Latch Music's Ezine #32
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* "The Zine" content is contributed by Dave Latchaw and colleagues who use the Internet to promote their musical projects. You can check out previous issues at "The Zine" Archives.
- Article: "10 Hints It's Time To Be In A New Band" by Dave Latchaw
- Guest Artist: Marx - Electronic Rhythm Base.
- Featured Web Site: Musicians and Injuries
- Featured Web Video: Terry Bozzio
- CD Pick: Tabla Beat Science "Tala Matrix"
10 Hints It's Time To Be In A New Band
by Dave Latchaw
#10 You are in the middle of the 1st set and you are thinking more about what you are missing on television than the tune you are playing.
#9 Going to the gig feels the same as going to a straight day job.
#8 You find yourself going out of your way to make the band leader think they are a brilliant musician for the sake of your job security.
#7 You know all the band members parts note for note better than the people playing them.
#6 You find yourself having an out of body experience and playing on auto pilot because you are bored.
#5 You find yourself seriously considering going back to school to learn another craft.
#4 The sound of the singer's voice reminds you of fingernails on a chalkboard.
#3 The food and drink is the most important thing about your gig.
#2 You'd rather be making music with your computer than with your band.
#1 The sight of your band mates makes your head pound like a bad drum fill.
Marx
#1 Where on the Internet can people find out more about you and your musical activities?
As far as Marx is concerned, the only place to find this music is at www.mp3.com/marx. Since this is a fairly new project of mine, it hasn't had a whole lot of time to develop on the internet. Some other places to find out more about me (and my old band) is at www.howskelly.com. How's Kelly is the name of the band I used to be in. We just ended that project 6 months ago. I also play in two other bands right now called Reflex and Sisera Fell, all of which are based out of San Diego.
#2 What have been some of your musical highlights?
I used to be pretty serious in the drum corps world. I played with the Blue Knights of Colorado for 4 years. At that time we placed 1st place one year and 2nd the other 3 years at the WGI World Championships. My high school marching band also placed 1st at a national marching band competition and my drumline took 5th at the WGI World Championships. After I graduated, I started teaching my high school drumline and at that time they placed 2nd at the WGI World Competion. After coming out to to California in '98, I joined a rock band that took off really quick and we started doing some really big gigs around the nation where I really learned a ton about the band scene. We ended up selling about 9,000 CDs. That doesn't seem like much but it actually is a lot considering the fact that we were totally independent.
#3 Who are the artists that inspired you to develop your own voice, and why?
This is kind of a weird question for me because I don't really feel like I have an answer. I can't honestly say there's any particular artist that's really been an inspiration for me, at least musically. I would say that I do look up to Moby simply for the fact that he makes all this music on his own and has made a great career out of it. That's really what I'd love to do. But as a musical influence, Moby doesn't really interest me. The people that have influenced me the most are my marching band and drum corps instructors. They really pushed and shoved me into the rhythm machine I've become. My nick name in Blue Knight was "The Machine" cause they said I never made any mistakes. I've always been an artist my whole life. I was an art major in college. I've always said that in order to be a great and respectable artist, you have to be creative. And to me, the best way to be creative is to be original, think of something that's never been done. I never ever want to be a clone of any other artists. So I'd have to say I've really put it on myself to be creative and find my own sound.
#4 What kind of musical training have you had, and how has that influenced your artistic direction?
I started taking piano when I was 7 years old because my mom was a piano teacher. I really hated that with a passion so I started taking drum lessons at the age of 9. I took lessons until I got to high school where my drum instructors really took me under their wings. I also took drum lessons in college. In total, I've probably had about ten different teachers since I was 9 years old. Being that almost all of my training has been in the drumline world, there's definitely a noticable drumline influence in my music. I absolutely love the drum corps scene. I love it so much that I decided to try to take all my drum corps knowledge and all my drum corps sounds (sampling I've done) to create a whole new sound created from scratch. It's been so original that nobody could tell me what kind of music it is. That why I just decided to create my own genre of music, Rhythm Base. I also grew up on classical music so that's probably why I use some orchestral samples. I just love the contrast between the sounds of classical strings and drum corps. It makes for a very original sound.
#5 How has recording technology influenced and expanded your compositional process?
I am only using Reason and Recycle by Propellerhead as my means of making music. These programs have no recordng capabilities. It's all done by using samples and sequencers. It's probably not the easiest and best means of going at this, but it's what I know and it works. Even though I've used recording programs (ProTools) in the past, it's not really something I'm that interested in yet. Technology is undeniably amazing and it's only going to become more influencial in music in the future. Even though technology can get out of hand and make the arts very artificial and lifeless, it opens up a whole new world to the arts and that gets me pretty excited for the things I'm trying to pull off.
#6 What do you want listeners to get from your music?
The one thing I want listeners to get from my music is the experience of hearing something totally brand new for the very first. That's it. If they like it, great. I'd rather hear someone say it's original, than hear them say they actually like it. I absolutely love when that happens to me. I get so angry when I hear an artist and immediately say, "Their influences have to be ...............because they sound just like them". I never want anyone to say that about my music. I'm sure there are people who say that about me. I haven't met them yet though. Even if it means sacrificing a sound just to be more original, I will. If I am sounding like some other artist right now, I can honestly say it's just a coincidence (or they're copying me).
#7 Describe your "rhythm base" concept.
"Rhythm Base" is a genre I've created due to the fact that my music doesn't really fit in any other specific genre. It's definitely a sub genre of electronica though. Rhythm Base is music primarily focused around the rhythm. At times it may sound like dance or hip hop (which I was totally into as a kid) but this music has more intricately and technicaly formed rhythm tracks in it. There always tends to be a simple yet catchy melody with many rhythm tracks layered over it. At times there will be very simple and stripped down rhythm tracks because let's face it, that much rhythm could get a little irritating at times. But for the most part, the rhythm tracks will be doing something "special".
#8 How is the Internet helping your projects?
The internet is definitely a plus for my music right now. A simple amateur artist these days really has some great opportunities because of the world wide web. I'm sure there's more to the internet and the opportunities it offers than I realize, but I'll get there soon enough. It's great that there's so many websites like mp3.com that offer a place to post your art for the world to see. It can definitely get overwhelming when you see how big the web actually is. Any artist that doesn't take advantage of the internet is really missing out on a ton of opportunities (like getting featured in an ezine).
#9 What future projects should people watch for?
The future for me is a blank page. There's so much room for me to grow. Who knows where the music will take me. All I know is that I'm going to keep creating till the day I die. And most likely, the music will have lots of rhythm in it. My goal is to write and completely master 15 songs a year. I'd like to put out a new cd every year. The only place my music is currently available is at mp3.com. No doubt, the music will start popping up in other places around the web and in record stores. It's only a matter of time.
Musicians and Injuries
Playing music is physical. With the repetitive movements that are required to play an instrument, musicians are very susceptible to injury. Musicians and Injuries is a site from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. There is a very comprehensive list of recommended books, tapes, and links & on-line articles about injuries that can happen from playing an instrument. Informing yourself on how to avoid playing injuries is a good thing. Performing in pain will be distracting and will not allow you to do your best, not to mention shortening your career.
Terry Bozzio
Terry Bozzio is definitely a drummer's drummer. At one time he was the drummer for Frank Zappa. Frank composed the very difficult composition "The Black Page" for Terry to play. He also was in the cool new wave band "Missing Persons". To see what else Terry has done you can read his bio. The video this month is clips of Terry performing at the University of Texas at Arlington on 3/14/2002. Go to Terry's audio/video page and click on "Click HERE to watch backstage videos of Terry in action". Some great shots, worth the time to check out.
Tabla Beat Science
"Tala Matrix"
"Tala Matrix" is a wonderful percussive beat fest, conceived of and constructed by bassist and producer Bill Laswell. Bill Laswell is known for his development of many electronic styles. He was the producer for Herbie Hancock's huge hip-hop fusion hit "Rockit" off the "Future Shock" recording. With "Tala Matrix", the musicians have taken the best elements from the electronic world and the acoustic world and fused them together into a sonic roller coaster. Great playing from all. Check it out, you'll be glad you did.
Musicians for "Tala Matrix"
Zakir Hussain - Tabla
Ustad Sultan Khan - Sarangi and Vocal (Tracks 2 & 6)
Talvin Singh - Tabla, virus manipulation and vox (Tracks 4 & 8)
Trilok Gurtu - Tabla, Drums (Track 7)
Karsh Kale - Drums (Tracks 5 & 8), Tabla, Keyboard and Electronics (Track 5)
Bill Laswell - Bass (Tracks 1, 6, & 9) and sound construction
Brad Somatik - Logic programming (Track 4)
Tracks for "Tala Matrix"
- Secret Channel
- Magnetic
- Audiomaze
- Don't Worry.com
- Palmistry
- Devotional
- Big Brother
- Triangular Objects
- Biotech
- Alla
Click here to learn more about "Tala Matrix"
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