Kickstart my Art?

Sorry, this isn't a post about the awesome/horrible Motley Crue song Kickstart my Heart. It's about my band gearing up to record a "proper album."

Last week, we launched a Kickstarter Campaign and we are 40% of the way to our goal. Everyone who "kicks in" $10 or more will get a copy of the completed album. For larger contributions, there are better thank you gifts. Two of those include empty beer bottles (because of Kickstarter rules) that will be filled with sweet, sweet home brew care of yours truly. And I'll also be offering up some delicious pulled pork BBQ.

So come on, support the dadrock stylings of Artistic Differences and KICKSTART MY ART!

Of Monsters and Thrones

Best album of the Year? Worst album cover of the year?

I’ve been remiss. I haven’t told my two loyal readers about my favorite new band. I am head over heals in love with Of Monsters and Men. I’ve heard them referred to as “this year’s The Head and the Heart,” but I’m not feeling that comparison. If anything, I’d call them a magical cross between Belle & Sebastian and Arcade Fire. No matter who you compare them to, their debut album My Head in An Animal is easily one of my favorite 2012 releases and is chock full of great songs.

My favorites are probably Little Talks, Six Weeks, From Finner, and King and Lionheart. Even the girls love Of Monsters and Men, although my eldest says their name is silly. I tried to explain that all of the good band names had been used up by the mid-to-late 1990’s (*insert citation – Limp Bizkit, Hoobastank, Maroon 5) but that’s a hard concept for a five year old. Especially a kid who thinks this about Belle & Sebastian. But I digress.

Maybe it’s because I was late to the party and just started watching Game of Thrones around the time I got this album, but if there ever was a perfect song for Thrones, it’s King and Lionheart.

King and Lionheart
Howling ghost they reappear
In mountains that are stacked with fear
But you're a king and I'm a lion-heart.
And in the sea that's painted black,
Creatures lurk below the deck
But you're a king and I'm a lion-heart.

If I had to recommend just one song from the album, it's this one:

In the Aeroplane over the Sea

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over the Sea

If you don't already own this album, chances are you will hate it! Seriously, you can't handle this album. You'll think the singing is off key, you'll say the sound quality is horrible, you won't know what the F to think about a "Two Headed Boy all floating in glass," and then finally, your mind will be blown when you find out that the whole thing is about Anne Frank.

But I think it's one of the most important albums of the 1990's and in the Top 10 of best indie rock albums of all time. And it's available from amazon for only $2.99 right now for the entire album.

So BUY IT! Listen to it three or four times, and then either thank me, or tell me I have the worst taste in music ever.

CSA - AOK

Two years ago, the P90 family did the Breezy Willow CSA. It was delicious and a great deal. The girls loved going each week and selecting our fruits and veggies and they especially loved the breads! We took a summer off from CSA last year, knowing that we'd be doing a lot of beach trips and other travelling and would be getting produce on the shore. On the weekends we were home, we visited the Oakland Mills farmers market.

But this summer, we're back in the CSA game! And since the whole point of all of this is to "eat locally," we decided to go with Gorman Farms, which is less than  two miles from our house.

Today we received our first share. And it’s a week earlier than expected thanks to our overly warm spring. I’ll do my best to post about our share each week and share the recipes and meals we make. To get things started, I think I’ll make garlic scape pesto.

Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup pine nuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Method:
Place scapes and pine nuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.  hocofood@@@

Mojo Hand Recoil Review

I had a great time with the Mojohand EFX tour box. As I said previously, the Nebula was the star of the show for me, but the Recoil was a close second. If you're looking for a solid, affordable digital delay with analog flavor, you can't do much better than the Recoil.

I have an EHX Memory Toy that I keep around for experimenting, but most of my delay sounds come from a Line 6 M9. I like the M9 because I can get a lot of delay sounds, tap tempo, and expression (for crazy runaway oscillation) in a nice small(ish) package.

The Recoil blows the Memory Toy out of the water. You can use the tone knob to cop the lo-fi tones, but you can also use it to get nice, clear delays. Comparing the Recoil to the M9 feels weird - apples and oranges. In most situations, it sounded better than the M9. And of course, it's smaller, lighter, and cheaper. I missed the tap temp and/or expression features though. I should preface that the majority of my delay use is either for Edge-style rhythmic things or for wacky oscillation stuff. And sure, when you crank the repeats it will freak out and self-oscillate, but I'd prefer not to have to kneel down to do that.

If I were setting up a board for more traditional rock, country, or pop sounds, the Recoil would be my go-to delay. It's great for thickening solos. And with the tone at noon, has one of the best slapback sounds I've ever heard from a pedal.

Some of the real fun with the Recoil came when I used my Danelectrode to power (or in this case underpower) the Recoil. It won’t do anything at 3 volts, but right between 3 and 4 it coughs up a really grainy delay that sort of fades in and out of pitch with the original note and even changes repeat speed slightly as it fades out. It continues to do weird little things like this up until about 5.5 or 6 volts where it starts to add a really nice shimmery chorus. Once you get to seven volts or so, it’s hard to tell much difference from 9 volts.

Wegmans Liquor Part III - Overheard

I made the horrible decision to go to Trader Joe's at 5:00 o'clock on Saturday. Seriously, I should be punched in the head for that bright idea. The parking lot was a war zone, the inside of the store looked like a Soviet bread line, and my three year-old had an EPIC meltdown re: being forced to ride in the cart. As if there was some other option while shopping in what felt like a mosh pit at a Fugazi show circa 1993.

But aside from the sheer hell of it all, I overheard no less than three groups of people talking with excitement about the proposed liquor store slated to open in Wegmans and the hopes that it would move Maryland toward more sensible alcohol laws. I'd be a happy boy buying wine at my local Trader Joe's rather than stocking up when I visit friends in VA. One can dream... hocofood@@@

M. Ward's Pedalboard

I've been chasing M. Wards tone for ages. In fact, it was Never Had Nobody Like You that got me hooked on fuzz and set me on a fuzz journey that is still going strong (10-15 fuzz pedals later). I still can't tell you what fuzz he used on that song. I can tell you that he sounded great at the 9:30 Club last night with a pedalboard full of Boss pedals and an Ibanez delay. All powered by a (wait for the collective gasp from the Gear Page folks) a One Spot.

Here's the list:
Boss TU-2 Tuner
Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
Boss RC-20XL Loop Station
Boss FRV-1 Fender 63' Reverb Pedal
Ibanez AD9 Delay

Guess I'm going full circle and buying an SD-1. At least it should only be about $35-40. Borderline free compared to some of these fuzz pedals I've bought.

And that's it folks. Take two Gibson Johnny A's (one tuned to D6), add these pedals, and a Fender Twin Reverb, and it sounds amazing.