Swing

Well it looks like i'll be playing a few songs at "The House" coffee shop here in Calgary tonight. It will be good to get into the swing of playing some regular shows here. Develop a fan base, and eventually take over the world.

In time i'll get some video and recordings of live stuff up. In the meantime, if you're not around for the show, just imagine it. Set aside an hour or so and try to imagine what song i'm playing at that moment, and whether or not i've incorporated a french horn somehow.

Also, if anyone has a used french horn for sale, that would be great.

EMB

The Album

Well, I figured I should talk about the album. The time has come.

There was a point this last year when I was certain that the record would be finished at this point. Recorded, mastered, and distributed. Obviously this is not the case, because millions of screaming fans don't have their hands on a copy.

I've made a decision that I want to do this. I still do. But I want to do it well. I'd rather give you a really good sounding and well put together album in 6-7 months than give you a handful of crap now. I hope you feel the same way. I've been working on some new stuff and i'm getting really excited about recording it, but I want to make sure it's worthwhile. I have thought about the possibility of recording another EP within the time the real record comes out, just for kicks and giggles. Maybe that's what I'll call it........ I feel like I need to satisfy this craving to get recording, so I don't rush into something with sketchy songs and not quite enough substance. I'm looking to work with other musicians on this one...I've realized that recording by myself may be easier at times but we were built to play music with others in order to brew creativity, and I got very lonely and frustrated when I was trying to do this all on my own.

It's late, and I've written down all of my thoughts for the night. Hopefully we're on the same page about the record, but if not, it doesn't matter. This isn't a democracy.

Close Call

Well, I'm here, with one day to spare.

Not that I have anything important to say....

I never really watch music videos anymore. Not since the days where I could spend hours and hours in front of MuchMusic, entertained beyond words. Now it's a different story, however.

But, I did notice this video recently, and it's pretty awesome. Take a look. And, since I can't embed the video, there's just a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb9X5jMofEo

Stalemate.

Apologies all around.

I've been through quite the transition point in the last weeks/months/quarter and I've been lacking quite a bit on these posts. Not that I'm trying to make excuses, but:

1)I moved to an acreage

2)Before I could finish unpacking from my move, I started packing for camp

3)I worked at camp

4)Before I could unpack from camp, I was packing for my move to Calgary

5)I moved to Calgary

6)Before I could unpack from Calgary, I had to buy a cowboy hat

7)I bought a cowboy hat

But now that that chaos has passed, I'll give a solid attempt at rekindling my love affair with blogging. And I mean love affair in the most sexual way possible. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.

I will talk about the album another day. It needs a lot of space to be talked about. Then we can discuss it in a civilized manor.

If I don't have another post within 5 days, I give you all the right to never listen to my songs again. Then at that point you can stop flattering me and we can quit kidding around about the whole "musician" thing.

......Give me 5 days.

On Tour?

No, i'm not on tour. Just moving.

My life has been pretty crazy the last few weeks...and hopefully within a week or so things will start to slow down and i can start putting the pieces back together.

And then, maybe a tour.

Like Tonight

Often i find myself in the following situation:

Sitting, listening to music on my computer. My interest in whatever i was doing on the computer has dissolved, however my desire to continue listening to said music remains. I am caught between the horrible boredom felt (there's only so many wikipedia articles you can read) and the intense bliss of a genius playlist created from Patty Griffin's "Be Careful."

So, to combat that boredom while continuing to listen, i'll write a blog post.

Angry Letter #1

Dear The Comedy Network,

You suck at picking new shows to put on your network. Your job should be to find funny shows, not necessarily shows that were created in Canada. Those two often don't go together. Trying to help the Canadian TV, Film, and Music business by continuing to choose every pitch that comes in the door and every pilot that is dropped on your desk is not helping the industry.

On a side note, I have a pilot that i would like you to look at.

Please stop sucking.

Sincerely,

Eric Braun

Busy.

Sorry about the lack of posts lately.

As you may see by this photo, i'm up to my ears in boxes. Some empty, some full. We're in the middle of moving out to an acreage, which would normally be fine, but i'm also trying to finish a full-length album and figure out my life for next year. It's looking more and more that the release of the album could be pushed back a few months. Deal with it. I could put out a really bad sounding album right now, or i could wait and release something that i can be proud of. And, since it's obviously all about me, i'll go with the latter.

I'll try to be a little better at posting more consistantly. I've been trying to put together some more video blogs, but i've been having problems with video files not working, and it's been taking a very long time. But, it's worth it, for a 2 minute video that may or may not make a maximum of 4 people laugh. Right?

And now, back to my boxes.

Cool/Not Cool

Whoops

Hey folks

Sorry it's been a while since i've posted anything. And no, i don't need to apologize to you.

but i just did.

You see, when you're a successful rock musician like myself, you don't always have the time to write blog entries. Even micro-blogging (twitter) eats up too much time. Sometimes i just need to take a break from life and seclude myself in the mountains where nobody can find me. There i'll befriend a bear, and we'll work together to fight crimes in the National Parks.




See, when i have nothing to say, i say meaningless things. Sadly, when i do have things to say, they're still meaningless.

The ABSOLUTE coolest thing i've ever seen.

Case Closed...

I know that you would all agree with me that obesity in the U.S. has been quite the mystery. How could this be? It has kept me sleepless most nights, actually.

Well, thanks to the National Post, we have found the answer. You want to know?

Overeating.

I'm so glad that we've got scientists working round-the-clock on these things. Well, they can't rest easy quite yet, there's a new pandemic that's been sweeping across the world, and we'll need their expertise to figure it out: How do they get Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to taste so good, if it's just peanut butter and chocolate?

Video Blog - Episode 002

A tour of Electric Soup Studios. Enjoy.

Video Blog - Episode 001

I'm Good

Ahh, hooked it.

Can't think of a title, so i'm using "can't think of a title" as a title.

Video blogs will be arriving shortly.

That's all i have to say about that.

Two

Freedom of Stupidity

One of the BIGGEST things that makes me mad is youtube video comments. First, if you're getting all of your political news from this website containing people getting sacked on railings and a squirrel waterskiing, you're clearly not at a point to be making rationalized political comments. Here is a comment i recently saw, regarding the news video from the recent pirate/navy seal situation. And i quote:

"Obama is a socialist dictator.. What gives him right to snipe pirates.. whats next, snipe anybody with a different opinion. What gives him this right... This is the first step to socialist dictatorship, REMOVE freedom of speech, and kill anyone who has a different opinion. Obama will bring the USA to its knees.. Vote republican for TRUE CHANGE."

Classic words. I'm willing to bet that the person making this comment was the CEO of Fox News.

Watch out, America. If i've ever seen a likeness between two people, i know for sure the most obvious is Obama and Stalin. We're just lucky we have highly trained and well-informed, non-biased individuals like the kind person above who are watching out for us and pointing these things out.


We salute you, Commander "Commie Lookout" Carl.

Letter of The Law

I divorce you.
I divorce you.
I divorce you.


That is all it takes, in a text message, to divorce your spouse in Saudi Arabia.

Remember when a divorce was a long, tedious process? Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, it is now as easy as ever. Thank goodness.


**To vote for this blog, text "Sweet Blog" to 44042. $11.95 per text message applies.**

Big Whiskey and the Rediculous Fans

I came across this video on Dave Matthews Band's website. They invited some fans into the studio to listen to their sessions, which is fine. It's fine until you realize the weirdness of the people listening, especially the weirdo who's jamming out before any sort of beat starts. Maybe i'm just over-analyzing this, but i think the look on Dave's face at the very end sums it up pretty well.

When you're in the presence of 2 of the greatest musicians to ever grace this earth, maybe show a little more grace.

Say an E-prayer for me

I never thought i'd come across something like this in my life, but unfortunately i have.

http://www.informationageprayer.com/index.html

This is a website where you can pay a monthly fee to have a computer say a prayer for you, in a text-to-speech format.

Yes, you heard me correctly.

The site is aimed for people who "don't have the time of day to say a prayer," and are made sure that "Your prayers will always be said even if you wake up late, or forget."

I am one who definitely embraces technology in worship... but there are a few instances where this is going a little far. One example would be mega-churches making money from providing their resources to other churches. And, of course, this prayer website.

Anyways, you can look at this and have a good laugh like i did, but then remember all of the people who feel like giving their money to this and being duped into believing they are becoming 'closer' to God. For them, i'm going to say a real prayer. Yes, i will take some time out of my busy schedule.

Crazy, i know.

I am stunned.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/03/24/japan-atomic-bomb-survivor.html

This is a very interesting story about a man who survived both of the atomic bombs dropped in Japan at the end of World War II.

Lucky, or unlucky?

How a man can make an order that kills 250,000+ people still perplexes me, even if it may have put an end to the war. Here is a question: When you're looking at the differences between Harry Truman and Adolf Hitler, does the intent behind their actions change how they should be treated for them? Should not both these men be in the same boat? (meaning the boat to hell...)

There's an ethics question for the masses to debate over.

Dang.

I think i'm losing my voice.

This sucks because i'm attempting to record vocals right now.

Dang.

How Sweet The Sound

This just shattered my entire universe.....

Formula

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/03/05/mb-bus-passengers.html

Here is a news story about a couple who witnessed that beheading on a greyhound bus last year. They were given counseling sessions and, yes, $450.

"You just witnessed the most horrific and terrifying thing you will ever see in your entire lifetime....Here's 450 bucks to make it better."

I think it's great that our society has a system for this to compensate in dollar amounts. Thanks, lawyers. You know, lawyer is Latin for liar. Have you ever seen a benefits plan at a job where they have the compensation listed for different injuries? If you lost a toe, you get $2000. If you lost a combination of your left index finger and 45% of the vision in your right eye, you get $3600, and so on. Just funny how people sit down to figure these things out.

Anyways, i feel terrible for these people, that they will have this irreversible and graphic image in their heads for the rest of their lives. Well, i'm sure the $450 will smooth things over.

God Bless America?

It's funny how one piece of punctuation can absolutely and completely change the meaning of that...

You may have heard the story of how a man got pepper sprayed at the Canada/U.S. border for requesting that the border crossing guard say 'please' when asking him to turn off his car. If not, you can read the story here:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/please+border+nets+Canadian+pepper+spray/1353152/story.html

It may have been a little much for this man to demand a polite request from the guard, but it's still funny how the initial reaction to the refusal of participation was 'i'm going to blast this mo' fo' in the eyes with my pepper spray.' Maybe due to the lack of interesting things that happen at border crossings, he needed to spice up his day. Maybe, add a bit of pepper for flavour?

nice.

I understand the difference between Canadians and Americans isn't something that can be formulated or even generalized. I know a lot of Americans who are kind and polite people. However, in this case, it's almost an exact replication of what is sometimes seen as the difference between the two nations' people. It's like it's a deleted scene from the movie Canadian Bacon (which, if you haven't yet seen, please do.)

After all of this, the man's eyes will go back to normal, and his life will go on. Maybe now he'll realize that demanding respect is not going to yield the best results in every scenario...

Recording Update #4 - Untitled

Just some pictures.

Ready, Willing, and Cable

A Tribute

As you may or may not know, friday was the last night for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. I have really enjoyed his program since i was but a mere child, and it was hard to watch the last episode. This is a really funny clip from a few years ago, and i thought i'd share it with the masses (all 4 of you) in case you have not seen it, and even if you have.



"Some say a waste of time, others say an incredible waste of time."

Recording Update #3 - The Other Side

Well it's been a while since i've done a recording update, so here goes.

As of now, i've completely finished recording both drums and acoustic guitar. I've now begun the process of recording vocals, which can either be the easy part or the tedious part. My sister-in-law is going to be singing additional vocals on the record, from all the way on the east side of our great country. Things are coming together nicely, to say the least. This is, by far, is going to be the longest i've taken on a record, which will be a good thing. Most times i'll start with a good pace, but then a few weeks in i'll just want to be finished and end up rushing. I'm constantly forcing myself to slow down and focus on quality.

I bought a new shaker. It sounds nice, and looks like a red pepper.

If making a record was like climbing a hill, i'd say right now i've made it past the top, on my way back down. It's refreshing to not be 'climbing' anymore and start focusing on tying up ends and putting finishing touches on things, and starting to hear things come together. The songs are beginning to take on their own personalities and stories, and i'm very happy with how things are sounding right now.

There's a chance i might be seeing the signs of a cold...so hopefully i can fight that off and not be stuck without vocals for a couple weeks.

See you all at the bottom of the hill.

'He Didn't Think It Was Wrong'

I'm in the process of trying to think up ideas for an album cover, and i happened upon this article today.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/entertainment/music/2009/02/18/8437256.html

I don't quite understand the judgment of some people. maybe it's the hot Arizona sun getting to their heads....

On another note, if you have ideas, feel free to let me know.

Beardy is Gone

I'm not sure if you heard about or saw this video, but it's amazingly uncomfortable.

Unless this is the biggest publicity stunt since Andy Kaufman vs. Jerry Lawler, this is really sad.




"Joaquin, i'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight."

I don't even know what to say....

An Interesting Find

I read this article today, and it's pretty interesting. Take a look:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/02/13/music-pain.html

I can only hope you're thinking of me when you're suffering from third-degree burns, getting hit by a subway train, being attacked by swarms of disease-carrying killer bees, or something else just as painful.

Out With The Old...

I've been trying to figure out what to use when i start recording parts for electric guitar. I thought about renting something, or trying to fix the one i have, but in the end i decided to trade in my extra acoustic for this precious little thing.

I am not, by any means, comfortable with or even have a clue about what i'm doing when i play electric. i pick up an acoustic and i'll write song after song, but then i try to write something geared towards an electric part and i become completely lost. Maybe one day i'll grow up and be able to write great songs involving 3 power chords.

Someday.....

Anyways, at least now i'll look super-cool while i'm struggling to create some kind of a different sound. I hope.

Free Doritos

Here is a pretty good commercial from the superbowl last night.

Meh, you gotta nuke something...

Recording Update #2 - Rhythm

Well, i'm glad to say i've finished recording the drums for the record. Things seem to be running along a little quicker than i expected, which is good.

I'll begin tracking guitar tomorrow night, which is going to take the most time. Hopefully i'll breeze through it like i did the drums and be done in a week or so. That would be nice, but probably not likely.

**Update**
I got a strange call from D.C. about 20 minutes after i made my last post... which is strange because i've never had a call from that part of the world, and the fact that it would happen 20 minutes after i made a post about the President of the United States is sort of strange...

I have a feeling it was Barack calling because he is upset that i don't think he's Jesus.

Let's Take a Step Back

I think things might be getting a little out of hand with Barack. He's not Jesus, people.

I understand it's exciting that he's in office and he may and hopefully will do some great things for the United States, and yes, possibly even the world. However, we're sitting pretty close to the edge of worshipping him. Notice, him with a lowercase h.

Maybe if we put as much focus back to who Jesus was and what He did instead of putting so much of our time into our 'false messiah' we could really do some good. Oh well, what has He done for us in the last couple thousand years?


Wait, that's actually so vast that it is unmeasurable.....

YES

As long as you don't pay much attention to the links on the right hand side of the page, you might think this is an original post....

Why did I waste all my time recording real drums like a sucker, when i could have hired this guy?



Classic.

Thanks to Mr. Good for finding this for me. We worked out a deal where we could steal each other's ideas whenever we wanted. We're best friends. BFF's, so to speak.

Recording Update #1 - Simplify

Well Hello...


Today was the first day of recording that I actually was able to lay down some drum tracks. After hours and hours of trying to set everything set up with the most amount of mics and trying to get as many tracks into the computer as i possibly could, i become absolutely frustrated. Thing after thing went wrong and tensions were mounting and i decided to take a bit of a break before i flipped out and punched something.

After i cooled down a bit, i decided that i really needed to simplify things. I am, in my nature, a minimalist, but for some reason when i get into the studio that all changes and i become the opposite of normal. Finally i just decided to cut down to 4 tracks and changed the mic setup to make things a little simpler. Right away things started working out and i was able to lay down tracks to all but one of the songs on the album.

Simplify, brothers and sisters.

I do find it interesting, this change in my personality when i enter the studio. I know that many other times while recording this record, i'm going to be faced with the same situation...trying to complicate things way too much, and eventually i will take a step back and re-think things. If only i could just save all that time and skip the first part......

Anyways, things (now) are flying along pretty fast, and i should be starting to record guitar parts within a week or so. As for now, i'm going to finish watching this episode of the cosby show and then make my way to bed.

Thanks for reading,

Eric Michael Braun

Something's Burning In Centralia

This is a very interesting story. At least I think so....

I came across this story today, about a town in Pennsylvania called 'Centralia.' It's not accurately documented how it happened, but a fire started in the old coal mines that were laced underneath the town. This fire started back in the 60's, and they didn't notice it until a few years later, but there is enough coal there to allow the fire to burn for up to 250 years. They attempted to put out the fire, but they could not do so. They basically just decided to live with it, but eventually holes would unexpectedly open up in the ground, spewing out toxic smoke into the air. Most people eventually moved away because of the state buying out their homes (being that it was unfit to live there) but some people stayed. The current population of the town is around a dozen people.

I found this absolutely amazing. Not even in the sense that there's an indefinite fire burning underneath a town, but that people still choose to live there, even with gaping holes in the ground expelling hazardous smoke. Simply amazing.




'There now, Pennsylvania;
My circus fire is burning.
Were you there when I started,
Or are you leaving me for good?'

This is Howie SUCK it

Last night, for some reason, I decided to attempt to watch the new nbc show "Howie Do It" and, i have to say, i was quite frustrated. For some reason, it is assumed that everybody loves Howie Mandel, and in actuality the only reason people like him is because he gives out numbered briefcases full of cash. What bothered me most was the obvious over-reactions by the studio audience. I'm somewhat used to this after shows like America's Funniest Home Videos, but in this case, it was just ridiculous. There's no way that these people honestly think these sketches are that funny. If so, these people need to get out or watch a movie or something. Or, maybe just change the channel to a different network.

I can't believe that NBC knows they're in last place in the networks and still they decide to pick up shows like this. The other networks don't always have gems, but at least they find what works for them and go with it. With ABC, it's gay hour long soap opera-like medical or "desprate-y housewive-y" shows; with CBS it's a bunch of the same mediocre sitcoms where they could swap scripts with any of the other shows of their type and it would effectively make no difference (although they've changed from their fat-guy-with-a-good-looking-wife days); FOX has aimed at the demographic of the working american who wants to come home, crack open a beer, and be able to laugh at something without processing it in his brain.

But with NBC, their anchor programs are Conan and Leno, with one night of the week set aside for quality shows. For some reason, i wouldn't be surprised if they canceled The Office or My Name Is Earl to make room for another reality show or...maybe...another show with Howie.

Enough about my frustrations about something i can't change. I'll take about something a little lighter...... um, wait, i've got nothing right now. Sorry.


You stay classy, San Diego.

Wow.

Please watch this video.

Please laugh as hard as i did.

Hey Big Spender

Yesterday i went out to rent a set of drums to record with on the new album. After several disappointing visits to a few different music stores who either didn't rent drums anymore or didn't have any available, i was very frustrated. While attempting to leave the last music store to return home and cry softly in the corner of my room, i decided to take a gander in the drum room of the music store. There were a few good deals on some pretty ugly sets, but finally i saw a really nice 4 piece Gretsch jazz set. The color they had was a little too flashy, like a white-glittery silver color. After talking to the salesman for a while i found out they had the same set in the back, still in the box, that was a natural wood finish. After a while of back-and-forthing the idea of actually buying a drumset, i decided that it made the most sense to not buy the drums.

And then i bought the drums.

Here is a picture of them, and you'll be hearing them on the new record. They sound really good and hopefully they'll add something nice to the album.

Now i am off, to start tracking drums. All is well.

E/R

For some reason i hate John Stamos so much that it makes me respect him like no other. I don't understand how that works...

This is a song from Death Cab For Cutie's latest album. The more i listen to it the more i realize how immaculate it really is...just an incredibly well put-together record. Anyways, on ER tonight John Stamos was sitting in a bar, and this song was playing in the background. I thought i'd share it with the entire world (because everyone in the world reads this) in case you haven't heard it. That was my tie-in to the Stamos comment, in case you didn't put them together.

Please enjoy responsibly.

I am a Rabid Anti-Dentite

Well today I had a wicked-bad toothache, so I caved and went to the dentist. (the first time in a few years.) Let's just say, it was not pleasant. I would go on about how much i hate dentists and how much i think the whole oral hygienist industry is a sham, but i'll save that for another day, because i am tired.

Also to note: I added a song here and on the site. It is a cover of a Dave Matthews Band version of a Johnny Cash cover of a song written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin. Simple enough? Well, either way, i think it's a cool song. Just something to hopefully lessen the dullness that 'flood' and 'honest mistakes' have created sitting there, alone, for so long.

Goodnight, and good luck.

So It Begins...

Hey Folks.

About a year and a half ago I played around with the idea of writing a blog. After many weeks of being back and forth, I finally decided that nobody would read it and I would just be wasting my time, and I should use my better judgement and stay away from that idea.

Well, nothing has changed, besides the fact that I have decided to not use my better judgement anymore.

The main idea behind this blog is to keep people updated on things involving myself and my music, and not to bore you with my thoughts on current events or thinking up deep, intellectual writings. More of an informal news page to keep you in the loop about the recording process or shows or funny things that may have happened to me in a day. Believe it or not, sometimes I get myself into amusing and awkward situations. Seriously, they could create a sitcom about my life and it would quickly bypass Cheers and Seinfeld in the all-time ratings.

Thanks for tuning in, and hopefully I’ll see you around here sometime soon.