Day 22

Well, it's actually not day twenty-two anymore, but after an interesting infection that my laptop contracted, this is as soon as I am getting time to give an update....

Yesterday saw a complete remodel of our guest house facilities. Mooka decided to drop several grand on new furniture and Joel and I spend most of the day (11am to about 9pm) moving furniture and interior decorating

So much training for so many different professions....

Cameron

Day 21

Interesting day here at The Farm today.

Our biggest session to come through in a few weeks at least started today... Jello Biafra's band, which has a large punk basis, will be tracking through the end of March and into the beginning of April. Locked in to 12 hour sessions, we'll be working late nights for a while. Jello requested his room in the guest house be outfitted with black curtains to repel all forms of light. Apparently he enjoys sleeping during the hours of the day where any sunlight is present and showed up tonight to lay down some scratch vocals (any scratch track is just a basis for a final mix on a project, most of which will be scrapped before the end of a recording session) just after 10pm.
The engineer for these sessions is Matt Kelley who has worked with a host of great artists, several of whom happen to be rather well-known hip-hop artists from the Bay Area. Networking, networking, networking.
In other news, Formula 1 season started this weekend which I am rather excited about, as well as MotoGP's official testing at Jerez, just another sign that the season opener is just around the bend. World Superbike started a few weeks ago as well and looks to be a very promising and intriguing season. So the racing action is going to be getting me through the slow times at work... not to mention taking my mind OFF of music which is something I thought I would never have to do.
I bid goodnight to all from a comfortable and content Mr. Bubba Feets and me of course who are currently relaxing on the office couch waiting for the end of this session.
Love,
Cameron

Day 20

Turning twenty.

It's not hard turning twenty, but it still isn't twenty-one. My whole life I grew up thinking that I was a Taurus. Taurus is considered negative, introverted, and feminine, like all Earth signs.

Turns out I'm not actually a Taurus. Not entirely at least.
According to a close friend and colleague of mine, Dr. Wikinheimer, the Western world prescribes to the tropical zodiac, where the Sun is in Taurus from April 21st until May 20th. Today, I discovered that according to the sidereal zodiac, the Sun is in Taurus between May 15th and June 15th.

....what?? So, if I was born on, say May 13th, and thought that I was branded as a bull like a MAN... turns out Taurus is rather femine....then what the hell does that make me??

...checks zodiac arrangement... what comes before Taurus.....?

Aries....? The ram!?


So, now Dr. Wikienbopper, you're telling me that I'm not an introvert, or negative, or feminine? But now I'm to be considered masculine and extroverted? I'm so torn.

Sidereal zodiac - Come to find out that the damn tropical zodiac system doesn't even account for where your constellation is and the position of the Sun. What kinda "astro"logy is that?! While the tropical zodiac deals with the earth and its relation to the planets and our Sun, the sidereal zodiac is based on relations between the earth and the sun, planets, and stars that make up our night sky.

So, how many of you have different signs now? Go ahead, don't be afraid, wiki that zodiac sign up and find out what sign you really are. Maybe my horoscopes will make more sense now, since I always seemed to allign better with Zits which was on the apposing page of the local section in our newspaper.











Aries:

It’s a day of fun for you today, which should more than make up for the last few days. The planets indicate that you may also be in something of a mischievous mood and so a little joke or two may also be on the agenda. This evening should see you spending a fun evening with a group of friends!

Apparently the stars don't take slave labor into account.

Love to everyone. Wish that you were the group of friends I was spending the evening with... and hope that we will A.S.A.P.

Cameron

Day 19

Hey Kool & the Gang,

I got to make up for the last 3 or so years of enjoying not having to mow a lawn. Except that this was a huge plot of land, completely uneven terrain, and I had a mower with a tweaked front drive wheel. It was awesome. I am so entirely burnt out this evening that I don't mind saying that I just don't have to energy to say much of anything tonight.

Except that I love you all and miss you,

Cameron

Day 18

Hey there,

Today was gorgeous. What people consider 'warm' weather around here is ridiculous. Someone said to me today, "Yeah, this is almost uncomfortably hot."

I imagined mid-summer nights lying in bed trying to convince myself that I was enjoying the pool of sweat that I had so effortlessly secreted from my sun burnt skin... the wall of dry heat that hits you as soon as you open the door to step outside. I told my friend & intern-partner Joel, "You know how in Wisconsin, or anywhere really... when it's cold enough it's a good idea to go and start your car even before you're really ready to get in and go? Well, where I come from we start our cars and blast the air conditioning. At least until it's under 100 degrees, then it's usually cooler than the outside air."

I think that he thought I was kidding because I got a good laugh out of him, and although I may be slightly exaggerating, there are some times when it's just too damn hot to even get in your car. And now on to a new segment, which will focus on rants and ravings. Since I recently ranted quite unsubtly about Ms. O'Toole I digress and move on to a rave (and I don't mean dancing on ecstasy.

Market & Deli.

The invention of the common corner market/deli must have originated somewhere in Northern California because we've got 'em up to 'here' like England has got castles. And good food too. My-Market, Oliver's Market, Deli & Liquor - - all fine places to go for lunch. Where in the translation between Southern and Northern California did the deli-market get lost? I wouldn't trust anyone in a so-called market back home to slap some breads and meats together, much less would I ever consider letting the contents touch my lips. Moreover, I don't think that you're going to get much more than a tamale from any market in Riverside. And no, Cost Plus World Market, or whatever it's called does not count. I was specifically told to not put So Cal down by several people, but this is my United States of whatever....

Love,

Cameron

Listening:

Liam Lynch: United States of Whatever

Love you,

-------------------------------------

Mooka.

So. StudioSuite is up and running. It feels great just to know that we've made it this far so quickly. Now, the next step is to start using it for everything. Phone calls which can be noted and help us add clientele immediately. E-mails to individual groups, i.e. potential clients or only the Prairie Sun staff. We can start adding all of our gear, labeling whichever company owns equipment be it Eugene Productions or what have you. Basses, guitars, amps, microphones, etc. We can start titling individuals by profession. Engineers can be booked for sessions and their commission added directly into invoices. Technicians can be hired and given their own invoices if needed. We have the network up now officially with two seats, which means that any two computers can be running StudioSuite and updating at the same time. I am excited that it was smoothly executed, I'm just not looking forward to that woman from StudioSuite asking me about my "Wayland Studios" and, "When are you going to purchase FileMaker, StudioSuite, and that extra seat you asked about?"

Good thing it didn't end up being $450 like she had explained to me.

Rosebud finished up tonight with 8.5 hours and paid in cash the full amount. Joel picked David ?(drawing a blank on the last name.... guy from France) up from the Doubletree Hotel and we made sure that he was right at home in our lounge. Bubba Feets wasn't too happy being kicked out, but he is going to just have to get over it. I'm looking forward to these sessions we have coming up and it'll be good to feel to vibes of new music happening. Tomorrow, Joel and I are going to be doing some lawn mowing down by the guest house to make certain we have presentable grounds.

Love,

Cameron

Day 17

Day seventeen.

Still no days off.

Still not enough sleep.

Still trucking along.

Not much to report on tonight -- I'm just excited to be past this entire remodeling of our work flow at The Sun. We have a lot of down time right now so we are focusing on the fundamentals of the business. I am looking forward to new sessions starting and not having time to think again. Time flies as usual. Another day down. I feel as though I am always just finishing this e-mail, and then it starts all over again. I did do some background vocals on a Lost Boys song today, singing "Nah Nah" in a sort of area rock chanting vibe. Yuck.

Love you all and goodnight and good morning,

Cameron

Day 16

Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Water. Water. Water. Coffee. Green Tea. Water. Monster Energy Drink. Water. Water. Coffee.

My recent conversations with Mooka follow a short synopsis of my life... Life has been a bit hectic due to the fact the manager, Marshall (who's a year younger than I am...), and I have been pushing to get on a more coalesced system, this so called "StudioSuite". Basically, it is a program on our office Mac computer that organizes everything for you and makes life as a business streamlined and organized... which has been my word of the last two days. I found myself remembering the elections when McCain and Obama were stuck FOREVER on the 'fundamental differences' of their policies. Blah blah blah. I know that these e-mails probably mean nothing to all who subscribe to the Cameron Nairn Wayland North-Bay Recording Adventure web-cast, but read it if you dare, or not if you just don't care. It's probably a bunch of technical jargon and mental notes to myself, but it's just what's going on.

I've also begun thinking about what my next step is going to be after the internship.

I've realizing that one, I am more than likely to be the only intern after April 9th, and two, that I need to sway my studies over the next few months toward a certain specialty. I remember Tim Dolbear suggesting that I focus heavily on becoming a master of one subject area, be it mixing, mastering, miking, ProTools, hardware, production... and the list goes on and on. I also need to pay my damn taxes still... finished early and paying late, like I true and honest American citizen!

Continuing on CNWNBRA web-cast tomorrow night, this has been your host, Cameron Wayland. Erin O'toole is a tool, and I'm glad I don't have to hear your voice on San Franciscan/Sacramentian National Public Radio, eight months of it in Riverside will be enough for the rest of my life....

Love to everyone else who isn't

Erin O'Toole

Cameron....

Wondering if I should just start a BlogSpot?

Listening (...the hell out of...):

Soundgarden - Superunknown - 1994 - 4th of July

... and now not only thinking but also knowing that this is good music.

---------------------

(Day 15)

Mooka.

StudioSuite. I think our main focus for the next day or so is completely coalescing our database into StudioSuite where all information for a contact can be stored. According to several people this program can store tons of data and help us organize our pre-pro and gear rentals and more. Our marketing (and we all discussed this tonight) system will be much tighter when we have one place to go for all of our contacts. We can separate ordinary clients from potential clients, and even list specifically potential "MySpace" clients, or any other venue or avenue we choose to go with. We can start fresh with MySpace again and begin to integrate every individual potential client into the system immediately. Send them a generic but well-intentioned message informing them of rates and who to get in contact with. Add something about responding through e-mail at least with a full name and contact number if they're interested. That way we immediately have a name and number to plug into the system. They'll be at the very least receiving our newsletters that we can send through StudioSuite and will be notified of any special rates, etc, what have you.

I'm just imagining a much tighter way that our business could be running and generating us some new clientele. We are really sitting on such a gold mine of a studio here and it's a perfect time to start getting the word out there more.

I backed up the mastering room computer's files twice on separate hard drives, Sun 2 and the Studio Master drive. Adam and I installed and updated the OS X. Tomorrow I will have to sit down and reinstall CommunitySuite so that when our contacts are in order we can hit MySpace hard and start generating the interested e-mails.

We also discussed consolidating everything we have on the Studio drives into two terra bite drives, two identical copies. We could also burn copies to DVD and then have one terra bite drive or two 750s containing these sessions. We'll talk tomorrow.

Love,

Cameron

(Day 16)

Mooka.

Crazy day today. First off, no sessions today, no J to worry about tonight. Matt finished his work and left so it was just Joel and me on the prowl. What got handled today:

1) Reorganization of the hard drives in the mastering room.

2) Relocation of the bookshelves from the mastering room to the office bathroom. Reorganizing the shelves so that the software has its own shelf and the manuals for the Studer etc. have their own shelf. After Joel and I slightly modified the rods that hold the shelves to work in the office bathroom, two shelves hold all of our necessities nicely.

3) Studio Drive inventory and backing up .... this we aren't completely finished with yet, but it will be done tomorrow. Matt is still using the Studio A and C drives in Studio B; until he's finished with his project we can't back it up on a Maxtor. Drives Storcase 2 and 3 as well as PSR Sun 2 are now backed-up on a Maxtor dive with room to spare. Tomorrow we can clear these drives off and re-label them and designate them for something better...

4) Tonight Joel and I worked with the contacts in StudioSuite weeding out useless entries as well as making sure that this collection of contacts encompasses both our Entourage contacts and the computer's address book. It does so it's just a matter of getting another computer sent up to run StudioSuite (which can be networked) and sifting through the 4-thousand some-odd contacts and filling in the information.

- Names with no information (i.e. no e-mail, no address, no phone, most times no last name even..)? We might as well delete. If we really needed that contact there are two places all of our contacts are backed up now, not a problem.

- Names with e-mails? - send them an e-mail. We can also have a generic "getting in touch" e-mail to remind clients of Prairie Sun's facilities.

Dear Friend of Prairie Sun,

We are currently undergoing renovation here at the farm and want to stay in-touch with you as best as we possibly can. Send us an e-mail or give us a call and get in touch. If you're interested, you can be added to the Prairie Sun newsletter and stay updated on life at the studios here in Cotati. We are always looking to book new clients and are always excited to see our old friends return.

Prairie Sun Recording

Cotati, CA

(707) 795-7011

prairiesun.com

Love,

Cameron

Day 15

From yesterday.

This was my first vantage point before I explored this side of the bay. Some amazing homes

and neighborhoods seconds from this street. Tight winding roads overgrown with trees and

gorgeous well-manicured houses.

Just before you reach the bottom of the Golden Gate.

There's some kind of club and a restuarant.

The weather was rediculously pleasant. The wind kicked up a bit but it was fresh after the rain we

had and the coffee was warm.

Check out the anamoly in this one. See? There are even UFOs up here.

Love you,

Cameron

Day 14

I am SO moving to San Francisco the first chance I get. No doubt about it.

I didn't go into work this morning because I was picking my boss up from the Oakland Airport around 5pm, so at about noon I took off from Rohnert Park and headed south on 101. It was an amazing day today, just after the rain stopped and the skies were clear with puffy white cumulous clouds dotting the sky. On my way towards "The City", I made a detour into what I believe is called the Marin headlands...? (Maybe?)

There were a bunch of tourists but after driving through a one-direction-only tunnel, I popped out onto the other side of the mountains where the breeze was strong and cool. I also ventured down the other side of the this peninsula through some beautiful residential areas and eventually found myself at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge where a resort of sorts is stationed. People were relaxing on expensive lawn chains soaking in the view of the city across the bay.

Six dollars it cost me to cross the Golden Gate.

I had to convince myself that it was worth it but once you get dropped into that northern area of San Fran you completely forget about the toll. This city is like any other I've visited. Sure I haven't been to too many large cities in my lifetime, but there is something so special and unique about San Francisco to me. Maybe it's the So I Married An Axe Murderer vibe, but whatever it is... it fits my chi.

I hung out by the Giant's stadium for an hour or so and enjoyed a cup of coffee on the water. I wondered to myself how people wind up living here and how I could too end up living here someday. It is such a diverse and people-rich environment -- how so many people can live in such a small plot of land is amazing. The city was much larger than I remember it being and I found it hard to drive from one side to the other... mostly because things kept catching my eye and I would turn down another street.

Maybe someday....

I took a few photos which I will attempt to post tomorrow.

Love you,

Cam

-------------------------

Mooka.

Thank you again for the excuse to take that detour through the heart of San Francisco. It is truly a gorgeous city, more glamorous and eclectic than Los Angeles by far, and it has character. Not that L.A. doesn't have character, but it is definitely not a character I would choose to spend much time with. I'm looking forward to the studios picking back up again in the next few weeks. I understand that many projects are stressful, but damn... recording is a blast; even if the band has to be coached through the entire process. All the studios have been cleaned and it's time for a fresh start and a fresh new week. I hope that you were able to rest after the Southwest B seating did its best to screw you and your back on the flight home.

Let's torch some prairie grass sometime.

Love,

Cameron

Day 13

I sent pictures yesterday! Was that not enough?!

Only kidding. Yesterday was a short day at work but my constant cold-like sickness cannot for the love of GOD leave me alone. I guess I am just too good a host. On Thursday I had purchased some Alka-Seltzer day-time cold reliever which didn't do a damn thing because I've used so much of it that my body has become immune. This morning I bought some Tylenol cold day-time cough-like syrup which seems to be doing a bit better. I just wonder how it is that we have all this technology developed to make things more instantaneous, but a cold virus is unbeatable. Damn you mother nature! Just when I was getting on your good side....

The trip that Joel and I took to the ocean was lovely. It wasn't as clear as I would have liked, but lovely none the less. There were at most maybe six other people on the entire stretch of beach and we found some great coves at the bottom of the cliffs where Highway 1 runs. It would be great if you could camp here, but I doubt the laws allow for that sort of thing. Lame. I also came to realization that I live in the land of markets. Everywhere there are markets, and not just the Mexican ones that we have in Southern California, everyone up here is doing it as if it was text messaging. Strange world it is. I spent most of today dozing in and out of sleep on the couch in the office, trying to mentally fight off each individual sub-microscopic infectious agent. It isn't working yet. The rest of my day, like the last two, was organized into sections of organizing unorganized things... which are now organized. Then I played one of our DW drum kits for several hours - - and trust me, I needed the practice.

It rained on and off today and tomorrow promises more of the same. I was offered the day off tomorrow but instead I got a re-offer of getting to pick my boss up at the Oakland airport. I suspect that he will realize why I thought that wasn't the best idea after either he, or his girlfriend, have to squeeze into the back seat. At least I don't have to wake up as early and go into the studio. Heck, maybe I'll head out there early and enjoy San Francisco for a couple hours.

Love, love, love....

Cameron

Day 12

Pictures from the "farm"....

Day 11

A day at the beach. Got off super early today. I'll let the pictures do the talking tonight.

Love you all...

Cameron

Sweet sunset. Great breeze and cool ocean air. Approximately 6:30pm.

The sand on this small beach hide out is black and grey, thicker grain than most beaches but much more pleasant to sit upon and walk on.

It was a bit hazy, but all in all not too bad. I traveled with Joel, the other intern. He's from Wisconsin so he hadn't ever experienced the West coast and sunset.

Mr. Bubba Feets. My P.I.C. (partner in crime). AKA "The six toed straggler". AKA "Big Feets". AKA "Hubba Bubba Feets". He responds to pretty much anything actually. He also loves kneading (AKA "Making Biscuits") the pillows on the couch. You will most likely find him standing over the pillow slowly but surely testing its fluffiness. Hard work.

Mooka.

You know? We have some pretty sweet gear. I was doing some research today on some of the pedals that we have and also inspecting the E-mu Emulator II and all of it's randomly scattered 5 1/4 inch diskettes. The good ol' days with hard disks that were actually floppy. Who's brilliant idea was that? Some of those disks appear to have some interesting samples on them and it looked as if they were supposed to be resampled and transferred elsewhere. Did it ever happen?

The truck is in front of the guest cabin, the van in front of the office (which now has straightened client files and a reorganized bathroom with necessities from the stock room so it doesn't take so long to grab things...), and J got a ride into town for the bus and never came back. We finally got tubs today so tomorrow we can reorganize the Fogg shack and also clean up the hard drive closet.

Sorry that I missed your call, I am still trying to figure this phone out... it's got a ton of options and then more.

Taurus Cub out....

Love,

Cameron

Day 10

Today was good. I got a new local phone number here which is -------. Text me, call me, e-mail me, whatever you feel the need to do. My boss is gone for the next four or five days so things will be relatively calm around Prairie Sun. Not too much is going on looking at the studio bookings right now. However, today we had nothing in the books and all three studios were being used by noon. Jello Biafra (wiki him if you don't recognize the name - - which you probably won't) is coming in at the end of this month for a week to stay at Prairie Sun and record a solo album [I believe...]. I forget that because of the hours I work, I practically live at the studio which means I'll be running into him often. Just weird. Furthermore, we got a call the other day that Ray Manzarek (wiki him if you haven't listened to music in your life...) should be coming in to do a little recording work. Fancy that... running into Ray at work. Sure he's 70 years old now, but I know he can still rip.

Hope all is well in the land of Southern California, where great traffic and clean air is out of style.

Love,

Cameron

Day 9

Crazy day, actually yesterday was much more intense, but today was crazy in a relaxing sort of way.

Happy St. Patrick's day to all that care, and those who don't perhaps.

Yesterday was a clusterf*!^ of a day. One of the old technicians who worked at Prairie Sun passed away last week and his family came to get his things, but because no one from management was there, Mooka made a whole big deal out of the fact that this dead guy had owed him money and how as interns, Joel and I should have questioned them about what they were doing there and have immediately called him. Whether this is really necessary or not I'm not at liberty to say but he flipped out none the less (which is normal for him according to the other people here) and the rest of the day was tense and unenjoyable.

Control freaks have a way of affecting the people around them emotionally, so when Mooka's in a good mood everything moves much more smoothly. That was today. He also leaves for Illinois tomorrow morning for about five days and people are excited to get some reorganizational things done while he is gone. Funny how that works out. I am so stoked to be writing this e-mail before 12 that I will be taking full advantage of that and hitting the sack.

PS Congrats to my Mom for getting her job back. I'll be trying to give you a call while the boss is outta town.

Love you all,

Cameron

------------------

Mooka.

Can't believe that I am writing you before midnight tonight, but I am also very thankful. I need my rest as well as a massage -- which I'll be trying to get in contact with soon. Adam, after finishing the session in B went through the patch bay in A with Joel and me. I was perplexed at first by looking at the mess of cable and complicated looking patch bay but it's not really. You just have to constantly keep signal flow in mind. Joel and I had taken off the tape from the console because no one had warned us it would make our job harder but in the long run it added an extra insight on signal flow and what Matt was thinking through his routing practices. He also had some nice setups with a channel wired so the master fader could control your effect, sweet stuff.

Enjoy that trip to Illinois and the bed and breakfast. I hope that they serve breakfast, that's always the best.

Love,

Cameron

Day 8

The start of a new week.

Only week two... wow.

Has it really only been eight days?

Every night/early-morning that I lay down to start typing my e-mails I feel as if several days have passed. I guess in actuality I have been living in Cotati for about ten days which makes me feel better about the lack of organization in my room. Learning the area is interesting because I don't have much time to check it out except when I'm not at Prairie Sun but running errands etc. for them instead. I had to grab a bite to eat on the way home tonight and while finding the Jack In The Crack was easy, the plan for the side streets to take back home was a little off kilter and I ended up sight seeing. It's mostly houses out here, many cramped together in Cotati and Rohnert Park between the vast expanses of open land and vineyards. The weather has been relatively cold, although it has warmed up and forgotten to ice over my windshields in at least two days. These last two days have been damp, not raining but heavily misting on and off. Very strange.

Work got a bit stressful today and yesterday because of some issues too convoluted to go into in this e-mail. I did get to take a two hour nap this evening however. The band in Studio A decided to go overtime and work on their mixes for an extra hour and I simultaneously decided I could no longer fight the urge to pass out. I had a rather short night/morning of sleep last night, so I'm going to do some addition and add the two I've already slept tonight with five more hopefully.

Goodnight. I miss and love you all deeply.

Cameron

Day 7

Mooka.

Today was interesting. Beware the Ides of March.

It was one year ago on the 15th of March my last band recorded their first demo and it's amazing to me how much my life has shifted since then. It was great to see two more clients leave today raving about the quality of the work at Prairie Sun. I'm extremely exhausted from today and I drank copious amounts of coffee and have now crashed hard. Looking forward to the start of a new week.

Love,

Cameron

Day 6

Weekends are great, even if you do work a 16 hour day.

Interesting at the studio today... super laid back. I've been enjoying some World Superbike Championship in my spare time when there's nowhere I can find myself useful. No Mooka on weekends normally and that means people get their work done but dodge the bullet of being sent on scatter-brained missions to nowhere. Ben Spies, an American rider from the AMA circuit is in his début season overseas in the top class of SBK and winning. No small accomplishment there. I'm probably going to end up watching the second race from Qatar after this e-mail. Nail biting.

By the by, I did two amazing loads of laundry today at work as well. It was fantastical in every way you can imagine. Cheers to my friends who survived the Screaming Chicken before I left.

Love and miss you,

Cameron

...

Mooka.

Hope you receive that package alright this morning - - it's waiting for you in the mailbox. Good day at the studio today, people seemed to just be having a good time. The band in A with Matt had a good sound, a little too Zepliney for me, but they were stoked with the sound of the SSL 4000. It's unfortunate that we lost that right bus output but on the bright side it gave Matt and me a chance to discuss the board in detail and for him to teach me the recall procedures on that OS that was programmed the year I was born.

I also enjoyed witnessing Marshall singing on 22 year old pop-rock ballads with Jesse. They make an interesting pair. Something from last night I forgot to mention, but you were commenting on the black channels we have installed verses the grey and how the black's "give it away" on the EQ (...I believe). I see what you're talking about now.

Love,

Cameron

Day 5

Friday the thirteenth.

Today was a hectic and crazy day at the studio. It was my first day working alone. No fellow intern to watch my back or keep me company and it seemed that this full moon that just passed and the 13th was working its spell on everyone and everything. I try my best not to be an overly superstitious person but sometimes it's just too coincidental. Or, maybe it's just that we pay attention to different things more closely - who knows.

Now for some random facts and statistics:

As I lay here on my giant whoopee cushion I can here someone snoring like a bear through these paper-thin walls and what sounds like another person banging on the ceiling from the first floor trying to disrupt the grizzly's slumber. I've seen and had a conversation with my roommate Mike once since I lived here. It lasted no more than a minute and thirty seconds as he was on his was to the bathroom and I was on my way out the door. The third (or maybe it's the second) bedroom is still vacant. I've eaten one meal in this place, a chimichanga from down the street, which was the size of a small car. We have a set of new LG washer and dryer that claim to use less detergent and less water and save our world on such a small scale that it would hardly be noticeable but what they fail to mention is that less water and less power means that your clothes take three times as long to wash and dry. Yesterday I went to work with wet jeans and underwear. After waking up at 6:30am after going to bed after 2am I started a load that couldn't manage to finish in time for me to leave for work at 8:50am. I tried on a pair of socks today and they were still wet because I don't have time to do laundry. Other co-workers have gotten smart and are now doing laundry at work in the guest house. I'll be packing mine up and taking it tomorrow because I'm tired of being a underwear-less hobo with a nice apartment and expensive washer and dryer.

This is all in good fun however. I am having the time of my life and I am thankful every second of my life that this is where I am and what I am doing. What could be better than sitting in on recording sessions, conversing with engineers about recording techniques, talking to your boss about making hip-hop beats or the circuits in guitar amplifiers, drinking massive amounts of coffee, or watching Tropic Thunder whilst waiting for that last session of the day to finish up at one or two o'clock in the morning?

For me? Nothing.

Love you all and I appreciate hearing from you! I miss you.

Cameron

Day 4

Mooka.

Good chatting with you today concerning the MySpace and Facebook issue. I am more than happy to work on promoting Prairie Sun through these outlets even though they have their downfalls i.e. flakes and retards with a computer. I picked up a lot of information today mostly concerning the great collection of mics we have on hand. After helping the guys who were recording in C with their extensive list of mics and gaining some useful tips on micing a drum kit, Marshall and I took inventory of the amps and microphones - a good way to learn what gear is on hand.

The drums tonight in the Waits room sounded amazing on the tracks these guys were working on. Lots of punchy kick and a smacking snare. They also set up the i5s outside in the tracking room facing away from the Waits room and compressed the hell out of the signal in ProTools which added a nice tone behind the kit. That room is so loud for drums; it seems to me it just amplifies the kit and the drummer was not playing lightly.

I'll just say one more thing before I say something else... Thai Kitchen served me the worst Thai food of my life tonight. Joel and I were both utterly disappointed and there's not much worse than a lousy dinner. Pad Thai is supposed to be a flavorful dish but they just obliterated the tofu.

Love,

Cameron

Day 3

Sleeping is overrated.

Way overrated.

So is cold weather. The ice on my car in the mornings is incredible. And it is cold. Today I was wearing jeans, two layers of socks, a thermal, a shirt, a sweater, and a sweatshirt and still had chills and shivers after about six o'clock. The sky is amazingly clear and the full moon is a sight to behold. Work was a bit stressful because Mook was stressing about the mixing and production for The Lost Boys' project. Matt, one of the lead in-house engineers and Mook spent almost the entire day (roughly 11am until past midnight) mixing down the two songs the band recorded in full quality production. The end result was damn good. Sure, it's pop-ie and has a slightly over-produced sound, but it's intentional and moreover it is an amazing process to watch what I have been doing for so long on a profession scale. It's a busy business thank heaven, and people continue to book more studio time.

I definitely work with some interesting individuals; fascinating people who love music and the art of recording. It's been three short days yet it feels as if I am in my second week already. I've been pummeled with a wealth of knowledge and an intense working environment. Although today I worked from nine in the morning until about one this morning (what is that, a fifteen hour day?) time flies by. There's always something going on or somewhere to be or some drama unfolding (I'm staying out of it) be it with clients or staff or equipment.

Other than the cold weather, the hours haven't started wearing on me too badly yet, though I am sure they will eventually. My spirits are high and I couldn't be happier being exactly where I am.

Love,

Cameron

Day 2

Mooka.

Great day today, a little long, but it was educational. I've got lots running through my mind as far as gear goes right now -- I'm working on catching up and learning what all we have on hand. By far the most education point was after Matt finished up The Lost Boys session we rewired the system to finally end the rumors of whether or not ProTools degrades audio. Matt left the fader at 0db on a vocal track from the session and rerecorded it into a separate track and inverted the audio so it would cancel itself out if it was exactly the same audio... and what do you know? Absolutely no difference. Even after routing through the cables and back to the system absolutely no loss or change in audio. Those ProTools HD systems really are great.

Love.

Cameron

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So..... yeah. It's been a long day. I'm starting this e-mail much later than I finished the one from last night but it's fine. I feel as though I have already worked an entire week, not physically so much although that is bound to change by tomorrow morning when my alarm starts blaring again. I won't say too much so that I may enjoy my beauty sleep for as long as possible but this really is a great opportunity and experience here in Northern California. I found out today how cool the other people I work with are and we enjoyed a BBQ outside the studio complete with sausage, potato salad, and beer. Yum. It was originally intended to be our "Manday Monday", but got pushed back to tonight which I guess would be "Manday Tuesday". Mooka left early today, so it was interesting to watch the studio work without him barking directions and confusing people, but we managed awfully well.

The Lost Boys finished recording their two studio songs tonight (late) as well as their algebra homework I'm sure. It sounds pretty good if you forget the fact that you hate pop-ie rock crap and listen to the quality of the recording. Tomorrow looks to be an interesting day where my plan so far beyond my normal duties is to sit in on some old tape (I forgot to mention in my last e-mail, but just ask me about baking tapes sometime...) transfers to digital and the mixing of The Lost Boys' project on the SSL in Studio A on which I exercised more this morning.

If I am lucky, I'll get to mow the lawn across from the office. Pictures to come soon, I promise.

Love to you all.

Cameron

Day 1

Well. Eleven o'clock and I'm off of work. And this is supposedly a short day.

I am definitely in for a long a strenuous three months, but it will all be in good spirits. I took the liberty of sleeping in until about eight this morning before forcing myself to roll out of my newly purchased Coleman mattress of air. My room is still a mess from just barely surviving the long haul to get my things from the parking lot to the second floor apartment. It probably won't be fully organized for at least a month. I hopped into the shower and out again before setting off early because in my book, there's nothing worse than being late, especially the first day. I was there in about five minutes, roughly forty-five minutes early. Oh well, right? Early is still on time. Joel, the intern I'll be working with showed up shortly after nine and explained it'd been a long nine days interning by himself. Sitting here tonight on my crib of oxygen I am positive that he was happy to see me.

We got right to work opening the place up, starting heaters, turning on lights, warming up tube equipment, and thank God for making coffee. The rest of the crew slowly arrived and got to work, everyone on their own time schedules, especially the owner Mooka. When the day started a band called The Lost Boys, who are a bunch of sixteen year old kids with rich enough parents to afford Mooka as a producer and the use of Studio C for the last week, were supposed to be in their last day of recording. Needless to say that never happened. As the day progressed we cleaned guess facilities and moved equipment around (sometimes just because Mooka decided he wanted it moved). A television producer name Peter Brokaw (could be a bad spelling -- and earlier for no apparent reason I thought his name was Peter Rosenthal, or something to that effect) was in Studio B setting up cameras for an interview with Mooka that never took place, I think mostly because Mooka got tired and cranky and just went home - after the producer and his camera guy went out for dinner - after Mooka had neglected them in the afternoon while he was producing The Lost Boys' project.

I helped out in this session breaking down mics on the drum kit and setting up mics on a host of great vintage guitar amps, a '63 Vox I was particularly taken with. I was also asked to play roadie and change the guitar strings on one of the guy's Telecaster's. I was just a little jealous that the first time I restrung this guitar it was not my own but oh well. All in good time.

I would say that my highlight this evening was "exercising" the busses on the SSL board in Studio A, but that would be an absolute lie. Just imagine this, the board has 64 channel strips so it is about twenty feet in length. On each channel there are 32 tightly fit busses, each one is a small button about the size of a tic-tac, that when pushed lights a button and activates a send to a bus. Exercising the bus section of the board required Joel and I to turn on and off (push in and push out) each bus twenty-five times. Two hours later I was wondering if this was cleaning the circuits of dust and keeping the board in shape, making me loose my mind, or just occupying the interns because they were seen (caught) in a situation where one of the interns was napping. No, it wasn't me, duh.

Mooka is an interesting character who reminds me of my boss from the airport. Individuals like Mooka are what I like to call "trippers" and a simple definition would be: a person who randomly trips out. I followed my fellow intern out of a door today behind Mooka who stopped, looked at an aloe plant, and said... and I quote, "Look at that German Shepherd." I'm still not quite sure what he meant, but I'm guessing that he doesn't either -- unless this is some sort of inside joke I am missing, in which case someone please inform me A.S.A.P. I'm sure it's hilarious. He seems like a kind enough guy and I'm well trained with crazy small business owners after my stint at the Chino airport.

Well that's just a taste of my life for today but it is 12:30 now and I need my sleep. I'll do my best to keep you well informed over the coming weeks and months.

I love and miss you all and I hope to hear from you soon,

Cameron