Very silly title … but ...
....
I’ll explain right away, many years ago
round at Ady’s house, long before The Sound, we were jamming/playing or really
just messing around with our music “stuff”, quite a bit - weekends - after
school, just having a lark really.
Sometimes with two members of (the later)
Honolulu Mountain Daffodils (HMD), both of whom were mutual friends, one was a
school pal of mine and lived next door to Adrian - more in a bit.
....
So one day I go round to Ady’s house with
my recent acquisition of a ITT Studio 73 STEREO cassette recorder, so we could
record “stuff”, which I think dates this happening to 1973. Which makes sense - we would have been 15. - This is before Mr Borland invested in his
home studio - the Teac 4 track (featured on Propaganda).
....
Any way I find Adrian in a dilemma - I
don’t remember what it was but he had a new piece of equipment - needed a plug put on. Back then you
usually had to buy the mains plug separately from the equipment - and put it on
yourself.
....
Now as much as I admit to being poetically
challenged - Adrian was technically challenged I am not making fun here, but
Adrian didn’t have a clue HOW to put the plug on. There were many previous (and
later) occurrences of similar situations.
This time I said completely in jest, “Ady,
if I ever write a book about you, I am going to call it - Adrian, Plugs and
other inanimate objects”. Remembering this now, I had to include that title - I
was only 15 - give me a break, please? I never thought for one minute I would
actually write that!
....
So, yes I am a technical junkie, I LOVE
gizmos, I have pretty much every iWant (crap - that's the actual name of a company so iDesire then) gizmo - despite being broke, I seem to
find a way to justify “needing” these things - my Wife is very tolerant and
understanding of my, iSuppose “obsession”. But iNeed them especially my iPhone
- it’s brilliant!! (My wife has one too, however its just a “easy to use” phone
for her).
I am also a Macoholic, since no idea when,
bought the very first iMac - The birthing of all the, iThis, iThat and iEverything - Steve
Jobs, inspirational - to me anyway. And I think I have about iEverything plus a
few extra Macs to boot - I get attached to this stuff!
....
Back to 1973, I had developed an interest
in electronics probably around age 13, completely self-taught - my inspiration
was my Grandfather - always tinkering with his valves! Actually, although
unknown, he worked with Harold Leak (LEAK Electronics), in designing the first
(I was told), stereo “Hi Fi” amplifier.
....
I was always building boxes that did
strange things to sound. My Octave Divider was really whacky, put a guitar
signal in get one or two lower octaves mixed with it out. It was very temperamental,
needing a very clean signal or pure note input, but it served as my first Bass
Guitar!
....
I also built many other effects boxes along
with the Drum Machine - it was actually called a pattern generator - that we used with 2nd Layer. I stand to be corrected but I
believe "Flesh or Property" was the first recorded (and released) vinyl using electronic drum machine… that in modern day terms I also "circuit bent" - in the day - modified!
After writing this I have found all my old circuit diagrams, but I can't find the "boxes" - one I had called an Aqua Z, I have no idea (now) what it did!
I guess I'm gonna mix 2nd Layer in here too:- For Adrian and I, when The Sound became "Serious" - almost like "the job". 2nd Layer was playtime, although it's really bizarre - "Courts or Wars" and "State of Emergency" were composed in 1977/78 - 30 years on - they seem spot on - I don't think you'd get away with that subject matter - NOW!
....
2nd Layer really proved what a great combo Adrian and I could be - to us anyway - a Poet and a Techno; we wouldn't have seen it then, "techno" is a new genre - I have a whole box of cassettes we recorded…
....
So, along with the aforementioned two HMD
members, Adrian Janes, Adrian (B) and I did record some early stuff for fun, at
Elephant Studio.
One experiment (“The Crazies”) was quite
good - we booked a day at the studio - went in with lyrics by one of the
(later) HMD members - but that was it. We wrote, rehearsed, recorded, and mixed
an entire LP in 12 hours, we had planned on releasing it on cassette, but never
did…
....
Another, that was never released (the 1”
master never got mixed) was a pre-punk outfit (“The Blind”), very heavy
Stooges influence all pre-recorded on my Studio 73, some pretty good simple
songs though…
I have put some of this on myspace, but
have forgotten the log in info and URL’s, may still be up, I don’t know for
sure...
©2009