Terra Firma

cats, dogs, and chill blues vibes

The Static Dive

Jul 25, 2026

The animals are taking over

…but I found solid ground and cool blues on the other side of the room.

The island of misfit toys

We’re a house full of rescues, available in two, three, and four legged varieties.

Murphy is the black dog you see above. He’s always here in the studio with me. Technically, Murph is not my dog. Sarah’s daughter adopted him ten years ago. He adopted me a couple years later

We have another dog, a Shih Tzu named Lilly. She travels with mom during the day while dad works from home.

Then there are the cats. CC (grey tiger, boy), Rey (white & black, girl), and Mittens (black & white tuxedo, girl). They usually steer clear of the studio, because I make a lot of noise and I am clumsy.

However, their attitude has changed. Rey, while recovering from an illness, has claimed the studio as her own. Which incidentally has also prompted frequent CC visits.

Studio B

Rey’s arrival in the studio, although welcome, has caused a temporary shift in logistics. I have two desks. Under normal circumstances one is for music and one for IT work.

As you can see above, the music desk has been commandeered by my adorable (and still under-the-weather) new roommate. I cannot bring myself to evict her. So, all recording activities have temporarily moved to Studio B (the other side of the room).

A view askew

Years ago I read a Neil Young interview in which he said (paraphrasing) each guitar has a finite number of songs within it. So, one must change instruments to find new inspiration.

No doubt, the logic is questionable. Regardless, Mr. Young’s advice has proven valuable over the years.

A shift in circumstance equals a shift in perception, and new art arises. I rolled my chair to the other side of the room and found a jazzy little blues vibe there.

Though the final video was all about the guitar, I really dig this abstract bass track.

My analog world

With the stripped-down studio, my options for electronic instruments were limited. I was working with a fresh install of ProTools on my MacBook Neo. It does not have all the same plugins and virtual instruments as my main studio computer.

So I kept it simple and totally analog. There are two guitar tracks. On each I am playing my hollow-body Ibanez AF55 guitar through a vintage Holmes Pro Compact 210 amp which I found in my garage a couple months ago.