Or how I learned to stop worrying and love recording software
As we prepare for the re-opening of Ontario in a couple of days, I thought I might let people hear my first ever self-produced demo. When I say self-produced, I mean I had much guidance along the way from my good friend Bobby Morales who actually mixed the track for me. The tune is called “Hello From My Basement” and I wrote it while on a run the day after everything shut down. It was a difficult run because I kept almost bumping into people stockpiling toilet paper. Anyway, I made it home eventually and decided that having a pandemic-themed song could be a good opportunity to get more intimate with Logic Pro recording software…after all, I was going to have a lot of extra time on my hands. Please keep in mind that this isn’t quite a professional recording that I would formally release (there were some issues with my mic setup changing from line to line), but it IS the product of hours and hours of yelling and screaming by myself and after all that, I just want somebody to hear it. I also want to shout out to everyone who sent “Hello” recordings from isolation and to the other musicians on the track. In the spirit of life-long learning, I only hired musicians who were ALSO new to home recording. Thanks to Curtis Graham Nowosad over in NYC on the drums (I drove him crazy), Tom Fleming of Scarborough, Ontario on the guitar (I drove him crazier), and Ross MacIntyre of Niagara-on-the-Lake on the bass (I actually think I was relatively easy-going with Ross). If you really enjoy the tune, I’ve been steadily collecting money for the Daily Break Food Bank over the past few months: https://www.paypal.me/barbralica. Feel free to express your appreciation by way of a small donation if you can afford one, and no pressure either way. It’s gonna’ be a long while before musicians are allowed back on stage, and should any unemployed individuals stop being able to afford basic groceries, I’m glad food banks are a thing. Without further ado, here’s a link to stream “Hello From My Basement”. Listening with headphones is encouraged as is sending your feedback with wild joyous abandon.
Xoxo
B
This is absolutely lovely. It truly captures this time with poignancy and humour but it also left me in tears at the end. Hello from Aldershot Ontario. I can’t wait to experience more of your music. From Barbara to Barbra. Hello.
Congrats on taming the big beast that is Logic! (I know, you’ll tell me that there’s plenty of stuff in there that you haven’t yet tamed, but you will, I’m sure.)
I’ve been telling people for 25 years that the only way to really become proficient on computer software is to do a project that acquaints you with every feature that you must master in order to use it. When I started using spreadsheets, I deliberately made the world’s most overbuilt chequebook-balancing spreadsheet and, in the process, learned about 90% of what was then the state of the art – Lotus 1-2-3. In the years since then, my software skills have continued to grow, all based on those initial projects.
Today, I use Adobe CC (Audition, mostly) and MS Office extensively and make it a point to learn how to use every feature. Just a habit, but it always pays off.
Again, contrats!
David Basskin
Host, “The Nightfly”
JAZZ.FM91