It's Dusty In Here...

I'm actually going to attempt to use this blog again, though I make no promises. My job, exciting as it may be, is also difficult and exhausting. It really depends on my energy level at any given blogging opportunity. I've got tons o' cool stuff going on, though, and I could use the brain dump...so let the dumping commence!

First: GarageBand

I've been having WAY too much fun with GarageBand for my iPad. I've used it to create music for some Amazon videos (for work), and as I get more and more familiar with it, I am simply blown away. I spent a fortune on equipment that can't do all the things this little five-dollar app can do. After working with it so much for my job, I wanted to try a couple of things for myself, and the results are embedded in the players on the right. It seems stupid, but GarageBand gave me the push I needed to get off my butt and start recording music again (albeit in a much different way than before). Hooray!


Second: Jobby-Job

My last post was so long ago (before my first day at my current job), I can't even begin to catch up on everything that's happened since. Game development/design/manufacturing, package design, video editing, music composition, huge conventions, and so much more. Needless to say, I'm incredibly happy with my job now (such a bizarre feeling). It's not always fun, but it's by far the most interesting and engaging work I've ever done. I've always taken pride in doing good work, but I haven't always valued my job. I value this one immensely, and I'd like to say I've found my real career path, though that's never a certainty. It's also the reason I abandoned this blog for so long—I skid in the front door every night, completely spent (and not particularly eager to look at another computer screen). It's tough and time-consuming work, but rewarding beyond measure.

I will have a new video to post as soon as it goes live, but for now, my most current video is for Nanuk, one of our card games. This is the first to use my music, too, which was recorded in its entirety using only the GarageBand app (but the silly "DOOM!" whisper at the end was not my idea, I swear). Check it out:

 

Third: (REDACTED)

The biggest news, which I don't think I can share here yet, is that yet another massive, life-altering change is afoot, and it's going to be spectacular. All I can say now is that Julia and I really appreciate all you folks who have offered advice, help, hugs, and anything else. I cannot wait to see where this adventure leads us.



We shall see if this ol' can revive...but if not, I hope you understand. I'm a busy dude.

~S

Wow...it's been a long time since I had anything worthwhile to post here, but this is big enough to make up for it!

I was just hired as the Production Manager for Steve Jackson Games! Steve Jackson has designed some amazing games, including GURPS, OGRE, Car Wars, Illuminati, and Munchkin Quest, though they are most famous for their line of Munchkin card games:

From what I understand so far, I will be responsible for workflow (getting stuff to the artists, designers, marketers, and writers that need it) and for parts of the plastics manufacturing process, including game pieces and dice, such as the cool Cthulhu Dice below:

I can't even explain how lucky I am to have been accepted by the fine folks at SJG, and I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my career path. I'm terrified and excited at how simultaneously difficult and awesome this job will be, but it's something I never dreamed I'd be able to do — and I can't wait to start tomorrow morning!

Hooray, insomnia!

I've now remastered all the songs on the right --- some have more substantial changes than others --- and they're all at a much higher bit rate than the previous samples were, so they should all sound better.  Maybe I can stop obsessing and get some sleep now.

Maybe...

I pared the list of songs on the right down to just the ones I'm considering for an iTunes album release...assuming I can get off my butt and get a licensing deal with CDBaby.  They've also been reshuffled into the tentative track order, but that may change at some point.

I've been trying to tweak the music so that the "album" sounds sonically coherent, despite the variety of songs --- I want it to sound like the same band recorded all of the songs, rather than a mixtape of random recordings.  I want them to sound like home recordings, but not to the point that it seems sloppy or lazy.  It's a lot harder than I expected, given that my home studio setup changes so frequently, but I hope these all work together well.

Any feedback (positive AND negative) is very much welcome!

New song!  Yay!  Check out Chimaera in the sidebar.

This one is the product of only getting 90 minutes' worth of sleep in the past 48 hours.

It's a little evil-sounding, and the drum part kicked my butt...but I think it turned out pretty dang cool, if I'm allowed to toot my own horn a bit.


Now ---- BED.


****Edit: reworked the song and changed the name.