I'd Like To Thank The Acadamy...

It's hard to believe it, but it's been over a year since I started throwing these (for the most part) weekly tidbits out for general consumption.  I made a commitment to myself to see if was disciplined enough to do it for a year.  Except for those Saturday mornings when I got in at 4:30 from a gig, it's been a pleasure to do this. 

Please know that this exercise has been educational for me as well.  It's forced me to stop and think "how do I actually do (fill in the blank)" as opposed to just going through the motions.  As a result, I've gotten more efficient in the way I do certain things.

And what has amazed me is hearing from people that have absolutely no connection to performing or audio that say they enjoy reading the articles.  For that, I'm extremely grateful.  It's funny, because I wasn't a big fan of writing when I was in school.  But now, I find it quite therapeutic.

So...for now I think I've said everything I've needed or wanted to.  But before I close this out, I did want to share a few things with you.

And The Winner Is...
People ask "What has been your most read article?".  By far, it was Pedals To The Metal from February 23rd, with Part 2 right behind.  After that, the recent rant on power amp companies, Watts The Meaning Of All This would be in third place.

In general, the popular articles tended to be the ones about monitors, personal gear, and rehearsals.

Far & Wide
The most mind blowing part of this year long exercise for me is that this blog has attracted readers from every state, as well as South America, Mexico, Russia, Italy, Denmark, Norway, England, and a host of other places around the globe.  That tells me that crummy clubs, broken gear, and neurotic bandmates are universal!

And Now...
I want to thank everyone for the feedback, advice, and ideas for articles.  I've gotta give props to my wife Barb for understanding why I disappeared into the studio on Saturday mornings after breakfast.  A big thanks to Michael Ingalls for coming up with the title.  And of course, to everyone who has kept up with these morsels of information along the way.

I'm still going to write, albeit on not as much of a schedule now.  If something interesting comes along or a cool piece of gear comes across the bench, I'll share it with you guys.  If I run into a club owner that's figured out a new way to screw a band over, I'll let you know.  Conversely, if I play a venue that really knows how to treat musicians I'll share that as well.

If I had to summarize the last year, and boil it down into a bite-sized piece of advice, I would just say this...

 - Take care of your gear
 - Take care of your bandmates
 - Take care of business

Do that, and everything else will take care of itself.

Thanks for a great year!  And even though I'm not around here weekly now, you can always email questions to me.  If I don't have an answer, I probably know someone who does!

As always, keep the meters out of the red.


Ken

Ken Carver has been a musician and performer since the early 70's, and involved with live music production since the mid 70's. He worked for 15 years as a broadcast engineer, building numerous studios and transmitter sites around Texas. He's also worked in Critical Care Communications for the medical industry, R&D for an automated lighting manufacturer, and owned Project Lighting & Sound in the 80's. He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team at National Instruments in Austin, and still performs on the weekends in the Central Texas area. You can reach Ken at itsjustlogistics@gmail.com