Trex - NoVaSoCa

I was driving on the highway somewhere, probably in Virginia. Felt like singing.

Did I spell "gist" right?

This is an attempt at creating a "hardcore" jazz song on my Yamaha SY55 workstation. It didn't really work, so I cleared it off the keyboard in order to make room for some other song.

I'm pretty sure I was in Reston at the time.

This is a melodic, swingy, dancy ditty that unfortunately doesn't go anywhere. I don't understand the title.

I'm pretty sure this was recorded the same day as "No Room Jazz".

This is a simple drum machine pattern.

I thought this sounded Russian. Does it?

This was probably recorded in one take. It's a little sloppy, but kinda cool.

Kinda cool trancy groove, probably recorded in a single take.

Wow, this sounds pretty cool. It's very moody and cold. Neat.

The weak link is the melodic solos near the end. I wish I had just stuck to the ominous growls.

This is another attempt at recording a "real" jazz song. It's a single take, and very sloppy. On the positive side, it has lots of energy, and turns into a peppy jam at the end.

This is the original ideal behind "If at First", which I recorded as Tripecac on Mouseculine.

Silly angsty song.

Singing along to the radio, making fun of ugly people. Anyone who gets offended has a self-esteem issue.

A popular song by the band Live came on the radio. I improvised lyrics on top.

Note: Since this contains copyrighted material in the background, I'll refrain from posting the mp3.

I was probably in the car, singing along to the radio. The lyrics make fun of middle class angst.

I recorded this piano ditty on a visit to Charlottesville. It's not very tight, but the main theme is kinda bouncy and sassy. Too bad most of this is lame improv.

The title is a cross between "revive" and "Charlottesville". Revive what? I don't remember.

Back in the car, singing something about being a middle man.

More yelling/singing in the car.

I had a music idea running around in my brain. So I exorcised it by recording this.

This is a moody something or other. It was supposed to sound "tragic" but the real tragedy is that my playing is so laborious. Fortunately, the second half of it is very nice; hence the title.

The next thing recorded after the following three piano songs was my drunken talking in Fullerton on 1996-06-29, which was right before I returned to Virginia. Although this means I could have recorded one or more of the three piano songs in Fullerton, my notes say that I recorded them in Charlottesville, prior to my Fullerton trip (which started on 1996-06-10). So, I'll trust my notes and assume these piano songs were recorded before 1996-06-10.

I opened up the piano and plucked strings with one hand while playing with the other. The sad thing is that I didn't know when to stop. It just keeps going and going. At some point the plucking became too difficult so I played normally with both hands.

The main riff is supposed to sound like "here come the crickets". Why crickets? Dunno.

I was house-sitting a friend's apartment. She had a guitar. Of course, guitar plus Travis equals tape recorder, which leads to Trex.

I like the sound of the guitar on this track. Too bad I didn't know how to play it!

Banging away on guitar with no plan... Not that absences of plan ever stopped me from recording before.

Huh??? I decided to sing along to guitar. With zero planning. It's pretty awful.

The title is the best part of the song. In an orchestra, the best musician in a section is refered to as the "first chair". The great thing about being a one-man-band is that I am always first chair!

Hmm. I was actually "preparing" these songs??? Doesn't sound like it.

Wow, speed guitar! See how fast I can make mistakes! See how fast you can hit the forward button!

Actually, this is not so bad. At times it's almost catchy. Almost.

The title refers to a cross betweem strumming and drumming. I was hitting the guitar with one hand while strumming lightly with the other. It sounds almost like percussion, except near the end where some notes peep through.

Ah, finally, a decent song idea. It was an improv. I have no idea what most of the lyrics are, but I really like the melody. I think it has something to do with isolation.

I was giving a tour of the Alexandria apartment I was house-sitting. I used parts of this in "First Thing in the Morning" (on Tripecac's Where's My Muse.

Although this goes on a bit long and doesn't contain any actual music, I think it's funny and captures my whimsical yet calculating mood at the time. I have very fond memories of that week in Alexandria, and this recording helps keep them fresh for me.

This was my second trip to Fullerton (California, near LA). I snuck into the nearby college's music department to practice on piano.

Simple piano improv. It's not that great. I don't know why I faded out at the end.

The song is named after my boss at the time.

I'm assuming I recorded this the same day as "Winston". The song title refers to the area where I was staying; Placentia was either part of or adjacent to Fullerton.

To get to Fullerton's college (which had piano practice rooms), I jogged through all sorts of neighborhoods, including some that people at my work said were "Mexican". Some people at work told me that those neighborhoods were dangerous. I never felt threatened, so continue to jog my usual route to the college. This was the start of my daily exercise routine.

I'm not sure what day I recorded this. It might have been the same day as "Placentia", but I don't remember.

This is a short ditty that is more of an arpeggio practice than something to put on tape. Only the chords at the end are interesting.

I wanted these moody arpeggios to sound like clockwork. Yet, I didn't have a metronome. I stomped occasionally, but that didn't help me stay in time.

This "tragic" waltz sounded Russian. Years later, I named it after a character in an Akira Kurosawa movia.

The title is a pun on "banging" and "hanging tough". It's kinda punky (good), but also very sloppy (bad). Near the middle it suddenly turns gentle and slow, which is kinda interesting. I suppose I could split it into two separate songs, but it's probably not worth the effort.

Final words.