I don't know how many of your minds work like this but do you ever just feel like you have so many things you want to do that you can't figure out what in the hell to do next? This happens to me on a grand scale and miniature scale. It could be my life's aspirations or it could be the mountain of household tasks/errands that tend to pile up. Incidentally, this is exactly why I plan so meticulously. I make to do lists, I allot time, I schedule, I execute, all so I don't have to think about what to do when it comes time to do it.
On an evening like this though, I made a last minute decision to stay home and not go out to yoga for once. As a result, I found myself with a huge chunk of time I don't normally have, during which I could do a number of things both big and small or I could do nothing. Nothing is planned. All I know is that I had several thoughts on the way home, and on the way in the door, that inspired me, each one knocked out of the running by the one after it, as though they were all sentient and had been waiting for this free time to vie for their position.
It's insane.
One was to plug in my keyboard and learn how to play a riff from a song I can't stop listening to. One was to play guitar with my friggin' amp plugged in for a change (read: loudly). One was to actually riff and come up with a song, perhaps recording some ideas and playing around with them in Logic. Then, my mind drifted toward my laptop and how I had written down that I needed to clean up some folders on it that have been in need of that for some time now.
But some of my laundry is still hanging up and is ready to be folded. Also, damn, I'm hungry and maybe if I cook dinner early I can get to all that other stuff later, if my mind isn't completely drained by then. But I know myself and I know how I'll feel after eating dinner...with Netflix waiting right there to suck me in to something that, let's face it, I've probably already seen before.
Then, I decide again to resist the temptation to become a sloth. I was looking at the Instagram posts of several other gluten free types and even earlier had read about a medical study seeking newly diagnosed Celiacs. Both of these ideas brought back to the front of my mind a genius idea I came up with almost a year and a half ago now. One that I should be starting on any day now. I want to create a YouTube channel for newly diagnosed Celiacs on adjusting to the gluten free lifestyle. Eventually, I've thought it could become a travel show for people with Celiac, or even food allergies in general, centering on the question of how you survive while traveling with these disorders and diseases.
This isn't just in the spitball stage either. I've scripted. I've amassed equipment. I've done screen tests. I've gone back and forth about questions of production style and quality. I've researched. I've gone back to the drawing board and rescripted. I've even considered that with such a vast undertaking I'm going to need a producer and perhaps a team.
So I've repeatedly shelved it to focus on...wait for it...the novel I've been writing. Yes. I'm going to keep it shrouded in secrecy for now and will be publishing it under a pseudonym. You'll know soon enough.
Suffice it to say that it's been by far one of the most enjoyable of the things I devoted my time to lately and I keep coming back to it with renewed eagerness...ask Amy about my random eureka moments. Ideas flood in regularly and I'm connected to all these apps that allow me to take notes on my phone and then access them on my laptop later. I never miss an idea. I keep telling myself that I'm fully in the editing phase now and I've almost got it locked and loaded. But then, I start to realize I don't want to rush the editing phase. As I've started to flesh out some chapters and scenes and add new ones in between, looking back, I've discovered that the novel has grown so much. I would be insane to prematurely declare it done.
In the process, I've even come up with several ideas for other novels, some of them sci-fi. I realize I'm pretty early on in the process of thinking of this like a career and thus, it's still fun. Trying to get this thing published and marketing it may yet break me. But right now, being a writer is a pretty attractive idea to me. Seriously. And not to diminish my other endeavors. I just find myself really enjoying creating this way. I'm drawn to it.
That leads me to the reason I'm sitting down writing this instead of doing any of the things I just mentioned. I recall reading an article about a year ago (I'll try and find it and link it) that basically said busy for the sake of busy was bullshit and no way to live. You should only really be making time for the things that you truly enjoy doing. That you shouldn't be destroying yourself to do everything you think of just because you once thought it might be cool to do that thing. That was the upshot anyway. And maybe that means one thing at a time or maybe it means I'm a novelist and haven't been much of a composer for a while. I tend towards the first interpretation. The novel is what I'm having fun doing right now and what I choose to conserve my mental energy for. I have momentum there.
Anyway, I won't be writing the novel forever. Then, once it's done, I don't have to start the next one right away. And when I do start it, I can still be doing other things, and decide freely when I switch tasks. The only slight urgency with any of these endeavors is with the Celiac channel and that is that someone might scoop my idea and do it better before I can. Maybe someone already has. But hence the research. With every blog or video I see, I keep thinking of ways to do it my own way and make it unique. I think it'll be fine. It probably doesn't matter. People will always be getting diagnosed with Celiac and I have no shortage of topics to cover there.
At any rate, I keep saying I would want to do it only when I have the time to make it really good. And that's not right now. And it doesn't do any good to be motivated to do it because I just thought about it or I saw a bunch of people being Celiac on the internet and I envisioned myself doing it and already being at the finish line. This has failed me many times. I used to call it rock out envy. I'd be at a show watching a band perform that I was really into or I'd find live footage on YouTube and think, "I need to be doing that again!" The problem is that this doesn't actually motivate you to do the things you need to do to get there. Write stuff that actually inspires you, record it, meet musicians, find the right ones, collaborate, find a rehearsal space, pay for it, book a gig, get people to come, repeatedly. Some of that sounds fun but but whether or not it doesn't, every one of those things take time. Time I could find, sure, time I probably have and don't realize but remember, I still have to fold my laundry and make dinner.
And this all comes after a co worker asked me if I had any New Year's resolutions and I said, without missing a beat, "I want to start a band." Maybe I will, maybe I'll take it one step at a time. Maybe I'll make some new musician friends. Maybe I'll finish the novel first. Maybe nothing will come of it. But I think the important thing is to have fun doing it. And right now I'm having fun writing this blog about it.
End.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Monday, December 11, 2017
Sunday, October 8, 2017
So many things...
Where in the hell have I been? Yes. Good question. Short answer? Busy and not blogging. Why am I back blogging now? I don't know. Just felt like writing again after I looked back on one of my entries from years ago. Also, in the spirit of the original reason I started this blog, there's much to tell.
Remember that part where I said I was busy? Since I last wrote anything at all on here right before Guadeloupe, I went to Guadeloupe, proposed to my girlfriend Amy, traveled out west to Utah and met my long lost cousin on my mother's side, got married to Amy in October of that year, landed a voice over agent, scored another film, went to Nicaragua again, voiced the open for a documentary on CNN, started performing with Lacy James again and have almost finished a novel I've been writing.
A lot, I know. It's been over a year though so it probably sounds more impressive than it is. Nah, never mind, I think it sounds pretty awesome. First of all, Guadeloupe was fun and amazing and gorgeous and deserves it's own entry. Here are some pics.
However, like many things that you build up in your mind, it sort of left a bit to be desired. Finding gluten free (for me) and vegan food (for my wife) that was interesting and worth going out of the way for proved to be damn near impossible some days. The people were nice but, since it's a French overseas department, we spent most of the week keeping to ourselves, driving around to see various sights on the island, going to rum distilleries and hiking. We did manage to meet some fellow Brooklynites on the volcano hike which just blew my mind. We've even stayed friends with them and hung out a few times in the city.
The craziest moment of the weekend, though, came when I got super sick from eating the local food and threw up all over our Airbnb. Craziest because it managed to stop me overthinking how I should ask Amy to marry me and just do it. She took care of me immediately after without batting an eye and it dawned on me how lucky I was to have her. Not because she simply cleaned up after me but because of all of the other times I've seen how caring she can be and how I've lacked that in other relationships. I called her into the bedroom and as we gazed out the window at the sun setting over the Caribbean Sea, I asked her and she said yes.
We took it easy the rest of the night and spent the next day, just browsing through Etsy for engagement rings. Later that year, we got married at the marriage bureau in downtown Manhattan with two of our friends as witnesses.
That summer, I finally got to meet my cousin from my mom's side, with whom I'd recently connected on Facebook. He lives out in SLC, Utah and is always having outdoor adventures with his pals out there. Having just bought himself a river raft, the plan was to take it down to a stretch of the Colorado River in Castle Valley, near Moab, Utah and float for a day and a half, camping overnight on the river.
It was incredibly fun. So much fun, in fact, that I went back to visit him again this summer the weekend of the total solar eclipse. We didn't get close enough to see full totality but it was still a good trip in itself. Here are those pics.
Both trips deserve their own entries and there's far too much to include here. Same with the Nicaragua trip. My good friend Angela led a retreat there at the same lodge I keep going back to (on my recommendation, of course), so, naturally, I had to go again. The crew that went was immeasurably fun and we had an incredible time. We even went back to the Masaya volcano, where I went in 2015, and managed to catch a glimpse of the lava cauldron churning at the bottom of the crater, which had been blocked by too much steam last time I went. Here are those pics.
Best part? I'm still hanging out with these guys back in NYC.
So, you've probably noticed that I've caught the travel bug. The new job at CNN (relatively new...going on three years now!) has allowed me to take more time off for these adventures and that's sort of inspired me to do more and perhaps make something out of it. After Guadeloupe, I compiled all the footage we'd shot with the GoPro camera I found on the ground outside the Barclays Center and edited together a kind of glorified vacation video, complete with my voice-over and music selections. I can't post it obviously because I don't own any of the music. It was more of a proof of concept. I wanted to see if I could shoot video on a vacation, then bring it back and edit it together to tell a compelling story.
I eventually do want to produce videos. In fact, what's on the horizon for me is I'm putting together a YouTube channel for Celiacs that are newly diagnosed. I've already got most of the first episodes scripted. Once I cover all of the important topics regarding adjusting to the gluten free lifestyle, I plan on moving on to other kinds of content. Likely, this will include interviewing health professionals such as nutritionists and doctors on topics ranging from new research to debunking myths about the disease to legislation about food labeling. Ultimately, getting back to the notion of travel, I'd like to interview my viewers from other countries about how they handle being gluten free where they live, with an emphasis on questions like, "are there gluten free versions of traditional things you used to eat?" and "how aware are people in restaurants about your diet?" The idea being that people with my dietary restrictions don't travel or have difficulty traveling because of it. I hope to change that and allow people the means by which to get over any fears they might have about traveling abroad with regard to their diets.
Obviously, this is going to be a great outlet for my music composing and voice-over work as well. Which leads me to the next thing. Back in mid January, I got a phone call from my voice coach's assistant telling me I'd probably be getting a call from an agent. Floored, I waited, but what came was not a phone call but several emailed auditions, a few of them in person at various production houses throughout the city. Excited but panicking that my full time job wouldn't allow me to make all of them, I talked to my boss, who is always supportive of these kinds of ventures. Ultimately, I worked it out with my agent that I would get mostly mp3 auditions (the kind where you record at home and send them in) and worked it out with my boss that whenever I had an in person audition, I'd just have to let him know. In the months that followed, I went to something like five to seven auditions a week, maybe got one second round audition, but have been keeping at it, determined to book something soon. I've been having a blast and learning a lot more about the industry and still seeing my coach every once in awhile. I even took an improv class the other day to get out of my skin a little more and tried to get even better at auditioning. Last month, I officially signed my contract and am now represented for the next year. So, wish me luck there.
Film scoring? That thing I moved here for? Yes, I still do that. Here's a trailer for the film that just had its first screening a few weeks ago.
https://vimeo.com/215764480
I hope you all enjoyed the update. It's been a while but I'm going to try to keep updating you. So much exciting shit. And here's a bonus, the open for the Carolyn Warmus Story, featuring my voice!
And, lest I forget, since she's coming over to rehearse soon, Lacy James and I have a gig at Sidewalk Cafe on October 26th at 7:30pm. All donations to the tip jar are going toward hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, so come out and be generous! Would love to see you there.
Remember that part where I said I was busy? Since I last wrote anything at all on here right before Guadeloupe, I went to Guadeloupe, proposed to my girlfriend Amy, traveled out west to Utah and met my long lost cousin on my mother's side, got married to Amy in October of that year, landed a voice over agent, scored another film, went to Nicaragua again, voiced the open for a documentary on CNN, started performing with Lacy James again and have almost finished a novel I've been writing.
A lot, I know. It's been over a year though so it probably sounds more impressive than it is. Nah, never mind, I think it sounds pretty awesome. First of all, Guadeloupe was fun and amazing and gorgeous and deserves it's own entry. Here are some pics.
However, like many things that you build up in your mind, it sort of left a bit to be desired. Finding gluten free (for me) and vegan food (for my wife) that was interesting and worth going out of the way for proved to be damn near impossible some days. The people were nice but, since it's a French overseas department, we spent most of the week keeping to ourselves, driving around to see various sights on the island, going to rum distilleries and hiking. We did manage to meet some fellow Brooklynites on the volcano hike which just blew my mind. We've even stayed friends with them and hung out a few times in the city.
The craziest moment of the weekend, though, came when I got super sick from eating the local food and threw up all over our Airbnb. Craziest because it managed to stop me overthinking how I should ask Amy to marry me and just do it. She took care of me immediately after without batting an eye and it dawned on me how lucky I was to have her. Not because she simply cleaned up after me but because of all of the other times I've seen how caring she can be and how I've lacked that in other relationships. I called her into the bedroom and as we gazed out the window at the sun setting over the Caribbean Sea, I asked her and she said yes.
We took it easy the rest of the night and spent the next day, just browsing through Etsy for engagement rings. Later that year, we got married at the marriage bureau in downtown Manhattan with two of our friends as witnesses.
That summer, I finally got to meet my cousin from my mom's side, with whom I'd recently connected on Facebook. He lives out in SLC, Utah and is always having outdoor adventures with his pals out there. Having just bought himself a river raft, the plan was to take it down to a stretch of the Colorado River in Castle Valley, near Moab, Utah and float for a day and a half, camping overnight on the river.
It was incredibly fun. So much fun, in fact, that I went back to visit him again this summer the weekend of the total solar eclipse. We didn't get close enough to see full totality but it was still a good trip in itself. Here are those pics.
Both trips deserve their own entries and there's far too much to include here. Same with the Nicaragua trip. My good friend Angela led a retreat there at the same lodge I keep going back to (on my recommendation, of course), so, naturally, I had to go again. The crew that went was immeasurably fun and we had an incredible time. We even went back to the Masaya volcano, where I went in 2015, and managed to catch a glimpse of the lava cauldron churning at the bottom of the crater, which had been blocked by too much steam last time I went. Here are those pics.
Best part? I'm still hanging out with these guys back in NYC.
So, you've probably noticed that I've caught the travel bug. The new job at CNN (relatively new...going on three years now!) has allowed me to take more time off for these adventures and that's sort of inspired me to do more and perhaps make something out of it. After Guadeloupe, I compiled all the footage we'd shot with the GoPro camera I found on the ground outside the Barclays Center and edited together a kind of glorified vacation video, complete with my voice-over and music selections. I can't post it obviously because I don't own any of the music. It was more of a proof of concept. I wanted to see if I could shoot video on a vacation, then bring it back and edit it together to tell a compelling story.
I eventually do want to produce videos. In fact, what's on the horizon for me is I'm putting together a YouTube channel for Celiacs that are newly diagnosed. I've already got most of the first episodes scripted. Once I cover all of the important topics regarding adjusting to the gluten free lifestyle, I plan on moving on to other kinds of content. Likely, this will include interviewing health professionals such as nutritionists and doctors on topics ranging from new research to debunking myths about the disease to legislation about food labeling. Ultimately, getting back to the notion of travel, I'd like to interview my viewers from other countries about how they handle being gluten free where they live, with an emphasis on questions like, "are there gluten free versions of traditional things you used to eat?" and "how aware are people in restaurants about your diet?" The idea being that people with my dietary restrictions don't travel or have difficulty traveling because of it. I hope to change that and allow people the means by which to get over any fears they might have about traveling abroad with regard to their diets.
Obviously, this is going to be a great outlet for my music composing and voice-over work as well. Which leads me to the next thing. Back in mid January, I got a phone call from my voice coach's assistant telling me I'd probably be getting a call from an agent. Floored, I waited, but what came was not a phone call but several emailed auditions, a few of them in person at various production houses throughout the city. Excited but panicking that my full time job wouldn't allow me to make all of them, I talked to my boss, who is always supportive of these kinds of ventures. Ultimately, I worked it out with my agent that I would get mostly mp3 auditions (the kind where you record at home and send them in) and worked it out with my boss that whenever I had an in person audition, I'd just have to let him know. In the months that followed, I went to something like five to seven auditions a week, maybe got one second round audition, but have been keeping at it, determined to book something soon. I've been having a blast and learning a lot more about the industry and still seeing my coach every once in awhile. I even took an improv class the other day to get out of my skin a little more and tried to get even better at auditioning. Last month, I officially signed my contract and am now represented for the next year. So, wish me luck there.
Film scoring? That thing I moved here for? Yes, I still do that. Here's a trailer for the film that just had its first screening a few weeks ago.
https://vimeo.com/215764480
I hope you all enjoyed the update. It's been a while but I'm going to try to keep updating you. So much exciting shit. And here's a bonus, the open for the Carolyn Warmus Story, featuring my voice!
And, lest I forget, since she's coming over to rehearse soon, Lacy James and I have a gig at Sidewalk Cafe on October 26th at 7:30pm. All donations to the tip jar are going toward hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, so come out and be generous! Would love to see you there.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Manchester...
I'm typing this blog from a hotel suite near the airport in Manchester, NH. What the hell am I doing here? Don't worry about it. I'm getting to it. I just first want to make reference to that bit about me being the time management ninja. I time managed. I ninja-ed. And all went according to plan.
The gig with Ryan and Jordana went swimmingly and was super fun to boot (there's some video on FB). And, already in awe at how the previous weekend timed out, in that I was able to use the disruption of the blizzard to our rehearsals as a way to push forward on the News Literacy Project's music, I was supremely awed at how it just happened that the night of the gig, I finally got word from NLP that I could push ahead on the project. See, I had been waiting to hear some direction from them, and frustrating though that can be sometimes, it was quite a boon in that I could meanwhile focus all my energy on rocking the F@$% out at the show and, as soon as it was done, shift my energy to writing the music for those educational videos. The timing of everything was impeccable, in that nothing was simultaneous. It was all sequential and I could devote all my energy to one project at a time.
Fast forward: My boss had previously mentioned to me the possibility of doing some field work as I had shown some interest in getting out there and trying something new. He did, in fact, also mention that these things can get sprung upon him at a moment's notice and, bada-bing, bada-boom. But I was surprised that something came up so quickly. They needed an audio tech out in the field for the coverage of the New Hampshire primaries and my boss offered it to me. After all, I can audio. I can tech. So I said hell to the F@#$ yes! Then, the day before I was finally going to get time to finish the NLP music, I get a call that, rather than go out on the 5th of February, they wanted me there as soon as the 1st and still until the 10th. !!!
The girlfriend didn't like it but I obliged because when else? (Incidentally, this is something my boss says to me and my colleagues a lot...when else?) So, I had two full days to wrap up work on the music for NLP and pack my bags before I had to catch a plane to Manchester. And I knocked it out. Just under the wire. I didn't even have my flight booked until two days before it was supposed to happen and I had to borrow a bass guitar from a friend to get everything done. Sidebar: I'm buying a bass guitar soon.
What a freaking whirlwind this year has been already, am I right? Sheesh! But I am loving it. You know how much I love travel and adventure. Day 1 was pretty intense already. I flew in yesterday and went straight to the anchor location for set up and then had dinner with one of the producers and the photojournalist. Then I had to go check into my hotel (a suite with a full freakin' kitchen!) because I had to be up at 3:30am for a 4am call time. Our first hit was at 5:30am.
They had us set up inside a cafe for New Day (CNN's morning show) and we had to basically turn that place into a news studio, complete with lighting, in the space of a few hours the night before. But CNN has an entourage of professionals that are on this shit and everything looked great. Meanwhile, I was thrown in on an audio board I'd never seen before with a set up I heard described to me in an email I read while waiting in La Guardia International Airport for three hours because airlines still can't get their shit together. So, that was quite fun. Once I got my feet wet, and twiddled some knobs, I started to feel much more comfortable...but then comes the shit storm of audio issues that you get when you have too many hands stirring the pot. Ultimately, we got everything on the air and I got the hang of what I was doing. And I remembered that, on some level, I enjoy this work.
After we took everything down though, I started to realize that I had no idea where I was going next. And I think that is going to characterize the rest of this week. Last minute assignments. This is why they gave me a rental car. Tomorrow, I finally found out, I'll be heading to Derry, NH where there will be a town hall style Q&A session with both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders (one candidate after the other) and I'll be running the audio. Which means I will probably be pinning a lapel mic on both candidates.
It's amazing what can happen in the space of a week. More to come!
The gig with Ryan and Jordana went swimmingly and was super fun to boot (there's some video on FB). And, already in awe at how the previous weekend timed out, in that I was able to use the disruption of the blizzard to our rehearsals as a way to push forward on the News Literacy Project's music, I was supremely awed at how it just happened that the night of the gig, I finally got word from NLP that I could push ahead on the project. See, I had been waiting to hear some direction from them, and frustrating though that can be sometimes, it was quite a boon in that I could meanwhile focus all my energy on rocking the F@$% out at the show and, as soon as it was done, shift my energy to writing the music for those educational videos. The timing of everything was impeccable, in that nothing was simultaneous. It was all sequential and I could devote all my energy to one project at a time.
Fast forward: My boss had previously mentioned to me the possibility of doing some field work as I had shown some interest in getting out there and trying something new. He did, in fact, also mention that these things can get sprung upon him at a moment's notice and, bada-bing, bada-boom. But I was surprised that something came up so quickly. They needed an audio tech out in the field for the coverage of the New Hampshire primaries and my boss offered it to me. After all, I can audio. I can tech. So I said hell to the F@#$ yes! Then, the day before I was finally going to get time to finish the NLP music, I get a call that, rather than go out on the 5th of February, they wanted me there as soon as the 1st and still until the 10th. !!!
The girlfriend didn't like it but I obliged because when else? (Incidentally, this is something my boss says to me and my colleagues a lot...when else?) So, I had two full days to wrap up work on the music for NLP and pack my bags before I had to catch a plane to Manchester. And I knocked it out. Just under the wire. I didn't even have my flight booked until two days before it was supposed to happen and I had to borrow a bass guitar from a friend to get everything done. Sidebar: I'm buying a bass guitar soon.
What a freaking whirlwind this year has been already, am I right? Sheesh! But I am loving it. You know how much I love travel and adventure. Day 1 was pretty intense already. I flew in yesterday and went straight to the anchor location for set up and then had dinner with one of the producers and the photojournalist. Then I had to go check into my hotel (a suite with a full freakin' kitchen!) because I had to be up at 3:30am for a 4am call time. Our first hit was at 5:30am.
They had us set up inside a cafe for New Day (CNN's morning show) and we had to basically turn that place into a news studio, complete with lighting, in the space of a few hours the night before. But CNN has an entourage of professionals that are on this shit and everything looked great. Meanwhile, I was thrown in on an audio board I'd never seen before with a set up I heard described to me in an email I read while waiting in La Guardia International Airport for three hours because airlines still can't get their shit together. So, that was quite fun. Once I got my feet wet, and twiddled some knobs, I started to feel much more comfortable...but then comes the shit storm of audio issues that you get when you have too many hands stirring the pot. Ultimately, we got everything on the air and I got the hang of what I was doing. And I remembered that, on some level, I enjoy this work.
After we took everything down though, I started to realize that I had no idea where I was going next. And I think that is going to characterize the rest of this week. Last minute assignments. This is why they gave me a rental car. Tomorrow, I finally found out, I'll be heading to Derry, NH where there will be a town hall style Q&A session with both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders (one candidate after the other) and I'll be running the audio. Which means I will probably be pinning a lapel mic on both candidates.
It's amazing what can happen in the space of a week. More to come!
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
My cup runneth over...
At the end of 2015, say around November, I hadn't had much in the way of voice over or music work. I had previously even stated that I was okay with it since I had been devoting so much time and energy to taking advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself at CNN. Now, somehow, in the wake of a quick job for Mohammad writing a track for his reel, I now find myself positively saturated with work of the kind that I love and enjoy and, in fact, live for.
Here goes: News Literacy Project got in touch with me about writing a track for their latest series of educational videos. Then, last Friday, Edge Studio got in touch with me about doing the voice over for a handful of TV and radio spots; and it turns out to be the biggest pay day I've had from a voice over gig to date. And then, as if all that wasn't enough to be going on with, I got a call from a friend with whom I had been jamming last summer. We had been on hiatus while he and his wife finished school but they got a gig next Thursday the 28th at the Emerson in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn and asked me to join them. So now, I gotta learn a bunch of songs in a week and a half. Solid.
I'm buzzing with excitement right now and simultaneously trying to wrap my brain around how I'll manage. The VO gig will be a quick hour long engagement tomorrow, then I have the rest of the day off. NLP should be giving me some direction tomorrow and we have until the end of January to write, record and polish off the track. My entire weekend this weekend will likely be devoted to rehearsals for this gig. But who are you dealing with here? Yes, that's right. The time management ninja. I will kill this. Just watch.
Here goes: News Literacy Project got in touch with me about writing a track for their latest series of educational videos. Then, last Friday, Edge Studio got in touch with me about doing the voice over for a handful of TV and radio spots; and it turns out to be the biggest pay day I've had from a voice over gig to date. And then, as if all that wasn't enough to be going on with, I got a call from a friend with whom I had been jamming last summer. We had been on hiatus while he and his wife finished school but they got a gig next Thursday the 28th at the Emerson in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn and asked me to join them. So now, I gotta learn a bunch of songs in a week and a half. Solid.
I'm buzzing with excitement right now and simultaneously trying to wrap my brain around how I'll manage. The VO gig will be a quick hour long engagement tomorrow, then I have the rest of the day off. NLP should be giving me some direction tomorrow and we have until the end of January to write, record and polish off the track. My entire weekend this weekend will likely be devoted to rehearsals for this gig. But who are you dealing with here? Yes, that's right. The time management ninja. I will kill this. Just watch.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Obligatory end of year post...
Approximately 12 hours ago I was riding in the dark and the pouring rain to Indianapolis International Airport. Yeah, that was about 5am. The cheap flights are always early in the morning. But it's a mark of how well I'm doing that I'm not only traveling to see my girlfriend's family but also my own in a few weeks. Yes, I may still be buying the cheaper plane tickets but I'm traveling twice for the holidays. CNN has been treating me well over the last few months and money's not as tight as it was before I started working all three jobs two years ago. Finally. I'm really enjoying getting to work there not just for the view out my window that I can't stop posting pics of. The people I work directly with are great, my boss is great and I'm meeting incredible people in all the other departments and learning that I can find opportunities to expand my duties there. Sometimes they even find me.
I'm not sure I can post the last voice over I did for them but I swear I'll alert you...no wait! Here it is!
So, that was a lot of fun to do. The job seems to get better every day and then some opportunity like that jumps in my lap. A few weeks ago I was looking up new music for GPS with Fareed Zakaria using Turner's massive music library at my boss' request. And I even helped translate an interview in French with one of the survivors of the attack on the Bataclan club in Paris for Anderson Cooper's show. Apparently, I've effectively used all of my degrees at my job now. What?!
Anyway, don't think this means I'm giving up on being a composer. Oh god, never. One of the things I can count on is one of the handful of directors I've worked with that have varying degrees of prolificness eventually calling me for a job. I got a VO and a separate music job from the same guy last week just before leaving for my short vacation in Indy.
I will say that things were a little touch and go for a minute there as I was focusing on CNN and not really devoting time to it. Also my laptop was on the fritz. All that is fixed now thanks to my friend with whom I had been trying to write music with. He and his wife and I jammed together a bunch in the summer time but when their respective semesters started school just kept getting in the way for them. Turns out though, he's a whiz with Macbooks and I happened to need a new hard drive installed and a memory upgrade. And thanks to all those slips and disasters I had in the past, my diligence when it comes to backing up my data paid off. I was back up and running within a few days or so once we did the install together.
And just in time too. Mohammad came through with a quick music gig, a track for his directing reel and I busted it out in record time cuz that's how I do. The VO for the sizzle reel (separate job) was, inevitably, a mock movie trailer voice so you can imagine I had fun with that one. One thing that I really want to do next year is chase things like that down instead of this sitting around and waiting for them to come to me. Obviously, that's going to require a different approach and perhaps some outside encouragement.
So, what else happened during this fine year of 2015? Well besides a lot of traveling and a new job, I now have a partner in crime who just moved in with me back in November. And that's been real nice. No more roommates, I says. And guess what else? We get to travel together, beyond going to see relatives. Next stop is Guadeloupe this March. A French speaking Caribbean nation...with an active volcano. Sounds right up my alley.
Another thing, I plan on doing next year is writing more in the blog...which requires having more things to write about, so look out for that.
I'm not sure I can post the last voice over I did for them but I swear I'll alert you...no wait! Here it is!
So, that was a lot of fun to do. The job seems to get better every day and then some opportunity like that jumps in my lap. A few weeks ago I was looking up new music for GPS with Fareed Zakaria using Turner's massive music library at my boss' request. And I even helped translate an interview in French with one of the survivors of the attack on the Bataclan club in Paris for Anderson Cooper's show. Apparently, I've effectively used all of my degrees at my job now. What?!
Anyway, don't think this means I'm giving up on being a composer. Oh god, never. One of the things I can count on is one of the handful of directors I've worked with that have varying degrees of prolificness eventually calling me for a job. I got a VO and a separate music job from the same guy last week just before leaving for my short vacation in Indy.
I will say that things were a little touch and go for a minute there as I was focusing on CNN and not really devoting time to it. Also my laptop was on the fritz. All that is fixed now thanks to my friend with whom I had been trying to write music with. He and his wife and I jammed together a bunch in the summer time but when their respective semesters started school just kept getting in the way for them. Turns out though, he's a whiz with Macbooks and I happened to need a new hard drive installed and a memory upgrade. And thanks to all those slips and disasters I had in the past, my diligence when it comes to backing up my data paid off. I was back up and running within a few days or so once we did the install together.
And just in time too. Mohammad came through with a quick music gig, a track for his directing reel and I busted it out in record time cuz that's how I do. The VO for the sizzle reel (separate job) was, inevitably, a mock movie trailer voice so you can imagine I had fun with that one. One thing that I really want to do next year is chase things like that down instead of this sitting around and waiting for them to come to me. Obviously, that's going to require a different approach and perhaps some outside encouragement.
So, what else happened during this fine year of 2015? Well besides a lot of traveling and a new job, I now have a partner in crime who just moved in with me back in November. And that's been real nice. No more roommates, I says. And guess what else? We get to travel together, beyond going to see relatives. Next stop is Guadeloupe this March. A French speaking Caribbean nation...with an active volcano. Sounds right up my alley.
Another thing, I plan on doing next year is writing more in the blog...which requires having more things to write about, so look out for that.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Colorado...
This is seriously becoming a blog about travel. Lately on the music and voice over fronts I've been languishing or just straight not doing much and waiting. I've gotten a few royalty statements in the mail, I occasionally hear about the progress of The Life and True Love, the last two projects I worked on, I'm still trying to get back together with the couple I was jamming with but life and New York City get in the way. And I even auditioned to be one of Voice Bunny's on demand voice talent but got a reality check instead about the mediocre state of my set up at home (too much room noise...too muffled, etc.). But I've got plans to take over the closet in the other bedroom in my apartment once my girlfriend moves in in November.
That said, I'm getting a new feel for how much I truly do love to travel. Traveling never lets me down. When I get out there, no matter how much I've built up a trip in my head, I still have incredible experiences even if they don't live up to what I expected. That is to say, I'm always pleasantly surprised because I always find something new, whether or not it's what I thought I might find. And I come back vibrating with a new energy and enthusiasm about this place I've just seen, ranting and raving about it like I'm the first person to discover that place. And I feel so alive.
Here's Colorado. My friend from Carbondale planned out a whirlwind trip for us, showing me the finest her state has to offer, taking me to some of the highest places in the state and sometimes even in N. America. We did a lot of driving and winging it when we needed to, shifting plans to accommodate our whims, having adventures and close shaves, climbing mountains and taking pictures to prove it.
On the list of sites:
We first hit Downtown Denver, then caught a show at Red Rocks Ampitheater (holy crap, what a beautiful venue), Sound Tribe Sector 9. They put on a fantastic show. The next day we drove over Independence Pass then came through Aspen on our way back to her hometown, stopping briefly at a wine, beer and spirits tasting close to where my AirBnb was on the last trip. We found a nice local cider, picked up some food and then went back to her place where I cooked us some steaks.
The following day, we took a yoga class at True Nature, a beautiful yoga studio and meditation center, which was followed by a singing bowl and gong meditation for an hour and change. Then she took us back to Snowmass Village to hike the Rim Trail, a hike that was offered during Wanderlust but that I didn't take. It was cool to be back in the village and the hike was a perfect way to acclimate to the elevation. It features a pretty steep uphill climb for the first half hour to this ying yang feature:
...followed by an easy jaunt along the ridge with sweeping views on all sides and a few more climbs bringing you to an elevation of about 10,500 feet. After the hike we wound our way down to Aspen to have dinner at Pyramid Bistro and catch a show at Belly Up.
The next day, after a yoga class at another yoga studio, Kula, we got on the road again. Back over Independence Pass to head down to The Great Sand Dunes and eventually back up to Breckenridge to crash for the night before heading up to the trail head for Grays and Torreys Peaks, the 14ers we had chosen to hike, doing a double summit in one day because we could. On the way over Independence Pass again, crossing the continental divide yet again, we stopped to view Mt. Elbert, the highest of the 14ers. Note the fall foliage which had begun changing color in between this ride and the first one.
Then we got on our way past Salida and Buena Vista, down the longest stretch of straight road I've been on since driving to the Outer Banks of NC on Hwy 70. But what awaited us was nothing short of amazing. The sand dunes can be seen from miles away, butting up against the mountain range, and boast the tallest sand dune in N. America. When you're upon them, they dominate the landscape, and what a weird landscape:
After playing around for a while, kicking up sand and acting like kids, and just enjoying the surroundings and the quietude (it was seriously dramatic how quiet it was when the wind wasn't blowing...it felt like a sensory deprivation tank or something), we sat and debated our options for the rest of the evening. We were trying to make it as close as possible to the trail head at Grays Peak that night so we could set out and be on the trail as early as possible the next morning. Originally, the plan had been make it all the way to Leadville or even Frisco, and we had been leaning toward Leadville for most of the day as we had lost some time getting out of The Roaring Fork Valley later than expected that morning, so everything had shifted. It was already going to take us almost four hours to get back up to Leadville and it was early evening at that point. It was so long of a ride we almost considered going all the way back to Carbondale to stay at her place that night.
We scrapped that though because we hadn't even eaten dinner yet. We had our eyes on a steak restaurant in Leadville called Quincy's that only serves steak for $9.95 (seriously, the only decision you have to make is how you want it cooked and how you want your baked potato). Luckily, the restaurant had a location in Salida that was closer so once we got back out on the highway it looked liked we just might make it there before closing and have only an hour and a half left on our journey to Leadville.
We still made it to Leadville after all the hotels had already closed their front desks for the night and had to hit a couple of them before we found one that would book rooms after hours...and of course, we got the last one at the first place that would open up for us. Good thing too because it was midnight at this point and we had to be up at 6am the next morning!
The following morning, we packed up and got on our way, with a short stop for breakfast in Frisco, making it to the trail head by 8 and setting out around 8:30. The weather was dreary, cold and windy. Not a good prognosis for a day hike but we were prepared. Or at least I thought I was. My sweater, scarf and hat would eventually prove worthless against biting temps in the 30s, steady 40 mph winds and, yes, freaking snow and sleet. The climb was a bit brutal as such and we had driven up to 11,000 feet or so, so we still had about 3,000 feet of rise before we reached the top. At one point I had to borrow a layer of clothing from my friend. Every 10 minutes or so, I'd have to stop and catch my breath and the higher we got, the longer I had to stop before I felt I could go on.
Due to the weather, we had discussed the possibility of turning back just to prepare ourselves for the disappointment of not being able to climb to the top. But neither of us were keen on that idea. We came to climb. If anything, we debated turning back after Grays and forfeiting the opportunity to do the double summit. But then something amazing happened. I mean, I knew it would happen, to be honest. I'm ever the optimist, so I knew we'd get some clearing. There were breaks in the clouds and the winds had them moving off extremely quickly.
As soon as we hit the final stretch, one big gap opened in the clouds and as I stepped up onto the summit, I gasped as I saw clear views for miles and miles.
This was something I didn't get with my Concepcion volcano hike at the end of February. And the rush was enough that the two of us turned to the other peak, Torreys, barely a half mile away down a path that ran along the saddle between the two peaks, and said, "Why not?" We snacked and took selfies and set out, scrambling down the side of Grays and, slowly, back up the much steeper side of Torreys. (Watch in this video when my friend pans around...the first peak you see is Grays, which we had just come off the top of; the one you see when the camera turns 180 degrees is Torreys).
At this point I was starting to notice how numb and red my hands were. I'd had them clenched inside the pockets of my jacket for too long and needed to move them around and warm them up. We paused so I could do so and then beat the last stretch of scree reaching the top to find even more spectacular views.
That said, I'm getting a new feel for how much I truly do love to travel. Traveling never lets me down. When I get out there, no matter how much I've built up a trip in my head, I still have incredible experiences even if they don't live up to what I expected. That is to say, I'm always pleasantly surprised because I always find something new, whether or not it's what I thought I might find. And I come back vibrating with a new energy and enthusiasm about this place I've just seen, ranting and raving about it like I'm the first person to discover that place. And I feel so alive.
Here's Colorado. My friend from Carbondale planned out a whirlwind trip for us, showing me the finest her state has to offer, taking me to some of the highest places in the state and sometimes even in N. America. We did a lot of driving and winging it when we needed to, shifting plans to accommodate our whims, having adventures and close shaves, climbing mountains and taking pictures to prove it.
On the list of sites:
We first hit Downtown Denver, then caught a show at Red Rocks Ampitheater (holy crap, what a beautiful venue), Sound Tribe Sector 9. They put on a fantastic show. The next day we drove over Independence Pass then came through Aspen on our way back to her hometown, stopping briefly at a wine, beer and spirits tasting close to where my AirBnb was on the last trip. We found a nice local cider, picked up some food and then went back to her place where I cooked us some steaks.
The following day, we took a yoga class at True Nature, a beautiful yoga studio and meditation center, which was followed by a singing bowl and gong meditation for an hour and change. Then she took us back to Snowmass Village to hike the Rim Trail, a hike that was offered during Wanderlust but that I didn't take. It was cool to be back in the village and the hike was a perfect way to acclimate to the elevation. It features a pretty steep uphill climb for the first half hour to this ying yang feature:
...followed by an easy jaunt along the ridge with sweeping views on all sides and a few more climbs bringing you to an elevation of about 10,500 feet. After the hike we wound our way down to Aspen to have dinner at Pyramid Bistro and catch a show at Belly Up.
The next day, after a yoga class at another yoga studio, Kula, we got on the road again. Back over Independence Pass to head down to The Great Sand Dunes and eventually back up to Breckenridge to crash for the night before heading up to the trail head for Grays and Torreys Peaks, the 14ers we had chosen to hike, doing a double summit in one day because we could. On the way over Independence Pass again, crossing the continental divide yet again, we stopped to view Mt. Elbert, the highest of the 14ers. Note the fall foliage which had begun changing color in between this ride and the first one.
Then we got on our way past Salida and Buena Vista, down the longest stretch of straight road I've been on since driving to the Outer Banks of NC on Hwy 70. But what awaited us was nothing short of amazing. The sand dunes can be seen from miles away, butting up against the mountain range, and boast the tallest sand dune in N. America. When you're upon them, they dominate the landscape, and what a weird landscape:
After playing around for a while, kicking up sand and acting like kids, and just enjoying the surroundings and the quietude (it was seriously dramatic how quiet it was when the wind wasn't blowing...it felt like a sensory deprivation tank or something), we sat and debated our options for the rest of the evening. We were trying to make it as close as possible to the trail head at Grays Peak that night so we could set out and be on the trail as early as possible the next morning. Originally, the plan had been make it all the way to Leadville or even Frisco, and we had been leaning toward Leadville for most of the day as we had lost some time getting out of The Roaring Fork Valley later than expected that morning, so everything had shifted. It was already going to take us almost four hours to get back up to Leadville and it was early evening at that point. It was so long of a ride we almost considered going all the way back to Carbondale to stay at her place that night.
We scrapped that though because we hadn't even eaten dinner yet. We had our eyes on a steak restaurant in Leadville called Quincy's that only serves steak for $9.95 (seriously, the only decision you have to make is how you want it cooked and how you want your baked potato). Luckily, the restaurant had a location in Salida that was closer so once we got back out on the highway it looked liked we just might make it there before closing and have only an hour and a half left on our journey to Leadville.
We still made it to Leadville after all the hotels had already closed their front desks for the night and had to hit a couple of them before we found one that would book rooms after hours...and of course, we got the last one at the first place that would open up for us. Good thing too because it was midnight at this point and we had to be up at 6am the next morning!
The following morning, we packed up and got on our way, with a short stop for breakfast in Frisco, making it to the trail head by 8 and setting out around 8:30. The weather was dreary, cold and windy. Not a good prognosis for a day hike but we were prepared. Or at least I thought I was. My sweater, scarf and hat would eventually prove worthless against biting temps in the 30s, steady 40 mph winds and, yes, freaking snow and sleet. The climb was a bit brutal as such and we had driven up to 11,000 feet or so, so we still had about 3,000 feet of rise before we reached the top. At one point I had to borrow a layer of clothing from my friend. Every 10 minutes or so, I'd have to stop and catch my breath and the higher we got, the longer I had to stop before I felt I could go on.
Due to the weather, we had discussed the possibility of turning back just to prepare ourselves for the disappointment of not being able to climb to the top. But neither of us were keen on that idea. We came to climb. If anything, we debated turning back after Grays and forfeiting the opportunity to do the double summit. But then something amazing happened. I mean, I knew it would happen, to be honest. I'm ever the optimist, so I knew we'd get some clearing. There were breaks in the clouds and the winds had them moving off extremely quickly.
As soon as we hit the final stretch, one big gap opened in the clouds and as I stepped up onto the summit, I gasped as I saw clear views for miles and miles.
This was something I didn't get with my Concepcion volcano hike at the end of February. And the rush was enough that the two of us turned to the other peak, Torreys, barely a half mile away down a path that ran along the saddle between the two peaks, and said, "Why not?" We snacked and took selfies and set out, scrambling down the side of Grays and, slowly, back up the much steeper side of Torreys. (Watch in this video when my friend pans around...the first peak you see is Grays, which we had just come off the top of; the one you see when the camera turns 180 degrees is Torreys).
At this point I was starting to notice how numb and red my hands were. I'd had them clenched inside the pockets of my jacket for too long and needed to move them around and warm them up. We paused so I could do so and then beat the last stretch of scree reaching the top to find even more spectacular views.
The hike down was slow and easy once we were off the main slope of the mountain and we saw loads more wildlife on the way down, including scurrying pikas and the yellow bellied marmot who crossed our path and then proceeded to stand up on his hind legs and watch us for five full minutes before going back to his business. My phone was dead or there'd be pictures. I only saw one mountain goat the whole time, far away on a ridge on our way up to the top. He promptly lumbered down the other side before I could snap a pic though.
At the bottom, back at the car, my head ached, probably from dehydration and not elevation sickness, but I felt great otherwise. After devouring lunch we headed back to Carbondale by way of Glenwood Canyon, looking forward to an evening of lounging and Netflix.
The final full day of the trip we blew off a lot of the planned activities in favor of trying to have a lower key day and fit in Maroon Bells which we had missed a few days back due to cramming too much in in one day. We were going to ride bikes down Glenwood Canyon and hike to Hanging Lake but neither of us thought we'd be in any mood for physical activity after hiking two 14ers in one day. So, instead Maroon Bells it was. In Aspen, you buy a bus ticket and they bus you up the valley into a protected wilderness site where you can take the picture that everyone takes:
I mean, it is pretty gorgeous. We got some interesting facts on the way up from a knowledgeable guide who knew everything from local history to local geological facts to local wildlife. When we arrived, we opted for a short loop hike through the woods to take it all in and then wandered back to the bus stop. Unfortunately, we had just missed a bus and had to wait an additional thirty minutes for the next one which set us back quite a bit (although we heard some fantastic Wild West trivia from the same guide on the way down).
That night we were trying to make it all the way back to Denver to see another concert at Red Rocks (we found out at the STS9 concert that Counting Crows were playing at Red Rocks later in the week so we bought tickets right away). Making it back there required one more trip over Independence Pass, so we loaded up on coffee in Aspen when we finally got out of Maroon Bells, then headed out. The time was dwindling away and, though Counting Crows had a few opening acts, we did the math and figured there was a slight possibility we'd miss some of their set if we didn't book it. Let's just say that Independence Pass was both thrilling and terrifying this time around.
One last stop in Breckenridge for legendary crepes my friend raved about, barely set us back in terms of travel time, because where there is usually a colossal line, there wasn't a single soul waiting. Giddy at our fortune we chowed down on crepes in the car as we made our way past Breckenridge back to I-70. We hit very few traffic snarls from there on and I finally saw the Milky Way out the car window. Arriving at Red Rocks, we found that they were between sets still. We found our seats chatted for maybe two minutes before Counting Crows walked out on stage, almost as though they were waiting for us to get there.
So, a perfect end to a near perfect last day. If not for the crummy hotel I booked outside of Denver, we'd've been totally solid (we booked a non smoking room and it turned out all they had ready when we got there was a smoking room...people can still smoke in hotel rooms??). But at the point we were so tired we just crashed. And the following morning I had gluten free buttermilk pancakes in Denver before heading off to the airport and parting with my friend.
What a trip! Crazy adventures, tall mountains, beautiful vistas, and three separate concerts. And lots of driving. Couldn't have asked for a better time and now I have reasons to go back. As I always do. And I think I might actually have a mountain climbing addiction at this point.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Wanderlust
It sometimes takes me a while these days to unpack my experience of a trip, the impressions, the things that changed me, and articulate it into a story. And this blog, while it's been a chronicle of my time in New York City, has also allowed me an outlet for these kinds of stories. The kinds of stories I've discovered that I love telling. And perhaps that's why I started to travel again. I've always had a bit of wanderlust ever since my parents dragged me (I say that lovingly...I was not really dragged) on a trip around the country at the tender yet excitable age of 8. I've thirsted since to see more of the world. When asked what I wanted for a graduation present from high school, without hesitation, I said a trip to Paris.
Fast forward to this year. The fact that there is a festival called Wanderlust seemed like a no brainer. Yet, it was a friend who suggested we go and, therefore, not my idea. A few months ago in the course of a twenty minute phone conversation, the plan was hatched. This July, Snowmass Village, Colorado was hosting the festival. I hadn't been to Colorado since that fateful trip as a wide-eyed eight year old. We rode the Durango to Silverton railroad and I gazed at canyons and roaring rivers out the window of the train, noticing only at the end of the trip how much soot had accumulated on my face. In Silverton, I gestured toward snowy mountains and begged my parents to hike up so we could see snow in June. My siblings laughed at my inability to judge distance. Here's me with the brakeman's hat on:
When my friend told me that the Wanderlust festival was in Colorado, I bit almost immediately. A yoga festival? In Colorado? Of course!
So we began planning, reserved a rental car, and agreed on an AirBnb in Basalt, a town about thirty minutes away, to save money. And I began getting excited about things like Acro Yoga and Stand-up Paddleboard Yoga (the classes were all full by the time we had bought out tickets unfortunately so I didn't get to try it) and Slackline Yoga, farm to table dinners, hiking and meditation in nature, as well as the fact that there would be music every night. Outdoor music. And then they sent out an email after we bought our tickets saying that freakin' Moby was headlining the festival!
Here's an album of photos from the festival. There's so much to say about the festival so I'll just talk highlights and forego the blow by blow. Probably one of the most inspiring moments of the festival for me was the meditation hike with Häana, a violinist who came to the festival as one of the performers. Her music was really awesome. She actually almost carpooled with us from Denver International Airport but her flight kept getting delayed. I had researched her when she answered my post on the Wanderlust Facebook page offering rides from Denver to other festival goers.
On the second day of the festival I got a chance to hear her play a full electronic set at one of the indoor meditation classes. That alone was amazing and really freaking cool. But on this hike, she brought an old vintage violin that had this amazingly beautiful resonance. We hiked a little ways into the Aspen groves where she led a brief meditation and while we continued to sit in the tall grasses, she improvised for about twenty minutes in a Norwegian influenced style. As the music swelled, the breeze tickled us and a small thunderstorm rolled in. Just being out there in the open air, feeling the breeze, and hearing the haunting sounds of that violin. It was so beautiful. There are a couple good pics from the hike in that album as well as a video I took after hanging back on the hike down (you can hear the thunder in the background!)
Another spectacular moment was trying out Acro yoga for the first time and getting up in a handstand while balancing on another person's knees while they laid on the ground. All the pics in that album where you see the dome tents set up is where we had all of those classes. There were some other types of specialized yoga that happened there, but that I didn't get to try, like AiREAL yoga which has you balancing in fabric hammocks, doing moves meant to decompress the spine and strengthen your core. There was also Slackline yoga which is essentially doing yoga on a tight rope. The guy who did carpool with us from the airport was huge into this and my friend who came with me tried a few classes (she was also into the Hula classes which were a big thing). My only attempt at slack-lining was after having a few drinks when it was late at night and dark out. It did not go well.
Other highlights were of course all of the concerts, including Moby and the Wanderlust Spectacular, a full show of acrobatics and dancing that had my jaw dropping the whole time. Then there was hanging out in Aspen on my last night with a local I'd met on my first night there and then having her show us around her town of Carbondale on our final day after the festival had ended. Our AirBnb host even joined us at a local distillery there called Marble Distillery and then we all had dinner at a place called Town. I tried rabbit tacos and they were excellent!
I gotta tell you, on a side note, the elevation up there did not kill me but it was certainly a bit harder to walk uphill while simultaneously making conversation with the new friends I was making. And it took far fewer flights of stairs than normal for me to be winded. But that was all okay because I've heard what altitude sickness can be like and I would much prefer just having a little difficulty breathing to that any day.
Anyway, now that I'm back, and I've made friends out there, I plan on going back in September and hiking one of the 14ers. Because lately, I've been obsessed with tall mountains and the like. See my previous trip to Nicaragua in February. And I'm not worried about the elevation gain because I know I'll probably acclimate in the first few days and the peak my friend has recommended only has like a 4,200 ft. elevation gain. Concepción was 5,200 ft. tall and I hiked that one from the bottom in 4 1/2 hours.
And before any of this I was planning on going to Peru to hike Huayna Picchu, the peak next to the Machu Picchu ruins. But that trip may have to wait because my girlfriend and I are talking fairly seriously about hitting up Dominica in the Caribbean, an island I zeroed in on and then was sold on the moment I realized that it boasts one of the tallest mountain peaks in the Caribbean Islands. Morne Diablotins at 4,700 ft. So, there will be more stories of surmounting formidable peaks.
And speaking of which, metaphoric peaks are still in the works as well. But it's a bit slower going on those. I'll just say for now that I'm still working at doing voice over for CNN whenever they'll throw it my way and I have plans to build up a reel with that material. Occasionally, my voice coach will throw me an audition or two. And as for my most recent music outlet, I'm jamming with two new friends now. Collaborating for the first time in a very long time.
The only other bit of news I got as far as music goes is that I got a statement in the mail from Medianet, showing that The Life has been generating me royalties. The number is so low, though, I'm not even gonna tell you how much so far. But hey. Gotta start somewhere.
Fast forward to this year. The fact that there is a festival called Wanderlust seemed like a no brainer. Yet, it was a friend who suggested we go and, therefore, not my idea. A few months ago in the course of a twenty minute phone conversation, the plan was hatched. This July, Snowmass Village, Colorado was hosting the festival. I hadn't been to Colorado since that fateful trip as a wide-eyed eight year old. We rode the Durango to Silverton railroad and I gazed at canyons and roaring rivers out the window of the train, noticing only at the end of the trip how much soot had accumulated on my face. In Silverton, I gestured toward snowy mountains and begged my parents to hike up so we could see snow in June. My siblings laughed at my inability to judge distance. Here's me with the brakeman's hat on:
When my friend told me that the Wanderlust festival was in Colorado, I bit almost immediately. A yoga festival? In Colorado? Of course!
So we began planning, reserved a rental car, and agreed on an AirBnb in Basalt, a town about thirty minutes away, to save money. And I began getting excited about things like Acro Yoga and Stand-up Paddleboard Yoga (the classes were all full by the time we had bought out tickets unfortunately so I didn't get to try it) and Slackline Yoga, farm to table dinners, hiking and meditation in nature, as well as the fact that there would be music every night. Outdoor music. And then they sent out an email after we bought our tickets saying that freakin' Moby was headlining the festival!
Here's an album of photos from the festival. There's so much to say about the festival so I'll just talk highlights and forego the blow by blow. Probably one of the most inspiring moments of the festival for me was the meditation hike with Häana, a violinist who came to the festival as one of the performers. Her music was really awesome. She actually almost carpooled with us from Denver International Airport but her flight kept getting delayed. I had researched her when she answered my post on the Wanderlust Facebook page offering rides from Denver to other festival goers.
On the second day of the festival I got a chance to hear her play a full electronic set at one of the indoor meditation classes. That alone was amazing and really freaking cool. But on this hike, she brought an old vintage violin that had this amazingly beautiful resonance. We hiked a little ways into the Aspen groves where she led a brief meditation and while we continued to sit in the tall grasses, she improvised for about twenty minutes in a Norwegian influenced style. As the music swelled, the breeze tickled us and a small thunderstorm rolled in. Just being out there in the open air, feeling the breeze, and hearing the haunting sounds of that violin. It was so beautiful. There are a couple good pics from the hike in that album as well as a video I took after hanging back on the hike down (you can hear the thunder in the background!)
Another spectacular moment was trying out Acro yoga for the first time and getting up in a handstand while balancing on another person's knees while they laid on the ground. All the pics in that album where you see the dome tents set up is where we had all of those classes. There were some other types of specialized yoga that happened there, but that I didn't get to try, like AiREAL yoga which has you balancing in fabric hammocks, doing moves meant to decompress the spine and strengthen your core. There was also Slackline yoga which is essentially doing yoga on a tight rope. The guy who did carpool with us from the airport was huge into this and my friend who came with me tried a few classes (she was also into the Hula classes which were a big thing). My only attempt at slack-lining was after having a few drinks when it was late at night and dark out. It did not go well.
Other highlights were of course all of the concerts, including Moby and the Wanderlust Spectacular, a full show of acrobatics and dancing that had my jaw dropping the whole time. Then there was hanging out in Aspen on my last night with a local I'd met on my first night there and then having her show us around her town of Carbondale on our final day after the festival had ended. Our AirBnb host even joined us at a local distillery there called Marble Distillery and then we all had dinner at a place called Town. I tried rabbit tacos and they were excellent!
I gotta tell you, on a side note, the elevation up there did not kill me but it was certainly a bit harder to walk uphill while simultaneously making conversation with the new friends I was making. And it took far fewer flights of stairs than normal for me to be winded. But that was all okay because I've heard what altitude sickness can be like and I would much prefer just having a little difficulty breathing to that any day.
Anyway, now that I'm back, and I've made friends out there, I plan on going back in September and hiking one of the 14ers. Because lately, I've been obsessed with tall mountains and the like. See my previous trip to Nicaragua in February. And I'm not worried about the elevation gain because I know I'll probably acclimate in the first few days and the peak my friend has recommended only has like a 4,200 ft. elevation gain. Concepción was 5,200 ft. tall and I hiked that one from the bottom in 4 1/2 hours.
And before any of this I was planning on going to Peru to hike Huayna Picchu, the peak next to the Machu Picchu ruins. But that trip may have to wait because my girlfriend and I are talking fairly seriously about hitting up Dominica in the Caribbean, an island I zeroed in on and then was sold on the moment I realized that it boasts one of the tallest mountain peaks in the Caribbean Islands. Morne Diablotins at 4,700 ft. So, there will be more stories of surmounting formidable peaks.
And speaking of which, metaphoric peaks are still in the works as well. But it's a bit slower going on those. I'll just say for now that I'm still working at doing voice over for CNN whenever they'll throw it my way and I have plans to build up a reel with that material. Occasionally, my voice coach will throw me an audition or two. And as for my most recent music outlet, I'm jamming with two new friends now. Collaborating for the first time in a very long time.
The only other bit of news I got as far as music goes is that I got a statement in the mail from Medianet, showing that The Life has been generating me royalties. The number is so low, though, I'm not even gonna tell you how much so far. But hey. Gotta start somewhere.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Climbs, volcanoes and other trials...
The sneakers I've barely worn since Nicaragua still have black sand in them from the volcano. I'm wearing them again as the weather starts to warm up consistently. The other day, as I kicked them off, a pile of the stuff spilled out onto my bedroom floor. Days later, though I pounded them together upside down, I still feel the grit under my toes, reminding me of this:
Yes, I climbed to the top of that thing. That being the Concepcion volcano on the Isla de Ometepe, a central destination of my late February trip to Nicaragua. The one I had heard was a 10 hour hike. Part of my initial aversion to hiking it in the first place and the reason I had chosen, months earlier, to hike Maderas instead. The smaller, extinct volcano on the island's south side, was advertised as an 8 hour hike, which I'd heard people testify to scaling in a mere 5 hours. But whatever, when I arrived on Ometepe, I was almost content to nix the idea of any volcano hike and just sit and enjoy this:
...instead of trying to cram in more activities in the short amount of time I had there. Not so much that my three day romp around Granada and the surrounding environs had taken it out of me. No, it was just that beautiful there at Finca San Juan de la Isla that I thought, after all the hard work I'd done to afford the trip, I ought to just take it easy and enjoy the rum and the fried plantains with cheese and the sound of the lake and the birds and the hammocks and all the beautiful people I met there, most of them Canadians, some of them local hotel staff who were immensely kind and very open to helping me with my Spanish. Also, cost was a factor. I was either going to have to find people to go in on hiring the guide, pay him the full amount myself, or go through an unappealing ordeal of phone calls and emails and attempts at Spanish to set up a tour with one of the many other options open to me. I opted to just wait it out and see.
I met a couple from Edmonton, Canada and another from Toronto, my first full day there. The Edmonton couple were recounting the story of their attempt at Concepcion the previous day, a feat they told us took them only 7 hours. The Toronto couple listened intently as they were planning on doing it themselves the following day. I asked if I could join, figuring this was the sign I needed to make my decision. The path of least resistance. They had already booked the guide and they were happy to let me join them. And I'm so glad I did. 7 hours seemed much more reasonable.
Why did I wait all this time to recount my tale? I don't know, part of me wanted to wait to blog again until I had some good news to share on the music and voice over fronts and even about my various day jobs; all the things that have been brewing there. I do, as a matter of fact, finally. But in the meantime, life just got away from me and I didn't want to just type up a blow by blow of the whole trip. I had journaled it elsewhere for my own purposes, after all. But also, I had to think through what it all means to me in terms of what happened to me on that mountain.
Guys, this was the hardest hike I'd ever experienced but I felt so damned alive at the end of it, like I could physically do anything and perhaps mentally do anything as well. Anything at all. Volcan Concepcion is 5,280 feet tall and perfectly cone shaped, making the hike relentlessly steep. Hiking to the rim of the open and active crater took us a solid four and a half hours and the descent took another 3 hours.
The terrain was ever changing and kept our interest, with stunning views and exotic plant life, but the climb was brutal and taking a toll on us after only an hour, my calves burning with the exertion of continuous ascent.
My new friends and I brought liters upon liters of water that we carried with us, along with lunch that the hotel had packed (unfortunately, the only gluten free foods they could give me were plantain chips, some of their homemade cheese and a few oranges, pre peeled, of course). We took frequent breaks but always kept going, determined not to stop or slow down for too long. Although at times, individually, I'm sure we all felt like turning around. Something in me, personally, said no every time the thought came up. I felt as though climbing this mountain symbolized something for me. I had to keep going. Maybe just to prove something to myself. Maybe because I had set out on some mission and wanted to see it through to the end. Being able to conquer something despite ridiculous odds, to keep going when others would have stopped (another group that was supposed to have set out with us, was delayed and, upon our descent we learned they had quit after just an hour...no one else was on that mountain except us).
We passed through fields of plantain trees and rock strewn pits, and as the mountain steepened, we entered a dry forest with a sandy path that our feet slid into, making each step that much harder. Everywhere was a chance to turn your ankle or slip. Every other tree branch we tried to grab onto for support had thorns protruding. Rocks were always loose, so part of what set our pace was having to be so sure of our footing each time we took a step. At some point along the way, the danger of what we were doing slowly became clear to us.
We left all the stunning vistas behind as we entered a white cloud and the wind began to blow relentlessly.
We were now in a cloud forest of mostly low shrubs, plants with giant leaves and more and more rocks to slip on.
Coming up out of that we entered a new terrain, unlike anything we had seen before. Plant life had all but disappeared and all of us, except our guide, had to crawl up on all fours.
This was where I fell behind a little and had to keep talking to myself, telling myself I had to keep going. After all, regardless of whether I made it to the top, I still had to go all the way back down. This realization was the most harrowing thing after everything we had gone through, knowing that, even after we reached the summit there was still a long road before we could finally rest. In a way, though, it helped knowing that no matter what we decided, we still had a long way ahead of us. It would have been barely any relief to stop and go down at that point because the ordeal of descending such a steep slope was just as difficult, and ascending the 500 odd feet that we had left to climb would not have added all that much to our troubles. Only actually reaching the top could have lifted our spirits enough to power us for the rest of the hike, though. That and lunch. But only after we had reached the top, we agreed.
It was during this last stretch that I felt that something come over me again. Something that told me to just go despite how hard it was. I could feel my companions' spirits breaking a little. I felt like each step was harder than the one before. I would get in five or six and then have to pause.
At one point our guide shouted down to us to get out of the way because there were rocks tumbling down. Adrenaline pumping, not knowing, at first, exactly why he had told us to get out of the way, we scrambled sideways along the rocks as quickly as we could. Someone who had hiked up on their own before us, had loosed a few rocks and sent them down in our direction unintentionally. Seeing this bloke from California walking upright down the mountain past us like it was nothing was the last straw (you can see him in the shadows just out of sight in the above pic of my two Toronto friends). I could smell the sulfur gas from the crater by now. Knowing we were so close to the top I powered through, one last burst of climbing, grabbing at rocks and propelling myself upward, quicker than my body could signal the pain in my muscles. Behind me, Kelsey was saying she was done and ready to go down. The wind was blowing her around so that she couldn't straighten up for a second without getting knocked over. Just then I looked up and saw our guide perched on the edge of the crater. I lifted myself into place right next to him and peered into the crater.
"No, c'mon! We're here. It's right here, you can make it!" I shouted down to my companions. I practically begged Kelsey and Ryan to come peer in the crater with me. 300 meters deep and 3 acres around at the bottom, and all of it obscured by sulfuric gas and clouds. She took one look and declared, "Nope!"
We all collapsed for this photo and agreed after a few moments of basking in our victory, that we should climb down out of the wind and eat our lunch before heading back down. Without any shred of visibility there wasn't much in the way of views to take in. I watched some YouTube videos of other people's hikes when I returned home, though, and concluded that, had we hiked up on a clear day, it would have been absolutely terrifying but exalting and gorgeous nonetheless. Here's my panorama when we came out of the cloud. Close enough:
But what did I learn about myself from this climb? For one thing, that I'm strong and I can show determination and accomplish something big if I have my mind set on it. Something I'm doing on a daily basis here in NYC but that I tend to forget. The other thing it taught me is to just keep going. The last few months have been harrowing in their own way. No stunning vistas, no payoffs, just waiting and waiting for one or more things that are up in the air, to show me some kind of sign I'm on the right track. It's hard, even though you know you've done things and set other things in motion, to just wait for them to give you some sort of feedback. It's hard to not always feel like I could be doing more. But then, that one thing happens that may or may not be a true accomplishment but that tells you that, yes, you're doing fine, you're on the right track, keep going.
It happened a few weeks ago. An agent with whom I had spoken over a year ago, who had told me that I sounded as though I had some regionalisms in my voice, called me to tell me she liked the new demo I sent her and wanted to send me out on an audition for a job she thought I'd be good for. Yes, an agent liked my demo. So I went out there feeling pretty damn good, knowing that, even if I didn't get the job, it was still quite an accomplishment and felt like a nice step up to a new plateau. The next day, another agent that I'd met at my voice coach's salon emailed me to say she loved my demo (exclamation point) but that she couldn't accommodate me as they keep a very short list and there isn't currently a space for me. There are still more steps to take up onto even higher plateaus but just to know that I have things ahead of me is exciting.
"The Life" finally had its premier screening a few weeks ago too and everyone in the cast and crew showed. It was amazing to see how many people were involved in bringing that thing to fruition and how many cared enough to come out for the screening. Some of them hadn't even seen the whole thing yet so we got to see some candid reactions to the finished product which made it all the more worthwhile. Great things are ahead for this project, almost none of which I can speak on definitively and it's likely to be like this for a while but suffice it to say that I'm happy with the progression.
And I even had an opportunity to help out with the music on a web series called Redheads Anonymous that is getting all kinds of attention lately. I played some guitar and bass parts on a song for the second episode which you can watch here. Huffington Post did an article on it and episode 2 even won Indie Series Network's Web Series of the Week award. It's going to be a great affiliation, and they may yet call me for more music.
At any rate, I'm still feeling pretty good about this year so far. And if any of you are interested in seeing the rest of the pics from the trip to Nicaragua, I've posted them here.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Volcanoes and monkeys and a quick update...
The East River has ice floating in it and it's 2 degrees F, with a wind chill of -15.
I think it's time to get out of town. They're threatening snow/ice/rain whatever in the forecast on Sunday when I'm supposed to fly so I'm a tiny bit nervous. I don't think anything will get cancelled. Worst case scenario, I'm delayed and I miss my connecting flight and the airline puts me on the next flight and I just have to call my hotel and have them send the cab driver a little later in the afternoon and maybe it's a tiny bit later when I finally touch down at my hotel in Granada, where it's likely going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 degrees F.
It's going to be fine. I'm so excited about this trip, as long as I can get there some time on Sunday I'll be happy. This is the first time I've done anything like this. Completely solo (as in, traveling solo, not meeting anyone when I get there, no one dictating what I do or when), very little Spanish under my belt (just enough to get by), everything planned to a T. I'm going to have a blast. I'm hiking volcanoes and learning to surf and exploring ancient petroglyphs and visiting coffee plantations. And hammocks. Lots of hammock time. Maybe a massage...of course a massage! Horses. Sea Turtles. I'm going to see some freaking monkeys if it kills me.
So, yeah, despite all that excitement, I admit. There is a little nervousness. But it's abating for the most part. I mean, I've prepared for a lot here. I even bought Skype credits in case I have to call someone while I'm there (I'm trying not to use minutes there at all because Verizon charges $2.89 a minute in Nicaragua while Skype is only 23.5 cents). If I'm worried about my Spanish not being sufficient, a lot of people will speak English (hotel staff, ex-pats, etc.), I have Google translate, Duolingo, even a Learn Spanish in 7 days book saved in my Kindle app. Puedo escribir en español right now if I really wanted to.
Before I run off to Nica land for a spell, though, I really wanted to drop in and update on what's been going on in the music/voice over/TV world.
The commercial I wrote music for? It won that competition so now I'm going to get royalties when it starts airing on the web in UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in March. Awesome, right?
The new voice over demo is in the hands of one agent and one casting director so far. The casting director I met at Marla's voice over class just the other night, an old school guy who likes to listen to all of his submissions on his car CD player (necessitating a scramble to find my old CD labels and a case I could put the disc in). The agent is a co worker's agent over at Access talent (a place that was on my list of places to submit to anyway, so when he offered to pass my demo along, I said, "hell yes!") When I return I will submit to about ten more.
And lastly, I have an interview at CNN today for a full time position. Please wish me luck.
For now, that is all. I will most likely update again after I touch down in Nica. Expect some video this time around. I'm going to be peering into an active volcano in a few days. You're gonna wanna see that.
I think it's time to get out of town. They're threatening snow/ice/rain whatever in the forecast on Sunday when I'm supposed to fly so I'm a tiny bit nervous. I don't think anything will get cancelled. Worst case scenario, I'm delayed and I miss my connecting flight and the airline puts me on the next flight and I just have to call my hotel and have them send the cab driver a little later in the afternoon and maybe it's a tiny bit later when I finally touch down at my hotel in Granada, where it's likely going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 degrees F.
It's going to be fine. I'm so excited about this trip, as long as I can get there some time on Sunday I'll be happy. This is the first time I've done anything like this. Completely solo (as in, traveling solo, not meeting anyone when I get there, no one dictating what I do or when), very little Spanish under my belt (just enough to get by), everything planned to a T. I'm going to have a blast. I'm hiking volcanoes and learning to surf and exploring ancient petroglyphs and visiting coffee plantations. And hammocks. Lots of hammock time. Maybe a massage...of course a massage! Horses. Sea Turtles. I'm going to see some freaking monkeys if it kills me.
So, yeah, despite all that excitement, I admit. There is a little nervousness. But it's abating for the most part. I mean, I've prepared for a lot here. I even bought Skype credits in case I have to call someone while I'm there (I'm trying not to use minutes there at all because Verizon charges $2.89 a minute in Nicaragua while Skype is only 23.5 cents). If I'm worried about my Spanish not being sufficient, a lot of people will speak English (hotel staff, ex-pats, etc.), I have Google translate, Duolingo, even a Learn Spanish in 7 days book saved in my Kindle app. Puedo escribir en español right now if I really wanted to.
Before I run off to Nica land for a spell, though, I really wanted to drop in and update on what's been going on in the music/voice over/TV world.
The commercial I wrote music for? It won that competition so now I'm going to get royalties when it starts airing on the web in UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in March. Awesome, right?
The new voice over demo is in the hands of one agent and one casting director so far. The casting director I met at Marla's voice over class just the other night, an old school guy who likes to listen to all of his submissions on his car CD player (necessitating a scramble to find my old CD labels and a case I could put the disc in). The agent is a co worker's agent over at Access talent (a place that was on my list of places to submit to anyway, so when he offered to pass my demo along, I said, "hell yes!") When I return I will submit to about ten more.
And lastly, I have an interview at CNN today for a full time position. Please wish me luck.
For now, that is all. I will most likely update again after I touch down in Nica. Expect some video this time around. I'm going to be peering into an active volcano in a few days. You're gonna wanna see that.
Monday, January 19, 2015
2015 things...
It's 2015 and I'm doing things. I've got a really good feeling about this year. I wanted to wait until a few more things seemed certain before popping my head up and checking in here. But I feel like talking about at least this:
I finally got around to updating this with the new coach I've been working with. Two of my old spots are on there and then four more that my coach wrote for me. We managed to wipe out recording them in under an hour as well, which makes me happy because it's going to be cheaper than I had thought. And the engineer at Gramercy Post turned it around super quick too so I managed to get it posted up online the next day. All in all, I was pretty pleased with the process. Now, Marla and I are going to sit down this week and talk about getting it out to some agents she knows. So excited for that.
And on top of that, the pilot episode of "The Life" will be screened next month and meanwhile the director has hired me to write music for a light-hearted commercial he's been tasked with directing for a competition. Some piano tune that I'm currently zeroing in on. So, I've got music work and potential voice over work and something else on the horizon of which I won't speak just yet. ;)
And then, in a few weeks, I'm going back to Nicaragua, on my own, for my first solo trip ever. And by solo, I mean, I'm traveling there alone, staying there alone, exploring alone. I've been boning up on what little Spanish I know, using an app called Duolingo, talking with my co workers who have been and have even set up meeting a co worker's friends on Ometepe. I have all my hotels and cab rides booked (I will not be riding any public transportation in the country) and I've got plans to hike several volcanoes. Pictures and video will ensue. It's going to be an adventure. A great adventure and I'm going to have lots of stories. I cannot wait.
That's where I'll leave it for now. Every year, I do the whole New Year's Resolution/Where was I last year post, but I feel like waiting on that just a little. I have things I want to do this year differently than last year but whether or not I'll be able to sort of hinges on that thing that's on the horizon that I won't mention yet until it's certain. Suffice it to say that I did a lot of things career-wise last year and the year before that worked and I'm going to keep doing them. And all of that workout more, drink less stuff will be in there too.
I might even blog more but we'll see.
I finally got around to updating this with the new coach I've been working with. Two of my old spots are on there and then four more that my coach wrote for me. We managed to wipe out recording them in under an hour as well, which makes me happy because it's going to be cheaper than I had thought. And the engineer at Gramercy Post turned it around super quick too so I managed to get it posted up online the next day. All in all, I was pretty pleased with the process. Now, Marla and I are going to sit down this week and talk about getting it out to some agents she knows. So excited for that.
And on top of that, the pilot episode of "The Life" will be screened next month and meanwhile the director has hired me to write music for a light-hearted commercial he's been tasked with directing for a competition. Some piano tune that I'm currently zeroing in on. So, I've got music work and potential voice over work and something else on the horizon of which I won't speak just yet. ;)
And then, in a few weeks, I'm going back to Nicaragua, on my own, for my first solo trip ever. And by solo, I mean, I'm traveling there alone, staying there alone, exploring alone. I've been boning up on what little Spanish I know, using an app called Duolingo, talking with my co workers who have been and have even set up meeting a co worker's friends on Ometepe. I have all my hotels and cab rides booked (I will not be riding any public transportation in the country) and I've got plans to hike several volcanoes. Pictures and video will ensue. It's going to be an adventure. A great adventure and I'm going to have lots of stories. I cannot wait.
That's where I'll leave it for now. Every year, I do the whole New Year's Resolution/Where was I last year post, but I feel like waiting on that just a little. I have things I want to do this year differently than last year but whether or not I'll be able to sort of hinges on that thing that's on the horizon that I won't mention yet until it's certain. Suffice it to say that I did a lot of things career-wise last year and the year before that worked and I'm going to keep doing them. And all of that workout more, drink less stuff will be in there too.
I might even blog more but we'll see.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Rainy day musings...
Nursing a hangover from last night's company holiday party while the rain pours down outside. Getting going on days like this is hard enough. But here I sit, at my kitchen table staring out the window at the cold rain and typing. I even skipped my shift at the food co-op. I'm off work and all that there is on the docket otherwise is a yoga class, picking up groceries maybe, cooking myself some dinner and hitting a friend's party in Bushwick later tonight. I was thinking about writing a little music, or at least working with my setup or something musical.
I keep telling myself, though, that I should just take this day to do nothing and be useless for a change instead of getting swept up in this frantic need to get something done while I have time to fill (notice I didn't say "time to kill"). A break is in order, yes. But only because I'm working so much at my day jobs lately. Not even as some kind of reward for having accomplished something meaningful with voice over or music. Despite having just seen the screening of "True Love," basking in the attention that the film garnered me, despite feeling more confident in voice over than I have in a long time.
Only when I feel like I've done enough, do I get to days like this and decide to take it easy and not even go to yoga. But that is rare. Normally I don't feel like I've done enough. No, it's hard to feel like I'm doing enough for my career, ever. And I don't know when you get past that. Maybe it's even a good thing, it's certainly a motivator. But then again, maybe it's a form of self-flagellation. I did all these things. I moved to New York, got a job, got another few jobs, scored some films, met some incredible people, got a great apartment, started a voice over career, got recognized for all these things, hell, I even made a little money at it. But I'm still working three jobs to get by and there are all these other things I haven't done, am not doing, that I go from disappointed to straight up mad at myself for not having done. Live performance of my own music tops out the list. I have done it but, okay, like once. So it's a little slow getting going. I used to call it "rock-out envy" when I'd go see a band play and think, "damn. I should be doing that." And then every time I'd see some modern concert music, I'd think, "why did I stop writing chamber music?"
But then I remember that a few years ago I started to realize that I can't do every damn thing. It's cliché but time actually is money these days. I had to choose what was most worth my time. It was one part "is there a monetary return significant enough to justify the investment of time and energy," one part "do you enjoy doing this," and probably more than one part "is this genuine."
That one is most important and I was motivated to answer that when I realized the other two things. It came down to, if I have a limited amount of time to work, I need to eat and pay rent, then I'd better make sure of the other two things: am I enjoying this and is it what I would be doing if all things were equal and I had all the time in the world. I even quit doing a few things that I enjoyed because they were taking up more time than they were worth. Those decisions were hard and I'm better for them. There's no doubt that the strides I made in my career were a direct result of reallocating my time.
This all really boils down to, I took those jobs at CNN and truTV and now I don't have nearly as much time as I'd like for live performance. I have an open offer to book a gig performing live guitar looping and electronic music at a yoga class in Tribeca but I am nowhere near ready. I've written a few songs, I've got the set up going, it works, but there are too many parts for me to even imagine hauling it 11 stops on the R train to City Hall or even renting a vehicle for that amount of time for a gig that's going to be tips only. There's no doubt I'm going to enjoy doing it and that the investment is going to be worth it on a personal enrichment level. I have to try it and see how much fun I have but will something like that be sustainable for me in the long term? I have musician friends who pick up and tour around the east side or even go to Europe for gigs and I wonder how they do it when I know these gigs don't pay well and they have to sell merch, stay with strangers, and hope people buy their CDs to stay out of the red.
You have to really love it. That's the obvious answer. And I love to quote Henry Winkler on this, "Do you need to do this thing that you've found, or does it just sound exciting." It keeps coming back to that. I'll be perfectly honest. I was not enjoying spending so much time and energy composing a piece of music for someone or some group to perform it, for it to be heard once (by fewer than 10 people) and there to be absolutely no monetary return on it.
But therein lies the problem. You obviously have to do this stuff to meager audiences to get started. And I did enjoy parts of it. There was enjoyment happening somewhere in the process. The nights Tania and I stayed up rehearsing, the moments when my electronic equipment worked perfectly, the few moments of applause, being on stage at Galapagos Art Space (a beautiful space if you haven't seen it); all of it moved me to remember why I did all of that. And I had to not care if anyone enjoyed it, or noticed how groundbreaking or even just f*cking cool it was to mic a piano and sample it live. And I had to not care that the video didn't come out all that well. And I had to not care how heavy my equipment was. And I had to shrug off the time in Harlem when the sound guy didn't even plug my laptop into the house system and I didn't notice until we were in the middle of the piece and nothing was happening. And I had to forget all the other times that things didn't go as planned. Because this is what I live for. Making music and, yes, sometimes performing it or having it performed. I'm most alive when I'm on stage or when I'm hearing my music being performed live.
And sure there are even other ways to make your money to offset the cost of doing these things. And no, these things almost never make money. But that absolutely cannot be the reason you are doing these things or you are seriously deluding yourself. One thing I can say is that I've never had any delusions (at least not lately) that I could make a lot of money playing music. I mean, my undergraduate piano professor hammered that point home pretty good (asshole). All I've ever wanted to do was be able to keep doing it regardless. Because I almost stopped once. And I don't ever want to live like that again.
I keep telling myself, though, that I should just take this day to do nothing and be useless for a change instead of getting swept up in this frantic need to get something done while I have time to fill (notice I didn't say "time to kill"). A break is in order, yes. But only because I'm working so much at my day jobs lately. Not even as some kind of reward for having accomplished something meaningful with voice over or music. Despite having just seen the screening of "True Love," basking in the attention that the film garnered me, despite feeling more confident in voice over than I have in a long time.
Only when I feel like I've done enough, do I get to days like this and decide to take it easy and not even go to yoga. But that is rare. Normally I don't feel like I've done enough. No, it's hard to feel like I'm doing enough for my career, ever. And I don't know when you get past that. Maybe it's even a good thing, it's certainly a motivator. But then again, maybe it's a form of self-flagellation. I did all these things. I moved to New York, got a job, got another few jobs, scored some films, met some incredible people, got a great apartment, started a voice over career, got recognized for all these things, hell, I even made a little money at it. But I'm still working three jobs to get by and there are all these other things I haven't done, am not doing, that I go from disappointed to straight up mad at myself for not having done. Live performance of my own music tops out the list. I have done it but, okay, like once. So it's a little slow getting going. I used to call it "rock-out envy" when I'd go see a band play and think, "damn. I should be doing that." And then every time I'd see some modern concert music, I'd think, "why did I stop writing chamber music?"
But then I remember that a few years ago I started to realize that I can't do every damn thing. It's cliché but time actually is money these days. I had to choose what was most worth my time. It was one part "is there a monetary return significant enough to justify the investment of time and energy," one part "do you enjoy doing this," and probably more than one part "is this genuine."
That one is most important and I was motivated to answer that when I realized the other two things. It came down to, if I have a limited amount of time to work, I need to eat and pay rent, then I'd better make sure of the other two things: am I enjoying this and is it what I would be doing if all things were equal and I had all the time in the world. I even quit doing a few things that I enjoyed because they were taking up more time than they were worth. Those decisions were hard and I'm better for them. There's no doubt that the strides I made in my career were a direct result of reallocating my time.
This all really boils down to, I took those jobs at CNN and truTV and now I don't have nearly as much time as I'd like for live performance. I have an open offer to book a gig performing live guitar looping and electronic music at a yoga class in Tribeca but I am nowhere near ready. I've written a few songs, I've got the set up going, it works, but there are too many parts for me to even imagine hauling it 11 stops on the R train to City Hall or even renting a vehicle for that amount of time for a gig that's going to be tips only. There's no doubt I'm going to enjoy doing it and that the investment is going to be worth it on a personal enrichment level. I have to try it and see how much fun I have but will something like that be sustainable for me in the long term? I have musician friends who pick up and tour around the east side or even go to Europe for gigs and I wonder how they do it when I know these gigs don't pay well and they have to sell merch, stay with strangers, and hope people buy their CDs to stay out of the red.
You have to really love it. That's the obvious answer. And I love to quote Henry Winkler on this, "Do you need to do this thing that you've found, or does it just sound exciting." It keeps coming back to that. I'll be perfectly honest. I was not enjoying spending so much time and energy composing a piece of music for someone or some group to perform it, for it to be heard once (by fewer than 10 people) and there to be absolutely no monetary return on it.
But therein lies the problem. You obviously have to do this stuff to meager audiences to get started. And I did enjoy parts of it. There was enjoyment happening somewhere in the process. The nights Tania and I stayed up rehearsing, the moments when my electronic equipment worked perfectly, the few moments of applause, being on stage at Galapagos Art Space (a beautiful space if you haven't seen it); all of it moved me to remember why I did all of that. And I had to not care if anyone enjoyed it, or noticed how groundbreaking or even just f*cking cool it was to mic a piano and sample it live. And I had to not care that the video didn't come out all that well. And I had to not care how heavy my equipment was. And I had to shrug off the time in Harlem when the sound guy didn't even plug my laptop into the house system and I didn't notice until we were in the middle of the piece and nothing was happening. And I had to forget all the other times that things didn't go as planned. Because this is what I live for. Making music and, yes, sometimes performing it or having it performed. I'm most alive when I'm on stage or when I'm hearing my music being performed live.
And sure there are even other ways to make your money to offset the cost of doing these things. And no, these things almost never make money. But that absolutely cannot be the reason you are doing these things or you are seriously deluding yourself. One thing I can say is that I've never had any delusions (at least not lately) that I could make a lot of money playing music. I mean, my undergraduate piano professor hammered that point home pretty good (asshole). All I've ever wanted to do was be able to keep doing it regardless. Because I almost stopped once. And I don't ever want to live like that again.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
At bat...
Where have I been? Where even am I now? I'm sitting in the break room at NY1. It's cold. Winter has come early and with a force. I'm hiding though the temptation to go outside and get real coffee is there. A lot has changed this year and not just that I'm actually drinking coffee again. But I got thinking yesterday and today about a specific moment in the evolution of a career. When the realization comes over you that you might be finally stepping up to the plate.
A few years back now, I had a chance to submit my ideas for a 10 minute snippet of a documentary about nuns in Hong Kong in the early 1900s. I was excited, overwhelmed even and, though I took the day off work to get the bulk of the work done, I feel like I didn't really grasp the significance of the opportunity. I did take it seriously, that's for sure. I knew I had to give it my all but I really just think I wasn't ready.
Fast forward to now. I'm getting some more opportunities in voice over and I'm feeling paradoxically like I'm both more ready and more frightened to be at bat. Maybe it's that I'm more frightened by the opportunity that tells me I'm more ready. But I do hope to get past that. Being confident that I can do this is winning out over being terrified that I'm not fit just yet.
On Sunday, I went to a screening of "True Love," the film I scored over the summer. The film is an offbeat comedy about two brothers who try to pick up a middle aged prostitute. It was my first chance to really score a comedy and to actually make my music part of the joke in a lot of the scenes. It came out really well and there some cues where the director added something after the fact that added to the laughs. At one point, a slowed tape effect whenever two characters were about to kiss but were interrupted and a few other times to bring back the same trope to comedic effect. In fact, the first time my underscore, which was based on the same idea as the opening title theme, came in, during the prostitute's dramatic telling of her backstory, the audience burst into laughter. It's a heartfelt bittersweet piano piece with a string trio behind it, almost taking itself seriously but with a wink, to the extent that at the moment it comes in, it's a cue that the film knows that it's absurd. It was such a treat to hear people reacting to my music. Normally, in the film's I've scored, my music has a much subtler effect.
So, going forward this week with that triumph, I get an opportunity to read a documentary script at CNN, just so the producers can hear my voice (apparently it got back to them that I do voice overs). At first I'm terrified, mostly of messing up and nothing coming of it but then, I'm terrified of something actually coming from it. And then I'm out there and laid bare, standing in front of a packed auditorium in my underwear and free to be judged on my talents or lack thereof. But then I go back in that booth and do a second take because I know enough to not be satisfied with my first take and because I'm confident that I can totally f*#$ing do this.
And no, nothing has come of it yet. I was merely using that example to illustrate a point.
Hopefully soon, though, I'll be able to show you all clips from "True Love" with my music. Stay tuned guys. And stay warm.
A few years back now, I had a chance to submit my ideas for a 10 minute snippet of a documentary about nuns in Hong Kong in the early 1900s. I was excited, overwhelmed even and, though I took the day off work to get the bulk of the work done, I feel like I didn't really grasp the significance of the opportunity. I did take it seriously, that's for sure. I knew I had to give it my all but I really just think I wasn't ready.
Fast forward to now. I'm getting some more opportunities in voice over and I'm feeling paradoxically like I'm both more ready and more frightened to be at bat. Maybe it's that I'm more frightened by the opportunity that tells me I'm more ready. But I do hope to get past that. Being confident that I can do this is winning out over being terrified that I'm not fit just yet.
On Sunday, I went to a screening of "True Love," the film I scored over the summer. The film is an offbeat comedy about two brothers who try to pick up a middle aged prostitute. It was my first chance to really score a comedy and to actually make my music part of the joke in a lot of the scenes. It came out really well and there some cues where the director added something after the fact that added to the laughs. At one point, a slowed tape effect whenever two characters were about to kiss but were interrupted and a few other times to bring back the same trope to comedic effect. In fact, the first time my underscore, which was based on the same idea as the opening title theme, came in, during the prostitute's dramatic telling of her backstory, the audience burst into laughter. It's a heartfelt bittersweet piano piece with a string trio behind it, almost taking itself seriously but with a wink, to the extent that at the moment it comes in, it's a cue that the film knows that it's absurd. It was such a treat to hear people reacting to my music. Normally, in the film's I've scored, my music has a much subtler effect.
So, going forward this week with that triumph, I get an opportunity to read a documentary script at CNN, just so the producers can hear my voice (apparently it got back to them that I do voice overs). At first I'm terrified, mostly of messing up and nothing coming of it but then, I'm terrified of something actually coming from it. And then I'm out there and laid bare, standing in front of a packed auditorium in my underwear and free to be judged on my talents or lack thereof. But then I go back in that booth and do a second take because I know enough to not be satisfied with my first take and because I'm confident that I can totally f*#$ing do this.
And no, nothing has come of it yet. I was merely using that example to illustrate a point.
Hopefully soon, though, I'll be able to show you all clips from "True Love" with my music. Stay tuned guys. And stay warm.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Advice, plans...
My apartment is currently rather spartan. Sounds echo off the walls. It's the end of an era, as my cousin has moved out, leaving half the apartment empty, and I'm now awaiting the move in date of my first non family member/non-spouse roommate since senior year of college. I've been lax about writing lately but have had a lot of things on my mind as the season changes. Moving into a different head space on a lot of things. Revamping plans and thinking about the future...the long future.
It's a hard thing when you start to look at where you are and where you want to be in a decidedly arbitrary amount of time. You start to feel overwhelmed and that you may never get there even though you've certainly made strides. You have to sort of remind yourself that you certainly haven't been idle. Look at what you've done so far. Acknowledge it, pat yourself on the back. It's hard.
This advice, while here referring to the entire scope of my endeavors, was packaged amongst the advice I got slung my way by a voice over agent about a month ago. My new voice coach has these classes where she'll have a slew of her students read for a chosen agent that she has a connection with. This particular night I was the second to last person to read and it must've shown that I'd let my nerves take over. I told her my voice over history in a nutshell, as the other students had done, maybe leaning a little too hard on the point that I had been frustrated with my lack of progress. While she had some definite critiques for me, she was rather generous with her praise of my accomplishments. So, I felt better and really brought my A game for the next agent a few weeks later. That agent was a little hard to read unfortunately though.
I really made a great choice picking up this coach. Having been a casting director and an agent at one time or another herself, she has all sorts of remaining connections in the voice over world. I've made the decision to have her help me spruce up my demo and vary it a bit so it's not all the same stuff and it has some range to it. And then I'm going to show it to every agent she puts me in front of. That's the best part about this new partnership honestly. My coach knows I'm not just doing this for fun and has a plan to get me to a point where I can be a "big fish in a little pond," as she put it.
This is part of the plan. Yes. I have a plan. It's multi faceted after all and both music and voice over play into it. And it's even rather fluid as I keep checking in with it.
With things seemingly falling apart all around me in the TV world (CNN just lost some people and Comcast is merging with Time Warner Cable), it's motivating me to really make a push to get things happening. Music is on hold, it seems, except for the fact that I may be playing at a yoga class in a few months. Ambient stuff, live looping the guitar and everything...been composing a little bit there too. But, finding enough time to practice is proving a bit of a challenge.
Nonetheless, the passion is still there. There's talk of collaboration here and there, of finally getting a practice space with Brad, writing another piece with Tania (both were over at my apartment hanging out Saturday night). And "The Life" remains a rather tentative yet exciting ball in the air. The pitch bible for the first season and the pilot episode are about to be in the hands of some very influential people. I'll say no more.
Ultimately, I'm hoping that voice over proves to be lucrative enough as to afford me more time to put into the music, so that I can bank on other things besides "The Life," and whatever the next Indie film is that comes along. We shall see. Again with the waiting. Anyway, just some thoughts to let you know I'm still alive.
It's a hard thing when you start to look at where you are and where you want to be in a decidedly arbitrary amount of time. You start to feel overwhelmed and that you may never get there even though you've certainly made strides. You have to sort of remind yourself that you certainly haven't been idle. Look at what you've done so far. Acknowledge it, pat yourself on the back. It's hard.
This advice, while here referring to the entire scope of my endeavors, was packaged amongst the advice I got slung my way by a voice over agent about a month ago. My new voice coach has these classes where she'll have a slew of her students read for a chosen agent that she has a connection with. This particular night I was the second to last person to read and it must've shown that I'd let my nerves take over. I told her my voice over history in a nutshell, as the other students had done, maybe leaning a little too hard on the point that I had been frustrated with my lack of progress. While she had some definite critiques for me, she was rather generous with her praise of my accomplishments. So, I felt better and really brought my A game for the next agent a few weeks later. That agent was a little hard to read unfortunately though.
I really made a great choice picking up this coach. Having been a casting director and an agent at one time or another herself, she has all sorts of remaining connections in the voice over world. I've made the decision to have her help me spruce up my demo and vary it a bit so it's not all the same stuff and it has some range to it. And then I'm going to show it to every agent she puts me in front of. That's the best part about this new partnership honestly. My coach knows I'm not just doing this for fun and has a plan to get me to a point where I can be a "big fish in a little pond," as she put it.
This is part of the plan. Yes. I have a plan. It's multi faceted after all and both music and voice over play into it. And it's even rather fluid as I keep checking in with it.
With things seemingly falling apart all around me in the TV world (CNN just lost some people and Comcast is merging with Time Warner Cable), it's motivating me to really make a push to get things happening. Music is on hold, it seems, except for the fact that I may be playing at a yoga class in a few months. Ambient stuff, live looping the guitar and everything...been composing a little bit there too. But, finding enough time to practice is proving a bit of a challenge.
Nonetheless, the passion is still there. There's talk of collaboration here and there, of finally getting a practice space with Brad, writing another piece with Tania (both were over at my apartment hanging out Saturday night). And "The Life" remains a rather tentative yet exciting ball in the air. The pitch bible for the first season and the pilot episode are about to be in the hands of some very influential people. I'll say no more.
Ultimately, I'm hoping that voice over proves to be lucrative enough as to afford me more time to put into the music, so that I can bank on other things besides "The Life," and whatever the next Indie film is that comes along. We shall see. Again with the waiting. Anyway, just some thoughts to let you know I'm still alive.
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