Tuesday, December 22, 2009

More release CRAP (Now includes open invititation comp news)

Alright, so some of you may have seen that I dropped the ball with the Best Of Christmas (NOT) compilation volume 3.
I just wasn't pleased with the songs I was working on, and the snow storm we had made me not feel safe driving to Bradlea's apartment, where I would have had actual quiet during the day.

That being said, I'm passively working on my song for Nektar Volume 2.
I want it to work, but it's a very conceptual compilation that makes me want to write a very certain kind of song that doesn't exactly just spring out of the ground on command.

However, if you're shouting at your screens (all... four... of you...???) about how I'm being lame and not releasing things when I said I would (again,) there is still hope to satiate your hunger for unreleased or new musics.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Go life!

I have good news and bad news.
Let's start with bad.

I will not have shirts done in time for Lansing.
This is extremely disappointing of course, and to a lot of people who were asking me for them, but I will at least have them done in January at the least.... hey, it's not as bad as how many times the album got delayed by things out of my control....

Other bad news, I will not be able to record a track for Best Of Christmas (NOT) Vol. 3
I worked on a few tracks as potential songs for it, but I hate all of them now and the snowstorm has made it impossible to get to Bradlea's apartment, the only place I'd be able to record anything.

Now good news time!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Merry Christmas!!!

Well, here it is.

The fourth installment!
Christmasasaurus Volume 4

SANTA CLAUS AND HIS ELVES PRESENT:




click on cover to download!




It took a ton of work to get it organized this year... more so than any year prior.
Dingle has been very busy, so I didn't have my usual extra help to get people to contribute.
A Beautiful Lotus asked a bunch of people though and is using his net-label to release it.
Also, special shout-out to Mike of Kamakaze Kitten, who contributed a lot more than I expected.
Also a shout out to Dylan Sparrow of Giggle The Ozone. who did that fantastic looking art.


All of the hard work all of the artists and myself put into this installment really paid off, and I would consider this the best one so far.
If the current trend of annual compilation quality improvement continues, we should be the best compilation of all time by 2020.
Songs cover mysterious IDM, wacky digigrind, happy folk, dark ambient, lo-fi shoegaze, psych, performance art punk, lo-fi hip-hop/punk, depressing fingerstyle banjo, rave, plunderphonics, musical noise, blown-out grooves, frantic electronic pop, dub, chiptune, and who knows what else.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Christmasasaurus Vol. 4: Final Day

Today is the last day I'm accepting the tracks for the compilation and I have to say... even if no one else I asked contributes, this will be a good year.
This is a picture of the tracks I have so far (pre-track ordering):
Photobucket

Clearly, a good spread!

Picking a favorite is actually very very difficult this year.
I'll admit, that in past years I've often found myself pointing to a song or three and being very confident that they were the best ones, the other songs ranging from "very good" to "completely disregarded the concept of the compilation."

Friday, December 11, 2009

Photos: Life of m@ the c@

I have nothing I feel like saying right now, so here are some random photos.
Some are music oriented, some are not.
Let's start with a new picture from the Gulu Gulu Cafe in Massachusetts (probably during a noise portion of my set.)
There are a lot more, and I don't think this was even taken by one of the 'official' photographers for the evening:

Photobucket

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Upcoming release updates

Okay, not as fun as I was anticipating... but I hadn't slept in a while so everything sounded fun.

Still waiting on pictures, video, and audio from the past three shows.
There are two videos on youtube from that miserable show with TRUE PUNK ROCK LEGENDS Bowling For Soup.
One was posted by a fan, one was posted by a dissenter.
I won't link them here because I don't really want to go fetch them... I hate watching myself, and youtube comments make me very uncomfortable... positive or negative, intelligent or completely moronic.... ha... intelligent youtube comments... right...

There were also three videos from Virginia posted... ANOTHER miserable show.
There were noise complaints during the Yatagarasu set, so I was forced to turn down from the start.
By the end of the set it was basically whisper quiet.
They also posted a video from the after-party of Chris and I playing Taiko No Tatsujin on some special machine that there is only one of in the country.
The audio is awful though because the ultra loud DDR playing overpowers the Taiko game.


Anyway... so let's get to the point of the update.
Release for the near and semi-near future!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Geared Up To Get Down

I was going to do a post about Micro-Mini Tour #1, complete with pictures and even videos or audio... but I don't have any of that just yet... so let's do another picture-less entry...


Over the years I've gotten many a strange question, and many questions that I've answered dozens and dozens of times.
One question that's come up a number of times is not as simple to answer:
"WUTS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UR PROJECTS ANYWAY"

Or the more eloquent and profound version:
"Why do you impose restrictions upon your artistic self with multiple projects with a set boundary? Isn't your purpose as an artist to express yourself unfettered to set rules?"


The answer is long and drawn out, but I'm going to do my best to finally explain myself accurately on a project by project basis....

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Christmasasaurus Vol. 4: artist list continued

I got more of the artist names Phil asked:

I Killed Techno! (digigrind-esque electronic punk)
IAYD (exciting, thumping chip-tune)
The Tliexau Music Machine (I actually haven't yet heard his non-Christmas music!)
They All Had Tentacles (in-your-face digigrind that is often mathy. He's from my home state!)
Melted Cassettes (have not heard yet!)
Ghouliez (same as above!)
Jay Randall of Agoraphobic Nosebleed (I think that one is self explanatory)

I also got Zathura to join in on the Christmas fun.
They're a manic bit-pop duo from Canada.



BgO Micro-Mini Tour #1 starts tomorrow!
Goodnight!!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Christmasasaurus Vol. 4

A lot of people have asked in the months leading up to everyone's favorite, annual, (mostly) electronic Christmas music compilation whether or not it would be happening again.

So, as I've announced somewhat surreptitiously, it is indeed going to happen once again.
So far the following artists have confirmed:

Xrin Arms (badass, extreme grind/punk/breakcore cut-ups)
Yatagarasu (freaked out chip-skram)
Baaddd (ultra-weird, huggable, minimalist, electronic parties)
Kindergarten Hazing Ritual (probably the finest "cybergrind" band around)
Lissajou (loopy 8-bit techno joy)
The Toilet (completely brilliant plunderphonics with extreme vocals)
Mickey Roberts (lovable outsider noise and strangeness)
Magicool Beauty Fool (wacky pop-sploitation)
The Three Brained Robot (performance art you can sing to!)
OxygenStar (traditional chiptune turned FM jams with ultra tough drums)
Giggle The Ozone. (avant-surf-prog-punk-rock)
Charlie Boy (synth pop turned digigrind turned new wave turned darkwave turned....)
Josef Motley (abstract hip-hop connoisseur)
White Guys Jumping (one man folk band)
Kamakaze Kitten (cute electronics and breakcore)
Scissor Shock (the king of unclassifiable)
Sakura Pups (digigrind from the days of yore)
Watabou (melodic, video game influence electronics)
Colors Killing Numbers (digigrind influenced digital weirdness)
Active Knowledge (catchy chiptunes and acid-trip karaoke)

Of course, don't forget the people presenting it:

Peppermint Pony (minimalist chipglitch)
A Beautiful Lotus (one of the pioneers of MIDI based digigrind)
Bubblegum Octopus (a sexy man)

There are some other tentative people involved, and I left it up to ABL to ask people on his label/people he knows and likes/whoever else, as well as up to PMP (this was originally our idea after all)... but those are the people that have told me personally that they are on board.
No guarantee they'll all follow through, but hey... that's how it is!



That's all for my update. I need to figure out if there is an "LJ-cut" equivalent for blogspot....

Micro-Mini-Tour to Massachusetts starts Thursday.
Come out and see me!!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Melt-Banana II

I was going to post something related to my music today, but I'm so ridiculously tired that anything I write will be complete nonsense if I talk too long.

I will tell you that I went and saw Melt-Banana again.
I drove with my lady Bradlea, and friends Jeff and DigiDan all the way up to The Space in Connecticut and met up with my other friends Janelle and Mike [Mike is also from Kamakaze Kitten, but Janelle and Mike play with me in my completely ridiculous skate punk/noise band Mercury Syringe. DigiDan is formerly of The Lucky Constrictors and a host of electronic projects and other bands, and we play together sometimes, but nothing has been recorded of us together... MS recordings will be audible in the near future]



I had another awkward conversation with Yasuko and my first awkward conversation with Rika (only awkward because I was so nervous and "star-struck"... again... I don't have too many idols, but Yasuko is not only one of them, but my biggest) and apparently she received the CD I gave her merch guy as a gift for her.
This made me blush like a school girl flatulating in front of her dreamy crush.
Well... maybe not that hard... I probably didn't even change colors, but it sure felt embarrassing.



We also got a lousy picture with her and I bought (yet another) Melt-Banana shirt.
Chinese Stars also played and I kind of foolishly forgot to talk to Paul (formerly of Arab On Radar, one of my other favorite bands).
Maybe next time.


I don't have that picture yet, but it's probably best I don't post it...
Maybe I should, this damn thing is so boring looking without pictures.
I gotta get on that...

Maybe tomorrow I'll post something related to my music.
Maybe I can post a c@ album with some back story!


Oh, Thanksgiving was decent.
Hope you all had a nice one.
Day after was cool.... er... well... freezing.

As per recent tradition, we went and got our Christmas tree.
Unlike usual, we actually got it up and put lights on it the day we got it.



Have I ever mentioned how much I love this time of year?
It's quite ridiculous how much, really.

------------------
One thing about music I can say, is that Bubblegum Octopus shows may be incorporating a new member for live performance only... I have yet to find a suitable member to fill this role though.
(I hope I didn't say that somewhere in a previous entry)

I also am going to spend a lovely portion of my day tomorrow or sunday repairing the toy keyboard I slammed to the ground at the School of Rock show.
Apparently it looked like I didn't do it intentionally... so hear it from here first:

I knocked my stand with the keyboard on it over on purpose; I also knocked into my table really hard on purpose too.
Being on stage is really fucking boring when you're all alone.


GOODNIGHT

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Melt-Banana

I saw Melt-Banana last night.
I talked to Yasuko.
I don't know how obvious it is in my music... but I really, really, have an almost unhealthy love of Melt-Banana.
The problem is, every time they've come here since I discovered them in 2003/4 (whatever it was), I've had to miss them.

First time or two I had to go to Michigan (where my relatives live) the day they were playing.
In 2007 I was finally able to go, but they changed their tour dates because they had to open for Tool.
Much to no one's surprise, the date they did the make-up show on was three days after I went to Michigan.

Of course, 2008 had no MxBx shows planned for America, so it was back to waiting impatiently for the day to come.

Finally, this year, I received a delightful, engrishy email from the Melt-Banana newsletter.
"Coming to America?!" I shouted with joy and disbelief, and IMMEDIATELY bought my ticket.
If my read on the ticket is correct, I was the 9th person to buy one.

Anyway, needless to say, I went to the show last night, got about 50 dollars worth of merch (on top of the 16 dollar ticket, 15 dollar parking, and however much gas I needed).
Do I regret any of it?
NO

I met fucking Yasuko O!
I gave the band a copy of my CD as a gift!
I saw the best show of my life!

I'm considering going to Connecticut to see them again honestly.
It would be totally worth it.


I was going to post the picture I got with Yasuko, but I won't have it for two weeks.
It was taken by my friend Aircraft (who takes many of the pictures at my local shows, as well as some of those promotional ones I did to help her with an art project) but it was done on film and she won't have them developed and scanned in for two weeks.
I'll certainly be posting it.
I pray to all omnipotent beings that they came out okay.
(I'm sure I look like a total douche because it was my first episode of being "star struck" or whatever... but on a far different level)

--------------------------
I might have a live guitarist for my Massachusetts 3 day micro-mini-tour.
He's the guitarist from my shoegaze/punk/indie/whatever the heck rock band Frame House.
Not sure if he can really do it or not though because of work. We'll find out soon, eh?
I just added some punky guitar parts to a few old songs and I might teach him guitar parts for way newer songs.
-----------------------

Anyway.
I'll have a picture including post soon or something.
If I have nothing particularly fun to post, I'll at least post a link to one of my c@ albums or something... not that those don't already exist.
GO SEE MELT-BANANA

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Introduction: Who/Why

HELLO
You all (I guess) already know me as an artist, so I think the best way to begin using this is to introduce myself as a person.
(If you'd like to skip me being a person and just find out what this blog is going to include, scroll down to the ------------)

Before I do that though, I might as well explain why I'm even doing this.
I often thought to myself "Hey, I have a blog that friends can read, why don't I do one that everyone can read?"
The problem is that I only had this thought at times where nothing could be done about it... too busy, not home, not by the internet, at rehearsals, etc...
Well, the other day I finally had the thought at the correct time and this was the result.

My reasons for wanting a blog for fans to read is because I want to appear more human and because I myself LIKE hearing from artists I listen to more than just "NEW ALBUM!!!" and "COME SEE ME PLAY AT ________!
I've been impersonated, had people take credit for my music, and treated like some kind of robot for as long as I've been on the internet, but often times in ways that many people don't have to deal with it.

I guess in short, I just want to have a place to post free releases, give some insight on my real life, and have a non-myspace/facebook way to tell you where I'm playing/how my recordings are coming/etc.
I'll have a real website as soon as I find the time and the means, but I'll just integrate this with it most likely.




Now that that's out of the way, let's give you some very long, very boring details on my life:

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Welcome

Hello!

I don't really have time to write in this until a little bit later, but thank you for stopping by!
I'll have something here later tonight... a story perhaps?