So after a bit of a delay the big day is finally here and the debut release "Shock & Awe" is offical and a free download will be available until the release show on June 26.  Yes, the entire EP will be FREE for a limited time which seems to be the way everyone is going these days so why swim against the current?  And how do I really feel about this free music future?  I have to admit that I have very mixed feelings but I have also decided not to waste too much time and energy worrying about the financial aspects of what I am doing.  I'm having a lot of fun making this stuff and there appear to be some people out there who are digging it so why complicate things?  The last gig was also really fun even though there was only a small crowd.  The sound was fantastic and the staff at Madame Claude were great so what more can you ask for...

Anyway, on to the point.  The EP is done and released and I am quite pleased with how it turned out, at least for a first attempt with this new production strategy.  I chose the title based on the track I thought had the catchiest name, "Shock & Awe" and I will explain what the song is about in the next post.  After that I will write a post about each of the 6 songs every few days to give a bit more background and hopefully make some sense of it all.

Speaking of album titles, I probably could have called this EP "Delayed" not only because the release date was delayed but now the release show date has been re-scheduled for a week later as well!  No big deal, a few unexpected things came up this week and in the end it was decided that June 26 would be better and a live big-screen broadcast of the World Cup will be part of the festivities.  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!!!

Wanted to get around to writing something here for a while now but the personal life got kind of busy and there was also a lot to do to get the EP finished so that's the way it goes.  At least now I can say that a lot has been accomplished in the last while and the EP is being mastered as I write and will be ready on time after all.  Quite a relief after all the setbacks and other things I've had to deal with over the past month.  I'll write more about the EP and the songs soon...

Another big priority has been to get the technical problems with the live set sorted out and steps have been taken.  I ordered a ground-loop isolator yesterday which should take care of the buzzing and other disturbance that came from the laptop when it was plugged in and a smaller controller will be attached directly to the keyboard to allow a more compact setup on stage.  The laptop will now be placed on a large size note stand which means no more table necessary for it and the large controller etc.  I have also decided to phase the guitars out of the live set (for the time being) which will mean fewer factors to consider in the overall sound.  I will still play some of the songs that have been recorded with guitar but will adapt them to the keyboard which should be interesting as alternative versions, something which is going to happen with all the songs at some point probably.

All for now...

Had a pretty busy week here putting in the final tracks for the E.P. and starting on the mixing.  As always the first stages of mixing were a little frustrating but once I made some adjustments things started to take shape nicely and a few more sessions should do it.  All in all I am very happy with how the songs have turned out.

I jumped back into the studio work with both feet because I had put it on hold to get ready for the first live show.  I guess I was in a bit of an "onwards and upwards" mode considering that there were only a few people at the show and there had also been some minor technical problems.  Generally a bit of a frustrating night I have to admit but I am optimistic that things will get better and I have already sorted out the technical problems.  Now all I have to do is get a few more people to actually show up!

Other than that just getting prepared for tomorrow, another crazy "May Day" here in Berlin.  Considering that I live in the heart of the riot zone there are always some consideration to be made, e.g. parking the car far enough away so there is no risk of it getting damaged, getting some cash (all of the banks and their cash terminals get borded up) and this year because it is on a Saturday I have to remember to do all my grocery shopping today in order to get through until Monday.  Yes, lots to do here so I better get at it!

And just to give you an idea of what it's like, check out this video...

Atari Teenage Riot - May 1st, 1999