Life (and Death) Get In The Way

It is perhaps fitting that the San-Ship album touches upon the darkness that one can experience in life.  After all, it was the untimely death of my kid brother that sparked the inspiration to do this album in the first place. And the darkness continues...

On May 1, 2014, the body of a dear, dear friend was found.  She committed suicide after a prolonged bout of severe depression.  And just last week, an uncle of mine passed away.  He had been ill for several years and finally his heart said "no more."

There is never a "good" time to lose someone you care about but these two deaths, particularly of my friend came at a real bad time.  For the last couple of months I had been exceedingly busy with my law practice. But also, I had been in the process of some major studio upgrades.  It's still a work in progress but it is coming along.

Here's the new mixer in its console home.

There's still a lot to do with the work area including installation of a side car rack and customizing the console desk with a rack bay to the left of the mixer.  And then there is sound treatment/isolation to as well as painting.  I can still work on the album doing all of this but what was hard before is now very hard.

But the studio upgrade situation is now a little bittersweet.  I wanted my departed friend to share in the joy of having effectively a new creative space to work my muse.  But it was not to come to pass.

In any case, I am now shooting for a September 30th release date.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

60 Day Warning

I gave myself a deadline to complete my mixing and master of the San-Ship album of June 30^th.  Will I make it – possibly but I think I may go until July 30^th.  Issues are primarily time – everything from my law practice to assisting a very good friend with a personal crisis.  The “good” delay is that we’ve been upgrading ESQ Music to include a new digital mixer and Argosy housing console for it.  The console was fully assembled last night but now we have to break down the old console, fit it into the new console and re-wire the connections.  A lot easier said than done.

Here are a picture of the new mixer/control surface.  It's a Tascam DM-3200:

Here's the Argosy Console/Desk to house the DM-3200:

At the mid-point of assembly

Fully assembled Argosy Console, (without arm rest) but "naked."

I plan do to a full review of both pieces but I'll say one thing about the Argosy now.  To the right of the console, there is a 13-space rack bay for outboard gear.  To the left, it is a blank "producer's desk."  For us, this was wasted space and we're willing to pay extra to make that space rack space for another 10-13 spaces.  Argosy said that they couldn't do it because there was not enough room and some of the pictures of the console online suggested that this was the case.  However, having the console in real life -- the left producer's desk area is identical in size to the rack bay.  So, a little down the road, we will get our buddy Ricky to drill some holes and fit the bay with rack rails and we'll be good to go. Always work to do... 

I’m down to tracking the last song to be used for the album, (though it will likely be the first song on the album), “God of The Gutter.”  However, I still have to go back to a few tracks to record various overdubs, but about 85% is fully recorded.  Given the flexibility of modern DAWs, I “mix” as I track.  Many others work this way such as Kevin Churko, the engineer/co-producer for Ozzy’s 2010 Scream album.

While I enjoy, composing, playing, recording and mixing, I am looking forward to the end of the process, releasing the record and moving onto my next musical projects, which will include video and a prog rock EP. 

2014: Year To Be Happy?

New Year's is one of those bittersweet "holidays" that evokes the apparent need to look at the year that past and promise (or hope) for a better year, often through making certain choices, commitments, etc.  A secular Yom Kippur, if you will.  (I'm sure there's some historical overlap given that Yom Kippur immediately follows the Jewish New Year).

In any case, good luck to all with your respective chosen improvements.  I will start off very small, but relevant.  The Master Cylinder played drums (a/k/a "Pile Driver"), and I, Johnny Human Torch, played bass, (a/k/a, "Low Beef Oil").  On the one hand, it's cool that someone was thoughtful enough to name the band members after the fact, but they made an error or had erroneous info.

Having to do this correction of "the record" if you will, is SO Tap.  We were (are) the Spinal Tap of NYC thrash.

2013: F-U-C-K Y-O-U!! The Passing of Al Goldstein, Mandela, Lou Reed, etc.

I did not post anything with respect to the deaths of Nelson Mandela and Lou Reed, largely because of my life being totally consumed by lawyer-work obligations.  Things have freed up a bit so now I can memorialize my thoughts about Al Goldstein's passing.  (Maybe I post something about Mandela and Reed, maybe not.  I don't know).

Brother Al probably knew next to nothing about music generally and thrash even less so. Nevertheless he was a BIG aesthetic influence on both Falafel and my prog-rock band Ricky Methylene Blue.  Goldstein was uber-New York, absurd, dirty, angry and funny, with occasional brilliance, both intended and accidentally. Wearing my RMB hat, he was so fucking Lincoln.  And he was the Spinal Tap of pornographers.

There was nothing like his show Midnight Blue and the void that his show filled opened deep and wide once it went off the air.  However, I somehow thought that Goldstein would somehow emerge from the bizarre shithole he ended up in as a result of his divorce with the "Irish cleaning lady" as he called one of his ex-wives, and start up at least a YouTube version of Midnight B.  It never happened.

Al's show served up his very (proudly) New York Jew rantings, complete with ample helpings of profanity and teenage bathroom humor and used tits and ass to lure you in.  The porn stars were there just to suck you in but his show was perhaps one of the most unsexy things on TV.  But it was so fucking funny.  Somehow he was able to issue fuck you fatwas effortlessly to both Guiliani and the attendant at his parking garage in the same sentence and maintain some sense of sense (or at least interest).  Much of the content his rants could be done by the brother-in-law you avoid at family gatherings, but Al was the perfect Friday night must-see (or at least watch on Monday night) TV show for when you wanted to chill with the Falafel trifecta of a few bowls, some smokes, booze.  Unfortunately, he wasn't friendly for chick company.  (Oh well, no one is perfect, but neither is thrash).

But like most performers, he was not quiet like his TV persona.  I met Al randomly in 1994 while I was walking home from my office.  He lived on 63rd or 64th Street and I lived on 66th Street.  Dressed in my navy Armani, I was heading up Second Avenue and saw a very fat man about a block away.  Al was lovingly eyeing up a window display in the Duane-Reade of all places.  I thought to myself "that's one really fat dude...wait that's Al Goldstein."

I thought for a second or two whether to introduce myself.  I was never shy with the rich and famous (except in the case of Robert Fripp), but I know fame can be a hassle at times.  However, I figured why not and went up to him..."Mr. Goldstein/"  I extend my hand.  He sheepishly shakes it.  "I really enjoy your show.  It's great.  Please keep it coming."

He responded, with a seemingly genuine modesty, "oh...oh thank you.  Thank you."  He seemed truly touched that someone was actually watching his show and not only didn't want to spit in his face but actually liked the show. Certainly not I expected.  I wished him good evening and went on my way.

I heard from another lawyer I knew from law school that she -- a Jewish woman -- interviewed Al Goldstein for her college radio show and loved him.  She said that she was truly surprised of how kind and modest he was.  She went into the interview expecting to hate him.  "I was expecting a pig" I recall her putting it.  She said that he was not only a gentleman but very naturally sweet and earnest.

I'm gonna post a video remix of Al G to Falafel "Peep Show Man" in the coming weeks.

To Al Goldstein, a lovingly ironic, "Fuck You."

Torched Cat Promo Video: Addendum

Oh....how could I forget...thanks to the Master Cylinder for his ever priceless voicemail messages and in this case, his voice appears at the end of the clip.  Thanks Bro!!  I'm glad that I keep these.

Torched Cat Promo Video

Since the primary purpose of this blog is about music, I figured that I had to try to get some of my music up as I work on the album.  So here is a link to a short video I created featuring excerpts of two of the tracks from the San-Ship album: "My Brother Died on The Chessboard" and "Memories In My Pocket."

http://youtu.be/QEj3Z2fUBWQ

The Chessboard excerpt opens the video.  This track is one of the few tracks that I play keyboards on.  In this case, I'm using an Oberheim TV-1 analog synth for the opening.  (Many people mistake it for guitar).  I'll post additional info about the Oberheim later.  Also heard on this excerpt is the Carvin fretless bass.  I use the Les Paul for all the guitar parts on this track, though it is not heard on this excerpt.

The Memories excerpt features both the Les Paul and my Strat.  I play the Paul for the lead part which is panned hard left in the stereo field.  The Strat is panned hard right. (I was too lazy to include footage of me playing the Strat in the video, but it's on the track).  Both are played through my Line 6 Bogner tube amp. The bass is my Ibanez SR500 through the usual chain, though obviously overdriven. Drop D tuning is employed on all instruments.  My "secret weapon" on mixdown is the UAD Fatso plug-in on virtually all the tracks, including the drums and vocals.  The Fatso is particularly effective in bringing out the "growl" harmonics of the Ibanez, especially for the "death march" intro of the song.

Some screen shots from the video of the Ibanez and the Paul:

Summer's Over -- FUCK YA'

I've been hating summer for a while...the swampy heat outside and the blast furnace heat on the subway platforms; the random street stench; the Con Ed bills, etc. etc.

But this summer R-E-A-L-L-Y sucked.  We lost Jeff Hanneman and James Gandolfini, the GOP totally lost its mind and I was super busy in my legal practice.  I started work on another track called "Buttered Flowers" in April but haven't gotten back to it.  Plus I had DAW problems which I've only recently solved.

I'm still in a shit storm of law practice deadlines and projects.  Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm gonna post some snippets of music soon.

Later -- be happy summer's fuckin' over...

Steamy summer night on East 23rd Street -- Remember Big Fun?
Can't you smell the summer puke.  So Lincoln.