Wednesday, Dec 5th
People of Earth and Leschi Lounge proudly bring you this very special night of Firsts with First Club appearances by
DJ Jaisn (www.jaisn.com)
Sklobot & Jay Rae (Leschi Lounge)
with a Live Happy Hour Set! Their first club appearance!!
and featuring special guest DJ's
J-Sun (Innerflight)
Danger (Analog)
with First Wednesday Residents
Adlib (People of Earth)
Jen Woolfe (Leschi Lounge/Dreemworld)
Free as always!!!!!
$5 Food Specials
$3 Beer, Wine, Champagne
Full bar, 21+ w/ID
See Sound Lounge (115 Blanchard St)
www.seesoundlounge.com
Thur Dec 6th
Stay Tuned Thursdays @ Buddha Belltown
with Jacob London!
and Residents DJ Jules V and Brian Tully
Buddha Belltown
2222 2nd Street
10pm-2am
21+
No Cover
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Underworld's Undies
When I subscribed to Remix magazine a year ago under the guise of my cover band, Jen Woolfe & the Happy Pervs, I had no idea what the tech any of the articles were talking about. Since then, I've been studying Ableton's Live and Propellerhead's Reason and finally the acronyms are starting to make sense. It's a Music Tech Geek Mag. Perfect.
I've been making great strides in learning production, far greater than I expected. I still feel like I'm in the first room of my mega-warehouse of audio art supplies, but I'm finally able to recognize tools and organize ideas. I recently realized that Reason is an instrument. Sure, I read the words VST a hundred times, but it didn't click until I started playing with Dr. Rex's Loop player. (I know Reason isn't actually a VST, as that is a standard, but that's what is so confusing!). Reason is a Virtual Studio. Literally! It consists of an imaginary rack with imaginary synthesizers, drum machines, players, mixers, samplers and signal processors that look like the real thing. You can even turn the rack around and see the cables jiggling, all plugged into each other. (Yay for virtual cable management!)
So my epiphany came when I 'discovered' Dr. Rex's Loop Player. I had been trying to find a way to create a rhythm section for Live Session (our live band project emerging in the heart of the Leschi Lounge), the way Jay Rae does with his drum machine (I think its a Roland MC-303). The biggest thing I learned was that all the loops that I'd been playing as Live clips were static. Read: boring. Jay could turn the kick drum and snare drums on and off at the touch of a button, creating breakdowns and transitions on the fly. This makes the drum section dynamic and interesting.
Ok, but before I go on about Dr. Rex, I should mention another thing that I was getting stuck on. Though Reason is my instrument, I wasn't 'playing it' in the sense that Jay plays his instruments, by clicking buttons and typing keys. I was using a mouse to move sliders and click play, stop, record. Definitely not the same feel. That was because I didn't understand how to get my MIDI controller to work with Reason. I'm using an M-Audio Axiom 61. This is a big mama, with 61 keys, sliders, banks, buttons, knobs. I'll be honest - it scares me. But alas I was saved. I stumbled upon (actually I think I RTFM) drivers that M-Audio wrote to work with Reason, making it pretty 'plug-in-play'. I don't have to program anything to get the knobs and sliders on my MIDI controller to move the knobs and sliders on Dr. Rex. And I can manually assign the pads to start and stop multiple Dr. Rex's, where I'm storing the loops. Yay!! Now I have more of an instrument that I can punch, twist, roll, click without the bore & bandwidth restraints of going through a mouse. And, I make the loops dynamic by cutting the bass drum with D and S sliders on the Amp Envelope or (my newest discovery) by routing Rex into a track on Live and using Live's many many many effects. Now we're having fun!!
So the next step, of course, is to move past relying on pre-made loops and build my own rhythms. But until then, I have quite a few different genre's to play with and Jay Rae, Mel Sky, Sklobot and Aaron can build the backgrounds, melodies and basslines on top of some pretty kick ass shit.
Back to Remix, the magazine that is helping me open my eyes to possibilities. It was there that I read an article that recommended opening multiple tracks on Live and inserting different effects to each track. What a great way to try out different sounds! I still don't understand everything that the rag talks about, but the hardware centerfolds, revealing all their RCA's, XLR, quarter inch and firewire jacks sure do make my mouth water. My favorite article is where the cover artist drops their drawers, sharing with us all the tools in their studio. Underworld, Bjork, Felix da Housecat. All the pieces they use to mark their own sound and experience is music tech geek heaven. I've seen it all. And I definitely want more.
I've been making great strides in learning production, far greater than I expected. I still feel like I'm in the first room of my mega-warehouse of audio art supplies, but I'm finally able to recognize tools and organize ideas. I recently realized that Reason is an instrument. Sure, I read the words VST a hundred times, but it didn't click until I started playing with Dr. Rex's Loop player. (I know Reason isn't actually a VST, as that is a standard, but that's what is so confusing!). Reason is a Virtual Studio. Literally! It consists of an imaginary rack with imaginary synthesizers, drum machines, players, mixers, samplers and signal processors that look like the real thing. You can even turn the rack around and see the cables jiggling, all plugged into each other. (Yay for virtual cable management!)
So my epiphany came when I 'discovered' Dr. Rex's Loop Player. I had been trying to find a way to create a rhythm section for Live Session (our live band project emerging in the heart of the Leschi Lounge), the way Jay Rae does with his drum machine (I think its a Roland MC-303). The biggest thing I learned was that all the loops that I'd been playing as Live clips were static. Read: boring. Jay could turn the kick drum and snare drums on and off at the touch of a button, creating breakdowns and transitions on the fly. This makes the drum section dynamic and interesting.
Ok, but before I go on about Dr. Rex, I should mention another thing that I was getting stuck on. Though Reason is my instrument, I wasn't 'playing it' in the sense that Jay plays his instruments, by clicking buttons and typing keys. I was using a mouse to move sliders and click play, stop, record. Definitely not the same feel. That was because I didn't understand how to get my MIDI controller to work with Reason. I'm using an M-Audio Axiom 61. This is a big mama, with 61 keys, sliders, banks, buttons, knobs. I'll be honest - it scares me. But alas I was saved. I stumbled upon (actually I think I RTFM) drivers that M-Audio wrote to work with Reason, making it pretty 'plug-in-play'. I don't have to program anything to get the knobs and sliders on my MIDI controller to move the knobs and sliders on Dr. Rex. And I can manually assign the pads to start and stop multiple Dr. Rex's, where I'm storing the loops. Yay!! Now I have more of an instrument that I can punch, twist, roll, click without the bore & bandwidth restraints of going through a mouse. And, I make the loops dynamic by cutting the bass drum with D and S sliders on the Amp Envelope or (my newest discovery) by routing Rex into a track on Live and using Live's many many many effects. Now we're having fun!!
So the next step, of course, is to move past relying on pre-made loops and build my own rhythms. But until then, I have quite a few different genre's to play with and Jay Rae, Mel Sky, Sklobot and Aaron can build the backgrounds, melodies and basslines on top of some pretty kick ass shit.
Back to Remix, the magazine that is helping me open my eyes to possibilities. It was there that I read an article that recommended opening multiple tracks on Live and inserting different effects to each track. What a great way to try out different sounds! I still don't understand everything that the rag talks about, but the hardware centerfolds, revealing all their RCA's, XLR, quarter inch and firewire jacks sure do make my mouth water. My favorite article is where the cover artist drops their drawers, sharing with us all the tools in their studio. Underworld, Bjork, Felix da Housecat. All the pieces they use to mark their own sound and experience is music tech geek heaven. I've seen it all. And I definitely want more.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
U Huh Her
Thur Nov 15
Live
U Huh Her (Murmur's/L Word's Leisha Hailey & Mellowdrone's Camila Grey) @ Nectar
DJ
Robb Green & Recess @ Nijo
L.I.C.K.'s Last Night @ Chop Suey
Fri Nov 16
Ol' Skinny, Jen Woolf e & Swank ~ Electric Ave @ C.H.A.C.
GrooveDrive ~ a Buddhaful House & Rocket Factory event dedicated to resurrecting the groove in Seattle.
Sat Nov 17
Head up to Bellingham for some fresh air.
Trevor & Peter Evans ~ House @ Da Dome
Live
U Huh Her (Murmur's/L Word's Leisha Hailey & Mellowdrone's Camila Grey) @ Nectar
DJ
Robb Green & Recess @ Nijo
L.I.C.K.'s Last Night @ Chop Suey
Fri Nov 16
Ol' Skinny, Jen Woolf e & Swank ~ Electric Ave @ C.H.A.C.
GrooveDrive ~ a Buddhaful House & Rocket Factory event dedicated to resurrecting the groove in Seattle.
Sat Nov 17
Head up to Bellingham for some fresh air.
Trevor & Peter Evans ~ House @ Da Dome
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
NEXT GIG: Friday Nov 16 @ Electric Ave
UHF and the Capitol Hill Arts Center invite you to walk
on down to...
ELECTRIC AVENUE
EVERY Friday night at the CHAC Lower Level
Friday, November 16th, 2007
FEATURING:
Ol' Skinny
Jen Woolfe
Swank
Location:
CHAC Lower Level
1621 12th Ave - Capitol Hill
10p - 2a
21+
Price:
FREE FREE FREE!!!!!
on down to...
ELECTRIC AVENUE
EVERY Friday night at the CHAC Lower Level
Friday, November 16th, 2007
FEATURING:
Ol' Skinny
Jen Woolfe
Swank
Location:
CHAC Lower Level
1621 12th Ave - Capitol Hill
10p - 2a
21+
Price:
FREE FREE FREE!!!!!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Legendary Weekend
Fri Nov 09
PreFunk: Electric Avenue @ Lower Level
Place2Be: Broken Disco @ Chop Suey (18+)
AfterHours: Hengst Studio
Sat Nov 10
Two amazing parties!!
Magnetic III @ Pacific Science Center (18+)
SeaCompression @ Sandpoint Hanger
Sun Nov 11
Rest
Check nwtekno for details!
PreFunk: Electric Avenue @ Lower Level
Place2Be: Broken Disco @ Chop Suey (18+)
AfterHours: Hengst Studio
Sat Nov 10
Two amazing parties!!
Magnetic III @ Pacific Science Center (18+)
SeaCompression @ Sandpoint Hanger
Sun Nov 11
Rest
Check nwtekno for details!
Thursday, November 08, 2007
The Gift
Last night Lg* said, 'You are very lucky.'
I said, 'Yes, but you make your own luck is what I always say'.
Lg* said, 'How?'
I gave an answer, but it wasn't very well thought out. I've come to some better conclusions today. A better way to express why the Universe has been so lovely to me.
Through DJ'ing, I've discovered many of my Gifts. By Gifts, I mean things that the Universe has given to me that have helped me through life. For example, I can see people how they really are, not as they present themselves to be. This is a gift because DJ'ing publicly is very social. When I am interacting with people, I'm speaking directly to who they are on the inside. I think people need that, crave that, and it draws them to me.
A Universal Truth is 'That which you give comes back to you tenfold, but never in a way you expect'. My Gifts bring me luck, but not directly. I use my Gifts to give, expecting nothing. I do it because it makes me happy. I feel joy. I help people first find themselves, then find their Gifts and eventually find their Art so they can express and start giving. The more I give my Gift, the more gifts I find.
I'm always actively working on being the best person I can be. The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz is my current bible of sorts. I'm learning not to take things personally. My I.T. contract was terminated two months early. This was a shock to me, but I'm okay with it. I can pay my bills for a few, that's one important thing. I'm very confident with my performance. I worked very very hard. And because of that, I know the termination has nothing to do with me. The claim was that I made too many mistakes. And its true, I did. But I performed my best, and, in my opinion, the best that most people could, given the difficulty of the situation.
I'm learning to focus on the positive. Positive begets positive, just as negative begets negative. 'What you focus on with your thought and feeling is what you attract into your experience'1, another Universal Truth. Instead of thinking about how many awful things were related to my contract, I'm focusing on what I got out of it. Things that help me grow.
For example, I was forced to learn a very large, undocumented system in a very short amount of time. Because of that, I'm much more confident about my I.T. skills. Secondly, I was working 50-60 hour weeks including weekends and many times worked until 3,4 or 5 in the morning or was called to work at 4,5 and 6 in the morning. I was more productive in that job than I have ever been. I'm continuing on that productiveness by using the forward motion to motivated me to work harder on my own goals now that I'm at home again. Next, I was asked to keep very specific details on the tasks I did throughout the day. Doing that in the workplace has helped me to focus the hours of my day now to work more on music and less on promotions so I can use my time the way I want to - to produce music. Another thing was that working so much renewed my appreciation on the importance of going out dancing with friends to get the grime of work energy off your soul. I needed that. I needed to be reminded that DJ'ing is not a job by having an actual job. Lastly, having to move my passions to the side for two months has helped me remember how much I get out of music and how it fulfills me. I want it in my life and I'm going to work as hard as I can to keep it there.
And I work. I'm a work-a-holic. I'm actually addicted to work. Addiction is not a positive thing, but chipping away at things piece by piece over a number of years is bound to get you somewhere. I've been a DJ for almost 7 years, in I.T. for 10. I have a college degree and started working when I was 14. I've come very far in life by just working hard.
I'm a very open person, a writer at the core. I want to share everything good that happens to me. I want others to be able to enjoy what I enjoy. I also want to share the bad things that happen to me. The most painless way to grow is by learning from others. I make many mistakes, because I'm not afraid to. I take many risks, though intelligent ones. I'm a true strategist. I think out everything. I've never jumped without that second parachute. But I rarely need it. Because even if bad things happen, they are still good. You make them into positive experiences, just by how you think and what you take out of every situation.
The more I give, the more I work, especially on myself, the more I stay positive and the more open I am, the more my light shines. And the more my light shines, the more people are drawn to me. The more people are drawn to me, I'm more successful of a DJ (or writer, or friend). And the more successful of a DJ I am, the more I can share what I've learned through all my experiences and through all your experiences. And the more that I share, the more powerful the Gift of giving becomes and the more powerful I become, as a person, an artist, a soul.
1. http://www.universallawstoday.com/100%20Quotes.html
I said, 'Yes, but you make your own luck is what I always say'.
Lg* said, 'How?'
I gave an answer, but it wasn't very well thought out. I've come to some better conclusions today. A better way to express why the Universe has been so lovely to me.
Through DJ'ing, I've discovered many of my Gifts. By Gifts, I mean things that the Universe has given to me that have helped me through life. For example, I can see people how they really are, not as they present themselves to be. This is a gift because DJ'ing publicly is very social. When I am interacting with people, I'm speaking directly to who they are on the inside. I think people need that, crave that, and it draws them to me.
A Universal Truth is 'That which you give comes back to you tenfold, but never in a way you expect'. My Gifts bring me luck, but not directly. I use my Gifts to give, expecting nothing. I do it because it makes me happy. I feel joy. I help people first find themselves, then find their Gifts and eventually find their Art so they can express and start giving. The more I give my Gift, the more gifts I find.
I'm always actively working on being the best person I can be. The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz is my current bible of sorts. I'm learning not to take things personally. My I.T. contract was terminated two months early. This was a shock to me, but I'm okay with it. I can pay my bills for a few, that's one important thing. I'm very confident with my performance. I worked very very hard. And because of that, I know the termination has nothing to do with me. The claim was that I made too many mistakes. And its true, I did. But I performed my best, and, in my opinion, the best that most people could, given the difficulty of the situation.
I'm learning to focus on the positive. Positive begets positive, just as negative begets negative. 'What you focus on with your thought and feeling is what you attract into your experience'1, another Universal Truth. Instead of thinking about how many awful things were related to my contract, I'm focusing on what I got out of it. Things that help me grow.
For example, I was forced to learn a very large, undocumented system in a very short amount of time. Because of that, I'm much more confident about my I.T. skills. Secondly, I was working 50-60 hour weeks including weekends and many times worked until 3,4 or 5 in the morning or was called to work at 4,5 and 6 in the morning. I was more productive in that job than I have ever been. I'm continuing on that productiveness by using the forward motion to motivated me to work harder on my own goals now that I'm at home again. Next, I was asked to keep very specific details on the tasks I did throughout the day. Doing that in the workplace has helped me to focus the hours of my day now to work more on music and less on promotions so I can use my time the way I want to - to produce music. Another thing was that working so much renewed my appreciation on the importance of going out dancing with friends to get the grime of work energy off your soul. I needed that. I needed to be reminded that DJ'ing is not a job by having an actual job. Lastly, having to move my passions to the side for two months has helped me remember how much I get out of music and how it fulfills me. I want it in my life and I'm going to work as hard as I can to keep it there.
And I work. I'm a work-a-holic. I'm actually addicted to work. Addiction is not a positive thing, but chipping away at things piece by piece over a number of years is bound to get you somewhere. I've been a DJ for almost 7 years, in I.T. for 10. I have a college degree and started working when I was 14. I've come very far in life by just working hard.
I'm a very open person, a writer at the core. I want to share everything good that happens to me. I want others to be able to enjoy what I enjoy. I also want to share the bad things that happen to me. The most painless way to grow is by learning from others. I make many mistakes, because I'm not afraid to. I take many risks, though intelligent ones. I'm a true strategist. I think out everything. I've never jumped without that second parachute. But I rarely need it. Because even if bad things happen, they are still good. You make them into positive experiences, just by how you think and what you take out of every situation.
The more I give, the more I work, especially on myself, the more I stay positive and the more open I am, the more my light shines. And the more my light shines, the more people are drawn to me. The more people are drawn to me, I'm more successful of a DJ (or writer, or friend). And the more successful of a DJ I am, the more I can share what I've learned through all my experiences and through all your experiences. And the more that I share, the more powerful the Gift of giving becomes and the more powerful I become, as a person, an artist, a soul.
1. http://www.universallawstoday.com/100%20Quotes.html
Sunday, November 04, 2007
NEXT GIG: Wed Nov 7 @ SeeSound
BEATZ WORK 5pm-2am @ SEE SOUND LOUNGE
Wed Nov 7 is the kick-off event of your new 1st Wednesday Promoters for Beatz Work
Adlib & Jen Woolfe!
People of Earth and Leschi Lounge proudly bring you
this very special first of the first Wednesday celebrations
a special Birthday for Ms Dazzle herself, Masil!
and featuring Happy Hour DJ's
Adlib (POE)
Eclyptix
Cory Ley
Then 9:30-2am
DJ*Joy
DJ Jules V (Buddha Belltown)
Jen Woolfe (Leschi Lounge)
Manos (Innerflight/Uniting Souls)
Free as always!!!!!
$5 Food Specials
$3 Beer, Wine, Champagne
Full bar, 21+ w/ID
See Sound Lounge (115 Blanchard St) --- Between 1st and 2nd
www.seesoundlounge.com
THIS PARTY ROCKS EVERY Wednesday for 9 solid hours of all the HOUSE , BREAKZ, TECHNO, and ELECTRO you can handle mid-week.
Wed Nov 7 is the kick-off event of your new 1st Wednesday Promoters for Beatz Work
Adlib & Jen Woolfe!
People of Earth and Leschi Lounge proudly bring you
this very special first of the first Wednesday celebrations
a special Birthday for Ms Dazzle herself, Masil!
and featuring Happy Hour DJ's
Adlib (POE)
Eclyptix
Cory Ley
Then 9:30-2am
DJ*Joy
DJ Jules V (Buddha Belltown)
Jen Woolfe (Leschi Lounge)
Manos (Innerflight/Uniting Souls)
Free as always!!!!!
$5 Food Specials
$3 Beer, Wine, Champagne
Full bar, 21+ w/ID
See Sound Lounge (115 Blanchard St) --- Between 1st and 2nd
www.seesoundlounge.com
THIS PARTY ROCKS EVERY Wednesday for 9 solid hours of all the HOUSE , BREAKZ, TECHNO, and ELECTRO you can handle mid-week.
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