Managed to book Steve Cook for a hairdressing appointment tomorrow afternoon. He's very busy at the moment but managed to fit us in and will be coming to our house to do the snipping thing. Must say I'm in need of a haircut right now. Looking very unruly. Need to avoid the dreaded 'Boris Johnson Effect.'
Also have arranged with Paul to collect my new computer from him on Thursday, complete with its downloaded Cubase 10 software.
Next step in the studio rebuild process is to arrange a mutual date with John Spence and Jon Wallinger to dismantle my current set-up and clear the space in readiness for the new gear to be put in place and plugged up. I suspect the last bit of this will not be without some head scratching and minor problems, (though I hope not major ones.)
One inevitable hurdle will be for me to learn how to use the new recording system. My current set-up, whilst not exactly fault free, feels like second nature, a very immediate, quick and straightforward way to record which, despite the technical workarounds I have to navigate due the the equipment's wear and tear, produces pretty good and quickly realised results. In short, it generally doesn't get in the way of my imagination...
So, I'm simultaneously excited by the new way of recording my albums, which the Cubase system presents, and at the same time extremely nervous about the obstacles it will inevitably throw in my path.
I've always been in favour of recording technology being as invisible and non-intrusive as possible. I'd rather think about making music first and dealing with recording technology as an afterthought. Whenever the need to concentrate on technology takes one's mind away from the actual music making process, I tend to become more than a little frustrated. I guess, like the internet, it's a double edged sword...
Despite the fact that I should now be starting to clear away some of the memorabilia, toys and decorations from the studio to better access the equipment that will need to be dismantled, I've actually continued to record new material.
Completed a very strange but beautiful instrumental today titled 'Night Boats Pass Beneath The Stars.' It could be suitable for 'Old Haunts' but that album is already full to the brim. I'm wondering if it might suit the now long ago recorded, but as yet unreleased, 'Phantom Fuzzbox' album. Or maybe I should save it to add to the eventual digital download version of 'Old Haunts.' Whatever, as always, time will tell...
Made an appointment for my next podiatry session today. 30th of August. I also have to make an appointment for a DVLA eye test/assesment. Chances are that, because of my visual impairment, I'll have to surrender my driving license. To no longer be able to drive will present me with a severe blow to my independence and I'm fearful of a negative result to the tests.
Picking up my prescription glasses on Friday which, I hope, may help matters, but I suspect that the improvement will be minor. How did things get to this sad impasse so quickly? I don't feel any different from my twenties or thirties and yet my physical condition betrays me. I'm frustrated and angry about it all but there's little I can do. It has to be accepted as being one of the inevitable consequences of age. But I'm damned if I'm going to just roll over and give up on what I love and believe in. As someone once said, 'Rage against the dying of the light...'
