Rate My Swag (.app) is here!!!

A screenshot from http://www.RateMySwag.app

Over the past couple of weeks I developed a new web application, called "Rate My Swag." The concept is simple. You upload a photo, and users rate your swag from 1 to 100. The ratings are aggregated and the photos are ranked, from MOST to LEAST swag.

This is a similar design to such popular sites as "Hot or Not." I read a great article on that site here: https://blog.photofeeler.com/hot-or-not/.

I got the wheels running on Rate My Swag quickly. I wrote and rolled out a production version of this application within the month of July.

Anyway... check it out at http://www.RateMySwag.app or on the Google Play Store, here.

The real reason why I quit drinking coffee

About a year ago I was drinking anywhere between two and four cups of coffee a day. Suddenly, I stopped completely.

Last May I followed a routine... I'd wake up and listen to Nirvana's album "Incesticide" while outside  throwing a tennis ball against a wall. At around 3:00 PM I'd tune into "The Michael Kay Show" and continue on with my day.

Click to listen

I've been a Nirvana fan for a long time and even taught myself how to write songs using open chords after watching their "Unplugged" over and over again.

At this point I was starting to lay the groundwork for recording an E.P. of Nirvana-styled music and the biggest focus was to figure out how to recreate the vocals of Kurt Cobain.

If you listen to Incesticide, there are some wild vocal parts that venture into areas of cartoonish. Almost like a cat attacking their enemy with melodic wails.

After about a month of this tennis ball routine, I tried to see if I could replicate this vocal style, and within 10 seconds of trying, I blew out my voice badly. So badly, that it took 3 weeks for my vocal cords to heal. Over this period of time, I avoided coffee completely, because caffeine tends to do more harm than good in these situations. 

At the same time, I had several dental problems (that have since been solved, for the most part) that added to the pain. One of the issues was an exposed nerve.

 

And this is why I initially stopped drinking coffee. I posted a video on my "Mind of Mike" YouTube page that has been mildly successful where I talk about how qutting coffee has changed my life.

It's been a full year since and I haven't had any. Although I have tried "Iced Matcha" from Dunkin twice since then.

Once my voice was back to normal, I started tracking demos. I started by writing songs only with fuzz bass and drums. One of the most useful exercises for me was to record a complete Nirvana song by myself.

I recorded a cover of "In Bloom" and the process helped me understand more fully how to approach the task of emulating Nirvana's songwriting and style without hurting my voice.

By using my naturalistic vocal timbre and trying to uncover the melodies that Kurt Cobain's deep-fried vocalizations so often obfuscate, I was able to reach a happy medium.

One some songs, like "Heart Shaped Box" and of course throughout the Unplugged, you can hear him sing in less abrasive tone. Whereas, on Nevermind his voice is really "boiling nails" as Dave Grohl once put it.

 One of the biggest revelations for me, as a "singer-songwriter" was to realize that much of the music I listen to (and enjoy) myself features vocal parts with a conversational tone. Sort of like how your voice sounds when talking to a friend, just with some added melodic intonation. 

I'd even go further, and say when changing your voice into different registers,  you create music that might even be less accessible for the average listener. Just some food for thought.

You can check out the results of my E.P. of  Nirvana emulation on both Spotify, and Bandcamp. - Mike

Check out my E.P. "Can't be Anyone but Myself"

Mac Demarco, Kurt Vile, Alex G, Ben Jorgensen... Why not me?

I've started to look around and wonder, what's so great about this guy? Not only that... but... "If this guy is a millionaire off his music, I'm fucking up."

Once you reach a certain level of proficiency as a musician, you can create pop music more or less at whim. Of course, there are limitations. 

Speaking for myself...I can't guarantee the creation of a new sub-genre, though I can confidently emulate musical styles. At some point I've started to wonder, "Where's my major label deal? What am I doing wrong? What about an indie label? Anyone want to pay me for distribution rights? If this guy is making 50k a year doing this, I can too."

For this post I'm going to inspect some singer-songwriters. Do I want what they have? Maybe not. The music industry often harbors "be careful what you wish for" and "More than meets the eye" scenarios.

Let' see if we can figure anything out. I'm going to scan Wikipedia pages and include relevant information.

Up first we have Kurt Vile. 

 

 

I first heard of this guy from his song, "Pretty Bitchin'" or whatever it's called. Let me look it up. O-k, it's "Pretty Pimpin." I was close.

Looks like Kurt Vile mailed a bunch of self-printed vinyl records to labels and got signed in 2009 to an indie label called Mexican Summer who have also released albums from people like Ariel Pink and Black Moth Super Rainbow (the only two names on their roster list I recognize), at age 29. 

From there his exposure ramped up significantly, and he rode the wave (with inherent talent) to get to where he is today. He was able to continue to record several albums and dropped "thousands" of dollars on one album (which he claims is his masterpiece) that was eventually put out on Matador Records. 

At the moment he's a bigger name in indie rock. He's 41 and married with two daughters. I'd imagine his record contract and royalties have made him close to a millionaire. But I could be wrong.

The verdict: Kurt Vile is good, but he's not impossibly talented. A decent musician could emulate his songwriting with a few years practice. Say, within 5-10 years.

Second in line: Mac Demarco.

Mac Demarco is a stranger study case. From what I know, his rise to stardom involved a local show where he performed a lewd act at the end of his set. Does this one anecdote explain where he is today? Let's find out on his Wikipedia page.

Okay... He signed to an indie label that put out a Dum Dum Girls vinyl (a band I've heard of), in 2012. He was 22 years old. His E.P. sold out so he was then asked to put out an L.P. on the same label. Pitchfork rated it highly and boom.

The verdict: He's good at guitar. Not blown away by him, but  he's converted me from a hater. I've heard his songs and wondered, "Hey this is cool, who is this?" And it was him. He gets my nod of approval, I guess.

For a third study case I've considered both Alex G and Ben Jorgenson. I don't think either of them are quite at the level of Kurt Vile and Mac Demarco in terms of popularity. Why strive for something lower? Who cares? Let's keep going...

Alex G.

Alex G is an indie singer-songwriter, who is relatively popular. He became acclaimed after releasing several E.P.s consecutively on the Bandcamp platform, where he was heavily promoted.

From there, two indie labels bought distribution rights to his album "D.S.U." -- one for U.S. rights and one for U.K. rights.

After he was already well-known amongst the indie crowd, he inked a deal with Domino Recording Company, who boasts artists like Buzzcocks, My Bloody Valentine, and Franz Ferdinand as current roster acts. He performs at festivals like Primavera Sound. He writes and records all his stuff himself, with help from a cast of other local musicians on various instruments for accompaniment. 

The verdict: He has the unique ability to play folk music with some cool chord coloration. His music could've been lost in the fray without the Bandcamp promotion. The quality of his songwriting is rather inconsistent. I find his live performance ability to be poor. His vocal style goes way up into higher registers, and he was once punched in the face at a live concert by a fan.

And lastly, Ben Jorgensen.

This guy fronted a popular emo band during the height of the emo music wave. In 2001, after his first year at college, he recorded all the instruments for a demo tape which was widely downloaded on P2P applications like LimeWire and Napster. These demos led to the creation of and signing of his band, "Armor for Sleep" to well-known punk and post-punk label Equal Vision Records, where the songs were re-recorded during a two-album deal.

From there, Jorgensen's band signed to Warner Brothers and released one album, six years later in 2007. They played on a final big tour called "Projekt Revolution" where they supported Linkin Park. One of his band's songs made the soundtrack for a major motion picture, "Transformers."

His band is still around doing reunion shows every four or five years. They are doing a U.S. tour for an anniversary of their 2005 album. Jorgensen also put out a solo album which briefly charted on the iTunes "Adult Contemporary Acoustic" charts at #1.

The verdict: Ben Jorgenson is a multi-intrumentalist who created a style of music that was perfectly matched to a breaking musical style/scene. This helped him form a band, put out three albums across indie and major labels and tour across the country. After it all fell apart, I'm not sure where it left him. I find his music and performance ability to be pretty good, for what it is.

...All of this leads me to question, Why not me? Am I as good as these guys? Sure, why not? If I'm not as good, I'm certainly close.

How do I fit in?

I won't get too carried away. There are plenty of musicians and songwriters I am not as good as. Here's two examples: 

Tim Kasher of Cursive. I couldn't pull off what he has done, even if I tried as hard as possible. I've seen him perform a couple times and I've been blown away by the commitment. He has a certain level of vocal and lyrical proficiency that's just not in me. He's almost like a Broadway actor turned art-rock guitarist. 

Another example is Dave Mustaine of Megadeth. I could probably write similar material to his, but the shredding on guitar and perfectly executed live performances whilst totally relaxed and in control might take a while.

Where does this leave me?

Because I work alone I'm somewhat limited. I have to do literally everything myself (aside from mixing and mastering which I've learned to pass off to someone more skilled than me).

I have to pursue a certain stylistic approach that I can actually be 100% proficient at, instead of spending an extraordinary amount of time on stylistic choices that may ultimately fall flat. I have to work within my limitations. This is why I've started to write and record melody based rock music. I know it's working for me, so I'm going to stick with it.

In other words, I've reached a place where I'm no longer trying to invent a new musical style or struggling to emulate a style I know I'm not that great at. I'm doing what works.

What kind of record deal would I want? 

I've done the math, and if I sold 200,000 copies of a ten dollar album on Bandcamp without any label support... I'd be an after-taxes millionaire. It's unlikely, but still possible.

I've never even seen a record deal, let alone been asked to sign one. This leaves me wondering what I'd even want. I'd say a fair compromise would be two albums over 8 years. *With thirty (30) minutes of music per album. 

I'd like a guaranteed contract of $500,000 over the eight years. That's a salary of 62,500 per year, guaranteed for eight years. I'd be willing to perform a live rock concert no more than 50 times a year, and would require a stipend for each live performance that would cover travel and lodging at a Holiday Inn Express (or similar).

I wonder if any of the above guys have a deal like that? Kurt Vile and Mac Demarco probably have a better deal than that I'd imagine. Alex G may receive significant compensation from Domino Recording Company so long as he keeps churning out music. As for Ben Jorgensen, I'd imagine he works as an independent contractor at this point, and probably tries to net 10-20k per each U.S. reunion tour. However, at the height of his career during 2006 he may have demanded higher wages.

One aspect of this hypothetical record deal you might disagree with is performance. Someone might argue 50 shows a year is not enough to promote yourself. But I've played 30 rock shows in a year and that seemed excessive. In fact, after 30 shows and filming two music videos I ended up in the hospital with a case of fatigue. But I was also monetarily limited at the time i.e. starving artist. With plenty of cash (and ten more years of life experience) I'd be more responsible the second time around. I'd hope. I can't imagine doing 100 shows and also being able to write any compelling material. There has to be a balance.  

What should I do from here?

I think a major aspect of promoting oneself is image. Right now I currently have four albums up on the streaming platforms, but three of them are just instrumental wankery I've uploaded to test out CD Baby as a distribution service and see if I might earn some streaming revenue or downloads. I should remove those instrumental albums and focus on presenting myself as a singer-songwriter. But I'll need to release one more E.P. before I can clean up my streaming platform downloads up for sale.

From there, I need to upload more photos of myself and potentially create more YouTube content. A music video is one of the most powerful tools for promotion and I should likely film one in the coming future, though spending a proper amount of money on it to ensure it is of decent quality.

This online clean up is a major part of self-promotion. With two eight-song E.P.s I would have a proper thirty minutes of material, which is enough for both an L.P. and a full live set. Along with a music video you can't ask for much more of a starting point. Although...

If there's any trend I've noticed from the three case studies, it's cold-calling indie labels.

It seems like Mac Demarco and Kurt Vile both contacted indie labels with their music, and this garnered interest. I've personally contacted radio stations and acquired a couple of fans and some sales, and spins on some stations, both from my latest set of songs and from an album I released years ago. One station has put me in rotation for two months now, with some of my album cuts playing once or twice every week. 

If I found the right indie-label owner I could find myself in a similar situation to Mac Demarco. An E.P. on an indie label led to an L.P. on the same label, and a Pitchfork review has put him in the position he is in now. I don't believe he has to work at 9-5 job at the moment, and is living comfortably. All he has to do is write, record and perform music for a living. And 'aint that the dream? - Mike

Can't be Anyone but Myself album release notes

I just spent the past 10 months writing and recording this set of 8 songs. "Why only 8 songs?" Well, I actually wrote and recorded around 60 songs total, but I'm only putting out the best 8.
Of course, out of the 60, the majority aren't good enough at all, although I will mention I could probably put out a 12 song album, and no one would blink. I have the extra four songs, they're just not quite up to snuff.

Click to listen to my album, "Can't Be Anyone but Myself"

First off, I believe songwriting is the ultimate test of a musician, at least the type of musician I am, which is basically a hobbyist (multi-instrumentalist) who is involved in the pop/rock world of music for the "common man." The world of classical music is a whole 'nother reality, which is quite honestly a lot of riding up on a high horse. But that's for another blog post. I guess I might as well mention I do have a college degree in music, but who cares, right?

The way I tried to write this music was basically trying to emulate Kurt Cobain's songwriting style, although I applied and developed my own style over the course of doing this. I think if I had to summarize how Cobain writes songs I would basically say he balances dissonance with an appropriate measure of consonance, and melody is the key ingredient in all of his stuff.

Back to Kurt Cobain's songwriting... This is somewhat common knowledge as he's already been quoted as saying he wanted to combine the sound of The Beatles (melodic consonance) with Black Sabbath (think, tritone-based dissonance). Some of Cobain's writing is simplistic (i.e. "Negative Creep") while other stuff is more layered melodically (i.e. "Lounge Act"). Regardless, there are always creative melodic additives, in the form of quirky vocal stylings that when boiled down are note-perfect and surprisingly upbeat, and even cartoonish. Despite the media's image of Nirvana as death rockers, the music speaks for itself and is full of life, hence why it's still popular today. The level of dynamics in Cobain's songwriting is fairly high if you ask me. The music is full of juxtapositions, both lyrically and in the arrangements.

Why did I write a Nirvana-influenced album of music? I guess it's because I tried to write/record stuff I actually want to listen to. Most of the time I listen to pop rock. While recording this music I listened to a lot of Nirvana, Sarah Jane from Australia, a bit of the Meat Puppets album "Mirage," some Armor for Sleep, some Velvet Revolver, I also listened to a hip hop album "Now or Never" by Giggs, some other stuff thrown in there, some of the second (or third) Foo Fighters album, Motley Crue's Greatest Hits, Mountain's Greatest Hits. A good amount of Ramones, including some cuts from a Live in Germany DVD, and "Subterranean Jungle." Some other stuff I'm probably forgetting too. 

My taste in music is not as eclectic as you might think. Over the past four years I've found I'm much less interested in certain types of music. I almost exclusively listen to pop/rock music at this point, and there's a ton of crappy rock music out there. It's tough to find stuff I want which is why I tried to write it myself. I mostly listen to the same albums over and over, and it's a lot of Pop/Rock or Alternative rock.

What else about my own album can I mention, what's relevant?
From a technical standpoint, it's nothing new. I tried out some different microphones, and used mostly cheap gear. Then again, if I were to write a break-down of how much money I've spent recording this "album" it would be laughable. Just for a ballpark figure, it's easily over $1000.

I made one major change halfway through recording: I bought an adult-sized drum set. For half of these songs I'm playing on a drum set intended for use by children more or less. I finally invested in a proper kick pedal which made a huge difference. I bought an Iron Cobra Tama pedal. I actually broke the other kick pedal in half while recording a song. Then I glued it back together and kept going.

Another interesting note... I recorded and wrote everything while working a 40-hour a week job. The type of work I do has lent itself better than any other occupation I've had to being a musician. Needless to say, I don't sit at a desk all day and stare at a computer. I'm active at the workplace, but not so active that I return home exhausted. 

I've tried to write/record music while working at a desk job, and I couldn't do it. I've also tried to be a musician while working closer to 60 hours a week at a manual labor job, and that was impossible. At 40 hours and a moderate pace and friendly environment I can come home with energy to write music and I'm comfortable and focused. I guess I'll also mention I'm completely sober, and I don't even drink caffeine. No cigarettes, no coffee, no alcohol. Once in a while I eat Gummi Bears.

From a lyrical standpoint, I basically tried to come up with lyrics that fit the song and that I wouldn't be embarrassed to sing in front of an audience of my closest friends, or strangers. I don't labor over lyrics, if it doesn't work, I move on. Although some of the lyrics I sketch out, and then I fine-tune them and trim the fat so they fit into the song properly. Let it be known at one point I was writing a lot of lyrics, maybe about a page a day, and none of that was ever used. It's more of a writing exercise that helps you practice a bit. If someone found my notebook full of unused lyrics and started reading it out loud I'd turn red in the face. I might even crap my pants. Just kidding..

Strangely enough, I wrote and recorded most of the album cuts out of thin air. I don't even remember recording a lot of it. Other cuts I spent a while on. I spent 3-4 weeks figuring out how to structure the guitar parts for "Mouthwash." I also spent about a week preparing to play the drums on "Dose." I basically write songs based on the form, so once I have the form solidified, I can start writing the drum parts. All you need is two parts for a song. The form would be something like ABABAAA, for example. I try to keep my drum parts somewhat simple, because at the end of the day I only have so much time to work on stuff. If I spend 3 weeks writing a set of drum fills, I'd have way less material.

Writing the music for this album was, at times, a major struggle. I went weeks and weeks trying to come up with chord progressions and churning out crap. Then, out of nowhere, I'd come up with something I liked. That's what happened with "Sketches by the Campfire." I had put in a solid day of attempted writing before anything worked... I occasionally spend 8-10 hours straight of a day off writing music, and come up with nothing. Then all of the sudden, I figure out chords and write lyrics within minutes, seemingly out of nowhere.

Some of the songs I wrote on the spot completely. I laid down the drum track for "Don't Want a Boring Life" by itself, without any music or lyrics in mind at all. From there, I just picked up the guitar and played the first chord progression that I came up with (that worked) and finished the song like that.

Songwriting isn't always so easy, though. It's more difficult than it seems. Going back to Cobain, if you listen to the Nirvana song "Stain," (check it out above, or click here) it's pretty simple. Verse, chorus, solo. Those are all the parts. But the actual vocal melodies over the guitar chords and how it's so simple yet signature is why it's so good. If you prompted any musician to "come up with something like Nirvana's Stain that's a different piece of music entirely but is similar," it might be more difficult than you'd think, particularly to make it 100% original.

While we're on the subject, this music was written with a three-piece arrangement in mind, so if anyone's out there reading this and thinks they're good enough and wants to play the bass parts or drum parts from this album with me live at some place... i.e. wants to join in, be my guest. Because this material is this simplistic, you can rehearse in short amount of time, I've actually done it before.

To finish up on the difficulty of songwriting topic.... You can't just churn out a song like "Come As You Are," but at the same time, you might. I've mentioned this analogy before, but it's like a litmus test. With songwriting you never know what you might come up with, what's written within seconds that could last many years afterwards. That's why laboring over music can be useful in certain contexts, but it can also be a waste of time. I think listening to yourself and knowing your limitations and exactly what you want to achieve is key. If you know exactly what you're doing with clarity and certainty, who can stop you? No one.

Where do I go from here?

As I wrapped up this project, I grappled with the idea of putting out 12, or 14 songs instead of just the eight. I was working on a set of songs that were faster-paced and even shorter in length, but the material wasn't quite there yet.

Going forward I have a vision of the music I want to create that will accompany this stuff. Putting a concept of a potential musical sound into words is near impossible (although I do use thought-bubble exercises at times), so I'll spare you any details. But still...

There were certain elements of songwriting missing from this "grunge rock masterpiece, well... kind of" album. Notably, I think I can write better lyrics, if not generally, at least over the course of 1or 2 songs. I also believe I can improve with dynamics, and maybe experiment a bit. If you look into the final days of Nirvana, the sound was going towards a more experimental type of sound, as Cobain put it, "Sort of like the Grunge version of The Beatles Sgt. Peppers." For examples you might check out the X-rated B-side from "In Utero" that's "Moist" or... the radio hit, "You Know You're Right." Maybe an entire album doesn't need to sound like that, but using those examples as conceptual guidelines can lead towards success for one song, and you certainly need to write songs one at a time. 

Basically, I'm going to keep going, and try to write another grunge rock album, that should be at least the same quality if not better overall, though certainly different-sounding. If I were to follow the trajectory of Nirvana this album would be my version of "Bleach," I guess.

Overall, I like to draw in influences and express myself. One of my non-musical influences is the cartoon Ren and Stimpy. I like how the cartoonist's work is overly "out there" and exaggerated. It's just way out there. At the end of the day, I'd like to achieve my full potential as a musician, without holding back anything. I'd like to be the best I can be. Who knows how good that is?

I'm going to keep going and work on that next project now. If you're a fan of the music that's great. Until next time. - Mike

Call me insane, this is my Rock fantasy

If you've kept up reading my previous posts, you'll know I've been working on a rock album for the past seven months. It's what keeps me going. I recently reached out to three different people and asked them if I should keep recording more songs for the album, or stop at the number I'm currently at, which is more of an E.P. length. All three of them wrote back, "Keep going!!"

I tend to just quit stuff before I should in other areas (jobs, as one example), so I owe it to myself to complete an album-lengths of material, even if it takes a full two years of dedication. After all, writing music is not only a joy, but a privilege.

I plan to use Halloween 2021 as a checkpoint. Because I've kept such substantial documentation of what I'm doing, I can visually see I've completed around 40 different songs, and usually the "keepers" are written/recorded consecutively in the same month. So, for me it's somewhat of a momentum game. Now, onto my Rock dreams.

Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. boxing exhibition match

We all saw the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. boxing match, presented by Triller recently. The under-card was Jake Paul vs. Nate Robinson. During the event, there were several musical performances, for instance, Wiz Khalifa performed.

Wiz Khalifa performs at the Triller event

My dream, and bear with me here, at this point, is to perform as part of an event like this. It's not much different than my long-time dream of performing on late night television. In fact it's nearly identical.

This fantasy is delusion, but it's also the reality of my day-to-day imagination. Every day when I'm at work, I'm able to get through the day by thinking, "What if?"

I'm pretty sure all the performers at the Tyson vs. Roy Jones event were hip hop artists. So why do I think I could even hang, as a Rock performer? I just know I can, based on the material I have stacked and my previous experience performing live in front of audiences and cameras. I have the experience, so I know what pitfalls to avoid.

My vision is based off of a visual like this:

Nirvana performs "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on SNL

Now, I've already admitted this is a delusional thought, but is this fantasy a complete impossibility? I'm going to go out on a limb and say no, but I'll humor myself and lay out why this is at the very least completely impractical and improbable.

1. I work 40 hours a week and don't even have a band. Not only that, I don't even know any other musicians (drummers, bass players). How can I garner any sort of momentum or, as a friend put it, a "foothold" anywhere? The reality is I sit by myself and write/record my material. There is no activity beyond this.

2. I haven't performed live anywhere in public since 2016. 

3. I'm not signed to a major label contract, I have no handlers, I own all my own material. 

4. I have no fans. No one's ever heard of me. I have no name-recognition. 

5. I'm getting older at 33 years old and started going bald at 26. I'm approaching "old guy" territory as it relates to fans of Rock music who are typically younger.

6. I don't have much interest in being a professional musician, because of the economics of it. I'm already aware you can't make any money doing it unless you have a guaranteed contract that basically sets you up for retirement.

I guess the trick to accomplishing your dreams is to look through a list like I've just laid out, and to remedy each issue completely. Just for kicks, I'll tackle one of them. Let's go with #4. In order to remedy "I have no fans, no one's ever heard of me, no name recognition" I think the best medicine is a music video.

Music videos can garner attention because the visual medium gives fans something tangible to connect your music to. If your video catches on in any way, you may find yourself with some name recognition, and that would potentially solve issue #4. 

Now, an issue like #1 is nearly impossible for me to solve. That being said, there are always creative solutions to problems. Not every solution needs to be the most conventional approach.

All in all, I think this fantasy is possible. The reason why is because it is extremely specific. At the end of the day it's just a song's length of camera footage where I'm the temporary rock-star. - Mike

Spending all my free time on songwriting, I hate my own hobby?

Since June, I've been spending all my free time on songwriting and music recording. Every last drop of it. When I had a day off and on my off-hours after work I played and recorded music, that's it. Nothing else. I work 40 hours a week (thankfully not the 60 I used to work).

My routine was: wake up, go to work, come home. As soon as I got home I'd practice drums for a minimum of 15 minutes, but usually if I was working on a song I'd play for longer, maybe an hour. I'd get a sweat going, then once I felt comfortable with a drum take, I'd know it and say to myself, "That one felt pretty good." Usually it was just a matter of not flubbing any notes and making sure the tempo was correct. The drum mics were constantly set up so to record all I had to do was open up my DAW and press record. As a side note I live in a tiny room so... My bed was actually on the floor with wires tangled all around it and drum mics wavering overhead and the drums setup mere inches away from the mattress, for the entire 6 months.

Once the drum take was done, then I'd plug in my guitar (into a keyboard amp) and start messing around with an idea of some chords, or a melody. I have a nice pair of studio headphones I used for overdubs. For June and July I wrote using an acoustic bass through a fuzz pedal (with some reverb). I probably recorded about 10 songs this way before I found a certain formula using an actual electric guitar that worked for me.

It's now the end of November. I started this routine around June 1st. In this span of time, I've recorded 27 completed B-sides (That's a finished song with bass, guitar, drums, and vocals) and 5 finished songs I will release. So that's 32 songs in 6 months. I think if I really wanted, I could probably put out 10 songs (instead of only 5), but I'll save those 5 extra B-sides for a rainy day.

I gotta admit, I'm pretty much annoyed with recording and have been for a while. The final product is always awesome... when you record something that you're satisfied with, but the nuts and bolts of setting up the equipment, and the fact it's sort of like an endless pursuit (because at what point does it end?) have soured my take on it (and I've felt that way since about 2015). Many times it's a giant waste of time. As much as I love playing drums and guitar I'm ready to ditch recording for a while, maybe play some golf, go fishing, take up painting again. Just something different. I wouldn't mind performing live again, if only I could find a suitable drummer.

Ideally, I'd like to have a nice separate room to play drums in, and play guitar in, but I think the concept of having a recording interface always setup is too addictive for me, in a bad way. Years ago, I sold all of my recording and music equipment (except for one guitar), which was probably for the best, since the acoustic songwriting stuff I was recording was pretty cringy (looking back). But I'm happy with the songs I'm about to put out, at the same time.

 I'll be sharing the 5 songs shortly, after I finish up the mixing and cover-art. Stay tuned. - Mike

4-Dimensional NFL Football

Years ago, I wondered how I might visualize a linear equation in 4 dimensions, or the generalized (though finite) "n" dimensions. When I asked for help, I was told, "You don't."

The truth is, you can. Here's an easy way to do so:

Playing surface for two (2) NFL teams

We all know and love NFL Football. Now, take into consideration the above playing field.

Normally, two teams play at once. At the conclusion of a game, there is a final score. Let's go with Bears 21, Packers 14.

Consider the final score as an "ordered pair." We've all plotted points on a X-Y axis system (Cartesian coordinates) when we were in, say 4th grade.

Just to be sure, we're plotting the ordered pair (21, 14) on an (x, y) axis system.

Now, let's introduce another team to the same game. So, let's say it's a three-way football game. Every team is playing on the same field, and with the same singular football. Of course, this isn't how football is played, but it could be.

Let's say the result is Bears 21, Packers 14, and Steelers 10.

Now we have 3-D, and our ordered triplet is (21, 14, 10) on an (x, y, z) axis system. What about adding one more team??

Playing surface for four (4) NFL teams

The above image demonstrates the playing field for four NFL teams to play against one another, at the same time. Let's say the final score is like so: Bears 21, Packers 14, Steelers 10, and Jets 7. This would allow for an ordered quadruplet (21,14,10,7) on an (x1, x2, x3, x4) axis system.

If you're unfamiliar with "n" dimensions, it works like this: You typically use "n" to denote an axis system that is four dimensions and higher. For example, (x1, x2, x3, x4, ... ,xn). So if there are 32 dimensions, n=32 and the ordered list ends with (x1, x2, x3, x4, ... ,x32).

The key concept here for our "4-dimensional" football game is that each team is playing on a singular surface, and they're all playing with the same football. If you increase the size of the playing field (with your imagination, you could conceive a set of 32 uprights, a field suitable for every NFL team playing simulatenously).

But for now, we will inspect a 4-dimensional NFL football game.

Imagine a game being played on the field with 4 sets of uprights, each of the four NFL teams battling for touchdowns and field goals.

The football itself, as is sails around the field from one player to another, and through each set of uprights, is a vessel used to facilitate variable interplay amongst each of the four dimensions (i.e. each of the four NFL teams.

The center of the playing surface (called "half-field" when there are only two teams) can be representative of an origin in the context of coordinate systems that stem from central, unifying points. This "center-field" point is equidistant from each of the four uprights and at the center of the playing surface, and does not move.

More specifically, the origin point is always the same: (0,0), (0,0,0), (0,0,0,0) and beyond.

The takeaway here is that as a spectator, if you observe one of these NFL games with four teams playing at once, on this type of field, you're seeing 4 variable components (i.e. dimensions) interacting with one another within a uniform, or linear environment.

The game's interplay is facilitated through a singular, unifying entity (in this case, an object... specifically the leather football itself). The game's outcome is a function of the leather football's trajectory around the field, as constrained by a separate list of official rules for play.

The playing surface is also finite and contains a singular origin point.

Using this example, our 4-way football game reaches a definite conclusion. We can imagine, after a grueling 60 minutes, the end result is Bears 21, Packers 14, Steelers 10, and Jets 7. Each play-call along the way allows for valuable analysis.

So the next time someone says, "You can't see four dimensions," you can reply with:
"Maybe not with perfect exactitude, but with some imagination we can conceive four-dimensional linear systems."

- Mike

Supporting material:
1. 
http://eusebeia.dyndns.org/4d/vis/01-intro
“Some believe that it is impossible for us to visualize 4D, since we are confined to 3D and therefore cannot directly experience it. However, it is possible to develop a good idea of what 4D objects look like: the key lies in the fact that to see N dimensions, one only needs an (N-1)-dimensional retina.” ... “What our eye sees is in fact not 3D, but a 2D projection of the 3D world we are looking at.”

 

 2.
https://people.eecs.ku.edu/~jrmiller/Papers/IVP.pdf
“based on the metaphor of being in a room with glass walls that one "flies through" the n-dimensional data set.”