Prancing Merrily

With the recent loss of Edgar Froese, founding member of the band Tangerine Dream and an electronic music pioneer whom passed away after suffering a pulmonary embolism on January 20th, I’ve been going back through our catalog and rediscovering song ideas that are heavily influenced by his work.

Here’s a song idea from 1990 that was created at Der Palast des Goldes.  Another which was recorded under the Any Questions? moniker but resembles more of an Imbued Vagary styling.  If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was from an early ‘80s era Froese, Franke, Schmoelling line up Tangerine Dream release.  

MC2P4 takes the reigns of our Korg DW-8000 and wails over top of the driving Ttam Troll music sequence which percolates underneath.  It might be a tad long but, hey, Any Questions? is known for doing things over and over, again and again.



P.S.  This photo was taken on 11/24/90 at the very first Any Questions? live performance.

Never Had A Name

It's hard to believe this improv was recorded over 25 years ago.  In September 1989, we were exploring new sonic territories at Der Palast des Goldes studio.  Though we had a newly christened band name, Any Questions?, this improv really falls more in line with what has become our Imbued Vagary project.

We had a relatively modest (for us) studio set up at this point.  This was before we had a sampler or our E-MU Pro/Cussion so my trusty Korg DDD-5 drum machine handled all drum chores.  Korg ruled our set up in those early days and you can hear MC2P4 laying down a menacing synth bass line on his Korg DW-6000 while he adds additional melodies and sounds on our Ensoniq ESQ-1.

My nickname for this improv should have been Ttam "Never Stops Soloing" Troll.  Upon listening to this, I can tell that I'm firmly locked into Program 58 on my Korg DW-8000.  I was still quite new at playing synths in 1989 but, listening back, it doesn't seem like it took me long to get the hang of it.

This improv, entitled Never Had A Name, really did have one.  Oh well, I hope you enjoy it!



P.S.  This photo was taken on 11/24/90 at the very first Any Questions? live performance.

FiConnellNorc - We Are Glass

FiConnellNorc (aka Norcon Ficross, Norc Norc Fibercon, and other humorous derivations) consisted of Larry Lee Fiber - Vocals, Synthesizers, & Programming, M Scott McConnell - Vocals & Synthesizers, and Matt Norcross - Bass, Synthesizers, & Programming. Though we had "jammed" together countless times since the infamous Fiber Family NYC Music Store Trip of 1985, there had never been any recordings of this line up to survive until one early Spring weekend in 1990.

Larry Lee (founder of Los Angeles club scene band Fashion Risk) was back from LA to visit his family in New York when he decided to make a little detour South to visit Scott and I at Der Palast des Goldes for a weekend session of improvisational recordings. These recordings have since become known as the We Are Glass Sessions (for obvious reasons to those involved).

Larry Lee arrived early Saturday morning but we were unable to begin recording right away. Our equipment was installed at P&G Studios where Scott and I had been demoing our (Any Questions?) latest ideas. P&G Studios was inadequate for our session so we tore down that set up and rebuilt it, in record time, back at Der Palast des Goldes. We were up and running by noon.

The sessions spawned several classic improvisational recordings including this ultra rare track called We Are Glass. This is the only recording of this line up to feature Larry Lee singing and, even though the lyrics and melody are completely improvised, they help to showcase a "what could have been" moment for the band. In addition to Larry Lee singing and playing synths, Scott is laying down the foundation for the song with his synth playing while I contribute lead electric bass (and constant soloing) for the whole 5:35 of the song.

I hope you enjoy this ultra rare classic track from the FFS Vaults. Here is FiConnellNorc - We Are Glass...