Resolution – Create Music

It is that time of year when people think of crazy things they would like to do in the upcoming months. In the past few years I have shied away from this superstition, but this year I figure I’d put it out there as a goal to see what might happen. My goal then is to start or possibly join a band. Yes it’s cliche, but I’ve been playing for about 4 years and I need to either get some collaboration going or give up the idea and focus solely on solo material. I would prefer to collaborate, which brings me to the weird part, the pitch. It feels like some strange dating ritual, but here goes.

I’m ideally looking for guitar (me), bass, drums, keys, and a singer to create and play original tunes.  I’m flexible on the instrumentation, but this setup allows for a lot sonically.  I’m looking for it to be more hard rock or progressive metal but I’d rather see what comes out of collaboration than set a specific genre. So I’ve laid out the obligatory influences, skills, and expectation categories.

Influences
My main influences are bands like Dream Theater, Rush, Kamelot, Megadeth, Coheed and Cambria and solo artists like Joe Satriani, Steve Morse and Marco Sfogli. But if you were to look at my Spotify or last.fm favorites you will see all kinds of stuff like Royal Hunt, Porcupine Tree, Andy James, Flying Colors, Tom Petty, The Vanden Plas and gasp Styx, Toto, and Firehouse. The point is that I’d rather see what comes out when playing instead of rejecting musicians because they don’t like the “right” music. A band should not be afraid to make music they enjoy without a limit on the palette of sounds.  Sometimes an acoustic is perfect for the song.

Skills
I’ve been playing for a little over four years and would consider myself an intermediate player. I’m getting a handle on scales, modes, and arpeggios though they aren’t yet second nature. I’m moving from focusing on speed to working on phrasing. You can hear a couple of songs I’ve written at my SoundCloud account to see what I mean. In addition to guitar playing I have also spent time the last couple of years working on recording and mixing because it isn’t enough to make music, you need to be able to capture it as well.

Expectations
I’m in my early 40′s and I have a family and career so that means the gig is by definition a hobby. However, that doesn’t mean I’m looking to goof off, play a couple of cover tunes and call it good. The initial goal would be to get a 5 song do it ourselves EP recorded, mixed, mastered, and “released” in some form by the end of the year. To that end I’m looking for getting together once a month for focused song writing/rehearsal and at least weekly online interaction. That would most likely be in the form of posting parts for mixing or lyrical ideas. I could see trying Skype or Google Hangouts for video, but we could see if that was useful. I’m not looking for stardom, but creating music will help everyone grow musically and who knows what can happen.

If that sounds interesting you can leave a comment or hit me up on SoundCloud or Google+.  If you are into the same music but don’t want to be in a band, think about hitting me up anyway.  Maybe I can sell you some music later on.

EDIT: I also enjoy harder instrumental stuff like Chimp Spanner and Scale the Summit so I’m open to something like that as well.

Keeping up blogging

Apparently I’m really bad at keeping up my blogging.  I was updating something that asked for a link to my website, which this is essentially, and I realized it’s been July of 2011 since I last hit “post”.  Google+ and Facebook, which don’t see much action either, have really been my main source of thought output.  Of course considering the post I’ve gotten the most views on was a Firefox 3 issue, it probably doesn’t matter that much in the grand scheme.  However, here is a quick run down of the last little bit.

B2B

I’m continuing to do B2B work doing integrations with our clients using various methods.  I’ve also been busy helping with the change of our ERP system, learning all about Oracle.

Family

My wife and I are now grandparents, with another on the way in March.  The two youngest are in 10th and 11th grade and in band.  I had a blob of skin cancer removed, but my 6 month check-up was good.

Music

I’m continuing my guitar playing, audio recording, and mixing.  I still enjoying it immensely and you can hear some of my “released” material on my Soundcloud account.  I hope to start a band leaning toward hard/progressive rock or metal, but I’m pretty open to seeing what we would come up with as group before really worrying about a genre.  Hit me up if interested!

Local

I’ve been going to council meetings now for almost two years and planning commission meetings for a year and at this point I’m a bit disenfranchised.  I figured citizens would have more say at the local level, but it really isn’t all that much.  A decision about being involved next year is in the works.

So as you can see it has been quite busy and a little bit easy to forget about blogging.

Snohomish County creating a Transporatation Benefit District

So this last week it had come to my attention that Snohomish County wanted to create a transportation benefit district which is basically a non-elected board that can “increase revenue” within the district for whatever transportation projects they deem “necessary”.   I looked at the list and while there are important projects it doesn’t make sense to me that this is the way to do it.  Creating a taxing authority outside the purvey of constituents seems a bit shady because of course they can create new taxes and other fees without any oversight from the public.  I wrote the following letter to council voicing my opinion.  We’ll see if it matters.

To Whom it May Concern,

I am not able to attend the public hearing because I have to work, but I wanted to make my thoughts known about establishing a transportation benefit district.  It is pretty simple, I am against establishing this district.  The purpose is a good one on the surface, but the method is quite frankly underhanded and absolutely skirts around the idea of a transparent government.  The very fact that the summary states that “A transportation benefit district is a quasi-municipal corporation and an independent taxing authority” is a major red flag.  The summary mentions the $20 starting fee and states that it can raise it to $100 dollars with a vote.  What it doesn’t say in the summary is that the state law authorizing TBDs allows much more than that, including the levying of property taxes.  That is way too much power for a board that is not elected and has no responsibility to the constituents of this county.

I would also point out that when council reached out to cities within the county there was a large percentage of incorporated populations that did not want to participate in the district.  This should also be a red flag as to the desire of constituents to be put under yet another taxing district.  I realize that as of last year I’m no longer in unincorporated Snohomish County and so would be technically not affected by this district, I still feel I must speak up.  That is because creating the district for the unincorporated parts of the county provides a stepping stone for eventually pulling in everyone in the county, for the benefit of the people of course.  It is my feeling that it is best to just not start down that road.

I thank you for your time,

Michael Turner

Letters to the editor

One of the first ways I’m starting to be involved in the city is by writing letters to the editor at the Lake Stevens Journal regarding a speed limit change along one of our main roads used to get out of and into the city.  I had indicated that I wasn’t thrilled by the speed limit change and wrote a letter.  I will have to say I was surprised by the responses in that all of them said it was a good thing the limit had gone down.  I crafted a response, but apparently I’m a bit wordy and they only take letters of 300 words or less.  So I’m posting my original letter and the abridged version.  That way I get my original out there and have a possible place for discussion.  So here is the original:

Dear Editor,

I wrote an earlier letter regarding the lowering of the speed limit along 20th and was surprised and intrigued by the responses.  I have read many of them and felt I should respond to some of the points that were brought up.

It sounds like the main issue was safety along this road.  I have four children of my own, so I get that.  Unfortunately, “children’s safety” ends up being an easy excuse and I feel this is one of those instances.  How about a show of hands from those people whose children weren’t walking, but are now because of the speed change.  Anyone? This is a serious question because it was the basis for most of the responses I saw. If there is no change in behavior, then the basis for that reasoning is invalid.  And do people believe that LSMS, Skyline, Hillcrest, and Glendale really have children walking to them from 20th?

That does leaves Cavelero.  A quick satellite scan shows the sidewalk ends around 88th leaving about 1770 feet without much protection.  That is a legitimate concern, so let’s break it down a bit.  Based on the number of homes combined with the schools location, it appears to me that the number of homes that would be in the mandated walking area is going to be fairly small.  Combine that number with the chances of an 8th or 9th grader being in those homes, there probably is not going to be many walking at all. Since I drive my kids to Cavelero every morning I do see kids walking the Cavelero driveway, but is usually less than half a dozen and most are actually coming down 83rd rather than from 20th.  So while safety is important, there doesn’t seem to be a serious issue in this instance.

Regarding noise, 20th is now easily twice as wide as highway 9 which has a 55mph speed limit.  Where are the noise and safety issues with that road?  There are more schools on that road and many houses as well.  Regarding the small increase in travel time.  Say your commute increases by 3 minutes, no big deal right?  Well I travel 20th twice a day so that is 6 minutes.  But I travel 20th twice a day every day for a year, so that is now 2190 minutes or 36 hours of extra time per year for me.  But I’m not the only one doing that same commute.  Let’s say conservatively that 2000 people are the road with me each day.  That’s 73,000 extra hours on the road for our community.

So am I saying that we should all be flying down our city streets with reckless abandon?  Absolutely not!  I’m saying that as citizens we need to think deeper about the potential repercussions of the decisions being made for us by the city.  While I don’t like the actual speed change, I am just as unhappy that the change was made without input from you and I.  I will leave you with this.  I hope each of those who have responded to this paper have also voiced their opinion to the city as well and will continue to be involved.  That’s how it works even if in this instance I do not agree with the result.

And the one that I resubmitted:

I wrote an earlier letter regarding the lowering of the speed limit along 20th and felt I should respond to some of the points that were brought up.

It sounds like the main issue was safety along this road. I have four children of my own. First, though, I would really question that LSMS, Skyline, Hillcrest, and Glendale have children walking to them from 20^th. But how about a show of hands from those people whose children weren’t walking, but are now because of the speed change.

That does leaves Cavelero. A satellite photo shows the sidewalk ends around 88th leaving about 1770 feet without as much protection as a sidewalk. But a look at the location of houses around the school and the chances of an 8th or 9th grader being in those homes. It seems it would be a small number. I drive my kids to Cavelero every morning and I do see first hand kids walking the Cavelero driveway, but is usually less than half a dozen and most are actually coming down 83rd.

So am I saying that we should all be flying down our streets with reckless abandon? Absolutely not! But, we need to be aware of the potential repercussions of the decisions being made for us by the city. To be honest, while I don’t like the actual speed change, I’m also unhappy that the change was made without input from us. I will leave you with this thought. If 2000 people travel a road each day and that road adds 6 minutes a day (3 minutes each way) it will add an astounding 73,000 extra hours each year that they are on the road.

Should be interesting.

Getting involved

We were annexed by the city of Lake Stevens this past year and while it seemed like a great fit when I voted for it a year ago, things definitely haven’t happened quite the way the annexation meetings hinted.  So far our property tax has gone up 1%, our waste water bill is going to go up something like 50%, and the streets around my house have been dropping faster than the temperature, making my commute even longer.  In return I haven’t seen what services all this money is providing.  I will have to say that I’m a pretty reserved person, but the one place citizens should have a voice is at the city level.  So this year I will begin going to city council meetings and getting involved.  I’m not sure what all that will entail yet, but it should be interesting regardless.

Guitar Rig

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about my gear, or really any post for that matter, but I wanted to get a record of what I’ve got and where I want to go.  It’s more for my own information, but it might have some use to others as well.

Since what I do is really just a hobby, it is pretty simple and all the gear is used.  Here is what I currently have.

• Ibanez Black RG 270 DX
• Fender Squire Blue Stratocaster
• Boss GT-8
• Ibanez TS9
• Tech21 Power Engine 60

Like I said pretty straight forward.  It gives me a ton of flexibility with my tone so regardless of style I can use it.  In addition, the couple of times I’ve jammed with other people it has been really easy to setup and take down.  It also works well for recording along side the Toneport UX1 I’ve had for a while.  For accessories I have an M-Audio UNO USB-MIDI cable that I used to connect to the GT-8, a 1SPOT pedal power adapter, and of course a bunch of cables to tie it all together.

Even though I’m happy with my current setup I’ve been thinking about where I want to take my rig.  Again keeping in mind that this is currently a hobby, I don’t have huge changes in mind just some substitutions with a couple small additions.  They are in rough order of importance.

• Replace GT-8 with Avid Eleven Rack (combining Protools with the rig would make things even simpler)
• Add some type of MIDI foot controller, though leaning towards Voodoo Labs Ground Control
• Add a 7-string guitar, either an Ibanez RG series or Music Man JP series
• Add select pedals like an MXR Phase 90 or TC Electronic delay, that kind of thing.

Realistically, some of the pedals may come first, since I can incorporate those into the effects loop on the GT-8, but it gives a sense of the “plan”.  In addition I can see extending the life of my Ibanez by changing out the pots and pickups.  I currently have Seymour Duncans and would like to switch out to the Dimarzio Liquifire and Crunchlab.  So there it is, my current rig with the outline of where I want to go.

[Update: I've added a quick youtube video "tour" of my rig and other equipment.]

Initial Practice Routine Attempt

I said I need to start up a practice routine, so here is my attempt.  I’m planning for an hour a day…sometimes I’ll get more sometimes less, but I’m thinking it’s a good baseline.

Warm-up – 15 minutes:

• 5 minutes – main CAGED pattern scale in C up and down the fretboard (my pick up the guitar “riff”).  Might add in pentatonics in all patterns as well.  Just want it to be a muscle memory thing.

• 5 minutes – simple stuff like chromatics or something from Petrucci’s Rock Discipline warmups.

• 5 minutes – go through a song I’m working on playing…nothing too hard, just to do something more musical

Theory – 15 minutes:

• 5 minutes – Pick a key (maybe spend a week on one) and go through the CAGED pattern naming all the notes and modes as I go.
• 5 minutes – in the key above go through the chords naming and number. This is definitely the weakest part of my game, it’s time to know this.
• 5 minutes – in the key above go through some common chord progressions so I can hear what they sound like.  Then try random progressions, maybe I’ll write down chord numbers to go through.

Technique – 15 minutes

I’m thinking I’ll focus on a technique each day and do 3 exercises pertaining to that technique.  For the moment I think I’ll rotate between the following: alternate picking, arpreggios (not sure if this is really a technique, but oh well), legato picking, sweep picking, and all techniques combined.  I think it might make sense to do the exercises in the same key, but we’ll see how that goes.

• 5 minutes – exercise 1
• 5 minutes – exercise 2
• 5 minutes – exercise 3

Transcribing – 15 minutes

• 15 minutes – work on the current song/riff transcribing in Guitar Pro.  I’ll be starting with John Denver’s “Take me home country road” so I can work it into a recording.

If I end up having more time, I’ll look to focus on either my own material or more play alongs.  That way I will hopefully be totally focused for the hour and then be able to start to incorporate those things learned into my playing.

So lastly, a practice log…I’ll start logging what I did above and any speeds.  Realistically, that will probably be mostly in the technique section though the progression wouldn’t hurt either.

I’ve compiled this from some great resources on the net, though I’m sure I’m not doing them justice, so check them out yourself: mainly Tom Hess, Dave Weiner (ROTW), and lately Justin Sandercoe.