Reality Checkpoint

Modern Food

2011-07-09T21:53:00.005-04:00

I spend a portion of my free time watching food network shows. My favorite is Chopped. This is an elimination competition where 4 chefs compete and are given a basket of disparate ingredients and first have to make an appetizer. Then they eliminate one chef so then three chefs have to make an entree and then down to two chefs who make dessert. They are given a short time limit to do this and are judged on creativity and ability to transform the ingredients and make them work together. I've learned a lot of good cooking techniques from this show but here seems to be so much pretension in the descriptions these days. Making a balsamic reduction with a sweet potato coulis drizzled with aoli over hand torn pasta. I personally pour stuff over food but these chefs drizzle! They make a deconstructed french toast and I make a fried egg on toast..etc. Any way I'm learning to be a better cook and am starting to get some great results. But the difference between my cooking and TV cooking is that I'm trying to make healthier meals. They pile on the cheese and butter and sugar and salt and bacon and deep fry because [and I quote] "The fat is the flavor" Also I have been disappointed in a number of restaurant meals lately. I made a winning dish tonight and want to share the recipe with you. Steamed vegetables and sauteed Chinese black mushrooms over rice with Tahini sauce. Broccoli, onion, turnip,zucchini steamed for 8- 10 minutes [don't over do it] the vegs should still have a little crunch to them. I had the black mushrooms soaking in water in the fridge for a couple of days [cut off the stems and discard but save all the liquid] chop mushroom tops into medium size pieces and saute in peanut oil with a little soy sauce until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the pre-cooked rice and the liquid from the mushrooms and stir it together and cook for a minute or two. Take Tahini paste and add water until the consistency let's it pour easily [don't over do it] put the rice and mushrooms on the bottom of a bowl, put the steamed vegs on top and pour over the Tahini sauce..you can add a little soy sauce to taste. And that's it....healthy but very flavorful and the sauteed mushrooms and mushroom stock make a potentially boring steamed vegetable dish come to life.. Enjoy and let me know if you cook this and how it tuns out.

Back in the saddle again

2011-07-03T22:34:00.004-04:00

It has been quite a while since I've written. It's been an intense year since last summer. We lost someone close to us and there's been a real struggle to adjust. But now things are moving forward in a nice way. Made some major upgrades to the studio including acoustic treatments and a high end clock for the converters. Lately I've been producing a number of projects. Finished 3 songs for texas/blues/rock artist Diamond Joe Siddons [we even got some airplay in Australia]. We're at the mixing stage for singer songwriter Maureen Russell's EP [she's been my go to backup singer for projects like The Bramblemen and Inwood Jones].

Lately I've been engineering @ Parkhill studio in Yonkers and working on a couple of Indian devotional cds. Big thanks to Cliff Hackford [who's the tabla player and percussionist on both projects as well as owner of Parkhill.]. I've recently added video editing to my list of services and have been working on my first 2 video editing projects [using Final Cut Pro] It's tougher than pro tools for sure but I've been working hard at mastering it. Lots of good stuff on the horizon including tracks on the Garage band Stones and Garage Band Monkees tribute cds at the end of August. And a couple of new songs I've been working on for too long and am scheduled to finish for submission to a couple of TV shows. I promise to write more often..

Dawn of a new era.

2010-04-18T17:09:00.001-04:00

I's a tumultuous time. A time of spectacular failures of institutions once considered rock solid. Banks, investment firms and car companies have all fallen victim to greed and mismanagement of their business models. And major record labels are about to fail as well. The old templates for commerce are based on the concept of scarcity and unlimited profits above all else. They pushed this concept to the limit and failed, taking many people's savings and investments with them. Old school scam artists in modern drag like Bernard Madoff and his network of thieves, played upon peoples' greed to the tune of over 50 Billion dollars. More lives affected and more uncertain futures. Car companies, who 25 years ago remained unconscious of the influx of well made smaller Japanese cars, are now bankrupt and still wondering where they went wrong. No longer able to shove huge, vaguely militaristic [or in the case of the Hummer, converted military] vehicles down America's throats. Billions spent on advertising SUVs only slightly smaller than the mighty titanic! Record labels manipulating the charts by throwing money at a record to make sales climb [you don't still think it's a meritocracy, do you?]. Radio promoters pushing songs to radio station costs a lot of $$. Advertising an artist is expensive. Bribery, extortion and even violence have always been part of the business of music promotion. The point I'm making is the old templates of doing business are all failing as they're built on outmoded models. Morality, community, abundance and networking have never been a part of corporate charters or corporate culture. We have an amazing opportunity to sail in uncharted waters and create new models of business and living based on morality,community and abundance. Where music creation is honored and rewarded [and not by boring fake awards shows on TV].

It's a new world order [don't kid yourself the rich and pwerful corporations will still hang on and try to relive the past but we finally have a foothold.

Looking ahead, flourishing in hard times.

2009-03-29T13:04:00.007-04:00

I've been giving a lot of thought lately about the projects I've been working on. Some of them are great and I like the artists and the music and some of it I don't like as much but I feel I have to do to survive. I always give 100% to every project but if I can relate to the artist and the music I try to give 150%. I just read an article about 3 recording engineers in Belfast and I'm quoting them here. "we're not here to make money, we make money to be here" This is such a cool philosophy that I'm re-dedicating myself to that concept. There are so many studios taking anyone who shows up at their door with money and so many artists looking for some kind of bargain I feel there's something missing from that equation. The missing factor is whether of not the studio and the engineer is right for your project and vice versa. These guys are going out and finding bands that they like and recording with them. Then we get into the realm of connectivity and sustainability in the sense that the studio is connected with your world and your fellow musicians. This is how you create networking and repeat clientele. The bass player in one project comes back with a side project and the drummer in that side project comes back with his main band etc. Hard to develop if the studio is just catching random one off projects. Another benefit of this plan of action is the sharing of opportunities that inevitably come up. There's a local band that I'm friends with and who I included on a compilation of local recording artists. Then I remixed a track for them for free for another purpose. I got the lead singer a TV interview that I was part of [they came to Zeroville and filmed a segment where they called me a virtuoso!...you can't really trust TV :) As a result ,now I'm working on songs for their upcoming ep as well as a full length solo cd with the guitar player who I hooked up with a gig in another band I produced and recorded...and so the web grows. I've had the biggest success in situations where I included other people and was not all about myself. Share the wealth and it will grow. Poverty thinking breeds poverty. This is my plan on how to prosper in hard times.

Building relationships

2009-01-18T10:04:00.006-05:00

Building relationships is one of the most important skills in the music business. You can be highly experienced, have the best gear, have good advertising etc. but if your personality turns off people, what good is all the other stuff? Awareness of what your potential clients are looking for should be your first priority. There are many instances where I have to be the reality checkpoint for artists who don't have a lot of experience in the studio and have unrealistic expectations and goals. The producer/engineer or studio owner has to educate their clients in such a way as not to be condescending about the facts. Whether or not they end up working with you, as part of your job you need to be helpful and informative and have a positive attitude. We all know that the process of choosing a studio or producer or engineer can be a very personal one, and although most times it's just about price, it can be as simple as chemistry. You may be the nicest person and all your friends like you and your pets can't live without you but not everyone else will think the same. You have only your website and your phone manner to rely upon. You never meet all your potential clients, so there's a small window of opportunity to make an impression. One basic way to accomplish this is to be a team player. This is not as easy as it sounds in the ME ME ME world. You need to communicate to your client that you are there for them and it's not about all you. Not to say you can't sell yourself [just don't over-hype your abilities or achievements as that's always a turn off].

for those looking for a manager or record label

2009-01-01T09:20:00.003-05:00

Hi, I think it's time for some education in the music biz . I've seen this day after day on different message boards. Songwriter/recording artists asking for a manager, publishing deal or a record label to sign them. All over the country people are looking for the magic way to stardom. I blame the whole Star search/American Idol mentality for this phenomenon. The fantasy that "If only someone would hear my music they would instantly know what an amazing talent I am" Then they would put me in a limo and carry me away to stardom and get fantastic gigs where a huge audience would show up etc. They would invest the sizeable amount of money , time and dedication it takes to promote an artist. THIS IS A FANTASY. I think you need to know that you'll NEVER get what you're looking for just by posting on Craigs List or any other message board. You may be quite talented and have a look and you may even have great music [I haven't heard your stuff but it doesn't matter] THERE ARE NO MANAGERS, PUBLISHERS OR RECORD LABELS SEARCHING FOR YOU~!!!! Even if they were what do you have to offer them? The only thing you would have to offer any manager is a fully operational business that has grown to the point that you are no longer able to manage it youself. No one will work for free anymore which is what you're asking...no one cares if you have RAW talent. What you need to do is put a business plan into action yourself and build a fan base that is consistent to the point where you can attract a manager who will then take a percentage of your already flowing revenue stream to bring you to a hopefully higher level of venue/audience etc. This is the current business model, and the sooner you understand this the less time you'll spend hoping for someone to come along and do the hardest part of the work for you [YOU NEED TO DO THIS YOURSELF!!!! THE PAINFUL SLOW PROCESS OF BUILDING YOUR MUSIC BUSINESS CAREER TO THE POINT IT SUSTAINS YOU FINANCIALLY] Then and only then can you choose the right management team for you. next time "Choosing the right team" good luck

Same old video...Christmas song video

2008-11-17T09:06:00.006-05:00

Well we did it. Yesterday with the help of Laura Fay [blisstones] and Trip [Om designs] And Pam Scott {PMS management} we shot the video for "Same Old Christmas Song" http://www.oldies.com/product-view/12572.html. It's on a nationally distributed compilation cd with Shadows of Knight, Henry Gross. Glen Burtnick and others. It's already a top selling cd on the oldies.com site. We had some crazy lo-fi set design as you can see in the short poor quality video from my other camera posted below. The video shoot went really well and we all had a lot of fun shooting it. It's completely no budget and basically a wild performance of the song. We're going to edit this week and will have it up on youtube and on harleyfine.com as well as anywhere else that will show it. I'll be posting the song for downloads this week and sendijg it out to radio stations. Hey for $1.50 you can have a copy of the ANTI-CHRISTMAS SONG, CHRISTMAS SONG "Same Old Christmas Song by Harley Fine [www.harleyfine.com] .You'll be supporting good original music and musicians who are working really hard. It's like pre-sex offender Gary Glitter meets Ozzy Osbourne with a little Quiet Riot thrown in! Trip is insane as the drummer and Laura Fay looks amazing on bass and jaunty hat. Special thanks to Pam Scott [PMS Management] for her brilliant camerawork and Richard Mazda [producer of Wall of Voodoo/The Fleshtones/The JB's] for the gracious loan of camera and lights]

Zen & the art of home studio maintenance

2008-11-03T08:17:00.003-05:00

NYC November 3, 2008 8am [or is it 9am] Woke up this morning after 4 hours of sleep and daylight savings time messing with my already jetlagged life. I was thinking about some recent experiences in other people's studios. One of the things I do is travel to professional and home studios either to engineer or for pre-production or to teach Pro tools basics. Many times I'll be there helping to optimize an already existing setup. I seen some extremely idiosyncratic setups. This is where the studio owner/artist has some crazy wiring schemes that make total sense to them and are totally counter-intuitive. They've worked this way for a while and, not knowing anything else is possible, have gotten comfortable with working this way. This works ok if you're the only person to use the equipment or you have only a limited amount of gear but when you start to introduce outboard preamps compressors etc, it becomes apparent very quickly that things can be improved. Now I don't consider myself a lazy person but I don't like working harder than I have to. For the most part, anything I'm commenting on, I've been guilty of in the past. One of the best things you can do in your home studio is get a patch bay for all of your equipment. There are several types including 1/4" /RCA/ XLR/ Bantam. The decision as to which one to use will be apparent when you list the number and type of inputs and outputs and any future growth you plan and oh yeah..your budget. Patchbays are not sexy like compressors or microphones and can cost a lot more when you add up all the cables and time it takes to plan and install. But I guarantee you will never want to go back to not having one. No more crawling around on your hands and knees with a flashlight in your mouth trying to trace wires in the back of your rack wtih people sitting around waiting. As I said earlier that was me in the past. One item that I consider a studio must have [especially in setting up a patchbay] is a cable tester. It doesn't need to be expensive, I think mine was $35 but it's been invaluable when signal goes down and you can quickly see if it's the cable and not your expensive piece of gear. It will save you a ton of time tracing which wires go where when you're setting up cable snakes etc as the testers have a signal output tone to make sure you're plugged inot the channel or gear you intended to. It will also save you money when you have a professional in your studio and you don't have to take time to figure out your secret personal wiring system while you're paying them by the hour! Now for the Zen part of this story. It occurred to me in my half awake state that the level of organization and ease of operation of your studio setup is analagous to how easy it is to operate your life. The easier it is to operate your life the more opportunities you can recognize and take advantage of. It's like the crazy notion if you have a clean and uncluttered workspace you wont have any creativity..when just the opposite is true. Have fun make music. harley

Michael Aguirre of the Blisstones

2008-10-24T00:49:00.001-04:00

I've been engineering the debut solo album from Michael Aguirre of the Blisstones and I have to tell you, you're in for a real treat when this comes out in 2009. It's a really cool andinteresting project and some very talented musicians are on there especially Joe Magistro [Rich Robinson band, The Black Crowes] on drums...he's one of the best drummer I've had the pleasure to work with and made me sound like a genius

Finally...The Bramblemen debut cd.

2008-10-24T00:47:00.004-04:00

Well..... after 2 years of hard work we finally completed the Bramblemen debut cd "FAST TRAIN TO MEMPHIS" The brainchild of Rich Bloom who began the project as a movie treatment and ended up writing and recording the sound track There's a cavalcade of talent that appears on this one. Including Ian Lloyd [Stories "Brother Louie"] Bill Cunningham [The Boxtops] Steve Holley [Paul McCartney & Wings, Ian Hunter band] Job Graboff [Ryan Adams, Beat Rodeo]. Richard Mazda [producer of Wall of Voodoo, The Fleshtones, the JB's] co-produced the title track with me and I produced and engineered 4 other tracks and mixed 9 out of the 10 tracks. I also appear in the video for Fast Train as a nasty bartender!

Reality check #1 oct 22 2008 nyc

2008-10-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

REALITY CHECK #1 OCT 22 2008 NYC This is the spot where I get to share the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve had in depth conversations with engineers, producers and musicians about music and recoding and as a result have picked up quite a few ideas that can help you be more productive, save money and have an easier time in the recording studio. CLICK CLICK BANG BANG For this premiere reality check I want to talk about something I’ve encountered too many times in the studio. I’m guilty of this bad habit as well in some of my personal recording projects. This will be true for evey recording session you do at home and plan to bring to another studio to mix or overdub and for that matter every recording session you do anywhere......... YOU MUST CREATE A CLICK TRACK! i can’t tell you the number of hours of recording time and money I’ve seen wasted on trying to replace a drum track that’s slowing down and speeding up. And that’s not the whole problem as most times the rest of the tracks were played to this faulty drum beat and are off rhythm as well. It’s a terrible waste of time and money and can wreak havoc on your creative flow as well as your budget. If your drummer tells you he can’t play to a click a] you know he’s not professional b] he needs to learn how...right away c] perhaps you should consider hiring a profession for the session One trick that has worked for drummers and other musicians who have difficulty playing to a click is to lay donw a drum machine beat that’s synched to the tempo of the track. It can be a lot easier than a click track. In Pro Tools for example they have Grid mode which can be an invaluable help editing rhythmic material. Most if not all professional musicans have spent countless hours playing to a metronome to gain accuracy and have a much easier time with the click.