I'd say "please forgive the pretentious intro and outro" but then again this IS a Prog Forum is it not????? Haha. Hope you like it. Lots of music clips in there and hopefully some useful interesting information about the album and me as a solo artist.
Okay, the Kickstarter campaign has launched this evening. There are only 39 days to go before it's gone. Of course if it doesn't reach its goal then the whole thing is off. But a good sign is that within the first hour posting after midnight there are already 10 backers. Let's see what happens. If it far surpasses the goal I might be able to raise enough funds to do a vinyl and 5.1 surround version. Meanwhile the collector's box set will include 24 bit 96k hi res audio versions on a thumb drive plus other stuff. Check it out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...y-dave-kerzner
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...y-dave-kerzner
What do you guys think of the audio clips in the video? I value your feedback. There's a part in the song "Nothing" that was a one take solo from Fernando Perdomo that reminds me of old Steve Howe. Also, I'm telling you but Steve Hackett sounds even better these days than he did back when he played with Genesis! Crazy. I guess it makes sense that a musician would only get better and better over the years but we all know that's not always the case. It is with him! By the way, he just emailed me this morning to say that he loved the video and is sharing it on his web site this week. Incredible!
As I said, I will update this thread with anything Prog-relevant. Have any PE people backed the project already or plan to? Let me know. I might do something extra specifically for PE community people, especially if you take the time to chime in on this thread. Did you buy Dimensionaut? If you did then I think this should be up your alley too... a bit more guitar heavy ironically (me being a keyboardist but... I'm a writer over keys so the song gets what it deserves).
I bought Dimensionaut and liked it, but this project has way more musicianship and has much more potential. I don't want to build this one up by cutting Dimensionaut down, but NDV is a better drummer from what I have heard here and every other piece of music I've heard him play on. I think you can become a better musician with age if the inspiration is there and the production. The clips are also much more interesting guitarwise. While Dimensionaut had fantastic production and keys, and soundscapes, this project takes that aspect and adds 70's level musicianship to it. There have been few modern prog outputs which achieve this.Originally Posted by Squids
I just pledged. Looks like you are well on your way of hitting the initial number. Halfway there in a day.
Enjoyed the samples. Big fan of Dimensionaut. Sounds very similar. More like that would be good for me. I expect that musically it will be on par with that. The bigger unknown is the vocals. But, I am sure it will be awesome.
Hope it does well. Looking forward to hearing the music.
Rick..
Some of it will naturally sound similar because Dimensionaut has so much of my style of writing and production in it. "Not Coming Down" was originally going to be on my first solo album that I had been working on for years. "Beyond Illumination" was a song I almost did with Jon Anderson (with a slightly more electronic approach a la Vangelis). The song "Sound of Contact" is one I wrote the music and lyrics for on guitar and that shows a certain "Yes" influence and my love for acoustic guitar and harmonies. Omega Point and parts of Mobius Slip were also driven by aggressive Proggy keys (except part 2 which came from Kelly, the guitarist, with lyrics written by both Kelly and Simon in that section... while I wrote the lyrics to part 4 'All Worlds' which is more Gabrielesque). A song like "Pale Blue Dot" however was mostly written by Simon. So, yes, the main difference between New World and Dimensionaut will be the vocals and any style elements that came from the other writers and players vs. what the players on NW are doing. Certainly if you listen to Simon and Matt's solo works you'll have a better sense of their styles on their own. My style will be more evident on its own too in my solo album. Had I done one before it might have been more clear but... I do things backwards what can I say?
Anyway, to me the good thing is to always keep stretching into new sonic and musical territories. Dimensionaut will always be what it is and it captured that combination of people during a particular time. I'm very proud of it. Now I feel a certain freedom to do whatever I want and that suits me. I did love being in a band with those guys while it happened and the chemistry musically was killer. But, I've always gelled with NDV since the time we played with Kevin Gilbert and to do it again now is just fantastic. Fernando and I share the same vintage Prog brain and everyone else on the album just fits so well with the music. Hackett and Dunnery are like brothers from another mother!
I hope you enjoy the album Rick! Thanks for letting me know you pledged. Your support much appreciated!
Thanks Firth. Fernando is like an untamed Progmonster, especially when it comes to vintage rock guitars. I gave him a lot of room to bring it out and everyone else too. There's manic level dynamics on this album from super chill to wild and crazy. We'll crank up Vox AC30s sometimes or have a pedal steel swimming along with Mighty Wurlitzers and analog delay... but those are bells and whistles on top of crafted songs which to me is the most important element IMO.
The clips sound fantastic, as I knew they would. You will always be able to count on my purchase of anything you put out.
I did contribute and in my rewards I look forward to:
Audiophile 24 bit 96k Hi Res Wave format on USB thumb drive
and hoping that the 24 bit 96k Hi Res 5.1 format mix comes to reality.
Ah cool! I'm glad someone is appreciating that option. What audio interface for your computer do you use to hear stereo 24bit 96k?
I really do want to mix this in surround. It all depends on budget really. But since there's 38 days to go and it's over half fully funded already if the campaign reaches much higher then this is definitely on my list of things we can do with the additional funding. Personally I'd like to mix everything I produce in 5.1 but... can't always do that unfortunately. In this case there's a better chance than any. It's a lush album with a lot of elements that would be good spread in surround.
I pledged the 25.00 so I can get the CD as well as the download. I think this will be an impressive solo debut. I would challenge all Prog lovers here to pledge the same or more. If you really love Prog, put your money where your mouth is. This can be a truly great album!
I would also be very interested in a 5.1 mix as well.
My Pioneer receiver has a USB input and I play my iphone and iPod thru it. However thanks for asking because I need to check what formats are possible. I want to get a Mac though.
Oh that's interesting. I wonder if your Pioneer can play a 24 bit 96k track right from a USB stick. If you want I can send you an audio file clip in that format (Hi Res Wave) and you can put it onto a USB stick and try it out. Let me know. I'm curious. This USB stick option is a nice bonus of the box set reward in the campaign but I figured it was more for computer audio systems. Could work in some home audio systems too though. That would be cool!
If the campaign reaches high numbers though I think I will do a hi res DVD. Do you guys have any opinions about what sort of format you'd want 5.1 and hi res audio in? Blu Ray? DVD-A? SACD?
Backed the project for the Deluxe CD. I prefer physical media. Loved Dimensionaut and really hope this project gets enough backing for you to go through with it. Best of luck.
Well my receiver will not support USB at that Bit depth and sampling rate. I do not know if my windows PC will read Wav files like that. I have been thinking about computers and other ways to record analog and digital audio than what I have now. The Sony PS3 I have may read the USB, but will it stream it to my receiver. I'll see.
I support all high res 5.1 formats you mention. The SACD hybrid was all ways cool because you could play it like a cd or or as a SACD. I'm surprised you would provide the stereo in high res on an USB since it would be easier to digitally copy it.
This is going to be an absolutely awesome album!
After further research, I'm not sure if any of my hardware, except my PC will playback USB in that format. Is this 24 bit 96KHz version taken before the mastering to the 16 bit 44.1 KHz version on CD? Itunes will support that 24/96 WAV import and playback, but Iphone/Ipod will not.
We'll be mixing in glorious analog to 24 bit 96k AND separately to 16 bit 44.1k so there's full resolution. As for providing it on the USB and it being vulnerable to being copied... well, if people want to rip it they could anyway and plus I believe in people supporting the artists they want to hear music from. I know that there are a lot of people who won't and prefer to just steal it, share it etc. What can you do? But as long as there are enough people who respect the artists and support them doing it then that's what matters. This Kickstarter campaign is a really inspiring example of it! It's only been 3 days (not even) and it's 67% funded already with 37 days to go. That shows that people DO care and want to support an independent artist such as myself. They can see how ambitious it is and it has to all get paid for somehow. That connection between the artists and what they're wanting to accomplish and the supportive listeners is crucial these days... it balances out the mass stealing that goes on over the net.
But, then there's the experience of it and the extras that add something else to it all. That also helps balance the situation. For example, in the campaign 4 people picked the "Squids Serenade" reward where they get a download of the standard and deluxe versions PLUS I write them a 1 minute instrumental piece on the piano or keyboard custom for them. That's one of the more pricey rewards to pick at $1k. But people still did it and, depending on how one looks at it, the amount that brings in offsets a whole bunch of people who might get the music and not pay for it because it was shared illegally.
Cool. The mix process sounds almost like what Nick Davis did for the Genesis box sets. Multichannel tapes etc archived on 24 bit 192 KHz digital, synced and then d/a converted, and remixed on a high end analog SSL mixing board.
Nick Davis also mixed Dimensionaut for us. He's a friend of mine and actually invited me out to hang for a day while he was mixing those Genesis box sets so it really was a fascinating thing to see and hear. I don't think I'll be mixing this with Nick Davis this time though but I am working with Chris Holmes, the engineer who tracks Dimensionaut and actually he did some great pre-mixes of the album. A real talented guy. I'm also working with Tom Lord-Alge who is local here in Miami and has offered to help me which is pretty incredible (since I normally wouldn't be able to afford a mixer who's usual gig is for Dave Mathews Band or Coldplay or some other major label artist). He's a fellow Genesis fan and a friend so I'm lucky. If I didn't have that kind of network of resources and/or the budget I could mix it myself though. I have an analog studio that I do projects in but... the point of the Kickstarter campaign is to raise money so that I can hire great people and studios for each job as well as covering the costs of everything else. Just manufacturing the products alone is a lot.
Thanks! I just uploaded a new video for the backers about the Deluxe Edition. I've added an instrumental track to it with Francis Dunnery that I hope you'll enjoy.
I'm a backer now for the deluxe edition. Looking forwards to it and I wish you much success with this venture!
Thanks! I just posted a video talking about this crazy track with Francis Dunnery that's on the Deluxe Edition. It's sort of like "Cinema" from Yes' 90125 in a way. It doesn't really sound like it but it's that sort of short but intense proggy instrumental... actually more shreddy. I haven't heard Francis play like this since "Once Around The World" from It Bites! Incredible.
I've also backed the project. Looking forward to hearing it.
I do appreciate the energy behind the e-mail updates, but I know personally, I actually don't need them. I don't listen to the previews, so I'll enjoy it ear-unheard for the first time whenever it comes out.
Squids/Dave, I don't mean this to be critical of your updates, I think there's plenty of people who want to get them. I just tend not to need those type of things. More power to those that do like them.
Mike
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