Back in 1991, I purchased a Tascam Porta Studio. It was the entry level four track cassette version but I pushed it to its limits. It unlocked a creative stream that saw me writing and recording the equivalent of nine albums over then next two years.
I started to record and took the name Rough Spots as my fictional band. It summed up the sound of the music I was recording. Solid but with rough spots. The band had three fictional members, each with one of first, middle or last names.
At first, I had no drums so the songs were mostly acoustic guitar/folky sounding. Then I picked up a used Dr. Rhythm that I programmed to create a virtual Keith Moon, John Bonham or Ringo. Unfortunately, all the music store had was the Electronica
version so all the songs have the sound like the 80s New Wave never went away. A few songs were covers but 98% were songs I wrote, usually in one sitting.
As time went on, I added more instruments. A Chicken Shaker (a plastic egg filled with BBs), a children's harmonium and others. The flood gates opened when I got a Casio synthesizer. Suddenly, I was able to add strings, brass and piano.
So why nothing new in 15 years? Unfortunately, life got in the way, I grew up, had kids and my recording studio became a nursery. It was some time ago and the trade off was well worth it, but those couple years were an incredible learning experience.
With the Tascam being an entry level four track, I really had to learn basic ways of creating additional tracks much like the early pioneers. To add tracks, I would bounce the four tracks to two. I then had two new tracks for additional tracks and vocals.
Sometimes, I would bounce it again, so I ended up with 8 tracks. It was very low-fi as there was no equalization.
Click on the playbuttons to start the Yahoo! Media Player. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed recording them.
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| Track |
Album |
Recorded |
| Patience is Overdue |
Too Broke For Drums |
02/92 - 02/92 |
| The first song I recorded with backwards guitar. |
| I'll Fly Away |
Alewives in the Basement |
03/92 - 05/92 |
| Song about someone who is HIV positive and their desire to leave the discrimination they encounter to "fly away" with the one person they found who understands what they are going through. |
| Test of Time |
Alewives in the Basement |
03/92 - 05/92 |
| A "see I'm not so bad after all" song. I can stand up to anything. Easy for a 20-something to write a song like that. And hey, is that cowbell? |
| White 48 (Lovely Lass) |
Rough Spots |
12/92 - 07/93 |
| At the time this was written there a band called Black 47 that was supposed to be this great Irish Celtic rock phenom. I felt they were fakers and showed how easily someone who isn't Irish can write a song that sounds like they are. |
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