what is going on in your musical life

this can be a rolling thread, maybe. forgive me if one already exists, i didn't see it.

i started taking guitar lessons again! that is exciting

my long term black/doom metal band (argentinum astrum) recorded an album last fall and we're waiting on a label dude to get another label to go in on releasing it? i have no idea how or what that is about. i want it to come out soon because we haven't put anything out in a couple years and i want to tour and am antsy about it.

im learning ableton in order to start doing electronic stuff by myself. that's kind of on the backburner atm tho

one of my fave local bands atm asked me to replace their bassist/harmony singer and i am probably gonna do it. it is kind of superchunk-esque?

i started a band with 2 of my girlfriends and we just had our first practice. guitar, bass and drums. playing kind of 60s-esque poppy tunes so far, but i have no idea where we will end up. i think we are gonna be called "high school"?? please tell me if that is a ridiculous name.

i recorded this local band called Killer Whale who play very crazy surf-influenced punk/metal, i love them and i am excited to record bands and put out records and things tho god it is so expensive to do this

i've been playing in this band with a weirdo that plays only covers of local, small time musicians. i just joined it, but it's kind of a local institution, been around a while with a rotating cast of ppl around this one guy. i don't know. it's fun to play with him , and very fun to choose and learn the songs, but he has a weird value system w/r/t music, ie he doesn't want me to sing harmonies cause i sing "like an angel", which isn't really true. he also has no ambitions (how can you be ambitious with a covers band really tho) and is really skeptical of people who have them. its fun tho.

i dont really have time to do any of this stuff

this band with a weirdo that plays only covers of local, small time musicians

haha i love this

haha its exactly what it sounds like

the first person I contacted about guitar lessons is too busy to take me on as a student but promised to give me contact info for other ppl, which basically means I am back at square one re: finding a guitar teacher

I am currently in the process of tracking down sheet music for a recital of solo and ensemble spiritual arrangements I'm doing as part of a quartet made up of ppl from my church choir (inc. my wife as the soprano) for the Tuesday before Easter; we're also going to take parts of that recital to do as music for the Good Friday service later that week.

I'm also looking over the Dvorak Mass in D major, which I'm doing at an evening Good Friday service in Dorchester; my primary responsibility AFAIK is augmenting the bass section but I believe I'm also going to be doing the tiny solo parts as well. (The other ppl from that include my wife again plus other folks from the spiritual ensemble we sing in.)

Also have a concert with the church choir coming up where we're doing Stainer's Crucifixion; I am not the bass soloist for it (thank God).

i didnt realize you were a bass! it occurs to me that i have never actually heard you sing. i imagined you having a very high tenor voice. haw.

i started a band with 2 of my girlfriends

Me too! We are called Ta1nted Pussy and have played 2 shows so far. We were supposed to have a show next Saturday opening for this weird Dutch guy, but he got detained by the Dutch government and told he can't leave the country without a work permit, so that show was cancelled. I play bass. I have not played bass since I was a teenager. So now I get to have fun learning/re-learning an instrument, plus I get to have fun with pedals. We are all noise/new music ladies, thus lots of fun with pedals. I got a Dr. Sample 202 for christmas! More fun! I kept one of the built-in samples, which is a lady saying "Stand By" for when we have technical difficulties during our sets.

We are planning to tour at some point later this year. L.A., maybe the South?

next month we have a gig opening for Cock E.S.P.

Our singer said, "Why do we always end up on shows with other bands with dirty names?"

having trouble finding time/motivation/energy to do anything too focused or serious over the past couple of years. i was playing with my friend who's a full-time musician but he decided to just play shows solo instead of with a band because the economics/logistics are easier that way. i've been doing some sample-based stuff on reason recently, i like it because it takes me back to when i was learning guitar and didn't know what i was doing and would come up with cool stuff by accident. also occasionally jamming/recording with the drummer from my old band, doing shitty lofi four-track stuff.

i would really like to have a more regular band where someone else bore the heavy lifting of the songwriting and i could just come in and play guitar and play shows a few times a year. but i'm not really connected to any kind of music scene anymore so i don't know how to find that kind of situation.

Band practice tonight. Eagerly anticipating our two track demo bak from being mixed/mastered although worried it might sound bad as we only spent two days on it.
Working on writing and practising our next batch of songs after an initial 6. It's now a concern that we have a 'sound' and aesthetic developing, meaning that we have songs we wrote and quite like that for one reason or another don't work very well alongside the others. Anyone had this problem? It didn't really matter before because we were still forming an identity which eventually formed into 6 upbeat slightly unhinged post punk numbers, but now this next one is a big dramatic sweeping thing with a more serious tone and we're not sure what to do with it.
Also written a reggae song, which I'm please with but need a way to subvert because right now it's verging a little too close to sixth form peace and love bob Marley cliches and I want to put a twist on all that really.
Wrote a sort of fast kinda sung-rap song but my girlfriend said it sounded like flight of the conchords. Not that that's an insult, but I wanted it to aoud more like Haim or something.

i didnt realize you were a bass! it occurs to me that i have never actually heard you sing. i imagined you having a very high tenor voice. haw.

haha that would make my dad very, very happy (he's a failed tenor in a previous life, sang lead in a doo-wop group in college)

I am technically a "bass-baritone" which really means that because most of my singing experience comes from being in ensembles rather than private, focused vocal study, I have no idea how to use my head voice and sing practically everything in chest; I have a sneaking suspicion I would end up being a true baritone or even a low tenor after several years of focused, serious voice training based on how my low range actually sounds, but the flip side is that I can actually croak out low notes even if they're inaudible unless I've been binge-drinking the night before so I dunno. But yeah, I've always sung low.

(which is actually why, in my teens, I realized I was never going to be a pop or rock singer, and why I was so taken by the grunge explosion)

putting the last touches on my new record (doesn't feel new, been working on it for about 15 months now) to send to mastering next week, figuring out how to put it out.

then i want to take some time to switch up my process, shake things up a little. work on some new synth sounds without any goals, try to finally learn ableton, record a bunch of new percussion samples. i want to take some piano lessons too, since i do everything with midi + mouse. i can figure stuff out on piano very sloooowly, so i thought it would be fun to play through some tunes in real time and get some chords under my fingers.

honestly though i probably won't do most of these things and i'll go back to what feels easy & comfortable. :/

I just got our first track back from the studio. I love it and I also cringe a bit because I can hear bits where my voice goes a bit wrong or a beat doesn't quite land how it's meant, and I'm trying to work out if anyone in their right mind would really notice or care.

roxy high school is an amazing band name

this is a neat thread idea.

i've been playing with a couple guys for the last month or so but it's just working out that well. they seem like they really want to sound like real estate or something, which isn't terrible, but a bad real estate impersonation comes out sounding reaaaaally bad, and it's not much fun to play drums to, either!

i've been writing and recording some new tunes, which doesn't sound like much but it's actually been a big breakthrough for me after about a 10 year songwriting/music coma that i didn't realize was a coma.

i'm moving back to chicago in a few months and i'm determined to join up with a good band. i used to be good friends with the cave/bitchin bajas scene so i'm hoping i can be looped back into all that stuff and that someone needs a good drummer

and yeah, high school is good, although i have to say i liked it even more when i thought the name was high school??

haha

whoa z s do you want to be in a band with me?

this is going to be really awkward when you reject me

well, that was easy. sure, let's play!

it's gonna be more like september or so

i think we are gonna be called "high school"??
a
I started a band in college called junior high university. I recorded one song for it and we had two practices and then everyone split up in different directions. that was the last band I was ever in.

have not touched my recording computer since my son was born. I long for a classical acoustic guitar so i can play around the house but I have no money for that now. debating selling an amp or two. I think my creative well has run dry for the foreseeable future.

i'm really burnt out on school this semester & have been slacking off to spend more time doing music stuff. all three bands i'm in are pretty active rn which can be overwhelming at times but is really fun. most notably i went on tour in january and started a new band called l0ud s3x which i am just so, so stoked on. the other songwriter in the band is really prolific and i really want to keep our ratio of songs 1:1. it's been a really fun challenge trying to keep up, he also writes amazing songs so i've had to be really strict about scrapping my tunes if they're not up to par. we're playing our first show at the end of the month & i'm pretty nervous because not everyone shows up for practice consistently and i want it to be spectacular

sp3ctacular l0ud s3x

I am not going to go into any more detail than this but the biggest audition opportunity of my lap literally just fell into my lap; I fully expect it to go nowhere but still, you never know...

would watch n/a z s band

DJP on x factor, it's America has been waiting for
xp

l0ud high school s3x

the biggest audition opportunity of my lap

lol dan

oh no, I've said too much

I am in month 15 of releasing a home-made recording every month. A lot of times I put it off until the month is almost over and then go into crunch mode. But at this point, even though I approach each song as its own thing and wasn't trying to make an album or anything, I can listen to all the tracks straight through and it sounds really cohesive to me, which I think is really cool. I also feel like I get a little better/more efficient at production each time.

I haven't performed onstage in like a year though, which was a conscious decision and I don't miss all of the bullshit that made me sick of doing it, but I do miss being onstage. But I maybe just joined a band that I actually think is really good and is kind of successful locally, which is cool because I don't feel that way about hardly any local bands and also I've never really been in someone else's band. They have kind of a Modern Lovers/Beat Happening/Magnetic Fields/Morrissey vibe. It'll also be neat because I'll be playing synth and I'm not actually a keyboard player at all, I'm a guitarist and songwriter, but that's also why I'll be a good fit for this.

kicking off recording of a new album. finally a chance to properly use all this new synth gear

Hey all - could I get a little bit of constructive feedback on this please? We've had an initial "how's this?" from the studio engineer on one of our tracks. Overall, I think it's okay but it's very difficult to distance myself and listen to it with uninvolved ears.

I'd really like to hear your thoughts, particularly on the mixing/production (we can't really go back into the studio to do any overdubs or retakes so we're working with the raw material we have, for better or worse). Are there any glaring errors on this track or things I should mention before I get back to him? One thing I noticed is that he's been a bit heavy handed witht he gating and compression, particularly some of the vocal parts where the sibilants and plosives are almost non-existent.

I'm only gonna keep this track online for a short while, but if someone could give it a listen and let me know their thoughts, i'd be very much obliged: https://soundcloud.com/doglatin/honolulu-demo-050313

god this sounds like a super harsh thing but i dont mean it that way - do you want/intend the beginning to sound like a 80's nylons style acapella group thing? like exactly like one? because thats what i hear. also some pitchy weirdness in the "so afraid" "yesterday" multivoice responses. again, if these are intentional things, no prob.

Lol, I haven't hear the nylons but it is supposed to be a bit of a tongue in cheek doowop thing and if it comes across that way I guess that's intentional. The song is very much a comment on retro culture and so it's littered with 60s and 80s references. Cheers for checking it out jjjusten, I'll look into the autotune thing. Think the sound guy's gone a bit overboard with vocal manipulation, but then we're not at all trained singers so there's undoubtably gonna be a push/pull thing going on.

song sounds good to me, esp. for a demo. i like it.

Xpost If you're talkin about Housemartins/Flying Pickets, I def see what you mean and kind of don't mind. I (was made to) grow up with that shit, haha.

Cheers n/a

I am making a lil album of songs that are about a min long each, I have about 10 so far where the music is done but I have finished singing over one of them, I've come up w/ vocal melodies for about 3

I am seriously using the dumbest most unwieldy out of date programs to put the songs together because for whatever reason I like how it all sounds more than if I do it in ableton?

what are you using?

I (lol) am using cues in virtual dj to play my laptop like an mpc or w/e (I could slice to a drumkit in ableton and do the same thing I guess, but idk, when I use ableton I spend 3 extra hours on shit) and then editing shit further and recording vocals in audacity, its a forehead in my hands deal, but still

i love stuff like that.

well I hope it lives up to its rudimentary description, I'm starting to embrace it, at least this way I don't end up fucking around with corpus for a week with no results

Good sounding demo, dog latin. I'd get some friends in a room for the backing vocals. And as for your solo performance it's a little too measured, just make sure you're saying "gate" instead of "gay" and make it fast and effortless

I was just in Prague recording with a budget-priced orchestra, stuff for five different clients and some stuff for my own use. There were 30 "pieces" ranging from 45-second long bits of orchestral incidental music to 20-minute marathon workouts. A total of 2.5 hours of music and 24 hours to record the whole thing. I def. got paranoid and overworked but I didn't break. I drove that bus.

It went very well but I instinctively prioritized the work of my clients, taking the time to really get something beautiful out of that shaky orchestra. I left not enough time for my own material. Now I'm futzing.

cheers FGTI - I did the lead vox, the others did backing. I think the engineer's but too strong a release on my vox because yeah, "gaze" sounds like "gay" etc...

i'm listening to spotify

gotta get these tapes out soon (for this band i recorded) but have no idea what im doing! i need to buy a tape duplicator! i need to buy...tapes! i need to figure out how to get this shit onto a master tape! what am i doing with my life! HELP!

i told my mom i was in a new band called high school and she recommended that we call it COOL GIRLS instead. additionally, "i like just a girl's name, like maureen, or mabel, for a girl band"

lmao at cool girls altho tbh i would like it as a name for a coed or all dude band

No shame — he’s super nice and generous and also a riveting performer.

My musical life is moribund from the outside and thriving inside. I’ve recorded more songs and better songs this year with my solo setup than I ever have. I’m trying to get back out there — this is the hard part for me.

Strongly relate. I'm doing tons of stuff, but don't know how to turn it into actual gigs. I've started a program with a local entertainment company to sharpen up my brand and social media and map out how to achieve some professional-ish goals.

I need to remind people that I exist and have some weird music for them, probably IRL because that works best for me.

Exactly, in addition to trying to ramp up my pursuit of DJ gigs, I've decided I need to look for opportunities to do my weird synth improvs, going to look for art spaces and other venues that might be open to more experimental performances.

made new song i really like. shared it with some people. everyone liked it, but i got one "positive" critical response and now i hate the song

Was it a "reminds me of X" comment? That will always do it, lol.

no, i'm dumb for letting it bother me because it came from a old timey music historian in his 70s. he was like, "why all the distortion?," which i can handle, but then he said something about my vocals (of which I am most insecure) sounding "beaten down" which i can't handle

meanwhile my drummer neighbor, who makes some great music, loved it. we have very similar music taste so i should just be happy with that

It’s my experience that any feedback directly to the way the music sounds is hard to come by. I’m always grateful for it when someone makes a specific comment. I’d be grateful for whatever anyone feels like telling me.
I like my set of September songs the best so here it is, feel free to comment if you feel like it!!

https://on.soundcloud.com/TaMfHUG28c2GGq4L6

I agree LL it can feel so vulnerable at times though. in fact i tried changing the key of the song to see if it might brighten up my vocal, and it may work, but requires a complete restart

idk i think it should sound how YOU want it to sound -- what does this guy know about how you express yourself?!

ok well here it is https://soundcloud.com/heez-1/goodnight?si=61ea1c15ed8d4cdb9a7ca14aef4a07b2&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

i will not shed a tear if you would like to constructively critique

also, i said it's done but it's not mixed and my left ear is fucked so the mix may not be great

i dig that, LL

Heez that track is sick, your voice sounds great

thanks!!!

I dug that LL

Thanks for listening!

That’s some Residents-ass shit, LL. It’s not really my jam, but it honestly sounds great to me, like just sonically & the way it’s put together. I think the combo of synthesized sounds and live drums/percussion is cool & unusual (punishment)

That’s some Residents-ass shit, LL. It’s not really my jam, but it honestly sounds great to me, like just sonically & the way it’s put together. I think the combo of synthesized sounds and live drums/percussion is cool & unusual (punishment)

ok well here it is https://soundcloud.com/heez-1/goodnight?si=61ea1c15ed8d4cdb9a7ca14aef4a07b2&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing🕸

i will not shed a tear if you would like to constructively critique

also, i said it's done but it's not mixed and my left ear is fucked so the mix may not be great

Some excellent lyrics as well.

Ha thanks that’s a good description

Thank you HD!! I feel like people would probably not expect the music that comes out of my head to be so weird/abrasive and I appreciate being recognized for it.

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kOw0gsj-WaI42sn_Lq-224KATrgfyKrFo&si=B5D1yTvMMaD8WZcM

Here’s an excerpt from a concert I did on Sunday. The song is “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise” from the musical The New Moon (1928) by Hammerstein and Romberg

https://bsky.app/profile/djperry1973.bsky.social/post/3lar2cv4g5u23

I am learning VCV Rack via YouTube videos and have reached the point in my explorations where I can create a primitive ping-and-crunch rhythm that sounds REMARKABLY like recent Autechre. Since I am a musical imbecile and I have always thought of them as wizards, this is somewhere between deflating and inspiring.

In other news, I have put together two musicians who've played together before — guitarist Ava Mendoza and violinist gabby fluke-mogul — and a drummer they've never worked with before, Carolina Pérez Arrago of the death metal band Hypoxia, and they're gonna make a record for my label next weekend. It'll be out in the spring, probably. Depending on how it comes out, I'm considering asking the engineer to mix it in mono for extra thunderousness.

My new EP is out--it's a bit softer and less angular than the last album. Enjoy.

https://chrisirregardless.bandcamp.com/album/orange-skies-and-lemon-wedges

I gave VCV rack a shot again and I came up with some really cool stuff! Pretty nice for free, VERY creative.

Vcvrack is so much fun...

Currently Soundcloud is the only place where I have most of my recordings, but I need to start considering pushing them to streaming platforms. I find the whole world of streaming distribution services pretty confusing and overwhelming. I know Soundcloud can push my stuff out to other platforms, but people seem to hate their distribution tools. In fact, people seem to hate most distribution tools.

Is there a service that anyone on here actually likes? Any to avoid? I don't need anything super complicated, just want to expand out to more listeners and maybe get on some playlists. I could also imagine pushing some of my music to Beatport, which I think only some services support.

I know most people use Distrokid? I've been lucky in that most of my stuff has been handled by indie labels, and for my own little label it was through someone else's distribution deal. I think all of that stuff went to Beatport, but nothing really works for playlists anymore (except by lottery-esque chance, I think). Sorry to not be of more help!

I've been working on an album, and I gotta say I've been getting some great drum sounds in my untreated basement with the same budget mics I've had forever (AT2035 for a main mic, two old Rhode NT5s - started using one of them as a bottom snare mic, and the Zoom H6 built-ins as a wildcard/room mic), just due to getting more familiar with my process and its limitations. Playing very quietly (because I like how it sounds when compressed and to not get too much room sound), tracking everything separately (snare/cymbals/bass drum, playing the latter on its side with a mallet usually), knowing how I'm going to mix, working on touch, etc.

Also it sounds like my record from last year is going to get a vinyl re-press (it was initially on cassette), which is exciting.

yeah i use distrokid for getting music on streaming services, it does what i need and is pretty easy to use

also use it, very easy to use.

We want to book some shows with J0n Mu3ller in the spring

Incidentally this already happened, we did two shows together in the dead of winter during a snowstorm. Musically great fun, but we (and the crowds) were definitely battling the elements.

i noticed -- i saw JM announce the shows and was like how about that jordan got his wish!

i'm learning "jellybelly" on the drums. ouch

Bison - Space Evader, which my band recorded back in the day, is now up on Bandcamp. If you are into mid 90s pre-emo with lots of noisy rippin' guitars, then this is for you.

https://bisonboston.bandcamp.com/album/space-evader

Working obsessively on something. It's getting in the way of everything else. Pretty giddy tbh. When you're in the grips of it there's nothing else like it...

enjoy the buzz my guy! xx

:D

my band/recording project that has existed for almost 10 years is prepping to play our first show. our kids are finally old and self-sufficient enough that we can carve out some time to practice.

Amazing!

Yeah there's nothing like the obsession when you're in deep, I can see the end of the album I've been working on for the last 3 months and it's bittersweet. I'll have to remember what I used to do when I had a couple hours of free time.

First thing, I have a new single out that I never got around to posting here.

https://chrisirregardless.bandcamp.com/album/hexes-and-curses-in-the-new-year-zero

Second thing, I still haven't figured out how to release music without going backwards emotionally and in terms of keeping my life organized. I'm just now recovering from the life hit that I got from putting out that single.

what sort of life hit after putting out a single? do you mean like processing the feelings or did something happen?

It's hard to explain. I just kind of lose the life routines that I've spent months trying to get myself to do--things like taking the garbage out frequently and keeping up with the laundry, and neglect keeping in touch with the people around me and online. I also end up feeling emotionally imbalanced in a way I find hard to explain.

You mean while you're working on it? I can kind of relate to that, when I was working on my first album I was truly obsessed, wanted to work on it all the time and had a harder time coming out of it, and it caused a bit of conflict with my gf. These days I still get obsessed but we both navigate it better, she knows I need some time (particularly weekend afternoons) and I'm better at setting things aside and knowing I'll get to it. And during the week I'm always listening and making notes (and maybe squeezing in some easy tweaks), so I have a list of things to tackle when I have time. It's good to take breaks!

No, afterwards, usually about 24 hours after it comes out. I don't work long hours on music, I usually work a few hours in the evening, put it aside for a few days, and then work on it some more until it feels like it's done. Like a lot of things in my life, there's no possible explanation or excuse for what I do or what happens to me.

idk there's always an explanation -- is it because you are waiting for reactions from people? and either getting them (or not) makes you feel dysregulated?! it's a vulnerable thing to put one's music out there for the world to hear. be easy on yourself.