Message Board

Don't Fade Away..

wshinds — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:47:49 GMT

There was a version of this song available for free download before 'The Promise of Summer" that was entirely or mostly accoustic, different anyway than the version released on TPS. I have to say I was partial to the less produced, more stripped down version.

I hate to say that I have since 'lost' that file to the void of hard drive corruption... :(

Forum: Unreleased Material

Good Pedals, Effects, Gear For Alt / Pop / Rock Sound

warren1982 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:46:47 GMT

Hey Mike ... just wanted to say first off your message board has been incredible helpful for me ... i have been getting serious with my music and i am interested in home recording and i have learned quite a bit from the boards ...

anyways, i want to ask your opinion (or anyone that wants to help) :

i am looking to capture a late 90's Alt/Pop/Rock sound to my music (much like Athenaeum, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Paul Westerberg, ON & ON ... you get the idea)

i currently have an effects loop i put together but I'm not sure if it is working for me or not ... or maybe i am just not utilizing it properly ...

1. Boss DS 1 Distortion

2. Boss SD 1 Overdrive

3. Boss CH 1 Super Chorus

4. Digitech RP50 Processor

i am completely willing to sell any or all of these if they are not useful tools.

What amps do you recommend?

i read in your Athenaeum boards that mark uses the phaser, delay, etc...

what do you think would work best (on a $600 or so budget) and what do you recommend i do with the effects i have?

thanks

Jr

Forum: General Home Recording

July Podcast is up

mikegarrigan — Thur, 03 Jul 2008 12:16:35 GMT

Hey Everybody,

The July podcast is now up. I apologize for the delay...traveling.

Enjoy! There's some cool live tracks on this podcast.

Mike

Forum: Podcast Discussion

New Downloads

mikegarrigan — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:43:13 GMT

I've been getting a lot of requests for the podcast tracks to be available as individual tracks. So, I've created a fully tagged .zip file with my 12 favorites. Let me know what you think.

Specifically, does the 320kbps encoding bother anyone? It takes a few minutes to download with high-speed access, but it sounds the best to me. Also, I've tagged the tracks for iTunes with brief liner notes in the "comments" segments.

Forum: Best of Podcast, Vol. 1

Discrete Drums?

mlepage — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:08:10 GMT

Hey Mike,

I know you have mentioned before that you have used Discrete Drums in the past, particularly for demos (I think).

Is this the company/product you are talking about? http://www.discretedrums.com/

Just curious. I write/record music on guitar at home using Cubase and I am always looking for good ways to throw down some drum tracks to help form a song (without having to get into something more complicated like Reason). I have tried using Groove Agent...but I find it is somewhat limited in what it can do.

Thanks!

Marc
(Huge fan in Canada!)

Forum: General Home Recording

June podcasts

TheOx — Sat, 31 May 2008 19:41:58 GMT

Mike,

I have no idea whether you're already working on the June 1, 2008 podcast, but I figured I throw out more of a "theme" than a question...

Obviously, summer is a time when many people take to the road, head to the beach, etc. Now, while realizing that this isn't Margaritaville, I thought a few tunes or topics that capture the essence of the season might be a good "jumping off point." Maybe discuss some of your favorite summer memories, especially any that led to the creation of a song or several songs... and, obviously, The Promise of Summer could be more wholly discussed (rather than just commenting on individual tracks). I know you touched on the album being a celebration of life in the May 2008 Pt. 2 podcast, but maybe a little more on that topic, given the season... just a thought.

I don't know if all of that makes sense, but I just wanted to throw it out there... Thanks so much for keeping up with the Podcasts. It's truly enjoyable whenever I open iTunes and one starts downloading. Makes my day/evening/morning (whenever it is that I actually end up realizing there's a new one).

Oh - another thought. Can you maybe talk about the craziest (good and bad) shows you've ever played? Maybe shows where there were five people, and others where there were 5,000?

TheOx

Forum: Podcast Request

TRANSMISSION FIELDS

RADIANCE — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:17:57 GMT

Great band from Charlotte NC.
www.myspace.com/transmissionfields

And actually, if you guys have a minute to help get them to Lollapalooza, that would be wonderful!
They are currently in the #9 spot but we need to get them to #1.

It only takes 3 seconds!
All you have to do it go here:
http://www.sonicbids.com/lollapalooza08/BandProfile.aspx?candidate_id=4660

Type in your email address (dont worry...they wont spam you), click vote, and then you have to go check your email to confirm the vote.

Please take a second to do this.
Thanks so much!

Forum: Bands

web cast

Sikorasc — Sat, 24 May 2008 22:22:47 GMT

Mike, you seem to be up to speed with the latest technology. How difficult would it be to webcast one of your upcoming shows for fans who can not make the trip? Please share your thoughts.

Forum: Podcast Request

help: new notebook..macbook ?

Miffy — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:15:00 GMT

as the topic says I need a new notebook since my last one was waaaaay to old and I got a good price by selling it.

I used a Sony Vaio FZ-38m this last week but returned it to the seller today because it was very loud. the fan was running nonstop and was making much noise (they sounded like a vacuum cleaner). defniteley not something I expected from this brand...considering those Vaios are quite expensive.

so now some friends told me to take a look at the Mac Book Pro. I know some of you are using macs and seem to be quite happy with the performance. my main question is about the fans....are they running nonstop as well and how much noise do they make ? most people told me that you don't really hear them....

another question is.....you can choose between a glossy and a matt finish display.....which one do you prefer. I found the glossy one to be very reflecting.

cheers and thanks.

Forum: Murray's Water Cooler

Safetysuit - Phenominal new rock band..

MooTheKow — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:21:50 GMT

Pretty sure the race for best modern rock album of 2008 is already over. The cd "Life Left To Live" by Safetysuit is absolutely phenominal. If you're a fan of modern rock you owe it to yourself to check out. Their current single is "Someone Like You". My favorites are "Anywhere But Here" (slower track) and "Annie" (very uptempo track)..great vocals... incredibly well produced - just a fantastic sound ... all solid songs from start til end.

http://www.myspace.com/safetysuit

Forum: Bands

Guitar tabs for "Orange"

MarkDeal — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:26:48 GMT

Hey Mike, I really enjoy "Orange", and was wondering if you had the tabs for the song?

Any chance of visiting Chicago?

Thanks for the great music.

Forum: Live at The Evening Muse

Album Art

ncecconi — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:13:45 GMT

Heya Mike - We're getting close to having our first EP album mixed/mastered, and I'm trying to nail down album art. I understand this is probably a pretty subjective topic, but what kinds of elements you consider when deciding on, creating, or commissioning album art?

Forum: General Home Recording

writing for the fans

ToddyMike — Sat, 17 May 2008 04:28:58 GMT

(This question sort of stems from your comments about the many hands that got involved in Dirty Wake.) As you've talked about on your podcasts, so much of your music comes from were you are personally at a particular time or "moment." Have you ever written and recorded a song that you didn't personally connect with but you knew your fans would like? If so, are you able to perform it with the same conviction?

Forum: Podcast Request

Downloading songs

renea — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:58:39 GMT

Hey Mike,

I'm loving the podcasts! Is there any way you could offer the songs themselves for individual download/purchase? I'm enjoying hearing the ideas behind the songs, but I'd also like to have the songs to listen to anytime. I know several are available on albums, and I have those, but other tracks like "Growing Up this Year" and "Tuesday" are ones that I must have missed when they were posted on your website. Can you put them on Snocap for purchase?

Thanks so much!
Renea

Forum: Podcast Discussion

new murraysarmy.com

RonH — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:28:13 GMT

just to let everyone know there is a new layout to murraysarmy.com, and hopefully by the end of the week I will have all the live show back online with increased bandwidth.
Thanks
RonH

Forum: Murray's Water Cooler