Posts Tagged ‘Los Angeles’

The Loft Studio

The Loft Studio – The Beginning

It’s been a long time coming, but I have finally started updating the website once again since I have several things in the works these days. In 2017 I moved down to Los Angeles to start working full-time for John Mayer, and since then I have taken a little step back from things on here since I needed some time to relax the mind and do something different for a bit. Plus, we had been touring pretty nonstop for the past few years. I have always had some projects in the back of my mind though. I took 2020 as a pretty lazy year of forced chill since we were not touring due to the Covid pandemic, but with things continuing a bit I thought it might be nice to finally take on some of the ideas and projects that have been lingering in my head.

I have always wanted to build out a nice little home recording studio and start getting ideas down for some songs since that is what initially led me into music. I had tried setting up a studio many years ago; but the cost of gear, the hassle of analog to digital conversion at the time, and the never ending obsoleteness of gear made it very difficult and too expensive. With the growth of digital music interfaces and Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) in the past decade it has made things quite a bit easier to create a small, quality home studio. So, I recently put together the following:

Apple MacBook Pro
Apple 27″ LED Cinema Display
Logic Pro
Universal Audio Apollo X4
Yamaha HS5 Monitors
Yamaha HS8 Subwoofer
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Cans
Audio-Technica AT2020
Shure Beta 58A
(2) Shure SM57s
Roland XP-60
’67 Gibson SG
• Multitude of percussion instruments and noisemakers

This is only the beginning with more to come for sure. Stay tuned for more gear and music ideas.

I have also decided to go back to school and start work on a Masters in Music Business from Berklee College of Music. I will be taking limited courses to fit into my work schedule and will initially be working towards a Graduate Certificate in Music Business Law & Policy. Oooo…. Exciting stuff. For fun, I am planning on taking some undergraduate courses in Songwriting and Production starting with courses to earn a Professional Certification in Logic. Time to get off the couch after 2020 and learn some new things!

For many years I have also toyed with the idea of starting an online store where I can sell some of my photos and any other arts and crafts that I create. It’s definitely time to start creating more and sharing it with others. I believe that I will be starting with metal wall hangings of my photos soon on Etsy. I also have some ideas for furniture and home decor made from recycled musical instruments and physical music media. Be on the lookout.

Find Me On Depop

Find Me On Depop @MusicSumo

Finally, for now, I am starting to clean out my closet and sell some things on Depop. Come on over and take a look at what I got. It will be updated pretty regularly as I have a bit to unload. It is mainly old clothes and items that I’ve aquired over the years that I simply do no need any longer. I hope that some of it can find a good home where it is appreciated more often than hiding in a closet or drawer of mine. Come give a look at what I got, here.

That’s about it for now, but there is more to come. I plan on getting pretty busy again in the coming years. Hope to see you along the way!

Matchbox Twenty and the Goo Goo Dolls have announced a co-headlining tour that will be stopping mostly at amphitheaters in cities including Toronto, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles. Matchbox Twenty is touring in support of their 2012 album, North.  Meanwhile, the Goo Goo Dolls have a new release, Magnetic, which should be coming out on May 7.

Although the itinerary is amphitheater heavy, the tour does have a few large indoor shows.  The tour actually launches in Manchester, NH at the Verizon Wireless Arena.  A couple of other indoor engagements include the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal CityWalk in Universal City and the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

The current tour schedule is as follows:

06/25/13 – Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH
06/26/13 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY
06/27/13 – Molson Amphitheater in Toronto, Ontario
06/29/13 – First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown, PA
06/30/13 – Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH
07/02/13 – Ravinia Festival At Ravinia Park in Highland Park, IL
07/03/13 – Ravinia Festival At Ravinia Park in Highland Park, IL
07/06/13 – DTE Energy Music  Theatre in Clarkston, MI
07/07/13 – Klipsch Music Center in Noblesville, IN
07/09/13 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre St. Louis in Maryland Heights, MO
07/10/13 – I Wireless Center in Moline, IL
07/12/13 – Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO
07/15/13 – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater in Englewood, CO
07/17/13 – Gibson Amphitheatre At Universal CityWalk in Universal City, CA
07/20/13 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA
07/21/13 – California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles, CA
07/23/13 – Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, CA
07/30/13 – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX
07/31/13 – Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas, TX
08/02/13 – Oak Mountain Amphitheater in Pelham, AL
08/03/13 – Aaron’s Amphitheater At Lakewood in Atlanta, GA
08/04/13 – Live Nation Amphitheater in Tampa, FL
08/06/13 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Charlotte, NC
08/07/13 – Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion in Raleigh, NC
08/08/13 – Farm Bureau Live At Virginia Beach in Virginia Beach, VA
08/10/13 – Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA
08/11/13 – Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ
08/13/13 – Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT
08/14/13 – The Star Pavilion At Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, PA
08/16/13 – PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ
08/17/13 – Nikon At Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY
08/18/13 – Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA

Lagwagon finish off their show with “Bye For Now.” It was a great night filled with lots of energy due to it was their CD release party for their new box set. Towards the end, Joey lets the crowd sing some of the lyrics and they finish the show by stating that they will be at Oki-Dog. Too bad we weren’t in LA!