TWIN BEAKS * OFFICIAL BLOG

Rocktoberfest: The Results Are In

2011-11-27T12:04:00.001-05:00

Just in time for Christmas, here are the recorded results of Rocktoberfest 2011: 3 new chapters of the Twin Beaks saga.

Twin Beaks 14: The Nocturnal Struggle (glen/moe/giulio/mike/nosh)

Twin Beaks 15: The Ancient Art of Emptiness (lefty/mike/steve/giulio)

Twin Beaks 16: The Ten Talons of Transgression (mike/giulio)

As always, 100% Free Downloads, and worth every penny.

- Chapter 14 features 2 new members: Glen Terrien on 23 strings (6 string electric, 12 string acoustic, 4 string bass, 1 string bikini) and a Noshir D'Almeida cameo on bass

- Chapter 15 features a triumphant return of the 2-guitar line-up that failed miserably on chapter 11… it worked out a little better this time

- Chapter 16 features some Muse-inspired riffery on 'None Shall Pass', and a Genesis/Pink Floyd-inspired noisefest on 'Spinning the Chaos Wheel' (That jam was launched by Mike's creepy iPhone didgeridoo simluator)

- Those who download the MP3s might notice that album artwork from chapters 14 and 16 are borrowed from Amazing Stories covers. (15's is another harryheusen sketch)

- Giulio recommends: check out 'The Mimic' (chapter 15) from start to finish

Bubonics & Bionics

2011-08-15T08:09:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: The Plague of Allegiance

Free Downloads

Well it's no Chapter 12... but this sloppy, mis-tuned two-man jam managed to yield a few gems.

The title track is a straightforward sludgy stomp... original version had some rubber chicken sound effects and conan quotes about killing pets, but it was too much, even for me
Most of Veni Vidi Veni unintentionally resembles the end of Yes' Starship Trooper... but that's not a bad thing, right?
In The Monkey's Fling: yes, those are fart sounds, courtesy of the iPod

Sleepwalking & Steve Clayton

2011-06-06T07:03:00.001-04:00

Just released: a "leftover" track from Chapter 12 which I squeezed into Chapter 11, just because it seems to fit better there: "The Sleepwalker"

Download from Twin Beaks Chapter 11
This track features some sloppy 12-string by yours truly, accompanied by spice-boy himself noodling inspiringly on the iPod (app: Sound Fields). The video is stolen from Judex, a weird (french) film by Georges Franju.

In unrelated news that just has to mentioned somewhere, Steve Clayton is no longer the official Pick sponsor of Twin Beaks. To make a long story short, let's just say they pulled a "bait and switch" on my shipping.

Star*ucks Update

2011-03-20T12:23:00.000-04:00

Well, along with Tarbucks new branding comes a new colour scheme for the "single of the week" cards, which are now printed using a custom PMS silver - which means my previous guerilla marketing campaign (http://twinbeaksmusic.blogspot.com/2010/07/guerilla-marketing.html) is now officially over. (i.e. because there is no cheap way for me to print this colour.)

Needle Delight

2011-02-16T07:58:00.000-05:00

JUST RELEASED: The Corn, The Crow & The Cadaver

Free Downloads

This is the result of a month’s worth of Sunday jams, aka the ‘Jamuary Sessions’. Points of interest:

several new toys made their debut in this chapter, including the SG replacing the Les Paul for the most part... not a huge impact on the sound, although you might notice slightly ‘beakier’ guitar tone, and more solos, as the SG practically plays itself
you might also notice this chapter is not DRENCHED IN MELLOTRON, which is different (of course there is still a GENEROUS SPRINKLING OF MELLOTRON)
I also incorporated a handful of Native Instruments synths I recently discovered (their website offers a ton of free downloads)
a couple unfinished/unreleased tracks have been outsourced for remixing to some “birds of a feather”... perhaps they’ll surface in Chapter 13...
special thanks to Pia for the Barbarella cameos, and to Vince for the Ren & Stimpy / Twilight Zone cameos (the Shatner cameo is from a classic TZ clip, the one with the gremlin on the wing of the plane)
the video clips used were stolen from various sources as usual... remember, its not plagarism, its “homage”...
special mention to Fanelli who made it out to EVERY Jamuary session... that guy is an animal

ResultsBack

2011-01-31T11:12:00.000-05:00

Well, the final results of my free AdWords campaign are in:

keywords: "nickelback sucks"

text ad:
Nickelback Sucks‬
You know it I know it They know it
Let's do something about it.
www.twinbeaks.net

impressions: 73,245

clicks: 120

What a bunch of pointless noise

2011-01-26T16:50:00.000-05:00

Today I received the first email reply to the Twin Beaks "Nickelback Sucks" adwords campaign:
"Wow I thought Nickleback was bad but you guys make them sound great. Fuck what a bunch of pointless noise. You are gay"
-Johnny Torrance

Dired Straight

2011-01-25T16:09:00.000-05:00

ONE PHONE CALL got "money for nothing" banned from Canadian radio? I've called over 4,000 times to get Nickelback off the radio - what am I doing wrong?

Guerilla Marketing 3

2011-01-11T15:21:00.000-05:00

Thanks to google's free $100 adwords promo: If you google "nickelback sucks", you might see some interesting ads...

Guerilla Marketing 2: Stickers

2010-10-21T22:59:00.000-04:00

Going to Starbucks all the time was getting expensive; I'm going to try random stickering instead. So, you might start seeing THESE sticky bad boys in odd locations around Toronto...

Feathery Facelift

2010-10-16T16:57:00.000-04:00

A long overdue album art update for Twin Beaks chapters 1 thru 11...

An Enthusiastic Beating Has Rendered It Unrecognizable

2010-10-06T23:47:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: The Glutton Plummets into the Gorge

Free Downloads

well it's no 'chapter 10' but it has its moments...
Parry was so embarrassed by his playing that he asked me to take his name off it. (Did I say Parry? I meant 'Lefty'.)
this chapter marks the end of the tin can that debuted in Chapter 9 - an enthusiastic beating has rendered it unrecognizable
apologies to Kendall: this time around, I spliced the audio with total disregard for the time signatures... I haven't decided yet if it was by necessity or for effect

The Wrath Re-Travelled

2010-10-06T00:35:00.001-04:00

I had to remix this track... I kept hearing these mellotron lines in my head when I listened to it, so I just gave up and threw them down.
Download MP3

Together, We Can Stop Violins Against Women

2010-09-24T11:03:00.001-04:00

JUST RELEASED: Run Away & Join the Circles

Free Downloads

this chapter represents 3 of 4 sessions in a whirldwind batch of beakage… so packed in fact that I had to turn people away for the first time ever, and the 4th session (if there's anything juicy in there - haven't listened to it yet) will spill over into the next chapter
the epic-est beakage to date! this one has something for everyone: foot-stompin' barn blues, epic anthems, evil 'drop-d' riffery, light-hearted comedy, weird ambient shit, and yes, even a family-friendly lullabye
did you know Fanelli has a soft side? check out some inspired glockenspielunking by Mike on track 12
imagery stolen from various sources including Codex Seraphinianus, Marius Starkey and good old Canadian retro animation from the 70s
bass added after the fact
violin in track 2 is - yep, you guessed it, good old m-tron
the kalimba in track 7 was made from a dried hollowed yam and some scrap metal
voice samples are from the twilight zone

Guerilla Marketing

2010-07-25T22:39:00.000-04:00

If you visit a Toronto-area Starbucks, you might start seeing some of these in the "Pick of the Week" box...

SPOILER ALERT: Moon Wins

2010-04-05T01:20:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: Moon versus Man

according to my wife, this is "the listenable" chapter
"Meatier Shower" is my favourite, though I'm not sure why
"Earth Remembered" is a decent piece of music, if you don't mind the Trick of the Tail style mellotron and 2112 style alien overlord interlude

One Bastard Goes In, Another One Comes Out

2010-04-05T01:04:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: Horatio's Revenge

the "low-fi" sections were recorded on Fanelli's iPhone and spliced in later... (as Steve Jobs would say: MAGICAL)
"Horatio's Revenge..." features some classic Tuco quotes... I'm particularly proud of this splice: "and your mother..." "one bastard comes in, another comes out"... oh yeah, there's some good riffs in there too
bass lines added after the fact by yours truly
"The Midas Crutch" comes close to being a listenable epic jam... too bad the guitar track came out too distorted... also, step away from the subwoofer, the synth bass dips REALLY LOW at one part
FYI, the "karate-chop" section of that track is just the echos inside the kick drum, with extra reverb

Old Ladies, Fish-People, Belly-dancing, and Gutter-Mouth

2010-03-04T01:02:00.000-05:00

JUST RELEASED: Thank-you for Being a Fiend

the album title is a play on the Golden Girls' theme song, and the fish-man album cover is another Ray Harryheusen creaton
in "Killing the Messenger", I tried to add some Tortoise-style glockenspiel action to an otherwise predictable Anderson/Quaglieri riff-fest... it works, sort of?... by the last part, Holub finally joins in with some "hey, don't forget about me!" bass riffery, just in time
the finger cymbals in "the Misgiving Tree" are actually my mother's belly-dancing gear from back in the day
"Ducks and Swallows" is possibly my favourite bird pun ever for describing a hooker giving head
the weird Bebot sounds in "Laying the Queen" are supposed to represent a stuffy queen having her first orgasm
"The Bride of Frank n' Beans" is muddy and messy, but some parts remind me of the evil parts of Supper's Ready (maybe because I threw in some Supper's Ready style organ lines)
"the End of the Rainbow Suspenders" is my terrible attempt at looping, just to see if it's as fun as everyone says it is... it isn't... don't listen to that one

Doctor, Tune Thyself

2009-11-11T00:37:00.000-05:00

JUST RELEASED: Taxicabdermy

the hoffner was way out of tune, but you can't beat that bass tone! (at least not in my basement)
"If the Coughing Fits" has a great Queens of the Stone Age vibe, so naturally I added some mellotron chanting and cowbell to complete the illusion
"Insectinsides" was a classic fluke... Fanelli just picked up the iPod and rocked the Bebot 100% from the gut... add some surprisingly steady bass from Holub and some equally surprising steady beats from yours truly, and the rest is TB History. (but of course I had to ruin the final mix with too much mellotron as usual)
"The Aftermarch" also came out sounding dark and cool... as most things do in a basement...
"The Sheepshank Redemption" was almost a really cool epic jam... it has its moments

The Little Drummer Boys

2009-09-19T21:20:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: Mower's Mark

okay, this chapter is mostly awful... no drummer showed up, so Holub and I split the duty... asking which of us is a better drummer is like asking if you'd rather be burned or drowned... nevertheless, I scraped a few scraps together
"The Desolate Presence" is named after one of my favourite short stories by Thomas Owen
for the record, "Christmas Porn" is supposed to be the guilty exhilaration of finding porn under the tree on christmas morn, not the guilty exhilaration of watching porn starring santa and his elves
I left Hughes pretty low in the mix... because he's a Clapton fan!
this session also included an unrecorded outdoor acoustic jam, but it was ruined (or saved?) when the neighbor cranked up his mower to trim the lawn

Horsefeathers

2009-08-20T20:53:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: A Cock & Horses

the title track is fittingly named after the fable of the same name... I thought it was apt for this song, with Kendall's drums being the horses and yours truly being the overconfident cock on the bongos
"Brain Surge Awry", or Brain Surgery that turned out to be a bad idea, reminds me of Tool meets Porcupine Tree
the salesman chronicles are 2 attempts at taking a crappy riff somewhere at different speeds... they both failed, but I like how the drums turned out, so they made the cut! although the intro and outro of "Salesmanship" worked perfectly
"moiree" is a disaster... just me playing with a flanger for 6 minutes... but the video is trippy in full-screen if you're high

Beauty IS the Beast!

2009-03-29T19:01:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: Golden Horatio vs. The Mudman

"Horatio's Journey" is the only track I ever mixed to my liking... and thanks to Cubase's non-backwards-compatible bullshit, I can't open the file on an intel mac to find out how the hell I did it
the segue at the end of that track reminds me of something off of Diamond Dogs, but that's always a good thing
Maiuri was playing the bongos and the M-Tron at the same time during most of "Warmth & Width"... it was a sight to behold
also on that track, the acoustic guitar direct line clipped, so the guitar you hear is what bled through the drum mics
in "Mudman's March", the monstrous tone is just a bass thru a fuzz box
FYI, Otogi is THE GREATEST game ever released on Xbox
"Horatio Returns" should have been a throwaway track, but there's a few spots that shine, so I left it in
The double-rooster motif and the album cover is from Ray Harryheusen's sketch from the never-produced movie concept of giant chickens running amuck... I wonder why they never made that movie? it would be AT LEAST as good as Clash of the Titans...

Set the Dual Rectifier to "KILL"

2008-05-21T00:35:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: Message in a Brothel

"MORE COWBELL!" the cowbell in "Find Out Tomorrow" was added by accident when I was testing the VST inputs... but it sounded so right, I left it in the mix
the things that sound like answering machine messages spliced in here and there are in fact real messages from my answering machine... a great idea I stole from Beru's Nephew... man, I miss those old answering machines
"Good Mourning" has the original guitar track played in reverse in the background for extra craziness... and yes, those bird sounds are all mellotron samples
the insane guitar tone in "Message 2" was achieved by cranking the les paul tone down to zero, setting the dual rectifier to 'kill', and leaving the mic several feet away from the speaker cab
shitty bass licks were added afterwards by your truly

The Not-So-Magnificent 7

2008-03-16T23:00:00.000-04:00

JUST RELEASED: Economy of No Scales

this session was recorded with 'room mics' only... somehow the tone worked out alright
"Seven Certainly" is a weird one... it wasn't until I listened to the recording that I realized he was playing 7s...
"Enjoil" is short for "enjoyable oil", which is something I thought I heard Kendall say during the session for some reason