While there are a lot of public Jamulus servers, there are reasons one might want to run their own server. For instance, we like to use an unregistered server when we practice. To do that, we spin up a Jamulus server at VULTR. It’s quick, easy and very cost effective if you only run it when needed.
With the instructions and startup script below, you can have a Jamulus server running on a virtual private server in about 5 minutes. Yes, it’s that quick.
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This week’s random photo comes from an apartment window in Windsor Terrace. While the subject and the verb might not agree, personally, I agree with the sentiment.
I read Deep Work a couple months ago and have since put some of his recommendations into practice. For the most part, it’s been about taking control of my calendar, which–combined with some other practices–has carved out a fair amount of time for me to get more meaningful work done. I also (re)subscribed to Cal Newport’s blog, hence the trio of links below.
We had a particularly good jam session this Friday. I attribute part of that to the fact that I’ve been good about picking up the bass (almost) every day, even if it is just to run scales for a few minutes. The lead singer having sampled some cava prior to the session may have had something to do with it as well. None of these sessions would happen without Jamulus, such an amazing piece of software.
David Johansen died on Friday. There are much better pictures of Mr. Johansen out there, but I only have this one that I took. He was the Mermaid King at the 2005 Mermaid Parade. I first knew Johansen as Buster Poindexter, likely from his stint on SNL. It would be a couple more years before I was introduced to the New York Dolls. Rest in peace, David.
Something else died on Friday. Our President and Vice President berated an ally in full display of the media for not saying thank you. What a couple of assholes. Zelenskyy remained composed, which just made them all the more upset. One of the members of the White House’s hand-picked press pool joined in by mockingly questioning the Ukrainian President’s attire. It was a sorry display. At least everyone knows where this administration stands now, if they didn’t already. Timothy Snyder’s post, The War Trump Chooses, is a good analysis of this.
We didn’t really have quorum for our Jamulus jam this Friday without a singer, but we forged ahead anyway. Perhaps it goes without saying, but not having vocals makes it much harder to remember where the changes are. It was a good time nonetheless. I think I’m learning to project more when I sing, because my wife shut the door to “the studio” during this session. This also says a lot about the quality of my singing.
Posting better mix for our cover of Joe Jackson’s Look Sharp! This was from a 2024 Jamulus session and remixed by my friend Todd Evans. Contrast this with my original mix here. Yes, I have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to mixing.
We recorded our jam again this week since last week’s didn’t take advantage of the our multi-client Jamulus setup to separate our vocal and instrument tracks. I think it sounds better, although, one might be hard pressed to tell the difference unless they are doing the mixing.
Speaking of mixing, I think I need some guidance. This week, I bumped up the bass per request (hopefully not too much), but I’m at a loss on what to do with the vocals. I’m going to ship one of the songs off to a friend with a degree in audio engineering and a ton of experience. After he finishes laughing at my attempts to mix this, perhaps he can give some direction.
Unfortunately, there is more noise in this week’s recording. I think it’s coming from network delays. I’d like to verify that this is the case to understand if there is anything we can do to minimize it.
Here’s a taste of the session. I only flubbed a couple times. FYI, you can also check out the remix of this same track. It’s much better!
