What's that, you say? Didn't even realize this past Sunday was Earth Day? Me, neither. I was too busy recording a new track with Sean Waldron.
All mic'd up at Soteria.
We spent a few hours in the afternoon recording drums at Soteria Studios here in Colorado Springs. It was my first time tracking at this particular studio, and I ended up having a fantastic time. It was probably the best raw drum sound I've ever had the pleasure of recording and I can't wait for the rest of the band to get their parts laid down (which should happen sometime next week). There will be an accompanying video for this particular track, as well, so be sure to check back often for updates.
There are also some additional plans to record a 5-song EP with the aforementioned Waldron, so rest assured: Señor Ward isn't the only one finding himself in some unexplored territory this summer. All kinds of new musical adventures are being had by the whole Crew, and I'm going to try my darndest to carve it all (or at least my part of it) into stone here on the blog.
Stay tuned, kids. Same Bat-time. Same Bat-channel.
One of the best musicians I've ever had the pleasure of working with
(or even knowing, for that matter), is guitar virtuoso Dave Beegle, and
I'm thrilled to be able to introduce you all to his art.
Dave
is a Jedi Master, of sorts. He's perhaps the greatest undiscovered gem
of the guitar world, combining his own rock stylings along
with jazz and world music to form a truly unique, beautiful, and
masterful alchemy of acoustic sounds. If you're interested in
instrumental music, the acoustic guitar, or just something brand new for your ears, I cannot endorse Dave's albums emphatically enough. Even
though not readily available through Amazon.com, (you can get some of
the albums from private sellers or download the mp3's, however), be sure
to check out Beyond The Desert and A Year Closer on iTunes, along with Dave's monster live performance, Acoustic Mayhem.
Additionally, if you're interested at all in solo piano music, I recently purchased an album that I'm absolutely in love with.
Jay Oliver, a jazz keyboardist who came up with legendary drummer Dave Weckl, recently put out an independent release entitled Outside The Box
which is, to put it mildly, breathtaking. Half of the album is
comprised of new arrangements of classic pop songs (such as 'Somewhere
Over The Rainbow', James Taylor's 'Fire And Rain', the Beatles' 'Let It
Be', and Sting's 'Fragile'), while the rest of the tracks are Oliver
originals, some rearranged specially for this CD. The album is loaded
with beautiful melodies and new piano techniques derived from rudiments
that drummers (but not necessarily pianists) are familiar with. It is
unlike any CD you've probably ever heard before, but it is far from
unlistenable. It is gorgeous and colorful, and I hope you make your way
over to Jay's site and download or order the disc for a mere $10 (it's
available exclusively through his website). Believe me, it's worth every
penny.
I picked up the motion picture soundtrack album for The Dark Knight today. It's one of my all-time favorite movies, and, well, it was time.
The score is epic, dark, and spookily riveting: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard are both masters, so when you get them together, what else would you expect?
It's been said that talking about music is like dancing about architecture. I disagree. And so do all these people.
“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmanioff
"One of the perks of being an unemployed musician is that you get to play much less bad music." - Jack Daney
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
“Music... will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all. Music expresses itself." - Igor Stravinsky
"Hell is full of musical amateurs." - George Bernard Shaw
