Tony’s album nearing completion, and a new trackJuly 7th, 2010

Tony Memmel’s new album, “Here we Go”, is in the final stages and we are really excited about how it is turning out!  As that winds down, I had the chance to work on a new track that I am calling, “Lonely Heart”.

Check it out on BandCamp.  This is a really cool website that I found out about from John Statz.  It’s a great way for musicians to get their music out to people in full quality and get compensated directly.

We are keeping very busy with house buying logistics and packing, so I’ll be in touch throughout the month to let you know how things are coming along.  On July 30th we’ll be in our brand new house!

Fun times at SummerfestJune 27th, 2010

It’s hard for me to believe, but we are soon to be homeowners!  We had an offer accepted on the house we liked the most and now it’s time to start thinking about all the things we need to do before the end of July.  But in the meantime…

It’s great to have a little time off to really start enjoying the summer!  We took a trip up to Summerfest and saw some of our friends play shows.  It’s hard for me to believe how many musically talented people we got to know during school.  We saw Tony Memmel & his Band, Jeremiah Nelson & the Achilles Heel, a band we like a lot from Champagne called ‘Elsinore’, and we had a chance to see Passion Pit and Sheryl Crow later that night.  And in the true spirit of summer, we saw the opening night fireworks show.  I’m feeling quite patriotic.

House Hunting in Madison, SDJune 20th, 2010

It’s hard for me to believe, but I am finished working at Bose and the Institute of Art.  We took off right away to South Dakota in order to start looking at houses.  Luckily, we have found one that we really like, and it just so happens to be the first one we looked at on the first day.  We’ll have to wait and see what happens!

We checked out Lake Madison today.  Cassie did some watercolor painting while I did some songwriting.  The lake was beautiful!  I think I can get used to living out here.  It is a very relaxed, laid-back lifestyle.  The drive from our hometown won’t be too bad, either.

I know I keep saying it, but I am finally going to have a lot of time to keep updating the site and stay on top of all that is going on.  July is going to be really busy with all the packing and moving work, but it will also be a lot of fun… We have some concerts lined up, Summerfest, and maybe some relaxation thrown in there.  It’s finally feeling like summer!

Headed to Madison, South Dakota!May 31st, 2010

Yes, you heard right.  I just landed a new full-time teaching position at Dakota State University.  They are a tech-oriented school with about 6,000 students and an absolutely gorgeous campus.  The program that I will be involved in is called “Digital Arts and Design” and I will specifically be teaching Audio Technology classes in their relatively new audio program.  There are also some possible opportunities for Cassie on the horizon, so we are very optimistic about the relocation and all of its potential!

Madison, SD is a small city with a population of about 6,000 residents.  It is located about a 45-minute drive north of Sioux Falls, which is the largest city in South Dakota.  Madison is a friendly and quiet little city that was actually named after Madison, Wisconsin because it is between two lakes.  It looks like Sioux Falls offers a lot in terms of arts, entertainment and dining.  We are also excited about the outdoor opportunities because of the nearby lakes and state parks.

We went and saw the actual Sioux Falls!  Awesome pic by Cassie.

It’s going to be a very busy summer with the move and plans for the future, but we are looking at this as the next big step in our lives.  It is certainly bittersweet because we will miss our friends and jobs in the area and will also be living farther from home.  This is, however, an amazing opportunity and I will be giving updates as we prepare for the move.  By the way, it’s also now summer, the weather is beautiful, so we are definitely going to take the opportunity to get out and enjoy it!

On a final note, we took a relaxing getaway to Galena, Illinois last week and stayed in the Farmer’s Guest House for the third time.  It was a great time and we came back feeling refreshed.  You can read more and see more great pics on Cassie’s blog.

A Weekend in Chi-TownMay 16th, 2010

My parents, along with my brother and his girlfriend all came to visit us and we took a trip into Chicago yesterday to do some exploring and see Josh Ritter play at the Vic theater.

Me, Cassie, Matt and Amber

We also had the chance to see Cassie’s MFA art show at a gallery in the city.  It was a really great show in a beautiful gallery.  Here she is with our friend Ann at the gallery:

They are hard at work at the front table.

Josh was great, as always.  The sound at the Vic theater is fantastic, and his opening act, Joe Pug, was also really great.  We ended up taking a late train home and didn’t get back until about 2:30am, but it was well worth all of the travel.  It is funny for me to think about how few families actually find a musician who they all like to go see!


Cassie and I have some of the biggest changes in our lives coming up this summer and I can’t wait to talk more about it!  For now, I’m looking forward to some sunny days and our vacation to Galena next week!

These great photos were taken by my dad!

Tony Memmel Recorded, Cassie is done!May 11th, 2010

It’s been a very eventful couple of weeks…
Cassie is now completely finished with Grad school!  Within the same week, she had her thesis show and a Graduate art show at a gallery in Chicago at 230 W. Superior.  She had a great turnout at both shows.

Look at that great looking family!

I also spent three days and close to 40 hours recording Tony Memmel and his wife, Lesleigh, several weeks ago.  It was a very busy weekend and I know that we are going to end up with a final product that we will all be incredibly proud of.

We also had the opportunity to see Cassie’s cousin, Alyssa Czisny ice skate in ‘Stars on Ice’.  She was amazing, and we wish her much more continued success in the future.

Alyssa on the right with the Grandparents

Cassie’s Art Show and OpeningApril 25th, 2010

It’s been a very eventful and busy month!  I attended several great art openings, including our friends Darren and Ann.  I also saw some great electronic music concerts including my friend and past-classmate Tim, and the Annex group concert:

To add to the excitement, Cassie just finished setting up her show today and it will be on display at gallery 214 on campus at NIU.  It is turning out to be a fantastic show!  (As if I would have expected any less)

The show features a dollhouse (shown in progress above), as well as drawings, gouache paintings and photographs.

She also has a simple new website up that I helped design:  www.cassiemarie.com

May is shaping up to be a very busy and eventful month, and Cassie is looking forward to finishing up her final semester of Grad school.  Great stuff is to come!

April ArrivesApril 6th, 2010

A new month begins, and so does the new quarter at the Institute of Art.  Additionally, my wife is hard at work preparing for her gallery show at the end of the month as she nears the end of Grad school.  Over the Easter weekend, I had a great time visiting friends in Madison and my parents and I even went golfing on a breezy but fun excursion.

Cassie has been showing her work at several galleries, including the ‘ARC’ gallery in Chicago, and the Graduate Art Association show at the Annex studio in Dekalb.

We also had the pleasure of seeing my friend Evan Merz perform his thesis electro-acoustic concert, as well as a show by our professor, Dr. James Phelps along with program alumni, Michael Taylor.  As you can see, they had a very loud and ‘rawkus’ setup going on:

I’m starting to get some work done on the Mix Methods site and am working on some new songs.  I am also looking forward to a new upcoming recording project with my good friend Tony Memmel.  We are also going to see our favorite musician, Josh Ritter, in Chicago and taking a weekend excursion to Galena in May.  All things considered, this should keep me out of trouble for quite a while.

Some New ProjectsMarch 13th, 2010

As my first quarter as instructor at the Institute of Art winds down, I have some new projects started that I am excited about.

I just started designing my new site at www.mixmethods.com.  This is going to be a very involved project with many YouTube videos.  My goal is to provide a place where people interested in home recording can learn the process in a simple and easy to understand way.  I’ll be starting serious work on it during the last week of March.

Also, I just recently finished a new song!  It’s a bit late for the season, but here it is:  Cold Winter