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gear i use interested in knowing what equipment i use to make music?

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the following i have envisioned as an overview of all the music i have written and bands that i have been a part of. sometimes my involvement was more for live performances, sometimes song-writing, sometimes producing or remixing. i'm sketchy on a few of the dates and probably have gotten other info wrong. it has been 16 years since i started all this. where there are "?" i'm still gathering the info...

DISJOINTED IMAGES (1988-1991)
this band started off with my sister on keyboards and backing vocals, and jason sears on lead vocals. sometime later we added ben hartman on bass. we all knew each other because we slacked our time away skateboarding. we played a battle of the bands and an earthday perfomance in elyria oh in 1989. the band then paired down to kasson writing and producing and dave heflon on vocals. in 1990 we went into a small demo studio in cleveland to record a 2 song cassette. that's right... a cassette.
-betrayed (side a of a cassingle released in 1990)
-the one for me (side b of a cassingle released in 1990)

the only other songs i can remember making are:
-believe (never recorded only performed live, and it's not the cher song)
-chains (never recorded only performed live)

i also wrote a song for my high-school graduation ceremony. cheesy? quite so. a recording of it? only on a single videotape, and i have it. so there. no "behind the music" will it ever see.

un-named band (1991-1993)
i wrote songs with my friend steve detrolio while at berklee. it was a mixture of electronic beats and synth with guitar on top. we sometimes got kind of cure-like. a bunch of songs were recorded onto a 4-track in the berklee performance spaces, but never got released or transferred to any digital medium.

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SIRENSONG (1992-1996)
i was in a band with adam buhler, michelle poppleton, paul zutrau, and various drummers, called sirensong. the sound of the band was kind of a poppier version of the cocteau twins. ethereal and sometimes funky with soaring vocals. i did not write any of the songs, but did create a lot of the keyboard parts and aided on production.

sirensong (1993 self-titled ep released on CvB Records)
1. mad water
2. thorn
3. my thief

the cruelty of children (1994 release on CvB Records)
1. time can't have me
2. let me sleep beside you
3. lithany (also released on the Soon comp on CvB)
4. stone undone
5. man in the moon
6. wayward girls go to town

extra tracks:
-soapbox (only released on the anon comp released by CvB)

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SPLASHDOWN (1997-2001)
after the dis-"banding" of sirensong, adam approached me about a new project and introduced me to melissa kaplan. we wrote a few demos together and realized we had something really unique. the sound of splashdown was very diverse from massive attack to bjork to garbage to natasha atlas to '70's rock to funk. we tried to fuse guitars, and samples, programmed drums, ethnic vocals, experimental sounds, complex song arrangements into memorable pop songs. we self-released an full length (stars and garters) and an ep (halfworld) on cvb records, then signed to java records (imprint of capitol). created a new full length (blueshift) which never got released although a few songs from that cd did make it onto a released ep called (redshift). bryan carrigan recorded and mixed the album, and co-produced it with us. glenn ballard, of alanis and wilson phillips fame, was the executive producer. the 3 of shared song-writing equally on this project, although it's pretty easy to tell who originated ideas for particular songs.

stars and garters (1996)

recorded, mixed, and mastered by bruce macfarlane at sonics studio in charlestown ma. along with splashdown. produced by splashdown.

song list:
1. thunder this song has a nice middle eastern aggressive feel to it
2. pandora the chorus hook in pandora shows up in the outro of "the archer" on blueshift
3. presumed lost
4. beguiled
5. so ha some crazy percussion and time signatures in this one
6. need versus want a song lyrically about a hitman.
7. paradox this song later became "games you play" on blueshift
8. deserter this would be a song i would love to have gone back and redone. it's such a good song, i wish i could go back and redo a bunch of the drums. we stopped playing this song for awhile live, and then re-added to our set and it became one of my favorite songs to play live.
9. running with scissors this song is sung in maori. i believe it's based on a traditional love song. a few times we performed a complicated version of running w/scissors and waterbead melded into one long epic adventure

halfworld ep (1997)
recorded and mixed by bruce macfarlane at sonics studio in charlestown ma. and q-division in boston along with splashdown. produced by splashdown. mastered by jonathon wyner at m-audio in boston.

song list:
1. ironspy
2. sugar high
3. halfworld
4. over the wall (bruce macfarlane also played drums on this piece. his band at the time was cathode and they put out an amazing instrumental album on cvb records called "sleeping and breathing.")
5. beguiled (mark II remix) this is a remix that i did and was really the only splashdown song that i predominantly mixed. we often performed this version of the song live.

redshift ep (2000)
these are songs culled from the blueshift album, and released on an ep so that we would have something to promote/sell at shows. splashdown played some shows on the last lilith fair tour, also opening up for lamb, and playing many shows around the country on our own.

song list:
1. a charming spell (this is the slow version of this song, was used in an episode of charmed on the wb)
2. the archer
3. mayan pilot
4. waterbead (this song originally was the song "only girls like to gossip" found on the symbion project "red" album. melissa liked this song so much, she wanted to use it as a bed for waterbead. we made some arrangement changes, especially the super-metal section in the middle. i like both versions equally, although hearing melissa sing on this song is tops for me.
5. ironspy

blueshift (2000)

finished but never released by java/capitol records

song list:
1. a charming spell for blueshift we updated this song utilizing a faster tempo and programming that i had done for a remix i had recently finished
2. presumed lost this is an updated version of the one on s'n'g
3. sugar high another updated version that first appeared on the halfworld ep. this was a thorny song for us. it reeked of pop single, but we were never able to get the right mix to make it leap out at you. we tried adding real drums with anthony resta playing, which i think got used on the 3rd verse. we just couldn't get the drums to kick hard enough. i think it came out well enough though... the outro is probably my favorite part of the song
4. all thingsoriginally this song had a long spoken indian intro, that got used as the breakdown in the middle of the all things (charmed quark remix) found on "immortal game"
5. mayan pilot
6. the archer
7. elvis sunday
8. ironspy updated from the version on the halfworld ep. we used some of the original audio tracks but also recorded new guitars and the mix was redone
9. games you play this is an updated version of paradox of stars and garters. we wanted to make the song have a more obvious chorus than the original. this song was in the movie clubland and also showed up briefly in a club scene on the tv show angel
10. dig melissa came up with this song that had a similar feel in my mind to "over the wall" so we wanted to give it a slightly different treatment, layering ambient fx over top of it, and then having an outro of sorts with a bit of a groove to it
11. waterbead waterbead is one of my faves off of blueshift. this song was originally the symbion project song "only girls like to gossip."
12. procreation chick
13. lost frontier another one of the standout tracks in my mind. this was originally fast and more funky. we decided to go with a more trip-hop approach. some of the guitar fx on this song are really extra dreamy. dsp4000 all over it
14. halfworld another updated mix of the song on the halfworld ep. nothing really significant was done, it was mostly just mixed again
15. i understand (this was recorded about a year after blueshift was completed. this is probably one of the least "splashdown sounding" songs. there are times when i hate this song, and other times i kind of like it. we had never intended it to be on blueshift.
16. over the wall another updated mix of this song on the halfworld ep. adam played some upright bass and we mixed the song again

various extra song and remixes:
karma slave this was recorded after the blueshift sessions and was written (by splashdown and glen ballard) especially for the Titan AE movie that Java Records coordinated the music for. you can hear the song in the movie when the characters are creeping around at night in an exotic bazarre looking for their kidnapped friend

- not to many remixes were ever done for splashdown sadly. when sugar high was looking to be the first single off of blueshift, some remixers were commissioned to make some remixes. rhys fulber, doc, bill klatt, and the stryker bros. all did remixes.
sugar high (rhys fulber remix) of delerium, front line assembly fame. see my symbion project remix of delerium's "After All"

50percent this was an exclusive splashdown track for the nigh comp on CvB records
50percent (jez collin remix) jez collin did this neat little remix of 50% that never got released

a charming spell - symbion project remix this is a remix i made after the making of the slow version of "a charming spell" that appeared on redshift ep. when we were finishing up blueshift, we like a lot of the drum elements and faster nature of the remix so we remade the song using these elements which then appear in the version that was on blueshift. note my wak scratching at the beginning of the remix : )

unreleased demos (some of which made it on the "Possibilities" cd-r):
you are this is a demo song that was to become a real splashdown song at some point
-nomadic

asia at odd hours this is one of my favorite splashdown songs. it features the only time the qy70 was used on a splashdown song and also my first time playing (and so far the only) a theremin solo. on the subject of the theremin, i did get a few chances to use it live for a few of the last splashdown concerts, adding interesting fx and melody lines to various songs. i have a vivid memory of playing a big show in buffalo and adding a theremin part during the quiet breakdown in "ironspy"

-trophy hunter

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SYMBION PROJECT (1992-present)
this solo side project was begun way back in 1992-present when i entered berklee college of music. it has always been behind the scenes in my life with other bands taking more of my creativity and energy. but i have managed to release 3 full length cd's, and many more remixes over the years. both albums contain various remixes that were released on the web and compilations combined with new unreleased tracks.

"untitled" double album
this was a collection of very early symbion tracks from 1992-1995. only 3 were made and came in hand-made wooden and metal cases made by richard d'amelio.

some of the songs on these cd's are:
-119 bpm (this song is a long continuous song made up of 3 parts. recorded originally to 4tracks, then later dumped to DAT.
-requiem for mary (written for my grandmother, who died of cancer in 1991)
-aqualon (very 808 state inspired)

red album

self-released in 1998, a collection of songs and remixes from 1994-1998 album design by k*ss*n, fotos by kathryn wyatt, layout by shiraz cupala
1000 copies were pressed. a limited are still available for purchase.

song list:
1. thesis
2. tcejorp noibmys (first appeared on the nigh comp by cvb records)
3. the lips acquire stains (first appeared on the anon comp by cvb records, an obvious dune reference)
4. only girls like to gossip (later became waterbead for splashdown)
5. music for the last 8 minutes of 2001:a space odyssey
6. the infinite number of truths that remain to be discovered (first appeared on the soon comp by cvb records)
7. water of life (another obvious dune reference)
8. desert/oasis (one of the very early symbion project songs)
9. synthetic (also another very early song)
10. 1|2|0

immortal game

released on ninthwave records in early 2003, a collection of songs and remixes from 1998-2002. album concept and design by clifford stoltze of stoltze design (who did all the cvb albums including every splashdown album.
1000 copies were pressed and are still available.

song list:
1. pawn to king 4 (written with leah callahan (betwixt/turkish delight), who also sang the vocals on it)
2. soft tempest (this is a radical overhaul of the song black man's daugher written with annette farrington for her 2002 cvb records release "azure wonder and lust")
3. snog (pretty remix) this is a remix of a veronica black morpheus song from their album "special problem music"
4. our breath shall intermix
5. all things (charmed quark remix). this is a remix of the splashdown song from blueshift
6. el~artikler
7. 21 (extended remix of the sprague song 21)
8. lithe and tawny
9. the speed of dark
10. lacrymosa (this song was written with julia gray, who also sang the vocals on it)
11. bishop to king 7, checkmate (this is an updated instrumental version of the i feel loved remix that won the depeche mode remix contest)

wound up by god or the devil

self-released in early 2007, this album is inspired greatly by the genius of wendy carlos (tron, a clockwork orange) and vangelis (bladerunner). this is a textural album created using only the alesis andromeda analog synthesizer. no drums or vocals on this one. album artistic direction by kasson and kevin mcginnis. front cover foto by brad benedetti. the name of this album is taken from a quote by anthony burgess, the author of "a clockwork orange," who was describing what this clockwork might actually be.
2000 copies were pressed and are still available.

song list:
1. stainless endless radiance
2. What You Are, We Once Were
3. What We Are, You Shall Be
4. All Things Are Ultimately Measurable
5. Le Fétichisme Dans L'amour
6. Antiphon
7. Vandalized Lovemap
8. Kanon Und Gigue Im E-Moll Für Elektronik
9. The Ill-Tempered Synthesizer
10. Wound Up By God Or The Devil
11. Dies Saturni XV Maius Mmiv

web released tracks:
a nice day for a chemical wedding this was written during the making of blueshift. it appeared on my mp3.com page until that disappeared
the difference between order & chaos is only the distance between your two speakers this was written during the making of blueshift. it appeared on my mp3.com page until that disappeared
<>2 hour tekno i was bored one night and decided to see what i could write and program, mix and master, in just 2 hours. it's not that bad considering. you can also find this on my acidplanet site.

remixes:
- i feel loved (symbion remix). this remix was entered by me and won the depeche mode remix contest sponsored by sonic foundry/acid planet in 2001 beating out 1100 other remixes
more info on that contest here you can find the mp3 of this remix at the top of the page
- i feel loved (extended symbion remix)
- gabriel (symbion remix) this remix was a finalist in the lamb remix contest held in 2002
- after all (binary star remix). this was a contest entry in the delerium remix contest held in 2003
- a charming spell (symbion remix) this was done after the slow version of the song was released on redshift. some of the programming i did on this lead to the song getting sped up and re-recorded for blueshift.
- dragonfly (symbion prject remix). this remix is for melissa's (ex-splashdown) new musical project Universal Hall Pass. look for this remix to get released with some other remixes and new songs not too long from now!

unfinished or demo remixes:
- alanis morissette i worked on a demo remix of this song with bryan carrigan but it never got passed the demo state.
- everything but the girl. i worked on a demo remix of this song as well but it never got passed the demo state.
- kina there is a demo of this remix on the web on my acid planet

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videogame songs for sony ps2 games:
- funky dope maneuver (FreQ)
- control your body (FreQ, under the name komputer kontroller)
- freQout (this song is also the basis fcr the intro movie to freQuency)
- ibiza dreamz (FreQ, under the name dj hmx, features melissa of splashdown on vocals)
- end of your world (written by robotkid and inter:sect, remixed by symbion project)
- all the metagame screen music and intro movie for FreQ were written by me - the metagame screen music for Amplitude was also written by me
- spastik (Amp, under the name cosmonaut zero)
- synthesized (Amp, under the name symbion project featuring liz enthusiasm on vocals)
- cool baby (Amp, under then name dj hmx, features naoko on vocals)
- out the box (Amp, features the vocals of akrobatik)
- robot rockerz (Amp, under the name komputer kontroller)
- bike thief (schnellspanner remix) by freezepop appears in the Incog game Downhill Domination (remix by the duke and inter:sect)
- science genius girl (hi-phive edit) by freezepop appears in the Konami game Karaoke Revolution 1
- stakeout (ultra:mix) by freezepop appears in the Konami game Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix3 for xbox
- get ready 2 rokk (guitar hero mix) by freezepop appears in the Harmonix game Guitar Hero for the ps2

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FREEZEPOP
started in 1999-present, with liz enthusiasm and the other sean t drinkwater. my pseudonym started as "the duke of candied apples" and later after a trip to belgium, became "the duke of belgian waffles," finally becoming "the duke of pannekoeken" after a delicious plate of said breakfast delights in fall of 2003.

the orange ep (1999)
the first 2 fpop ep's were very d.i.y. made on cd-r's with self printed art. we made not many of them, and they were mostly to send to press and college radio to start building a buzz about the band while the full album was being worked on.
1.science genius girl
2. t dj
3. tender lies
4. summer boy

the purple ep (2000)
1. robotron 2000
2. tracey gold
3. vacation
4. get ready 2 rokk

freezepop forever**

debut full-length released in 2000 by the archenemy record company. mastered by me. see details below about the re-issue of this cd
1. harebrained scheme
2. plastic stars
3. science genius girl
4. get ready 2 rokk
5. tenisu no boifurendo
6. t dj
7. tracey gold
8. robotron 2000
9. vacation
10. tender lies
11. summer boy
12. freezepop forever

** there is now an new updated release of Freezepop Forever which went into circulation in fall 2004. it has been remastered from the original source files by dave locke at jpmasters and will contain a new edit of Science Genius Girl (hi-phive edit from Karaoke Revolution for the PS2), the single edit of Tender Lies that appeared on the compilation Evolution, and a re-done mix for T DJ. original pressings of freezepop forever have now disappeared...sorry. this new version also contains the 2 videos "freezepop forever" and "tennis boyfriend" in quicktime format.

fashion impression function ep

released on archenemy records in 2001, contains new freezepop songs, remixes, and videos. mastered by me.
1. manipulate
2. lazy
3. shark attack
4. starlight
5. tenisu no boifurendo (kodomo remix)
6 manipulate (machinate mix)
7 robotron 2002 (all your base are belong to us remix)
8 plastic stars (commodore vic's sleeping dogs mix)
9 science genius girl (robotkid's lameboy mix)
10. melonball bounce (hidden track, cover of raymond scott's sprite commercial)

hi-5 my remix

released in fall of 2003 on archenemy records, contains 1 new freezepop track "super-sprøde" from the ps2 game Amplitude. the rest are remixes. mastered by dave locke of jpmasters.
1. super-sprøde
2. super-sprøde (future bible heroes remix)
3. tracey gold (fairlight children remix)
4. super-sprøde (kodomo remix)
5. super-sprøde (bunnyhug remix)
6. bike thief (tubeway remix)
7. super-sprøde (veronica black morpheus remix) i did a fair amount of production on this, and mixed it.
8. super-sprøde (pure remix) by livesexact
9. lazy (bass kittens remix)
10. stakeout (donnerschlag remix) by pete of inter:sect
11. super-sprøde (super-death remix) by soviet
12. freezepop forever (ionian remix) this remix is an older one that i did back in summer of 2002

fancy ultra*fresh

released in march of 2004 (officially on may 25th) on archenemy records. begun in the summer of 2001. recorded, mixed, and produced by me. mastered by dave locke at jpmasters. flash visualizers and other interactive content by the barbarian group, and winners of the fpop flash contest
1. stakeout
2. bike thief
3. i am not your gameboy
4. parlez-vous freezepop?
5. chess king
6. outer space
7. that boy is all about fun!
8. duct tape my heart
9. manipulate (mastermind mix) the original version appears on Fashion Impression Function EP
10. emotions & photons
11. tonight
12. boys on film
13. bonus track - cover of jem and the holograms theme

mini ultra*fresh

released in 2005 on archenemy records and limited to 1000 copies. this is a 4 song promo ep that contains 3 songs off fancy ultra*fresh and a bonus unreleased cover of depeche mode's "photographic." mastered by jpmasters. a poorly manipulated version of this mix also appears on the entirely dismisable "kill the dj" cd by dj keoki. the song list on the jacket does not match the songs on the cd though... oops!

maxi ultra*fresh

released in 2005 on archenemy records. this is a 10 song promo ep that contains 3 songs off fancy ultra*fresh, an unreleased b-side songs, and several remixes. mastered by jpmasters. this cd which had 1000 copies is now out of print, but you can find it, with the additional song "here comes a special boy" on iTunes, rhapsody, napster, etc.
1. boys on film
2. tonight
3. chess king
4. smoke machine
5. outer space/plastic stars (live on wmbr radio)
6. starlight (karacter re:vision remix)
7. parlez-vous freezepop? (inter:sect remix)
8. stakeout (kodomo remix)
9. duct tape my heart ( forever remix) - this was one of the finalists in the duct tape my heart remix contest
10. outer space (boothnavy's v***ger remix)

future future future perfect

released in sept of 2007 (officially on sept 27th) on cordless/rykodisc/archenemy records. songwriting begun in the fall of 2004. recorded, mixed, and produced by me. mastered by dave locke at jpmasters. this is the first fpop release on a record label.
1. less talk more rokk
2. pop music is not a crime
3. frontload
4. thought balloon
5. get drunk with milk (limited edition only)
6. ninja of love
7. brainpower
8. do you like my wang(tm)?
9. he says she says
10. do you like boys?
11. retired tennis pro
12. swimming pool
13. afterparty (short version on original release, long version on limited edition)

various freezepop remixes, covers, and web exclusives we have done:
-bike thief (kryptonite remix). this remix was made my the duke and inter:sect for the moonshine comp "electro-nouveau" released in 2002. you may remember inter:sect who did the manipulate remix for the FIF ep
-bike thief (schnellspanner remix). this remix was made my the duke and inter:sect for the cleopatra comp "this is electroclash" released in 2003
- extended versions of the above bike thief remixes were released on a rare limited edition blue 12" single in early 2003. 250 copies have been pressed of that colour. and addition 350 clear copies were printed and released in clear vinyl sleeves with blue silkscreening.
- marbleyezed (this is a remix i did for the synthpop band soviet. released on the electricity 2 comp by ninthwave records)
-paradise (paradise lost remix) this is a remix i did for empire state human that got released on their remix cd Alpha and Omega
- seven-boom medley (this combines "boom boom boom" by paul lekakis mixed with "boom boom boom boom" by the venga boys. released on the popaganda comp in 2000)
- photographic (this is a cover of the classic depeche mode song from speak and spell. this song appears in the dj mix cd by dj keoki on cleopatra records called "kill the dj." he kind of mangled our mix to fit his dj mix.
- here comes a special boy (this was written for philippe, the innocent french otter from the web comic, achewood. you can find it on his website and download the mp3. go here:
here comes a special boy @ achewood.com
- smile (radiant sun remix) and (extended & illuminated remix). i did these 2 remixes in 2005 for the synthpop band Junobot. the short remix was released on his album "the nature of technolgy" and the extended remix is available for those who purchase the cd. clik me for more on junobot

various remixes of freezepop by others:
-parlez-vous freezepop? (dadatronic remix by ben palmer)
-stakeout (epsilon minus remix)
-sprode in da club (this was found on the net and mashup's super-sprode with in the club by 50 cent
-summerboy (gordon merrick, who liz enthusiasm is working on an EP of cover songs with)
- stakeout (kodomo remix) - this remix is by chris child who was done many remixes for us. this remix was released on the Intellecto Manifest Volume 2 comp on Intellectos Records. you can find that here: stakeout (kodomo remix)

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SYMBION PRODUCTIONS/SPEED OF DARK MUSIC (1992-present)
i have also done a fair amount of freelance audio production over the years.
i wrote small bits of music and made sounds for some flash websites made the barbarian group in boston for the VW beetle convertible, VW GTI anniversary edition, Lexus sedan, and saturn website. one of the short song ideas for the beetle flash site became the basis for the song "emotions & photons" on fancy ultra*fresh.

back in the early 90's i made a bunch of sounds and bleeps for liquid todd and wfnx to be used as quick soundbytes for their various radio shows.

for the Konami xbox release of DDR Ultramix3, i composed/produced a number of songs to be used in the metagame (the options screens). these instrumental songs are very freezepop in nature.

i have also mastered some cd's. the first 2 freezepop cd's, the first symbion project cd, an orifice album, some veronica black morpheus nipple songs, some stuff for CvB records.

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congratulations! you've made it to the end of a very long page. you rokk!