what is going on in your musical life

this band with a weirdo that plays only covers of local, small time musicians

haha i love this

haha its exactly what it sounds like

the first person I contacted about guitar lessons is too busy to take me on as a student but promised to give me contact info for other ppl, which basically means I am back at square one re: finding a guitar teacher

I am currently in the process of tracking down sheet music for a recital of solo and ensemble spiritual arrangements I'm doing as part of a quartet made up of ppl from my church choir (inc. my wife as the soprano) for the Tuesday before Easter; we're also going to take parts of that recital to do as music for the Good Friday service later that week.

I'm also looking over the Dvorak Mass in D major, which I'm doing at an evening Good Friday service in Dorchester; my primary responsibility AFAIK is augmenting the bass section but I believe I'm also going to be doing the tiny solo parts as well. (The other ppl from that include my wife again plus other folks from the spiritual ensemble we sing in.)

Also have a concert with the church choir coming up where we're doing Stainer's Crucifixion; I am not the bass soloist for it (thank God).

i didnt realize you were a bass! it occurs to me that i have never actually heard you sing. i imagined you having a very high tenor voice. haw.

i started a band with 2 of my girlfriends

Me too! We are called Ta1nted Pussy and have played 2 shows so far. We were supposed to have a show next Saturday opening for this weird Dutch guy, but he got detained by the Dutch government and told he can't leave the country without a work permit, so that show was cancelled. I play bass. I have not played bass since I was a teenager. So now I get to have fun learning/re-learning an instrument, plus I get to have fun with pedals. We are all noise/new music ladies, thus lots of fun with pedals. I got a Dr. Sample 202 for christmas! More fun! I kept one of the built-in samples, which is a lady saying "Stand By" for when we have technical difficulties during our sets.

We are planning to tour at some point later this year. L.A., maybe the South?

next month we have a gig opening for Cock E.S.P.

Our singer said, "Why do we always end up on shows with other bands with dirty names?"

having trouble finding time/motivation/energy to do anything too focused or serious over the past couple of years. i was playing with my friend who's a full-time musician but he decided to just play shows solo instead of with a band because the economics/logistics are easier that way. i've been doing some sample-based stuff on reason recently, i like it because it takes me back to when i was learning guitar and didn't know what i was doing and would come up with cool stuff by accident. also occasionally jamming/recording with the drummer from my old band, doing shitty lofi four-track stuff.

i would really like to have a more regular band where someone else bore the heavy lifting of the songwriting and i could just come in and play guitar and play shows a few times a year. but i'm not really connected to any kind of music scene anymore so i don't know how to find that kind of situation.

Band practice tonight. Eagerly anticipating our two track demo bak from being mixed/mastered although worried it might sound bad as we only spent two days on it.
Working on writing and practising our next batch of songs after an initial 6. It's now a concern that we have a 'sound' and aesthetic developing, meaning that we have songs we wrote and quite like that for one reason or another don't work very well alongside the others. Anyone had this problem? It didn't really matter before because we were still forming an identity which eventually formed into 6 upbeat slightly unhinged post punk numbers, but now this next one is a big dramatic sweeping thing with a more serious tone and we're not sure what to do with it.
Also written a reggae song, which I'm please with but need a way to subvert because right now it's verging a little too close to sixth form peace and love bob Marley cliches and I want to put a twist on all that really.
Wrote a sort of fast kinda sung-rap song but my girlfriend said it sounded like flight of the conchords. Not that that's an insult, but I wanted it to aoud more like Haim or something.

i didnt realize you were a bass! it occurs to me that i have never actually heard you sing. i imagined you having a very high tenor voice. haw.

haha that would make my dad very, very happy (he's a failed tenor in a previous life, sang lead in a doo-wop group in college)

I am technically a "bass-baritone" which really means that because most of my singing experience comes from being in ensembles rather than private, focused vocal study, I have no idea how to use my head voice and sing practically everything in chest; I have a sneaking suspicion I would end up being a true baritone or even a low tenor after several years of focused, serious voice training based on how my low range actually sounds, but the flip side is that I can actually croak out low notes even if they're inaudible unless I've been binge-drinking the night before so I dunno. But yeah, I've always sung low.

(which is actually why, in my teens, I realized I was never going to be a pop or rock singer, and why I was so taken by the grunge explosion)

putting the last touches on my new record (doesn't feel new, been working on it for about 15 months now) to send to mastering next week, figuring out how to put it out.

then i want to take some time to switch up my process, shake things up a little. work on some new synth sounds without any goals, try to finally learn ableton, record a bunch of new percussion samples. i want to take some piano lessons too, since i do everything with midi + mouse. i can figure stuff out on piano very sloooowly, so i thought it would be fun to play through some tunes in real time and get some chords under my fingers.

honestly though i probably won't do most of these things and i'll go back to what feels easy & comfortable. :/

I just got our first track back from the studio. I love it and I also cringe a bit because I can hear bits where my voice goes a bit wrong or a beat doesn't quite land how it's meant, and I'm trying to work out if anyone in their right mind would really notice or care.

roxy high school is an amazing band name

this is a neat thread idea.

i've been playing with a couple guys for the last month or so but it's just working out that well. they seem like they really want to sound like real estate or something, which isn't terrible, but a bad real estate impersonation comes out sounding reaaaaally bad, and it's not much fun to play drums to, either!

i've been writing and recording some new tunes, which doesn't sound like much but it's actually been a big breakthrough for me after about a 10 year songwriting/music coma that i didn't realize was a coma.

i'm moving back to chicago in a few months and i'm determined to join up with a good band. i used to be good friends with the cave/bitchin bajas scene so i'm hoping i can be looped back into all that stuff and that someone needs a good drummer

and yeah, high school is good, although i have to say i liked it even more when i thought the name was high school??

haha

whoa z s do you want to be in a band with me?

this is going to be really awkward when you reject me

well, that was easy. sure, let's play!

it's gonna be more like september or so

i think we are gonna be called "high school"??
a
I started a band in college called junior high university. I recorded one song for it and we had two practices and then everyone split up in different directions. that was the last band I was ever in.

have not touched my recording computer since my son was born. I long for a classical acoustic guitar so i can play around the house but I have no money for that now. debating selling an amp or two. I think my creative well has run dry for the foreseeable future.

i'm really burnt out on school this semester & have been slacking off to spend more time doing music stuff. all three bands i'm in are pretty active rn which can be overwhelming at times but is really fun. most notably i went on tour in january and started a new band called l0ud s3x which i am just so, so stoked on. the other songwriter in the band is really prolific and i really want to keep our ratio of songs 1:1. it's been a really fun challenge trying to keep up, he also writes amazing songs so i've had to be really strict about scrapping my tunes if they're not up to par. we're playing our first show at the end of the month & i'm pretty nervous because not everyone shows up for practice consistently and i want it to be spectacular

sp3ctacular l0ud s3x

I am not going to go into any more detail than this but the biggest audition opportunity of my lap literally just fell into my lap; I fully expect it to go nowhere but still, you never know...

would watch n/a z s band

DJP on x factor, it's America has been waiting for
xp

l0ud high school s3x

the biggest audition opportunity of my lap

lol dan

oh no, I've said too much

I am in month 15 of releasing a home-made recording every month. A lot of times I put it off until the month is almost over and then go into crunch mode. But at this point, even though I approach each song as its own thing and wasn't trying to make an album or anything, I can listen to all the tracks straight through and it sounds really cohesive to me, which I think is really cool. I also feel like I get a little better/more efficient at production each time.

I haven't performed onstage in like a year though, which was a conscious decision and I don't miss all of the bullshit that made me sick of doing it, but I do miss being onstage. But I maybe just joined a band that I actually think is really good and is kind of successful locally, which is cool because I don't feel that way about hardly any local bands and also I've never really been in someone else's band. They have kind of a Modern Lovers/Beat Happening/Magnetic Fields/Morrissey vibe. It'll also be neat because I'll be playing synth and I'm not actually a keyboard player at all, I'm a guitarist and songwriter, but that's also why I'll be a good fit for this.

kicking off recording of a new album. finally a chance to properly use all this new synth gear

Hey all - could I get a little bit of constructive feedback on this please? We've had an initial "how's this?" from the studio engineer on one of our tracks. Overall, I think it's okay but it's very difficult to distance myself and listen to it with uninvolved ears.

I'd really like to hear your thoughts, particularly on the mixing/production (we can't really go back into the studio to do any overdubs or retakes so we're working with the raw material we have, for better or worse). Are there any glaring errors on this track or things I should mention before I get back to him? One thing I noticed is that he's been a bit heavy handed witht he gating and compression, particularly some of the vocal parts where the sibilants and plosives are almost non-existent.

I'm only gonna keep this track online for a short while, but if someone could give it a listen and let me know their thoughts, i'd be very much obliged: https://soundcloud.com/doglatin/honolulu-demo-050313

god this sounds like a super harsh thing but i dont mean it that way - do you want/intend the beginning to sound like a 80's nylons style acapella group thing? like exactly like one? because thats what i hear. also some pitchy weirdness in the "so afraid" "yesterday" multivoice responses. again, if these are intentional things, no prob.

Lol, I haven't hear the nylons but it is supposed to be a bit of a tongue in cheek doowop thing and if it comes across that way I guess that's intentional. The song is very much a comment on retro culture and so it's littered with 60s and 80s references. Cheers for checking it out jjjusten, I'll look into the autotune thing. Think the sound guy's gone a bit overboard with vocal manipulation, but then we're not at all trained singers so there's undoubtably gonna be a push/pull thing going on.

song sounds good to me, esp. for a demo. i like it.

Xpost If you're talkin about Housemartins/Flying Pickets, I def see what you mean and kind of don't mind. I (was made to) grow up with that shit, haha.

Cheers n/a

I am making a lil album of songs that are about a min long each, I have about 10 so far where the music is done but I have finished singing over one of them, I've come up w/ vocal melodies for about 3

I am seriously using the dumbest most unwieldy out of date programs to put the songs together because for whatever reason I like how it all sounds more than if I do it in ableton?

what are you using?

I (lol) am using cues in virtual dj to play my laptop like an mpc or w/e (I could slice to a drumkit in ableton and do the same thing I guess, but idk, when I use ableton I spend 3 extra hours on shit) and then editing shit further and recording vocals in audacity, its a forehead in my hands deal, but still

i love stuff like that.

well I hope it lives up to its rudimentary description, I'm starting to embrace it, at least this way I don't end up fucking around with corpus for a week with no results

Good sounding demo, dog latin. I'd get some friends in a room for the backing vocals. And as for your solo performance it's a little too measured, just make sure you're saying "gate" instead of "gay" and make it fast and effortless

I was just in Prague recording with a budget-priced orchestra, stuff for five different clients and some stuff for my own use. There were 30 "pieces" ranging from 45-second long bits of orchestral incidental music to 20-minute marathon workouts. A total of 2.5 hours of music and 24 hours to record the whole thing. I def. got paranoid and overworked but I didn't break. I drove that bus.

It went very well but I instinctively prioritized the work of my clients, taking the time to really get something beautiful out of that shaky orchestra. I left not enough time for my own material. Now I'm futzing.

cheers FGTI - I did the lead vox, the others did backing. I think the engineer's but too strong a release on my vox because yeah, "gaze" sounds like "gay" etc...

i'm listening to spotify

gotta get these tapes out soon (for this band i recorded) but have no idea what im doing! i need to buy a tape duplicator! i need to buy...tapes! i need to figure out how to get this shit onto a master tape! what am i doing with my life! HELP!

i told my mom i was in a new band called high school and she recommended that we call it COOL GIRLS instead. additionally, "i like just a girl's name, like maureen, or mabel, for a girl band"

lmao at cool girls altho tbh i would like it as a name for a coed or all dude band

I was briefly in a(n all-male) duo called "Sarah"!

Ivyyyyyyyyy congrats!!

Congratulations!

that is very cool ivy! congrats

Congrats, how many did you press?

I got the masters back for the record I've been working on and I'm very happy with them, whew. I do kinda want to do a very short vinyl run, like 50 copies or less, even if it doesn't make sense financially.

there are a few places out there that let you do an express order of 100, sort of a gamble bc there’s no test pressing, but we figured we really didn’t need more than that many (we’ve only sold 20), and it turned out great

Congratulations!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFyS0-2kURQ

had no idea someone took a video of us during our last show in february. i drop a stick during the outro but otherwise... killed it

OH SHIT!!! i TOTALLY saw your band at a dive bar in Astoria like a year ago

also, you fucking ruled

*and* you looked amazing

The way i described it to my friend was 3 charismatic personalities who mostly stake out their own territory and never quite meld together, but the moments when they come to meet is the most joyous release. the way other bands have quiet/loud dynamics this band has magnetism and pulling apart.

i fucking loved it, and i don't even listen to this kind of music at all

anyway i have been looking for someone to teach me to play sho... and it turns out Columbia U has a gagaku ensemble! and i'm allowed to participate, barring any change in policy that would exclude members of the community.
there's just one thing, i have to buy a sho first lol. and the beginner models cost like $1200 and have to be ordered 6 mos in advance. but fuck it i am doing this, i can sell my rock instruments that i dont play anymore.

OH SHIT!!! i TOTALLY saw your band at a dive bar in Astoria like a year ago

― Deflatormouse, Monday, June 3, 2024 9:14 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

omg!!!

was the show at irish whiskey bar? best we've ever sounded, somehow, even though the situation was supremely disorganized when we arrived. thank god for scene lifer and the nicest and coolest soundman i've ever met, snake

that’s the one! I never would’ve remembered the name of the bar, but who could forget Snake??
If it’s the best you ever sounded then i feel so lucky to have caught it!!

that video is great ivy, your band reminds me of Q and Not U in a way

that video is great ivy, your band reminds me of Q and Not U in a way

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, June 4, 2024 12:40 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

biggest compliment on earth!!!!!

also, it's live, and i never have to post about it again https://faithvoid.bandcamp.com/album/weird-chills

whoa, this album smokes!

Sure as hell does! I posted about it last night to Bluesky (tagging Mattie natch -- are you on there, ivy?), and jamie quinn was overwhelmed in response:

https://bsky.app/profile/threnody.bsky.social/post/3kucrnk5c4c2q

"holy christ the guitar on bonehenge feels like having a fever dream under hot sand."

Anyway in honor of the combined release day F/V needs to open for Charli XCX on her forthcoming tour so you both can collectively wreck everybody.

thank you so much ned!!!! i feel hopped up on goofballs today

(i’m not on bluesky, and after my insta and fb got deleted i decided to never make a new social media account) (tho i do run the band instagram since i have so much free time on account of having no personal social media)

I can't wait to listen, big congrats ivy.!

well, it's really happening, the Cassini album is coming out on Echodelick Records on vinyl.

not to be too sentimental but it's been a dream of mine my whole life to have a record that I played on, ever since I was listening to my dad's CCR and Stones records as a little kid. Took me decades to get there, but I'm really over the moon.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8J_tAHJ1HT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

omg this freakin rules!!!

Congrats ums!!!

Sick!

ums I totally appreciate your feeling there. huge congrats my man!

that is awesome!

huge sounds btw!

thanks y'all! really really appreciate your sentiments. kind of weirdly emotional for me, more than i expected

Go with it! Feelings are good and so is achieving life goals ❤️ congrats!

As long as you keep on chooglin' all of your dreams will come true <3

thanks LL

deflatormouse - i knew from age 3 or 4 that i was going to choogle through life

Congrats. It’s been a life goal of mine as well but about to turn 45

I fucked up by doing it waaay too early in my 'career' and now I have a phobia of making anything physical that I'll never be able to get rid of.

Heez you've got time

I have personally taken 500 unsold CDs to the city dump lol

okay and I released an EP too, am quite proud of this one (in a lo-fi bedroom way)

https://acoleuthic.bandcamp.com/album/perdy-crow-and-hulbasketry-owl-cast-critical-eye-over-music-itself

congrats to ivy and ums on the releases, both completed and upcoming! what i heard of FAITH/VOID was awesome, i need to go back and finish listening to it
i still have boxes of CDs in the basement from my band that broke up in 2009, maybe i should rent a blimp and throw them out to the city's population
only vinyl i've been on was for playing in my friend's band where he wrote all the songs and i played exactly what he told me to. it's cool that i have that at least but it would be different to have your own project that you contributed to on vinyl.

UMS, this sounds amazing. Congrats.

My old band did some alternative distribution with some CDs. We took some to Goodwill and local NPR record sale. Left some at the counter of a local head shop.

Funny enough a couple times we ran into people that found the CD there and gave it a listen.

I am extremely looking forward to hearing this album UMS I love the Instagram preview

Ivy. your album rules ofc

Will listen to yours tonight imago

Wow!

swing by SFMOMA and pick up our new LP from the gift shop lol
https://media.universeodon.com/media_attachments/files/112/616/970/110/186/323/original/4c9bfcff5e9beeb3.png

what record Shakey?

really want to thank everyone for the kind words and also say that it's really cool there feels like there's a lot of energy in this thread lately and people doing cool stuff, very nice to see

It’s my 11th drummiversary! Im over thinking about where I’d be if I started as a kid like everyone else and have found satisfaction in what I’ve been able to accomplish as an adult learner. I’ve never been so persistent about anything in my life.

if you squint you can see a copy of our most recent LP in that photo: https://societyofrockets.bandcamp.com/album/tough-trip-through-paradise

Shakey: did you go to the SFMOMA Art Of Noise exhibit?

my recording project band finalized what songs are going on the next album and agreed on an album name. taking this weekend to make sure we’re 100% happy with the recordings before sending them off for mastering. so hopefully we’ll have something new out in a couple of months.

LL - I love that and I'm happy for you, it's so freeing

when I was about 8 my dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I said that I wanted to be the bass player in Van Halen, he asked what was my backup plan and I said I didn't have one, I'm still holding out hope