Details

I have received many inquiries about my equipment, influences, personal information, etc. So, I will add this below, if anybody really wants to know:

Gear Geek Stuff:

I don’t have a rehearsal space, just a tiny apartment that serves as my home studio/office (aka The Spacejunk UFO). My recordings tend to have an unpolished lo-fi production sound, as a by-product of the makeshift equipment used. It is a lot of cheap used gear that I’ve fixed up, built myself from parts, and some friends’ hand-me-downs.

I have two multi-track machines;

one cassette (Tascam 488 MKII 8-track Portastudio)
one digital (Roland VS-1688 Digital Audio Workstation)

The computers that I use are kind of an unreliable crap-shoot, rebuilt from multiple discarded PCs manufactured in the 1990’s. I use whatever freeware programs that are available online. Mostly, they are used for sampling and drum programming. Old broken boomboxes serve as studio monitors. I also collect various types of tape recorders (cassette, micro-cassette, reel-to-reel, 8-track, etc).

I prefer recording electrical instruments directly, via preamps or cabinet emulators, and mic-ing up an ambient “room sound” for acoustic tracks. Analog tape is good for getting a saturated compression sound, well-suited to percussion instruments or creating tape noises. Digital is good at preserving a cleaner sound. I record the bulk of my material in my apartment. Sometimes, somebody will let me use their garage. My original plan was to lay basic tracks on tape, bounce them to digital for overdubs, then take the tracks somewhere else for mixing & mastering (maybe at a higher quality studio with a good engineer) when I can afford it or figure out how to do it myself.

I have a compact P.A. system, about the size of a large suitcase. I prefer playing in groups, even though they never last very long. I don’t really like performing in public alone all that much. But, if it weren’t for playing music I would have no social life at all.

I mostly have shitty quality microphones;

A modified telephone receiver, with an XLR jack installed
an old abused Radio Shack mic, that I bought secondhand in 1985
another stolen from a karaoke machine
two USB microphones, from Guitar Hero, I think
several consumer-grade tape recorder mics from the 1960’s-1970’s

I finally got one decent professional microphone, though!

A Shure SM57 (and a high quality pop filter to go with it)!

My bass / guitar setup has evolved over time into an unusual hybrid rig, splitting the instrument signal three ways, combined with various effects, into a “sonic sandwich”;

one through a bass amp (SWR)
one through a lead guitar amp (Marshall)
one direct to mixer (Line 6 POD)

Miscellaneous samples and noise collages are prepared on cassette tapes and played back with a pair of foot-controlled Dictaphone machines fed directly into the mixer.

I have two basses;

1987 Guild Pilot with Kahler tremolo. I use 1mm recycled copper/nylon picks, for more attack and articulation.
Jay Turser replica of a Höfner’ 500/1 (similar to Paul McCartney’s violinesque “Beatle Bass”). I use this shorter-scale instrument mainly for clean fingerstyle techniques.

I have two guitars that I have modified;

Line 6 Variax, to achieve a wide variety of tones.
Ibanez RX60, with a Seymour Duncan Humbucker I installed at the bridge. I regularly use it for alternate tunings.

I prefer GHS Pressurewound or Brite Flats (ground round wound) strings, for their smooth feel, yet bright tone. Stainless steel armored instrument cables are also very durable and minimize ground noise.

I built a homemade drum kit, affectionately referred to as The ShitKit. It is a hodgepodge of crappy drum parts acquired from thrift stores and garage sales, with a collection of metal junk added… for a clunkier sound, including; a trashcan, IV drip stand, helium tank, assorted pots & pans, folding chairs, and three gas tanks (1969 Plymouth Roadrunner, Ford F-100, and one of unknown origin).

My collection of effect pedals and rackmount gear varies. I have sold things when I needed money really bad. I have fried others beyond salvage. Sometimes, I can replace these. Sometimes, I can’t. I have a bunch of 1980’s-1990’s Casio keyboards and toy electronics from thrift stores to mess around with, too.

My attempts at custom building circuit-bent experimental instruments have yielded mixed results. I can get some interesting sounds out of them, if the darn things don’t self-destruct first. I have design ideas for basses & guitars that I want to build. There is a lot of debt and shit to catch up on, first, though. So, they will have to wait until I can afford to do that. Adding more instruments to my arsenal would be fantastic. I continue to work with what I have and accumulate tools as I go along.

Creativity Stuff:

My songwriting style is a mix of eclectic influences juxtaposed together. I like combining a bit of everything, when I can.

Sometimes it is harmonious.

Sometimes it is schizophrenic.

Sometimes it is simple and accessible.

Sometimes it is noisy and irritating

It can be almost anything, depending on the tune. I am writing within three basic categories;

Solo: material that I can play alone without additional players.
Band: material that requires other musicians to perform live.
Album: material that is very difficult or impossible to be played live at all.

Lyrics are kind of an afterthought for me. I’ll write down any ideas I get, then return to them later. But, the music comes first. My songs are a mix of the little world, the big world, and the surreal.

I’m a huge record collector and music fan. I love attempts at all genres and styles – constantly finding inspiration from diverse albums that are just all over the map … and I’m all about that. I’ve played with musicians from many genres at every level of proficiency (or lack of it). Everything in my output is interconnected. It just comes out mixed-together, a bit like combining Frank Zappa’s Freak Out List and the Nurse with Wound list into one twisted mutation! Some notable influences include;

Alice Donut
Amon Düül
Andy Warhol
Anton Webern
Arnold Schöenberg
Bad Brains
Bad Religion
Beatles
Bebe and Louis Barron
Beck
Béla Bartók
Berry Gordy (Motown Records, The Last Dragon)
Big City Orchestra
Bill T. Miller (Orgy of Noise, Out of Band Experience, Kings of Feedback)
Billy Childish (Thee Headcoats, Thee Mighty Caesars, Thee Milkshakes)
Bipolar Gentlemen + Toxic Water
Bob Log III (Doo Rag)
Bobby McFarrin
Bootsy Collins (Parliament-Funkadelic)
Bran Flakes
Brian May (Queen)
Brian Wilson (Beach Boys)
Bruce Pavitt (Sub Pop)
Buzz Osbourne (Melvins)
Calvin Johnson (Beat Happening, K Records, Dub Narcotic Sound System)
Can
Captain Beefheart (The Magic Band)
Carl Stalling
Caroliner
Chris Squire (Yes)
Christian Marclay
Christian Vander (Magma)
Chuck Mosley (Faith No More, Bad Brains)
Cliff Burton (Metallica)
Colonel Sanders
Colonel Tom Parker
Comets on Fire
Comparative Anatomy
Cop Shoot Cop
Corey Rusk (Necros, Touch and Go Records)
Crash Worship
Crass
Crispin Glover
Crust
Culturecide
Curt Kirkwood & Cris Kirkwood (Meat Puppets)
D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles)
Daft Punk
Dale Flattum (Steel Pole Bath Tub, Tumor Circus, Milk Cult)
Daniel Johnston
David Bowie
David Grohl (Scream, Nirvana, Foo Fighters)
Dead Milkmen
Deja Voodoo
Dennis Dunaway (Alice Cooper)
Destroy All Monsters
Doris Fish (Vegas in Space)
Doug Henderson (Krackhouse, Spongehead)
Duane Denison & David Wm. Sims (Scratch Acid, The Jesus Lizard)
Dust Brothers (Beastie Boys, Beck)
East Bay Ray & Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys, Alternative Tentacles Records)
Ed Hall
Ed Wood (Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, Plan 9 From Outer Space)
Edgard Varèse
Einstürzende Neubauten
Evolution Control Committee
Fat Mike (NOFX)
Faust
Flipper
Flying Saucer Attack
Frank Zappa (Mothers of Invention)
Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Massacre)
Gary Modlinski (Junkie Munky, The Mod)
Geddy Lee (Rush)
Geezer Butler & Toni Iommi (Black Sabbath)
Gene Simmons & Ace Frehley (KISS)
Gerald Casale (Devo)
Godheadsilo
Greg Ginn & Kira Roessler (Black Flag)
Greg Sage (Wipers)
Grotus
Hal McGee (Dog As Master, Cause And Effect cassette label, Haltapes)
Happy Flowers
Harry Partch
Hazil Adkins
Helios Creed (Chrome)
Hide (Ultra Bidé)
Hound Dog Taylor
Ian Mackaye (Minor Theat, Fugazi)
Iannis Xenakis
Ichirou Agata (Melt-Banana)
Iggy Pop & The Stooges
Invented Thing Quartet
Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report)
Jad Fair (1/2 Japanese, Strobe Talbot)
James Joyce
Jandek
Jared Warren (KARP, Big Business, Melvins)
Jason Martin (Brown Cuts Neighbors, Power Animal System)
Jay T. Yamamoto
Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)
Jimi Hendrix
Joe Meek
Joey Agresta (Joey Pizza Slice, Son of Salami, Salami Junior)
Joey Shithead Keithley (D.O.A.)
John Bonham & Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)
John Cage
John Coltrane
John Entwistle (The Who)
John Oswald (Plunderphonics)
John S. Hall & Bradford Reed (King Missile)
John Spencer Blues Explosion
John Zorn (Naked City, Painkiller)
Jojo Hiroshige (Hijokaidan, Alchemy Records)
Juan Garcia Esquivel
Jucifer
K.K. Null (Nux Organization, Zeni Geva, Absolut Null Punkt)
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Julie Ruin, Riot grrrl zine)
Kembra Pfahler (Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black)
Ken Butler
Kevin Rutmanis (The Cows, Melvins, Hepa/Titus)
Kevin Strickland & Larissa Strickland (Laughing Hyenas)
Killdozer
Kim Thayil (Soundgarden)
Kramer (New York Gong, Shimmy Disc Records, Bongwater)
Larry Graham (Sly & the Family Stone, Graham Central Station)
Larry Mondello Band
Legendary Stardust Cowboy
Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead, Hawkwind)
Les Claypool (Primus, Sausage, Oysterhead)
Lightning Bolt + Black Pus
Lisa “Suckdog” Carver
Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh)
Lux Interior & Poison Ivy (The Cramps)
Malcolm McLaren (Sex Pistols, New York Dolls)
Malcolm Young & Angus Young (AC/DC)
Marc Bolan (T. Rex)
Marilyn Manson
Mark Sandman (Morphine)
Masahiko Ohno (Solmania)
Masami Akita (Merzbow)
Masonna
Michael Winslow (Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie + Nice Dreams, Police Academy 1-7, Spaceballs)
Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Tomahawk)
Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE)
Misfits
Monty Python
Moondog
Muddy Waters
My Bloody Valentine
N.W.A.
Nash the Slash
Negativland
Neu!
Nick Blinko (Rudimentary Peni)
Nihilist Spasm Band
No-Neck Blues Band
Ohio Express
Omoide Hatoba
Ornette Coleman
Pain Teens
Pat Smear (Germs, Nirvana, Foo Fighters)
Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers, Melvins)
Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy, The Greedies)
Phil Spector
Prince
Public Enemy
Pussy Galore
Quintron and Miss Pussycat
R. Stevie Moore
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Raymond Scott
Rob Wright & John Wright (NoMeansNo, Hanson Brothers)
Robert Fripp (King Crimson, Fripp & Eno)
Robert Smith (The Cure)
Roky Erikson (13th Floor Elevators)
Roman Gabriel Todd
Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band
Rudy Ray Moore (Dolemite, The Human Tornado, Disco Godfather)
Russ Stedman (Teenage Slots, Minor 2049er)
Scott Lucas (Local H)
Shannon Selberg (The Cows, Heroine Sheiks)
Shockabilly
Shonen Knife
Six Finger Satellite
Skeleton Key
Slayer
Smegma
Sonic Youth
Space Streakings
Stan Lee & Leonard Graves Phillips (The Dickies)
Stanley Clarke (Return to Forever, Animal Logic)
Steve Albini (Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac)
Subhumans
Sun City Girls
Sun Ra & His Arkestra
Superconductor
Swans
Syd Barrett & Roger Waters (Pink Floyd)
Tall Dwarfs / Toy Love
Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Zeni Geva)
The B-52’s
The Bobs
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
The Electrifying Mojo (Charles Johnson)
The Frogs
The GTO’s
The Locust
The Los Angeles Free Music Society
The Monkees
The Ramones
The Residents
The Shaggs
The Space Lady (Susan Dietrich Schneider)
The Tape-beatles
They Might Be Giants
Throbbing Gristle
Thrones
Tom Morello & Tim Commerford (Rage Against The Machine)
Tom Waits
Tragic Mulatto
Trans Am
Velvet Underground
Victims Family
Violent Onsen Geisha + Hair Stylistics
Voice Crack
Voivod
Von LMO
W.A.S.P.
Wall Of Voodoo
Wavves
Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips)
Ween + Moistboyz + Z-Rock Hawaii
“Weird Paul” Petroskey
Wendy O. Williams (Plasmatics)
Wesley Willis
White Mice
Wild Man Fischer
William S. Burroughs
Yamatsuka Eye (Boredoms, Hanatarash, UFO or Die)
Zach Hill (Hella)
Zen Guerrilla
Zev Asher (Nimrod, Roughage, Flying Testicle, Bustmonster)
Zoogz Rift
ZZ Top
etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,..

Chameleonesque Polystylism

Techniques:

I will play almost any instrument available to me. I might not be good at it. But, I’ll play it anyway. My attempts at drumming have been pitiful. My foot coordination is terrible. I finally positioned the kick drum sideways, playing it timpani-style. Taking inspiration from Rahsaan Roland Kirk and others, I put together a reed trumpet. To me, it sounds kinda like a saxophone. But, I’m probably playing it wrong.

My vocal type is in the Baritenor range (I think), kinda high and nasally (sometimes off-key). But, I give it a little growl on the low end, sometimes incorporating wordless mouth sounds, screeching, gurgling, screaming, babbling, and electronic effects.

My guitar / bass playing skills are, pretty good, not virtuoso… but still, pretty good. My techniques aren’t meant for showing off, just to be used as an accent. I believe that I’m a better bassist than a guitarist and a better composer than a musician.

I visualize music as abstract sounds, in waves, shapes and colors… like a rainbow oscilloscope. Tape editing / manipulation is often used as a composition tool. Sheet music feels a little too rigid to me. I’ll sometimes score pieces out on paper, such as percussion instruments, for example. Sometimes, I’ll jam riffs onto demos and pick out the best ones later. Sometimes, I’ll sing everything acapella, bang on junk, make noises, and interpret it later. On rare occasions, I’ve had entire songs pop into my head while I scramble to get it recorded before I forget.

“Thinking too much can ruin a good time” – D. Boon (Minutemen)

When I am creating music & art I probably do my best when my brain is just finger-painting on auto-pilot. Everything that I am doing is sort of revealed to me as I am doing it. So, I don’t really know what it is until I am finished. Conscious messages don’t work very well for me. Stressing-out about money, transportation, food, and living conditions REALLY destroys my mojo, though.

“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.” – Stephen King

Artwork:

My overall aesthetic has a certain “cheepniz” to it; Lo-Fi, DIY, and No-Budget. The style looks homemade, with a little polish on it.

My drawings tend to be a bit stream-of-consciousness and surreal. My painting is often a mixed-media style, layering different techniques together, using whatever materials that are cheap and readily available; spray paint, acrylics, house paint, stencils, marker pens, found objects, and collage.

I have very little to no training at anything. I did well in high school drafting, wood shop, and art classes. That’s about it. Regretfully, I never attended an art school. I would have liked to. I am mostly self-taught, occasionally reading books on the subject. But, I don’t really spend a lot of time trying to figure out what’s up with art trends these days. I sometimes like to call my style Outsider Pop Surrealism. But, to me… art is art. You either like it… or don’t.

In the past, my paintings & drawings were usually given to friends or destroyed and discarded. I started selling them locally in the 1990’s. But, not really understanding how the professional art world works, I only sold items in person at music venues or record stores, wherever I happened to be. I’ve been reluctant to take it any further than that. But, there seems to be a growing interest in my stuff. So, I’m making it more available.

Physical Appearance:

Having a standard uniform of your own is useful. People like Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, and Steve Jobs wore clothing everyday that was nearly identical to all of the other clothes that they owned. It saved time and brainpower finding something to wear, when their entire wardrobes were virtually the same.

My physical appearance doesn’t change very much, day-to-day, either. I’ve always been a t-shirt and jeans guy. Nearly everything I own is secondhand. If I can’t find an outfit for under $12, I probably won’t buy it. Sometimes I’ll try out new things, making small modifications to my so-called image. None of this is permanent. But, my typical everyday outfit includes;

Goatee & long pageboy hairstyle.
Black jeans with a black button shirt (black goes with everything). A key ring (or grenade pin) prevents the zipper from coming undone.
Converse Chuck Taylors (of course, black) with boot laces. They have always been my go-to shoes. Tying them around in a marine-style, with a surgeon’s knot, prevents them from coming undone.
Belts adorned with a Captain America shield buckle.
Mix it up a little with different t-shirts.
Red glitter nail polish adds some color and sparkle.
A mood ring on the left pinky completes the ensemble.

Personal / Rules of Conduct:

My lifelong struggling with mental illness sometimes gets in the way. Clinical depression, social anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies are a debilitating combination. Medications help to keep the highs and lows manageable. But, they aren’t a cure. Music & art is my other world, to deal with it.

I seldom drink alcohol (preferably alone, when I do) and I loathe beer. I don’t smoke tobacco or abuse any drugs. It doesn’t really matter to me if anybody else does, unless it gets in the way of working or becomes obnoxious. Marijuana and hallucinogens are more tolerated than harder drugs.

I am an atheist. I don’t believe in whatever Hell you think I’m going to, let alone your invisible friends. You can believe whatever you want to believe. “That’s just, like, your opinion, man.” If you’re a religious zealot (anti-science creationist who thinks that the flat Earth is 6,000 years old or 72 virgins await you in the afterlife… just because you won’t eat bacon) I would prefer not to hear about it. MAGA is a fucking death cult, too. Qanon and FOX “News” distribute their propaganda. Career criminal, con man, Donald Trump would make Jim Jones and Marshall Applewhite envious.

I am open to different ways of thinking – but aggressive sexism, racism, homophobia, or transphobia is not tolerated. I am LGBTQ+ supportive and have friends from all sorts of different backgrounds. Bigots are not welcome. Go away.

There are not many groups that I believe I would fit into if I didn’t begin from scratch. I never had any delusions about “making it big” or getting rich. Earning a decent living as a self-employed artist-musician would be great, if possible. I am content if I make enough money to eat, cover expenses, and pay a few bills.