Flight Path

Tonight I realized I live in a significant Flight Path. I've recognized this before, but this evening this fact was drawn into greater relief as I came home at 8 and recorded this piece with two microphones, including the one that I thought I had lost at the Town Hall show. (Found it Derek!) This is one take, take one, then xfered, named, encoded, songtiled, and uploaded. Wondering what it would be like to record one short piece like this per day over a very long period of time, say one year? Now that would be, more precisely, an actual 'musician's diary.' (5.2M mp3)

I'm also very happy to report that recording w/ mics sans Radio Tower bleed is possible here.

Note on the 'performance' -- my fingers feel so strange on the piano given the years they have been away. But they feel good slowly getting back into shape.

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JoelP sent the following link a few minutes ago -- this is an excellent discussion on Improvisation. It resonates with my own experiences and motivations. Wonderful stuff, thanks for sending, Joel!

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Also, this in from old MS colleague (and Mills College grad?) Tim Root:

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From: Tim Root
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 4:52 PM
To: SB
Subject: stagings

Hey Steve,
Browsing your diary as I do from time to time. Your thinking about various performance/venue/artist/audience arrangements caught my attention.

as did this quote:

"Also, when it comes to the style and tone of our 'shows,' I'm not always sure if the performance is really more for the audience or for the performers. Part of me believes that it may be more accurate to say that guitar circle performances are often actually more like 'demonstrations' of how we operate, rather than characterize them as entertainment-based 'performances.' "

Perhaps the following arrangement might best demonstrate the "how we operate" angle.

Consider an inversion of Sandra's suggestion Where the performance takes place in the center and below audience level, much like a hospital operating theater. The audience hovers on catwalks above the circle and can move around. They stand (perhaps cocktail tables at waist height are set around the catwalk so you can make some money from the show ;-)). amplification is provided behind the audience, at ceiling height using a single speaker for each performer's input. Arrange the speakers so that the sound coming from behind an audient as she looks into the theater corresponds to the performer farthest away from that audient (i.e. across the circle).

Given a choice, I prefer the performers to be trapped by the audience, than the other way around. Moving the PA to the outside circle abstracts the sound from the performer and traps the audience with the sound while they hold the performance captive.

...since we are considering the impractical.

permission to post granted ;-)

best,
Tim Root

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Other quick notes on recent activities and communications:

- ran into Pauline and Socco Stern while out doing errands yesterday - great to see them!

- hilarious email exchange with TravisH today regarding unrealistic expectations among other things

- phone and email exchanges w/ SteveT this evening -- getting 'LinkedIn'

- completed 1st half of annual reviews today for my directs -- this is never easy

Regarding reviews: at Microsoft, employees work 1:1 with their managers twice a year to develop specific, practical, and measurable goals. At the end the first six months, both manager and employee measure progress and accomplishments against these goals, critique, and reset as needed for the next six months. At the end of 12 months, the manager and employee meet again to review progress against these goals over a full year.

Employee bonus, merit increase, stock, and promotions potential is dependent upon the value and achievement agains these goals. Interesting to notice that the 'quantum achievement unit' for an individual working within a Fortune 500 company is one year.

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Comments

[Derek DiFilippo]

Nice work finding that microphone! It's a beauty. Where did you find it? I'm looking forward to hearing your new musical sketches when I get back home.