This track started about 4 months ago with just some drum loops I programmed. I stumbled over it this evening at 9pm and I stayed at it till 2am until I finally had enough. I actually played some relatively bad bass guitar on this. I think I drowned it out with other bass lines so you cant tell how bad I am.
The WTOP traffic report was thrown in as a distraction. As always, I found a phrase or two that sounds funny when trimmed and repeated. This adds to the pointless lyrics.
Here’s what I used:
Ableton Live (of course)
Addictive Keys Plug-in (for the piano)
Bass Guitar
Korg Kaossilator Pro (for the crazy drum solo bridge)
Korg MicroKorg (sounds and vocoder)
WTOP Traffic Report
This is my second solo album. This collects everything I’ve done throughout the “year of personal hell” known as 2017. This collection includes use of the Novation Launchpad. I really tried to work more with phrasing (probably too much) where everything is more structured and looped. This probably makes things more cold and clinical, but you have to learn sometime. There is one long track that was a jam session with little planning (Track 13-Air Head Full of Fluff). Everything else was looped, overdubbed, or (vaguely) planned with soloing on top. Some tracks were never posted on this blog (marked with an *). This, of course, is to gyp listeners into downloading an album of tracks to hear 3 for the first time. Here’s the run down/liner notes.
Waiting on Hold for Bob* (1:05) This was literally slapped together while waiting on hold with Bob who was talking with his mom on the other line (as usual). One piano loop and pointlessly pounding away in real time over top.
For Another Day (4:07) I am most proud of this sound for the big “Trevor Horn sounding” bridge in the middle. Yes, for you local folks, that is an audio sample of the WTOP traffic report for DC mixed in there. Further write up located here.
Bright and Fast* (5:23) Every type of metallic percussion (that I liked) was used to make loops on this one including glockenspiels, xylophones, vibraphones, and marimbas. I had a lot of fun programming the drum patterns. I probably went a little overboard with most of it.
Air Head Full of Fluff (12:52) This is the long jam session. Write up located here.
The Warfare* (3:50) This is the last track to be made for this album. It started on Veterans Day 2017. I finished it today (Dec 23, 2017). The spoken samples are a half speed recording of Jim Bakker talking about how people are trying to kill him because he’s “preaching the word of God”. I think it’s because he’s a felon manipulating the minds of the poor and desperate people who tune into his show to be exposed to horrific fears of a false prophecy. Either way, he is fun to audibly abuse. He sounds drunk at half speed.
Had the start of this laying around on the hard drive for months. It was improvised with no clicks (BPM setting). The phone beep/rhythm was done on the Kaossilator pro first live with fingers (no real looping). The strings were made with the MicroKorg. I added the upright bass, some “angelic” type synth vamp and, one of my favorite things, far away piano. Put a few little phasing effects on a few things (including the upright bass) so it travels around the speakers. Suddenly it was BOOM! MAGIC!
A new hit! Guest starring (or like the hip hop people say “feat.”) Chris Christie and drums by Rush’s Neil Peart!
You gotta love a hated politician that doesn’t give a shit about his constituents. And the funny part is, people are RAGING about him lately, but, if you aren’t completely politically myopic, you could see this in his behavior since he was first elected. I guess the republicans in New Jersey are completely idiotic, until crap like this is brazenly shoved down their throat in the media.
Either way, this song is HERE TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND the man and the SELFISH EGO that is Chris Christie. Let us all hope after this, he just GOES AWAY!!!
Play
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Created this with:
Korg Volca bass
Korg Volca Keys
Korg MiniKP(red box)
Korg MicroKorg
Ableton Live
Adobe Audition
Audacity
Novation Launchpad
A sampled drum fill from Rush’s track “Red Lenses” (from the “Grace Under Pressure” album)
This took about 4 hours to do. This was tons of fun. Listen in headphones “cause they’re really gonna help you on this one…”
I was in the mood to mess with my much neglected Korg Volca Bass, Keys & Beats synthesizer/sequencers. I needed more analog in my life I guess. So I did this stupid mindless jam on the Volcas then augmented it with some MicroKorg solos and some Ableton MIDI sounds. I even looped some MicroKorg into the Korg Kaossilator. If all this sounds confusing, it is probably because it was. The whole thing is a mess but it was fun to do. This was done at 110 bpm (like that matters).
Enjoy Volcanoid !!!
(as always this is best in headphones or in a car).
WHAT A MESS!!! Many people have said, to mix up the thing or things.
So they say, “OH NO! He’s mixing things up again!” Because, you know, thats what they say. And I mean that, believe me!
SAD!
But we DID mix it up anyways, because, ya know, I thought it was good and smart and talented and successful. Full of common sense. Strong, passionate, powerful, and with great verve. A TRUE PATRIOT !!
One of the few guitarists names that have dropped out of my mouth immediately when discussing guitar playing of any kind.
Allan Holdsworth passed away Saturday, April 15, 2017.
I’ve been having a time with it, as I really love his music. It’s not so much that he is a guitarist of unequaled skill and unique sound, but the way he structures chords and writes music is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. I have always thought it sounded pleasing to the ear, but not normal. It is complex but catchy. It was pleasant but warped. He managed to keep things upbeat and twisted at the same time. Whether with any random number of guest singers (all who are talented in their own right to even try singing Holdsworth’s music), or just instrumental, his music always seemed perfectly unique in quality.
YOU KNOW when you hear Holdsworth play, but when you hear him WRITE its a completely unique experience that just pulls on the ear.
This is possibly my favorite Holdsworth song (which is difficult to say) but its the one that stays in my head for reasons I cannot explain in ANY way.
Notice the way the chords and tune of the song slide along in a pleasant and almost sour tone with a stumbling but consistent rhythm. This is his style. It’s like a roller coaster that is happy it just found out how to go upside down. HA! Just amazing. His genius will be missed.
Here’s another all time favorite that he co-wrote with the band U.K. (with John Wetton on vocals/bass, Bill Bruford on drums, Eddie Jobson on keyboard/violin). This whole song from beginning to end is just polluted with Holdsworth writing style. Also, the late great John Wetton will be missed as well (cannot be stated enough, the Don Pardo of Prog Rock).
Even if you only listen to the last half of UK-Nevermore, you will be amazed. It is just THE SOUND of Progressive Rock, without question. Holdsworth was a key to this.
ALL CHANGE !!!
Now the fun part…
I stole a chord from a song off of his album Atavachron (the song is “Looking Glass”) and I contorted my inexperienced fingers on a MIDI keyboard and played the chord and messed with it rhythmically and loop’ily. I made this thing.
This is Holdsworthian2. I would never even THINK of saying it was a tribute, but I’ve been listening to him a lot and this happened. Think of it what you want, but I don’t think I’m done yet. I wanna tweak it more.
