unfiled

Fri - September 2, 2005

Thoughts on the tragedy

Rescue efforts are apparently still underway and people are still in danger. I've resisted blogging about the disaster over the last couple days because there's been so much coverage other places, but today I just can't stop thinking about it. I looked into taking the jeep down there to help with rescue efforts, when the hurricane hit, (I went down to plainfield years ago after the tornado there), but they require trained volunteers that have local experience, so I might start local volunteer experience or go get my EMT like I've been meaning to. I wish I had something profound to say or something to do, but apparently the only way to help is give money, which you can do at
www.redcross.org

I've been reading this weblog, there are a lot of trapped people still and the pleas for help in here have sobored my day and reminded me that while I sit in my air conditioned house, other people haven't had water or food or power for 4 days. People are starting to die from exposure now. It's especially heartbreaking to read about the hospital that is losing kids in it's neonatal unit.
http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/

Well today, my problems don't involve finding food or water or shelter or avoiding looters or starting my life all over, so I will be grateful for any small problems I might have, send some cash and pray for those affected by this tragedy.

Posted at 01:44 PM

Tue - July 19, 2005

Root canal...

Well today marked part 2 of my two episode root canal. Part one was yesterday and due to some complications bled over into part 2 which completes the root canal portion of my dental saga. Next monday comes a filling and a wait and see period to check for complications, which if there are none will be completed with a crown. Total cost for the bill? About $2000 after the crown. That's if there are no complications. If there are complications, then it's surgery where they cut the gum and peel it back and if that's not successful then they yank it. So think about all that the next time you don't feel like flossing. I know I will... ick.

As far as dental work goes, the root canal wasn't as bad as I'd feared. The 3 shots they give you to numb your mouth sure aren't fun, but still, not much compared to the original pain from the infection. I had planned on posting all the gory details here, but several friends of mine have already gotten queasy from me talking about it, so I'll just skip it to protect our more sensitive readers. My root canal today was not a total success, since the endodontist was only able to completely clear 2 of the roots and the other 2 were a littly iffy with the tip of a file (about a millimeter and a half) breaking off and lodging in the tooth and thus is now part of my filling. The point of a root canal is to clear the tooth of any soft tissue (nerves and blood vessels and pulp) so let's hope he got it all, otherwise there might be enough left to develop another infection which could have really negative side effects like spreading into your jawbone. An endodontist is a specialized dentist who has additional training and mine only does root canals..

Anyways, this root canal breaks the 10 year dental fast I'd managed and monday I go back to make sure the other teeth are ok and have a filling replace the temporary one they put in for the root canal. I still hate the dentist.. tricksy.. false..

Posted at 10:41 PM

Tue - July 12, 2005

the pain! the pain!

If you've been wondering why I'm not answering my phone, it's because I have a wicked tooth infection. Yes, the same tooth. No I didn't get it fixed the last time. Now I'm paying for it with a very serious tooth infection and pain like I've never felt before. I've been to the dentist and I'm on penicillin and tylenol 3, and while it helps with pain management, well.. I won't bore you with gory details, but let's just say I was on the floor puking yesterday and am worried about the infection spreading into my jawbone. If you pray, please toss one up for me. When this is all done, I will post all the gory details as well as a detailed guide to flossing. Floss! Brush your teeth! Go see a dentist!

Posted at 10:10 AM

Tue - June 14, 2005

all I want are shark's with frickin laser beams on their heads...

actually I don't want sharks with laser beams.. but I am considering getting lasik or some variant of it done on my eyeballs. I know they've improved the technology a lot in the last couple years and I'm very nearsighted and have relatively bad astigmatism so I'm thinking about it.. there's a lot of stuff I'd like to do like say surfing or whitewater rafting or jet skis or martial arts that don't lend themselves to wearing glasses. I am pretty creeped out by the whole concept though of them cutting the flap off my cornea and peeling it back... The rest i can handle. It's a weird comment on society when I am more weirded out by the doctor making a surgical incision than I am about the computer controlled laser in my eyeball. I have always had glasses as long as I can remember so I think I'm going to have to keep wearing them just for my mental comfort and the fact that I have a lifetime of wearing them so have probably not developed the appropriate reflexes to protect my eyes. There was one summer where I wore gas perms when I was a lifeguard and I didn't enjoy that much at all. The best part of each day was taking them out... Anyone had any experience with lasik?

I am at home today and have to go prep for a photoshoot for my friend Camerin Courtney. Camerin is an editor over at TCW and she's finished up her second book that she co-wrote with my other friend Todd who works over at Campus Life. I am shooting their author photos today for the back jacket of their book and I'm so proud of them.

Posted at 02:33 PM

Mon - May 2, 2005

Utah

It's kind of disorienting doing 12 shows in a row, we're on show 10 of 12 today and after awhile, it all becomes a blur of going to sleep in one city and waking up in another one, sometimes in a different timezone. I find myself waking up and not knowing where or when I am. You really lose track of the weekend cause there's no punctuation to your week. Which is a lot like a studio week actually... I called my management on saturday morning completely unaware that it was a weekend and got a rather chilly "are you calling me about work on a saturday?"... sorry abby. Anyways, it was awesome to wake up this morning and see mountains. Here's a shot of benji setting up some travel arrangements as he's joining us through england and than onto ireland. Any tips on what to do and see in london or dublin?

Posted at 12:33 PM

Sat - April 30, 2005

Snowing in boulder.

It is snowing. It's almost may. argh. Here's our bus in the snow.

Posted at 06:29 PM

Tue - April 19, 2005

Off to the dentist

Yesterday I wore Kevlar underpants. Well maybe not kevlar.. it says something about "aramid" fibers, which certainly doesn't sound comfortable, but actually isn't too bad. After my buddy tony had his GSXR 600 slide out from underneath him on the track last year I've been planning on getting some armored riding pants since jeans really don't do much when you're sliding on the pavement at 60 miles an hour. My solution ended up being some leg armor and "riding shorts" reinforced with some fancy mojo that is meant to prevent you from having all the skin scraped off your bum should you have to ditch your bike at freeway speeds. Now all I need are a pair of those fancy armored SIDI boots I've been eyeing... $300 bucks for boots... but they have integrated ankle protectors!.. and they look so cool!... anyways. off to the dentist for me.... I'll let you know how it goes when i get back.

Posted at 10:28 AM

Wed - April 13, 2005

GMA has come and gone

GMA this year was so crazy busy that somehow I didn't take a single picture. The amazing thing was that the rocketown/inpop showcase we played last night was packed to capacity and they were turning people away.. here's the pix I've been trying to post from the last run before GMA. I feel like they capture some of that calm before the storm that happens when we set up at noon on a show day. For those of you who were wondering, we sold 8700 CDs our first week, thanks for getting us there, we appreciate it. The CDs should be more readily available now as they get stocked onto shelves.

The second pic is our intrepid road manager and sound guy Zito. He's taken over from me the role of group mom and it makes me so much happier. Zito is addicted to caffeine like some people need air. Zito and melissa are a good reason to buy stock in starbucks.

Posted at 02:52 PM

Thu - March 31, 2005

If you can't find the new record, please keep trying.

We've had some reports of the record being sold out already, I know one e-tailer blew through their 1000 units to pre-sales, but please keep trying to find the record. 1st week sales are really important because everyone's watching and they are a pretty good indicator of how the record is going to do, so if you want to support the band, please keep trying to find the record, preferably from a store since not all e-tailers soundscan. Some best buys are carrying it, but call ahead cause not all of them have it in stock right now. Soundscan is the way the music industry keeps track of sales. You guys helped pump pure up to #1 at CHR and it's still there, so if you're gonna buy the album, getting it this week helps us out. peace! You will like it I promise.. :)

Posted at 12:53 PM

Tue - March 29, 2005

Release date is here!

Go buy it! Beauty from Pain! Listen. Repeat. Discuss. For the less intrepid, check it out at www.superchick.net first.

Posted at 02:00 AM

Thu - February 17, 2005

Our thoughts and prayers are with you Sarah.

It has been a crazy week.. I've been meaning to blog, but it's been happening so fast that I haven't been able to process it fast enough.. Sadly, I found out recently that Sarah, (otherwise known as fish) to readers of this blog lost her mother to breast cancer just a couple days ago. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a parent and I know that she's been staying at home and tending her mom full time the last couple months. Also recently, a friend to many in the music industry was lost in a fishing boat accident in alaska while he was shooting a documentary. After Melissa came back from the memorial service, I know she was pretty shaken up, but I think it's a good kind of shaken up. We need to ask ourselves what this all means? every now and than and if the people we love are taken away, have we said and done everything that needed to be said and done?

It's so easy to lose perspective, I've had a lot of things go wrong lately and been yelled at by a sprint store manager and before you know it, your whole day is shot because you can't let go of the way that horrid manager treated you.. and off I go on my little self righteous pity party and the phone rings and you hear someone's mom died of breast cancer and all of a sudden none of it matters. I'm so full of myself sometimes.

Our prayers are with you Sarah.

thank you God for the health of the people I love

Posted at 11:56 PM

Mon - February 14, 2005

Happy Valentine's day!

As one friend said to me earlier; "happy Single Awareness Day!" For all my single friends out there feeling black and blue on valentine's day, just remember that I love you, you're so smart/sexy/cool/fun/clever/sassy and have this whole year of possibilities in front of you. If you thought what I just said was a load of crap than go to www.despair.com and check out the bittersweets. woot!

Posted at 10:06 PM

Fri - January 14, 2005

9 down, one to go

Well, I've got this weekend left to finish dialing in melissa's song. It's gonna be a long weekend of programming, but I do want to make the song as great as I can and I'm looking forward.. so looking forward to this being done. The end of a project that felt like it consumed my life and no doubt made this blog somewhat boring. People seem to be reacting to the record pretty well, Pure is doing well at radio and the label is getting more and more excited with every song we turn in. I've also been getting to know some other producers while I've been down here and it's been fun, meeting other people who are actually a lot like me. I thought I was the only odd one.. I am pretty pleased with this record and while there's always things I would change, I feel like most of the songs are close enough. I've come to realize that I am a perfectionist and frequently, the little things that bug me that I spend hours fixing don't seem to bug other people. Reid has done an amazing job of taking the rough tracks and polishing them to a rather gritty perfection. As I work more with him, I'm learning what to bring him and how to make things work. This is by far our most fruitful collaboration and I've come to enjoy him a lot as a friend. Last night was one of the dark nights before the dawn, By 5 in the morning, I'd lost perspective and while I was prepping the tracks, I just thought the song sucked, but in the morning after Reid polished it up, it sounded just fine. It's not as detailed and clever as I'd like it, but it's fine...the label wants to make it the next single.. go figure. much love to everyone who has been supporting us.

Posted at 08:06 PM

Tue - January 11, 2005

Mixdown

We're in nashville, mixes are going great, except Reid is mixing super fast, which means I am barely keeping up with him, thus no time to take pictures or blog except to say "hey, it's going pretty good!" Reid is making the songs sound nice and agressive. As always, it's also a good hang. Maybe pics in the next couple days when I can come up for air... 2 down. 5 to go on this run.

Posted at 02:55 AM

Sun - January 9, 2005

Time's up folks, please put down your pencils.

Well, we're sliding into the home stretch with a lot of clean up to do, but most major issues solved. As always, I wish there was more time, but at least there's going to be a record by release date. I leave for nash vegas tomorrow and will start mixdown monday morning. I'm bringing the computer so I'll actually be racing Reid and trying to stay one day ahead of him, which buys me 6 extra days to work on the tunes, whereas otherwise they'd all have to be done by now, which they're not. This is it kids. Last chances to make changes and a whole week to wish I'd worked harder so I was more prepared.. it's like when I get to photoshoots and wish I'd started working out.. like 2 years ago. Gosh when this record is done, what in the world am I going to blog about? Actually come to think of it, this blog might be a lot more interesting then... so would my life.

Posted at 03:55 AM

Wed - January 5, 2005

He's going the distance...

Well.. just a note to say that things are going pretty well.. I think we got a grip on the worst of the last problems today and between Dave and I might have worked out a nice little string and piano arrangement. I am deeply regretting the time my father told me to take music theory lessons and I decided I didn't need them.. a little class in orchestration would have been real helpful today.. and many many other times. The last couple big issues are falling into place and now it's just a mad race to get all 7 songs ready for mix... lots of editing and tightening and trimming and coming up with endings...I even roughed out a cover with the talented Ben Frank who did the lovely regeneration cover. Ben runs benfrankdesign.com among other things.

crazy I tell ya, but it might just work.

Posted at 03:42 AM

Tue - January 4, 2005

Home stretch

Well we're in our last week before mixdown. At this point, we're patching the last remaining holes or bits that are not so great. After that I'll add as much "candy" as I can, (candy is the detail stuff, the little DJ bits and drops and edits that make your ears perk) and than try to get it all squeezed down into 100 tracks per song so they can get mixed by reid starting monday. A couple big unknowns left, but we solved a big one today, matt's been coming through for me a lot and he's going to have quite a vocal presence on this record.. actually.. all the s-chick members are breaking out on this record, matt is co-producing a couple songs with me, Tricia is singing stuff we never thought she could do and Melissa takes the lead on a very personal song... it's going to be a pretty diverse record but I think it will be good. It's pretty hairy right now cause the label needs a cover by tomorrow and we don't have one. I can't switch gears to work on the cover and finish this record at the same time. Whoever think this isn't hard work is invited to try to match my work pace: 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, 4 months in a row and see if they can keep up. This record was born through blood, sweat and tears and is about finding light in the dark. It's been hard for all of us lately and I know 2 members of the band aren't sleeping well tonight, so keep them in your prayers. More lyrics from this record came up in conversation tonight and they are:

and though I can't understand why this happened
I know that I will when I look back someday
and see how you've brought
beauty from ashes
and made me as gold purified through these flames

after all this has passed
I still will remain
after I've cried my last
there'll be beauty from pain
and though it won't be today
someday I'll hope again
and there'll be beauty from pain
you will bring beauty from pain.

There would be a nice picture of tricia here at the bottom, but once again, iblog is not working properly. Note to self: Get movable type.

Posted at 04:00 AM

Wed - December 29, 2004

Our prayers go out to southeast asia

With the death toll passing 60,000 people, I am reminded that no matter how bad my problems seem to be, there are real life and death struggles being fought elsewhere and I should be grateful, thankful and generous with my life. Let's live out today, like it is a gift and say a prayer for the families that are grieving right now and especially for those who are searching for the lost.

Posted at 03:26 AM

Thu - December 9, 2004

Going home

The mix came out beautifully. I'm headed home to finish up the rest of the songs (6) in about 10 days. woo hoo. Tricia and Melissa are coming up to do vocals for awhile.
Oh and this video is cracking me up a lot:
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/woknwoll.php

Posted at 02:38 AM

Tue - December 7, 2004

Back in nashville

Sorry I haven't been updating, I've been buried finishing up this song we're mixing today and the David Crowder remix. I'm in nashville right now mixing with Reid again. The song is called Pure and it's one of my favorite songs that I've ever written. It might be the next single. Oh and incidentally I might be wrong on the release date.. I've been told it might actually be march 29. Either way, I know that my Janurary turn in date is coming up fast. It's always so hard to work around christmas, everyone has family commitments and i feel bad making people come up to do vocals.

Posted at 06:33 PM

Tue - November 30, 2004

Inspiration

If any of you need to hear an inspiring testimony, the guy who is my photography mentor has an amazing story that he shares in prisons. It's very powerful to me. You can find it at:

http://www.jharman.com/

Posted at 04:21 PM

Mon - November 29, 2004

Back from nashville

Alright, 2 songs in the can. Back to the grind. More songs to finish this week. Some of you might know that I also moonlight as part of the reclusive thump monks. Just checked in to see how progress is going on our David Crowder remix and it's going to be very very cool. More superchick songs to finish this week. It's final btw, march release. Beauty from Pain.

Posted at 03:00 PM

Fri - November 26, 2004

Post from nashville

Well I'm in nashville right now, mixing 2 songs with Reid Shippen, who's making sonic magic with my stuff. Mixing is where they take all the tracks I've recorded and combine them into a cohesive whole. If you look back to the last blog on mixing you can see a picture of Reid and where we are. I forgot to bring my camera on this trip as well as a toothbrush and in fact anything but the music.. I cut it down to the last minute and rushed to the airport on thanksgiving day and then proceeded to sit in the airport while my flight was delayed. My thanksgiving meal consisted of a sandwich I bought at the airport. It was pretty good however and I'm no complaining, since I just got a world vision enevelope with a picture of a little kid and the caption "sometimes I'm so hungry it hurts". As stressed as I've been lately about things, seeing that envelope made me realize that there are worse kinds of stress than not meeting your deadlines...actually I was glad to be in the airport, I think I was one of the few happy people there.. it was nice to be out of the studio and see new people, even if they were unhappy travelers on thanksgiving.

The mixes are going well though and I am excited to be seeing it all come together. I finally got a solid 8 hours of rest in last night, although I am staying in melissa and tricia's apartment (they're in Indiana) and just as I was falling asleep I heard a loud rustling that I swore was in the empty apartment and I got up and looked around and a very fast, little mouse went zipping by the door.

Posted at 08:11 PM

Mon - November 22, 2004

Thanksgiving plans.

Hey Everyone

Sorry I haven't been blogging, just buried trying to get stuff wrapped up for mix this week. The girls and matt are here doing vocals today and hopefully we can wrap up a couple more songs. We mix 2 songs at the end of this week, I fly out on turkey day. I always get my best work done on holidays. Phone doesn't ring...

I have also discovered you can stare at a computer screen so long, your eyes hurt.

Posted at 01:20 PM

Tue - November 16, 2004

Alaska calls, but I remain

So I've been prepping for this alaska trip we booked before we knew the record was going to be late.. we planned a couple days in alaska with a show in anchorage and last week I updated my snowboarding gear with fresh gloves and pants in preparation for 2 days of snowboarding in alaska. I haven't really been boarding since a trip to vail 2 years ago, so I am really excited to be blogging this to you from a plane on my way to alaska. Well.. actually.. I'm not on the plane. the band is, but after discussing the schedule for this record and doing some hard math, I decided to stay behind and make some more progress on this record. It is going well though and I am starting to get my groove on again. This actually isn't as bad as giving up our european tour during the L1P record.. I was hoping to come back from Alaska with pics of aurora borealis and all that, but maybe zito will, since he's sporting a brand new digital rebel. I also hear amazing things about the canon 20D for those of you looking for nice nice christmas presents to ask for. Anyways.. pauvre moi... ok. pity party over. let's move on.

I just finished reading Bethany Hamilton's story. If you haven't already heard it, Bethany is a 14 year old girl from Hawaii who was training to be a professional surfer when she got attacked by a shark. She lost an arm in the process. The photos are pretty amazing, the shark took a big chunk out of her surfboard. Well, the awesome thing is she's back up and surfing again. This girl is everything that superchick is about. We've got a song we're mixing soon called anthem and it's dedicated to her.

Oh and stephanie is the winner of the guess the quote contest, the correct answer being the A-Team. Stephanie doesn't win anything except of course my respect. Oh and a cup of coffee if she ever wants to come here and get it.

Posted at 04:41 PM

The election is over, let it go.

Update

Do you want the good news or the bad news...?

new equation for making a record.

too busy to blog

mud boggin

watch the Sarah McLachlan video on itunes!

Beauty in chaos

Chaos reigns!

Hey hey, the gangs all here.

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