while looking out my window

yesterday i set up all my pedals in my bedroom in the late afternoon sun and decided to do an improv drone jam. my bedroom window looks directly west, so in the afternoon the sunlight breaks through the blinds in really beautiful ways. i've been doing more of these kind of ambient strange vibe type jams lately for things like a butoh dance performance at the mint museum in charlotte and as one of the participants in john cage's musicircus at unc-asheville.

so here's the one i did yesterday. it's best listened to on headphones or a stereo system.

the only non-voice sounds are the tapping of a lone bongo and some feedback i made at the end.

curtains - tuesday's sunset

abandoned high school

hey there!

so there's more news now to share with you fine folks who read this blog. i've been recording a lot lately, so the new record is even closer to completion than ever. still untitled, but this record fits together better than anything i've done up to this point. i'm really excited about it.

there may be an announcement soonish regarding my second record, "skeleton keys." you may get to hear it soon!

okay, so here are some show dates:

tomorrow, october 7th, i will be driving straight from sylva back to asheville, setting up my gear on campus, and playing about an hour and a half of music both ambient and not ambient somewhere around unca's quad. i'm participating in "musicircus," which is part of a weekend-long tribute to john cage, sponsored by the black mountain college + art museum. more info on the program is here.

also, here's a description of musicircus:

"The first Musicircus was performed in 1967 at the University of Illinois. The idea was to extend an open invitation to musicians of all types and skill levels to perform simultaneously whatever music in whatever location they chose within a designated territory during a specific time period. The various chance encounters of different musical performances and environmental events create a unique happening that is specific to each time and place."

a week from tomorrow, i'll be playing at my friend matthew sherwood's new music store for his grand opening party! i'm stoked beyond stoked for this. here's a link to the facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=256934184344686. also playing are electric owls and ice cream. i think there's links to all the band pages on the event invite.

then, a week after that, i'll be playing a free show at the grey eagle here in asheville. also jamming that night is the incredible joshua carpenter and local heroes the if you wannas. also, that show is totally free.

on another note, if you've got the boards of canada blues, i highly recommend this jam:

tycho - dive

stuttering, broken beats nudge analog synth tones in and out of focus. it's really good.

tonight is the night is the night is the night

tonight i share the wedge brewery's stage/patio area with the awesome and amazing arches from philadelphia!

we start at 8pm. be there and have a good time, or don't be there and hopefully be doing alright anyway.

now call down your dark and your cold and be damned

so here's some news:

there are at least three shows i'll be a part of in beautiful asheville, nc in the coming weeks/months.

on september 8th, i'll be playing at the get down in west asheville with these bands:

just die! (avl, nc) - http://justdiehardcore.bandcamp.com/

the rice cakes (providence, ri) - http://www.myspace.com/rozraskin/

on september 12, i'll be playing at the wedge in the river arts district with:

arches (philly, pa) - http://arches.bandcamp.com/

and maybe someone else from someplace else

and on october 22, i'll be at the grey eagle jamming with:

if you wannas (avl, nc) - http://www.ifyouwannas.com/

joshua carpenter (avl, nc) - http://potluck.bandcamp.com/album/full-flight

i'm pretty stoked and i think you should be too.

additionally, i've been hard at work at a new record, which is still unnamed at the moment. there are about 8 songs done so far and a few more that are simmering, ready to become full and happy.

also, once the artwork is done, i'll be putting out a couple solo tapes by the members of one of my favorite bands, city center. both are gorgeous washes of noise and melody, certain to please your ears. what's more, i did the b-side remix of the patient to patient tape. killer!

if you read this blog and live in asheville or nc or anywhere, i hope to see you soon. there are shows in lexington, ky and athens, ga on the horizon as well, so we'll meet soon.

love all of you.

foggy mountains

curtains - scawmy

texas heat

since i'm catching up for several months of missed posts, here's a set from my time in austin, tx this spring. i played at my good friend jesse's house for the one year anniversary of his monthly series of house jams. it was killer!! i heard so many wonderful austin musicians that night and was honored to be a part of that jam. jesse recorded the set and it sounds pretty amazing.

curtains - april 3 at cotton house, austin, tx

also, here's a picture of my neighbor's amazing cat, moose.

krautrock

it's been way, way too long since i've updated. i've been super busy with new sounds, new jobs, new experiences, and trying to sleep in between. here's a jam that i made a little while ago.

curtains - isolation tank

been a long time, shouldn'ta left you

winter is slowly dissolving into spring and i couldn't be happier about it. things have been pretty intense lately and the brutal cold/grey past months burrowed deep into my brain.

the first couple shows with the new setup went super well!!! the chapel hill show was especially good, as i'd never played these songs to that many people before. it's unfortunate that the bar upstairs from chapel hill underground was blasting super loud techno, but i fought against it best i could.

i'm playing again super soon at broadways in asheville. the homie jay moritz hooked up this really excellent poster:

i've learned some arrangements for some new jams, so this should be another good one.

in other news, there are still some copies of sleep good's tape "strange vacations" available through dark mom tapes, so grab one soon before they're all gone! there's a bunch of great things coming up from the label, including a tape from ryan howard's patient to patient, fred thomas's child, a new curtains tape, and a bunch more sweet sounds.

here's to spring!

gold and gone

this is a cover of city center's song, "gold girls." this version of the song was the first thing i made for my new record (which is taking shape and coming along quite nicely). it features a sample of my friend jillian playing the singing saw in my living room and some serious hiss.

curtains - gold girls

practice makes perfect

i practiced really hard for the show i played on saturday night. it was my first show in four months and i was (understandably) very nervous. i practiced and practiced and practiced, probably to the chagrin of my downstairs neighbors. i recorded each practice and culled together the best moments of those sessions. these versions of the songs are super different from the record versions, which i think keeps the songs fresh and interesting. deconstructing and reconstructing your own songs reveals new things about them you never would have thought about.

anyway, here's a little ep of those jams.
equipment used: line 6 loop pedal, danelectro octave pedal, tambourine, egg shaker, glockenspiel. i think you can hear the dog barking in the first track, too.

1. puddles/don't you worry
2. pink cadillac
3. xmas lights
4. no more sleep

enjoy!

curtains - practice tape ep

sleep good - strange vacations c25

hey everyone! i am really, really pleased to announce the first release on my label dark mom tapes. this first tape is from sleep good, an amazing dream pop band from austin, tx led by will patterson. this tape is something else. side a is dreamy, baroque pop jams and side b is a 10 minute zen/synth zone out. awesome handmade art by rachel.

paypal $6 to crashkills@gmail.com for your copy. this is an edition of 30, so act quickly!

r.i.p. trish keenan

today, i woke up to the really sad news that trish keenan of broadcast had died from pneumonia. it really hurts my heart. what a beautiful, chilling, otherwordly talent. you will be missed.

the physics of sound and music

physics makes me nervous. i have to understand it in order to get the degree i'm working towards (music technology), but it find it to be such an overwhelming swirl or equations and numbers and formulas and despair. eugh.

time for firsts

this weekend i'll be playing my first show in asheville. i'm pretty nervous about it. of course, i've played shows before when i've been nervous, but this feels a little different somehow. to add to the hilariousness/nervousness, i'm on the same bill as a cramps cover band at the punk bar in asheville. i'm sure some folks will be scratching their heads as i loop up doo wop harmonies and sing ever so tenderly about feeling lonely. it won't be that bad.

anyway, my friends white laces are touring down from richmond, va, with their homies sundials in tow. seeing those bands is gonna be pretty fun, especially as the whiskey begins to flow.

if you read this blog and actually live in asheville, come check us out. the show's happening on january 15 at the get down in w. asheville at 1045 haywood rd.

winter everywhere

this is the tree behind my apartment building. it feels like living in a treehouse all year long.