in playing the shows with the project band, i acquired a nice stereo PA system. it is now integrated into my recording studio (a picture of this appeared on one of the CNN iReport things a month or so ago), and i've added some new equipment and software capabilities:
- a Firewire audio interface (Alesis IO|14)
- some software upgrades (Sony Acid Pro 6, Reason 4)
- some plug-ins (Antares AutoTune 5, iZotope Spectron, BIAS Soundsoap)
- a low-end (but usable) 4-track cassette machine (to transfer my old stuff to CD)
over the weekend, we stopped at a native american gift shop (Oards) in the High Desert west of Burns, and i got a couple peruvian Ocarinas and a really sweet flute made by Brent Haines (Woodsounds: www.woodsounds.com). I am no good at flute (i can find my way around everything from a dumbek to a harmonica, a Xylophone to an Er-Hu, but flutes/saxophones/clarinets/recorders are sooooooo not my thing) ... but this particular one (made of one of my favorite trees - Juniper!) is such a fine instrument, i've decided i may try to nail it down a little before going back to Er-Hu and Violin. i spent a half-hour a little bit ago mapping out the fingerings on it, and i can play some really basic things, but i'm pretty sure i'll never be well-known for my awkward flute skills ...
one thing i've learned is that it is never a good idea to buy a 'student' instrument. with most things (and i can say this about guitar, violin, erhu, and now this flute), there is such a noticable difference between a higher-end instrument and a lower-end 'student' instrument that it's a wonder more people don't give up when they're first learning. i'd venture to say that half the dischordant children's orchestra/band noise comes from cheap instruments and poor tuning ... if you gave a handful of new students top-of-the-line instruments, provided they're tuned, they'd sound a lot better ...
so i suck at this whole flute thing, but the flute makes such a full sound, it's hard not to sound kind of awesome.
when i was reading up on this instrument, i saw quite a few native american rockstar sites & stuff, and (coupled with this weekend's exposure to a lot of folk/blues music played on a front porch in downtown Springfield) it got me thinking about 'roots music'.
i don't mean 'african music' or any of that ... i mean people performing in a style or with an instrument commonly understood to be a part of a cultural group, and generally one of their own heritage.
being a keyboardist (electronics, not piano), i come into the sneers of 'real musicians' sometimes because i'm playing a 'machine'.
i suppose the first people to play a guitar ... or a modern horn like a trumpet or tuba ... probably got teased for playing a 'machine' too, and with time, they were accepted.
i don't think non-keyboardists understand how much is involved in performing/creating with this kind of instrument. i know the assumption is that a keyboardist hits a button and all this factory-preset music starts playing, and they plink around on top of it with some really fake string noises or whatever. i don't blame their ignorance ... most consumer keyboards 9especially of the late 1980s) were casios and yamahas that *did* have a 'fingered chord' arpeggiator or something, and the sounds themselves were pretty lame.
what i (we) do is quite different. we sample or synthesize our own sounds because the factory presets are never cool enough. these tweaks give us a deep understanding of the physics of sound and waveforms.
we learn to use MIDI. MIDI is both simple (it's standardized) and complicated (master/slave device, 'omni mode', sys ex dumps, channels, controller IDs and parameters, velocity sensitivity, etc). We 'sequence', which is akin to playing a track or two of guitar, then picking up a bass and playing it too, and WHOA HEY! we play our own drums, too ... often sounding so much like a real drummer that you'd never think that EVERY hit or note you hear in our songs was made by one guy with a keyboard ...
controllers are fun. we have 'breath controllers', pitch band/mod wheels, pedals, sliders, knobs, and expression pads ... so we use as much (and sometimes far more) coordination than a typical guitarist.
i grew up HATING guitar. it was mostly due to being a rebellious kid and trying to 'be different', but i have to be fair and admit that, when compared to all the options in a good workstation keyboard, guitars are pretty dull and incredibly limited. needless to say, guitars were cheaper than keyboards, so my first band was made up of a drum machine and two guitarists. i learned quickly to alternate playing muted strings and regular strumming ... and i began collecting effects pedals in great quantities. i was determined to make my guitar sound like a keyboard ...
a week-long power outage in 1997 changed that. with no power, i was suddenly left with only an acoustic guitar and an old piano to play with ... and if i'd thought that guitars were dull and limited, pianos were much more so. i decided i'd learn guitar, and eventually pick up an acoustic ...
10 years later, i bought my first acoustic guitar, an acoustic/electric Ibanez.
but i've deviated from my point.
there are a lot of 'folk' musicians out there. it seems if you're of irish descent, there's celtic music ... if you're a cowboy, there's cowboy guitar, if you hate something, there's protest folk, if you're native american, chinese, black, polynesian, or pretty much of any other ancestry, you've got your 'traditional' music niche.
when you think about it, though, all people came from elsewhere, whether it be 50 years ago or 2000 years ago. todays 'native americans' were not always on this continent, and many of their own traditions confirm this. the japanese weren't always in japan, the celts weren't always in ireland. some 'traditional music' (and cooking) is tainted and borrows from more recent cultural exposure.
my point isn't that any of these genres/cultures have anything more or less than the others, but that all had a finite beginning ... "they had to start somewhere".
i could dig into my own heredity and plug into one of the many 'roots' i have, and go merrily on my way ...
but i've never been to ireland. i was never involved in slavery. i never fought next to others who died in a war, i never 'lived on the streets', and though i'm descended from an early american pioneer songwriter, i never made the great trek myself.
so what reason would i have to take up the 'cause' or to wrap myself in the vestaments of a life i never lived?
i know of my ancestors, and i respect them. i know more about my 'roots' than most people i know ...
yet my experience has been different than my progenitors. i opened my eyes in a sagebrush strewn 'desert' in the rocky mountains. i camped in the mountains, swam in the rivers, slept in the rocks, went for long walks at night in the countryside. i spent time reading headstones of those who passed before me, and i spent late nights thinking about lives i never knew. i wanted to live in a 'big city', so i wore the uniform and made the sacrifices ... only to find that 'big city' was a hollow skelton with a shallow spirit ... when i'd always expected it to be something far different. i had my moments of happiness and moments of sorrow. the soundtrack to my life wasn't the clang of swords, the scuffle of chained feet or the distant whistle of a flute ... it was a hum of powerlines, the scream of jackrabbits, and the buzz and rumble of electronics whizzing through the car stereo as i raced across the desert in an old car with the windows down.
i slept on the streets a few times. i knew the homeless. i studied foreign cultures and have an appreciation for them. These things, though, are not - and never will be - the essential parts of my creative soul. i can draw on them if i have to, but i speak a different language, and i've much to say in my own tongue.
when people ask me why i don't "be introspective" or "write from my feelings" ... when they look down on me for not drooling over the latest Jewel CD or question my taste when i am not impressed by the latest ethnic instrument to be inserted into a Sting song, i wish they could know that i *am* telling the story of my life, i *am* expressing my feelings, though neither may be what is expected by a person raised in this small western culture.
can i insert an 'ethnic instrument' into my music? yes! and i can do so with as much right to it as any other person a generation or more removed from its rightful breather. do i have to? no ... and neither do i 'have to' formulate my music to conform to the established patterns and fads in this world. maybe sometimes i follow a standard ABAB pop structure, or a 4/4 time signature, and maybe sometimes i don't. do i need drums? do i need to sing a melody with highs and lows, or can i just be monotone?
i've wandered too far from my original purpose in doing music. i was much wiser and more controlled in high school ... i simply wanted to create the music i wished i could hear.
now i've got the means, but where did my direction go?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
... and after explaining why i don't play shows anymore ...
a project i'm involved in had two performances this month.
the first was on 05/10/2008 (Saturday) at the Payette LDS Church. we performed cover songs ("Man Of Constant Sorrow", "He Reigns" by the Newsboys, and "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers). I've never liked performing cover songs, but for our purpose, it was fine.
we appeared incognito, and i will post video of the performance sometime soon.
the second performance was on the following Tuesday (05/13/2008) at the Payette Apple Blossom Festival talent show. our mysterious trio (again, sporting thick beards and cowboy hats) took 1st place in the adult-age group category. (Best of Show went to 3 kids wearing duck suits and playing violin with their parents).
it was fun to be onstage, but with this project, i'm really much more interested in writing, and i barely have enough time to commit to that.
the first was on 05/10/2008 (Saturday) at the Payette LDS Church. we performed cover songs ("Man Of Constant Sorrow", "He Reigns" by the Newsboys, and "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers). I've never liked performing cover songs, but for our purpose, it was fine.
we appeared incognito, and i will post video of the performance sometime soon.
the second performance was on the following Tuesday (05/13/2008) at the Payette Apple Blossom Festival talent show. our mysterious trio (again, sporting thick beards and cowboy hats) took 1st place in the adult-age group category. (Best of Show went to 3 kids wearing duck suits and playing violin with their parents).
it was fun to be onstage, but with this project, i'm really much more interested in writing, and i barely have enough time to commit to that.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Why I'm Not Playing Shows Right Now
a few incidents recently have prompted me to divulge the various reasons i am not currently playing shows.
first and foremost, my main band (Dyed Emotions) is spread out geographically. this isn't much of a problem, but it really isn't worth it for the three of us to travel to meet and perform at some little bar for $300 or whatever. Not meaning to complain about the many great venues that supported us in the past, but realistically, we've 'paid our dues', and it just isn't that thrilling to play for peanuts anymore. Time ... ten years, to be exact ... has taught us to be more selective. Plan more, sweat less.
want dE to perform at your venue? contact us with a reasonable bid, and we'll talk. if it's worth the trip, we'll do it.
meanwhile, we (i should say 'i', as i'm not sure my bandmates are backing this weirdness) are exploring alternate promotional methods, and so far, results have been better than expected. Not playing shows used to seem like 'musical suicide', and for most bands, it probably is. For what we do, however, not playing every show that comes along is a sound financial decision.
we're also working on new material, and would like to focus more on writing than playing old songs. (you have to remember, the newest of our released songs was written at the turn of the century!)
I will not perform yet as a solo artist because i refuse to dance around onstage alone with a keyboard on remote and a guitar around my neck. I'm putting together my solo CD, and once i've decided on the songs, i'll put together a small group and play a handful of shows (because i do miss being onstage!) My solo music will differ greatly from what you've heard me do with dE, and will probably not be as 'commercial', but it's something i need to do.
I have been writing a LOT of music the past week ... a project i'm involved in just picked up the pace, and we're beginning to have more musicians ready to play than music for them to play, so i've been tearing my hair out trying to keep up. I can't give out too much detail, but this is more a 'writing gig' for me than a 'performing gig', the musical style (and writing process) is vastly different than anything i've done before (and would probably shock friends, family and fans), and i need to have a killer song done by may 9th for a performance or two ...
my wife supports this particular project, so i've been able to spend some of my working hours over the past week writing, and i was able to make a few purchases to enhance my writing/recording capability.
anyway ...
if you're one of the people who have offered to 'manage' us, give us a show, let us open for your band, etc ... i'm truly sorry. it's awkward saying "i'm in a band, but no, we're not performing, i don't want a manager, and (dE, at least) is not looking to get 'signed"
i know what i'm doing, we like the creative freedom (everything from music to artwork to promotion) that having our own label allows, and it's just too difficult to explain this all to someone "who knows all about the biz" (to quote a recent offer).
i'll certainly mention it when the status changes, but for right now i'm not combing my hair, putting on the eyeliner or loading the gear into the van ... and it feels kind of nice.
first and foremost, my main band (Dyed Emotions) is spread out geographically. this isn't much of a problem, but it really isn't worth it for the three of us to travel to meet and perform at some little bar for $300 or whatever. Not meaning to complain about the many great venues that supported us in the past, but realistically, we've 'paid our dues', and it just isn't that thrilling to play for peanuts anymore. Time ... ten years, to be exact ... has taught us to be more selective. Plan more, sweat less.
want dE to perform at your venue? contact us with a reasonable bid, and we'll talk. if it's worth the trip, we'll do it.
meanwhile, we (i should say 'i', as i'm not sure my bandmates are backing this weirdness) are exploring alternate promotional methods, and so far, results have been better than expected. Not playing shows used to seem like 'musical suicide', and for most bands, it probably is. For what we do, however, not playing every show that comes along is a sound financial decision.
we're also working on new material, and would like to focus more on writing than playing old songs. (you have to remember, the newest of our released songs was written at the turn of the century!)
I will not perform yet as a solo artist because i refuse to dance around onstage alone with a keyboard on remote and a guitar around my neck. I'm putting together my solo CD, and once i've decided on the songs, i'll put together a small group and play a handful of shows (because i do miss being onstage!) My solo music will differ greatly from what you've heard me do with dE, and will probably not be as 'commercial', but it's something i need to do.
I have been writing a LOT of music the past week ... a project i'm involved in just picked up the pace, and we're beginning to have more musicians ready to play than music for them to play, so i've been tearing my hair out trying to keep up. I can't give out too much detail, but this is more a 'writing gig' for me than a 'performing gig', the musical style (and writing process) is vastly different than anything i've done before (and would probably shock friends, family and fans), and i need to have a killer song done by may 9th for a performance or two ...
my wife supports this particular project, so i've been able to spend some of my working hours over the past week writing, and i was able to make a few purchases to enhance my writing/recording capability.
anyway ...
if you're one of the people who have offered to 'manage' us, give us a show, let us open for your band, etc ... i'm truly sorry. it's awkward saying "i'm in a band, but no, we're not performing, i don't want a manager, and (dE, at least) is not looking to get 'signed"
i know what i'm doing, we like the creative freedom (everything from music to artwork to promotion) that having our own label allows, and it's just too difficult to explain this all to someone "who knows all about the biz" (to quote a recent offer).
i'll certainly mention it when the status changes, but for right now i'm not combing my hair, putting on the eyeliner or loading the gear into the van ... and it feels kind of nice.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Catching Up
It's been a little while since I've posted any news, so here it goes:
- Dyed Emotions' latest album, "Art Of Regret" is available for full download on:
* iTunes
* CDbaby
* Verizon Wireless' VCast
* SnoCap
- Dyed Emotions CDs are available through:
* Amazon.com
* CDBaby.com ('Art Of Regret' only)
* LostKeyRecords.com ( also available there: autographed 'Aqua Pura' and 'Art Of Regret' discs and AOR posters)
- Raven and I are working on material for the next Dyed Emotions album
- I've been piecing together old FKK tapes & (slowly) converting some of the old songs over to a digital format. It hasn't been going too well, but if i can salvage any tracks, they will appear on a limited (100 - 200 only) solo CD later this summer, alongside some of my single tracks ('Journalist', 'Afraid Of Heathers', a new version of 'Hillary', and several others)
- We still don't have a full CD's worth of remixes for the dE remix album, but we've got a few pretty cool mixes i'm anxious to get out there. (My two favourites right now are the 'Madrid Trance Mix' of 'True' by Oh, and the extended mix of 'Frequency' that Raven is working on.)
- I had the opportunity recently to test our my re-wired and rebuilt 'studio'. I am happy to report the wiring is all good, the machines are all still working, and despite a lack of sound-proofing (and having children), there was little background noise on the vocal tracks, and what noise there was was easily processed out. whoo hoo! i've been spending my spare music time remixing + building the song we recorded (it was a guy from church doing a parody that we're changing into a dance mix).
- Much of my time has been consumed by some design/layout priojects i've been doing for some non-profit organizations, but that's calming down a little.
- Dyed Emotions' latest album, "Art Of Regret" is available for full download on:
* iTunes
* CDbaby
* Verizon Wireless' VCast
* SnoCap
- Dyed Emotions CDs are available through:
* Amazon.com
* CDBaby.com ('Art Of Regret' only)
* LostKeyRecords.com ( also available there: autographed 'Aqua Pura' and 'Art Of Regret' discs and AOR posters)
- Raven and I are working on material for the next Dyed Emotions album
- I've been piecing together old FKK tapes & (slowly) converting some of the old songs over to a digital format. It hasn't been going too well, but if i can salvage any tracks, they will appear on a limited (100 - 200 only) solo CD later this summer, alongside some of my single tracks ('Journalist', 'Afraid Of Heathers', a new version of 'Hillary', and several others)
- We still don't have a full CD's worth of remixes for the dE remix album, but we've got a few pretty cool mixes i'm anxious to get out there. (My two favourites right now are the 'Madrid Trance Mix' of 'True' by Oh, and the extended mix of 'Frequency' that Raven is working on.)
- I had the opportunity recently to test our my re-wired and rebuilt 'studio'. I am happy to report the wiring is all good, the machines are all still working, and despite a lack of sound-proofing (and having children), there was little background noise on the vocal tracks, and what noise there was was easily processed out. whoo hoo! i've been spending my spare music time remixing + building the song we recorded (it was a guy from church doing a parody that we're changing into a dance mix).
- Much of my time has been consumed by some design/layout priojects i've been doing for some non-profit organizations, but that's calming down a little.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Penny Dreadful
i would say that a person could create a lot of strange connections between parts of my life & paint a pretty weird picture, but in thinking about things lately, i feel so blessed that i have the wife (and family) that i do. i love this unpretentious town, i like the freedom (and responsibility) that being unplugged from the 'corporate world' has provided, and it is indeed nice to truly live the american way.
that said, i've been messing around with the guitar more lately. i've never been a fan of guitar (and those who have had to hear my play could probably say the guitar has never been much of a fan of me), but this week i had a little extra free time & was able to learn some rudimentary versions of the following songs:
Erasure:
- always
- phantom bride
- a little respect
- i love saturday
- blue savannah
- la gloria
- joan
- chorus
- freedom
Train:
- Calling All Angels
Killers:
- All These Things That I've Done
Feist:
- 1234
Rilo Kiley:
- The Frug
and a handful of old 'pop standards' (Moon River, Cheek to Cheek, etc).
my wife also let me watch DepecheMode: Live In Paris one night, and an 80's new wave compilation DVD the next. was great ...
i've also begun to get back into the swing of things with original material. it has been incredibly difficult to find the time (and mental space!) to do so ... i suppose it is something any artist with children/other responsibilities has to deal with ... and when you're untalented (but lucky when it comes to putting things together) like me, you can't simply fall back on skill ... i HAVE to have a calm environment (late night, hang out in the desert or on a beach, etc) to allow the ideas to flow.
were i skilled (cole porter, for example), i could just hammer out structurally sound songs and sound-good lyrics despite distraction ...
but then again, i don't think he was faced with quite the same obligations.
i kind of wish i'd fallen into a different genre when i was younger ... i truly appreciate my little "maybury" lifestyle, but if i were to let it influence my writing, i might be more 'christian contemporary' or country or something. argh ...
that said, i've been messing around with the guitar more lately. i've never been a fan of guitar (and those who have had to hear my play could probably say the guitar has never been much of a fan of me), but this week i had a little extra free time & was able to learn some rudimentary versions of the following songs:
Erasure:
- always
- phantom bride
- a little respect
- i love saturday
- blue savannah
- la gloria
- joan
- chorus
- freedom
Train:
- Calling All Angels
Killers:
- All These Things That I've Done
Feist:
- 1234
Rilo Kiley:
- The Frug
and a handful of old 'pop standards' (Moon River, Cheek to Cheek, etc).
my wife also let me watch DepecheMode: Live In Paris one night, and an 80's new wave compilation DVD the next. was great ...
i've also begun to get back into the swing of things with original material. it has been incredibly difficult to find the time (and mental space!) to do so ... i suppose it is something any artist with children/other responsibilities has to deal with ... and when you're untalented (but lucky when it comes to putting things together) like me, you can't simply fall back on skill ... i HAVE to have a calm environment (late night, hang out in the desert or on a beach, etc) to allow the ideas to flow.
were i skilled (cole porter, for example), i could just hammer out structurally sound songs and sound-good lyrics despite distraction ...
but then again, i don't think he was faced with quite the same obligations.
i kind of wish i'd fallen into a different genre when i was younger ... i truly appreciate my little "maybury" lifestyle, but if i were to let it influence my writing, i might be more 'christian contemporary' or country or something. argh ...
Monday, October 1, 2007
got that Feist song in my head ... 1234
... and it's distracting me from writing new music.
i practiced violin last night in the kitchen ... (we have a 2-floor 'cathedral ceiling' kitchen & the acoustics are amazing!) ...
and the weather has been inspiring yet in-the-way (the power went out as i was firing up the machines this morning) ... i think i'm being pushed by my own little Florestan and Eusebius into working on acoustic/organic stuff ...
spent the night obsessing over some of the non-hollywood work of Crispin Glover, and the day watching my daughter coo "ohhhhhh" with a concerned look in her eyes ...
i wonder what she thinks about ?
i practiced violin last night in the kitchen ... (we have a 2-floor 'cathedral ceiling' kitchen & the acoustics are amazing!) ...
and the weather has been inspiring yet in-the-way (the power went out as i was firing up the machines this morning) ... i think i'm being pushed by my own little Florestan and Eusebius into working on acoustic/organic stuff ...
spent the night obsessing over some of the non-hollywood work of Crispin Glover, and the day watching my daughter coo "ohhhhhh" with a concerned look in her eyes ...
i wonder what she thinks about ?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Projects Completed
finished the dyed emotions website today, and completed the 'super flashlight' (included UV and IR bulbs for nature and video experiments) last night. also made some small adjustments to arnpoe.com.
am still having problems getting the compressed video for "Let's Get Lizzie High" to remain synced with the audio, so the version currently up on YouTube is weird.
started violin lessons (from a book) yesterday ...
and sometime a couple days ago, i finished my remix of Test Shot Starfish's "Autopilot". It's not cliche'-cool and danceable like most of the other entries, but i was actually proud of about 90% of it. when more time frees up, i think i might make a dance version too. just to fit in ...
am still having problems getting the compressed video for "Let's Get Lizzie High" to remain synced with the audio, so the version currently up on YouTube is weird.
started violin lessons (from a book) yesterday ...
and sometime a couple days ago, i finished my remix of Test Shot Starfish's "Autopilot". It's not cliche'-cool and danceable like most of the other entries, but i was actually proud of about 90% of it. when more time frees up, i think i might make a dance version too. just to fit in ...
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