The Invictus lyric video is now on YouTube!

Watch the Invictus video today!  I recommend turning up the volume (on a good set of speakers or headphones) and watching it in full screen 1080p HD.  Please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to my YouTube channel,  and share Invictus with everyone you know!  Your likes, comments, and purchases help support the creation of more music.

Happy Holidays from Rich Thomsen (and a Free Screen Saver!)

Merry Christmas!  2014 has been a great year for my musical projects, with the release of my first album (Reinvention: Selections from Beck Hansen's Song Reader), performances at Ball's Cabaret, my first lyric video (for Blackbird), and 3 electro pop singles with Chris Upfield of Square Spiral (Eyes That Say I Love You, Let's Dance Tonight, and Invictus)! 

My final gift to you in 2014 is an animated screen saver featuring covers from all of my releases in 2014.    After you download the screen saver (an .scr file), you can double click to 'play' it or right-click on it to 'install' the screen saver in Windows >>  Download Rich Thomsen 2014 Screen Saver.  This is my first time making a screen saver; let me know if it works (or doesn't work) for you.

In 2015 I plan to share song downloads, CDs, and other surprises via random drawings of loyal mailing list subscribers.  Subscribe today: enter your address where it says "Follow Rich via Email" on the top right of http://www.richthomsen.com.  Don't forget to check your email and activate your email subscription to qualify for the drawings.  Thank you for supporting independent musicians!

See you in 2015!

Invictus - ElectroPop Single Release!

November 20th, 2014

Rich Thomsen & SquareSpiral present:

Invictus

 "100 Year Old English Poem meets modern ElectroPop"

Available at 30 music stores and services, including:

Google Play, Amazon

cdbaby.com

Buy it today! (links above go direct to stores)

....AND find Rich Thomsen on SPOTIFY

 

New YouTube Video - Invictus Piano & Vocal!

The fully produced Invictus single is scheduled to be released on Thursday!  If you are fans of high-tempo electronic music you're in for a real treat!  If peaceful piano songs interest you more, please watch (and share!) this High Definition YouTube video of the original song idea.  If you watch until the end, you can get a preview of the single coming out on Thursday!

Invictus - 90% finished

Invictus is mostly done after a weekend of vocal takes and comps on my digital audio workstation (and old-fashioned pen and paper for edit notes). While I'm working on the final cover art, SquareSpiral will pick the music up for another round of mixing and production.

Recording Final Vocals for Invictus

It's a beautiful day outside. While I would have rather been out, I'm thankful for the sunshine, it makes for good light. I've video recorded all my sessions for Invictus so far. With some luck I'll be able to stitch them together when the song is complete.

Coming soon - Invictus!

I worked on vocal tracks for the upcoming single, "Invictus", today. This will be another electronically charged track featuring the musical production of Chris Upfield of Square Spiral. We also just added Colin Upfield's background vocals. It's all coming together nicely. This afternoon my wife helped craft the lyrics into what you'll likely see as the cover for the single - Thank You Sara!

I first encountered Invictus as a song I sang for a classical high school vocal recital, many years ago. The words come from a poem by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). I had completely forgotten about the poem and the song until late 2013. My work on the Beck Song Reader collection inspired me to look into public domain poems and songs. Once I saw the words for Invictus, I remembered really liking it.  I think you will enjoy this new song....I can't wait to share it with you! 

Blackbird on the Minnesota Homebrew radio show!

My original rock song, "Blackbird", will be part of the Minnesota Homebrew show, Thursday 8-9pm on Pioneer 90.1 (Thief River Falls, MN area).  You can also catch it at TuneIn Radio: http://tunein.com/radio/Pioneer-901-s35478/

Minnesota Homebrew features local singer/songwriters.  I'm excited to be a part of the line-up tomorrow!

You can catch the recorded show here:
http://www.radionorthland.org/category/mn-homebrew/

Full Length Video of Let's Dance Tonight, featuring Yolanda Thomas!

Buy the single today on iTunes at: http://bit.ly/letsdancetonight
Stream Let's Dance Tonight on Spotify at: http://bit.ly/LetsDanceTonightOnSpotify

Let's Dance Tonight Teaser Video 3

They keep on coming! This happy little bird likes grooving to Let's Dance Tonight!
What about you?

Let's Dance Tonight Teaser Video 2

 

This is the second 'Teaser' for an upcoming collage of dancers I have planned for Let's Dance Tonight.  I hope you enjoy it!

Where do people listen to Rich Thomsen?

You might be tempted to joke "WHEN do people listen to Rich Thomsen?"  Nobody is handing out that data yet, but I've got some fun tidbits to share.  The first relates to the music I've been releasing since the beginning of 2014. 

My distributor, CDBABY, shares some location data for sales and streams, which I sat down to review this evening.  While I only get state information for iTunes sales, I can map out buyers and streamers by country for all the music outlets.  As you can gather from the map below, I've got listeners in 3 continents and 8 states! 

Thank you for your support!  It seems like everyone wants their music for free these days; I really appreciate folks who take the time to buy independent music or add your favorites to a playlist on a streaming service.  Those contributions, no matter how small, will help encourage the continued creation of new sounds for everyone to enjoy.

So enough about my music stats...how did I put the above picture together?  Did you know you could create maps like this in seconds using Excel 2013 and a 'Bing Maps' add-on?  I'm not an Office power user, but I can say with confidence that it's really easy to do.  My wife showed me how to do it in minutes, and I found a blog with more detailed instructions here:

http://www.dirkstrauss.com/how-to/use-bing-maps-in-office-excel-2013#.U_U3Umd0wy8

With Excel 2013 it didn't even care whether I entered country abbreviations, zip codes, or state names: how cool is that!



Let's Dance Tonight Teaser Video 1

I'm trying some new things with song promotion this month, including these dance driven promotional spots for Let's Dance Tonight.  There's more to come!

REINVENTION CDs Now Available!

I'm so excited, I'm holding the first shrink wrapped CDs of REINVENTION!  Reinvention contains a variety of styles: soft pop, electro pop, soft rock, piano/vocal, and grungy rock!

You can get your own CD or digital version of REINVENTION by clicking on the Buy Music link at the top of the page, or go straight to the CD purchase page by clicking: HERE.  The CD's look less expensive than iTunes, @$5.69, but Kunaki charges $4.30 for first class shipping, bringing the physical product total to $9.99.  You can avoid the shipping charge by buying one from me directly.  I'll happily sign them on the spot!

This is a big milestone for me.  If you've been holding out on getting your own copy of REINVENTION, this is a great time to add it to your collection.

If you haven't heard any songs off of the album yet, head to SoundCloud for a preview:
https://soundcloud.com/richthomsen/sets/song-reader

Getting some REINVENTION CD's made this week!

It took me about 4 hours to get the preparation done, but I'm queued for some physical CDs coming to me some time next week.  These are samples, to make sure I designed the artwork correctly.  While I was going to just order one, Kunaki's rates are so good I'm taking a chance at my first run and ordered more.  The other news here is that I'll soon have CD's for sale from RICHTHOMSEN.com, shipped straight to you!

Official Song Reader LP Release - Listen to Jarvis Cocker's Eyes That Say I Love You, beside the Rich Thomsen version, right here!

Beck's Song Reader LP (Various Artists) came out today, 7/29!  Naturally, it's hard for me to avoid standing my "Reinvention" versions beside ones by musicians with a national presence.

Have a listen to Jarvis Cocker's version of Eyes That Say I Love You on Spotify....then listen to to my version (also on Spotify). I released mine as a single in February. While they are different, they come from the same pages of sheet music with some basic melodies and chords. 

Official "Song Reader" LP, Jarvis Cocker's version of Eyes That Say I Love You:


Rich Thomsen's (produced by Chris Upfield) version of Eyes That Say I Love You:

Support Minnesota music by purchasing Eyes That Say I Love You @ iTunes today:

Single Release: Let's Dance Tonight!

July 25th, 2014

Rich Thomsen presents:

Let's Dance Tonight

 THE all-original Indie Dance Pop song for the summer!

Available at 30 music stores and services, including:

Google Play, Amazon

cdbaby.com

Buy it today! (links above go direct to stores)

....AND NOW find Rich Thomsen on SPOTIFY

[EXPIRED] Let's Dance Tonight (Single) FREE for download until July 25th

[EXPIRED]
My new Indie Dance Pop single, Let's Dance Tonight, will be released this Friday, July 25th. Pre-order it now on Amazon or download it for FREE until Friday at the link below. Enjoy the track and don't forget to share it with your friends!

Let's Dance Tonight FREE DOWNLOAD (Provide Email Address)

Let's Dance Tonight - 07/25 Single Release!

My original Indie Dance Pop single "Let's Dance Tonight" is in the digital distribution process and should be available July 25th.  My favorite comment from a pre-release listener: "This is a rocket that took me back straight to the 90's!!! I really enjoyed this pop dance track...IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO DANCE TO THIS SONG!"

Other comments from pre-release listeners:
"Powerful dance song. This is a nice indie track full of good choices. I think this can be The hit of The summer 2014!! Great leads and nice pads!"
"...great track, one of the best songs I've heard all year"
"Terrific track! I enjoy listening to it!"
"I love the chords changes in this track! It almost has a Nightmare before Christmas feel to it."
"Wow! Perfect job! Sound like I`m back to the 1990!  Amazing voices and sound effects are cool! Great Indie Dance Pop!!  Like it so much!"
"Not like all other pop songs, and thats good!"

Mark your calendar for 7/25 and get something *fun & local* on your phone or tablet for your collection!



Let's Dance Tonight is a follow up to my electro-pop single "Eyes That Say I Love You".  "Eyes" is available as part of my 'REINVENTION' album, released 06/2014.

Beck Releases Song Reader album!

Beck is going to release an LP of tunes from the Song Reader sheet music collection!  Yes, these are the same songs I recorded for the "Reinvention" album.   For Beck's release, he got artists like Jack White, Norah Jones, and even Jack Black to perform some of the songs.

More information on the Beck Song Reader LP:
Song Reader LP Release

Information on the Rich Thomsen 'Reinvention' Song Reader release:
Reinvention - Selections from Beck Hansen's Song Reader

Preview of upcoming single - Let's Dance Tonight!

Please listen to and share this preview of my Indie Dance Pop single - *Let's Dance Tonight*.  I'm going to get it in the pipeline for release later this month, don't miss it!

[EXPIRED] Free Download of We All Wear Cloaks

[This offer ended on 07/20/2014.  Subscribe to RICHTHOMSEN.COM to get notified of the next free track!]

Starting today, 06/20/14, you can get a free download of my alternative rock track WE ALL WEAR CLOAKS, by providing your email address here:
http://emailunlock.com/richthomsen/we-all-wear-cloaks

WE ALL WEAR CLOAKS, is a song filled with big drums, electric guitars, and the vocals of Rich Thomsen.  This is the 2nd track from the REINVENTION album, released earlier this month!

You can also support Minnesota Music by buying We All Wear Cloaks on iTunes, for only

$.99: iTunes

Rich Thomsen's new album Reinvention - Now Available!

June 7th, 2014

Rich Thomsen presents:

Reinvention - Selections from Beck Hansen's Song Reader

 Available at 30 music stores and services, including:

iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, cdbaby.com

Buy it today! (links above go direct to stores)

 

 

Reinvention showcases Rich's ability to perform multiple genres of music including atmospheric pop, piano/vocal, rock, and electro-pop. Song Reader is a collection of unrecorded songs by Beck Hansen.

 

Featuring:

Old Shanghai

We All Wear Cloaks

Why Did You Make Me Care?

Do We? We Do!

Please Leave a Light On When You Go

Rough on Rats

Eyes That Say I Love You

 

Arranged and performed by Rich Thomsen

 

Produced by Chris Upfield

(w/full arrangement and production of Eyes That Say I Love You)

 

NEW Blackbird Video!

My distributor sorted out my album release to my satisfaction:
Reinvention should be available by the weekend!

Until then, please watch my new video for Blackbird on YouTube.  Like it, comment on it, share it with your friends!

Free Download of Blackbird, only this weekend!

Sure I'm down about the delayed Reinvention release, but to celebrate those of you who 'showed up' for the fun, this weekend only, you can download my April single, BLACKBIRD, via this secret Soundcloud link:
https://soundcloud.com/richthomsen/blackbird/s-YT4hk

1 Day Until the Release of Reinvention!

1 day until the release of my 7 song album, Reinvention! Share your email address at http://www.richthomsen.com/(Top right, "Follow Rich", I promise I won't share it!) to subscribe to email updates and be first in line for details on how to win 1 of 10 MP3 editions of the album!

2 Days Until the Release of Reinvention!

 

2 days until the release of my 7 song album, Reinvention! Share your email address at http://www.richthomsen.com (top right, "Follow Rich" - I promise I won't share it!) to be first in line for details on how to win 1 of 10 MP3 copies!

3 Days Until the Release of Reinvention!

3 days until the release of my 7 song album, Reinvention! Share your email address at http://www.richthomsen.com (Top right, "Follow Rich", I promise I won't share it!) to be first in line for details on how to win 1 of 10 MP3 copies of my latest release!

Celebrating Blackbird at Blackbird Cafe

Not long after releasing Blackbird, I found a restaurant of the same name in Northeast Minneapolis.  It sounded like an interesting place to go so I went for it.  The décor inside was interesting, mirrors on one side, antlers on another, and a disco ball hanging between!

They are all about 'from scratch' cookin, and have fresh, tasty choices.

I settled on a Catfish Po'Boy which was absolutely delicious, and a strawberry soda to balance it out.  I think the website mentioned a 'Walley Po-Boy' instead, but the Catfish Po-Boy exceeded my expectations.  The waitstaff was friendly and attentive, and the café itself was busy and alive with conversation.  I would definitely come back if I was in the neighborhood.

So final verdict: it's worth checking out:
http://www.blackbirdmpls.com/
3800 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis, MN

Rich Thomsen breaks Top 10 on ReverbNation Indie Chart!

I received a fun email from ReverbNation today: I broke the top 10 on the Indie Charts!  I don't talk much about my ReverbNation page, but if you're curious, here it is.  From ReverbNation you can also quickly Like my new Facebook band page, follow me on Twitter, or +1 me on Google+.

Top 10 notice link:
http://rvrb.fm/1lTiw8n

Praise for Blackbird

Support local music by clicking the link of your favorite music store below and adding Blackbird to your collection!

    Amazon    CDBaby   Google Play

For this release I also opted for streaming services so you should be able to find Blackbird at places like Spotify and Rhapsody!

SoundCloud listeners have been really kind with their comments (click picture for larger version):

BLACKBIRD - Original Single Release - Buy Now!

"Blackbird" by Rich Thomsen is now available on:
(Click links below to preview or purchase the song)

    Amazon    CDBaby   Google Play

Also available from a variety of streaming services like Xbox Music, Rhapsody, and Spotify!

Blackbird is a feel-good traditional rock song, perfect for kicking off your next road trip or lifting your spirits during a hard day.  This track is another collaboration with Chris Upfield of Square Spiral, and a great follow up to the winter electro-pop single Eyes That Say I Love You.

SoundCloud pre-release listeners share their thoughts on Blackbird:
"True rock and roll!"
"Really catchy song, good vibes...the lyrics are cool, and the vocal is perfect!"
"...really awesome voice!"
"Awesome rock track right here, so great to hear someone land an amazing direction for this style still. Rock isnt dead!"
"Love this sound..."
"...the song is really nice.. nice vocal tones... well written"
"This is awesome :) Very happy sounding :)"
"Right on man, this is really nice songwriting."
"I want to drive in the country in a Jeep Wrangler to this song."
"...uplifting rock style music! I love the piano in it."

After your purchase of "Blackbird", I'd really appreciate it if you could take a couple of minutes to leave a review for the song, and share this track with your friends on social media.  It's tough to get people to purchase music with all the free choices out there.  Spending a few minutes to click the number of stars you want and write a few words makes a big difference!

Piano Performance of Eyes That Say I Love You

My first public performance of Eyes That Say I Love You at the Southern Theater last weekend was a spontaneous one.  I didn't get any video of the event as I was busy working myself into the show last minute.  I stepped into a first video with a recording at the Minneapolis Central Library.  Central Library has a grand piano room that you can 'check out' for a half hour block to play.  Saturday's attempt was decent but my vocals were completely drowned out by the piano using an iPad as a camera.  On Sunday I returned with a microphone which ensured a better vocal recording.  I still used the iPad, leveraging GarageBand's audio recorder to do a few takes.  I synchronized the audio and video manually at home to get the video below:

First Performance - Balls Cabaret

I just returned from my first performance at Balls Cabaret @ The Southern Theatre in Minneapolis!  I haven't tried to sing and play simultaneously for ages, it was time to get out of the studio and onto the stage!  Balls Cabaret is the perfect place for it, with a friendly crew running the show and a great audience.  I had concerns about how my mobile setup would work.  It's a 49 key get-up attached to my iPod, attached to an ipod dock that was loud enough to match my voice on stage.  

I played "Eyes That Say I Love You" as a piano/vocal version.  The technical director queued up the electro-pop version to play in between acts as I left the stage.  It felt really good to hear it pumping out over the PA.  I hope to use the same method for future songs, 'Black Bird' will be up next once I get the vocals redone with my new mic.  Tomorrow I hope to make it to Minneapolis Central to record a similar piano/vocal version on their grand piano.

Awesome feedback for Eyes That Say I Love You

"Eyes That Say I Love You" has gotten superb feedback on SoundCloud.  Check out this sampling of great comments below!

"Eyes That Say I Love You" is now available on:
iTunes  Amazon  Google Play  CDBaby

Sparkling synths, hard-hitting drums, and powerful bass tones surround Rich Thomsen's vocals in this electro pop rendition of Beck Hansen's "Eyes That Say I Love You".  This track is an international collaboration with Chris Upfield of Square Spiral.

Eyes That Say I Love You - Now on iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play!

I released my first single!
"Eyes That Say I Love You" is now available on:
iTunes  Amazon  Google Play  CDBaby

Sparkling synths, hard-hitting drums, and powerful bass tones surround Rich Thomsen's vocals in this electro pop rendition of Beck Hansen's "Eyes That Say I Love You".  This track is an international collaboration with Chris Upfield of Square Spiral.

Leading up to and following the official release, "Eyes" has gotten exceptional feedback on SoundCloud:
"its a whole new genre, its a bit rock and electro and wobbles, really original"
"Really great production. I'd put this in a DnB set somewhere. Vocals are nice and mastered well!"
"the drumming and synth arrangement is not only catchy but the quality is just plain nuts"
"perfect production. All so well balanced and mastered. What I TRULY love here is the combination of 80s vibes with dubstep wobble bass. YOU ARE INSANELY GOOD. Cool!"
"This track is an example of how somewhere there is someone you've never heard of, who is combining styles you never thought of, and probably deserves more attention. Really original, nice work"
"BOLD. GREAT."

After your purchase of "Eyes That Say I Love You", I'd really appreciate it if you could spend the extra couple of minutes to leave a review for the song, and share this track with your friends.

Every bit of publicity helps!

Behind the Scenes - Cover Art for Eyes That Say I Love You

As I continue to work with Square Spiral on a refreshed mix of Eyes That Say I Love You, it's a good time to get cracking on a new single cover for it.  My original cover art was a scan of the sheet music that inspired the song.  My target for this song is a track on iTunes so I need a royalty-free source, and since I've got a shoestring budget, FREE royalty-free is what I am looking for.

This is the original cropped cover from a photo of the sheet music.  I've seen this version enough, either a lot of people had the same idea I had, or my image has been getting a lot of replay value as other people make covers of the song:

As I tried to figure out a new version, I stuck with the eye theme and went to Pixabay.  I started with this "Model Girl Pretty Portrait Lady Woman Exotic" (Click to see original) and just cut out the area around the eyes, in the spirit of the original sheet music cover.  I did some color correction to make the eyes a little more discolored and bloodshot.

While this is better than I would come up with on my own, it still looks just like stock art plopped in there.  I went on to look for something grittier, less realistic.  I found this set of drawn eyes that took things in the opposite direction.  I did a fill on the white background to make it red and added some noise to make the next iteration.  (Gaussian 73%)

While this has a more artistic style to it, I missed what I was imagining with "Model Pretty Girl".  After another week I took advantage of a great deal (free) to get Perfect Effects 8 and while playing with the filters in this program, it occurred to me to try combining the images as layers.  I set the drawn eyes at about 60% and applied two layers of effects (Holga Cross, and Red Dirty) to get the end result below (Click it for the larger version):

With that bit of work out of the way, we need to put the finishing touches on the song itself.  Chris (of Square Spiral) just shared his latest mix.  While I am naturally biased, it sounds amazing and I can't wait to get my hands on the final audio so I can get the iTunes process going.  This will be my first song on iTunes so that will be another learning experience.  If you'd like to be one of the first to get your hands (ears) on it, please provide your address in the "Follow Rich by Email" box at the top right of this website, for the latest news.  I promise I won't sell your email address or do other evil things with it!

Time Machine: 1993 - New Tensions Rising

In 1993 I assembled the tracks of my first album/collection, New Tensions Rising (NTR).  NTR was made entirely with a Tascam 4 track multi-track recorder (424 or 464), that used standard cassette tapes.  As I remember it, I used the 2 stereo tracks to record the accompanying sounds from my Yamaha PSR-500 and the main vocal, using a Radio Shack (Realistic) microphone, while the other two tracks held backup vocals.

These songs were performed at school variety shows and community events.  My favorite of the bunch was Our Love Begins Today, but I don't recall getting the reaction I expected from it, even with two girls dancing (choreographed) on stage.  Maybe rural Iowa wasn't ready for it!

I've hand picked some of my favorite NTR tracks for your streaming pleasure:

Title Track: New Tensions Rising, Copyright 1993 Richard Thomsen

Arms of Love, Copyright 1993 Richard Thomsen
Our Love Begins Today, Copyright 1993 Richard Thomsen

Reflections on Reality Past, Copyright 1993 Richard Thomsen



End of the Road, Copyright 1993 Richard Thomsen


Background Details:
The Yamaha PSR-500 keyboard that generated the sounds for these tracks had a MIDI 5-pattern recorder that allowed me to cook up verse/chorus type parts by simply picking a style and playing chords.  The PSR-500 helped me create a relatively consistent sound for NTR.

I can't remember what I used for the reverb I applied to my vocals.  I went through several effects units: first a Zoom multi-effects unit, then a Digitech multi-effect pedalboard, then a small Sony box that I used for the next 5 years.

I sweetened the recordings with a BBE Sonic Maximizer.  I don't recall what happened to it, but I think these recordings sound pretty good given the equipment I used.  The other thing to keep in mind was that I was a high school student in rural Iowa (population 2000) and do not remember getting any guidance on recording beyond the product manuals.

The labels were printed on the family inket printer, an HP Deskjet 500, using the Microsoft Publisher software.  I remember my father carefully cutting those sticky labels as we prepped them for the cassettes.  I sold NTR for 5 dollars each.   I recall distributing about 100 copies to family and friends, but many of those were freebies.

In the beginning...

I remember the big reel to reel tape unit my dad had in the living room stereo cabinet. Beneath it was a relatively new addition, a cassette player and recorder with Dolby Noise Reduction.  I would don a pair of big white closed ear headphones and happily listen to "Germs, Germs, My Invisible Dog!"

Once I learned about hooking up a microphone, my interest increased greatly. I loved watching those analog meters swing from side to side, bouncing briefly into the red. First I'd record off FM broadcasts and then moved on to playing with the mic. This led to a fascination with recording stories and 'movies' to cassette tape.

I'm not sure what led me to my first keyboard, but it was a Casio SK5. This was a small keyboard with a sampler, that I remember buying for 50 dollars at Sears. I think it was on clearance and I thought it was grand that it could record sounds and play them on the pads or on any key. One of my friends and I would make silly sounds and make up rap beats, or sample in guitar chords off what I remember to be an INXS album. I don't think these creations ever made it to tape.

As I got older I got a double cassette deck and started making mix tapes like everyone else, but I kept going back to wanting a microphone input. At some point in high school I bought a silver JVC double cassete deck, with both auto-reverse (ooh! aah!) and microphone inputs. The microphone inputs were intially used when DJing school dances, but one evening I started putting it all together. I hit record and started playing my electric guitar, for several minutes. Then moved that tape from the record deck to the play deck, and added in another guitar track while the first one played...I was hooked! I digitized these recordings and still have them. Noone will likely hear them again!

My sister gave me piano lessons for a few weeks but I didn't maintain interest. The piano itself was interesting, I just wasn't a great student. However, my parents recognized my interest in music, and introduced me to a Yamaha keyboard, a PSR500, which I still look back on as a catalyst to some of my happiest musical times. The Yamaha had a decent piano sound, and a built in sequencer that was very intuitive for creating patterns and building songs. There is a whole lot of PSR500 on my first album "New Tensions Rising".

Which brings me back to recording: 'Hours worked detasseling corn and stocking shelves at the local grocery store went towards music gear. My first multi-track tape deck was a Tascam 424 or 464, I don't remember which.  This was a time when I had all the pieces I needed for hours of musical fun: a decent mic, a guitar, and the Yamaha synthesizer. I was amazed at how one could record 4 strips of music on tape and split them up!

At some point I also picked up a BBE Sonic Maximizer. I clearly remember picking it up at the music store. Both because I thought I was nuts for spending a couple hundred dollars on something to 'sweeten' the sound, but also because I talked a girl from my high school into accompanying me. She must have thought I was really nuts!

I think right before I finished "New Tensions Rising" I picked up a Sony cassette deck with Dolby S. I remember noise reduction being an obsession: splitting tracks across a normal cassete tape for the mutltitrack might have been related, but I remember listening over and over again, trying to tweak out a little more hiss. The old recordings still have the this, but Dolby S seemed great at that time. I think I digitized them with Dolby S turned off because it dropped the high end too much.

In college I sold the Yamaha and moved up to an Alesis Quadrasynth which I continue to play on. I like it! Similarly I sold the Tascam 4 track and moved up to a Yamaha MT8x, an 8 track that I recorded "Love Will Carry You" on.

Then the technology took over a bit too much. I upgraded my 386 computer to a 486 and purchased a version of Cakewalk that could do Audio. Prior to that I recall recording midi tracks using some Voyetra software, I don't remember exactly what it was called, but it was a sequencer. This was about the time I had one last burst of creativity and did my first digital recording: 'I'm Having a Bad Day' which I still like bringing out as a favorite. After this, college, relationship, and military stress compounded and my creative lights faded out.

Fast Forward to the Present:
I'm coming back into music two decades later and the technology has made amazing advances. I've uncovered resources right under my nose to jumpstart my musical processes. I can't wait to tell you about it!