Superhero Sandbox Playlist 8/27/2015

Pilgrim's Progress-- Kris Kristofferson

Tell Me Why-- Neil Young

Me and Paul-- Willie Nelson

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere-- Bob Dylan and the Band

I've Been Everywhere-- Hank Snow

Easy From Now On-- Emmylou Harris

Splendid Isolation-- Warren Zevon

Mudlick-- Pine Island

In the News-- Kris Kristofferson

The Man that Turned My Momma On-- Tanya Tucker

Savory Truffle-- The Beatles

Answer-- They Might Be Giants

Ten Years Gone-- Led Zeppelin

Don't Forget Me-- Joe Cocker

Goin' Back to Miami-- Blues Brothers

Wings of a Dove-- Bob Marley and the Wailers

Gun Street Girl-- Tom Waits

Dancing Shoes-- Bob Marley and the Wailers

I Don't Need Your Love-- Bob Marley and the Wailers

Underground-- Tom Waits

I Say A Little Prayer-- Sergio Mendes

Peace In the Valley-- Elvis Presley

Holy Creation-- Kris Kristofferson

Vast Indifference of Heaven-- Warren Zevon

I'll Be Home-- Harry Nilsson

Golden Gate Quartet

Live Forever-- Shaver

Ain'a That Good News-- Upper Southeastern District Chorus 1970

I Saw the Light-- Blind Boys of Alabama

Lead Me On and On-- Golden Gate Quartet

Music In the Air-- Sister Rosetta Tharpe

"SUNSET: EMPTY REEL" (2015) Press Release

"Sunset: Empty Reel" (2015) is my latest collection of instrumental recordings. Composed and performed in a backyard shed in Tunbridge, Vermont (affectionately known as "The Tunbridge World's Un-Fair"), these tracks compile recordings produced during the winter and spring of 2015. Unlike a previous project, Improviso. produced in the same space, "Sunset: Empty Reel" was recorded using a rare multi-channel computer interface and a computer operating WindowsXP, allowing for overdubbing. Acoustic instruments include banjos, acoustic and electric guitars, a Wing and Sons upright grand piano, a Steinway upright, and acoustic and electric bass guitars. Electronic instruments include a variety of organs, including a Baldwin Zodiac, a Hammond Aurora, and a Yamaha Electone. Drum machine synchronization was (mostly) accomplished using a MIDI patchbay. Tracks were mastered using an analog device chain, including a Sansui reverb amplifier and CLP-160 compressor. 

These fifteen tracks represent continued experimentation, both with the characteristics of sound, of rock instrumentation and intentional juxtaposition of dissonance. I am interested in blending instruments and musical styles derived from a variety of sources, until the final mix resembles something new, relentlessly. The melodic features of electronic beats quickly clash with acoustic tones, and yet the jangling continues, at best conjuring some spell. 

These tracks are available on YouTube. 

The Superhero Sandbox Playlist 8/6/15

The Bow and the Arrow-- Shaver

Who Feels It-- Bob Marley

Million Dollar Bash-- Bob Dylan and the Band

Dolphins-- Richie Havens

Summer, Highland Falls-- Billy Joel

Build Me Up Buttercup-- David Johansen Group

Down By the Seaside-- Led Zeppelin

Oh Wow It's You Again-- Becker and Fagen

I Don't Need Your Love-- Bob Marley

Nothing But Flowers-- David Byrne

Johnny B. Goode-- Peter Tosh

Back in the USSR-- The Beatles

Jackson Cannery-- Ben Folds Five

End of the World as We Know It-- REM

Think About Your Troubles-- Nilsson

Danke Schoen- Wayne Newton

Straight to the Top-- Tom Waits

Hasten Down the Wind-- Warren Zevon 

Custard Pie-- Led Zeppelin

Daylight Has Caught Me-- Nilsson

Signs-- Avett Brothers

Lonely Girl-- Tony Bennett/Bill Evans

Memo to My Son-- Randy Newman

Beehive State-- Nilsson

Lucky Old Sun-- Johnny Cash

Every Time I Feel the Spirit-- Golden Gate Quartet

Where Could I Go But to the Lord-- Elvis Presley

In God's Eyes-- Willie Nelson

He's Everything to Me-- Wilmington Chester Mass Choir

I'll Have a New Body-- Hank Williams

Music in the Air-- Sister Rosetta Tharpe