Steve's blog

[Steve]

You know, more of your personality comes across on your blog than here on the forum, so I read your other stories. Why nothing on the history of Storyist?

 

I'll probably write something up eventually. I could, for instance, tell the story of how Thoth came to join the beta program.

 

Was N64-land really all that exciting?

 

It was. It had everything--a high-caliber team, good management, a project with world-wide impact. And you could legitimately say you were doing research if someone saw you playing video games at work.

 

You seem to have had an interesting career. Perhaps you'd like to put more of it on your blog. Maybe a more extensive bio?

 

The bio, such as it is, is about as much navel-gazing as I'm comfortable with. I get email asking about New England Digital (a pioneer in music synthesis and digital audio), though, so I'll probably add some more history on that.

 

-Steve

[Steve E]

I'll probably write something up eventually. I could, for instance, tell the story of how Thoth came to join the beta program.

Oh for-the-love-of-god, please don't. **shudder**

 

It was. It had everything--a high-caliber team, good management, a project with world-wide impact. And you could legitimately say you were doing research if someone saw you playing video games at work.

Sounds like heaven.

 

The bio, such as it is, is about as much navel-gazing as I'm comfortable with. I get email asking about New England Digital (a pioneer in music synthesis and digital audio), though, so I'll probably add some more history on that.

Sounds interesting too. So, do you know Michael Jackson?

 

-Thoth.

[Steve]

Sounds interesting too. So, do you know Michael Jackson?

 

Never met him, but I did get to know Pat Metheney (a childhood guitar hero of mine) and Frank Zappa.

 

Pat (I can call him Pat, you know) was visiting the studio at the company one day when the power went out. It was a nice day, so everyone ended up outside shooting the breeze, hoping the that power didn't come back too soon. He is a very funny, easy going guy and entertained us (talking, not playing) while we were waiting. He was one of the major users of the guitar interface and had all kinds of ideas on how to improve it. This day, he was talking a mile-a-minute and I remember thinking "shoot, I need a pen and paper".

 

A couple of months later, I was giving a talk at our annual Users Conference on some technology I was working on (I was maybe 23 at the time) and he was in the audience. At a reception afterwards, he came up to me and said--and I remember it clearly to this day--"Man, your stuff just blows me away". Life doesn't get any better than that.

 

Anyway, whenever he was playing in the area, we'd call up and get on the guest list. Backstage after the show, we'd tell him how great he was and he'd ply us with questions about what features would be in the next release.

 

-Steve

[Steve E]

Never met him, but I did get to know Pat Metheney (a childhood guitar hero of mine) and Frank Zappa.

Of course I've heard of Pat Metheney but Frank Zappa is on my short list of all-time favorites. Last year a friend called me from Baltimore, Maryland, the city of Zap's birth (I can call him Zap because he doesn't know me from Adam), just to tell me that the city declared August 9 "Frank Zappa Day".

 

At a reception afterwards, he (Pat Metheney) came up to me and said--and I remember it clearly to this day--"Man, your stuff just blows me away". Life doesn't get any better than that.

When I was 14 my JHS Saxophone Teacher came up to me and said--and I remember it clearly to this day--"Man, your stuff just blows". But I got to Second Base in the Instrument Storage Room with Pamela Something that very day. For a 14-year-old, life doesn't get any better than that. (It's a true story, Isaac. Sheesh. Gauntlets!)

 

Anyway, thanks for sharing. And in the future of "Steve's Blog" I'll try not to bore you with snippets of my own pathetic history. But what can I say, you inspired me and jogged the old noggin.

-Thoth.