Warhol's Polaroids

from ABCnews article linked below

Back in the Fall 2009/Winter 2010, the Spencer Art Museum at Kansas University had a special exhibition featuring some of Andy Warhol's Polaroids of famous people.  This was part of a bigger national tour of the photos.  I went to the event (I was at least partially there, although many objects and buildings were melting all around me) and really enjoyed it.  Feb 22 is the day he died.  I saw ABCNews did an article on his photos to mark the anniversary of his death, and it reminded me of the exhibit I (kind of) veiwed.

-Spencer Museum of Art "Big Shots" exhibition main page- 

-Spencer Art Museum Media Release- 

-LJworld Article on event- 

-ABCNews article on Warhol's Death Day- 

Ric Flair and Wolves

I made the above pic after an Ad Astra Arkestra conversation at practice one night.  It was a strange conversation.  4 horsemen.

Free Jam Rishi @ a Farmhouse

This is a distortion mix of an Rishi improv session with drums (me) and sax (Rolf from Karma Vision).  Two mics, one in the bell of the sax, one on the drums, live in a farmhouse in Kansas.  Lots of post recording crunch added.

-----Farmhouse Free Jam January 2012 mp3 download-----

Microphones in Places They Should Not Be

Word on the street says Zappa used to put Pignose Amps in all sorts of very uncomfortable places, like filing cabinets.  The last couple of times I have recorded, I tried to put an extra mic in places they didn't belong.  For one group I put a mic in a dryer, covered it with a busted cymbal and turned the gain way up.  In another, we built a little steel sweat box for an amp.  Both created very strange timbres and frequency mashing that I am using in both projects.  I plan on putting more mics in places they shouldn't go.  Samples are below.

Neumann U87 in the Dryer sample

Mini Guitar Amp in Sweat Box sample

Beach Boys and Pet Sound Links

In my recording adventures, I run across albums and bands who have a great influence on the musicians I am recording.  Beach Boys Pet Sounds is a record I use as a reference and for brainstorming purpose.  Below are some links I found while digging a little deeper into this album.  These links aren't just for Pet Sounds, and this post will be my general landing page for all things Beach Boys.

-Pet Sounds Wiki Page-
-Track Notes- This site gives good notes one each track, including some production info.
-GearSlutz Post on Vocal Sound-
-Mike Love's The Making of Pet Sounds-
-Sessions List- A great who did what on what
-A discussion by Steve Hoffman on Mono vs Stereo Reissues-
-A CNN Article on Brian Wilson from Jan 2012-

Curtis Eller- Live in Raleigh

I have had some wonderful musical experiences over the last few months, and I am  now at a point that I am able to get to documenting them.  I was in Raleigh for the work hustle in October 2011, and I saw a great show at the Pour House.  It was a banjo player named Curtis Eller and he was one of the best performers I have ever seen (this is his site).  He had a wireless mic on his banjo, and he ran around the venue like a lunatic, running backstage, and then appearing at the front door.  He had great crowd interaction, and was an awesome songwriter and player.  This was one of the first times I saw someone from up north be able to pick like they were from the mountains.  Below is a documentary shot in Durham NC about him and his music.

The song above is a track called Save Me Joe Lewis. It was about the first man who was sentenced to death by the gas chamber. Curtis told the story about this before he and his band played the song, and I was almost in tears before he played it. The live performance I saw, as well as the one in the above video will always be embedded in my mind.

Curtis Eller from DanWilby on Vimeo.