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 |
| Crazy Over You |
Drumming Up Support |
03/92 - 03/92 |
| Short country rave up. Wrote it in college and it survived courtesy of the folder of yellow pads songs I stored away until the time was right. |
| Little Chuck |
Five of One, A Half Dozen Of The Other |
06/92 - 09/92 |
| At the time this was written Chuck Berry was in trouble for making video recordings in the women's restroom at a restaurant he owned. In the videos confiscated were less than honorable videos of Chuck and a lady friend engaged in not too desirable, for her, positions. He was no longer the rock idol he might have been before and inspired this little ditty. |
| Lost For Answers Why |
Esoterica |
09/92 - 12/92 |
| Song about a news event at the time where a woman's van was car-jacked. The idiots who did it left her kids and kidnapped her. I saw an news interview with the husband and the children, who were now without their mother. Like most TV news stories, there was no follow up so I don't know how it turned out but I imagine it wasn't a happy ending. |
| Christmas Time Is Here Again |
Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before |
08/93 - 01/94 |
| A song the Beatles recorded and used for their 1967 Fan Club single. On the single they interwove it with wacky, comedy skits. |
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