The final album, with drums by the mighty Jonathan Lance Eagle, will be killer.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
The Glimmer Blinkken
Some demos and rough mixes for the Glimmer Blinkken are up at bandcamp. Fun, goofy stuff, really captures the anarchic feel of the GB. Download it for free.
The final album, with drums by the mighty Jonathan Lance Eagle, will be killer.
The final album, with drums by the mighty Jonathan Lance Eagle, will be killer.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Mission Accomplished: Legal Fingers Album Hits the Street
Well, it's a wrap on the Legal Fingers album. I engineered the sessions, mixed and mastered it. Reviews are starting to come in, all announcing that they are rock gods due to my technological wizardry, or something like that.
"...explodes from the speakers as the songs hurtle along..."
"...contagious like some honor badge STD."
Anyway, you can download it at bandcamp. I'd love to see them rocket to stardom. Or at least make back the money they paid me.
"...explodes from the speakers as the songs hurtle along..."
"...contagious like some honor badge STD."
Anyway, you can download it at bandcamp. I'd love to see them rocket to stardom. Or at least make back the money they paid me.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Glimmer Blinkken—Rudi Proves It
The Glimmer Blinkken
Rudi Proves It
Off Minor, Dubuque, IA, Oct. 2011
Ben Eagle: vocal, guitar
Elizabeth Roberts: keyboard
Bob Bucko, Jr.: saxophone
Jon Eagle: drums
David Morrison: bass
Friday, September 9, 2011
A Ukulele Tune at Monk's Kaffee Pub
This was recorded at Controlled Chaos, the open mic I help host every week at Monk's Kaffee Pub in Dubuque. It's an old Bigamy Sisters number, off the album Tigris Embassy, which never was released.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tales From the Rat Palace and Other Ruix Writings
Rather than reproduce them here, I think I'll just post links to my columns for ruix, Dubuque's underground music & arts monthly. Here are the first four in my monthly Tales From the Rat Palace series:
Illustration by Ivonne Simmonds
- Tales From the Rat Palace #1 - Studio Hygiene
- Tales From the Rat Palace #2 - Signal Path
- Tales From the Rat Palace #3 - My Recording Philosophy
- Tales From the Rat Palace #4 - The Value of Home Recording
Illustration by Katie Duffy
One thing that's especially nice about writing for ruix is having my pieces beautifully illustrated by Dubuque artists like Katie Duffy and Ivonne Simmonds.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The Rat Palace End-Of-Summer Roundup
As usual, I've got several irons in the fire here at the Rat Palace. I'll try to shape this tangle of projects, some under sail, some still speculative, into a coherent report.
We're coming into the home stretch on the Legal Fingers album, which is going to be a killer swath of who-gives-a-fuck rock & roll. I tried a few new techniques in my quest to get the best, biggest sound I could out of a power trio: splitting the guitar and running it through two different amps for a fat stereo sound, putting mics on both the tweeter and woofer on the bass amp, plus running a direct signal, for a bass sound big enough to be worhty of Handsome Dave Hanson. I'm liking the results so far. When it comes time to mix and master, I'll be doing a lot of listening to the best-sounding rock albums I can find. I'll post links here when the tracks are done.
I also recorded an album of avant-garde electric guitar/trumpet duets by Zane Merritt and Ben Drury. That was a blast, a fun change of pace from the usual process of meticulously assembling a multitrack recording. I just set up the mics, turned on the recorder and those guys were off and outta there, playing a bunch of wackitude that was a pleasure to behold. They're going to call the album Cactopus, which I think is hilarious. Despite its extreme noncommerciality, I hope it gets a real release, 'cause I dig it.
Work still continues, of course, on my magnum opus pop collaboration with Bob Bucko, Jr., The Elegant Gesture of the Drowned, but we've pushed back touring plans until the spring. We want the album to be the best we can make it, and if it's taking a little longer than we thought, that's okay. I'm very excited about the contributions of some of my favorite musicians. Jon Eagle laid down some slamming drum tracks, alma sub rosa's Kristina will be sweetening the mix with her exquisite voice, my friend Matt Walkin (of Leeds, England's Johnson House) laid down some elegant bass lines, and trumpeter Ben Drury will bring a little jazz into the mix.
The Glimmer Blinkken is making headway on its debut album, a quirky dance party festooned with musical oddities of peculiar splendour. I'm pleased to be laying down the bass lines and shepherding the album along in between fishing outings,.
Speaking of alma sub rosa, I'm waysupervery stoked to be laying down bass tracks tracks alongside the supple and yet kickass beats of the mighty Tim Connelly for ASR's sophomore album.
I've been talking to a couple of other acts about doing some sessions and between the Glimmer Blinkken, alma sub rosa and the different permutations of my solo act, I have a number of gigs coming up in the next few weeks.
Welcome to my world. Here at the Rat Palace, there is Chaos and there is Order and one cannot always tell the one from the other. I have a column to write for ruix, like, um, yesterday, and I need to scoop up Reg & Brewster and get them back into their cage before they chew through any mic cables, so I think that's enough for now.
We're coming into the home stretch on the Legal Fingers album, which is going to be a killer swath of who-gives-a-fuck rock & roll. I tried a few new techniques in my quest to get the best, biggest sound I could out of a power trio: splitting the guitar and running it through two different amps for a fat stereo sound, putting mics on both the tweeter and woofer on the bass amp, plus running a direct signal, for a bass sound big enough to be worhty of Handsome Dave Hanson. I'm liking the results so far. When it comes time to mix and master, I'll be doing a lot of listening to the best-sounding rock albums I can find. I'll post links here when the tracks are done.
I also recorded an album of avant-garde electric guitar/trumpet duets by Zane Merritt and Ben Drury. That was a blast, a fun change of pace from the usual process of meticulously assembling a multitrack recording. I just set up the mics, turned on the recorder and those guys were off and outta there, playing a bunch of wackitude that was a pleasure to behold. They're going to call the album Cactopus, which I think is hilarious. Despite its extreme noncommerciality, I hope it gets a real release, 'cause I dig it.
Work still continues, of course, on my magnum opus pop collaboration with Bob Bucko, Jr., The Elegant Gesture of the Drowned, but we've pushed back touring plans until the spring. We want the album to be the best we can make it, and if it's taking a little longer than we thought, that's okay. I'm very excited about the contributions of some of my favorite musicians. Jon Eagle laid down some slamming drum tracks, alma sub rosa's Kristina will be sweetening the mix with her exquisite voice, my friend Matt Walkin (of Leeds, England's Johnson House) laid down some elegant bass lines, and trumpeter Ben Drury will bring a little jazz into the mix.
The Glimmer Blinkken is making headway on its debut album, a quirky dance party festooned with musical oddities of peculiar splendour. I'm pleased to be laying down the bass lines and shepherding the album along in between fishing outings,.
Speaking of alma sub rosa, I'm waysupervery stoked to be laying down bass tracks tracks alongside the supple and yet kickass beats of the mighty Tim Connelly for ASR's sophomore album.
I've been talking to a couple of other acts about doing some sessions and between the Glimmer Blinkken, alma sub rosa and the different permutations of my solo act, I have a number of gigs coming up in the next few weeks.
Welcome to my world. Here at the Rat Palace, there is Chaos and there is Order and one cannot always tell the one from the other. I have a column to write for ruix, like, um, yesterday, and I need to scoop up Reg & Brewster and get them back into their cage before they chew through any mic cables, so I think that's enough for now.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
On The Spot, All Stripped Down
As we move into the final stage of recording The Elegant Gesture of the Drowned, my collaboration with Bob Bucko, Jr., several of the songs are at the point where they're mostly finished but sometimes feels like they need... something. But what?
One way to take the measure of a song is to strip it down to its essence. If it works with just a guitar and a voice, it's a keeper. That's what I've done here, with On The Spot, a song Bob & I wrote together. The album version is fairly epic but I wanted to see how it stood up in skeletal form. I'm hoping that this version will help me ascertain what is essential to the song, what needs to be in the foreground, what can be jettisoned.
Multitrack recording is a process of constant recalibration. You zoom in to the details, zoom out to the overall effect... you can get whiplash and lose your way. That's why it can be helpful to get back to basics. The chords, the melody, the words, the rhythm... those are the crucial components. The rest is just window dressing.
One way to take the measure of a song is to strip it down to its essence. If it works with just a guitar and a voice, it's a keeper. That's what I've done here, with On The Spot, a song Bob & I wrote together. The album version is fairly epic but I wanted to see how it stood up in skeletal form. I'm hoping that this version will help me ascertain what is essential to the song, what needs to be in the foreground, what can be jettisoned.
Multitrack recording is a process of constant recalibration. You zoom in to the details, zoom out to the overall effect... you can get whiplash and lose your way. That's why it can be helpful to get back to basics. The chords, the melody, the words, the rhythm... those are the crucial components. The rest is just window dressing.
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