I recently heard a quote that moved me and answered a question for me that I am not sure anyone has ask of my music. Why keep writing music and never push to sell it? I have no advertising other then my public facebook page and my website. I don’t send out mass emails asking for people to buy or anything. But the quote says it all I think.
"It's better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." It came from Cyril Connolly according to wiki he is a English intellectual, literary critic and writer and that was his reply when asked about his work or so I believe.

I currently have five (5) cd's of music written and another one I am working on now. I do it for the enjoyment of writing. Would I love to have the next hit single or to play the Catalina Jazz festival? As long as it doesn’t cause me to forget why i do it and who I am. Sure thing.

Enjoy the Music 

As many of you may know and will know now. I am a Coffee addict. I don’t mean I only drink Starbucks oh no I will pretty much drink any coffee. However I do like a good bean and it all begins with the bean. The reason for this blog today is to talk about a coffee experience I have been enjoying for some time now, and they are called Stumptown coffee. A friend turned me onto them who is from Portland. Land of Coffee Houses. There are more coffee houses there then I have seen in most of my travels Seattle having the most. Now Stumptown is a find, you can have them roast your bag of beans 1 to 2 days before they sip t you and that is how I found out about them. My friend ordered me two bags as a gift and I became hocked. Recently on a business trip to Denver then Portland I stopped by one to try some coffee and was blown away at how simple and just comfortable the place was. Not like a Starbucks (ever wonder where the bucks came from for there name) but just simple good coffee. So if you are ever up in Portland stop by and check them out.

Now for a good cup of Joe. The trick is good beans. While I have done the order them online trick and specialty house beans. I find that I can get a great back f beans from believe it or not CostCo for a good if not great price. I like dark roast beans, not burnt but dark. The Sumatra coffee beans I get from Costco work great. They are a dark roast with lots of oils on the beans. When you open the bag, and if you are a true coffee lover you will get this, the opening of the bag is a treat to the nose as well. Myself I never follow the instructions on the bags of beans they all want in my humble opinion for you to spend more money so the amount of bean to water ratio is to high in my mind and taste. So I use 3 heaping table spoons ground to a fine espresso level. I get a very dark rich color, with great aroma and a strong but not to over the top flavor.

Well that is it for today enjoy the music on my website and have a great weekend.

R.E.

 

 

The Charles Schulz Philosophy   

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.

You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.
Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4, Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series Winners.


How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies..
Awards tarnish..
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one: 
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier? 
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials..
the most money...or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most Pass this on to those people who have either made a difference in your life, or whom you keep close in your heart.
'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia !' 

IF YOU CAN'T DANCE--------HOP!

''Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!"

Well this weekend I will be updating the website again. The goal is to
create a new page layout that will be easier to navigate and have some cool
content. I am also almost done with the new CD MrRE I should have that one
online for you soon. So stay in touch..
**
Enjoy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Without Music,,,,, Life Has No soul
R.E. Fort
www.linkedin.com/in/refort
<http://www.linkedin.com/in/refort>www.astramusic.net
www.facebook.com/R.E.Fort
www.facebook.com/refortjr


Without Music,,,,, Life Has No soul

R.E. Fort
www.linkedin.com/in/refort

I received this from a friend and after reading it a few times I found it very interesting. Have a seat. Relax . . .and read this slowly.

I Believe...
A Birth Certificate shows that we were born,
A Death Certificate shows that we died,
Pictures show that we lived!

I Believe...
That just because two people argue,
It doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue,
It doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends if
We understand that friends change.

I Believe....
That no matter how good friends are,
They're going to hurt each other every once in a while
And they must learn to forgive each other for that.

I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow,
Even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant
That will give you heartache for life.

I Believe....
That it's taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with
Loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe....
That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe....
That we are responsible for what we do,
No matter how we feel.

I Believe...
That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to
be done, regardless of the consequences.

I Believe....
That my best friend (or my true love) and I can do anything ...or
nothing, and have the best time.

I Believe....
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will
be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry, 
But that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe....
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe...
That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken,
the world doesn't stop for your grief..

I Believe....
That our background and circumstances
May have influenced who we are,
But we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret.
It could change your life Forever.

I Believe.....
Two people can look at the exact same
Thing and see something totally different.

I Believe....
That your life can be changed in a matter of
Hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe....
That even when you think you have no more to give,
When a friend cries out to you -
You will find the strength to help.

I Believe...
That credentials on the wall
Do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...
That the people you care about most in life
Are taken from you too soon.

I Believe...
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
They just make the most of everything.

Happy Holidays. I hope that you have a Wonderful Christmas and a Fantastic New Year. Spend it with friends, family and other loved ones and always let them know how much they mean to you.
Life is a roller-coaster... Grad the rail and enjoy the ride. Laugh, Scream and act like a child sometimes. I think that's allowed.
Happy Holidays to all

Facebook

Without Music.... Life has No Soul

A friend of mine posted this quote from Zig Ziglar. "Among the things you
can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart." Words
to live by i think.

--
_____________________________________
Without Music,,,,, Life Has No soul
R.E. Fort



and on Facebook at



A friend of mine posted this quote from Zig Ziglar. "Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart." Words to live by i think.

--
_____________________________________

Without Music,,,,, Life Has No soul
R.E. Fort
www.astramusic.net
www.myspace.com/refort
www.myspace.com/astramusicnet

and on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/R.E.Fort

Well it has been way to long since I wrote anything to my blog. I have been very busy lately with work, new music and some exciting changes to the web page. I added a Video Page that I plan on linking to the main page later today. The video page will take the place of the Photos page. There are currently two videos available: By Request and Sunday Morning Groove. I also posted the first video (By Request) to YouTube, on Face Book and on my Reverb Nation page. Reverb Nation is pretty amazing site with lots of tools for indie artist.
 
By Request is and has always been one of my favorite songs so that is why I decided to make it the first video. The video is really a slide show of places that I have been too. I am a CRAZY Shutter bug love taking pictures and have a few camera's. The photos on this video are mostly from a beach trip to Avila Beach. Now if you are looking for a great place to just relax and chill this is the place. Avila is north of Pismo Beach and just wonderful place to relax.
 
The music store is also now open with links from the main page or from here. It is setup so you can purchase and download a MP3 in a secure store environment. Songs are $1.50 each. I also setup one of the CD's so you can download FREE 30 second snips of the songs as ring tones so enjoy and have some fun with that. If I see a lot of traffic or get a lot of comments about the downloads I will put other CD's up there for download.
 
Well I hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day
Enjoy

Without Music Life Has No Soul

Hello Friends Well the Fort family here in Phoenix hopes everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July. Alongwidth cooking out and some swimming. I got a little creative and uploaded a few new full length songs and then decided it was again time for the website to get a face lift. Check out the site and either post your comments on Facebook or use the new Contact me tab and send me your thoughts.

Enjoy

Without Music,,,,, Life Has No soul
R.E. Fort
www.astramusic.net
www.facebook.com/R.E.Fort
www.myspace.com/refort
www.myspace.com/astramusicnet

-- Sent from my Palm Pre 

Hello Friends
 
Well the Fort family here in Phoenix hopes everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July. Alongwidth cooking out and some swimming. I got a little creative and uploaded a few new full length songs and then decided it was again time for the website to get a face lift. Check out the site and either post your comments on Facebook or use the new Contact me tab and send me your thoughts.
Enjoy

Well it’s been sometime since I updated my blog so today I thought I would write about what I am doing at work. I am a software trainer and recently my company has me creating training videos. At first I thought this would be pretty easy, I mean come on we have all gone on you tube and searched for a how to video to learn something. Then I tried it. WOW what a difference it is. In my case the videos are on litigation support or also called e-discovery software. The videos are short when I can make them that way 3 minute clips on how to do a certain task and targeted to Lawyers, Attorneys and Para Legal’s, not your must forgiving audience.

In my head the first step is to understand the software you are using to record with. In my case its Camtasia Studio, very cool software allows for multiple takes, voice over or narration, Zooms, fades, transitions, quizzes on topics and a host of other very cool options. The next and in retrospect the most important is to understand what you are training on.    

The tricky part is keep the video from being too jerky no one wants to watch what looks like a rollercoaster screen running by them while trying to follow the mouse. So be smooth and fluid with your movements. Next is getting the voice just right. You would think if you know the product and know your material well, it would be a cakewalk but it’s not the simple. I found that for me it is much easier to record the screen leaving nice 3 to 10 second pauses while I move the mouse from one task to the next. In places that will take more time to explain options or features I will simply let the mouse sit while I say the options out loud slowly. This way when I come back and do my narration or voice over tracks they are clean and easy.

The next part is the voice over work and this can take some time. Hardware for the voice recording is VERY Important along with the type of room you are recording in. In my first recordings I used my studio gear and was doing most of the work at home in my studio. While that provided GREAT audio it was time consuming and taking away from writing music. I found a great USB microphone after doing a lot of research. Inexpensive with a great recording quality it’s called SnowBall and it looks like one too. It’s a condenser pressure gradient microphone that I must say even sounds great when I tried it on my acoustic guitar.

With the correct tools for the project it’s time to work on to old saying “it’s not what you say but how you say it”. It’s important to have some fun with it and provide what I am calling animation to your voice. Nothing is worst then listening to a monotone person try to tell you something while there voice puts you to sleep. So keeping it light and almost conversational is the key I have found.

Well that’s all for today as always

Without Music… Life has no Soul

With all the news lately about the rain, subzero weather and snow that the Midwest and East Coast areas are experiencing, we shouldn't forget that Phoenix also has it's share of devastating weather in the last couple weeks.
 
Below is a photo showing damage to a home from a recent storm that passed through the Phoenix area. It really makes you cherish what you have, and reminds us not to take life for granted.

I received this from a friend not long ago I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

No matter what our kids and the 'new' generation think about us,

WE ARE AWESOME !

OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF !!

To Those of Us Born 1925 - 1970 :

At the end of this email is the quote of the month by Jay Leno. If you don't read anything else, please read what he said. Very well stated, Mr. Leno. ~~~~~~~~~

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.

As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes. Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren't overweight.

WHY?

Because we were always outside playing . . . that's why! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. --And, we were OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes.

There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from those accidents.

We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms, and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and - although we were told it would happen - we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors - ever. The past 50 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all..

If YOU are one of those born between 1925-1970, CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had to grow up as kids before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives 'for our own good.' While you are at it, forward it to your kids, so they will know how brave and fortunate their parents were. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

~~~~~~~ The quote of the month by Jay Leno: "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?" -- ______________________________________________________________________

Without Music,,,,, Life Has No soul

www.myspace.com/refort www.myspace.com/astramusicnet and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/RE-Fort/115880789247?ref=mf

Mastering your mix

How do you mater your recordings?

To be honest I didn’t have a good answer myself. So I decided to do a little research, Google to the rescue. On my Google search this site came up with a pretty good description of the term and processes http://homemusicrecording.com/music/master-your-recording/. The site lists these as mastering aspects to a song, Track volume optimization, Equalization levels, Tonal balance adjustment for consistency, Edit the final arrangement of spacing between songs, Create and edit PQ sub-code, Creation of CD master ready for mass duplication.

What a list, in my mind most of this does apply but when we are talking about the new great hit song my short list is, volume, EQ, left right balance per track, and effects revered chorus and the like per track. I apply these all too each track and some cases to a certain part of a track. It’s all a matter what I hear in the ghost ear, what’s not yet recorded or even played. We all have it happen to us. As song writers we start writing a song sitting at the keyboard or guitar and we hear the drums doing this, the guitar sounds like Benson here and Carlos here the strings increase here and so on.

So, on a guitar track I will record it with my trusty Virtualizer PRO by Behringer set with a simple revered. Once the part is recorded I will listen to it over and over editing EQ mix, a little brighter or deeper depending on the guitar I played. All of my audio files, are edited in Adobe Audition regardless if they were directly recorded in Audition or generated from MIDI plug-ins from Sonar. I do create multiple versions of them as well keeping the first clean recording and then editing and saving a copy this way I can apply the new track to the mix down and see how it sounds against it all.

My brother once told me the best recoding he has heard from me is a song on Island Life called By Request. In that song to be honest I wish I saved all of the settings I used because the mix is very clean. In short, I will master the guitar tracks cleaning them up adding my EQ and FX’s then go on to the remaining tracks doing much the same. On the master mix down of the song I do very little in the way of editing but with Audition you can control a lot per track and master. I will usually add some small amount of FX trying to give the music that almost live feel. I try to only apply EQ to each track there is nothing worse than going through the last mix and do your EQ on it and drop an instrument.

I was speaking with an old friend and guitarist I truly admire, Larry Green he was talking about the canvas of music. The foundation of the recording in my ears is the drums, keys, bass rhythm guitar and maybe the strings although they can be like the solo and melody instruments the brush the artist paints with. With that in mind I master music that way. The canvas has to be clean with all of the subtitle sounds and FX’s in place then I bring in the accents the brush strokes looking at that meters helps a lot then it’s on to the melody and chorus then lastly the final touches. I burn a CD drop it in the car and go for a drive. To be honest the best way I have found is to spend a day or two listening to other music trying to erase the not recorded but heard part of the music from my ear. Then listening to it in a car to me is better then headphones or even the most expensive monitors out there. I make my mental notes and back to the mix. In the case of By Request it took me almost a year to get that CD where I wanted it.

So to sum it up, if it sounds like it needs it, then master it. I master each track making many copies so I can go back and play with each then I bus it down to a master track and only adjust what is needed and I hope and pray that is only volume.

Enjoy and keep playing