Red Flag Journal 3

How much time did you spend on your project?
This week I did not spend quite as much time as last week, but I did do more stuff that was more oriented towards the my actual project. I'd estimate about 8 hours since Sunday.

What did you do that was hands-on?
I started demoing two new songs that are for my band, but that I may end up making a part of this project, I still have to decide about that. Otherwise, I made plans to meet with Nate at REP Studios on Wednesday, March 6th to update my Pro Tools on my laptop and chat about all things recording and engineering.


What research did you do?
I actually didn't do a whole lot of research this week. Most of the work that I did was preparation and hands-on activities.

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
I have a meeting set up for tomorrow. This will be our first real-deal meeting, because our last two were not able to be full sessions, and we didn't get the chance to sit down and really start talking/planning. I'm very excited.


Do you have at least 3 journal entries? 
Yes. After this journal entry and one more, I will have 4 this week, and 10 total. Once more starts actually happening with my project in terms of tracking musicians/working on songs, I will have a lot more to journal about and update on.


Were you in class this week? Did you have/use your journal?
Yes I was in class on both Monday and today, Thursday. I have this blog available to me at pretty much all times.

Fulfillment of WISE requirements?
Working on it. Things are about to start picking up real soon, but I think I'm at a good place considering how much time is left.

What are your plans for next week?
1) Getting Pro Tools updated and then getting comfortable with it on my own
2) Meet with my mentor a lot more
3) Get musicians in to plan/work/record

Updates

I have successfully finished writing two new songs. One is called "Choices" and the other, "Homestretch." They've both been sitting around for a while, but tonight after band practice I was in the writing mood, and so I finished them off. They are both for my band, but I might end up using one or both of the demos in my project. That still remains to be seen. 

I am also planning on accompanying Joon Park, a WISE classmate of mine who is also very interested in music (link to his blog here), to REP Studios in Ithaca next Wednesday. He does his "community service" hours there for Government class, and I am planning on joining him to meet with the in-house engineer there, Nate. There, I plan to chat with Nate about his experiences, and also hopefully get my Pro Tools updated and on to my laptop, which they have the capability of doing. 

I'm also planning on meeting with two sets of musicians for two sets of genres that I hope to record soon. One is going to be a mellow, acoustic, idie vibe, while the other is going to be a loud, upbeat, hardcore track. I'm probably going to drum on that one. I'm equally stoked about both though! 

More soon -- 

WISE Projects

Like many other people have already pointed out - WISE is just plain cool. It lets people explore the opportunities of doing something that they would have never otherwise had the opportunity to take part in, and in addition have the support of the Ithaca High School teachers. My classmates and other WISE colleagues are doing some pretty sweet things. Notable projects include but are not limited to: Learning magic tricks, training to be a firefighter, rebuilding an old motorcycle, and making a baseball bat from scratch. Looking at other peoples' blogs is getting me pumped for the work that is about to start going into my own project, and I can't wait to attend as many final presentations as possible, to see how everything turned out for everybody.

Acoustifest 2013

My band, Starts on Friday, playing our set for this years Acoustifest.
From L to R: Joel Beckwith, St. John Faulkner, Kristian Wood-Gaiger, Max Gaeta

Over the weekend, I took part in Acoustifest 2013. Acoustifest is the Winter event put on by the Rock The Arts club at Ithaca High School, which I am a large part of. The event took place on The Commons at The Brigadune (aka the "Vintage Poster Store") on Friday the 22nd, from 6-9:30 pm, where many local musicians came together to showcase their talent in an acoustic setting for a crowd of about 200. I participated not only as a musician and audience member, but I was also in charge of live sound. I brought all of my equipment and spent a good hour setting up prior to the event, and then stood behind my sound board all night, making sure everyone sounded beautiful. Then after the set, I tore everything down (I really really hate that part). The only time that there were any technical difficulties was during my band's set (of course). We didn't perform quite as well as I would have hoped, but we were relatively unprepared and we aren't used to playing acoustically at all. I was very satisfied with the rest of the night, however. Everyone sounded great and the crowd was really into it.

Learning By Doing

One half of the mixing board in the engine room at On Point Productions.

In this field, that's really what it's all about. Lucky for me, I get to experience this kind of hands-on learning all the time, due to my frequent visits to On Point Productions in Binghamton, New York. There, I work alongside Damien Cornwell, the resident engineer and owner of the studio. He and I are recording and producing my band's debut full-length album together, and so we have become relatively close. I've learned a lot from him already, just by being around him. Another reason why I feel I learn so much is that I ask a lot of questions. Probably far too many in his opinion. I can't help it though, I'm just far too curious about these things. I find it all to be so interesting. Last Sunday, we had an 8 hour day in the studio, where we finished up the recording process and were able to start preparing for the mixing process. We came to the conclusion that we would spend 60 hours mixing the album. It's tough to get up to the studio as often as everyone would like, because we're all busy, etc. This being the case, we're trying to aim for a May release for the album. This is really cool because it seems that my project will be wrapping up at around the same time, and for them to coincide seems really neat to me. Anyways, all of the time that I am about to start spending in the studio mixing and editing and really bringing our music to life will be the best kind of research I feel that I could really ever get. I will try to post a blog about each visit, but that may become too routine and/or redundant. I'm excited to really get things going with BOTH of these projects, and there will be much more info to come!

Red Flag Journal 2

How much time did you spend on your project?
I had a very busy week this week but did get to spend time doing things involving my project, which could be considered research, or could be considered work. I spent about 8 hours in the studio (On Point Productions) in Binghamton on Sunday, working alongside the engineer, Damien. I'm always playing music and practicing with my band though too.

What did you do that was hands-on?
I have begun co-producing my band's album, which is giving me great insight as to what it's going to be like when I start producing all on my own. I've also been writing lots of material that I plan to start tracking soon. This includes me just sitting on my bed with an acoustic guitar writing riffs and licks and recording them onto my ipod in a very primitive, low-quality way.


What research did you do?
I've been looking up strange little techniques to do so that I can make the process work more quickly when I'm having a session (so basically I'm learning shortcuts in the software). This research is coming by way of YouTube and has mostly involved the inner workings of ProTools.

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yes. Mr. Parker and I chatted about the details of my project and the direction in which I would like to go. We're planning on meeting 8th period, on either Wednesdays or Thursdays of every week. But the good news is that I get to see him almost every night at rehearsal for the musical anyways.


Do you have at least 3 journal entries? 
Yes I do. I am also planning on writing about my experience in the studio on Sunday and about commenting on two of my peers' blogs ASAP.


Were you in class this week? Did you have/use your journal?
We just got back from a break, leaving Monday's class unattended. Today is Thursday though, which is Red Flag day, so I am in class writing this at the moment. I always have computers that are available to me here in school and at home and pretty much everywhere else I turn.

Fulfillment of WISE requirements?
I'm doing alright. I slowed down a little but by not being able to journal much, but I am planning on catching up straight away.

What are your plans for next week?
1) I will probably choose a specific software that I will use for the rest of the project, as I have a few choices at this point (Cubase, ProTools, Reaper)
2)Start recording!!!

Red Flag Journal 1

So I got red flagged. Yep. Now I'm adding another goal to my list - getting out of this Thursday class. Good news is, all I have to do is my project. Oh and answer these questions.

How much time did you spend on your project?
I spent about 6 hours since Tuesday, when I wrote my last journal entry. I rehearsed and worked on writing a song with 2 musicians that I am collaborating with. I also briefly met with my mentor, as well as going to WISE class.

What did you do that was hands-on?
I started working on a new song with 2 musicians. It's sounding great so far. I also worked on demoing another song for a different project, but the activities are alike enough that I think it should count.

What research did you do?
In the past few days I have not done much specific research per se, unless you count my usual prowling of YouTube for band videos, interviews, etc. From what I gather, this may actually count as research, so that's pretty sweet.

Did you meet with your mentor? What did you talk about?
Yes, he and I did meet. We talked about scheduling our first meeting, which will happen after break, on Thursday after school. I'm ready to get going on these meetings and to start moving on with my project.


Do you have at least 3 journal entries? 
Including this Red Flag post, yes. By the weekend, I should have another post about more hands-on work, as well as information on the new recording software.


Were you in class this week? Did you have/use your journal?
Being deemed as Red Flagged, I have been in class twice this week and will continue this until it is seen fit that I can function on my own. Bleh. As far as my journal goes - I have access to it at pretty much all times of the day, due to the fact that it is an online blog and you can't spit without hitting something that has internet connectivity.

Fulfillment of WISE requirements?
 Good. I am getting started on my project and things are about to get going a whole lot more quickly and intensely soon. Just gotta keep pushing and proving myself I suppose.

What are your plans for next week?
Work with the new recording software hopefully. There are still some kinks I need to work out. But if that doesn't work out, I'll definitely still be working with musicians and my mentor. Maybe I'll even get some demoing done. My life revolves around music, so there will always be "research" everywhere I turn.

Journal 2

Outline of my first 2 weeks:

Just a quick little picture of my "work station." Everything is mostly set up how I'd like it to be now. I'll go more into depth on what everything does sometime soon. The Buzz Lightyear and Lava Lamp are necessities. I have also found my mentor, Mr. Parker, the Chorus teacher at Boynton Middle School. He and I have a great relationship, and he has also mentored several other students' WISE projects, and so I'm sure the partnership will work out great. I've already begun finding musicians to start to collaborate with. My next steps are to make the switch to the new recording software (hopefully Pro Tools, with Cubase as a back-up option). That should prove difficult, having grown used to using Reaper for about 2 years now. I'm starting to really get excited! More pictures and updates soon--

Journal 1

Dear Reader,

      This blog is created for the sole purpose of journaling and recording my experiences alongside my WISE project. I am very interested in working on the production side of music, where I hope to record and engineer. I have a moderate background in this field, being in a band. My band has recorded at several studios in the area, and we actually now have a recording contract with an independant record label, and are in the process of recording our debut album. Going into the studio and riding shotgun to the in-house engineer really got me hooked on the whole process. Producing, recording, engineering, mixing, and mastering songs all by myself would be a great project for me because it gives me a chance to learn so much more about something that I’m already very interested in, but haven’t yet had the time or opportunity to explore more thoroughly.

In a project spanning approximately 16 weeks, it will be important for me to spend my time wisely, especially considering the amount of work that will need to be put into a project of this caliber. My current plans are as follows:

1. Acquire specific recording equipment that I don’t already have
2. Create a “home studio” where I can do all of my work
3. Locate musicians who are willing to work collaboratively
4. Write/practice songs
5. Demo songs/pre-production
6. Talk about/shape/fix/add to/produce songs to make them better
7. Officially record songs
8. Edit and mix tracks
9. Learn how to and then master tracks
10. Create a finished product
(all of this while learning how to use new recording software on my own through experimentation and seeking and collecting information from various sources).

Hope you enjoy my blog posts!

--St. John Faulkner