the bast in The Living Room...Session One

Little Did I Know...

When I wrote this song years ago, I thought the emotional content came from stories of my past…and realized later it was real-time living in a tumultuous state that I drove away from ala “Thelma and Louise” in 2018. Flying off cliff after cliff, caught mid-air each time by magically appearing “solid” ground of new plateaus for me, I became accustomed to drastic landscape changes…and repeating cycles of metamorphosis. This song has served as an anthem of sorts, and today I honor the legacy of “Wait”, again “waiting” a bit, forward facing now with full energy in creating a sustainable music life [read, I’m werkin’ on the positive cash flow, folks ;) ] but sidelining less immediately energy-producing passion projects. While I adore The Living Room, and the soul-feeding creative expression in this substack, I’ve diverted attention to more mundane aspects of a “musician life” - booking gigs, session recording work, capturing immediate revenue opportunities…. So in ways, even with the focused flurry of action on fronts invisible to you, I am again “waiting”. And you are with me in that limbo-field, I think. Not so much until the pain lets me go, as gratefully my fear-filled valleys have transformed into canyons of grace, but until the car has a full gas tank again, and I can drive to more destinations. “Til’ my heart lets me know, what it feels like to be free again….” I’m there now…. “Til’ the love in my soul, can hold everything - I feel everything…” Yep, made it. “So I just have to Wait.” From this vantage point, I’m ok with that. The ride so far shows me, it’s worth the Wait. © 2023 Lux Productions, LLC / the bast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebast.substack.com/subscribe [https://thebast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

the bast in The Living Room...Session One

So many ideas…way more than time to make manifest in 3D…or?…. At some point, I trust that the bazooka-blowout in this stack will coalesce in a predictable and orderly set of distinct projects…. Who am I kidding! Yes, I have The Living Room Podcast with guests, music, and until they get edited… this portal opens to music - demos, releases, and now a peek into the Sessions on the bast’s YT channel. Eventually, I hope to create playlists for ambient piano, OG the bast piano and vocals, and covers. This is more of a trial run than a “first run”, and you get the link if you want to check out the channel on YouTube - the video is unlisted. © 2023 the bast / Lux Productions, LLC P.S. all feedback is welcome and appreciated…and I am aware this is not my most fluid work, nor did I gain stage properly enough to avoid clipping on the original piano recordings. Ah, well…it’s a start ;) P.P.S. I love you more than algorithms 🤣 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebast.substack.com/subscribe [https://thebast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Current

Hey! Have I told you yet today how much I love you?! More than my de-esser, which I have yet to figure out…. As always, let me know what your story is - random art poetry podcast fun? or no? Watch out for a new tune next week…and if you are curious, today’s poem: Pierce the veil Mend the rift This current, now this… is the gift A solemn vow to see the pain - feel as one’s own Create again Arise, anew Stand in your light Speak out your truth Receive your sight Pierce the veil Mend the rift This current, you You are the gift thumbnail photo credit sccnn [https://www.titanui.com/44582-vector-electric-current-02/] ©2023 Lux Productions, LLC / the bast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebast.substack.com/subscribe [https://thebast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Dark and Dusty

Hey there! Def not jumping into the Holiday spirit with this one, more like haunting spirits…. I’m running like a reindeer on Christmas Eve tryna manage strings of 12hr doc shifts and mom-mode rn, so choices for The Living Room are not great - unedited podcasts, raw snippits from leftover time at the keys, or…the vault. This tune was written for a sync placement, and produx shelved a while ago. That means it’s a demo of sorts. I like the vocals for the most part, the lyrics, the tune…the tone is a bit somber ngl. I’m still in a post-Thanksgiving carb coma, rushing off to another doc shift, so whether it’s caffeine, sugar, nicotine, or loverman time…those addictions for me aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. In the three-ring circus of my 3Dnow, I’m more like clunky clown pratfalls than the cool guy with the unicycle on the high wire…. Balance. Sounds like a Sunday Rabbit Whole in the making🤣 Love you more than sweet potato casserole…and pecan pie. See how I left ya with something sweeter? Balance…. photo credit moddb.com [https://www.moddb.com/mods/vault-151/images/vault-151-entrance] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebast.substack.com/subscribe [https://thebast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Mastering Mastering!

Yes! Here’s a share from the land of Goldilox (goldilocks paradox) where I work…which is play…I guess “work” still, one definition being “physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something”. “Work” word origin [https://www.etymonline.com/word/*werg-?ref=etymonline_crossreference] essentially “to do, take effect”…I like that simplicity. Last week I jumped into the work of learning the final frontier of music production - putting the special shiny sauce on digital audio “works” - called MASTERING. No coincidence I am attempting to “master” my daily life, having found gold in “effortless mastery” approach to piano and vocal performance. When I dove in, I found immediately that the objective tools I was putting in the musician/recording artist/producer toolbox were so much more than another socket wrench set from Home Depot. All of the “not knowing what I don’t know” of the last years learning recording and production skills fading, and incredibly decisiveness, efficiency and effectiveness delivered to my “work”. So, this week’s podcast is a sample of an already released track, in three versions - three different MASTERs. My goal to see what you hear, in sonic differences. Not the tech details, just how the music hits you - terms like “clear/muddy”, “warm/bright”, or “the drum sounded better on B” etc. If you listen to A, B, and C masters of “What A Wonderful World”, and comment below, thanks in advance for joining the experiment. Thank you also from my fellow mastering student who submitted 2 of the tracks as “practice” - the community of souls in the program I joined is another gift…unlocking more gold in this world of paradox, sharing more truth and beauty in discovering “mastery” together. PS, soon to come is substack chat - interactive threads for this community through the app…sounds just right to me! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebast.substack.com/subscribe [https://thebast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]