Becoming a Mrs.

Yes I am getting married. My one-man-band days are over, as Belle and Sebastian say. I don't want to get too personal in this forum, but I will say the man I am marrying is more wonderful than I ever expected and I am happy to take this step and start our life together.


On the lighter side of things I have been thinking about becoming a "Mrs."--just the title. I am so completely comfortable with the title "Ms." It feels as right as the skin I wear. "Miss" has been uncomfortable for years. I still have the knee-jerk reaction that I must be in trouble. Unless it is in front of my first name. Then I just know I'm in the South. But "Ms." means I might actually mean business. I can be anybody I want if I'm a "Ms." In fact I thank Gloria Steinem et al for coming up with it. I'm not a hardcore feminist but I appreciate the simple utility.

"Mrs." though, just makes me think of baking cookies. Not that there's anything wrong with that--in fact I like baking cookies. And I'm fine with changing my last name though I may use both for a while to help people (like me) transition. But I've thought about what it's going to be like when I teach a night class next semester at the community college and I've been married for a month. Should I tell them to call me Mrs.? Does that immediately make me this mother figure in an apron instead of their Composition intructor? And does it turn them into little children? I think I might give a lot of blank stares while I'm getting used to these people that have never met me calling me by the only name they know for me. I'm sure I will eventually feel at home and maybe even powerful as a Mrs. but for starters I think I'll just feel happy for the reason I am a Mrs.--because I sure do want to marry him.

Rock * News

So I have almost a copy of my ep--sans drum tracks. It is being "shopped around" to drummers, which means I am trying to find someone I know who will record my drum tracks for free. Someone with really excellent rhythm. I've discovered recently that not everyone that plays the drums has really excellent rhythm and i need really excellent rhythm since . . . well . . . MY rhythm is not always excellent. There, I admitted it.

All the other parts are on there: rhythm guitar, vocals, backing vocals, lead guitar, sometimes more filler guitar, keyboards, bells, harmonica, etc. They just need to be mixed a little better. Another thing I have noticed for you novice recording engineers: The same song can sound completely different on a different stereo. So, though most of my songs seem pretty well-mixed on the "studio" speakers that is not the case elsewhere.

In fact, it is crazy all the stuff you have to do to make a recording sound good. Every one of the following makes a huge difference: the type of equipment, how/where it is miked, how well everything is tuned (duh), how much the level varies during the performance (less is more, I've learned), the settings for "tone," reverb, effects, etc. on the instrument and/or primary equipment like amps, the effects on the recording device including compression (this is to keep the volume or level from varying so much) and a whole myriad of other things that mess with the EQ, then the mixing of the tracks after they are recorded including overall volume, overall bass and treble and mid-range, and effects like echo or reverb or what-ever, then the mastering which is like the detail work of bringing sounds into the foreground and background and I don't even know what else.

I myself am such a novice at this but I feel like I am becoming less stupid, slowly but surely. I will be sooo excited when I am done and proud of the finished product.