46 replies to this topic

[TonyG]

Just curious as to what everyone's plans are for 2012. What would you like to do or achieve? What piece of kit would you like to get your mitts on?

I plan to do a little traveling. Would like to join my best friend Gareth in his studio to do some tracks and would like to get an i,Pad.

Feel free to chime in...

[Cheyne]

I plan on doing more travelling, mainly in europe.

I plan to do more production but just havnt figured out the logistics of that yet.

Iv quit full time work and am currently doing short term contract work. Im going to go for jobs that I love to do instead of taking jobs based on pay cheques. Im leaving the banking sector and going to try working for some start ups on some more creative projects..... that dont involve finance

Im going to do more with my photography this year ... im not sure what. but something other than snapping and storing.

[Jester_Fu]

My plan was to get the first post for '12 on soundpunk.

Goal achieved - i'm fucking awesome.

[ryanedward85]

I'd also like to do more traveling. No other major plans lined up yet.. too early I guess.


Happy New Year everyone

[Mark Shaw]

The Girlfriend and I would like to take our Mini Cooper S cross country and see the sights, East To West.

[rhythmboy]

Jester_Fu, on 01 January 2012 - 02:18 PM, said:

My plan was to get the first post for '12 on soundpunk.

Goal achieved - i'm fucking awesome.

Nice work Jester

Happy new year everyone!

Main goals for 2012:
- finish my PhD - finally
- go to Barcelona to present a paper that references soundpunk as a platform for 'computer mediated communication' at a conference in June
- take my wife to Barcelona and Paris while I'm there
- get back into playing more music - doing a bit with Ehsan at the mo

[Spectrum]

Ooooh... 2012.

Oh well, before the world ends this year, I'd like to:

1) Sort out my acoustic drum rig (or at the very least, some sort of hybrid thing with electronic pads combined with acoustic snare and cymbals). Kinda need to get some finances into gear to make that happen.

2) Get some regular live playing happening... with the jazz/funk/fusion/concert group at the local Conservatorium of Music being a real aspiration worth striving for.

What else?

Heading over to Vietnam for a 7 day tour end of March... a rare perk of the job, and absolutely thrilled at the prospect of getting amongst it with a camera+lens-or-three!


PS.... RB, love the Barcelona! In fact, I reckon I'd love all of Spain. A highlight from our short but sweet Europe trip. Park Güell, now there's a place to drop a trip for the afternoon! And getting snippets of Ehsan's projects... some ridiculously cool stuff coming out of there!

[M.jerrick]

Best of luck with the PHD and your visit to Espana RB.
Hope you enjoy Vietnam Spectrum. My girlfriend keeps bending my ear about visiting Vietnam soon.
major plans or commitments for this year... so far.

[rhythmboy]

^^ Thanks guys, yeah everyone raves about Barcelona, a small shame it will be mostly for work with not enough time for sightseeing

Do want to get to the Pampau Fabra University if I can - they have an awesome research team the Music Technology Group there - responsible for the freesound.org project, the Open Opera MPEG-7 project, and the birthplace of the Reactable controller as used by Bjork.

Would love to get to Vietnam too, Cheyne's experiences were illuminating - seems the south is the easiest introduction to the country...

[em]

Undecided as yet. I am at a two-way intersection. A fork. A spork.

Trying to decide whether to stay in my city whilst still riding high on the crest of C-grade stardom, keep up the fun gigging with well-established band (with really awesome members, we absolutely 'get' each other) , continue with cruisy job in the music industry...HAPPY!...or move very far away for post-grad study which should lead to abundant riches and play grown-ups with my dude in a pretty forest. (Who also happens to have extremely good/expensive audio gear)

Time to 'grow up'? I suppose it all comes down to one's expectations and sense of entitlement in life. Is Dr Phil on Soundpunk?

[Cheyne]

Awesome, sounds like everyone has some great plans coming up.

RB: Wow that sounds impressive. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you with your presentation. Images, design, new features etc. FYI the articles section will be back soon, iv had some issues with it im working through.

Spectrum: Nice one .. Yea, iv got plenty of advice about Vietnam if you want it. Spent almost a month there earlier this year. There’s lots of things to be aware of first. If you’ve got time, Luang Prabang in Laos is a beautiful little spot to visit with your Mrs.

Em: Tough decisions hey? Sounds like it. Unfortunately Dr Phil isn’t a SoundPunk member But it sounds to me like your still loving life where you are now …

[Spectrum]

Cheyne, on 06 January 2012 - 08:35 PM, said:

Spectrum: Nice one .. Yea, iv got plenty of advice about Vietnam if you want it. Spent almost a month there earlier this year. There’s lots of things to be aware of first. If you’ve got time, Luang Prabang in Laos is a beautiful little spot to visit with your Mrs.

Always up for hot tips! Though this is a 'work' trip, fixed itinerary tour with Intrepid, into Saigon, fly up to Da Nang (staying Hoi An), then fly up to Hanoi (including day cruise Halong Bay), with just 2 nights accommodation in each. Free time is really only Saigon first night and Hanoi last day. With all that in mind, any must dos? I'm all ears!

Yeah, would love to have time/money/family-with-me to extend it out into Laos plus Cambodia (Angkor Wat), but it'll have to be for a next time...

[ryanedward85]

Laos is a beautiful country. Just a pity that visas are so damned expensive (same goes for Vietnam and Cambodia).

[Spectrum]

Are the visas expensive on arrival? And I understand it can be done on arrival, just a pain after a long flight etc. It seems getting them beforehand, especially with any additional agency/courier charges makes them especially pricey to arrange.

[rhythmboy]

em, on 06 January 2012 - 05:15 PM, said:

Undecided as yet. I am at a two-way intersection. A fork. A spork. Trying to decide whether to stay in my city whilst still riding high on the crest of C-grade stardom, keep up the fun gigging with well-established band (with really awesome members, we absolutely 'get' each other) , continue with cruisy job in the music industry...HAPPY!...or move very far away for post-grad study which should lead to abundant riches and play grown-ups with my dude in a pretty forest. (Who also happens to have extremely good/expensive audio gear) Time to 'grow up'? I suppose it all comes down to one's expectations and sense of entitlement in life. Is Dr Phil on Soundpunk?

The transition from 'free spirit' to 'grown-up' happens to most of us at some stage - I think it's about knowing when the time is right for each individual. Those who manage to sustain the independent band/recording life are more the B+ to A-grade stars, and even then many find it's time to settle down one day, or ease back at least.

Also in the music industry generally, it is most common for musicians to take multiple paths throughout the career - very few stay in the same thing for ever, so I'd accept change as a matter of course. I feel blessed that I got to work on a couple of dozen albums with different people, play in lots of different bands with some awesome people, play gigs around the world, meet some real 'players' in the scene, but have no regrets that it hasn't lasted forever. We each have our time in the sun... I'm just as happy now helping the next generation of aspiring stars to achieve their dreams and get genuine happiness from seeing them succeed.

Myself, I've done the shift from freelance, single, city-based living to employed, married, and living in the country. For me the time was right. I still work in the city, catch up with my friends for a jam every couple of weeks and go to the odd party, but I now enjoy the slower pace even more. Surrounded by nature, going to be earlier, eating better, great community of artists in my town, being with my better half every night... wouldn't trade it for anything But ask me 5 years ago if that's what I wanted and the answer would be very different

[Vagrant Producer]

Well given the last 3 years have consisted of; live with parents to save for 6 month overseas holiday, have holiday, live with parents to save to buy house, buy house - with not much opportunity to write music - I am pretty pumped to write a lot of music.

Other plans are (in no particular order); learn to build shit, learn to fix shit, build new shit at house, fix shit that breaks at house, fall into a lot of money so I can quit my job, have a kid, find a job that inspires me a lot more than IT (and that hopefully pays as well or better), do some online courses on something of interest.

[ryanedward85]

That's a hell of a lot of shit VP.

[Vagrant Producer]

yeah im full of it apparently

[ryanedward85]

Going to visit my Girlfriends family in the Philippines in a few weeks. Whilst there we plan to go swimming with some very friendly Whale Sharks in Cebu. Really looking forward to that.

[ryanedward85]

I had planned to take my girlfriend to Paris, Rome and around Italy and Southern France for a romantic holiday. I just found out she booked the same trip with some of her classmates instead. She new of my plans which makes it twice as insulting. Needless to say things are rather frosty at the moment.