Web Log 10 (226-250)

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Volume 10

Posts 226-250

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 to

Monday, June 2, 2008

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T U E SD A Y , M A Y 6 , 2 0 0 8

This Day in Studio History

It was on this day in 1997 that the Isthmus album Ideas was released.

This was a collection of songs from the 1995 Electric Field Donut jam session that

did not make it onto the 1996 Electric Field Donut album.

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 5:38 AM 0 comments

Labels: This Day in History

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W E D N E SD A Y , M A Y 7 , 2 0 0 8

Equipment File #10: DR-660 drum machine

Boss DR-660

Although the DR -550 drum machine was a great improvement over the drum

sounds from the Yamaha keyboard, it had a limited number of kits to choose from.

So after two and a half years, it was set aside and the DR -660 was purchased in

late 1992.

The DR-660 put in over ten years of service before its internal battery finally died.

Hundreds of songs were recorded with this unit. It provided many more drum kitsand programmable patterns than the DR-550. It also included bass sounds so an

entire rhythm section could be programmed. And this one could be backed up via

MIDI cables to a computer (as opposed to the cassette deck back-up method of the

DR-550).

And now with drum loops and built-in drum machines, the computer has replaced

the DR-660. The Studio can now use the drum machine sounds of the 80's and 90's

or loops that sound like real drums from within one program on the computer.


Labels: Equipment File

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T H U R SD A Y , M A Y 8 , 2 0 0 8

Video File #3: Isthmus "Flathead Midget"

"Flathead Midget" video is now online!

Today is the release of the second Isthmus music video, "Flathead Midget". The

song comes from their 1998 album Parabolic Dish Festival Volume 1.

The footage used in the video comes from two sources. The first is the Isthmus jam

session where the album was actually recorded. The second is a circus that came

to Isthmus' home-town in April of 2008.

Click here for the YouTube post.Posted by - Mune Mud - at 5:51 AM 0 comments

Labels: Video File

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F R I D A Y , M A Y 9 , 2 0 0 8

Project Spotlight #19: Who Are The Spartans?

In 1991, Brad P showed up at the doorstep of Metal XOR Studio after having beenaway at school for a couple of years. The Studio was in the midst of recording

Mune Mud's Olympus album. So Brad programmed a few drum patterns and added

some vocals on a couple of outtake tracks.

He was also around for the 1992 Mune Mud album Underwater Problem Factory ,

contributing a few musical ideas but mainly designing the cover for that album on

his PC.

It was also during this time that Harry and Jason were playing in various garages

and bedrooms, so Brad was a natural to join as the drummer since the three had

played before in their previous band, Pheonix.

For a couple of years the three got together and jammed often. Brad was on

drums, Harry on guitar and vocals, and Jason on his new bass. Some of these jams

were video-taped and turned into bootleg audio tapes. They even played at Harry's

21st birthday bash.

At the time, the band didn't even have a name. They just got together and played.

For many years after the band quit playing, these jams were considered to be a

newer version of Pheonix. But Pheonix really was a different band, so recently the

Harry, Jason, and Brad trio was named The Spartans.

The name comes from the fact that many of the people that would attend or

participate in the jam sessions were from the nearby city of Sparta (where Harry

worked). Many memories of this time are of those people and places. So the name

is appropriate to the band.

It was around 1993 when Brad got a new job and moved away once again. But this

did not stop Harry and Jason from jamming, they used a drum machine in Brad's

absence. And that was the beginning of their new band, The Duke Boys.


Labels: Project Spotlight

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SU N D A Y , M A Y 1 1 , 2 0 0 8

Album of the Week #38: Best of Darrin and Jason

Project name: Darrin and JasonAlbum name: Best of Darrin and Jason

Release date: unreleased (compiled in January 1989)

Release format: cassette

Studio name: none

Tracks:

1. I Love You

2. Happy Together

3. If You Could Read My Mind

4. Seventies

5. Brenda Sure

6. Circus Women

7. Botulism

8. Seventies Era

9. Tim

10. What Have You Done for Me Lately?

11. Simply H 12. Take Me Home

In the fall of 1988 Darrin and Jason started making up their own lyrics and singing

to songs on the radio as they cruised around town in Darrin's car. Before long Jason

had his tape recorder rolling, preserving the sessions. Documented sessions were

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on 8-31-88, 11-3-88, 1-25-89, and 1-29-89.

It was in January of 1989 that Jason put together this tape of their favorite songs

that they had sung so far. They had one session after the tape was finished.

No one has heard the tape and no one probably ever will.

Next week's Album of the Week: Olympus 10th Anniversary Collection by Mune

Mud from 2001.


Labels: Album of the Week

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SU N D A Y , M A Y 1 1 , 2 0 0 8

Just For Fun #9

Happy Mother's Day

From all of us at Metal XOR Studio


Labels: Just for Fun

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M O N D A Y , M A Y 1 2 , 2 0 0 8

Single #2: Waterfall

Song name: "Waterfall" Album name: Olympus

Release date: January 7, 1992

Tracks

1. Waterfall (album version)

2. Mystical Dream 3. Waterfall (instrumental)

Song History

This was the second single from the 1991 Mune Mud album Olympus .

"Waterfall" actually had its beginning as a different song. "Priest and Friar" was a

set of lyrics written in August of 1991. It talked of a priest and friar, fire, and the

destruction of a town. Although it never became a song, these themes carried over

to the music that was recorded a week later and a new set of lyrics was written as

"Waterfall". This was one of the defining songs for the sound of early Mune Mud.

Track Breakdown

The first track is the version that appeared on the album.

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The second track was recorded during the Olympus recording sessions. The lyrics

to "Mystical Dream" were started on July 21, 1991, but were not completed. At

some point the lyrics that had been written were recorded. But after the double-

time bridge in the middle of the song the lyrics ended. When it was time to put

Olympus together, Jason did not want to take the time to finish this song, so it

was discarded. This is the only place this song has been made available.

The third track is the instrumental version of the album track.


Labels: Singles

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W E D N E SD A Y , M A Y 1 4 , 2 0 0 8

Equipment File #11: DigiTech sampler pedal

DigiTech PDS 2000

Until early 1991, the only effects the Studio used were the reverb and distortion

on the guitar amp. It was used for both guitar parts, drums, and vocals. Then a

used DigiTech PDS 2000 sampler pedal was bought. It was bought around the same

time as the 4-track recorder.

The pedal provided two effects. The first was delay. It also doubled as a sampler

pedal, recording up to 2 seconds of audio that could be triggered for playback.

The pedal was used extensively in the early days of Mune Mud. Every effect on

Mune Mud's 1991 Olympus album was from this pedal.

Around November of 1991 the first multi-effect rack unit (the Alesis QuadraVerb

GT) was bought by the Studio, so the use of this pedal for guitar and drums

dropped drastically. But it was still used to add delay to vocals for years. In fact,

even as recent as the last Mune Mud album, Hobson's Choice from 2004, it wasused for that purpose.

But now that the computer is being used to record all new music, the pedal may

have seen its last use. The computer can do everything and MUCH more than the

pedal did.

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F R I D A Y , M A Y 1 6 , 2 0 0 8

Project Spotlight #20: The Duke Boys

By the early to mid 90's, Harry and Jason had been involved in several musicprojects. But not since their earliest days had they done anything with just the two

of them. So as the band The Spartans came to an end around 1993, Harry and

Jason continued playing together in garages and bedrooms for the next couple of

years. They rarely played any original songs, almost all of the music from this time

was cover songs from the bands that influenced them the most.

They had an occasional drummer sit in (Shawn or Danny) but most of the time they

used a drum machine or had no drums. Harry played the guitar and sang while

Jason played bass or drum machine.

Several of these jam sessions were recorded on video or audio but have never been

released. Bootleg copies of some of them have turned up over the years. The Duke

Boys slowly evolved into their next project, Isthmus. On February 5, 1995, Isthmus

had their first jam session which led to the release of their first album, Electric

Field Donut , in 1996. With that jam session and their new name, The Duke Boys

was officially finished.

Where did the band name come from? The Dukes of Hazzard of course! Until

recently, this period of their music career was considered to be early Isthmus. But

all of their fans know that Isthmus wasn't created until the Electric Field Donut

session in February 1995. So recently the pre-Isthmus era band was finally named.

The final three choices for the project name was Outpatient, Lonely Minstrels, and

The Duke Boys. The Duke Boys seemed the most appropriate since deep down

inside Harry really is Bo and Jason is Luke.


Labels: Project Spotlight

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SU N D A Y , M A Y 1 8 , 2 0 0 8

Album of the Week #39: Olympus 10th Anniversary

Project name: Mune Mud

Album name: Olympus 10th Anniversary Collection

Release date: December 29, 2001

Release format: CD

Studio name: Metal XOR Studio

Tracks: 1. Etesian Wind

2. To Clementi

3. Waterfall

4. Castor & Pollux

5. Another Troubled Night

6. Sittin' At Home

7. Moon Mud

8. The Last Temptation

9. Infernal Tree

10. Scales of Justice

11. You and Me

12. Paroxysm

13. I'm With You

14. The Solitude

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15. So Many

16. Redman

17. Slow It Down

18. In the Morning

19. Matter in General

20. Night Sea

21. Ministry

22. Moon Garden

23. Audobaun

24. Telescope

25. Country Ill

26. Chaser

27. Just Defied (2)

28. Test

29. Off Silence

30. Mystical Dream

It was decided shortly after the 1999 ORC album Purging the Great Abyss was

released (the first Metal XOR album to be released on CD) that the Studio should

go back and release some of its previous albums on CD. The project that had the

most releases at that point was Mune Mud. So it was the logical starting point for

digital re-releases.

In 2001, this album was released as the first in the 10th Anniversary Collection . At

that time there were five Mune Mud albums (excluding the debut and EP's) that

had been released on cassette. The 10th Anniversary Collection concluded in 2007

with the re-release of Sleep State F .

It was decided early on that in addition to the songs being remixed from the

original masters, the albums would also include previously unreleased tracks suchas demos, alternate versions, or outtakes. And the packaging would also be new

(new covers, labels, etc).

The liner notes give a short history of the album and a few facts about the original

tape. The inside of the sleeve lists the same lyrics that appear on the original tape

sleeve, the lyrics are all run together making one long word (sentence, paragraph,

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or whatever).

The first twenty-four tracks on the album are the same as what appeared on the

original tape. Tracks 25-30 are the bonus tracks. Of those, tracks 25, 26, 28, and

29 were short outtakes from the Olympus recording sessions. Track 27 was a

remake of a song that appeared on the Mune Mud debut album in early 1991. And

track 30 was an outtake that was not used because the lyrics and vocals were

never finished. "Mystical Dream" did appear as the 'b-side' on the "Waterfall" single

in 1992.

Next week's Album of the Week: Underwater Problem Factory 10th Anniversary

Collection by Mune Mud from 2002.



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M O N D A Y , M A Y 1 9 , 2 0 0 8


It was on this day in 2001 that Nikki and Jason Love Songs was released.

This has been their only release so far, but look for another release from them in

the future.



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M O N D A Y , M A Y 1 9 , 2 0 0 8

Single #3: Gridlock

Song name: "Gridlock" Album name: Underwater Problem Factory

Release date: fall of 1992

Tracks

1. Gridlock (album version)

2. EnVenum Above (original version) 3. Gridlock (instrumental)

Song History

This was the first single from the 1992 Mune Mud album Underwater Problem

Factory .

This song was obviously about a relationship. Or more specifically, the confusion

that can come out of a relationship. The snoring at the beginning of the song was

his friend Joe B. Joe had come by the Studio as Jason was getting ready to record.

He laid down and fell asleep and started snoring. So Jason put the mic next to Joe

and recorded him snoring. Later he recorded the song after the snoring.

Track Breakdown

The first track is the version that appeared on the album.

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The second track is a remake of an older Mune Mud song. "EnVenum Above"

originally appeared on the Mune Mud debut album in 1991 and then again on the

debut re-release in 1994. And this is that original version of the song. But the song

did not appear on 2008's Precursory 33 . It was decided the quality of the original

recording was too low to be brought back.



Labels: Singles

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W E D N E SD A Y , M A Y 2 1 , 2 0 0 8

Equipment File #12: Alesis effects unit

Alesis QuadraVerb GT

For most of 1991, the Studio had been using the DigiTech delay/sampler pedal for

most of its guitar, drum, and vocal effects. But more effects were on the way...

Around November 1991, the Studio purchased the Alesis QuadraVerb GT effects

unit. It did the same as the pedal, it had delay and a built-in sampler, but it alsohad distortion, flange, phaser, reverb, and many other effects. The difference in

the Mune Mud Olympus and Underwater Proble m Factory albums was the effects

used. Olympus only had the pedal to work with, UPF had the effects unit. And

probably the song with the most effects was "The Smell of Earthworms" on UPF,

each line of the song was sung with a different effect.

In May of 1993 the Alesis was expanded even further. The Studio ordered a second

effects chip to replace the first, so now the unit had an entirely new set of effects

patches to use. Throughout the years the chips would occasionally be exchanged to

take advantage of the different sets of sounds.

The Alesis has been the primary source of effects for the Studio since it was

purchased over fifteen years ago. Patch #11 is the default distorted guitar sound

Mune Mud has used in many songs. And this rack unit will provide the Studio with

effects for years to come.



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T H U R SD A Y , M A Y 2 2 , 2 0 0 8


Ten years ago, on this day in 1998, Isthmus had a marathon recording sessionwhich spawned two albums, Parabolic Dish Festival Volume 1 and Volume 2 . These

were the last Isthmus albums to be released to date. But talks are underway for a

new Isthmus jam session this year to record a new a lbum.

Also watch for the Parabolic Dish Festival 10th Anniversary Deluxe Limited

Collectors Edition coming VERY soon!!!



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T H U R SD A Y , M A Y 2 2 , 2 0 0 8

Studio News: *** NEW ALBUM RELEASE ***

Metal XOR Studio is proud to announce today's release ofIsthmus Parabolic Dish Festival 10th Anniversary Edition !!!

This is the long-awaited deluxe edition of Isthmus' 1998 Parabolic Dish Festival

album. The original album was released on two cassettes as Volume 1 and Volume

2

, but there was a lot more material from the recording session that was not used.This new compilation not only contains the two original volumes on CD for the first

time ever, but also a third CD containing hours of additional audio in the form of

MP3's. It also contains several .PDF documents including a behind-the-scenes look

at the recording session and lyrics to both original volumes.

This album is being released today because it has been exactly ten years to the

day since the album was recorded. And this is a good way to celebrate the

grandest adventure of the past decade!


Labels: Studio News

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F R I D A Y , M A Y 2 3 , 2 0 0 8


It was on this day in 2001 that Harry and Jason The Vintage Years Volume 1 wasreleased.

Although this has been the only volume released in this series in the last seven

years, there are more planned. Stayed tuned...



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SU N D A Y , M A Y 2 5 , 2 0 0 8

Album of the Week #40: UPF 10th Anniversary


Album name: Underwater Problem Factory 10th Anniversary Collection

Release date: December 31, 2002

Release format: CD Extra


Tracks: 1. One Last Time

2. Time, That's What

3. Gridlock

4. In My Heart

5. I Don't Get It

6. Odyssey VI

7. The Smell of Earthworms

8. 5Fifty

9. My Firmament

10. FF

11. Believe Me

12. Eggs to Eternity

13. Go Disco!

14. Xavier's Goat

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15. The Grasshopper Child

16. I'll Go Berserk

17. My Style

18. EnVenum Above

19. Rite of Diaboli

20. Holed Up

21. Garden of Hesperides

22. Ben Proud

23. Ring Down the Curtain

24. Nothing Cube

This was the second album in the 10th Anniversary Collection . It was a digital re-

release of the 1992 Underwater Problem Factory album.

The album cover and CD label were new designs. The liner notes explained how

UPF was an experimental album and that there were twenty-four songs recorded

during the UPF recording sessions. So this album is the complete catalog of what

was recorded during that time.

The new cover also has the same quote that the original album had on its cover, "If

it looks like strudel, treat it like strudel!" It was credited to Steve Hart, a co-

worker of Jason's, on the original album. This time it was added "in memory of

Steve Hart". Steve died a few years ago and this was a tribute to him.

The first nineteen tracks are the same as what was on the original album. Tracks

20-24 are the bonus tracks. All of the bonus tracks were outtakes, incomplete

songs or deemed not worthy of being on the album. "Garden of Hesperides" was

used as the 'b-side' for the "Believe Me" single that came out later in 1992.

And this has been the only CD to date released by Metal XOR Studio that wasconsidered a CD Extra. In addition to the audio, it contained documents and

picture files pertaining to the UPF era. These were little trivia fun-fact items to

make the collectors happy.

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Next week's Album of the Week: Pryme Material 10th Anniversary Collection by

Mune Mud from 2003.



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M O N D A Y , M A Y 2 6 , 2 0 0 8

Just For Fun #10

Happy Memorial Day

From all of us at Metal XOR Studio


Labels:Just for Fun

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Factory sessions. It was simply an unused track from the album.


Posted by - Mune Mud - at 1:00 PM 0 comments

Labels: Singles

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W E D N E SD A Y , M A Y 2 8 , 2 0 0 8

Equipment File #13: ART SGE effects unit

ART SGE Mach II

The Studio had been using the Alesis QuadraVerb for a few years when it was

decided another effects unit was needed for more variety. So in 1996, it got the

ART SGE Mach II effects unit.

Harry had this ART effects unit and had not been using it much. And Jason had aSega Genesis that he had not used for a while. So Jason exchanged his Sega and

$75 for this unit. The ART also came with a foot board, but Jason never used it.

This unit did not replace the Alesis, but added to the pool of effects than was now

available to the Studio. It was used for a few songs, mostly heavier and weirder

unreleased NueroMorgue songs. But it just wasn't as popular as the Alesis.

The Studio still has the unit but it has not been used in years and there are no

plans to use it any time soon. So it will remain on stand-by for the time being.



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F R I D A Y , M A Y 3 0 , 2 0 0 8

Web Log #1: Posts 1-25

This is the first in a series of posts called Web Log . Each entry will contain an embedded .PDF file containing twenty - five posts from this blog. After the initial

Web Logs are posted, new ones will be posted after every twenty - five additional

posts.

This first entry covers the beginning of this blog. It contains posts #1-25.

Web Log 01 (1-25) - Upload a Document to Scribd


Labels: Web Log

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SU N D A Y , J U N E 1 , 2 0 0 8

Album of the Week #41: Pryme Material 10th Anniversary


Album name: Pryme Material 10th Anniversary Collection

Release date: 2003

Release format: CD


Tracks:

1. Reality Found Me

2. Four Concepts

3. Clouds Set Free

4. An Urban Theory

5. The Only One

6. Up A Lonely Road

7. Etesian Wind (Ethereal Mix)

8. Turn It Up

9. I Still Know You

10. To My Owl

11. Wait A While 12. SID II

13. Aqua Celeste

14. You Noticed Me

15. Mental Instru

16. I'm Sick

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17. UFO

18. Fantasy Dream

19. Reality Found Me (demo)

20. Turn It Up (demo)

21. I Still Know You (demo)

22. Wait A While (demo)

23. Aqua Celest (demo)

24. Up A Lonely Road (Splitz Mix)

This was the third album in the 10th Anniversary Collection . It was a digital re-

release of the 1993 Pryme Material album.

The first seventeen tracks are the same as the original 1993 album, just digitally

remixed. Tracks 18-24 are the previously unreleased bonus tracks. Track 18 was a

short song recorded using the new sequencer the Studio bought in 1993. The song

remained unnamed until it was used for this album.

Tracks 19-23 are demo versions of songs from the album. This was a period when

the Studio started recording demo tapes. When a demo was recorded that could

possibly become a real song, it was worked on and usually ended up on an album.

So there are many demos and unused tracks from the Pryme Material recording

sessions.

The final track is an instrumental version of "Up A Lonely Road" using a different

patch on the sound module. So instead of piano, strings, etc. from the original

song, this version has all kinds of different sounds playing.

Unfortunately this album was never totally finished. The tracks were compiled but

the CD's were never burned. Even the CD labels were printed. The back cover was

also printed. But the front jacket wasn't even designed. It's still considered to be'released' in 2003, but there is no complete packaged CD available. The Studio is

working to finally complete the album soon.

Next week's Album of the Week: Equation of Time 10th Anniversary Collection by

Mune Mud from 2006.

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M O N D A Y , J U N E 2 , 2 0 0 8

Blog News: 250th Post

Guess what?

This is post #250 for the Metal XOR Studio blog! It is now hard to remember a time

before the blog.

MANY things have been featured on this site: albums, musicians, equipment, songs,

etc. And there is much more that still needs to be featured.

So keep on reading. And before you know it you'll be reading the 300th post!!!


Labels: Blog News

Date post:	30-May-2018
Category:	Documents
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