music will find a way…

I may not have had the greatest success in the history of music, and while I am very proud of all that Anything Box has achieved in my life… It never changed my life in the ways that people expect. Anything Box as awesome as it is, cannot part the red sea, enlighten my soul and offer me endless happiness in this life… Music, even when it finds its way out of me and into your hearts, is still only an expression of a life…

Now love, pain, and every second that I’ve been alive on this little blue world? That has changed me, formed me. I guess in retrospect, Anything Box is the observer of this, and Claude S. the reporter…

Today it feels dark, the darkest that it has been in a long time, and it comes on the heals of my greatest of joys… So how does one reconcile these things? I don’t know. A good friend of mine lost her husband a few days back, so what I am facing is petty and pales in comparison. But pain is pain. No one is immune from it…

All I can offer up is a quote from a guy I sat next to on a plane last year…

There is no price high enough for one’s love or dignity…

At least I can hold my head up and say I have both.

New Studio for new album..?

Because of the season, it has been a bit difficult to finish the studio, but it is almost ready. I began a rig, tore it down, and started again in an effort to make the studio a good place to work.

I hate the fact that everything seems to take longer than it needs to, and all I can say is… ARRRRRRRRRR.

Today I worked on the microphone I will be recording my vocals with. Oh, I didn’t tell you? I’m going to sing the next album live in the studio. The idea is to avoid the vocal booth and sing as though it were live, with the speakers blaring. This is also part of my new methods of recording.

I tried about 25 different mics for this approach, and so far the one that won my heart was the ElectroVoice 767A. I have gutted it and will be wiring the capsule within the body of a steel 1950′s EV radio microphone that I’ll be using. This way, it will look pretty in videos… Silly I know. But it is fun and the vibe is good for me…

I finished a new theremin, and I am on the hunt for a few tidbits, then I will reveal the next laboratory in pictures and video. Speaking of pictures and video, we are taking some new bands shots this Sunday. It looks like it will be lots of fun.

Circuit bending a shortwave radio is next…

 

Technorati Tags: Anything Box,Abox,Claude S.,music,new music,new wave,studio

New Album? | New Toys

 

So I have almost wrapped up my new rig, which is a hybrid synthesizer set-up that I intend to use on the new album. My old friends, namely the ESQ are back as I wrote in a previous post, and since then I’ve found a few worthy additions to my software instrument setup. But recently, I also acquired another VSS-30, which is my favorite sampler in the world. Additionally, I have been using my Nintendo DS more and more. Add to the mix my Kaos Pad (KP3), and you have the makings of a cool rig.

But of course, I didn’t stop there. I recently bought the Omnichord, which is really warm, and an MFB Synth II (100% analog synth). My Gakken and optical theremin (self-made) of course rounds it all out.

Last night I made some videos to show how I turned these things into a working writing rig. And it is pretty cool. Lots of flashing lights and video synthesis. I will post these. The new studio looks like a crazy lab, so I think I’m going rename it… Something but I don’t know what just yet.

With this, I am hoping to finish up two things which stand in the way of progress. The first is Volume One, which we hope to wrap up soon, and the other is Sharewear, which will have most of the material from the first two and some surprises for all.

The artwork will feature a sketch by Werner Von Braun that has not been seen in public since 1952. But that’s another story for another day as this unfolds…

– Claude

Technorati Tags: Anything Box,Abox,A-Bots,Music,Synths,MFB Synth II,Gakken SX150,The Diary,anythingbox,Claude S.,Nintendo DS Lite,Sharewear

Endpop TV | Videos

I have somewhat abandoned the idea of doing the movie. The time simply cannot be made, and as a result, the fans are losing out on really cool stuff. So I made a decision to stop while I’m ahead… Or behind, or whatever. So the long form film, Fan Tapes & Time Travel is on hiatus.

The good news is that now I can focus more free time to simply edit single songs and post them more frequently. I set aside most of my days to writing new songs, which is important, you know? So by eliminating a huge source of stress such as this is highly welcome. I can actually breathe!

As of right now, there are about 6 songs ready for posting, and more on the way. It’s actually been more fun to do since the pressure is off. The idea is to make Endpop TV more fun to watch. You can flip through the videos you don’t like, and watch your favorites as much as you want. They will still be on our Podcast page and YouTube as well, so it should actually help us out a little. We’ll see…

Anything Box | 19

 

So there it is. Done. I have finally let this out of the bag. And as usual, I am sitting here with trepidation at the outcome. I mean, this isn’t a ‘new album’, you know? This is my life twenty some odd years ago.

But there it is. So now what? Wait and see, wait and see…

anythingbox-nineteen.com 

– Claude S.

Nostalgia | Vocals on a Goodbye July Song

 

I was feeling a bit of nostalgia today, and when I spotted this photo, it was a bit much. I remember this place from my childhood, and it seems so different now. It has haunted my dreams on occasion… And this is how it looks in my dreams.

I was raised on the East Coast. It is in my blood. Although I live, walk and ride in the sunny skies of California, there is something here that sometimes hugs my soul. Perhaps it is mere nostalgia. Or perhaps time travel is real.

And it was after viewing this and missing the East Coast when I discovered that Paul was actually filming me as I was singing. I was truly clueless about this clip. I thought he was on the phone. Somewhat of a scruffy look for the day. This was of course, not part of the plan. But cool! I sang on a Paul song!

Here it is. It sounds a bit funny without music. So you will have to wait for the album to come out to see how and if it will be used. It was as I say, a spur of the moment… So it goes.

  

AnythingBox: FanTapesAndTimeTravel.com

Well, the URL has changed, to ease the search process and to solidify the name. So I bought the domain yesterday. So what was once http://www.thediary-separate/pod is now the much more telling www.FanTapesAndTimeTravel.com

So instead of typing that really long name :) I have just bookmarked it. What happened to my one word titles? I may need to go back to that yet!

I was thinking about Peru today. I have to sort through my footage, but there are not enough hours in the day. Time to write soon, too. I feel it.

– Claude S.