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.
