discography

I’ve Seen It (1990 ish)

Part of The Last Set… this was a tune that just popped up at a time when my rig was ready to turn on and record. It originated after just messing around like a trio… kit, bass and keys. It was a great opportunity to play the TrapKat like a kit which was great fun. Going back and adding percussion, textures, solos…

Recording and mixing live tracks as MIDI … then playing (hitting the space bar) the mixed version onto a Tascam cassette deck.

Worth The Trip (1989 ish)

I suppose this was at the beginning of The Last Set set. The TrapKat, Ensoniq SD-1 and Master Tracks Pro on a Mac 840AV (with a floppy drive!). Fired up with a couple of clicks, ready to record and arrange. I remember this being such a fun tune to create. Some nights I felt like I had 25 grooves in my head like this. This one I caught before it got away. This was past the days of being in bands, but this would have been a fun tune to play live with a band… kit, bass or keys. I always envisioned this tune played with small strings and brass arrangements, and maybe even a bluegrass, honky tonk-ish version.

Tempest Moon (1990 ish)

Part of The Last Set… I remember being focused, if at all, on writing soundtrack music in those days. I had had it with bands and thought it would be great fun to write for film. So I always had a few of these kinds of tunes in the works… laying around… kindof like toys for me. I could F around arranging on the Mac for days. Although primitive by today’s standards… the wonders of MIDI in the early days were amazing for the time.

Desperate Plains (1990 ish)

Part of The Last Set… Desperate Plains was a tune built quickly, with no repeating verse-chorus etc. sections… and started out with what ended up being the end of the song. An improvisation on piano with a single forlorn horn above it. Then a couple other kindof melancholy lead instruments… a couple of the custom sounds I created on the SD-1 with string, horn and woodwind origins.

Twisted (1992 ish)

This was shortly before breaking down what had become my rig in Oak Park, for the last time. Sticks on the Trap Kat triggering the Alesis DM drum sounds, and the Ensoniq SD-1. Live tracks recorded and mastered in MIDI in Master Tracks Pro on a Mac 840AV.

Techy melodic, layering different meters on top of each other for different feels in accent and pace. A couple of days writing and recording the tracks, and then a couple more mixing and sound shaping. And probably a couple more days just recording yet another version of the end on the drums or lead synth… just for the sheer fun and exploration.

Tailwind (1988 ish)

This was among my first music recorded on the Mac using Master Tracks Pro, using MIDI to record live tracks.

An easy going little down tempo groove in five. This was one of the tunes I sent on a cassette (though the mail!) to brilliant composer and digital artist Kit Watkins who responded “stick with this Brian… your tunes are very good.” For a synth nerd hold up in his attic, that was amazing energy for me. So a decent copy of this 35 year-old recording was a special find.

Still A Dream (1987 ish)

This was a rare attempt at a boy-girl pop tune with vocals. Recorded on the Fostex 8-track. Was never satisfied with my voice, and writing good pop tunes is really hard… but this one I was glad to play for folks.

Turn Around (1985 ish)

I had completely forgotten about this little pop tune I wrote and recorded on a Yamaha 4-track cassette, Roland jx-3p and Drumulator. Very old stuff. Rare vocals.

Some of these came from the vault (an old duffle bag of stuff I’ve been carrying around for decades). I’m not sure how many of the older recordings will be salvageable enough to even list here, but I’m working on cleaning them up.

Listen pretty loud in headphones if you can. The tape recordings have lost a lot of definition over the years, and some are pretty terrible… but you can still hear some subtle details/playing/production in some of them.

Some referred to as The Last Set are songs I created before taking down what had become my rig in Oak Park. The amazing TrapKat and the Ensoniq SD-1 directly into a Mac 840AV running Master Tracks Pro. I had at that point began doing this for the sheer joy of it… getting ideas, hearing melodies and rhythms… sounds and arrangements in my head… and giving them life. No other motivations of genre, who may ever listen anymore… I didn’t care.