Schnauzerstudios

What does one do when cartoonist Len Peralta (we all know from his awesome Monster By Mail project) cries out for help, and practically falls on his knees for a piece of original audio?
That’s right, you let him beg some more, make him bark a little, then get to work.

Geek a Week is a project where Len interviews one geek a week and draws an additional playing card about that person. You can read all about it and listen to the podcast right here.

Long story short: I did the opening- and closing music and you can listen to a short version here.

Geek-a-week 0:48 – Schnauzer Radio Orchestra

I hate music stores.
I hate the people checking instruments they barely can afford, showing how they play stairway to heaven.
That’s because I don’t see playing notes in any particular order is an art form. To me that is exactly the same as a juggling shop where everybody is looking at each other doing the exact same tricks with different color balls.

This guy works at a music store. This series had me laughing so hard it was painful at some moment.

Check all 5 movies , I don’t have a favorite. It’s impossible

Part 1

Part2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Found on wfmu

Perhaps the worst thing , is the fact that this guitar is a left-handed ukulele.  Not only is it shaped left handed, it is strung that way too.

New Gear

The one on the left was already my favorite Mic for recording everything with a speaker in it (guitar-amps, philicorda, stylophone erhm… that’s it basically) but now I found her a little buddy to play with. One is always better than 2 don’t you think?

If you inspect the angle they are in now you can easily put a leslie in the middle and that is exactly what I am planning to do.

Most Studios are raving about these md421′s how awesome they sound on tomtoms, and indeed they found the way to my home without a problem.

Onwards and upwards!

Nova was a ‘commercial’ side-band for the synthesizer-band Peru. This song (Aurora) was a nr.2 hit in Holland in 1983. They don’t get any simpler than this. The melody is just one phrase over 2 chords, repeated twice . The only thing that happens is that it shifts through a few keys.

Why is this music not being made anymore? Agreed writing an annoying melody like this AND record it without shooting yourself halfway the process isn’t that easy. I must say, the tunes I wrote in this style are all in the thrash. Being this shameless is something I can only bow my head in respect for.

One of the band members in Nova was Rob Papen, a now pretty famous sound-designer and writer of popular synth plugins for Mac and PC. The other band he was in -Peru- had a minor hit with ‘Africa‘. That song is a bit more experimental, but equally mind-numbing

It’s about time I’d show my face, straighten my back and give some of you music geeks a sneak peak into the Schnauzer CD production.
First Sneak peak : I wish a were a chicken, an hommage to a very old German song from the 1936 movie “Glückskinder”.

Ich wollt’, ich wär’ ein Huhn, -I wish I were a chicken
Ich hätt’ nicht viel zu tun, -I wouldn’t have much to do
Ich legte vormittags ein Ei, – In the morning I’d lay an egg
Und abends wär’ ich frei. - And in the evening I’d be free.

coming to a Schnauzer-CD near you soon
I wish I were a Chicken – Schnauzer Radio Orchestra – 0:56 min

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I had to blink twice and pinch myself at first. This was to good to be true:

AN ENTIRE ALBUM AS AN ODE TO HOTDOGS!

Think of 70′s Steely Dan, strip out the intelligent Lyrics and you’ve got a Zappa-esque Hot Dog Rock. Why bring up the Z-word? Because it’s actually very well played! McSAPRR stands for Matt Chertkoff Sings and Plays Rock & Rol (a New York based Jazz Guitar player with a great love for Hot Dogs).

Now Jazzrock is nowadays mostly played by over-studied session musicians with a lack of musical taste, and no feel for swing or rock whatsoever. NOT HERE SIR! Like I said, it’s well played and no 70s cliché is left untouched. The right guitars, the phased Rhodes Keyboards, the Hammond organs. The one moment the half time chorus starts (Hot Dogs don’t grow on trees), the other moment a long winding crunchy guitar solo making Bozz Scaggs proud (Hot Dog Money) , and the icing on the cake: a mono-synth solo (Beepers and Reefers)

I’m in love with this idea, I want this on my summer festival next season. There’ll be at least one person in the audience banging his head.

Listen and download this album here

www.hotdogrock.com

I love short tunes. This is an 8-bar tune. just repeated over and over and over and over…. Perfect for a tuesday morning.