Me and My Mandolin/Mandola Made An Album!

[priestandstringsmandolin]

I am the mandolin/mandola player for this band! Could you listen to some of the songs and give me a critique on my playing?

http://priestandstrings.bandcamp.com...en-d-counter-s

[Darren Bailey]

I'm presently downloading your album. Thanks for the free music. I hope remember to come back to say more once i've listened to it a few times. Cheers.

[Darren Bailey]

Is this a joke? If so i fell for it.

[John McCoy]

Been listening to some Terry Riley, there? Maybe early Phil Glass? John Cage or Walter Piston? Robert Moog? Dan Foley? Something I wrote w-a-y back in the day?

Reminds me of the cloud pieces of the early '70's

== John ==

[priestandstringsmandolin]

Okay, out of curiousity, why would I spend all this time recording a joke album? haha. No, I am pretty serious about it.
John Cage YES. If Darren really wants to shut us up, we might actually just cover some of John's material. 4'33" is what I'm thinking.
Haha, now that you mention it I probably will listen to all of the above artists now though. Most of our influence has come from bands like Soapstone Tpcastt. A while ago, they were producing a new song everyday. They've put out a pretty large body of material; we got in touch with them and they sent us some bonus stuff. My partner eventually managed to arrange a meeting with them, and we had a jam session with them. They hooked us up with a producer (Mary Shelly's Baby) who seems to really understand the Tpcastter genre (it's the word all of the bands on the scene I've run into use) and how to get the sound we were looking for. We're still working with them on these next few albums, and we've got a sizable amount of material planned out.
Thanks for the feedback. I'm happy with the response we've gotten. We added a couple people, and we've recorded the first parts to 2 more albums.

[John McCoy]

. . . John Cage YES. If Darren really wants to shut us up, we might actually just cover some of John's material. 4'33" is what I'm thinking. . . .

You're no doubt thinking of his performing 4'33" in the form of Satie's Vexations (the one that's repeated 840 times).

Did you know--and this is no joke--that there's a variation on 4'33"? It's descriptively--and accurately--called 4'56"; it's a bit of a theater piece and incorporates a broken pocket watch. And, yes, it is a serious piece.

Of course, we mustn't forget Peter Schickele's Concerto For One Viola, Four Hands. It's not surprising, though, that a bassoonist would have some natural affinity for the viola after spending 30 years sitting directly behind them in the orchestra and watching how they do what they do (while simultaneously noting all the things that they could be doing but aren't).

Another serious piece was the also-descriptively-titled Piano Burning by Annea Lockwood. Plus there are any number of things by Peggy Glanville-Hicks. Even Carlos Salzedo experimented with this sort of stuff.

And there's a piece by Charlie Delaney simply called Air. It's for wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon). All the players do is to blow air through their instruments; there's not one actual "note" in the piece. It's amazing, even to players of those instruments, how many different effects you can get just by blowing without engaging the embouchure.

You might like some of Dan Foley's stuff. I haven't talked with him in an embarrassingly long time, but he used to have some of it online. You could search "Daniel Charles Foley" or perhaps "fandoley."

Check out some of the music by Harry Partch. Be aware that some lyrics are decidedly not PG-13.

And if you're interested, I can probably find and send you some stuff I've written that--uh--pushes the envelope.

Keep it up. This ain't a C-major world.

== John ==

[JeffD]

I am missing something. Or I am from a different planet.

Carry on.

[Ed Goist]

Very unique and interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Are you using a bow (arco) on some of the tracks?
Nice playing, especially on tracks 4 & 5. Track 4 reminds me a little of the Mothers of Invention.
I always appreciate when people push envelopes and question pre-conceptions.
I agree with John, keep it up.

[priestandstringsmandolin]

Vexations...that is a very apt title for that piece. We just got a woodwind player so I'll have him listen to Air. Thanks for all the suggestions, seriously. I will need to listen to all those as soon as I get time. Thanks! Haha. We decided that...just cause we like to eat and pay our rent, we are charging like...a little bit for the album, IDK if it will help at all. I'd love to hear some of your old stuff John! And, thanks Ed. Yes, there is a bow on a few of the tracks. Mothers of Invention? Adding them to the the list of things to look up. I'm glad y'all liked it.

[Timmy Vilgiate]

Hmm! I don't know if I'll buy it yet, but it sounds pretty cool! Great job guys. It's really weird. But not entirely in a bad way.

[adgefan]

Cool stuff! Reminds me a lot of Beck and the Beta Band during their most experimental phases. I also imagine this is what Punch Brothers sound like to those who don't really get them

[Pipeous]

sorry bud, not my cup of tea. I couldn't last long enough through the songs to comment on the playing. I'm sure some will love this kind of music, just like I love music others will hate. I have no idea of something to reference it against. if it makes you happy who cares?

[Mark Robertson-Tessi]

Some interesting textures in some of the tracks. The mandolin playing sounds like you're playing with lots of arm tension. Then again, that may be the sound you are going for?

Cheers
MRT

[abuteague]

Bravo! Your album is an achievement.
Aesthetically, there were some great sounds I didn't know the origin of and I tuned in on those. The lyrics were playful. I was impressed with the sustained intensity of the instruments and the thoughtful application of effects. One of my favorite things about the pieces was the way the instruments sounded like instruments and the restraint from the over application of effects. It reminded me a little of Pierre Schaeffer and musique concrete in that when you hear recordings of an instrument in a new context, the instrument can sound reinvented and redefined.
I enjoyed it very much. Made my day.

[priestandstringsmandolin]

Thanks everyone! I did play with a little bit of arm tension, it was just kind of me channeling the emotion of the pieces though. I had a lot of fun recording this album. We did try to hold back on some of the effects lest they get out of hand, and we tried to maintain the integrity of everything instrumentally in the process. I thouroughly enjoy trying to create new sounds on my instrument. I'm glad I got some listens and some feedback!