#electricguitar

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #201: Musical Interlude – “And Now, We Are One” Part 3

Episode #201: Musical Interlude – “And Now, We Are One” Part 3

https://archive.org/download/Podcast201_201906/Podcast%20201.mp3

This week, I add the guitar, synth, and vocals to “And Now, We Are One,” the last track on the last Empty Hands track, which is an ode to the ending themes of 80s action movies as well as the intros (and sometimes closings) of 80s Saturday morning / after school cartoon shows.  I don’t really possess the Sammy Hagar / Freddy Mercury / Stan Bush type pipes to do the vocals the way I envisioned them, so I just recorded myself several times singing the same vocals so it sounds like a chorus of men singing, which a lot of old cartoons (esp 70s and 80s anime) tends to do in their intros anyway.  Aside from a few electric guitar bits and the solo, the track is basically done.  That plus final Empty Hands edits mean that it should be out in a few weeks (hopefully)!  The pixelart coverart for the song is below – 8 bit figures (I used the guys from the NES game Kung Fu as a sort of template), Tron grid, and pastel colors in all their 80s glory:

754314c7-595a-46af-81c7-f81bfc9fa668

In the meantime, this page formerly had what I affectionately dubbed a “starving artist” section on little side hustles you could do (mostly on the internet, often with a phone) to make a few bucks here and there, often in gift cards.  Well, now you can listen to this show (as well as other podcasts) and get paid to do so!  Check out https://www.podcoin.com/ to listen to the show and start earning points that you can redeem for gift cards (Amazon, Target, Starbucks, etc) or donations to a number of charities.  Use the code “Thirteen” when you sign up to get 300 extra points.  The Thirteen Hour Podcast is now on BONUS this week, so you can earn more than normal (1.5x).

 

Speaking of music, if you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, click on the link below to do so!

You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.

Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #172: Musical Interlude – Electrifying The Thirteenth Hour Theme Part 2

Episode #172: Musical Interlude – Electrifying The Thirteenth Hour Theme Part 2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast172_201811/Podcast%20172.mp3

Way back in episode 130, I took one part of the main Thirteenth Hour theme and created a short electric guitar part to accompany an introspective part of the book.  Unlike the track we created then, the track uses a much more subdued effect – very little gain, more minimalistic, quieter – for a different feel, though the process was about the same.  You can see little clips of the guitar part on the soundtrack IG page as well as this podcast’s FB page.

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #170: Musical Interlude – Making A Wedding Song

Episode #170: Musical Interlude – Making A Wedding Song

https://archive.org/download/Podcast170_201811/Podcast%20170.mp3

This past weekend, one of the early guests on this show (listen to parts 1 and 2 way back on episodes 47 and 48) and a good friend of mine, Justin, got married. About a year ago, before I knew of his plans, I said that I’d write him and his future wife a song as a wedding present. Well, fast forward about a year. When Justin told me the news, I figured it was time to make good on my promise.

There’s an expression, credited to Hans Christian Andersen, that goes “where words fails, music speaks.” Although it may seem odd given that the written and spoken word is key to what I do here and how I make my living, I don’t consider myself a terribly articulate person. But with a song, I figured I could put into words everything I wanted to convey to the bride and groom and let the music fill in the gaps.

Today’s episode is on the creation of this song. Although the actual version I ended up singing at the reception (with just an acoustic guitar) was quite different from this synthesizer rendition, the one showcased on this episode was how I originally intended the song to sound.  Well, that’s kind of true. I initially heard it in my head as a Celtic tune with a much faster tempo like something the Pogues, Mumford and Sons, or the Dropkick Murphys might play, but given that I don’t play the banjo, fiddle, or bagpipes, the only aspect of that that remained was part of the instrumental break, which was done with a penny whistle. The rest of the solo was done with an electric guitar as an ode to the groom, who plays the guitar and was one of the first people to encourage me to learn how to play that instrument.

Congrats to the bride and groom on the start of the official life together!

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #147: Making The Terminator Theme Part 2

Episode #147: Making The Terminator Theme Part 2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast147_201806/Podcast%20147.mp3

This week, we have one simple goal – adding a guitar parrt to the Terminator theme we started last week.  I experimented with a few different electric guitar effects, and in the end chose two – a quiet one with an echo and one with distortion.  Both are included in the podcast (in that order) – see which you like best!

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #130: Electrifying The Thirteenth Hour Theme

Episode #130: Electrifying The Thirteenth Hour Theme

https://archive.org/download/Podcast130_201802/Podcast%20130.mp3

This week, we’re making an electric guitar fill for future soundtracks to the Thirteenth Hour books using a part of the theme music.  It runs about 30 seconds long and is intended to accentuate parts of the story where a little theme music is appropriate (future Kindle editions of the sequels will hopefully have external links to the soundtrack on Bandcamp or Youtube.  Here’s some of the gear used this episode:

Coming soon, I’ll be posting about a little side work-in-progress.  Remember when I talked in the past about Hero Forge, the site that allows you to create 3d printed miniatures of characters of your own creation for tabletop games?  I’ve had an inkling to try casting little resin miniatures along the lines of those little pink M.U.S.C.L.E. (keshi) toys from the 80s.  The first step is creating a sculpt, so here’s a wireframe skeleton of Logan on Lightning.  Stay tuned!

Speaking of toys, check out the Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/mom_gave_them_away/ for some great 1980s movie and toy nostalgia.  Haven’t seen some of those toys in years.  I mostly never knew what many of them were called or had just vague memories of them from commercials or just bits and pieces from various yard sales.  So it’s been cool finding out more about these artifacts from a few decades past.

Speaking of which, if you’re into new music that sounds like it could have been from an 80s movie soundtrack, check out the Spotify link in the bio of  https://www.instagram.com/ironskullet_synthwave/ – there are thousands of songs there, and the list keeps growing.

Lastly, speaking of synths and pixels, this podcast now has a new logo for 2018.  I figured that since fantasy, scifi, and electronic music collide so frequently here, why not showcase these things with background art for Long Ago Not So Far Away, and the pixelart dragon I made for that vaporware Thirteenth Hour game I worked on decades ago when I probably should have been studying for math tests or something 🙂

podcast new logo_edited

Title image courtesy of http://www.orangecoast.com/life-style/better-together-best-group-activities-saturday/

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #122: The Making of “Because We May Only Have One Night” (Vocal Version)

Episode #122: The Making of “Because We May Only Have One Night” (Vocal Version)

https://archive.org/download/Podcast122_201712/Podcast%20122.mp3

After finishing the instrumental theme in episode #120, lyrics started coming.  That’s the thing about the muse.  Sometimes, unbeknownst to you, she starts doing her own thing at a time you least expect.  If you recall, this was a little love theme written for a scene in a Thirteenth Hour sequel book when our two main protagonists, Logan and Aurora, are reunited after a long time.  Since the course of true love never runs smoothly, it’s meant to convey a mixture of bittersweet yearning and a desire to push everything else away for just a few moments alone with your heart’s desire.

This song is dedicated to my wife.  When writing the lyrics, I was reminded by the short love songs on the collection 69 Love Songs by the Magnetic Fields (that was a car CD we’d listen to a lot in years past) and some saccharine, mellow, haunting songs from a different time, like “Such a Woman” by Neil Young and “If” by Bread.

Today’s backing track was done on the synthesizer and electric guitar with the vocals done afterwards.  Mixing was done on the synth and in Audacity.  You can hear the final version at the end of the show.  Download this song and the instrumental version on bandcamp.  You can also stream them below.

Here are the lyrics:

Because We May Only Have One Night
G
If I had one day
Em
Before the world was through
C
I’d spend it all with you
D
No looking back

If we had one night
Just one night to hold you tight
And be there close to you
Never let you go

Bridge:
G
And all those things
Em
That get in the way
C
Make them disappear
D
Forever and forever …

Just one day to
See the world in your eyes
Capture all the memories
Never let them fade

Just one night
One night to hold you tight
And be there close to you
Never let you go

Bridge:
And everyone
Who won’t let us be
Make them go away
Forever and forever …

Just one night
To hold each other tight
Maybe just one night
What are we waiting for?

Coming attraction: watch out for Dev9K discussing their 80s anime inspired video game, Nirvana Pilot Yume, which answers the question what happened if the 90s shareware game Skyroads were a visual novel with a synthwave soundtrack?  The game releases on Steam on 12/13, so check it out and find out more next week!

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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  • QR code email signup Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to the retro 80s soundtrack!
  • Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
  • Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
  • Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
  • Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
  • Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #118: Creating Tracks for “Fortune Favors the Bold”

Episode #118: Creating Tracks for Fortune Favors the Bold

https://archive.org/download/Podcast118_201711/Podcast%20118.mp3

Not long after author Chad Derdowski came on the show this summer (hear parts 1 and 2 here), talking about his brilliantly humorous … oh, how shall we say, R-rated Choose-Your- Own-Adventure-style book, Fortune Favors the Bold, I wondered what a soundtrack to the book might sound like.  Something out of an 80s movie, I thought, like Ladyhawke or Legend.  And then, the muse struck.  Of course, it was in an inconvenient place (in the shower), but as soon as I could, I found a keyboard and tapped out the little theme that formed the backbone of these two tracks.

I got Chad’s input and okay to proceed, then went to town.  He didn’t put me up to this or anything, and I didn’t want him to think I was trying to steal his creations … I guess in the tradition of fanfiction, you could call this “fanmusic?”  =)  Anyway, I talk more about the creation of the tracks, called “Gleam of the Widowmaker” and “One Adventures Ends, Another Begins” on the episode and read a few choice bits from the book which inspired the tracks, which you can listen to below or by clicking on the song titles above.

The latter track was made on the iOS app Auxy, like “Flight of the Cloudrider” (listen here or see the music video below) and “There is Magic Inside.”  You can learn more about Auxy, download a copy to your phone, and Henrik Lenberg, the creator of the program, by clicking on the highlighted links.

By the way, in case you are curious, here is a youtube tutorial that shows a little about how to use Auxy:

And here are some screenshots from “One Adventure Ends, Another Begins”:

If you enjoy synthesizer music, creating it, or just living your life as if it were accompanied to an 80s soundtrack, check out this great synthwave playlist on Spotify curated by Preston Cram.

I’ll end with more info on where you can find the book that inspired these tracks:

Image result for fortune favors the bold chad derdowski

Get a copy of your own by clicking here or on the cover above: https://www.createspace.com/6289426

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fortunefavors_the_bold/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheScissorwulf/?ref=br_rs

GR: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32842665-fortune-favors-the-bold?from_search=true

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2wnHPfV

Thanks, Chad, for inspiring this fun project!  Hope you enjoy it!  Look for more from Chad next week!

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #115: Creating “There is Magic Inside”

 

Episode #115: Creating “There is Magic Inside”

https://archive.org/download/Podcast115_201710/Podcast%20115.mp3

Today, we’re going to make a music track for one of the Thirteenth Hour book sequels with a combination of digital and analog technology.  It goes with a part of the story where Aurora, one of the main characters, is just starting to discover that she has the ability to generate magic herself – something that is surprising, wonderful, exciting, and a bit confusing all at the same time.  I was trying to capture that feeling in the music.

I’m using a app called Auxy to make the backing track and adding in a few electric guitar parts as accents.  The track was 95% done prior to adding the guitars, and best of all, I did it all in the palm of my hand when I was doing something else (in this case trying to get my son to sleep by bouncing on a exercise ball – that works wonders, by the way).

I made a previous track with Auxy, “Flight of the Cloudrider” (listen here) or check out the link to the EP and music video below.  You can learn more about Auxy, download a copy to your phone (only iOS so far, I believe – my error on the show), and Henrik Lenberg, the creator of the program, by clicking on the highlighted links.

Here is a youtube tutorial that shows a little about how to use the program:

 

And here are some screenshots from this particular track:

If you enjoy synthesizer music, creating it, or just living your life as if it were accompanied to an 80s soundtrack, check out this great synthwave playlist on Spotify curated by Preston Cram.

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #114: Creating “Mourn of the Midnight Phoenix” Part 2

Episode #114: Creating “Mourn of the Midnight Phoenix” Part 2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast114_201710/Podcast%20114.mp3

Today, we’re finish the track we started in episode #112.  As mentioned, it’s a short atmospheric piece to accompany the third Thirteenth Hour book and centers around Aurora, who has assumed the part time role of someone called “The Midnight Phoenix,” a name generated by the local papers from the legends of old after she unwittingly saves a man while on a brooding nighttime walk above the city’s skyline.  This is not a particularly happy time in her time, and her one real solace is playing a magic lute on the rooftop outside her window, high above the city, allowing her to see the sea, the horizon over which her home lies, and even if she can’t get back there, see an exit to her current trapped state.

Today. we’re finishing the backing track and adding the guitar part in.  In the future, I’ll finish the accompanying artwork, which will likely show her up on a rooftop (Batman style), silhouetted against the sky.

This is the tabulature and chord structure of this short piece:


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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #113: Creating “City in Flames”

Episode #113: Creating “City in Flames”

https://archive.org/download/Podcast113_201710/podcast%20113.mp3

Like last week, today, we’re going to create more music together.  In order to finish the piece we started last week, I needed to finish some backlogged music projects that I have had sitting around first. My synthesizer only allows you to store two songs at a time, so this is one of them.  Like last week, it’s a mostly atmospheric piece to accompany the third Thirteenth Hour book and centers around Aurora, who has assumed the part time role of someone called “The Midnight Phoenix.”  At this part of the story (at least according to the rough outline I have envisioned), things get a little out of control, and part of the city she now finds herself in is destroyed.  She is standing on top of a tall building overlooking the city and the smoldering ruins.  As she does so, this theme plays in the background.  Like the tune last week, it’s intended to be slow and a bit mournful.

Today, we’ll be combining the synthesizer backing track that I’ve had in the can for a number of weeks with a guitar part that I recorded more recently.  There is a post on IG that shows some video of the guitar part in the draft stage.  At the end of the podcast, you’ll hear the more or less finished version.

 

 

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #112: Creating “Mourn of the Midnight Phoenix” Part 1

Episode #112: Creating “Mourn of the Midnight Phoenix” Part 1

https://archive.org/download/Podcast112_201710/Podcast%20112.mp3

Today, we’re going to create some music together.  It’s a short atmospheric piece to accompany the third Thirteenth Hour book and centers around Aurora, who has assumed the part time role of someone called “The Midnight Phoenix,” a name generated by the local papers from the legends of old after she unwittingly saves a man while on a brooding nighttime walk above the city’s skyline.

At this point, she is supposed to be learning magic, which she can’t really do or control, and she misses the home she created, far away across the Western sea, on her island with her husband Logan.  She supposed to learn magic since her family essentially needs another set of hands to defend against a new mysterious threat.  But all she can really do is make flaming blue fire when she gets stressed or angry.

Here is Aurora doing a meditative exercise to try to help herself control her fire making ability rather let it engulf her (what usually happens, making her kind of a danger to herself and others around her).

Her one real solace is playing a magic lute on the rooftop outside her window, high above the city, allowing her to see the sea, the horizon over which her home lies, and even if she can’t get back there, see an exit to her current trapped state.

I was inspired by the rooftop guitar solo scene from the movie The Crow when thinking of this scene:

You can find the track as “Inferno” on The Crow score by Graeme Revell.


My favorite part of that track was always the slow, melodic intro part, so I was channeling that in marking today’s track.  To be continued in a future episode!

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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