Jeff Milo writes it all right for Patch:
Band mates and house mates embrace the reality: there's "no such thing as a quiet house" while finishing up second album.
ohio boy
Andy Taray, our buddy in Akron has a new website for his artful enterprises: http://www.ohioboy.com
Andy and some of his friends developed the packaging for our first album. Also, check out his company http://wearecampfire.com/ for tons of cool graphic T-shirts. Or maybe at a Renegade Craft fair near you.
Here's a song by another Ohio Boy:
Andy and some of his friends developed the packaging for our first album. Also, check out his company http://wearecampfire.com/ for tons of cool graphic T-shirts. Or maybe at a Renegade Craft fair near you.
Here's a song by another Ohio Boy:
Sirius Luv
Session Sheet / Recording Information
Time: Saturday, April 9 2011
Studio Time: 10 AM to 5:30 PM
Location: McFever McMansion (Woodbridge/Detroit)
Title(s):
I Need A Serious Love (Take 4)
Serotonin (Let The Light In) (Takes 3/4)
Wayfarers All (Takes 2/3)
Label Information: Le Grand Magistery
Release Information: Date/Title TBD
Track / Instrument / Mic / Preamp
1 Kick / Shure Beta 52A / Bellari RP220
2 Snare / Shure SM57 / Bellari RP220
3 OH Hi-Hat / Shure KSM27 / Bellari RP220
4 OH Ride / Blue Dragonfly / Bellari RP220
5 Room / Steve Rodes NT1 / Presonus TubePre
6 Elec Guitar / Shure SM57 / Presonus BlueTube
7 Bass Amp / AKG D112 / Presonus BlueTube
8 Bass Direct / SansAmp BassDriver DI
Musicians
Drums - Alex Trajano
Bass - Stevers McFevers
Elec Guitar - Gene Corduroy
TapeOp
Jeff Richardson
Notes
I began the day by packing up the home studio, The Fishtank. With Nathaniel in Mexico City, overseeing the annual board meeting for the Burgundy Foundation, I requisitioned Bem to help carry everything up the stairs. Transporting the gear was a cinch with our trusty GMC Safari maxi-van, Brownie. First things first... a not-so-quick stop at Avalon for coffee, vegan blueberry muffins, a sticky bun and a chocolate mini bundt cake. You have to have the proper caffeine and sugar levels in order to get the proper recording levels. Also, pro gear and a pro 'tude helps. Anyways as setup and sound checks began, Stevers kept the coffee flowing. Setting up took a good 3 hours and a stiff dose of benadryl for Alex' cat allergies.
Drums in the parlor, guitar in the living room, bass in the lavatory. Stevers woke up neighbor Jeff Richardson to serve as an honorary tapeop for the morning shift.
The first track is one we've been practicing for about a month. I Need A Serious Love was inspired in part by the character of James Elwood, computer programmer in an episode of The Twilight Zone entitled 'From Agnes--With Love'. It went quickly, and we nailed it on the 4th take. No edits.
By 2pm, the energizing effect of coffee and sweets had run its course. We broke for a quick lunch: black bean quesadillas stuffed with all manner of veggies and topped with Honey Bee's amazing salsa. That was not all. No visit to the McFevers McMansion is complete without a generous pour from Steve's top shelf. It's really the top shelf too, I can't reach it. Manhattans all around.
Serotonin (Let The Light In) went 4 takes before we were satisfied. Truth be told, we flew the outro from Take 4 into Take 3. You'd never know. Tape splicing is quite easy when you remove the tape part. Not that I couldn't do it if I had to... with two semesters serving as a library A/V tech in high school, I'm certain I could Scotch tape an album together.
We ended the afternoon on a song that is more collage than composition. Wayfarers All is a troubling stew of Moog blips, time-stretched vocals, mechanical drums, synth farts and 8-bit samples. Let's see what becomes of this mélange.
More...
Time: Saturday, April 9 2011
Studio Time: 10 AM to 5:30 PM
Location: McFever McMansion (Woodbridge/Detroit)
Title(s):
I Need A Serious Love (Take 4)
Serotonin (Let The Light In) (Takes 3/4)
Wayfarers All (Takes 2/3)
Label Information: Le Grand Magistery
Release Information: Date/Title TBD
Track / Instrument / Mic / Preamp
1 Kick / Shure Beta 52A / Bellari RP220
2 Snare / Shure SM57 / Bellari RP220
3 OH Hi-Hat / Shure KSM27 / Bellari RP220
4 OH Ride / Blue Dragonfly / Bellari RP220
5 Room / Steve Rodes NT1 / Presonus TubePre
6 Elec Guitar / Shure SM57 / Presonus BlueTube
7 Bass Amp / AKG D112 / Presonus BlueTube
8 Bass Direct / SansAmp BassDriver DI
 |
| Preamps |
 |
| Tangled |
Musicians
Drums - Alex Trajano
Bass - Stevers McFevers
Elec Guitar - Gene Corduroy
TapeOp
Jeff Richardson
 |
| Jeff as Honorary tapeop |
Notes
I began the day by packing up the home studio, The Fishtank. With Nathaniel in Mexico City, overseeing the annual board meeting for the Burgundy Foundation, I requisitioned Bem to help carry everything up the stairs. Transporting the gear was a cinch with our trusty GMC Safari maxi-van, Brownie. First things first... a not-so-quick stop at Avalon for coffee, vegan blueberry muffins, a sticky bun and a chocolate mini bundt cake. You have to have the proper caffeine and sugar levels in order to get the proper recording levels. Also, pro gear and a pro 'tude helps. Anyways as setup and sound checks began, Stevers kept the coffee flowing. Setting up took a good 3 hours and a stiff dose of benadryl for Alex' cat allergies.
 |
| Drums in the Parlor |
 |
| Guitar in the Living Room |
 |
| Bass in the Lavatory |
 |
| Have a seat. |
Drums in the parlor, guitar in the living room, bass in the lavatory. Stevers woke up neighbor Jeff Richardson to serve as an honorary tapeop for the morning shift.
The first track is one we've been practicing for about a month. I Need A Serious Love was inspired in part by the character of James Elwood, computer programmer in an episode of The Twilight Zone entitled 'From Agnes--With Love'. It went quickly, and we nailed it on the 4th take. No edits.
By 2pm, the energizing effect of coffee and sweets had run its course. We broke for a quick lunch: black bean quesadillas stuffed with all manner of veggies and topped with Honey Bee's amazing salsa. That was not all. No visit to the McFevers McMansion is complete without a generous pour from Steve's top shelf. It's really the top shelf too, I can't reach it. Manhattans all around.
Serotonin (Let The Light In) went 4 takes before we were satisfied. Truth be told, we flew the outro from Take 4 into Take 3. You'd never know. Tape splicing is quite easy when you remove the tape part. Not that I couldn't do it if I had to... with two semesters serving as a library A/V tech in high school, I'm certain I could Scotch tape an album together.
We ended the afternoon on a song that is more collage than composition. Wayfarers All is a troubling stew of Moog blips, time-stretched vocals, mechanical drums, synth farts and 8-bit samples. Let's see what becomes of this mélange.
More...
 |
| New cardigan for the occasion |
 |
| A different angle |
|
| Bass |
 |
| Step right up |
 |
| This sucker's electrical |
 |
| Sounded good |
FAQ & Update
FAQ
• Describe your band (in 5 words or less). Flashbacks, Food, Film, Forestry, Echos. Describing one's band tends to be terribly frustrating, we've discovered. So we just quote things others have already written.
• If your music was a place, where would it be? It would be on the set of Ivan's Childhood, in the birch tree house scene.
• One time I was on stage and... I didn't fuck up.
• What are the band members' full time jobs? We live off the legendary Burgundy fortune, and intend to soon start an upscale hippie commune / urban farm.
• What is the song-writing process like? A vat of lyrics slowly accrued over time is applied to a collection of music that has also slowly been fermenting in sherry casks.
• Where did the band name come from? It's probably a pretty interesting story, but I don't know.
• Digital or Analog? Who cares. Listen to Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene or Giorgio Moroder's E=MC² & tell me it isn't a fantastic marriage. The lovely thing is that cheap technology - computers, software, et cetera - has made recording an album possible for the likes of us. We never could have pulled it off otherwise.
• How about past musical endeavours? They're still out there, frozen in time on Friendster profiles, MichigIndie caches and Geocities pages.
• If your music was a place, where would it be? It would be on the set of Ivan's Childhood, in the birch tree house scene.
• One time I was on stage and... I didn't fuck up.
• What are the band members' full time jobs? We live off the legendary Burgundy fortune, and intend to soon start an upscale hippie commune / urban farm.
• What is the song-writing process like? A vat of lyrics slowly accrued over time is applied to a collection of music that has also slowly been fermenting in sherry casks.
• Where did the band name come from? It's probably a pretty interesting story, but I don't know.
• Digital or Analog? Who cares. Listen to Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene or Giorgio Moroder's E=MC² & tell me it isn't a fantastic marriage. The lovely thing is that cheap technology - computers, software, et cetera - has made recording an album possible for the likes of us. We never could have pulled it off otherwise.
• How about past musical endeavours? They're still out there, frozen in time on Friendster profiles, MichigIndie caches and Geocities pages.
NEWS
We are presently recording songs and non-songs for a new collection. Destination: Fall 2011. You can hear two of them in the music player. Proxima and Ivan, I Know.
FAVORITE YOUTUBE COMMENT
These guys are drinking their brains!
Blowout 2011
Hamtramck Blowout 2011 is upon us. We've prepared a short video essay on what this yearly ritual means to us. Also, MetroTimes says this about us:
Midnight — Computer Perfection: Spare the hyperbole: Yes, there's airy pop perfection in Gene Corduroy's combo — songwriting and synthesizers are the skin and bones to which everything clings, and the band wouldn't likely deny an enduring appreciation for Kraftwerk and the Beatles.
Don't know what that means, but it sounds about right. But they forgot about hot dogs and finger banging:
Midnight — Computer Perfection: Spare the hyperbole: Yes, there's airy pop perfection in Gene Corduroy's combo — songwriting and synthesizers are the skin and bones to which everything clings, and the band wouldn't likely deny an enduring appreciation for Kraftwerk and the Beatles.
Don't know what that means, but it sounds about right. But they forgot about hot dogs and finger banging:
listening room
1. Getz/Gilberto
2. Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
3. Led Zeppelin II
4. Jean Michel Jarr - Oxygene
5. Brian Eno - Another Green World
6. Rolling Stones - Out Of Our Heads
7. Talking Heads - 77
8. Everything You Always Wanted to Hear on the Moog
9. Beach House - Teen Dream
10. Secret Twins - Ill Fit
11. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
The Strange Echo
Welcome to our new pad called The Strange Echo. This year we're polishing up the old tunes with a new drummer by the name of Alex Trajano. March 2 at Club Bart in Ferndale and March 3 at Atlas Bar in Hamtramck for Blowout. Also we've abandoned the idea of an EP and have set our sights on a full blown 2nd LP. Lots of new songs.
Working on a new EP
The last few months have found us pleasuring ourselves while simultaneously inching forth and forward, sometimes mostly backwards, on a new 6-song EP with a working title of 'The Merry Microbes'.
Here we are in our state-of-the-art electronics lab, going over some schematic diagrams. Bem, ever the party girl, is still wearing her sparkles from last New Year's Eve.
Don't fuck with me, I'm trying to fix this toaster oven.
Here is our new drummer, with an actual name that will be revealed soon. Or so he tells me. He looks like he can really bring home the busk.
Stevers needs more juice in the cans. And a nice glass of freshly squeezed orange juice after last night's bender. Or was that me? Or was that Burgundy. Aw, who am I kidding guys? We are as straight edge as they come.
Burgundy figures out how to check his Facebook status on this transistor radio.
