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December 30, 2008
I have plunged into a repair here- the fabulous little Wurlitzer electric piano that
Bill Nork has loaned to us is undergoing a rehab.
This instrument is a real classic- you can hear it on a bunch of Little Feat songs,
on Beatles songs, on Supertramp songs... well, yes, it's an old thing. Nowadays,
you are more likely to hear samples of it, but the real thing is better in many ways.
But the real thing breaks. This particular piano has had a sluggish action for
years now, and sticking keys, and I only ventured to use it for sonic textures. I had
one apart many years ago and that experience scared me so bad that I thought I'd never
have the guts to repair this one- so imagine my surprise when I discovered videos on
the web showing, step by step, how to fix this thing!
Here it is, all apart. What the hell is that?
Here are its keys, sitting on top of my (also broken) Farfisa combo organ. Man, I gotta
get to that someday!
I love the fact that these instruments look hand built. To repair them, you literally
go in with a knife and a file. And naptha. If you want to learn more about
this sort of thing, visit Vintage Vibe. They have
all kinds of free videos on repairing old keyboards, and they are probably fun to watch
even if you don't know anything about old keyboards. A great thing on the web!
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December 28, 2008
Some moonbat blogger linked to this page on Christmas eve to share our songs
with their readers- thanks, Avedon! (no, I have
no perma-links, nor RSS feeds. maybe I should think about those things. next year.) We got
over 50 hits from your link so far, making your site the second-highest referrer for the day
yesterday.
Despite the fact that most people still get their music from
traditional outlets (CDs and downloads from retail establishments), I am still preaching the
gospel of grow yer own. Part of being able to do that involves people being able to
find us, and without advertising dollars to spend, that comes down to word of mouth,
e-mail, and links. As much as I prize every Steam Powered Sponsor, I'm
even happier to get linked to from other sites.
It has been over six years that Steam Powered Studio has been online. We are
only at the beginning. While it's true that the Beatles had an entire amazing career
in about six years, that isn't the model for what happens here. This is not about the
music "industry" or becoming a pop sensation- it's about making music for a lifetime.
As we head into 2009, I thank you all for your sponsorships (more than 20 for the year) and
for your comments and for your links. Please help spread the word about Steam Powered.
Take a minute and add a link to us from your MySpace or Facebook
page, or from your personal or band website. Mention us in
your blog. Twitter us, if that's what you do, and by all means, write to us
and join the mailing list.
(oh- I got this in my e-mail. It's either a greeting card or spam of some sort. I'm
going with the greeting card. I assume it's from one of the many folks from China who have
been downloading our music. Can anyone translate?)
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December 24, 2008
We have recorded a good number of Christmas-related songs over the years.
First let's hear from Dr. Mo and a bluesier side of the season:
Santa, Bring My Baby Back To Me
mp3
or
ogg
My Christmas Tree is Hung with Tears
mp3
or
ogg
Next up, that Ezra Shade again, in case you missed it:
Christmas Time
mp3
or
ogg
Ralph Toro (currently featured):
Season of Joy
mp3
or
ogg
And finally, Mr. Robert Bobby, who probably started this trend around here:
Regifting Your Love
mp3
or
ogg
River
mp3
or
ogg
Merry Christmas!
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December 20, 2008
I've been working on a project with Ralph Toro, restoring some old tapes to produce a CD.
Ralph recorded a Christmas song a while back, which got some radio play around here. Now he's given me permission to
post it on the net- so here's Season of Joy, our new featured song- it's a rocker!
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December 16, 2008
It's that time of year. There's been some snow, and even though there's
plenty of gloomy talk, let Ezra bring you back to the comforts. A new featured song.
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December 14, 2008
Dale just rang that sponsorship bell again... thanks. We're somewhere near 20 for the
year, and that doesn't count those who've been sponsors but sort of lapsed, and those
who've contributed more than once this year. But really, once
you've sponned you're stuck with it for life!
There's going to be a year-end Times coming out soon, so I won't say too much
about ongoing projects here. I missed an opportunity to record Maya's new band,
darn those kids move so fast... I recorded some interesting piano improve last night
which was partially inspired by the radio feature I'd heard on composer
Elliot Carter.
Fascinating stuff. His early work seems to have influenced the sort of movie soundtrack
music from the 50's and early 60's that affected me- the sort of disjointed, uncentered,
edgy stuff we used to call "modern". I think it's fun, and it beats the heck out of that
schmaltzy Copland stuff. (anything that can be used to advertise beef, well...)
later...
I heard the Joni version of Woodstock on the radio the other day. You know, the original?
And it got me thinking about the cover that CSN&Y had a hit with. So tonight I downloaded
that LP, Deja Vu. I'm listening to it now.
While I certainly always liked the songs on Deja Vu, I never considered it the
equal to the first CS&N album. Which, in my book, was an almost perfect record. So I
never owned Deja Vu, and so I never listened to it very closely before now. Well, that may have
been a mistake...
While that earlier record is a landmark on its own, Deja Vu is, as a production,
something remarkable. I admit to liking rough edges, and maybe that's why I never fell
for Deja Vu- maybe it just isn't quirky enough. But from the standpoint of studio
chops, Deja Vu is to CS&Y what Abby Road is to Sgt Peppers. There
is a quality to the sound of the vocal harmonies which does reflect very nicely on those
of the Beatles best work- you can't tell who's singing what part, it's just one sound.
Then there are distinct odd things that I find I like now- the fact that sometimes the bass
guitar and the electric guitar reverb are panned hard to the sides... these are things that
simply "aren't done!" these days.
But what is most amazing is that the sounds are really recorded well. Stills' organ
growls a growl that is like the ultimate Hammond organ growl... the bass sound is very
bottomy, yet somehow clear. Percussion and drums sounds are distinct, except when they're
drowned in reverb for effect. Lead guitar sounds have sort of defined what lead guitars
should sound like for years.
Another fun thing about the record is that it's obviously made in the days before
automation made mixing a breeze- you can track the fader moves. They are very good, but
compared to today's records, they are part of the multitrack dance that used to be
the recording process. Now it's all invisible.
So let me know, if you have an opinion- which is the better record? CS&N or Deja Vu?
(much later)
I finally mixed down a song I found on the old Tascam Porta-Two. This is
classic four-track cassette sound- very saturated, somewhat distorted, with a Dr. Rhythm
drum track. Someday they will all look back on this and laugh...
Turnin' Out Wrong.mp3
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December 11, 2008
My studio is in my basement, and a part of my studio is this old workbench that was
here when we moved in 20 years ago. To me making music is a lot like fixing
stuff, or building stuff- the workbench is for stuff, the recorder for sounds. We build
sounds and stuff here.
I'm not really very good at either task, but one thing I like about the net is that
even us amateurs can be entertaining. So tonight I offer up my latest feature-
Fixing a Tascam Porta-Two.
Enjoy.
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December 09, 2008
busy, busy, busy...
If the Gadjo Playboys are looking for dancers, I suggest Mrs. Moore 111 for
starters. Just sayin'
I'm still mulling over my "CD" project. I am pulling the song Grapevine in
favor of an early version of one I wrote called What Was the Point. Here's the
current lineup:
1 -Mad Romance
2 -Hmmm
3 -Save to Serve Her
4 -Bungi
5 -Crossing State Lines
6 -The Complicated Kid
7 -Diamonds
8 -Drivin Rain
9 -A Blues
10 -Keeping Time
11 -What Was the Point
12 -Unstoppable
The reason is sort of dumb, actually- the vocal on Grapevine sounded different. I'm
not sure why. When I rediscovered this early version of "Point" I knew it would fit in better.
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December 03, 2008
Stompin' at the Syc.
Here was the setup at the Syc as this house is popularly known. Here Joe and Scott
discuss some fine point of an arrangement, probably.
...the hands, the hands of a master!
an influence, perhaps...
Anyway, it was a very good day for recording. We recorded rhythm tracks for 11 songs,
mainly on the first take.
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December 01, 2008
That went well. Stairwell.
Stairways have
interesting sonic characteristics- they're hard and choppy, but not as obnoxious as
a cement wall. I stuck a mic in this stairwell while recording the Gadjo Playboys yesterday, and
it adds a very interesting space to the close mics. On a separate track I can mix it in and out
as needed.
Check out a new Humor Me site today- Gizzards and Gravy for the Guileless. Probably
not safe for work, or for the guileless, either.
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Featured Song:
#281
Ralph Toro
Season of Joy
mp3
or
ogg
3:39
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Studio Archives:
November, 2008
October, 2008
September, 2008
August, 2008
July, 2008
June, 2008
May, 2008
April, 2008
March, 2008
February, 2008
January, 2008
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Features:
Repairing a Kurzweil piano key.
Repairing a Tascam Porta-Two.
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