Quick and Dirty London Fog

A friend of mine got me hooked on London Fog tea.  It's professionally made from a local sandwich place - Bean Fiend.  I"m not sure where he sources his ingredients, but its fantastic.  A problem I run into is the craving for this London Fog and the inability to simply go to Bean Fiend and get a cup.


So what's a  guy to do when he wants his fix and Bean Fiend isn't possible?

Try and make it myself.


So here's what I use when i'm in the office/home for my London Fog fix:

• Tetley Earl Grey "specialty tea'
• Nestle Coffee Mate ' French Vanila'

That's it - well hot water if you want to get picky.   I was using milk originally, but it was missing that sort of sweet and vanilla taste.

I happened upon the office coffee maker and there just happened to be the coffee mate.  It's no Bean Fiend London Fog - but it'll have to do.

Dubai vs The Orb

There's an aerial photo of Dubai making its rounds on the Internet today.  The man made palm tree developments in the sea reminded me a lot of The Orb's remix album Auntie Aubrey's Excursions Beyond the Call of Duty.

Could the Engineers been late 90's electronic aficionados?

Today I Learned Jack Adams was from Thunder Bay

I was watching the Winter Classic over the Holiday.  During the pre-amble Don Maclean mentioned Jack Adams, Toronto Maple Leafs and Thunder Bay in the same sentence.

I was born and raised in Thunder Bay. Played minor hockey in Thunder Bay. Seen the Stanley Cup visit here numerous times thanks to the Staals, and Patrick Sharp.

Thunder Bay has a pretty good hockey factory. 

But not until the other day did I learn of Jack Adams and his roots.   It was one line - but enough for me to be dumbfounded?  How did I not know of this?   "...when Jack Adams from Thunder Bay went to the Toronto Maple Leafs..."

He played for Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and won 2 Stanley Cups. 

He coached the Red Wings to 3 Stanley Cups and still holds the most wins as coach to this date.

The Jack Adams award in his honor is awarded to the most valuable coach in the NHL.

A mistake I made was thinking the "Adams" division was in his honor as well.  It is not.  Charles Adams is who the division was named after.

Sources:
Wikipedia

Tbnewswatch

Percussion Rogue

We took a brief break over the holiday to spend time with family and loved ones.  But that didn't stop Mike from jumping in the studio to track additional percussion tracks.  Sneaky sneaky!

I haven't heard it.  I've only seen these photos.  Looks like Mike had as much fun as one can when left to his own devices (egg shakers, chimes...)

I will try and convince him to bounce the percussion tracks for a sneak peak :)

Vox

Pressed for time this week we got right down to business.

First up we reviewed my guitar tracking done in the previous session. Would they have to be retracked due to the buffer latency issue or did I do well enough to keep time and keep them? They were satisfactory and with a little post production will be just fine as they aren't primary to the song.

So onto vocals. Ken had gotten comfortable with the environment last session and confident to try some scratch takes.  This week he went for it and with some coaching from Mike and myself nailed almost all the sections.

Playing an instrument is one thing. Singing takes a even bigger leap in confidence as its very personal. Not everyone can sing.  Not everyone can sing well.

I've always known Ken could sing. I for one have been really happy with kens' vocal progression.  Even during the demos I knew something really good was there.

The last 2 weeks with some guidance he has really dialed in his vocal style. What once was a bit raw and untamed is now soothing and controlled. Its also unique in the sense that its familiar enough to be memorable but not familiar enough to be pigeon holed.

I'm really excited to hear how the rest of the songs will be elevated by Ken' s newly minted vocals.  Songs on their own are great but It's not until you hear the first word that it imprints on your brain. 

I truly believe in these songs and this team of close friends that's putting it all together. 

Track-Orr

Cosmic Seam may make mixdown by Christmas after all!

Last night's session was short but uber productive.  We had a plan going in and stuck to it and even got a little extra for our efforts.

Ken got his 2 acoustic tracks down in short order once we determined that just the drum track was all he needed to play against.

I was next to track.  Mike and I a while back stumbled upon a pretty cool mix of choruses and delay last month when we were doing scratch tracks.


We tuned up the Strat, figured on the right pickup selection and started laying tracks.

We hit a snag when I couldn't keep time as the effects chain had a delay in the playback. So we just muted my playback and I relied solely on the sound of the strings.  Me thinks that worked well enough that if it is a smidgen behind that it can be nudged later in post production

Between takes I was noodling and discovered a nice picking pattern that the guys insisted I lay down.

I was reluctant as my chops aren't 100% yet but did a quick take just to have the idea for reference.   It turned out really well and helps lift the chorus section of the song. The take may even stick.

The guacamole provided by the studio was fantastic.  Will have to credit it in the liners as inspiration.  That and Dr. Who.  Don't ask.

Full Steam Ahead

Nailed down first and second songs' form and lyric melodies.  Possibly our most productive session to date. 

We are officially past the demo phase and have 2 sets of drum tracks locked in for full blown recording.

We're hoping to have the first song completed by Christmas.  Ambitious since we can only manage one session a week.

This week we plan to have all the guitars tracked. There's 3 in total - 2 acoustics and 1 electric.  Time permitting we may do supplemental percussion tracks. However it will most likely be all Mike as apparently  Ken and I were all kinds of wrong with our chimes and tambourine techniques. Comment below if you can spot the infractions.