last night Steinomite performed at Artifice in downtown Las Vegas. the show kicked off the Neon Reverb festival that runs all weekend around town, and was hosted by the always hilarious Voki Kalfayan as “Bill Stevens.” the bill consisted of Steinomite, my new friends Wazu from NYC, David Liebe Hart backed up by a rawk(!) power trio, and Penny and Melody from Absinthe doing a croony and funny duo show called “Sista’s from another Mista.”
’twas a really fun and pretty weird night.
i drove from L.A. with only about an hour to spare, having forgotten the cable i need to connect my iphone/band. but, after giving me some shit, the soundman came up with one. Steinomite was on first, and despite getting more shit from the soundman, started a little late to make sure the “sista’s” and some other folks were there. i had to come out swinging to get people from the bar to the dance floor, but it worked! got a great response and got some booties shak’n. even mister grumpy soundman gave me props afterwards and apologized for his battitude. BAM!
show highlights:
1. in honor of Penny from Absinth, i used a sock puppet for some talk-back and nay-saying, and eventually beat the $h!t out of him.
2. spent most of “alien abductapohone” lying on the stage.
3. got people to do weird dance moves.
4. made a new outro for this show, introducing the next acts and promoting my website IN THE SAME TRACK! i pre-recorded the singing and had the puppet do it.
listen to it NOW!
after the show i accidentally hung out in a casino hotel bar until 4:45a. i felt like i was in a Terry Gilliam movie.
this is a track i made for 411God, a project that i compose music for weekly. this one was particular satisfying for me. prolly in a couple of weeks, you can hear the final version with the voice-over at http://www.411god.net/archive.php
i’ve been writing for this project for a little over a year now, and it’s been a great way to get lots of short ideas out and expand my pallate as i go. it’s essentially what’s replaced the “song a week” project for me. perhaps i’ll post some more of these favorites as i go. maybe weekly! i always appreciate the feedback and support of my friends, and it’s a nice way to review what i’m making and how things are progressing (or not).
i recently wrote a couple of pieces for a radio show called “sports spectrum.” the spots havn’t aired yet, and were due today (friday, sept. 19). they’re each 1min 30sec promos. when they air or are posted somewhere, i’ll try to send along a link. in the meantime, here’s the music! (imagine underneath a lovely male radio voice).
Sports Spectrum 1
Sports Spectrum 2
i was told to go for upbeat, Royksopp-esque, and to include sports sounds like “hut hut hike”, a whistle, cheering crowd, etc. i managed to find most of the samples i wanted, and included a lot of that stuff in the basic rhythm tracks for the pieces. i really liked the Royksopp stuff i found on youtube, and modeled a bit of my groove/feel after a couple of their tunes.
thanks for listening!
-j
p.s. hideout block party this weekend. sunday – mucca pazza 4p (or so).
the main goal of this one ended up being melodic material, and i basically wrote in this order:
1. main beat
2. chorus section chords
3. chorus section melody
4. other synth parts
5. guitar parts, which gave the verse section harmonic clarity
6. verse melody and all lyrics
not an unusual or particularly interesting writing order or scenario, but it was nice to get back into focusing on “melody over chords,” and chords which are mostly inside but go “outside” just a bit.
the words speak of a dream to one day be able to sail into another magical world where freedom is free and all cares are cut off by the magical sunshine and we’re all ponies.
hey friends. sorry about last week! (obligatorily, that is). i was in Guatemala all week with some friends, but i have written this song inspired by parts of that trip.
i bought a slide whistle in truckee california a week or two ago, and i have to say, it’s one of the most worthwhile investments i’ve made in a long long time. i suggest you get one, bring it to the next drunk’n hotel after-party you have, and quiz your friends on tv themes and pop melodies!
this weeks song is a strange, ambient sound design featuring said slide whistle (and a fare amount of reverb).
this is the sort of piece that you wanna sit back and relax to while you check your email or surf through other blogs. there’s a melody (sort of derived from an old hymn tune), but mostly the idea here was environmental. and mental. playing with long, strange sounds, and slow peeks and valleys. slow down.
i’ll be gone next week…so i rekon it’ll be another two weeks till you hear from me. i appologize. i have some “songs” on file so to speak, but probably won’t get a chance to record them in the next couple of days. until then, then…
this week, i did some research into the chemical content and potential health effects of diet soft drinks. it was a worthwhile endevor, as i myself drink a fare amount of diet coke for some reason (chemical addiction?). anyway, i hope that you too find such information to be helpful, and enjoy this song!
jon steinmeier 