Hey Everyone!

Sorry to be so absent as of late!

here's something I did last night and I just couldn't hold it in!

Its called: Are You There?

http://www.soundclick.com/jshua

its some different kinda funky type stuff....

As usual, please forgive the rough mix but me and the engineer were kinda
crispy when we did the mix at 1 in the morning..

ok, It's 6 a.m. here and I'm already at work!

oh, how I wish I could pass out right about now!





Jshua


p.s. No Drum Machines or sequencers were used in the making of this joint
[This message was edited Fri Apr 9 3:18:03 2004 by Styles]

No drum machines? Then they're surely triggered drums or an electric drum set, no way they're 'normal' miked drums. And genre: hip-hop? You got me puzzled, dude

Great catchy song! Reminds me a bit of the mother's finest sound.
That mix surely needs some work though. I'd beef up the guitars in the chorus, and the rhythm guitar (or is it a clavi with whah? Couldn't tell for sure since it's so far away in the mix). Maybe the vocals little bit louder along with the guitars.
But again, love the song. Keep it up!

Erik
[This message was edited Fri Apr 9 5:07:16 2004 by erikd]

erikd said:

Hey Erik!

yeah, its an electric drum set and I figured I'd put it under alternative hip-hop because
it smacks of stuff some hip-hop artists are doing right now. What classification did you think
it belonged under? I'm curious...

That was a real quick mix that we did last night just so I could have something to listen to on my drive home (so I wouldn't fall asleep) and that is a Clavinet with a wah on it--I'm really digging that sound that it has for this project.

Thanx for the input!

much much much appreciated!

(by the way, love your Fishbone quote--they're one of my all time favorite bands!)





Jshua

Heh, you might as well have put it under 'Techno Hardcore' then
I can't think of a soundclick classification that suits perfectly though. It's rock, it's pop, it's soul and it's damn funky. Hmmmmm.....

And yeah, fishbone is one of my absolute favourites too I saw them live only once but that concert is somewhere up high in my top 5 of best concerts ever.

erikd said:

Techno hardcore lol

I've seen Fishbone a few times but the best was when they toured in support
of The Reality of My Surroundings tour...

one word: "phew"







Jshua

You know I don't have to say anything. It's the shit and you know it. That dance-hall break at the 2:37 mark I would like to see extended. One thing I really admire about your stuff is the time-length. You could have an opus of music go for 12 minutes without the music getting boring and you could have something short and sweet like this one that is still powerful. I tried not to but I'm gonna have to download all the MP3s and put The Gemini Project together myself before it hits retail

psykosoul said:

Yo Psykosoul!

First off, thanx man--I'm honored that you dig my stuff cause you've
got quite a lot of hotness happening with your music!

Believe it or not, I was gonna keep the dance-hall break really short then
extend it at my concerts and just let it flow....That's one thing I've noticed that the "greats" always do is to give the listener a tease on record and then let it all hang out live, so I figured I'd try something like this also...

and check it out, its all good if you want to put together your own version of the Gemini Project
but do me a favor and let me know what order you put the tunes in...
Only reason I ask is because I'm wrestling with the song order at the moment and I'd be curious as to how
you'd put it together.....cool?






Jshua

ill give a listen when i come back from Milwaukee

paisleypark4 said:

Its all good bro!







Jshua

hey Jshua, I was asking myself that same ? today. "Are u there?" As usual, good writing. It was hard to follow what key it was in at first until the chords came in. Keep up the good work. U are quite the lyricist. Good message.

talmuzic said:

Thanx Tal!

Its more or less a protest song...
There are a couple more on this project which attempt to tell it like it is..

As usual, I've got to clean it up some but I really do like the vibe of this one






Jshua

You're amazing! Baseline is real groovy, reminds me of The Police. The clavinet is great, love it. And then the "Beautiful Ones" type keyboard comes in...


I love the Blessed is the Man part. Your voice is really cool when you say "was". I can see this kicking major ass live, with killer back up singers and everything! I agree with psyko about the breakdown at 2:37. What amazes me about you is right after that, you're JAMMING! I mean, it sounds like a band. You're seriously vibing off yourself and it's awesome. You're doing all the backup vocals and everything, right? I can see like a bunch of Jshuas, just jamming out and having a good time.



Oh yeah, and the guitar solo at the end kicks ass too.

[This message was edited Sun Apr 11 20:16:20 2004 by VinaBlue]

Hey! R u there? Can come?

short n sweet. nice chorus, nice beats, ya beat's is strong, ya got it goin on...ya dead wrong!
and u are so friendly on here that u dont make us feel that we have competiton! At firsat i was completely scared of u (like Psykosoul...wooh i remember when he came on here he was kickin my ass! Then i finally worked with him and it was all family jamm! )


Man i cant wait 4 the collabo man, it's gonna be a trip and a half.

VinaBlue said:

Thank you so much Vina!

I honestly can't wait to put a band together and do this one live and I would definitely
extend the dance-hall break down, but I did want to keep it short with the studio version so it could be marketable within a pop format. I honestly don't know what kind of band I could put together for this projects batch of tunes though.....it would be pretty interesting.

and yes, I am playing all of the instruments and doing all of the vocals still....
I'm just deeply touched that you like it. For my philosophy, I just try to give each song what its asking for in mood, color and texture--like a painting. And when I'm in that "zone", I record very fast!

You know, I love the comment regarding a "bunch of Jshua's, just jamming out.."
I'd love to eventually do a video like Andre 3000 did with "Hey Ya" but since he did it and a few other people have also done it (Sir Paul McCartney included) , I guess it would probably be old hat, huh?....

and thanx for digging the guitar solo--its one of my favs from this project--My all time favorite is from my last project (maybe I'll post that song someday )

Much respect, peace and blessings to you Vina!





Jshua

paisleypark4 said:

Hey PP4!

thank you so much for your review!
I'm so glad you dig it! I was hoping you would

As far as I see it, there is no competition here, just a lot of good people making wonderful
works of art in quite a nurturing environment. You and everyone else here influence me and I hope that I, in turn, help when it comes to your craft as well...

And I am completely dedicated to making this collabo happen, cool?






Jshua

Styles said:

coo. we gon's make it happen like butta baby!!

paisleypark4 said:

Yo, that's a bet!







Jshua

Man you just keep spittin out the goods, I enjoy everything I have heard tremendously. You have a great sense of placement in your tunes. It just all makes sense when I hear it. Can't wait to hear more.
Lovin that solo, what do you record git with?

Kevlar said:

Hey Kevlar!

Thanx so much for listening to my stuff bro!
I'm just really trying to put my heart and soul into it this time around, y'know?

Miles (Kind of Blue), Sly (Fresh), The Beatles (Rubber Soul-Revolver) and George (Funkentelegy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome)--those albums really influenced me on instrument placement. They really let me know that space is not only a great instrument but also a big note which deserves its own place. So, I do try to stick to that by letting the canvas breathe in an organic way.....Thank you for noticing that!

Glad you dig the solo!
As far as my guitar goes.....
believe it or not, I've dabbled with a lot of diffrent pedals and effects in the past, but this time around, I'm primarily using my old standby: A suped up Telecaster with a Peavey Neck and EMG pickups run through the Special Edition Hendrix Crybaby Wah that came out last year and A Boss Tube distortion through a stack (I think its a Marshall). I also have a DOD pedal board for standby, but I really haven't used it that much. I've also got a PRS I might use for a little different flavor but that's about it. What I love most about my Tele is that its been re-wired in such a way that its deceptive in regards to its sound because it can go from a fat Gibson sound to a Strat sound to a Tele sound depending.....and it plays like butter!

I'm actually starting to come down the stretch on recording for this project. I've got 17 basic tracks under my belt now and about 10-14 more to go, depending on how this musical canvas works out. So there will be a few more coming down the pike! And oh yeah! I'm going to have a bonus EP with the Double CD that's going to be comprised of outtakes and cover songs, just to give away free (I've got a Black Sabbath tune and a Zeppelin tune on it, amongst others).

Anyway...
Sorry to be so long winded but thanx so much for checking my stuff out!

You got any new stuff? Cause you know I dig your music too!





Jshua

Styles said:

I dig all those same albums you mentioned, while I am in a loud ass guitar phase ( cranked Plexi's are addictive !!) being organic with how I lay it down is real important. I want people to feel like they are hearing my tunes live , even though I am playing all but the drums. We toe tap our way through when we track, no clicks as I am really trying to get accidents that work on tape. If you listen close to my few tunes you hear lots of brink of disaster stuff, it creates a tension that I really want to stay in. I spent almost the last 10 years playing tunes that supported what the vocalist was doing. Much of that was done with the acoustic first, not a bad thing at all, just a different thing. I decided I needed to re-energize which meant getting back to the absolute basics as to why I started playing way back when. I strapped on a guitar ( I am a Tele freak as well, (I am really digging the new Dimarzio virtual Tele Pickups as of late) and just let it rip.... I am having more fun with this than any other project I have done, it is selfish and indulgent, a bit tacky, loud, and free as any creative thing I have ever done.

Anyway, I have limited access to the studio as a friend is fitting me in between the real paying stuff so I am being patient. Sat I tracked the drums for three more tunes so new stuff should be on the way soon. i hope to be done in the middle of summer with the album. I don't have any specific plans right now other than just enjoying the process, I will figure the rest out this summer....

Kevlar said:

Hey Kevlar!

I personally dig the direction you're going in!
That's pretty cool that you're not using a click--its just about mandatory for me at this point
just because off what I'm trying to accomplish. I take my hat off to you on that one cause there are only about 4 tunes I've done on this project that didn't have a click on em. And that's cool that you're a Tele freak as well. You know, what I find interesting about that is that your guitar doesn't always sound like a Tele either. I can't wait to hear your new album once its out! Maybe we can exchange copies? And definitely enjoy the process, its a wonderful thing (even though being patitent sucks!)







Jshua

Very cool!
Do U play live? /peace Manki

manki said:

Hey Manki!

First off, thank you for listening!
I'm looking to put together a band once I get this project finished
and then after that I'll, hopefully, be playing the new songs live!

Hey, when are we going to hear some new Da Silva music?






Jshua

Styles said:

They really wanted me to use a click, I just felt that the vibe was cool enough that I didn't want to bother. Hearing it this point I think I was right and they don't ask anymore lol... We usually do an hr messing with the arrangements the night before and then I throw on the bass and we go. Rikki, the drummer who is tracking with me is amazing with the spontaneous stuff he comes up with and I thought if we had that click going on in the phones we could lose a bit of the moment the two of us had going live.

I have lots of Strat on the album two, but I love both. I actually just got an Explorer for the first time, so rock n roll you know. I am looking forward to tracking with it. I messed a bunch with pickup magnets til I got it really sounding nice through all my amp heads. I settled on Alnico III magnets (in a set of Dimarzio Virtual PAFS) which are so smooth, but brighter in that guitar. Would be too bright in a Strat for my tastes.... This magnet stuff is my new time waster, but the differences are amazing.

I am heading down Sunday to knock out some more so I hope to get a good deal done. If I was at home I would have been done in January, but I love the process and it has allowed me to reconnect with an old friend ( the engineer and studio owner) so the trade off has been worth it.

I would love to exchange disks!!

WOW! In my humble opinion this is really what its all about. And god knows we need alot more of it today in music. Inspiration! This song had a real strong emotional pull to it. And what a great phrase..."Are you there" Awesome!

This mix was alil rough, but i understand, I do the same thing. To much technical analysis can drain your creativity. Just bang out the tune and then go back and polish it up.

I agree with Vina also, I would love to see this live!

Keep up the great work musically and lyrically.

Kevlar said:

You know, ironically enough, I was a strat man for ages (because of Hendrix) but I'm with ya' on that one, I dig both guitars and the PRS for a switch up here and there. I'm gonna check out the Alnico III magnets (I hadn't heard about them before you mentioned it)--thanx for the info; You've got a great guitar sound man and I'm still trying desperately to get one!
Have fun on Sunday! With or without a click, you've still got some cool stuff happening!

I'll hopefully have mine done by the mid to the end of the summer and I'll send ya' something when I've got it done.

Can't wait to hear your new stuff!





Jshua

Littlewing said:

Hey Littlewing!

Woah! Thanx Bro!

I'm glad you dug it!


Hey, if you've got any other suggestions, please feel free to let me know, cool?






Jshua

Styles said:

In a Strat or Tele I only like the A3 in the neck pickup. In the bridge it can get real bright. I love Alnico 2 magnets in Fenders. Sweeter warmer highs and slightly squishier lows. I took a Duncan 59 and put an A2 in it and tossed it my Strat bridge position. I love it to death but the same set up did not sound good in my Explorer. Needed a brighter voice without the aggressive vibe of an A5 ( ok I am officially a magnet nerd) . As far as tone goes, I would love to hear you through a cranked non master volume amp. My Marshall Plexi, and now my Traynor Bassmaster and Carlsbro TR60 ( all very similiar to the 60s Plexi sound) have changed my views on rock tone forever. I used to need channel switching, FX loops, ect. Now I just do it with the guitar knob and a few stomp FX. I will never need rack anything again. It is just so much more sensitive to every nuance of my playing, from purr to roar with just the guitar volume knob. I sold all my newer crap and have just gone with the vintage set up for the past year. I can't believe I wasted so many years not doing this!! Hearing some of your rock tones with a vintage set up, man the freak would be on. Just listen to Jimi, add that to your arsenal and there is no quit with your stuff. That stuff ain't just the icing, but those old amps are the whole damn cake mix, frosting and candles!!

Seymour Duncan has a great forum, and it is lacking a bit in the funk. http://www.seymourduncan.com lots of music listeners there.

Made some good progress on the tunes, hopefully soon.
[This message was edited Mon Apr 19 19:44:20 2004 by Kevlar]

Kevlar said:

Thanx for all of the info bro!
I've got some serious research to do!




Jshua

[This message was edited Sat Apr 24 14:21:40 2004 by Styles]
[This message was edited Sat Apr 24 14:22:42 2004 by Styles]