Tears On My Guitar...

The Last Supper was incredible. Incredible.

We had a nice dinner and watched the music videos we worked on. They were awesome. Awesome.

We then watched a video/photo montage of the WHOLE semester. I was loving it!

We then sat in a circle and talked about the semester.

Candice rambled and rambled, making everyone laugh...but I said EXACTLY what I wanted to say. I talked about how the beginning of the semester was SO difficult for me but how I grew and how much I love all of Semester 20.

This group is so talented and so great.

After the circle, I took pictures with everyone :)

It will be so difficult to leave this place after being here for three months.

It has not registered yet. But it will...

*sigh*

I don't want to go. And yet I'm ready for the next chapter in my life.

I'M SO CONFLICTED!

I could write and write and write...

I want to thank Tavis, Luke, Blasing and Marcus for being there for me this semester. I couldn't have done it without you.

I have such great memories of these people :)

Gah...this is going to be weird leaving here and probably not seeing the majority of these people.

...Oh boy...here we go.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart Semester 20. Saying I will miss you is an understatement. <3 :)

"Oh Candice Girl *hug*...heh...thank you for your hard work this semester..."

"Marcus is an angel from above...*LAUGHTER*"

"You look beautiful, Candice."

"Goodbye Candice."

Wow.

Today I studied for our written exam.

Then Luke, Amanda, Jason, and I, along with other CMC-ers, went to go see the documentary *Broke, at the Nashville Film Festival.

It is based on Will Gray, a CMC alum, who is a starving artist. It followed him through times of being financially broke but still doing what he loved.

It was so motivating and inspirational. I loved the film so much.

There aren't words to explain how amazing it was.

:)

It made me want to do good and not care if I make a lot of money.

It was so surreal to be in the movie theater surrounded by (probably) talented and experienced people in the music and film industry. I felt so important. :)

Then after the film, Kate from JillandKate (Kelly Clarkson's backup singers and best friends) talked to Luke and I about our semester and how both of us worked really hard this semester to be a part of the whole of Semester 20. It was really nice to hear such positive feedback from a person Luke and I look up to :)
Such a great ending experience at CMC.

Way to leave Nashville.

Yes, it is time.

And everyone is freaking out one way or another...either sick of this all or not wanting to think about it.

Candice? It won't hit until supper tomorrow night...

*sigh*

"Side dish. Always the side dish."

"Candice doesn't like yield signs."

(Too many to name)

Such great memories with these people...

Lack of Sleep Makes Anyone Think...

Late night with Dan went well, I thought.

He ended it by saying what a great job I had done this semester.

:)

I'm thinking of starting a blog just to start one. A great friend gave me the idea...

Oh boy. One more day. I don't want to think about it.

Not ready...at all...to say goodbye...

*sigh*

Artists and Hallucinations...

"You literally sounded like you were down on the farm, Candice!"

I don't know what to say or do...

The Grammy's were so much fun!

Ashley, Meredith, and AnnaMarie made me look absolutely beautiful.

I felt so confident. They kept telling me that I looked like a model. It made me feel invincible.

When we got to CMC, everyone was loving how I looked.

Alex and Evan told me I looked stunning. :) Alex pretended to hit on me after he said it haha.

Tom told me I looked crazy beautiful. :)

And Luke and Tavis told me some wonderful things. :D

I won MVP-Tech and Service Award-Tech.

I felt so perfect tonight.

But as you know, Candice doesn't feel like that long.

It might've been lack of sleep or...something else...but I got quiet real quick...

I'm so grateful for this semester even though it has been so difficult on me.

And I love my CMC friends even if I want to punch them every once in awhile.

...Tonight was uber fun.

And I felt so wonderful and beautiful and great and full of smiles.

Ahhhhhh yay.

"She's got a great body." :P

And the Winner Is...

Today we had two guest speakers.

The first was Nathan Johnson and his wife. He has worked on all kinds of albums and movies with music. He was a really cool guy and had a lot of good things to say.

Then was Paul and Courtney, friends of Warren from Greenville College. They both work in the tech/production area of music, in New York City.

Paul works at the Jimmy Fallon Show and Courtney works for an audio company. They had some awesome stories and I really enjoyed it.

After that we were supposed to have sound check for the Grammies but no one really showed up so we cancelled it.

Tonight? The CMC Grammies. I'm psyched. I am going to dress up big time! Ashley and Kylie are doing makeup and hair on me.

Look out CMC boys. ;)


"And I'm on drugs!"

When we were young...

Today I helped with Talain Rayne's music video shoot.

It was EPIC.

EPIC!!!

I will definitely post a link to it when it is up online.

So much work and detail went into it.

A lot of time as well but I didn't care, I enjoyed every bit of it!

:)

I also worked on my exam and finished it! Yay.

Tomorrow night is the CMC Grammies. I'd have to say I'm really excited. ;)

I'm exhausted. a lot.

Candice is dead...

This morning I had Dan's late night recording session from 4am-9am, took a nap, ate lunch, and then had his usual recording session from 1pm-4pm.

*sigh* I am so tired right now. SO OUT OF IT.

This evening I will be working on finishing my final exam. It might kill me but I have to get it done before tomorrow.

Tomorrow we have a video shoot with a CMC alum and our final is due Monday morning.

:) Oh the last few days of this semester...I'm starting to get emotional...like sad emotional.

As you already know, I've been very emotional in other ways.

Anyhoo.

I'm ready to sleep...sometime...soon.

"I find it funny..."

What a way to end a terrible day...

Today we had the "Friends CMC Live" during lunch. It was for friends and collegues of our faculty to come see the building and us students. Some cool people from the music industry were there.

The show was stressful and energetic and I wanted to punch some people.

I say it all the time, but I'm done. Finished.

I'm sick of disrespect.

After the show we had three more music videos to shoot and then I went to dinner with Tav and Luke and hung out.

When I got back to the apt I found an email from Tom and Warren explaining that Michael W. Smith's manager was in the audience today and liked my efficient work onstage....

......
......
.....uh...what?!

I am amazed and astounded...but that just made my day better.

Wow.

No quote tonight, it's not needed... :D

Sore

This morning we had class with Tom.

Then we got ready for our special guest...AMY GRANT :)

Two of our girls were showcased during her visit, Ashley and Kylie.

Amy talked with us about working with people, her inspiration, and music.

It was really cool to sit in a room with such an artist and talk about real things rather than acting like she was soooo famous.

She is a really wonderful woman.

She ended the hour playing two of her songs she has not recorded yet. She has such a beautiful voice.

Then we had music videos for Ashley, Kylie, AnnaMarie, and Luke.

It's so fun to watch AnnaMarie and Luke get into their songs. I thoroughly enjoyed it :)

Tonight I'm gonna work on my exam and get some sleep!

"I was smiling so big; I looked like a goof."

And I miss you...like Summer...

Today we had critical listening class and then we had our tech track.

We discussed the exam and how much effort we need to put into it.

You know me, I will put 110% into it...just not sure I have in it me anymore.

I'm starting to feel burned out.

Then we had music video shoots for Zach, Tavis, Dan, Maxine, Stephanie, and Audrey.

Then we had a rehearsal for our Friends CMC Live on Friday.

And tonight/tomorrow morning I have a late night with AnnaMarie.

Me sleeping? Not this week...and I still have a lot of my exam to finish.

But tomorrow? Special Guest... ;)

"Then Luke will come over and shake the camera, as he screams into it...got that?"

Today

TECH EXAM RESEARCH

Late night with Dan.

=Exhaustion.

"Guess what?!"

Perspective

Yesterday I went to church and then had Dan's recording session. Master 3 was due today and so we worked UBER hard to finish it and make it great.

Then I had AnnaMarie's recording session and we worked hard to get that finished.

Today we listened to Master 3. Both Dan and AnnaMarie's songs had plenty of feedback from Tom, Warren and Marcus and I wrote them all down.

Then after lunch, Warren remastered Dan's master and made it much better, I have to agree.

The next two weeks will be filled with showcases, music videos, and exams. YAY.

"Thank you."

Didn't See That Coming

Today was an exciting day!

We had a exam discussion with Tom for our morning class.

Then Warren discussed with us his clinical depression which was fascinating to learn about and it explained some things.

Then I had lunch.

THEN I started working on my tech final exam. I looked up average living costs and tech terms ALL afternoon.

Then I went to "To Write Love On Nashville" with Rose. Details Details, Burn the Ballroom, Go Go Saggio, Half-Priced Hearts, and Mid Summer Classic performed. It was really fun.

I got to talk to Burn the Ballroom for awhile. They were cute. :) They seemed to enjoy talking to me. We talked about how long they had been together and I talked about CMC.

I loved talking to a band seriously, rather than slobbering over them.

Tomorrow is my time with Marcus to mix and tweak my masters.

"Thank you for that."

And I Thought I Was Going to Be Okay

We had Critical Listening class this morning. We listened to Cream, Led Zep. and The Who.

I went CRAZY when we listened to The Who. I was bobbing my head and dancing. I LOVED IT :)

All thanks to Mom and Dad and the CSIs.

Then we had our tech class where we went over some of the masters. Mine was not looked at but it will be on Friday, with Marcus by my side.

Then I had AnnaMarie's session with Warren. He pretty much added loop and STARTED re-recording her vocals. My mind was boggled. It was like a car wreck that WARREN caused, but I have to clean it up.

Whatever. Ugh. Done. But not (it gets better).

Then I had lunch.

AND THEN the techs and some of the execs went to see Clair Global. http://www.clairglobal.com/

It is where Marcus used to work. "Clair is the premier global sound reinforcement provider and acknowledged audio industry leader, offering a complete array of state-of-the-art products, technical staff and services to the professional touring industry. "

It was awesome to go through their warehouse and talk to the guy in charge, "Scooter. We were there for so long but I lost track of time.

When I got back to the apartment I started to look at our final exams. We have a memorization one and one that will be more of a reference guide for us.

I will preface this with the fact that I have not read any books or written any papers: BUT the memorization one will make me have to study a lot and the reference one is going to be tough and lots of work.

BUT this is the only exam this semester I have had to do. And this semester has been worth it.

So that is the only complaining I will do.

Besides, I'm a natural now ;) I can do it.

These last few weeks should be a bit more relaxing anyways and I have plenty of time to do research and study.

It's been interesting to see this semester in perspective throughout the semester. At different times. Going through different things.

Yes, no matter what, It has been worth it.

:)

"Sweet."

Sucker Punch! *POW*

Today in class we discussed the film Anvil.

Warren pretty much told us that there is an expiration date to our aspirations at times.

...and he's right. We should be ready for that.

We then had our tech class and talked about studio terms and other stuff.

Marcus went in nerd rant and I was trying to keep up but had difficulty understanding.

After that some of us went to Chipotle and came back the apartment and ate it while watching some movies.

Then Rose, Luke, Tavis, Amanda and I went to see Sucker Punch which was AMAZING.

I love when women are able to kick butt. Makes me stronger.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1..."

And the Work Begins Again...

This morning we had a debriefing of tour. Things that went well and things that didn't.

Warren and Tom seemed really proud of tour, though.

It was good to hear.

I kept my opinions of tour to myself because I knew voicing them wouldn't help anything.

We then discussed our final exam. It will be more of a reference guide for us when we leave CMC but it has a lot of helpful stuff. For instance it will contain terms, budget plans as well as our plans for the future.

We then discussed the schedule for the rest of the semester.

It will be busy!

We have recording sessions, late nights, last master due next Monday, showcases, photo shoots, portrait shots, personality shots, and final exam.

WHoo!

Who is ready!?

We had our tech class and discussed tour and terms used on a usual tour. We also discussed things that go on during a usual tour.

Lunch.

After lunch, Marcus lectured on starting your own website and social networks.
He was interrupted by a tornado warning so our class was moved to the photo studio.

Then I went to Kroger.

Hung out until Community Dinner.

Community Time went well. We talked about things we have learned this semester and how the tour went.

We then watched the movie Anvil, a documentary on the band Anvil.

It was very entertaining to watch.

Tonight I have a late night for AnnaMarie.

Welcome Back, Candice.

Stage Manager...Candy?

Load-in today for our Hardscuffle show was interesting.

Things took forever to put back together because what we were doing was permanent.

We had to put the snake up in the rafters.

We had to suspend the truss' in the air.

We had to put EVERYTHING back and it was hard.

People left after they couldn't find anything to do.

People were reeallly making me frustrated.

So when Blasing needed people to help put tubs in storage, I volunteered.

He told me afterwards to go with Amanda to go get snacks for the show so that I would be away from the building for awhile.

When I got back, I helped get things together and clean for the show.

I wasn't able to eat dinner or change into black clothes.

So Candice had a bright blue shirt on while she was onstage. haha.

The show went pretty great, I think.

No big mistakes.

Mike was ill the whole time and had to go to the hospital in the middle of Tavis' set. I hope he is alright.

Afterwards some of us went to Waffle House and had a good time.

I'm sad tour is over but I'm also happy because I need space away from everyone.

But tour was an amazing experience in many ways.

40 people together for a week will ALWAYS be an experience. :)

"Jesus will come back and have to sit down and wait for Candice to finish her waffles!"

The Week Called Tour

The CMC Live Tour this past week went splendid.

We were in Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Each day consisted of getting to the venue, load -in, set up, lunch, setting up more, wire and line check, sound check for CMC, sound check for local band if there was one, dinner, get ready for show, SHOW, tear down, load truck, to hotel to sleep.

It was thrilling and exhausting at the same time.

My artists and executives worked hard and played hard and rocked out every night.

Each night was exhilarating.

As Stage Manager I did get fed up with my authority not being taken seriously. People weren't listening to me and my opinion was not wanted or needed.

Things having to do with the stage were not asked of me, but directly to Jason or AJ. :(

Anyways...

I felt my title as Stage Manager was not true.

Tour was fun, stressful, hard work, annoying, but memorable.

Great Pictures on Facebook probably from my fellow classmates.

Now on to the rest of the semester...

Except we have one more show here at school, tonight.

Let's end this right! :)

*too many quotes to name*

Slam That Chapter and Move to the Next

Today was a relaxing day.

We had a tour meeting at noon. We talked about how our Lipscomb show went and details about the rest of the tour.

After the meeting, some of the techs packed up things that we forgot that need to go with us on tour.

Then Amanda and I updated the truck inventory list so that everything is on it and it's easier for me to check things off.

Then I reprinted stage plots for myself and Joel and I rewrote my notes on my stage plots.

Then I packed for tour, did some "spring cleaning," and called my parents.

After that Tavis, Rose and I went to get dinner and we hung out.

I have decided not to bring my computer on tour. It's too much hassle.

Tomorrow we head to Illinois. Yay.

This tour will be quite an experience, mostly amazing. :D

I'm ready, are you? ;)

"I don't have enough money to give you for that!"

A Caged Dog

Today was very long.

We got to Lipscomb and set up the stage which took forever, since we had never done it before.

Then we had line check, sound check and the show.

During the show I have to stay in the green room and do my job instead of going around checking stuff and making sure everything is going well. It was so difficult to stay in one place the WHOLE time.

But Marcus says it's my job. Oh well.

I thought the show went really well for the first time on the road.

After the show, we packed up which also took forever.

We will eventually get the swing of things.

But my feet hurt and my back hurts and I'm HUNGRY! :)

Tomorrow we have a tour meeting and time to pack.

Then Wednesday is Greenville College.

"Great job Candice."

Are you ready?!

Today we striked the stage and EVERYTHING for tour. We packed everything into the truck.

It took all day.

There were a few times people got short with me but I don't care.

Our first strike group did a great job at tearing everything down. They were on top of getting things done and it made today easier.

Tomorrow our tour starts. We go to Lipscomb University for our first show. We have an all day load-in, thank goodness. It will give us the time to get used to unloading and setting up.

Then we have a breather day on Tuesday and then off to Greenville on Wednesday.

I'm still trying to decide if I'll bring my computer.

It might just be easier not to...and less stressful.

This semester has flown by but at the same time has been really slow.

This tour is going to be really tiring and difficult, but I'm ready for it.

It shall be an experience.

Thanks for all your support during this semester. I've needed it. :)

And here we go...

"Oh Marcus, I've missed you!"

Nothing to do with Tour or Nashville...

NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU!

DON'T BE SO VAIN.

and now I'm done with my rant.

Show

I do not appreciate people undermining my authority as Stage Manager.

Show was okay.

Lots of mistakes that Marcus woulda caught but he wasn't there so I fixed them. I was Marcus and Candice.

Had a meltdown in front of Tyler. Whoops.

Yeah.

Other than that, we are ready for this tour. I am ready for this tour.

In other news:

Your smiles are made out of lies. OR they aren't and you hate me.

Goodnight.

"Don't touch me."

Crying and Laughing within Ten Minutes, WHAT?!

Today was...WHOOO! I'm still trying to settle down.

We had "sound check/tour rehearsal" today which I thought went great.

My stage hands for both shows are amazing. Shout out to Zach, Amanda, Dan and Mike. :)

I was on top of things today and felt like I am really a part of this school and production.

Evan and Amanda told me that I was doing a great job, with a smile on my face.

It felt good to get complimented and praised since WARREN NEVER TELLS ME.

Things are stressful but I'm dealing with it.

I felt the rehearsal went really well.

At the end of rehearsal, though, I had a breakdown because of others things going on (Worst week ever).

Marcus was there when I needed him. He...he...made a remark that was just...real. Too real to repeat and I thank him for it.

THEN something made me really angry and Joe noticed and made a joke and got me cracking up so much I fell on the floor. Weird Candice.

I'm seriously going insane this week.

Then everyone left for the day and Marcus and I talked about school and how the semester was going...and how I was doing. I enjoyed talking to him one on one and finding out what he thought of the semester.

Marcus is a great guy and God made him our prof so that I wouldn't want to shoot people.

When it comes to being in the zone and stressed, we are the same. So he told me some things I can do when I want to punch someone.

He also told me that I was doing a great job as Stage Manager. That I should continue to stick up for myself and ignore people who tell me to "calm down."

I CONCUR MARCUS.

My demeanor as SMC is different than my usual personality, but it works :)

Tonight is our last show/rehearsal before tour. *SCREAMS*

Wish me good luck.

"One butt is B, the other butt is A."

Itch-bay Stage Manager Candice

Today we had our Hammer Time for both shows.

I was in the zone BIG time. I took my job serious and got things done.

Jason Blasing gave me three stage hands for the shows.

Two to help move things and one to help Joel with patch work.

We went through both shows pretty well, I thought.

At the end Warren tested our fastness between Meredith & Audrey's set and Ashley & Kylie's set because there is a major set change.

We will have to work on set transitions tomorrow.

I was stressed today and took my anger out on door frames and other things.

But I felt in control.

I don't care what people might think of my insanity; I don't care. I'm doing my job.

Tonight we have the Scratch Track showcase. It should be a good show.

*Candice punches couch*

What Time is It?

My early morning was insane.

I went to bed in the student lounge, woke up not knowing what time it was, and then went down to the studio to sleep until my session.

Woke up at eight and recorded Tyler playing the guitar for AnnaMarie's song and then had class.

Then our tech class was on saudering. Boooring to Candice but I probably should know what I'm doing.

Then I slept for two hours and had the rest of the day off until my meeting with Jason at 9pm.

We updated the stage plots which went really well.

Gee...WE can do it and not fidget...yet the Execs cannot and it's their job. Interesting.

Now sleep because we have Hammer Time for both shows again tomorrow.

Then showcase tomorrow night.

"I'm glad to hear I'm not just the rice in your burrito."

Authority

Today was a busy, stressful day.

We had two Hammer Times for the two shows.

I got there early to set up. blaaah. I'm so tired.

It started late because we didn't have the ear packs (in-ear monitors) ready. It always seems to me that we are NEVER ready for anything.

We know when SOUND check is, but we don't prepare enough time for LINE check. rawr.

Then I took a shower and got ready for Community Dinner.

Ashley called me and we talked for awhile. I miss her so much.

Community Dinner was good.

Afterwards AnnaMarie dressed me up for the showcase of Zach and the Coyotes at a venue in Nashville.

She did an amazing job and I kept getting compliments from the girls. And I got a whistle or two from some guys.

The girls thought I looked like a super model. Best Comment Ever.

The show was great. Zach and the guys did an awesome job and I felt so confident with the way I looked.

Did I mention I wore high heels?! Haha.

It was a nice break from CMC.

Tomorrow the work continues toward the goal of Tour.

It will be stressful but I'm looking forward to Tour.

Road Trip.

Late night this morning.

I really miss you, sleep.

"Gosh, now we have to look better than Candice!"

Uh Oh

The last few days have been filled with recording, going to the Hard Rock to see alum perform and a showcase for Logan Henry.

This week coming up is going to be filled with getting ready for tour and recording sessions including one late night.

BUSY!

I may or may not blog this week OR on tour. We will see.

Tonight I am in charge of video for the showcase.

Then hopefully sleep.

This dark weather is making me down.

"I'm getting sick of this."

Burning Out

The show went really well last night so I am looking forward to Tour.

I believe I did my Stage Manager responsibilities well.

Today I got to sleep in and then we had a meeting about the show and what is going on this next week.

Tour starts next Sunday. wowsers.

Then I had my recording session with AnnaMarie which was good.

And tonight I have a late night with Dan.

Days are going by fast as well as slow and before we know it the tour will be here and gone.

:P

"I'm an idiot, sorry, let's try that again."

CANDICE!

The days have become so filled with stress and work that I don't have the energy to explain...

Class.
Production Meeting- people were rude.
Line Check- happening during meeting
Lunch
Sound Check- chaos and stress

Performance tonight, then I can relax.

My back hurts.

"You don't take crap, that's why I wanted you to be my Stage Manager."

...zzZZZZooooooooommmmMMMMMMMMMM...

The last few days have been busy.

We've had class, meetings, recording sessions, rehearsals, and Liza Day perform.

Today we are getting ready for our tour lineup performance. We will treat it like another CMC Live.

Sorry I've been so busy...but I've been up late and I'm tired.

I'll report soon.

~Candice

Oh Joyous Day!

Today was long and it is not over until 4 am tomorrow morning.

We had a listen to all our masters. Dan's sounded terrible. There was too much low end and it just didn't sound the way it did in studio. I felt like crap when they were commenting on it.

AnnaMarie's was interesting. The profs didn't like the groove and it was hard to watch her sink into her chair.

:(

After that we went down to the studio with Warren. He was going to pick one of the masters to remix...............Dan asked him to remix his.

Which was fine, because I know it was poor quality. But still, it burned a little.

*sigh*

Warren fixed it, made it sound brighter...and better. I learned a few things from watching him do it.

But...it was in front of everyone. Self-esteem challenge.

Then we had a lunch break and then Hammer Time for the "audition" for Tour.

I did monitors, which went alright. There were a few times the artists couldn't hear themselves and I didn't know.

After that, we had free time, so I took the drums back downstairs to the tracking room and then practiced my guitar with the help of Luke, one of the artists.

Joe Casey helped too haha with my B chord. :)

Anyways, then we had community dinner and community meeting.

I'm back at the apartment taking a breather until my 1-4 am with Dan tonight.

Oh and the Tour got changed to more of a headliner show. Many people are happy or disappointed. :(

So yeah, I'm exhausted and not ready to record. But I'll be ready at one.

Prayers that I get sleep this week? Thank you.

"You're doing a good job"

Sleeping in Random Places

Today was looooong but almost over.

I got up for my recording session at 8am.

Jason left enough things to edit and mix for me. We edited for two hours.

Then I took a three hour nap on the couch in the student lounge. It was nice!

Then I had Dan's recording session from 1-4pm. It was long but we basically got everything done.

...We will have to see what happens when the profs listen to it on Monday.

I am exhausted and sore from not sleeping.

But I plan to be lazy tomorrow to make up for my busy week and my busy week that is coming up.

"Is that Candice sleeping on the couch?"

Exhausted and Smelled Bad

Last night was AMAZING.

The show went wonderful. I was stressing and shaking while it was going on but I thought it went well.

Marcus was the angel sent from above, and he sat with me the whole show. Thanks Marcus.

I only missed a few things and it wasn't too noticeable.

Then we had the bonfire which was fun. After everyone left, Maxine and I danced our hearts out to Britney Spears.

I then had late night recording with Dan. It went well, I thought.

I was reaalllyy tired but we got everything we wanted done.

Then I took a 3 hr nap and got up for AnnaMarie's recording.

I WAS DEAD. SO DEAD. I felt sick and weak but I aided Jason with the recording.

I'm glad he took initiative because I was in no state to be the lead engineer. That ran until class this morning.

Then we had a 20 minute showcase by Mike Mardsen, an alum from Semester 7. I really liked his music and lyrics.

Then we had game tape....

.......
.......
and I was complimented more than insulted!!!!!!

Warren thought I did a really good job. He kept saying it without addressing me.

I sorta think he thought Marcus was more hands on than he really was...

After game tape we did lottery for late night slots and both my artists got slots... so yayyyy more exhaustion.

Then Warren had the techs do some chores.

Then I TRIED to take a nap before AnnaMarie's recording session, but it didn't happen.

AnnaMarie's recording session went well. I was more hands on with this session because Jason was busy with tour details.

I thought I stood my ground :)

Whooooo.

I'm gonna wait to go to bed until later because it will continue to make my sleeping schedule wack if I take a nap now.

So I'm going to hang with some of the guys at the CMC and THEN got to bed.

Did I mention I have to be in the recording studio for AnnaMarie tomorrow morning at 8 am? Yes.

And it will only get busier.

:P

"YOU GO GIRL!"

SMC!

Today went really well. I had fun and learned a lot.

We first had critical listening with Tom. We listened to Jimi Hendrix and Anne and Nancy.

Then we had line check which went well, I thought. It didn't take too long and we were able to eat lunch.

Sound check started shaky, as it always does, but I was on top of my game.

Marcus sat with me and helped me understand the console. It was SO nice of him and helped me relax a lot. :)

He explained things to a tee and I asked questions and he answered. I LOVED IT!

Then we had a meeting about tour.

...I will probably be the Stage Manager! I'm excited to be in charge of things. More of an exec job, which is what I've wanted. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Tour should be fun! We may be doing TWO Ohio dates! :) YAAAY!

Tonight we have the show. HOPEFULLY nothing will go badly.

Afterwards we have a bonfire after party.

I then have Dan's late night recording until 4.

Then up at 8 for AnnaMarie's recording.

...I will be sleeping at the CMC this evening/ tomorrow morning. :P

I'm enjoying this semester more now that I am focusing on having fun and relaxing. I'm being goofy.

I will fill you in with how show went tomorrow.

"You assumed it was the young and inexperienced one..." ;)

Going crazy!

Today was a day. I tried not to be too stressed.

Warren went over mixing basics with all of us in the morning and then our tech track continued to talk about it.

Lunch and Production meeting. The meeting went really well, which made me happy.

Then we had Hammer Time and I had my first crack of FOH console.

After Hammer Time we discussed the Tour Itinerary. We will be going to Ohio the 27th! :) Malone.

I'm excited.

After that Joe and I went over FOH console and I read up on the manual.

Then I had Dan's rehearsal.

Tomorrow will be insane and stressful but I will get through it...hopefully.

:P

Rawr.

Goodnight. I'm tired.

"HEY C-MONEY!"

My eyes won't stay open

The retreat went really well. Gatlinburg is exactly how I remember it. We hung around the cabin and hung around the strip.  It was EXCELLENT to stare into space and take naps.

It was awesome to hang with my classmates away from working with them. I got to know a lot of them better. :)

Hammer Time was cancelled for today and was moved to tomorrow.

..so when we got back I took a shower and SLEPT. It felt great. I LOVE being cold and sleeping.

Then our apartment had a community dinner together. It was nice to hang out as a group.

Then Kylie, Karissa, Whitney, Meredith, and I sat and talked for an hour or so.

Next I had rehearsal with Dan. It went pretty well under the circumstances that they had not practiced since Saturday.

I have a feeling tomorrow will be stressful but I hope to not stress out.

The retreat taught me that when I'm NOT stressed, I'm more fun to be around and more myself. I WANT THAT.

Wish me good luck!

"I forgot how much I miss Boy Meets World."

A good spring day

Today was an easy day.

I had Dan's recording session from 1-4 pm. It went well. We got his vocals done. Then I started mixing a little. The snare was being difficult to EQ but I'll fix it more next session.

Then we had his rehearsal. I got to hear his band practice his two songs and my in-ear mixing didn't take as long as it has in the past.

After rehearsal I went to Chipotle and came back to the apartment and watched a movie with Meredith and her friends who are visiting. :)

Tomorrow is the retreat so I will be absent from my blog until Tuesday.

Pray that I have fun and RELAX.

When I get back? Time to prepare for show 6! grr...

"God's gotta save his people!"

My best job

Yesterday (Thursday) was a good day. :)

We had class and watched a film called Anna's playground. You should look it up, it's a great short film.

Then we had line check which went really well. We were able to finish it in 45 minutes with time to eat lunch.

Then we had sound check. This is the first performance using the in-ear monitors so it went a little slow.

I was able to check my light cues for the songs until Warren decided he was going to fix the parkhands in the middle of sound check.

I helped him but felt a little anxious not being able to see if my cues were working because I had to turn down the lights.

After we fixed the lights and after sound check, Warren taught me how to make some cool cues and macros. Macros are a combination of certain lights on stage.

We created some crazy ones and some standard ones.

After that I had dinner break and got back to CMC at 7 for the show.

The show went wonderful. I was so excited and relaxed. AND I HAD FUN. That was the best part.

My cues went well. I only had one or two oops moments and Warren liked my cues.

Luke's song set was the last of the night and Warren decided to use some of the macros we made earlier.

It was WICKED!

After the last song was over Warren turned to me and said, "Or something like that." Haha yeaahhh, something like that.

It was incredible and I felt good. The kind of good I should be feeling this whole semester....

After the show we all watched The Social Network with an intermission of a tornado warning. I had never seen the movie before.


TODAY

Today we went over game tape. Rick, Warren, and Tom had a lot of comments about monitors and Front of House mixing. They got picked on a lot. It made me stressed. A lot. I'M doing FOH next Thursday.

After game tape the techs learned how to put the video jib arm together and how to use it. It was cool to see it working. I am so interested in film and photography.

Then I had an hour recording session with AnnaMarie. She thought she was going home today so she gave her slot away to someone else. She stayed and we were able to get in for an hour to lay down scratch vocal and acoustic.

Tonight I have Dan's rehearsal. Hopefully from practice in AnnaMarie's rehearsal, I will be able to get started sooner in his rehearsal than previous rehearsals for AnnaMarie.

Then I will sleep...or watch a movie.

I'm excited for the retreat this weekend. I want to sleep and relax. I need to relax.

Please keep me in your prayers about me relaxing.

...my stress is getting out of hand.

Talk to you soon...

"C-Money, I believe in you!"

Just Waiting for Warren to Step In

Today was a long day of more frustration.

We had our critical listening class today and listened to James Taylor, Crosby Stills and Nash, and Carole King.

Then we had our tech class where we went over some of our masters and figured out what could've been altered. We didn't get to either of mine, but whatever.

Then we had our Production meeting that actually went really well. Marcus was able to be there so everything that needed to be discussed, got discussed. Some of the execs got mad that it ran into lunch.

...to them I said, "Now you know how us techs feel." They were making me mad. I was ticked off. :(

Then we had a session drummer and bassist come in to give us variety on people's songs. It was cool to hear how great the songs could be.

After that, I worked on lights for tomorrow's show. It took forever and tomorrow I'll be waiting for Warren to step in and make them better.

Joel said he was stressed last Thursday but hopefully I'll stay relaxed.

Tonight our apartment has dinner with John and Jenny.

Then I have AnnaMarie's rehearsal.

And then Dan's late night recording session until 4.

I am not doing that again, ever. This is my second Thursday doing it. :(

Blah.

That is how I feel these days. Hopefully I will snap out of it. Maybe our retreat this weekend will help.

And our preparation for tour.

Wish me luck, as always :)

"Warren, the lights won't work, and I don't know what I did."

I wanted to scream..I've been wanting to do that a lot.

Today was a long day and it ended with me angry at a computer.

We had class with Warren. We discussed body language on stage and how people act when they are in front of a crowd.

Then we had our tech class. We discussed tour a little bit and how things would probably go.

Marcus told me he was happy to see that I did a good job on my master recording of Dan and AnnaMarie. He thought of all the engineers, mine would be the worst. But I did better than he expected. :)

After lunch, Joel showed Evan and I how to store light cues on the Lighting computer. Layers and steps were involved. I spent about five hours trying to figure it out and I couldn't. I figured out a way to cheat.

...but then it came back and bit me in the butt because SOMEHOW I erased what I had been working on.

I then had AnnaMarie's rehearsal and once again freaked out about doing in-ear monitors. :(

After rehearsal I went back to the lighting computer to work on it and the lights started not working, then freaking out, and then none of my light cues were working.

I was getting very vocal with anger. Joe, the exec, thought I was about to go crazy again. :(

ARRGGHHHH! :(

I'm sore and tired.

But I'll spend the rest of my evening going to get chocolate and body wash and researching the lighting computer program.


....Starbucks did not even get my order right. Today was a bad day.

I get frustrated more each day.

But AnnaMarie tried to make me feel better. Nice try babe. ;)

"Candice? Are you about to go crazy again?"

I'm getting kinda tired...

The master recording critique went alright.

Dan and I didn't get too slammed with insults or anything.

It was a good learning experience.

After lunch, we had Hammer Time and I took notes on what I would do with lights for the show on Thursday.

Then I helped Dan do a scratch vocal and guitar for his next recording session. It took awhile but we both learned a lot during it. I learned a little about his songs and he learned that I can relax :)

We had Community Dinner and Time.

Today was a blah day. It wasn't that stressful...but the week is not over. ;)

"C-Money"

Can I go to sleep yet?

Today was busy again.

I went to church with Mom and Dad at Highland Park Church. It was a "seeker" church. They had no worship songs to sing but the sermon was good. It was about toxic words and how what God thinks of us is the only thing that matters.

It hit home for me due to some moments this weekend where people saw me at my weakest, including Warren.

(Proverbs 12:18)

Then we had lunch at Panera.

After lunch I went back to CMC and worked in the 002 room on Dan's recording session for 5 1/2 hours. Oh the joys. It's due tomorrow.

Dan was there to give his input. He was really patient with me. We had fun, I think. Haha.

At the end of mixing we had Joe come in and listen. He gave his kind input on a few things to change and alter and then I "finished" it.

...it's not finished because I'm a perfectionist but I had to stop at some point.

Next I had AnnaMarie's rehearsal. She is an amazing singer and her songs give me goosebumps.

I worked on my in-ear monitoring during her rehearsal. I am getting better at it, but I still have work.

Tomorrow we turn in the final recordings of our artists, the master. We will be critiqued on how good it sounds, etc.

Wish me luck.

I'm here to learn and I'm working hard.

"Candice. really. stop. working. on. it."

The F Word...

Today was stupid. It was stressful and busy.

I will not explain my day but it was a terrible day. Terrible.

It was a long day and I got overwhelmed and finally broke down after two months.

But tomorrow will be better; it can only get better from this moment.

In these times, you can find your strength and rise up.

It was a hard day.

But the day is over in ten minutes.

"THE MIC IS LOCKED!"

Great end to a stressful week...

Today was busy but ended great since Mom and Dad are here to visit.

We went over game tape today. Warren, Tom, and Rick were critical, but my role wasn't too harped on.

Sometimes it's hard to hear them critique my friends, but it makes them better.

After game tape we set up the in-ear monitors in the rehearsal room. It was very extensive and I'm not sure if I followed but I will get it.

I found out that now the techs will go to their artist's rehearsals. So I have AnnaMarie's rehearsals. Dan isn't going next Thursday so I don't have to worry about his rehearsals.

After learning in-ears and freaking out about them, I had recording with AnnaMarie.

Jason was amazing at explaining things to me. He understands how much I struggle. But he knows that I want to work hard to learn things. THANKS JASON!

We talked about equalizer, gate, and compression. It was great to hear things broken down; it made me understand everything better.

After session Mom and Dad arrived.

My schedule is going to be a lot busier now and I'm not sure if I will be able to take it, but more experience will help me get things down.

Right now we are hanging out in the apartment.

Tomorrow? Dan's recording session (with help from Joe), AnnaMarie's rehearsal and Will Gray's show in the evening. WHOOOOOOOO! :(

Good night.

"Good Evening Governor!"

And the day finally ends...

Wow. What a crazy 24 hours.

My recording session was from 11-3:30 am. We got a lot done and Jason taught me a lot along the way which was awesome.

Got to sleep for 3 hours, I think, and then up at 6:30 for sound check at 7:30.

Sound check was delayed by line check but everything worked out in the end and we were able to clear out for the showcase of the band, Royal Tailor. They were at CMC from noon to 5:45.

During that time I ate lunch and took a short nap. When I woke up, I was still exhausted.

We reset the stage for CMC Live and got ready for the show.

I was in charge of microphones during the show. I believe I did a really good job. A few times Jason helped me get stands offstage or in right places. But the show went really well. Everyone is great! :)

The after party is at a bowling alley, but I was too tired to go.

So I'm sitting here in my living room, enjoying the peace and loneliness. <3

...Except the lady across the way from us hates us CMC girls because we can be loud...and some other stuff, I guess. She was on the phone with someone and threatened to slit our wheels. :(

Next week I'm doing lights. WHOOO! Haha.

Hopefully it goes well. I'm gonna do my homework this next week.

Tomorrow Mom and Dad come to visit. I'm so excited!!!!!

"BROYG"

The day is not over...

Today has been a fun filled busy day.

We had our critical listening class with Tom this morning. We listened to soul and funk! I couldn't help but dance! :)

Then we had our tech class where we messed around with mic placement in the recording room.

Lunch.

Then Jerry and Miles McPherson came in to talk to us. Jerry is an exceptional guitar player and Miles, his son, is wicked on the drums. Miles is now Kelly Clarkson's drummer. Warren had them play to a track that is in the works, that's due on Monday. It was amazing to see them make up chord charts as they listened to it the first time and then play it. They are a very talented family :)

After that, we had our "production meeting," if you want to call it that.

Then I sat in on Josh doing his recording session. Joe was helping him and explaining things to both of us.

Then I started helping Jason re-patch the stage with the new sub snakes we got.

My day is not over, though.

I have a recording session tonight through the morning with AnnaMarie. Jason is her manager, so it will go well, but I am still nervous.

I'll get better at this at some point.

*breathing*

Dinner Time!

...I can't wait for Mom and Dad to get here this weekend. I need a flavor of Ohio and the Schlaegel's :)

"I'm not this idiotic at school."

Last Minute Emails Make Me Want to Punch Someone...

Today was filled with recording sessions, and they weren't even my artists. But I enjoyed it.

This morning we had class with Warren about the movie Almost Famous. It was a good class and I got a lot out of it. We talked about not being cool and redemption.

Then we had our tech class and talked about recording sessions.

Lunch.

Then we had class with Warren about Hearing Precautions. It was good to learn about so I don't mess up my ears.

After that, I sat in on Evan doing his recording session with Mike. It was really good to be in there because I observed both him and Jason working on the session.

Dinner.

Then I sat in on Joe doing his recording session with Stephanie. It was chaotic but was good to sit in on. I learn a lot, I think, when I do that.

...I think I'm gonna keep doing it as long as it's okay with the other techs. I have much to learn.

My inbox for CMC and Milligan is full. Just found out I'm working an event in the middle of the day Thursday between our sound check and the show :D YAY. Thursday's schedule is wack. SO glad I'm not Stage Manager this week (as well as everyone else).

Tomorrow is going to be busy and tiring for me. My day will end around 1 am.

But yeah, gotta get used to it!

Sorry if I'm short or spacey...I'm just exhausted.

"This room smells!"

Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer.

Today was just a day. I'm not going to bore you with details.

We had class then Hammer Time.

Then the rest of the afternoon I observed Jacob engineer Meredith's recording session so that I could learn more.

We than had community dinner and community time and then watched Almost Famous. I had never seen it before. I really liked it. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Word."

Are you ready to have some fun?

Today was a very productive day...thank goodness.

I went to Chipotle to be alone, but was smooshed between two families. So no alone time.
Then I went to CMC and printed off an acoustic guitar chord chart and some worship songs to learn.

Then I went upstairs and Joel and I started working again on moving the accu lights. It took some work. We made wire rope to secure the lights on top of the truss and cable tied them as well. It took all afternoon.

Then at 4 Jacob helped me with the right main speaker and I finished fixing the blue snake to the pole supporting the speakers. Jacob finished moving the last accu light on the last truss.

We completed our two tasks and it felt good. :)

After that I went over to Tom's house with the rest of the students and we watched the Grammy's. It was really fun. :)

Am I ready for this week? I am not sure. But I feel more prepared than I have.

"Let's clap for Jacob. Josh. Joel!"

Click Click Click Click.

Today was a good day for me.

At 1 I had my recording session with Dan. I got there early so that I could watch Evan do the end of his recording session with Audrey.

Evan then was nice enough to help me get ready for Dan's session. We got inputs plugged in and got his band set up for recording. It was really nice of Evan to help and I'm glad he did because it kept me from being stressed. :)

The recording session went well. Dan sang an original song. We did a scratch of the whole band and then specific dubs of drums, bass, acoustic, and vocal. We will add electric guitar when we get a chance because his guitarist wasn't able to be there today.

Dan did get frustrated with his vocals and then the next artist, manager, and engineer came in before we were done and kind of were critiquing Dan and I. He nor I liked it. :(

After my session, I went upstairs to see if the work from yesterday had been finished. Warren was there and I updated him on what we did last night and what was semi-finished this morning.

He checked to see if what we had started working on was working out. And then he changed his mind about the right main speakers. He told me if I felt comfortable messing with them up on the scaffolding, that I could try to fix it myself.

I tried, but there was a lot that would have to be done. It was a two person job and I couldn't do it by myself. So I kinda left a mess.

I went to the grocery store and WAS going to go to dinner and get coffee but Whitney texted me.

She told me that Warren's youngest daughter invited some of us girls over to hang and watch a movie.

I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know her and hang with the girls and get away from CMC.

It was fun! We watched a movie and gabbed. It was very interesting to see Warren in his home.

Haha different perspective on the man...but still the same.

Tomorrow will probably be finishing up the work on the stage and speakers and then a Grammy party at Tom's!

I am so glad that today went better than I was expecting. It gives me the hope that I can get through this semester and do WELL.

I still have to put effects on what I recorded and more, but the process did not stress me out or make me insane: which is great.

"Aren't you proud of me? I wasn't hard on myself!"

What. Just. Happened?!

I don't even know where to start.

We had game tape at 11. It went pretty well, nothing much to do with me. But Warren was harsh with the artists and I felt bad for them. :(

After we finished watching, Warren told us that from 1:30-2:30 we would be in Studio A (all of us), learning the fundamentals of ProTools, how to work it, etc.

Sidenote: one tech, two artists, and one exec went home for the weekend. Okay.

Then Warren told the techs that we would move the main speakers and the accu spots (lighting). This work takes about two hours.

So I ate lunch, played with Warren's dog Henry, and then went down to the studio.

We learned how to use ProTools the idiot way which helped me. Warren made a rude comment to me about my random noises I make and then we were finished.

Then Tom sent an email to Warren explaining the RECORDING schedule that would begin (we thought) Monday. It couldn't be opened so Warren told us to look at it when we went back to our apartments.

So people disperse and us techs start working on moving the stage left main speaker.

The next thing I know, I'm being told that I'm supposed to be recording with AnnaMarie, one of the artists. The schedule started today. >:(

I flip out, of course, and run downstairs.

Find out that her manager and band are not in proximity to CMC. So her recording session was cancelled and moved to Wednesday night from 11pm to 1 am. Phew.

Then chaos ALL OVER THE PLACE unleashes. People realize that the people who have left are vital to bands for their own recordings, or sessions, or rehearsal.

Everyone has to sign up for night sessions (which is what AnnaMarie is doing Wed. night).

It was scary how much people were freaking out! :(

It looks like the chaos has subsided but people are worried because the first master recording is due the 21st: next Monday.

Ahhhhh.

So I go back up to the main stage to help with the speakers and accu lights. Jacob and Joel were working on the main speakers. Josh and I were moving the scaffolding when they needed.

This was 3:30 and Warren went home after giving us directions about how to move the acc lights.

So Jacob gave me the task of screwing in the bolts for the accu lights. I used the ladder to get to the accu lights and tried to the best of my ability to screw in the nuts for the bolt. It was a stuggle because of the height and angle but I got two done.

Jacob and Joel got the left main speaker done and Jacob started working on the right when he realized it would take some time. It was already 6:40.

I asked Jacob to check my work but we decided to just stop for tonight and work on it tomorrow.

Today was looong and stressful and my feet hurt. I'm ready to go to bed and it's 7:30. But I will need to get used to being tired and stressed. It's part of my job at CMC.

Tomorrow I have a recording session with Dan. I really hope it goes well. Pray that it does, please.

*DEEP BREATH*

I can do this.

"You hate me just like your dad!"

SMC also know as Psycho Manager Candice

Today did not go well...at all. But somehow I survived even if people might think I'm not a nice person.

We started out with a class on Theological Aesthetics with Tom. It was interesting. I'm not sure if I understood it. We listened to some music and talked about God in music.

Then we had our line check which went fine...

Until Warren decided to take pictures for promotional reasons. Which meant we had to strike (take everything off) the stage and clear the tables and the student lounge of everything. So our hard work was moved around, unplugged, and put somewhere else...which was then moved because he changed his freaking mind.

Then Warren proceeded to take pictures, telling us to move, etc. This went on for more than an hour.

Giving the techs ten minutes to eat before sound check. I will not explain or complain about this detail any more. Just know, I was VERY angry about it at 12:50.

Because the techs were excused to get food, the stage was not reset for the beginning of sound check. I was eating my lunch and Warren kept asking me to do stuff. I wanted to yell at him. But that would have been BAD. So I helped and then at one point asked Jacob to help. He was sitting in the back eating, watching ME work. Smiles.

Once the sound check started, things were CrAzY. Too many problems, including, moving the Main speakers for House (audience). THAT screwed up our EQ (equalizing) of the room. And then while I'm trying to run sound check as Stage Manager, Warren decides he's going to keep taking pictures and asking for help from my TECHS! WHAT THE CRAP!?!?! Another time I wanted to yell. But instead I stood in the corner, had a "Candice moment of craziness" and kept doing my job. I'm glad I had my mountain dew.

It was insane. People were scared of me because I was so loopy with stress. It was bad. :( Really bad.

I took a lot of notes on the stage plots for the actual show.

Then we had dinner break until 7. It was difficult to leave the building for dinner. I felt like I had so much to do.

I'm getting sick of who has authority over who at this school. Do we listen to Marcus or Warren. Do we listen to the managers? Does the producers have authority over me? UGH! I'm sick of it.

At dinner I had beeforoni and milk. :) Then I listened to the Wicked soundtrack. I felt a lot more relaxed and calm.

The actual show was amazing and fun. Everything went really well. No mess ups this time. :)

And if tomorrow Warren says one thing tech related that has to do with me and my responsibility, I'll probably cry.

BLAHHHHH!

I'm sad though that I missed my Milligan friends being pirates. :P

Tomorrow? Who knows. I'm ready to sleep the weekend away even though that WON'T happen.

"I'm just checking!"

"CANDICE!"

Thanks...Joe...again...

Today was a roller coaster for me!

We had critical listening class where we listened to the Beatles. It was fun. I like the Beatles. :) It is really cool to listen to the different parts of a recording when you are listening for it instead of singing along.

Then we had our tech class. This is where I started going down the steepest hill on the ride.

We started talking about recording in Studio A.

 I wrote on my notebook, "I'm dead."

I have never felt so overwhelmed before. I don't know what I'm doing, what's going on. I don't feel comfortable asking questions because the rest of the techs are following along just fine. *sigh*

I thought I was gonna cry right then and there. I was starting to hyperventilate. :(

It's just a lot of stuff to set up and make perfect. To make sure I know what I'm doing on the computer. Adding effects so they sound better. JUST A LOT OF DETAILS.

Later today, I talked to Dan and Joe Casey (exec) about my struggles and they think I'm over-reacting :(

After class I had lunch. Spaghetti and cheez-its.

Then we had our close-up photos taken. Mine looked like crap because I didn't know what to do with my hair this morning. I'm starting to think of chopping my hair off...

After the photos, we had our production meeting with the execs. I was proud of them because they turned in ALL their stage plots to me so that I could look over them and ask questions. It makes my job as stage manager (or SMC as they have already nicknamed me) easier. The meeting was a power struggle and I think one of the execs was making fun of me as I talked. Great. Unity? Nah, it's okay. *sarcasm*

After the meeting, I went down to Studio A and shadowed Joe as he recorded a scratch demo for Dan.

I am never afraid to ask Joe questions, so I just piled them on. He was SOOO nice to me and slowly explained things, both in the studio and at FOH. It was so nice of him. I just watched everything he did and tried to log it into my brain. THANKS JOE- you're the best!

At one point, we were messing with the phaser and as we started be silly with it, Joe turned around. There was Warren standing and staring at us with a guy. I LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!!!!!! Argh. ([He scares me])

After Warren left, Joe added effects and compressed, etc. He then left and told me to practice what I saw him do.

SO I DID!

I recorded myself singing "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. My voice isn't as bad as I thought. I mean, I'm not gonna start singing in public, but it's bareable.

I screwed with the recording and tried different effects like reverb. It was fun.

And that was my day. I want to cry and I want to work hard.

Oh...and it's a blizzard outside haha.

Tomorrow? THE SHOW. Wish me good luck. I have prepared myself as much as I can.

"I SENT YOU BAD VIBES, DAN"

Thank You Jason!

Today was an unusual day.

We had class about meta-cognitive skills and the lack thereof. We discussed Spinal Tap and talked about American Idol and why it is so popular. Spinal Tap is such a funny movie!

Then we had our tech class. We were supposed to do an overview of Studio A. But we had to update the ProTools. So instead we went over monitors. Marcus says they are the "hot seat" of live performances. Even though I listened to what he said, I'm still not sure I got it. I'll learn.

After class we had lunch. Because of the mess up last night, John ordered us pizza. It was yummy!

Warren announced after lunch that our lecture with the vocal coach would be cancelled and that the artists could have private lessons with her. So I had my afternoon and evening open.

...I had no clue what to do. So I downloaded some music on Itunes, read over the cable slide show Warren sent us and took a nap.

Then this evening after dinner I TRIED to practice my guitar. I practiced what Brandon taught me and looked up stuff online. I'm having a hard time.

I guess it would be good to print off the chord charts? Maybe.

I also watched Glee, which made me smile and happy. I love that show! :)

"HOLY CRAW!"

Simmer down on the sarcasm?

Today made me mad.

We got to CMC for our track classes and Tom told us that instead, we would have a class together about getting gigs. It was very interesting stuff and I think I can use it if I even want to get a gig for a band or musician.

Lunch

I helped Evan get the stage ready for Hammer Time.

Hammer Time was not the usual set up. A vocal coach woman was flown in by Warren to work with especially the girls. She gave her "input" during Hammer Time.

During her critique I learned that I should've done the executive track. My brain is wired that way better than technical. I can't explain it, but it made sense to me. So...yeah...

Then as I was doing my job, it was commented that I did it wrong and BLAH.

I am always the leader. I have leadership roles. This job, listening to Warren, doing what he says, learning something new, is totally new for me. I hate following; I'm a leader.

So I have had to shut up a hundred times this semester because no one cares what I think. My mind is executive. But no one cares to hear what I have to say because I'm a tech.

Wish I would've realized that when applying.

After Hammer Time, I just hung around CMC until dinner. I SHOULD HAVE gone back to the apartment and practiced my guitar but I didn't.

Then we were supposed to have Community Dinner but it was ruined so John told us to go get something to eat before we started watching Spinal Tap. I didn't eat dinner. My bad. Oh well.

Community Time was as usual. I'm just waiting for people to break. Oh and people are being too sarcastic, to the point that people's feelings are getting hurt. Okay.

I don't know if I'm pessimistic, down in the dumps, or what but I'm frustrated. :(

I'm not myself here. This semester is a struggle. And I don't know what it is.

Hmm...

By the way, Brandon visiting was the greatest, but now I miss everyone I know...

"But it goes to 11"

Cable Tie Candice

Today was not the way I planned but it turned out well.

Brandon came over to the apartment for lunch to make me macaroni and cheese since I can't cook. It was sweet of him.

After lunch I felt sick so we stayed around the apartment until one-ish.

Then we headed to CMC and watched TV until 2, when the techs and Warren started wiring the rest of the studio.

It took forever, I made mistakes, and Brandon helped out a lot. He seemed to enjoy watching me in my environment. :) I was the designated cable tie person today hence the title of this post ;)

After "work", Brandon and I went to the Blue Bird Cafe and listened to some music. Our seats were uncomfortable but I wanted to go because I knew Brandon would like it. He liked it. It was good music and I was happy to be there with Brandon. :) I had a moment haha.

Then we had dinner and came back to the apartment and hung with some of the girls and Tavis. It was fun. We played Last Word and just talked about our lives. These people ARE great even if I might get a little sick from all the togetherness.

I'm glad Brandon was able to come see CMC. He said he's jealous that I get to be here, around music and musicians all day. I'm pretty happy of how awesome this experience is...even if I stress and worry and complain and cry.

Tomorrow? Guitar practice with Brandon and Super Bowl Party.

"What is with you and the cable cutters?!"

Candice messed up again...but she accepted it.

Today we had game tape. Warren didn't say anything about me messing up, thank goodness. I was worried.

Then the techs had a break until three when we were to meet about wiring Studio A.

I took this time to watch the MACKIE tt24 videos Marcus sent us. It was real basic stuff so I didn't really learn what I need to when I am in charge of FOH or MON.

I found out that this Thursday, I will be stage manager. Whoo!

At three we met with Warren who gave us things to do BEFORE we started on the studio.

I cleaned up all the cables Rick Elias was using for the artist class.

After we finished our designated tasks, Warren realized he needed to pick up his daughters from school, so he was leaving for the day. He told us we would continue tomorrow.

Most of the techs wanted to at least wire the four wires from the tracking room across the ceiling to the computer outside the room. So we spent two and a half hours doing that.

I made some mistakes along the way but the guys didn't kill me for it.

When we were done, we vacuumed and cleaned.

Then Brandon arrived and we went to downtown Nashville to eat dinner and explore.

Then we came back to CMC and jammed/hung with Tyler and Josh (tech).

I'm glad he's here. I've really missed him. :)

"I've missed your goofy ways, Kid."

Patch Adams...also known as Stage Patch Candice (SPC)

Today was full of energy and adrenaline and laughs and stress!

The day started off with Tom giving us a lecture about his rise to the music industry. It was interesting to hear all that he has been a part of and to think what he will do in the future.

Then we had our production meeting which was interesting. It wasn't detailed enough. But whatever, we worked everything out.

Then we had line check. This took FOREVER and ran into lunch. I wasn't doing a good job patching things. We didn't get through checking inputs. The next thing I knew, people were coming back for sound check.

So I sat down, ate my lunch and pudding cup REALLY REALLY fast and then got to my place. I took notes on what patches I needed to check and make sure inputs were correct. During sound check I found out I had made some mistakes but I resolved them with the help of Marcus. It was stressful to try to remember everything. BESIDES, we were doing everything backwards since it was sound check (you want to do sound check for the first band LAST and the last band FIRST). It confused me at first but then I got it.

After sound check, Marcus, Joel, Luke and I changed some inputs and checked the line to make sure they were going through FOH and Monitors.

Then we broke for dinner. During dinner I went over my stage plots and made sure I knew what I was doing and where things went.

When I got back, I got in place for show.

The show went AMAZING! The artists were amazing as usual and they all looked beautiful/handsome. I DID make a few mistakes that Warren will probably note on tomorrow. Like when the kick mic was out of the sound hole on the kick drum. And the time when I boxed myself in onstage with Audrey when I was trying to get the mic stands offstage. And when I forgot to angle the monitor towards Karissa. :(

But other than that, it was exciting and I think I did a decent job.

After the show, I saw Grant Ebright and gave him a huge hug. I haven't seen him in years and it was good to see a familiar face. :) We talked and laughed. He told me stories about HIS semester at CMC and we filled each other in on our lives. I also saw Erin Aubrey there. They both loved the show which was a relief.

The after party was fun and I kinda got my groove on haha. It was nice to be able to relax and have fun.

...We will have to see how gametape goes tomorrow...let's see if Warren says anything about me being on stage too much. ;)

"SPC GO SPC!!!!"

Lesson that must be learned...

Today was bonkers.

Like my title says, a lesson that must be learned NOW before I go on this semester is to let things go...or I will make enemies.

I need to be less stressful or I will not be tolerable to others.

The day started out with getting up early to clean the building because a music engineer from Blackbird Studios was coming over to see our building.

Then we had critical listening class. We listened to the Roots of Rock like Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis, and more. I liked listening to it all- my father taught me right!

Then we had our tech class. We were down in Studio A again where we talked about recording room acoustics and how to turn on the tracking room computer for ProTools. Then the guys went off on a geeky rant about computers and the cost of them and other stuff. I lost focus :(

Lunch

Then we had a class with Warren where EVERYONE learned about compression, gate and equalizer. The way Warren explained it, which was watered down, made sense to me. (OH BOY!) This means that Candice is an idiot.

Next we had people take their acoustic guitars up to the stage and play them to see which guitars were good or bad. Then we discussed compression, equalizer and gating on voice and drums.

Our close up photo shoot was canceled as well as our production meeting in order to do this.

FOR Candice, this means less time to go over the stage plots and less time to discuss with the producers about the show. BUT no one else was stressed about it. Great.

Then I watched Joe design the lights for two of the artists for three hours.

I wanted to yell at people, I wanted to quit.

I MUST learn to let go of stress and problems.

I must learn to listen.

I shouldn't be here. I'm not cut out for this.

Mom and Dad, don't call. If you were here, you'd agree.

This doesn't mean I won't work my butt off to understand and learn. I WILL.

It's just discouraging...but I'll get through and prove myself wrong.

RAWR!

Wish me good luck tomorrow. I'm gonna need it.

"SHUT UP! I WANT PEACE! I WANT TO HEAR MY MUSIC!"

It was the voice of God...

Today seemed long. But it's only 9:40.

The day started with Warren discussing the movie, Amadeus, and mediocrity. I found his lecture interesting.

Then we had our tech class. We went over mic placement on a drum set and then we went down to Studio A and talked about the work that would need to be done in there.

Lunch.

Next we had class with Tom and talked about contract mistakes. I learned how many things can go wrong when an artist does not read their contract.

Then we had press release photos taken of us. Maybe some of you will be able to see it :)

After that, Warren gave us some chores to do (us techs) and then we organized the stage and tech room in preparation for a tour tomorrow morning.

While that was going on, I helped Warren and his daughter with a class project down in the photo room.

After we were finished cleaning up, Jacob and I went to Kroger. I was out of food!

Haha. The hours are counting down to my job as patchwork-er. *sigh*

Work Work Work...which is great great great.

But I am gonna go to bed haha. I'm exhausted from being on my feet all day.

I'm getting so old ;)

"Guys, she's gonna sing for us!" "Uhh...NO"

*SMACK*

Today I felt like I was in the game.

We had our track class which we learned more about the FOH (Front of House). I took notes this time so that I wouldn't forget stuff and so that I could go over it later for review. I found out that for Thursday's show, I will be doing patchwork. I'm terrified but looking forward to helping out.

Us techs got ready for Hammer Time and broke for lunch.

Hammer Time was at 1 and I took notes on what patchwork would be needed for Thursday. I gave my input on stage plot and other things as well during this time. This show looks like it is going to be as good as last Thursday's show.

After Hammer Time, I rerecorded one of Dan's songs since the first time I did it, it was too soft. I learned more as we redid it and Dan was being patient with me...and laughing at me :) But I did it correctly this time!

After that, I watched some TV with Tavis until Community Dinner. We had Community Time after that which was...interesting.

After that we watched Amadeus for class discussion tomorrow morning. We watched the Director's Cut which was 3 hours. But I loved it and thought that more of the artist's should have liked it as well since it was a movie about MUSIC. I don't think people were happy to watch it. THEIR LOSS!!!!!

I'm in a mood to smack people or yell. I was getting pretty sarcastic this evening. :(

Gotta work on that...

By the way...I had a prayer request about Gma Swanson. I miss her a lot after talking about her health. I started crying. Of course people who don't know me are surrounded by me and don't comfort me.

...Yeah guys. We definitely are doing a good job at getting to know each other (too sarcastic?).

...If it helps my case, I wasn't the only one crying...and they weren't comforted.

Anyway, tomorrow is press conference.

"WHY'S THE SCREEN SO DARK?"

Oh Candice...

Today my day didn't go as I thought it would, but it was still a good day :)

I started off the day sleeping in :) It felt nice. My bed here is sooo cold and I LOVE it...so I just kept turning over and falling back asleep. *sigh* such a nice feeling.

Then I went to Chipotle for lunch by myself which was nice because I'm never alone and that is weird for an only child.

When I got back I started watching Legally Blonde with Tavis while I practiced my guitar at the CMC.

All of a sudden I saw some of the techs onstage. For a second, I thought I had missed a memo.

They decided to clean up the stage a bit and put mics and cables back up on the drums and the rest of the stage, so I helped.

Then Joe and I started messing around with the lights. It was fun. We kept making sequences of the parkhands and the blinders. Then we were trying to figure out how to save it. THIS is where it got funny. I don't know what was wrong with me but I was totally not understanding what Joe wanted me to press on the lighting computer. Haha! He kept saying, "Press hold...press hold...press...hold. Hold step until....press hold step until." "What is wrong with you?!" "I WILL teach you to do this faster!" It was hilarious!!!!! We just kept laughing at how slow I was. I'm still laughing about it. I just wasn't getting it. Again: Joe must think I'm an idiot.

Next I set up my own lighting situation; it was red and blue without the extreme patriotic look. We kept trying to save it but we couldn't. We will try it again another day; I remember what I did to make it work.

Jacob asked Warren to show us how to save later on today and he showed us, but i think the motion lights were on too long because they started acting up so we just stopped.

I went back to playing my guitar for awhile and then came back to the apartment.

Tonight is PJ's and Pancakes at CMC. Fellowship and the movie, "That Thing You Do." I AM SO EXCITED! I LOVE THAT MOVIE!

"Wait, what?!"

It takes a girl's mind sometimes...

Today we watched the recording of the show last night. Warren and Tom commented on oopsies and ways the artists had stage presence. There were definitely things to laugh at. Us techs didn't get many notes but I wrote down what we need to improve on.

After the video, the techs spent the next three hours fixing lights on stage. The problems had to do with signal flow and bad cables. I was even a little help when we were trying to figure out what to do with a bad puck. I helped as best I could at the lighting computer. We also checked the mic stands to see which were usable and which were not. We got a lot accomplished.

I have a long road ahead of me...much to learn...much to observe...much to do. But I'm dedicated and I hope Marcus, Warren and the guys see that. :)

Tomorrow? Rehearsals and Chipotle ;)

Rubik's Cube

Today proved to me that I have so much to learn and such a long ways to go.

I was so overwhelmed. Right now the tech world is like a rubik's cube in my hands, and I'm colorblind.

I will not complain because it will take too long...

But I am tired of making mistakes.

Today was the CMC Live Show and the artists did a great job. All their songs are in my head. :)

I watched from the lighting computer. I am kind of glad they didn't give me responsibility because I would've freaked and because I was enjoying watching the artists perform.

But I am ready to LEARN!

Tomorrow we watch the tape of the performance and get critiqued; it should be interesting.

"PUT THE DISCO BALL ON"

WOWSERS! I'M SURROUNDED!

I don’t even know where to start............

Summary of today: I really need to step up.

Poor Joe, I feel like he thinks I’m an idiot.

Today started with a Critical Listening class at 9:30. We had a pop quiz on how many songs we knew and their bands. You get a point for the title, a point for the band name. Max you can get is 120. Candice got 34. Papa Schlaegel would be disappointed in me lol. It was fun to listen to Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Katy Perry, Rihanna, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Brandon Heath, The Kinks, Buffalo Springfield, the Beatles and other awesome artists.

Then we had our track class. We discussed the show tomorrow and then Warren taught us about lighting. I felt at home! I felt like I was back in Olentangy High School Braves Theatre. :) We talked about parkhands, LED lights, Pucks, Sparklers, and the moving lights. Warren went over how to make them do certain things and how to program it. I look forward to working with the lights. Hopefully I will get some free time in the future to play around with it. We even messed with the fog machine!!!!

Then I had lunch. Cheese Manicotti and White Cheddar Cheez-Its. Be jealous. ;)

Then Joe helped me set up for the Demo Derby…

I WAS TERRIBLE AT RECORDING! I was messing up and my headphones didn’t work. AHH! The artists and their managers were nice about it though. I have decided to research more about mixing in ProTools and with 002 racks because, yeah…I could have DEFINITELY done better. Grr.

After I recorded Meredith, Kylie, and Dan, I bounced the file to disk and then put the converted mp3s up on the Community computer.

After that was successful, I helped Joe start setting up the stage for our arranging tonight.

Tonight is also the Open House at John and Jenny’s house. I look forward to it hanging with them.

Tom and Warren told us that we would get sick of music and get frustrated with people after a while. Is it bad that I feel that way already? Not music, exactly, but just…I don’t know. You know me, I work so hard. And this semester is something that I do not know well so I’m working as hard as I can…which makes a short temper. I’m stressed that I won’t understand everything. I’m scared the artists and managers won’t want to use me because I suck. RAWR!

Now Mom and Dad, don’t go calling me…I’m not depressed everyone. Just frustrated. My attitude needs to skyrocket or people are going to think I’m crazy. Haha. Maybe I am…

The CMC is where I want to be though. I am proud of myself that I haven’t gone insane with homesickness. THAT IS REALLY GOOD.  I’m proud at how much I’m trying to pick up.

But I expect the BEST from myself. I can’t be so hard on myself or I will break.

Another thing…silence is difficult here. Haha. I’m in the mailroom at school right now and it STILL isn’t quiet. Ashley is practicing on the Main Stage and I can hear as if she’s at the door (she is UPstairs).

I will get better at this. *sigh* haha.

Until next time…I’ll tell you about the show :)

“SET IT ONSTAGE…”

The Reference Guide to ProTools

Today, Today, Oh Today. Today felt like two days. 

9:30 we had class. We talked about our purpose (goals, wants, needs). I enjoyed my high school breakfast- Starbucks chilled Mocha. :)

10:30 we had our track classes. Today was Demo Derby. This is where artists have thirty minutes to record five songs in one of the 002 rooms- this is difficult to do in half an hour. So the techs listened to Marcus explain the software ProTools since that is what we use for recording. It was so fun! *sarcasm* I was soooo lost. I was not following a lot of things that the guys seemed to know and ask about. Boo. We also during this time moved equipment into the studio rooms.

Lunch was dominated by situating the rooms and ran into our next class at 1:00.

1:00 we had class about how to make a living as an artist. We talked about royalties and getting paid for what you record.

2:00 DEMO DERBY. I have been told not to gossip or complain. So I won’t. But I will say one thing: People irritate me more than they should. My fellow tech, Joe, had to tell me several times, “It’s alright, Candice, everything will work out.” You know I’m a worrier! I was supposed to be in the room with my fellow tech Evan but because of space, I stayed in the hallway while the artists and techs were in the studios recording. I listened to Maxine, Stephanie, Mike, and AnnaMarie do their demos. Let me say AGAIN, these artists are amazing.

After the demo derby, Evan talked to me about not being too hard on myself for not knowing a lot yet. Then I watched fellow tech, Josh, “bounce the tracks to disk.” I watched both he and Evan because tomorrow will be my turn to record the artists and I don’t want to look like an idiot.

I don’t want to look like an idiot so much that I actually took The Reference Guide of ProTools down to one of the 002 rooms and read it. This book is the size of the fifth or sixth Harry Potter. Let’s just say I didn’t read the WHOLE thing.

So after my almost aneurysm, I decided to see if our director, Warren, needed help. He did. And was happy to have it. Josh and I helped him clean and organize the Main Stage and monitor area next to the stage.  I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL WITH THE MAN IN CHARGE! Josh and I learned a lot! Haha. We learned what snippers and cable ties are. It was awesome. I loved being able to help Warren- I didn’t feel useless.

Sooo  1.) he knew I was dedicated and 2.) he learned my name really quick because he kept asking me to do stuff :D YAY!

After that, Josh and I put equipment and cables away to make the stage look decent. Let us see how long that lasts ;)

Today was so awesome but long (I just ate dinner at 8) and tomorrow will be an adventure.

Now leave me to my research on ProTools and technical music terms…

“WHY AM I SUCH A LOSER?!” (asked this to myself MANY times today)

Hammer Time! (Not MC Hammer...sorry)

Today was the first day of classes. Execs had class with Tom, Artists with Rick Elias, and techs with Marcus.

Marcus talked about a lot of stuff I didn't understand. I'm kinda looking forward to being thrown into where I have to know what I'm doing. THAT is how I will learn...unless I went over to his house and had him explain things for hours...which I WON'T do. So I believe I will be the one learning the most. BUT THAT'S OKAY :)

After class I helped Marcus set up for Hammer Time. Hammer Time is when all the artists and their bands or accompaniment take the stage and practice their songs. THEN Tom and Warren (mostly Warren) help/critique to make them better. Today was mild with the helping and critiquing. I've heard sometimes Warren makes people cry. But I think we have a good and talented group...so maybe that won't happen.

During Hammer Time, I was on monitors, the wedges that help the artists hear themselves or another instrument onstage. I didn't do much while they were performing but Marcus wanted me there just in case.

This morning and afternoon was exciting. I can't wait to learn more and be a big help. But it will take time.

Tonight we have a community dinner of spaghetti. YUM!

Everybody ready?

And it finally happened!

Today I thought would be a big waste of time for me, a tech, but it wasn't!

First I set up my computer to print off one of the printers at CMC. Then I ate lunch, listened to Dan Alle practice, and read a book.

I then listened to my roommates Meredith and Whitney with Audrey, Alex, and Luke practice for the show on Thursday. GOODNESS GRACIOUS, it was beautiful. I am looking forward to Meredith's performance!

Then Jason Blasing and I changed a Concept light since the one that was hanging had it's mirror shattered. So I helped Jason change it and went back to reading.

BUT THEN Marcus got there and I followed him around the rest of the day. He talked to me about FOH (Front of House), MON (Monitor), snakes for FOH and MON, and the how to wrap the cables (since I need MUCHO practice). We also organized the stage and tuned the drums of the drum kit. He was so nice and explained everything I asked about. It's going to be great working with him.

...And not until right now did I realize that being the only tech who doesn't play ACTUALLY is a good thing because Marcus knows I am dedicated all the time.

Next we went to one of the recording rooms (W02) and figured out how to set up the mics and ProTools. ProTools is the program we will work with this semester with engineering. :) I'm excited!!!!

And I learned today that my guitar strings are thicker than everyone else's. :( New guitar? Or just new strings? I guess my birthday list and Christmas list next year will be guitar-related.

TICK TICK CHECK CHECK!

*Looks around*...

So today we had a meeting and then we were released to that artists and execs could meet with each other since every artist was assigned to a exec/manager.

And what did I do? I tried to find something to do.

Since I can't play my guitar well, no one will be asking me to accompany them. It's fine but it meant I didn't have anything to do.

So I went back to the apt, practiced my guitar since I felt like a failure, listened to people practice, went to Kroger than ate dinner and read a book.

Summary of this day? I am beginning to realize that I do not fit in with these talented people.

The artists can sing and play and write. The executives are doing a great job of managing their artists and making plans. And the guys (aka techs) know SOMETHING about tech when it comes to music.

Candice does not. My experience is a beginners book on guitar, Lakeside (which I didn't touch the sound or light board), and theatre (once again no touching of sound or lights).

Sooooo....hmmmm... who is going to look like the blonde valley girl when we start doing tech stuff? ME!

*sigh* I have been looking forward to this semester forever. But now that I'm here, I'm not sure if I can do it. Am I cut out for this? Can I learn from this semester or am I going to get fed up?

I want this to be the experience I've been dreaming of.

Please get off stage...

Would have been better in a comfy chair...

Today started off with Tom talking to us about how to make money as an artist. It's interesting to hear about the information for the artists and execs.

After lunch we went to Blackbird Studios, one of the top notch studios in Nashville. We met with Vance Powell who talked to us about editing and producing songs. He works with Jack White, from The White Stripes and Raconteurs. He had great stories about Jack and all his connections to music. He also talked about The Quantum of Solace song that he created and how cut up it got in the movie version. We listened to the instrumental version (without Alicia Keyes and Jack White's voice); it was amazing! I enjoyed myself but had to sit on the floor which made it uncomfortable. I tried to focus on what he was saying but it was hard. Their bathrooms were nice! Haha.

Next we went to the Grammy's Nashville Office and talked with an alum from CMC from Semester 2. We talked about Grammy U, a program for college students in the music industry, and talked about the Grammy's.

THEN we got caught in snow and traffic. John was driving and he made the hour and a half drive fun. "PLEASE DRIVE FASTER!"

Today was fun. Tomorrow classes kind of start.

This has been such a great experience and I can't wait to get my hands dirty!

ROCK OUT!