Dropping the Stream

My friends,

I don’t have to tell you, What capacity Second life can have to consume your first life

I have made friends here that I will never forget. No truer friends I have had. But I can no longer hide in this pixelated world. I must face my first life head on.

Thank you for being there.

Come see me at http://www.ronnierecords.com

Ronnie Carr……….dropping the stream

New Flickr Group

Come join my group at Flickr.. take photos at Ronnie Carr shows and  post them for the group to see

Good times were had at the Luxor last night come see the screenshots

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ronnie/

RonnieRecords.COM

As you might already know I have opened an online presence at Ronnie Records I wanted a place to sell my CDs and I also wanted to offer my help to my SL friends to help them offer their CDs also so keep an eye on Ronnie Records.

Support Independent music buy a CD

A Virtual Reality

In 2006 I recorded about 40 tunes on the now defunct myvirtualband.com where I collaborated with musicians around the globe. I have compiled the 10 best of these songs that I wrote lyrics and sang. Available for sale as early as next week at my new website RonnieRecords.com I hope you will enjoy A Virtual Reality

CD in Production

I would like to think I support independent music. I buy their CDs and I hope I can get mine out there soon.

I have noticed.. many of the indie CDs I have ordered are lacking…DON’T GET ME WRONG. I love and respect these artists. That is why I buy their CDs. I understand that a it can be expensive (Oh believe me I understand this…) I understand that just because you are a musician, does not make you a graphics designer or a CD Replication expert, or a distribution professional.Or for that mater a recording engineer.

In this post I will attempt to touch on some of these elements. keeping in mind that I am a musician. which does not necessarily make me a… (See list above) I have however been giving great thought to these topics mainly because I am in the process myself.. Currently producing a CD.

The CD starts with songwriting

Before you start with anything else you have to have quality songs. I won’t pretend to tell you what is “quality” but as an artist, you know what songs you are proud of and what is filler.

Recording and engineering

I know I am going to get into trouble on this one.. there are 2 major schools of thought on this from the Indie artist. The home brew VS. Studio grade recordings. Naturally you want the best recording possible given the gear you have in your home studio.. And that is exactly why I think the home brew approach does not hold water. If your aim is to make as close to a studio grade recording as you can. Then everything less is a compromise . I understand that compromise is a part of life.. So its OK… but if you can afford it.. upgrade your Equipment/Engineering prowess or go to the studio. 1 caveat to home recordings being OK… you will be doing yourself a huge disservice if you release recordings with clipping and digital distortion.. The best songwriting and performance will never over come a truly bad recording .

It’s what’s on the outside that matters.

Another unpopular view. We would all like to think that the music is all that matters…Truth is.. First impressions count. They count even more then I used to think. The music industry is taking a turn, big labels keep producing more and more homogenized content.. and we are getting board with it. so we come to places like Myspace and Second life to listen to new music.. But the product we find there is not to par with the commercial product.. In terms of originality and pureness of art I think Indie excels…. in package and marketing however…. If we intend to compete with the machine, we need to give the impression that we are more than just a bunch of musicians in their spare bedrooms with an inkjet printer and a computer. That said…. Look at what I did on my computer and inkjet printer…

I think I have the CD art the way I like it.. Leave me comments

So this has been a long post.. I don’t know…. maybe I am missing the point completely.. Maybe being truly Indie is home made paper sleeves and a myspace page.. maybe a great song doesn’t require quality recording to get you to sing along and tap your foot.

Or maybe I have touched on a few things we can all consider before releasing our next CD

So many blogs so little time

I have a few Blogs.. and I know… You may ask yourself… Why?  Well , the idea was to compartmentalize different aspects of my life. So there is one for the Podcast, another for my family, another for my second life and one for my first life. Sounds nice on the surface but in reality… they all over lap Recently I was in studio doing some recordings.  RL recordings of songs inspired by and performed in SL. So if you like the play by play…. check this blog out

http://ronniemarler.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/tonic-room-session-2/

Venues

Thanks to Cher, I’m Playing at Cilia’s on Muse Isle tonight at 6:00.It will be my first show at this venue. I had a great time at H.O.F. this weekend. It was a bit different then other shows I have played.. Having a DJ as a buffer between the acts is something unique in SL at least in my experience. Their stage is also very artist centric. With the back stage and green room H.O.F. is my new favorite venue

I give to you the Fabulous Cher Harrington

• Notices
• Stream info and software settings
• Venue owners
• Payment agreements
• Booking
• Calendar management
• Tip Jars
• MP3 sales
• Fan clubs
• Forum postings
• Radio stream play lists
• Podcasts
• Interviews
• Events

To be successful in SL entertainment industry It takes more than a sleek skin shiny guitar and a pretty voice. It takes a tenacious unrelenting attack on the promotion front. It requires faithful execution on all the things listed above and more. I play 3 shows a week. Life for a SL musician can get hectic. And though there are only so many hours in a day there are even fewer SL hours in a day. Not enough hours to give all these things the time and attention they require.

So, I am teaming up with someone who has become a great friend and supporter. Cher Harrington. Cher brings her experience and second life relationships to bare on the task of getting my name on residents lips and my voice in their headphones.

Corona Studios

I get a lot of questions after shows.. one of the most common is “What is your setup?”

click thumbnails to see….

Here is an over all picture my guitars on the wall, My 2 large diaphroam condencer mics, rack box with alesis effects, and Vamp amp modeler alesis mixer with prosonus mic pre and compressor for the vocal mic

My computer has an M-audio delta66 sound card and omni-studio interface.

I use Simplecast from spacialaudio.com for my streams

My main guitar for Second life is my Larrivee Acoustic

Boogie and Blues