Latest Posts

1. Mecca

   February 18, 2005 12:18 pm Leave a Comment

   My new favorite pizza place is on Haight Street, and I will go out of my way when I’m in the mood for pizza. When you walk in, a young Middle Eastern man, late 20’s maybe early 30’s sits behind a black and white security camera monitor listening to an audio recording of the reading of the Q’uran. On the walls are posters describing the history of Islam, images of Mecca (with thousands of worshipers), an explanation of the Muslim religion.

   I’m impressed and inspired by the devotion some of the Muslims I know have to God. And I’m particularly moved by the way some describe God – some of the most beautiful language (My friend Mohommed once said that ‘Allah’ literally means “the Breath” – Al=The and Ah=ahhhh, and describes the power of God’s word). I find it interesting, too, that Christians, Muslims, and Jews all essentially worship the same God. Yet there is so much violence between them.

   Tonight I went to another kind of mecca. I spent four hours in the recording studio at Digidesign, a company that makes the recording industry’s leading recording software (ProTools). My sound engineer is a good friend who in addition to being a DJ also writes the software.

   I got the grand after-hours tour, and spent a few hours singing my heart out into the world’s most exquisite recording equipment. Rus wants to make it a regular thing, and (again) I can’t wait. Tonight’s session was alright – it took me a while to get comfortable in the new setting, and I’m getting sick, so my voice was crap.

   But I learned a lot, now have access to a world-class recording environment (now Rus and I just need to develop the talent to use it!) and I know it’s just going to keep on getting better.

   Now that my throat is burning, and it’s nearly 4:30 in the morning, I’m gonna sign off.

2. Oh yeah… Patience. Riiiiight.

   February 16, 2005 5:44 pm Leave a Comment

   I’ve been reminded several times in the last few days to be patient, and it’s driving me nuts! I SO want to Go! I want to be doing things NOW. I often feel like I don’t have enough time to do all the things that seem to need doing at the moment. And honestly, I’ve lately been too tired to distinguish the priorities very well.

   But I feel like a marathon runner who’s about to hit the Zone. I still feel like I’m in the groove, and I am certainly getting great things done. All things that need to get done, and I’m jammin’ on ’em. When I look back, I think I’m doing alright. Really great, actually. It’s when I look forward that I get antsy.

   Fact is, I know It’s coming. So many things suggest Its inevitability, and I’m thrilled at the prospect of Its arrival. And then I remember – it’s not about “arriving” anywhere. It’s about the process and finding the joy in the moment. The end will be what it will be. As long as I’m making the best choices I can based on the information I have at hand, the rest is just letting the great conveyor belt of destiny do its thing.

3. 5 hours in 14 minutes

   February 11, 2005 8:06 am Leave a Comment

   I’ve given myself 14 minutes to publish this blog entry describing the last 5 hours, which have been amazing. Michael and I (roommate) left to go to a friend’s surprise birthday party. Along the way, we stopped at the Palace Steak House, a quintessential loccaly owned (by Marina and “Mo”) steak house. Had a great burger and salad JUST the way I like it. Decor: Can’t even begin to describe it. 35 years in business two days after my birthday. Looks like the 3 day birthday weekend has an ending point.

   We caught the muni and got sucked into Adobe bookstore, where I found amazing books on the History of rock n’ roll, a book by JFK’s photographer, a 60’s trivia quiz book (I’ve been fascinated with ’60 – ’65 lately), and a couple of other amazing finds. Finally make it to the bar, where I meet the birthday friend and a couple of his longtime friends. One of whom is a screenwriter/artist guy working on his first project, and another who’s a Democratic political investigator. We leave the bar, and on the corner of 16th and Mission was one of the most patriotically inspiring things I’ve ever seen – a spontaneous spoken word jam with musicians and comedians, busting out and laying it down. Killer blues/funk flutist ROCKED. I did “Unamerican” as spoken word and forgot the last verse. That’s still eating at me.

   Anyway, it was so cool to be in “the public square” hearing people give all kinds of opinions (none too friendly to the status quo…) Time’s up

4. Soundtrack added to Life

   February 3, 2005 6:09 pm Leave a Comment

   I got an iPod, a personal gesture of gratitude and congratulations for all the hard work last year. Not to mention the fact that now I’m an aspiring professional musician, it’s a tax deduction! So I’ve loaded it up (iPod Mini – i’m still workin’ on the whole ‘making a living’ thing) with all kinds of cool music I can listen to all day. I’m most excited about the several hundred songs I have from artists like Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Smokey, Aaron, Ray, Nina, Hanks I and III, Johnny Cash, Jeff Buckley… Many more. The soundtrack of my life has taken a rich turn.

5. Experience vs. Reality

   February 2, 2005 9:30 pm Leave a Comment

   I’ve been absolutely delighting in my latest discovery – my voice. I hadn’t ever really sung before last year, and so to give my music regular time and attention has been great. Lately, I’ve been hitting “record” on my computer (which takes sound from a mixing board into which my piano, mic, and guitar are plugged) and letting it rip.

   I’ve really been enjoying experimenting with this new approach – I found that for the most part last year, I was VERY conscious of when I was recording myself. Given my intention to record an ablum this year, I figured I’d better get comfortable quickly. Furthermore, I’ve also had many occasions when I’ve been rehearsing and I’ll sing or play a song somewhat differently than I normally do. Serendipity weaving its marvelous magic. Before catch-all recording, I’d have to try to remember what I’d played. Now I can just go back and listen to it.

   What has SUCKED about this process is going back and listening to the recordings. When I’m “performing” the song (I often close my eyes and imagine playing for audiences in many different venues – kinda like productive daydreaming. I get to rehearse the song AND imagine my music being heard by people all over the place), I love it. I absolutely love exploring the range and complexity of my voice. Every day it seems to grow stronger and I seem to have another slice of a percentage point of control. My practice has been to get out of my head when I’m singing, and to present the music from a place deep in my gut. When I do this it feels absolutely magical.

   But when I go back to the recording and listen to those moments of magic – I’m crushed with disappointment. I’m off-key, my rhythm is anything BUT rhythmic. Often erratic. In spite of my enjoying the control and expanding my vocal range (four and a half octaves) I find that I’m often annoyed by the flourishes than I find they add to the music.

   Most frustrating is the delta between the EXPERIENCE of my singing (“woah, listen to that! wow! I didn’t know I could do that! Oh, man, that feels so good!”) and the REALITY as reflected in the recordings the next day (“Ouch. Way flat there. Oh man, who’s playing the piano!? Uh… Huh?!”). The difference has been striking and aggrivating beyond belief. I feel like I can’t really trust my ears when I’m singing.

   At the same time, I know I’m just rehearsing and exploring. I need to and want to continue doing that. But I’m just so impatient. I want to have an incredible voice and I want it now. I feel like I’m in puberty all over again.

   “I hate being eighteen, I’m tired of waiting for life to let me go”

   I keep waiting for the Big Release – that moment when it all comes together. Rationally and in just about every other way, I realize this is a life-long process. There will BE no “Big Release” when I finally feel I have everything I need. It will be a continuous layering of technical skills, creative flow and luck.

   But I’m bigtime impatient. I feel like I’m making up for lost time, and while the success of the last year has been pretty phenomenal (I’ve sold hundreds of CD’s to people all around the world, have the basic infrastructure to support an independent music career, and wrote actual songs all in my first year) I still feel like there’s no time left.

   Puberty still sucks.

6. Pissed off today

   January 25, 2005 9:09 pm Leave a Comment

   I check my logs to see where people are linking from, and I went to a website that has a bunch of links to various liberal websites and such. I try to keep an open mind, and not buy too much from either the far left or the far right. But This really pissed me off. I wish they’d change the name (hategun – puhleeze!) and the music (a Ministry remix), but the content of the video is potent. And I’m pissed.

   In part because it shows IED’s going off, and presumably killing coalition forces. I’ve never seen that before. The first one I saw was in Farenheit 9/11. I wasn’t pissed off that it showed our casualties – I think it’s a good thing that Americans get a taste of the horrors of war. I think Hollywood and video games have glorified war in a really harmful way. (gangster rap strikes a similar chord, but that’s another post)

   I’m not pissed off because it is disrespectful – in fact, it shows the intensity of what our men and women face over there and it makes me appreciate their willingness to sacrifice even more.

   It pisses me off that this is happening because the richest country in the world, with access to the best technology and intelligence either a) made a monumentally huge mistake or b) ignored reality and truth in pursuit of an idealogical agenda (see The Project for the New American Century

   And it doesn’t piss me off (as much) that we’re there in the first place. I’ll give the congress the benefit of the doubt that they believed what the Bush administration was telling them about WMD. It’s a stretch, but I’m willing to go there. But the video (which features news reports and soundbytes from Bush, Rice, Powell and Cheney royally contradicting themselves) lays things pretty bare.

   Rice and Powell are both quoted in the clip in January and February of 2001 saying Saddam was NOT a threat. That we have him contained and that he’s not able to get WMD. But then – what do you know – EVERYTHING we knew was suddenly WRONG.

   SO wrong, in fact, that we had to go to war without adequate preparation (armor for Humvees, anyone? sufficient troop strength for the mission?) and certainly without any kind of seriously thought-through exit plan. The arrogance of the administration seeped into the DOD’s planning suggesting that we’d just walk in (which we essentially did) and everyone would love us ’cause in stopping Saddam’s newfound capacity for developing WMD, we’d also be “liberating” the people of Iraq. So much for that idea. The Human Rights Watch Reports that torture and abuse continues under the new Iraqi government.

   The way I see it, America has been sold a bill of goods, and continues to be each and every time a representative of the Bush Administration starts talking about how we’re just about to turn the corner in the war. I’m tired of hearing it. I’m tired of hearing soundbytes of our troops saying that they’re there to liberate the people of Iraq.

   AMERICA: THAT IS NOT WHY WE SENT OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO WAR.

   It’s totally dishonest and a disservice to the men and women charged with protecting us to accept this.

   When will the American public finally grow weary of this incessant stream of deception?

   Enough, already.

7. new writing spell

   9:46 am Leave a Comment

   I’ve been carving out time to write every day again, and it feels great. I find that I get downright pissed when I have time scheduled and I feel the pinch. I’ve started recording the entire writing session. I’ll have to archive them to CD’s eventually. But I think it’s better to “let it roll” and catch those moments of serendipity (formerly known as “mistakes”). Perhaps, too, there’ll be material I can put up online sooner than later. It also feels good to be developing some comfort with being recorded. I still find it a bit unnerving. Since that’s got to stop, I figure – dive in.

   I’ve also been developing some promising and exciting ideas around projects to continue building audience and momentum. I’m thinking of starting a “Podcast” – a new kind of audio format that’s something of a cross between an audio blog and a radio show. Although from what I’ve heard, “podcasting” is still nascent at best – most podcasts I heard were poorly produced and not written at all. Recording “Just checking mic levels, here. It’s 40 degrees outside” does not a podcast make. Time will tell if I have anything to say or do about it, though.

   My birthday’s on 3/4/5 this year, and I HAVE to do something. I’m thinking of trying to do a show, possibly webcast it. For now, though, I think I’ll go to bed. I’m on day 6 of a 7+ day cleanse (drinking lemon juice with maple syrup, water and cayenne pepper day in and day out) and am finding that I’m a bit tired… whaddya know, it’s 2 am.

8. A small step becomes a giant leap

   January 18, 2005 9:05 am Leave a Comment

   I just sent out my first newsletter to 10,000 people who said they wanted to hear more from me. What made this such a sweet victory for me was the countless hours of hairpulling frustration finding and installing the right software to allow me to do it. It’s taken 5 weeks to find, install and debug the right software, a process repeated a few times to find just the right set of features. What should have been a fairly easy installation turned into a real bear to install. And then once I got it installed and configured and everything, I find out it doesn’t have a key feature. Anyway, I’m glad to have finally worked that piece out.

   One very cool feature is being able to sort by zip code (for the people who’ve given me their zips), so when the day comes (soon, I hope) I start touring, I’ll be able to contact people in specific areas. If you’re not already on my list (which is to say, if you didn’t just get an email from me called “New Years Greetings from Ian Rhett”, then you might consider signing up.

   I committed to playing a 30/10/4 playing regimen. At least 30 minutes a day, at least 10 hrs a week, and performing at least 4 times a month. I’m gonna give the maxim “Do what you love and the rest will follow” a serious test.

9. Oh right! I’m a songwriter…

   January 10, 2005 9:15 am Leave a Comment

   Just finished (?) a five hour rehearsal/writing session. It’s been so long since I’ve had one of those. In fact, I realized that I’ve been kinda slackin’ on the 2hr-a-day commitment. I realized tonight that I need to keep carving out space to do that, even if it means not having as much of a social life or doing interesting projects. If I can’t make time to write music, then I really shouldn’t be thinking too hard about making a living doing this. Ain’t gonna happen just thinkin’ about it, and I know I’m pregnant with more songs. I can hear ’em punchin’ around…

   I practiced scales for an hour (wax on, wax off – it was meditative and warmed me up bigtime. If I’d only had a clue as a kid.) and then kicked off four hours of mostly writing with a bit of rehearsing the songs from last year. I got a few solid starts out of it. I’ve finished two songs since the election, which is fine considering the lack of discipline I’ve had in the last 8 weeks. A friend tonight told me she felt like she was living the retired life, and I kinda was too. Especially as it concerns actively working on music.

   I’ve also been wrestling with getting email list software installed on my server so I can send emails to the thousands of people who’ve asked to hear more from me. It has turned out to be the most slogging, frustrating, slowest integration of technology I’ve ever done. I’ve been trying to install activecampaign’s 1-2-all software and it’s been a nightmare. Nothing has been easy so far, and i’ve been developing an intimate relationship with their tech support.

   I’ve been kinda caught up in getting marketing systems in place, and at the time, it felt like it “counted”. I need the infrastructure to build upon. But I also remembered tonight the utter joy and satisfaction from creating music.

10. Tsunami II

    December 30, 2004 5:29 am Leave a Comment

    I’ve started to see images from people on the ground in Sri Lanka (vs. TV framegrabs) and I’m just blown away. I want to go there and help. I can’t help but imagine, too, the effect this is having on millions upon millions of people as their relatives and friends of relatives are all affected. I am connected to 125,000 people through just three degrees of separation based on just 157 1st degree friends. It’s just all so incredibly devistating…