Of Tunesmiths & Wake Up Calls...

Blogging is kinda like gym huh - you know you SHOULD, but then you're not quite in the mood so you convince yourself that it's ok to put it off for the day. A day turns to two, then it turns to a week and before you know it, you're out of shape again - or in the world of blogs, you fail to post anything for a year and half!

Yeah... that's how long its been since my last post.

But then again, when I think back, perhaps there wasn't much going on in my professional 'music' life that was worth a post. Sure in the last 18 months I've established a company, worked like a dog for that particular company, became an uncle, survived a potential plane crash, & got engaged... but none of it really screams 'Solo Album' - which is what this blog is all about right??

Ok now I'm just lying to myself! Yes I did establish a company - an AUDIO PRODUCTION company! How is that not related to my album?? Duh!

It was strange how the whole thing started. I got a call out of nowhere from my ex-boss asking me to help him out with a project that he just scored. Of course as a freelancer I obviously snatched up the opportunity but somehow soon after we ended up establishing an official business together - registered and all! Thus the birth of Tunesmith Audio Productions.

To be honest, I was kinda conflicted about the idea at first because I was so into making my music that I didn't want to be distracted. However, once logic came into play, it made multiple beneficial sense to warm up to the opportunity. I figured:-

1. I could generate decent income for myself and consequently aid the budget constrictions that I was facing with my album.

2. My 'production' skills were still poor at the time so working for the company would drastically help train my ears.

3. If the company grows so will its equipment list - and this meant getting new toys to play with! Awesome!

So here we are 1.5 years later and did it go according to plan?

Well benefit No.3 worked out modestly well because grow the company did. We now have a decent studio running a Pentium Duo-Core 2.4ghz PC, 2x ESI MAYA44 soundcards, an MBOX Mini 2 with Pro-Tools LE, Behringer Xenyx mixer, Yamaha HS80M's studio monitors, an M-Audio Midi controller, and a few condenser mics to choose from. Not much compared to a full-fledged studio, but considering we started out armed with only an SM58 mic, a Soundblaster Live soundcard, and my old pentium 4 3.0ghz PC - I think we've done quite well thank you very much =P

I'm not too sure about benefit No.2 however. Sure with the new equipment and having to work 16 hour days must have improved my skill as an engineer, but the work mainly dealt with vocal production and not much else. So did I really grow as an all-round producer?? Hmmm.... I can't help but think that if I had stuck to what I was doing before I would have learnt a lot more. Subjective I suppose, so perhaps no point pondering on this one.

Now benefit No.1 ended up being like a bad drug. Of course with the growth of the company came the growth of my wealth, but like a typical homo-sapien I allowed myself to think that the flow of income would not end. "Expense chases the revenue" someone once said, and I was not an exception. I never ended up funding a cent for my album and worst, with the company taking up all my time, I never ended up even working on my album!

My music sat in my hard drive virtually untouched the entire time... and if it wasn't for the horrific Perth-bound airplane journey that my fiance & I were on a few months ago in August, all of it would probably still sit there till this day.

There's something about sitting in a plane like you're in a Final Destination movie that really forces you to quickly evaluate your life. There we were in the midst of an engine failure, flickering cabin lights, no a/c, alarms going off, praying passengers, and a horrible burning smell... and I sat there in complete disappointment with myself. I kept thinking that this could possibly be my last few minutes alive and all I've done for the last 18 months was make excuses for having thrown my passion away.

When the plane landed the realization that we were hanging by a thin thread added to our trauma. Had the other engine gave way, or a complete seizure of the already hay wired electricals was to occur, I wouldn't have had the privilege to tell you today that it was one heck of a wake up call!

I realize now more than ever that life can be taken away at any given time and that's a 100% guarantee. The question is - whether it's in the next few decades or just a few hours from now - just before it ends, will you be satisfied with how you spent your time alive?

I can't help but think about this daily ever since the incident, and I came to the conclusion that nothing else would make me more complete than to love, to help others, and to keep pursuing my passion.

So I suppose as tempting as it is for me to curse the Airline that put us through the horrible incident (btw it's not a 'budget' airline & they did not offer compensation) perhaps I should thank them instead for disturbing my long sleep in the comfort zone.

I'm finally back posting on this blog again and that can only mean that my hard drive is spinning once more =)