French Homework

My French homework was to do a verb 'to have' (avoir) rap. But I don't like rap and wanted to 'push the envelope' of the spec to try and get a house point!

I was listening to Datblygu today so I thought I'd do something in their vein. So...

I played a rhythmic dyad track on my Les Paul guitar through my Frantone Thunderhead bass boost pedal and my spring reverb pedal into my Orange 20W amp and into my Tascam.

Then I recorded the vocals direct into the Tascam and put it into Audacity, before adding a Sopwith Camel drone sound from my home-coded synthesizer!

I'm NOT too happy with the vocals, since there was clipping and breathing sounds but I don't have time to re-record it. It's not too bad as it stands.

https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/french-homework

Thunderbirds Project - Countdown and Spoiler Sections

This is the countdown and spoiler sections of my 'Thunderbirds' theme.

I recorded the melody part on my Yamaha keyboard with a trombone section voice.

Then I got the thunderclap from the intro of 'The Prisoner' theme.

Then I mixed it into Audacity and tacked it on to the countdown section I had done previously.

Here it is. Next up will be the main section. FAB!
https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/thunderbirds-countdown-spoiler-sections

Thunderbirds Project - 'Spoiler' Percussion Sample

I was trying to get the percussion for the 'spoiler' part of the theme (the bit just after the countdown).

I thought it might be a complex polyrhythm at first but after listening to it carefully, it seems to be a (much simpler!) crazy beat!

So for my version I decided to bang out a crazy beat on my drumulele; firstly with pencils, then with fingers!

Then I mixed the two tracks together in Audacity with the compressor and amplify functions, and making it slightly out of phase!

Here it is. FAB!
https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/thunderbirds-spoiler-section-percussion

(I will try to do the melody part on my keyboard over the weekend.)

Thunderbirds Project - Countdown Sample

This is the countdown section of my Thunderbirds theme homage.

I used my Yamaha keyboard to get the trumpet sound and recorded it into my Tascam recorder.

Then I recorded the countdown vocals into my Tascam

Then, I created the Thunderbird launch noise using the English Electric Canberra jet engine sample in my home-coded 'blue noize' synthesizer.

Finally I mixed them together in Audacity.

Here it is! FAB!

https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/thunderbirds-project-countdown-section

Thunderbirds Project - Percussion Sample

This is the main percussive layer for the main section of the Thunderbirds theme.
To do this I started by dusting off my old drumulele!
Then I slowed down the theme and worked out a simple rhythm that could be repeated.
So I tapped it on the drumulele and recorded it into my Tascam.
Then, in Audacity, I selected the 4 best repeats and compressed it to make the peaks even, before speeding it up to 120bpm.
Later I can 'copy and paste' repeat the sample to form a percussive layer.

Here it is! FAB!
https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/thunderbirds-section-c-percussion-1

Thunderbirds Project - The Score

Thunderbirds Project - The Score.

This started with the school band that I have joined! 'Thunderbirds Are Go' is one of the songs we will be practicing but the first week the music teacher didn't let us take the music home to practice and the second week he forgot my bass music so I had to just "sit and listen" for an hour!

So I thought it would be a good idea to do my own Thunderbirds project at home using my keyboard, guitar, bass, home-coded syntesizer and anything else I can think of.

I could have played the melody from memory but thought that it would be good to have a music score to use as a guide. So I had a look on the Internet but the ones I found didn't seem right so I created my own by listening to the theme tune and creating a score in Musescore.

Here it is!

P.S. This is a long term project so watch this space, FAB!

Rumble with bass

This is 'Rumble' on a keyboard track with added Frantone bass.

I played my 5-string bass through a Frantone Brooklyn overdrive and Thunderhead bass boost into a Fender amp.

https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/rumble-v2

Nervous Twitch @ Kirkstapalooza 2019

I saw Nervous Twitch supporting Shonen Knife at Halifax and I liked them so I followed them on Facebook and I found they were actually playing at Kirkstapalooza, at Kirkstall Bridge, Leeds and it's a child-friendly venue!

So I travelled up the M1 and then had a delicious beef burger in the pub, and was lucky enough to meet the band and have a photo with them. hey were really friendly and we had a good chat.

I stood by the sound man outside and had a good chat with him about his mixing desk before Nervous Twitch came on.

Their set was really good. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

https://youtu.be/siJEoauGjpk

https://www.facebook.com/KirkstallBridge/

https://www.facebook.com/nervoustwitchband/

Yamaha HR-2000 Amplifier

This is my new amp, but there is no information about it on the Internet! It seems to be quite rare. I eventually found information for the amp on a Japanese catalogue archive.

I took some photos to show the details and a couple of demo videos.

The amp is a 20W solid state combo amp, with a 10" speaker, delay, chorus and compressor effects, and a Yamaha EAS-25P181A 8ohm speaker.

I really like it, it has a great sound, perfect for home.

https://youtu.be/C6KqcjNj61U

https://youtu.be/4vpyqCcsJV4

Rumble

When I was at the Junior Jazz Festival, I bought a Link Wray CD. I thought I would have a go at his 'Rumble'.

I created a music score of it using Musescore and then played it on my Yamaha keyboard, before adding two different types of reverb with Audacity.

I would like to have added a 'fuzz' but my keyboard doesn't have that technology!

https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/rumble

Brecon Jazz Festival Videos - final number

The final number - applause and bow!

https://youtu.be/WfLRAizg-r0

Brecon Jazz Festival Videos - bass solo

My bass solo from the song, 'Handmaiden'.
The camera didn't pick up the bass frequencies too well but you can just about hear it.

https://youtu.be/zzMGbYZvLDM

Brecon Jazz Festival

The end of course performance was at St Mary's Church at the Brecon Jazz Festival.

I was in 3 ensembles and the whole-class ending performance.

I played my 5-string electric bass that I bought some time back from Rockstar Guitars. It's not a flashy Fender but Dameon had set it up really well and it sounds good.

I played these songs:
Handmaiden;
Yuca Con Mojo;
A 12 bar blues;
Someone You Loved.

Junior Jazz

This week I attended the Junior Jazz Summer School at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff!

There were young children of varying ages grouped together in different small ensembles and also a whole-course group to play an end-of-week performance at the Brecon Jazz Festival!

It was really good since you had plenty of assistance from the many tutors there and you could choose what jazz types you fancied. There were 30 nice, enthusiastic children attending.

I stayed in the Premier Inn and ate pizzas and Beefeater food.

Junior Jazz

It's Junior Jazz week!

https://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/other/rwcmd_community/summer_schools__short_courses/courses/junior_jazz.aspx

Nervous Twitch

Shonen Knife's support band were Nervous Twitch and they put on a good act with a great surfy-rock sound.

The lead singer was playing a really good-looking Danelectro Longhorn bass through an Orange amp.

I was running out of money, so I only bought a badge from the merch stand.

I would like to see them again.

You can find them here:
https://www.facebook.com/nervoustwitchband
https://nervoustwitch.bandcamp.com/

Shonen Knife official blog

This is Shonen Knife's official blog, where you can see some photos of the gig. Can you see me in one of the photos?

http://www.shonenknife.net/blog/

Shonen Knife @ Square Chapel, Halifax

Halifax looked a nice town with a big Caffe Nero. The Square Chapel arts centre is convenient to get to and for parking. The staff were friendly and there was no age restriction for the concert. I also had an ice cream in their café which was delicious but it was more filling than I expected because it was made from proper cream!

Shonen Knife Merch!

I bought some merchandise: 3 T-shirts, their latest signed CD and a Naoko pick. And the good thing was, because it was the last date of the UK tour, everything was discounted!

Shonen Knife Pick

At the end of the concert, Atsuko (the bass player) gave me the pick she was using for the concert itself! Thanks, Atsuko; I shall treasure it.

Shonen Knife Signing & Photo

The band came out after the concert so I had my photo taken with them!

(Sorry the photo was a bit flashy; my camera was still soggy from the rain.)

Shonen Knife Concert

Great concert. I gave it 9 out of 10; I would have given it 10 out of 10 but I got soaked in the torrential rain earlier!

It was in a small room, packed with roughly 100 people, making the atmosphere better. I stood near the front to get a better view!

They played very well together. Risa, the drummer, was going really mad!

Thanks to Shonen Knife for coming to the UK and a venue where under-18s can attend!

SHONEN KNIFE!

You can follow them on their blog:
http://www.shonenknife.net/blog/

Link Wray Rumble FUZZ!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHEmDLQKrrk

I like the huge fuzz, the way he grabs attention from the start and how the band works together.

The guitar is a '66/67 Japan Yamaha SG-2 twin single-coil he called, "Screaming Red".
He'd added an onboard distortion in case his valve amp wouldn’t distort.
His Boss Compression Sustainer pedal was on permanently, all knobs at 'max'.

Bass player Hutch Hutchinson, drummer David Weber, from John Cipollina's Copperhead.

Full Concert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVb9jtxnTQA

A red Yamaha SG-2.
https://www.guitar-list.com/sites/default/files/styles/model_display/public/gearpics/yamaha-sg-2.jpg

Fender CD-60CE

This is my new acoustic guitar and my first Fender - a Fender CD-60CE.
I bought it from Damian at Rockstar Guitars.
With a laminated nato body and spruce top, it looks great and sounds great acoustic or plugged in.
Here it is:
https://youtu.be/m32qdNZcooE