In mid-July 2011, I started producing a new album for prolific singer/songwriter/composer Paulie Pesh. We spent the first four days tracking inside of Downey First Presbyterian. The 84-year-old sanctuary, with its vaulted ceilings, and sun-filled, stained glass windows was perfect for tracking rhythm section, strings, and brass. The environment, the music, and the people involved have made for an unforgettable experience. In the above photo, I am using an AKG D112 on the cello, a pair of AKG 451 EB’s in an XY pattern to capture the viola and violin, and a Sennheiser 421 on the flute running into the Allen & Heath Zed R-16. Many thanks to my assistant engineers, Jet Elfman and Jason Chavez.

The last few weeks have been important, if muted, to the Psychic Temple Continuum. On July 7th, 2011, we assembled 10-strong, at the Long Beach Museum of Art and, against all odds, attempted a mass inversion of sea, air, and sound. Our vantage point was obscured and it was difficult to tell when and if we succeeded, but there were many kind words when all was said and done.

A few days prior to the performance Ian Patterson at All About Jazz reviewed Psychic Temple: “It would’ve been difficult to imagine a follow-up recording more beautiful or conceptually refined than Twilight and Ghost Stories, but Psychic Temple achieves just that; for 33 minutes, this sublime meditation sees Schlarb work his minimalist magic as never before… Psychic Temple seduces with its unrelenting beauty; the perfect antidote to an increasingly noisy, hectic, and often senseless world…”

I also had the pleasure of discussing Psychic Temple with musician, journalist, and arts champion extraordinaire, Sander Roscoe Wolff of the Long Beach Post: “Psychic Temple is far more composed. In four movements it is expansive, restrained, but always beautiful. It is melodic, with arrangements that feature strings, horns, voice, pedal steel guitar and more traditional instrumentation. Although the musicianship is excellent, it never favors athletic playing, instead focusing on the aesthetics of the whole Idiomatically, it feels elusive, but it is engaging and something any lover of music can enjoy.”

Five topics related only in as much as these friends are doing good work, deserving of your time and attention.

1. Erik Loyer, the creator of, and my collaborator on, the iOS app Strange Rain talks childhood trauma, softball (also a form of childhood trauma), and the Apple II with Kill Screen Magazine.

2. Josh Ottum‘s Like The Season, is one of my favorite records made in the last 10 years. His new album, Watch TV, comes out July 19th. Read a review by the venerable Ned Raggett and listen to excerpts via OC Weekly.

3. New York Times illustrator and Twilight & Ghost Stories cover artist Grady McFerrin gets the Grain Edit spotlight for his gorgeous, ageless, hand-cramping typography.

4. In addition to producing, engineering, and teaching, Ronan Chris Murphy also hosts the fantastic, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-studio-shorts Ronan’s Recording Show. You can watch all the episodes online or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes. One of my personal favorites involves a visit to Sound City in Van Nuys.

5. Critics Leigh Alexander and Kirk Hamilton examine L.A. Noire from unique vantage points (practical and post-modern, respectively) and come to a similar conclusion: in attempting to be something more than just a video game, it fails at being a video game altogether.

Steve Wulf, writing in March of 1988 for Sports Illustrated:

One current struggle bears watching. It began in 1983, when Jim Gott, then pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays, faced second baseman Tim Teufel, who had just been called up to the Minnesota Twins. Teufel hit his first major league homer off Gott. Later in the same game he singled off Gott. In German, Gott is God and Teufel is Devil.

Theologians should not lose heart, though. In an exhibition game the next spring, Gott hit Teufel with a pitch. They didn’t face each other again until last summer, when Teufel, playing for the Mets, grounded out twice against Gott, who was pitching for the Pirates. So far, the Devil is 2 for 4 against God.

Says Gott, “You know, as a Mormon, I feel a tremendous amount of pressure facing Teufel. Just kidding. Actually, Tim and I kid each other a lot about it. His name may mean the Devil, but he seems like a great guy.”

Says Teufel, “I don’t know about Gott being God, but he does have a great fastball. To tell you the truth, though, my nemesis is Steve Carlton. Struck me out four times in one game at the end of his career. My god, what was he like in his prime?”

Fallin’ Ditch

When I get lonesome the wind begin t’ moan?
When I trip fallin’ ditch?
Somebody wanna’ throw the dirt right down?
When I feel like dyin’ the sun come out?
’n stole m’ fear ‘n gone
Who’s afraid of the spirit with the bluesferbones?

Who’s afraid of the fallin’ ditch
Fallin’ ditch ain’t gonna get my bones
How’s that for the spirit
How’s that for the things?
Ain’t my fault the thing’s gone wrong?
‘n when I’m smilin’ my face wrinkles up real warm
’n when um frownin’ things just turn t’ stone?
Fallin’ ditch ain’t gonna get my bones
’n when I get lonesome the wind begin t’ moan
Fallin’ ditch ain’t gonna get my bones

Download it here. Rest in peace Captain.

Watch the video and then buy something real.

All dates feature young fire-keepers Rare Grooves. March 11th features I Heart Lung in quartet mode with special guests Chris Cogburn and C.J. Boyd.

Not coincidentally, I will be speaking on a panel at the NX35 Music Festival in Denton, Texas on March 12th. Many thanks to Michael Seman for inviting me out and making this little tour a possibility.

March 10th at Salvage Vanguard Theater, Austin, TX. Presented by Church of the Friendly Ghost.
March 11th at Hot Mamas Espresso, Austin, TX. with Chris Cogburn and C.J. Boyd. Presented by Church of the Friendly Ghost.
March 12th at NX35 Festival, Denton, TX. (Chris Schlarb Discussion Panel)
March 13th at NX35 Festival, Denton, TX. with Shiny Around The Edges
March 14th at Resonant Sound Series, Houston, TX. with C.J. Boyd
March 15th at Avant Garden, Houston, TX. with C.J. Boyd

For maps, links, and detailed show listings, check this out.

I did not list any records that I released (personally or on Sounds Are Active) but I have included The Widow Babies second (and final) album, Jetpacks, which I produced and engineered. It’s that good.

Honrable Mentions

Deradoorian- Mind Raft
There is something about Angel Deradoorian‘s song “High Road” that reminds me of Belladonna-era Stevie Nicks. That is an incredibly good thing.

ZaneOne- L.A. Woman
With legendary underground hip-hop producer Dert handling beats and samples, Zane finally gets her moment to shine. The heavy metal guitars on the self-titled, “ZaneOne” take RUN-DMC’s “Rock Box” to the next level.

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society- Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam)
Ambitious, clean and well arranged, it took me a little while to finally listen to this album, but I’m glad I did. I have a feeling that whatever comes next is going to be incredible.

TOP 10 of 2009

10. Mos Def- The Ecstatic (Downtown Records)
Mos Def stops acting and starts rapping. Probably the best album of his career. Remarkably consistent considering all the different producers involved.

09. C.J. Boyd- Aerial Roots (Joyful Noise Recordings)
Picking up where The Greatest Weight left off, C.J. moves his solo bass tempest in any direction that his imagination desires. Meditative, grounded and gorgeous.

08. DM Stith- Heavy Ghost (Asthmatic Kitty Records)
With equal concern for texture, structure and harmony, DM Stith layers hundreds of tracks and keeps simple melody at the core. Hard to believe this is a debut album.

07. Serengeti & Polyphonic- Terradactyl (Anticon)
Two of the most misunderstood and progressive artists working in hip-hop. Terradactyl doesn’t sound like any other record released this year.

06. Nels Cline- Coward (Cryptogramophone)
Nels Cline at his most vulnerable, Coward finds him dancing through ECM territory on all manner of stringed instruments. It also contains one of the prettiest pieces of music I heard all year in “Prayer Wheel”.

05. Brian Blade- Mama Rosa (Verve Forecast)
Brilliant jazz drummer Brian Blade makes his debut as a singer/songwriter. Half of Mama Rosa‘s songs are stunning embodiments of the medium informed by the masters (Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan- the latter two Blade has performed alongside). The occasional song, like “Get There”, reminds you that he might be human after all.

04. The Widow Babies- Jetpacks (OlFactory Records)
Twelve burning, undeniably catchy songs in under 19 minutes, The Widow Babies second album finds them fulfilling all the promise heard in The Mike Watt E.P. Drummer/lyricist Tabor Allen churns through complex drum patterns while Danny Miller scrapes sunshine out of his guitar. Bassist Neal Marquez and vocalist Elise McCutchen integrate the band’s sound with powerful low and high end accents. SadlyJetpacks is also the band’s too soon swan song.

03. Grizzly Bear- Veckatimest (Warp Records)
It’s funny how “prog” used to be a four-letter word. In the last ten years bands like Deerhoof and Blonde Redhead helped reintroduce the genre with fresh aggression and now, somehow, Grizzly Bear releases the most ambitious album I have heard in years. Not only is it a well arranged and highly considerate album, it also sounds gorgeous. I would also propose that Veckatimest is the bastard love child of Pet Sounds and Close To The Edge, but that’s a conversation for another time.

02. Cryptacize- Mythomania (Asthmatic Kitty Records)
Mythomania was the first album I heard in 2009 that blew me away. Chris Cohen‘s chords are so smart, Nedelle Torrisi‘s voice so pure, and the presentation so right, I was certain that it would end up as one of my most listened to albums of year. Songs like “What You Can’t See Is” and “New Spell” made sure of it.

01. Little Dragon- Machine Dreams (Peacefrog)
I was minding my own business when I accidentally listened to the radio in Los Angeles. Little Dragon was performing live on KCRW and I was hooked. After dozens of times through Machine Dreams I am starting to understand why I love it so much: the synth-heavy 80′s production is pitch perfect (especially on the live drums) and vocalist Yukimi Nagano imbues each song with strange phrasings and melodic imagination. Highlights include the weird Zappa-esque keyboard harmonies over a stilted Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis beat on “Swimming” or the devastating melody that sneaks into the non-chorus of “Fortune”.
Far and away, the album I listened to most in 2009.

So I went to Guitar Center today. I wanted to check out a few Electro Harmonix pedals. I didn’t buy anything.

We pulled in a few ringers this year and are very happy to have family friend Tabor Allen playing drums on two songs. One of those songs, “Rocky Raccoon”, also happens to feature the talents of Andrew Durkin of Industrial Jazz Group on piano. Lastly, we present the recording debut of Amparo Lomas (Adriana’s mother) on vocals. Although not “Christmas songs”, the real gift was making music together with family and friends.

We recorded and rehearsed everything in about two weeks. Naima knew from the beginning she wanted to whistle “I Will” and she knocked it out in two takes. Elisha IS “Rocky Raccoon” and my wife Adriana, our mom Amparo and I recorded “Mother Nature’s Son” in two takes with a stereo mic set up, just the three of us playing and singing in a room. Just for the record, that’s me hitting the high notes on “Dear Prudence”. Merry Christmas!

01. I Will [mp3]
02. Mother Nature’s Son [mp3]
03. Rocky Raccoon [mp3]
04. Dear Prudence [mp3]

Download high quality mp3s in a .zip file here!

CREDITS
Naima Schlarb- whistling on “I Will” and co-lead vocals on “Dear Prudence”
Elisha Schlarb- lead vocals and harmonica on “Rocky Raccoon” and co-lead vocals on “Dear Prudence”
Adriana Schlarb- vocals on “Mother Nature’s Son” and backing vocals on “Dear Prudence”, handclaps on “Rocky Raccoon”
Chris Schlarb- acoustic and electric guitars, vocals on “Mother Nature’s Son”, backing vocals, drums, jingle bells and bass on “Dear Prudence”, handclaps on “Rocky Raccoon”

with:
Tabor Allen- drums on “I Will” and “Rocky Raccoon”
Andrew Durkin- piano on “Rocky Raccoon”
Amparo Lomas- vocals on “Mother Nature’s Son” and handclaps on “Rocky Raccoon”

Produced, Arranged and Recorded by Chris Schlarb
Recorded from November 21st through December 6th in the Red Room (next to the kitchen)

In the last few years, the recording was featured on Boing Boing and downloaded thousands of times. I recently went back to the original recordings, added some EQ, a little reverb and generally remastered the whole affair. The original recording was only 7 minutes long but I have looped it and crossfaded it into a 33 minute beast that begs for many Halloween listens. Enjoy!

Orlando Greenhill- voice, electronics, electric bass, percussion
Chris Schlarb- drums, piano, percussion, electronics, voice
Chaos Theory- electric guitar, voice, percussion

Produced and Recorded by Chris Schlarb

Sometimes I get invitations that are too good to pass up and it seems that a lot of them came within a 14 day span in the middle of September.

Here’s the quick run down:

Sunday September 13th, 2009
Eagle Rock Center For The Arts
2225 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90041
Nels Cline + G.E. Stinson
Hans Fjellestad
Starts at 7pm // $10

Nels and G.E. are celebrating the release of their new duo album, Elevating Device. I will be recording the performance and running the merchandise table. Come out and say hello!

Sunday September 13th, 2009
Part Time Punks
1822 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90026
The Widow Babies
Blue Jungle
Starts at 10pm // $5

I’ll be heading straight from the Elevating Device album release show to The Widow Babies Jet Packs album release show. In January of this year, the group and I began recording Jet Packs and I couldn’t be happier for them. They have taken a massive step forward in songwriting and performance and their new songs are just incredible. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up recording this show too.

Monday September 14th, 2009
The Santa Animals Sneak Peak Party
533 Havana
Long Beach CA 90814
Starts at 9pm // FREE

In August I started work on the independent short film, The Santa Animals. I have been recording everything from the sound of bacon sizzling and dogs barking to wind blowing softly through bird-filled trees. One of the last things I need is to record is the sound of a party for the film’s final scene. That’s where you come in. There are worse ways to spend your Monday night: free food and lending the sound of your voice to a movie.

Thursday September 17th, 2009
Slow Sound Festival at {open}
2226 E. 4th St.
Long Beach, CA. 90814
Chris Schlarb plays Night Game
Albert Ortega
Catherine Lamb
Starts at 8pm // $5

This is a very special event for me. I have worked on the music for Night Game for almost two years now. The funny thing is, almost no one has heard it. Night Game is scheduled for release on the Nintendo Wii in coming months and this event will feature music and projections from and inspired by the game.

Monday September 21st
Fingerprints
4612 E 2nd St
Long Beach, CA. 90803
Nels Cline + G.E. Stinson
Starts at 7pm // Free Instore

I was on the phone all day yesterday putting this together. Nels flies out to New York the next morning but he was looking forward to coming back to Long Beach and performing at the best music store Southern California.

Wednesday September 23rd
Jimmy’s Lounge
6202 Santa Monica Blvd.
Hollywood, Ca. 90038
I Heart Lung
Omid
Emily Hay Collective
Brother Mitya
Screwtape (featuring Bizzart)
DJ ESP
Starts at 9pm // $5

This show, in honor of John Coltrane‘s birthday, is almost a miniature festival. I Heart Lung will be throwing down a few Coltrane tunes (with DJ ESP) and will also be sitting in with Brother Mitya for the night. An unbelievably rare performance. Don’t miss it.

As many of you may know, I run the Sounds Are Active record label in what doctors and psychologists call my “spare time.” Today, I am very proud to hold in my hands, the label’s 50th release: Nels Cline + G.E. Stinson’s Elevating Device. Nels and G.E. are long time friends who have both accomplished a many great musical thing over the years. With Elevating Device, they finally sit down together with their guitars and conjure up the sounds they’ve always wanted to. It’s an honor for me to have them on the label.

At 2 seconds you can hear him kick the ball from the left.

At 4 seconds the ball lands on the right.

You then hear him run from the left to the right.

At 16 seconds he kicks the ball straight toward my Zoom H4n microphone and tripod stand.

At 17 seconds you hear the impact of the ball and the microphone and then the microphone and the ground.

At 24 seconds you hear the man run to the microphone and gasp. He then attempts to place the microphone back on the stand, at which point I take it from him, he apologizes and I tell him it’s okay.

It wasn’t funny at the time but the more I listen to it, the funnier it becomes. Thankfully the Zoom H4n is pretty well made and it showed no ill affects of the impact and subsequent four foot drop.

A few days after recording the demo sketch, I rehearsed with Destroyer of Brains and taught them the piece. Here is a our first quartet attempt, warts and all.

On July 13th, 2009 we recorded at Compound Studio in Long Beach, CA. This video is from the song’s second take. It doesn’t really feature the full melody, which are present in the other demos. For that you’ll have to wait for the master take (Take 3) which will appear on the album.

Destroyer of Brains Sextet (from left to right)
Danny Miller- electric guitar
Danny T. Levin- euphonium, trumpet
David Moyer- tenor saxophone
Chris Nowak- electric bass
Chris Schlarb- electric guitar
Tabor Allen- drums

Written and Produced by Chris Schlarb
Engineered by Jeff Lewis

]]> http://www.chrisschlarb.com/2009/07/song-for-charles-rocket-sketch/feed/ 0 http://www.chrisschlarb.com/2009/05/we-scream-voices-from-the-ice-cream-underground/ http://www.chrisschlarb.com/2009/05/we-scream-voices-from-the-ice-cream-underground/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 11:30:32 +0000 schlarb http://www.chrisschlarb.com/?p=670 For the last six years or so I have wanted to make a documentary film about ice cream truck drivers and paleteros (cart and bike vendors). Having spent years delivering newspapers, copies and organic fruit myself, I have always felt a certain kinship to these professions. What has interested me most about them, however, is the relative secrecy in which they operate. Until now, I have known relatively little about their practices, schedules, routes and routines. Do they work alone? Where do they keep their trucks? Is it a dangerous job?

I couldn’t resist any longer and now my wife and I are trying to plow full steam ahead into this project. I will be composing the score for the film and am trying to raise enough money (through Kickstarter.com) to put some time and love into it. Once it’s done, we’ll release the film and the soundtrack online.

Any financial help you can give will be much appreciated. I promise to give something right back to you once the project is done. Check out the link for a quick trailer, a few short pieces of music and lots of ice cream trucks.

It has been almost four years since Tom and I have travelled east. I have fond memories from our last tour and am very much looking forward to stopping in at The Bug Jar in Rochester again. I’ll have t-shirts and brand new I Heart Lung 12-inch on hand. Stop by the I Heart Lung Traveling Medicine Show!

I tried my best to make a living as a musician this year and the remove required in that effort was almost Herculean. Twilight & Ghost Stories II anyone? It’s a strange life with strange requirements. Maybe my training wheels will come off in the next twelve months.

Nevertheless, this year was rich with musical experiences: I composed my first video game score, performed Twilight & Ghost Stories in both San Francisco and Austin, wrote my first extended piece for violin and cello, released both Interoceans, Interoceans Remixed and the Schlarb Family Christmas Album. I also produced a few great albums including the debut records for The Widow Babies, Steve Gerstein and The Commotions. I even got to tour the West Coast alongside ellul with I Heart Lung and play a gig with Kira Roessler and Mike Watt. I also saw Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell play music together less than 20 feet away from my physical body.

I definitely spent more time this year listening to and working on my own music and projects than any other I can think of. I remember how, just ten years ago, my ears were so open and ready to absorb the millions of ideas floating around out there. Now I use the music of other artists to help escape my own ideas and reflect on the creative process.

As far as those rising names and their associated publicity machines; I’ve never been good at riding bandwagons. Sometimes I’m too stubborn for my own good.

With all that bluster for context, here were the 2008 albums that moved me:

5. Juana Molina- Un Dia
4. NOMO- Ghost Rock
3. Strategy- Music For Lamping
2. Cynic- Traced In Air
1. Squarepusher- Just A Souvenier