Tag: performance

News – November 2nd, 2017 – Wiring, teaching, and recording

Trent Davis

I’ve been lax in posting news updates.  I’m going to try to be better about this.

Wiring

I’ve got the studio desk pretty much done, but I’m doing some additional wiring, such as adding a few electrical outlets to the desk itself.

I’m also making all new audio cables.  This includes 32 XLR cables for inside the desk, 16 XLR cables for the drum mics, dozens of 14″ TRS cables, and a 16-channel XLR snake.  I keep pushing this off since I’m not looking forward to that much soldering.  Tedious work while hunched over a workbench gets old really quick.  I’m going to do these in batches.

 

Shure SM57 Right-Angle Mod

I have several Shure SM57 microphones that I am going to perform the right-angle mod to.  I plan on documenting this thoroughly so anyone can do this.  In the following picture you can see the microphone on the right, which has the right-angle mod applied, is much more out of the way than the one on the left, which does not have the mod applied.

Teaching

On November 29th, I will be teaching a class for The Guild of Oregon Woodworkers on the care and feeding of a SawStop (the class isn’t advertised on their site yet).  It’s been a while since I taught a class so I’m really looking forward to this.  I’ll try to convert all the info into articles on my blog so if you are unable to make it to the class – due to previous commitments or the fact that you are thousands of miles away from Portland Oregon – you can still make use of the information.

 

Recording for Bright & Shiny

Recording is still going on for the album by Bright & Shiny.  It’s hard for me to get time to record, lately.  I only have the drum tracks to a few songs left, then I can proceed with the auxiliary percussion.  After that, I will begin posting videos of each song.

 

The Map of Alice

Sadly, I had to call it quits with The Map of Alice.  There were some personality conflicts and the visions for the project were just not lining up.  It was mostly fun while it lasted.

News – June 15th, 2017 – Performance video update

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Trent Davis

The recording for the upcoming album by Bright & Shiny is progressing well.  I have been playing around with the video for a few songs and although it isn’t finished, I decided to share an early version of one of the videos.

I’m playing around with the title sequence and cutting back and forth between different camera angles.  Although the drum performance is pretty much finalized, the rest of the song is not the finished version.  Also, none of this has been mixed and mastered.

A few interesting things to note with this song is the use of some of my “Rescued Cymbals”.  In addition to the small chime cymbals that I use in pretty much every song, I am also using two cut down Wuhan Lion (or China) cymbals which are positioned above my two main rack toms.  I’m also using a 12″ Glennie’s Garbage positioned above my hi-hat.  This is quickly becoming one of my favorite cymbals.

Enjoy…

Every Time I Fall – Performance video

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Trent Davis

I recorded the drum tracks for Every Time I Fall, a song I’m working on with Jongwon Kim.

 

I have a somewhat peculiar way of recording.

I actually record the drum tracks a total of eight times, one after the other without any breaks in between.  Typically, the first two tracks are throw-aways.  I use them as a chance to warm up while also re-familiarizing myself with the structure of the song and the ideas that I wanted to incorporate into it.  The reason I like these takes to be recorded rather than just playing it a few times on my own is because I might spontaneously (or accidentally) play something that is just perfect for the song that I may not remember afterwards so it’s nice to have it documented.

I don’t actually expect to have a “keeper” take until the fifth or sixth time through the song.  Once I get these, I use them as my safety net.  Now I have two more takes where I can get crazy and try things that may not work but would be fun to at least attempt and listen to later.  These two takes are usually filled with screw-ups but every now and then I hear something that I really like and I will actually incorporate it into the song, either with editing or doing a few more takes.

On this particular song, I had gotten a keeper take by the fifth run-through.  The sixth and seventh were nice but didn’t really speak to me.  Then on the eighth take I just didn’t worry about anything and focused on just playing comfortably.  I wasn’t going for flashy.  It was just one of those moments where you realize you know the song well enough to play it without even thinking about it.  Actually, while I was doing this take, I believe I was thinking about a few metalworking projects I have planned.  In my subconscious I was just enjoying the song.  It was like background music that I was controlling.  This ended up being the take that I’m going to use for the final recording.

Anyway, here are a few videos.  I recorded the tracks in Ableton and didn’t do any real mixing or mastering other than the basic levels that I have set up for my drum recording template.  The first version includes the temporary guitar backing tracks.  The second version is only the drums.

 

Every Time I Fall (With backing tracks)

Every Time I Fall (Without backing tracks)

https://youtu.be/XfvmdlpETMM

Video Performance – Test

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Trent Davis

This is just a test of the over-the-head GoPro setup.  The audio was recorded in Ableton and edited into the video.

This was when we were auditioning a new keyboard player so it’s a pretty low-key performance.  I was also just getting over the flu so I didn’t have a lot of energy.  To top it all off, I was also breaking in a new pair of Doc Martens, which I normally really love to wear when I’m playing but which are rather unforgiving when they’re fairly new.

Only The Strong – 2016-10-06