I love photographs of recording studios and equipment. At the moment, I am working on my new album and felt compelled to take a picture of my setup. The centerpiece of my studio is an Allen & Heath Zed-R16 recording console (with custom Walnut side panels). In the foreground is a Moog Little Phatty Stage II next to a bank of hard drives. My recording desk is a Winsted E4606 and up on top (from left to right): Avantone Active Mixcubes, KRK 6 Rokit monitors on a pair of Primacoustic Recoil Stabilizers, an Apple iMac 2.4 GHz, and the Universal Audio UAD-2 Satellite. In the background, my Empirical Labs Mike-E channel strip, ARIA Studiotrack IIII R504 4-track cassette recorder, Novation Nocturn and Native Instruments Maschine (covered). Ms. Pac-Man is back there too.

Last November, I started recording a new album. Here is a picture from a session on December 11th, 2011. From left to right: Tabor Allen, Devin Hoff, and Andrew Pompey. Photo by Aaron Roche.

Just a week removed, here is another picture from my island retreat. Looking southeast toward Anacapa, Island Scrub Jays singing over our shoulders.

My wife and I spent the weekend on a deserted island. We hiked along the cliffs, set up camp at the mouth of a canyon and saw Townsend’s Big-eared bats flying overhead and foxes bouncing along in the moonlight. On a Saturday afternoon, perched atop the dried chaparral near Smuggler’s Cove we heard the song of the Island Scrub Jay.

I don’t like making predictions. What I will say is this… I started work on a lot of good music last year. It has to come out eventually doesn’t it?

At the moment, I am producing records for songwriter and bandleader Paulie Pesh, augmented folk-pop outfit Miniature Houses (featuring Michael Wysong and Lili De La Mora), and a new group with Jet Elfman, Danny Miller and Tabor Allen of Widow Babies/Rare Grooves fame. Last October I put the finishing touches on the debut album for NOPAL con su banda Santos y Payasos. NOPAL is lead by musician/poet Jose “Vince” Reyes and also features Ms. De La Mora on bass and vocals. Not surprisingly, Andrew Pompey plays drums and percussion on everything.

These albums feature some of my favorite musicians and the collaborations feel truly inspired. I am always learning, listening, reading, and trying to get better… Not only for myself but for the artists I am working with. This music has developed slowly and it feels like a part of me, not like a job I was hired to do. Most of all, I am going in new directions and finding honesty in the work.

Lastly, I have two projects of my own that I hope to finish and release this year: We Scream is a documentary short film about ice cream trucks that my wife Adriana and I started in 2009. The other project will turn Psychic Temple into a double album. As you may have noticed, there are two sleeves in gatefold cover.

This is the third album we have done for Christmas and although these aren’t holiday songs, the important thing is that we all worked, laughed, and spent time together. It was a great joy to share my “work” with my family. A simple thing like listening back to multi-tracked vocals or harmonies sent my kids (and Adriana) into flights of euphoric disbelief. It’s easy to forget that what we can do with sound is a form of magic.

Everyone picked their own song to sing and I love that you can hear a little bit of each family member’s personality in their vocal delivery. These were not easy tunes to learn and it was fun to approach the music of Steely Dan with a kind of slap-dash perfectionism; we knocked out “Do It Again” in one take but I worked for hours (and 20+ takes) to record “Gaucho” all the way through. Did I mention that “Gaucho” was six pages of difficult sheet music with chord voicings written on piano? Hello Ab add2 with a Bb bass…

Anyhow, thanks so much for listening and Merry Christmas!

01. Do It Again [mp3]
02. Peg [mp3]
03. Reeling In The Years [mp3]
04. Gaucho [mp3]

Download high quality mp3s in a .zip file here! Artwork included.

CREDITS
All songs written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen

Naima Schlarb- vocals on “Do It Again”
Elisha Schlarb- vocals “Peg”
Adriana Schlarb- vocals on “Reeling In The Years”
Chris Schlarb- acoustic and electric guitars, melodica, electric bass on “Do It Again”, vocals on “Gaucho”

with:
Tabor Allen- drums on “Do It Again”, “Peg”, and “Reeling In The Years”
Danny Miller- electric bass on “Peg” and “Reeling In The Years”, acoustic guitar on “Do It Again”
Andrew Pompey- percussion on “Do It Again” and “Peg”

Cover art by Naima Schlarb, family portrait by Elisha Schlarb

Produced, Arranged and Recorded by Chris Schlarb
Recorded from November 26th through December 16th in the room next to the kitchen

I started reading Stephen King‘s new time travel epic, 11/22/63, last week. So far, I am enjoying it immensely. I haven’t broken the spine on a King novel since high school and I don’t read much fiction but the subject matter caught my attention. Lately, my reading has unintentionally congregated around cults of personality: Vincent Bugliosi‘s Charles Manson tome, Helter Skelter, Hampton Sides‘ Hellhound On His Trail, about Martin Luther King‘s assassination at the alleged hands of James Earl Ray, and Walter Issacson‘s officious, illuminating, and technically soggy biography of Steve Jobs.

11/22/63, however ominous thus far, has a light and giddy air to it. King’s protagonist, a Maine high school English teacher named Jake Epping, is a perfect vehicle for complaints about grammar, frequent references to literature and, occasionally, veiled references to a certain social network. On page 161 of the book, King writes, through Epping’s first person narrative, “When I woke up the next morning, a nine-o’ clock sun was shining in my as-yet-curtain-less bedroom window, birds were twittering self-importantly, and I thought I knew what I had to do. Keep it simple, stupid.” I think he’s on to something.

On Monday, September 5th, I will be playing electric guitar as a member of Le Petit Ensemble Mélodique. Together, we will be performing an original live score to Jean Cocteau‘s classic film, La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast). The music for the ensemble has been written by Lili De La Mora and Michael Wysong (of Miniature Houses) and the group features Tabor Allen, Sandor Roscoe Wolff, Ken Negrete, Alyssandra Nighswonger, Davin Givhan, and Taihei Tajima.

Tickets are $10. Doors open at 7pm and the performance begins at 8pm. All ages are welcome.

Many thanks to Long Beach Cinematheque and Second Samoan Church of Long Beach for organizing and hosting the event.

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.

From left to right: Kris Tiner (trumpet), Danny Miller (electric guitar), Andrew Pompey (drums), C.J. Boyd (upright bass), Tabor Allen (drums), Aaron Roche (electric guitar, voice), Chris Schlarb (electric guitar). Photo and visuals by Jonathan Dueck.

Rehearsal and performance took place on Saturday; June 18, 2011 at the Salvage Vanguard Theater for NMASS Festival. Thanks to Aaron Mace and all of the Church of the Friendly Ghost volunteers (for making it all happen), Jonathan F. Horne (for letting us borrow all his equipment), and Matt Burnett and Big Don Tischa (for making the show sound incredible). A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came to listen.

I return to Austin, Texas this weekend for Church of the Friendly Ghost‘s NMASS Festival; a three day summit of creative music including performance art, film, and installations. NMASS is an antidote to the overhyped and artistically underwhelming festivals that plague the landscape and I am excited to be among the invitees. NMASS takes place at the wonderful Salvage Vanguard Theater and is being run by a dedicated and unsung group of volunteers. At 4pm on Saturday, June 18th, I will be participating in a panel discussion with C.J. Boyd entitled, “The Creative Life”, moderated by KUT’s Laurie Gallardo. Later that night I will be performing Psychic Temple with the full cast of characters: Andrew Pompey and Tabor Allen on drums, Danny Miller on electric guitar, Aaron Roche on acoustic guitar and vocals, Kris Tiner on trumpet, C.J. Boyd on upright bass, and Jonathan Dueck on 16mm projections. With folks flying in from Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Calgary and parts unknown, this will be a very special one-time presentation. Be sure not to miss it, three-day passes are only $15 (or $10 per day).

Photo by Adriana Schlarb

Last week I had the pleasure to perform with a new ensemble put together by trumpeter Kris Tiner. Truly an all-star collection of musicians, the group includes Motoka Honda on piano/keyboards, Steuart Liebig on bass, Nathan Hubbard on drums, and myself on electric guitar. We rehearsed a few times before ramp-up gigs in Los Angeles and San Diego, eventually readying us for the 25th Annual Bakersfield Jazz Festival. The music we played was alternately intense, daring, angular and lyrical. I was honored to share the stage with these musicians and there is talk of recording later this year.

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 try to keep it simple. In fact, for most of the last 10 years, my use of effects pedals has been downright spartan. At this point, I think I have finally put the right combination of sounds together. The only difference with this photo and my actual performance set up is that the BOSS RC-50 Loop Station is placed to the left of the pedal board and not on top of it.

From left to right (beginning at the top):

BOSS RC-50 Loop Station: I just replaced my Digitech JamMan with the RC-50. I used the JamMan for every live performance and recording session over the last few years and it never failed me. My only frustration was the last of control over the loops and the large amount of noise produced by the unit when attempting to record direct. So far the RC-50 has been amazing. Three stereo loops, each with their own pan, volume and forward/reverse settings.

BOSS RE-20 Roland Space Echo: I imagine this is about as close as I will ever get to a real Space Echo sound. I toyed with the idea of buying a vintage RE-201 but the cost and upkeep are a little prohibitive. Thankfully the RE-20 sounds amazing. I use it mostly on guitar but it is hard to be on a snare drum too.

Electro-Harmonix Stereo Electric Mistress: Believe it or not but this is the only modulation pedal I have ever owned in 15 years of playing guitar. The ability to combine flange and chorus leads to a number of beautiful, shimmering accidents. Play and record in stereo if at all possible.

T-Rex Mudhoney: Unlike modulation pedals, I have owned my fair share of distortion boxes. From the ugly sounds of the BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone to the underwhelming overdrive and fuzz boxes from Electro-Harmonix, I have had a difficult time finding a sound that was right for me. It just so happened that I booked a recording session for I Heart Lung at Matt Wignall‘s Long Beach studio, Tackyland, when I found a Mudhoney pedal among the cables and wires. I plugged it in and ordered my own a few days later.

Ernie Ball VPJR: Volume pedals aren’t very sexy. They rank up there with DI boxes and power supplies as the last thing any musician wants to spend their money on. A volume pedal helps me add texture and thoughtful accompaniment to whatever style of music I am playing. It might be boring but it’s also my secret weapon.

Not Pictured
I still have two pedals that aren’t in this setup. One is the BOSS DD-20 Gigadelay, which I have used extensively for many years now. The other is a Digitech Synth Wah which is a decent/weird envelope filter. Depending on the setting, I’ll swap out the DD-20 for the RE-20 and if I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll plug the synth wah.

LINKS

BOSS
Electro-Harmonix
T-Rex
Ernie Ball

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.