Monday, March 31, 2008

Studio Chapter 5: Metal XOR-A

There was a big change in the fall of 1994, Jason and a friend moved into a rental house together. Although Circle IX Studio was only five minutes from the rental house, it was too inconvenient to record music. So it was decided to build a studio in the basement of the rental house and move the equipment from Circle IX Studio to the new studio.

In early January of 1995, the basement was cleaned out and names were considered as the Studio was designed and built. BlakMetal X-OR Studio was an early choice. But by the end of January it was known as Metal XOR Studio, or MXOR for short.

On January 17, the first plywood was cut. The walls were framed and shelves were added for specific equipment. And the power was run. The new studio was progressing very well.

Then February 5 was the first Isthmus jam. The video of the session shows Harry and Jason playing in the unfinished studio, the walls were still just framed and not all of the equipment had been moved in yet. But the jam was successful enough to lead to the first Isthmus album, Electric Field Donut.

Two weeks later on February 19, the final pieces of music gear were installed and the Studio was complete. The first song worked on in the new Metal XOR Studio was called "Bacon". It was music written to accompany a video of a new surgery technique (being demonstrated on a pig body). The song was started on February 20 and finally finished and recorded on February 26.

Other than that special project, the first song recorded that appeared on a Studio album was "Happy Little Squirrel" recorded on March 4. It was recorded by Jason and Jimmy and would end up on their debut ORC album Purging the Great Abyss in 1999.

The last song recorded in this version of the Studio was on October 24, 1995, and was originally titled "Nine Days Wondering". The song was later renamed "At the Last" and appeared at the end of the NueroMud album Nine Days Wonder, which got its title from the original name of this song.

On October 30, 1995, the Studio was moved from the basement up to a ground level bedroom. There were two reasons for the move. The first being the fact that the basement was more damp than expected and it was starting to affect the equipment and recordings. The second was the purchase of the Studio's first computer program to control the MIDI equipment. And since the computer was upstairs in the bedroom, the Studio had to move.

So after eight months, MXOR-A was finished. The Studio moved upstairs and became MXOR-B.

No albums were released under the MXOR-A label. But songs were recorded that would end up on the aforementioned Purging the Great Abyss and Nine Days Wonder albums. There were also a few NueroMorgue songs recorded that have yet to appear on an album.

This period of the Studio's history lasted from February 1995 to October 1995.

This Day in Studio History

It was nineteen years ago today, on March 31, 1989, that the Traveling Deengelburys made their worldwide debut by playing a fund-raiser dance at a small high school.

Collector's Corner 17

Please visit the official Traveling Deengelburys website, the most comprehensive site on the internet to find information about the band.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Album of the Week #32: The Deuce

Project name: [early keyboards]
Album name: The Deuce
Release date: unreleased (recorded in 1986)
Release format: cassette
Studio name: none

Image Not Available

Tracks:
1. Take the Train
2. Baby Elephant Walk
3. Where Did Your Love Go?
4. City Life
5. Londonderry Air
6. Ioelios
7. Trauma at Barnes
8. Miami
9. Amphition
10. Night Vision
11. Night Vision II
12. Boogie E
13. Soul Rhythm
14. Vertigo
15. Preternatural

This was the first collection of songs Jason recorded that he also wrote. It was recorded in late 1986. During this time he also recorded the Christmas album Merry Christmas to Me. Although most of the songs on this tape are originals, there are a couple of covers that he had learned on the piano and often played. The covers were "Baby Elephant Walk" and "Londonderry Air".

The name of the album comes from the fact that it was the second tape he completed (following the Christmas tape). This method of album naming would continue throughout the early keyboard years.

These songs were recorded using a microphone pointed at the keyboard's speaker and plugged into a home stereo. For songs that have two sounds at once, he would record one sound into the left channel and then play the second sound in the right channel while dubbing the left channel.

This is the only know copy of the tape to exist. It has never been heard by anyone other than Jason.


Next week's Album of the Week: Diversity au Troi from 1986-87.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Collector's Corner #25

Who does this mysterious mask belong to?

Collector's Corner 25

Technically it belongs to the Studio. But who wears this mysterious mask? Someone associated with the Studio.

It was created on November 29, 2007, for the first ORC photo session which took place that same evening. The Studio only owned one mask at the time and needed this second one. It turned out to be an image that could only come from the darkest nightmares.

It took about 10 minutes to make the mask. It is constructed of one sheet of printer paper covered in gaff tape and the face is made of white electrical tape.

The mask has been caught on digital film only a couple of times:

http://metalxor.blogspot.com/2008/01/studio-news-orc-session-1.html
http://metalxor.blogspot.com/2007/11/studio-news-orc-photo-session.html


And watch for more appearances of this face as the new ORC album slowly takes shape.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Equipment File #4: Cimar acoustic

Cimar acoustic guitar

Equipment File 03

This guitar was a Christmas present in 2003 from Jason's wife. Jason had mentioned that he did not like the sound of his Hohner acoustic guitar, so she bought him this one. It is made by Ibanez, the same brand as his bass guitar.

Like the Hohner, this guitar had no pickups either. But Jason was able to mic the guitar and get a good sound on tape. It was most often used playing live to their new daughter at the time. But it was used in several recordings also.

He received the guitar while recording the Mune Mud album Hobson's Choice. So this guitar was used on several of those tracks, including "She Walked to the Fair", "In Search of...", "Puffing Billy", and "Mr. Carpenter".

The guitar is still played on occasion today, mainly to entertain the two kids that now share the house with Jason and his wife. And there are plans to record new music with it some day.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Studio News: Precursory 33 Announced

Metal XOR Studio is proud to announce its newest album...


Precursory 33 logo


The earliest Mune Mud recordings date back to June of 1990. This was when a home stereo was used as the recorder. There was no multi-track recorder, no effects, and no bass guitar. The songs were mere experiments with what little equipment the Studio owned.

Many of those early songs were compiled on a tape in 1991 and simply labeled Mune Mud. Then in 1994 the tape was re-released, again as Mune Mud. And now in 2008, the songs have been cleaned up in the computer and the newest version of the album has its own title, Precursory 33. This is the 19th Mune Mud album to be released.

This album makes available again those earliest songs, the foundation of today's Mune Mud. It is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, April 8, 2008. So watch this blog for a preview song next week and other details leading to the release.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Studio Chapter 4: Circle IX

Circle IX was the second name the Studio went by in its long history. Whereas the previous name, Quintessential Disco-Quest, was used just for the recording period of Mune Mud's 1992 album Underwater Problem Factory, Circle IX (C9) was used for two years and covered the release of several albums. The albums released under the Circle IX label were:

Mune Mud Pryme Material [September 7, 1993]
NueroMorgue Devis Tortura [December 14, 1993]
NueroMorgue E. Phantasmata [April 5, 1994]
Mune Mud Mune Mud re-release [August 2, 1994]
Mune Mud Devaulted [August 2, 1994]
Binary Pipedream Binary Pipedream [September 6, 1994]
NueroMud ...Libra 971 [October 18, 1994]

The name itself comes from Dante's Divine Comedy. There are nine circles in the story, the Studio was named after the ninth one.

There were two phases to Circle IX. After Underwater Problem Factory was released, recording soon began on the next album. The Studio didn't really use the QDQ name any more. On May 19, 1993, the Studio was taken apart in preparation for a large amount of new equipment that had been ordered. The equipment arrived and from June 7 to June 10 it was rebuilt from the ground up. But this new version of the Studio had a new element, MIDI. Now the sequencer could be programmed to play back the sounds from the sound module and drum machine. This was a real break-through for the Studio and this is when the Studio actually took on the name Circle IX Studio.

The first song recorded following the Underwater Problem Factory sessions was "Palace" (which appeared on the 1993 NueroMorgue album Devis Tortura) on October 21, 1992, and the last song recorded was the original "Albino Boy" song on November 4, 1994.

After the "Albino Boy" song was recorded, the Studio was slowly dismantled to be moved to its new location. A couple of months later, on January 28, 2005, everything was taken out of C9 and delivered to the new studio. It was the end of an era... but the beginning of another.

This period of the Studio's history lasted from October 1992 to November 1994.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Album of the Week #31: Merry Christmas to Me

Project name: [early keyboards]
Album name: Merry Christmas to Me
Release date: unreleased (recorded in 1986)
Release format: cassette
Studio name: none

Image Not Available

Tracks:
1. Away in the Manger
2. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
3. Joy to the World
4. Silent Night
5. O Come All Ye Faithful
6. Good King Wenceslas
7. We Three Kings of Orient Are
8. The First Noel
9. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
10. Up on the Housetop
11. What Child is This?
12. Jingle Bells
13. Christmas Fun!

Jason received his first keyboard in October of 1986 for his birthday. He immediately began recording his own music using a microphone plugged into his home stereo.

The first collection of songs he recorded was given as a Christmas present to his aunt. The tape was called Merry Christmas to Me and was recorded in one afternoon.

There are only three copies of this tape known to exist. The first is the original master tape he recorded the songs on. The second tape is the copy he gave to his aunt. And the third tape was a compilation of this album and an album he recorded in 1987, Songs to Enjoy, putting both albums on one tape for easier listening.

There are no vocals on the tape, it is just instrumental Christmas songs. The last track is the only original song on the album. There are no plans on releasing this album, but the songs have been transferred to the computer so they will now live forever in the digital domain.


Next week's Album of the Week: The Deuce from 1986.

Just For Fun #8

Happy Easter



Just For Fun 08



From all of us at Metal XOR Studio

Saturday, March 22, 2008

This Day in Studio History

It was on this day in 1994 that the lyric booklet Devastation and Minim Opi was released for the NueroMorgue album Devis Tortura.

This was the third lyric booklet released by the Studio. The lyrics were presented in short story format and the booklet also contained the original artwork titled "Primordial Water and Lotus".

Happy 14th anniversary!!!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Equipment File #3: Hohner acoustic

Hohner acoustic guitar

Equipment File 04

In the early 90's, one of Jason's friends was trying to sell this guitar and loaned it to Jason to use until it was sold. Since the Studio did not own an acoustic guitar yet, Jason offered to buy it. The friend agreed but after several inquiries from Jason as to the price, the friend never gave an answer. The friend has since moved away and the guitar is still a part of the Studio's inventory.

Because the guitar has no pickups, the only way to record it is by using a microphone pointed at it. Jason experimented with several different mics and different positioning but was never happy with the recorded sound of the guitar, so it has rarely been used in recordings.

Since the quality of sound was not a concern on the 1999 ORC album Purging the Great Abyss, the guitar was used on several tracks for that album ("Satellites", "Copekata", "Dawn's Tomorrow", "Heureux", and "Intercostal Communication"). It was also used to record the idea session Theater of Pain on November 27, 1997. And the last ORC session that used it was Beautious Songs on October 2, 1999.

Jason also used it to record a solo outdoor ideas session on August 10, 2002, which led to a couple of songs that were on Mune Mud's 2004 Hobson's Choice album.

The guitar is now designated as the kids' guitar whenever Jason's daughter or son wants to play a guitar.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Studio Chapter 3: QDQ

After the release of the album Olympus in 1991, recording immediately began on the next Mune Mud album. When the follow-up album, Underwater Problem Factory, was completed in 1992, it was decided that the Studio should have a name. So it was during the album cover design process that the name Quintessential Disco-Quest Tapes & Discs (QDQ) was created.

The name was a left-over of the themes of disco and the 70's from the earlier band The Two-Tones. And it was during the Underwater Problem Factory recording sessions that the song "Go Disco!" was recorded (and appeared on the album). Thus was the origins of the first Studio name.

Everything at the time was released on cassette, but CD's were becoming more popular in the real music world. So the "Tapes & Discs" was added to the end of the name to give the impression that the Studio was technologically up-to-date.

The first song recorded under the QDQ label was "In My Heart" in Nivember 1991 (which appeared on Underwater Problem Factory) and the last song recorded was the Underwater Problem Factory outtake "Nothing Cube" on April 19, 1992. The only album released under that label was Underwater Problem Factory in the summer of 1992.

Thus this period of the Studio's history lasted from November 1991 to the summer of 1992.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Album of the Week #30: Mune Mud [re-release]

Project name: Mune Mud
Album name: Mune Mud (debut re-release)
Release date: August 2, 1994
Release format: cassette
Studio name: Circle IX Studio

Mune Mud - Mune Mud (re-release)

Tracks:
1. That's All I Need to Know
2. Ominous
3. S Paradise
4. Peachtree
5. Umbra Flame
6. Harley
7. Lyric
8. That's Life
9. Go West
10. Under the Sky
11. I Dream
12. The One-Liner
13. Just Defied
14. Fruit Preserve
15. Why Did You Go? v2.0
16. King Song
17. Downstairs
18. We Dog
19. EnVenum Above
20. Disco Babies

When the original Mune Mud debut album was compiled, it was not meant to be distributed to friends and family. It was an organization of the music Jason had recorded on various tapes throughout 1990-1991. So only a couple of people other than Jason even heard those songs. But after the relative successes of Olympus in 1991, Underwater Problem Factory in 1992, and Pryme Material in 1993, Jason decided to create a real album based on the unreleased debut album from a few years earlier.

The major changes from the original album to this release was the different album cover and the slight change in the playlist. A couple of the songs changed positions on the album, some of the better songs moved towards the front of the album. A different version of "Why Did You Go?" was used on this album. And a politically incorrect song title was shortened to be friendlier.

The album cover was basically the same. Whereas the first version was deisgned on the Commodore 64, the cover for the re-release was designed on a PC.

This re-release still reached a small audience, but at least a few more people got to hear the roots of Mune Mud. There are plans to release this album yet a third time, this time on CD and with more tracks than the first two versions.


Next week's Album of the Week: Merry Christmas to Me from 1986.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Collector's Corner #24

This mask has been a part of the Studio for years. Its origins have been lost in time, but it has definitely been around since the early 90's.

Collector's Corner 24

When Metal XOR Studio delved into short film production in 1994, the mask was used in a couple of movies. It has also appeared in various pictures throughout the years.

But most recently it has been used in the project ORC. The character it currently represents is called Gargoyle (whose name dates back to Devastation and Minim Opi, the lyric booklet for the 1993 NueroMorgue album Devis Tortura).

And watch for more appearances of this face as the new ORC album slowly takes shape.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Equipment File #2: Ibanez bass

Ibanez CT Series bass guitar

Equipment File 02

The Studio had been using an electric guitar for its music since early 1988. But a bass guitar wasn't used until the early 90's.

The first appearance of a bass guitar was in the song "Paroxysm" from the 1991 Mune Mud album Olympus. Jason had borrowed the bass from a friend. He recorded a couple of songs with it and used it in some jam sessions with the band Pheonix. And unlike the borrowed electric guitar, this bass was returned to the friend.

Then one of his high school friends moved to Monmouth, IL, to attend college. During one of his trips to visit her they went to the Quad Cities area to go shopping. While there they went into a music store and that is where Jason found his bass guitar. But he wasn't sure if he should buy it, so they left. By the time he got home a few days later, he realized he should have bought it. So on April 29, 1992, he drove back to the Quad Cities and bought the bass.

The bass has been used at the Studio and in his jam sessions ever since. It has its popular times and sometimes it will sit for a year or more without being used. But it is the only bass the Studio has ever owned.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Studio Chapter 2: [unnamed - late]

To accompany the small Yamaha keyboard Jason received as a birthday present in the fall of 1986, he borrowed an electric guitar and amp early in 1988. Other than the bands he was in during that time (Pheonix, The Two-Tones, and The Traveling Deengelburys), he was also experimenting with the guitar and keyboard at home. This was his early solo period.

In the summer of 1990 he got an old mixing board from where he worked. So using that and his home stereo, he began experimenting with mutli-track recording. In June of 1990 he recorded what would become the very first Mune Mud song, "Plutonic". Over the next several months he recorded many more songs this way. He collected the best songs and put them on a cassette and labeled it Mune Mud.

Not only was he recording his own music now, he also began getting new music equipment. In 1990 he bought his first drum machine. It replaced the cheesy drum sounds he was using from his Yamaha keyboard. In early 1991 he bought his 4-track cassette recorder, which was true multi-track recording. The quality of his recordings instantly improved immensely. He immediately began work on a new album. Then he bought a delay/sampler effects pedal for his guitar. In the summer of 1991 he got a new Casio keyboard which replaced his Yamaha.

In November of 1991 he released his first true album, Olympus. Many copies were handed out and people were surprised that he was able to accomplish this in his bedroom.

So the Studio was taking shape. He now had a mixer, a recorder, an electric guitar with amp, an effects pedal, a real microphone, and two keyboards. He had two albums finished and was preparing to begin work on his third. Yet the Studio still did not have a name.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Album of the Week #29: My First Album

Poject name: Paige Watson
Album name: My First Album
Rlease date: August 14, 2007
Release format: CD
Studio name: Metal XOR Studio

Paige Watson - My First Album

Tracks
1. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
2. Five Little Monkeys
3. I Had a Little Turtle
4. Jesus Loves Me
5. Happy Birthday
6. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
7. Days of the Week
8. I'm a Little Teapot
9. Numbers
10. Mary Had a Little Lamb
11. Pony Boy
12. Twinkle Twinkle
13. Patty Cake
14. Itsy Bitsy Spider
15. Baa Baa Black Sheep
16. Down By the Bay
17. Hello Neighbor
18. Jingle Bells
19. Old McDonald
20. Bedtime
21. The Bear Went Over the Mountain
22. ABC's
23. Theme from "The Wonder Pets"
24. [various conversations]
25. [end of CD message]

Paige's first recording session was on March 25, 2006. She was 2.5 years old and there were no plans to make a CD. Then over the course of the next year there were several other recording sessions. So in late summer of 2007 it was decided to collect the best songs of her recordings and release them as an album

The art for the CD label and the inside of the jacket were both drawn by Paige.

And this was the first time in the Studio's history that it contracted an outside service to do some of the audio editing. Attic Works Studio was given the task of adding noise reduction and adjusting the levels of each track so they were uniform throughout the entire CD.

The first post on this blog back on August 23, 2007, was to announce the creation of the blog. The second post was about the release of this album. So it is one of the catalysts that got this blog started.

Since the release of this album, Paige has had a recording session almost every month to record material for her next album, due out this fall.


Next week's Album of the Week: Mune Mud debut re-release from 1994.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Article: CD Codes

Metal XOR Studio took a step forward in 1999 when it released its first CD, ORC's debut album Purging the Great Abyss. It was the end of the era of the cassette.

There have been thirteen albums released since then and each has had its own unique number in the format of CD-XX (Purging the Great Abyss being CD-01). This is a list of the albums with their CD codes.

CD-01 Purging the Great Abyss (1999) - ORC
CD-02 Love Songs (2001) - Nikki and Jason Watson
CD-03 The Vintage Years Vol 1 (2001) - Harry and Jason
CD-04 The Search for Metropolis (2001) - Mune Mud
CD-05 Olympus 10th Anniversary (2001) - Mune Mud
CD-06 Underwater Problem Factory 10th Anniv (2002) - Mune Mud
CD-07 Pryme Material 10th Anniversary (2003) - Mune Mud
CD-08 Singles Collection (2004) - Mune Mud
CD-09 Hobson's Choice (2004) - Mune Mud
CD-10 Hobson's Second Choice (2005) - Mune Mud
CD-11 Equation of Time 10th Anniversary (2006) - Mune Mud
CD-12 Sleep State F 10th Anniversary (2007) - Mune Mud
CD-13 My First Album (2007) - Paige Watson
Updates
CD-14 Precursory 33 (2008) - Mune Mud
CD-15 Parabolic Dish Festival 10th Anniversary (2008) - Isthmus
CD-16 Thru the Vent (2008) - ORC
CD-17 Ethical Travels on a Green Planet (2009) - Equinox Dulcet
CD-18 The Zodiac Road (2010) - Mune Mud
CD-19 Gemini Jay (2011) - Isthmus
CD-20 Beyond the Space King (2011) - Mune Mud
CD-21 The Brain Theatre Vol 1 (2012) - The Collective Brain
CD-22 The Brain Theatre Vol 2 (2013) - The Collective Brain 

This list will obviously grow so watch for an update to this article in the future.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Equipment File #1: Electra Phoenix guitar

Electra Phoenix electric guitar

Equipment File 01

The first guitar used at Metal XOR Studio was this Electra Phoenix electric guitar. It was early 1988, the end of Jason's junior year in high school, when he decided to try playing the guitar. His friend Mark was a very talented guitar player and had a small collection of guitars. So he loaned Jason this cheap model to see if he was interested in learning to play.

Jason first played it with the Two-Tones. He played it with incorrect tuning and did little more than power chords. Early Two-Tones recordings reveal the amateur playing.

Throughout the next year Jason also used it in the Christmas program in December of 1988 and for the Traveling Deengelburys show in March of 1989.

Jason had borrowed the guitar for more than a year. So after graduation in May of 1989, Jason decided it was time to return the guitar. He went to Mark's house to drop off the guitar but no one was home, so Jason took it back home with him. And it is still with him to this day.

This has been the only electric guitar Jason has recorded with in his twenty years of playing guitar. He has used it with every project associated with the Studio, mostly notably Mune Mud, ORC, Isthmus, and many others.

Over the years it has had a few changes. The back of the guitar bears a Greenpeace '94 sticker whose origin is unknown. Also on the back are two clips and some velcro which once held a beltpack transmitter for playing the guitar wireless. But since most of Jason's guitar playing is in the Studio now there is little need for being wireless. In the early 90's the guitar had a "Doubletree" label across the front of it. That was Jason's Traveling Deenglebury name. But that label has long since been removed. And most recently the white/clear knobs replaced the original solid black knobs (of which one had always been missing).

So this guitar has played MANY songs and unless something drastic happens, it will play MANY more!!!

Monday, March 3, 2008

Studio Chapter 1: [unnamed - early]

The earliest days of Metal XOR Studio can be traced back to Jason and Harry singing their ad-libbed lyrics to instrumental music on the radio (1985-87). Although they recorded their songs at various houses, when they recorded in Jason's room it was with nothing more than with a microphone plugged into his stereo.

It was also during this time that Jason was recording his own songs from the small keyboard he received as a birthday present in the fall of 1986. And again, the recording was nothing more than a microphone placed by the keyboard's speaker and plugged into the stereo and recorded. In fact, in some songs you can even hear the clicking sound of the keys being played.

There was no fancy equipment, there wasn't even a name for this recording location, yet it served as the basis of what would eventually become Metal XOR Studio.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Album of the Week #28: Heimlich Maneuver

Project name: The Two-Tones
Album name: Heimlich Maneuver
Release date: December 5, 1989
Release format: cassette
Studio name: none

The Two-Tones - Heimlich Maneuver

Tracks:
1. Hog
2. Swine Time
3. Italian Sunrise
4. Belmont
5. Princess
6. Disco Primavera
7. Euthanasia
8. Fat Girl
9. Art Thing
10. What About That?
11. Rock of Ages
12. Bird's-Eye View of the Bema
13. Tim es Tuff
14. Dairy Queen (Revisited)
15. Donkey Hotay
16. Tres Gringos
17. Misnomer

It was at the end of Jason and Harry's junior year (1987-88) in high school when they got together with their friend Jeremy at Harry's house and recorded a song called "Hog" about their English teacher. That song was the catalyst for them to continue writing and recording music for the next year.

They had been recording since March of 1988 but "Hog" was their crowning achievement. Most of their songs dealt with inside jokes during their senior year at school and making fun of various people.

The origin of the album title has been lost to history. But there was a play on words at one point and it was almost titled The Hind-Lick Maneuver.

It was mostly Jason, Harry, and Jeremy in the songs but their friends Darrin and Joe were at some of the recording sessions.

The recording technique was as basic as one could get. They set a standard cassette recorder in the middle of Harry's bedroom and usually sat in a circle around it and played the music and sang. The songs were usually recorded in one take, although alternate takes of some songs do exist.

In June of 1989, Jeremy moved away to attend West Point. So the first week of July was spent by Jason timing all their recordings and arranging a playlist for the album. Soon the album was created and a lyric booklet typed up. But then the album sat on a shelf for months. It wasn't until October that the lyric booklet was printed and December when the tape was finally loaned to various people to hear.

There was a second version of the Two-Tones in the fall of 1989 where Joe sat in for Jeremy. A few songs were recorded but it was after the Heimlich Maneuver was complete. So they have never been released.

This album will no doubt end up on CD some day, possibly a 2-CD set containing many of the other songs not on the original album. But that's another project in a long list to be completed.


Next week's Album of the Week: My First Album by Paige from 2007.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

State of the Studio #7: March '08

There will be a lot of fresh, new material hitting the blog this month. Here is a summary of changes to some of the regular features.
  • Album of the Week - This is the longest-running weekly feature of the blog and it will still be here for quite some time. But later this month we shift into "Vintage" phase where there will be albums highlighted that were not really "albums", just tapes with collections of songs on them. And the first round of "Vintage" albums will be from Jason's early keyboard years.

  • Musician Profile - This Wednesday feature will soon be replaced by one called Equipment File. This will showcase an instrument or piece of recording gear the Studio currently uses or has used in the past.

  • Studio Chapter - This will be the new Monday feature and will start at the beginning of the Studio's history (before it even had a name) and each week will explain the next version of the Studio as it was rebuilt so many times.

There have been issues with my file hosting site lately. They seem to be unavailable much of the time, which means all links to songs, videos, or publications temporarily go down. Unless I decide to find another host we will have to put up with this inconvenience until they get their act together and can provide stable service again.

As far as projects go, ORC will be an ongoing project now. There will be ocassional updates telling the progress of the album but it will be a while before the album is released. And there is another recording session of Paige planned for this month. This will lead up to the release of her second album this fall.

It's going to be a busy month here at the Studio, but it should be another fun one.