Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everybody. I thought I'd celebrate with a brand new podcast.

This week's show features mewithoutYou, Bon Iver, and some guys who beat on a washing machine.



Listen to the podcast here!

Peace,

Joshua

JoshCast011

New podcast up.

I guess mypodcast.com reduced the amount of bitrate they allow to be saved on their site, so I had to reduce the sound quality a little to get it to fit. Luckily, with my new condenser mic, everything worked out okay.

You can download the newest edition of the podcast here.

Featuring:

Passion Pit

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Andrew Osenga

and much more!

Check it out!

Peace,

Joshua

Update

I'm out of town for the weekend in Kansas City (well, Liberty, technically), and it was brought to my attention that I haven't posted in a while.

With the craziness in all my classes, preparation for seminary, and an upcoming marriage, it's pretty safe to say I've been occupied with other things.

Anyway. I'm not going to take this time to catch you all up on everything that's happened in the last month or two, but I will give you these three things:

1) I finally got my new guitar. It's an Alvarez FF60WR folk-style cutaway acoustic-electric. It sounds AMAZING, and I'm so lucky to have it! I can finally plug in! And the best part is, even though it's a discontinued model, the list price was originally around $900, and I got it on ebay (plus a hard case, which runs around $100) for only $250. I can't wait to do some jamming!

2) Andrew Osenga's EPs, "Letters to the Editor, Vol.'s 1 and 2." I've been obsessed with this guy for a couple months now. His basic mixing and layering of vocals with guitar melodies is astounding, and I love his lyrical content. I highly encourage you to download both EPs for free (and completely legally!) at his website. They make excellent road trip music. Let yourself be challenged by his message.

Check out "Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates" below:



3) Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, KS. The home of the CREATE program, and my hopeful choice for my Master's degree in Divinity. I went in for admissions interviews on Friday, hence my staying in Liberty with Tyler and Jess this weekend.

Peace,

Joshua

A Moral Conundrum

Oh man. Is it really down to either LOST or the Simpsons?

Come on!

Holy Week and Stuff

I don't really know how many people read this blog (I don't know how many views I get on a regular basis--probably not many, but some comments sure would be nice, just to know people are reading. Hint hint), so I'm not really sure how religious you folks are.

I'm taking a week off of facebook to disconnect myself a little, to try to clear my head and think and pray a little bit. It's Holy Week, the most sacred time of the year on the Christian calendar, which remembers the last week Jesus was alive in Jerusalem before the Romans executed him as a revolutionary. So I'm taking some time to myself to meditate on what it means to follow the heart of Christ. I think that the crux (no pun intended) of Jesus's message is that if you believe in something strongly enough, and you're willing to fight for it--nonviolently--you have to be prepared for the consequences. That's a lot of theology packed into a tight paragraph, but it's all I'm really willing to go for tonight. Please don't think I'm a crazy religious fanatic. By the way, on a obliquely similar but completely different subject: if you're interested in reading a paper I just wrote on Luke's beatitudes ("Blessed are you who..."), you can check it out at my more politically/religiously charged blog here. Let me know what you think.

Anyway. Here's my new obsession, which I mentioned a few weeks ago.

t's really similar to a monome, but a couple hundred dollars cheaper. In this video, the program being run is very similar to an iPhone app I saw Matt use once, but I'm hoping (once I acquire one) to move on to some more difficult programming. I feel like I'm on the verge of having everything I need (want) to make the kind of music I'm looking for. It just might take me a while to get there, what with me getting married and all. :) It looks like I won't be playing much music for a while pretty soon.

My posts here might increase slightly in the next week, since I won't be on facebook. Be sure to check in on me periodically.

Peace,

Joshua

Jam Session

So...

I had an awesome jam session with my new friend Daniel Atwood and his friend Nathan last night. We played well into the wee hours o' the morning, but it was totally worth it. Here's a snippet of the almost two hours of recording time I caught with the mics (the acoustics in the room aren't so great, but not bad, considering we were using my little CAD condenser mic and a little pencil mic):


Also, Alyssa got me a neat little tea pot yesterday from a local thrift/antique/hipster shop while I was at work. I'll post pictures sometime soon.

Also, I'm reading this book now:



It's incredibly awesome, and I would love to find someone else who's read it and have a conversation with them about it. I'm not entirely sure why it kicked up as much controversy as it did, unless--like most controversies--the people who protested the release of both the book and the movie had neither seen nor read either of them.









Also, I just received word today that one of my poems is being published by this literary journal.


I also get a chance to record myself reading the poem (It's called "My Family Names Their Clocks and I Don't Know Why") for the literary journal's Illinois public radio program for NPR. So that's cool.





Also, I recently won the Sigma Tau Delta writing competition, and will receive some a little money and publication in our school's student lit mag. That's cool, too.

Hope this finds you all well. In the meantime, don't let things like this get you down.

I'm doing my best to not let it affect me.

Peace,

Joshua

New Guitar

Well, I did it.

I bought my first guitar.

Well, technically it's my second. I got my first guitar, a Takamine G-Series Dreadnought, for my 18th birthday from my family, and it sat unused for the better part of a year and a half before I picked it up to start learning.
I've been playing for about three years or so now, and finally thought it was time to move on.

I love my Takamine, and it will forever be my first guitar--the one I learned to play on, the one I used to lead music at camp and at worship services. But it's not quite adequate for the type of music I want to play now.

I ended up paying $260 for an Alvarez FF60WR on ebay. It comes with a hard case. It looks like a fantastic guitar, and--the most important part--it's an electric acoustic. For years I've struggled with not being able to plug my little dreadnought in, and the FF60WR comes with a System 600 MKII preamp and EQ. I don't think the FF60WR is made anymore, but the list price used to be around $700 or $800, if I remember right. Plus, the guy I bought it from threw in a hard case, as well. I think I got a pretty sweet deal, but we shall see.

Here's a weird, sideways Bob Dylan-ish demonstration.

British comedy night with Alyssa

Yep. That's it.

Earlier, we settled down to watch the incredibly funny "In the Loop," a political satire about the incompetence of government intelligence. I think my favorite part was the effortlessly foul-mouthed angry Scottish character played by Peter Capaldi. It's brilliant satire, but also kind of sad--you'll see why when you see the movie.

Okay, the second film isn't really a British comedy, but it does start English actor/comedian Ricky Gervais (as well as a bazillion other really big stars--Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tina Fey, Edward Norton, Christopher Guest, and several others all make excellent cameo appearances). It's "The Invention of Lying." The title is pretty self-explanatory.

In short--watch them both. Although the first is by far more intellectual than the second, "The Invention of Lying" is definitely worth watching, if for no other reason than to turn your brain off and laugh for a little while.

"Love Is Not Against the Law"

Another video from our concert at Mississippi Mud House. This is "Love Is Not Against the Law," by Derek Webb.
Sorry for the cutting off on the right side of the video--this site does weird things to Youtube formatting. When I get the actual video files, I'll post them to Vimeo.

I've been thinking about new instruments lately. I was tweeting with Derek Webb the other day, and he suggested the Livid Block to me as a viable substitute for a monome (they're a little more than a hundred bucks cheaper, so yay!)



I've also been thinking a lot about getting a new guitar--not in the immediate future, but just pondering the implications, you know. I'm currently playing a Takamine G-series that's a pretty great guitar: I learned to play on it, and I've spent years leading worship in churches and at camp with it. But I'm not crazy about the sound. Also, it's not electric, so I have to use a pickup any time I want to play through speakers or amps.

So I've been looking for something fairly cheap, but of good quality and sound, with one of the main stipulations being that it has to be electric. And I just happened to stumble upon the Alvarez FFT243CWR. It's a very pretty guitar, and I've seen some videos of it in action. I really like the sound. It's apparently designed specifically as a "folk" instrument.



So let me know what you guys think. I've been thinking about Danger Mouse, Derek Webb, and other electronic/folk/indie musicians lately, and I'd really like to do some bleep and bloop work. If you happen to know anything about this kind of music production, send me an email at operationvittles@gmail.com.

Peace,

Joshua

Concert Video #3

This is "White Man," by the Michael Gungor Band.

Another Video

Here's "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore," by John Prine. The audience really liked this one.

"Flag Decal"--John Prine Cover by Berlin Airlift from Joshua Smith on Vimeo.

New Podcast

Now that we're not as busy working on songs for live performances, I'm able to take a little time to start figuring out how to use all this recording equipment I purchased. I did a little music podcast with the equipment today. The mic is much better than the one in my computer, but it still sounds a little like I'm talking into a cracker box. I'm hoping this'll change with a little studio engineering on my part. We'll see. I'm still learning.

You can check out the latest podcast here. This edition features Broken Bells, Waterdeep, Gorillaz, and more. Might want to be ready to crank up the bass/volume and jam for this one.

Peace,

Joshua

Messes of Men

Here's a video of our show opener, "Messes of Men," by mewithoutYou.

We started it off with an iPhone rain app, lead in with me on guitar (and later introduced the Electro-Harmonix Voice Box vocoder), and Alyssa played the omnichord. Matt, obviously, played drums.

A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three, fo'!

"Messes of Men," mewithoutYou cover by Berlin Airlift from Joshua Smith on Vimeo.

Our first (big?) show!

Our first show last night was awesome! A big thank you to everyone who showed up, both in person and in spirit. We are so lucky to have people willing to listen to us play. That's all for now, but here are some pictures. Expect a few videos up this week.









PS--Check out the awesome "Son of Man" vinyl sticker on my macbook (bottom right) that Alyssa got me for my birthday!

Peace,

Joshua

So, I figured out how to hook up my camera to my mac via USB...

It only took me six or seven months.
And here are a couple pictures of the new workspace. Nothing too fancy, but we're excited about it.









I also finally got a decent mix for my vocal condenser mic! It's taken forever to find a good setup, but I think it's working best in Garageband with the Noise gate set at -50dB, and the Visual EQ set at "Reduce 'S'." There's still a bit of a hiss and an echo, but I think that once we soundproof the room it should mostly go away.

In other news, our first "electrified" show is coming up on Saturday--that is, if you consider an acoustic pickup and a trap set "electrified." We've hit a few snags in attempting to find a decent place to practice. We don't actually have a trap set of our own, and so we've been borrowing a set that's been left in our building by another group, but borrowing can be unreliable--sometimes there are pieces missing that make it impossible to practice.

We're still practicing when we can, though, and we should be able to post some decent youtube or vimeo footage by Monday, I hope.

Thanks for believing in us!

Peace,

Joshua

Monome

I desperately want one of these...



It's called a monome. They run about $500, and the people that make them don't make a lot of them, so they're UBER hard to find. I'm saving up my nickels and dimes (not to mention crossing my fingers for berfday moneyz) to try to get one someday.



The only thing is, I'm afraid I'd get one and not have the skill to be able to make good use of it...

I know for certain though that Derek Webb has done some pretty cool stuff with a monome/midi controller. I have a very limited understanding of how electronic music works (although I'm trying like mad to change that), but I think given time and effort (and perhaps even someone to help me along), I could probably churn out some cool tunes.

New Goodies

A few more packages arrived in the mail this week. In preparation for our March 6th show, we've spent the week practicing with our new Electro-Harmonix Voice Box, a nifty little device with a fanTASTIC vocoder. We're using the vocoder setting in our cover of mewithoutYou's "Messes of Men," our awesome little show opener that will also feature Matthew on the trap set, and Alyssa on the omnichord. To listen to the original song, you can check it out here.

I also picked up a set of Johnson "Blues King" harmonicas (12 in all), with a case and everything, as well as a neck rack (the same kind Bill Mallonee has), so I can play the harmonica and guitar at the same time. Looks shnazzy. In the meantime, we're working like crazy to put on a hell of a show. I'm really excited with our unique blend of electric/electronic and acoustic folk, and can't wait to post the videos.

Peace,

Joshua

Anathallo

So, a few months ago I stumbled onto this band, Anathallo, and their song "The River" has become probably my second or third favorite song of all time. Posted here for you consideration is a live recording of the song, but please check out the studio version, as well. Also, read the lyrics--they're some of the most poetic lyrics of any piece I've ever heard.

"Feed the roots and honor the tongues of the animals":

The River by Anathallo from Andrew Blackwell on Vimeo.

I post this mainly because this is the sound and style Berlin Airlift (or, at least, me personally) is striving for. Unfortunately, good musicians are in unusually short supply in our tiny town of Cape Girardeau.

Also, I've been promising pictures for a while. We'll get there eventually. We're in the middle of setting up a small home recording studio in the basement of our building, and it's all pretty slow-going. Still working on getting speakers and a mixer board, and in the meantime working on our covers for our first big show on the 6th. We'll try to put some pics of the studio and all the goodies we've been getting via Amazon and local music stores lately, as well as a few promo pics when we get the chance. In the meantime, we appreciate your support and encouragement, and please, if you know anything about setting up a recording studio or expressing yourself through song, please contact us with your wisdom. Every little bit is appreciated.

Peace,

Joshua

An Addendum! (Try saying that ten times fast)

This just in...we've managed to purchase a couple extra pieces of equipment. Check out the Electro-Harmonix Voice Box vocal effects pedal Matt and I bought to go with our TC Helicon VoiceLive. It does some cool stuff. You can see how it works in these really cool indie music videos:





We're practicing/slowly putting the band together in time for the show in March. From time to time I'll keep you folks updated--we're experimenting with different sounds, and in the coming weeks I'll try to post some sound clips of the work we're doing.

Peace.

Joshua

Well, this IS a music blog, isn't it?

All of our goodies have arrived as of about noon today. The final tally (pictures to follow soon):

1. A Tascam US 122MKII digital interface
2. A CAD Condenser mic package (including a GXL2200 vocal mic, and a GXL1200 instrument mic)
3. Sennheiser headphones
4. A Lawrence acoustic soundhole pickup (my old Dean Markley was a piece of junk)
5. A TC Helicon VoiceLive vocal effects processor
6. A Schoenhut toy piano
7. A Noble antique accordion (needs a little fixing-up)
8. An antique mandolin from a Seattle Goodwill (looks kind of lute-ish. I like it.)
9. A Davison banjo
10. A Tycoon percussion shaker

That's all for now. We'll be sure to keep everyone filled in an updated here, so keep checking for developments. This is an adventure, learning to be a band, and we hope that you stick with us, and maybe learn a thing or two, as well. We're just as inexperienced as the next amateur indie folk band, and we need all the support/coaching we can get.

In the meantime, enjoy this crizazy one-take video to Ok Go's latest single, "This Too Shall Pass":

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

New equipment

We recently purchased a bunch of equipment and instruments, and we'll be posting pictures/sound clips periodically to update the blog as the packages come in the mail. For now, take a gander at our latest acquisition: a CAD GXL2200 vocal condenser mic (and a GXL 1200 instrument condenser mic, also).



The only drawback is that we don't have an interface yet, nor any of the proper cords to hook up the thing. But we've got a Tascam coming in the mail, and it should probably be here today.

More updates soon.

Peace,

Joshua

A new instrument came in the mail today...

Hi, everybody!

Today, I received a small package in the mail (along with a larger package of wedding invitations--but that's another story). Wasn't really sure what it was, although I had just purchased a bunch of instruments/band paraphernalia via Amazon and ebay on Saturday (not the least of which is a TC Helicon Voicelive vocal effects processor--check this out to see what it does).

Turns out it was a jaw harp, or "Jew's harp," if you want to be less politically correct. Or, if you want to be a little more bland, some folks just call it a mouth harp.



It took me half an hour or so to get any sound out of this weird little instrument, but I think I've got the hang of it. It only hurts when you bounce the metal off of your teeth or gums. Otherwise, it gives off a nice--almost cliche--folksy sound. We're planning on using it in a Woody Guthrie tune we're covering at a live performance at Mississippi Mud House in Cape Girardeau on March 6. I'm not going to tell you which tune, though, just to maintain the element of surprise. If you're curious, but unable to make it to the show, I'll probably post some videos of the concert sometime shortly afterward.

Peace,

Joshua

A Brief Introduction to the Band

A live recording from our first acoustic set at Mississippi Mud House in August '09. We've come a long way since then.