keeping the mind playful and wonderful with music
CinderHouse Music Recipe
Influences but………not any of these people/bands in skill or talent. Absolutely not. Much respect and admiration!!
Only me playing, recording, mixing, mastering, arranging, programming, producing, and publishing.
A little bit hoping that I can be Pete Townsend, Neil Young, David Gilmore, Santana, Jack White, and Robert Fripp on guitar, but me.
Trying to be a bit John Entwistle, Paul McCartney, Chris Squire, Staley Clarke, Les Claypool, and Flea on bass but always me.
A little stylistically, but not nearly Tony Banks, Richard Wright, Jerry Harrison, Ray Manzereck, and Modeski on keys but me.
Add in some funk, rock, hard rock, progressive rock, blues, and jazz influences to all.
Some David Bowie, Talking Heads, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Yes, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Television, and too many to name. Infact, “ETC.” fits better here.
Then with Southern Rock like The Allman Brothers, Lynard Skynard, Black Crowes, and more.
Some Mogwai, Samuel Jackson Five, Battles, Black Keys, Radiohead, and the Redneck Manifesto. Way too many more recent projects to be influenced by.
Add in hip hop, R &B, and Dance production, I like the low end, beat making, and vocal production. Also, just because I do not really play drums, but can program midi, use and program drum machines, play and program virtual instruments.
Basically……Neo Psychedelic Post Punk Hop Instrumental Garage
Music brought me to life as a kid. Had to stand in front of people and perform. Felt what I call now “Nervous Natural”. This was a rush!
Started in 5th grade with performing in school productions singing and performing in musicals. Leave it up to the public school district that I was in to have this environment available.
Then on to trying out for some touring city choirs. Sang, touring locally, regionally, and internationally with soon to be North Carolina Boys Choir, then on to American Boys Choir for a year. Guitar was one of my first shots at an instrument. Just was not catching on. In hindsight, maybe a little young.
After singing, thank you to my parents, they started me with piano lessons. My parents, brother, and sister had jazz albums, rock albums, funk, disco, and R&B albums to listen to. Later of course I turned this into a creative and play opportunity. Finding that I could sit and find melodies and chords within the music I was listening to. Just as the director of groups and productions as a kid had taught me to do.
What started as a studio turned into a personal project.
At this point and time MTV and top 40 radio was the thing but, some how I gravitated to music from my family and friends. When these groups broke back open in the 80’s, I was hooked!
Along with the emerging new wave and post punk, a slightly more progressive sound. Along with hip hop and rap which to me came together in the late 70’s.
I guess you could say I was caught between the new and the old. The developing rhythm, bottom end, rough edge, do it yourself attitude and improvisational moments caught my attention.
Off to a failed attempt at classical music school, but life changing musical experiences.
The work of fretting a $50 classical guitar(all I could afford) with action at least a quarter inch high at the upper neck to learn guitar.
Writing songs and performing on the worst of acoustic guitars. Then before access to digital recording, used to use two cassette recorders bouncing back and forth recording track over track.
On to Charleston
Then on to Charleston SC in the era of Hooty and the Blowfish and Alternative Music.
Eventually working in a studio and playing locally switching to bass as my main instrument.
Introducing myself to the first DAW’s of the world , midi, etc. Bought my first computer and 2 track sound card/audio interface in 1999. Barely might I add. Wrote a few songs and performed live and recorded with a couple of groups during my 10 year stay mostly on bass/keyboards recording them all in some fashion. Some with four track, some reaching back to the “box” in the corner technique. Trying to master with what I had to computer.
During this time is when I also purchased my first digital audio recorder. I also started collecting small speakers and equipment and began to get into the whole production of live and recorded events. Starting to refer to my studio as CinderHouse Music.
At the time I was renting a room in a friends house. This house was designed to survive a hurricane. Made from cinder block with a low pitch four sided roof. Therefor...
CinderHouse Music Studio and Productions
A * Z Insanity, The Blues, the Pandemic and "CinderHouse Music" the artist.
Hauling this all back to my home town. I then began to play locally with a long time friend and really dove into the full production techniques afforded to the increasingly accessible technology of recording multitrack, mixing, and mastering direct to computer.
Worked on remixes, wrote, recorded, played full constructed pieces.
Then went back to the beginnings. Writing and singing, back on to the acoustic guitar. Pushing my fingers again.
Really started writing not just to learn techniques, or practice playing and recording, but purely for myself. Then the pandemic hit.
The "Rock and Roll Star" is gone. The "Rock and Roll Lifer" remains.
Ha!.......
The Pandemic Burns and I say "F... It All.
Combine every thing I have done in practice. Plus..... play with abandonment and vulnerability. Recording captured moments of humanity. Not perfect repeated licks, but always have a fully structured backbone of a song behind it all.
Remix, Master, and Release historical recordings. Create new pieces and songs. Try to stretch out in instrumentations, styles, harmonies, melodies.
Thank you to all who have influenced my music over the years.