First Crack #127. A Guitar, Bass, Electric Trumpet, and Bryan Schumann

Bryan Schumann and I talk about composing music, improvising music, and whether the classical guitar pairs better with an upright bass or an electric trumpet. Bryan Schumann’s links: Beznau Music Shop http://www.beznau.com/bddschumann http://www.myspace.com/bddschumann DeSchuVoemann Listen to A Guitar, Bass, Electric Trumpet, and Bryan Schumann. [27 min]

First Crack 120. Wonderlick’s Tim Quirk on Truth Through Music

I’ve been a fan of Tim Quirk’s music for 20 years – easy. The playful melancholy in throughout his songwriting continually resonates with me. When he announced the new Wonderlick album was in the works and available for ‘name-your-price’ pre-order – I jumped on the opportunity. When I started hearing about how successful the campaign …

Wonderlick “Topless at the Arco Arena” – Name Your Pre-Order Price

For nearly decades, I’ve been a big fan of anything by Jay Blumenfield, Tim Quirk, Sandy Smallens, or any combination thereof. So, yea, I’m pretty excited about the new Wonderlick album available for pre-order. Here’s the interesting bit: “…anyone who winds up paying more than the average donation will get his or her name in …

Garrick’s SXSW 2008 Showcasing Artists Picks

Not only are these picks really late (SXSW was months ago) but unlike other years, none of the 700+ tracks grabbed me immediately. The overall tone felt like the ‘college rock’ of 20 years ago. Good, sometimes interesting, artistic even, but every song sounds um, the same. As in previous years, these are track that …

3.75 Reasons Jonathan Coulton Is More Interesting than Radiohead

In Jonathan Coulton’s Portal post, I find 6 things very interesting. He: was commissioned (I’m assuming) to write a song for a video game ($$$) likes the video game (is this an ad or a recommendation to his fans?) includes the lyrics in the post includes the chords in the post thanks the video game …