September 29, 2013 Meanwhile, Ruby was back in to record some intros for her latest funducational project, and she left this metal vest thingie for me. Somehow, she always seems to know what I need. Yes, I know what it is. See Clifton Chenier, King of Zydeco... I've wanted one of these for about 30 years now... Thanks, Ruby!

September 28, 2013 So, tape restoration. I de-molded and baked the first tape with good results, but tape two was wound too roughly on the reel to clean. I baked it and then ran it through this tape machine with a piece of gauze (not shown) covering the heads. The mold had dried to a fine powder and came off the tape easily. This machine, a Revox 1/2 track 1/4" capable of loading 10" reels and running at 15 ips, is a great old chunk of iron- thanks, RB, for loaning it to the studio! Tape number 7 turns out to be a well-mixed recording of a Moody Blues live show from '79 or '80, at a point on the tour when they'd worked out all the kinks. So far I've gotten 4 full reels transferred to my digital recorder, all various Moody's shows- there's a couple of short reels left to go.

September 26, 2013 I think Hitchcock's Rear Window is one of the best movies ever made. The last time I saw it I was struck by the soundtrack. Long scenes shot without dialog feature city sounds, music from the neighbor's radios and phonographs, and distant conversations. It completely sets the the mood of a city in summer. Books have been written about it. Come to find out that Hitch directed the first British-made talkie, and it's well worth watching, even with ads, on You Tube. The soundtrack seems uneven, but this was with intent. Consider the potential if all movies were made this way, with moments of barely-heard dialogue, long stretches of silence, and dada-like sonic distortions.

September 23, 2013 Here's a box of what are literally moldy oldies. Can't wait to find out what's on 'em! Whoa. Live Moody Blues. But you can't play them as they are- they are covered with mold, and the oxide coating shreds off. First you need to clean them, then you need to bake them. That is what lies beneath, my friends. Nasty stuff. It comes up with H2O2 and elbow grease. And, OMG, as much as I hate the thing that Wal-Mart is, when you need an oven that will bake stuff at low temperatures and relatively cheaply, they have 5 or 6 products that will do it. Capitalism! So, supposedly, after baking these tapes for 10 plus hours at 51 degrees C, the binder that holds the oxide coating on will have re-polymerized enough to play back the tape without it falling apart. For a while. Next up- the Revox!

September 22, 2013 I've been checking Craig's every day for one of these. My first accordion (christened Stanley by Dr. Mo) went south years ago. It was actually pretty bad from the git go, but then I broke a reed trying to tune it and that was all she wrote. I own several others this size, but the original had a certain edge to it- something about the tone. Stanley Stanley II was sitting in someone's closet for the past 20 years waiting to become a Craigslist item. It has a few issues- a couple loose reed blocks, a warped panel- but it's more or less in tune and it has that special Adriatic tone. For a good time check out this guy playing Gershwin on a 12 bass. (I forgot to mention- one of the major reasons for choosing this particular accordion is that washboard grill, close at hand for those times when percussion is required.)

September 21, 2013 A recent update to the locals list- a quick count now reveals 521 entries.

September 20, 2013 Cheeky monkey! I was thinking about old pipe organs, and where they got their wind, because of the series with Howard Goodall called How Music Works. Imagine, having the brass to pretend to be able to explain how music works. Well, uh..., I actually learned a lot from watching this series, and while I may not actually know how it works, I've got a better idea of how to describe the various parts now. How Music Works. Available for the time being, on UTube, in four segments of about 40 minutes. After that, check out his take on the Beatles!

September 19, 2013 I know you've all been wondering about this.... In olden times, the church pipe organ was the most complex thing made by man. Lots of levers and stuff, all intricately balanced and arranged. Somehow, they had to provide air for the pipes... well, there was a stop on those organs, in addition to the ones that turned on the various rows of pipes, and this one simply rang a little bell. That bell alerted the Calcant, or "kicker", that it was time to start pumping the bellows. Might be a good name for a recording studio...

September 14, 2013 Roots...

September 11, 2013 I love updating the local bands page, because I discover bands like Younger Me. They're what I wished Modest Mouse was, if that makes any sense.

September 09, 2013 Jesse Nesser has released the film for which Rebecca Gildea recorded music for the soundtrack here, along with Bruce Campbell and Jeff Hostetter. Thanks to all our sponsors- this was one of the projects you helped make happen. Nice to have another soundtrack credit for Steam Powered Studio!

September 08, 2013 Brethren. Looking... cover-ish. Mixing went very well. Hello, XPN?

September 07, 2013 Brethren will be meeting here in the Church of the Mix this coming Sunday. I have been working on my sermon, and all the groundwork is in place for the service. Mixing is about listening over and over again, and the hardest thing sometimes is to pay attention. But with these tracks, close attention is well-repayed. There's a lot of good playing and singing here. Can't wait to finish and share it.

September 02, 2013 Sadly, the video feed went dead shortly before the burn. Might have been caused by the aliens. They allowed this much to slip through, however. Notice they've cleverly taken the form of harmless red shawls...