When we left Wisconsin at the end of October, we had a plan for the winter:
- November--Finish our Christmas CD
- December--Get the Music Ready for Larry Smith's CD, Brand New Good Old Time Gospel Songs
- January through March--Lots and lots of learning
Amazingly, we are still on schedule. The Christmas CD came out on time and we finished Larry's music New Year's Eve. But the next couple of months promise to keep us quite busy. Sonar, the recording software I have been using since the late 80's was dropped by it's parent company. So, I purchased a new DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) called Studio One. I also purchased a large number of Studio One training videos. I've been working with it since January 1st, and it seems to be a really powerful software suite, but the learning curve, so far, has been pretty steep. If I average 3-4 hours a day, I should be fairly proficient within a month or so. Thankfully, most of the third-party mixing tools that I own, and very comfortable with, work with my new DAW.
Other things we are going to work on while we are here this winter are social media strategies to increase our play time on music streaming services. We have about 8 hours of training videos that we purchased last summer, but could not find the time to fully devote to this initiative. When we implement these strategies, we should see a big jump in our number of plays on things like Spotify or Amazon Music, and also increase the size of our mailing list. Kathy will be taking the lead on this, since I don't have, nor do I want, a FaceBook account. Part of this effort involves video. We got a camcorder a couple of weeks ago, but sent it back... You get what you pay for. A much be$$er one arrived on Wednesday. Hopefully, we'll start posting more videos on YouTube as well.
Lastly, this winter we will be doing the music for a new Robb and Kathy CD. We have songs from four different song writers that God has placed in our path over the years, and there is more than enough good material for us to do a 10-12 song CD. However, Kathy and I got some videos on song writing techniques. As much as we enjoy developing songs for others, we would like to have more of our own songs on this next CD. So we'll be working on that as well.
Hopefully, we will stay on track with everything, because when we get back, we'll be focusing on our new house. They're delivering it to our lot in Elroy, WI today!
We had the honor of leading worship at Desert Hope Church in Phoenix this last Sunday. The congregation was very welcoming, and Pastor Jareb gave an inspiring message. He was finishing an Advent series of sermons on hope, joy, peace, and love, and how that should look as a Christian lives out his or her daily life.
We had a lot of fun doing the music for Larry Smith's songs. On January 2nd we sent Larry a CD with 10 of his songs put to music, and me singing what are referred to as reference vocals. These are for Larry to practice with, so that he can be ready to record them in our studio when we return in the spring. My voice is only coming through one speaker/headphone. That way Larry can sing along with me to get comfortable with the arrangements. Once he is comfortable with the arrangement, he can sing along with just the music. Besides editing, mixing and mastering Larry's CD, Kathy and I will also do the harmonies and prepare the artwork for the CD cover. I love retirement!
Here is a link to one of Larry's songs called, I Praise my Lord and Savior,
Also.. Here's a video of Kathy and I working on his music in our RV "studio." The video gives you a little insight into the process we go through with mixing, as well as me recording a reference vocal. All audio in this video is recorded with the built in mic on our camcorder, and, therefore, not studio quality.
As always, feel free to leave a comment.
Robb and Kathy
We arrived in Phoenix Saturday, December 1st, by way of Cottonwood Arizona. It was a pleasant and uneventful ride. The only issue was ear popping as we went up and down in elevation on our way through the mountains north of Phoenix. Kathy and I were grateful that there were no more mechanical issues to deal with. 
This was really a learn-as-you-go process. 
Hi. It’s been a while since I sent out a blog post. I got a bad cold in mid-September that seems to want to hang on forever. It’s still bothering me, but I seem to be back to about 95%. Getting out of Wisconsin this fall was harder than usual this year--physically and emotionally. Kathy and I have wanted to get a house built on our property in Elroy for the last couple of years, and this year we finally got it done—at least all the paperwork... Finalizing everything was amazingly time consuming. Our new house should be waiting for us when we get home. The emotional part was that we had hoped to stay until Thanksgiving, but the house situation didn’t cooperate, and, trust me, you don’t want to stay in Wisconsin until the end of November in an RV. So, we’ll miss another holiday with family. 
We left Wisconsin October 30th, and the trip to Arizona had a bit of a hiccup. We broke a leaf spring on our RV. When you have your rig packed to its weight capacity, it’s a good idea to drive a little slower. You never know when you’re going to hit a big dip or series of nasty bumps. My rush to get to our next stop transformed a one night stay into an 
couple of months in Wisconsin. Two weeks ago we drove up to Oconto Gospel Chapel. We sang at both services and shared from the Word. Afterwards we went to lunch and got to spend special time with others from the church. Special thanks to our friends John and Mary Sellen. They provided us a place to stay at their home on the night before. We are always thankful for their hospitality, and grateful for their friendship. 
Back in in 1984 my friend, Bob, showed me a picture of a guy with a stringer of bass slung over his shoulder, much like this one taken of me earlier this week. (The biggest one was 6 lb 2 oz.) Anyway... Bob told me that he was planning to go to the same resort as the guy in the original picture in hopes of a similar outcome. I immediately asked if it was ok for us to go along. This began a yearly tradition for both families that lasted for many, many years. Just about all of the kids from both families have been back to the area as adults. Although Bob and his family no longer visit the area, our family still does. This year, over the span of three weeks, 
Hosted by Jim and Jill Dillon, Whippoorwill Resort offers accommodations from tent and RV camping to housekeeping cabins along with boat docks, pontoon and boat rentals, water toys, a playground, laundry facilities, and a beautiful sandy beach. Not that I pay much attention to that stuff. My routine consists of walking from the cabin, to the boat, and the fish cleaning house. Other activities for me include eating, sleeping, and the occasional family campfire.
