Here are three selections from field recordings I recently captured. Creating these recordings was a very involved process. It began with constructing the microphone I would record with. From a few inexpensive pieces, and with the guidance of my professor I assembled a surprisingly sensitive microphone that probably would have cost me $200+. Once I had successfully averted being gouged by the microphone industrial complex (aka MIC), the next step was to decide on a drift strategy. I decided let a friend take me for a short ride away from my home, I would then get out the car, walk a bit, and see where I wound up. I made it a point to avoid places I had been before, however it was a bit difficult, so I allowed myself to walk through places I had been before so long as it had been a few years since my last visit.
Field Selection 1 Total run time ~ :50
Map of My location for Selection 1
Field Selection 2 Total run time ~1:00
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Field Selection 3 Total run time ~ 1:05
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My favorite recording is the third selection. Not to take anything away from the other two, it was just a bit more fun and bizarre in its development. My friend dropped me off near the Milwaukee County Historical Society on Old World Third Street, so I decided to head on my way down the river walk... I would go south until I reached Clybourn street, and then turn around, meandering along the eastern shore of the Riverwalk back northwards. Upon turning around I saw a perfect place to sit, a handsome old wooden bench just on the rivers edge. I could hear water pouring from a downspout, a train off in the distance and seagulls overhead, nice.
The walk was pleasant enough, just a little before midnight and very few people were out. As I sat on the bench and set up to record, I noticed someone had walked out from around the boat rental office across the river, just northwest of where I sat. I didn't pay much attention at first, but the figure literally stood there, across the river and stared directly at me for a full, and very uncomfortable fifteen minutes. It was one of those times where you have to remind yourself you aren't doing anything illegal. He was chubby, and looked to be a rent-a-cop, but my nerves still tingled. I'm not sure if he thought I was preparing to steal a Great Lakes ferry, or if he was suspicious of all my dangling wires, but as soon as I got up to walk north again, he popped up and disappeared around the corner. Thankfully, and mercifully, I was not "disappeared" by some Coast Guard reject. I survived to meet my friend at BW3's shortly thereafter for some jerked wings and a beer, and of course, to share this recording.
Cheers
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