What’s up Truth Seekers?

I have worked with Musicians and artists for several years, and to be honest, my opinion of them is not very high. Musicians tend to be arrogant, over confident, narcissistic, and selfish people.

So last weekend when I had the opportunity to travel to Tulsa, OK for the highly anticipated [...]]]>

What’s up Truth Seekers?

I have worked with Musicians and artists for several years, and to be honest, my opinion of them is not very high. Musicians tend to be arrogant, over confident, narcissistic, and selfish people.

So last weekend when I had the opportunity to travel to Tulsa, OK for the highly anticipated album release by P.D.A. – Act III – Wasted Talent, I jumped right on it. To be perfectly honest, prior to my arrival I had sparsely listened to Act III Wasted Talent and it initially came off as poppy, hip-hop, with a touch of Jazz. Well my experience in Tulsa, OK has changed the way I see P.D.A. and his music.

My second day in Tulsa I was invited by P.D.A to attend a live taping where he was performing a song from Act III – Wasted Talent – “His Shoes” for a segment on Oklatravelnet.com which aired locally on Cox 3 in Tulsa, called “Storytellers”. When I arrived to the set, there were several people there who all seemed to know one another, and there was a strong feeling of good people all around. This is where I really started to see P.D.A. in a deeper light. His younger sister, who is around 3 or 4 years old, was in attendance and with all the chaos of people and cameras, P.D.A. took special attention to her in a very warm and caring manner. Picking her up when she came near him, paying close attention to her when she was speaking, and even held her while posing for a few photos with the contest winners from Oklatravelnet.

After the taping we met up at a local CiCi’s Pizza and had some pizza and relaxed. I couldn’t help but notice P.D.A. casually reading the local independent newspapers, scanning the articles about him. Besides one small statement, he never mentioned to anyone what he was doing. He said “They didn’t say if the album was good or bad”. It was never said out loud, but I could almost sense that P.D.A. wanted to hear some criticism from the general public. This could be because he enjoys the extra push to do better next time or even just to hear what the other naysayers have to say. My personal opinion is that P.D.A. is well aware that not everyone will like his sound, and he has a strong desire to reach them on the next album.

Later on that evening, I was invited to come to his rehearsal for the CD release party for Wasted Talent. I arrived around 9 pm, and was introduced to Cramberg, P.D.A.’s Drummer, and became formally introduced to P.D.A. known as Anthony Jenkins to his close friends and family. For a few hours I watched as P.D.A. and Cramberg went over the 70 minute set. They systematically went over the set, fine tuning the multiple transitions, creating the amazing show I was set to see the next evening. Around midnight, P.D.A. said something that was quite interesting. He stated that he needed to get home to sleep because he had a long day tomorrow. I know this doesn’t sound like a lot to most people, but from my experience working with musicians, this is an extremely rare event. To me it really showed dedication, commitment, responsibility, and integrity that many independent musicians fail to have. But this wasn’t the end of it. Just prior to leaving, his girlfriend’s friend, who was also in from out of town, mentioned that she was hungry; immediately P.D.A. said that he would cook something for her when they got back to the house. So, although P.D.A. knew that he had a 7am radio interview, he was still willing to put others before himself.

Friday was the day of the CD Release for P.D.A.’s Act III – Wasted talent. The show started at around 9 pm with a performance by Big Red Rooster, and other opening acts XV and C02. Around 10:30 pm it was time for the long awaited set by P.D.A. He was joined on stage by his drummer, and another talented musician that he works with often named Kawnar. P.D.A.’s set was 70 minutes of nonstop music. Throughout the 70 minutes, there was one brief break of 120 seconds mid way through the set. P.D.A. rocked the stage like no other independent artist I have seen before. I watched him repeatedly make eye contact with his fans in the audience and I could sense a feeling of temporary intimacy between them.

P.D.A. may come off “Hollywood” to many people, but the truth is, P.D.A. is probably one of the most humble, giving, dedicated, compassionate, and integrity filled artists I have had the pleasure of watching and speaking to. It is very apparent why so many artists of all genres want to work with him.

When I listened to P.D.A.’s album, Act III – Wasted Talent, again on the flight home, it made much more sense to me. There is a strong message throughout the entire album. Several of the songs have specific messages spoken by P.D.A. in the final seconds of the track; all of which truly show how much integrity and humility he has.

Below is a quote from the song “It’s Ok (I Think) Ft. Brandon Davis” on Act III – Wasted Talent:

Yeah I complain a lot and as much as things suck sometimes, my life is pretty awesome. I’ve done some amazing things and met some amazing people in my life, and I’m thankful for everybody and everything that I have. I want to thank you for taking this journey with me; if there is one thing you take out of listening to this, I want you to please know that you are unique and special; there is no body in this world like you.

So use your originality to do something great in this world and always remember to stay happy; life is too short for drama and sadness.

Live life to its greatest potential

Yours truly ,
P.D.A.

My message to you P.D.A. is that it’s humbling for me to know there are still individuals out there who understand that life is not given, that everything we have can be taken away in a flash. And for that, I appreciate you. Regarding your album, it is sincerely a masterpiece production with an deeper message and I look forward to hearing more music from you.

Word on the street is that P.D.A. may be on the West Coast next year, and I can only hope I have the opportunity to work with him while he is here. More of P.D.A. @ www.myspace.com/pdaonline – www.facebook.com/pdaonline – follow him on Twitter @PDAonline – or download a free copy of A Hard Weeks Night at www.AHardWeeksNight.com

OSnaps

Other notable people from the trip:

Jeremy Charles – A Tulsa photographer who worked P.D.A.’s event and shot for his album cover
An amazing photographer. You can find more of his work at www.JeremyCharles.com

Kawnar – played Guitar for P.D.A. during the second half of his set.
Played an amazing part in motivating the crowd. I would love to hear and see more of his solo projects. More from Kawnar can be found at: www.myspace.com/kawnar

Brandon Davis– Lead singer from My Solstice.
This guy has an amazing voice and a very calm demeanor. It was a pleasure meeting him. More from My Solstice here www.myspace.com/mysolsticeband

Last but not Least my Twitter people

Without these people, my trip would not have happened. Thank you again for your hospitality.

@HeCrazyXcal @Muffclassic @Bosscampbell @Crazyness

All photographs courtesy of O-Snaps

25. Russell Brand This guy is a disgrace and should [...]]]> This is a list of the top 25 scariest people; dumbest people; and the biggest douches in this country and the world. These people disgust me with what they say or scare me with what they do. This is the top 25 worst people in the world.

25. Russell Brand
This guy is a disgrace and should never be allowed in the United States of America Period. First off the on September 12, 2001 he thought it would be funny to go into his job at MTV Studios dressed as Osama Bin Laden, in my opinion he should have personally been shot right then and there. In 2008 he (for some dumb reason) was asked to host the MTV movie awards. Now I don’t usually watch this shit, but my girl happened to want to see it, and he seriously did nothing for 4 hours except bash the United States of America. Serious you dumb fuck, if you don’t like it here GO HOME you’re not wanted here anyway. I’m not sure what type of shit he has on MTV or which one of their dicks he’s sucking but somehow he is hosting the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Let me tell you I can’t fucking wait for this terrorist to get lost.

24. Ben Bernanke
Ben Bernanke intentionally made inflation soar and destroyed the US dollar, all to bail out his banker buddies on Wall Street. He should be arrested for treason. If you use a U.S. currency anywhere in this world, Ben Bernanke has royally screwed you. All because you’re not part of the good ole boys club. This man is a terrorist and should be dealt with the same way we deal with other terrorists. We should bomb and water board his ass, and now our asshole President has nominated him for a second term.

23. Roger Clemens
Cheaters are a disgrace to all they associate with, when that cheater doesn’t even have the balls to admit their crime when it’s staring them in the face. That’s how you end up as one of the worst people in the world. Roger Clemens has become a laugher stock of all sports. Once a sure fire Hall of Famer, now we can only hope he spends time in jail for his continued lies and destruction of the name of baseball. Not only did he take steroids for almost the entirety of his career, once physical evidence was shown in the court of law he perjured himself and continues to lie all for nothing. Give it up Roger, no one believes you. You’re a liar, a cheater, and everyone who ever looked up to now despises you. By the way you will never be in the Hall Of Fame.

22. Bernie Madoff
At this point everybody should be well aware of all the money Bernie Madoff stole from his many investors. All you had to do was watch television for about ten seconds over the last six months and you probably know his entire life story. His disgusting betrayal of those who trusted him and his theft of over $50 Billion dollars makes him one of the most evil people ever. He left many people with nothing and even more with scraping to get by. Their life work flushed down the toilet, all for this bastards greediness. Fortunately this asshole will spend the rest of his life in prison, where he belongs.

21. Seth MacFarlane
Seth Macfarlane is creator of the two worst shows on television, Family Guy and American Dad. They are incredibly unfunny, artistically terrible and morally offensive. His work is nothing more than liberal trash, and truthfully that is the only reason he has work. The liberal media adores anyone who is willing to attack conservative sensibilities, so he fits right in with those douche bags. His continued attacks on Christianity are completely unnecessary and repulsive. He and many other are working very hard to crush all religion in this country. We need to do everything we can to make sure this asshole does not have an outlet to spread his bullshit propaganda and stop this anti-religion push in its tracks.

Here is one [...]]]> So i was on my Facebook page today and seen a post by Chris Kanik, a Comedian origionally based out of NY who now lives out here in Orange County, CA. Chris had asked his 10,000 + Myspace friends to send in some questions and he replied to them via Video.

Here is one of my personal favorite responses to “Would you Fuck a Potato”.

More on Chris Kanik can be found at the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Kanik
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Kanik
http://www.myspace.com/chriskanik
http://www.facebook.com/chris.kanik
http://www.Spike.com
http://twitter.com/ChrisKanik

So anyone who is an audio engineer using ProTools knows that DigiDesign is usually the last company to update their software for a new Operating System. Being an experienced ProTools LE for Windows user I am always hesitant to upgrade my system.

DigiDesign’s lack of prompt support for Windows Vista drivers has kept [...]]]>

So anyone who is an audio engineer using ProTools knows that DigiDesign is usually the last company to update their software for a new Operating System. Being an experienced ProTools LE for Windows user I am always hesitant to upgrade my system.

DigiDesign’s lack of prompt support for Windows Vista drivers has kept me on XP Pro, which keeps me happy due to the fact Windows Vista pretty much sucks up all the resources needed for ProTools. But the fact that Apple’s new snow leopard is going to have compatibility issues with ProTools is of grave concern to me.

As much as I am Pro Windows, I do respect the MAC Operating system. It has two particular uses that I find it superior, Audio and Video Engineering. Anyone who is serious about recording audio in a professional setting has a MAC (Except me). They have it for ease of use; reliability while recording; as well as other “idiot proof” features. As for me, I know what it takes for any program to run correctly. My PC that I use to record is a dedicated ProTools PC, stripped down of anything and everything requiring resources, so that ProTools can work at its fullest potential.

According to PCworld.com Snow Leopard will cause the same ProTools compatibility problems for PC with the MAC OS. With the way snow leopard is being pushed on the MAC community, there could be potentially many failures on MAC based home recording studios that upgrade without looking into the consequences. I know you’re probably calling them dumbasses while you read this. But why does DigiDesign lag so much? Why doesn’t Stevie Jobs tackle into consideration how large the percentage of Audio and Video Engineers use his product and help the transition?

What are your thoughts on the DigiDesign Latency Problem that all of us Audio and Video Engineers have???

*************************UPDATE*****************************
It has been reported by Kawnar that Snow Leopard will also effect your files on Logic Pro, Im currently trying to talk more in depth with him about the topic to see if we can come to a temporary fix for the studios out there

The U.S. Export-Import Bank gave Petrobras, Brazil’s government run oil company, $2 Billion [...]]]> The President and Democratic lead congress has continually shot down any ideas about drilling off Americas’ coasts, due to growing “environmental concerns”. Now Barrack Obama and his goons of walking contradictions are sending our money to other countries so they can drill.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank gave Petrobras, Brazil’s government run oil company, $2 Billion to help pay for drilling off of the shores of Rio De Janeiro. Meaning its okay for them to “trash” the environment for some green dough, but not okay for us.

In fact the $2 billion is just a preliminary agreement; the final amount may grow to as much as five time that number.

Why in the world would we spend $2 Billion plus of taxpayer funds to help finance another countries oil project, when we could be using that money to drill off our own shore and reap the profits. Both financially and in the job market. Or be spending that money on some of our pressing needs such as the Trillion dollar deficit. It doesn’t make sense, and it’s just more proof that these clowns running our wonderful country either have no idea what the hell they are doing or that this is another example of the propagation of global warming in this country.

According to sources he died at White Plains Hospital. His family was by his side for his last moments.

Les Paul is a pioneer of present day rock-n-roll music with his invention, multi-track recording. [...]]]> On a sad note, today August 13, 2009 guitar legend Les Paul passed away from complications of pneumonia. He was 94 years old.

According to sources he died at White Plains Hospital. His family was by his side for his last moments.

Les Paul is a pioneer of present day rock-n-roll music with his invention, multi-track recording. With multi-track recording artists are now able to record instruments separately, at different times; sing harmonies with themselves, then balance the tracks at a later time.

An accomplish musician he is also known for the Gibson guitar that bore his name. The Les Paul guitar went into production in 1952.

During the mid-70’s he played and recorded with Chet Atkins. In 1976 the two won the best country instrumental performance Grammy for their “Chester and Lester” album.

In 2005 Paul was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Les Paul, artistic giant will be missed by me and all I know. Good luck in heaven.