Brixton at Pueyrredón

Last weekend I went to Salon Pueyrredón to see the punk rock band, Brixton. I had met the lead singer the weekend before at Podesta bar. The band's website said that the show started at 24hrs...so I was like well it might start by 1am then. I get there at midnight and the place hadn't even opened yet! When I asked when the band would be playing they said around 3am! Well I took the oportunity to walk around Palermo. I certainly like the liberty of walking around at night without the fear of being robbed like I had back in Santiago. I would say that where I stayed in Santiago was kind of like East LA and where I am in Buenos Aires is more like WestWood.

The band was ok, but the acoustics of the show were horrible. I couldn't understand the singing because the guitars masked it. This was partly because I was in the front center and the speakers were off to the sides so I was only getting the low frequencies from the speakers at that angle.

I want to discover what has already been discovered.

Calle 13 - Pal Norte

Calle 13 - Pal Norte at the 2007 Latin Grammys

First, great song, great band. Not only did they film in Jujuy, Argentina, but they also brought those people to the Grammys. Did Shakira ever take real Colombian folklore onstage with her? Calle 13 and Orishas really represent and back up the theme of the song...immigration and that we Latinos are alike. This song really represents my trip through Latin America.

For my non-spanish speaking friends and to highlight what pertains to my travels:
"With the stories of the moon I learned to walk without a map. Traveling without comforts, without luxuries...protected by witches and saints.

In your smile I see an adventure, a movement. Your language, your accent, I want to discover what has already been discovered.

Today I'm going north without a passport, on foot, but it doesnt matter because this man hidrates with what his eyes see. I carry landscapes in my backpack, carry chlorofil, carry a rosary that protects me.

Grandma don't worry cuz around my neck hangs the Virgin of Guadalupe."



Spanish lyrics:
Unas piernas que respiran… veneno de serpiente… por el camino del viento… voy soplando agua ardiente

El día a día ha comenzado entusiasmado y alegre
(ROLDAN)
dice… Pasaporte

[Estribillo]
Tengo tu antídoto… Pal’ que no tiene identidad
Somos idénticos… Pal’ que llegó sin avisar
Tengo tu antílico… Para los que ya no están para los que estás y los que vienen (x2)

Un nómada sin rumbo la energía negativa yo la derrumbo
Con mis pezuñas de cordero me propuse recorrer el continente entero
Sin brújula, sin tiempo, sin agenda…
Inspirado Por las leyendas
Con historias empaquetadas en lata, con los cuentos que la luna relata aprendí a caminar sin mapa…
A irme de caminata sin comodidades, sin lujo… protegido por los santos y los brujos…
Aprendí a escribir carbonerías en mi libreta y con un mismo idioma sacudir todo el planeta…
Aprendí que mi pueblo todavía reza porque las “fucking” autoridades y la puta realeza… todavía se mueven por debajo’ e la mesa… aprendí a tragarme la depresión con cerveza…
Mis patronos yo lo escupo desde las montañas y con mi propia saliva enveneno su champaña…
Enveneno su champaña…

(ROLDAN)
Sigo tomando ron…

[Estribillo]

En tu sonrisa yo veo una guerrilla, una aventura un movimiento…
Tu lenguaje, tu acento… Yo quiero descubrir lo que ya estaba descubierto…
Ser un emigrante ese es mi deporte…
Hoy me voy pal’ norte sin pasaporte, sin transporte… a pie, con las patas… pero no importa este hombre se hidrata con lo que retratan mis pupilas…
Cargo con un par de paisajes en mi mochila, cargo con vitamina de clorofila, cargo con un rosario que me vigila… suelo con cruzar el meridiano, resbalando por las cuerdas del cuatro de Aureliano…
Y llegarle tempranito temprano a la orilla…por el desierto con los pies a la parrilla…
Por debajo de la tierra como las ardillas, yo vo’a cruzar la muralla… yo soy un intruso con identidad de recluso… y por eso me convierto en buzo… y buceo por debajo de la tierra…
Pa’ que no me vean los guardias y los perros no me huelan… abuela no se preocupe que en mi cuello cuelga la virgen de la Guadalupe…

(ROLDAN)
Oye para todos los emigrantes del mundo entero… allá va eso… Calle 13

[Estribillo] (x2)

(OFF) Esta producción artístico-cultural hecha con cariño y con esfuerzo sea como un llamado de voluntad y esperanza para todos, todos...

Too few ideas too much time...wait, reverse that...

The recording course at Tecson is going great (btw, I think Tecson comes from Tech and Sound but with an argentine accent). For example, today we covered spacial effects; delay, flange/chorus, reverb. A student from Columbia asked a lot about creating a flange effect with his DJ equipment because he's producing electronic music. I realized that I thought about the analog circuits and DSP algorithms behind the machines/plugins we were using.

Then I write myself notes for tasks to work on, like write guitar distortion programs in matlab or simulate analog delay circuits. I've been doing this for a while by myself trying to apply what Caltech has taught me into something practical that interests me. The problem was that I didn't have the background or experience to complete my tasks (as i get more involved I realize that most of the time I still don't). The issue now is that I have so little projects I want to do, but not enough time to do them and when I start one I move onto another.

Well, today one of the matlab stuff I messed around with came from a frenchperson. My french is terrible now, but at least I knew how to follow the help file to make the guitar effects work (at least something good came out of my senior thesis).

I'd forgotten how frustrating programming is...

I wasted a few hours trying to get sample VST code to compile. The error was that the include file windows.h could not be found. I tried adding paths and directories to get the Visual C++ compiler to recognize the include file. The solution is that I hadn't loaded the Platform SDK onto my new laptop nor had I followed these instructions:

Update the Visual C++ directories in the Projects and Solutions section in the Options dialog box.

Add the paths to the appropriate subsection:

• Executable files: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows Server 2003 R2\Bin
• Include files: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows Server 2003 R2\Include
• Library files: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows Server 2003 R2\Lib

Note: Alternatively, you can update the Visual C++ Directories by modifying the VCProjectEngine.dll.express.config file located in the \vc\vcpackages subdirectory of the Visual C++ Express install location. Please make sure that you also delete the file "vccomponents.dat" located in the "%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\VCExpress\8.0" if it exists before restarting Visual C++ Express Edition.

Step 4: Update the corewin_express.vsprops file.

One more step is needed to make the Win32 template work in Visual C++ Express. You need to edit the corewin_express.vsprops file (found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\VCProjectDefaults) and

Change the string that reads:

AdditionalDependencies="kernel32.lib"

to

AdditionalDependencies="kernel32.lib user32.lib gdi32.lib winspool.lib comdlg32.lib advapi32.lib shell32.lib ole32.lib oleaut32.lib uuid.lib"

Step 5: Generate and build a Win32 application to test your paths.

In Visual C++ Express, the Win32 Windows Application type is disabled in the Win32 Application Wizard. To enable that type, you need to edit the file AppSettings.htm file located in the folder %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\VCWizards\AppWiz\Generic\Application\html\1033\".

In a text editor comment out lines 441 - 444 by putting a // in front of them as shown here:

// WIN_APP.disabled = true;
// WIN_APP_LABEL.disabled = true;
// DLL_APP.disabled = true;
// DLL_APP_LABEL.disabled = true;

Save and close the file and open Visual C++ Express.

From the File menu, click New Project. In the New Project dialog box, expand the Visual C++ node in the Product Types tree and then click Win32. Click on the Win32 Console Application template and then give your project a name and click OK. In the Win32 Application Wizard dialog box, make sure that Windows application is selected as the Application type and the ATL is not selected. Click the Finish button to generate the project.

As a final step, test your project by clicking the Start button in the IDE or by pressing F5. Your Win32 application should build and run.

Mi Pobre Charango

I can handle the Buenos Aires summer heat, but unfortunately my charango can't:

One day when I returned to my apartment I found that the bridge of my charango had come unglued. Last weekend I tried fixing it with contact cement. First I sanded the bridge and the spot where it was glued onto the body. After joining the two with the cement I let it dry with pressure for a day. Then when I went to restring the charango, it only held for a bit before it slowly started coming undone:-( So now I will try the same thing, but this time with cola (wood glue).

Here's the procedure from Jose Villar Rodríguez's La Guitarra Española book:
Se trazara el puente con toda exactitud y se construirá de madera de palo santo. Al construir la curvatura del puente, que se conseguirá con bastante facilidad usando una cuchilla de ebanista muy afilada, se registrará constantemente sobre la tapa, por el procedimiento del grafito, hasta que el puente y la tapa ajusten perfectamente. No se olvide que de esta unión dependerá, en buena parte, la potencia sonora de la guitarra.
Operación previa a la colocación del puente será la de trazar el lugar exacto de su ubicación. Para ello se tendrá muy en cuenta que la distancia desde el hueso superior al inferior es de 650mm y que la distancia entre la unión de la caja y el mastil a cualquiera de los huesos es de 325mm. El puente es una pieza que tiene gran importancia en la guitarra, por ser el elemento que mas fuerza ha de soportar pese a sus limitadas dimensiones; por esta razón, antes de colocarlo en la tapa se le hara un rayado.
Se llenará de cola el hueco que dejan las rayas, por poco profundas que sean, con lo cual se proporcionará mucha resistencia al puente. Asimismo estaría muy atinado que en la misma base se le pusieran dos clavitos que entraran 2mm en el puente y 2mm en la tapa armonica, y asi quedaría un puente de la máxima resistencia.

New Year's Resolution

Since all the cool kids are making new years resolutions I thought I would too:

My new year's resolution is to make it back home safely. Part b) of the resolution would be to find a job.

Tecson

This week I started sound engineering classes at Tecson, here in Buenos Aires. I realize how much I just f-ed around with mixers and digital recorders. I also realized how much I learned about microphones at Audio Engineering Associates and basic electronics from Caltech. One class this week covered decibels to measure sound pressure levels and I was able to derive on paper the numbers that they just listed as given. This was pretty simple but I felt good remembering this after months of not doing any math, jaja.

I also get to learn really cool stuff like DI boxes, especially the Red Box with speaker emulation.

I'm also messing around with sound programs (Acustica Mixcraft cuz ProTools is too expensive for me right now) and VST plugins. This makes me almost give up on free plugins that supposedly take out the vocals.

On a side note, I heard this back in Barcelona and now I finally found out (through watching tons of MTV):

Destination Calabria