitely way up there. It wouldn't sound out of place in a jukebox or iPod. I think that's good, because any louder and it would be one of those CDs that just hurts to listen to after a while.
   
4. Did crossfades and start points and spacing for the CD. We were probably a pain in the ass about this, we were a little picky but he accomodated us very graciously.
   
5. Cut a master CD with an error report for the pressing plant. This comes with a "PQ" sheet that we give the pressing plant that has all the start/end times, etc. Then we also got a reference CD that was just a normal burned disc.
   

There are a lot of guys out there that don't know any better and they just run your stuff through some compressors, make it loud and call it "mastered" but this was way different. He had great attention to detail (he picked out a barely-audible piano part that we put into one of the songs) and was seriously a wizard when it came to handling that equipment. He moved lightning fast.

There are some inconsistencies in the CD, like in some songs the kick drum is a little louder than in others, but that kind of stuff is really our fault. Next time I sort of know what he can and can't do, and I can try to mix accordingly. The only other thing I noticed is that we didn't do any real A/B listening against other CDs. I would have liked to do that, but in the end it turned out great anyway.

For next time, I learned:

• I think I might need new monitors. Regardless, I need to acoustically treat the basement, because I'm getting a low and low-mid frequency buildup that is making me mix things very bass-shy. Also, when I'm panning things the stereo imaging on my monitors isn't that great so I think I tend to overcompensate by panning things either way out or way in.
  
• My samples for the kick drum were very inconsistent. I think this might be due to the way dfhSuperior automatically turns things down when they would otherwise clip. I think a couple of the songs got affected by that little "feature." I need to watch this next time and make sure those samples are rock solid. Every little thing counts!
  
• Find a new sample for snare. The one I used cut through the mix, but only really turned out good in a couple of songs. I think a more characteristic sound would fit a little better.
  
• I need to find a better way to record Jared's bass. It sounds good, but it could be better.
  
• When in doubt, sing it again. When you love it, sing it again, JUST IN CASE!
  
• Do not fuck with my formula for guitars. They turned out awesome!!

Posted by dre at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Punch It! Studio update

Wherein plans are made to take time off from recording for at least a month, so I don't go terminally insane.

Posted by dre at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After watching Much The Same record at my house, I came to the realization that we really need a fucking drummer. We need someone who is going to be to us as Jevin is to Much The Same.

Jevin practices for an hour every day with a metronome, so that his timing will get better. And so that when it comes time to play a show, he is solid as fuck. When Much The Same is playing, he's leading their performances. He plays the role of the conductor. Plus, he has raw talent and is creative in ways that complement the band. His hits are consistent, precise, and completely appropriate to the individual moments in a song. He is completely enthusiastic about his band, and I think despite some ups and downs has been a foundation of support for Much The Same since he joined.

We need that, except dedicated to OUR band. While I am an accomplished drummer, and so is Jeff, we both come from the same background, and Jeff has plenty of other stuff on his plate right now. I think there is only so far "filling in" can take us, whether it's me or Jeff or even Jevin.

I know there's someone out there who is both creative AND mature. Someone who has the presence of mind to hold a (somewhat) steady job, but the drive to throw it away when the time comes. An aggressive son of a bitch behind the kit. Maybe frustrated with his current band, or he just left a band or something. He is out there, he probably lives within 15 miles of my house AND I WILL FIND HIM!!

Posted by dre at 06:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So the doctor thinks I dislocated the peroneal tendons in my right ankle. This is two tendons that go around the outside of the ankle toward the base of the foot. He recommended physical therapy, so I just got off the phone with them and scheduled that.

If that doesn't work and it still hurts... MRI and probably surgery. Fkn scary.

Info: Peroneal Tendon Dislocation

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Posted by dre at 03:12 PM | Permalink

John Williams conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra last night. Kristen was there. And I was there. The Milennium Park bean is all shiny now. I saw it with my own two eyes. Kristen saw it too.

There are now two halves of a 4-foot high mini half pipe in my garage. Springtime means my legs will be all rehabilitated and I will have ramp. I love ramp!

I got a wireless controller for my PlayStation 2 but I haven't really used it yet. I tried it for like 20 minutes to see if it worked but I haven't actually played a full game yet.

My iPod is now broken. Apple is sending me a box into which I shall place the iPod and seal it and give it unto the UPS faeries, who shall deliver unto Apple the broken iPod. The mighty Apple will sprinkle magic dust upon the iPod and lo, the sad iPod will be sad no more. Then Apple shall give unto the UPS faeries the happy iPod, and the UPS faeries will deliver unto me the happy iPod. And there will be much rejoicing.

My iPod shuffle is still happy, though. Fie on the evil iPod spirits.

I also reduced the clutter in my studio by putting a couch and some bookshelves in. It is a comfortable place now.

One song left to do the first mix on our record. Then everyone gets burned copies and we tear it apart and tweak it. The end of the recording is nigh! Nigh I say! And then we will have CD!!! Oh how I have dreamed of the day!

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Posted by dre at 03:11 PM | Permalink

So, last Friday I sprained my right ankle. Yes I'm aware of the cruel irony, since only three weeks ago I sprained my left knee.

In the course of conversation, I have repeatedly referred to the times that I broke my arm and my knee. But I just remembered that I also broke my toe one time. I didn't get a cast or anything, and they didn't have to splint it, but I did break my right baby toe. It was totally bogus. I fell down the stairs.

I don't know how I forgot that.

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Posted by dre at 03:11 PM | Permalink

Just testing to see if this will post to my LiveJournal also...

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Posted by dre at 01:11 PM | Permalink

First post. Lovely.

Maybe now is the time to figure out how to make wordpress publish these posts to LiveJournal.

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Posted by dre at 12:11 PM | Permalink