Idaho and Other Distractions

I'd like to apologize. I'm sure you're sick of hearing me do this so often. The music isn't ready and I'm the one to blame. I'm so sorry. I hope you'll forgive me. I'm definitely hurt more than you. I promise.

The music is coming. I can assure you. I have the tracks all laid out in a nice neat little package. I went to Idaho and got distracted. I planned to do it both the Thursday before I left and the Friday afternoon before I left. I failed. Instead I drank too much Thursday night and slept into the late afternoon on Friday.

I'm in the wrong, I know. When I got back last night I had all night to do it as well. I was not in a good place then. My mind was in a frenzy of unpaid medical, school and credit card bills. It feels like being crushed on all sides.

I'm not going to give you a date. I'm back at work now so it could be as late as next week or as early as tomorrow. I have plans tomorrow so it probably won't be then.

I had a lot of fun in Idaho. It was filled with excitement and wonder. Who knew a state made famous by a subterranean vegetable could be filled with such things.

Long time no smell

I made it back from San Francisco and survived the move into my new apartment. Pictures are forthcoming for at least one of these events.

San Francisco was a lot of fun. It was great to see my good friends, Rob and Deni again. They have chitlins now and I do love me some chitlins (even if I say I don't). I got to eat at In n' Out Burger twice and watched a few of my cousin's soccer games (he's from Alaska). I drug my parents out in the middle of the night to see The Watchmen in South San Fran. I think they liked it. I know I liked it. The weather was beautiful and we bought a lot of bulk liquor for wicked cheap prices.

The Monday after I got back from the city I was moving into my new pad. It's great! It's in such a convenient location for me. I can walk to the grocer store, Starbucks, and several eateries and bars. I love it. The only downside is it's kind of far from work but I'm dealing with that. I still don't have the internet or cable so I am extremely bored at home right now but it's coming on Tuesday and I'll be posting pics once that's all set up.

I got an awesome new laptop bag custom made by my friend Renai. I'll be posting pics of that as well once the internet is working. I love the bag and it is holding up nicely. It holds most of my DJ equipment as well which is fantastic! Thanks Renai!

I SWEAR the new mix will be out soon. I'm hoping for sometime before the weekend since I'm off to Boise for a few days starting Saturday. I need someone to push me in the right direction to get this mix done! Help!

Editediteditedited

The Night Shift is currently going through some formatting changes. I've decided to add on personal entries to the blog because I have this sinking feeling that the people that read the blog yearn to know what I'm doing. Either that or they have no idea what I'm talking about when I bring up technical jargon.

Regardless I'd like to hear what you think of the mixes if you are so inclined. Honesty is the best policy in this case and any criticism is fantastic since, at the very least it means you listened to the mix.

Tonight is my last night of work and I am chomping at the bit to get out of here. I'm heading to San Francisco for the weekend. I wonder what the future holds? Probably some In n' Out Burger and The Watchmen on IMAX. I'll be catching up with old friends and watching some soccer.

I'm pretty sure there will be a visit to the Liquor Barn as well. Yeehaw!

I'd also like to add that I finally got a place! I'm really looking forward to moving in on Monday. I feel all grown up again. It's a nice little studio that's within walking distance of nearly everything I need.

I'm hoping to have the next mix out sometime next week. Stay tuned!

...and then it dawned

I have some brand new features to report on The Night Shift! I have a donation button on the right hand column of the blog now. This features a direct link to a place where you can donate funds for good music and help keep me fed, clothed and sheltered while I work on the compositions.

I'll give you a run down of what it takes in monetary units and time to create music. This is not meant to be a guilt trip by any means. I just want to let everyone know that I love DJing regardless of donations. In fact, the thing that makes me most excited is you all enjoying the mixes.

Lets start with money, this is money that does not include new technology. It is just me getting the music to you.
Every track I purchase costs $2.50. The tracks are more expensive because they are .wav rather than .mp3. The .wav tracks have much better sound quality because they haven't been compressed like a .mp3 track. So in music alone I spend roughly $25 to $40 per mix. The reason I may spend up to $40 is because not all tracks sound good together so I may have to find another track that I think will be a more appropriate fit for the mix. I also use a website to host my mixes. The website charges me $10 a month to make my mixes available for download. All in all I guess I spend $35 to $50 a month to produce a mix.

I've been trying to keep track of the time involved but it's extremely difficult. First of all, every track I think I want to go into the mix I have to listen to over and over again. I have to know all of the cues and breakdowns in the song. I am actively listening to all of the nuances the song offers up so I can make the mix sound seamless. I'd liken this process to an actor trying to memorize his lines for a scene.

Secondly, I have to arrange the tracks in a particular order. Track order is one of the most important things in my opinion when DJing. There are two objectives when I put together a track list: First, set the mood of the mix. Get the listener engaged in the music. The second is to make sure the tracks are mixed in key so they sound good overlapping one another.

Next I do several run throughs of the mix where I try to incorporate the effects I'm going to use in the mix. As you know my mixes are usually about an hour so this part alone can take a few hours. I'll then go for the gusto and actually record the mix. This can take several takes as well but is typically less time consuming.

Lastly, once the mix has been recorded I go back and smooth out effects with Ableton. This is followed by the mixdown and viola! We have a completed mix!

I would honestly say that it takes me 20 to 40 hours to complete a mix depending on the level of involvement. I'm also still learning Ableton on the fly and I have a lot yet to learn.

FYI, I am working on a new mix and I'm hoping to have it ready to go next week!

If you haven't yet, check out Best of Beatport 2008. You can listen to it if you click on the link on the right hand side of this page. If you want to download this or any future mixes you can do so by following the link and registering with djmix.net. Save that bad boy to your ipod and hit the gym or take it to a party.

Happy listening!