MOVING

I have decided to move this blog to http://aaronwithtwoas.blogspot.com/

So if you are lucky enough to have this bookmarked, please change your bookmark to http://aaronwithtwoas.blogspot.com/

SATURDAY DRINKING

So Christine came in town from Vegas and all our high school chums got together. These photos were taken during our dinner at Cheddars in Garland. All photos have been retouched a bit and they are all JPG and RGB.

I have also thrown all the photos together in a zip file for everyone to steal. If you need help, follow the same instructions to download music on the right.

Beer drinking, happy smiling faces and the group shot.

ALBUM LISTENING REVIEWS (YEAR 1, SECTION 1):

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - FALL BE KIND

(Leak: 11/16/09, Digital release: 11/23/09)

At the time I thought it would be a great idea for me to write some reviews for music that I am into, to help explain to others what is in this music I like so much. I have given the release of 'Fall Be Kind' by the assemble, Animal Collective a listen for a week and think it is a good time to review the album. It took me maybe a couple of years to truly understand their music. Watching youtube videos of these guys perform in 2003 or 04 when they were very young and they seem to perform their music at such an extreme level of quality.

This is me comparing the music to their earlier work and how they have always been great. I listened to every piece of music that they have ever recorded, to some extent. I have found that their catalog is perfect on every album, but I found this out in somewhat of a backwards pattern. First I started out with 'Feels', but I never really got into their music for a while then 'Strawberry Jam' was released and I worked with a guy who told me about some new blogs to visit. I really should get in touch with that guy.

This album was accidentally found on Amazon a couple of month ago, or maybe just a month ago. But I read on Pitchfork.com how David confirmed a new release and we would be seeing it very soon. They said the title of the EP was a play on the season fall and talked about how they enjoy the changing of the seasons so much.

The next album I would love if they put out an album of covers of their older songs that they are reinventing currently in concert. Like 'Leaf House', ' Who Could Win a Rabbit', 'Chocolate Girl', 'Infant Dressing Table', 'We Tigers' and 'Hey Light'

GRAZE: So this is the infamous 'Grace' or even to the early listeners 'Pan Flute Jam'. I think this piece works well as an intro. I feels and reminds me of their last opener off of 'MPP' album.. it leads the listener into their collection of songs for us. I love how theirs songs can be divided into sections of three parts or more or less. It also feels like it is a combination of the two previous songs with a transition bridge in between the songs. Very clever way to fit more than one song, into one song for this "it seems super short because the tracks aren't long enough" EP of five songs.

I like the in and outs in this track, how the low bass sounds crescendo and loop to recreate a nice flowing pattern. Then the song transitions into 'Pan Flute Jam'. This portion screams Panda Bear (in a good way). Sorry I am a bigger fan of the early Panda Bear material like his self titled, but this is probably because they were... could I say, percussive-heavy apposed to his more sample heavy. I recently discovered that that the sample is borrowed from master flutist Gheorghe Zamfir track Ardeleana.

This track also is a nice balance of both vocalist and both style of each vocalist. They both have strong distinct style to their vocals and style of music their vocals work with best. I think they do a very good job when they blend their style together and also when they separate their style completely.

I would suggest listening to the rest of the songs before scrolling down and spoiling the comments on the following song. That is just rude.

WHAT WOULD I WANT, SKY?: The song was once known by the title 'Blue Sky'. This song has a nice intro portion to it blending into the Grateful Dead sample. It has Jerry singing '...sky' and 'What would I want'.. Avey starts to sing over this sample as it loops and warps into a very different song, the sample gets louder and becomes more prominent during the chorus.

This song has a great first portion to it.. it starts out as a very different song than what it ends in. Long transition here. This is what an experience of one of their current concerts feels like.. one thing I know that Kristin didn't like about the concert was the long transitions.. but I loved them.

...sky. What would I want?

The sample clicks in at 3:12. The sample is taken from the Grateful Dead song 'Unbroken Chain'.

BLEEDING: Very first thing here.. you have to start to listen to the vocals here. All those red moments?... But then.. but I also like include? Red moments?

This has to be Avey modifying his vocals again or possibly someone else kind of talking or creating heavily effected vocals through the mic.

This was first known as 'Bleed', then it became a live b-side on the 'Brother Sport' Single release. I finally had more of an understanding of this song, just tonight.. as I am wrote this blog entry. This song at first felt out of place in the collection of songs but now it felts like the great divide right in the middle of the EP. The vocals became more prominent and I was able to understand what they were saying better. This track has a great duel/duet on the vocals back and forth between David and Noah. This is an example of how Avey and Panda's styles are able to blend well.

ON A HIGHWAY: I just got decided to put my headphones on.

I enjoy how this song starts out sounding as if it was recorded on the side of a highway.. you can hear the wind and you can hear the cars passing. Maybe they recorded this sound as they were driving down the highway out of a window? Even if this isn't how they are recording the sound.. that sure does sound like a good idea. I love to record a sound and some people are not be able to understand or tell how I created it.

Now I have heard this song before in its entirety on the collection of songs from their BBC Session back in 2007. I became very familiar to this song as I found out that it was going to be on their new EP. I had heard that it was in this sessions and I had the session on my computer, but it honestly was a song I had maybe listened to once or twice before.

They did a great job on the background effects that fluctuate through the track.

This song reminds me of lyrics I had once written about being riding the backseat of a car and letting my mind wandering.

ONNNNNNN AAAAAAAAAAA! This was the first song I like a lot after my first listen of the EP. I think the length of the track is perfect. It isn't too long.. ooor too short.

I THINK I CAN: This song is one I had no idea it was coming. This was the second track that grew on me. I love the style of the track.. it sounds very tribal and empowering. I love the percussive moments, the breaks in between and the builds back into the percussive portions.

This song also has a very necessary length to it. It seems to capture the song in the 'long to most people' seven minutes.

It turns into a Panda Bearish track. Also the lyrics "I think I can" don't come in until very late in the song.

I think I can let you enjoy the rest of the the track now.



The Album Listening Review Section began as an idea for me to write reviews for albums I am currently listening to and will hopefully branch out into new and old albums as soon as I get the courage to write another review.

BLABBERMOUTH

Here are a collection of songs that I wrote between the months of April to June on my laptop. I am very satisfied of all of these songs.. they have been reworked quite a bit from the original recordings and they are the first collection of songs that I have finished that were created on my computer opposed to the MR-8. 'Control Myself' is one of my Brother Songs that I played with and layered adding instrumental effects to. 'Sunkissed Baby Tomato Plants' and 'Saturday, Maurice Built My Father's Fence' were created using no guitar and mainly consisting of keyboards.

Enjoy Blabbermouth (Click to DL)
Personal Favorite: The First Haughting in Months

NOTE: This file is a zip file, so if you need any help downloading and playing this song I have added instructions under my Status Report at the right of the screen.

NEW CAMERA!

My brand spanking new camera arrived on Monday, just as I got home. I saw the UPS truck as I parked and the delivery guy was literally waiting at my door with my big bundle.

Enjoy these photos Kristin and I took in the first two days that we have had the camera. The last one is the cover the Dallas AG Passbook that I designed.

DAYS OFFF

It has been one too many days since I have posted anything on here.. well I haven't done too much recording since the last ones I posted. Recently I was thinking pretty seriously on purchasing the Axoim Pro 49 keyboard to bump up my music writing experience, but at a price of $4-5 hundred, it would set me back. So that is on hold, because I had to throw down $400 on my fucking car window that wouldn't roll up and also I finally purchased a DSLR. It was the same day I had to get my car window fixed. I was complaining a lot and thought I would never have enough money on the side for a camera. So I just bought the thing. It is a Nikon D3000 with an extra lens and lots of small stuff that came in a bundle.

So I bought the camera over the keyboard because it is time to get a camera already and we have been without one for way too long. I would love to buy the keyboard as well, but I can keep buying smaller music things to keep me growing a musician in the mean time.

Once I get the camera in, I will start posting up photos and whatnot. I plan on taking some much needed days off from my job to work on putting up a website with my work, music and photos I plan on taking.

Tonight I played the acoustic a bit and my fingers hurt! It has also been awhile since I picked up the guitar.. I am mad at myself. Been busy with other stuff and very busy at work that I just wanna come home and not do too much. Plus I got digital cable, since they caught me getting extended cable for free. They are bad excuses and I gotta play more. Gotta break those fingers back in again tho.

I plan on doing some recording this weekend so hopefully I will have some new songs uploaded soon.

FALLING

So I got a lot accomplished today.. besides freaking out that I mailed a ticket off with the postage stamp 2 cents below postage (long story). I watered my freezing plants, worked on a chalk drawing and created a song on the MR-8, which I split in four parts.

Falling is me attempting to play keyboard on multiple tracks with all my peals hooked up to the MR-8. Not a whole lot of singing in these songs.. more of me just trying to work the distortion pedal in and out of sequences of made up rhythms. Most feature heavy reverb and some tracks feature heavy tremolo.

Enjoy
Falling (Click to DL)
Personal Favorite: Mom Gave Me a Comforter for College

NOTE: This file is a zip file, so if you need any help downloading and playing this song I have added instructions under my Status Report at the right of the screen.

RAINBOAT

Friday I picked up my new pedal at the post office.. that night I put together a new song with the new reverb/delay pedal. I paired it up with another song that I had created earlier that week.


I am still in need of a camera, so I just took a photo with my cellphone. The gray pedal on my floor is my used RV-3 pedal from eBay I just received in the mail. Today I want to take it into Guitar Center and see if they can test it to see how well it is working.. I think I hear a slight buzz with the pedal, but with my inexperience I am not sure if this is normal or not.

Once again.. these songs are not for everyone, as they are both experimental and mainly composed of first attempts at some new techniques. The first track is mainly techniques using the glass slide on the electric and the second track is composed of using the RV-3 for vocals and acoustic guitar with rhythms of hand clapping and leg slapping.

Enjoy Rainboat (Click to DL)
Personal Favorite: Rain

NOTE: This file is a zip file, so if you need any help downloading and playing this song I have added instructions under my Status Report at the right of the screen.

HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND

I recently came across this CD, I played Bari Sax in the 2nd jazz band during high school. This is for my homies. Memories.

Naaman Forest High School 2nd Annual Evening of Jazz (Click to download)

NOTE: If you need any help downloading and playing this song I have added instructions under my Status Report at the right of the screen.

PERSONAL RANTS, PART 1: WEATHER, CLOTHES, THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, AND MY NEW OBSESSION WITH PEDALS

It is cold again. Winter time is coming too soon. The trees will soon start to loose their leaves.. I be able to see the parking lot through the trees off our patio. I will be able to see people on the other side and people will be able to see me. I enjoy the privacy on my patio.. I love being able to open all my windows and not worry about people able to see in. Being on the third floor I have less of a chance of getting robbed also. Both of these are important qualities I look for in an apartment.

It makes me feel like we are living in our own house and I can turn up the music as loud as I want. Being used to keeping my music at a low volume because of my job, I forget how nice it is to turn up. Don't get me wrong, I like that I can listen to any music I want all day long in my own office, but it is just that I really forget how nice it is to listen to whatever you want as loud as you want. I even rearranged the furniture in my living area tonight and played music through the speakers of my surround sound in the living area while I did this to have a more enjoyable experience. Soon enough we will be living in our own house with our more than one bedrooms enjoying our privacy sooner than we think.

It also has been raining a lot lately as well as all night tonight and been an overall crummy day out today. All this rain lately makes me want to stay indoors. This is why I am not a big fan of the colder seasons and more of the warmer seasons. I can take sweating any day over not having a jacket and being without.

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It is time to purchase a new coat. Kristin tells me that one of the jackets I wear pretty often, is in need of being replaced. I know this, but I still keep wearing the jacket pretty occasionally because I like that jacket. I think the jacket represents me in a positive way. I would like to get some new shoes too though. I have gotten to the point where I just wear the same pair of shoes everyday to work. Bad idea. Only because it isn't good for your feet to do this. I am very much considering purchasing these Asics soon. As soon as my next paycheck is in, this will be my next large purchase after I pay the bills.

UPDATE: Purchased shoes and waiting for the them to arrive.

I have also started wearing solid color shirts from now on. At one time I bought a lot of graphic tees, but I am over that phase. When I wear solid colors it makes me feel good.. besides, I see the same people everyday and they don't give a shit what I wear.

(I go the the fridge to get a fresh new beer. A Shiner Commemorator. I think about I am low on these already even though I just stocked up on these to save one lucky bottle, after finding out that they will stop producing this anniversary beer at the end of the year.)

It is a good feeling to open a bottle and you don't have to use a bottle opener. That means your beer is local. You can open the beer without denting the beautiful cap that comes atop it. That's right, I collect bottle caps.. I don't keep them anywhere important (they are stored in a huge Cheeto's knock-off container above the water heater), but I have big plans for them. I also have big plans for all my records I purchase.. even though I do not have a working record player at the moment. I plan on building tiny shelves for all them display over the entire wall, as soon as I get an nicer, permanent place.

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So it is October and I have now worked at my job for two years now. It certainly doesn't feel like I have been working there that long. I remember when I first got this job, it was right before I visited Charles in Denton and he had a huge Halloween part at his house. Of course I dressed like Shaggy. Just put on a green shirt and brown corduroys. But there was another guy who dressed like Shaggy, but he had gone and purchased a Shaggy outfit from a costume store. He did not have the real Shaggy haircut, like I had at the time. Nor did he have goatee going on as well as I did. He was wearing a fake goatee from his costume supplies. Kristin does a good Velma.

Anyhow, recently I started working on a new passbook that they need done by the end of the month. I spend all Friday working on concepts, I showed some to Jason. He would says that they are hip, now and modern. But we both know that these are these concept ideas and that they will never make it to the printer. I am working with blue this year. I like this idea. I like how we have come to call each of our books the black book, white book and hopefully blue book.

So I am the lucky owner of a slightly used RV-3 pedal. This is a reverb pedal, but it also has channels of reverb and delay. It is the only time in the reverb series that they combined the two features on one pedal. I heard this pedal is totally worth it and is not a disappointment. I almost got pedal-happy there though.. I looked at pedals on Craigslist and found a FDR-1: Fender Deluxe Reverb pedal, which I heard is not so much a winner. I had tried to talk the guy down to $65 from $80, but no luck. And I pretty much lead the guy on until thinking about it for awhile and deciding that I could be using that $80 on something much more needed, like a RC2: Looping Station. If I can get this pedal for a great deal like I got my new RV-3 I am jumping at that deal too.

Xmas is also coming soon. This is time of year when end up spending more money. I like the idea that my parents had last year with, only one gift for each person. This works out well because not only are you saving money but you have thing think pretty hard to find that one thing you will get them. Also another good route is to have a Secret Santa with liquor store variety.

I have recently started trying a new Whiskey called Old Grand-Dad Whiskey. So far I like it well. Taste like whiskey and it is a little higher in proof than Jim Bean. One of the guys at the liquor store told me that it was the whiskey that Billy Bob Thorton drank in Bad Santa. He also said that most people don't like the bottle because of the label. I like the label and it was one of the things that caught by eye.. besides the fact that it was the same price for the same volume on a higher shelf with a higher proof. It has an orange label on it and has an old timey look to it. One Diet Old Grand Dad's tonight and one Shiner Commemorator. Kristin will be home soon and she got me enchiladas.

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I am inspired to write this personal rant because of Carey Mercer and his blog entry of his childhood on his blog 'Clouds of Evil'.

I am sure no one has heard of Carey Mercer before or of the band Frog Eyes and solo work under the moniker Blackout Beach. If you have heard of him, let me know. Anyways, I found his blog about half a year ago, through some indie blogs and being a new fan of his music.. but then all the sudden one day I checked and for some reason and it was marked as private and I could not read it.

Well tonight I decided to try his blog again and it wasn't private anymore, so I read some very interesting stories he had written. Besides being a genius at songwriting and playing, he is a very interesting writer as well. I read a story about how over a long period of time he became a musician. It begins with 'Why did I start playing music?' and goes into a long three part series of entries describing his childhood, teenage years and how him and the guitar have become great friends.

Click here to read the first entry of this life story of 'Clouds of Evil' entry entitled 'Selected Memoirs, Part 1: Origins, Kurt, Pork Chops, "The Blazer', Straight-Edge and the end of Striaght-Edge Emotional Music' here

Aa