Music

Once again, I attended a night of fantastic original music at the 120 Diner in Toronto. I was invited by two of the performers, Sherry Jacoby and Lora Ryan. The show was hosted by Annie Bonsignore and Roger Beckett from A&R Productions. The great thing about the Nashville-style setup is the interplay between the artists. In [...]

Last year I was approached by indie punk band Relentless Turmoil to master their latest album, Loud Isn’t Loud Enough. If you read anything about mastering on internet forums and what not, you’ll hear time and time again that it’s a strange black art. For a home studio based producer, it’s supposed to be an [...]

Through co-hosting the Songwriter’s Meetup and Song Talk Radio, I get to meet many singer-songwriters in and around Toronto. Some of them have written original Christmas songs, including Carmen Toth’s This Christmas I’m Giving You Love and Melanie Peterson’s Santa’s Sleigh. Themes of peace and love tend to come up, as is typical of many holiday songs. [...]

I recently purchased a new medium telephoto lens for my camera and put it to the test with photographing a couple of live music events. I enjoyed a "songwriters in the round" event at 120 Diner in Toronto. I already knew three of the performers, and got to meet and hear several new ones. Beige [...]

If you’re just starting out your home studio, or looking to upgrade your audio interface, there are many factors to consider in order to make an informed decision that gets you the best bang for your buck. An audio interface is the traffic cop of your home studio, controlling all the physical inputs and outputs. [...]

I first met singer-songwriter Adi Aman, aka Beige Shelter, at the Songwriter’s Cafe meetup. He appeared on Song Talk Radio in 2014. His songs instantly appealed to me for their 90’s alt-rock inspired style, and his often spiritually deep lyrics. On Song Talk Radio, I recall commenting how his songs are actually about something. Last [...]

As part of the band Beige Shelter (drums, percussion), we played our biggest show yet at the historic Lee's Palace. The crowd was receptive, enthusiastic and supportive. Of course, since this was a "real" concert venue, the stage lights made it almost impossible to see anyone in the audience. But we know what we heard. The [...]

I've been playing drums and percussion for a while for singer-songwriter Adi Aman, aka Beige Shelter. The band name comes from Adi's feeling that the colour beige is neutral and can express a wide range of emotions, and music being the place of shelter where he can best express them. I started my collaboration with [...]

I has previously heard the idea that life on earth may have originated by some organic goo being deposited on our humble little planet by a meteor or comet. Recently I found a youTube video that explained that while indeed speculative, the theory is given the perfect name: "Panspermia." It's one thing to write a song simply [...]