IUP Crimson Hawks String Festival

This is an excerpt of Chiaroscuro by Stanley Chepaitis as performed at the IUP Crimson Hawks String Festival on 03/19/16 in Cogswell Hall on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

This is the first time in 27 years that I’ve played double bass and performed with an orchestra.  The last time would have been in 1989 at IUP.  Though it wasn’t a flawless performance, it wasn’t bad considering how long it’s been since I played.  I look forward to playing much more often!

Dungeon Aire Rehearsal

This is a rare video of Dungeon Aire during a rehearsal with some of it's members on January 2nd, 1988.  Unfortunately, Scott and I are both missing from this rehearsal.  I'm not sure why we were not there since we were the ones that always (except this time) lined up rehearsals.  I guess we had something better to do.

To set the record straight, we were still called Dungeon Aire at this time.  We would not become This Mistress until Kevin "Bart the Fart" Wilson joined the band on guitar.

Thanks to Steve Olsen for uploading this video and for all of his support over the years.  A large part of our video history was recorded through his lens.

Moog Prodigy comes to FFS

I've been wearing a Moog Prodigy t-shirt for years but I've always felt a little weird doing so because I (or we at FFS) didn't own one.  Well, now I can wear that t-shirt proudly and with reason thanks to some very good timing on a visit to Sam Ash Music in King of Prussia, PA this past Saturday (03/05/16).

As I entered the keyboard area of the store, the Moog Prodigy immediately caught my eye and I walked excitedly over to it.  It was sitting on a stand and hadn't even been priced yet.  As luck would have it, it was powered on and connected to a small PA system.  It took about thirty seconds of programming before I was playing a rich analog synth bass line that only a Moog could produce.  I knew at that moment that it was destined to be mine.

A store clerk came over and asked if they could help me.  I said, "Yeah.  What's the price of the Moog Prodigy?"  The clerk said he had to find out and scampered off.  In the time the clerk was gone, I further explored the Prodigy.  I jacked up the Mod rate and turned up the Mod wheel to make my synth bass sound oscillate wildly.  The clerk returned and told me the price.  It turns out that the store had just taken in the Moog Prodigy MK I synth (Serial# 2875) twenty minutes before my arrival.  I told him I was interested but wanted to take a quick look at some other things in the store.  This was really only a ploy to get away from the clerk so I could pull out my iPhone and log onto eBay to check out the going price for similar models.  Upon discovering that the store price was about $200 less than the cheapest one on eBay, I made my way back to the clerk and said, "I want it!"

I bought it, brought it back to the studio and MC2P4 graciously offered to detail it.  Afterwards, we both took it for a sonic ride.  So, this brings the first part of the tale of the Moog Prodigy to an end.  Keep an ear open for next part of this tale!

Tascam 38 Returns

After a long period of inactivity, our Tascam 38 was in need of repair.  The capstan belt had disintegrated and the tensioner arms were stuck.  As luck would have it, our friend Matt "Tapes" Steck knew of someone locally in Pottstown, PA who could do the work.

A few weeks and $140 later, Frank Scarano resurrected our Tascam 38.  Now it's time to get some new reels of tape and do some analog recording!

Super Mega Death Ray

Floating Fish Studios held Synth Jam 2016 - Wheels of Steel at FFS II on 02/27/16. The ensemble gathered included Steve Saputelli (aka Steve O Man), Paul Polidoro (aka Paul Doppelganga), M Scott McConnell (aka MC2P4), and Matt Norcross (aka Ttam Troll).

Paul Polidoro on the “Wheels of Steel” shows off his turntable prowess during this improv while Steve O Man leads the rhythmic charge on electronic drums. Ttam Troll pulsates a Minimoog synth bass line as MC2P4 layers samples and synths on top it all.

This live improv is noisy and fun and is titled, Super Mega Death Ray.

Crash Landing (Live)

While preparing for our performance at the cOMMuN cIRCUiT Noise Festival, which unfortunately was canceled, we assembled the machines at FFS II to do some sound experimentation.

This track, titled Crash Landing, is an electronic experiment from the session.  It’s noisy!  Just the way the Imbued Vagary Noise fans like it!

Utopian Gong (Live)

This raw unedited live excerpt is taken from the Imbued Vagary 06.20.15 performance at SHAPE Solstice Arts Festival in Shippensburg PA.