February23rd
Just a short little acoustic piece I put together tonight. Despite the unconscionable amount of coffee I’ve had today, this one turned out surprisingly mellow. It features acoustic and electric guitar, plus a little bit of music box run through a delay pedal and a Fender amp.
Um, THIS one, in fact.
It’s only about a minute long, so it probably won’t kill your entire evening like it did mine.
February22nd
A few years ago (wait, 2008?? That can’t be right.) OK, a few years ago I recorded a goofy little instrumental called “Walking Small” and wrote all about it here.
Now, I don’t normally pull a “George Lucas” with my old music, but I thought this one could use some cleaning up. I doubled the length, replaced the original oboe track with clarinet, because, you know, Squidward.
Credit: Spongebob.wikia.com
I also added just a bit of harp glissando and minimal piano to give it more of a soundtrack vibe. I think I like this version better, but you can decide for yourself.
January25th
I’ve been doing a lot of work in my studio lately, and I’m always looking for new ways of streamlining my process. In the course of learning some tricks with my recording software, I decided to delve into the world of loop-based recording. This is NOT recording using pre-existing loops made by someone else; rather it is a process by which you pick up an instrument record a pattern of a specific length (i.e. 4 bars,) then while that pattern plays back, you then play a different pattern on another instrument. You then continue this process until you have a piece of music consisting of several instrument tracks. The results can be simple, complex, hypnotic, or in the case of the music I’m posting today, “1970s-y”
I recorded the basic tracks using a Hohner Pianet through a wah pedal, then adding electric bass and drums, with a short synth lead part thrown in for fun. I always liked the sound of the Pianet. It has a “sticky” quality about it, and the instrument is featured prominently in songs like the “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen, “I Am The Walrus” by The Beatles, and “She’s Not There” by The Zombies, just the name the few.
Nothing too complex here; I just wanted to see if I could do it, so after some minimal editing, I’m sharing the results with you. Enjoy!
December11th
Winter arrived with a vengeance in Minnesota this past weekend. I mean “vengeance” literally, since I can only assume I’m somehow responsible for this. Patty isn’t as crazy about winter as I am, since she gets cold easily and appears to have misplaced her coat.
We live next to a nature area, so on Sunday morning, I grabbed my camcorder to capture some of the local beauty. I then put together this short film along with some original music to show all of my “warm climate friends” exactly what they’re missing. (The answer is “cold;” they’re all missing tons of cold.)
December4th
credit: Wikipedia
This week, I’m posting a piece I whipped up just for the fun of it. I was listening to The Animals and found myself enamored with the sound of the Vox Continental organ in a lot of their recordings, so I put together a piece that features it, as well as bass, drums, and mandatory handclaps.
Unfortunately, I don’t own a real Vox, so I’m using a good virtual instrument. That’s fine by me; I’ve already restored a Wurlitzer 200A and a Rhodes Seventy-Three, so I’m not in a hurry to tackle anything else right now.
If you aren’t familiar with the Vox by name, you will definitely recognize the sound. It’s a much thinner sound than a Hammond and it is all over a lot of 1960s recordings by groups such as The Doors, The Monkees, Iron Butterfly, and (of course) the Sir Douglas Quintet.
I’m happy with the way this piece turned out, as it has a frantic, car-chase feel about it, and who doesn’t like that? (No one; no one doesn’t like that.)
October31st
Happy Halloween, Everybody!
I’m posting a quick piece of music with a John Carpenter-esque sound. An edited version of this was recently used in “The Tale of Cuthbert,” a short film This is the full version of a piece I recently recorded for the short film “The Tale of Cuthbert,” which won 6 awards in the 50 Fifty Reel Challenge, including “Best Music.” It was a lot of fun to do, and it’s nice to be recognized for doing something I love.
I was deliberately going for a sound that is reminiscent of John Carpenter’s scores for films like “The Thing,” The Fog,” and maybe just a bit of “Halloween.” Therefore, I relied heavily on synth bass, harpsichord and some blaring french horns.
It’s called “The Thing in The Fog,” which seemed a much more clever title when I first thought of it.
October23rd
pictured: Me in 1982
I’m posting a new piece of music today that’s a little out of my comfort zone. For a very brief time back in the early 1980s I experimented with clarinet. It was a different time and to be honest, everyone was doing it. Despite what you’ve heard I am not a very skilled clarinet player, so in this recording I am using a very nice “virtual soprano clarinet,” which is a piece of software designed to emulate the sound and characteristics of a real instrument. I think it sounds convincing enough for most of my work, but you be the judge. As with any instrument, I still need to practice more.
Anyway, this is a fun little piece and it’s my attempt at something with an upbeat Eastern European sound. It’s called “Klezmerizing” and at runs 1:35m. And yes, I know this wouldn’t technically be categorized as “Klezmer” music, but I’m seriously hoping that very few of you readers are actually musicologists.
October18th
I’m taking more time to give a shout out to some of my favorite web sites. No one is paying to advertise here, but a lot of people have been supportive of me, and I just wanted to return the favor.
I know a whole bunch of talented visual artists, and they all have their own unique style and sensibility. I’ve known Brenda Olson since High School, so I can tell you with confidence that she has ALWAYS been talented and she has ALWAYS been nice.
Brenda has a wonderful website at BrendaOlsonArt.com where you can view and buy her work. Her imaginative and delightful prints, cards, bookmarks, magnets will definitely make you smile. Yeah, you heard me…MAGNETS! I’m guessing that you don’t have enough cool-looking magnets! Oh, and don’t leave her site without checking out the Kids Yoga Flash Card Deck!
I purchased several Thank You cards last year and I’ll confess that I like them too much to give them out. Looks like I’ll need to get more.
Shipping is free, so go nuts, people.
October17th
We musicians have a reputation for being self-absorbed. It’s an often well-deserved criticism of which I am also guilty. In fact, I could point out that a Google search for “self-absorbed musicians” will yield 2,300,000 results, but that would result in you temporarily not paying attention to me…
…Chris Schuette
Making a living as any type of musician or other creative type is very challenging. You have to work very hard, and it can often be demeaning with few tangible results. As a result, we tend to constantly ask you to come see our band, or buy our CD, or check us out on iTunes. Unfortunately, I’m frequently guilty of leaving it at that and not offering anything else (other than accessible relaxing solo piano music, of course.)
Well, I’ve had a lot of support for my hard work lately, and it occurred to me that I know some pretty amazing people who do very cool things with their talents. Things so cool, that I want you to check them out and enjoy their work to the level it deserves. Some of these people I know personally and some of them I know through the Internet, but I’m lucky to know each and every one of them.
I don’t advertise on my website. I may someday, but I don’t right now. So, I’m just going to spend a little more time giving props to sites I like. I also promise to never again use the term “giving props,” unless I’m discussing the altruistic delivery of airplane parts.
I need to stop writing stuff like that.
October16th
Guess what I did last night. No, you’re WAY off! (And let’s watch the language.)
Patty and I attended the world premiere of “Finding Home” at the Twin Cities Film Fest. “Finding Home” is a character-driven independent film about the challenges faced by a young couple while on a camping trip. As I have mentioned previously, it’s a wonderful film, and I am proud to have composed and recorded the soundtrack.
Patty and I have never been to a World Premiere and it was an awesome experience to be interviewed on the red carpet. The best part for me was experiencing the film with an appreciative audience and chatting with some nice people at the event.
Again, congratulations to Chars Bonin of Orange Apple Productions, and I can’t wait to get to work on the next project.
