Category Archives: Fun, Life

GC066 — A “layered” tune, annotated

A friend of mine asked that I explain my latest parlor-trick approach to music making.  There are lots of different ways of making tunes on computers, but I’ve been fiddling around with a sortof “live layered jam” approach where I cycle through a loop, adding an instrumental part each time through.  Loads of fun to do.

So click HERE to listen to this 11 minute podcast of a little 12-bar tune being built up layer by layer.

Geezercast Special — the Bounty Boogie

Richard, and the rest of the crew of the tall ship Bounty, are heading out in a couple days.  They’re leaving from San Juan Puerto Rico with a destination of St Petersburg, Russia — so this is a two-way crossing of the Atlantic.

I decided to dedicate this little tune to the Bounty.  It’s long, much like this voyage — and the many watches that they will all be standing.  It’s a little boring, which is my fondest hope for the voyage as well.  It’s in the key of E, so Rich and his crew mates can jam along on just about any instrument that’s likely to show up on the ship.  It’s a bit of a lullaby, for those moments when things are hard.  But it’s also a little jaunty, which describes Rich and the rest of the crew to a T.

Best listened to under headphones (think, iPod) — the bass part totally disappears when I listen to it on my PC.

Safe journey and smooth sailing.

Click HERE to listen to this 14 minute MP3.

 

GC060 — 60th Birthday Geezercast

Hey!  It’s my 60th birthday today AND this is the 60th Geezercast.  How ’bout that?  This one is really short — just a 5 minute intro to a new tune that I built to learn about “slicing” — a musical technique that Robert Perry (son of Marcie’s cousin Joan Perry) taught me about when he came to visit a month or so ago.

Click HERE to listen to this 10 minute podcast.

GC058 — Give Obama a break, polling expose

A long hiatus in Geezercasting — but now the deadlines and holidays are past and here’s a Geezercast to celebrate.

Two topics — the need for us whiners to give Obama a freekin’ break for cryin’ out loud, and a nice expose of a major national polling company by Nate silver of FiveThirtyEight.com fame.

Click HERE to listen to this 10-minute podcast.