Sunday, August 01, 2010

so...you might have thought that i had finally, after numerous threats, really quit this blog thing. i do remain unconvinced that the directly connected blog tweet facebook thing is right for me. might be. just not sure. but for now i remain. and i have a new, at least temporarily, convincing reason to be here. i thought i would periodically upload some music i create here at home. no studio. no engineer. not even another musician (at least for now). i want to devote a day every couple of weeks to doing what my wife anabelle and i have been referring to as 'momentary music'. i have terrible trouble tinkering and overthinking things to death. with my momentary musics i will not do that. i will devote no more time than a day to any of them and i will then post them here; warts and all. these things will probably be all over the map stylistically because that is how my mind works and that is how i stay interested. i am not an engineer so the recording quality will be scruffy at best. so be it. so without further ado, i give you moment 1. a short piece put together with bits of weberns spare masterpiece called 'five pieces for orchestra', ives' 'trio for violin,cello and piano', george benjamins 'ringed by the flat horizon' a couple of snippets from david lynchs film 'mulholland dr.' plus a little of my own nonsense.

so make of it what you will. there will be more. this one was a small joy for me to make and is a homely little beast that i ultimately find charming. it is a little droplet to add to the unrelenting firehose of media that comes at you all the time these days.

one more thing. this doesnt mean i will stop making solo records. but for that i need near endless hours of tinkering,obsessing, rewriting and, of course, overthinking. i will also be involving other folks and engineers, mixers, etc. and they cost money so i will be asking you to buy something to help me pay them. but for now its on the house. see you again soon.

Moment1 Take2 by ericavery

23 comments:

Lum said...

Thank you!

chainsaw66613 said...

I am always very happy when i see a new post from you here, and the momentary music idea has me doubly excited! i look forward to hearing more and especially eventual full records!

Anonymous said...

Kind of haunting. Thanks for the listen.

j.e. said...

Very intriguing, Eric. Thanks for posting it to us, and I look forward to hearing other pieces from your momentary point of view.

matt volpe said...

Sounds good EA. very moody and disturbing sounding. love the distorted bass at 1:16... the grinding entrance gives the piece some girth. Cannot wait to hear more. I sincerely thank you for continuing to blog/tweet/FB, and for posting this "momentary" music. For us true fans of your work, it's really appreciated. Look so forward to hearing more! best, MV

Unknown said...

I dig it

Unknown said...

What an awesome bass tone, so thick and full! Very appropriate for the piece. Thanks, Eric.

grindinghalt said...

Great work Eric. I hope you post more "momentary music" Excellent concept to keep sane. Take care!

GINGER said...

What kind of keyboard do you use?

Unknown said...

I think you need the opposite of what you think you need. Instead of more isolation from the critics of the world, you need to start accepting them. Critics are like a teacher's edits on your term paper, they can really steer you in the right direction, and only if you are 100% sure they are wrong, should you defy them. (for instance, see the movie "Kids in America" for example of a time teacher's comments are clearly wrong).

A band is like a small filter, it can correct individuals in the band from going off the deep end. A bigger filter is an agent or producer. But the biggest critic is the public. There are times the public is wrong, and this should be obvious (Rick Astley, vs. say Rick James), so seek out their criticism, because it's either right, or wrong in an obvious way (to you the creator).

But to shy away from criticism alltogether by holing up and solo-ing when clearly you're not a solo artist, is lunacy. Get with somebody, and get a leader. You had that with Jane's, and possibly in Deconstruction. Doesn't have to be the same band, but it should be someone that can critique you and guide you, preferably a band, a producer, AND the public (blogs, etc...).

I like your samples idea tho, just don't forget to pay attention to those who aren't your lackeys. There's way too many of those on this blog. Perhaps a way to remember to respect the critics, is that they wouldn't be reading your blog if you weren't talented and relevant. When you lose all critics, you've become irrelevant.

Dante Damiani said...

Nice, I closed my eyes and just listened... I like it

Unknown said...

Hmmmmmmmm.......... I listened to this twice and both times it reminded me of The Hearts of Age... not sure why.... if your into Orson Wells, maybe you know why, cause I don't ;)

Luna Moth said...

Really like the part that begins at 1:16...Here's the playlist I would throw it on. Was done out of pure atmospheric inspiration with the inner critic turned off...

Jimmie Spheeris-"The Nest"
Steely Dan-"East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
Charlie's Angels theme
Twilight Zone Theme
Fleet Foxes-Heard Them Stirring
Rolling Stones-"Heaven"
Booker T & MGs-"Hang Em High"
Joni M- "Edith and the Kingpin"
Zep-"No Quarter"
Tim Buckley-"Song of the Magician"
Deradoorian-"Weed Jam"
The Association"Never My Love"
Beach Boys "Fall Breaks Back To Winter"
"Steve Millers Midnight Tango"
Beach Boys "Can't Wait Too Long"
Blondie "Rapture"
MJ-"Billie Jean"
Deradoorian- "Moon"
Door -"Riders on the Storm"
Lost Souls-"It's Not Fair"
Talking Heads"The Overload"
Fleet Foxes "Blue Ridge Mountain

skullneck said...

Nice. I agree with Matt Volpe... the bass tone is great and adds/expands to the bottom end. Also like the piano introduction a 1/4 of the way in.

88Fingers. I see what you are saying but as an artist/designer myself listening to critics can hinder your creativity. There is nothing wrong with the deep end that is how you explore new ideas and ultimately generate new ones. When creating for clients and getting paid for it YES you need to listen to others (critics) because ultimately it's their product. This is something Eric is doing for his own exploration and therefore should not be listening to anybody... including us.

Sorry for the rant but I wrestle with this in my head everyday designing to please clients including myself but in the end all that matters is your integrity and self respect.

Semiramis said...
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Semiramis said...

I'll donate upto $100 USD for you to record and release a full length cd. I have a few stipulations before I give.
I gotta hear a couple demo tunes first and the demo tunes MUST have someone singing other than yourself, preferably a Robert Smith sound alike named Gary Biddles (who sang for Lol Tolhurst and Simon Gallup).
The songs must contain lots of the type of bass lines you are famous for. Help Wanted had none. No Janes-esque bass lines, no donation...
j/k
lol!

D Scott Semple said...

Eric,
Always a pleasure to hear/read your thoughts. Thanks for sharing with everyone! I like the idea of creating something so quickly and then setting it free to make its way in the world. This is an excellent example of what is so cool about technology. (Not sure that's what you were going for though.)

Your song seems to be well-suited for reading something in the Sci-Fi genre. I am reading Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock" right now and it was the perfect accompaniment!!

sam said...

pretty fucking eclectic mix of sound there, love it.

Unknown said...

Weird !
Disturbing!
Brooke
http://www.momentsofelegance.com

Semiramis said...
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Semiramis said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Semiramis said...

Jim Jones said...
Artists nowadays are too busy trying to find that new sound or make something so pretentious that they fail to create that seemingly simple quality that all good music should have: the ability to make it's listeners feel something (other than detached or put-off).

For Jane's to continue on without you, without your bass lines, their new songs must be so well written and have that ability to make you believe in every note. Every single song must reach the zen of effortless perfection. No filler.
The Zen state culminates in the ride, on the wave, where all natural elements and human senses fuse into a spontanious transformation of consciousness, experienced in an absolute timeless moment.

Do you agree? What are your feelings toward the band now that you are once again exiled?

B.M. said...

listened to the demo you left, thanks. It shows you still have that great talent and ear for music.

I'm starting to realize that family life isn't the best motivator for musicians, this is why it's so rare for an old great band to make new great music. It can be done, but the members have many more hurdles than when they were young, hungry, and without familial restrictions.

A band member has to always be willing to go on the road, see Dylan, Aerosmith, the Stones, Springsteen, all the greats. Even rarer is a musician that can transcend his first great band. Axel Rose? don't think so. That list is long. The list of former bandmember solo artists is pretty short, at least as far as quality. Peter Gabriel was one, but I'm sure there's many Genesis zealots who'd argue that until their bones showed.

I really really like Strays, a lot.