What I’m Doing Now

What I’m Doing Now

OK folks, I know… it’s been a little while since I updated this. So here is the June 20, 2017 update.

These are the things I am working on now, in no particular order.

Pepperhead Studios:

• Peter Mastroianni Collab
  • Material recorded in late 2016 and early 2017 has been reviewed and we have a playlist up on SoundCloud. We are reviewing additional material from those sessions in the hope that we have enough for a few more pieces. I am happy with the variety of the material, and so glad we decided to make this happen in our spare time.
• Playing bass in some projects…
  • Ed Zuber Project – original rock, punk songs with guitarist/songwriter Ed Zuber and drummer Urie Kline. Our last practice before Maker Faire was really good, and I think we’re on the verge of something special, particularly when Mike Hickey joins us.
  • Negodniki jazz ensemble for the occasional show.
• JD Blues Band??
  • It’s certainly a possibility. My love of blues goes back to my primary influences, who where all either blues bands or inspired by blues. A recent jam with Kurt Smith on bass, and Urie Kline on drums was invigorating, so we’ll see where this goes. I’ve been thinking about putting out all of my blues originals as a collection, and I also have a number of covers that I enjoy. There is also a possibility that local producer Mark Sarisky might get in on the action!
• Producing “Henry Davis” a new alt-rock concept album with songwriter and vocalist Barry J. Davis. The material is centered around the character Henry Davis, with historical references to the Molly Maguires. Written and conceived by Barry, the project features John Henry (guitar), Dave Eisenhower (drums), Terry Wright (fiddle), Kurt Smith (bass), with production and sonic treatments by Jeremy dePrisco. We just finished our second live recording session (May 20). Now we go into overdubs, editing and final prep for a Fall 2017 release.
• Performing with Fricknadorable in our Summer performance season.
• Recently backed two musical Kickstarter projects, including the KOMA Field Kit, and the DADA Machines kit. The former has arrived, so new crazy sounds on the horizon.
• NOT MULTITASKING! – read about the research!!

Geisinger:

• IT Project Manager for:
  • a PCORI-funded Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) study to assist patients with learning about treatment modalities.
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome project to examine how patients are assigned and adhere to their discharge medications.
  • Return of Results project for our Genomics Team.
  • Patient reported data (PRD) project for the Kidney Health Research Institute.
• Continuing to man the Rebel Outpost of Design Thinking within our team. As always, this is an uphill battle made more complex by project timelines, organizational barriers and culture issues.
• NOT multi-tasking – read the business case!!

Personal:

• Lost my iPod May 22, and have been experiencing life without a huge chunk of my listening library at my fingertips. Very frustrating.
• 2017 Season Peppers
  • The usual habanero and jalapeno this year, but also found some ghost plants that looked good. I grew ghost from seed a couple years back, but this time have tried plants from a nursery. Already have orders for fresh peppers, so if you want a piece of this, get in touch!
•  Reading:
  • Current: How Music Works, David Byrne
    • Nicholson translation of Rumi’s Masnavi (complete with many bad OCR errors). Finished book 2, not looking forward to book 3. Terrible translation, but feel I am committed now (or should be).
• Electronics experiments & gadgets:
  • To be fair, this has been slow going, and I don’t get much done during the summer because the weather is too nice to stay inside.
• Continuing to examine my career trajectory closely through a Napoleon Hill lens.
• Listening: Jethro Tull (remasters and reissues)
• Sometimes watching Netflix, mostly in the winter. Highly recommended list for archival purposes:
  • UK series The Code
  • BBC’s Egypt 6-part series
  • I Dream of Wires
  • How We Got to Now with Steven Johnson
  • Inside Man with Morgan Spurlock
  • Wild India, Wild China
  • I’ll Have What Phil’s Having
  • “Long Way Around”, and “Long Way Down”
  • Cooked (Netflix original series)
  • Warrior Women with Lucy Lawless
  • Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain
  • Harry Smith Project – Revisited
  • Soundbreaking
  • India’s Frontier Trains
  • The Moaning of Life
  • Space Race (BBC series)
  • Soundbreaking
  • Africa (with David Attenborough)
  • Fabric of the Cosmos
  • The Seventies (also good, Eighties, Sixties by same producers)
  • American Epic (PBS) – truly outstanding!
• NOT MULTITASKING!! More research!!