What Projects are you Working On Now?

[Shane_B.]

On 7/27/2022 at 11:05 AM, Tim Smith said:

You should write a book after all of this. Seriously. I have the feeling I'm only into about 1% of what's actually going on. 

Best wishes and hope you get back on track soon.

FWIW I haven't said a word to anyone about anything I'm going through except family.

I just got back from NY this afternoon. Have a memorial service to attend tomorrow morning and reception in the afternoon.

I need to go away by myself for a while but can't.

It's all good though. Nothing more or less than anyone else goes through in life. It's why I don't bitch and complain about shit anymore. Does nobody any good and I'm sure as hell not the only one and many have it far worse.

@craigb I have tried it. It must have helped because I've been bombarded almost every day for the last 2 months and I haven't snapped yet. I've developed a twitch in my left eye and the shakes came back from the bua accident but it's all good. Lol.

Everything will work out and it will be what it will be.

[Bapu]

I'm working on setting up modest pedalboard in the event a guitarist shows up in the studio to record or jam.

I did the Centaur DIY build.

Just need to decide on a Wah pedal and then buy the pedalboard. (UPDATE: Dunlop Cry Baby is on the way).

For those that don't know there were only about 8,000 Klon Centaur pedals built. They now range in price from $5K-to$8K. The Klon KTR was the modified successor to the Centaur and are a bit more mass produced. Used units (like mine) are in the $600 to $750 range. I got mine for $600.

The MOSKY pedals are low cost units that have had some really positive reviews so I thought I would dip my foot in there.

All that will be run thru my VOX AC30 (2x12" combo amp).

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Bapu

[Bapu]

I'm debating this pedalboard. Looks hazardous ? 

[Rain]

On 7/25/2022 at 6:58 AM, Tim Smith said:

 

Rain you do have a sense of humor " 50 year olds in skinny jeans". lol.  

On the other end of it, I would say I don't want to be on the web as yet another wanna be electronic artist whose music sounds like a kid playing with pads. There must be a million of those on soundcloud already. Probably the same way you see the 50 year olds in skinny jeans. " Just another bloke with a synth".  TBH I AM just another bloke with a synth. Different for the sake of different might be worse, OTOH sameness can all sound good. I guess it all depends.

I think what the world needs is YOU or US as musicians. If that happens to sound similar to someone or something else, so be it. I get into trouble if I start my goals with " I want to sound just like ****** *******"  I'm really not concerned what someone else sounds like when I'm making my music. Whenever someone says the drums are "supposed to" sound like this or that or the guitar "should" sound this way.....this is art and if an artist wants to copy another artist, I guess that's their prerogative. This has never been what I'm about. I do look at and admire what many artists do. That doesn't mean I try to copy it.

Genre all seem to fall closely within the lines of  sounding  like a group of artists, much like modern and classical art are different. To be fair, I did say I was thinking about writing some prog rock music, so I put my thinking into a classification because the ideas in that genre were the closest to what I  envision. In my mind the music might sound similar to or 'like' what some of the other prog rock bands sound like. 

I don't really think I will ever reinvent the mouse trap. I've heard some music and productions that are over the top and I know I'll never compete with either those production chops or that talent on some of those levels. If anything, they are a standard to look at for me. Maybe in the process I'll come up with a different kind of mouse trap, not a better one. I can then improve my mouse trap.

At the outset something puts the wind in the sails of music, be it an emotional feeling , a technical idea, or both. Some see music as a stand alone art form while others see it as a way to convey something. Most often in modern culture music seems to convey a thought, an idea, or point to something. Something deep within us bubbles to the surface and some of it becomes music if we are musicians. Something about us makes it what it is.  Some people's ideologies are so closely tied to the rest of them that the music seems inseparable from who the person is.

Do  death metal music musicians see their music as a way to express their ways or is it all an act? Most metal bands will tell you it's all an act while others will tell you they are in fact, well invested in that lifestyle. Same could probably be said of religious bands. Many are not associating their beliefs with their music and since many Christian record labels are now owned by secular interests, the Christian music 'biz' is not that different from the Satan music 'biz' There are still the sincere few, but for the vast majority a lot of it on both ends of the spectrum isn't sincere. One thing that isn't often mentioned about some of this- Many who hold certain beliefs are told to or encouraged to lie to cover up what they are, so an artist might laugh it all off in a public interview as nothing more than a theatrical ploy. One aspect of all of that is secrecy to a degree. The public face isn't the private face. If you get deep into some of it, you are doing things against the law so the 'brothers' cover for each other.

There's  a lot of symbology used in culture I am well aware of. It all says something about something. It's like an undercurrent, an ebb that often indicates the source or origin for a lot of it. I will never ride on a concept I am either not sure of, or am not invested in to sell a song. I will never use any sort of publicity that points to anything I can't support. I will never be associated with anything that is against what I believe intentionally.

My mission here as I see it is to love everyone ( brotherly love), no matter who they are or what they have done or haven't done....and you know it really isn't that hard to do for me. Doesn't mean everyone is blood brothers. It just means we all have value in God's eyes. HE sees us as valuable, so should I. The real enemy isn't us.

Sorry Tim, didn't mean to ignore your reply. These are some inspiring observations, indeed, so I started writing and ended up with yet another novel. I figured I'd spare you guys this kind of nonsense. But here's part of it.

You are quite correct in your remark about guys with synths. Maybe because I'm not a synth player, it's easier for me to keep a certain innocence. It's always been a lot easier to write on anything but the guitar. Hand me an instrument I've never played and I'll have 5 or 6 song ideas in the next 30 minutes. Partly because I'm not self-conscious about it and partly because things don't work the way I would expect, so there's a sense of adventure.

Just as it is a lot easier for me to write in English than it is to write in French. Despite my English vocabulary being a mere fraction of what I have at my disposal in French, and despite the studies in French literature, it's easier for me to say the real things in English - notwithstanding the occasionnal infelicities. 

Anyway, it would be more accurate to say that I decided to focus on songwriting, and that the music I write doesn’t seem to really require much guitar. And actually,  I am not sure that it could be labelled as a specific genre.  I refer to it as EBM - for Embalmed Body Music, as a gag because of the underlying theme. And because in most case, there definitely is an element of dance music in it. But I also make constant use of theremins for melodies, and acoustic instruments of all kinds. There is something very organic about it.

I believe I think of it as electro in a very broad sense, because I rely on sequencing extensively and make heavy use of instruments traditionally associated with the genre. But stylistically, it’s just a melting pot of things that I love, drawing inspiration from everything from 50's sci-fi movies, to soundtracks by Nino Rota, to Alice Cooper, to Depeche Mode, to Suicide Commando and all that very noisy industrial music. But you could just as easily find references to things like Charlie Parker with Strings in some of those songs... 

A lot of it has got to do with instrumentation and "packaging" - that's what gives the project it's sense of identity, for a huge part.

As for the rest, some people manage to express themselves by performing - and that’s all the better for us who enjoy watching them. I mean, I am a KISS fan - I genuinely love the theatrics and all that stuff. And I used to love being on stage too, and to rip off SRV, and Jimi, and Page, and all those cats I admired. For a while, I thought my personailty would eventually emanate for that weird mixture and that my onstage persona would become something more personal than the sum of my influences.

But as I started writing my own music, I began to feel less and less comfortable putting on a show and obeying the stereotypical choreography of a given genre, whether it’s head banging or doing windmills… It’s like wearing someone else’s underwear.

So I realized that I am not a performer. And after over 40 years playing the guitar, I am comfortable admiting that I don't really have anything to contribute on that instrument specifically. I've spent the last 10 years pushing boundaries, learning new techniques, trying to play faster. These days, maybe in part as a result of studying Eastern philosophy, I am reverting to a way of playing that's a lot more "zen", trying to use as few notes as I can and making each of them count. 

Which actually isn't really isn't all that new, as I have always been a fan of David Gilmour.

In the end, it's all about being authentic. Even if I'm writing music about an old German necrophiliac although I myself certainly have no penchant for such things - these are just part of the fiction, the shadowplays, neatly tucked into a more or less homogeneous product. Underneath it all, the music still tells of who I am, what I love, the music I grew up listening to and wish to share with the world. And it also bears the marks of my limitations, which are often more telling than anything else, and make the end product more original, even if that's not voluntary.

Edited August 1, 2022 by Rain

[Tim Smith]

On 7/29/2022 at 6:32 PM, Shane_B. said:

FWIW I haven't said a word to anyone about anything I'm going through except family.

I just got back from NY this afternoon. Have a memorial service to attend tomorrow morning and reception in the afternoon.

I need to go away by myself for a while but can't.

It's all good though. Nothing more or less than anyone else goes through in life. It's why I don't bitch and complain about shit anymore. Does nobody any good and I'm sure as hell not the only one and many have it far worse.

@craigb I have tried it. It must have helped because I've been bombarded almost every day for the last 2 months and I haven't snapped yet. I've developed a twitch in my left eye and the shakes came back from the bua accident but it's all good. Lol.

Everything will work out and it will be what it will be.

I'm still pulling for ya man. Whatever it is there will be an end to it. Hopefully soon things will look up again.

9 hours ago, Rain said:

Sorry Tim, didn't mean to ignore your reply. These are some inspiring observations, indeed, so I started writing and ended up with yet another novel. I figured I'd spare you guys this kind of nonsense. But here's part of it.

No worries Rain and thanks. We might not be similar in much any other way or maybe we are, who knows? I will say we share the writer thing. I could easily write a book and maybe I should. I usually end up just overloading message boards. I try not to ramble but rather I attempt to keep things relevant.

It seems you may have held yourself off because message boards, or maybe just this message board, is seen as a place for short bits of info. If this is what you thought, you may be correct here. There seems to be a concern we might say too much or expose too much of ourselves. I'm not sure what the external pressures are that cause it. If it goes too far , then I see it as 'them' trying to control 'us'.  There is a word they sometimes use on another message board I frequent -"WOT" or "wall of text". I have found grouping multiple posts and separating my thoughts into smaller bits usually let me get my points across without it looking like someone lost control of their fingers  FWIW I don't think I would have considered any of it nonsense knowing you.

9 hours ago, Rain said:

You are quite correct in your remark about guys with synths. Maybe because I'm not a synth player

Don't feel bad here. I'm not either but I've been trying for the last 30 years. I have some people fooled.

9 hours ago, Rain said:

Maybe because I'm not a synth player, it's easier for me to keep a certain innocence. It's always been a lot easier to write on anything but the guitar. Hand me an instrument I've never played and I'll have 5 or 6 song ideas in the next 30 minutes. Partly because I'm not self-conscious about it and partly because things don't work the way I would expect, so there's a sense of adventure.

? I think I see the concept here. This is why I think it's a good idea to play several instruments, because the novelty probably wears off for any one instrument. I played bouzouki yesterday. I find having different sound sets and libraries can help to break some of that monotony up. Not that I'm loaded to the gills with sample libraries, but I have plenty enough to keep things interesting. On con to that is , I sometimes pull up a library that's supposed to sound like a particular instrument and it doesn't come close. For example I have a bouzouki sampled library, actually a few of them and it isn't anything like the real deal. I have found guitars to be similar. Playing a real one just brings out a different personality in the instrument as opposed to a sampled one.

9 hours ago, Rain said:

Anyway, it would be more accurate to say that I decided to focus on songwriting, and that the music I write doesn’t seem to really require much guitar. And actually,  I am not sure that it could be labelled as a specific genre.

Oh man, I thought I was the only one who could never find a category for much of my music. While a lot of what I do has an acoustic ethereal vibe I feel similar. I don't usually see "fairy and elf music" on the list.

9 hours ago, Rain said:

As for the rest, some people manage to express themselves by performing - and that’s all the better for us who enjoy watching them. I mean, I am a KISS fan - I genuinely love the theatrics and all that stuff. And I used to love being on stage too, and to rip off SRV, and Jimi, and Page, and all those cats I admired. For a while, I thought my personailty would eventually emanate for that weird mixture and that my onstage persona would become something more personal than the sum of my influences.

I remember when KISS first debuted. I was a kid with a half a brain so far as anything was concerned. I didn't know what to make of them..This was at a time when people in my area had them pegged for the devil's servants. Now that I'm older I can see that showmanship was probably more influential to their success than raw talent. If they had come on stage dressed like typical musicians of the time, they would probably still be playing bar gigs if they were lucky. I come from a family where my mum expected me to wear a shirt and keep my hair cut. Here was a guy with an open shirt bearing that hairy chest to the world, sometimes breathing fire and spitting fake blood. Whatever the plot called for. I imagine they would pick the theatrics for their worst songs. Maybe no one would notice how bad the music actually was.not that they were terrible or anything, " I ..........wanna rock and roll all night........and party every day". Yeah, just the kind of thing a protective mum wants her kids to hear and try to emulate lol. Unfortunately a few did follow that mantra. A few of them might still be alive. I guess it depends on what the dealer was slipping them. Sorry, I can be a little sarcastic sometimes. But yeah I appreciated at least the effort that went into the costumes, makeup and that act. I won't get on a kick about any of the others or this will be too long.

9 hours ago, Rain said:

But as I started writing my own music, I began to feel less and less comfortable putting on a show and obeying the stereotypical choreography of a given genre, whether it’s head banging or doing windmills… It’s like wearing someone else’s underwear.

I hear ya. I have enough trouble wearing my own underwear.

9 hours ago, Rain said:

So I realized that I am not a performer. And after over 40 years playing the guitar, I am comfortable admiting that I don't really have anything to contribute on that instrument specifically. I've spent the last 10 years pushing boundaries, learning new techniques, trying to play faster. These days, maybe in part as a result of studying Eastern philosophy, I am reverting to a way of playing that's a lot more "zen", trying to use as few notes as I can and making each of them count. 

I am a stage person, but I don't have a presence. I'm like the bass guitar just standing over there doing his thing. I actually try to disappear on stage and just become a part of the whole.Not given to stage shenanigans. I am able to maintain better focus sometimes as the result of my diet and rest. No zen here for me though. No pun intended (No zen, nozen,no thing nothing).

9 hours ago, Rain said:

Which actually isn't really isn't all that new, as I have always been a fan of David Gilmour.

My brain seems to work in a different way than most. I am not even inclined toward another musician or act. Not so much that I wanted to make music like them. I HAVE liked certain acts. That's only as far as it ever went. I readily acknowledge that he is a great musician and I like a lot of what he does but for some odd reason I never hung on any of it in any real way...or any other musician for that matter.

9 hours ago, Rain said:

In the end, it's all about being authentic. Even if I'm writing music about an old German necrophiliac although I myself certainly have no penchant for such things - these are just part of the fiction, the shadowplays, neatly tucked into a more or less homogeneous product. Underneath it all, the music still tells of who I am, what I love, the music I grew up listening to and wish to share with the world. And it also bears the marks of my limitations, which are often more telling than anything else, and make the end product more original, even if that's not voluntary

Agree and I guess this is what I was getting at in my last post as well. Authenticity. In a nutshell I think that captures it. I believe authenticity is what makes creative originality. Even if that originality in my case holds no one else's interest. That's not the point for me.

[Bapu]

Look at all the pretty lights. This project is finished*

 

*I'm told pedal boards are never finished. ? 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Bapu

[Bapu]

And I replaced two toilet seats today too.

Edited August 6, 2022 by Bapu

[Sheens]

39 minutes ago, Bapu said:

And I replaced two toilet seats today too.

we all want a bass player as toilet seat replacement once in a while

Edited August 6, 2022 by Sheens

[craigb]

3 hours ago, Bapu said:

 

*I'm told pedal boards are never finished. ? 

 

 

So, keep going then? ?

[paulo]

3 hours ago, Bapu said:

I replaced two toilet seats today

I always knew that you were a piss taker.?

Did you leave yourself up or down?

[Tim Smith]

3 hours ago, Bapu said:

And I replaced two toilet seats today too.

What are you doing. watching the ball game in there? ?

I built a gazebo these last few weeks all the way from the  concrete footers to erecting it. I had help with putting it up. I still have to run electric out to it and make a patio under it for the hot tub.

Edited to say these last few Saturdays. I could have built a lot more if I had two whole weeks.

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Tim Smith

[Cookie Jarvis]

Started writing and recording this today...definitely a work in progress-

Bill

[Bapu]

2 hours ago, paulo said:

I always knew that you were a piss taker.?

Did you leave yourself up or down?

I'm seat fluid.

[smallstonefan]

I realized I need to optimize my current guitar setup. I have a few issues that I'm working on:

1. I recently moved from a single amp back to a stereo setup and I've found that having two tube amps cranked for their best tone is just a bit too loud for me. I've purchased a pair of attenuators to put on the amps. I went with the Weber Mass because it seems to be the best one to deal with the 2 ohm load of the super and I went with the Dr. Z Air Brake as it seems best suited for the Z Wreck.

2. I realized that with the pedals on the floor I don't get nearly as creative as I used to when I had them racked  - bending over three rows of pedals to twist knobs while holding a guitar and squatting is HARD. So I elevated the pedal board - but then I couldn't run the pedals that actually required foot control. So I moved the volume pedal, the expression pedal that runs the H9, and the tap tempo pedal that runs all the digital pedals (as well as the Lehle stereo splitter that feeds a Boss loop station, and the Radial Stage Bug I use to send signals to the speakers) to a child board below it.

3. I haven't quite gotten the bugs out of the board (such as the midi interactions of pedals) and I'm focusing on getting everything working perfectly and smoothly. Then I'll tidy the wiring and enjoy!

 

The goal of these three items is to allow me to plugin, press record, and just play guitar without having to think about all the gear. 

[Byron Dickens]

Ouch! All that makes my head hurt!

I'm quite the opposite. I tend towards stripping my signal chain way down; reducing the amount of options I have actually increases my creativity.

Everyone is different and I bet you get some awesome sounds out of that sstuff

 

I need to set up a work space inside. It is 100° + and I have a repair project that I am keeping a secret until it is done.

 

Other than that, after playing around with a bunch of electronic stuff it is time to get back to my regularly scheduled program of guitar stuff.

[Byron Dickens]

Duplicate.

Edited August 8, 2022 by bdickens

[paulo]

On 8/7/2022 at 12:31 AM, Bapu said:

I'm seat fluid.

[57Gregy]

On 7/25/2022 at 12:40 PM, 57Gregy said:

I am attempting to grow watermelons

Update: The plants died.

[Tim Smith]

I sat down long enough to play a rough bones -piano track for maybe an orchestra mix. I was going to post it and then thought better of it. I don't like posting half baked stuff among musicians.

[DeeringAmps]

21 hours ago, Tim Smith said:

don't like posting half baked stuff for my wife 

Fixed. 
by far my toughest critic!

t