What's happening in Lansdale today?! 06/02/2014

The citizens of Lansdale were witness to a procession of emergency vehicles this morning.

At 10:30am on this morning, a fleet of heavily armored police and public safety vehicles rushed north on Broad Street.  Small towns like Lansdale do not often see such commotion on the main streets.
A thought of terror crosses the mind;  makes the heart beat faster.

News helicopters circle in the air above.  The people of this borough want to know what's happening.

There has apparently been a home with residents who have barricaded themselves within.
Furthermore, @montcoalerts reports, "2201 Harvard Drive - MONT TWP - Report of a Shooting".
The active incident dispatch status website for Montgomery County indicates a helicopter landing at Harvard Drive today at 10:03 am.

The whole story had yet to play out and be revealed.

Start up Company?!?!?!?!?!

What does that even mean?!


OK, so this will mainly be a ramiling type of ramble.

Friday night>>>Saturday Night: NTN

"What is NTN?"

It's  an entity that seems like a mistake, but at the same time, makes sense.

An unexpected discovery...


Things that seem like errors right off the bat...probably are lessons for us.




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No more cigarettes, Susan!

Who the fuck  IS SUSAN?

I don't know.  It could be anyone  I suppose.....
The main idea is, I don't smoke those nasty cigarettes "no mo'"!!!

I can't put trash into my instrument..  If I played the Tuba...
If I played the Tuba and smoking cigarettes would be the equivalent of putting
Taco Bell wrappers in the bell of my Tuba.  Uh, no...


OK, my business card.

People who got here through an SD/lo card.

I am stepping down right now.  I don't think I'm the best anything.
I'm just trying to be the best me!!!

I am waiting for Adobe Premiere to be installed on my computer...totally legally of course.





AHH!

OK, so it is definitely the night before NTN.  Did I solve everything?

I don't even know where my notes are..  That 's quite alright.

I prayed before last week's show.  I will pray before this one I'm sure.





I don't have time for images...and quite honestly, my glasses are smudged to high heaven.


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I have to run NTN tomorrow night.  People that I want to be there...I hope you're there.

Matt, everyone else named Matt.  The other people I love and want in my life.

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I believe that I only have one voice to count on, as far as listening to my words is concerned.

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I don't have to qualify or introduce that voice..   If you know, you know..

If you don't dig, then you dont' dig, and that is cool too!
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Well, I'm a person who is drunk off of white merlot at this particular instant,

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I'll add this...

Jaye Mains...
Taylor Cockenberg...

excellent artists...

I'm so glad to have met them..  I was distracted for the first show, but they are obviously the most talented people I know from this area....and that's all thanks to Shannon T.

√

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Good Job God!


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There are 17 hours between now and Neighborhood Tune Night.

Give me the strength, the imagination, the Passion!

O, we will please you, because we love you.

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- Christopher S.  & Shannon T.

Open Mic Night in Lansdale's Applebees.

That Cheddar Cheese...I'm on my Knees 

Alright, it's been a while I'll admit.

I haven't felt inspired or alive at all really for sometime.  Blah.

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I feel lit though.  A certain sadness.  It's almost a "summertime sadness", which ironically I picked up the sheet music for.  I'll post the song up here when I finally learn to play it.  

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Moving forward, Saturday nightsat Applebee's Lansdale will be a late night open-mic night.

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Work is in progress getting everything together. 

I need to recruit local musicians using craigslist.  I'm going to go on there tonight and put up a post and ask those interested to inquire.  

That way I can determine exactly what kind of equipment I will need to have set up and familiarize myself with the musician's style of music and personality in order to be a more thorough MC.

Being in contact with people who will actually e-mail me back, will help me develop a schedule for who will play when.  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The main team players for the Open Mic Night are Christophe Strawley, Paul McEntegart, and Shannon Brouse.  These are some sexy butchers.  

Home Studio Time!

I came home for a couple days this week. It is hard to move everything from the studio, so I just brought the Micro Korg the laptop and the launchpad... Will report back with an update and a new song by the end of the night.

Home Studio Breakdown

I may be a little "obsessive-compulsive"...

It seems like I'm doing this everyday...but I just get such a rush out of rearranging my studio on an almost daily basis.  Comfort is born from the feng shui of an ever changing musical environment.  Pleasure...

The Analysis of a Home Studio

There are three keys factors that make a home studio pleasurable to record or jam with.

Accessibility, Color Coding, and Accuracy.

First off: Accesibility;  A good home studio is easy to manipulate.
If you need to change a cable to make a new patch, it should go down seamlessly.  
If maneuvering behind a mixer is causing stumbling or the involuntary unplugging of other cords,
you may want to consider the spatial orientation of your gear...which can be difficult, given the, sometimes, limited space that musicians are subject to.

Color Coding:  With great gear comes great responsibility.

When shelling out hundreds and hundreds of dollars for the latest musical gadget, a pact is made with oneself to take great care of the aforementioned goods.  These instruments are like children...they are best monitored when they are being monitored...a great way to do this, is to color code your cables.
   Por examplo - Purple is Piano

Look at the images to see where the microkorg and the drum machine are plugged into the mixer.

Accuracy:

With any modern technology, the most important key to success is selection.  

If you are using a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), it is important to be reminded of the keyboard shortcuts and their consequent results.  

Such as "Ableton Live's 'Draw Mode' enables you to draw envelopes in the automation lanes of an instrument".

Another point of interest for accuracy is the USB-MIDI cables being properly placed.  Nowadays, musicians see USB-MIDI cables primarily.  Novation's Launchpad is a power house of a MIDI control surface, so I think it wise to give the Launchpad it's own dedicated USB slot.  (as opposed to a USB 4-way splitter)

Finally, making sure that your mixer has all the right wires going in and out makes a large difference too.

In the studio setup seen at the top of the page, the audio output is through 

a guitar amp and a VIZIO soundbar.   See below.

 

The audio coming IN through the mixer (e.g. the piano, the microkorg and the drum machine) is being output through the "Control Room Out" to the Guitar amp
and the soundbar.

It takes practice...

I rearrange my studio space at least 4 or 5 times a week, just to try different setups and see the ones that work best.  This is a rather good setup currently, as it allows me to play through the mixer and also run the raw audio data into Ableton Live.  I can play line level performances and record them simultaneously, with very low latency.

Not to mention, it's nice to come home to a beautifully crafted studio space and utilize it with ease.  

Music is a wonderful thing, it is a gift to us mere mortals and I want to cherish and adore it.

Ta for now!

Christopher Strawley

Sweet Revenge & Revealed as Love

A couple new songs for Friday and the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

In the market for a new cat?

A short commercial for a local pet supply, made by Christopher Strawley of Solo/Gram.

A few examples of lantern slides

= WHAT ARE THESE? hello???... ...anybody?

Definitely Awesome Artwork-------------------------------                                                    

Definitely a lot of emotion in the   original images.

 It's my inheritance, mildly...

When my grandfather, a projectionist, passed away about a decade ago, he left the earth with a number of his scattered treasures.  I feel as though I've found the X, it's marking the spot. 

My grandmother gave me these slides to try and sell them on eBay (which is now basically defunct).  They are still really interesting.

GOBOs or Lantern Slides

I have a ton of these things, and in all shapes in sizes.  Probably about ~400 total.

They are each a masterpiece of artwork.  Hand painted (I think) artwork on a glass slide that is then projected with light onto a certain type of surface.

Missing Pieces

Unfortunately, I am missing the actual LANTERN to the LANTERN SLIDE set up. 

Although I have, but almost a million of these bad boys, I can only see them in their truest splendor with a flashlight in a closet with all the lights off.

Even still though, with the help of my friend Jason Russell, I was able to capture some VERY cool shots of light reflecting throughout the paint on some of these slides.

There are a few different varities:

• Small 1"x1" glass slides with strange pictures of all kinds of events and written words.
• Larger 2"x2" glass slides with a metal frame that slides into another piece that I have (not shown)

• Wood-laden, hand painted, vintage lantern slides.  They require a special projection system to be enjoyed at their maximum capacity

It's just a little bit interesting...

Soo...life has but, pressed onward forward.

Got a Cherry Pop at the end of my mid-work week.  Very tired and energetic all at the same time..

Luckily, I have the company of some good people, Jason Arrr (Russell) and a young man named Phil, 

to keep me occupied.

After working "WrestleMania" as a stage-hand in Northern Jersey, I'm a bit sore...

Not entirely so, however, as I have worked extensively in the field of manual labor (e.g. "Amazon, FedEx Ground")

Hard work gets what hard work earns

 Indeed, I am grateful, almost eternally, to the forces that have brought this opportunity before me.  

In the tradition of nepotism, I have received an opportunity beyond words or imagination. 

I am indeed, very grateful...

The gig entailed the coiling of many a spaghetti-like cord and taking down the structures (or "trusses") that held the lighting structures.

Look Here for a more extensive view of what the show entailed

 

 Wednesday Night is "DollHouse Revue" night at Voyeur in Philadelphia.

I am most excited for going to see a great show tonight at the Voyeur club in Philadelphia.

Last week's show featured some pretty great acts, including "Satine Harlow" and "Cherry Poppins" performing to a song called "I love it" in a sister act.  It was really a treat to see these girls dressed up in matching ZEBRA striped outfits and dancing along like true sisters.  The song was a rip and Satine and Cherry Pop's dancing movement followed suit.   It was an absolute blast to watch.  The grandness of their performance was matched only by that of their amazing waist buckles.  Both featured a palette of yellow sequins or metal pieces, which is, yet another indicator of these girl's unity in their performance. 

In the world of color symbols, yellow represents unity and friendships, also new beginnings.

You can find out more about Satine and Cherry here at their FaceBook page.

Well, that's all for now folks, I'll report back in just when the internet presents itself to me...

 

Peace,
Christopher Strawley

The Lovers and the Others

Do you think it matters what the lovers say,
or what the other people say?

Do you think it matters what the lovers say
or what the other people say?
Do you think it matters what the haters say
They've got so much shit to say
Do you think they'll see you through the day.
All they wanna do is make you late...

That's very funny of you...
That's very funny of you...


Words and Melody by: Christopher Strawley
Produced by: Christopher Strawley

Thanks meow!

The Words of my Diaries... (April 1st-Now)

What a fool, I don't even know what day it is...

April Fool's?  I missed it right?  Nothing happened?

Publicized Journals, you say?  That sound like quite a brilliant PLOY!!!

A Smashing Plot... A mind bending thief of the mind, this journal..

 

 

His Power may be stopped even yet.

 

\

\

\

I am not but a saint, but a sinner!  (lol)

What is that word?  A mere mortal "confession"?

I'm not entirely sure...

 

I wish that I could perform this LIVE for you...but I have run out of batteries...

 

 

 

4/2/13

 

You didn't fool me though...Even though my handwriting may look like scratch, I continue to add these words, these thoughts or understandings.  For things need to become better across the board.  All aspects...

It's the point...there is only one that keeps me from that old power...the power that took me down into a hole.  deep down into a hole

I met a young individual named "Angelic" at Voyer last Wednesday.  What a name, and a matching personality to boot.  I wish I could have snagged a picture of that fabulous haircut....MMM, is delicious...

4/2/13 cont.

I'm walking around the room, slightly dazed as I look at the new TASCAM SUBMIXER from the 80s that I just picked up. 

Gotta go to the thrift store now.  Be back later.

McDonalds Retro Vintage Window Song

Ain't no Fools on this April Day...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a day yesterday was...

 

 

It felt like a great gift from the universe

everyone was pleased in the end...

 

I got to meet up with an old friend named Jon Martin yesterday. 

His name is Jon Martin.  Jon currently resides in Conshocken, PA

Jon and I had originally met @ Suburban Station on 17th and JFK Blvd in Philadelphia, PA

 

 

 

Here's a song we all did together on an impromptu pickup jam session after snacking down on a McDonalds "Double Cheeseburger w/ Big MAC sauce".

 

 

It's called "Retro Vintage Window"



 



Words and melody by: Christopher Strawley (SD/LO)
Production values added by: Jon Martin
Background vocals: Tina Sera.

 Look for more music from StepDown<>LiftOff in the next few days, as well as an insight to some of Jon Martin's original music!

 

Where Have I Gone? Where is Bunky?

Greetings All!

"Where have you been for the last week", you ask?
In transistion.  I moved to a new apartment in New Jersey that overlooks the Tacony Palmyra Bridge. 
I am truly grateful to have this ------->
as my view everytime I sit down to play the piano
and record.

 
So what have I been up to over the last week and a half?
Hmm, that's a great question...If you watched the video titled "The Breaks" from a few weeks ago, you'd know that I've been going through some financial crisises.  Thanks to my friends and the business that I've started up selling video games, the "Save PIkachu" movement has succeeded.  I thank everyone who supported me during this time of crisis.  You are truly my Princesses and Princes.  Thank you!

Music -

In the new apartment I moved into, the internet access is scarce.  My MacBook Pro is currently not connected to the internet, so I have been posting from public internet servers where available. 

I have been spending a lot of time in the city, connecting with other musicians and performers to feel out where I might be able to put my hands in.  I have always loved music, and now that I'm in a more metropolitan area (Philadelphia, Camden, etc), the opportunities that have been presenting themselves to me are out of this world.

I am happy to report that I have been writing music non-stop.  With a large river as my inspiration, the "Sologram" album is shaping up to be a personal masterpiece, I am very proud of my work!  :)


New tracks will be posted when they become available!  :)

Videos -

Thanks to an old friend of mine, named Cameron, I have a very nice, handy Q2 HD Video Recorder.  I have been using it to capture all kinds of videos over the last few weeks.

Life in General -

To everyone who has supported and loved me: I want you to know that I love and support you back.  I am going to visit my mother's side of the family tonight and spend some quality time with them. 

I want to report in to the blogging world to let anyone who is listening that I am very busy letting the universe speak to me and recording it's intention. 

Toodle-o for now,
Christopher Strawley

The Perpetual Breaks

Non-stop craziness.
I feel like a marionette being pulled in a million directions by my weathered strings

I am in a Verizon store right now posting this as my new roommate activates her old cell phone since her new "incredible droid" phone got the blue screen of death.

I want nothing more than to appease everyone and its breaking me into pieces, like shattered glass.

The universe is the only thing keeping me sane

- March 15, 2013 - The Love of "Others' and Mothers"

Okay, so this is a rolling blogspot update.  I took a few pictures and wanted to put them up on the page.


My "Bunky" kitty cat has been such a good girl in my current habitation.
She is indeed a cat of many mysteries and spiritual truths.
Perhaps she does not know it, but she has a 6th sense of some kind.
Bunky has become, but a guardian angel.  But only so to speak.

Writing a Song to my Friends

There are so many people in my life that I'm grateful to.  Namely, my long friend, Dan C.  

Also, I have an internet/social media buddy named Shannon.  She frequents this page and is quite an awesome personality.  She shimmers, if only through the binary code of a cell phone's inbound text message!

I'm working on a song to make sure that the people who matter to me don't go unnoticed or under appreciated.    I'm working on an old Video Game Music Concept I had a few months ago, and am turning it into a full track with vocals, processed through Ableton. 

It is currently 2:46 am, and I am still on the prowl.  Fighting with fair weapons, and enjoying life.  

Just as I was before.  :)

Stay Tuned!

After, many a cigarette, I will return to you, "oh, computer man" to deposit my works.  

The online database is so conducive to a coming of age with technology.  Being born in 1989, my technical skills (while proficient) are not compliant with many of the more happenings in electronic dealings.  I have the ability to learn, and I'm always eager to learn, too!

Ok, stop by later to hear the finished product about my friends.  

PS

Love you all!  Your words inspire me and inspire me to work to higher grounds!

The Breaks

GarageBand on the iPad

Who would have known? An easy to use DAW on the iPad!

A friend of mine named Dan Casner recently bought a new iPad with his well-deserved annual work bonus.

A gracious friend as he is, he purchased the GarageBand app just so I would be able to play within.
After a few bumbling around and a few drinks, this is my first accomplishment on the iPad.

Check it out here:


 A small and un-arranged track, dedicated to a friend of the same name.

Greetings, Loyal Friends and Strangers Alike!

The time has come indeed.

I finally brought home my new 2008 Toyota Yaris S Sedan.  It is a nice, spacious car.  If there was anyone who was able to put getting a new car together for himself, it's me, and I'm proud of that.

It seems as though, the tides are turning.  With independence comes responsibility.  I have a responsibly to myself to do what's best for me.  It may sound closed-minded and selfish, but it's important to me.
I learned that boundaries are important, and I think it's time that I may have to put some up for myself.
I will no longer be settling for less than what I deserve, and I am happy to proclaim that.

There are many people that I love, and many people that I will never forget.  Namely, my Mother and Father.  Also, my brother, Thomas Strawley.  My family comes first.  When it comes to making big decisions, they are the first people that I will turn to.

I will admit, however, that I kept the purchase of my new car from my father.  For, I worry that he may be concerned with my ability to stay on top of it....However, I feel, in my heart, that I have matured to the point, where I know my limits AND I know my boundaries.  I love my family dearly.

The music has been spilling out of my soul these last few weeks and I think I know why.
My mind and my heart have come to an apex.  I have matured and I have grown far from the destitution  of addiction and its accompanying folly.  I have lost many a friend and now, stronger, I am going to face the world head on, as I was intended.

I have not turned my back on those who love me.  Oh, no.  Rather, I have made it a point to become serious about who I am as a person and what I am willing to tolerate.  It has come time that my reaping is in line with what I have sown.  Time and life is precious, and I choose not to turn away from that which is important to my soul.

I am returning home to the house I grew up in today...to speak with my Mother and figure out my plan from here.  Nothing is set in stone nor thoroughly determined.  As a survivor of tragedy, I must make the most of each instant.  I will take charge of my life.  I will become what I was destined to become.
These are the things that I believe of myself:

• I am a strong individual, with high values
• I will not turn my back on myself, to return to the pits from whence I came
• My boundaries must remain intimate and unadulterated
• I will continue my success and be a happy individual

I don't know if there really is anyone who is reading my page.  However, I feel comfortable sharing this information with you, because I know that you are people who I trust.  

I thank you for your continued perseverance in watching this dream of mine come to fruition.

Hang tight, dear Comrades.  This battle is not yet over, and we have not yet seen the outcome of this life of ours.  

You are all loved by me, and me by you.  For that, I am ever grateful.  

As I pack the last of my things and prepare my cat emotionally for the temporary transference of residence, I ask for your continued love and support.  Whatever higher power may be out there, continually looking out for me.  I ask for your aid.  

-Christopher Strawley

Video Game Music Time!

Ok, so I want to put my rough drafts up here from my Video Game Music Practices over the last week.

It's a little sketchy, but I love these tunes, and don't want to forget about them!

SO herrrrrre ya go!

Okay, so hello mister internet log...

I haven't really been journaling in my book as it is now on the paper/document holder on my desk, for easy transcribing to update the blog. 
I'm having a quick cigarette in between practicing this, crazily hard, "Castlevania: Bloodlines" piano rearrangement.  Another difficult task was to get the Line/level mixer working correctly so that it can record in tandem with the Q2 HD Zoom video recorder. 

I use a XENYXUSB1204 mixer currently, and I had to push buttons a LOT before I could get it recording my piano in audacity.  But, by George, it worked!  When I finally got everything all put together correctly on the mixer, I took a note of what buttons were pushed down, which weren't, etc.  I posted that note to the bottom of the mixer, so in case I get confused in the future, I'll always have some kind of record of what it looked like this time, when I got it to work.

Furthermore, I want to say that "Castlevania: Bloodlines" employs difficult gameplay and DIFFICULT freaking music.  The patterns are so excellent.  I've been pouring over them throughout gameplay and am absolutely ecstatic about my rearrangements.  Mixing all the MIDI instruments of the Sega Genesis down to just one piano and two hands, is quite a task.

What else in the world is going on?  Ah yes, I'm working on the "Desperate Sweet Nothings" box set plus DVD.  That a lot of the preparation that I'm doing with the "Castlevania" music.  It really is quite nice, getting my hands covered in paint, and having fun with "Towers of Bunnies".  I went to CVS and bought some plastic bunnies for a shoot I want to do for the song "oz".  It seems pretty...mayvbe kind of promising.  The original idea was to sketch a bunny, scan it on to my computer and animate it further in photoshop.  Well, "Tower of Bunnies" to the rescue.

It's about 12:40 AM, and I am quite excited about my car purchase.  I can't wait to drive it again.
When I went on my test drive, and signed all the paperwork, I left the "Sologram" CD in the car, so that I would go back for it.  I most definitely will.  It's going to be so sweet.  Hopping into my car for the first time, and automatically hearing some of my most greatest, and latest tracks, bumpin out the sound system.  So cool.  I really think this is going to be really great. INDEPENDENCE BABY.

Ok, my cell phone is chirping, so it's time to roll.  Peace out Internet LOG>?>>?end