Sander Roscoe Wolff

As a result of my last gig I was invited to participate in a compilation album that’s being produced by a young fellow I met at the gig. I guess that the plan is to produce an LP (those 12″ vinal things…) with up to 40 tracks, each no longer than 45 seconds. To be honest, I love stuff like this. So far, I have produced two tracks.

is from my performance, the middle bit with my Lap Steel, that runs about 12 minutes or so. Using special software, I reduced the running time to 45 seconds. Thus, the entire performance is represented, but it happens at a much faster rate. The pitch would have stayed the same but I decided to drop the whole thing down one octave, just because it felt better to me.

is more of a multi-track studio affair. I built the thing up one track at a time, improvising each track as I went. For example, I recorded the first guitar track, then improvised the 2nd and 3rd tracks just listening to the 1st. These three tracks became the 3 note chords. I then recorded the 1st 1/4 note arpeggio, also an improv, and then the 2nd without listening to the first. I improvised the bass part while listening to the chords, then added the 3 vocal tracks, the lap steel, and the bells.

It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for the project, but I do like it. It is simultaniously lilting and wacked… (BTW, I described it to my wife using the same two words and her reply: “Lilting and wacked… Just like you!”)

Enjoy!

In the process of sorting through the detritus of my life I happened upon a cassette tape labeled “Sander’s Apology.” I had no specific recollection of recording an apology, but did remember making tapes of radio broadcasts when I was a kid living in Santa Monica. We lived in Santa Monica from about 1968-1971. The tape was full on both sides, and contained a few surprises. Here are some excerpts:

is, well, an apology to my father. The context isn’t exactly clear, but I can tell I’m trying very hard to be sincere.

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With the kind assistance of a volunteer, I recorded my performance at Dung Mummy on my video camera. The performance, in its entirety, was about 25 minutes. This excerpt, about 11 minutes in length, comes from the middle, when I had switched from my gretsch to my Industrial Guitar Indy Rail.

Click here to hear audio. Note: the file is about 10 MB.

If you’re interested, you can see pix of the guitar effects I use and read about what they do.
Enjoy!

Although I had no idea at the time, Jason Savvy (aka Monkey Wrench) was snapping pix while I was performing. He was kind enough to post them, and share them with the performers.

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Create(!), a local instrumental electric free improv christian group, has been pushing the envelope for ages, both in performance and on record. Just when you think they can’t go anywhere, they reinvent themselves in some new and wonderful way. I received an email from them that announced a remix contest. They posted the individual tracks that, together, make Six Dreams Divided from their upcoming album, A Prospect of Freedom. Listen to the album version of

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