Rumtoad: 2012

*Disclaimer*

Disclaimer

This is a site I use to post work I have created or been a partner to, as well as a platform to connect and collaborate with musicians from around the world who are interested in challenging, or thought provoking musical compositions. My studio includes Logic 9 and tons of analogue and digital equipment. I tend to work fairly quickly, but the more interesting a project, the more I want to do the best I can to add something profound, so time is relative. My stylistic interests include everything as long as it is good, although I am not a huge fan of most of what passes for music on the radio these days. I enjoy writing and playing, and I am comfortable with most styles. I currently have 2 "long distance" projects that are on-going, but would love to collaborate with others, with the goal of releasing our collaborations to the public, even if only electronically!
Definitive interests and influences include the usual suspects:
The Beatles, Early Stones (through 1975), Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Who, etc,
but also:
Prog - Genesis/Gabriel/Hackett, Emerson,ELP/The Nice, etc
Canterbury - Hatfield, Softs, Caravan, Gong,etc
Zeuhl - Can, Magma, Neu!, etc
R.I.O - Henry Cow, Aqsac Maboul, Muffins, etc
Bop and Free Jazz - too many to list, but Miles, Shepp, Pharoh, McCoy, Threadgill, AACM, etc..
Fusion - Return to Forever, McLaughlin, etc
And so on. You get the picture. I also love 70s and 80's Southern Cali punk, and British Proto-Punk (the Jam, and did I mention XTC?) through a lot of the good new wave from the 80's (Japan,Prefab Sprout, etc)
Classical - Schoenburg, Eisler, Messiaen, etc
*whew*
I was also a fan of the 45. Two songs, approximately 7-10 total minutes to state your case. Nice...

I have been a musician for over 30 years, and have played live with musicians like Eyvind Kang, Dave Trenkel, Burned Mind and Fred Challenor as well as with members of Caveman Shoestore, The Tone Dogs, Jade Warrior, Group Du Jour, Thinking Plague, Hamster Theater and others, and have opened for everyone from Nirvana and the Sun City Girls to Elliot Sharp and They Might be Giants. I currently play music with Daniel Crommie, Bruce Hazen, Colin Henson, David Duhig, Jon Davis Miller, and some great avant-garde musicians in Argentina. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in creating something cool!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Endgame

This is a piece I composed about a visit to a ghost town. We have several in Oregon and there are literally hundreds of them (or at least the sites where they once stood) in the Pacific Northwest alone. They usually shuttered down when an industry like logging, or mining went away. I have an affinity for Ghost Towns. They are a paradox, as they present both a window to a previous time, and a glimpse of what is to come. Rumtoad - Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Samples, Percussion, Vocals

Endgame by Rumtoad

Memories

This is an old Soft Machine tune that I have updated. Rumtoad- Theremin, Bass, Mellotron, Guitar, Guitar Synthesizer, Percussion, Vocals, sound effects

Memories by Rumtoad

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Closing Time

I have several pieces that I have been composing since the middle of June. This was going to have a vocal , but my words kept failing me. It is now an instrumental with other things to occupy your mind. This is seriously one of the most complicated productions I have ever created on my own. And I am not even sure that it is finished!
Rumtoad- Samples, Percussion, Synths, Bass, and Guitar solo

Closing Time by Rumtoad

Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Robert E Lee

This was a song I wrote in 2008. It was supposed to feel like a cross between Randy Newman and Stephen Foster. I may have hit that goal, but then again, I try to be a perfectionist. However, I did hit a couple of bum notes on the bass. Oh well. I wasn't planning on getting a grammy for this anyway. Rumtoad- Everything except the Guitar Solo. Kevin Elmore- Guitar solo

The Robert E Lee by Rumtoad