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APRIL 25TH, 2021:
Update time is super overdue. Sorry about that! I'm saving up for a new computer to make my online life much, much simpler. My stuff is getting to be so old that it won't even go to certain websites anymore. But there's no way that I'm updating anything since they are the same computers that I use in the studio: the last time I updated anything it caused a mini-fiasco. At the moment everything is functioning properly so I ain't fixin it! I'm almost there money-wise, thankfully. Then I can pick up the pace of putting out more videos and updates and such. Anyway, in March I released a new LP called "SPACE FLOTILLA". You can listen to it HERE. I'd describe it as a synth-heavy, imaginary-sci-fi-movie-soundtrack that ranges in styles from gloomy to exciting to cinematic. What happened to the guitar-heavy prog rock stuff? Well, it'll prolly return, but, well... |
Over the course of the pandemic lockdowns I bought an EWI (aka "Electronic Wind Instrument" midi controller), which in turn got me to dig back heavily into synthesizers for the first time in years. The Yamaha WX5 is an EWI synth controller set up like a sax. This has opened up a whole new thing for me since I am more comfortable on sax than keys and naturally play differently on each.
I've always loved my studio, but now the synth setup is crazy. I would never have imagined that I could afford to have such a setup back when I got started (in the 1980's) since they were so expensive. But they've come way, way down in price and there seems to be a renaissance of synth products going on. For those who are into the details about such things, see below. Needless to say I have been making a bunch of glitchy and rhythmic Electronica and EDM lately, and should have something to share featuring both "system one" and "system two" (see below) soon. In fact, P. Earwig has already provided me with the cover art, which I will share closer to its release. As usual I am very, very grateful for Earwig's help-- he is amazing. Its going to be called "SELF UNTITLED". I've got another bunch of guitar junior driven music written as well... aaaand some other new things are brewing. I back-burnered the Texas Punk documentary several times and need to finish that still... I will!! I will!! I really want that done, but done sorta right.
I'm thinkin there oughta be more releases from me in 2021. Thanks for checking in! Studio nerds, see below:
I've always loved my studio, but now the synth setup is crazy. I would never have imagined that I could afford to have such a setup back when I got started (in the 1980's) since they were so expensive. But they've come way, way down in price and there seems to be a renaissance of synth products going on. For those who are into the details about such things, see below. Needless to say I have been making a bunch of glitchy and rhythmic Electronica and EDM lately, and should have something to share featuring both "system one" and "system two" (see below) soon. In fact, P. Earwig has already provided me with the cover art, which I will share closer to its release. As usual I am very, very grateful for Earwig's help-- he is amazing. Its going to be called "SELF UNTITLED". I've got another bunch of guitar junior driven music written as well... aaaand some other new things are brewing. I back-burnered the Texas Punk documentary several times and need to finish that still... I will!! I will!! I really want that done, but done sorta right.
I'm thinkin there oughta be more releases from me in 2021. Thanks for checking in! Studio nerds, see below:
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Frumunda Studio boasts a v-drum setup...an electric guitar/bass setup...an audio mixing setup...a video mixing setup...a printing and manufacturing setup...a big bunch of instruments and noisemakers, and microphones, amps and effects...boxes of ephemera, LP masters and leftover merch...All within the confines of a little ol apartment!
And now, drum roll, please... its got a SICK synth setup!!
Here's the low-down:
There are two systems. One is a bunch of desktop synth modules. The other is what I'm callin the "micro modular" system, which is a bunch of little noise boxes hooked together with CV as well as midi for controls.
System One consists of:
Mellotron Micro - polyphonic digital synth (vintage orchestral sounds)
Waldorf Striechfett - polyphonic digital synth (vintage string machine synth)
Yamaha Reface CP - polyphonic digital synth (electric piano/clav)
Ferrofish B4000 - polyphonic digital synth (B3 organ module)
Korg Minilogue XD - polyphonic, both analog and digital synth
Behringer Pro-1 - mono/duophonic analog synth
Behringer Model D - monophonic analog synth
These 7 are brought together with a MOTU ("Mark Of The Unicorn") midi timepiece so that one keyboard controls all 7 and heard back thru a little Mackie Mix12FX 12 channel mixer (where they head into my DAW). They are controlled via an old Yamaha DX7 keyboard and/or now the Yamaha WX5 wind controller. Pretty much everything that I personally like about keyboards is in that bunch of modules--except for modular synthesis (hence, System Two). Having researched Modular for a bit, though, I still am overwhelmed by it and feel like I would only really dive in if I had the dough and had the time and money to dedicate to something like MODULAR synthesis. It would be nice, but in the meantime I've come up with this little micro unit.
System Two consists of:
Moog Werkstatt - monophonic analog synth
Waldorf Rocket - mono/duophonic analog synth
Bastl Kastl 1.5 - micro modular synth
Bastl Drum Kastl - micro modular rhythm synth
Teenage Electronics PO-12 "Rhythm" - drum sequencer
Teenage Electronics PO-24 "Office" - office "noises" sequencer
Korg SQ-1 - sequencer
Bastl Dude - 5 channel Mixer
Yamaha Reface CS - polyphonic digital synth
All of these tiny modules have control knobs and/or cable ports to make connections or manipulate the sounds except the Reface CS, which has a keyboard and slider controls. Its a tiny, but powerful little sandbox!
JANUARY 11, 2021:
2020 in review/upcoming releases!
First part of 2020 I released an LP, "Pineapple Foghorn" and then proceeded to write more songs. So, there is another LP written and mostly recorded of that kind of stuff. In the spring I managed to get a few guys (Ben Rew, Juan Lozoya and Scott Wade) together to try to play some guitar jr music as a band. It ultimately did not work out for a number of reasons not the least of which was that it would seem a 3 stringer guitar tuned in a triad does not play easily with normal guitars. (I guess I just had to find out the hard way, haha) Covid-19 shutting down all live events naturally didn't help any. But playing with other guitar players is probably not gonna happen in my solo act unless they are also multi-instrumentalists. I'll just leave it at that.
Another big reason is that Ben decided that he did not want to play rock music, per se, anymore. He put away his guitars, researched synthesizers and started buying, buying, trying, trying and selling, selling synths until he wound up with 3 or so that he really likes. I learned a lot with him on that journey I must say. He wanted to not work on any of the stuff either of us had written before and write new, spacey, synth music. Then he decided that he hates Seattle and moved to Los Angeles. Suffice it to say Ben was going through some changes and I want to support him in that. Go Ben! While I was let down that he did not want to work on the tunes I'd been working on I was still ok, since I had also been buying synths for a while and have been thinking of making synthy musics, too. In fact, I just got an electronic wind instrument midi controller (aka an "EWI") and a new synth myself which has been verry exciting! It will be premiering on my next releases so keep your ears peeled for it. It'll sound like a crazy lead synth player joined the band, but it will be a synth-sax. Still mutating over here, lol!
2020 in review/upcoming releases!
First part of 2020 I released an LP, "Pineapple Foghorn" and then proceeded to write more songs. So, there is another LP written and mostly recorded of that kind of stuff. In the spring I managed to get a few guys (Ben Rew, Juan Lozoya and Scott Wade) together to try to play some guitar jr music as a band. It ultimately did not work out for a number of reasons not the least of which was that it would seem a 3 stringer guitar tuned in a triad does not play easily with normal guitars. (I guess I just had to find out the hard way, haha) Covid-19 shutting down all live events naturally didn't help any. But playing with other guitar players is probably not gonna happen in my solo act unless they are also multi-instrumentalists. I'll just leave it at that.
Another big reason is that Ben decided that he did not want to play rock music, per se, anymore. He put away his guitars, researched synthesizers and started buying, buying, trying, trying and selling, selling synths until he wound up with 3 or so that he really likes. I learned a lot with him on that journey I must say. He wanted to not work on any of the stuff either of us had written before and write new, spacey, synth music. Then he decided that he hates Seattle and moved to Los Angeles. Suffice it to say Ben was going through some changes and I want to support him in that. Go Ben! While I was let down that he did not want to work on the tunes I'd been working on I was still ok, since I had also been buying synths for a while and have been thinking of making synthy musics, too. In fact, I just got an electronic wind instrument midi controller (aka an "EWI") and a new synth myself which has been verry exciting! It will be premiering on my next releases so keep your ears peeled for it. It'll sound like a crazy lead synth player joined the band, but it will be a synth-sax. Still mutating over here, lol!
So, I'll still hang out and do stuff with Juan and Scott. I still want to form a band around the guitar jr music at some point. Everybody is super cool and nice and talented and everything but style wise we were all on separate pages. Juan is a killer metal style player and I'd like to do some heavy music with him. Scott is one of those music theory guys who can guitar shred like crazy, so how could I not want to work with him sometimes, right? I also learned a lot about the difference between loud and soft guitar playing. I had no idear how different they are! On those terms I am way better prepared for future times. Mid year Ben did me a solid and gave me a copy of Logic Pro X music editing software. I have been slowly transitioning over to it from Pro Tools, which along with the EWI are kind of big deals for me. I wrote a slew of material in learning Logic. So actually I have 2 or 3 LPs in the works all quite different from one another.
In other news, in between everything else I have been slowly chipping away at THE FLYS OF TEXAS ARE UPON YOU video project based off of an essay that I found in a stack of poems/lyric ideas Randy Biscuit Turner gave me back when we were working on NAUGAHYDE DREAM SEQUENCE stuff, circa early 2000's. I didn't realize the essay was in the stack of papers. I was looking for a list of silly band name ideas that was also in the stack. I was thinking about names for the Guitar Jr. music band and remembered about the list. When I was looking for the list I ran across the essay and was amazed that I did not ever remember seeing it. Its about Punk music in Texas from someone who was there at its beginning and names many names and places. I looked to see if the essay was out there on the web and did not see it. (it turns out that its in a book by David Ensminger...I think its called LEFT OF THE DIAL...). One day I showed it to Ben who exclaimed, "holy shit this should be a movie". I think he envisioned actors on a set so I just giggled and agreed. That night though it occurred to me that it could be a good documentary presented as a power point style thing. So, I've been gathering photos off the web all year and slowly getting the documentary together. It oughta be out at some point this year along with more music. All these projects are in late stages, so hopefully I will have stuff to share soon.
Thats about it for now. Hope you all had good Holidays and stuff!
For those that know, HAPPY BULLSTAR!!
In other news, in between everything else I have been slowly chipping away at THE FLYS OF TEXAS ARE UPON YOU video project based off of an essay that I found in a stack of poems/lyric ideas Randy Biscuit Turner gave me back when we were working on NAUGAHYDE DREAM SEQUENCE stuff, circa early 2000's. I didn't realize the essay was in the stack of papers. I was looking for a list of silly band name ideas that was also in the stack. I was thinking about names for the Guitar Jr. music band and remembered about the list. When I was looking for the list I ran across the essay and was amazed that I did not ever remember seeing it. Its about Punk music in Texas from someone who was there at its beginning and names many names and places. I looked to see if the essay was out there on the web and did not see it. (it turns out that its in a book by David Ensminger...I think its called LEFT OF THE DIAL...). One day I showed it to Ben who exclaimed, "holy shit this should be a movie". I think he envisioned actors on a set so I just giggled and agreed. That night though it occurred to me that it could be a good documentary presented as a power point style thing. So, I've been gathering photos off the web all year and slowly getting the documentary together. It oughta be out at some point this year along with more music. All these projects are in late stages, so hopefully I will have stuff to share soon.
Thats about it for now. Hope you all had good Holidays and stuff!
For those that know, HAPPY BULLSTAR!!