Greetings, True Believers! The remixing process for the upcoming re-release (in deluxe, remastered format) of CRITICAL DISTANCE is well underway! I have updated my ReverbNation page with the latest (unmastered) remixed versions of the first nine tracks. Hoping to get the others finished over the next few weeks.
Even unmastered, I think the improvement is pretty dramatic ~ take a listen and TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!
And stay tuned for updates & info about the re-release … and possible live shows!!! … for CRITICAL DISTANCE!
In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and resultant “social distancing,” one really cool thing I’ve seen is a ton of music & art getting shared by many of my gifted & talented friends. Y’all have been so inspiring to me, and I’ve realized that even if I’m not able to work at the prodigious level of talent I’m seeing from all of you, I still have an obligation at a time like this to share what little bit of music I can.
Along the way, I’m hoping that working out to all these backing tracks ~ and knowing they’re going to be published here ~ will eventually make me into a better musician!
The idea is to share some pure creation, no matter how good it is (or isn’t!). They say that in improvisation there are no wrong notes. In this series, I challenge that notion! And I test the theory that improv means “whatever you do, don’t stop ~ make it work.” As an old teacher once observed: “If you make a mistake, play the same mistake twice in a row. That’s rock & roll. Play it three times and that’s jazz!” Working on these jam/improv vids is definitely the closest I’ve ever come to being a jazz musician (by that very loose definition, of course)!
So here’s what I’ve got so far ~ raw, unrehearsed, warts and all, for the sake of sheer creativity. I’m hoping that the spirit of the giving is more important than the quality of the performances or the artistic merit (if any) of the final products/gifts. I hope you enjoy my offering. More importantly, I hope you’ll likewise be inspired to make some art of your own and share it with this world as a light against the darkness that seems so pervasive around us right now.
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 1 ~ The Shiva & Me & Some Viral Blooze
My first attempt at recording separate audio & video and syncing them together. Backing track from GuitarVoices.com; all clams, however, courtesy of Yours Truly!
Signal chain: Hamer USA Mirage Koa (SD Custom Custom bridge pickup), Bogner Shiva EL34 head, Koch Dummybox, Onyx Blackjack usb interface, Garageband, Ownhammer IR (Bogner OS 2×12, V30 & Greenback speakers)
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 2 ~ The Budda & Me & Some Viral Blooze
My second attempt at recording and syncing separate video and audio tracks.
Signal chain: Hamer USA Studio with EB Ultra Slinky strings (tuned down 1/2 step) into a Series I Budda Superdrive 18. The amp is running into a Koch Dummybox as a load, then into my interface and into Garageband, using Ownhammer IRs (Bogner OS 2×12 with Greenbacks). As with Part Un, the backing track is courtesy GuitarBackingTrack.com, but the clams, well, they’re all mine, baby! 🙂
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 3 ~ Bogner Shiva, Smokey Blues
Here’s some late-night blues for y’all. It may not make any of us feel that much better, but remember what Bleeding Gums Murphy always says: “The blues ain’t about makin’ yourself feel better. They about makin’ other people feel worse! And maybe makin’ a buck or two along the way.” Well, I’m not making any money here, but it feels good to be sharing some music with y’all. Backing track is from GuitarBackingTrack.com. Clams, as always, courtesy of Yours Truly!
Signal chain: Hamer USA Mirage Koa with Seymour Duncan Cool Rails neck and Custom Custom bridge pickups; Bogner Shiva silver chassis EL34 with reverb; Koch Dummybox load box; Onyx Blackjack interface; GarageBand; Ownhammer Bogner OS 2×12 w/ V30s IR plugin
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 4 ~ Stratocaster Edition
My ’09 American Standard Stratocaster and my trusty Bogner Shiva with Ownhammer V30 IRs, and a backing track from guitarbackingtrack.com that’s deceptively happy … and more than a little wistful. (Also trying out Ernie Ball Ultra Slinky strings tuned to Eb with the longer scale neck of the Fender. Ftr ~ not a fan. I went back to Hybrid Slinkys for this guitar right after this clip.)
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 5 ~ The Clammining!
Thanks to another great backing track from guitarbackingtrack.com, I’m going back to my adolescent roots. You can take the boy out of the ’80s, but … y’all know how the saying goes. Here’s a one-take wonder ~ just played straight through … hadn’t even listened to the whole track before, lol! So, again, plenty of clams. But it felt good to bust out the ol’ Ibanez & boost my Shiva with a Wampler Tumnus … and the Boss MS-3 added some TOTALLY RAD chorus and delay for an AWESOME TUBULAR sound! Enjoy, y’all! 🙂
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 6 ~ Clam to Fame!
As usual, guitarbackingtrack.com provides a groovy track (this one keeping with the ’80s theme of my previous effort ~ Part 5: The Clammining!), a USA-made Hamer Mirage Koa + silver-chassis, EL34-powered Bogner Shiva + a Wampler Tumnus and a Boss MS-3 switcher/multi-fx unit provide the tasty tones … and my fingers provide the clams. Let me know what you think, but be gentle ~ as the first year psych student said to her professor, “I’m Jung and easily Freudianed.”
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 7 ~ Phunky Clamboree!
For these funky clams, I ran my American Standard Stratocaster (’09) into my silver-chassis, EL34-powered Bogner Shiva, boosted for leads by a Wampler Tumnus and with phunky ephects from my Boss MS-3 multi-fx/switcher … into my interface & Garageband. Backing track once again provided by guitarbackingtrack.com; phunky fresh clams, as always, courtesy of Yours Truly.
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 8 ~ Bucket o’ Clams!
A slow-clam-jam with a backing track from guitarbackingtrack.com that purports to be done in the style of Buckethead, though my chops are not worthy of the master’s fried chicken! Playing my American Standard Strat into my Budda Superdrive 18 combo, boosted with a Wampler Tumnus. Also, what on EARTH is going on with my hair?!? ;-p Enjoy!
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 9 ~ Clamnation, Smithers!
A scrappy lil’ funky-fresh improv for all you Clambakers tonight! Backing track from guitarbackingtrack.com … Jammin’ on my Hamer USA Mirage I Koa Top & running into my Budda Superdrive 18 combo & an Impulse Response 2×12 w/ Greenbacks. A little ‘verb in post ~ and, as always, plenty o’ clams, thanks to my clamomatic fingers!
I have to admit, this track was harder to clam-jam to than some of the previous ones, and I’m not sure I ever completely locked in to it. But I haven’t done nearly enough videos that showcase the phat, crunchy tones of my Hamer Mirage through the Budda SD18 combo, so at least this vid has that going for it. Enjoy!
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 10 ~ New Clam City!
It’s been a vile, ugly day in our nation, so tonight I’m trying to keep it clean: running my Hamer USA Mirage Koa into the clean channel of my Bogner Shiva, slightly kicked by a Wampler Tumnus as a clean-boost. God help us all find the groove…
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 11 ~ I Am CLAM!
CLAMoring for attention tonight with a burnin’ blues jam in Am from guitarbackingtrack.com, here’s a clip that’s the clamination of years of banging out 12-bar wankery, but sometimes it’s been such a tough day/week/month/year that you just gotta plug in, crank up, and cut loose. And if that don’t make ya feel better, then just remember what Bleeding Gums Murphy says: “The blues ain’t about makin’ yo’self feel better. It’s about makin’ other people feel worse … and maybe makin’ a buck or two along the way!”
This is my Hamer USA Studio, strung with Ernie Ball Ultra Slinkys, running into my Bogner Shiva EL34 head & then into GarageBand with an Ownhammer V30 impulse response cab sim. I’m boosting the amp’s dirty channel with a Wampler Tumnus set clean (just a volume boost for the front end) and adding a little delay and ‘verb from my Boss MS-3. Enjoy!
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CLAMBAKE! PT. 12 ~ The Clam Before the Storm!
Storm clams are gathering, and I’m just trying to find one last moment of peace & serenity while I still can. Running my Strat into my Shiva, boosted with an Outlaw Effects Deputy Marshal and a Wampler Tumnus.
