My next project was to get my Tascam 244 4-track Porta-studio up and running again. This is the second unit of this model I’ve owned. I had to trash the first one when the rubber pinch roller turned to mush, and no replacement was available. So I wasn’t too surprised when I tried to fire this one up and the tape adhered to the roller. Trying to detach it pulled the rubber of the pinch roller off it’s core in a gooey glob. To the e-waste staging area!

So I am now going digital. I just need a multi-track audio notebook for songwriting. For finished recording, I have a Mac with a decent, if old, Protools recording setup. So I just need something simple, portable and cheap. After a little searching I found an open source package called Traverso DAW.

Download Traverso Here

It worked pretty well until I tried to record a second track, and couldn’t get it to sync up with the first. Apparently there is a latent delay due to the sound card’s audio buffer that needs to be taken into account when recording the second and subsequent tracks. Who knew? I’ve recorded digitally for years, and the software has always taken care of the “behind the scenes” so I didn’t need to worry about it. There must be a way to make Traverso sync the tracks, but it’s not automatic, quick or obvious, so I moved on.

I’ve used Audacity for a couple of years, mainly to digitize vinyl LPs, but didn’t realize that it has pretty decent multi-tracking capabilities. Plus, it’s also free, and handles the sync issue automatically. I still don’t have all the bugs worked out, but it looks like I’ll be able to use my laptop as a multi-track songwriter’s notebook after all.

Download Audacity Here

Max found that he could send a text message and it would scroll across the screens for all to see. A lot or WOW (world of warcraft) messages and messages about how “water brings out the best in Bweezil” followed.

Cheap Trick came on right on time, but I wasn’t able to get any decent pictures. Robin Zander wore a cowboy had for the entire show, which lead me to believe that he had gone bald. I was proven wrong when he came out for the encore without the hat, and with a full head of long hair.

Between bands Max had another round of texting the the video screens. The zanier ones didn’t make it up, but many did.

As darkness descended on Shoreline, Heart came on stage.

 We were also graced by the presence of a family didn’t bother to come early, because they knew they could just barge in on the hard-earned personal space of others, and get a good seat. The family consisted of a middle aged couple, their young daughter, and her much to old suitor.

The older gentleman just about sat on Max. They quickly became best of friends.

Journey comes on and the crowd goes wild (a little too wild if you ask me)

Journey put on a great show. The new singer sounded exactly like Steve Perry.

We left during the encore, and beat the traffic out. The boys were a little bored, but I think everyone had a good time.

What can you get for $18.75 each (plus convenience fees) in a 4-pack? Tickets to see Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick at the Shoreline from the grass. Parking lot opened at 4:30, so we got there at 4:00 and were about 20th in the auto line-up. I had heard horror stories about parking at Shoreline, but had never experienced them, and still haven’t.

I immediately noticed that there were a lot of Filipinos in the cars ahead of us. One of my Filipino coworkers had told me that the new lead singer of Journey was from the Philipines, and knowing the pride that Filipinos take in their culture and their fellow Filipino’s success, I surmised we might be seeing a lot of them at this concert.

There were two lines to get in to the concert. The line on the left was for people who bought their RED tickets from Live Nation. The line on the right (ours) was for people who bought their BLUE tickets from Ticketmaster. Sure enough, many Filipinos, maybe 75% of the crowd. No kidding.

In Line for Journey

Still in Line For Journey

We got us some good seats.

Journey Crowd – Are You Pinoy? YES!

More to Come…

Emily Whitehurst, AKA Agent M, of The Action Design

Tom DeLong of Angels and Airwaves

The Horror Pops

The Black Presidents

ORESKABAND