FRIDAY MILE LIVEBLOGGIN’

Ballard, the little corner of Seattle I’ve called home for the last four years, made the news in the NY Times this weekend. Ballard is tucked on a gently sloping hill overlooking the Puget Sound, Ship Canal, and the upper tops of bulidings in downtown Seattle (another hill, Queen Anne, blocks the view).

An influx of new, large condo buildings have dominated the main commercial street, and new developments seem to be starting every year, changing the landscape of the neighborhood dramatically.

Last year, 86-year-old Edith Macefield refused to sell her house to condo developers, and rather than letting that stop them, the condo developers built the structure around her house. Although the story was reported quite extensively in the local press, I never thought it would escalate to a national story. Ballard was also featured in the NYT earlier in fall 2008, for entirely different reasons.

photo by Stuart Isett for the New York Times

We went blog-crazy last week while we were finishing tracks on the new Friday Mile album. We discovered the fun of liveblogging a recording event. It yeilded some interesting results.

I’ve been listening over and over to our mixes from Avast, who along with Dennis MacKay made the final product sound excellent. We have to give a big thanks to Stuart at Avast for helping put together some pre-holiday sessions for us.

All done!

11:55 PM: Band/ We decided that Dennis needs a lady in his life. We are writing this personal for him, if any ladies out there are interested. Your pics get his.

Dennis MacKay
Sign: Gemini
Age: Somewhere in the mid 50s
Occupation: Music producer
City: Los Angeles via UK
Smoke: No
Drink: No
Drugs: Ludes

Likes: Warm weather, good songs, Thai food, doubled vocals, well-worn baseball caps, grey sweaters, engaging conversation, long walks in the snow, out maneuvering Jace, SSL consoles, Sugar Free Shortbread cookies.

Idea of a fun afternoon: A walk through the Getty Museum followed by a light meal and an evening of dancing.

Turn Offs: Poopy reverb, cheeky studio assistants, tough mixing sessions, email.

Famous Quotes:
“Doubley, doubley!”
“The only way you know is when you come I’ll put it in and pull it out and you’ll see the difference is night and day.”
“You know…for the ipods!”
“I want a 747!”
“OK, just do one more for me.”
“There will be no slop on this record!”
(lots of other things we can’t say.”
“Flow of the dynaflow”
“It’s a pussy woofy cymbal”

He’s happy. He’s funny. And shakes his ass whenever he can. Hell, we love him.

11:38 PM: Hannah (from vocal booth)/

I want chocolate chip.

8:28 PM: Jake/ So Jace said today is a non-blog day, but I decided to blog anyway. Don’t tell him, ok? The songs are coming along splendidly. I came a little late (I brought pizza this time - gluten free for Jace) and have yet to hear the finished version of “Even I” but everyone is really talking it up. The new vocals are Beach Boys-esque, so I hear. At this point, I feel like we all love 99% of the tracks, but there’s a bit of nitpicking over that last 1%. Of course, it’s all stuff that most people wouldn’t even notice, but we’re all perfectionists, each with our own slightly different vision of the song. Sometimes it’s tough to give up that last 1% that’s been in your head since we started this record six months ago. I’m guilty of this as much as anyone. I’ve learned that you gotta pick your battles and give other ideas an honest listen. Ultimately they’re all good ideas. Well mostly. As I write this Jace is putting down a hauntingly beautiful vocal on “I Should Let Go.” I think that’s quite fitting for this update, don’t you?

Phil’s new band name: The Bad Porno

12:05 AM: Jace/ I feel drained of vocals after doing that “Autograph” take. There were two maybe three songs on this record that I knew were going to be a difficult task and this was one of them. “Funny Thing” was another. That is finished now, thankfully. Maybe there were just two. I don’t know, I can barely think straight at this time of the night.

My point is, Hannah nails all her vocals with effortless effortlessness. And I have to work really hard to do my vocals. So it goes.

Hannah and Phil weren’t joking. The rhythm section is flat on their backs over in a slew of keyboards in the corner. It’s a sad sight. They are utter lightweights. They’ve done nothing but drink white wine and eat almonds all night.

Ellen apparently needs bacon and loving. I can happily provide both.

11:38 PM: Hannah & Phil Trade Off Words/ Everything is on. But the rhythm sexion is dead. oops. Please don’t send your sympathy. We hired a machine. Jace loves to DOUBLY DOUBLY! Ellen needs decent loving and bacon.

10:35 PM: Phil/ Jace entered the vocal booth with an SM7 and is currently killing ‘Autograph’. Chad and I say it’s a hit.

10:14 PM: Jace/ The band reminded me that being in a band is a democracy. Democracy now!!

9:36 PM: Jace/ You would think that people would want to hear your ideas about how to record the song when you actually wrote the song. You would think….

Lots of cooks in this kitchen…

9:29 PM: Hannah/

I am the newest Beatle.

9:24 PM: Phil/

Best British band since Oasis.

8:39 PM: Jakey/ At the moment Jace is taking another stab at guitar for “High” (or “Jackpot Days” as he wants to call it). Despite what Phil wrote below, I don’t mind the downtime of the studio. True, there is a lot of sitting around and since Chad and I finished up our parts back in June, we don’t even get to look forward to laying down any new tracks ourselves. But we get to sit back, relax and see all the layers of guitar, keys and vocals pile on. Our main job is to keep everyone happy with food and drink. Today I brought the Paseo, Chad brought the whiskey. Looks like we may need to make another run before the night is through.

8:05 PM: Phil/
I did as I said I would. I let all holy hell loose. I have just handed Jace a rather fantastic twelve-string guitar I borrowed from my guitar guru Dennis Merril. You can see Dennis and I showcasing some of our guitars in the latest edition of Guitar Maker Magazine….if you read that type of thing. Anyway, Jace is tracking that now and I’m taking a much deserved drink of whiskey.

I’d like a take a moment to set the record straight. All rock and roll really is, is waiting around. Whether your getting ready for a show or in the studio, you spend the majority of your time waiting for your brief opportunity to play music. That’s why it’s nice to do it with such great people. I guess.

Jake is staring at the wall about ready to fall asleep, Chad keeps sucking at his left cheeck and making this “I’m so done” face. Dennis and Hannah are talking….this is not a surprise.

I’m going to go see if it is snowing. It’s probably not snowing which means there probably won’t be any school tomorrow?

“Oooo, he’s so dynamic, I love dynamic men with big twelve-string”
-Dennis MacKay

- A side note -
I protest Jace’s posting of the video he put up about two posts ago. I look like a poindexter and didn’t know I was being video taped. Bullshit.

-Another side note-
Ellen is here. Oh god. Oh god.

7:30 PM: Jace/ We have had dinner now. Jake brought us some food from Paseo, which is some of the best take-out a guy can buy in Seattle. I went down to the corner grocery to buy some Diet Cokes and wine and I got carded because “my face looked young,” despite my beard.

I quipped, as I always do in this situation, “I guess I’ll be happy I look young as I get older!” Har har.

Then he said “Have. A good. Night.” and he put out his fist for what we call “a pound.” I obliged and went on my way.

When I got back Chad showed up. The whole party is here now. All the cooks are in the kitchen.

6:23 PM: Jace/ I just worked for 2 hours and feel like I got nothing done. I did finish some delay doodlies that turned out nicely. However all other vocal/guitar attempts came out stinky. For awhile, I felt like I had hit what us pros call “the wall.” I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Phil is going to play some guitar now, Jake is coming with food, and I’ll get my second wind.

Until then, enjoy this video from yesterday.
5:49 PM: Phil/ Jace has moved into guitars as we have all night to work on vocals. Currently we’re listening to different types of delays to use at the end of ‘Autograph’. Really fascinating stuff.

Jake will soon arrive with much needed sustenance. It seems that energy levels all around are in need of a lift.

No one knows where the black box is. Confusion abound.

4:33 PM: Hannah/ Hi. Jace’s turn on the vocal train. He’s working on High and it sounds great. (By the way all that business about being a “perfectionist” and a “professional” is just a way for the boys to get a good studio neck rub later.)

Dennis is chomping away on nuts. He just asked Phil if he was going to turn into one. (Too late, Dennis…)

I can’t wait for Jake and Chad to hear what we’ve done. They might pee their pants. (I hope they bring more whiskey.)

Listening back…

4:00 PM: Phil/ It looks like Jace has taken to playing Settlers of Catan (or something geeky like that) online. Hannah is currently slaying vocal takes on ‘High’.

In other news:
I think there may be a studio romance in the works between Rob the engineer and Dennis the producer. It is subtle, but there is something happening under the surface.

Everyone is over the whole Weinland thing now.

In the time it took to type this, Hannah completed ‘High’ and Jace is preparing to go in.

3:19 PM: Jace/ Speaking of perfection… Dennis MacKay, our producer, will settle for nothing less. As a stanch non-perfectionist, we butt heads a lot, but in a good-natured way.

And the limey always wins.

3:14 PM: Phil/ WEINLAND UPDATE
Well, for a second there it looked like Weinland would put on their big boy pants and come to Seattle. However, they seem to be leaning in the other direction at the moment. This brings a certain cloud of sadness to the studio.

There’s still hope. Standby.

2:46 PM: Phil/ Hannah knocked out all of the vocal takes that Jace was talking about in about 10 minutes. She’s what we like to call a “professional” or whatever. I’m laying low, working, listening and looking up occasionally to say things like, “Jesus!”

Later this afternoon I’ll enter the iso booth with my guitar and unleash all holy hell. Until then, I’ll snack on almonds (from the family farm) and send text messages to members of Weinland giving them reasons to drive to Seattle.

Hannah just jumped back in the vocal booth because she’s what we like to call a “perfectionist” or whatever. Oh hey. It’s perfect now. This is not a surprise.

More later…

2:30 PM: Jace/ Alrighty. We are here. Blogging away. Let’s do this. Get it on. Yeah.

Hannah is going to lay down her vocal part for “Autograph,” a song we started last night around midnight, but realized that we were about out of gas for the day. The new day and fresh perspective should lend a nice energy to things. EDIT: Hannah basically just did a keeper in one take. This is not a surprise.

In other news… our friends Weinland (from Portland) are supposed to play at the Sunset Tavern tonight. We are trying to build up a crew to go watch them. Of course, I will likely have to stay here, which makes me sad. Another bad thing: the weather may keep them in Portland. We are doing everything in our power to help them get up here. They are amazing.

11:37 AM: Jace/ I am astonished how much time has gone by since we started this thing. We did initial tracking at Bear Creek during a spell of gorgeous weather in July. Tracking was broken by spells of medidation time by the creek or VTs out by the fire pit. We broke the bank recording there but it sure was fun! Oh, we got some great sounds too. That’s important.

Anyway. It’s now the coldest week of the year and we are finishing everything up in the next couple days. We are at The Playroom in Seattle, which is Rob Sharp’s cozy basement studio. He plays in Facts About Funerals.

I’m getting some work done right now for my day job… need to get back to it. We’ll see you this afternoon. Here’s a pic from last night:

More than three years ago, my friend Adam and I were browsing the DVD selection at our local record store, discussing how great it would be to have a concert film of our favorite band, The Long Winters.

Adam is a film guy. I’m an audio guy, and am comfortable behind the camera.

We decided to make a concert film ourselves. After pitching our idea to the band, our original concert film idea blossomed into a full-blown documentary about the band’s frontman, John Roderick.

We filmed countless hours of them in the studio recording their 2006 record, Putting The Days To Bed. We filmed at least a dozen shows in Seattle, Portland, Victoria BC, and even New York. We interviewed John’s friends, family members, bandmates, and ex-bandmates. There are hundreds of hours of footage that Adam is working on turning into a 90 minute feature-length film.

The crown jewel of this footage was a concert we shot on April 2007 at The Showbox in the Long Winter’s hometown of Seattle. There was a six-camera setup and filmed in high-definition. We captured live audio and the soundboard feed, and Seattle producer John Goodmanson turned it into an amazing piece of Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Even without the pictures, this show captures a brilliant performance by the band.

Adam has sunk hundreds of hours (not to mention dollars) turning this concert into a standalone film, aside from the documentary. It’s available now from Barsuk, so go buy it now. You can even watch a preview at Adam’s web site.

Nice work, Adam.

The Masterpiece, originally uploaded by Karousme.

Back in September, Ellen and I went to Thailand.

Back in November, I posted pictures and words right here on this blog about our adventures in that corner of the globe.

Right now, I’m working on a book of those pictures and words using Blurb, a site that helps you become a bookmaker.

I learned about Blurb through Flickr, the photo-sharing site that I’m somewhat addicted to. I love posting photos on Flickr and sharing those photos with friends, but part of me still wants something physical that I can hold in my hands.

A survey of the box of photos I keep in storage will reveal that all those photos stop in 2005. Why? That’s when I started using Flickr. That’s why I’m making this book.

You download their software, and use templates to assemble your masterpiece. I was hesitant to use their software, given my experience with a wide range of publishing tools — MS Publisher (awful), QuarkXPress (good). My main concern is that the software would be too limiting. I decided to give it a test run.

It worked great. Their software is flexible, offers many layout options, and allows you to pull photos from third-party sites (like Flickr). I actually just finished laying out the photos for the book. All that’s left is the words.

When you are finished, you send them the files and they print it and mail it you.

The big question: will I get it before Christmas?

A big bowl of pho.

Especially good when you are feeling a little under the weather. The hot broth warms you up, the spice (I add a lot) clears the head and nostrils. I walk out of my local pho joint feeling euphoric. I could eat it every day.

I’ve been under the weather the past couple days, so I’ve been lying low.

It’s true that in Seattle, we get a lot of gray days. In the winter, those days are really short. But it’s December now, and that means those short days are coming to an end.

The Winter Solstice will be here soon, and those days will slowly start getting longer. Each year, that fact hits me at some point around this time, and it makes me happy.

Tomato-cream shrimp pasta with toast, all gluten-free, originally uploaded by Karousme.

Another successful gluten-free meal.

Slow cooked for five hours. Good stuff, easy to make. Gluten-free, naturally. Recipe below.

Quinoa-stuffed peppers
4 red peppers
1 med-sized onion
1 zucchini
Meat of your choice (I chose Italian sausage)
3-5 cloves garlic
Oregeno
Olive oil
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 tbls ketchup
2 teas Worcestershire sauce
12 oz. Beef broth
Cook the 1 cup of quinoa and set aside. Chop the tops off the red peppers and gut them. De-stem the tops and chop them up. Chop up onions, zucchini, and garlic into small pieces. Heat up olive oil in pan and fry the vegetables for a few minutes. Turn up the heat and add the sausage. Cook until sausage is browned. Remove from heat, add quinoa, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Add salt, pepper, and oregeno. Add half of the beef broth. Mix it up. Stuff the peppers. Put into a slow cooker with a thin layer of beef broth. Cook for 4-5 hours. EAT.