P6 (1988)
But Mike's opening his studio to me was a welcome introduction to the reality that having a versatile home studio, where one could tinker, overdub, and--oh yeah--MANIPULATE THAT SPEED KNOB (to make oneself sound much better on ... ahem... guitar, for example). In 1987 and 1988 I created a number of songs with Mike's equipment, many of which are here. Well . . . most of which are here. Basically anything & everything I haven't lost or that isn't completely wrecked, in audio fidelity.
In other words, this collection was not created as a collection, per se. Not meant to be an album of any sort. These tunes would be more accurately be described as "stuff I made while learning the finer points of multitracking."
In other words, this collection was not created as a collection, per se. Not meant to be an album of any sort. These tunes would be more accurately be described as "stuff I made while learning the finer points of multitracking."
In 1987 Weaver introduced me to the world of multi-tracking, and was very generous in allowing me access to his home studio of goodies: 4-tracker, synthesizer, mics, effects (stomp boxes), drum machine, electric 6-string and bass guitar.
Another friend and I had made some music in 1985 with a pair of cassette tape recorder/players, employing the concept of track 'bouncing'; and before then (82 or 83ish) I'd hacked a couple "two-track" originals onto an eight-track cartridge recorder/player I'd inherited from my step-dad (not to be confused with an 8-channel multritracker, AKA "8-track" multirtracker, such as the Portastudio 488 that was the heart of my studio in the 90s).
Another friend and I had made some music in 1985 with a pair of cassette tape recorder/players, employing the concept of track 'bouncing'; and before then (82 or 83ish) I'd hacked a couple "two-track" originals onto an eight-track cartridge recorder/player I'd inherited from my step-dad (not to be confused with an 8-channel multritracker, AKA "8-track" multirtracker, such as the Portastudio 488 that was the heart of my studio in the 90s).
The venerable Fostex X15 4 track multi-band compact cassette recorder. For decades obsolete, left behind by several advances, yet still valued by garage musicians across the world.
All of the songs by other artists I covered here were done from a place of respect, for the songs' respective writers - except for "Old MacDonald," obviously (that one was more of a joke). Mike makes an appearance on 'BiBbiG v1,' on guitar and bass, and plays the first guitar/opening guitar riff ('Dueling Banjos' thing) in "Banjos."
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Mike Weaver on bass and guitar in BiBBiG;
and the first guitar in Banjos.
© 1987, 1988 Philip L. Thompson, except:
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Mike Weaver on bass and guitar in BiBBiG;
and the first guitar in Banjos.
© 1987, 1988 Philip L. Thompson, except:
- Nine to the Universe © 1969, Hendrix, Cox & Miles
- Cathedral, © 1982 Edward Van Halen
- Limelit, © 1981 Lee, LIfeson & Peart
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm (Traditional).
On all but BiBBiG the 'drums' were generated by/on Mike Weaver's Roland Drum Machine: preprogrammed beats appear on Slingshot, Spanish Song v2 (Mike made that one up!), Nine to the Universe, and First One. I manually played the 'drum' tracks on Little Guitars, Limelit, Contemporary, Heavy Sink, and Banjos.
The drums in BiBBiG belonged to Jeff Weaver--Mike's brother. Jeff would later sell the set to me (they were Tamas), which formed the centerpiece of my drums for nearly thirty years.
The drums in BiBBiG belonged to Jeff Weaver--Mike's brother. Jeff would later sell the set to me (they were Tamas), which formed the centerpiece of my drums for nearly thirty years.
© 1988 Phil Thompson
