Hella Solutions blog: "Document. Share. Inspire."

This is my first live concert/event recording. I was seated about 12 feet from a stage speaker with the mic on my lap. I did some basic “equalizing” of the sound and splitting of tracks using the Roxio 9 audio editor. I wouldn’t call the sound quality excellent but it isn’t half bad and I’m actually really impressed with it considering the mic I used and how I had it placed…and the fact that this was simply a man on a mic (not a full band).

Linton Kwesi Johnson
Poetry Reading

Recording Date: October 12, 2006
Club: 142 Throckmorton – Mill Valley CA

Equiptment:
Panasonic Electret Condenser Capsule with a SONY – MZ M100 HIMD MINIDISC RECORDER.

you can download the show from RapidShare:

http://rapidshare.com/files/43356404/LKJ_Live_2006_Bootleg_October_12__2006_142_Throckmorton_-_Mill_Valley_CA.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/43356095/LKJ_Live_2006_Bootleg_October_12__2006_142_Throckmorton_-_Mill_Valley_CA.part2.rar

(use WinRar to combine and open the archive — www.rarlab.com)

I am starting to get my equipment together for my trip to South Africa. At the heart of my rig is my mini-disc recorder, a Sony HI-MD MZ-M100 and my Sony MDR-V700DJ headphones. This is my first audio setup and so far it has come through strong.

The MZ-M100 was a short-lived model release by Sony that has its plusses and minuses. The cons are: the display is difficult to read in strong light, the buttons are very small, the surface scratches easily, and recording settings reset each time the unit turns off. The pros: the battery life is quite good (with a rechargeable Sony NG-14WM “gum stick” style nickel-metal hydride battery; an extra battery attachment comes with it so you can also run a AA battery in conjunction – which is awesome! I use a Sony AA Ni-MH 2500Ah rechargeable and have never run out of juice during an interview or recording session…but I carry plenty of fully charged backups just in case), the recording quality is very nice (obviously this depends a lot on how well you use it but it carries a high caliber of ability), it’s quite slick looking and the display is gorgeous in dark settings, the size makes it easy to carry anywhere and its presence is very unobtrusive.

As far as mics go, I don’t own any quality interview mics. I do have a few “pen” mics that I ordered from eBay and they are awesome for what they are (basically a Panasonic Electret Condenser Capsule placed in a pen cap)…they’re just not what you call field mics. They are great for sneaking into shows and recording concerts and such. Those and the Y-Stereo mic that are offered are very affordable and I recommend them for anyone who might have a need for such things…or just wants to have some fun. Anyway, I’ll be borrowing “bigger” mics from school – I’m fixing to get a boom mic and a couple of different interview style mics (I’ll post more on those once I get them). The guy’s eBay store is: http://stores.ebay.com/MICROSOUND-INC .

Before I get too far into the day-to-day of my work it’s probably relevant to explain my project a little more than I have thus far (which is almost zilch). From my web site;

The vision of our planet as an autonomous globe controlled only by an “invisible hand” sounds like a theme from any number of 20th century science-fiction films. What becomes the scariest realization is, now living in the 21st century, the inhabitants of Earth find themselves in the midst of a movement approximating this exact fantasy – we hear its name, “corporate globalization.” Through the medium of audio recording, SisterLove: The Local and the Global broadcasts the voices and actions of a group of individuals and their organization that is creating and acting out alternative visions in opposition to this parasitic, corporate reality. Using sounds gathered from within these communities – music, personal stories, life celebrations, organizing models, interviews with central architects, and various natural sounds – SisterLove: The Local and the Global lays bare the callousness of market rule through the display of positive visions for global living.

As I travel to Atlanta, Georgia and to Mpumalanga, South Africa I will be seeking an answer to the central question: How do localized organizations, in the face of globalization and neo-liberalism, move beyond insular and service model structures to effectively integrate regional and global organizing?

I have worked to make this as clear as possible but I am always open to constructive comments that might help to make it better.

Honestly, I really can’t believe that I’m actually going to South Africa. It feels like it happened so quickly! However, the idea has been floating around for many months but it always seemed about as likely as it is far. So, it seemed like a fantasy until until just the other day, while in a café in Berkeley, I bit the bullet and borrowed more money and figured I could find a way to pay it back some how some way. The price of not going seems to me to outweigh the cost of staying state-side. Therefore, the countdown begins: 17 days until I depart! I’m trying to finish up the quarter here in Santa Cruz and get all the items I’ll need to take care of business. The first order of business is to finish my rewrite of my creative treatment for my project. An experience I can only relate to giving birth (or at least my idea of what it must be like); both extremely painful and ultimately rewarding, yet full of the anxieties of what “could be.” I constantly worry about giving birth to a “problem” child! Sixteen arms and one leg? 41 eyes and no mouth? The next Jeffrey Dommer? I think that is my greatest fear about going to Africa (no, not that I’m going to eat people! Come on folks! This is serious!). Anyway, now that I’m actually going it feels like my project “has” to really be good or at least that much better. And what if it isn’t? What if, in a certain vernacular, it sucks ass?! The expectations within me have grown exponentially and I’m feeling like I want to toss it all aside. I hate the creative process yet I can’t live without it. I reckon it’s time to re-read Anne Lamott’s book, “Bird by Bird.” Stay tuned for more on the creative process and how it wreaks havoc on the soul…

Blog entry number one. I feel like that proverbial falling tree in the woods. What am I doing falling if nobody can hear me? And then with so many trees around why would anyone pay attention to me falling anyway? There will be no inverted flips and dives as I write here so I expect the attention to be sparce. None-the-less, I intend for this space to begin by capturing my final year as part of the first cohort in UCSC’s Social Documentation program. If nothing else this will be interesting for me to look back on but I also hope that it will serve any potential applicants and the future of the program (which should be fructiferous). With that, I have placed my first “dollar bill” on the wall and offically broken this blog in. Welcome aboard!