Sunday…the day before Monday

Today has been a day of rest, for sure. I’ve spent a good portion of the day in my chair reading and listening to records. I started Chuck Palahniuk’s Damned. I’m not sure whether I love it or I want to line a litter box with it. Jury is still out on that one. Album-wise I’ve hit up Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sleep, Steve Reich, and Miles Davis. Overall, it’s been a good day. We have Martin Luther King, Jr Day off, so I’m home tomorrow as well. I plan on getting some music business done in the studio, some of which I will be sharing soon.

When I got home Friday there was a box waiting for me. Inside this box was my new stereo receiver. An Onkyo TX-8020 to be exact. I’d been wanting to change receivers for awhile now, but just hadn’t found the right receiver. I’d had my Sony for almost 12 years. I’ve been very happy with it, but I’ve wanted to go with something simpler. The TX-8020 was that receiver. Instead of being a digital receiver, the Onkyo is an analog receiver(no tubes, but close enough.) It also has a dedicated phono jack which I was excited to try out. Well, after hooking it up I realized the phono in sounded like shit. It was noisy, buzzy, and the music was really quiet. I’d recently replaced the RCAs on my turntable as one shorted, so I wondered if that might have affected the phono out on my TT. Fortunately my TT has a built-in preamp so I don’t need a dedicated phone line in on a receiver. I quickly plugged into the tape in on the new Onkyo and the TT sounded fantastic. It’s hard for me to describe the difference, but I could definitely hear one. Less of a scooped-out digital sound. There’s more of a natural sound with this receiver. Anyways, today has been all about soaking my head in the analog noise.

Yesterday Cambodia Highball got together and did some recording. The result was the epic track “In D”, inspired by Terry Riley’s In C from 1968. I’ve been dipping my head in some minimalist composers lately and that influence and inspiration is showing in what Cambodia Highball is coming up with. We are very excited for this next album. I feel we were dipping our feet in the waters with Odd Geometry. With this next album we are diving in head first. Between Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and the classic doom/stoner metal I’ve been listening to obsessively, there’s no telling where this record will go. All I can say is “In D” is a whole new beast.

My other music project, dreamdistrict, is coming along nicely as well. I’m 5 songs in and each one gets better and better. Hoping to have something ready to share(album-wise)by March. We shall see.

Okay, there’s a pizza waiting to be eaten. I’m tired and ready for food. Hope your weekend was a good one.