Synths?

Before getting rolling on another football season, I told myself I had to get something creative out. This was the result. Still needs to be mixed, but showing off some new toys. Enjoy.

One more for a dreamer

Had this one just about ready to go, and it's been a productive day, so I thought I would see what I could stream together. Cleaned up the guitar and bass parts a bit, and make it feel glued together. Still more parts coming, but it's a tasty little snack.

Updates pt. 2

And the second track.

Updates - Gettin' the Ball Movin' Again

Good Lord. Almost 8 months since the last post. On the upside, those two tracks are much more finished. Have a listen. WARNING: These tracks are more or less mastered, and will seem much louder than any older tracks. Watch your volume.

A New World, PT. 2

And the other new one:

A New World, PT. 1

Been playing with the idea of a mixed media project. Was listening to a lot of Coheed & Cambria for awhile, and then rediscovered a project called VAST. Also been listening to Queensryche, especially Operation: Mindcrime. Talked to a couple of friends, and slowly fleshing things out. Basically, there will be both some kind of literary piece as well as music. A comic book or graphic novel will serve as a basis for an album of work. The writing will likely be very sci-fi, and the music will be heavier than what I've been working on, and perhaps more technical too. All of it will be collective, that meaning that while I might be the impetus for it, there will be multiple pople and sources involved with this. Each might take on a part or a character, or they might take turns writing entire sections. I'm not sure how it will turn out, but was involved in a similar project a few years ago. It was a lot of fun, and very casual, and as such was short-lived, but the quality was there. Here's a sneak peek of what's in the cooker:

Revisit

Well, it's been awhile. However, here are the fruits of some new gear and a day's labour. A revisiting and recrafting of an older tune, or two.

This might even be what my buddy Aitch would call 'country music'. Heh.

Already have more reworkings, recordings and compositions on the go; this is the most complete. Enjoy.

. . . More Bits and Pieces pt. 2 . . .

Apparently I have found a flaw in this blog system. I has a maximum file size per post, so it won't stream longer songs if they are grouped together. Interesting.

This is the newest piece. Consider it one part Jethro Tull, one part Schubert, and one part of something much, much darker. I present Wintersong, a melody to end the ages. (Note: this one might be a bit quieter. I haven't bothered mastering any of these tracks yet.)

. . . More bits and pieces. . .

The new studio setup is coming together. Realistically,  as my guitar rig progresses, so does my recording setup. I have a couple of new tricks for my mics, and new speakers for my guitar cab on the way. Ted Weber designed, for anyone who might care. A few more pieces to get my guitars back into tip-top shape, and then I'll be looking at new pres and a control surface. There's a nice synergy going on there. Oh, and there seems to be a new part to it too. Pulled out a book of classical scores the other day, which heavily influenced one of the songs below. It came together rather nicely throughout the course of a single day, which is kind of unusual, so I picked up a book of Lieder songs by Brahms. He's been one of my favourites as far as instrumental music goes, and The German Requiem is rather nice, but I think I'm going to have to develop a separate opinion about his Lieder as they have a different feel.


Anyhow, first we have a piece with working title "Old Habits". This one's been in the cooker for a bit, and I just can't seem to get words for the verses to sit quite right.

Music Preference and Personality

We're getting ready for our yearly inventory count at work. I've sort of been handed both the "band instrument" (really should be called orchestral, but that's too long for marketing) and "print music" departments over the last couple of months. As part of the preparation I've been going through the print bins to make sure everything is in order and will be easy to count. In a lot of ways it's similar to a library; there are different sections according to instrument, publisher, genre, format and so on. While sorting the piano music tonight I came up with a few conclusions. Most of these have to do with illiteracy, or more simply those who can not / do not follow the alphabet.

My list of illiterate customers is something like the following thus far in my discoveries:

1. Parents and teachers of young children. Several books in both our easy piano and big-note section were misplaced, and not anywhere near there proper location. It should be noted that our print bins are tall enough that the children which these books are for can not reach them of their own volition. AS such, it must be either parents or teachers looking at these. If parents, hopefully their children can benefit from the mind-stimulating activities they are being tutored in. If it is their teachers we have an explanation for why modern pop music sucks.

2. Fans of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. Just about every book we have by one of these two was grossly misplaced. Enough said.

3. Mozart and Bach. In our classical piano section, these are the only two misplacements of any significance. It should be noted that there was one Schuman piece misplaced, however it seems as though someone attempted to return it to its proper spot and did so in the most logical position they could find. Not a big deal. There were a few more Bach pieces misplaced, and the Mozart was far removed from where it should be. A couple theories here. first, we have about as much Bach as we do Romantic composers in general. It is simply a staple, and as such more likely to be misplaced. Second, Classical era pieces are again more abundant than either Romantic or Modern pieces, with Mozart and Beethoven at the forefront. We're a bit low on compositions by our friend Ludwig at the moment, so it's only natural that Wolfgang found n unusual home. Finally, both these composers seem to be used earlier as lesson material. Naturally, more copies are needed and younger players will be looking at them. These factor in to how many copies might be displaced. Brahms and Dvorak are sought after by more mature audiences who have the patience to search for them and return them to their proper location. finally, no one actually likes playing modern classical pieces, let alone pay for them. If I ever have to replace, or sell, a modern piece I will publicly apologize to all modern composers, after I wake up after passing out that is.

4. Christian piano. For being one of the smallest sections it was the messiest. It showed signs of pure laziness and indecision. I could go into more detail, but it would get rather offensive.

I'll keep you posted as I tackle the rest of the sections tomorrow.