lefty Unplugged in Technicolor at Cat's Art MusikCircus (video)

There's telling you about lefty Unplugged / Kevin Farrell and his music ... and then there's showing you so you can hear it yourself.

Video was shot last night by Robert Little / Ron Bizzle at Cat's Art MusikCircus.  Thank you, Robert.

Something I notice specifically in this one is the audio is surprisingly good.  I suspect this is at least in part because lefty Unplugged is meticulous with the quality of the signal he sends.

Note:  the audio quality is an important consideration as it's more difficult on the client side such as when Robert is recording.  The audio is at premium quality when lefty transmits it but the signal is compressed for transmission and that drops it from CD-quality to around MP3-quality.

The way to get the highest-quality audio for the video is if it is transmitted offline (i.e. send an AIFF via email or similar).  The video editor can be used to paste that into the video which has been captured and there's no particular need for an audio sync because the animation on the stage doesn't change that much for most performers.  The sync is easy, albeit at the expense of quite a bit more hassle.

Robert is creating, in effect, historical documents of Second Life music.  Therefore, going to the extra hassle for high-resolution audio is likely not worthwhile as that takes him away from time he could be using to make more historical documents.  If it's your purpose to dazzle the video stars, that would be a different type of project and a collaborative effort between Robert and the performer.  That ain't my business, it's just something one can do.


lefty Unplugged may not sound like he uses a lot of electronics but he has kit 'up the wazoo.'  No-one in America who uses that expression really knows what it means, what a wazoo may be, or even where a wazoo may be.  Of one thing we are sure, it holds a lot of stuff, whatever it is, wherever it is.

That you don't detect the electronics in his set is the hallmark of using them well.  He uses them as a master chef would give spice to a meal or, in this context, a culinary creation.  A bit of echo here, a bit of reverb there, a bit of flanger ... well ... because it feels right.  If you listen really closely, you will hear effects being raised or dropped because he uses a pedal to moderate them.  It won't be obvious as lefty Unplugged is a master of subtlety.


lefty asks 'what does a man do?'  Well he might ask such a question as many really aren't sure.  There is no intention to offer an answer from here at the Rockhouse and you know lefty won't tell you either ... but you will like how he asks.



Note:  check out the stage as I believe it's a castle in Spain and there's the Tree of Life on the left side of the stage.  Cat designs, builds, and supports all of it.