May 2005


Family15 May 2005 08:47 pm

Here’s the author of the recent letter I received.

ITF Business13 May 2005 05:50 pm

I’ve tweaked a few things on the site recently.

  1. I made the title “Iced Tea Forever” in the header a link to ITF home.
  2. Added a link in the left column to the post introducing the new ITF OTA, or Official Technical Advisor.
  3. Changed “Links” to “Daily Reads,” and added a few links to said category. These are all important blogs that I check every day. Except AHQ of course, that’s not a blog but I don’t have a category in which to put it yet.
  4. I added a Google search box, use it to search the web or Iced Tea Forever.
AHQ&Music12 May 2005 06:01 pm

This recent post about the Trusting Tag brought in an interesting comment from my buddy Dave. I thought I’d address it here and maybe delve into the subject a little more.

No, Dave, that’s not what I meant! Come on, you gotta admit that drowning in reverb is fun once in a while! Actually, that was a quick final mix, and I’m sure that reverb was just the standard default n-Track plugin, not even tweaked any. There are better reverbs in the world.

Good job on the voice tracking, you got that one nailed. After I hit the post, David pops up above By and ends up on top of the stack in falsetto. We actually did that kind of swapping and switcharooing a lot.

We did it in order to best achieve the sound we wanted at a particular spot, while playing to our individual strengths and avoiding our individual weaknesses. For example, By’s got the high full voice notes (as well as the mix/falsetto stuff), David has the next highest full voice and a great (and high) falsetto, and I can pick up the leftovers, e.g., next highest (not high) and maybe biggest full voice and passable falsetto stuff.

So, on Trusting we wanted a high, big, power ending. I’m on a high (for me) root, if By takes the third above and David takes the fifth below, that’s probably going to be ok but it could be a lot better. And I might be too big and heavy on the post for that particular stack to balance very well. We want to move the chord stack up a notch, but that third is too high for David to consistently nail and hold. By can do it in his sleep, so we have By pound the full-voice third and send David on up above him floating in a falsetto tenor!

So then we have the type of tag we wanted, and we do it in a way that we can pull off fairly well and consistently. Not only that, but since we’re all in (or close to!) our comfort zones, we’re probably going to have a pretty decent blend and match.

Like I said, we did this kind of stuff fairly often. See if you can pick out more AHQ switcharoo moments! And yes, “Keep in the Middle” is another one. Same story as Trusting, we needed the full voice power note in the middle so we saddle By with it and fill in around him.

As far as overtones, once in a while we’re in tune and blended enough that they happen. The only overdubbing we’ve done has been to double parts (same octave) or fill in fifth or sixth parts, and even that’s been very little. As far as acoustic environment, we recorded all of Purpose in my old room. Carpeted, multi-angled ceiling, pretty dead room.

I’ve been thinking recently on taking a look behind-the-scenes of various AHQ issues. So thanks for bringing this up, Dave. Look for an upcoming post going in-depth and behind-the-scenes with “When I Lift Up My Head.”

All this stuff ain’t free, Dave, this post is going to cost you. I want some more mp3’s from your quartet.

Misc12 May 2005 04:22 pm

I discovered today that you can listen to Paul Harvey online at PaulHarvey.com. What a cool resource, huh! Just the kind of thing that ITF would pass along.

Listening to Paul Harvey gives me a warm fuzzy nostalgic feeling deep inside.

Medical&Music12 May 2005 02:07 pm

Been sick with a sore throat all week. This morning I woke up and my voice was gone. Today my throat feels like it’s been stabbed. I had been looking forward to the Gospel Echoes banquet tonight, but the way I’m feeling I ain’t goin’ nowhere. (Here is a little bit on the banquet tour they’ve been on recently.)

Over the course of my occasionally long and briefly lustrous singing career, there have been many times that sickness has overtaken me when I was committed to sing. One of my most consistent fears/concerns has always been, what if I get sick when I have to sing?!

And it certainly happens. You just deal with it, there isn’t much choice in the matter. Last year I hadn’t been singing much at all, then I got a gig filling in for my buddy Norrell on baritone with my now current quartet, Vocal Witness. What do you know, I got sick right before the gig. Hadn’t sang in ages, but the old viri and flu vermin knew just when to kick in.

So now I’m actually in the quartet. My first official gig is, yes, this Sunday night. Figures. I’m planning on being much better by then. But if I’m not, I’ll do what I’ve done the rest of my career and just deal with it.

I’ve tried all manner and sundry of home-brewed concoctions and quackery, but alas, I never did find a miracle cure. However, there are a couple things I’ve found that are soothing and I like. Steam is one, and I’m drinking the other right now. I think I got it from my Mom.

Dissolve some honey and lemon juice in a cup of hot water. Tastes good, feels good too.

Misc&Philosophy11 May 2005 09:53 pm

God and the Pledge of Allegiance

Now this is the kind of approach/attitude/style that I like!

AHQ11 May 2005 08:29 pm

Before AHQ recorded Purpose, we did some recording experiments. As I feebly recall, we did a trial run recording “Trusting in a God Who Cares” one track at a time.

It wasn’t a raging success in all the ways I hoped it would be, but it was an interesting experiment and we learned some valuable things. I don’t remember what they were, but I know we did.

Anyway, I think that’s where the following file came from. Here is the tag to “Trusting in a God Who Cares,” it’s a little better than the actual one on Lookin’ Up.

Trusting Tag (303KB)

Notice the gallons of reverb, that was to make By happy. Also notice the doubled bass. Since this was an experiment, we experimented with that too.

Tech11 May 2005 05:34 pm

Iced Tea Forever is proud to announce that we now have an Official Technical Advisor! Our good buddy Hans has consented to ably fill this coveted role.

Look for a coming dissertation on the Google Web Accelerator.

ITF Business10 May 2005 08:27 pm

Unbeknownst to him, the editor of ITF was recently thoroughly scrutinized and evaluated by an esteemed independent committee. Here is an excerpt from the quote released by the chairman of the Evaluation Council:

“Your . . . knowledge is vastly superior to mine.”

Know you’re in good hands with ITF.

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