Rishi Cassette Release on Whatever Forever

L5- Self Titled EP

I have some friends whose band L5, aka Lumbar 5, I recorded in the fall of 2011 and mixed through the better part of 2012. Tracking was done in a basement in midtown Kansas City.  I had an Neumann U87 in a clothes dryer smushed between a cymbal sandwich and I used it in everyone of the mixes. Vocal overdubs were done at the Roost in Lawrence in a 12ft x 3ft hallway.  The band melted into non-existance right as we were finishing up overdubs.  I had a really good time making this record and I hope by posting it here that at least a few people give it a listen. RIP.

 

Photos after the jump of the sketch house in midtown KC that we tracked in.

Pizza Power Venue Live Recordings- RIP

Pizza Power was a DIY venue in Lawrence KS before the law shut them down earlier this year.  RIP.  I recorded a handful of the shows from the tapers section (see above).  They did a few video recordings and used my audio on them.  A few of the tracks are below, recorded in Jan-March 2011.

L5

Urban Mystics

Kayla Lee

Frances with Wolves

Fire in the Church Yard

Poems and Soundscapes by Robert Knapp and sqrt

The crazy kids that went to school for English . . . what is wrong with them?  I did some odd things with poems my buddy Robert wrote and read into a microphone.  The Kansas Blotter did a blog post on them.  My bio quote is awesome (and I didn't pen it, cause I don't write that good). You can also download episodes 19-24 here on iTunes.

"Brian Miller is a Sound Engineer and Record Maker from the wild hills of North Carolina. He makes crazy sounds sound crazier and is more likely than not inhabited by some kind of interesting demon or space virus."

Owl People at Be Moved 12-26-10 for Final Fridays

----mp3 of the live set-----

This went down at a yoga joint for Final Fridays Art Openings in Lawrence KS.

Yamoto Live at the Replay

These two guys played a show at the Replay a couple on 09-27-2010.  It was fun and loud and fast and full of fury.  Videos are below.  Part one is some of Dan's (guitar playa) solo compositions, and the second is called Yamoto.  Theses dudes freaked the fuck out on stage.  The drummer by the was is the same guy who is referred to on this blog as Mr. Fast Hands.  Signal flow for the recording- Rode NT1-A into my Canon Z800 camera mic input using a passive DI in reverse in the middle.

Arkestra Show at the Jackpot

The Arkestra played a fun show at the Jackpot in Lawrence KS on 9-24-10.  All the bands were on point (Strong Smells and Mouthbreathers threw it down and it was the first time I saw them) and Thee Oh Sees were tight and grungy.  Turnpike had their cameras up there, so hopefully I can update this post with some videos.  One of the camera guys set up near my bass drum and said he got some good shots of me rocking that bitch like Dokken. I really like the poster too!  I got pics below of the drunken circus that is the Arkestra. The Kansan posted this article about our stage presence. 

Cicada Field Recording plus a Tweaked Out Ambient Version

I just moved into a new house and the evening cicada drone near my new pad is amazing.  For hours each night, these bugs crescendo and decrescendo in this heat of summer in Lawrence.  These bugs are looking for love, and their are lots of them doing so.  It is like the booty club in college towns on a Friday after midnight.  I recorded about 12 minutes of this the other evening and then did a tweaked out ambient drone mix of it.  Below is playback and download links to the dry and EFXd 12 minute version, and a download link to a 1 min hi-res wav sample of the dry recording.  Signal chain- NT1A->MOTU 828 ver01.  Remix Signal Chain, I can't remember, but there were lots of flangers.

----A 1 minute wav file of the Cicada Crescendo----

----The 12 min mp3 of the Cicada Crescendo Original Recording----

----The 12 min mp3 of the Cicada Crescendo Tweaked Out Ambient Drone Mix----

Owl People Ambient Show at the Replay July 29 2010

We did an Owl People Ambient/Noise set at the Replay at the end of July.  We were the headliners, how messed up is that?  We freaked out for 40 minutes with a 5 person ensemble, the 3 usual diviants, and 2 new diviants.  We had a koto (which I rigged up a contact mic pick-up for), a guitar rig, a synth rig, a percussion rig, and I had an mixing rig with sound making toys on it.  I fixed up my MC-303, and used a prepared mandolin with tons of effects.  A redneck John Cage would have been proud.

----or you can download the mp3 by right clicking here----

Owl People Show at the Replay 06-26-2010

We played a show at the replay with a band called Tommy Ferrari from Lawrence.  It was a helluva good time.  I am posting a couple of pics of my set up and my favorite track from the night, which we call "the reggae jam."  I had a stand up drum kit and some

Owl People Show 5-24-2010 at the Replay in Lawrence KS

I played a show at the Replay in Lawrence Kansas as a member of the Owl People at the end of may.  We did 3 10 min-ish "songs" and included my two cohorts playing synth, loops, and other randomness while I messed with a mixer set up and played some hand drums.  It was pretty strange.  Below is the full video, and links to the mp3's.

mp3s----part 01----part 02----part 03

Owl People- Ambient Show at StimPac III at the Granada

The Owl People Live at StimPac- 5-15-10 from sqrt(Brian) on Vimeo.

I had done a bunch of tinkering recordings for The Owl People, and given their current ensemble state of a trio, they needed a drummer/ambient-noisy-ologist, so they asked me to join up with them.  We played a local music showcase called StimPac at the Granada in Lawrence, Kansas with 12 other bands on May 15th.  This was a trio, with the two dudes beside me (Mark and Brett) playing a Micron and a Casio with effects, and a kaos pad and a Casio-esc Yamaha keyboard.  They ran that into a mixer of mine which had one effects loop running through some effects pedals and the moonshine fuzz and one effects loop ran into my computer for proper ambient processing.  I also used my custom made drumracas with heavy effects on them, some of my field recordings, and my circuit bent Disney toy.

Loud sound systems plus ambient music means guts were rattling. I gave the sound guy one mono signal, so I had control over everything but the over all loudness.  The Granada gets real deal acts and have a real deal sound system.  This wasn't no 1000 watt 2 15" monitor set up, that place was packed with wattage.  I would turn a knob, or put some of the exposed wires from my circuit bent toy in my mouth and I could hear and feel it.  I turned the water wobble grain-ish type effect up, and that shit gargled the whole joint.   I have never got to play an ambient show through such a dope or loud PA.

----download the mp3 of the Owl People show May 15th 2010 at the Granada-----

Bell Tower Information aka Campanology aka Campanile

I like this idea of field recording bell towers, sounds like a good way to kill time with microphones. It may be helpful to know about some bell tower history and why they roll the way they roll.  it would be cool to document at various distances from the epicenter as well.