Friday, July 24, 2009

My Job Is Hysterical

This is what I do at work:



At least when I get out of work, I can do things like attend a free Ted Leo show at Pier 54:



New York is the best.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Pool Parties and Accelerometers

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post. This will be pretty lengthy.



The Pool Parties are in full swing at the East River Park, which is about 5 blocks from Death By Audio. The summer lineup is pretty great, and the Dirty Projectors put on a phenomenal show yesterday. The view from the park is also amazing, and between bands you can lounge in the grass, play dodgeball, grab a drink in the 21+ section, or play basketball.






Needless to say, it's quicker for me to walk there than try to find a place to lock my bike.





Anyway, I went to Handmade Music at the 3rd Ward and saw some amazing uses of accelerometers and solenoids in digital sequencers. If you don't know what that means, that's okay. I went home and started looking into homemade accelerometer projects, and discovered Johnny Lee who used the Wii remote to do some amazing things. Check these videos out:



I grabbed a Wii remote and figured out how to use it as a computer mouse. It truly is one of the most versatile inventions of our time. It can be connected to anything via bluetooth. I'm working on developing a program that uses the Wii remote in conjunction with some of the projects here at Death By Audio. Not going to release anything until it's done, obviously.

In my perusing of TED.com, I also came across another video that is half amazing and half really scary:



After seeing something like this, I wonder how people are going to view privacy, and how much time will actually be spent in the real world as opposed to the virtual world. This video also convinced me to never buy an iPhone. I never want to have internet access all the time, though I'm sure it will happen within 5 years to all phones.

On one last note, I wandered over to the show space last week to see what was going on. I managed to catch the set of the band Religious Girls



They're basically a spastic explosion of drums and synthesizers reminiscent of early Animal Collective. They played on the floor and sprawled into the crowd with their excessive amounts of drums. It was hard to tell who was officially in the band and who decided to just pick up a drum and join in. At one point, one of the members took a floor tom to the middle of the room and spread blue and red paint all over the head. Everyone dipped their hands in the mix and walked through the crowd, smearing it on everyone's face. They put on quite the live show, and as I walked back into DBA afterwards covered in blue paint, I was greeted by a "what the fuck just happened to you" reaction. It was glorious. Best band I've seen in a while.


Everything has been great. If only I can get some kind of musical project together, things would be ideal.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Death By Audio Photo Journal

With the acquisition of my new (albeit highly unprofessional) digital camera, I decided to visually document some of the places I talk about here, starting with my place of residence.



Practice Room:


Pedal Room:



Living Room:




Workshop:





Mixing Room:



My Room:




My First DBA Project: 2 Watt Amp:




Outside:



More to follow, including Brooklyn Pool Parties, survivalist biking, and a surprising show at DBA with lots of drums, keyboards, and paint.

Monday, July 6, 2009

The City of Brotherly Love



Independence Day. What better place to spend it than the birthplace of our nation's Constitution? With my first Saturday off in a long time, I hopped on Mega Bus ($15 round trip!) and arrived in Philadelphia for a crazy weekend.

The first thing I noticed about the difference between Philadelphia and New York is the simplicity. Here is a New York subway map (Excluding upper Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn):



And here is a Philly subway map:



Needless to say, the city is pretty small. I met Joe and Will, friends of mine from Penn State, in south Philadelphia. They have a 3 floor apartment with a studio in the basement. We walked next door to their neighbors' BBQ and I discovered that they were from Dallas, PA. It's a small world in Philly. South Philadelphia is sort of like the Bed-Stuy of Philly. Rent is cheap, it's a bit shady (almost got hit with some fireworks while walking), and there are some really cool up-and-coming areas.

I made my way to West Philadelphia, the home of Drexel and Penn campuses. My friend Nira and I had brunch outdoors at the Marathon Grill and I made my way into center city.

Spent the day with my friend Jess. Ate dinner at the Banana Leaf, an amazing (and quick!) Malaysian restaurant on Arch Street. Then we made our way to the Art Museum for a free Sheryl Crow concert and some pretty alright fireworks.



The next day I met my parents for the Phillies-Mets game. On a hot streak, the Phillies managed to shut them out 2-0. I saw two homeruns from Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. Great game.








After the game, we walked from South Philly all the way to a bar in West Philly (an hour walk) called Fiume. It was an amazing, quiet bar with a bit of live music and an Ethiopian restaurant downstairs. We hung out in the park nearby for a bit before I left.

All in all, I think Philly changed my whole opinion on living in New York. I felt very slowed down (despite not working) and a lot closer to the people there. Maybe it's because I really don't have a lot of close friends left in New York. Maybe I'm just getting antsy again. I saw a job opportunity for an internship in Audio Engineering at NPR this fall. I'd have to move to Washington D.C., but maybe it would be for the best. I need something to concentrate my energy on anyway.

I also recently got a new digital camera, so from this point on, every picture on this blog (for the most part) will be taken by me. Since I've been linked to Brooklyn Vegan, I feel like I should be semi-professional.