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Hobbies
Earlier this year, I sat down with the folks from FloMarching to discuss all sorts of things as they pertain to percussion, Tapspace, composition, Virtual Drumline, drum corps, and even trying to stay balanced in a chaotic world. They’ve been putting together some of the footage and have started rolling out some of this content to pro subscribers to FloSports.
If you’re a subscriber, I hope you’ll check these features out. It was a lot of fun!
About a year ago, I embarked on a mission to build a music studio in my backyard. This would be a space where I could be completely isolated from other distractions, to get absorbed in the creative process, primarily to write music, to play/practice, or to simply 'be' without being overheard or interrupted by other responsibilities or stimuli.
Aside from the benefits of having a space dedicated solely to creativity, this project gave me another satisfying experience—conceiving and making something from scratch, while learning the skills to see it through to completion.
For starters, I knew I wanted a space where I could take my primary "writing rig" (which has lived in my office at Tapspace HQ for over 10 years) and bring it home, allowing me some geographical separation of my own composition projects and the work I do for Tapspace. As Tapspace has grown, finding undistracted times to compose at the office became increasingly difficult. Also, since Sara moved in with me 3 years ago, it's been less feasible to actually have various instruments strewn about the house and as a result, I found myself less compelled to practice or simply play my drums for the sheer pleasure of playing. My backyard studio would be a place where I could center and dedicate these important parts of my life, while conceiving of it, literally, from the ground up.
While spending time in the Peruvian jungle, I captured a variety of impromptu sounds of the area and combined them into this one recording. It takes me right back! This was recorded low-tech on an iPhone in the Amazon rainforest near Iquitos during the summer of 2015.
Fez Fatale (the band in which I play drums) just released a short CD called "Six Pack." For those of you unfamiliar with the Fez, we're a quirky hodge-podge of lounge, funk, blues, and rockabilly. Something for everyone I guess. While I wish I had more time to practice with such a busy schedule, I'm proud of how the production of this project turned out. You can purchase the coaster-sized recording from CDBaby, or buy online at iTunes or Amazon. Thanks for supporting us!
