Despite my better judgment, I LUV file sharing. When we were in Brazil, there were kids that came up to have us sign their bootleg copies of our records. We didn't mind, because we knew they couldn't buy them there, the only way they heard them was on the internet.
There is something liberating, free, anarchic, and unifying about internet file exchange, whether its songs or software. If it were up to me (and it very well might be), our enhanced c.d.s would come with the songs already in mp3 format, as if to say to people - here, share these. For me, the record has to be about the other things besides the music - the artwork, and things that you can put on an enhanced media. Technology is changing the way we think of records, and so artists ought to rise to these challenges rather than think of them as obstacles.
We co-write our songs, together, but they usually evolve out of one person's idea, and then we contribute to the arrangement.
If I have an idea in my head, sometimes I will have to play around with several different tunings to find the one that works best for that particular idea. they usually have to do with what my hand feels comfortable with playing, and which open strings resonate the best together.
Does that answer your questions?
Conrad
Hello Dan,
Kevin Allen on the equipment he used on Crowning of a Heart from the Secret of Elena's Tomb EP, his thoughts on CD burning, and how much money the ToD makes from the sale of each CD:
i believe it is a yamaha hollow body,
thru a marshall 50 watt plexi with
some echoplex tape delay,
don't know what mic, you'll
have to ask to "the wizard" michael mcCarthy
our producer, i'll forward this to him,
i personally feel there is nothing illegal about it
and do it all the time, so burn baby burn,
one quarter of a dollar,
Michael McCarthy on the equipment used to record Crowning of a Heart:
Hello, this email was forwarded to me by the band. I'll try my best to remember, but no guarantees.... I believe conrad(right spkr) played a les paul through a vox ac-30 with top boost. Kevin(left spkr) played a yamaha hollow body, gretsch copy, borrowed from a Session guitarist in nashville named kenny greenberg. The pickups were replaced with real filtertrons. I think kevin played through a 100watt marshall from around 1969 with a 4/12 greenback cab. He may also have used a memory man delay unit. For those sessions I usually mic with U-47 or U-48 on both amps. The studio had some great old tube gear for mic pre's,eq and compression. The console was a neve 8078, and the tape recorder was a studer 827 24 track.
Kevin on how much they make from each CD and their LIVE equipment:
i'm not really sure how much it is, but it's not much thats for sure, we use marshall 100 watt plexi's, and i use an mxr micro amp pedal, and a time machine delay unit, kevin
Michael McCarthy on pedals used in the studio:
Generally we just use the amps...but sometimes Kevin will go through the mxr micro amp as well. Sometimes we will go through an exoplex, or memory man And turn up the input through that device.
Kevin on how he gets that really fuzzy sound (cranks his marshall all the way), what amps they use in the studio, and when to expect the new release:
yeah, it's cranked all the way but the micro amp is more like an overdrive, it boost the volume without changing the tone of the amp, we use ac30's, fender's, really what ever sounds right, for that particular song, but we mostly use vintage tube amps, hopefully the next release will be in the spring, but we might do a single before that, kevin
Conrad on Crowning of a Heart gear:
Hello Dan, I think I played a hollow body Gretch on that one, and some sort of vintage amplifier. I'm not really a gear-head (something for which our producer constantly reprimands me). I don't use any effects, prefering the natural sound of the amplifier and room. However, Mike sometimes puts reverb on there. I like file sharing, but don't tell our record label that, ha ha! Conrad
Kevin on being in the recording studio:
yeah he uses zyldjian for the recording we use two sets, 1969 ludwig (ringo) set with 22 inch kick drum 1975 ludwig with a 24 inch kick neil uses ampeg B-15 portaflex and its always miced it can be fun at times if you've had some cocktails but mostly its stressful ,tedious and boring, i'm glad we have the xbox kwa