“Hey! You made it sound like you were gonna have a new track for us last last week! What gives?”

I know! Sorry everyone. Long story short, the track was ready last week. However, the first time it was rendered to mp3, I noticed the sound effects track had not rendered along with the rest of the mix. I mentioned this to Pete the next day, and he dropboxed me a new copy. After downloading this version and listening to it, I discovered that it sounded very choppy.

So after a very busy week at work, I finally got a chance to sit down with Pete and render the mp3 once again. So without further ado, here it is!

Washington Wives

When I was in elementary school and first discovering music, I used to get really frustrated because the albums that always had the coolest looking artwork were also the albums that had “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” labels stuck to them. It was a couple years before I would finally buy many of these albums, because I remember my parents taking away my copy of Vanilla Ice’s To The Extreme because they thought the content was inappropriate. I didn’t want to buy a tape or CD that I figured my parents were just going to take away from me.

As a teenager, I discovered the origin of the advisory labels. I also discovered the not-so-innocent history of court trials that followed in the wake of the PMRC’s founding. Jello Biafra became something of a spiritual advisor. I remember my disgust seeing the censored version of Nirvana’s In Utero on Wal-Mart shelves. I remember having to walk through a crowd of religious protesters at a Marilyn Manson concert. I remember rushing out to the local Sam Goody where my cousin worked, and getting her to sell me a copy of ICP’s The Great Milenko after seeing how it was being pulled from shelves as a result of pressure from the Southern Baptist Church on MTV News.

The world didn’t end. Many of the musicians whose music changed my life are still active today. The PMRC however, went belly-up long ago. And yet record labels both big and small, continue to put parental advisory labels on the albums they release. Now permanently printed over the front cover of the record. So I think it is safe to say that Tipper and her fellow Washington Wives are still winning the war to this day.

Anyway, as an apology for taking so long to get you guys the new track, I am giving you not one, but TWO mp3 this time. This is a remix of “Chickenz” that I did way back in 2013. I was initially planning to hold onto it until I reached 100 facebook fans, but withholding music from fans ain’t cool. So please enjoy these new tracks!

Chickenz (Hit Remix)

Another one of these little geometric things for you! They will keep coming, like snow flakes in winter! Until they stop… like snow flakes in winter.

If you have been paying attention to the updates here, then you may notice the pattern that I tend to post about completed mixes on Sunday… Well, hopefully this Sunday will be no different! I am getting together with Pete to finish(???) another mix this weekend. And as is also a part of the pattern, I will post an mp3 here when it’s ready. Like the header says, “Yay!”

I will also give an update on the status of the pedal board in the near future. At present, it is built, I am just in the process of arranging pedals, positioning them ergonomically, and attempting to get the signal-to-noise ratio.

Stay tuned!

Hi everybody!

A couple weeks back I said that one of the tracks completed was “Candytosis”. Unfortunately, the final mix of that was lost. So this week Pete and I mixed it again. I’m presenting it as the pre-master download for the present. So without further ado, here is

Candytosis (Sweet Tooth II)

If you are not familiar with the rest of my catalog, let me give you a little background on this track. It is the logical sequel to Sweet Tooth from my album Lo-Fi Mouth. The song is all about sweet stuff (with a title like ‘Sweet Tooth’, what did you expect?). I’m not sure what inspired me to write another song all about sweets, considering I personally do not have much of a sweet tooth (except when it comes to Jolt…), but “Candytosis” is the result.

I have a few tracks left. I am being very meticulous about them. Changing parts here and there. I’m beginning to realize that being anal about the final mix of a track doesn’t compensate for the overall track lacking in spots. So I am taking a little extra time with the remaining tracks to add parts, change parts, and re-analyze existing parts. You all deserve the best and I deserve to release an album I am 100% satisfied with.

Enjoy the new track, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for more tracks, puzzle pieces, and updates on the pedal board!

What’s happened in the last week? I went to The Token Lounge and saw the one and only My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult! It was epic!! It’s always exciting to see a band that has been doing awesome things for years and just continues to get better and better! Check it out! Buzz McCoy (Left, keyboards), Mimi Star (Middle, bass – Oh my gosh, I want to marry her!), and Groovy Mann (Right, lead vocals) tearing it up in the Motor City!

My apologies that I don’t have a new mp3 for your listening pleasure. Presently, I am working on putting the finishing touches on two of the tracks for the album. Just trying to decide which one to ‘finalize’ next. Regardless of which song I choose, you will be presented with an MP3 of a song. MP3s are wonderful, ain’t they? You can listen to them on your computer, or your iPod/iPhone/mp3 player/Other Modern Device! In the meantime, please accept this additional puzzle piece as a token of my esteem. It marks piece #3 in the ongoing puzzle piece mystery! (hint: It wasn’t Col. Mustard in the Library with a candle stick!)

Stay weird, you weirdos!

Do with it what you will. These will keep on coming!

The pedal board is bordering on finished! Since I last updated you on the status of it, it has been painted, and velcroed. BOOSH!! Eat your heart out Bob Vila, you bearded… carpenter… guy, you! Sadly, I had to settle for velco strips that were smaller than the width of the boards. But no matter, as long as the pedals adhere to it, that’s all that matters. I also tried out one of those 1-Spot daisy-chain power supplies. In regards to that, I can say this: if you have anything more than 3-4 pedals (which I do), save your money. Those things are horrifically noisy!

I have also swapped out the unweildy (screw you WordPress, it is spelled correctly) MXR flanger unit for a DOD FX-75B which aside from not requiring a dedicated plug and being far more compact in size, also has the wonderful distinction of having an optional stereo output. Think of the sonic possibilities – I can flange in stereo! Before the completion of the board I still intend to get my hands on an EQ pedal, a reverb pedal, and a tuner. Being a low-budget kinda guy, I will likely keep my eye on the used market for these. I mean, let’s face it – most guitar pedals are built like tanks anyway! Oh, and screw boutique pedals. I have yet to hear one that sounds like it is worth the absurdly high prices that boutique pedal manufacturers want for it.

But let’s get to why you are really here. You like my music (or at least think it is strange enough to be worth your interest). And as such, you want more of it. And you want to be given the opportunity to get one of my CDs (or a couple of my CDs) before everybody else, right? Of course I’m right. I mean, you’re obviously not here for your health.

<<< Last week, I promised that I would be giving you puzzle pieces to help decipher the track list from the upcoming album. The puzzle pieces are now dropping like bombs! There are 19 puzzle pieces in total (yeah I know it’s a weird number, what did you expect from a weirdo like me?!) and I highly doubt the album is going to take me another 19 weeks to finish mixing and mastering, so I will likely be releasing one or more puzzle pieces each week until I have the physical copies in my caffeinated little fingers.

Remember the clues I have given you so far: 10 tracks in total, and 6 of the 10 tracks are done and have been identified in previous blog posts.

Good luck!

Hey everyone! No new track to report, but I do have another mp3 for your enjoyment!

Leaf of Forgiveness

I STILL have no idea what this song is about. It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, frozen in carbonite! Speaking of such things, within the next week I will begin releasing the puzzle pieces needed to decipher the track list of the album. I’ve already revealed the names of 6 tracks from the record. Only 4 more to go!

Also, keep an eye on the Upcoming shows sidebar. I haven’t performed in front of an audience since August of 2013. The weird has been dormant for far too long…

2015 shall mark the return of weird to a stage near you!

I felt it necessary to invoke the spirit of Bob Vila. Wait, he’s not dead? Oh good. So if I screw this up, I can always get ahold of him and ask for his help! Hooray for DIY craftsmanship!

If you’ve ever thought about making a pedal board, then you have probably seen one of the youtube videos explaining how to do so with a Gorm shelf from IKEA. As far as I can tell, the Gorm shelf is no more. It has been replaced by the Hejne shelf. The overall dimensions are comparable, but the gap between the boards is a little wider.

The Hejne shelves come in a pack of two (at least it does for the shelf dimensions I needed to accommodate all of my pedals). The advantage to the shelves coming in a pack of two is that I can now put a second tier on my pedal board by cutting one of the two shelves in half (it’s actually less than half as you can see from the picture, but you get the idea). This way, the pedals on top are not obstructed by the pedals on the bottom.

My next step will be to paint the shelf (because I said so, that’s why). Of course, it would also be a good idea to figure out what order the pedals are going to be arranged in… and figure out how best to attach the top shelf to the bottom… and of course, plan for further expansion! I could use a compressor pedal, and a volume pedal, and an eq pedal, and I’ve always wanted to have a talk box… and a tremolo pedal, and a…

Hey everybody! Sadly, no new mixes to report this week. Buuuuuuuuuuuutttttt…. I have a new mp3 for you! I know. I’m as happy as you are!

Super Coffee

In addition to working on mixes for the new record, I am in the process of building a pedal board. Fellow music geeks will appreciate this and want to see pictures as it develops, so I will be posting those along with mix updates, mp3s and random, violent outbursts of the lulz. Brace yourselves!

Picture #1

Oh, hey what would you all think of a little puzzle to solve? In the weeks before the album is mastered and finished, I’ll be posting a pic each week that is part of the tracklist of the album. The first person to send me a copy of the complete track list wins

1) A signed copy of M.E.O.W.
2) A signed copy of The X of Art
3) A shoutout on facebook, twitter, and youtube!
4) A clue about the next album

You couldn’t ask for more! Well, you could but expecting it would be a little greedy. Stay tuned for more updates on M.E.O.W.!

Just a short update this time around… along with a short song!

6 out of 10 tracks have now reached final mix stage! The latest song to join the roster is

6. Super Coffee

My previous employer put a Keurig in the break room, so employees could make themselves a cup of coffee. One day as I was brewing a cup of coffee, I got to thinking what if someone were to brew a cup of coffee using already-brewed coffee in place of water? Super Coffee of course! Naturally, the caffeine content would be higher. So high in fact, that one would be driven to illegal-drug levels of hyperactivity as a result of drinking it. But enough about coffee, here is another final mix for your listening pleasure:

Kittens and Warm Cocoa

Now, I have to warn you, before you play this new track – for the love of all that is good, TURN YOUR VOLUME DOWN!! Then once you have done that, turn it up, up, UP! A music video of this may (or may not) exist in the near future.

I will have another update (and possibly another mp3) for your enjoyment next week. Thank you for your support!