Virtual LP

Back in high school I was lucky enough to have two excellent friends who were also great musicians — Heroic Imp and SKP. They’d jam, and I’d make up some words — insta-tunes, written and recorded in one night. And that right there was my introduction to the idear that writing and recording music is … Read more

There was music there. Musicality, I like to think. And there was a little guitar. And enthusiasm. “Say! Say! Say!” And there was that kid, that funky funky kid — and that unusual groove. What was her deal? It like she was clear-channeling. And then there was the last one. The one who seemed to … Read more

For this week’s tune, I sent bass and a pair of keyboard tracks to Yaniv Soha — my frequent co-conspirator and the recently ousted former CFO of yanivsoha.com. Yaniv added vocals and atmospheric guitar and, hey presto — here are the results. (If the music sounds a little familiar, those bass and keyboard tracks also … Read more

Here’s a wee thing (voice talents: eb and xian) — 26 seconds of sound, a 415K mp3. It’s a scrap. A found object. A thin slice of terror. And, as an added bonus, it’s also an almost entirely misleading trailer for an upcoming Monkey Vortex Radio Theater feature entitled: “I, Baby Robot.” Enjoy. And watch … Read more

As we ramp up production here at the house of Vortex, I’ll be aiming to post a tune every week or two. Today’s is a collaborative effort recorded a few months back and written in the key of Leon Russell. As ever, it’s on the fairly small side (1.3 mb), download-wise. TV’s Yaniv Soha contributes … Read more

I think most of us have been there at one time or another. I know I have. And I don’t mean that metaphorically either. Here’s a piano/vocal song about those times, and what we were thinking. And maybe even a little about what we were feeling. Standing there. All banana-handed. It’s less than one meg, … Read more

Here’s an instrumental thang that I’ve been noodling around with for the last week or so. It goes kinda like this: da da da da, da da da — blinnngggg, da da da. Oh, ya know, it’s a wee thing. Hardly even a meg. Why not just download the tune fer yourself and hear this … Read more

As a follow up to our smash hit “Bye Bye, Blackbird, here’s the second in a continuing series of occasional piano/vocal jazz standards plucked from bygone days. This time, we’re headed all the way back to 1921 for “Second Hand Rose,” written by Grant Clarke and James F. “the F stands for foot pedal, sonny, … Read more

I’ll be posting a few (usually fairly short) tunes up as we go. Some solo multitrack homebrew this and that. Some long-distance musica-collabarativo. And the occasional piano/vocal jazz standard from 1926. Here’s the first tune out the gate, a piano/vocal jazz standard from 1926: “Bye bye, blackbird,” written by the great Henderson and Dixon. playtime:1 … Read more