Flu...

Last day of 2001. What an up and down fucking year. My wife was sick, kids were sick, now I think I got the flu. Been achy since last night. Oh and- Happy New Year...

Taxes

Working on my labels taxes for 2001. Trying to get an early start. We have this huge box of receipts that my wife and I have to break down into various categories at the end of each year. Spent 5 hours sorting through all the receipts and invoices. Pain! I also started dubbing CDR's of the Teen Feeding Frenzy! Compilation to send out to radio and media. Outburn Magazine did a review from a CDR I sent out last month. The actual release date is set for March- provided that Redeye Distribution pays me at least some of the $10,000 they currently have in Go-Kustom merchandise

Flathand 5

Still working on The Flathand 5 guitar tracks. Sometimes the simplest of parts can be frustrating, especially if it's an intricate rhythm part. These little parts sit in the background if they're recorded correctly. they stick out like a sore thumb if they're even a little off-time. Also been talking to Cargo Distribution about possible distribution for Go-Kustom. We will see.

Merry-Merry-Merry Christmas

Distribution

Bad news from my main distributor Redeye Distribution for Go-Kustom Rekords. It appears their biggest account, Valley Media has called it quits. I hope this doesn't send Redeye into bankruptcy as well. 'Tis the season.

Flathand 5

Finished up all but one of the guitar tracks for The Flathand 5 songs. After that, I have some lyric writing and vocal work to do.

Two More Songs

Did some guitar tracking on The Flathand 5 sessions. Finished two songs worth of material. This album has been a long work in progress. The initial recording session took place in 1998! I'm shooting for a mid-2002 release for it.

Kill Switch...Klick

Mailed off a new little guitar ditty to Courtney Hudak today. She recently did some vocals for the Kill Switch...Klick - Almost Ambient CD that Invisible Records is putting out next month. If she likes it we might record it in a few weeks and post it on her mp3.com site. It's different writing songs for other people.

OmBili Performance Troupe

My wife's band OmBili Performance Troupe played a show at the Lets Drum And Dance Festival, here in Seattle last night. It went over very well with a good turnout. I did the sound. It's strange being your wife's roadie.

Santa Claus

So I'm picking my son up from school today and he blurts out, "Joshua said there's isn't a Santa Claus, is that true?" He's six and I'm thinking, "Should I tell him?" I say, being very conscious of the other 5 year old boy sitting next to him (I pick up a friends little boy everyday as well as my son), "Ummm, welllll, in a way Santa exists, but I'll talk to you about it when we get home. I flash back to when I was about his age. I was at my Grandma's house in suburban Pennsylvania for some family get together (not Christmas). My cousin and I were playing in the huge apple tree in Grandmas back yard. Somehow we got on the subject of Christmas and Santa Claus. I made a reference to Santa slaving away making all those toys, and my cousin yells out, "You still believe in Santa Claus?!?" "What do you mean?" I replied. "There Is No Santa Claus!" he yelled out from the top branch of the tree."Is so!" I yelled back. "Your just a baby, everybody knows there is no Santa Claus!" I was silent, Then it hit me, what if he was right. I panicked and crying ran into the house to get my Grandma in on this. Surely she would make this better, she would tell me my cousin was lying and yes indeed there was a Santa. I found her in the kitchen cooking an early dinner. "Grandma!" I screamed, Gavin says there isn't a Santa Claus! He said I was a baby for still believing in Santa!" She stopped cooking, turned slowly and then sat down at the kitchen table. She motioned me to sit next to her. After I sat down she patted my leg and took her time to speak. I was ready, ready for her to fix this situation- tell me there was a Santa and then I could go outside and confront my cousin with a new round of Grandma Ammunition. But what she said left me hanging and didn't fix anything at all. "You better ask your mother and father about that Devin," she said. "What...what do you mean?" I asked. "You should really ask your parents." "Grandma what do you mean, why can't you tell me about Santa?" "It's...hard to explain Devin..just talk to them." Grandma didn't want to say the wrong thing, she didn't want to get in the middle of the Santa Claus controversy. My mouth hung open. I couldn't think. Why was Grandma holding out. My parents were at the store so I couldn't go and ask them immediately, Grandma wasn't talking and my Anti-Santa cousin was still out playing in the backyard. Grandma got up, patted me on the head and went back to cooking. I walked into the living room and sat down. This was all messed up. This didn't make sense...unless Gavin was right and there was no Santa Claus. Well what did that mean? Where did the presents come from? What the hell was going on? Soon my parents came back from the store (this was when they were still married), and as I was walking out of the living room, I heard Grandma whispering to them. I knew it was about Santa. My Dad asked me to go back into the living room and he told me. "No Devin, Santa is actually your mother and I. We buy the presents for you and your sister and put them under the tree on Christmas Eve." Man...what a mind fuck that was. So I'm trying to grasp the seriousness of what he's saying. It's like I've crossed some small line moving that much closer to adulthood. "OK," I said, "so even without Santa we're still getting presents on Christmas." My Dad nodded. I got up and ran outside to go play with my cousin, feeling stronger, like I had just been let in on some horrible top-secret, that only older kids knew about. In a way I had been. So...when we get home, I take my son into my recording studio and sit him down. "About Santa Claus." Yes he says eagerly." "There is no Santa Claus like in the stories, Santa is actually your Mom and I." He looked a little puzzled and said"So you get us the presents?" "Yea," I said . "Well I kinda thought that might be true, 'cause you know deer can't really fly, and that Santa at the shopping mall last year...well his beard was all funny looking and wasn't stuck to his face." "Yea, I know, he was a pretty lame Santa." My son laughed and I told him not to tell his sister. He promised and that was that. Much easier than the way I found out, or maybe kinda the same, he just handled it better..

My Favorite Beatle

I heard on the radio this morning that my favorite Beatle, George Harrison passed away yesterday. I didn't even know he had throat cancer and a brain tumor and all that. I'm sure he's in a better place now...

mp3.com

Uploaded two new side projects onto mp3.com. The projects are both electronic in nature and are called 33deep and Sectional. The songs will post later this week. It usually takes mp3.com a few days after you upload to have the songs available. I also uploaded a few tunes for Jennifer Hope at mp3.com from two of her ambient-ethereal CD's that we carry in the iSTORE.

A New Puppy!

Got a new addition to our family that already includes two adults, two kids and 5 cats (3 of which are sisters named after famous jazz singers). It's a Siberian Husky puppy! Everybody loves a puppy. Except the cats. They've all taken to hanging out in my recording studio and hissing alot. I hope everybody settles in quickly. Back to the pup- her name is Whisper and my wife got her from an animal rescue place down in Shelton, Washington. She's not a pure bred, but who really cares about all that. While my wife was getting the puppy, I did some guitar tracking for the Flathand 5 sessions. Worked on two jazzy type songs in particular. I added some minimal slide guitar to both. Seems to work in a strange way. Maybe I'll get this CD done by next year.

Happy Thanksgiving...

to all 'o ya!

Majestic Bay Theater

"Harry Potter Rocks!" says my 6 year old son. I would have to agree. Went and saw it today. The place (Majestic Bay Theater in Ballard) was packed. Kids in wizard costumes galore. Speaking of Ballard, I think Ballard is fast becoming the new "it" spot of Seattle. Best clubs, best theaters, best food. Strange how that happens. It used to be Pioneer Square, then Belltown. Now it's Ballard's turn in the spotlight.

Kompressor

Did some tracking for the Kompressor CD. Using Cubase VST and Reason software is an extremely fast way to work for me. I've never had this kind of flexibility with my musical tools before. I can't say enough about the Reason software. For years I relied on my trusty Roland S-550 sampler and Atari Mega ST4 computer. I would sample little bits of sound and layer the part together using the Atari as my main sequencer. The biggest limitation in that set-up was the limited sampling time (28.8 seconds total!) and the samplers low-fi sampling rate (30khz). Still it was state of the art back in 1988 and I made more than 6 albums worth of music with it. People used to come over to my home studio and couldn't believe that I actually still made albums with my archaic gear. My upgrade was a long time coming. The other thing computer based systems do, is simplify your mixer and outboard gear connections. I used to have to patch and re patch my way through all my recording sessions. Then struggle with mixer and sub-mixer settings. When it's all in your computer you can reconfigure your entire "virtual" patch bay in seconds and save it as part of the songs file. Anyway the skinny of this new way of working is increased output. That's what we all crave anyway...isn't it. INCREASED OUTPUT. I output mine, you output yours. Everybody's happy.

Teen Feeding Frenzy!

Putin' pantyhose on the girls for the new Teen Feeding Frenzy! CD cover artwork. It's a minor detail but on several of the photos of the girls, their legs didn't have enough contrast to the back ground, etc. So I darkened them. Ahh the wonders of Photoshop. I also reddened the meat and adjusted some of the background colors. Here's some examples...

Taxes

Been working on my taxes for the last 2 weeks. The IRS is auditing my wife and I for the 1999 tax year, so we've been going through boxes and boxes of receipts and tax documents trying to get it all in order. To be audited by Uncle Sam is the All-American nightmare. Anyways I also started laying out 3 new songs for the Kill Switch...Klick - Kompressor CD and working a bit on the old Flathand 5 tracks. There's always something going on around here...

CD Release Party

We had a little CD release party for two of the bands on Go-Kustom last night at the Sunset Tavern in lovely downtown Ballard (Seattle, Washington). Good turn out and both the bands, Bill Wolford's Head and The Penningtones, rocked the joint. I took some good photos and will have a photos page up shortly. Opening the show was The Polaris Experience with a very heavy old school prog rock kinda set. Next up was Bill Wolford and his upright bassist. They started out with the acoustic guitar and bass and after several songs Jeremy Sever (who also plays in The Penningtones) joined them on stage as they switched into a more rockin' electric sound. A very eclectic set! The last band of the evening was the Alternative Country stylings of The Penningtones. They've progressed leaps and bounds from their first show at the University Bookstore back in 1998. That was a promo show for the CD Americana: A Tribute To Johnny Cash that I released that same year. As a band they sound very tight now, like they've been playing together for a decade or more. These two bands make me proud to be doing what I'm doing with Go-Kustom Rekords. Getting good music out to the masses.

Almost Ambient CD

Finished the Almost Ambient CD and next dayed it to Invisible Records last Saturday. They are supposed to master it today in Chicago. I had to rush to get all the tracks sorted and arranged. When they master the disc they are gong to compress and e.q. it, basically to get it to sound more polished. Mastering is key to getting a CD to sound it's best. A lesson I learned first hand with the first Kill Switch...Klick CD, Beat It To Fit, Paint It To Match. When I sent that one off to Cleopatra Records back in '94 I didn't know their was an extra step in CD production that included e.q.ing and such. I heard it for a full year after Beat It... came out. "How come your CD sounds so mid rangey," "I love the music but it sounds like its muffled or something," and "Reminds me of when I put my stereo speaker under my pillow when I was a kid." So let that be a lesson to you kids...always have your CD's mastered by a professional.

Almost Ambient CD

Got the cover art for The Kill Switch...Klick - Almost Ambient CD done and it looks like this...





Which is to say it is very different from the old version which looked like this...


I decided at the last minute to make a few adjustments and ended up changing the entire layout. I think the new version captures the mood of the CD better. I've also been trying to get the music finished by middle of this week. Invisible Records said I have to get them the pre-master CDR by this week if I want to make sure it comes out by January 2002. I only have one more song (Restraint) to arrange and then the album is done.

A Copper Penny In My Hand

Finished mixing A Copper Penny In My Hand (formerly Copper). This ambient stuff can go quickly if the inspiration is behind it. Did A little work on His Restraint, which is the last song for the Kill Switch...Klick - Almost Ambient CD. Should have His Restraint completed later this week.

Restraint

Half of His Restraint (I'm keeping that as the song title) is recorded. Got a slowed down a bit. the inspiration was wearing thin so I decided to start writing another ambient ditty calling it Copper. Both these tunes will be nice additions to the Almost Ambient CD's over-all feeling. Bill Wolford is just starting to master the Teen Feeding Frenzy! CD. We are looking at an early 2002 release on that one.

Almost Ambient CD

Laid out the Kill Switch...Klick - Almost Ambient CD. I need more material. Thought I'd have about 60 minutes worth of music completed, but the disc clocks in at around 45 minutes. I need to add a few more tracks and write a few more. Started recording a new ambient style piece for it called His Restraint (a working title). Since there's not going to be any words the title can be anything that fits the mood of the piece. The title is vaguely about the Presidents actions going into Afghanistan. I'm surprised President Bush is acting as thoughtfully and restrained as he is. I thought for sure he would dive into any conflict and send us straight into WWIII first chance he could. Glad that one wasn't an "I told you so..." , still the conflict is young.

KEXP Rockabilly Ball

09/29/01- Spent the afternoon cleaning the old guitars and slambar. I was going to go to the KEXP Rockabilly Ball today at the Tractor Tavern but I threw my back out on Thursday. I injured my back working on the dock at the University Bookstore a few years ago (yea- I still have a part-time day job...all is not fun and games in the life of a working musician) and now it seems it doesn't take much to re-injure it. We had planned on shooting some footage for the Go-Kustom TV Show, but I'm just not feeling up to it. Still it's cool of KEXP (formerly KCMU) to host such an event. Seattle is becoming quite the hotbed for Alternative Country, Roots Rock and Rockabilly bands. I've always had a soft spot for the stuff, even though electronic music is my main interest. As far as recording goes, I've finished Courtney Hudak's & OmBili Troupe's songs for the Teen Feeding Frenzy! CD. I'm hoping to get this one out by early next year. It takes several months to get everything ready for a proper CD release. You have to send out promo copies and radio copies and get the distribution all set. It's alot of work, but it's what I love to

Teen Feeding Frenzy!

Busy weekend. Courtney Hudak and her band came by to record a cover of 'N Sync's song Girlfriend for the upcoming Teen Feeding Frenzy! compilation. The band tracked Saturday afternoon and Courtney and her brother Alex came by today to finish the vocal and acoustic guitar overdubs. Haven't mixed it yet but it is an excellent addition the the rest of the CD. I also did some guitar work for my wife's band OmBili's cover of LaBamba for the same CD. Both songs are the last ones for the disc and both should be mixed by middle of next week. Unrelated to recording...

I heard a guy on the radio the other night who had written a book about the cycles of generations. How one generation helps to define the generations around it. How we are in the same cycle as the 1930's generation moving into a war (like WWII).It made sense. Then a commercial came on with a man screaming about savings and coming to his mattress outlet and I thought,"This commercial must have been made before the Terrorist attacks." It irritated me, as if the guy was saying,"I don't give a fuck if thousands of people died and we're on the edge of a war...come on down and spend your money!"We are all going to have to find a new media language. The old one doesn't work anymore. Thousands of people died.Thousands more were injured. How can some idiot in a commercial say anything other than "I'm sorry...this shit sucks!" This writer guy on the radio (not commercial guy) said that if we are in the cycle he thinks we are in- that the concept of "celebrity" will fade. When a society has to turn it attention to survival (physical as well as economic) who cares what "celebrities" are doing. Who cares if Madonna got a new dress that cost 1/4 of a mill or that one of the Back Street Boys has a drinking problem And we all know that without an audience "celebrity's" don't exist. They don't get money to make big hit records or buy new homes or star in that latest blockbuster. If the economy tanks, we can't support them.Most of us will be scappin' for food and rent. We'll have to wait and see how this turns out.

Hold The Vocals

Went over and dropped off a box of CDR's to Bill Wolford to master into the Teen Feeding Frenzy! CD.Looks like it'll have to be a real late 2001 release or early 2002. I still need to get two more tracks to him in the coming weeks to finish it, but at least this way he can get started loading it all into his computer. Mastering is a complicated process in which all the audio tracks on a CD are polished, normalized and eq'ed to give the album a finished sound. This is especially challenging when you have many tracks recorded by different bands,in different studios. Bill did a great job on the Hold The Vocals... compilation, and know he'll make this one sound real purty. I also worked on my vocal tracks for Lost Like Innocence. I'm only backing Jennifer Hope's vocals on the chorus, but I couldn't get the right sound. Sometimes the devil is in the details. I'm also slowly building my inspirational steam after watch CNN all week and thinking about planes falling out of the sky and terrorists and New York and... now it's time to turn in.

Rubble

Still no survivors found alive in the rubble that used to be the World Trade Center since last Wednesday.Looks like we'll be invading Afghanistan in the next few days or weeks. Going to war doesn't mean what it used to after the Persian Gulf War. It doesn't seem as serious as it did back in WWII. I could be wrong, but it just doesn't feel that way. Maybe it all hasn't sunk in yet. I can't stop watching the damn TV and CNN. Waiting to see what's happening. They keep playing the same clips over and over. And then they'll break through with a little tid bit of new news, like another person of interest detained, etc. I tried to do some vocals today...decided instead to watch a video with the wife and kids. Times like these makes you want to be with friends and family...times like these...how much things have changed since Tuesday. Still the sun was out and we went running errands. People seemed a bit melancholy- everywhere we went today.

Can't Understand

All this is very hard to understand. Why would someone, a terrorist, have such a disregard for all human life, even his own, as to train for years so he could pilot a plane full of people into a building full of people. I really don't understand.

9/11

A friend called our house this morning at 7:15 AM Pacific Time, hysterical saying planes were falling out of the sky and the Pentagon was in flames. I didn't believe her at first. She said, "turn on the news...it's all over the TV."I handed the phone to my wife and turned on the TV. The first thing I saw was the World Trade Center broken in half and then the screen cut to the Pentagon on fire. My wife came back into the living room. I looked at the TV in disbelief.I had to turn it off. Turned it back on a few minutes later. How do I explain this to my kids. They think it's a movie, it doesn't sink in. I've been in a daze all day. It doesn't sink in to me. I can't get my head around the whole thing. People celebrating in the streets of Palestine while people crawl out of buildings in New York. It doesn't seem real. There are no commercials on most TV stations. This doesn't seem real.

Anxious

I've been anxious and irritable all day. Didn't get any music done. Went to bed early.

Her Trembling Hands (2001)

Mixing and finalizing Her Trembling Hands (2001). Pretty much finished.

Her Trembling Hands

Arranged Her Trembling Hands (2001). Got Courtney Hudak's vocals all set and adjusted, and now I just need to mix it. All that's left to complete the Kill Switch...Klick-Almost Ambient CD is this song and Lost Like Innocence. Such a beautiful day and I'm inside working on the computer. The artists sacrifice. Speaking of artist sacrifice, my wife's performance troupe OmBili played at the Newcastle Festival today. I didn't go(working on the album and watching the kids). She came home with her feet in bandages, seems that the wood stage she was dancing barefoot on got extremely hot and she suffered 2nd degree burns on the bottom of her feet.She didn't realize how hot it was until she stopped dancing and finished the performance. Another member of her group called the paramedics over, who said it was pretty bad, wrapped her feet in bandages and told her she shouldn't stand for prolonged periods for several days. Now that's sacrifice!

Mementos

Rented Mementos on DVD. What a trippy film. Very unique and disturbing. I highly recommend it.

Go-Kustom TV

Went over to Al Adonolfi's drum shop (Boom Theory) with Mike Ditmore to interview him for Go-Kustom TV. The interview went great, but one of the cameras levier mic wasn't working properly so the audio might need some repair. Also Eric Cooley of Faith & Disease came by, later in the evening to dump a CDR from a DAT of a live show they did opening for Julie Cruise (of Twin Peaks fame). He also lent me a copy of their new videos. Very good stuff. We'll be airing them on Go-Kustom TV later on.

Ambient Kill Switch...Klick CD

Taking the three day weekend to get some serious work done. Did some arranging on Her Trembling Hands and Lost Like Innocence. So now the Ambient Kill Switch...Klick CD is almost finished. Also did some gif animations for the website.

Sleepless In Seattle

Sunday night/ Monday morning...1:00AM and I can't sleep. I drank too much coffee after 7 PM. Always makes it hard to sleep when the caffeine man comes a knockin'. Laid down some musical bits and beats for the film I'm working on. Just basic ideas, but film music doesn't have to be so pop oriented like vocal laden radio friendly songs. Sometimes just a simple sound or effect can go along way to push the film in a more coherent direction. My film is very music & sound based, as it should be, me being a musician and all.I was recently re-watching a VHS copy of the Thin Red Line. Man, what a great narration in that film. It's like in the midst of the worlds greatest war a common soldiers southern drawl ridden soul rises above the chaos to a pure spiritual realm. Every time I watch that film I feel there is hope in the human spirit even under the greatest duress. Apocalypse Now used to be my favorite war movie. I think the Thin Red Line is now.

Camera

Got my second Sony DV Camera so now I can get some video work done. Especially for the TV Show. I've also been doing character development for my first Multi-media Feature Film. I'm hoping to have finished some time in early 2003.

"Go-Kustom!"

Here's a picture of my kids yelling "Go-Kustom!" for the Go-Kustom TV Show Theme song...

Her Trembling Hands

Courtney Hudak came over to the studio to do some vocals for the remake of the Kill Switch...Klick song Her Trembling Hands. This song will be on the Almost Ambient disc coming out on Invisible Records later this year or early next. She laid down some very heavy bluesy goth styled tracks along with some spoken word effects and "in the distance" higher vocals. With the updated music and Courtney's excellent vocals, this is the best that Her Trembling Hands has ever sounded.

Video Shoot

Went to the beach with the kids to shoot some video footage for the video for Lost Like Innocence. It's like work and fun at the same time. I think we'll have it put on the Kill Switch...Klick- Almost Ambient CD as a Quicktime movie. Depends on if I can figure out how to run Final Cut Pro fast enough and if there's enough space for the movie on the CD. Jennifer Hope is going to film her singing on a beach down in California. Then I'll edit the whole thing on my system. I also worked on the Go-Kustom TV Show Theme song today. Had the kids yelling "Go-Kustom!" over and over. Also uploaded Customs from the OmBili sessions to mp3.com. Busy, busy Sunday...

Reason and Cubase

Laying out Jennifer Hope's vocals for Lost Like Innocence. I'm doing half of it in Reason and half in Cubase VST.The main verses are being laid out in Cubase with the chorus and filtered vocals being done as samples in Reason. This gives me more flexibility as to how I effect the vocals, as Reason has some very powerful effects and filters.

Lost Like Innocence

The music for Lost Like Innocence is completed (read 08/01/01 for more details). I used Propellerheads Reason music software for all the music which really opened my eyes to the potential of this software. It's very fast and intuitive and makes sketching out a complicated song fairly easy. If your into computer based music software you need this!

OmBili and Giant Radio

Finished tracking my wife's band- OmBili's demo. All the basic tracks are now complete and we will start mixing this week or weekend. Three of these songs (Customs, Kenkene & Salaam) will end up on the Flathand 5 disc coming out later this year on This World/ Go-Kustom.
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Giant Radio has picked up a few songs from the d.A. Sebasstian & Kill Switch...Klick - Organica CD's, for their internet radio show. Check them out.

Public Access Television Workshop

Went to a Public Access Television Workshop last night. Looks like it's going to be fairly uncomplicated to get our TV show (Go-Kustom TV) on air as a regular series. The class was full of people looking to get their own butts on the TV. I think Public Access is great, anybody can put on a TV show about anything they want to, from cooking to communism. It's all there baby...

Ricardo Acevedo

Slammin' through the tracks...got all the tracks with Ricardo Acevedo guesting on vocals laid out and rough mixed. I'm gonna move on to other songs to give my ears a rest on those ones. It's best to work a bit on tracks and then come back to them with a fresh perspective. If I work on the same songs for several days straight, my perspective seems to get overwhelmed. With my new Cubase VST/ G4 setup it's super-easy to switch between various projects. I've never had that kind of flexibility in the past. It used to be unplugging cables and drawing diagrams to record a new song. Now it klick and go...oh yea I also started writing the Go-Kustom Theme for the Go-Kustom TV show. It's got a sinister twangy guitar thing a goin' on. I've gotta get the drums sounding a bit less drum machine (I love that word) sounding though.

Go-Kustom TV

Got a basic logo done for Go-Kustom TV, a new TV show I'm doing for Public Access here in Seattle. I hope to have the first episode on air by Fall/Winter this year.

Almost Ambient

Working hard on assembling the Kill Switch...Klick Ambient CD. I'm still not sure about the title. It was Almost Ambient (and may yet still be) but I've had a few other ideas. The main concept behind this disc is for it to be a companion to Milkin' It For All It Worth The Best Of Kill Switch...Klick. Whereas Milkin' It...is a "best of" up-tempo type affair, Almost Ambient is a more somber offering, showing the darker & moodier side of my music. Tonight I've been mixing Object Of My Desire, a track originally off Beat It To Fit, Paint It To Match. I'm mixing it with another version of Object that appeared on a compilation called Genre-fest released back in '97 on Ivy Records. I actually layered the two different songs so the new version is a blend of the two distinct versions. The only reason this worked was because both Objects had exactly the same tempo. I'm currently four songs into the track sequence for Almost Ambient.

Lost Like Innocence

Started laying out Jennifer Hope's vocals for the song Lost Like Innocence. This is an all new song for the Ambient KsK CD. She sent her vocals on a CDR that she recorded down in a studio in California. Now I'm cutting and pasting them back onto the music. Strange to think how difficult this kind of recording would have been just 10 years ago. Shit- when I first started playing synthesisers in the early 80's, there wasn't even MIDI. You had to play it all by hand direct to tape...and we walked ten miles in the snow to the recording studio...and apples didn't grow on trees, they grew in the dirt like potatoes...and we had to peel them and boil out the worm puss just so we could have a decent breakfast...and yadda yaddaa yadadda.

Rosie Huntress

Worked up a song using an old DAT recording of Kill Switch...Klick's old female vocalist Rosie Huntress who now plays in a band called Flexie out of Boston. I was digging around and found her vocals on a DAT we recorded back in '94. The song is called The Washing Song (at least for now) because the tune reminds me of George Orwell's book 1984 when Winston hears the woman singing as she's doing her laundry.

Courtney Hudak

It seems the first week back from a vacation is the longest of the year. Started laying out the Almost Ambient (working title) Kill Switch...Klick CD. I'm using Cubase to do the basic track sequencing and mixing. Courtney Hudak (who was on the Americana: A Tribute To Johnny Cash) is doing a guest vocal on a remake of Her Trembling Hands. This disc should be in the mail to Invisible Records sometime next month.

Little Vacation

Just got back from a little vacation. My wife, the kids and I rented a mid-sized Nissan and drove down the West Coast on Highway 101 visiting various Lighthouses on the way. We ended up in Crescent City, California. Did a bit of video recording...got some great ambient sounds of the beaches we visited. Newport Beach, Oregon was my favorite stop over. Wouldn't mind living down there.

NOTES FROM THEE REAL UNDERGROUND

Invisible Records is releasing a 3 CD set called NOTES FROM THEE REAL UNDERGROUND that I have a cut or two on. I set up a mini-page for it at www.iregular.com/nftru.html (old link). There is a list of bands and some info. More will be posted on the mini-page later.

Jennifer Hope and OmBili Troupe

Writing some new Kill Switch...Klick material for the Ambient Collection CD slated for release later this year. Looks like Invisible Records will be the label. Talked to Jennifer Hope about doing some guest female vocals on it and she said she would be be interested. She has a unique voice and should embellish the material nicely. I've been using a new program called Reason to sketch out some of the songs. This is a very powerful and easy to use "virtual instrument rack" in a box. It's highly intuitive and yields massive results with a minimum of effort, plus it's fully VST integrated so you can import audio, export finished mixes...whatever. Especially impressive are the synth and drum machine sounds. They sound like real Prophets and Jupiters and 808s, etc. I can't say enough about this software...did I mention it's cheap? Anyway enough of the sales pitch, I also sketched some acoustic guitar parts for my wife's band OmBili Troupe's cover for the Teen Feeding Frenzy! CD. They are doing a tribal version of Richie Valens'- LaBamba. Should be very interesting.

The Flathand 5 CD

Assembling and dumping tracks for The Flathand 5 CD. There's alot of scattered tracks. For one song I had to grab the upright bass off of one DAT the drums off another DAT and sync the whole thing to my old Atari computer for some sampled guitar parts I did 2 years ago! I'm hoping to have this disc finished by mid-summer. Currently their are 12 tracks in various stages of completion. 3 are completely finished, 3 more have vocal tracks that Ricardo Acevedo did (he shipped them up from Austin, TX months ago), and should be easy to re-assemble. So I'd say I'm close to the half way point on this disc.

Organica to Invisible Records

Finished all the mixes for I'll Be There. I always like to have a few safety versions. Sent off the Master CDR for Kill Switch...Klick's Organica to Invisible Records. They are re-issuing it later this year. Bought a 1966 Dodge Sportsman Van from my neighbor today. Very cool old California Utility truck. It's a little 6 cylinder but for as old as it is runs pretty damn decent. I'll be posting pictures next week.

I'll Be There

Finished two mixes of my Jackson 5 cover I'll Be There. It's pretty damn bombastic. Bill Wolford also dropped off his version of Venus by Frankie Avalon (I think). It's like Future Sound Of London meets Steve Fisk. Niiiice. Looks like Invisible Records is gonna re-release the Kill Switch...Klick- Organica CD. That means all the Kill Switch...Klick titles will be available through Caroline Distribution. Invisible is also re-issuing the Irregular Records disc American: A Tribute To Johnny Cash. It'll be retitled Cash From Chaos and feature most of the old bands but with some new additions as well. Stay tuned for more info.

Exposure To Living

Perry Fulfs and Bill Wolford came by Saturday (two days ago) to drop off the cover art for Bill's new CD, entitled Exposure To Living. It's all finished and ready to ship to the pressing plant. Hugh Jones from The Penningtones is coming by tomorrow to finalize their artwork. We're gang running the two titles to save a little money and have both CD's ready for a June/July release date. I also finished the lad vocals for my Kill Switch...Klick cover of The Jackson Five's I'll Be There. It's a punk rock mess, but that's a good thing.

-

I was talking with some friends, a few days ago, about the state of the music scene here in Seattle. All of us agreed that things have become a lot harder for local musicians in the last 5 years. It's unfortunate, especially for up and coming artists. The Rocket (Seattle's only ALL MUSIC bi-weekly) was mysteriously purchased and shut down awhile back. KCMU (our biggest college radio station) has become part of Paul Allen's EMP. The station is now called KEXP or something like that. You've gotta wonder how many DJ's are going to slip up and give out the old KCMU call letters on air. You've also gotta wonder about the future of Seattle's underground radio. The commercial stations are ignoring most good music (that's nothing new), but with Marco Collins departure from KNDD local musicians lost a vital resource to getting their music heard on a bigger radio station. KMTT has ignored most local music altogether, even stuff that's clearly in their Adult Alternative format. Many of my friends have moved out of town because of the lack of support. The ones that have stayed bitch about the lack of decent "playable" venues. Man...we used to have decent local music TV shows (Northwest Rocks, Spuds Goodman), tons of clubs and several ALL MUSIC monthlies and weeklies. Q.- What happened?

???

Shhhh. Quiet...I'm thinking. I do that alot. Just sit and think. Do you do that alot? OK now- I need to get back to work, so go away...leave me be.

Working on The Penningtones CD layout last night. Hugh Jones, bassist-singer-mandolin player withy Penningtones came over night before last to drop off his artwork for the disc. We're shooting for summer release date on Go-Kustom along with the Bill Wolford CD. The Penningtone disc is a rock & twang mixture that should appeal to alternative country folk as well as the rockers.

Gothic Industrial Madness

Cleopatra Records has released a Gothic & Industrial DVD collection called Gothic Industrial Madness. Kill Switch...Klick is featured with the film noirish song Follow Me as well as many other bands and is available at Amazon.com.

May Day

May Day. Sittin' home sick from my day job. Got a cold. Finally got "LuLu" my G4 up an running.I had to re-install the OS 6 times! Too much software. That's the biggest pain about getting new gear- learning how to set it up and use it. It takes alot of valuable time from actually doing the creative stuff. Looks like Final Cut Pro has a steep learning curve. Away I go...

Taildragger

Started laying out the story board for the video shoot for Last Ride (1965 Plymouth Fury Four Door). I plan on shooting it this summer along with Taildragger. These are two of my favorite visual songs from the d.A. Sebasstian album.

The Jackson 5 Cover Song

Finishing up the music for I'll Be There (The Jackson 5 cover). It's turning into a cyber-punk speed fest, clocking in at about 192 BPM! It's turning out much better than I expected.Sent off contracts to the bands and artists for both the TEEN FEEDING FRENZY & HOLD THE VOCALS... Comps. the other day. The last couple of months have been nonstop. As soon as I get one CD done, I have to jump on the next one. That's a good thing.

I'll Be There

Started tracking a cover of The Jackson 5 song I'll Be There for the Teen Feeding Frenzy- Teen Idol Tribute I'm putting out on Go-Kustom this summer. Got the basic drum patterns laid out. Now I've gotta get started on the bass and keys.

Sony Digital 8

My digital camera came last night. I got a little time to play with it today. It's a Sony Digital 8 not the top of the line but pretty damn cool none the less. I'm going to be doing more digital visual art to go with my music and visa versa. Multi-media is really what I've been wanting to do for awhile. Now if my damn G4 would arrive, I could get started.

Hold The Vocals is in Production

Hold The Vocals is in production. Should have the CD's in two weeks. I also finished up the d.A. Sebasstian CD mailout and all the adds are set. Now I can get back to some music. The Flathand 5 percussionist project is one of the next CD's I'll be working on. It's always a little hard figuring out exactly where you left some-thing when you've set it aside for 8 months!

Bill Wolford's Studio

Went over to Bill Wolford's studio today to get started mastering the Hold The Vocals Instrumentals Tribute. Should have the art and CDR ready to mail by middle of next week. Also talked with Martin Atkins of Invisible Records about re-issuing the Americana: A Tribute To Johnny Cash on Invisible Records with a few new bands on it. This second pressing could finally get the exposure it deserves.

Advertisements

Advertisements are a pain in the arse. I've been playing graphic designer and finishing GO-KUSTOM adds that I'm running in No Depression, The Stranger, Portland Mercury, A.P., Under The Volcano, Outburn, Lollipop, The Big Takeover, CMJ and Magnet. Alot of work. I'm jonsin' to work on my music.

Kill Switch...Klick Video

Getting ready for the big Go-Kustom label push. the new d.A. Sebasstian CD should be in hand next week. I've got adds slated for 6 national magazines, AAM is doing a 300 piece college radio station mail-out, Redeye Distribution is doing a 250 piece retail store mail out. Alot of work. I also ordered a new big ass Mac G4 so I can really get started on my short film and video pieces. Ever since I worked with Brent Watanabe on the last Kill Switch...Klick video I've wanted to get into Digital Video. One of the first things up will be a live and rare footage Kill Switch...Klick DVD.

OmBili

Recording my wives project OmBili today. Got the basic tracks done. Sounds very world rhythm and tribal. Their band is made up of various female drummers, musicians and dancers. The tracks we worked on today will end up on the Flathand 5 CD as well as their demo.I will also post the tracks on MP3.COM later in the month.

Seattle Earthquake

Got shook around real good today. We had an earthquake in the greater Seattle area. I was at my part-time day job (pays the taxes and benefits) and everything started shaking. Being from Southern California I've experienced more than my share of earthquakes, but this one was different. It kept on going. Usually by the time you figure out your experiencing an earthquake it's over. With this one we walked out to the front of the building and stood there looking at each for at least a minute before it ended. Haa haa haa...I'm all shook up.

Milkin' It For All It's Worth- The Best Of Kill Switch..Klick

According to CDNOW.COM the Milkin' It For All It's Worth- The Best Of Kill Switch..Klick CD will be available March 20th. My new self titled solo CD d.A. Sebasstian will also be available March 27th. March is gonna be big month. I also cut a bunch of titles from the iSTORE today. The titles were CD's that I had to order from out-side distributors. I want to focus more on my own label releases and underground band releases that I have on hand. I keep getting orders for things I don't have in stock and then I have to order it and that can take alot of my time. I'd rather keep it simple.

Hold The Vocals...

Perry Fulfs came by the other day with a copy of the cover for our next compilation called Hold The Vocals- A Tribute To The Instrumental Hits. That's pretty self-explanatory. Should be available in May 2001 on Go-Kustom.

Snow

It's snowing like crazy. That doesn't happen often in Seattle. My wife made a snowman in the back yard with the kids. Ohh and we bombed Iraq again. What a weird day.

CDR Enhanced Master

Got the CDR Enhanced Master back from Disc Makers and I'm ready to put the new d.A. Sebasstian into production. Looks like I'll make the March 27th, 2001, Street Date. I also got some substitute software so I can direct record into my iMAC. It's in lieu of the Steinberg Cubasis software that was supposed to come with the TASCAM US-428 I bought four months ago. I guess Steinberg is still working on the drivers to work with the Mac US-428 drivers. us poor Mac users have to wait for all the good stuff. Anyways this new software (DECK LE by BIAS) has enabled me to record again, since I gave my hard disk recorder away. Working on a new concept CD and song (no title yet). This tune is verging on surf rock! What a big departure from the good ol' industrial days. I realized that some of my earliest musical influences (like when I was an eight year old pining through my Mom's old Boyfriends LPs) are Dick Dale and Henry Mancini. Strange that it took me until I'm 36 years old to figure it out. I guess I was in denial. Maybe that's why I hate 80's pop metal with such a passion. The Malmsteens and Satrianis took the twangy bass heavy guitar sounds that I loved from the 60's and turned it into a lame assed shred fest. That whole "I can play faster than you can," crap. My initial interest in New Wave (circa 1980) started with hearing the B-52's Planet Claire which is a direct rip on Mancini's Peter Gunn. It was more primal and basic than the radio candy of at the time, not to mention, all my friends at the time hated the B-52's (a good way to reinforce your own individuality). Maybe this whole new CD will end up being an instrumental surf album. I'll just have to wait and see.

Disc Makers

Sent off the Audio CDR to Disc Makers to have a Quicktime movie added to the new d.A. Sebasstian CD. 10 songs and a movie! Not a bad deal for $13.00. I've also started laying out the song order for an Instrumentals Tribute I'm putting out this spring on Go-Kustom. It's the busy time.

d.A. Sebasstian CD

Finished Mastering the new d.A. Sebasstian self titled CD. It has a different sound than the old Kill Switch...Klick stuff. I've listened to these new songs so many times I don't know what to think about the CD as a whole. I'm suffering from a bit of audio burn out. Overall it's really diverse going from Elektro-billy and Electronica to Murder Ballad and Noise Punk. We got the sequencing down and Mell Dettmer did a great job of putting it all together...now I've just got to get it out there and see how everybody else likes it. Street date is scheduled for March 27th.

Taxes!

Well it's tax time in the Sebasstian home. Man what a drag! It took me all day Sunday (yesterday 10am-1am) to finish the majority of it. We own two small businesses and have one employee so it makes for extra heavy doses of paperwork. It's getting to where I dread Januarys every year!

WHO CARE'S

The WHO CARE'S Showcase at the University Bookstore went over very well. Check the WHO CARES Photo Page for pics of the mini-show.

Taildragger

Wrote and finished another new song called Taildragger. It's a low slow minimalist piece with a groovy 808 style kick drum and a hi moogish 1970's synth lead line. This song will end up on the new d.A. Sebasstian CD. I might add one more slide acoustic guitar and vocals tune to balance all the electronica songs that are ending up on this disc.

What a Week!

What a week! Martin Atkins (ultra-famous drum god from Pigface, PiL, Killing Joke) called Sunday and said he's interested in doing some work together on a label level...can't talk about the details, as nothings set in stone. I should know in a few weeks. Started working on a new song last week called Last Ride. I'm in the detailing & mixdown stages right now. This one is going to be on my new CD. It has a twang ridden-electronica sound so should sit well with the other tunes.

1/10/01- 01/../01

1/10/01- 01/../01 dates look very strange to me. I thought 2001 would be all futuristic and shit. I remember when I was 20 back in 1984 (another stigmatic date) and I thought, "Damn, I'm gonna be 36 in the year 2000 and 37 in 2001. I wonder how cool and futuristic and trippy everything will be?" Well guess what...were still driving cars with wheels and nobody but Beck and the few real astronauts of the world, wear a space suit on a regular basis. Man...we don't even have a moon base. That was supposed to happen in 1999, remember Space:1999 where by the moon's radioactive storage facility blew up and sent the moon hurtling through space? That was supposed to be two years ago damnit! All we got was a millennium celebration one year before the millennium and Art Bell & Company freaking everyone out with doom and gloom predictions right up until midnight December 31st, 1999. The computers are gonna crash! The world now so dependent on the computer will crumble! Civilization as we know it will end! Store your food! Get a gun! Look...I just wanted the damn moon to blow up like it did on Space:1999! I wanted to go on an orbiting space station that looked like a big Hamster Wheel in space like in 2001: A Space Odyssey! I wanted to drive a flyin' Police Car like in Blade Runner...but wait...that's supposed to be in 2019. I can wait just a little longer.

WELCOME TO THE BANK

Almost bounced some checks yesterday. Caught it at the post office when I tried to use my debit card and had to make a special trip to the bank and fix it. "But wait," you ask," what in the hell does this have to do with anything. I do not care about your personal finances, Mr. d.A. Sebasstian." Listen...and I will tell you. Today I went to pick-up some film at the local drug store. When I was sorting through the bag I noticed there was another envelope in the bag. It was a "WELCOME TO THE BANK" new checking kit with blank checks inside and a deposit print out for some girl named Dierdra (last name intentionally withheld) new account. How the hell did this persons Checking Starter Envelope Kit (which does look oddly like the film envelopes I picked up at the drug store get in my bag? I don't know. So I call the bank...the branch she opened the account at is right down the street. I drop her stuff off at bank (such a good Samaritan) and get a grunt and quick thanks from the teller. As I'm walking out I hear Gary Numan's song "Cars" playing on the banks speaker system. This is one of my favorite songs. How often do you hear "Cars" blasting in a stodgy bank? How often do you ever even hear the song "Cars" played at all? What is going on here? Is this pre-banking karma? Does this even matter? I don't know. P.S. And the PT Cruiser won Motor Trends Car Of The Year Award! Go MOPAR!

Goth Box

I was in Tower Records this morning and I saw another compilation Cleopatra Records put out that I didn't know that I was on. That's a cool way to start the day! It's a 3 CD box set called This Is Goth. The song they picked, Memories & Discontent, was off the KILL SWITCH...KLICK- ALT. CD. I originally recorded Memories... back in 1985 with an early project of mine called ASIDE/BESIDE. It's a slow spoken word & synth piece with dark atmospheres. If yer interested click on Amazon.com and type This Is Goth in the little Search window. Also iREGULAR Records new WHO Tribute compilation called WHO CARES- A TRIBUTE TO THE WHO was featured on the King 5 (NBC) TV show Evening Magazine. The band P.S. Wilkinson (who is on the compilation) did a little closing spoof of a band being cut off by the credits. Before the ending though, they showed a nice 10 second shot of the CD and talked a bit about it as well. A very good day indeed!

Mac Addict

Man...I loaded up one of those MAC ADDICT demo discs and it destroyed my iMAC! I've been up & then down for three days. I finally had to erase my entire hard drive and start from scratch. I also lost all my e-mail addresses so if you e-mailed me and I didn't respond...that's why. Ahhh...technology.

New Millennium

The new millennium is finally here. Set an appointment to go into Hanzsek Audio to master the new self titled d.A. Sebasstian for CD Jan. 29th. This one's scheduled for release March 27th. After it's mastered I still have to add the QuickTime Video for Brent Watanabe's short film "Example". I should be able to get this one out on time.