More free music

July 9, 2008

Machine Gun Joe has decided to give away their latest album in digital form. From the band:

We decided to post digital copies of our album “Worse Things Could Happen to a Man” for free download. So check it out and let us know what you think. Theres a smaller zip file of mp3s and theres a much bigger zip file of high quality WAV files, so take your pick. You can download them by clicking the links in the about me section. Hope you like it.

Download it!
Worse Things… MP3s
Worse Things… WAVs

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Macbook woes

July 1, 2008

So I got a nice, new Macbook just about this time last year, and all has been quite well until last night. I opened the lid to find that a crack has formed on the top of the case along the front/right side. In addition, two more cracks are forming along the top of the case in almost identical places on either side of the trackpad. Completely baffled, I called Apple tech support this morning to make sure the fix would be covered under warranty. To my relief (and surprise) it is. So this afternoon I take it into my local Apple Authorized Service Center, and they order the part for me. They give me a copy of the work order that they send to apple that reads:

Top case is cracking in the usual place. Please order a replacement top case and call client when it arrives.

The usual place? Thanks for the quality control, Apple. I knew there was a reason you have to charge 200% more than your competitors for simple things like hard drive and RAM upgrades.

Anyway, with a minimal amount of google effort, you’ll find out that it is indeed a common problem. The repair is only supposed to take about an hour and a half, so at least I won’t have to be without my machine for too long.

Here’s a picture of my crack (boy, that sounds bad):

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New Solas website is live!

June 24, 2008

What a good feeling. The new site is finished, and everyone seems quite happy with the results. The old site was flash heavy, and while it looked great, it was a total drag to update. The band definitely needs a site they can easily access and keep up to date with fresh news and gigs, and I think the new format will work out well for them. Check it out, and definitely check out their music. They’re a great bunch.

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vespacoast2coast.com

June 16, 2008

I’m not one to typically get on a soap box about things, but I recently came across very good cause that’s been started that I certainly feel needs attention. A large majority of audio engineers and producers work freelance, and most don’t have health insurance. Joel Hamilton, engineer and producer out of Brooklyn, has started a campaign to raise awareness of this issue, and also to benefit producer Scott Harding who was recently injured very severely.

At 3am on Friday, February 15, 2008, music producer Scott Harding was the victim of a car crash, returning home from a late night mixing session. The cab he was riding in was broadsided by a stolen car; the impact crushed Harding’s T5 vertebrae, leaving him partially paralyzed. Scott’s condition is serious and like many dedicated musicians/engineers he is without health insurance and is facing very large medical and legal fees.

The short term need to raise cash in order to handle Scott’s affairs is very real. His friends and the dedicated musical community that Scott has long been a part of quickly united, forming The Scotty Hard Trust, a special account which will help to handle Scott’s financial needs through private monetary donations.

Joel’s campaign will involve riding his vespa from San Francisco, CA to Ocean City, MD in the Scooter Cannonball Run. I hope you’ll consider donating whatever you can spare for Scott and Joel. Please visit www.vespacoast2coast.com for more information and to contribute.

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Beggar’s Son in The Spirit

May 28, 2008

Josh and I were fortunate enough to get a small article in this week’s edition of The Spirit???????? ????? ???????? — the community newspaper serving Fishtown, Kensington, Port Richmond, and Northern Liberties. We’ve got a show tomorrow night (5/29) at the M Room, and will (finally) have CDs of the new album for sale.

The Beggar’s Son Offers a Wealth of Rock
by Danielle Zimmerman

The Beggar’s Son have found the musical equivalent of what professionals in the piercing business refer to as “the soft spot” - the precise location the needle must be inserted and any variation left or right leaning would totally throw the entire piercing off - between delivering the cute, catchy chorus of a pop-punk melody and the musky, lumbering wisdom of a twangy country-folk song. Singer Joshua Skinner’s vocals manage to stick to you while drummer Bryan McGee swiftly carries the music along so you don’t get caught up in just one phrase or rhyme.
What sets them apart from being just another Philly rock band is the amount of fun you can’t help but suspect they’re having when they deliver the goods up on stage, or while working together in the studio. Both members of this two-man show have separate musical priorities (Josh with his solo acoustic endeavors and Bryan with engineering duties at a local recording studio) but the Beggar’s Son has provided both with a collaborative creative outlet since their high school days. What they deliver is enjoyable for both the players and the listeners. Enjoyable in the sense that musically, it’s easy on the ears - not that the songs don’t describe some of the darker emotions of sorrow or self doubt that is shared as a collective human experience.
“My solo stuff has always been more introspective, sort of like pointing the finger at myself, while the stuff I do with Bryan is more about pointing the finger at everyone else,” explains Skinner. Lyrically, the feeling of being lost and alone in this big world is the central emotion but it’s not all pessimism. The Beggar’s Son still gives many reasons to smile courtesy of universal messages and foot stompin’ good times.
Thematically, each album has its own overarching theme that is explored from different angles in each descending song. The band’s latest effort, “Battle Hymns for the New Imperial Empire,” spins the yarn of a Civil war era soldier being sent off to the battlefield and his subsequent experiences. Unwrapped, a metaphor emerges and hits closer to home than a Civil War history lesson - a war being fought within the confines of a relationship. Much like Cursive’s Domestica (not to say that The Beggar’s Son and Cursive share the same sound, mind you), which chronicled the slow deterioration of a relationship through the often attempted, and more often failed at, concept album.
Ears that are drawn to honesty in music will certainly perk up whilst listening to The Beggar’s Son. Honesty comes from the freedom that many DIY bands are able to hold on to when they still have the ability to call the shots, and how deep they delve into their own creativity is a factor to be decided by them alone. Another key factor: the smaller the number of people involved in the process of creating music, the more focused it becomes. While creativity stretched to cover a large surface of interests can sometimes be interesting - it also has the potential of ending up less consistent.
At their Thursday night M Room premiere, the cowboys will be assisted with a stand-in bass player to help with their live performance. When it comes to music, I still agree with the expression that “less is more,” and the Beggar’s Son delivers that bare minimum from the bottom of their hearts.

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A Fresh Coat

April 11, 2008

So it was finally time to paint the mixing room. Moving all the stuff out of the room was an extreme pain, but it was worth it. No more of the strange green that was once on the walls. Now the walls are brown (”cardboard”) and and even stranger green.

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New Shadow Loomis Albums

April 8, 2008

So after many months of working on the two new Shadow Loomis albums (”Walkin’ Stick” and “Where Angels Fear to Tread”), we’re almost finished. I finished mixing “Walkin’ Stick” a few weeks ago and got straight to work on the “Where Angels…” yesterday. One thing’s for sure: having free time can be very beneficial when it comes to getting mixing done. Between yesterday and today, I got seven of the nine rock songs mixed. I made many conscious decisions to make the two sets of tunes sound different. Once the final two songs on “Where Angels…” are finished with overdubs and mixed, it’ll finally be time for mastering.

After mastering, the albums will be freely available (or for a small donation if you’re feeling generous) from Shadow Loomis’ website. This would also be a good time to mention I’ll also be setting up a new blog for Shadow Loomis to coincide with the release of the new albums, so look for that soon. Soon as in a couple of months.

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