Notes From A Clever Ogre

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Ogre Shawn Knows the Key Code: It’s F#m

Alright, listen up. If this is your first time here, look around a little. This is the final installment in our Clever Ogre “What are the ogres listening to?” blog series. We’ve talked about all kinds of different music, from Christopher’s old school jams to Nora’s punk bluegrass (Punkgrass? Blunk?) across to Dadant’s reggae and Dan’s jam bands. We finally had a chance to catch up with ogre Shawn and get his take on the listen.

When we found him, Shawn Grimes was sitting in a dark cubicle in the corner of the basement. It smelled like a coffee shop in a cave. He was wearing headphones and typing away like a crazy person. Shawn is Clever Ogre’s front-end web developer. He doesn’t work in words or images, instead he uses special characters, acronyms, and abbreviations to do his work. In other words, he’s free to rock his music loud and constantly.

So, loud and constant it is. If Shawn is streaming music he’s either using rdio or Pandora. He cranks his headphones to drown out all external sounds allowing him to dive deep into codeland. When coding, he turns to his favorite band, 311, for good tunes. Alternately, if he’s in the mood for mostly lyric free music, he’ll listen to Deadmau5, Skrillex, or some other dubstep-electronic grooves.

If Shawn finds himself cleaning the house or doing other non-web related work, he listens to a wide variety of music. Of course, 311 makes a return, but he also likes to throw in Mumford & Sons, Jimmy Eat World, Sufjan Stevens, Sublime (even with Rome), Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, and pretty much any 90s alternative including Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Stone Temple Pilots. Old habits die hard, indeed.

On the off-chance he finds himself with little to do other than relax, he puts on some Pink Floyd or Adele. The melodies of Adele and lingering instrumentals of Pink Floyd allow his mind to rest. It’s tough when a person thinks in <html dir=”top”> <head> all the time. A little decompression is important for everyone, but for a programmer it’s kind of like when a daycare worker is finally able to be around adults and have actual adult conversation.

Phew. That’s 100% of the ogres. Do you think you’ve gotten some good tunes out of this series of blogs? There certainly has been a wide variety of artists in these posts. If you dig or hate any of the bands mentioned, let us know. We’re all over the place and ready to hear from you.

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Friday, March 9, 2012

Music is My Literature – the writing ogre listens

If you’ve been waiting for our next ogre music blog, your wait is over. If you haven’t, hopefully you’ll be waiting for the last one – which will be out after this one.

By now, we hope to have turned you on to at least one really good band or artist. Have we succeeded? We can’t hear you or read your thoughts, so please nod at your webcam. Cool. Speaking of music, we recently told you Christopher listens to a lot of really good, but obscure, music; Chris Dadant likes his music melodic, driving, and jammin’; and Nora likes a little punk in her bluegrass. What about Dan?

Dan Fugate is Clever Ogre’s writer and social media manager; sometimes he even does graphic design. Writing doesn’t afford the same listening freedom as social media and design, so he has a couple of listening trends. This has been bittersweet for the one-time loud singing jam band enthusiast.

Being a writer, you might expect Dan to be a voracious reader. Well, he’s not. He goes after and gets into music the way other writers devour books. He often says “Music is my literature.” We believe him. When he’s writing, music generally leans toward instrumental stuff. Widespread Panic, the Grateful Dead, Phish, the London Symphony Orchestra, and Deadmau5 are where he turns for lyric free tunes.

Behind the social media and design wheels, Dan likes to add the lyrics back into his listening. The same jam bands from before are present, but also folks like: Mumford & Sons, MGMT, Keller Willaims (who he’s going to see at Vinyl in May), the Black Keys, and Ok Go.

Dan also has a soft spot for female singers. The emotion that comes through is “so powerful”, he says. When he’s in the mood for lady listening, he turns on: the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Feist, Mates of State, Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, and Sugarland. Melt and swoon.

He will listen to most anything once and he’s found he has no place in his heart for rap, r&b, or the heavier rock/metal stuff. They have too much anger and screaming for his liking. Dan has a bit of music snobbery in him too. He’s of the belief if a band can’t perform as well on stage as they can in the studio, they’re not worth his time. He says he’s just about stopped listening to Modest Mouse after seeing them live.

Alright, readers, that’s 80% of the ogres down. Now, if we can track down Shawn Grimes we’ll feature his preferences next time to round out this musical exposé series.

Let us know how we’re doing. Have we turned you on to any new music? Sound off on Facebook or Twitter.

Monday, February 20, 2012

No, I Can’t Hear You. My Music’s too Loud.

Once again we’re here to tell you about an ogre’s music preferences. If you’ll recall, Christopher is a music snob with a broad, eclectic musical taste (except for reggae) and Nora listens to everything she can cram in her ears. This time around, we’ll talk about Chris Dadant’s ear candy.

Chris is Clever Ogre’s chief designer. As a result, he is in the best position to use music as an IV drip. When other ogres have to stop listening so they can take a phone call, concentrate on a series of words, or focus on lines and lines of code; Chris can keep the music pumping and draw inspiration from the rhythm.

When he’s designing, which is pretty much all the time, he listens to music that drives him – moves his thoughts from point to point. He listens loud. Music, to Dadant, serves to activate the mind and remove external distractions. The Black Keys, MGMT, Phoenix, Wolfmother, these are the bands that drive the broad strokes of Chris’ designs.

When it comes to concentration, he mellows out the sounds a little. The same music Chris uses for concentration is what he chooses when it’s time to relax. John Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Eric Lindell, Blackberry Smoke, and Bob Marley are just the right mix of dip, drive, and dance.

Chris’ preferences sway with the weather as well. In the summertime, his mood is high, and his musical tastes reflect this with an extra injection of reggae. Once the temperature starts to drop and the grill gets warm, the music gets a twang and the Illinois country boy comes out with some George Strait and Eric Church.

The only genre Chris tends to shy away from is screamo. In his own words, he’s “hard of hearing as it is” and can’t tolerate a lot of screaming and yelling in his music. Understandable.

As for live music, Chris, like all of the ogres has an addiction. He can often be found listening to James Adkins, one of his favorite local musical talents, wherever he’s playing. He recently saw Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers at the Blue Nile in New Orleans. Also, he never misses a chance to see his pals Boukou Groove play. Usually, however, this requires a trip to Destin or South Walton but he says “It’s well worth it to hear some real New Orleans Funk.”

Alright, three ogres worth of listening.

Are you finding any new bands or artists to check out? We hope so. Get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter to let us know.

Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

What the Lady Prefers

Welcome back! Last time, we started a series of blogs dedicated to each ogre’s musical preferences and listening habits. If you read that blog, you now know what kind of music Christopher Davis enjoys and when. You also know he’s a bit of a music snob. This go ‘round, we’re going to discuss the lady ogre’s musical taste.

Nora Jones loves music like no one we’ve ever known. One time, she referred to music as her Xanax. We’re assuming that means it relaxes her and helps when things get too stressful. Either that, or it’s a drug that requires a prescription and she’s hiding her addiction from the public. (Hmm, a daily dose of music doesn’t sound like a bad medication.)

She’s constantly on the lookout for a new band to get into. Relix magazine is a good source for interesting tunes, and their monthly compilation CD showcases the artists featured in that particular month’s issue. Other sources for new music are Paste Magazine’s website, Spinner.com, and Spotify.

There is not a particular genre of music Nora sticks to and her listening is steady across most moods and activities. She has an affinity for punk band members who’ve gone solo and broken away from their punk roots. Among her favorites are Tim Barry of Avail, Dallas Green of Alexis on Fire, and Ben Nichols of Lucero. Though she doesn’t limit herself to one particular genre, bluegrass is far and away her favorite type of music. Her love of bluegrass and interest in punk has drawn her to bands like Old Man Markley, who’ve created an interesting blend of the two musical styles.

Like every audiophile, Nora has a specific preference for when she’s feeling sullen and down. On the rare occasion when something is troubling her, she likes to listen to mellow sounds like Adele or Florence and the Machine.

Alright, that’s two down and three to go. Up next…maybe Chris Dadant.

Do you share Nora’s musical preferences? Get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know.

Thanks for reading.

Monday, January 16, 2012

In One Ear, and In the Other

If you've been with us for more than a week or so, you have probably seen a Facebook post or tweet where we've mentioned the music we’re listening to; or at least what’s been stuck in our head. We love music and it’s always playing in the office. If you don’t hear it when you come in, we probably have earbuds tucked in, each ogre listening to his own jam. There is a lot of overlap when it comes to ogre musical preference, but we all listen in our own way.

Christopher is an eclectic cat in every sense of the word. His musical interests pull from most genres and generations. When he’s working, he likes to listen to music with a constant drive. Among his work-time favorites are Interpol, Common, the Replacements, the Black Keys, John Zorn, the Jam, MandoDiao, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and the Darkness. Christopher is a long-time Black Keys fan, but their newest release, “El Camino” came up short for him.

When the work is done, or at least put on pause, the music changes. For mellow times, he leans toward classics like Steely Dan. He also still revisits his high school years with bands like Dag Nasty, Dinosaur Jr, BlackFlag, X, Hüsker Dü, Social Distortion, The Stooges, and MinorThreat. Music is a constant for Christopher. When there’s no music, he makes his own. Really. He’ll strum a guitar, hum, tap, or listen to the cacophony of an orchestra in his head.

Just between us, he’s a bit of a music snob too. He knows what he likes and doesn’t like. Don’t play what he doesn’t like. One of his biggest pet peeves when it comes to aural satisfaction is when someone changes the music mid-song. It drives the control freak in him crazy.

We are going to write a bit about each ogre’s likes, dislikes, listening habits, and whatnot, but we don’t want to keep you here too long. So, that’s it for now. Anyway, it’s time for a potty break.

There are still four ogres to cover, so look for a series of these to come out in pretty quick succession.

If you liked this post, thought it was crap, or want to find out more about Christopher’s musical preferences, get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks for reading.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Clever Ogre’s Top 7 Toppy Things of 2011

Preamble

Here we are, at the end of 2011, another calendar year in the books. For some it was a year of accomplishments, for others…not so much. Dictatorial world leaders fell, the King of tech died, the prince of England, Duke of Cambridge, married a commoner, Charlie Sheen proved winning can be as bad as losing, and Kim Kardashian interpreted the definition of marriage. This is the time of year when everybody and his semi-aquatic mammal have a top 10 list of one kind or another. So, why not a Clever Ogre top 10?

Photo: thedailycute.com

‘Cause we’re not everybody, and we’re certainly not platypuses. Though, those little critters are cute, in a weird, freak of nature kind of way. What we’re gonna do is give you a top 7. Without further ado…

Clever Ogre’s Top 7 Toppy Things of 2011

7: Invented 8 ogre-themed games designed to challenge us both physically and mentally. These super challenging, totally awesome games are clip board paddle ball, indoor golf HORSE, hacky throw (kicking is for donkeys), paper airplane flight control, balance something on some body part longer than everybody else (long name, fun game), point and laugh (ok, we didn’t invent this one, but we perfected it), 1-2-3 NOT IT: coffee edition, and the wildly popular, make the reader guess if we’re serious game.

6: Together with the U.S. Navy and the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, we celebrated flight (100 years of Naval Aviation)

5: We entered and got high score in three golf tournaments. As it turns out, we’re great at bashing things with sticks; just not golf sticks.

4: Won an award for every piece of advertising we submitted to the Addy Awards. We’re bad at golf, but we’re pretty doggone good at advertising. Insert Norma Rae reference here. The Addys are kind of like the Academy Awards for the advertising industry.

3: In the summer, we had an intern from the University of West Florida; then, in the fall we had another student come in and shadow our work for a day. We loves us some free labor, er, students. We love the students.

2: Moved our office from the corner of Chase and Coyle to 49 S. Jefferson St. We’re now right above Hopjacks, one of our favorite downtown Pensacola haunts. Speaking of haunts, our old office was haunted. Thought you should know.

1: Developed and launched a new, more ogrey (ogreier) website at cleverogre.com. If you were a fan of our old site, you can still find it at cleverogre.net.

And there you have it. Clever Ogre’s list of 2011’s Top 7 Toppy Things. Do you have a list somewhere? Tell us about it on Facebook or Twitter.

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year from the gang at Clever Ogre: Christopher, Chris, Dan, Shawn, and Nora.

Friday, December 16, 2011

City Ogre, Country Ogre, Focus Ogre

Not actual focus group participants

Recently, some of the ogres had the opportunity to conduct a few focus groups. If you're not familiar with what a focus group is, fear not. Basically, it is an arena where a small group of people who have something in common are presented with topics for discussion. From this discussion, a group or individual hopes to gather some insightful data. Sometimes, the person moderating the group has to redirect the conversation, or summarize what's been said for clarification. Apart from that, the participants are the focus of the group. When more than one focus group is held, there is a bonus data set. Neat, right? The bonus data are the observable differences in culture across sample sets. Bet your bottom, it's neat!

What was cool about the focus groups we conducted was the sense that we were in geographically varying locations, when in actuality, we were in the Pensacola metro area.

One of the events was done in a town near Pensacola. The area was wooded and buildings were tucked in and among the trees. The whole feeling was laid back, natural, and welcoming. The people with whom we spoke used the words “open” and “family” freely. It’s safe to say we were taken in, openly, and treated like family. Participants in the focus group were eager to share ideas and willing to hear one another’s views. Information flowed freely.

Another of the focus groups was held in a central part of Pensacola. The tone of the event was quite different from the previous. People we met could be compared to New Yorkers. They knew what they wanted, knew where it could be found, and they didn’t mince words or waste time. Their interaction during the focus group was boisterous and varied. Some participants were lively and animated, while others remained mostly quiet. There was definitely a big-city feeling; not that we were concerned with getting jacked or anything. We were in amazement at the contrast between this and the previous group.

A third focus group was held in what could be considered a borough of Pensacola. Neither in the country or the city, this location proved to be a combination of the two others. Interesting. People were in a hurry, but not so much that they didn’t have time or interest in sharing opinions or giving direction. Participants turned out in overwhelming numbers. Though they clearly had somewhere else to be, they stuck around as long as their voices were being heard.

We’re always fascinated by different cultures, even if they’re subsections of the larger. We would like to hear from you. Have you had similar experiences when working with groups? Let us know here or on social media. We do the Facebookand the Twitters.