Then play on

October is almost gone. One last breath before the plunge.

Bovina Festivus for the rest of us

fun times on the floatski

porky piggin' it

one hundred dollars with jonny and kim

hiss

first timer

Shows you need to go to

Also, if you are feeling adventurous:

More Info about Upstate Bovina Music Festival, July 26th

Pure Class

Old photos of some kind buds otherwise known as Donald (Duck) Dunn, Steve Cropper and Booker T.

Desert Styles

This place is called the Integratron. It is an acoustically designed resonant chamber in the middle of the desert where we paid 10 bucks to have a "sound bath" in which a lady from Queens in a purple jumpsuit played quartz singing bowls and some guy next to me started snoring. It was pretty amazing! More about the integratron.

Kind Budd

If you are a fan of Echo Magic, the chances are high that you already are keen to the music of Harold Budd. You may also know his brilliant 1981 recording "The Serpent (In Quicksilver)." I have been a long time fan of this record because it is one of the select few examples (there are others) of Budd's music that features a pedal steel.

When I found this vinyl copy a few years back, I was struck with an amazing new discovery. When I put it on, it sounded different, warmer, deeper. I realized that the record was mastered for 45 rpm, despite its 12" size. Having played it on 33 rpm, it was transformed before my ears into a whole new sonic landscape, one I wanted to curl up inside.

I would like to extend this experience with those who haven't heard The Serpent (In Quicksilver) this way. Even if it is your first time hearing it, you are in for something special.

I am not certain that Harold Budd meant for this phenomenon to occur, but it wouldn't surprise me. He made two records disguised as one.

download * here *

wa do dem

Check the musicman amp. I miss my old one a little bit.

echo magic I (a composition)

One of my current classes is about computer music composition. In the class we are encouraged to think about what roles computers can play in the making of music.

I developed a simple computer program using Max/Msp that takes eleven sound samples and repetively sequences them in random order. During playback, the sounds are delayed (this is where the echo magic happens) for different time periods and durations.

The idea is heavily inspired by Eno's 1975 masterpiece "Discrete Music", where he uses "self-regulating and self-generating systems" so that the composer can "tend towards the roles of planner and programmer, and then beome the audience to the results."

For my first composition using this method I sampled myself playing lap steel as the source material. The results are very beautiful. Take a listen:

echo_magic_I.mp3

herbie magic 1974