Links and "It's Odds and Ends" And Something Completely Different!
Tax time makin' me craaazy....
Pretty much, Sorta straight to the point Actually, all over the place today with links and a reader suggested “Odds and Ends” - a reminder next Thursday’s “Odds and Ends” feature will be the last for reader suggested bands, artists, performers, people in the “biz” who are somewhat obscure or underrated - unless you have a favorite that fits that description, so let me know in the comments if you do! After next week, in the absence of reader generated subjects, I’ll be continuing the series with some of the underrated performers/songwriters I’ve discovered and admired over the years.
The SubStack “chat” feature is now available to those who connect to the web via browser on a laptop or desktop. Previously it was only available to mobile users with iOS or Android OS. I decided not to use it until this access was available, but there didn’t seem to be much interest in any event, so if I use it at all, it will be more of an “upcoming stuff” type of thing. We’ll see.
Disclaimer: This SubStack is free, always will be, and I receive no compensation or other benefit (except the unsolicited, occasional, and much appreciated shoutout from readers and other SubStackers!) from any of the people or companies I link to or write about.
Michael Acoustic
An eclectic grouping of links today, and a new thing, the “SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT” feature that may be a one off, occasional, or regular Thursday feature, dunno yet. Stuff, usually non musical, that just sort of strikes me as something interesting duriing the week between posts, your mileage may vary…
So this is timely:
A reminder to always check with your accountant or tax savvy lawyer (preferably both) before getting too nutty with things on your tax returns!
Amplifier Maintenance Yeah, told ya it was gonna be sorta eclectic today…
I haven’t linked to a lot from CD Baby/Disc Makers for awhile, but I’m making up for that today:
5 Bad Habits Apparently you should avoid these… Kidding! This advice could definitely help you as a musician…
Secondary Dominant Chords Yes, it’s some music theory. Scared yet? Don’t be - this is cool!
Get Unstuck - 11 Tips For Songwriters That’s a lot!… oughta be able to find something helpful in there…
Vocal Resonances - Not sure if I’ve linked to these guys before - interesting stuff, and they’re selling DAW plugins, but insightful.
A word of caution: not particular to this company, but if you’re recording with friends remotely, that is, recording tracks as a vocalist/guitarist and then sending those tracks to other guitarists, drummer, bassist, keyboardist, and whatnot for overdubbing, if the folks you’re collabing with don’t have the same plugins, some of your mix can get lost or be degraded. In this situation (as opposed to recording together in a studio using a single DAW), best to stick with the stock plugins for whatever DAW you are using in common with your collaborators, or, send your tracks as a .WAV, .m4a, or other high quality audio file that can be imported into other DAWS.
(Ed: Well, we’re down in the weeds with this today….)
Interesting and motivational From Ian Temple at SoundFly
And now for…..
SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!:
No, it’s not related to guitars or songwriting or music, but it’s kinda cool…
It’s Odds And Ends:
Today in our ongoing Thursday series, “It’s Odds And Ends”, about bands or artists or others in the music industry who may be a bit obscure or out of the mainstream for whatever reason, we feature the (now more or less defunct) Christian band “The Prayer Chain”, as suggested by one of our readers:
“The Prayer Chain was a 1990s Christian alternative rock band. The band has been called "the epitome of the Christian underground".[1] The Prayer Chain was known for producing moody, angst-ridden music which was, in turn, the result of creative differences within the band and with their record label.[2]
History
The Prayer Chain formed in February 1990 when Campuzano & Prickett's band, Laughing Boy, broke up at the same time as Taber's band, Tapestry, broke up. Campuzano knew Taber through a Bible study group.[3] Originally, Taber both sang and played drums, though drum machines were also used.[4] The band auditioned Everett to play drums later that year after meeting at a Prayer Chain show in California.
Their first album, The Neverland Sessions was recorded with Steve Hindalong at Neverland Studios and was released independently.
After signing to Reunion Records they put out the Whirlpool EP and started touring, while focusing on their first album, Shawl, released in 1993. In 1993, The Prayer Chain released their first collection of all new material since 1990. In April 1994, the band released their first live recording toward the end of the tour for Shawl. It included several bonus tracks from the Shawl era.
After extensive national and international shows they started working on their album, Mercury, which was released in 1995. Originally the band wanted to do a worship-based album.[5][6] Producer Steve Hindalong is credited by the band as helping bring the project together.[7] Themes on the album include distance ("Mercury", "Creole", "Shiver", "Waterdogs") and disconnection ("Grylliade") as well as love ("Manta Rae" and "Bendy Line") and worship ("Humb", "Sky High" and "Sun Stoned").[6]
After disbanding the band performed at a reunion show in Chicago in 1998, the Gene Eugene tribute show in 2000, some local California shows, 2003 reunion shows at Cornerstone Festival, and the Flevo Festival in the Netherlands.[8] They also released some of their work and rarities through Bandcamp website.[9][non-primary source needed]
In April 2015, the band announced they would be releasing Mercury on double vinyl through Kickstarter to mark the 20th anniversary of the album. Funding for the album was achieved within three hours of the announcement. In early 2018, the band announced two reunion shows to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Shawl.[citation needed]
Members
Tim Taber – vocals, founder of Floodgate Records (Cool Hand Luke, The Myriad) and Transparent Productions.
Andrew Prickett – guitar, now plays with CUSH and does extensive recording/producing/engineering, has also played with The Violet Burning, My Brother's Mother, OneRepublic and others.
Eric Campuzano – bass guitar, now plays guitar for The Lassie Foundation & Stranger Kings. He's also released two drone solo projects under the moniker Charity Empressa. He also plays bass with CUSH, and has played with Starflyer 59.
Wayne Everett – drums, now playing guitar and started The Lassie Foundation, has played in Starflyer 59 and CUSH, has done some producing, also released a solo album titled KingsQueens in 2003 on Northern Records and a followup Two Ghosts in 2020.”
Credit: Wikipedia Link: The Prayer Chain
(Ed: Had the church praise band I played in at a more or less fairly conservative Methodist church played a song by The Prayer Chain, it’s probable many in the congregation would’ve been Lutherans or something by the next Sunday… just sayin’)
Regular post tommorrow!!
Cheers and keep playing!
Michael Acoustic
Love the feature on The Prayer Chain. I got to take my son to that show in Anaheim. A great father-son memory.