PotLuckCon Rehash
Wow PotLuckCon (otherwise known as the PotLuck Audio Conference) turned out to be an amazing congregation of like-minded “audio nerds” in a gorgeous setting (that El Conquistador Hilton really showcases the beauty of the Sonoran desert with a badass seawater pool!) Jamie could hardly take a potty break from the Chamber of Sounds booth with the steady stream of folks lining up to try their hand at making cool space sounds with the Jupiters, Droneulators and LSDs (Light Sensitive Delays). Friends came by and hung out – we even had our own cooler of beer (shhhhh).
One of the coolest parts though was when Jamie first opened up the booth Friday morning and the first visitor was none other than Mitch Easter! He produced REM’s earlier albums and was in 80’s “jangle pop” group Let’s Active though he’s worked with tons of great folks from Pavement to Suzanne Vega. He’s from North Carolina and has the sweetest accent.
I checked him out (along with our friend, former bandmate and current Brooklyn-ite, Fen Ikner) at the mixing panel, The Art and Science of Mixing, moderated by Craig Schumacher. It was the only panel I got to attend, but it was interesting to hear the different gear and philosophies among the panel members, which also included Dusty Wakeman (Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Michelle Shocked). I especially dug when they all played tracks that showed either a song that they rescued because of how badly it was recorded or demonstrated how little difference there can be between digital and analog recording these days if you know what you’re doing. And these folks know what they’re doing! Seriously, mixing is one of the most important aspects of an album – it’s like recording gives you the paint and the sketch but it’s mixing that pulls it all together and makes sure all the elements are where they need to be sonically and for best effect.
After Saturday’s events came to a close, well, we all just partied hard at the El Conquistador – including the mass water volleyball game the entire hotel seemed to join at one point. Good times! And can’t wait until next year. If this sounded like fun to you, I highly recommend “Like”ing their Facebook page: facebook.com/PotLuckAudioCon
Adventure #8: Hey Buddy, Can You Spare A Piano?
Which could be subtitled: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. Click twice to see it in all it’s glory (ie, full size)!
