Rick Reifenstein

I just sent 2 demo tracks to Jingle Tracks for review. One question I always pause at is genre. Not that I'm trying to be all rock and roll and say that "you can't label me man."; it's that to call my tracks classical is not correct. There are symphonic elements, but there are Rock and Electronic elements as well all mixed together. When I'm composing something to be used as a soundtrack; I choose instruments according to sound and how that sounds supports the overall feel of what I am trying to achieve. I also updated my Gamsutra page and included blog entry too.

I took on a new guitar student and gave his first lesson last night. One thing I really focused on in our first lesson was posture. While I don't believe my carpal tunnel problems were caused by playing the guitar, I am more aware now about the effects of tension in the arms and hands while playing. Immediate fatigue is one thing but the long term effects can more harmful and leave one drastically impaired. As a result the student told me today that my lesson was the first one (out of many in the past) he felt gave him any sense on how to hold the guitar. He felt more comfortable and capable to play the guitar than in past lessons. I am so pleased. Learning an instrument can be both rewarding and frustrating. The former usually out ways the latter. On to studio news: I've been working on compiling tracks to send to a licensing company. The trick for me is always deciding on which tracks to include. They are asking for two. Now which two? Not much work as been done on the Evans

I was asked recently now technology 5 years from now may change the way students use the library. Below is my response. More computers will come with alternative user interfaces like multi-touch screens, better voice and facial recognition so humans can interact with computers in a more intuitive and natural way. The reference desk becomes an interactive touch screen with optical components that can read a students ID card and instantly bring up past books checked out, books due, fines, etc. The librarian can check a book out by placing the book on the desktop then drag a tag to the students ID card with information about when the book is due back. This would trigger an email to the student a few days ahead of the due date. A researcher could take a book from the stacks go to a touch screen with optical components and see the metadata attached to the book. The researcher can make a more informed decision on whether the book they found will actually have the information they need. Goi

Wednesday I traveled into my sonic past after re-imaging a studio machine with windows XP. I know, I know why xp. Well I have many old pieces of software that I used to use since 98 and really enjoyed using them. Some of the software has little abilities that some new sequencers have dropped. Plus running these bits of software today on a faster machine with tons more ram allows me to enjoy the software the way I never could before. Plus it it’s like putting on a old great pair of shoes or that great pair of broken in jeans. One such software is Fruity Loops. Fruity Loops 3.4 to be exact. In 2000 I used fruity loops for Digital Buddha material. I like the step sequencer interface but really liked the sampler software that I could then plug in a trigger with the sequencer. I was able to create pieces that didn’t sound like typical 4/4 sequence driven tracks. Fast forward to today where I am doing a lot of soundtrack composing. Is there a place for Fruity Loops in soundtrack c

I started back to work on the Evans City DVD soundtrack on Sunday. However the power adapter for the external drive was left at the University so I wasn't able to create new project files in Logic to get a sense of where things are as far as progress goes. I've got to commit to some more time if for no other reason than to get my mind on the right frame of mind. My hiccup in writing this soundtrack will be when we get into the WW2 era. I never wrote big band stuff before. We'll have to wait and see how that all goes! :-)

Monday night I sifted through the box of tapes that were found in the old studio in Pennsylvania. Most of the tapes were from mid to later 90's sessions. We were living on Mount Washington in Pittsburgh and I was writing and recording in a small room with glass doors that overlooked the back street and a huge oak tree. It felt like I was in a tree house. I dubbed the studio "Rear View Studio" and wrote two soundtracks for live theater productions while there. I wrote the music for Carlow College's production of "As You Like It" and Pyramid Theater's Production of "El Salvador" performed at the Lester Hamburg Theater. I wrote and recorded solo material that was never released as well. I didn't label all the tapes as well as I do now so I had to listen to them all. Some were labeled very well as you can see in the photo above. As a side note the first song on the track list of the tape in the photo is "Waking of Dragons" which was r

This business is full in interesting people. With every interesting person you have yet another interesting view on life. That said; I've been trying to contact Gary Streiner about writing music for the next Living Dead Festival. Last year was a lot of fun and really enjoyed being a part of the festival. This year brought a new website and I'm sure some new and exciting features to the festival. I've sent several email to Gary but have heard nothing back. It seems he wants to go a different direction this year. That's fine, it's the way things go. However an email back stating as much would be better than no response at all. The family had a great 4th of July weekend. Great food, and a relaxing weekend! The studio calls me from the basement to come and play. The newly installed dehumidifier is doing a great job in making the studio a welcoming place; so I may heed it's call. I am close to having enough music to release at least one CD. I still am working on a co