Updates

5-31-23

Adding a layer of fretless bass, now, after some 12-string chords and a swathe of harmonic echoes. Thinking some lap steel and acoustic slide. Probably some hillbilly harmonica, although I'm a little more schooled in cross-harp.

Btw, I've updated the lyrics and song notes, on the free tracks page. Got caught up in school and chores. Studying Physics of Sound, at AIMM.

 

5-8-23

No more teasers, on the clip.

(It's at that point where it needs to be licensed in order to be totally legit. Here it comes, though.)

 

5-7-23

I should mention that we're going jangle rock, next E.P. It's decided. Some seaside shoegaze guitar... probably some loungey surf, with the Strato and the VOX combo organ... another cover, for sure.

A little old-timey.

 

5-3-23

New song up, on the free tracks page. Total hairball of an endeavor but I think I saved it with some club sub. (A little excursion into the late 80s, as promised; the veritable musical mothership, for myself.)

You really need a team of scientists for big ensembles, but I had to make a big deal out of it, to start. No regrets. I totally went into the piece thinking: "This will be the one that gets me centered, musically, and it did." The tracks to come will be much easier to produce and therefore take less time. I may still do some long ones, but probably not so crunched for frequency.  Looking at some shoegaze ambience, jangle rock, and a bit of old-timey, retro acoustic. "Neo-traditional," as it were. Next track will be a cover, by the seaside, as we veer into something more focused and even minimalistic, at times. Three more short ones to go and I'll fade them together for an official E.P. The cover will be made available via CD Baby, as soon as it's ready. (They have an easy licensing program.)

All three mp3s are now updated and contain the final cover art. Cheers!

 

5-1-23

I knew this first EP was going to be a mess of digital glitch, latency, hiss, and frustrated CPU levels, as I went down the rabbit hole of laptop recordings with my old i5, seeking musical direction within the context of a fantastical EVP session. So, instead of pulling too many teeth over the tech, I decided to color outside of the lines a little, and stuff it with every little thing, from white noise to lap steel and ocean waves, and just make it sound something like an old radio mix tape or sound board recording that your friend gave to you, back in the 80s. You know, regardless of precision and clarity. Turn the rabbit hole into a tunnel of light. A star-studded memorial concert on King Biscuit. Kristin dug stuff like that and it seemed to fit, for an opening set of tunes. The ones to follow will be a bit more up front, as I strip down the ensemble and find the sweet spot of the new workhorse I got for production school. 

Currently remixing Hush-a-Bye with some parallel compression and one of my new shoegazer guitar pedals. Then I'll put them together. They're really the same song, anyway. Mars will stay basically the same, save a volume tweak and a little radio fuzz. (I like the retro feel of it. Didn't want to touch it with any new compression or bass tweaks.)

Krypton ... is a shade of blue.

 

3-31-23

As this day of the year comes round, once again, I find myself in the middle of the first vocal layer of a song I've been working on since last summer. This phase of the process is always the strangest. The vocal emulator sounds so fake, at first, until I start adding effects and her voice suddenly jumps out at me, from the computer. Riveting, to say the least. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

This is a very quiet day for me, typically, so I'm going to leave it at that.  I did get the new Waves subscription, however, so I'm looking forward to adding a layer of trippy harmonies, as I near the finish line. Anyway... little preview.

 

9-20-22

Waiting on a last run 90s-era classic Strat from the Ensenada plant. Barely a scuff. 50s pickups, soft "V" neck, skunk stripe, the whole bit. 

 

The model was mass produced until 2019. However, there was a fire at the plant, in 1994. To compensate for losses, some kind of swap occurred between Ensenada and Corona, until 1998-99ish, and a bunch of super-charged MiM Strats made it to the public, that are still talked about to this day. I've owned a '96 standard model and can attest to the quality. Whatever the case, this "new" one appears to be quite special. 

*Update 2023: It plays like a $2,000 guitar.

 

6-4-22

Updated the Fables page. Accidentally erased all of my posts, here, so... I'll work on that. *ahem* (Eventually, this will all be contained in some form of album notes or another.)

Listening to The Jokers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6aIXf-yupQ