The Kids Are Ready To Die

Last week I decided I wanted to get involved in intramurals. I used to play soccer my sophomore and freshmen year of high school and always played on recreational leagues when given the chance, so I decided playing intramural soccer would be good for me. I contacted that area two coordinator to let him know I would be interested in playing soccer. He was keeping track of everyone in the area who was interested in intramurals. I gave him my name and he put me on the soccer list. A couple of days later I got an e-mail from the housing league chair saying that there will be a team and that I will be on it. Soon after I got an e-mail from the team captain. He was very nice and I could tell he really enjoyed the sport. We talked for a little while and discussed positions and availability. Later that week, after the team was full and all the paperwork was filled out, I got an e-mail from the captain about practice. The team of twelve was suppose to meet outside the KUC Tuesday at six. When I got to the KUC there was only about five other people there. They were the only ones to show up. Once we realized this we had to decide where to practice. Our captain was only a freshmen and he heard about a field we could use, but it was a long walk. The co-captain who was a senior thought it would be a better idea to just go to the recreation center and play on the indoor field. None of us really argued with him and thats what we did. It ended up being just as far a walk as the other field, but the indoor field was nicer because it already had other teams there. We were able to just hop on the field and scrimmage another team instead of having to run drills for practice. Once we started I could really tell how out of shape I was. I was sucking wind minutes after the first play and my legs were burning. It was painful for me, but luckily another team came and gave us a break. It was nice to sit down and relax, but I knew it wasn’t for long. It was our turn to play again and my legs once again burned when we played. I could only stay about and hour an half. I limped back to my dorm and took a long shower to try to sooth the pain. My legs were incredibly sore after that practice. I knew I wouldn’t be able to play for the team because I was so out of shape. I felt like I was ready to die every time we played. I told them I wouldn’t be able to play and they were disappointed, but they understood. I need to get back into shape on my own terms before I can play soccer at a competitive level again.

It Doesn't Mean A Thing

Last Tuesday I was scheduled to meet with my academic advisor. It was a requirement for my University 1010 class. We had take the focus test in class earlier in the year and we had to go to our advisor so they could help us interpret it. The test was suppose to state our skills and interests based on a series of questions and then list careers which best suited those skills and interests. I didn’t completely understand why this was a requirement because I already knew what I wanted to do which is work in the recording industry. I came to this school for the reason of studying the recording industry and that is what I intend to do. Nonetheless I didn’t argue and did what was required of me. When I got to the advisor I sat down and we began going over the focus test. I scored highest in Artistic. The next highest was Realistic and the third highest was Investigative. Artistic was very fitting for me because music is an art and I want a job involved in that art. Realistic also fit because I like to work with my hands which is why I’m interested in audio production. You use your hands a lot to create and/or edit the music on the computer along with running the sound board and other things. Investigative only kind of fit. The only way it applied to me was that I wanted to learn more about music all the time along with how to record. Other than for those two topics I’m not a very investigative person. We then look up jobs that fit my focus test. Nothing came up that went with the recording industry. The closest one we could find was choreographer, but we had to change the meaning from choreographer of dance to one of music. I didn’t really think this was the same thing, but I went along with it. I was thinking more of a producer would be a better fit. My advisor then started to tell me how the recording industry was a very hard industry to get a job in and made me look for other things I would be interested in doing. I did what she asked and thought of majoring  in computer science or aviation as an alternative. However, when we looked at the focus test, a job in either of these fields did not come up either. This didn’t discourage since I wasn’t really interested in those fields anyway, but my advisor seemed a little offset by it. She said she wasn’t trying to discourage me from pursuing a career in the recording industry, but her attitude seemed like she didn’t think it would be the best idea for me. I thought she was terribly wrong. I am very passionate about music so I believe with the passion I will have the drive to work hard and to succeed. I have heard from almost everyone that the industry is hard, but I’ve know that ever since I was first interested in career in it. I’m not going to stop chasing a career just because someone says it’s hard, even if its true. I’d rather try and fail than to not try and not have the chance to fail. What other people say about how hard the industry is, it doesn’t mean a thing.

Something New

Walking into my dorm room I immediately sit down at the computer. This isn’t unusual for me, in fact it has become my habit to sit down, even if only for thirty seconds, to check my Facebook and e-mail. When I went through this routine last Monday, I noticed I received an e-mail with the subject “Got Talent?” It was from the Area Two coordinator so I quickly opened it to see what it was about. The message stated that there would be an acoustic evening/talent show Friday September 9th along with a “Meat” and Greet for the people living in Area 2. While I normally would have been interested in performing at an event like this, I had nobody to perform with (I’m not a very good solo act) so I was a little discouraged by that. I still wanted to get involved with this event. I e-mailed the coordinator back asking if I could help set up and run sound for the show. Being a freshmen I didn’t expect to be able to help with much. I figured I would get in the way more than I could help, but I had to start getting involved somewhere. A couple of days later I got a reply. The coordinator responded saying he would love for me to help with setting up and running sound and to meet in the Smith Hall lobby Friday at 3:30. I excitedly accepted the offer and couldn’t wait for Friday. As the 9th rolled around I got up and went to my regular class that day. I came back and just relaxed in my dorm until 3:30. When the time finally came I quickly got up and headed over to Smith Hall. Jeremy, the guy who usually runs sound for these types of events, was already there and waiting. I introduced myself and we started to set up. I told him I had run shows like this before so he was confident he could tell me to do something and I would be able to do it without a problem. We took out all the equipment including tents, chords, stands, microphones, speakers, monitors, and the mixer. I quickly set everything up just like I would back at high school and then proceeded to check the mics. Once I knew they were all working, I checked the speakers and monitors. Jeremy was very helpful showing me how to use the mixer. I had used one before, but there are so many different makes and models, there is always a slight learning curve when you work with one you haven’t before. He showed me the basics of how the board functioned and I was ready to go in no time. He even told me that I better keep living in Area Two so that I can run sound when he was gone. He really had faith in me. The show started and went smoothly. I carefully adjusted the volume and tone of the speakers as needed to make sure everyone who played sounded good. Once the show got rolling Jeremy stood back and let me control everything for the most part.

I enjoyed my time getting to run sound and was glad I could get involved so early into my freshmen year. In high school I was known as the guy who ran sound for almost everything. It was really something new for me to have to take the initiative to get involved and try to get my name out there once again.

Why White Noise

I have been asked to explain why my blog is title "White Noise" so that is what this post will be about. There are two main reasons why the title is "White Noise" both in a way pertaining to music. Before I get into that however there are few things you need to know about me. The main big one is that I am a musician. I love music and everything remotely related to it. That doesn't mean I am a fan of all styles and genres of music (in fact I can be very opinionated about what I do and don't like at times), but rather that I can appreciate music wherever it may appear, even if it doesn't appeal to me on a personal level. With that being said lets get on to the title of this blog. The first reason I named it "White Noise" is what white noise is. It is basically static, much like a empty signals between radio stations. In my Intro to Music class I learned that white noise can be created from playing all or enough of the notes (A-G), including flats and sharps, together. All at the same time. This made me think how this blog could be about anything, but it is all in one place. At the same time. Each note could be and different post, completely unrelated to the last, or it could be about the exact same thing. Regardless, when you put all these notes together, white noise is created. The second reason is related to my favorite rock band, The Airborne Toxic Event. They got their name from the book also titled "White Noise" by Don DeLillo. In the book something happens that is described as "an airborne toxic event." The band liked the quote and decided that would be there name. Now I haven't read the book so I do not know if the title comes from the white noise I described above. It might. It might not. The reason that the band is relevant is not only because their name is somewhat related to the title "White Noise," but also because the title of each post (with the exception of this one) will be a title or lyric of one of their songs. I chose to do this because this band has influenced a lot. I have seen them live four times, each better than the last, and I want to continue seeing them until they retire. They have made me realize what music I really enjoy listening to and further made me want to pursue a career in the music industry in some form. The image to the right is also the album cover of their most recent record "All At Once." I figured it would fit with the theme. For anyone who reads this I encourage you to listen to them and maybe you can understand more why they influence me so much. You might fall in love with them or you might turn to hate them (I know quite a few people that do). Just remember though, The Airborne Toxic Event. With all that being said I hope this clears up why exactly my blog is titled "White Noise" and I hope to be posting here again soon. Thanks for reading!

-Jonathan Gott

Duet

    I first remember seeing a signer at MTSU during Convocation. A lady to the left podium, standing and repeating everything the speakers said, but not with her words. Rather with her hands so even those who could not hear could understand what the celebration of Convocation was about. After the ceremony my roommate and I went to the presidents picnic, waited in line (for a very long time), and finally got something to eat. With food in hand we walked over to the ice truck so that we could have someplace to lean as we ate. I looked to take a bite of my hot dog and when I looked back up, there they were. An asian girl and a white boy. She was very tan and he had long hair, a beard, and glasses. But this wasn’t what I noticed about them at first. I was intrigued with their conversation. Not with the content, but the delivery. They were signing and I was so natural for them. Going back and forth as swiftly as two friends would talk about a concert they just saw or a joke they had just heard. For some reason this interaction amazed me. It’s not like I haven’t seen something like this before, but this time it just hit me. Still I had no idea what they were talking about. Was it a friendly conversation or a hostile one? Did they already know each other or did they just meet? I couldn’t tell. All I knew is that I didn’t understand them. They were signing extremely fast and understood each other as well as any other two people having a conversation. I stood there watching, trying not to look to intentionally because I didn’t want them to think I was staring at them. I tried, but I couldn’t keep my eyes away. I was just fascinated with the language and really thought it was a beautiful way to communicate. Soon enough a third person came up and that just made even more questions arise. Could he hear? Could he sign? Did he know these people? After I while I could tell he was talking to the boy. I then realized that the boy with the beard could hear even though he was signing to the girl. He then appeared to be translating what the third boy was saying to the girl and vise versa. This amazed me as well and just made me more interested in their conversation. I wondered if my roommate had been watching, but was to involved in their conversation to start my own with him. As I watched some of my previous curiosities were answered. I could tell they were all friendly with each other. Their facial expressions were just like those of two people speaking with each other. Smiling, laughing, and just having a good time. Who needs to hear to communicate I thought. Not these people. All they need is two arms and two hands. This encounter really stuck out to me and remained in my head not only because I find signing to be a beautiful form of communication, but also because after seeing this interaction it really made me want to learn how to sign.