August 31st, 2010 by webmaster

I have this thing about getting my instruments into some sort of customization – I’ve had stock instruments before and been somewhat happy, but I get happier the more I mess around with them and remove them from their original factory state.

Now, that statement doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m good at effecting the modifications. Quite the opposite in fact – it’s best communicated using Big O notation (for those code monkeys out there – you know what I’m talking about)…

My abilities to make the changes and have them work are best expressed as follows, with the wiring/construction complexity being represented symbolically with the letter O:

(reference: Big O notation – wikipedia)

Ok so that being the case – you can imagine why it’s taken four years (yes – the number 4) for me to get to a point of almost being able to say I’m almost ready to declare relative success on almost finishing the wiring on my faithful Svilpacaster – almost.

I’ve had a moment of absolute clarity though as I stared at the pieces of said instrument and the hollow shell of the guitar on the floor – THERE HAS TO BE AN EASIER WAY TO DO THIS!

Apparently there are a couple ways:

• have someone else who is qualified do this
• take my time to actually think it out the same way I would do any software project

Option 1 costs money – quite a bit of it apparently. Scratch that…

Option 2 – well, I did come up with something that seems like it would make sense. Take the old Sustainiac board and hot glue it to the pickguard in precisely the spot where the rout in the wood is to accomodate it, then run wiring along the edge of it to the controls.

That would make logical sense, no? I really dont know why I didnt think of this like two years ago…

Anyways so I’m back to the drawing board – need to replace the color coded wires with new ones since I had cut them back repeatedly to try to get this shitty thing done at least 6 times before.

August 26th, 2010 by webmaster

Today the clouds rolled in, and although they’re not the thick and heavy with cold rain variety it still feels like October is just around the corner. Weather forecasts for the next 10 days dont help either, as even in the sun the temperatures aren’t projected to get out of the 60′s during any of that time. In fact, on monday we’re only going to get to a frigid 58F (14C) – a far cry from the normal 74F/23C we should be enjoying.

With kiddie #3 into the 14th gestational week now, and wife praying morning sickness (more like all day sickness again) ends soon, maybe October and the cooler weather is ok with us. For me, it’s been about 13 months since the last of the work on the CD was completed, and even though it hasn’t been a commercial success due to a very obvious lack of distribution channel, I am getting itchy to write new material and just get that artistic side of the brain a bit of a workout again.

Time as always is a bit of a challenge, especially since we’re looking to start our own consulting business specializing in the short duration development projects that companies dont hire full time for, nor do staffing agencies enjoy recruiting for. Its a niche that offers opportunities for us and also to use those good connections I’ve built up over the years working in Windows Application Development, Developer Tools, Internet and Telecom. I myself am going to be a consultant in our company, at least for the near term, and working to slowly and safely expand our services offered and build reputations strongly and securely.

Music though is something I miss working on. The joy of being able to find that elusive melody to sit on top of a unique and discordant bed of rhythms. Writing a clever turn of phrase or word play which has many layers of meaning. Immersing myself into something that inherently doesn’t have a deadline or ship by date. Being able to take the stuff I hear in my brain and make my hands reproduce it, then enhance it – that’s something that I think few people can truly understand the tranquility and joy it brings deep inside. Getting the recordings to be “right” – technical details and strict attention to quality and precision – that can be tedious and stressful. But the short time that it takes to move an idea or motif from initial though through to your first demo state – that point where it’s all feeling and gritty passion… well I dont know if you can ever recapture that again. The “a fine line” songs in fact I feel were actually better in many circumstances as raw demo tracks with the first take vocals, guitar/keyboard solo, etc than the finished product. Sometimes working on things too long makes them stale and you lose that urgency in getting the idea out… lose the passion and fire that was there in the beginning.

Anyways, as I mentioned in the last post, the next set of songs will simply be songs – a single motif may be present as I have to have something to think about and use as a muse for the effort. But this time around I dont think we’ll consider a real CD release or packaging until the material is done and we’ve hit that point of satisfaction.

This is ultimately the result of some of the ideas for pre-sales and then the marketing plan being a dismal failure. Selling 50 copies of the CD has been severely disappointing, especially since we’ve sent out almost twice that many to various publications and web sites for review purposes only to have someone in that group rip the cd and distribute it through file sharing networks. What I’m left with now is simply to release wma/mp3/etc files through the web site or digital distribution networks and hope for the best.

Anyways, we still haven’t gotten to audition the new guy yet. That will happen now after Labor Day I think – too many schedules not aligned yet. I will keep you up to date on that. Until then – bom dia, beijos, tchau gente!

August 20th, 2010 by webmaster

Man, its hard to think today… didnt sleep well last night but trying to gut it out today. I only have less than 1 hr to go so lets see if I can make it thru…

So this week’s post is about how even though we’re not quite to mid August yet, and we’ve just exited only the 2nd heatwave of the year, we have to think about fall and the move out of summer slowness into the higher pace of work and school that September brings…

We’ve got a few things to look forward to:
- musically: getting back together with Paul and Mark to discuss playing music again. This time we’ll include a new guy named Keith on drums…
- musically: getting back to doing some composing/writing again – Paul has said he’s been playing around with nice new progressions, and I think once we give the Mark/Keith rhythm section a go we’ll start jamming a bit
- domestically: rearranging living quarters to prepare for a new addition to the family. Consolidating family bedrooms upstairs, making the master downstairs into a guest room, turning the baby’s room back into an office, which leads to…
- professionally: starting a consulting business – going independent consultant and setting up to tackle multiple projects from multiple clients and begin some local outsourcing to talented individuals who moonlight…
- domestically again: welcome a new addition due to arrive at the end of Feb 2011.

That said, I’ve been doing a lot of guitar maintenance the last couple months. I’ve picked up parts and stuff and have been rewiring the Svilpacaster, with it *finally* being assembled and ready to go after this weekend. I’m deciding on the direction of my tone as well – ever since the last CD was completed and while I was doing some recordings with the American Standard Strat I really loved that tonal variation I was getting, not to mention as well that I just like the comfort of playing a strat. So I think this set of recordings coming up will be featuring the Svilpacaster, and possible two or three project instruments I’ve been dreaming of building – a black on black maple neck Strat wired up as a hybrid David Gilmour/Eric Clapton special, and a MIDI guitar of some sort. These guitars will get me most of the tones that I need to do existing material plus get that singing tone for new material.

Speaking of new material, with babies being in focus for my inner circle and median circle as well, the thematic thing I usually focus on for writing this time around will be childhood and the simplicity of early life. The plan for my own trilogy of releases was for the first CD (The Sound of Thoughts) to revolve around end of life and reflection, the middle CD (a fine line between…) to be the chaotic and emotionally complex middle of life, and this last CD to look at the primitive emotions. In that regard, childhood and teen years offers a lot of fodder for this – although pop music really focuses on the angsts, lusts, angers, loves, etc that is in the teen period, I think at the least I can provide a slightly twisted view of this as it will always be somewhat twisted coming from my perspective.

Musically, strong melodies and absurdist lyrical turns will give more humor this time around. I think that what is commonly missing from progressive rock coming from the USA, Canada and places outside of the UK is this absurdist humor. The Beatles, Genesis & Jethro Tull in particular were excellent at injecting that Monty Pythonesque word twisting humor, and some very famous very clever lines from Roger Waters thru the years elevate the material to the next level. Admittedly our last CDs lyrical content was quite dour and dark, so I’m anxious to get some humor and word play happening this time around.

So to close this post off – we’re getting together on Wednesday evening I think for a couple hours to see how the drum/bass marriage will work. I’ll write after that event and let everyone know how that all turned out . Cheers!

August 3rd, 2010 by webmaster

Every few days I log in just to see how much spam this site receives. 85 in the last three days – must be a result of all the downloading sites which have illegally ripped our music and have it available for member downloads and free downloads…

Makes it very difficult for someone to write, record and release music in the hopes it gets appreciated and rewarded for its quality.

I’ve gone on rants on Facebook and in private with people about this topic. I’ve said and backed it up – if I get a copy of a CD or album (back in the day) and listen to it more than 10 times in a week time period, I’ll run out and buy the product since it’s good enough to warrant my investment.

It seems that no one else feels the same. In fact, many people think it’s their right to not only publish our material and give it away, but to profit by it – they steal the songs, rip them to mp3s, then collect money from everyone who comes out for their copy by charging memberships to join.

Of that money they get – I dont even get to see the shadow of one single penny of that. All the money I’ve invested from my family’s budget to record and release this stuff – just thrown away. Those people then have the nerve to say its “a hobby” for me – I was never going to be famous anyways so why should I expect to get anything in return?? Pity me for being so naive to believe that hard work is rewarded in kind…

July 30th, 2010 by webmaster

Just something to indicate I’m still alive and doing stuff…

Our friend, the wonderfully talented Ed Unitsky, has been promoting our music amongst friends and connections in the music business over in Europe. He forwarded me some comments from one who was reading into the material and giving his interpretation of it:

________________________Robert Svilpa____________________
1. “Temple of Lost Soul”: powerful message ,straight to the point/direct,angelic ending.
2. I am not sure yet what he refers to in this song/I need to listen to it again, can here the piano more (beautiful) because of the title” Adagio in A Minor”.
3. “As Time Goes By”:expressions of unknown future sorrow/dementia, great lyrics.
4. “Atonement”: this one represents the meaning of the title,the reconciliation between humans and God.Jesus Christ suffering for the sins of all mankind. This one is another very beautifully done song.
5. “Drawing the Short Straw”:such a great song,it describes/ refers to some people in they’re lifetime are chosen by others,unluckily,unfairly,to do what no one else wanted to do, but a honest man! Great,great song here.
6. “The First Piece in the Puzzle”:this song here it refers to the numbers/actions that are required in order to remove/change something that occurred in the past or exists at the present time, usually something bad or dangerous.

Do you want me to continue?? )

I absolutely enjoyed his music.
OMG!! his music definitely covers lot’s of great stuff.
I enjoy it very much.Thank you, Ed

As per usual – I welcome any and all comments. Listen to the music and enjoy or despise as may be, but leave something to show you were here and took the time to listen.

thanks again!
Rob

July 10th, 2010 by webmaster

Finally got around to checking out why the media player died – some changes on the host side which negated the subdomain settings broke it. All fixed now…

Oh and on other news – we might actually have the “final piece in the puzzle” that would help us play live. I’ll let you know as we get thru the getting to know you process. Cheers!

June 26th, 2010 by webmaster

Its been about 5 months since I last messed around on this site – and during that time I’ve:

• left a job where I reported to the worst boss I ever had
• interviewed with a ton of different places – phone companies, software companies, online travel sites, contract firms, the largest online retailer…
• endured near financial disaster – the job I was going to in Feb decided to renege on the offer at the last minute, provoking a frantic Feb for me
• getting two jobs for a short time – one offer of contract employment came thru before the other offer came, but terms were different than what was originally discussed and the 2nd offer was more attractive so… I worked both for a short time
• a third opportunity for casual coding and consulting appeared in March. After such a lean February, I needed to take advantage of it
• the ever growing and ever active kids in the house – Thomas & Lucas both growing like weeds and the house being a maelstrom of happiness even with the difficulties we had
• I’m finally in a job I like, which seems to like me, and which has a future and pays decently well. These days that is a rarity!

During the rough times I had to go through a severe downsizing of the studio and musical equipment. I also have failed to deliver on the dozen or so CDs that were ordered – no money to even order a short run of CDs and the best I could have done would have been to burn CDRs on my PC. As I’ve said it’s been difficult, and even with the very positive reviews the CD got from many online music sites the ability to gather finances together to put a short run together was insurmountable. Lately though with our finances undergoing a complete overhaul and lingering bills getting paid in total – I will be setting aside money to get a run of 300 done and for those who ordered I’ll be forwarding copies of the older CDs and remix/remastered versions that will eventually come out later in the year. As much as I wish I could simply accomplish this today – I cant, but it will happen very soon though as we’re just a couple weeks away from being pretty much debt free. I dont know too many people who can say that, but we’ve spent the last 5 months putting it together and that will be the result.

I’ve made mention of remix/remastered CDs before – The Sound of Thoughts is getting a complete overhaul with improved guitars, vocals, drums, bass, etc… the retracking will be happening over the next couple months but the early remixes of the original tracks and the edits I’ve been doing have made profound improvements. The new guitars and vocals in particular will be the crowning glory I think – much of what I’d learned doing “a fine line between…” will make such a difference, and then the remastering will make everything just pop. I’ve been enjoying the process and am expanding the effort to include a very old CD I made in 2000 called Onion – that will take more effort with reprogramming and such, but there are some very strong pop songs on that one which I think will impress as well as one of the best instrumentals I’d ever written that hints at heavier and more complex things to come.

So now that you’re up to date, I’m only going to ask you to be patient for just a short time longer for me to make up for this delay and lack of communication. I’ll have CDs sent out, new remastered efforts ready to go, and finally I’ll get back into writing new material that will be decidedly heavier and happier both – I’ll also be announcing a new name to add to the consortium of prog rock musicians who will be taking up the drummer’s throne. Just stick around and you’ll be part of a renewed effort to at least fulfil the ever expanding scope and range of four very talented musicians pooling their ideas together.

October 28th, 2009 by webmaster

Well – we’ve completed and are in the process of delivering CDs to everyone. My wife (and I) successfully delivered another Svilpa into the world (Lucas Carvalho Svilpa – 8/14/09 1:12 pm).  And in the time between the last post and this new one, we’ve gone through significant changes at home – our dear Bernese Mountain dog Gwen died just over a week ago after we discovered she had a very aggressive and pervasive form of cancer; several reviews of the CD have started to get published with the majority of them being very positive; a couple record companies have come forward with modest offers for distribution of the CD – hopefully we’ll settle on a deal with one of them and I will be released of a lot of the efforts of marketing and promotion in terms of establishing and building connections.

I’m also rethinking my creative output and endeavors.

Near term goals of getting the first CD reissued are still valid even though the timeframe will be pushed out somewhat. Reconsidering the need for having drum tracks redone is the biggest question as I can work with most of the existing tracks well enough – I’ve had a great deal of experience in editing/synchronizing drum tracks to the click grid courtesy one of the guys I worked with in the past, so redoing the old ones wont be any worse than that more recent experience.  I also have the option of programming or looping the sections that need more adjustment – ultimately it’s all about making the material stronger sounding in the end. I dont have a completion date but will be working with Mark and Paul to start scheduling these sessions shortly.

In terms of mid and longer term goals musically – this last CD focused on some very dark themes. With new baby and what is seen by some as the start of a recovery (or at least near the bottom – neither viewpoint I really truly share) I think I want to pursue some brighter themes going forward. I’ve thought out loud in the past both with friends and also on this blog about doing an acoustic project and I think that will be something I’m personally going to look forward to. I definitely have an electronic and dance project with Paul that is waiting to really get going – again timeframe probably wont be set for a little while on that one. Finally I have to write and demo the third CD in the trilogy – which could be an ordeal simply because I think the angsty neo goth subject matter has been exhausted for me. I had thought of doing something stronger and more in your face that would be more representative of the primative emotions, but it’s not the time to get into that right now.

Finally – the question of playing live has been consistently been raised. We dont have a drummer who we can call on to do this – it’s something I’ve wanted to do all along since I know the material would really take flight in front of an audience. But depending on who would come knocking expressing interest I think we could find someone to step in and take the stuff on. I think all of us would totally love to bring someone of a calibur of NDV for a festival or one-off show – that would be our ideal individual for the spot behind the kit.

It’s also getting to the time to go back and pick up writing the story behind the CD. The CD seems to have that need as there are many disparate moods in what is a continuous timeline and the only thing connecting it all together is the first person narrative nature of the lyrics. Being able to provide context for Ben is what the intent of the story is, and it’s the final piece in the puzzle holding it all together. Although Lucas (my son, not another character) is starting to settle into life outside the womb and becoming more scheduled, he’s still a mass of unpredictable spontaneous screaming energy and a handfull for Luciana, Thomas and I. Getting back to writing will be a slow process but once I get going I’ll finish up quickly.

Ok – three months summarized in a few paragraphs. To those people who most missed my contact I’m sorry and I’ll be in touch with you very soon. To everyone else, I’ll keep you in the loop as well as I can… certainly more than once every three months.

August 28th, 2009 by webmaster

I just updated the media player with the latest version of Mesmerize – the last section (after the time check lady’s voice saying “…12:31 and 10 seconds”) featuring the psychedelic guitar of Alan Morse. The master version of the CDs that will be sold AFTER the special run of 50 for the preorders and early birds will have that mix in place of the older version with me. The Special Edition disks will get a mini-CD with this mix as an alternate, as well as other mixes and a b-side or two for your patience.

The preorder people will also get the new remastered “The Sound of Thoughts” as a special thank you as well. That cd should be available in October.

For those who aren’t aware – my family increased by one on August 14th with the arrival of Lucas Carvalho Svilpa. We’re sleep deprived but very happy and proud parents of this fine healthy young man.

August 12th, 2009 by webmaster

Recent issues getting the printing of the CD covers and tray liners negotiated and the pressing of the CDs themselves have delayed my getting the CDs out to you earlier. We’re working through those issues as other minor complications taking my time away from the administrative efforts to manage everything have also come up. We’re also just 3 days away from our newest family member Lucas Carvalho Svilpa joining the family, and also news that I have a herniated disk in my back (L4) which has been making life even more uncomfortable than usual.

Thanks to Andrea Harrington though who has graciously offered to step in and work the CDs out the door! Tomorrow we will get the process started as I go to my fallback printer for the artwork, and then Andrea and Paul will package and send the CDs out to all of you! I’m hoping that we can make amends with those of you who preordered this CD with free copies of the remastered redux version of the first CD The Sound of Thoughts. This project is due to be ready to go later this year and we’ll be sending those along as soon as they’re off the press.

I also am getting ready to do the remix version of Mesmerize with special guest Alan Morse on guitars. Once the song is mixed we will be releasing it online and sending the download link to those who purchased and are purchasing a fine line between… as a special treat for buying the CD. We will also be starting to plan our next set of music and have been playing with bits and pieces of things that promise more changes and definitely more of a band sound on the next set of songs.

I just read today that Thom Yorke has said Radiohead wont be releasing an album for the foreseeable future. The intense working environment that produced In Rainbows is not something the band is anxious to enter back into again anytime soon. He’s said that the band will be recording though and releasing material on a song by song basis.

This gives me some pause for thought. Correspondences I’ve had with John Jowitt (IQ, Frost*, Arena), Andy Edwards and others regarding the future of music sales definitely foreshadowed this statement. Radiohead had made In Rainbows available as a “free” download prior to release and I’d said at that time (to anyone who would listen) that this would be another nail in the coffin of traditional record companies. But apparently the record companies were more than willing to nail their own coffins as well since the prevailing business model appears to be working towards simply picking up the strays from American Idol, Pop Star and other reality shows and then whisk albums out as fast as the songwriters can churn the same 4 chords pop out of their grist mill. This isnt any surprise to me really – after all it’s exactly why we’re doing this all on our own at this time.

I’d just finished reading three books – two autobiographies and one biography:

• Mike Oldfield’s book – a decent book with good pacing. Shocking to read that he had a basic music education with standard theory and mostly self taught technical skills. More shocking to read about his background and myriad psychological issues he’s been dealing with. His description of how Tubular Bells was written and recorded surprised me since I would have imagined a really focused and concentrated effort – but it was quite the opposite. Kinda haphazard actually – but still a work of art IMHO.
• Bill Bruford’s book – this really set a new standard for autobiographical accounts for me. Bill’s writing is engaging and entertaining, none too harsh but you do get the underlying meaning when he describes people he’s worked with – some in none too flattering terms. He was very gracious to the classy Tony Levin and voiced his admiration for Tony’s ability to separate working life from his personal life. You also can tell Bill is none too impressed with Chris Squire particularly with Squire’s lack of punctuality. I got the sense as well that Bill felt Yes outlived it’s musical life shortly after Close to the Edge – while it might seem to be a tad self aggrandizing to suggest that the band died when he left, I dont know if the material was as tight or focused for all of the next three of four albums. Anyways – I gave the book to Paul who read it and said he enjoyed it as well.
• Close to the Edge – The Story of Yes by Chris Welch – this was a bit of a piece of shit IMHO. The author is way too much of a fan and a fawning irritating annoying fan at that. I remember meeting someone in school way back when who was the biggest Bruce Springsteen fan (before I knew who Springsteen was) and they were so effusive about Bruce Bruce Bruce that it might have been the most amazing immortal material that would be hailed from across the universe as genius and I would still hate it for the sole purpose of contradicting this huge Springsteen fan. To this day I cant listen to Springsteen (except for Born to Run – which is a very good song). Anyways, I want to punch Chris Welch in the face – thanks a lot for making me question how I could like Yes… (I still like Yes but wow I cant read another book like this). It does offer mild corroboration with sections of the Bruford book, but except for a few interesting tidbits about the first Wakeman period it’s just drivel. It spent far too long dwelling on the very early days and claiming that everyone knew Yes were going to be huge… easy to say in hindsight I say.

Ok so how do they connect to the Thom Yorke, John Jowitt, etc… thread?

Yes and Mike Oldfield were given time to develop. Mike was part of other bands (Kevin Ayers, Family) prior to recording his masterpiece and so he was able to learn his craft. Yes had two albums to get to The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge (the holy trinity).  These days you dont have that time to learn and get to that stage! Alex Lifeson of Rush said that they would never have been signed or have been successful today – it was on the fourth album that they hit their stride! All the bands we consider to be classic and enduring all had that gestational period. Today’s bands either do their own gestation (Green Day, Porcupine Tree), or are simply one hit wonders who appear to massive album sales and then disappear to flounder and try to recreate the success for years to come. The American Idol people just linger on thru simple exposure and familiarity until they finally hit the end of the contract and are then dumped.

I guess I shouldnt be so cynical though – money is neither created nor destroyed it just flows to collect where there is more of it’s own kind. The key is to have enough to create that critical mass and then let gravity do it’s thing…