WELL, IF YOU'RE CALLING ME OUT...

okay, so I'm a big slacker when it comes to blogging and you all know it. big deal! but to appease the masses let me blog about my newest geek project.

my close friend and bandmate motoki-san has officially moved away which means that the band is currently defunct. i've decided recently that i'm gonna give music on my own a shot. as such, i've been scheming and have thusly settled on the following details for said endeavor.









this incarnation will include the following instruments all of which will be played and managed live by me:

• electric guitar
• electric bass
• bass drum, snare drum, high hats, crash (all of which will be controlled by feet)
• drum machine
  
• microKORG synth
• echoplex tape loop echo
• microphone
• loopers (the interesting/difficult part)
• samples
• e-bow
• heavy delay
  

i am strongly opposed to the use of laptops in live music. to me it takes away the thrill of the moment because you have no idea what is pre-recorded and what is being produced on the spot. i will not be using a laptop and will do my best to produce everything live (with the exception of samples of course).

what will it sound like? i have no idea. why? because i'm still in the extremely geek phase of the project where i buy a ton of geek pedals and loopers and build what i'm currently calling "the contraption".

the contraption is a kick drum into which i've suspended a snare drum right behind the rear head (so i can use my feet to hit it with a kick pedal). but the best part of the contraption is that i'm building a rotary speaker inside the front of it.

for those who don't know what a rotary speaker is, it's a speaker that is mounted so that it spins while it's producing sound. one of the most common rotary speakers is called a leslie and it's usually used with a hammond b3 organ (the most famous of all rock/jazz organs). i'm convinced that it is the best sound in the world. because the speaker spins, it fluctuates the pitch due to the doppler effect.

anyway, back to the one i'm building. i've mounted two 8" speakers to a wooden disc that's about 20 inches in diameter. the disc sits right behind the front head of the kick drum (which i've cut 6 different holes into to allow the sound to escape from the drum). the disc is attached to an axle that has a flywheel which is belt driven by an electric motor. when the motor is turned on the disc starts to spin and whatever is playing through the speakers is in turn affected with wobbly/chorus type sound.

some classic songs that feature a rotary speaker:

procol harum - a whiter shade of pale**
pink floyd - echoes
jimi hendrix - little wing
spencer davis group - gimme some lovin'

** 1:16 = best moment in the history of audible sound, IMHO

there are tons of effect pedals that TRY to emulate this sound but i figured there's nothing like the real thing.

in addition to the instruments already mentioned i have an idea to make an instrument out of an old analog delay unit i have. i think it MIGHT sound kinda like the intro of "ten thousand lines" by electric president. by the way, holy hell, i've been into them lately. if you haven't heard them they're worth checking out. anyway, if said "instrument" is anything interesting, then i'll try to blog about it upon it's completion.

i think it's likely that the music i make will be more along the lines of post-rock or maybe even noise rock due to the fact that songs will start small and build as i continue to add new instruments to the mix using various loopers. these songs will likely have a "layering" style to them and not so much verse-chorus-verse structure.

the last bit of information i have pertains to what i call it. for some reason i can't quit kicking the word "DOLBY" around in my head for a couple of reasons:

1. it was the first symbol i ever recognized that had to do with music technology. i was probably about 5 and my dad was listening to a waylon jennings tape in the car. i noticed the symbol on the flap of the tape deck where the cassette goes in. i asked him what it was and he gave me an explanation. it now carries a very nostalgic feeling for me whenever i think of that moment.
2. the reference to the new technology mentioned to save "smell the glove" in spinal tap
3. because i'm considering making stereo-phonics a part of my live performance

For copyright and un-originality reasons i thought maybe i'd change the spelling to DULBY. i haven't settled on this name yet though. so if you've read this far then please leave a comment suggesting a band name for me. it could be something that plays off of DOLBY or something altogether different.

anyway, i know this blog has been so geek-boring for pretty much everybody but this is what you get when you ask for a blog update from me.