Yeah, I turn MATH this year... According to "Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy"

(You'll get the joke if you read the book!)

Yeah, I turn MATH this year! Yes, I turn 42 on this day, July 3rd/2020! So, what does that mean... fuck I had a lot of plans for this year... there were a lot of things I wanted to achieve... some of them I achieved; I released my 9th album "Databomb" this year! I released it despite the current circumstances... I mean, you know, I know, we all know the current situation the world is facing right now. I think everybody was dealt a pretty heavy blow this year... All of us having to self-isolate or social-distance to some degree, due to a world pandemic. I'm not gonna get too into the political situation in our neighbors to the south of Canada, but yeah... that's not looking good. Then the recent protests and riots surrounding the killing of George Floyd by police officers in the States. A very important issue surrounding systemic racism. Like I said, not gonna get into the dire political situation down there... but I mean anyone following current events or even connected on social media, fucking knows what's going on... all while there is still a pandemic with no vaccine. And then the current issues going on in our own country, and even our own province here in Canada. A lot of worrying situations.

("Databomb" was released, May 1st/2020)

Despite all of this shit, I'm remaining positive! Initially, when I was getting prepared to release "Databomb" I wanted to play live shows (in person) at local venues and beyond, but everything changed, and I was forced to do live streams in place of the live in-person shows. I did a series of those, up until the album release. I also did a bunch of experimental videos of the songs off the album, released some of them before the album release, and some after. Also, did a making of "Databomb" documentary style video, and did a series of "Meaning of" videos for each of the songs off the album! We, or well... I  was very productive! We also did some special stuff for the live stream performances as well, that if you didn't tune into them, you will have missed them... and I don't know if I'll ever make these "Digital Quarantine Packages" available ever again. I also ended up pairing down my performance rig, to something more portable, that is easily transportable, as well as easily set-up and torn down really quickly... like were talking 10 minutes for set-up and likely 5 minutes for tear down. I ended up replacing my old failing laptop with a new laptop, and purchasing a relatively small MIDI Keyboard of sorts, for live shows, as well as another piece that, will make it really easy for someone new to come in and play drums, even if they've had very little experience doing it!

Course there was some fallout this year, my guitar decided it was done working for good, and right when I was starting a music challenge... but that situation was remedied. I honestly don't know if I'll ever replace it... I might, we'll see... I also had a video camera mishap, and I managed to ruin my video camera, but that situation is getting remedied as we speak!

So, where are we here... it's my birthday, and I'm still hesitant about really committing to live streams... although, there is something in the works for sometime in July, but I can't get into too many details as it's not confirmed yet. Will I do live streams for now? I really don't know, I think for now, if I'm invited to be a part of a live stream show, then it is likely that I'll do it, but right now... I'm not quite ready to commit. I kinda want to see where things go, and when I have a better idea of what this whole situation is gonna look like, then I'll decide what is right!

(Lot's of inspiration out there these days)

There are other goals and plans I had for this year... some of them I've almost achieved, what they are... I can't say yet! You are just gonna have to wait for those... but I'm sure you'll be nicely surprised! There are also some things I wasn't planning on doing this year, but because of this period of self-isolation, I decided to do them and kind of expand my knowledge... I did do an Audio Mixing Bootcamp online course... some of you may have seen my post in the recent last little while regarding that. I've also done a Mastering Audio course as well! Why? I have the time now, to do these things, and it was something I was gonna do at some point in the future, but I thought now would be the perfect time. 

Keeping a mind occupied during these times is really important for mental health as well, as some of you may have come to learn during this pandemic. We can't be out and about, and this is especially important if you are single, and living on your own. Sometimes your mind wanders or thinks, or even overthinks things, or you start to regurgitate things that have happened in the past, or whatever... Keeping your mind occupied, and learning new things certainly helps with mindset, and mental health! At least it is for me!

(Despite the circumstances, Terminus did happen, but as a live stream festival)

One big thing that isn't happening this year, that has been tradition for me, is the Terminus Festival, I mean every fucking show or fest here and everywhere has been cancelled, or postponed to the following year. I will be honest though, I wasn't planning on going to the fest this year, as quite frankly the money that I was going to spend on going to the fest, I decided to spend on my own musical endeavor and purchase a new laptop... yeah, sometimes you have to make those sacrifices... for me it was well worth it, even if live shows aren't a thing right now, at least I've been able to utilize it for the live streams I have been doing! I will say though, I'm really missing the community... and being able to hang out with goth/rivethead types. I miss the shows, local bands, or larger bands that roll through here on tour! I miss being able to have conversations with like-minded people about music, as a general fan, or even discussing music gear, or just general inspiring conversations! I miss being inspired by live bands and such too! I will say though Terminus Fest did kind of happen, as most of you know, it was a live stream Fest rather than an in-person fest... So, I did attend most of that in the comfort of me own living room.

(Balzac "A Dark Affair"; Currently at the top of my list of favorite coffees)

I guess another thing that happened this year, I realized I love coffee... I mean if you've seen my Instagram account, I post a lot of photos of me in my studio, with a very large cup of coffee! I will be honest, I've become a bit of a snob when it comes to coffee, and quite frankly... why would I drink shit coffee if I don't have to?? I'm not sure where I would rank on the amount of different coffee I've had, but I'm always looking for a good, or an amazing cup of coffee... I'll list some of the stuff I've tried here: Starbucks (various types, this is my go to when there is nothing else available, and I drink this pretty much everyday, brewed in my own coffee machine), Van Houtte (can't quite recall exactly what types I've had... but I haven't had any of it since the first couple of bags), I've also had Kicking Horse (If I'm not mistaken, I've tried almost every type of ground coffee they offer... really excellent stuff, but I think I've found something better...), Balzac Coffee (I had my first and only bag a few weeks ago, the stuff I tried is amazing, and I do intend on drinking more of it in the future), I've also tried Phil & Sebastian as well (not sure exactly what type, but it was decent... I also received a bag of it from family friends for my Birthday, which I plan on brewing my first cup of it this weekend)! I've also had shit coffee too, but that stuff isn't important... just thought I would mention, I didn't go straight to the good or recommended stuff, in the beginning of this endeavor... there was a lot of garbage coffee, some of it I had to throw out, cause it was absolutely garbage.

(Reward for meeting my health goals!)

There were some other things too, last year... I decided I needed to do something about my overall health (mental, physical), and I joined a program called: Healthy Transformations... long story short, I was there more for health reasons than anything, but the plus side to it, was that I lost a lot of weight, and I'm back down to my ideal weight (when I was younger; around 170-180lbs). I also found that this diet (it really is a lifestyle, you eat this way for the rest of your life), really helped with my mental health, I feel a lot more clear headed. As a reward, for reaching my goal, I ended up getting a tattoo on my stomach of a special kind of ant, kind of as a way of not letting myself ever get that unhealthy or overweight ever again (no one, or well... at least, I don't want the tattoo look like shit cause of the stomach stretching cause of being overweight, and then returning to a my ideal range... and then the tattoo looks all stretched and warped)... it's a way for me to maintain my health! I also don't really drink beer anymore... my drink of choice now, when I want to celebrate, is gin with sparkling water.

There were a couple of other things that have happened in this last year, first I made a trip to a city that I've always wanted to live in (for the first time), and it met and exceeded every expectation I had, and I still want to live there! I initially went there to attend a synthesizer expo of sorts... it was a quick little trip, but as I stated, I still want to live there! The week after this trip, I also attended an Electronic Music Conference here for a day... my whole reason for attending was to see a well renowned audio engineer in the industrial music scene give a talk, Dave "Rave" Ogilvie! I had some questions for him, but I didn't even have to ask... he answered them. There were all kinds of other talks that various other speakers that I attended that day, but I was specifically there, for Mr. Ogilvie!

I guess the last piece here is, the last couple of years for Christmas, I've been doing 1 page comics, as a kind of a prequel to a larger story that has been in development for a looooong time! I intend on carrying on with these prequels until the long-format comic is done! I may not have mentioned that to some of you folks, but that is what the plan is... when will the long-format first issue comic be released..? Can't say yet, it's taking a little longer than expected, but... it will get done!!

So, that is what this last year has been, I've got plans for this coming year as well... but you are gonna have to wait and see what those plans and things are all about! As stated above, there will likely be some live streams happening! Something is definitely in the works for sometime in July, but as I said, it's not quite confirmed yet. All the plans really depend on what happens with the pandemic, whether there is a vaccine developed, and if one is, how soon we can be out and about again? Whatever happens, we will be adjusting to the circumstances!

(Your Canadian Goth/Rivethead)

Saying goodbye to 41 and hello MATH (42)!! And, if you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor, read "Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy", you will not regret it!!

P.S.: Twitch also turned 21 this year, as of July 1st! I mean we celebrated the 20th anniversary last year with a retrospective here, but I can't believe we've been doing it for this long now!

Mixing Tests: The Inconsistency of The Various Audio Players

(Ye, old Trippingonacable Studios circa: 2001 - 2004, Calgary, AB, Canada)

Ye, so once again we are doing mixing tests, and the one thing we are noticing is the inconsistency of the various audio players. I mean that shit is fairly obvious, but ultimately quite annoying when you are trying to get somewhat of an idea of what your track sounds like when they are mixed down and rendered. I guess it's just annoying, when mixing a track down to a WAV and then playing it, in an audio player, like iTunes or the Windows Media Player, there are soo many goddamn inconsistencies in the audio (between the various audio players)... you begin to wonder, or at least for me, I wonder what exactly needs to be fixed in the track... even in iTunes... the EQ feature they have, fucks up the audio too... so you're not getting a very accurate picture of what needs to be fixed in the mixes.

The solution for me, for this issue..? First, turn off any EQing that the audio player inserts while playing the track (once again I know this is obvious, but some people may not be aware). Second, most music that is distributed online is via streaming platforms, like iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, etc... When mixing and mastering, I keep those platforms in mind. I will also say, as a tip: at least I've found, get the WAV file or whatever lossless audio format you are rendering to, to sound the best that it can, I've found once the WAV file sounds good, then rendering down to a MP3 things generally sound good!

There's also the tip of: listening to the rendered mix on various audio systems, like computer speakers, earbuds (on your iOS device), and maybe even in a vehicle sound system, much like they would in the past... to get somewhat of an idea of what your mix will sound like... you want to make sure that the audio is fairly consistent on all those systems!

I realize some of these tips are obvious, but in the past I wouldn't really think about this kind of stuff, and just kind of get an idea with just my monitors... it wasn't until recently, in the last few years that I've actually really started to listen to the mixes on various systems... to get a better idea of how everything sounds, and to make sure everything is fairly consistent across all those systems!

The overall feeling of these mixing sessions: things are going well with these mixing tests! I'm very happy with the way things are coming out, and progressing... and I'm learning a lot! I can't wait to utilize these new found skills in upcoming audio productions and endeavors!! As I already stated in a previous blog, things are really starting to make sense... and rather thinking of this as a science, ultimately it really is subjective, and you kinda got to keep in mind what you are going for in the mixing process, and make sure that all the tracks on whatever album or EP or whatever you're working on have a consistent mix between all the tracks on said album or EP!

P.S.: The image included in this blog is of Trippingonacable Studios, circa: 2001 - 2004, in Calgary, AB, Canada. We have come a long way since then. This was the first iteration of Trippingonacable Studios. We were using a custom PC with a Soundblaster sound card, Impulse Tracker (sequencing software), and eventually Jeskola Buzz Tracker (another sequencing software, but with inbuilt synths and all that kind of shit), combined with a Tascam Portastudio 414 (used as a mixer with audio connected into the sound card, so we could capture guitar samples. As well, we would bounce the audio down from Impulse Tracker to the Portastudio, do vocals on the Portastudio, then send them back into the computer as completed songs, and render them as WAV files or MP3s), as well as a shitty guitar, and a Samson Q mic. My monitoring was done on computer speakers with no sub-woofer. Lot's of fun in the old days, had no idea what the fuck I was doing, but as time has passed, obviously have gained a lot more experience, and I think better mixes of tracks and better songs!

The Joy that is "Life Is Peachy" by Korn

So, yeah... I do realize this album is probably their most angry album, but I will say... this album... every fucking song on it is solid!! I don't think there is one song I don't like, and listening to it lately... really enjoying it!! I do think their first "self-titled" release is probably their strongest, but there are a couple of songs on it that I feel are kind of filler. With "Life Is Peachy", absolutely every fucking song is solid! The other thing I like about this album, is that... it seems every fucking song runs into the next one, and it feels like a very consistent record between the tracks. Everything seems to fit together nicely! I'm not sure why the songs were placed the way they were on the album, but it feels very natural! Even the quality of the mixes and mastering, and the general quality of the audio is excellent as well! I feel it is very clear!

The track list is excellent; when "Twist" kicks in and it kind of sets the tone of the album... then "Chi" kicks in immediately after... there's all these weird sounds on the tracks, weird noises and shit... which have been created with guitars. Personally, I think it's awesome! I will say from a sound perspective, I find this album... well noisy, but not in the white noise sense, I find it noisy in the sense that there is a lot of interesting distortion on the guitars and as already stated, the weird noises and shit! It feels very crunchy I guess! Even the vocals, Jonathan Davis' vocals seem to have some kind of distortion on them, likely they're not, but there definitely a nice crunch to them (it could actually be the choice of mic they used for the recording of the vocals). I will also say, even though I found this album noisy, everything seems to cut through in the mixes... which to me makes this album even more interesting cause, despite the noise, everything seems to fit in place and makes the overall sound of the album better!!

As most of you know, Korn is a huge influence for Twitch! And, I love going back to these earlier releases and really just listening and not only just enjoying the album, cause of the sound quality of the mixes, but finding inspiration within these tracks and applying some of this to my own endeavor!! There's also a lot of memories associated with these albums, a time and place of where I was at and my first time actually listening to this album. I think when I first heard this, I was in my first band Adam Hates You! at the time... and I remember seeing the music video for the song "A.D.I.D.A.S", it was fucked... seeing the band in a morgue and writhing around and all that kind of shit... it's kind of funny, cause that song is about well, their use of the acronym is: All Day I Dream About Sex... and the video is of them in a morgue. If I'm not mistaken, that was the only song off that album, that saw a music video treatment, but such a great song!!

Even though their first "Self-titled' release was explosive from the get go, this album seems more focused and refined in the sound! Yet, still explosive!

I will say here; outside of the genre nu-metal... I don't really listen to any other metal genre... unless we are talking about industrial metal... then that is whole other beast (Fear Factory anyone?). I will be honest here, I was tempted to put something in here about sound design, but out of all honesty, I think most metal bands, don't really do a lot of sound design type stuff (unless there is major use of synthesizers; ie: Industrial Metal)... I will say though, there is a certain quality of sound here... not necessarily sound design aspects, but certainly in the way the album was recorded, mixed, and mastered!

Love this album... and I will say, out of all honesty I think my favorite tracks off this album are "A.D.I.D.A.S." and "Wicked"!

What do you folks think of this album?

P.S.: Hey we released a new album called "Databomb", you can download it here!

Mixing Tests: Subjectivity...

(Ye, things are going well!!)

Well, today's mixing test went well!! I'm starting to get a feel for doing all this mixing, and things are starting to make sense! If you've done any mixing of music or audio, you would know the process is subjective, but if you keep in mind what you are going for with your audio, between tracks... then at least I'm finding things make sense and really fit together! I will be honest, for previous audio efforts, and albums, the mixing process was really experimental for me, and stuff that I would do in the mixes would really be stuff that I've picked up from various videos and tutorials on the internet (especially YouTube)... but after doing this audio mixing bootcamp, initially I was feeling a little directionless, cause I wasn't sure what to do... but things started to make sense, after kind of deciding, what exactly I wanted my mixes to sound like, and after a lot of trial and error, and kind of working with the audio that I have/had... and then being consistent with that mixing decision through all the mixes for this testing! Also, a little query here and there from various friends with how they do their audio mixes... and also keeping in mind what I want the end result to sound like after the mastering process (if the mixes need anything in the end)!

I'm very satisfied with where things are going, there's been lot's of learning, in the beginning of my music endeavor, I really didn't have any idea what I wanted my mixes for my previous albums to sound like, and as the years passed and picking up tips here and there, for a while, I thought there was kind of science to it, but ultimately there isn't... as stated above mixing is subjective, and it really is up to the mix/audio engineers ears and what they want the final mixes to sound like, while keeping in mind what a band or artist kinda has in mind for the mixes as well. 

I would say, things are going well!

Mixing Tests: Ear Fatigue?

(Ear Fatigue?)

Ok, so there is definitely a debate whether ear fatigue is real or not. Quite frankly, I don't know... I listen to music everyday, there really is no quiet time for me (except for when I meditate), I pretty much have something going on in the background all day, every day... and when I'm writing, typically in the past I would write/record and constantly be listening to sections of the track and then sometimes the full track, to hear how it all fits together.

When I think about ear fatigue, quite frankly, that is the one thing that we ultimately can't get away from... sound, if there is wind, rustling leaves, cars going by, fans, buzzing of fridges or microwaves, people, sirens (depending on where you live), we can't actually turn off our ears (even meditating, there is some noise outside that ultimately our ears can't block). So do we actually experience ear fatigue? Being that we can't really turn off our ears... there is no silence (maybe unless you are in outer space, but that might be a discussion for another time). I will tell you though, during these mixing tests, I find actually stepping away and not listening to the audio for like 5 to 10 minutes, and then coming back to it, helps. Now, I wouldn't equate that to ear fatigue necessarily, I would more equate that as stepping away, and then coming back to it with a fresh mindset.

What are your thoughts? When you mix, do you feel you get ear fatigue? Or do you feel ear fatigue is not real?

Mixing Tests... Monitor Placement!

(Mixing Tests...)

So, I'm doing these mixing tests... you know, more as something to learn and... I'm realizing why it's very important to have your desk, and monitor placement correct... The unfortunate part in all of this, is that I don't really have the space to setup my studio, the way it should be setup, and I don't really have the room to add a couple of monitor stands to my studio either... buuuut, I know I should at least raise the monitors on my desk so they are level with my ears, cause quite frankly, I realize that I'm not hearing things properly, and I'm finding I bend over a lot so that I can actually get an idea of the "true" sound that is coming out of my monitors... gotta find a way to raise them on my desk. I know that isn't the best or perfect solution, but at least it will do in the interim, until I can setup my studio the way, or very close to the way it should be.

Any of you folks know of an affordable way to raise studio monitors on your desk?

Studio Diary: Night... Structure?

(Night... Structure?)

Yep, today's session (June 9/2020) was excellent! Very productive, got everything done at around the 8:30pm mark! Today's track was, once again a lot of fun to make! This whole process has been a lot of fun, and I'm really enjoying the new things I'm learning, and new ways I'm doing things! 

It's very exciting, and I will say this again I love working with my synth pretty much exclusively for this challenge! Moving forward... for future albums, I'm exclusively gonna be using my hardware synths (Yamaha EX7, and DX100) for all sound creation, outside of guitars!

I will say this again too, even though I don't really have the luxury of time, and once I'm done writing one album, I should move on to the next... I will say, I'm glad I did take the time away from writing/recording for the length that I did (10ish months). The sound design and programming is vastly different than what I had initially envisioned, and I think this album will be better for it! I will also say, even though I don't like the isolation, it has truly been an inspiration! After a certain point of this period of self-isolation, my ideas and thoughts around what I was gonna do for this has changed... and like I said, I think this is better because of it!

I've also got a lot of new ideas for performance aspects and the live show and all that kind of stuff! When this challenge comes to a close, the way I do things musically, will be vastly different from what I normally would have done things! The one thing that is sticking in my mind? Get the ideas out, as they come out!! Personally, I feel the songs are better off this way... and is waaaay more natural, than sitting for hours deliberating on things that ultimately don't matter in the communication of the song!

Sooo much inspiration out there! So much to do, so much to learn! Loving every minute of this!!