The Love Feast!

The season is turning. The squirrels are still running around in the back yard, but they don't have much company anymore.

It's cold outside. But inside our little world it's as cosy as it's ever been! Tradition is taking hold in that lovely, warm way that it does. Like a chance meeting with an old friend… taking us back to those moments and faces that lie behind each outward symbol of the season… the things we really look forward to each December.


Our tree has gone up. And it's a good one this year!


Ornament roll-call. All members present? Touchdown Santa with an enthusiastic "YES!" Gary, and this year's newest addition, Raymond "Razor" the running Polar Bear, less excited, but present nonetheless…

_____

And so what do you do when the season is upon you? You invite your closest over, and you have a feast. You toast the year that was, and that which is to come, and above all, the opportunity to gather, and to eat, and to toast...

The 1st Annual Love Feast. An inaugural attempt at something we'd been talking about doing for a while now. An evening of eating great food, and drinking great wine. Of exchanging used books, and decorating the tree. Of singing carols (only the first verses... who knows further than that by heart?!), and ushering in what is sure to be a fantastic holiday...

Enjoy the snaps. And to you and yours, our very best. I honestly hope that it is for you what it is for me. Cheers, and the happiest of New Years!


"A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson.


















Kar and Kristina made an unbelievable meal!






Trish, Nik, Tina, and Josh.


My first attempt at a Mulled Christmas Wine... it was... strong! But good. Going to tweak my recipe and give it another go over the break at home...




Book exchange!

In The Moment

I really believe in living presently. I have a dream, somewhere in there amongst other vague ambitions and ideals, of me and my son or daughter running around on the front lawn after dinner as the sun sets over the field out back.

It's a cute image... all the parents reading this are rolling their eyes and dying to tell me how things really go...

More than the finer details, to me, it represents a full heart, and a restful soul. It's an image of a time in my life, perhaps, when my focus has shifted.

Years ago, that restless and impassioned youth I once was had every intention of living every day in the moment. Of choosing perspective over profit... priorities over... other things.

And yet, here I stand, in the midst of a life that, for the time being, seems rarely restful, and primarily inward-focused. I love the challenge of being the best possible version of myself. Relationally, professionally, spiritually... I'm as motivated as ever to be "on it." I'm increasingly sure of the value in going for it, in every sense, in everything. Life is about diving in, and grabbing hold. I enjoy the challenge of doing great work, and achieving excellence. I hate it, though, when the chase of those things in one arena inherently choke out my ability to do so in another... when equally important aspects of my life suffer the consequences of my spending most of my time focusing on, in this case, success at work.

And so, we keep on keeping on. I continue to pursue balance. Right now, it doesn't seem particularly inclined to wait around for me to catch up. I look forward to the holidays, and Ireland in the New Year. I look forward to seeing some of the work that's been keeping me away from friends lately on air at some point. And I look forward to watching that sun setting over the field out back. Whether that be a on a quiet country road, or simply a metaphorical state of mind...

Jimmy Eat World at MTV Live!

Well, today was a great day!


You always want to work with the pros.

I remember my boss at CTV telling me at one point that the A-listers are always the easiest guys to work with.

Well today I got to work with some A-listers. Jimmy Eat World has been doing it for a long time now, and doing it really well. I've always loved their music. They've got a thing for melody. And whether it was back in the 'Clarity' days, where the songs were longer, and, perhaps, a bit more self-aware, or the more pop-focused sound of the past few records, I've always felt they were a cut above their 'rock and roll' peers.


They've just put out a new record, and were in Toronto playing the Kool Haus last night. Today they were the musical guest on MTV Live and I was their music mixer for broadcast. In short, that means I was the guy mixing the band as you hear them on TV.

The first thing that blew me away was simply how much gear these guys loaded in. We pretty much packed their entire road rig into the Masonic Temple, all for 3 songs on TV! Their full Front-Of-House console and road racks, their entire monitor console and setup, all mics, cables, stands, and enough guitars and amps to drive a fifty-piece orchestra. It was sweet.

In terms of gear, there really is a difference between the big shots and the other guys. The last show I did their was a couple of rented fender reverbs and a small ludwig kit. Jimmy Eat World showed up with their sound all ready to go. Great amps, great guitars, great drums. Huge tone from every source.




So here's how this works. The band rolls in around noon. Well… you don't see the band for several hours. Their crew loads in, sets up, etc. For the first few hours, everybody is slinging cables, opening cases, building stands, etc. Everything has a place, and there's very little guess work. The guitars are pulled out, tuned up, wiped down, and racked. The drums are placed, tuned, and miked.

About five minutes before the band walks in, we do a quick tap-test to make sure all of our microphones are live and we're ready to go. In terms of setup, all sources are split at the stage. Monitors gets a copy, Front-Of-House gets a copy, and I get a copy. I run my own preamps (32 channels of DigiPre), and I'm entirely independent of the house mix. Today I was just over 30 channels wide.



By the time the band first walks in, everything is ready to go for them. They rehearse all three songs and I record them straight in a row. During rehearsal I'm getting basic sounds, keeping an eye on incoming levels, and basically just making sure I'm getting everything I need. All in all, everything sounds terrible at this point! About 20 minutes later, they re-rehearse all three songs again, this time specifically for the sake of planning camera blocking (angles and moves). Again, I record all three tunes.

At this point, the rest of the crew moves on to do some other prep work for the show, the band heads back to their bus to continue playing video games, and I've got the next few hours to essentially "mix" the rehearsal songs, the assumption being that "On the day", they'll essentially sound the same as they did in rehearsal.


At some point the road manager stops by to say hi and listen to how things are coming. If they hate it, well… hopefully they don't hate it! (they didn't)

And then suddenly it's show time!



It's a half-hour show, and the band plays three songs at the very end. One or two of them are live, and the others go online at mtv.ca.

It's a huge thrill to do this type of work. There's an immediacy, and an energy, that you just don't have with studio-type work. It's all about finding the right energy… the groove.

The show went really well. Working with Jimmy Eat World, getting to know the guys a little bit... this was a surreal experience. And yet... it really wasn't. Like I said, working with pros is easy! They do their job, and I do mine. And at the end of the day, if we're both as good as we should be... man, that's good TV! I listened to a replay of the show at home later tonight. I wasn't totally thrilled with my mixes, but… hey… when am I?

At the end of the day, the point, to me, is this: Eight years ago, when I was first getting into recording, I had dreams that someday, I'd work with Alison Krauss and Jimmy Eat World. I can't tell you how incredible it is to have been afforded that opportunity, or at least half of it (you're next Alison!). To be able to spend my days working with musicians of this calibre, knowing that they're putting their creative process in my hands and letting me decide how it should be presented to the final audience, is a great and humbling thing. The challenge is a total riot, and to walk out of the building at the end of the day and see hundreds of kids leaving, yelling about how it was "the best show I ever went to!", and know that you got to be a part of it from the inside, is a total blessing.

I love this. Life is good.
JB

Thanksgiving Hockey...

Spent the day up at The Drive Shed, a studio in northwest Toronto, recording a new version of "The Hockey Theme" for the upcoming NHL season on TSN. I love these gigs for their professionalism. Serious session players... the kind of guys who use two takes to get it right, but only because we're paying them for a four-hour call, and if we just used the first take every time, nobody would really be getting their money's worth!

Anyway, in the spirit of thanksgiving, what I really love about days like today is how many times you hear guys saying, "this is a dream come true... I grew up listening to this tune!" Me too. Life's good regardless. Getting to spend your time on stuff like this is the icing on the cake!

The Weekend!

This is going to be a great weekend!

Nik and Tina are coming to town. We love these two!



We don't get to hang out we these guys as much these days. Separate cities, separate schedules, etc. It's always good though. Nik is my sports soulmate. Or just straight-up soulmate?... Seriously, one of the legitimate 'great guys'.

Anyway, what do you do when two great friends are coming to town on a Saturday night? You make a killer dinner together. It's a team effort, from the groceries on up, and the whole evening is about hanging out, making good food, drinking good wine, and catching up. Then you hit the town cause other friends of yours are in a great band, and they're going on at a pub in the west end around 10.

Can't wait!

Peace,
JB

I'M HERE!!

Ok... so I haven't been blogging. As several of you have reminded me!

Here's the deal. I'm not a big fan of talking about how busy you are, because it starts to sound like you're wearing it as a badge of honor after a while. But the honest truth is... I'm very busy these days.

Life seems to be right on the edge of my grasp right now, in a way that is truly exciting. CTV has really jumped into another gear, to the extent that I seem to be bouncing around all over the place. In the past few weeks I've been splitting time between Much Music, the main network, dayside, night shifts to handle live work for "So You Think You Can Dance Canada", recording dates for new TSN music at music studios downtown, etc.

Bartel Audio has jumped as well. In the past week, I've wrapped a live jazz combo record/mix project, started work on episode 1 of Mantracker, had a few "pitch" meetings regarding future projects, one of which seems certain, the other likely, and signed on to mix another project in the next few weeks.

All to say that.... man, life is good. And I'm still here, and kicking, but, honestly... I just don't have many moments in the day where I find myself thinking philosophy and inspiration right now. I'm in a "Do it!" phase... and I'm really loving it. Given my scenario, it really is a "strike while the iron's hot" type of thing, so I'm riding it while I've got it.

It's a season of finding out what I'm made of, and how far I can push myself in terms of potential. Can't ask for much more than that.

Thanks for kicking my butt. Talk soon!
JB

The Drive

The Drive

Thoughts:

At a cursory glance, a solo drive across the whole of central and western North America seems a daunting idea. Three days alone in a car. Three days of prairies, and road construction, of truck-stop snack food and the soft-focus companionship of those arbitrary, warm-glow taillights.

But a 15 hour drive is an opportunity. And three consecutive 15 hour drives is a gold-mine. Consider the luxury of being able to complete a thought.

Imagine your standard friday night. You go out for dinner, and then see a movie. The story is well told, and it raises questions about friendship, and loyalty. It gets you thinking. You get back into your car, and think to yourself, "I wonder how good of a friend I actually am". And then head home to finish up the laundry, because you're heading out early the next morning for an out-of-town wedding, and you know traffic is going to be a horror-show on the QEW.

Imagine driving west. You're in the middle of Montana, just west of Yellowstone, and you finish up a 1 hour podcast on the virtues of friendship, and loyalty. It gets you thinking. So you start talking it out. To the steering wheel. To the sprawling vistas that surround you as you carve your way through the plains. Time is of no consequence. You're going to drive until you're sleepy. Or until you hit water. "Am I a good friend? What do I call a good friend? Who are my good friends? Why? And how do I see them? And how do they see me?"

There's depth in solitude. And much to be learned from one's own thoughts. We talk, in church settings, about hearing God. Perhaps hearing God is synonymous with hearing ourselves. Like a factory-shipped Dell, the information is already there. No install necessary. Just turn it on. Perhaps an unrealistic expectation given the pace of everyday life.

So I thought a lot. I think I learned things about myself. With that kind of time, you start thinking about thinking. To ask yourself if you're a good friend is one thing. To ask yourself why you answered that question the way that you did is a step further, and probably tells you more about yourself.

I did a lot of thinking back to specific periods in my life, trying to decipher what made those moments different than others. Where was my mind? What did I value? What was my inspiration?

There was time to quantify my situation. There are so many positives in my life. So many reasons that I love waking up (almost) every morning. My marriage. My work. There is something important about taking the time to sort those things into piles. To look at the things that fill me up and appreciate them for what they are. The well of contentment is sourced from the active awareness of one's situation.

There will be more to come about the time Kar and I spent together, on the island, and driving back East. But as for the drive out, it was excellent, and something I highly recommend.


Arbitrary Thoughts:

- The geographical diversity of the northern United States and Canada is incredible. It really is a beautiful drive.

- How other people live, how I live, and whether there are objective lessons to be learned is something I thought a lot about. The open simplicity of central Montana against the bustling and striving of Toronto is a jarring juxtaposition. In an ideal world, we'd all switch places for a year, just to learn, and experience. How I think about everything (politics, faith, etc.) has to be affected by my daily experience, no?

- It is only on that lonesome two-lane highway in the middle of the prairies, in the searing heat of a weekday afternoon, in the solitude of having not seen another car over the past 45 minutes, that one remembers the conversation they had with their mechanic that led to them deciding not to replace the timing belt after 130 000 km despite the mechanic's hearty recommendations to do so lest you suffer the devastating and undoubtedly imminent consequences.

- Hitting a moose would be terrifying. We saw one roadside on the way home. More terrifying is how little thought is ever given to what might happen if said moose, having come through the windshield, managed to remain conscious, and, heaven help us, angry.

- I'm just going to say it, because, well, I covered a fair amount of the country and saw a lot of people. Americans are a hearty folk, aren't they?

- When you're 356 miles from any town, in any direction, and the ground is cracked and dusty from drought, and the sun is blazing down on an empty road surrounded by fields of tumbleweed and wild grass as far as the eye can see, and there are rattle snake warning signs, and you see a tiny home two and a half miles up the mountain with two horses tied up out front and an american flag hanging off the side, your first thought is generally, "wonder where they got the flag..."

- When you're rolling through Iowa, you find yourself on high alert for a Ray Kinsella sighting. In Montana, it feels more like Clint Eastwood. Or somebody from the cast of Bonanza.

- The definition of advertising genius is putting a monstrous, glowing sign roadside on the I-90 in the middle of nowhere that reads, "MYSTERY LOCATION, NEXT RIGHT! OMINOUS OCCURRENCES AND EVENTS GUARANTEED TO HAPPEN! 3 MILES AHEAD. NEXT RIGH!!" in huge bold letters. Guaranteed to happen? Let me make you a guarantee. If you turn at the next right, you're going to find a gas station with a fruit-stand.

JB

Audiophotoblog

A couple of newsworthy items in today's post. Firstly, we (CTV) built a new room downtown, and for the past few weeks I've been down here getting the ball rolling, working out kinks, and mixing for MTV, Much Music, etc. It's been a total blast. There's something about working downtown... lots going on... more energy, you know? Looking out the window and seeing people walking by, going about their daily business is surprisingly energizing. As opposed to seeing, you know, the 401 and a Walmart.

The second bit of news is that we got a new lens, and it's totally fun! We were always frustrated with how our other lens couldn't handle remotely low lighting.. to the point that shooting indoors was usually seriously suspect. So we picked up this baby as a solution... it's a Nikon 50mm prime.

Soooo... I thought I'd combine the two and make a photoblog! Been a while since I tossed up some pics. And granted, they aren't of Kar or myself, but I believe you'll find them equally glorious! A few details on the room included, for any audio buddies checking in:




The room is centered around a ProTools HD3 rig driven by this 24 fader D-Command. The surface is extremely fun to use... really quick and hands-on. Main monitors are Klein/Hummel O300s (5.1), plus a K&H small mono and access to the stereo TV speakers. An SSL Delta-Link handles I/O in place of the usual 192 interfaces.



Dolby gear! A CD player tied into ProTools. Dolby DP570 Multichannel Audio Tool allowing for immediate downstream monitoring of applied metadata. DP563 and DP564 ProLogic 2 Encode/Decode for upmix/folddown. LM100 Broadcast Loudness Meter for dialnorm measurement.





If God designed a metering solution for pro audio applications, this would be it. RTW metering station.



Two things of note in this picture. Firstly, Starbucks is right around the corner. Secondly, I have a window. A big one!!!



All I/O in the room centre on a MADI-based ring by Optocore. Which means gobs of I/O, all at the click of a button. No hard patching necessary! The Digi XMON provides monitoring control via the D-Command master section (In reality, only being used as a downstream mute/dim).



Ok, so hard patching is available... but not necessary! Rosendahl sync engine, and an SSL Alpha-Link for analogue I/O off the Optocore ring.



Working on Olympic Hockey mixes for the upcoming hockey-specific BluRay/DVD release. Crazy how I watched every game, and know every final score, and still find myself watching with rapt attention and cheering for every goal!



Faders!



Neyrink VMON is the engine that drives all monitoring. There are an unholy number of monitoring requirements in this room (or any proper 5.1 post room, for that matter) and this system handles them all. It's a plugin-based design that pulls audio from ProTools on a basis of which plugins you've placed where... I can access almost anything from this controller, including the outputs of all of my Dolby gear.


So that's that. Gonna be tough to head back up to Agincourt after having spent a few weeks down here, but no doubt I'll be back. I've learned a ton these past two weeks, which is always incredible. I really fell in love with this kindof work because of how diverse it can be, and how much there is to learn. There's nothing like sitting down in a brand new room based around a completely new concept, and figuring out how everything works and how it can positively affect your workflow and efficiency. Seriously, like a kid in a candy store!!

Peace.. and happy warm weather eh?
JB