WHAT IS A PERFORMING MUSICIAN WITHOUT PERFORMANCES?
I love playing and performing my music for you. The exchange that takes place through live performance is, at its best, sacred. Sometimes sharing a kind of melancholy emotion, sometimes sharing a kind of joyful mood, but always a feeling of gratitude about sharing my music with all of you has been a great privilege of my life. I've begun performing live again as of Fall 2023, but I also remain focused on arranging, composing, producing and recording my music and I want you to join me.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?
I’ve been working on several new projects for the past 2 years, and I’ll be continuing to produce new music in 2024 and beyond. But ever since the pandemic, I've been forced to be much more pro-active in my search for ways to monetize multiple projects, connect with fans, and create a steady revenue stream, and specifically for ways to do all of this without feeling like I'm begging for money. Which is why I've been working on developing a hybrid of crowdsourced patronage & monthly/annual subscription model of interaction with my audience, intended to support the process of producing and distributing my music.
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Thank you!
One of my favorite parts of performing live is getting the chance to thank new and long-time fans and supporters in person. Because of how much has changed in the past year or so, I'm highly motivated to learn about and utilize new methods of performing (such as virtual concerts and online livestream performances). In the meantime, this chance to connect with you directly through your inbox is a lifeline.
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“A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.”
– Frank Zappa
THIRD EYE
Composed over the 2nd weekend of April 2024
Version 1.0 recorded & uploaded 4/14/2024
Production Notes on the inspiration for Third Eye and the process of creating this new composition:
Jonathan Goldman published this important work in the field of Sound Healing and it's been a big influence for some of my newest efforts as a composer and sound designer.
In his book, Healing Sounds, he examines the purest form of therapeutic sound --harmonics-- and expresses the scientific and spiritual viewpoints about how to use the transformativen power of sound for healing on physical, emotiional, mental, and spiritual levels.
One of the experiences he describes in his book really caught my attention. That was when he was speaking at the 4th International Symposium on Music: Rehabilitation and Human Well-Being, which was held at Goldwater Hospital in New York City in 1985.
He met a woman there, named Helga Rich, who was a vocal instructor and yoga teacher. She was at the Symposium to deliver a presentation about how she was working with sound to help patients suffering from aphasia, muscular disorder, Down's Syndrome and other problems. The title of her presentation was 'Theoritical Aspects of Vocal Teaching'.
According to Jonathan's story, when he asked Helga more specifically how she did this she replied, 'I teach them to sing vowel sounds and project them here,' and she pointed to her forehead.
He excitedly responded, 'You have them project harmonics to the third eye!'
This was my inspiration, and in designing the sounds, I chose to emulate the sound of singing vowels combined with vocal ensemble choir sounds.
Third Eye is also an enormous tribute to the sounds of the 80s, where I used software emulations of 3 of the most famous sound creation synthesizers of that era:
- Yamaha Dx7 (used for the bassline, the bell-like accents, and the main Electric Piano riff)
- Roland's amazing Vocoder (for the line "Listen to my voice")
- and the famous Fairlight CMI Digital Synthesizer-Sampler Digital Audio Workstation (for the choir sounds)
THIRD EYE is dedicated to Jonathan Goldman and Helga Rich
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