Nero
Nero is a four-piece rock band from Dublin City, Ireland. They formed in late 1997 and over the past four and a half years have played the Irish club and college circuit to critical acclaim and an ever-increasing fan base. They have played to packed houses in many of Ireland’s premier live venues, both North and South of the border, including frequent sell-outs of Dublin’s 600 capacity Temple Bar Music Centre. Currently, Nero are in the US for an extended tour. Nero is currently based in San Francisco and touring all around California.
“Community”
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“Dissolve”
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Travel Tips: How To Sleep With A Snorer In The Room
How To Sleep With A Snorer In The Room
Not long ago, I was on another business trip, where I could expect to work long hours and also share a hotel room with a fellow co-worker. Traveling is fun, but sharing a hotel room with someone you hardly know, for more than a week, can be a complete drag. There are so many variables that can come into play. One that has always plagued me and left me completely frustrated, and at a loss for words (until now) is sharing a room with someone who snores. I don’t care what anyone says, people who snore always fall asleep first. My theory never fails! It’s also no one’s fault, and that’s a very important thing to remember here. Don’t blame your friend; instead be prepared. Below are five tried and trusted things I discovered on my last trip, that may help you get to sleep, which is in fact the goal here. Amazingly enough, you can do all of these without getting out of bed!
1. Make sure, regardless if the person says they snore or not, that you always look for the bed that is closest to the room thermometer! This is a simple preventative step folks. Read on.
2. Once you hear the snoring hit the airwaves, try boosting the AC for 10 minutes. Doing this causes your rooming buddy to roll over off of their back (which many times is the problem), and assume the fetal position. All this, without you laying a finger on them. This should stop the snoring powers that be, just long enough for you to dose off into happy land.
3. Turn the television on and increase the volume gradually. The trick is to act like you guys might have fallen asleep with the TV on. This way, if your snoring buddy wakes up, he’ll turn it off and not suspect you of foul play. This will buy you a few minutes to catch the train to sleepy town. Also, I have found that the added noise makesthe snorerquiet down for a few minutes. In any case, you may find that the sound of the TV is something that you can fall asleep to. If this is the case having the TV on may do the trick.
4. The Alarm clock. Especially in a hotel room, the alarm clock may be one of your greatest defenses against a snorer. Though it is small, it can pack a devastating blow to your snoring opponents. Beware! Setting the alarm clock too loud may cause your buddy to violently wake up, thus leading to an altercation of sorts between the two of you. Remember the goal is to get some sleep, not to get into a hotel brawl. Usually setting the alarm buzzer to a nominal level does the trick. Be patient, they will eventually wake up. If you get to edgy, you may cause your buddy to wake up,exposing your attemptto pump up the volume.
5. Last but not least, ear plugs! In 1962 Ray and Cecilia Benner created the first silicon earplugs. Although earplugs have been around for quite some time, most historians admit to not being able to pinpoint the first originator(s) of the earplugs. Whoever you are, we remember you and salute you today. Although most people don’t carry these around, most hotels have small stores, where they are sold.. Why? Not because of the airplanes that travel above, or the cars that move below, but because they know people snore. Anyway, earplugs help as long as you get them in before your buddy starts to dose off.. You have a better chance of getting to sleep with those in your ears, than trying to plug up your ears after having listened to the symphony of snores.
In my travels I have found that these tips have helped me in getting a good night’s sleep. Remember don’t be angry with the snorer, it’s not entirely their fault. Also, keep in mind that you may snore too. Just be prepared!
view article on Relevant here.
5 Tips to a Better Brainstorm
How do you brainstorm?
Brainstorming in my opinion should be one of the most exciting times for a staff. Any time I can “collab” (collaborate) with co workers I go for it. As a producer/wannabe songwriter, I have found that brainstorming in the context of songwriting is a special type of collaboration that can really unlock and set into motion ideas that single handily would be impossible. It’s really not all that different in any other situation. This is one of the reasons brainstorming is so valuable. I was talking with friend and marketing wizard Alejandro about this exact topic. The question came up addressing why is it that for many, Brainstorming has become another “meeting?” The creative barometer barely moves. It’s like a rev limiter that stops the group from surpassing the thinking stage. The result? Boredom.
This is a large part of the problem. Kick A@# Brainstorming sessions start with a little anticipation. The anticipation going into it contributes to the tone of the session. The term “Brainstorming Session” alone is not enough to fuel the fire in people or keep the anticipation going. This must be fueled by actualities. In other words, the Brainstorming session has to actually be alive, real, honest, rockin, to be truly effective and to keep people excited about coming. The more excitement and anticipation the more likely your crew will be in the mental state to hash out ideas. But before any of this can actually happen, it has got to be safe for people to express their ideas. People have to completely forget that they are being vulnerable by sharing. Here are a few things I have seen that work well:
1. Block out some time. Make sure you give yourself enough time to actually have a productive session. 20-30 min will not do.
2. Go for Quantity not Quality. More times than not a really good idea is birthed from a number of small ideas. In his book “Getting things done” David Allen suggests that a number of ideas (25-50 ideas) be established first before you move on.
3. Don’t Analyze. In brainstorming, ideas are king so don’t step on them by analyzing what you can or can’t do right away. There is always a guy in the group who likes to say “we can;t do that because…” This is a no no. In the cases where the ideas are too big for your britches than a variation or an agreeable compromise can still be established. Usually I have found that when people are allowed to share their thoughts freely they also step up to help make them happen.
4. Stimulate. Use some media to stimulate thinking. Many companies use visual aids to think about target audiences or to get some inspiration. This also contributes to climate of your session. People start talking about what’s cool about a piece etc..
5. Track and Organize. If possible, track the hot ideas and then start organizing. Go through them and see which ones share connections. Create a picture of what this would look like and then begin discussing what would need to happen to get it done.
I’d love to hear what works for you…
Live Sound Projects
Below is a list of some of reoccurring shows I have worked on.
Recent shows include:
National Association for Broadcaster (NAB)
National Association for Music Manufactures (NAMM)
Audio Engineering Society (AES)
Winter Music Conference (WMC)
Digiworld
Christian Musician Summit (CMS)
WFX
Infocomm
Techxplosion
Inspiration for Worship Technologies
