I have had stuff released before, but it was always a part of a band project…. Now, for the first time, I am releasing one of my own tracks on Spotify and all streaming platforms this Friday… And hopefully once every month thereafter once I get some of these Social Media and Marketing concepts down… I know the whole “pre-save” thing is lame, but here is the link for anyone who might be interested: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/theolde/psychedelic-flowers P.S. ALWAYS remember not to eat the brown acid!

I know quite a few of you know @Mark Lantz from various programs at Mastering.com . We found out earlier today that Mark passed away Sunday morning. We don't know the details but I'm asking you to keep Mark's wife Laura in your prayers. Last month Mark released "Always by my Side", a song he wrote and produced about and dedicated to his wife. Mark and I have had many conversations, 1 on 1 zoom calls, mentor calls, and chat messages. I have watched him progress since Sept 2023 as he started his musical journey with us. He went from not knowing anything about the DAW to becoming a great producer utilizing his natural singing ability and talent. While I am very sad that he has passed away, I know he was a man of great faith and is in the promised land today. There is so much more I can say about Mark, and will over time, but for now, I'll just post a link to his Spotify songs he released with the help of his mentors and community of friends in the program. If anyone ever tells you your music isn't important, stay away from them - there is power in music ... Mark's music, and his journey to get to where he released songs, touched many people and is an inspiration to us all. Here's a link to his Spotify page with his songs "Always by my Side" and "Into the Light", both of which hit home today for me. R.I.P. my friend ... see you in Heaven. https://open.spotify.com/artist/4qpArhT1mBq5vW0ZfK5seb?si=pfVMUPtTRYOFQ1vuJ_vCyQ

inMusic is the parent company behind AKAI, Moog, M-Audio, and many others. The companies have an existing working partnership with the recent integration of NKS into AKAI and M-Audio hardware. Now, with the acquisition of Native Instruments, which entered insolvency in January of this year, inMusic will also own: - Native Instruments - iZotope - Brainworx - Plugin Alliance Comment with your thoughts below! Image credit: inMusic

Last month I focused deeply on rhythm programming and groove. One thing that really stood out to me was learning not only how to create groove from scratch, but also how to extract groove from an audio file and turn it into a groove template that can be applied to any track. Then I watched Produce-A-Ton and didn’t find any discussion about the groove templates or aligning all instruments to one groove. It looked liked something not really important. But I’m curious about your workflow: How often do you actually apply groove templates to your tracks? Is it something you use regularly, occasionally for certain genres, or almost never? And when you do use groove, do you prefer creating your own feel or extracting it from existing audio?

Insert virtual instrument onto new track is not working since I have an altered setup. I think it may be a moved folder issue, but if anyone is proficient in Reaper I could use some help. Thank you.