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craig zarkos's Interests
General
My girls, Mtn biking, and learning to wrench on my own bikes. Chasing that ever elusive "balance" in life
Developing relationships with producers/musos around the globe and working on great music, some of which i will hopefully get paid for.
and riding every great trail in the world before I die. Or at least a few of em.
Music
a daily dose of Little Einsteins, fm 88 jazz, Morning Becomes Eclectic, and about 5 unsigned artists in various stages of production. ( homework)
Currently in heavy rotation on the ipod:
Aqualung
Ray La montangue
Muse
Midlake
anything with Elvin
neil Young
Komeda
Get Back Lorretta
Amber Rubarth
Kings of Leon
Eagles Greatest Hits
Movies
Old ones. Musicals, comedy- the stuff reminds me of my mom when we were young. anything with a story. Rediscovering Disney movies with ZZ.
any Woody Allen
The Straight Story
Babe- Pig in the city
The incredibles
Cinderella
Nemo
Little Mermaid
Lost in America
Television
Don't watch any. But do watch the occasional itunes tv/movie.
Books
" Getting Things Done" is hopefully about to change my life.
Psalms, 1st Corinthians, and a lot of world religion studies
Any of the Russian authors- and a stack of software manuals.
some eastern philosophy , xtian apologetics, a bathroom book of quotes and various managment books. spending WAY too much time reading bloggs ... list to follow.
43 folders, merlin mann, tons of music bloggs... way too many. SO much great music all over the place now. I LOVE travel essay's of just about any kind--
Love reading Lonely Planet guides, have a stack of em for our future travels... MTN bike magazines.
Heroes
My father in law- Terry.
and:
a couple guys that through their life, though not perfect- taught me that you could make the right choices and be a light to your family and your friends, and that most of the time, those choices were the harder ones to make, and it's ok.
they taught me ( unknowingly) that putting god and family first works.
Life truly does start at 40
About me: Husband to Annie, daddy to Zoe. Mtn biking packleader to Aggie ( the best mtn biking dog anywhere)
Cali born , Road, motel/hotel bred. -- drummer/producer/programmer/ mixer/tech/ phonesupportforeveryfriendwithPTools/ muso wrangler and all around "get it done" guy.
I produce and play music, some really amazing, some really shitty. Im reminded fairly regularly that I'm not digging ditches for a living, and should appreciate that fact. Especially since my back is for shit these days.
I'm blessed to make music for a living- Drumming on, producing and mixing.
a good day is being in the room when a new musical idea is born-- and being able to capture it. A great day is doing it on great songs, and with good friends.
thehybridroom.com/ is my home base, but I've been collaborating and working for folks all over the world via FTP ( internet transfer of projects) for the past few years.
My tools are currently:
DRUMS: GMS , GRETSCH, LUDWIG, BLEIFUSS ( R.I.P.) YAMAHA AND ROGERS KITS, I love them all, especially the little 62 red sparkle kit that my girls got me for xmas. they are magic.
a Bunch of snare drums of different vintage including: Luddy BB, 400, Tama Bell brass, Brady, Slingerland etc. They all have a story. I'm even keeping the ubiquitous "dave wekyl Piccolo" for that resurgence of good ole 80's fusion ( that i still can't play)
box upon box of stuff that you can shake and hit , a nice geeetar for writing and the odd overdub, a wife that plays beautiful violin, and some fun vintage drum machines, and pretty much every drum library known to man... of which i only reach for when desperate, or having to bang out the odd car jingle. or sound replace really crappy drumtones. (thank god)
Other GEAR: I'm fortunate to be able to track/mix in one of the premier facility's in So. Cal- ( sounden studios, check the link to their myspace) and I make my home in the other premeir facility, which i also help book for visiting mix engineers, and producer artist teams: thehybridroom.com All the stops are pulled out here, and i'm very , very fortunate to call this home.
At home it's HD3 PTools and all the requisite stuff you need to be " pro tools guy".
plus some of my own angles on the technology. A nice selection of outboard gear, some great mics and pre's on "perma loan" and I'm pretty much set up for anything but big drums, or live band tracking. It's my sanctuary.
Within the confines of my home mix room is a booth suited well to a "minikit" set up I've grown fond of, to Vocals ( up to three) or anything that involves two people of not too much girth.
My resume involves the usual--- from playing barmitzvahs, corporate gigs, uncountable "original" ( and not so original) bands, and racking up ( at current count) the forced playing of " Brick house" over three thousand times---- and counting,
to baby sitting and programming rigs for big POP tours ---- The last 5 years or so I've played on, or prpoduced my share of what i think are some pretty cool records--some that get heard,some that don't.
A bit of jingle work lately, some movie trailer stuff ( want to do more, especially want to mix documentary style films- contact me for reduced rates : ) )
Played drums/programmed on about 8records this year, a couple more yet to be released in 08, and just finished KD3 ( karl denson) mixes for upcoming release.
I'm doing a ton of remote tracking for folks-- drums, programming, perc etc... Making friends all over the globe in that fashion never ceases to make me say "wow, i love the internet" Have FTP, will collaborate. ( still more fun to be in the room making music)
I'm really digging my home set up and getting way deep into the craft of Mixing records, which is hopefully where I'm headed into the next ten years... unless I open a mtn bike touring company somewhere in SE Utah. * sigh * ( investors inquire plz! )
Basically, I'll do whatever it takes to not have a real job, and have the time to persue my true goal:
experiencing the Zen of Singlespeed mtn biking on a daily basis-------- eating dinner and lounging at home with my beautiful wife Annie--- enjoying our little shack in beautiful So. cal. and enjoying every little second of my little girls life, and thanking god everyday for the opportunity to be here, and to watch her grow.
Here are some few tunes from artists I'm either producing, drumming on, or recording:
I am finally coming back to California, and I really want you to see me perform! Will you come to my show in Escondido? Please! I will give you a free album and tshirt! You do not want to miss this, I don't know when I will be back in CA again!! 9:00 Aug. 16 at The Metaphor Cafe in Escondido, CA.
xoxo,
Christina
Hey Craig. I didn't get to hear that no, and I would love to. I have been crazy busy since then and Im in London with the family right now... It was great fun gigging with you, thank you for everything, and I hope you and your family are happy and in good health. X Natalie
Hey Zarkos, Great meeting through Greg McKinney. Thanks again for making the studio available to us. What an awesome experience that was. Let me know if you ever need a saxophonist for any of your projects. Til then sir, Jonno
Hey Craig, So glad to see you thriving and living the life. Thanks for reconnecting... Still LOVE everything you guys did on Frame, now that it's three albums ago...
HEy craig, Ya i have been writing!! Just waiting for you giys to call me back in to the studio! Darce said it has been hectic. I cant wait to start again. I felt like we had momentum then it stopped thought you guys didnt like me anymore:( Hopefully i can see you guys soon
