Thursday, August 27, 2015

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

Thursday, August 6, 2015

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