2010 Year In Review

2010 has been a very busy and productive year both musically and personally.  While the recent birth of my wife and I's first child, Cecilia, was by far the high-point, the amount of music I had the opportunity to write, record, and perform, coupled with the number of musicians I have had the pleasure of getting to know and working with, both at Ghost In My House Studio and during live performance, has been enjoyable and enriching beyond measure.  It has been about 4 months since my last blog post so I thought it would be fitting to end the year with a summary of the above mentioned musical activity.  Although I do not have the time to write, or you, the time to read as detailed an account as this year's musical journey deserves, please accept this summary as a snapshot.  I would also encourage you to follow the links provided to learn more about many of the artists mentioned.  If I have left a musical milestone I had with any of you out, it was not on purpose and I will have to blame the extreme loss of sleep that the care of an infant provides....

Live Performances - 39:
12 shows as Brahman Shaman - 4 Solo, 2 as a duo (one with Jaran Carson on drums and one with Andy Blessing), 6 shows as a trio with Jaran Carson on drums and Joe Dawson on bass.  I am very thankful to both Joe and Jaran for supporting me live and allowing me to rock a lot harder than I can on my own...

These Brahman Shaman performances also gave me the opportunity to hear and support a lot of great musicians and bands including in no particular order:  Porcupine, Dream 13, ConQueso, Adja Gildersleeve, Corey Koehler, Kasey McKee, Talking Tree, Akai, Brilliant Beast, Hyphon, Alex Toast, Mouse Pocket, Nick Shattuck, Michelle Lynn, Dan-Electric, WigglePuppy, Imaginary Jack, Tugg, Chicane Theory and the Johnson Twins.

23 shows playing drums - 10 for Nick Shattuck and 13 for Michelle Lynn.  I would not have considered myself a drummer before this year but after so many performances I do do feel a lot more confident behind the kit than I used to.  I also had the opportunity through these performances to get to know and play with a number of great musicians including in no particular order:  Pat Longmire, Margit Severson, Adam Ptacek and Andrew Steeno.

4 shows with other bands - 2 as the bass player for WigglePuppy and 2 in my original musical role as the guitar player for Rearview Mirror.

I also had the opportunity to be on local on-air music radio programs either performing or playing and discussing pre-recorded material on radio stations in Decorah, IA, Eau Claire, WI, Winona, MN and La Crosse, WI.  Special thanks here goes out to Adam Wiltgen at Driftless Music & 89.1 The Blend, Jeni Holtan-Grouws at KDEC FM 100.5, Ballzy Ballzer at Z93, and Dio at 95.7 The Rock.

Studio work at Ghost In My House Studio:
Nick Shattuck - Chorus & Verse
Moth Mountain - EP
HavanaVana - EP
Brahman Shaman - Animist
Neon - If It Was
Michelle Lynn & The Bad Passengers - Sundial Tree
Steppin' Out in Pink - Randy Erickson
Objective Subject - Adjectives
Corey Koehler - Let's Take a Walk (single)
as well as tracking for some other projects including those by Hyphon and Efftup.

The studio, basically a home studio prior to 2010 kept me much busier than I expected and I learned a lot along the way.  The resulting recordings turned out good enough to be featured on a number of area radio stations on more than 15+ occasions.

Teaching:
27 guitar lessons given.  I also tried my hand at teaching this year which was also a great learning experience.

Blog:
80+ blog posts over the past year, most readable here some at Thought from Ghost In My House Studio.

While I could go into much greater detail about the above experiences and the talent of the musicians and bands mentioned the above attempt at brevity seems long... so just follow the links and find out more for yourself.  Thanks to all of you.  Best to you and yours in 2011.

Update July 19th - August 17th - Perspectives

It has been a busy time in both my personal and musical life which has resulted in it being nearly a month since my last blog update.  While I have been busy with a variety of different projects and obligations the main points are summarized below.

Impending Fatherhood:  My wife and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first child, a baby girl this Fall and have been busy preparing both mentally and logistically for the big changes ahead.  Besides classes, doctor's visits etc.. I have also been busy reassessing my musical and creative priorities.  I am excited to be a Father and plan to pretty much focus on parenthood alone for a couple of months surrounding the babies birth and then slowly reincorporate writing, live performances and recording projects into my daily schedule.

Studio:  The two main projects I have been working on this Summer are Neon's debut album and Michelle Lynn's 4th album, Twisted Logic.  Both of these projects have been a lot of fun to work on and I am definitely looking forward to getting a physical copy of both albums in my hand in the very near future.  The studio continues to remain busier than I have expected and I look forward to the challenge of new projects in the coming months.

• Neon - Currently wrapping up the mixing portion of their 9 song debut album and getting pretty excited about the final result.  These guys are talented song-writers and their youth only accentuates this.  I think they have made a great first album and I feel privileged to be a part of helping them capture their creativity in more finished and polished form.  I am really looking forward to watching these guys develop over the coming years and can only imagine the quality of material they will write!

• Michelle Lynn - After working with Michelle to some extent on her previous two albums I am definitely most excited for the current project.  I have always enjoyed Michelle's music and lyrics and I think her soon-to-be released 4th album, Twisted Logic is really a step ahead of anything she has done to date!  The album was recorded at Ghost in My House Studio and Michelle's project studio and we have been finalizing the mixes and overdubs over the past couple of weeks.  I have really enjoyed the opportunity to play drums and even some guitar on a number of her new songs.

• Steppin' Out in Pink - The song Randy Erickson wrote and subsequently recorded at Ghost in My House Studio for Gundersen Lutheran's Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser has finally been released with the a video.  I feel privileged to have been a part of a great cause and am hoping to have the opportunity to work with more non-profit and charitable organizations in the future.  

Brahman Shaman - Besides the upcoming peformance at JB's Speakeasy in La Crosse, WI on September 3rd with the electric trio I am slowing up on the Brahman Shaman activity for the time being.  Frankly I have been to busy with the studio projects detailed above to put much time into it besides the occasional rehearsal. I am sort of using this time to reassess what I want to accomplish with the project and am really trying to learn how to just enjoy doing it instead of focusing on some particular commercial goal.  I do have about 5 new songs written and plan to continue to write as much as possible but the official release of any new Brahman Shaman material won't be for sometime.  I am continuing to work on the One Man Band setup and have had a couple of good shows doing it that way.  I recently performed at the 1st Annual Midwest Music in Winona, MN.  Driftless Music founder Adam Wiltgen was kind enough to video and post a performance of one my newer works in progress Reactions Inertia.

Moth Mountain, WigglePuppy, Michelle Lynn, Rearview Mirror:  Having the opportunity to play music with different groups and with different instruments is extremely enjoyable and I can't help but wish I would have spent more time in my musical youth playing with other people.  I continue to rehearse with the groups above and hope to continue performing and/or recording as part of these projects for the foreseeable future.  I am anxious for the September 3rd show at JB's Speakeasy in La Crosse, WI in which I will get to play different roles in all four of the bands, should be both an exhausting and rewarding evening!

Until next time...

Weekly Update - July 12th - 18th - Busy Busy Busy

This past week ended up being very busy.  Monday I worked and rehearsed the foot drumming.  After work Tuesday I spent an hour working on mixing with Michelle Lynn followed by a rehearsal with her and Adam.  Wednesday, Nick from Neon was over and we continued to work on vocals for as long as his voice could handle it.  We are making good progress and the tracking for the album is very near completion.  Wednesday evening, Jaran and Joe were over and we ran through the Brahman Shaman songs in preparation for our show at the Root Note on Saturday.

Thursday I worked and headed up to Kathy's Pub in Rochester, MN afterwards to drum for Michelle Lynn as one of the two Bad Passengers.  The show was a lot of fun, but it ended up being a long day after playing working and playing for four hours and driving home etc.., such is the life of the musician though and I am definitely not complaining.  Slept in Friday trying to recover from the late night at Kathy's Pub and found out when I awoke that I was needed to open for Porcupine and ConQueso at JB's Speakeasy that night in La Crosse, WI.  I rehearsed through the one man band set in a very warm garage with a cup of coffee and felt comfortable enough to debut the live one man band later that night at JB's.  The show was a ton of fun and went surprisingly well which served as a good proof of concept for future shows as a one man band.

Saturday was a warm one and besides some errands and some yard cleanup from the recent storms I tried to stay cool and rested inside.  Saturday night I headed down to the Root Note in La Crosse, WI to do a Brahman Shaman set with the Electric Trio (Jaran & Joe) and I also played some more drums for Michelle Lynn during her set.  The show was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed watching Hyphon's set, especially when he was joined onstage by Efftupp.

Weekly Update - July 5th - July 11th - Nesting

This past week was pretty routine music wise but still very productive and a lot of fun.  Monday was a holiday so I had ample time to work on the one man band in the garage and feel myself slowly improving.  Tuesday was work followed by a few hours of mixing and rehearsal with Michelle Lynn.

Wednesday, Nick Mass from NEON was over at Ghost in My House Studio and we started to tackle the final lead vocal tracking and made some good progress.  Wednesday night, Jaran and Joe were over to rehearse some Brahman Shaman material for the show this Saturday night at the Root Note with Michelle Lynn & Hyphon.  Looks like we may be ready to try a couple of new songs as a three piece which will be a nice change of pace.

Thursday was spent working with some time to rehearse the one man band before the day was through.  Nick Mass was over again on Friday morning to lay down some more lead vocals but the session was cut short as the firewire port on my studio computer finally crapped out for good.  Spent a good portion of the rest of the day trying out different Firewire Notebook cards to no avail and had to end up buying a whole new computer which brought on a whole new set of compatibility issues between the new 64 bit windows and the older 32 bit software and plugins but I think I have it all straight now and should be able to get back to work this week.

Most of the weekend was spent assembling some new bedroom furniture and rearranging and reorganizing the whole house which was exhausting but productive.

I have a couple of shows this week, the first being drumming for Michelle Lynn & The Bad Passengers at Kathy's Pub in Rochester on Thursday night and the second being a Brahman Shaman electric trio set at the Root Note in LaCrosse on Saturday night.  One of my favorite bands, Porcupine is playing at JB's Speakeasy in LaCrosse this Friday and I suggest you check it out!

Until next week...

Weekly Update - June 28th - July 4th

This past week was musically rich and more enjoyable because of it.  Taught a lesson on Monday and found some time in the evening for more one man band rehearsal.  After work on Tuesday I started work with Michelle Lynn on the mixing of her fourth album, Twisted Logic, which was followed by a rehearsal.

Wednesday, Blake Auler-Murphy (aka Hyphon) was at Ghost in My House Studio for a morning session cutting vocals for work with another producer.  The beat was really cool and Blake did a fine job of laying down his vocal performances.  Blake and I also still have a collaborative track in the works, which may see the light of day later this year.

Matthew and Nick from Neon were over at noon and we were able to finalize a majority of the guitar parts for their debut record.  Progress has been good and we all hope to begin the initial mixing in the next couple of weeks.  Wednesday evening, Joe and Evan were over for a Moth Mountain rehearsal.  The four songs that we have been focusing on at the last few practices are really starting to gel and Joe delivered a couple of inspiring new ideas.  We are hoping to have a short set of material ready for a potential debut show this Fall.

Thursday was spent at work, although I did find time to experiment with some new one man band equipment that arrived.  The riser unit, made by Drum Workshop provides a stable base to attach a kick drum pedal too as well as support legs to hold a variety of drum types, it took some adjusting but I think I got it set up well to hold a snare drum.  However, it seems balancing the volume of the snare with my miniature kick drum may take some creative ideas.  I was also able to confirm an exciting show for September 3rd at JB's Speakeasy in La Crosse, WI.  The show will serve as a warm up for Rearview Mirror's headlining set at Recession Fest in Decorah, IA on September 25th.  The JB's show will also feature performances from Brahman Shaman, Wiggle Puppy and Michelle Lynn & The Bad Passengers and I am really excited to have the opportunity to play a different role in each of those bands all in one night!

Friday morning was spent in the garage working practicing the one man band, got the snare dialed in a bit better utilizing some paper towel and painters tape on the snare/beater contact point to get the level more even with the miniature kick drum.  Gralyn and Nick from Neon were over around noon and Gralyn finalized his drum parts for the album and Nick had enough time to begin work on the final lead vocals.  After a very warm lawn mowing experience I spent the rest of the evening enjoying the company of the visiting Jason Ptacek.

Saturday was sort of a musical break day, but did find some time to jam the drums with Jason on some new material he has been working on, we had a lot of fun in a limited amount of time and are hoping to have the opportunity to work on his new material again soon.

Sunday was mostly spent assembling baby furniture and relaxing but still found ample time to rearrange the one man band rehearsal space in the garage to include some of my thrift store P.A. components which will allow me to get more used to one man banding with a microphone and amplified guitar.  While some songs give me more trouble than others I think I should have a decent set of material ready for the Brahman Shaman - One Man Band debut at Midwest Music Festival in Winona, MN at the end of July.

Weekly Update - June 21-27th - Progress

Another pretty standard musical week.  Taught a lesson on Monday after work, continued working on new material and the one man band project on Monday night.  Tuesday, had a very warm but enjoyable rehearsal with Michelle and Adam.

Wednesday, spent the morning hours working on new material and practicing more one man band.  Theo and Nick from Neon were over around noon and we got all the bass parts recorded and finalized the piano sections in all of the songs as well.  Jaran was over Wednesday night and we spent some time trying out some new material that I have been working as I am hoping to start performing some of it in the near future to get an idea of how it goes over in a live setting.

Thursday was spent working although I did get a chance to see my friend Patrick Longmire Jr. to congratulate him and wish him well on his impending move to Austin, TX to play bass for the Eric Tessmer band.  Pat is a super talented guy and I am happy to see him get the opportunity to evolve his musical career.

Friday morning was spent working on new songs and one man band practicing.  Also did some experimenting with electric guitar/one man band combination which works better for some songs than it does others.  Gralyn and Nick from Neon were over around noon and we spent the next 5 hours getting a majority of the drum parts recorded.  It is fun to hear the album coming together and I think after a few more days of tracking we should be on to the mixing stage.

A close friend of Lish and I's was visiting, so we spent most of the rest of the weekend bumming around La Crosse and doing some much needed relaxing.  However, I did get the chance to put in some good time toiling away on music in the garage and had an especially enjoyable time letting loose during the storm on Friday night as I figured the neighbors wouldn't be able to hear me over the thunder.

Until next week..

Weekly Update - June 14th-20th - Routine

This past week was pretty routine in the musical sense.  Taught a lesson Monday.  Rehearsed with Michelle and Adam on Tuesday. Continued work on Neon's debut album and rehearsed with Joe & Jaran on Wednesday.  Thursday was mostly spent working.  Friday, the work on Neon's debut album continued.  The basic guitar tracks and the scratch vocals for all the songs are nearly complete and we are hoping to tackle some bass and drums in the upcoming week.

I also spent time during the week adding drums, bass and a guitar solo to a charity project I am recording.  I have been trying to spend 45-90 minutes a night rehearsing as a one man band and writing new songs in the garage each night.  I think I am going to have to push back the goal of having a set of one man band material ready in the next month a bit as it is proving more difficult than I thought it would and I want to spend more time working on new material.

This past week I realized that I tend to go a little insane and get hyper-focused on musical projects and end up creating artificial time tables that really don't do anything but increase my stress level.  So this week I hope to spend a little more time outside in contemplation and get better work done because of it, we shall see I guess.  In other news the upstairs flooring project is pretty much complete, which is good because I am spending my days off focused on the Neon project.

Until next week!

Weekly Update - June 7th - 13th - Neon/Bandit/Moth/Charity

This past week was a busy one.  After work Monday I taught a lesson to my Decorah student, who continues to make good progress on his second original tune.  After the lesson I had a quick rehearsal with Michelle and Adam in preparation for our performance at the Bandit County Fair on Saturday.  I managed to catch Neon at a private party at the Root Note on my way home Monday night.  I enjoyed their short acoustic duo set and it was good to see them live before starting production on their debut album on Wednesday at Ghost in My House Studio.  I did get a video of their last song recorded on my iPhone, you can check out by clicking here.

I had Tuesday off and spent a good portion of the day continuing to rehearse being a one man band.  This has been both fun and very difficult but I am nothing if not determined and I am confident I can work up a decent set of material with a month or so of daily practice.  The purchased the glass jar at the right to facilitate some sun-charged water but the the lid does not fit as tightly as I hoped and some gnats met their doom inside of the luke-warm cauldron calling the water's drink-ability into question.

I had Wednesday off as well and after spending the morning in more one man band rehearsal I was excited to get started working on the production of Neon's debut album.  Matthew, Nick and Theo arrived around noon and proceeded to lay down nearly all the tracks for their song Nobody's There in about 3 hours.  I was impressed with their musical skills and professionalism and was even more excited about how the recording was sounding.  I am definitely looking forward to continuing work on this project on my days off for the next couple of months.

Wednesday night Joe and Evan were over for the 2nd official Moth Mountain rehearsal and we are all slowly getting more comfortable with the tunes but I wouldn't expect a live performance to late Summer or early Fall.

I worked both Thursday and Friday and did not get a lot accomplished musically besides more fun/frustrating one man band rehearsing in a very hot garage.  However, all the heat and humidity has done wonders for the container garden and I hope to begin enjoying the fruits of my gardening labor in the not to distant future.

Saturday morning I packed up the car and headed over to the Bandit County Fair to play drums for Michelle Lynn as one the Bad Passengers with Adam on Bass.  It turned out to be a beautiful day and I only wished I had been able to stay and camp at the festival all weekend as a ton of great musicians were performing.  The show went well and it was fun to play while being amplified by a real big P.A.

Sunday was mostly spent cleaning and running errands but local musician/songwriter/journalist Randy Erickson was over to Ghost In My House Studio for a couple of hours in the afternoon to lay down guitar tracks and vocals for a song he penned for a local charity.  I will be laying down drums, bass and potentially some lead guitar on the track this week and will have more details available on the tune soon.

Until next week!

Weekly Update - May 31st - June 6th - One Man Band

Because of the extended holiday weekend this past week was slightly abbreviated.  After work Tuesday I taught a lesson to my Decorah student who is making great progress on his second original song.  After the lesson I had a rehearsal with Michelle Lynn and The Bad Passengers.  Our next gig is this coming Saturday, June 12th at The Bandit County Fair in DeSoto, WI at 1pm.  Click here for more info.

Wednesday I had the day off and spent the morning continuing to work on new songs.  I have also been trying to spend a little more time with the guitar than I have been in the past couple years and use that as starting point for the writing of new songs.  Wednesday eve Joe and Jaran were over for a split Brahman Shaman / Wigglepuppy rehearsal and we continue to get more comfortable with each projects material.

Thursday I left work early to go to an ultrasound appointment with my wife. We are happy to announce that we are expecting our first child, a baby girl this Fall.  We are very excited and although I may take a break from any live performing for a few months around the birth I think all the changes the new baby will bring to my life will be nothing but positive.

Friday I worked and also mailed out DEMO packages to a number of my favorite independent labels.  Not expecting much, but little feedback would be nice.  Friday night I constructed my make-shift one man band equipment with a miniature bass drum and a tom drum modified to have  snare sound and to be played with a bass drum pedal.  Special thanks to Adam and Michelle for loaning me a couple of these components to test out the concept.  Once I got the two drum kit assembled I soon realized how difficult it is to play a drum beat with two feet while singing and playing guitar, but practice makes improvement and I am excited to work up a whole set of material utilizing this set-up, check out a video of my progress on Why oh Why using this one man band setup below.



Saturday I gave a lesson to my La Crosse student and it is good to see all his hard work paying off.  The rest of the weekend was spent doing errands, chores, working on the home improvement projects and continuing practice as the one man band.

Until next time...

Weekly Update - May 24th - 30th - Midlake

I worked Monday and taught a lesson on my way home.  We started work on my student's second original song and I am encouraging the young songsmith to take the reigns more on this one and he is doing a great job.  After work on Tuesday I headed up to Minneapolis with my close friend and RVM bassist, Jason Ptacek, to see Midlake's show at the Cedar Cultural Center.  The Cedar is one of my favorite venues because it sounds amazing and you can literally stand at the foot of the stage with no one pushing on you etc...  The show was really good and I was impressed by the tightness of the 7 member group who often had 4 guitars going at once.  The drummer was also very impressive and seemed to play a larger role in the live situation than he does on the records.

I had the day off Wednesday and continued working on new songs as well as the seemingly never-ending laminate floor project.  Wednesday night was a Moth Mountain practice sans Evan who was otherwise engaged.  Joe and I worked through the 4 finished songs a few times each and were starting to feel more comfortable with the material again by the end of the night.

Thursday night I headed down to Del's bar in La Crosse, WI to drum for Michelle Lynn with Adam on bass.  The show was a lot of fun as our weekly rehearsals have continued to increase the amount of material we are comfortable performing together.  Driftless Music founder Adam Wiltgen has been kind enough to tape some of these performances, check out Black Hole from our set at the Acadia Cafe last week below:



Friday was spent doing work around the house.  I was also able to make it down to the Root Note to catch a portion of the Adam Without Eve CD release party where I watched 3/5 of Mouse Pocket deliver a quality set followed by good sets from a collection of local rhyme slayers including Hyphon and Efftupp.  I spent the rest of the holiday weekend relaxing around the house doing cleaning, laundry and playing some music when I could.

I am taking the month of June off from playing any Brahman Shaman shows to focus on recording a talented local band, Neon.  More soon...

Weekly Update - May 17th - 23rd - City

This past week ended up being fairly busy music wise.  Taught a lesson on Monday afternoon. Did a rehearsal with Michelle Lynn on Tuesday evening after a nice long walk with her and Adam as we awaited the closure of the retail store below their apartment.  Wednesday I spent the morning enjoying the outdoors while working on the arrangements for some new in progress songs.  Spent most of the rest of the morning being frustrated by baseboard trim installation in the house.  Got the yard mowed before it got too hot and had a good Shaman rehearsal with Jaran and Joe in the evening.

I also had Thursday off and again spent the morning working on songs and the most of the rest of the day being frustrated by baseboard trim, alas a carpenter I am not.  Friday, Joe, Jaran and I headed up to the Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis to play at a Driftless Music showcase put on by Adam Wiltgen.  Unfortunately the sound man for the show decided not to show and left the bands to sort of figure out on our own which we did with varying degree's of success.  Had a lot of fun drumming for Michelle Lynn during her set and also had a fun electric Shaman set, however, the late night drive home was about 3 hours longer than I would have liked.

After unsuccessfully trying to catchup on missed sleep Saturday morning I headed down to Iowa for another Rearview Mirror rehearsal with the original lineup.  Practice went well and it is always fun to hang out with Jason, TJ and Adam all in one place.

Made it back in time Sunday to teach a quick lesson and unload and set gear back up in the studio.  After getting most of a large branch which had fallen cut up I retreated to the air-conditioning for a lazy end to the day.

Will be drumming this Thursday at Del's bar in La Crosse, WI for Michelle Lynn and with the other Bad Passenger, Adam Ptacek at 10pm.

Weekly Update - May 10th - 16th - Spill

This past week was fairly uneventful.  No live shows to play.  Had another fun practice with Michelle Lynn on Tuesday after work and she has approved of Adam and I calling ourselves the Bad Passengers, so any shows we play with her will likely be billed as Michelle Lynn & The Bad Passengers... "are we there yet?"

Wednesday, we attempted the first official Moth Mountain rehearsal with a lineup of Joe Dawson on Guitar and Vocals, Evan Klug on Bass and me on Drums.  It was a fun first practice and I am looking forward to getting more comfortable with the material and hearing some of Joe's new ideas.  May try to do a show or two late this Summer or early this Fall.

I haven't been getting as much time to record and work on new ideas as I would like as I have been spending most of my free time installing laminate floor in the upstairs of our house and my limited construction skills and the slanted walls have made the job take longer than it should.  However, I do have about five new songs written and I am trying to focus on a more defined groove for the songs.  With this in mind I have been working on singing while drumming to spark some new ideas.  I was attempting to video one of these sessions on Friday with the Iphone and inadvertently spilled a whole cup of coffee on my studio laptop, bah!  Luckily after a few days drying out in front of the dehumidifier it seems to work like new and now has quite the delicious coffee aroma!

This week I will be playing with the Brahman Shaman electric trio (Jaran Carson & Joe Dawson) at an Adam Wiltgen established Driftless Music showcase at the Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis.  I am really looking forward into taking in Chicane Theory's acoustic set as well as playing drums for Michelle Lynn's set if I can get up there in time.

Until next week, be well and create!

Weekly Update - May 3rd - May 9th - Double Duty

Last week was filled with musical fun.  I got to teach a lesson on Monday and my student has completed his first song and is now anxious to work on more.  Tuesday I had a fun practice with Michelle and Adam until the lightning shut us down.  Didn't do the usual Wednesday practice but still got to hang out with Jaran for a bit and chat drums.  I spent Wednesday morning working on new song ideas and spent most of the afternoon working on home improvement.

Thursday night Jaran, Joe and I headed over to Ed's No Name Bar in Winona to play some Brahman Shaman songs opening for Danelectric and The Brilliant Beast.  We had a lot of fun and I was happy that my new two amp set-up worked out as well as it did.

I spend Friday  demoing a newer song as well as spending some more time working on bass parts for the Wiggle Puppy songs.  Friday night Jaran, Joe and I headed down to the Root Note in LaCrosse to play two sets, the first as a WigglePuppy and then another electric Shaman set.  The show was a lot of fun, I got to play bass for a set, play guitar and sing for a set, if only I had played drums the night would have been a real turkey...  Imaginary Jack and Brilliant Beast both played great sets as well.

Saturday was spent cleaning the basement and setting up all the gear that had been brought to the shows the previous two nights, which was a surprisingly large amount.  Also got a quick chance to try out the 1960's Zildjian Hi-Hats I got off of Ebay and while they sound awful paired together they sound pretty good matched a variety of ways with my Paiste hats...  Sunday was Mother's Day...

Weekly Update - April 26th - May 2nd - Routine

I will keep this brief as this past week was pretty routine.


Worked and gave a lesson Monday.
Worked and practiced with Michelle Lynn on Tuesday.
Had the day off Wednesday, worked on new music and had good Brahman Shaman and Wiggle Puppy rehearsals.
Worked Thursday.
Had the day off Friday, spent some time playing music and was on 95.7 The Rock in LaCrosse, WI with Dio, spinning a few songs off of Animist.
Spent the weekend at my cousin's wedding in IA.


Two shows this coming week:


May 6th @ Ed's Bar in Winona
Brahman Shaman Electric Trio
w/ Dan Edmonds Band & The Brillant Beast
9pm


May 7th @ Root Note in LaCrosse, WI
Brahman Shaman Electric Trio & WigglePuppy
w/ Imaginary Jack & The Brillant Beast
8pm

Weekly Update - April 19th - April 25th - SpringFever

Monday and Tuesday were spent working.  After work Tuesday I headed over to Adam & Michelle's new place in Decorah and we attempted our first rehearsal in the new space.  I quickly realized that the drum kit that Michelle bought was going to need a little TLC to function correctly, but we still managed to get through a handful of songs before deciding that a room rearrangement might allow things to run a little more smoothly.

Wednesday was my 29th birthday and I had the day off and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The early morning was spent sitting outside with a cup of coffee working on a new song.  I made it down to Dave's guitar shop in the late morning and managed to find some great bargain items that will fill some roles nicely in the armory of rock.  After lunch I fired up the mower for the first time in 2010 and decapitated my fair share of dandelions.  Jaran and Joe were over around 5pm and we had a great time rehearsing the Brahman Shaman and WigglePuppy material and are definitely feeling more prepared for our upcoming shows.

Thursday was spent working although I did have the opportunity to teach a lesson to my Decorah student on the way home.  I had a couple hours of relaxing at home before heading down to Del's bar to drum for Nick Shattuck from 10pm-2am.  The show was a lot of fun, especially with the ace of Bass Patrick Longmire Jr. adding some sweet harmonies.  This may be my last show with Nick for awhile as I will be otherwise engaged during his next two shows and then he is leaving for Catalina this summer.

Friday I had the day off and after sleeping in late to recover from the show at Del's I had fun working on some new music before a birthday dinner with my folks in the evening.

Saturday morning I continued work on a new song entitled BigOceanWave.  I recorded  a rough version of it on my iphone, however it doesn't seem to have reoriented it so it is sideways.  Check it out below:

Sunday was mostly spent doing errands and relaxing and teaching a guitar lesson.  Pretty great week overall, gearing up for a bunch of shows in May and my appearance on La Crosse's 95.7 The Rock Local Lixx on Friday, April 30th @ 11:00pm.

Weekly Update - April 12th - April 18th - Spring Breaker?

Monday and Tuesday were spent working.  Tuesday night Jaran & Joe were over and we did a split practice focusing first on the Brahman Shaman material and then on the Wiggle Puppy tunes.  Things are moving along pretty well and I think we will be prepared for our upcoming shows at the beginning of May.

I had the day off Wednesday and spent the early morning working on a new song "Love it or Leave it".


It was a beautiful day outside and I was happy to get my container garden planted, now to see if anything sprouts.


I worked Thursday but had a chance to see both Adam Ptacek and Adam Wiltgen before I left Decorah for the day.  After that I had a great meeting with local talents Neon at the Root Note.  These guys write great songs and I am hoping to have the opportunity to help them get some good recordings done this summer at Ghost in My House Studio.

I had the day off Friday and my brother and singer-songwriter Mark Vana arrived early in the afternoon and we immediately set to work on recording nine songs.  This project took us through Sunday noon and it was exhausting and rewarding all at the same time.

This next week is already looking busy, but maybe some relaxation time on the weekend...

Weekly Update - April 5 - 11th - Memory Lane

I was planning to sort of relax into April and work on some more studio projects, but the  month is already keeping me very busy.  Monday I worked and gave a lesson on my way home.  Tuesday I worked and looked at a drum-set with Michelle Lynn so we can more easily rehearse without her needing to make the trek to Onalaska.  Also had another Moth Mountain/WigglePuppy practice with Joe and Jaran on Tuesday night.  I am getting a better handle on the songs and more used to playing bass again and really having a lot of fun.

Wednesday I had the day off and spent a portion of the day getting a better handle on some new studio equipment as well as doing my best to remember a number of old Rearview Mirror songs.  I also learned that edits had been completed on my recent interview with Mark Judkins Helpsmeet for the "Song of The Soul" radio program on Northern Spirit Radio.  It was fun to do a longer in-depth interview that really dug into the spiritual side of the music and you can check out the full interview by clicking HERE.

Thursday I worked.  Friday I had the day off and busied my self with a variety of spring cleaning / organizational tasks as well as some more practice of old RVM songs.  Friday night I headed down to Bodega to drum for Nick Shattuck from 9 to 1.  The show was a lot of fun and I experimented with bringing down an even smaller kit as I don't feel talented enough to need all that many drums.

Saturday I headed down to Iowa for a rehearsal with the original Rearview Mirror lineup.  We got some practicing in and a lot of good time to hang out and catch up.  Slowly but surely we will prepare for a show or two this Fall.  We also happened upon a full box of original Blown Out albums which we all thought were gone, get your copy before they actually are gone for good today by clicking HERE.

Weekly Update - March 29th - April 4th

I worked Monday and gave a lesson to my Decorah student.  The song he is working on is continually developing.  Brought a little digital recorder this time so we could give a little listen to what we have done so far. Hoping to surprise him with a free recording of his song at Ghost in My House Studio once it is complete.

I worked Tuesday and did an in-depth interview for Song of the Soul out of Eau Claire, WI with Mark Judkins Helpsmeet of Northern Spirit Radio.  The interview consists of Mark interviewing me regarding the lyrical and spiritual aspects of seven songs off the recently released Animist double-album.  I really enjoyed the content and depth of the interview as Mark asked probing questions that provided an opportunity for deep reflection on the meaning behind the album.  Mark is currently editing the 60 minute interview down to 45 minutes and I will let you know when it is available.

I had the day off Wednesday and Michelle Lynn and Adam Ptacek were over to in the early afternoon for another enjoyable rehearsal of Michelle's songs.  Practice definitely makes improvement and it is becoming evident that we are getting much more comfortable in our musical interactions which should make for some really fun shows in the upcoming year.  Jaran Carson and Joe Dawson were over Wednesday evening for the first rehearsal of the Moth Mountain/WigglePuppy material for our upcoming show at the Root Note on May 7th.  I really had fun filling yet another musical role, this time bass.  Looking forward to getting a lot more comfortable with the material in the next couple of weeks.

I worked Thursday and enjoyed my brother who made it town from Chicago that evening.  The rest of the weekend was spent doing family related events.  However, I did have the opportunity, thanks to Adam Wiltgen, to attend the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra's performance at the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul, MN on Saturday night.  This was my first time seeing a live orchestral performance and I thoroughly enjoyed it the refreshing musical perspective it provided and it definitely made my rock and roll flailings seem amateur by comparison.

Weekly Update - March 22nd - March 28th

I am a little late in getting this past week's update up.  Last week was so busy that it has taken me most of the week this week thus far to catch-up.

I had Monday off and it was pretty relaxing.  Michelle was over in the morning for some more tracking on her upcoming album, Twisted Logic.  Adam Ptacek was over a bit later in the day to lay down some bass parts.  The Studio Projects VTB1 tube preamp I purchased to test out in the studio was terribly disappointing and it looks like the reviews are correct and one would need to spend at least $300 for a single channel pre to notice any improvement over the preamps in my interface.

I worked Tuesday and taught a lesson my Decorah student on the way out of town.  We have been hard at work on his first original song and I am continually impressed with how well he is doing.  I have also been surprised at how much I am enjoying teaching.  I found that when I am up front with people and tell them that "I can't really read music that well and I am not going to teach your son/daughter a bunch of cover songs, but I will teach them how to use the instrument as a creative tool" it sets appropriate expectations and works out really well for all involved.  Looking forward to adding more students in the near future.

I worked Wednesday as well and managed to get in a rehearsal with Michelle and Adam after work for our upcoming full show at Del's the following night.  Practicing in my tiny basement can be a bit loud overall but I have really been enjoying playing drums with Michelle and Adam.

I worked Thursday and then headed down to Del's bar in La Crosse, WI to play drums for Michelle Lynn.  We made it all the way through the 4 hour show without any noticeable mistakes and really had a good time playing.  A couple of free Down Town Brown's from the local Pearl Street Brewery never hurts either.

Friday I had the day off and Joe Dawson was over at 10am to start work on the mixing of his 4 song Moth Mountain EP project.  It went pretty smoothly but ear fatigue got the better of us by the end of the day and we will probably need to make some final modifications in the next couple of weeks before we release it to the public.

Saturday morning I headed down to the UWL Rec Center to do a Brahman Shaman solo-acoustic set for the annual St. Baldrick's Cancer Benefit.  Nothing like singing songs in a gym while people are getting their heads shaved to give you a new perspective on you craft.  I also brought a simple drum kit down and ended up playing drums for about three hours backing up Michelle Lynn, DocsFidelics (not sure of the name) and Nick Shattuck.

After the benefit I had a couple of hours before heading over to Winona to drum for Nick Shattuck at the acoustic cafe.  The show went well but I could feel my energy level waning.  Unfortunately, after 5 hours of drumming on Saturday I was too tired to make it downtown to the Popcorn Tavern to help one of my local favorite groups, King Everything celebrate the release of their Mermaid Frosting album.  Hoping to catch them again soon.

Sunday was spent doing all the chores and errands I didn't have time for during the week.  It was a fun week but also exhausting.  I only have a couple of shows booked in April and am sort of looking forward to a bit of a break to focus more on studio projects, but  I am sure I will end up playing more shows as I have a hard time saying no what I enjoy.

Weekly Update - March 15th - March 21st

The warm weather definitely has a positive effect on one's mood.

I worked Monday and had a good lesson with my Decorah student.  We are continuing work on his first original song and the young writer is getting more comfortable suggesting lyrical ideas and modifying the chord progression.  He has also done a great job of mastering the lead guitar lick we came up with for the intro and I am glad to see that songwriting has inspired him to spend more time with his guitar.

I had Tuesday off and Michelle Lynn was back at Ghost in My House Studio continuing work on her new album Twisted Logic.  Adam Ptacek was over around lunch time and the three of us spent the next few hours rehearsing songs for the upcoming  shows on March 20th at the Root Note and Del's Bar on the 25th.  The more I get comfortable with the songs the more fun they are to play.  I have really been enjoying having the opportunity to play some drums for other musicians both live and in the studio as it improves my drumming and gives me a much needed new perspective on songwriting in general.

Tuesday night Joe Dawson and Jaran Carson were over for a quick Brahman Shaman rehearsal in preparation for our set at the Root Note on Saturday.  I am finally starting to feel comfortable with the trio and feel that we are definitely able to do the recorded versions of the songs justice.

Wednesday was spent working.  Thursday I had the day off again and managed to get my drum parts recorded for 8 of the songs on Michelle Lynn's new album.  Having recorded the guitar with a click track definitely this process go quicker, although it still took about 5 hours.  After that Michelle and Adam were over for another rehearsal.  Michelle has also been experimenting with the electric guitar and the handful of FX pedals I have available.

Friday I was up early and headed down to KDEC FM 100.5 studios in Decorah, IA for the weekly Artist Direct radio show.  I enjoyed talking with Jeni and Tim and also got a kick out of hearing both Pride and Holy Roller from the recently released Animist album on the radio.  I am going to try to get a copy of the show this week and will have it available online soon.  I worked the rest of the day Friday.  Friday night I headed down to the Bodega in LaCrosse, WI to play drums for Nick Shattuck from 9 to 1.  Nick always seems to draw a great crowd and this definitely makes the show more fun.

Saturday night I had the opportunity to participate in a fun show at the Root Note.  My good friend and local MC Hyphon opened the show with a great set, even performing our collaborative track "Have it Back".  The Brahman Shaman electric trio followed and I can honestly say I had the most fun I have had thus far performing as Brahman Shaman.  Driftless Music founder Adam Wiltgen was kind enough to grab some video of one the performance of Spoke of the Wheel, check it out here.  Michelle Lynn was the headliner and she played a great set that started with her playing solo-acoustic until Adam and I joined her on bass and drums about halfway through.  Adam got a video of a couple of songs available here and here and has also posted a new blog about the performance here.

Sunday was spent running errands, cleaning the house and just relaxing.

Weekly Update - March 8th - March 14th - Here Comes The Sun

This past week was both very busy and very enjoyable.  I had a great lesson with my Decorah student Monday. I am helping him write his first original song and it is really a lot of fun.  He has already come up with some great ideas for the rhythm of the progression and is playing the lead guitar part we came up with really well.  Hopefully we will get a little farther on the melody and lyrics next week.

Tuesday was my 5 year wedding anniversary, so besides working during the day I spent the evening with my wonderful wife.

Wednesday was spent working as well, however did get the chance to do another Brahman Shaman rehearsal with Jaran & Joe at Ghost in My House Studio for our upcoming debut gig as  a trio at the Root Note on March 20th w/ Michelle Lynn & Hyphon.  My song "Youth" from the recently released Animist double-album was featured on La Crosse's Z93.3 FM's Play it or Hate it radio program.  I was surprised to get enough votes for a "Play it" and was pretty fun to hear my song on the radio twice in one hour.  Also, really enjoyed hearing the snippets of people calling in and voting.

Thursday I spent most of the day helping Michelle Lynn record her new album, Twisted Logic, at Ghost in My House Studio.  Michelle was a quick study with the click and we spent the day recording rhythm guitar tracks and scratch vocals.  Thursday night Joe Dawson was in the studio to finalize overdubs for his 4 EP solo project, Moth Mountain.  We are hoping to get it mixed and available online in within the next couple of weeks.  Later Thursday night I enjoyed listening to Michelle Lynn on La Crosse's 95.7 The Rock Local Lixx radio program.  She did a great interview and they even spun our collaborative effort, Death By Fear, from her recently released album, Pre Echoes for the Post Modern.

Friday I got some time in the morning to experiment with the new compressor I got for the studio before  Michelle was back in the studio finishing up the the rhythm guitar tracks and scratch vocals on the 13 songs that will make up her upcoming release, Twisted Logic.  Her partner and my close friend Adam Ptacek (Rearview Mirror, Objective Subject) was over in the afternoon and we had a fun rehearsal as a three-piece. Hopefully we will get a few more of those in before the Root Note show on the 20th, where we will be playing a few songs together and Del's Bar on the 25th where we will be playing 10pm - 2am.

Saturday night my friend and amazing bass player Pat Longmire picked me up and we headed to Tomah to play with Nick Shattuck at the Gas Alley Pub.  We had a great time and really enjoyed performing as a three-piece.

Sunday I had another good lesson with local student.  He is getting his fingerings in order and we will be hitting some right-hand rhythm techniques harder in the next couple of weeks.

In other news Ghost in My House Studio is now fully operational and available for bookings at a flat rate of $20/hr for tracking, mixing and mastering.  Spring dates are already filling up so if you are interested in doing some recording just click here.

Audio Mastering - Dynamic Range Explained

What is audio-mastering, what does it do, is it necessary, and most importantly, why is audio-mastering important to an independent musician?  Before mastering my new double-album Animist, I spent a lot of time trying to answer these questions.

Simply put, audio-mastering makes your music louder.  In other words, mastering is the difference between the volume level of (insert any major commercially released album here) vs. the volume of the album you recorded on your laptop or 4-track recorder.  If you are not sure what I mean, just compare the volume of your favorite major label CD vs. the volume of a CD you recorded yourself.

Although the subject of mastering is much more complex than this, volume level is good place to start.  Volume, or how loud a CD sounds is directly tied to the dynamic range of the recorded audio.  Dynamic range is simply the range in decibels between the softest and loudest parts of a recording.  However, it is important to remember that dynamic range is measured in the aggregate, i.e the dynamic range of a particular recording is based on a collection of the peaks and valleys of the audio signal as opposed to anyone particular peak or valley.

For example:

Weekly Update - March 1st - March 7th - Spring is in the air

This past week was a very enjoyable one. The weather stayed consistently mild, alluding to the approaching spring.  I also had the chance to play music with a variety of people in a variety of ways which is my favorite thing to do.

Monday was spent working and scheduling conflicts prevented me from teaching my Decorah student.  Tuesday was also spent working, however I did have time to release a free Animist 5 Song Sampler.

Wednesday I had the day off and despite sleeping in a little longer than I had planned I had time to record a basic electric guitar track for one song and drums tracks for two new songs I am working on before I accompanied Michelle Lynn and Adam Ptacek to the Dave's guitar shop to help Michelle pick out her first electric.  She ended up picking out a cool Danelectro re-issue and I was so enamored with the guitar that I ended up buying one for myself.  After the shopping trip, the three of us headed back to Ghost in My House Studio and experimented playing a variety of new and old Michelle Lynn songs as a three-piece with Adam on bass and me on drums.  We had a blast and are looking forward to working up a good collection of songs to play together for some potential live shows.

Wednesday evening Jaran and Joe were over for another Brahman Shaman rehearsal.  This was a lot of fun as usual and now that we are starting to feel more comfortable with the ten songs we have been focusing on we may try to add some more songs at the next rehearsal.

It was back to work on Thursday but afterwards Joe Dawson came over and finalized another vocal track as well as laying down a 2nd guitar on one of the songs.  We also did some synth experimentation with a borrowed Roland Juno, but used up most of our time messing with the sounds.  I think there are only a couple more overdubs left before we can start mixing and hopefully the whole project will be done within a couple of weeks.

I had work off Friday and got a little time in the morning to work on some bass lines for a new song.  Michelle Lynn came over at 10am and we started work on the recording of her 4th album, Twisted Logic.  Michelle played through all the songs for me and we did a quick live recording of them for reference and to figure out tempos.  Michelle definitely seems more interested in tracking the songs with the click track this time which will make adding additional instrumentation that much easier.  In the afternoon Adam came over to the studio as well and the three of us spent an hour or two trying out some more of Michelle's songs as a three piece.

Saturday was mostly spent doing errands and chores around the house.  Saturday night I loaded up the drums and headed down to the Root Note to drum for Nick Shattuck's all ages CD release party.  Nick drew a great crowd and we pretty much just played the album from start to finish and had a good time doing it.  You can check out some of the videos of the performance by clicking here.

Sunday I had fun giving another guitar lesson and I find that it really helps to play drums with the student when we are focusing on rhythm aspects of guitar playing.

This coming week on Wednesday the song "Youth" from the recently released Animist double-album will be featured on Z93.3's "Play it or Hate it".  For more info click here.  This coming Saturday I will be heading to the Gas Alley Pub in Tomah, WI to drum for Nick Shattuck.

Until next time...

Weekly Update - February 22nd - 28th - Variety

This past week proved to be a musically diverse one and I can't help but enjoy the wide variety of musical adventures I get to have each week.

I worked Monday and taught a lesson to my Decorah student on my way home.  We started work on his first song with a basic progression.  After that we are planning to add some lead guitar licks to the intro and then we can start brainstorming vocal melodies.  The more I give lessons, the more I enjoy them.

Tuesday I worked and did not get much time for music besides some vocal practice in the car on my afternoon commute and some brief drumming when I got home.

Wednesday I had the day off and spent a good portion of the day working on a new song entitled "The Will of the People" that is slowly but surely coming together, although I am still struggling with the timing changes between the sections.  Wednesday evening was the second rehearsal with the full Brahman Shaman electric trio with Jaran Carson on drums and Joe Dawson on bass.  It has been a lot of fun to play with these guys.  We are just focusing on ten songs for now for our first official performance as the trio March 20th at the Root Note with Michelle Lynn & Hyphon.

Thursday I worked, but Joe Dawson was over at about 5 and finished up main vocal tracks for another of the 4 songs he is working, as well as adding more background vocals to "Of Devil's & Beasts".  The material is really starting to sound good as Joe has a really cool voice that blends nicely with some great chord progressions.  Hopefully a couple more sessions of tracking and we should be close to the mixing stage.   After Joe left I headed down to Del's to play drums for Nick Shattuck's "Chorus & Verse" CD release party.  The show was a lot of fun and the 4 hours of playing flew by much quicker than expected.  Having recorded and produced "Chorus & Verse" at Ghost in My House Studio it was pretty cool to see the finished product and I am definitely glad both Nick and his fans are digging the sound of the record.

I tried to sleep in Friday after a late night on Thursday, but couldn't make it much past 8AM.  Spent most of the day in Ghost in My House Studio doing more reorganizing and arranging of gear as well as doing some experiments that involve me singing and playing guitar while playing drums.  This proves to be very difficult but also very rewarding when you can get a good kick/hi-hat groove going.

Saturday was again mostly spent running errands and doing home improvement projects...  I also found out that "Youth", a Brahman Shaman song from the second disc of the recently released Animist double-album will be featured on La Crosse's own Z93.3 radio station as part of their weekly "Play it or Hate it" radio show.  I should have more info for you on that soon.

Sunday was mostly spent cleaning and relaxing before the next week.  However, I did teach a fun lesson around noon.

Until next time, check out www.brahmanshaman.com for the lastest news and upcoming shows!