I promise

--my real life is not nearly as lonely as it is around this joint!

I guess I'm 40, then

I am soooooooooo lazy when it comes to this blog. That's part of the reason I never started on before, and despite the main reason for even having THIS one was to share music with everyone*... I havenae posted anything in ages. Hell, I even started out lazy by just posting links to a few old 8track mixes I made months ago. This blog is FAIL.

On that note, however, I suppose I should somehow mark the passage of a major milestone, that of turning 40. Notice I wrote "40" and not "forty." Because "40" is much more visceral, really putting it out there as more than just an age, but as a mathematical point of reference and calculation. "Forty"... that's the way a person in denial would write it. And that's it for the overuse of quotation marks in this post, too.

Well, achieving the ripe old age of 40 doesnae feel much different from living as 36, 37, 38 or 39. It actually feels remarkably similar to turning 30, albeit without the looks of pity/sympathy the announcement generally draws. Ironically, or maybe fortunately, I am able to look upon this year as a genuine milestone; I am in a relationship that with any luck will go the distance, one that I am both relishing and terrified of my willingness to risk everything and dive into; and I am starting grad school, an action which signifies my first acknowledgment that I may have some inkling of what I'd like to do when I grow up (which is to be a librarian, apparently).

I hope I make it back to update this blog before my NEXT milestone.

here comes 40

Just over a week now before the Big 4-0. That's "four-oh". I am giddy with anticipation.

My Frend Joe

I've got some good friends named Sharon and Greg. We've all known each other for almost 15 years now, so when they decided to start a family, I thoroughly approved. They're both very intelligent, funny and caring people--Greg is an artist/professor, and Sharon is a graphic designer/elementary school teacher--pretty good place to start from, eh? Seeing as how i don't have any kids, I like to live vicariously through my friends'.

When they decided to adopt three at-risk kids who'd been bounced around foster homes for most of their young lives, I admired my friends even more, and couldn't wait to meet these kids who had made such an impression and changed their lives so much. Christopher, Brian and Jarvis are three of the brightest little guys I've ever known... their smiles will blow you away, so bright and honest--it restores your faith in humanity. When I went up to stay with them for a couple of days to catch up and work on some art projects, the boys and I had plenty of quality time looking at comic books, playing superheroes, you know--all the cool stuff you get to do in summer when you're a free-wheelin' little kid.

I know it sounds corny and sentimental, but I really do believe that it's important to try and make good impressions on kids when they're in that crucial development stage, and to encourage them to think and expand their horizons.  I also think it's important to listen to them, instead of just telling them what to do and where to sit, play, etc.--and when the kids are as bright and full of energy as my friends' are, well... it's the easiest thing in the world to do. We had a great visit.

Apparently, I made more of an impression on Brian than I realized. This is a story he wrote, and it was passed along to my friends at their parent-teacher conference. He wrote it for a class assignment; the topic was to write about his summer, and this is what he came up with :D When my buddy gave me a copy of it, I was speechless--and so proud of the wee guy, I wanted to share it.

Gotta hand it to him, he's got a promising future as a caricaturist!

oops! or: hello face, it's been a while

A musician friend from my days in Scotland posted something about being in Chicago on her Facebook page the other day. I quickly fired off a message--if she was in town, we HAD to grab a drink or something! Turns out she is now in a group called Geese, supporting Imogen Heap at the Riviera tonight, and was gracious enough to put myself and my girlfriend on the guestlist.

Well I haven't seen Emma for at least a couple of years, probably a little bit more than that; naturally, I wanted to look my best (or as best as possible with what I've got left to work with at this point, haha) so I figured I'd better trim up my beard. Now, for those of you not familiar with my current "look" (which is NOT represented in my wee profile pic), I have worn a beard--neatly trimmed--and mustache, an upgrade from the goatee I sported for the previous decade or so, for the past couple of years.

Grabbing the trimmer, I tucked in under my chin and carved a swath up my neck... what the hell?! Yep... a big, ragged-looking shaved patch had suddenly appeared smack dab in the middle of my nicely kept beard. I'd forgotten to put the guard back on, and was basically using it as a shaver instead. "It's not THAT bad," I rationalized after a couple minutes' close inspection in the mirror. "Maybe I can fix it, blend it in..."

First attempt: click the trimmer down to setting #1 and see what happens. Not much, turns out. Still looked patchy from too many angles. "Ok, maybe I can try and shave my chin, leaving some sort of 'ragtime porkchops' or something..." Ummm, no.

Looks like my baby face would be making its first appearance in several years.

badge music

If you're a regular reader, you may remember a post I did a few months ago about my wee side business making badges. If you're just joining the fun here at Quake's Crib, a quick catch-up: I make and sell custom and vintage badges, in various sizes and product formats (for examples, check out my Etsy shop: http://badgesbyquake.etsy.com ). Here and there I'll do some badges for bands, and if I like their music i'll write a quick blurb about them. Such is the case with local Chicago rockers Saint Aviator.

I met Michael Main, the man behind SA, as the drummer for another band I do badges for, Tiny Magnets. I dropped off some one night at a gig where he was pulling double duty; I sat down for Tiny Magnets, but I stuck around a bit for SA. Good thing--their bass heavy, low-end rock sound was a nice capper to the evening, and when Michael threw a couple of tracks my way, I didn't say no. Keep an eye out, you might just want some power dischordia in your own head sometime soon.

baby steps

Ok, here it is, FINALLY--my very first effort as MC Quake, the immortal "1200 sq ft of Jarvis". Officially released as Picket Fence Series #B02, this 30-minute EP marked the first time I had created anything on my own and put it out for public consumption. Now, tens of copies later, here it is, resurrected and put forth for your listening pleasure.

Please excuse the shambolic, lo-fi nature; I was working with what little gear I had, and I am generally pleased with the results. Lots of sampling and looping on this one, including my first attempt at "turning the tables" on my old friend King Creosote (sampling him from old audio cassette letters we'd traded over the years, as he had done to me, in effect responsible for my own birth as MC Quake) and dropping him over an old school hip-hop loop.

One of the best things about this wee album is that precisely because I didn't have much of a clue as to what I was doing, I tended to be more meticulous and find workarounds to achieve the effects/styles I wanted, as opposed to later projects where I grew lazier and used more shortcuts as I became more familiar with how to use all the tools I had. For example, my favorite track (and still one of my finest moments, in my opinion) "the new bushisms". I tried really hard to cut and paste Bush's words as seamlessly as possible, and reconstruct his sentiments into what I felt was a bit closer to the reality of the political climate as well as load it with as much irony as I possibly could, haha. That one actually was used on another anti-Bush compilation at one point, but I've pretty much lost track of it now. And of course, what seemed to be at the time (and to some extent, really was) an important statement, now hardly seems relevant. That's the problem with a lot of my music; it has short legs because its subject matter tended to be tied to current events/politics. Gotta write more love songs, yo!

The worst track is the poem, "made it". Although it foreshadows some good stuff down the line, it's a crap poem, really, and I should have left it off. The underlying track is a bit more interesting, though, as I created it using samples of native american flutes run backwards. Definitely gives it an atmospheric, spooky feel which I like. I should lift it and use it for something else...

Also want to give a shout out to my friend Alex, a.k.a. M I S F I T--if you're out there somewhere reading this, get in touch, man! Lots to talk about since the last time I saw you.

MC Quake - Picket Fence #B02 "1200 sq ft of Jarvis"

p.s. the title refers to my flat in Chicago at the time, a HUGE place of 1200sqft, on the corner of Greenview and Jarvis. and although my address was officially listed as being on Greenview... "1200 sq ft of Greenview" just didn't sound as good, you know?

p.p.s. the cover art is original artwork done by my friend and partner in art crimes, Greg Porcaro. he would also go on to design the cover art for my next Picket Fence release, "Precisely 24 Hours After"

gettin' busy (or at least going through the motions)

ummm... yeah.

not doing a very good job at keeping this blog going on a regular basis, hunh? even with the exciting prospect of knowing that danmcdan, my only fan (hey, it rhymes cuz I'm skilled sometimes... yeaah. anyway...) might actually read this (thus ensuring that my efforts are not in vain, and only slightly less masturbatory)!

instead of wasting two hours fucking around on Facebook and Yelp tonight, I *probably* should have zipped up one of those requested Picket Fences and uploaded it for your later downloading pleasure. but instead, I'll take the lazy way out and simply link to an online mix I posted a few days ago dedicated to the glorious act of getting naked and humping someone you like.

enjoy!

baby makin' music

it coulda been a contender

I finally got a couple of comments on a post, encouraging me to post up more of my own music from the early Fence era (coincidentally my only "era" to date), so I dug in the crates and came up with this wee gem: Geography Is The Most Important Meal Of The Day.

The album is a collaboration with Jonnie Common, the genius behind Scottish indie faves and fellow Fence stalwarts DownTheTinySteps. The idea grew out of my admiration for one of their songs on their first Picket Fence release called "Don't Cut Your Hair." I liked the song and wanted to do a remix of it. When I asked Jonnie if he was up for it, and to send me the master tracks to play around with, he ended up re-recording the song with an MC Quake-specific verse and suggested we not just stop with one track, but collaborate on an entire album. What a great idea! So we sent each other a collection of bits and pieces of stuff, went to work on our respective sides of the pond and produced the tracks that you find here. Jonnie took our efforts and ordered them, even drew some quite lovely album art (which I have around here somewhere...) and... VOILA!

The aim was to release Geography as part of a future Picket Fence series, but alas that was not meant to be. Instead, it got a VERY tiny release (Jonnie sold his copies for five quid, I think; I basically gave all my copies away to friends)--if you have one of the original CDR copies of this, consider yourself lucky, my friend :D

MC Quake & Jonnie Common - Geography Is The Most Important Meal Of The Day

*can't seem to locate the original front cover art, the pic on the left was one of my early suggestions that didn't make it. the inside tracklisting is nice though, eh?

Spotlight on Scotland

ok, I read a Facebook comment on a friend's status from this guy named David DeRosa, who--instead of mimosas--makes a drink he calls a DeRosa. The trick is to use grapefruit juice instead of orange juice with the champagne, apparently. This got me thinking about an excellent album from a fantastic Scottish band called De Rosa. Alas, I'm pretty sure the band is no more, but they certainly did make some fine music when they were together.

So in honor of both De Rosa's, here's a little new year's love.

De Rosa - Mend