I remember when Paisley Babylon got its first little tiny bit of exposure on CD–a very big deal at the time–on this compilation put out by Uncle Buzz Records. Back then I had recorded all the music on 4-track cassette, dumped it into Cool Edit and then down to a CD-R which then had to be transferred to DAT at Uncle Buzz for inclusion on the comp. Whew! Today, it’s all digital all the way. It’s very strange to fix things in seconds which used to take long agonizing periods in the editing room. And then there’s yesterday.

I took delivery of a CD duplication system and an automated direct-to-disc CD printing system. Which basically means Paisley Babylon and Turntabling Records is self-contained. I have a t-shirt silkscreening rig in my front room, a PA, all the toys needed to be fully indie. It’s a strange feeling, but a good one. The real problem is the learning curve with all the new gear. It took me a long time to get the damn T-shirts going to where I thought they looked good enough to sell. Hoping that the learning curve for this new gear isn’t as steep.

The thing I love about this new gear is that when I do a show I can put out an EP specifically for that crowd. Every single time. What a fantastic opportunity that is! It would cost me each and every time I wanted to do a run if I had to go through the middleman CD duplication houses…now as long as I have the discs on hand and the ink to print them with, it’s short-run duplication heaven. How many discs do you sell at your shows? How many do you want to sell? That second question is the more important one now…

Most of this blog post has been sort of musician-geeked out. For fans and friends, the thing I am digging most is the ability to give something unique every time I perform. It’s the sort of thing you can’t do when you have CD duplication minimums and other issues to deal with from a third party. FREEDOM! I love it. I’m getting the first Paisley Babylon EP together now…stand by, there are free downloads coming.