UNDERDOG of PERFECTION

Category: Music

  • New Coltrane site launched

    John Coltrane, Avant Garde Jazz and the Evolution of "My Favorite Things"
    I’m pleased to announce the launch of a brand new version of my John Coltrane website.

    This is the first step in an ongoing process of splitting my currently mammoth website into distinct, separate websites tailored to specific content areas. Basically, each of the top-level navigation items you see at the top of this page will eventually become its own site.

    For now there’s not a lot of new content on the Coltrane site — the big “draw” is the redesign itself. But I’ve added a blog to the site, and eventually I’ll also be adding a multimedia section where I’ll be featuring audio and video clips. Check it out!

    This site design was also an opportunity for me to test the effectiveness of my new Room 34 Baseline WordPress theme. Believe it or not, that barebones theme really is the foundation upon which the new Coltrane site is built. So it works!

    This site also takes advantage of some cutting-edge web design features: it’s built with HTML 5 and the Blueprint CSS framework, and it uses the emerging @font-face CSS method to render text in a custom font. I am using the free Museo font family throughout the site.

  • Questlove tries to salvage something of musical value from a (the) Philip Michael Thomas album

    I just started following Questlove (drummer of The Roots) on Twitter less than an hour ago, and it’s already paid off with this little gem, which I believe is how he’s spending his summer vacation (i.e. week off from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon). Nice. It’s cool to see him in action at home (a.k.a. the studio).

    Since the video is so tantalizingly incomplete, he has also shared the finished product.

  • “Unnatural Disasters” remixed

    In addition to my various and sundry ongoing personal projects, musical and otherwise, I am presently assembling a compilation of Room 34 “greatest hits” (so to speak) from the 3 EPs and 3 full-length albums I’ve produced (so far) in 2008-2009.

    I’ve worked out the track list, and am currently playing around with the sequence. I’m also going to be remastering all of the tracks and remixing a few of them (mostly from Unnatural Disasters, my 2008 RPM Challenge album, because I’ve never been satisfied with the mastering on that album.

    The full compilation is likely to be completed and released in October. (This delay is mostly to allow for the inclusion of tracks from Burnt Snow, which is being distributed exclusively by Sidedown Audio through the end of September.)

    Stay tuned for more details about this project (and others) as it progresses. But for now, here’s a sample: the remixed version of “Unnatural Disasters.” Enjoy!

    [audio:http://blog.room34.com/wp-content/uploads/underdog/room34_unnaturaldisasters_remix.mp3]

  • Burnt Snow: a new EP available at Sidedown Audio

    Room 34: Burnt SnowI am very pleased to announce today’s release of Burnt Snow, my latest EP, as part of the Sidedown Audio Bite Size EP series.

    Sidedown Audio is a Chicago-based boutique record label that is the brainchild of the inimitable Joshua Wentz. I’ve gotten to know Josh since we “met” during the 2008 RPM Challenge, and I’m continually impressed with his talent, creativity and ambition.

    The Sidedown Audio Bite Size EP series is a monthly set of 3-track EPs by independent musicians, with cover art by Josh, available for a limited time as $2 digital downloads. He’s got some great musicians contributing to the project and I’m pleased to be among them!

    Burnt Snow was recorded in April and May 2009. The first track, “Imperfect Storm,” is a symphonic prog-style, 7-minute epic with sweeping guitar melodies and plenty of Mellotron. “It Isn’t What It Is” is a lighthearted funky jam with traces of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and some crazy synths. “At the End of the Day (Is the Night)” is a piece of Summers and Fripp-inspired minimalist electronica, with interlocking guitar lines and intriguing synth washes.

    The EP is available exclusively from Sidedown Audio now through September. For two dollars you get all three tracks, a 3-page PDF booklet, and a few surprises. Check it out!

  • New blog: Hall of Prog

    It occurred to me tonight, while reading a post on outsidedown, that I know of two sources on the planet of encyclopedic knowledge of progressive rock: YouTube and my own brain. And YouTube is catching up.

    With that in mind, I have started a new blog: Hall of Prog: A Curated Exhibit of Progressive Rock on YouTube. The idea is simple: there are tons of videos of obscure 1970s progressive rock bands on YouTube. All you have to do is search for them. But you have to know what to search for. That’s where I come in.

    The plan is to post a link a day (or more) to interesting progressive rock performances available on YouTube, with a small side dish of my own commentary. Though not usually known for brevity (a trait I share with most prog rockers), I will keep my writing to a minimum, and let the music speak (ad infinitum) for itself.