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I’ve had a hard time coming to terms with my exact feelings on posting “behind the scenes” studio videos. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a pretty avid fan of them myself for the sake of education, since I’m a producer/mixologist among other things, but at the same time I’ve always struggled with the feeling that too much imagery of the studio can take something away from the mystique of music. I remember when I was younger, I would listen to music and it would take me places. I didn’t fully understand what I was hearing in terms of effects, and at times even instruments were a mystery to me. But it was in the mystery that I found a sort of imaginative freedom. I went on a lot of adventures that way.
From that experience, I’ve always held on to the idea that I don’t want my music to make people picture a studio; an inspiring but sterile environment of mics, cables, computers, speakers….those things aren’t the point. It’s like the way a painter wants you to focus on his art, not his easel or tablet. I want my music to bring to mind a scene, a place, a picture. Whether it be a winning battle or a poignant story, that’s what I want. I’ll even go further and say that I don’t want people to picture musicians playing too much either. That’s certainly cool to a point, but according with my general feelings about music videos, you can only show the band playing for so long before you’ve bored me with incessant shots of the guitarist’s fingers. Or how about keyboards? We’ve got the technology now to sample and synthesize such otherworldly sounds that I don’t want to see a Korg Micro in my head, I want to see a forest of mystical trees bowed to singing by the wind or something like that. Which again, don’t get me wrong, in the right place I like a good finger shot as much as the next guy, but I want my music to be way beyond showing off that I can play an instrument or sing. I think that’s sort of a problem, in some cases we’ve made music more about showing off than carrying out a message, and then as songwriters we wonder why people don’t have an appreciation or care for lyrical content anymore. To put it in terms of visual art, you can get so caught up in the technique and type of media being used that you don’t see the picture anymore. Anyway, back to the studio. I’ve been recording and mixing a lot lately for some groups and musicians, as well as rehearsing and working on creating a lot of other things. During all that, I’ve been taking a lot of video for my youtube channel. I have kind of fought with myself over it though, for the reasons stated above. But then, I took a step back and realized a couple of things. First of all, I’m not JUST an artist anymore, I am a producer, so I’m just showing what I do. Secondly, we live in a world that has been vastly amplified by a thing we call the internet. People have much more access these days to the “making of” just about anything, and I’m seeing that as long my behind the scenes videos are about more than just me goofing off, they can really add to someone’s appreciation of the final presentation. I still want people to focus more on what I’m putting forward, the world I’ve created, the story being told, but if you want to learn something, travel, laugh, and just generally get another part of the experience, I suppose I’ll show you some of what goes on behind the curtain. >:) www.SamuelDayOfficial.com
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Posted on Dec 12, 2011 at 04:04 PM I’m not much of a sports fan, not because I dislike them, I just have never been the type of guy to watch a lot of games. Maybe I’d rather play than watch, maybe it’s just that no one ever got me into it, but whatever. I’ve enjoyed the occasional game here and there, maybe with friends, but that’s about it.
Despite my relative disconnection with the sports industry and it’s scene, I haven’t been able to escape the wake of this guy, Tim Tebow. In a very short time he has sprung up to the national fore, boasting a Heisman, a statue of himself on a campus, underdog winning games, a book blurb from Chuck Norris, Tweets from Bill Cosby……I mean, for real, some guys on YouTube are even writing songs about him and selling them on ITunes. I began hearing, at first from friends, about some of the controversy surrounding this guy, specifically regarding his Faith in the surge of his success. He’s been getting a lot of praise, but also a lot of prodding, mockery, and bad press from what I can scarcely call anything but “haters”. But, why exactly? It didn’t take long to gather that Tebow is very outspoken about his Christianity, from the verse “John 3:16” written on his eyeblack to his in-game kneeling ritual. Now, if you know anything about me you know that outward “shows” of “Faith” don’t necessarily mean a hill of beans to me. I have sadly found that many times the people toting bumper stickers, t-shirts, tattoos etc. trying to prove something about their Christianity can be the very ones who don’t show much fruit or knowledge concerning it. So, naturally I earnestly appreciated Tebow’s gestures, but that was about it. However, later I heard of how he credits the Lord with his natural talents, gifts, and abilities, and makes it a point to mention that God is the source of those things. Again though, this came with a large amount of media bullying and altogether foolishness. So, one day I caught a debate about the Tebow situation, specifically concerning his talk and shows of Faith. One of the parties involved in the discussion admitted to being very bothered by it. They were visibly upset about it, making what amounted to a bogus case about Tebow forcing his beliefs on viewers. Last time I checked, forcing meant requiring participation. Another on-air personality made the comment that Tebow was presuming a lot to think that God has a sports preference about whether the Colts win games or not. But again, this is arguing a moot point. Tebow never presumed that God is sitting around with a Colts pennant in the throne room, he simply acknowledges the Lord as the source of his personal ability. What struck me most about this whole situation was two things, which I think are accessible and obvious whether you are a Christian or not: 1-The excessive offense/hateful immaturity thrown at a guy, and for what? Being devout? Being a decent example to kids? Saving sexual activity for marriage? (which, to be fair, is heresay, but in “today’s world” is hardly worth lying to the media about anyway) And 2-The fact that other sports personalities have come out about their personal beliefs and not gotten this kind of treatment. Think Ali. I can’t really tell you for absolute certain that a guy I have never even met is 100% squeaky clean. I can’t say whether he has or will for certain live a relatively blemish-free life right now, but come on people, mockery and offense for the sake of themselves is nothing short of infantile. >:) www.SamuelDayOfficial.com http://www.youtube.com/user/Powerspyke Posted on Nov 10, 2011 at 10:39 AM (Last Modified: Nov 10, 2011 at 10:51 PM) Hey there everyone! As of late, I've been doing my usual trotting around between the Dayton and Cincinnati areas. This week I had two concerts with the Dayton Jazz Ensemble, did my usual running sound at ArtStreet's Thursday Night Live, and have been making progress on this hip hop stuff I have been working on (official news on that in the near future), which has honestly been pulling some of my most creative work out of me. On the WatersEdge front, we're still working on pinning down the dates for their Ohio tour with Impact, so I'll keep you posted on that.
I've been meaning to post a newer podcast trying show the skopping around I've been up to, and though I've got more than a few clips for it, it still needs to be put together. It's kind of interesting really how sort of stratified my musical experience has become. At heart I'm really a modern music kind of guy. Give me ethereal electronic music, melodic, hard, and passionate rock, film/game scores, and I'm happy. However, I often find people referencing certain music to me, and often I don't know it. My jazz sax teacher will rattle off tunes and players, a friend will mention some deejays since I am now producing hip hop, a professor will mention a famous classical orchestra piece, someone else will mention a particularly popular pop song as of late since they know I make modern music...sometimes I feel like with stratification comes so many canons to juggle. But to be honest, my listening is limited to a point. I know what I like first of all, but also much of the time I spend listening to music is when I am making it. A friend of mine had something interesting to say about this though. Maybe in some respects, it's better this way. I'm not overly preconditioned (though we all are to a certain extent) to make my music the way someone else does. I just do what sounds good. I never want to shut myself in a total box and not check out stuff for the sake of learning, but I have to say, it is always one of the best feelings in the world to sit back and say "wow, this really sounds like me.". Those are my favorite moments in my own music. However, I can definitely hear all the things in my music that have influenced me, from production to performance, and most likely I could tell you what those influences are and how they come into play. Still, I think one of the main goals I personally have is to make stuff that sounds like me, and to continually discover what that really means. Sometimes I'll forsake listening to other stuff and just listen to what I've created. Not because I'm narcissistic, but simply because I like it. And for an artist, it's definitely important to enjoy what you've made. This is what is so interesting about the gifts God has given us. Filtered through who we are, they have a distinct flavor. I think that's a large part of success, finding that unique "youness" that you were created to bring to your path. I may never be the best pianist, guitarist or singer in the world, but don't try asking someone else to be me, and don't ask me to be anyone else either. Posted on Oct 15, 2011 at 02:56 PM Hey there everyone, wanted to blog and let you in on some things that have been going on in my world recently.
First off, been planning some cool things with WatersEdge. It's cool how the right opportunities can get the ball rolling in the right places. We're looking to bring them to Ohio! Looks like we'll have two or three concerts with the Nebraska natives over here in this corner of the world, and guess who will be playing with them? Ok, I'm being coy. Also, we've been working on promoting the band to really get this album out there. I know that I personally put many, many hours of work into it, and I know that they are ready for the world to get in on their big, eclectic train. Been going after radio, clothing, booking, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to message me either through social networking or my website! And of course, if you haven't already, "like" them on facebook and tell your friends about them. I personally have been working on some other interesting projects though. I'm currently doing some stuff with a hip-hop client (more to come on that one!), and even doing some design work. GASP! You make visual art, you say? Indeed I do, and until we get the website updated and a bit more web 2.0, you can always head over facebook and check out some of my art in the photos section. Also been doing things with Impact. In fact, we have a free concert tonight at FCF of Trenton. You game? What's fun about Impact for me is being able to play some of my favorite covers, but also playing my own originals here and there. It's always really cool for me to hear people's reactions to my writing. However, admittedly, sometimes it is a bit much between a lot of the things I do. Being a full-time music student at UD certainly has it's demands, and my first two years were anything but easy. This year is a little different though, I've managed to lighten up my courseload in order focus more on things that are important to me, but those things take time too. For instance, I am now the Vice President of StreetSounds Recording Studio on campus. Cool beans, huh? It's interesting sort of living this kind of life, between academia, collegiate music and popular music. Going from being student to teacher, from the directed to the director often times in the same day. When a director looks at me either with pleasure or disappointment, it's got a particular flavor to me, because I know where they're coming from. There are some other things that, as always, I am working on but are sort of under wraps right now. But I suppose that's the way it goes, isn't it? >:) www.SamuelDayOfficial.com facebook.com/S.D.Reclaim facebook.com/WatersEdgeOmaha Posted on Oct 02, 2011 at 01:36 PM I've been meaning to blog a lot more lately, about things I've done and am doing, about a lot of things, but just haven't gotten to it among....life. But this? This I have to say something about.
Iran is currently planning on killing a man, a Mr. Yousef Nadarkhani for not denouncing Christ Jesus. But yet, we invite their president to come give lectures at our universities? And I wonder why this didn't make the front page of yahoo news? Oh yeah, that's right, the Gene Simmons engagement is more important. The ACLJ is taking up a petition regarding this matter: http://aclj.org/iran/pressure-iran-save-christian-pastor It's going towards our Secretary of State to fully oppose this action. It's worth it. Posted on Jun 07, 2011 at 01:29 PM Hey everyone, just thought I'd let you in on some of the things I have been working on lately.
I've been spending some hours just about every day working on mixing this WatersEdge album. You guys are going to like what you hear! Think of it as a gospel fusion of rock, hip hop, metal (think dissonance and scream vocals), worship, and r&b. The biggest thing people have liked about mixes I've shared with them has been the mixing of these styles, so be prepared! You'll also hear a fair amount of string arrangements, sequencing, extra guitars, and guest vocals courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Sam Day. I've also been gearing up for playing guitar along with WaterEdge at the annual FCC conference at the end of this month. Special guests are going to include Pastor Mark McGaffin and Brian "Head" Welch. I've got a list of 15 songs to learn before then, and so far I've crunched through five. The nice thing is though, that a good chunk of these songs are by WatersEdge, so I'll already have them in my head from working on this album. You also may remember me mentioning recording string parts at Dal Segno media not long ago. It was a super productive session....not quite sure when you'll get to hear the results of that, but when you do it'll be worth it. Also, we've got a sweet Impact concert coming up this friday night at FCF. As always we'll be playing a mix of our favorite covers and several of my originals, which is always cool for me. So! I'm going to get back to this mix I'm working on. Hope to see a lot of you on friday! Posted on Apr 16, 2011 at 11:18 PM Today I happened across a couple music videos that have been popular as of late. Of course, in the style of many of today's popular artists, they tended pretty hyper-erotic in a TV “friendly” (and I use the term loosely) sort of way. However, one thing I couldn’t deny was just how stinkin’ well-done it all was. There were reoccurring visual thematic elements, EXCELLENT (I’m talkin’ dollar signs here) special effects, and they really got their points across, whatever they were. Metaphorical images were executed with amazing visual/special effect prowess, many different side stories were presented about different protagonists, some of which were really quite moving, while others were pretty morally skewed. But still –they made their points, and did it in a way that was both super-direct and cleverly subliminal. They preached their sermons in a way that many won’t forget.
This is really what well-done media does, it moves you emotionally and argues its point mentally while dazzling you sonically and visually (that is, until we get smell-o-vision. It's coming, people). As Toby Mac says so well in “Lose My Soul”, “I pray that I’m an artist who rises above the road that is wide and filled with self-love. Everything that I see draws me, though it’s only in You that I can truly see that it’s A FEAST FOR THE EYES, A LOW BLOW TO PURPOSE, and I’m a little kid at three-ring circus.” SO! Why is it that many Christian artists don’t have this kind of money? Is it because they (or even the whole industry) is afraid of prosperity, or just doesn’t know what it really means? Why do we so many times think that we just made an awesome music video just because we shot our band playing in some parking garage with a few blinky lights and shot it in HD? Why is it that so many times the special effects have CLEARLY not been up to par with Hollywood, but we pretend like they are? And why is it that when Christian artists HAVE tried to give their videos a story, many times the writing has been just as half-baked as the acting and cinematography? I’ll tell you though, not everyone is this way. I mentioned him before, one guy who seems to be trying to do this thing right is Toby Mac, and there ARE others. I think he realizes something; it’s not just a show, but it is important, so if we don’t always push and pour into making it as awesome, effective, and spectacular as it can be, we may miss somebody. And quite frankly, our stuff is supposed to be the best anyways, and I for one refuse to forget that. |
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