Stop spamming the site.  I will track your ass down and come after you with a large blunt object. 

Ah.... the rains arrive and the cold winds begin to blow- and our modest 13th Soul continues to work on new music.  We are excited about the progess with each week, and will record our next effort in 2010.  One reason I look forward to our next recording is that I will be able to use guitars and effects that I didn't have available when we recorded "Three in the Hand of a Concrete Leaf".  I have my 12 string acoustic, my 6 string koa wood acoustic, a Mesa Boogie 2:100 power amp, and new Eventide effects.  But mostly, I look forward to recording with this love of my life...

It is the coolest guitar ever made, I'm pretty sure.  A beautiful 1999 Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody with maple back and top, mahogany sides, and piezo acoustic pickups alongside the humbuckers.  It has wonderful electric tones, acoustic tones, or any blending you choose, and will provide a large amount of the guitar tracks on our next effort.  Pretty, yes?  My heart goes pitter and patter...

The sands of time keep rushing past- but we are definately staying busy.

We have the outlines of everything for our next cd, and now begin the process of refinement and adding details.  I am ramping up my own efforts to spend extra time on bass lines for the new pieces, and honing the guitar effects for studio tracks and overdubs.

The exciting news of this day is the prospect of making our first music video.  We have a friend connection who wants to record a high definition video for us, and we have chosen "Speakeasy" as our song of the hour.  I remember being in middle school in Arizona, and watching the birth of MTV on my parents' cable at home.  I would watch the vidoes of The Police, Def Leppard, Rush, etc, and be in awe of how these demi-god types could wield instruments and look so flippin' cool at the same time.  I never would have imagined that I would someday be able to create my own music and make a music video in HIGH DEFINITION!!! How cool is that??

So, yes, we still breathe- plot and plan, fret and whine.  We are considering the reinvention of our persona and branding, and still putting forth effort towards live material.  As mentioned earlier, we will have a live version of The 13th Soul that includes guitar, hand drums, and vocals- a stripped down presentation that will highlight the melody and songwriting that lives within all of the studio overdubs and polish!

I wanted to write about what that will look like from an instrument standpoint, of course.  The bulk of that will be written about later- but for now, a new piece of that puzzle!  An exciting piece actually, as it allows me the chance to show off a new Paul Reed Smith in the Michael collection....  I don't condone materialism, but a new Paul Reed Smith just makes the heart go pitter/patter...

It's a 2006 20th Anniversary PRS with special bird inlays, solid mahogany body, tremelo bridge, and a sweet pickup system that allows for both humbucker and single coil sounds.   For our live setup, I can use this guitar with single coil settings as I pair it with the Mesa 50 caliber+ combo amp.  Such a beautifully made instrument! 

Long time, no blog- but rest assured, as 13th Floor continues to be productive working on new songs for the next cd.  One standout new-song idea has a haunting, mysterious tone while the vocals spin a story of an angry female hunting others with an eager knife... peaceful stuff, actually...

As a collective, we have decided to try and pursue some occasional live performances in a more simplistic format- vocals, handdrum, and guitar.  This will give us a chance to stretch our boundaries and comfort zones, as well as interact with the occasional fan!  Presenting music in a live format always provides information on what works and what songs continue to need work.  In the spirit of pursuing more acoustic music, I decided to pursue a new instrument.  I recently saw a youtube video of a musician using a mandola, and became fascinated by the Eastern nature of its sound- so when I found this particular instrument, I knew it would fit in perfectly with the 13th Floor soundscape.  I could write pages and pages about its inlays alone!  What craftsmanship!!  I am sure it will makes its way onto the next recording...