Well, after writing to Rachel Ries to ask her what she used for recording her demo, and a couple days of research and agonizing, I ended up getting a USB pre-amp and mic so I could record stuff in Garage Band. AND I AM SO HAPPY WITH MY PURCHASE!!! The difference in sound between the little mic built in to the laptop and this new one... wow. I mean, duh really, but I AM impressed at how well the built in mic works and what it can pick up, but yeah. I was a little worried because this mic was thrown in for free with the pre-amp thing (It's a box that has inputs for mics and guitars and such, and also apparently outputs for speakers and headphones.) The original price for the mic on it's own was supposed to be $150, the site was selling it for $119, but for like 95 cents along with the pre-amp. It's like night and day! wow. I was so excited to get something that I threw a song up on MySpace, even though it could use some more work.
You can check it out here: http://www.myspace.com/purplemoor It's called "So Far Away" and I wrote it after too short reunion with my girlfriends from college, and I was so wishing we all lived in the same town again, rather than scattered all over the country, but it really applies to any and all of my long-distance friends and fam. (I'm still holding out for those Star Trek transporters... They've invented so many other things from that show for reals - cell phones and such... hrm. anyhoo. tangent) I'll work on it more. I also downloaded a music converter thing so I can easily switch from the GarageBand format to easier to share mp3.
It's incredibly freeing to be able to just record stuff without needing help from anyone. Not that I wouldn't LOVE to collaborate and probably fall over my feet to work with just about anyone who halfway knew what they were doing, but I'm not that brave about asking people to do such things. I'm actually rather amazed I even asked Rachel about what she used at all. Go me. Baby steps. This MySpace thing is also a VERY soft way to try my stuff out on people "out in the world"... without having to face them directly right off...
Saw Brian Joseph tonight. Pretty amazing dude. He says/sings stuff that is rather outrageous by many standards, but damn is it funny and true and beautiful. He's very charismatic and connective with the audience. Started off as a actor in LA apparently, and was sucessful enough to build up a nest egg to start off his touring/musical life. But I think the actor in him is a big part of what makes him so comfortable on stage, and ensures that he gives a great show, not just plays some good songs. I think he'll come back in November, so I hope a big audience will show up next time, because he so deserves it. I ended up borrowing money for a CD from Steve and Meret, hooray for being friends with such lovely people!
And speaking of them being lovely, when I went to the Dave Moore (also amazing in a totally different way) concert there last night, I got there quite a bit late, but still was happy to pay the full price. I sat at a table in the back with Steve and Meret, who of course got up at the break to make drinks and such, and Steve comes over and says "Can I buy you a drink?" I said I'd love a steamed milk with hazelnut. I thought it was really sweet of him to offer, and nice for me because it kind of made up for missing a chunk of the concert. Plus I've been helping them set the chairs back up and stuff after a bunch of concerts lately. Didn't do it tonight, and feel a little bit bad about it, but it's not my job really, and I WILL help them again sometime. I was just pretty tired, and there were still a bunch of people sitting in there, and it seemed awkward to try and really move the tables around. I hope they're ok. They have really made us quite a beautiful little creative haven there. I hope they are getting some stuff back from all their hard work. Quite a few great artists coming through, it's pretty amazing. Anyhoo, I can pay them back when I go for breakfast there tomorrow - I just wasn't able to hit the ATM before the concert because I was figuring out how to convert my song to mp3.
I'm so excited for my new toys!! Hooray!
Oh, and I almost forgot, I just discovered a new little gift shop in town, it's right across the street from the Library. I think it's called something like Adele's. Very cute stuff there. I'll have to go back for gifts sometime. There were these gorgeous little notepad case things, all jeweled up. but WAY too expensive. boo. Other stuff was extremely reasonably priced. I hope they do well. Very charming atmosphere too. If I ever had a little shop, I'd sell stamps and beads and such, and I would totally have crafting classes to help pay for stuff, and get to actually use it. :D
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