First And Last

• First Recording Sobering
• Banned From LSU
• 4 Day Fast

Where To Begin...

2006

Yesterday, I attempted to record a song, using what I had, where I was and set up the way it is.

I plugged in to an outlet outside the Baptist Student Center, behind a little brick wall in a doorway which looks like it is never used. I was about 75 feet away from the traffic of Highland Road, which was moderate and accounted for a certain amount of background noise.

I was able to record two tracks, but, when I decided to re-do the second one, I wasn't able to.

The end result was; after doing what I thought was a passable two track recording (two guitars; two voices; one harmonica), I somehow botched the saving process.

The Audacity program has a million menus and buttons and, when I went to "export" my finished song; I guess I exported it to Siberia, where it will remain until receiving further instructions...

I really debated with myself about posting the only thing that I came out of that "session" with; the first (sound check) recording -the one that I decided to re-do because it wasn't up to my standards and it was very sobering to listen to ...do I sound THAT bad??

But, for the sake of letting everyone know the sound quality that I am dealing with at this point; and to establish a starting point to work to improve upon, and to see if the whole process of "exporting" files to my desktop, then uploading them to kiwi6.com, and then linking to them on this blog even works...

Here is the link to an uninspired version of "I Know You Rider," by The Grateful Dead, during which I lost a beat when my glasses fell off my nose, as I was trying to lean in so that my mouth would be closer to the mic than the guitar...and during which one of my harmonicas holes was plugged with a popcorn seed from the night before, or something.

The sickening harmonica note comes during its second solo when I went up a register (to the higher notes). I normally don't tolerate off notes; and usually can go a whole night without playing such a bagpipingly irritating tone; but, as I have said; I haven't found the right buttons and menus to press and click on to cut out the bad and paste in the good..


  http://kiwi6.com/file/nxlvl1z4kz

Listening to the above on my headphones reminds me of when I was 14 and had a Realistic brand monophonic cassette recorder with a built in condenser mic (which recorded as much of the sound of the capstans churning and the motor humming as it did the music, and which cut the bass out of the vocals, making me sound like a whiny little girl)

Last Visit To LSU Library

Then, I went to the LSU library, in order to sign up for a free account with kiwi6.com, so that I would be able to upload my crappy song today, which I do now. It would be my last visit to that library.

After the visit to the library, I found Howard sitting on a bench in front of the Law School building. I sat with him for a while, until he started asking me the usual questions. "Not too many people out, Saturday?"

"No, there were people out, but by midnight I was tired and I really wanted to go plug in my computer and mess around with it and listen to some of the music that I've downloaded on the new headphones that I have just gotten."

"Oh," said Howard, with a frown that I can probably interpret as ...well, I was going to offer to lend you some money so you can eat, but, I guess it's your own fault that you didn't make much Saturday...you wanted to play with your computer.... 

I'm starting to figure Howard out, a bit. 

I stood up, ready to go wash some clothes out, in the sink behind Serrano's Restaurant.

"Are you going to go get a beer?" asked Howard. I guess he's starting to figure me out, a bit.

Campus Police

you don't look like students...

I got back from washing clothes to find Howard no longer on the bench. The book that he had been reading was sitting there.

I decided to wait a while to see if he had just run to the store.

Then, along came two uniformed officers of the LSU Campus Police.

They smiled; asked me how I was doing; asked me for ID. The routine. why do you need to see ID, I'm just sitting here...

It was a black cop and a white one. I actually told them that I didn't have ID, just to see what they might say.

They asked me if I was a student, as if already sensing the answer. Then, question after question. Did I go to the church, or was I just sitting in front of it, enjoying the shade.

Then one of them noticed the laptop protruding slightly out of the top of my pack. "I notice you've got a laptop, mind if we run the serial number on it?"

I got irritated and said, "Assuming that a homeless guy could never have a laptop?"

"No, we're not assuming that at all," said the black cop, speaking for the first time- blacks being very sensitive to issues of profiling based upon appearance...

To cut through all the boring details, they told me that I was banned from the LSU campus, unless I became a student, and unless I was going to a football game and had my ticket already in my hand.

They ran my record and saw that I had open warrants in Saint Augustine, for littering and trespassing, and said that they couldn't let me on campus, because I had "a history."

The ironic thing is; if I made myself look like a student, I probably could go around stealing laptops right in front of their eyes...

4 Day Fast
I went and slept behind Serrano's by my drying clothes.

In the morning I got on one of the free buses, which took me right through campus and downtown, where I now am.

Plans are up in the air for the immediate future.

I won't get any food money on my card for another 4 days, and I have no money. There are the downtown shelters, where I can probably get that sandwich and a glass of iced tea that keeps homeless people alive everywhere.

There is always busking on a Tuesday night...

I can't go back to look for Howard, because he is on campus, that is if they haven't profiled him as someone who isn't a student and banned him yet...