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"