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Tag Archives: Music

My Balticon 45 Schedule

I can’t wait to get to Balticon this Memorial Day weekend (May 27-30, 2011) and honored to once again participate as a panelist, performer, and moderator. What’s that? Why no, I didn’t just paste this over from last years post! And I’m insulted that you would suggest such a thing :)

Here is a list of the events I will be participating in. Come on by and say hello- I’d love to meet you! The schedule is pretty stable, but there is always a possibility that some of the times or rooms may change – so please check back before heading out to make sure you’ve got current info.

Sound Design & Extreme Audio Effects
When: Friday 10:00pm – 11:00pm
Where: Derby

Our expert panel of professional sound designers and audio engineers will explore various topics and techniques surrounding sound design and the art and science of extreme audio effects. They will share insider tips and tricks to help you squeeze strange and unworldly tones and textures out of the equipment you already own, inspire you to build and record uncommon noise makers, and to turn ordinary sounds into sonic landscapes designed to enhance your next multi-media project. They will cover both basic and advanced recording, tweaking and extreme manipulation techniques to provide you with the take-away know-how to shake awake audiences and transport them to strange new worlds.

Master’s Session: Audio Excellence in Podcasting
When: Saturday 9:00am – Noon
Where: Derby

Our panel of expert audio enthusiasts will discuss various topics surrounding audio engineering for spoken word, music, and everything in between. They will help you get the best sound out of the equipment you have, help you pick the next piece of important equipment within your budget, and help you avoid burnout by streamlining your workflow to shorten the time you spend editing audio. The audience is encouraged to bring questions and even samples of problems they are having with their own work.

Concert: Ditched by Kate
When: Saturday 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: Garden Room

New Media participants Phil Rossi and Chooch Schubert bring us alternative rock with their band “Ditched by Kate“.

Unlikely Disasters to Plan For
When: Saturday 10:00pm – 11:00pm
Where: Chesapeake

Because more things may uprise than just zombies and robots!
So much attention is paid to how one might survive the zombie apocalypse or robot uprising. But aren’t there a whole lot of other things we should be planning for? How about mole men? Insect sentience? Or grey goo? Join our panel of possible-apocalypses scholars enumerate the conceivable threats. We might even have time to figure out how to survive one or two! Audience participation encouraged!

Into The Blender: Live!
When: Sunday 9:00pm – 10:00pm
Where: Chesapeake

Geek Media: One size does not fit all
The IntoTheBlender.com podcast is back for another live show. This time we’re taking on a touchy subject: There are countless arenas of geek affection, but some seem near universal: movies, television, and books. Whether it be Star Wars or Firefly; Lord of the Rings, or Buffy; Gaiman or Pratchet – there are things you are SUPPOSED to love as a geek. Well, we don’t love them all and I bet you don’t either! Come compare your likes and dislikes with an assorted panel of lovers and haters of every genre. Take My Geek Card (I Dare You!)

Open Source Software for Everyday Use
When: Sunday 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Where: Derby

What we use at home and at work to free us from software giants
Do you feel that your creativity is held back because you can’t afford programs like Photoshop, Final Cut, or Microsoft Office? Our panel of experts have freed themselves from the bonds of expensive closed software ecosystems and you can too. Whether you’re just fed up, want to try new things, or can’t afford to pick up the software you want, there is an open source alternative available to you. Find out what packages our panelist use, how to find software that fits your need, and how to join the amazing communities that spring up around open source software.
Chances are you probably use some OSS, and you don’t even know it. Our panel of open source developers and evangelists discuss the facts and help you find the OSS packages that can free you from outrageously high costs, bizarre licensing practices, and poor interface design. Come and learn ways to save yourself money, improve your productivity, and secure your computer. You don’t have time or money to ignore OSS anymore. Set yourself free.

May 27-30, 2011

Angry Robot Remix

Things have been a whirlwind around here and I just realized that I never posted my entry to the Angry Robot Remix contest.

You see, Angry Robot Books has a theme song composed by John Anealio and they thought it would be great fun to have people remix it. They posted the original song elements and a contest was born.

The contest closed on April 1st. I’m not sure how many entries there were, but they are now being judged. The winner gets a role in Matt Forbeck’s next novel for Angry Robot – and a very nasty death is guaranteed too!

Below you will find my submission. The original version can be found on John’s bandcamp page.

A little about my mix:

  • I decided to stay close to the original with some added elements for flavor. Including a “robot voice” seemed a moral imperative.
  • I used all free/open source software for new elements as well as mixing including:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

New Name, New Show

The band has a new name for the new year (blog post coming soon), and an inaugural gig! I’m happy to announce: Ditched by Kate will perform live at the Velvet Lounge. We’ve got a ton of new songs and can’t wait to perform them for you!

Where: The Velvet Lounge
915 U Street NW, Washington, DC
(202) 462-3213

When: Sunday, February 6 at 8:30pm

Note: This show is restricted to those 21 years of age and over

Further info:
Facebook event page

Description from the Facebook event page:

See them shimmy see them go
See their painted faces glow
Slow slow quick quick slow
See those pagans go go go go go!

Our first official DC show and my first show back at the Velvet in more than a few years. Want to pack the joint with your crazy faces.

Details on co-billing to come.

The Band Plays On

After almost 20 years of playing with myself, I’ve joined a band.

I’ve been twice married, lived in three different states, and had a son since the last time I played music with other people. It’s been a long road to get here, but it feels fantastic (even if a bit terrifying). The band in question is “Phil Rossi and the Awakening”, led by author and hoopy frood Phil Rossi.

We’ve got a live show at Balticon (in … five days! _gulp_) in which time I need to finish learning 13 songs with one full band rehearsal on Wednesday.

Yeah…. live without a net :)

Some history for those interested:

I started playing music when I was a kid. I don’t remember the age (probably 8 or 9) but we always had a piano in the house while growing up and I would sit at that piano and perform grand concerts. In my head they were grand, to anybody listening it was probably a cacophony of notes, hand slaps, and howls. My brother was an amazing guitarist and his strumming, singing, and full band rehearsals were a constant in my life.

Synsonic drum padWhen I got a little bit older my mom bought me a SynSonics drum pad and I spent countless hours hammering out drum beats. For a short time I played trombone at school before buying a bass guitar. I initially chose bass because everybody wanted to be a guitarist, or a singer, or a drummer. Why jump into something that’s going to be saturated with other people? This has actually served me well since you can usually swing a cat and hit a guitarist, but good bass players are harder to come by.

I came to realize later that I had a deeper connection to playing bass though. I’ve always been drawn to rhythm and percussion and bass is intimately tied to these. In high school I started jamming with friends. I also played around with my friends guitars, figuring out Metallica, Helloween, and Iron Maiden riffs. I had a decent knack for playing songs by ear. A friend of a friend came by my place to hear me play a little bass on a combo amp I had in my garage. He liked what he heard and invited me to try out for the band at his place.

In a classic scenario, I showed up and plugged into the current bass players rig (who wasn’t there at the time) and we played a couple tunes. They asked if I wanted to join the band and called him to come and get his stuff! We played together for several years and enjoyed a decent amount of success. Through circumstances I won’t go into now, we missed out on a possible recording deal and shortly thereafter the band broke up. Well, a member of the band left anyway and the rest of us wanted to start something new, rather than continue on with the old name.

We played together in side projects and substituted in friends bands when they had members out sick or whatever but didn’t make any significant progress. Not to say we didn’t have a great time and write some awesome songs! But we grew up.. and I ended up getting married and moving out of state.

That was the last time I played with anybody. And since bass is pretty damn boring to play alone, I largely abandoned it. I continued to fiddle with music off and on, playing electric guitar, programing drum loops and virtual synth instruments, but it was always a back-burnered activity, falling behind other pursuits.

Lately I’ve been embracing the creative – largely due to urging and inspiration from my wife – I’ve been writing fiction, I’ve been writing music, and I’ve been reaching out to other artists. The opportunity came to play with Phil and though it seemed like things would never line up, I made it over for a jam session and it was exhilarating. I felt like I could barely string two notes together for a bit as I was clearing out the cobwebs, but Phil and his drummer Keith were very encouraging and complimentary and it was a blast.

That’s my story.. no morals, no big take away.. Just, I’ll never forget the strength of a loving partner, and will cherish the communion of a rock groove with a group of like minded explorers. I can’t wait to get to the next practice!