Dana Studios Grand Opening!

okay, so that's not necessarily the name i've chosen for this dreamy new setup, but it is practical and literal so for now it'll do! the other night 'round midnite i set it all up, opened my very first pro tools session and tracked a song by my lonesome for the first time ever! quite exciting. the vocals are messy, the guitar is boomy and in general i was geared more around going through the steps than i was focused on putting on a good performance... nonetheless, the result is promising!

so, with no further ado, for your listening pleasure, my "first draft" (as it were) of my "first piece" (as it were) ever recorded in the history (as it stands at 72 hours of age) of Dana Studios (as 'tis):

click here to listen to
Waiting On An Angel

*credit where credit is due: song written by ben harper.

Chocolate Covered Chimpanzebras

is the title of my new (and first) kids record! The songs have been written, the map's been laid out, the album art has been completed...

now it just needs to be recorded! and that endeavor is at hand.

just bought some brand spankin' new equipment (specifically a digidesign mbox2), set myself up a little studio at my office desk here and have just begun reading the pro-tools manual! and boy let me tell you something- that shyte is way over this little head! but that's okay because i'm determined to learn, and i just so happen to be married to a bonafide professional.

chocolate covered chimpanzebras are on the horizon, people! and that's just the tip of the popsicle stick if you know what i mean. stay tuned for updates...

Freeze!

a snippet of sunshiney fun for your enjoyment.

Road Rage-alicious

i'm a nice person. most of the time i love people! but when i'm on the road, everyone's an a##hole. everyone except me, of course. well, most of the time.

i mean, it's easy to understand why i feel this way, is it not? on the road, every move a person makes could mean the difference between life and death for everyone in the vicinity. life and death or somewhere in between. and perhaps even a huge dent in the pocketbook. i don't know how you feel about it, but i'm thinkin', "who are these people to decide what happens to me? who is that stranger getting in my way to put my life at risk??"

still, i trust them enough to put my life in their hands, don't i? i trust them enough to get in my car and ride at dangerously high speeds surrounded by them at unreasonable proximity. but do i really trust that the jerk in front of me isn't going to hit the brakes unexpectedly and land me in his front seat with him? certainly not.

the funny thing is that everyone else feels the same way about me on the road as i do about them. i'm nothing but a box of steel with a guilty personality and everyone's just waiting to curse me out for getting in their way. better yet, they're giving me every opportunity to! that guy who speeds up instead of slowing down when i put my turn signal on to move into his lane is just itching to play with both of our lives just to prove that i'm the one who's driving like an a##hole! hilarious, right?

so check it. before you wreck it. booyakashah.

*credit where credit is due: image by erik kittlaus.

The City That Blows

i'm talking about Chicago of course, the windy city...
i was born and raised here and i happen to love this place, so at this juncture i suppose a shout-out is appropriate. it's also a good excuse to post this awesome big-sky skyline picture i shot a couple days ago.

i left for 4 years to go to college out west in Colorado (including 1 year in the beautious French Provence), to which people often say "how could you ever leave the mountains?"

"well," i say, "they're pretty" but check out the view above! okay, the clouds aren't always like that and you can't really compare natural formations to man-made steel, but i digress. i'm lucky enough to have traveled to and lived in many places in my 3.1 decades, but i've always come back.

the bottom line? chicago's my kind of town. hey, that'd be a great song!
oh, wait- it already is.

Petition #1: F.A.K.

don't you hate it when things are fine and dandy and then something comes and ruins it all?

Freeloaders Against Karma
nothing in life is free. if you think otherwise, you might be a freeloader. no one is perfect. if this is your motto, you might have bad karma. if your luck always changes when good things come your way, you might be in the universe's sights.
why subject yourself to its evil plan?
take action now!
Read & Sign Petition F.A.K. Here
FAK (pronounced "fahk"): it's what we utter when things don't go our way. let's DO something about it!*

*Petition intended solely for sponsor's sick pleasure. Signing petition does not guarantee action beyond putting your name on a random document. Petition sponsor reserves the right to pass judgement at any time. For information on a FAK Support Group near you, look within.

Don't You Hate It When... ?

don't you hate it when you've got a great idea for something but no outlet in which to actualize it?

some would say this non-existent outlet and lack of context might place the "great" idea in the category of "useless." but not me. i'm determined to find my context and make it all pertinent. so, here it is: this fancy new blog has suddenly revealed itself to me as the perfect voice for my brand new long-simmering project, The

DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN... ?
Petition Series
that's right, petitions. don't you hate it when you express your opinion about something but no one cares? petitions are the answer!

summarize your opinion or argument into a clear, concise statement to arouse interest within the pre-defined space of your audience's attention span. the petition format creates instant validation by asking them to consider your statement with the mission of determing whether or not they agree. they are motivated to do so by the empowering nature of the fact that they can act immediately on their own opinion by either rejecting the petition or signing it. and voilà! instantly you've secured both a listening audience and a public to back you up!

warm up your typing fingers and get ready to validate me.