today jack and mark are recording guitars. i thought it would be nice, for the 5 people who read this and have interest in such things, to include a description of our guitar signal path. so, here goes:

first, we plug a 1/4 inch instrument cable into something, like a guitar, like this one for instance.

then we plug the other end of the cable into this amp switcher.

it has a pretty blue light.

the reason we do this is so that we can split the signal from the guitar. one cable goes directly into a patch bay that sends it to a preamp, that then sends it back to the patchbay, that then sends it into protools as a direct signal. this is so we can re-amp stuff later if we don’t like the tone and has the great benefit of ease of editing the waves of a direct guitar line are much easier to edit.

out of the other side of the amp switcher we plug into a pedal board, like this one.

or maybe we don’t plug into a pedal board and instead, plug into something more awesome like this.

that was sort of a joke. unless you own that pedal and are into that sort of thing. in that case, it is just down right mean that i would make fun of it. i am sorry.

then out of the pedal board, or awesomer pedal, we then plug into an amp head, like this one.

that goes into a cabinet that we put two mics on like this.

one, directly on the center of the cone up against the grill, and one about an inch back, just a bit out of phase.

then we run those into a console, like this.

we blend the second mic with the first to taste using the second mic to, in essence, adjust eq of the first by jacking with the phase.

these tracks are bussed to one one track, like this.

then we send that to a purple compressor, like this one.

i like purple.

we then go into protools through an aurora converter and then we smile very large smiles.

a ritual has risen among us during the recording process and it goes something like this:

well, wait. actually, i was premature in the colon placement. i first feel it necessary to include a warning and announce that the word, “gringo,” will be used a number of times in the following grouping of words. according to my widget dictionary, “gringo,” is a noun and its use is, “informal, often offensive.” so, if you are white, and english speaking, and sensitive to nouns indicating as much, then please, accept my apologies.

and now, for the colon.

:

walk to fridge. open fridge. pull out “gringo killer” salsa. pour “gringo killer” salsa into a bowl. open cabinet. pull out tostitos corn chips. start dipping tostitos corn chips into “gringo killer” salsa and placing them in mouth. begin pacing around the studio kitchen talking loudly about how tasty this salsa is and exclaiming that, “it will take more than that!” while wiping sweat from upper lip and eye brows.

now when i say this salsa is hot, it will not express the magnitude of its hotness. for instance, when i say, “it is hot,” you will think of things that you have eaten that are spicy and you will place this salsa in that category, but you would be wrong to do so. it is categorically beyond categorization (the hotness of the “gringo killer” salsa), as in, there is no classification able to accommodate the “gringo killer’s” hotness appropriately. (actually, that is completely false, my last statement. salsa is completely categorizable [sic] since there exists a scale (the scoville scale) to classify just such things as the hotness, or piquancy, or amount of capsaicin present in a pepper, which means i’m being dramatic and using hyperbolical exaggeration to communicate my point, and my point is this: this salsa is hot.) regarding the “gringo killer” salsa, the felt pain is all encompassing. on the scoville scale, i’d place it just below law-enforcement grade pepper spray. also, there is this: i seem to derive much pleasure from it, the dipping of a chip in irritant ammunition. what is transpiring within me, on an emotional and physical level, is literally a mind trip. here’s what’s happening: the capsaicin is exciting skin receptors called polymodal nociceptors. these are the receptors that customarily respond to temperature extremes or intense mechanical stimulation such as pinching. so, when you put the “gringo killer” salsa on the tostitos chip and choose to put said thing into your mouth you are confusing the central nervous system. it is fooled by the “gringo killer” into thinking something has been set on fire or is pinching you ferociously and this something that is fully ablaze and pinching is located exactly inside of your mouth. this then triggers an ambiguous (at best) neural response. so, you, with no knowledge or experience in the ways of the “gringo killer”, might then choose to grab a cup of water and start drinking. this would be an inappropriate decision, the result of which would be the spreading of the capsaicin around your mouth, more fully coating it. this is the moment you would declare aloud, “the roof of my mouth is in great physical pain!” to which i would respond, “the best thing you can do is offer more mechanical stimulation. this will quell the perceived violation by presenting clearer nerve stimuli for your brain to interpret and this will buy you some time,” which basically means you need to eat another chip full of “gringo killer” salsa. this cycle will most likely continue until you lose feeling in, and control of, the left side of your face. that is when i say, “seriously, you’ve had enough. nothing to do but wait it out.”

the good news is that endorphins are now coursing through your body, which is nice.

1. we started recording the new album friday.
2. months ago i had discussed the concept of the new album with my good friend t.d., some of this discussion involved kepler, as in johannes kepler, as in the german mathematician/astronomer, as in “the music of the spheres” guy, because, well, i mean it is obvious, of course it would involve kepler.
3. friday, as in the day we started recording the album, as in the day previously mentioned in point number 1, nasa launched a new telescope into space to look for earth-sized inhabitable planets
4. guess the spacecrafts name.
5. no, seriously, guess.
6. you’re right.
7. kepler.

“Kepler Mission Begins” www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/

it has begun! we officially started tracking drums today and are now four songs in. this rules!!! bwack is killing it and the drums sound so freaking big. we [and by "we", i mean "i", as in, it is completely my fault] shot a little video tour of the studio last night. it’s pretty shaky at times, very sorry, i’m no cinematographer, but it is educational, in the sense that we now have proof that bwack exercises due diligence when it comes to hygiene, which is comforting in some way. i’ll include the video. we’ll also be filming ["filming" seems a pretentious word choice, considering what appears below!] most days while recording, so be sure and check out our youtube to keep up with the goings ons. and if that weren’t enough, we have a page that is streaming live webcam shots of the studio. this way, you can watch while we eat donuts or look perplexed or occasionally pick up an instrument and attempt operation of said instrument. it’s pretty awesome, i must say. in fact, i’m watching myself right now, and it’s really captivating, me sitting there typing, looking at me typing. my brain hurts thinking about it. here’s the link: dc*b studio webcam!

and much thanks to all of you who responded to my request to keep us in your prayers during this process. keep at it!

here’s video number one. take some dramamine and enjoy!

not that you’re hanging out, waiting for a new blog to show up, but i really am feeling more than a small amount of guilt considering the last thing i posted was so long ago, and such a useless bit of nothing to boot! i offer defense – we’ve (myself, and the band) been crazy busy working on pre-production for the next recording. i state, unironically, that this is the most excited i’ve ever been about the song writing process. it has genuinely been so much fun! but, it dawns on me that a number of you good people, who read this blog, would be of great value in a season such as this. yes! so, i’m asking a very large favor, and one that i believe could make a very large difference in what we assemble. and so, i humbly ask that you, if you be so inclined, beseech the good lord on our behalf – that creativity would flow in abundance, that words and tonalities would emerge that are surprising and helpful and beneficial to our collective involvement in the story of god. it would be a very large encouragement to have such a breath behind our efforts.
much, much gratitude,
david

new year’s resolution – spend time more wisely.

[for those receiving rss feed without video, i should inform that a video was/is located above this bracketed sentence.]

the very first christmas with my wife, i was banned from wrapping presents. it was expressed that my corners were not crisp, that i exercised too little diligence insuring all the edges were set at hard 90 degree angles. and this was unacceptable. the ban, after having been in effect for 12 years, alas, has been lifted. i was, this year, entrusted with the wrapping of three gifts. granted, these gifts were for children. a child is, with good reason, less than discerning when it comes to a “properly wrapped present” vs. an “improperly wrapped present”, [these categories, – proper/improper – as designated by my wife, are strict and resilient, entirely resistant to rational argument] and thus, i consider it no real gain on my part.

two of the presents were quite large, the kind that the width of a wrapping-paper roll will not accommodate, the kind you have to cut patches of paper to conceal the portions of the box that are not spanned by the original pass. it is impossible for a gift of this size to ever fall within the “proper” category of wrapping. with this foreknowledge i had both titanic sized packages wrapped inside of 5 minutes. the final present was oddly shaped, a character from a children’s show whose packaging exposed him to the elements, allowing for those passing him on the aisle to push the top of his left foot so that the potential owner could watch him flail his arms while jubilant music played. this type of packaging is beneficial when making in-store tv-character-toy selections, it is a detriment when attempting to wrap them after purchase with notions of “properly wrapped” submission. and yet, i remained enthusiastic. part of the excitement was because i had picked this gift out myself for my niece, charlie. another segment of my excitement resulted from the fact that i would be more than pleased to receive this toy myself and to be entrusted with its wrapping would give me another opportunity to press the left foot a number of times. it goes without saying that this gift took a longer amount of time to conceal than the other ones.

christmas has long been the brunt of anti-commercialism rants, and for decent reasons, i guess. christmas is a miserable time for a lot of people. a small number of my friends fall into this category. some don’t have a lot of spare money laying around waiting to be disseminated and they hate the pressure they feel. others have lost family members and the absence is felt more acutely during this time. others talk of the ills of society that are magnified, how the great story of god is trivialized and sold, how giving ridiculous items that we don’t need or really even want is just ignorant, how everything seems to be concerned with the accumulation of more and more stuff. all of these are well founded. but i happen to think that some of the more amazing qualities of the human spirit are also accentuated and heightened when the box of ornaments comes down from the attic. simple things like generosity. stuff like love and hope and community. feelings of connectedness and concern. all the words whose meanings have diminished from years of use. but, i think this rare opportunity is created that allows us to express to those whom call us friend, or family, or foe that we understand them as a person, that we know what makes them smile or laugh or what they hope for or how they see the world. i mean, it is remarkable that a silly character whose foot you press to make him sing and swing his arms can cause a two year old to form the sentence, “i’m so happy,” while hugging the green-furry-arm-flailing thing and staring right at me. i mean, it’s just bits of plastic and synthetic fibers draped around some electronics, and yet, these silly material things can animate some of the most illusive and transcendent feelings. you might argue that it is not a good thing to reinforce responses to material objects like this. you might argue that the silly unnecessary character cost you half as much as it did to send that goat from oxfam, that i could have sent another goat with what i paid for the green furry thing. these arguments are sound, i guess, but how rare is it to have that overwhelming feeling of pure unfiltered happiness erupt inside of you? i mean, how many times will my niece feel that overpowering sensation? i do feel a lot of satisfaction giving goats and planting trees, but nothing near what i’m seeing on the face of my niece. what does that mean? that i’m evil? i really hope not. perhaps grace is like the green furry creature – something we could never even imagine existing, and then it’s with us in the same space. maybe getting is a good thing too.

a couple, whom my wife and i are friends with, left us a present before they headed out of town for the holidays. for me, a copy of the “grapes of wrath”, and for my wife, a white plate. and these were perfect gifts. the book was ideal for me because i had mentioned it in conversation over lunch more than a month past. the plate was wonderful for my wife because, well, she likes plates. it wasn’t that i needed another book, i have several. we also have plates. and yet, i texted my friend with a small quantity of water in my eyes and a large quantity of gratitude in my chest. it was not that i really liked the book, it was that he had listened. he had paid attention. and this is why i love christmas. sure, we could figure out better ways to express our appreciation for each other at any point on the calendar but we are socially awkward and it is uncomfortable and it is oh so wonderful to have such a massive excuse, even if i get a few ill fitting shirts along the way. i really hope that your capacity to feel and love and care has and will be expanded this christmas.

merry christmas.

just try and get this song out of your head:

i had no idea! but i was searching for gifts for family, friends, and foes and found “the avenging unicorn play set.” if this strikes you as astonishing, please know, i too was aghast. yet what follows is pictorial proof:

[box logo]

now, i have always assumed that the unicorn was a [nonexistent] peaceful creature, a gentle, pacifist at heart, not inclined toward infliction of harm in return for an injury to another. not so! yes, there is much about the unicorn [nonexistent] that i did not know.

[a peaceful looking unicorn]

for instance:

did you know there is a unicorn code? neither did i!

the unicorn code:

1) unicorns never lie.
2) unicorns always lend a helping hand.
3) unicorns are loyal.
4) unicorns can keep a secret.
5) unicorns don’t use drugs

who knew? not me!

oh, also…

magical horns: not all unicorn horns are the same! each one has unique magical powers.

1) pearlescent: mind control, weather control, super hearing
2) spiral: illusion casting, super healing (i.e. turns blood into rose petals)
3) glow: hypnosis, enhanced agility
4) chrome: electromagnetism, speed reading, teleportation

[magical horns]

that’s amazing!

then there’s this: unicorns [nonexistent] are magical creatures that exist only for those who believe. when they are not frolicking in dewy meadows or posing on windy cliffs they are helping believers do away with daily annoyances.

for instance:

does the new age lady at the bookstore get on your nerves when she starts ranting about her latest encounter with an ancient warrior spirit?

[new age lady]

are you tired of being accosted by the creepy mime who thinks he deserves a quarter for pretending to be trapped in a box?

[mime]

does the arrogant businessman in the well-pressed suit drive you crazy with the loud talking on his cell phone in a crowded elevator?

[loud talking businessman]

close your eyes, take a deep breath and summon a unicorn [nonexistent]. if you believe in the magic of unicorns with all your heart and soul they will answer your call.

[unicorn [nonexistent] answering [ludicrous!] “call”]

so it seems the only question is, do you believe?