More Les

Leave it to Les Claypool. How many bands is that man in? He always seems to be looking for something new to do, and here’s the newest thing – Duo De Twang. A down home bass and guitar duo mining the Americana stream. So far they’ve pretty much stuck to covers, some from his bands, some from other folks, but – oh my – what fun covers they are.

First a live clip from Soundcheck with a cover of Primus’s ‘Wynonna’s Big Brown Beaver’. For you bass players out there, sit back and enjoy. This video shows how much ground you can cover playing with two people. For anyone in to recording, amazingly clean sound for a live take.

And just for fun, a cover of ‘Stayin Alive’. There’s a combo for you – Les Claypool, down home pickin’ and disco. Yeee Haaa!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axm0-t01_KM

 

 

The March Of Progress Can Be Frightening

Music making technology continues to evolve. I ran across this in my internet travels and since Monday is always a happy day, I decided to share it with you. The tech is custom designed metal and computer ummm….stuff….I’ve attached the article which can explain it better.

So, if you’re going to make music with computers and metal, what would it sound like? It would be happy, of course, although I’m starting to wonder if my idea of happiness is a bit askewwww….

Here’s the article:

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2014/02/tristan-shone-mechanical-masks/

…and another video under the band name, Author & Punisher:

OK, you’re still happy, right? After you consume something, you should cleanse your palette. So, before you return to the land of doom, here’s a video extra. I realize you may see the band name, The Obits, and go, well I’m not sure this fits the idea of lightening up. But it’s my kind of sound, guitar rock, nice sound separation, cool running bass line. I also really like the sound they got for the guitars, tight and crisp. The video looks like it was shot at one of the many practice spaces I enjoyed back in the day.

If you’re not happy yet, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do for you.

 

 

 

 

Always Find More Points Of View

Mastering is a topic we’ve covered before. It’s the cherry on top of your overall recording, but it can also make or break everything you’ve completed before this step. I found this article to be interesting because it looks at mastering from an aesthetic view as well as a technical view. It’s really necessary not to get too hung up on the tech and miss out on listening to get the specific feel of the project you’re working on. I also like the advice to occasionally move your self out of the ‘sweet spot’ that exists in any studio setup. The sweet spot can be very specific, especially when using close field monitors. The problem is that most people don’t sit in the perfect spot for hearing the music – this is amplified when listening in an average car stereo setup. You need to expand your point of view. I also like Appelbaum’s small room setup and some sweet equipment.

http://www.c2meworld.com/creation/making-the-most-of-mastering/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=making-the-most-of-mastering&utm_source=Current+SCL+Members+July+1st+2013+to+Jan+9th+2014&utm_campaign=354c9ee231-Weekly_Wire_Test1_4_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ed69b3b311-354c9ee231-105129385

Here’s a couple of short video pieces taken from a much longer video class. Again, check out the control room and some of the equipment.

http://www.mymusicmasterclass.com/premiumvideos/audio-mastering-clinic-maor-appelbaum-1/

Maor Appelbaum 2 (Audio Mastering)

Maor Appelbaum
Maor Appelbaum

Let’s Take A Ride

We don’t really consider this blog a “music review” site. We do discuss music we like but we also put up all sorts of topics: recording tech, ‘in the studio’, video tech, web sites we find interesting and articles of interest on any other topic that peaks our curiosity. Every once in a while, however, we do come across a band that we feel deserves some extra recognition (think Rev Peyton’s Big Damn Band). The band we’re touting in this entry is Creepoid. For me they also fall in to my “how-did-I-miss-this” category, especially since they are a Philadelphia band and somewhat “local” for us in the Lehigh Valley.
    I’ve been listening to their CD Horse Heaven which was released in 2011. A lot of times you hear a band’s CD and it’s a couple of great singles and the rest is filler. This CD is all killer, no filler. It has all the elements I like: lots of open space; accoustic guitar paired with  buzz saw distortion guitar; great vocals and slabs of wonderful reverb. I usually listen to CDs in my car. The perfect setting for this CD was driving back roads in the bare winter woods as the sun was disappearing. The songs overflowed with atmosphere. Since we are a studio based blog, I have to give kudos to the folks who did the engineering and mixing. The goal of all studios should be to get the sound right for the specific project they’re working on – they nailed it here.
    You can find Horse Heaven here: http://creepoid.bandcamp.com/          They’ll be releasing their second CD, the self titled Creepoid 3/4/14 – looking forward to hearing it. There’s a CD release party in Philly 2/27/14. Try to claw your way there.
Oh, and you must see this video:

And I Ended Up In A Transom…..

I came across a few interesting 2013 videos in an article I was reading. I like the music, but it’s the videos that are hypnotic. Some pretty cool visual techniques.

Fell free to stare directly at this and end up with your mouth open drooling..

Or you can stare at this and turn 2D in to 3D….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys7z_7riW-w

OK – this is the creepiest rabbit I’ve ever seen……

And can’t forget a ‘what day is it’ shout out. No cake and candles but….