So I have been working on a new music project...

And it's unlike anything else I have ever been a part of before.

It's partially electronic. GASP!

Anyone who knows me for a while will be like "What the hell has gotten into Lisa? I thought she hated fake drums!" Well, I do, but this is different.

If I had to describe it, it would be Matt and Kim as goths. Depressing version of boy/girl harmony electronic and organic instruments together.  A lot of it was actually written on regular instruments (guitar, bass, piano, drums) and was then converted into an electronic format via programs like Reason and Fruity Loops.  Real vocals of course, I will NEVER, and this is a promise, use auto-tune on my voice or on anyone that I sing with in a song's voice. To me, that's cheating and it just makes it sound like everything else on popular radio right now.

This project is a departure from my heavy rock roots, but they definitely show up in a lot of the songs too.

And the project is called.............
Friends of Ours.

Who the hell created headphones?

While I was listening to music on the bus to my day job, a strange thought entered my mind...Who invented headphones? And did the invention of headphones cause musicians to write music differently? AS a musician I can tell you one of the best ways to edit music or listen to a new mix of a song is to listen to it in headphones.

So I went on the seemingly all encompassing information hub Wikipedia.org and looked up headphones.
Turns out headphones were created before amplifiers by a man named Nathaniel Baldwin and were pretty much the only way to listen to electronic audio signals before amps. And they were often so poorly grounded in the early days that a person could shock themselves when attempting to adjust the headphones on their head for comfort while audio was playing.

Pretty interesting.
So I ask my fellow musicians or sound engineers, do you mix with headphones on or when panning audio do you do it with the idea of how it will sound IN headphones?

Comment below. I'm curious.

PS. Nathaniel Baldwin could be the subject of a whole  'nother blog post. Quite an interesting man. But I'll just let you read his Wikipedia page....  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Baldwin

Social Networking is getting too complicated.

Now, I've never been a social person. In fact, I consider myself anti-social for the most part. I would much rather be involved with a piece of music, literature, or movie/TV show than socialize.

I am never one to go out of my way to attend parties or get that excited about them. I love the friends I have of course, but there are times that I will go for a while without speaking with them.

It's not that I am angry with them or anything like that, it's just I don't feel the need to converse with them every single day in order to feel close to them. But I have been known to write an extremely long heartfelt email or letter to friends if I feel that something is bothering me or if I really REALLY need to tell them something. I think it comes from this deep seeded thing where I feel like I am bothering someone if I speak to them. And maybe a little bit a fear of rejection. I don't consider myself cool. Period.

Social Networking is a happy medium between these two extremes. I like to type and use the written word as a form of communication so posting on a website for an audience of people I know seems like a good thing for me. So I've had/have them all... it started with myspace, then with friendster, then with facebook, then with Twitter, and now with Google +. Some formats have of course fallen to the wayside because of rendering themselves irrelevant or just being plain ol' boring!

So, I log onto my Facebook this morning and it looks like someone has vomited all over my homepage. There's some ticker BS on the side of the page that is telling me stuff I either already know or don't have any interest in knowing. It actually gives me a headache. It sucks because I really do like Facebook, when I'm feeling social, most of my friends are on there. I hope they do something to simplify it for dummies like me. Or, I hope everyone goes over to Google + and leaves FB like the desert in an old western: deserted and with tumbleweed drifting by.

Sidenote: For a non-social person though, I am having a party for Halloween/My birthday this year. But Halloween is a holiday for freaks to be themselves, so I'm not sure if that really counts...

So... I am going to try this blogging thing...

From everything I've read, Blogging seems to be a "must-do" for creative types. Since, I self identify as a creative type, I decided to try this out. I don't know how it works really since I'm just getting the hang of it.

I guess I will start by introducing myself formally. Not just a "read my profile dummy" type introduction.

I have been a musician since I was a teenager. I sing, play guitar and bass and I will try any sort of musical instrument.

I have been an avid crafter for about 5 years now. I make jewelry, guitar straps, pendants, and other accessories. I knit and sew and love to shop for handmade and vintage goods when I can. 

I write lyrics to my music as well as poems, prose, and stories. I was a more active writer in my teenage years but I am trying to get back to it because it gives me such solace to be able to create my own universe.

I guess that's all for now... I don't want to give too much away. ;)

Testing...

Doing a test of the blog system.