Boss Phrase Recorder

So about 6 or 7 years ago (or more - I don't remember now) I bought a Boss RC-20XL "phrase recorder" (a loop pedal with a lot of extra features). Of course, now you can get the new version that will hold like 3 hours of music, whereas this one only stores 15 minutes, but it's what I have and while I have a kid in school, I'm a gal on a budget, so I won't be upgrading for a while.

It's basically been sitting in the box since I bought it, until last week. It took days to figure out the right settings on the PA to get vocals to register on the thing (and also we discovered the PA needed a little work - all the pots on it were dirty and there was a lot of noise that a little tuner cleaner took care of). 

Last night, I started playing with it. However, I haven't worked out a hi-fidelity reliable way to record what I've been doing, and I didn't save anything I built up last night on the pedal, but it's an interesting way to compose a song using only vocals. Here is a poorly-recorded snip of a loop that I recorded last night.

I have a gig at the end of June

We are booked for Friday night at the Woven Roots Festival. at Brendan Byrne State Forest in New Jersey.  So I'm starting to check out my equipment, and put together a set list and maybe do some writing so I have some new material and surprises. I'm excited about playing out again and also seeing old friends and making new ones.

An Argument Against Free Downloads

A lengthy, but beautifully written argument about streaming sites.


My last CD was in 2005, 7 years ago. One of the reasons I'm not making music all the time is because I have to spend most of my time doing things that actually generate revenue.

30 Days of Creativity 2012

I will again be participating in 30 Days of Creativity, but I'll be putting my work up on my design blog this year.

Looping Around

I was looking through my audio files on my hard drive last night, and that morphed into a bit of a loop building session. Having this rhythm groove set on repeat and adding layers and sounds on top of it was very hypnotic. Listening to it the next morning, I hear places that certainly need some editing and some bits that I quite like and want to expand into a more complete work.  I have no idea where this is going to go yet.

   January2012thing1 by voxwoman

I just want to add that I have loved Steve Tibbets since I discovered his "Yr" CD at the library and when he came out with his own loop library I was ecstatic.

A very good piece on the artist/band bio. I need to redo mine for this year. One reason this is so important for your website is because journalists writing about you are going to borrow heavily from your website in their article. So making it a combo "bio/press release" is saving you a lot of work by having to create both (or saving you a lot of money by not having to pay for two things), and killing two birds with one stone.

Paying it Forward

I'm giving away copies of my Dancing With Hecate CD for just the cost of priority mail shipping between now and the end of the year.

Happy New Year to all.

Thanks to everyone who participated! I hope you enjoyed the CD!