Uses This

Who are you, and what do you do?

My name is Jewel Loree and I'm a Senior Data Analyst for Tableau Software. I work specifically with Tableau Public, our free tool for journalists, hobbyists, and anyone with data to share to use to create interactive data visualizations on the web. My job is a mix of community engagement, public speaking, and creating data visualizations that people hopefully want to look at.

In addition to that, I play bass for the band Golden Idols. We play spooky psychedelic leaning surf rock and recently released a self-titled EP. I've been with them for about a year and a half now.

What hardware do you use?

For data analysis: I have a really old, crappy Dell laptop. It's so slow that hashtags have formed at conferences I've spoken at about my need for a new computer. It's not good. But it sits on top of a really sweet motorized adjustable standing desk, and that's awesome.

For the band: My bass is a G&L JB-2 Tribute series. It's got a great, slim neck and is very versatile and was way cheaper than comparable Fender basses. I play with medium gauge D'Addario Half Round strings, which give me that plucky vintage sound and allow me to slide a lot without cutting up my fingertips. My amp is a TC Electronic BG250-112. It gets the job done but I'm going to need something bigger soon; my band is very loud. On my pedal board is a TC Electronic Polytune chromatic tuner, which is fantastic (it's so bright I could read it clearly even while playing on an outdoor stage in the direct sunlight.) I also use an Aguilar Tone Hammer pre-amp (scooping the mids is very easy to do on here and important for surf music!), Aguilar TLC Compressor, and an Aguilar AGRO overdrive pedal. Obviously I have a thing for Aguilar.

In addition to my actual bass gear, I've gotten a lot of use out of my Shure MOTIV MV88 iOS condenser microphone. I use it while we're jamming during practice to get decent recordings of new song ideas. I also use it to record our shows, so that we can listen to them later. You never really know how you sound in some of these clubs until you hear it played back. And sometimes there's the special bonus of accidentally picking up someone in the crowd's hilarious conversation.

For life: I don't think it would be too far off to hypothesize that I spend the majority of my waking hours with headphones on. I use Urbanears Plattan headphones. People with bigger heads find them uncomfortable, but I've got a relatively small one and I can wear these through a whole 8-hour work day with no problem. They sound great for the price, especially on the low end of the sound spectrum, and they come in very cute colors. I also am a fan of their tangle-free cords and the zound plug, which allows you to daisy chain headphones together.

For both music and data viz purposes, I carry a little notebook around me in case of sudden inspiration of lyrics or data ideas. I use Leuchtturm 1917 softcover pocket notebooks and Kikkerland Retro pens. Leuchtturm also makes these sweet little adhesive pen loops to stick in your notebook, so I do that to keep the whole system together.

And what software?

For data viz: All of the data visualization work is done in Tableau. I use import.io quite a bit for web scraping and putting together datasets, like the one I used in my popular KEXP visualizations. I also use the combination of IFTTT and Google Spreadsheets to put together datasets from Craigslist or in conjunction with Last.fm to create visualizations on my own music listening. My data viz blog runs on WordPress, which is fine, but I recently made an article with Atavist. I loved the user experience and I'm thinking about using it much more. For doing the graphics in a lot of my data visualizations, like headers and buttons and things, I use Canva.

For the band: I'm in charge of a lot of the social media parts of the band, so I like to use IFTTT to make cross-posting easy. I also use Canva to design gig posters and little social media posts. The band uses Facebook groups and a long iMessage chain to communicate. We keep all the important info about contacts, finances, and that kind of thing on Google Docs.

What would be your dream setup?

For data visualization: A MacBook Pro and a giant retina display. Or at least something that'll allow me to run web scraping in the background while working in Tableau.

For music: A Rickenbacker 4003, Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 head, two Aguilar SL-112 amps. Those last two items especially because I'm not particular huge or muscular and would like to be able to move my own bass gear without injuring myself. And, I'm just generally an Aguilar fan girl.

I'd also like a pair of Urbanears Plattans in every color so that they would always match my outfit.