Same site, new host
I'm in the process of migrating all of my sites from Dreamhost to A2Hosting.com. Since jamesnotjim.com is a WordPress-powered site, I'll be using it as a test to make sure everything is up and running. I'll have more to say on the subject over at wheatblog.com, once I get that site ported over.
Even though things have been quiet at jamesnotjim lately, I still consider this a live project. In fact, I've been thinking quite a lot lately about some things I want to do here. But, as with every other thing in my life, it has, of late, taken the back burner in favor of my most important project, raising my son, Haden.
Back from the outage
The servers that host all of my sites went down this past Sunday and I was only able to restore from backups last night! Full details are in this post over at wheatdesign.com.
The iMac lands
I posted over at wheatblog about my switch back to Macintosh. Here, I'll only note that one of the biggest reasons I wanted new hardware was so I'd have enough horsepower to record without worrying about dropouts, and enough screen real estate so that editing would be a pleasure rather than a chore. I've only done one test recording so far, just to make sure my ins and outs all work. But I think the new gear will inspire new music.
“Good Day”
More fun with GearBox's "Analog Delay w/ Modulation" effect simulation. I recorded this Monday night, and Monday was a very good day, hence the title:
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If you're a TonePort user, here are the settings:
Time: 1005 ms
FX Tempo: 240.0
Feedback: 100%
Mod Speed: 76%
Mod Depth: 88%
Mix: 50%
I used my trusty '85 Fender Jazz Bass Special, sporting a brand new set of Hartke HSB 440 strings (new strings always make me want to play my bass).
[Update (07/02/08): Here's a direct link to the mp3, if you'd like to download a copy.]
“A Sketch”
I was playing around with delays in GearBox and came up with this variation on a theme from "Ocean." It's all done in one pass (just bass + delay).
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Here's a direct link to the mp3, if you'd like to download a copy.
ReverbNation
Bassist and FaceBook friend of mine Andy Long uses ReverbNation to share his music. So I set up an account for James, Not Jim, just to try it out. If you're on that service, please become a fan. They also have an player widget:
Update: If you're on Facebook, you can become a fan of the project via this link.
End of year project review
It has been ages since I finished a track for the James, Not Jim project. But, now that the semester is finally over, there may be hope. I decided that I'm too much of a perfectionist when it comes to audio and that I should take the open source mantra of "release early, release often" to heart. So dug through my James, Not Jim project folder and did quick and dirty mp3 mixes of everything that looked remotely promising. Here they are, warts and all. Tell me which ones you like, which ones you don't. Constructive criticism and outright snarking is welcome:
Araby
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Brahms Lulaby
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Chang, Chang
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Circus
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First Run with Gearbox
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Funky Wav
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Loopy Llama Test
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One Four Five
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Portrait
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Postage
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Second Run with Gearbox
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Smoove
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If you'd rather download the mp3's, just hit the audio folder:
jamesnotjim.com/audio/
No-name project + BassIAB + JNJ
Page--amazing guitarist for Vore and a long-time friend of mine--are collaborating on some tracks. We intend them to be instrumental rock/post-rock in feel. These may or may not wind up a part of the James, Not Jim catalog. But I'm enjoying working on them and will create a page for them somewhere when they're done. I sent him a new mix this morning. I'm eager to see what he'll do with it.
Bassplaying.com is in the middle of our third Bass-in-a-Box project (BassIAB 2007.3). I've made some progress on a track for that. And I've made some progress on a couple of James, Not Jim compositions, one of which is very nearly ready to record.
I got up early this morning and worked on all of these projects before jumping in the shower and getting ready for work. So, already, the TonePort is paying off. It's allowing me to record at times when I wouldn't ordinarily be able to. And it's really great to start off the day playing bass. It's like a morning workout of a different sort.
James, Not Jim on Last.fm + TonePort
I set up a label page for James, Not Jim on Last.fm. You can use it to stream and/or download tracks. Think of it as a classier version of MySpace (where we also have a page, of course).
I've bought a new piece of recording gear this week: a Line6 TonePort UX2. It's an audio interface (to replace my old MidiMan AudioBuddy) which also comes with some great software called GearBox which allows me to record silently, via USB, rather than micing a cab. Gearbox includes lots of amp and cab models from Line6's POD line. I've spent the past two evenings dialing in sounds for my bass and guitar and testing how well it records with Ableton Live. So far, I'm super-happy. I bought this thing mainly so I could record in the middle of the night without bothering anyone, and I think it's going to be perfect for that.
So, hey, maybe I'll actually record some new music for you. What do you think?
New interview at Bassplaying.com
I just published a new interview at Bassplaying.com. This one is with one of my childhood idols, Billy Sheehan, who is an amazing bassist.
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