In January, I said that Transbian Studio was back in operation. It’s now April, and I haven’t posted any music. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on it.
I’ve set up Ardour and laid down some MIDI drums for Somewhere Someone Cares. But my folding keyboard got wonky while laying down more tracks. I tried to get it serviced before the warranty expired but could never find out where to bring it.
Momma needs new keys
My music needs a keyboard to record it. I ultimately gave up on repairing the old keyboard and bought a used M-Audio Keystation 49es MIDI controller. It’s my first proper MIDI keyboard with a touch-sensitive keyboard and pitch bend and modulation wheels. Musician’s Friend had it for a sweet price, and it’s just what I needed to create music. I already had a virtual Hammond B-3 organ, and I found a great virtual piano for recording piano tracks. But Somewhere Someone Cares needs a synth with a nice chimey piano sound. I discovered Dexed, an open-source virtual Yamaha DX7, along with hundreds of patches (sounds). I’m still going through the virtual cartridges to see what all the sounds are, but I’ve found several possibilities.
But first…
America’s chief executive officer decided to make himself a king, even though our Constitution clearly states that the founders rejected the possibility of having one. I’ve long been a fan of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, and one of my favorite songs is King Herod’s Song (Try It And See). I saw huge possibilities for a parody dedicated to the politician I refer to as Dear Leader, and over a couple of weeks the lyrics took shape.
Next up was to figure out who would be singing it. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was a possibility but he’s too far away. Canada’s Justin Trudeau was a thought, but he had already stepped down. When I saw Mark Carney make his first speech as prime minister, I knew who would be doing the singing. Besides being our northern neighbor, the US tariffs made Carney the perfect casting.
I considered grabbing a karaoke track of the song for a limited release, and I discovered a way to get a proper backing track with a non-commercial license that lets me post the finished song on social media.
It’s taken several takes to get a vocal track I can live with, and I may still do one more take to fix a couple of vocal issues. Once I have a final mix, I plan to post the song here and on Bluesky before the day I call Bunny Day. After singing my own music off and on since the 80s, I’ll finally have a song released publicly.
What about the cat pictures?
I apologize for dropping the ball on posting pictures of Chuck and his litter mates. Life through too many things on my plate and I wasn’t able to get back to them.
Chuck is now a ten-month-old big boi weighing in at 12 pounds. He’s outgrown his second harness, but I have a harness that fits him better for when I can let him enjoy the backyard. Now I’m just waiting for another warm enough day for us to spend some time outside.
Spring’s here!
The weather doesn’t always show it, but spring has arrived, and I have several things in various stages of creation to share with y’all. I’ll be updating the product list for my two Spreadshirt shops, and I’ll be updating my Legislation tee for Pride 2025. I’ll be posting updates on my real-life merch as soon as I have them.
A quick note about the Pride Lanes Bowling Center
Unfortunately, I’m taking the website for the Pride Lanes Bowling Center in Second Life offline. The center itself isn’t going anywhere, but the website doesn’t get enough traffic to justify the time and expense it takes to update the site (and the site itself is way overdue for an update). I haven’t decided where the content about the center will be going, but it will be going somewhere.
Have a happy spring, y’all. I know our country is getting downright hostile to folks who aren’t straight, white, and wealthy, but we’re not going to bury our heads in the sand and wait for the next election. Hang in there, and do what you can to stand up for your rights, healthcare, and economy.
