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quickspinner · 4 years ago

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Month of Miracles Day 9 - Tradition

Find the prompt list here!

I’m mixing up the prompts a bit here because I had a plan for ‘Moments of Wonder’ that can’t happen until a little bit further on in the Hallmark AU. I was just gonna do the next prompt while I got a little bit ahead on the Hallmark ones since they tend to be longer, but...this one wouldn’t leave me alone and I didn’t have enough time today to do both. Honestly, I might not be able to keep up the one a day through the next week, but whatever I miss, I’ll catch up on Christmas week where we have some planned time off.

Marinette understood why her mother thought this trip would do her good, but the truth was that she felt at loose ends rattling around in Gina’s old-fashioned but large house, all alone. At home, there was always somewhere to pitch in, something that needed doing. Gina kept her life pretty streamlined, and when she was home, she delighted in fixing up anything that might be out of sorts in her home. Gina was just too efficient, so other than keeping her plants alive, which really wasn’t that difficult since Gina kept mostly hardy breeds that could survive being left under the care of a neighbor for weeks at a time, there just wasn’t much for Marinette to do.

Finally Marinette planted herself on the couch, set the TV to a channel covering the most recent fashion shows, and sat down to sketch. She’d have a lot of work to catch up on when she got home, so she might as well take advantage of some of this quiet time to get ahead.

She sketched a few basic silhouettes to warm up and get the juices flowing, but after that...nothing came. Every time she started a line, she quickly rubbed about it again. Stop editing yourself, she scolded. Just get it out, and you can fix it later.

It didn’t work. Everything she did felt wrong. Audrey’s complaints echoed in her mind. Too derivative, too pedestrian, where’s the art, Marinette? That’s why I hired you, and all you ever give me is this trash! Did I make a mistake bringing you on?

Did Audrey make a mistake? Marinette put down her sketchbook and pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them as she dropped her face against her legs, fighting down the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She swallowed hard and tried to breathe.

Okay. So she couldn’t draw right now. That was okay. She’d do...something else.

She got up, leaving her sketchbook on the couch and the television on, and went into the kitchen. She started pulling out ingredients without conscious thought, the spiral in her mind continuing until she actually stood in front of the mixer, measuring cups in hand.

Marinette took a deep breath. She began measuring out ingredients, repeating the recipes in her head as she worked. This, at least, was something she could do. Nobody got all twisted up over cookies, after all.

Well. Except Audrey are you trying to destroy my figure you’re FIRED Bourgeois. Marinette pushed that thought aside. Rose would appreciate cookies, she was sure. Gina’s neighbors would too. Maybe even Sally...would it be insulting to take some to Sally? She tried to remember if she’d seen cookies for sale in the café, and finally gave up. She’d just make some, and figure out who could eat them later.

This was something she could do, and nobody could say she didn’t do it well, and that...that mattered to her right now. She could feel herself relaxing into the process, and she began to consider what she could make. Gina’s supplies weren’t as extensive as Tom’s, but there were still plenty of options to choose from…

Her first batch was in the oven, and she was making some simple Russian teacakes for a breather, when Gina’s old-fashioned doorbell rang.

Frowning, Marinette grabbed a towel from the oven and went to the door, wiping at least one hand as clean as she could get it before she opened it.

If she’d expected anything, it was a package delivery, or maybe even a neighbor stopping by with some cookies of their own—this seemed like the kind of place where that stuff happened.

On the doorstep stood a grey-haired woman with a bright smile, glasses that made her blue eyes look huge, feet well apart, and her hands solidly on her hips. Behind her stood Luka Couffaine, his lips pressed together in exasperation, propping up a large Christmas tree. He gave her a tight smile when her eyes flicked over him, but the woman in front of him had a presence that was impossible to ignore.

“Um,” Marinette said, smiling uncertainly. “Can I help you?”

The woman stuck out her hand. “Hello, lass. Marinette, isn’t it? Anarka Couffaine! Yer grandma be a friend of mine. When I heard you were keeping house for her while she’s away I thought we’d best be bringing over her tree!”

“Her tree?” Marinette asked, mystified. She glanced at Luka, and couldn’t help a smile when he mouthed I am so sorry at her over his...mother? Surely she must be his mother. Only a parent could put that look of embarrassed frustration on a grown man.

“Aye, Gina always gets a tree from us,” Anarka was saying. “Thought she wouldn’t be needing one this year since she’s gone. Hated to think of her not having one when she gets back, but it makes sense, no one here to take care of it and all. But since you’re here, all’s well. You can decorate it and have it ready for Gina when she comes home. She’s still planning t’be back for Christmas Day, aye?”

“Uh, yes,” Marinette said, reaching up to tug a pigtail and remembering just in time that she’d pinned up her hair, and that her hands were still dusted with flour despite the wiping. “She and my parents and all were supposed to meet back here for Christmas Eve, so I guess—but I don’t know if—”

“Ah, that’s what I thought,” Anarka burst out cheerfully. “She’ll definitely be wanting her tree, then. No worries, lass, we know where everything is. We won’t be in your way but for a moment.”

She didn’t push past Marinette, but it was clear she intended to move forward, and Marinette backed out of the doorway on instinct.

Luka gave her a kill me now look as he hoisted the tree and followed his mother. Marinette giggled in spite of herself, and closed the door behind them.

True to her word, Anarka knew exactly where to find Gina’s Christmas tree things, and ordered her son around with a brusqueness that left no room for argument or debate. Marinette hovered, a bit at a loss for what to do. She wondered if she should go change into clean clothes, but Anarka said they weren’t staying long, and she still wasn’t done in the kitchen—

The oven timer chimed, and she automatically turned to tend to it. She hesitated in the door to the kitchen for just a moment, but Luka was half under the tree, getting it adjusted in the stand while Anarka barked orders. Neither was paying any attention to her, and even if she wasn’t cooking for anyone in particular, she couldn’t stand to let perfectly good cookies burn for no good reason.

She’d just gotten everything settled when Anarka’s booming voice behind her made her jump. “I’ve got to run, lass, but Luka can finish getting things set up. I’ve already told him what to do and where to put everything. We left the box of decorations out for ye, so ye can get things all nice for when Gina comes home. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again, so, goodbye for now. Don’t forget to check the water in the tree every day!”

Marinette didn’t even have time to answer before Anarka was seeing herself out.

As soon as the door banged closed behind Anarka, Luka made a beeline for the kitchen. Hands against the doorframe, he leaned in. “Hey.”

Marinette turned to look at him from where she stood rolling some kind of round cookie in powdered sugar. “I swear I tried to talk her out of it,” he told her, ears burning. “I’d have had more success wrestling a bear.”

Marinette laughed, blushing, and Luka couldn’t help his grin. She looked adorable, with her hair pinned up and her sleeves pushed up to her elbows, flour streaking the red and green, frilled apron she wore. “I can imagine,” she replied, placing the sugar-coated ball carefully on a pile of others already in a dish on the counter. “She seems like someone it’s hard to say no to.”

Luka shrugged. “That’s my mom.” They looked at each other for a moment, Luka thinking about what a sweet picture she made and her thinking—probably that he was completely weird, standing here staring at her. “Anyway,” he said hastily, pushing himself back upright, “I’ll get this finished up and get out of your hair. I just wanted to say I’m really sorry and I had nothing to do with this...whatever this is.”

Marinette giggled. “It’s fine.” Her shoulders came down a little, and Luka gave her one more grin before he went back to setting up the tree. He was starting, he reflected ruefully, to have some dangerous if only thoughts. If only they’d met sooner, if only she weren’t leaving in a couple of weeks...

If only the people in his life weren’t so damn pushy, so that he wasn’t sure how much of the attraction he felt was sincere or mutual. If only he could be sure he wasn’t seeing things because Rose put the idea in his head.

Luka wasn’t sure what had put his mother on the scent. It was, just barely, possible that her motives were exactly what she said they were. Gina did buy a tree from them every year, and since they were friends it was usually more of a visit than a delivery, and Anarka had more than once hauled Luka out to help set the thing up when he was home.

Luka doubted it though. Either Rose had blabbed, or someone else had. Sally, maybe, who might have seen him holding her hand at the café, or maybe one of the townspeople who had seen them say goodbye outside afterwards, smiling and friendly. Marinette blushed so easily, and he did find her extremely pretty. it might have been easy for someone to get the wrong idea.

The television was on, but Luka hadn’t paid any attention to it until Marinette’s name caught his ear. He looked up, and saw a good-looking blonde man on screen, waving to the crowd before he turned to help a lady out of the limo he’d just exited. There was a smaller picture of Marinette on the arm of the same handsome blond in the corner.

Luka put it together with what Marinette had told him at the café, and pressed his lips together, irrationally angry at the man. Clearly he has a type, Luka thought sourly, looking at the new woman on his arm as the couple proceeded down the red carpet. Luka glanced back at the kitchen, and then walked over and turned the television off. Marinette didn’t seem like she was watching it, and she certainly didn’t need to see something like that by accident.

He finished up, making sure to clean up after himself as best he could, stacking the boxes that had held Gina’s things neatly where his mother had found them. Conveniently there was a broom in the same closet, so he was able to sweep up the needles he’d inevitably tracked all over the house.

He put the broom back, and went back to find Marinette. Whatever she was making smelled amazing. Luka paused in the kitchen doorway. Marinette was concentrating hard, piping icing onto cookies laid out in front of her. Even focused as she was, he couldn’t help but note that she looked more content than he’d ever seen her, smiling and at peace, humming softly to herself. She leaned back to study what she’d done, and the humming turned to singing.

Luka took a quick step back and turned, putting his back to the wall next to the door, one hand going to clutch at his heart as it suddenly decided to gallop away.

She was singing one of his songs.

So she’s a fan, he scolded himself. I knew that. And why should he care? By the end, Luke Stone had been almost an entirely separate entity from himself. An illusion created to sell music, not a real person.

Except Luke Stone still played Luka Couffaine’s music. And it was one thing to know Luke Stone had fans, to see them screaming in a crowd or throwing themselves at the security ropes to get to him, but...it was entirely different to hear sweet, sincere Marinette, thoughtlessly humming Luka’s songs just because she was happy and she enjoyed them. It was what he’d always wanted, wasn’t it? To know that people appreciated the music, and not just the image. It was no wonder his pulse was racing.

Luka sighed and closed his eyes. I’m in trouble, he admitted to himself.

Fiction Master Post | Month of Miracles

#quickspins #monthofmiracles2020 #hallmark au #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #promptfic #quickfic

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years ago

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912.

5k Survey XXXV

1801. How many smurfs can you name? >> Only Papa Smurf and Smurfette. 1802. Do you keep track of your life using a planner or calendar book? Would you be lost without it? >> My life isn’t complex enough to require anything like this. 1803. Have you ever fully eradicated a bad habit that you had? >> No. 1804. Where do snowflakes come from? >> Clouds? 1805. What do these latin phrases mean? Et tu Brute: "Even you, Brutus?” Cogito ergo sum: “I think, therefore, I am.”

1806. You’re writing a story. The super hot (guy or girl?): is about to kiss (who): Just then they get interrupted by (what): and somebody screams, (what): but it is too late. Fortunately (who): walks by and does something (what): and they all live (how): 1807. The radio is playing U2, The Defects, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Pointer Sisters, Staubkind, and Dr. Dre. on different stations. Which band are you most likely to listen to? >> The Pointer Sisters. 1808. How do you feel about the tsunami that killed over 100,000 people in December 2004? >> I don’t feel anything about that. I don’t even remember it, I’m sure I had way more personal concerns back then. 1809. What is the difference between madness and brilliance? >> --- 1810. Write any random sentence here: >> --- 1811. Say the sentence you wrote out loud. Did anybody answer? >> No one would answer anyway, because I’m alone. 1812. Turn on your TV if it’s not on already, what channel is it? >> It’s not on a channel. When you turn it on, you just get the smart-TV splash screen. If a game system is turned on and the relevant HDMI port is selected, then it’ll automatically switch to that system’s opening screen or whatever. 1813. If you were to hit redial on your phone right now, who would it call? >> --- 1814. Hit edit paste on your browser and paste the last thing you copied here: >> It was this survey section, so. 1815. Miracle on 34th street, original or remake? >> I’ve never seen any version of this movie. 1816. Have you ever been in a parade? >> Yeah, I’ve marched in NYC Pride a couple of years. 1817. Why don’t people just walk up to each other and become friends? >> Because that’s not how many people in this country are socialised to behave. Perhaps in some regions of the country, that’s a little more acceptable, but mostly my experience has been that starting a conversation with a complete stranger can lead to polite small talk at best, but nothing resembling the beginnings of friendship. The exceptions would be at organised events based around common interests or common desires -- concerts, board game store events, knitting groups, singles mixers, that sort of thing. 1818. Do you turn the bass up all the way in your car (or would you if you had a car) and blast the music? >> I would not do this. This is one of my biggest pet peeves about other people. 1819. Do you care if what you do annoys others? >> In general, I try not to be obnoxious -- loud, disruptive, that sort of thing. I’m not even interested in being obnoxious, so it works out. If any small quiet thing I’m doing manages to annoy someone else, or if they just don’t like how I talk or whatever, I don’t really think it’s my responsibility to cater to that. I can if I want to, of course, but a lot of the time I just don’t. 1820. What keeps you from being happy? >> Having other emotions. 1821. If you could go back in time and talk to yourself five years ago what would you say to yourself(You can only stay in the past for FIVE MINUTES so make it COUNT!)? >> --- 1822. Write a surreal (Having an oddly dreamlike quality) sentence: >> --- 1823. Can you talk for one hour without using the word ‘like’? >> Probably not. 1824. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? >> No. 1825. Say something nice about: yourself: me: your dad: your mom: the one you love: 1826. Questions from random movies: Why is it that a fly can’t bird but a bird can fly? >> LOL You know what people are liking at night? >> Sleep? 1827. What is your favorite movie that Denzel Washington has been in? >> Fuck. Like, I love Denzel, this is hard. I want to say The Equalizer because he was just so sexy in that. 1828. What websites are addictive to you? >> I don’t think any websites are particularly addictive to me. I get bored of stuff too easily. 1829. Who do you love so much that you would clean live maggots out of their garbage pail just so that they didn’t have to? >> I would not do this for anyone. Anyone. I was forced to do this as a teenager and I’m quite over it, thanks. 1830. Who do you think will read all 5,000 of your answers to this survey? >> I don’t think anyone will. I wouldn’t blame them, either. 1831. Out of everyone reading your diary, how many people know your first name? >> No one’s used it, so I don’t know who knows it... 1832. When you die and your tragic story is a human interest spot on the news will you want your friends and family to say you were the greatest smartest and kindest person ever…or tell the truth? >> I like how this is worded as if my death making the news is definitely going to happen, lol. I don’t care, I’ll be dead. People are going to say whatever makes them feel good, honestly. 1833. Have you filled out an organ donor card? >> I didn’t fill out a card, I just had to check a box. 1834. Who do you never want to end up like? >> Hm. 1835. How many oxymorons can you think of? >> Not too many. 1836. How many years old is your diary? >> I don’t remember how old this blog is. 1837. How could today get any worse? >> There are so many ways that could happen. Especially since it’s been an okay day so far. 1838. What will you never ever do again? >> I don’t know. 1839. What’s the most terrible lie someone could tell you? >> I don’t know. 1840. Would you ever wear vinyl pants? >> No. My skin is crawling at the very suggestion. 1841. What was the last thing that you printed out? >> I don’t remember the last time I used a printer. 1842. What would you say to Flavor Flav if you saw him walking down the street? >> Nothing? 1843. What are you dependent on? >> Money. 1844. What do you look forward to each day? >> --- 1845. What did you think of the Columbine shootings? >> All I remember thinking is that high school (which I was going to be entering at the time) was going to be even worse for me, because I could gather that I was going to fit a profile. 1846. Did you take lessons as a kid? what? >> Probably. 1847. What’s the best song to listen to after a break up? >> --- 1848. The radio is playing Poison, Inxs, the Psychadelic Furs, Dio, and Matchbox 20 on different stations. What do you listen to? >> Any of these would be fine, I guess. I’m not familiar with the Psychedelic Furs, though. 1849. Do you know what it’s like to take care of someone else? >> Kind of? 1850. Would you rather take care of someone or be taken care of? >> No.

#surveys #survey #5000 question survey

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totallyvain · 5 years ago

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Totally Hot Q&A With: Aura ♥

WORDS BY: Thania Garcia

Sounds Like: The most polished mix of the most spontaneous sounds

Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island

Totally Hot is a rapid-fire Q&A session with artists on the up and up. Think of it as a super invasive first date ...who knows? You might commit enough to add a few songs to your collections.

Totally Vain: Let’s get the basics down. How did you get your start in creating music?

Aura: “I had been writing songs since childhood, never truly writing them down- but always making them. Then I had started making beats when I was 16; I didn’t think to put the two together til I was 19.”

TV: How did your environment shape or influence your music and music industry experience?

Aura: “Well, I grew up with expressive parents and siblings, all of us have strong personalities! My father would often sing aloud all throughout the house. He loved to dance and blast Michael Jackson. My mom is super kind, always making friends and telling ‘inappropriate’ jokes. When I began with my music though no one in my family had yet to pursue any sort of creative endeavors. I was the first. I don’t know though, I can remember waking up every day, getting ready for school to the MTV Jams channel and I bet that was a big influence. But of course, environments shape everything about a person until they grow enough to realize they have the ability to learn/unlearn what they want for their lives.”

TV: Would you say you tend to prefer creating inside one genre over another?

Aura: “I don’t really create within genres so I can’t say I have a preference. But I blend sounds often and I think they’re all fantastic! And not to be trite but making music is so fun! I love playing around with all the different effects and mixes.”

TV: You've covered country, you've created dance music and hip-hop sounds. How has the accessibility of streaming (specifically on Soundcloud) allowed you to venture and create as freely as you do?

Aura: “I’ve been able to release and share my music easily because of SoundCloud which has been really nice, it’s also been cool to be able to connect with the community through it. But I don’t know that it’s had an impact on how playful I am with my art.”

TV: Your cover art is so colorful and uniquely Aura (I personally love the art for your Minute-Man EP!), how would you describe this aesthetic that you've sort of created for yourself?

Aura: “Thanks so much! I love it when I get compliments on my style haha. I don’t really know how to describe it, I’ve always loved the look of Microsoft Paint and all the character styling on 2000’s Disney Channel- I guess my aesthetic is made up of all the cartoons, colors and looks I saw growing up.”

TV: What message are you looking to spread within your lyricism?

Aura: “This is the best question ever! My whole mission as a writer and actually just my entire reason for putting myself out there vulnerable as can be and embracing artistry- is to promote oneness, spread self-love, confidence and to bring forth an admiration for honesty and truth. To clarify, by truth I mean I want to be able to inspire everyone who listens to be themselves and to be honest about what that means and where they come from. A lot of the time we allow our mistakes or upbringing to throw us into a state of denial, we become ashamed about who we are or even lie to others to gain whatever false validation they may give us. It’s all too harmful!! It’s so spectacular to be yourself! We’re never given the chance to bask in ourselves and stand firm in who we’re growing to be, and it’s not ‘til later in our lives that some of us are able to snap out of that mentality. So yeah, overall, my intention with my lyricism is to aid people that are in the process of learning who they are and lift them up in love.”

TV: Who are your main musical influences? Who are your fashion inspirations?

Aura: “Pete Rock, Kelis, Azealia Banks, M.I.A., Madonna, Tyler the Creator, Charli XCX! Hmm… my fashion inspirations are vast I always have trouble pinpointing them, but I think much like my aesthetic, I just kinda mesh together ideas from everything I’ve seen. I will say though, two women who I channel when I’m feeling low are Princess Nokia and Rihanna! I look at fierce photos of them and I just feel like, ‘whew, I’m capable of anything!’”

TV: "Righteous" carries a message of a personal sense of accomplishment, can you talk a bit about the process in writing those lyrics?

Aura: “Does it really? My intention wasn’t for it to be personal, even though I wrote it of course from my own experience. This song is of triumph and reclamation. Most of my songs are either footnotes to myself or guidebooks for others. Righteous was both. In my past, I was very affected by what people thought and had to say about me to a point where I felt crippled by it. Every time this or that was said about me, I’d want to hide. Anyway, song-writing for me comes easily and I wrote the whole tune in about an hour. I had to get these things I had felt off of my chest, but I couldn't believe I was able to get them onto paper. Like I said, song-writing for me is very easy, but it was the first time I had ever been able to write something so meaningful, freeing, and healing. ‘Righteous’ and another one of my songs ‘Pushback 5’ are my favorites works to date.”

TV: The production and mixing of "Righteous" are super spacey and fun and I think they compliment the lyrics perfectly, what was the production process like?

Aura: “I didn’t produce the initial beat to Righteous, that was my pal ARIV. Although through the mixing I basically did co-produce, as did my engineer Enytime. The beat was so crazy I couldn’t help but want to add to it, I could hear the snaps and DJ scratches as I recorded the verses. A lot of the mixing was good ‘ol off the top improvising, but I remember telling Enytime ‘I need DJ scratches here, there, and there.’ We didn’t have a mixer but somehow he pulled out his laptop and did the damn thanggg!”

TV: What drives your motivation to continue creating as a young and up and coming artist in the streaming age?

Aura: “Not to be dramatic, but my only motivation to continue working is the fact that the world is a dark place… Many people need guidance yet most influencers have nothing of value to offer. Drugs, fashion, money, and drama are okay I guess, I’d love to do without it, but I’m sure there needs to be a balance of some sort. I know that with the right people leading the way the world can once again see pure love and light. People will be able to recognize their own power and abilities individually, as well as united- and when we’re in that power we’re able to make great, kind and eco-friendly choices, etc. My motivation to keep creating is to be able to see that world, and have played a part whether small or large in building it.”

You can find Aura’s info + tunes at: http://linktr.ee/auramoreno

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fpetradev · 5 years ago

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Can gaming become the happy-hour for remote teams?

Remote work is here to stay, and we are just starting to explore how to make it better. In this article I will try an approximation to the question: could games be a piece in the puzzle to foster socialization? After a small intro into remote work, I invite you to explore the idea of gaming as a way to get to know your teammates better. As Balaji states: “Maybe informal socialization for remote teams means video games and social networks?” After all, we are Homo Ludens.

We can see an increasing number of fully remote companies and hybrid companies, with important in-office work, such as InVision, HubSpot and Stripe. Working remotely brings lots of benefits and forces some processes to be better. Benefits can be on a range, from moving with your family if a new opportunity arises to be able to put the laundry while in a break. In the processes side, it really helps everyone to be results-oriented, instead of getting fooled by who spent most hours at the office. But it has its downside as well. The most important challenges to overcome are hiring, communication, culture, collaboration and if the team is international, paying everyone can be a pain as well (huge opportunity for crypto). In this article, I’m going to focus on communication and culture that are tightly correlated in any company, and highly so in a remote team or startup. Communication plays a huge role in every type of organization since its the lubricant of coordination. As a Gitlab post states this is a challenge in a remote company: “For all-remote companies, leaders should not expect informal communication to happen naturally. There are no hallways for team members to cross paths in, no carpools to the office, etc.”.

So what are we missing in today's remote teams? We need spaces to interact, talk and enable serendipity. Apple’s new headquarter is thought to make people encounter in different places, even if they don’t work on the same team. Thinking casual encounters can be more challenging in a remote setting. Having an “excuse” to meet can go a long way. A typical way to do it is to have a watercooler in a communication channel, and it sort of works, but it has the same problem as the IRL watercooler if you don’t have and excuse can be kind of awkward, we need a starting point to interact. Also is pretty common to get matched weekly through a “mixer” to meet someone -probably online- you still don’t know or if you are more proactive, being incentivized to schedule the meeting yourself, but none of those options sound as natural as we wish. Another way to do it is to implement off-sites, this helps everyone to spend time together sharing day to day stuff, like cooking or playing a board game, doing something special as skiing or kayaking and getting some work done, analyzing past performance, planning, to get some sense of IRL work to understand each other better. This is an expensive option, but if the startup isn’t paying for an office (at least for a part of the workforce), it can be almost the same. I think it’s important to state that even people like Reed Hastings, who thinks a company is a group of people that gets together to do excellent work, and do not intend to become a group of friends -even less a family- know is important to build bonds and understand each other to work better.

So, where has the “happy hour” gone? Of course, you can go to a co-working space and socialize in a bar, coffee or meet-up after work, and we will probably still do that anyway, but we will keep working with strangers in our day to day lives. Games seem like a good place to start exploring socialization for remote companies, and we can see I’m not the only one with this idea gaming has been part of IRL offices all along with Google and even top-performing teams such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX team used to play games in the office.

Here are my two cents about what kind of games to play, and two possible ways to implement it without friction:

Collaboration games: Here we can find Escape Games and co-creating games. This seems like a great fit to include everyone, and enable interactions, but most of these types of games seem very niche and not high-quality games. Both options could become more entertaining if VR keeps moving forward, and people can “share a space”, adding a lot to the experience.

Team-based: This group involves a team playing against either other internal teams or teams from other companies. This can be really fun, there are many games that can be played like CS, Fortnite (PvP Squad mode), League of Legends and many others. A downside is that these games are really intensive, so there’s not a lot of room to go deep into socialization, but can be a jumpstart. Also, most of these games have some waiting time between rounds.

All against all: This seems like the most competitive option. Games that fit this category are Fortnite (PvP Alone mode). Most “board games” fall into this category as well, but there need to be more online options. Avalon which isn’t currently online seems like a great way to get a sense of how other team members behave outside of work, in a more relaxed environment.

As a disclaimer, I’m not a game geek, so for sure there are many other ideas to explore, but I do care about how people organize and the products that enable them to do it better while improving each member’s life (at least at work), so please share your ideas. The implementation has two paths that vary substantially in complexity. The first one is to create a Slack channel or to create a room for each game using Tandem, showing when people are willing to play, adding more spontaneity. Those approaches would work but there’s still lots of room for improvement, so let’s explore the second approach. We could take advantage of the fact that people are already at their computer to enable a frictionless experience mixing people into groups, enable a doodle-like way to coordinate the best time to set a raid. This would probably be a service by itself and could be integrated into everyday work as a SlackBot. Also, we could gamify the process (kind of redundant, but anyway…), and enable leaderboards, tournaments and even a more advanced version could enable playing against other companies’ teams.

One of the possible downsides is that people could get too competitive and how the formal structure of the organization and the gameplay blend together, we want to foster cohesion, no rivalry. Another thing to keep an eye on is the level gap between players, so everyone can have fun. Also, the founders (or management if it’s a bigger company) should signal that this is something good, encourage it. We don’t want to get back to judge people by how much time they spend working, but by the quality of their output. We still have much space to experiment and learn to create a better remote office, but we are moving forward and new tools are on their way. Let´s “press start” to begin!

#remote #developers & startups #gaming

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beatsfortheillperth · 5 years ago

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Words with Somanyfeels Part 2

Shot by @samuel_thecanadian⁣⁣

Julian aka Somanyfeels abilities with self-directed piecing of artistic trinkets is something we here at beatsfortheill admire about the various artists we get the opportunity to explore future readings and words with, and the big moves Julian is making under his accomplice is beyond the appreciation we are able to give via our blog, but this globetrotter isn't far of more global recognition.

As with writers' block on the mind for myself and then to suddenly, with true suave, have Julian, display his skills toying with human mood after my rough couple of weeks with a mix that truly helped me explore the various healing avenues that music can relate to us as individuals, going through everyday struggles.

So without further delay, let us take a moment to re-explore words with Julian a good friend and previous words with, and found out more about what his mix segment- "Endeavour v1" means to him and let us also dabble in his future endeavors and dreams, so with appreciate enjoy the following words with Somanyfeels.

Let us start with a few random generals to get the conversation flowing, a bit like a repeat from the last time we shared words, so let us see if things have changed up since then?

Favorite Food: A plate full of Al Pastor Tacos with a lot of lime and some horchata.

Favorite Beverage: Matcha tea

Favorite thing to do when you get downtime by yourself: Take a Nap

Best place to enjoy a wine and view in Las Vegas: Highly recommend any desert area outside of Las Vegas. I love taking pictures and being outdoors with friends. There are some amazing views of the sunset at this place I go right by my house. My friends and I head down to the wash area by this singular tiny mountain and we just talk about life as the golden hour begins and ends.

Favorite piece of clothing and, why you hold a special bond with it: My favorite piece of clothing is actually jewelry. I have this blue-painted silver medallion that I received as a gift while exploring the medina in Fez, Morocco. It reminds me there is more going on in this world than what you see before you, and to try travel as much as you can.

Best song to break it down to at the moment: I would like to mention two tracks for this topic… KALI YUGA - GHOSTMANE & CLAMS CASINO & ANYMORE - FLAUNT EDWARDS

Best song to chill to on a hectic day: THUNDERSTORM - PRODUCERBOIBRAD

Favorite song to listen to at the moment: EARL (INSTRUMENTAL) - EARL SWEATSHIRT

Best Genre of music to listen to when craving emotional connection with one's self: Ambient music heals the soul.

Views on politics: American politicians should be prioritizing the environment over all other political issues. I also believe Americans bought into the illusion that we are in control of what our government does for the countries best interests. I’m not entirely sure about the rest of the world though, so I doubt my opinion has much weight with how things are going nationally and internationally. I think we need to just keep ourselves informed with the use of reliable news resources and we should also put more focus on keeping our planet as clean as we can.

Views on drinking milk throughout the day: Almond milk in a coffee, of course, but if it’s hot often where you are, like it is in Vegas, I would suggest sticking to water. I also think about that scene in Anchorman when Ron loses Baxter!

The Rabbit Hole - Shot By Rosemary Fajardo

Thanks for answering those little rants, so let us get onto your music.

You have been guest hosting on radio, sharing tunes with the world,

and also making some of the best blends and mixes I have ever had the privilege of listening to, much love.

What keeps you moving forward with your goals within the music scene?

Also what have been some of the best tools you have had at hand reach when it comes to creating and delivering quality sets and blends?

Thank you so much for the kind words about this particular craft of mine <3 I definitely feel that my friends who also make music in my circle, are the people who keep me closest to my love of mixing music and playing shows.

Witnessing their work ethic grow with wisdom is some type of magic.

I certainly was not expecting to reach this magnitude within the Las Vegas music culture and I was at one time hosting my own radio show but decided to pursue a different route and become more intimate and technical with my musical presentations.

Hosting your own radio show takes A LOT of time, which at the time was stressing me out. I felt like the quality of work I was putting out on a weekly became biweekly then seldom the basis was in decline.

To people out there looking to pick up radio, it is extremely fun and teaches you a lot about communication and self-reliance.

I also think it's totally fine to hit the reset button to keep your spirit up. You can always revisit your past projects and continue to pursue your love for the craft.

Mixing live in front of crowds while on stage is what I love doing now.

When mixing, I can use all Traktor controllers but am also familiar with Pioneer CDJ’s and controllers.

Traktor is my main resource for feeling comfortable, well most comfortable on stage.

I stick to using remix decks, 2-4 channels depending on the routine, with effects from both my controller and the house mixer.

Do you always have to schedule in time or does it just fall into a routine, creating I mean?

It is at random for mixes I create at home. When I feel it, I'll just go for it, but for shows, it does take a sort of scheduling presence and sorting of skills to make sure I feel prepared for the upcoming event.

Keep in mind, not all shows are the same, so you have to really organize and then re-organize your playlists depending on the crowds you will be playing for and the vibe the event promoter will be expecting.

In the end, as a DJ I believe firmly that it is your job to be the glue between artists before and after you.

You have to learn to look up at the faces in front of you too, sort of read how people are reacting to your song selection and with that, you have to try and adapt on the fly as much as possible.

I’m still trying to perfect this lol.

It has to be mentioned, you are quite a gifted photographer.

I had a scroll with a good friend through your shoots and you def know your angles, much love.

How far do you feel you've come from first experimenting with a camera to what I believe you are now, a self-proclaimed skill shooter down the lens?

Also, what is your favorite style of shoot to portray a scene via the lens?

Also, what's your preference time to shoot: Night or Day?

You are always learning and adapting with a cam.

I absolutely love it.

I don’t think that I am that profound just yet since there is so much more I need to understand, but if you enjoy light painting images, then I would reference my work to you :) I am a night-time shooter mostly so I'd say night time with the exception of a good golden hour or blue hour shoot. Night shots feel like you and your subject are the only ones on the planet, and the ability to light up the night with a light source is pure sorcery!

It reminds me a lot of Magic: The Gathering. a lot of the graphics from those cards inspire me to utilize an experimental light source.

Let's bring it back to the reason I am asking to have words with you again, and that reason is your creation, with essence -a new mix, titled "Endeavor v1".

It has to be one of my favorites, of many great mixes by yourself, and I am privileged to be featuring "Endeavor v1" on our SoundCloud alongside this interview, link to the mix is here.

Honestly, thank you!, you actually got me onto a few new artists that I had never heard of thanks to the beauty.

People like marrow with Kafia, Otrapic, and Carlo Frick; all artists that are truly pushing diverse waves and instilling moods all over, that I was yet to hear before Endeavor thank you! While we are on the topic, what are your personal views on these artists in the making?

These artists are great and I highly recommend that you listen to them!

Otrapic’s sound resonates with me so much. As much as I love that hard gritty and ground splitting bass sound from artists in my library, the storytelling element that Otrapic has just levels me out and makes me want to tell my emotions to someone close.

Carlo Frick makes your brain swivel in place. I’ve opened many sets with his music at the forefront of the tracklist- in fact - I think any hard set I play will include a sound from his discography.

Kafia has that haunting element of like a siren’s presence underwater in her musical style.

Keep in mind, these artists you’ve mentioned from Endeavor v1s tracklist are particularly underrated.

Kafia shows that you have to really let loose upon yourself when digging deep into Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Spotify etc.

Trust the flow of the search for music and you will find those gem artists turn-by-turn.

On the subject, again, what bought you to your mix concept for "Endeavors"? What type of day/night was it, and what had been playing in your head before you even thought to put the playlist together?

It was super late. I came home after a night out in The Arts District of Las Vegas, and I just felt really sad. Anyone get that way after drinking too much and you’re like super on the edge of blacking out but have loads of energy that has been held so close for too long?

I had to let it out and went into my little corner area in my house where all my plants and records are and just turned on the controller and played what I thought would express my feelings inside. I woke up the next morning and played it back and thought "oh shit this went fairly well", lol. Sometimes sadness can drive you to make some really interesting projects. It's okay to feel these feelings.

Will, there be follow on concepts for Endeavor? Like how you dabbled in your previous works "HUNT//GATHER which came in a 5 volume mix of ambient allure, much love again for that. I loved what HUNT//GATHER represented. I remember you saying "It is intended to put the listener out of their element and into something wild and untamed" talking about the five-volume.

Truly a unique artist you are my friend, much gratitude.

If you do plan the volume for Endeavour, what would your goals and visions be for the project? Also what journey are you hoping to take your listeners on with works to come?

I appreciate the kind words on my previous mix series <3 <3 <3

and I think I would love to do something like that series again!!

Sure why not ;) This sound could work, I have loads more of this sound just sitting there looking for a home.

I think that could be the theme too!

“Searching for home, all the while achieving the tasks you set before you to prepare for your arrival”.

Something like that?

A goal of mine would be to make it a journey for the listener to enjoy.

With Endeavor, if you could give one descriptive paragraph for all it embodies from your point of view what would you state?

It’s your interaction with the elements in our world.

It's packed with all beats airy, wavy and blissful to help tell the story of…whatever it is you see after hearing the track order, to be honest! Find someplace relaxing to you, maybe a productive place and play this out.

I think it’ll bring you into some sort of meditative state :)

Any up and coming artists, music and beyond you could recommend and give us links to?

INDESCRIBABLE INDY

https://indescribable.bandcamp.com/

WEIRDDOUGH

https://weirddough.bandcamp.com/

ONEONTHEBEAT

https://1blaps.bandcamp.com/

MATT NISH

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5IcGFKFypLHBm9fUCbhl1u

OUMUAMUA

https://soundcloud.com/oumuamua

LO THE DINO

https://soundcloud.com/lothedino

One of my favorite questions to ask, any musical recommendations?

Albums, songs, or a blessed mix like your own for example?

I would personally recommend an artist by the name of Terekke.

His "Improvisational Loops" Album is filled with some of the most amazing ambient music I’ve heard.

https://www.musicfrommemory.com/release/6031/terekke/improvisational-loops

How have your previous experiences with doing live sets been going?

I can only imagine the mood you would set. What has been your favorite experience as of late?

Well.. to be clear, I haven’t really done a full live set just yet.

With remix decks on traktor, switching over to those can be a kinetic experience with the audience.

My real joy is to present sounds as a vibe selection - something that tells a story with energy exchange.

My challenge lately is looking at the crowd and reading their movements and my most favorite experience playing live is just glancing up after a transition and seeing a guy (pristinely dress) spilling his beer all over the floor while getting down.

I just really loved seeing that reaction to music. He didn’t care one bit and was just wayyyy into the song that was playing.

An old memory would have to be from a Halloween show years back at this venue called Velveteen Rabbit in the Arts District of LV.

I specifically remember just dancing harder than I’ve ever danced while dj’ing. Right in front of the small fold up table with my gear with all my friends just throwing their hands at me.

It felt like I was inside of a fireball.

I will forever cherish that night. connection to the crowd, close friends or newly met ones, that will always fuel me to play music.

Any up and coming shows or gigs you'd like to brief us on that you feel readers would be intrigued with checking out?

I just finished 2 sets for the end of October.

My birthday is Halloween, so I just want to spend time with friends and take photos throughout November.

I have a couple of collaborations in the works rn with some friends who need some photos; just have to see how they turn out.

As for music, I’m taking a month off from shows but I would like to play one for NYE. ;)

Any Last Words?

Please bear in mind that life is fragile.

We are on a rock that is highly susceptible to an array of destruction from uncontrollable forces we can’t even see coming from beyond the known cosmos.

Your milliseconds here are precious. what can you do to make the best of those moments?

Support Somanyfeels Here:

Somanyfeels Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/somanyfeelsmusic

Somanyfeels Instagram -��https://www.instagram.com/_somanyfeels_/?hl=en

Somanyfeels Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/somanyfeelsphoto/

#BEATSFORTHEILL #INTERVIEW #SOMANYFEELS

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theseventhhex · 6 years ago

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Makeness Interview

Kyle Molleson

Photo by Dexter Lander

It’s the contrasts which stand out in Makeness‘(aka Kyle Molleson) music. Crafting tracks which make a virtue of disparate influences, Kyle manages to pull off something difficult: making tirelessly-crafted songs which sound loose-limbed and to-the-point. He comes from a Leeds-born scene which, counting Adult Jazz and Glad Hand amongst its numbers, haven’t pegged themselves to one musical discipline. That network of like-minded friends, and the restless ethos cultivated between them, continues to shape the music Kyle makes on his own. His debut album, ‘Loud Patterns’, is the fullest example of this yet. On the one hand, it’s noticeably indebted to house and techno; there are 4/4 rhythms, and a no-nonsense directness which nods to the likes of Omar-S and Theo Parrish. On the other hand, those dancefloor structures are a vehicle for a wider spectrum of sounds. Channelling avant-garde experimentalism and an outsider’s interest in pop, he embraces the distance between those two poles… We talk to Kyle about tricky vocals, skating and Bill Murray…

TSH: How would you sum up the soundscapes that you wanted to imply with ‘Loud Patterns’ and the natural compulsions coming into play for you?

Kyle: I wanted to create a record that sounded quite live but still had the pulse and mechanism of electronic music. I seem to gravitate towards quite heavy and intense sounds so having a balance of sweeter moments and moodier, darker ideas was quite important when I was making the record.

TSH: When you’re creating music, do you consciously pick the emotions or moods you try and capture, or do the songs unfold more organically?

Kyle: I usually have half an idea of what mood I’d like to instil. For instance the track ‘The Bass Rock’ started off as just messing around with sequences with not much direction. I was home in Scotland for Christmas at the time and we went for a walk in East Lothian overlooking this island called The Bass Rock. The weather went from really sunny and calm to torrential gale in a matter minutes and you could see the storm front coming in over the Island. I took that experience and wove it into the track.

TSH: Were there certain songs that required quite a few iterations to get right during the recording process?

Kyle: Yeah, the ones with vocals were really tricky. I wasn’t quite sure about doing any singing at all, especially writing songs. The more I challenged myself to do it the more I warmed to it though. Still, getting that right took a lot of time as well figuring out what my voice was and what I wanted to share. Lots of firsts!

TSH: What do you mostly like about the idea of combining live instrumentation and mechanised electronics?

Kyle: It’s all just ingredients so I don’t always think of the two being separate. It’s all about the drums though so as soon as you start mixing acoustic and electronic drums sounds it becomes pretty blurry. My favourite thing to do is probably making programmed drums sound like live kit recordings. Very time consuming but I really like it as a sound.

TSH: You’ve talked about making this album a piece, rather than a collection of ideas, how challenging was this for you?

Kyle: It was quite hard. I spent a lot of time honing the sound palette so to speak. I used lots of different kinds of sound sources from old analogue synths, plate reverbs and acoustic drums through to digital drum vst’s and modern effects. I ran everything through the same mixer and would re amp a lot of the synthetic sounds through a guitar amp to give the whole record a certain colour.

TSH: With the track ‘Stepping Out of Sync’, were you looking to evoke a certain mood?

Kyle: That track took a long time to get right. In my head I saw it as writing a pop song; it has all the caveats, but also perhaps shows that I’m a little uncomfortable within that genre.

TSH: Which parts/features would you say required most focus as you formed ‘Day Old Death’?

Kyle: There’s a little break about a 3rd of the way through that took a while to get right. I wanted to have some really heavy industrial sounds but without it being out of context. It was a case of adding some of that heaviness to the lead up that makes it work I think.

TSH: What led you to gravitating to having some warped vocals too?

Kyle: I started off using my voice as an effect, pitching it around and making little melody phrases out of it. When I started actually singing I kept doing that sort of thing. I quite like doing some ridiculously modern sounding vocal effect then recording it to tape or through a guitar amp.

TSH: Does the melody and harmony that you incorporate in part come from the folk music your father used to play?

Kyle: Yeah, definitely. It was a big part of the music I was exposed to growing up. The importance of live music in that sort of world has definitely influenced me as I have gone down a more electronic music path.

TSH: What sort of effect do you look to infer when you attempt to humanise some of the sounds?

Kyle: I think when you’re making music on your own; each sound can be worked over a lot and become quite important to you. I found running everything through the same devices once the tracks had been finished really helped to place everything properly. Taking synthetic sounds and giving them some real world context, recording them in the room back through microphones, helped place everything in the sound world I had imagined.

TSH: What was the experience like in performing in a church in Oslo recently?

Kyle: That was great. A little odd for sure though. The whole place was full but everyone was sitting on pews in silence when I went up to play.

TSH: Do you still make time to skate when you can?

Kyle: Ha, yeah I do try. I used to skate loads but now I’m more than happy cruising the bowl and with a few front tails. It was amazing to skate in America though. My 16 year old self would have been stoked.

TSH: What was going through your mind when Bill Murray walked past you?

Kyle: Ha! I was at the airport and took a double take. I was making some crunchy techno at the time which is now called Bill Murray V1.

TSH: Finally, in the wake of ‘Loud Patterns’, can you tell us some of the most important lessons and factors that you’ve taken away in working on this record?

Kyle: First thought, best thought!

Makeness - “Day Old Death”

Makeness - “Stepping Out of Sync”

Loud Patterns

#Interview #Makeness #Kyle Molleson

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nigelmarmot · 7 years ago

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Just Come Barging in Here

This weekend was a pretty interesting gig(s) up in Miller’s Bay on lake Okoboji in Iowa. It was actually a double header, which made things a bit interesting (more on that later); the first gig being a festival called “Lake Affect” (my first gig on a boat!), the second being an evening double set with Des Moines staple The Nadas.

Grammar Nazi

The first of the two gigs, Lake Affect, was started by a well established local musician Damon Dotson 11 years ago. The idea was essentially his band and several of his friends bands go out on a boat on the lake, and play to other people who also bring their boats out. Cool idea, and by the 11th annual event, they had the process figured out pretty nicely. There was a local lakeside engineering company (they design boat hoists, docks, and other waterfront machinery/structures) that owned a small feet of barges who sponsored the event for some sort of reduced or free cost for use of the barges (the details of which I’m not 100% sure on). One of the barges was to be used as the stage, and the other one was the on-the-water equivalent of a stage wing; it had extra gear, coolers, a better vantage point of the stage, and even a cybo (they have obviously learned over the years!)

All of this being said, it absolutely killed me the whole time that the fest was called Lake Affect instead of the proper spelling of Lake Effect, referring to the erratic weather patterns due to being in proximity to a lake. There might have been some sort of meaning at one point as to why it was A vs. E, but it might have also just been an honest misspelling. I got over it, and it was a fun gig anyway.

I’m on a boat (Everybody look at me cause I'm sailin on a boat)

The Lake Affect festival was scheduled to go from noon to 5PM, and it was on lake Okoboji, so that meant an early day for me. Call was 5:30 AM, followed by a 3+ hour ride right to the dock at about 9:30AM. The barge was right on the beach when we got there, so we backed the trailer right up to it, and loaded all the gear onto it. Mild incline, but with help of the boats crew and Damon himself, it was on deck in short order. Since the actual performance area was a 10-ish minute ride across the lake, we didn’t do much setting up, and instead secured anything on wheels to make sure it didn’t tip overboard. We did put together the 32′ truss that the tops would hang from so they could zip tie the Lake Affect banner to it on the way over.

A short (but nerve-racking!) ride over to the spot, and we already see about 40 boats moored together, obviously having gotten there early for a good spot. The barge pulls in slowly, and with Damon calling the shots on placement, we drop two hydraulic stabilizer anchors and start to set up.

The boat deck was probably about 45-50′ long, and maybe 16-20′ deep. There was some space, but not a lot of it. We put out 2 JBL VerTec 8880 subs a side, and hung two Bag End Crystal tops from the 32 foot truss on two crank genie lifts. The amp rack and the mixer lived on stage right, directly behind the massive crane on one end of the barge. We got everything set up by about 10:45, which was a good hustle. The original plan was to check Damon Dotson (playing third) first, and then “festival style” the first two bands, but by the time the second barge arrived and all the gear was on deck, Damon made the correct (in my opinion) call to just throw-and-go the whole day. From a technical perspective, we probably could have done the check, as the board we were using (a Midas Pro1) had store/recall functionality, we could share lines like guitar/bass/keys, and the last two bands were sharing a drum kit (the first one didn’t have a kit at all, making it easier), but it was more a question of time than space or tech.

As I mentioned before this was my first gig on a boat, and as such the first time experiencing the challenge of not really being able to hear the PA (and therefore not be able to hear what I was mixing) at all. I’m no stranger to the “mix from the side” sort of gigs, as I’ve been in and out of a lot of crammed venues, but this is the first time I’ve been physically unable to go and see what it sounds like in “the house.” You know. Cuz’ of the water. At the very least there were two saving graces. First off, there was a spare wedge and amp channel available, so I could set up what’s called a “cue wedge.” A cue wedge is essentially another monitor mix strictly for the monitor engineer. Normal monitor mixes consist of a certain set of channels set to a certain level and sent to a monitor, based on that monitor’s recipient’s desires. This monitor mix works slightly different, in that the monitor engineer can “solo” or “pre-listen” to individual channels, artists monitor mixes (so they can hear what the artist is hearing through their wedge), or even the main mix. Since I could hear the main mix through my cue wedge next to me, I at least had a bit better idea of what I was spitting out through the mains.

The second saving grace was the fact that the second barge was at a 90º angle to the first one, and had a little bit of space out front to be able to hear the PA somewhat. I took a few short trips out there just to insure a few main EQ things, and the rest of the time I relied on the cue wedge (mostly because there was a tent over me and I didn’t want to burn too badly).

(image credit to Dronography Iowa)

With the cue wedge, I was able to get what I think was a decent (probably not my best) mix for the day. The unfortunate thing though was how underestimated the crowd size was. Don’t know if this was on the sound company’s or Damon’s part, but I’m not faulting anyone here. The short end of it was that there probably wasn’t enough PA. As you can see in the pictures below, there were boats as far as we could see from the barge. Just an absolute ton of people. Again, without the ability to really go out into “the house” to hear it, I wasn’t able to see how far the speakers threw. My guess is “nowhere close to enough,” but that sort of thing was above my pay grade for this gig. I was here to help put it together and mix, which I did!

(last two image credits to Dronography Iowa)

Cover Band Mania

The first group was Pianopalooza, a dueling pianos duo. Most people that know me close have probably heard my tirade on dueling pianos being one of the lowest forms of musical entertainment, but these guys are damn good, and funny to boot. I’ve worked with one of them a number of times at various gigs, and he’s kind of a staple around the Des Moines scene. Definitely not disparaging those guys and what they do, but I put dueling pianos in the same category of “you’d have to pay me to go to this event” as karaoke. Considering I was getting paid to be at this event, all was well!

The interesting bit about this group, most especially in this setting, was that they had full piano “shells.” If you’ve ever been to a touring concert and seen somebody seated behind a big old grand piano, there are three possibilities (in order of probability):

They are using a normal portable electric keyboard inside a hollow piano shell, made to look like a real grand without the giant pain of having to tour with a real grand

The grand is owned and supplied by the venue the artist is playing at

They actually tour with a piano, spawning a giant list of things that suck:

They’re very heavy

They’re very fragile, and as such a lot of careful packing and/or even heavier cases are involved to transport it with care from one place to the next

They’re very heavy

The large volume of a piano requires it to be taken slightly apart in between each show, increasing load in and out time

The large volume also [generally] increases the size of the touring vehicle that one would need, increasing costs, fuel consumption, etc. etc.

They’re very heavy

You have to travel with a piano tuner, or find and pay a local tuner in every city you play

You have to tune the piano every single show

The only two acts I’ve seen personally that actually tour with pianos are Lorie Line (hers is a beautiful white grand named Esmerelda) and Ben Folds. Everyone else is option one or two above. I digress. The moral of the story is here we are out in the middle of a lake on a big flat metal boat, and it looks like there’s two grand pianos on this boat. Funny looking picture.

Anyway, Pianopalooza, like any dueling piano gig, is essentially a bunch of covers with lyric changes and witty [and often dirty] banter between the two guys. Perfect book for drunk people on a lake, honestly, and I mean that in no negative sense.

Next up was Pork Tornadoes, a really tight group that are also regulars around the DSM area, doing mostly 90′s covers. Crowd loved it, they had a good time, and they were off.

Final group was Damon Dotson, who did a mix of originals and covers. They did have a little rap battle medley that included “Lose Yourself,” “Gangster’s Paradise,” “Ice Ice Baby,” among others, which was entertaining on two fronts: 1: It was entertaining for its own sake, and done well at that, and 2: it was a bunch of white dudes doing the white dude rapping thing for a bunch of white people on a lake. Still a good time.

The one rub I have with doing multiple cover bands in a day is that chances are there’s going to be set list collisions. Specifically for this show, there were two that I remember - “Ring of Fire” by Jonny Cash, and “Sweet Caroline” by Niel Diamond. The former I’ve heard covered a billion and a half times (and always know to toss on a real tight slap-back delay to get that “50′s sound”), so though it’s a good song I’m pretty numb to it at this point. The latter is one that I don’t hear covered too often, but for some inexplicable reason it seems to be the drunken battle cry for Cyclone fans across the state. Not so much the actual lyrics of the song, but the “BAH BAH OOH” and the “SO GOOD SO GOOD SO GOOD” parts that are easy to remember when you’re 8 deep into Natty Light and can’t remember where you lost your left shoe [I kid. Mostly.]

After Damon finished up his set, we tore down the bands and slowly made our way out of the spot. There were still a lot of boats lingering, and the second barge actually got stuck, so an assist was needed, but we eventually made our way out and back across the lake and packed up the trailer, only to drive across the street and....

Load In [down] and Load Out [up]

The second gig of the night was with the Des Moines group The Nadas. They’ve been around for almost two decades now, have a large body of work, and where I’m concerned, have done plenty of gigs in plenty of venues on plenty of different sound systems. The short end of it is that they as a band sound really good, which makes my job easy. As the drunk guy in the bathroom told me [as I’m still urinating mind you] “You’re doing a great job - they sound great. They’re great to start with, but all you do is accentuate, you know? Accentuate.” I rarely say this, but you’re right Drunk Guy. You’re right.

The gig itself was relatively straightforward. We were actually able to set the console up at a normal mix position in front of the PA, so I could actually hear what was going on, and the owner of the company I was with had mixed them not more than 3 weeks prior, and had a show file saved for them already. I normally have some hesitation with using past show files, especially when I didn’t create them myself. There’s a number of reasons for this:

The input patch/input list may be different (which is easily taken care of by either physically patching differently, or patching within the board via “soft-patching”

The outputs may be different

Could be going from in-ears to wedges, or vice versa

The wedges might be in different spots or numbers (again, soft-patching could take care of this)

The band is probably going to have a different stage volume

Though ideally, eq decisions on the input side of things shouldn’t reflect shortcomings of the PA or the room, that is never the case

The monitors or mains may be of a different make, location, and definitely interact with the room differently, so eq and level choices will probably need to be adjusted.

All that being said, I went with the show file considering the small amount of time we had, and it did actually have a good starting place to be. I had a few minutes to listen to the PA after it had been set up, so I threw on my usual go-to’s of “Your Latest Trick” by the Dire Straits and “That Moon Song” by Gregory Alan Isakov to just make sure the PA sounded good and balanced. A few eq tweaks and I was good to go. I will say the wait staff and manager of the place (The Okoboji Store) were super helpful and nice - they asked if they needed to turn their house music off so I could tune without their music messing me up. I didn’t want to provide house music between then and the Nadas starting, so I told them to keep theirs going. The main PA was loud enough I could tune out their house music anyway.

Anyway, got PA tuned, did a quick line check and monitor level check, and then got ready for the band to start. Lake Affect had ended at about 4:30, we got back to the dock at 5:30, and had the PA completely ready to go by 7:20. The Nadas had arrived and set up before we got there, so we filled in around them. The Nadas were slated to start at 7PM, but we had been in enough communication to them that they knew that was unlikely. We hustled the out at Lake Affect and the in at the Okoboji store and were ready to go, so it was mildly irksome that the band didn’t actually start until shortly after 8PM. I had a few audience members come up to me and ask what the deal was, to which I claimed ignorance. Plausible deniability, and it was again above my pay grade to tell the band when they were supposed to go on. I was a mercenary for this gig, so mercenate I would.

The band played two one hour [almost on the dot] sets, and were happy with the sound. There was a weird bit in the middle where the bassist all of the sudden felt like there was a lot more snare coming through his wedge (it honestly could have been me with some gain and eq adjustments, and he didn’t notice it till later), but just your normal garden variety “more of this, less of that” non-verbal communication that a good seasoned band can have with their engineer.

After the band was done, we tore down, and then loaded out one of the worst load outs possible. There was a parking lot about 16 feet above the stage by elevation, with a pretty steep (I’m talking 20-30º) grade from the parking lot to a landing behind the stage. In this landing is a layer of gravel, which is on par with mud as the worst thing to drag heavy things on wheels through. After the gravel, there were two 3 inch deep trenches in the concrete, with a railroad track running through one of them. After the railroad track is another 15º-ish grade back up to the stage. Load out is all of that in reverse.

All in all a good days worth of work, and I’m pretty happy with the mixes I got out of things, especially given the spacetime circumstances. Holy crap do my calves hurt though.

#Lakeaffectboji #i'monaboat

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