Ruinednation

Recently I’ve been looking to add a Firewire audio interface to my studio, so that I can make the transition to Mac at some point and also because I would like an interface with built-in preamps. Historically I have always gone with M-Audio but after a little digging around it seems to me that after they were acquired by Avid the quality of a lot of their products have been less than stellar. That’s when I came across T.C. Electronic’s Konnect 8 (the smaller brother of their Konnect 24D interface) and read a lot of good things about it. SoundOnSound gave a pretty decent review and there were many forum postings along the same lines. So while I was looking at both the M-Audio Firewire 410 and the Konnect 8 (both priced the same) at my local music shop , the staff member I was talking to quickly pointed to Konnect 8 and said the preamps were unbelievable and I would not reget it.

Sadly, I have since regretted it. As great as the preamps are in the Konnect 8 I found their drivers to be poor and the mixer control panel to be seriously lacking any sense of usefulness. It’s a firewire box with 2 firewire ports – you can chain up 4 devices. TIP: make sure that you use a Firewire card with a chipset from Texas Instruments. Other chipsets cause issues of reliability. Two Multi-format jacks in the front for plugging in mics or instruments it also has two switches to chose between the two switches to select between the front jack and the back 1/4″ jacks. Unfortunately you can’t record/monitor with the front and back jacks at the same time (very weak). To make up for this deficiency they put in an aux input but for monitoring only. Output is two 1/4 jacks (so no Surround Sound mixing unless you use the digital coax out jack). I found the Aux channel be helpful but nothing beyond that assessment. The front jacks were indeed very nice and preamps did an excellent job in picking up guitars and mics and it’ll also work without a firewire cable hooked up to it. Very helpful if you want to use it has a preamp for a show. Overall, physically found the Konnect 8 to be very good and has great potential for musicians who play live and record in studios.

The software and drivers, however, is the Achilles heel of this product. Installing it was simple enough with the CD that came with it and it informed me that an updated driver was available and it also updated the firmware to which is very helpful. I then downloaded that new drivers and it uninstalled and installed them with I thought was no issue, however upon looking at TC’s forum it turns that out that you should also manually search and delete the driver files before installing the new drivers (really - making an uninstaller is not that difficult).

So with that done, I fired up Sonar and loaded up song that uses some pretty heavy VST synths (Vanguard, Gladitor, Acoustik Piano, Stylus RMX) and also has couple of loops and midi track for my Alesis QSR, but my Delta 44 handled this without much issue and it almost 6 years old. With in the first 10 seconds static and sound slowed to a crawl, so I adjusted ASIO timing from 64 (which was what I used from the Delta) to 128. About a minute the same thing. Adjusted to 256 major sound problems solved but big pops and clicks abound and my dual-core cpu spiking. Re-adjusted to 512 spiking solved but still pops and clicks. So I switch to WDM/KS and tooling with the latency I was able to find a decent setting at 12 - 15 msec (there is a slight delay in midi but it okay for laying down track ideas). But I then noticed that while I was playing the and song making adjust to tracks every blob I clicked on would cause the song to skip, click or pop. I found that making adjustments will cause to DAW software to lockup and crash the computer and also depending on the app if you click ASIO Control Panel nothing happens. Also I noticed that on the available inputs and ouputs I could only choose TCNear 1, TCNear 2, TCNear Stereo what was missing was the digital input and output.

Upon having this many problems I decided that maybe it was time to start fresh so I back everything up and did a complete reinstall hopefully that will clear up these issues. It actually got worse. I installed the new drivers and started Sonar again and loaded the same song and make adjustments once again to the latency and I noticed something new….this time while the sound was fine I kept thinking that something was off and sure enough the course of 4 minute song everything went from starting in sync to ending with the midi tracks about 40 - 50 msecs behind and that was with a latency setting of 256 and 512. Also the TCNear Midi drivers were missing and so again the digital ins and outs. The solution for the missing midi was to install the driver and software, go to Windows Update, download and install the TC Electronic driver update from their site sans the control panel, re-install the driver and software. For the missing digital ports it actually took installing Amplitube to get these to show up, I can only assume that Amplitube’s ASIO control panel I guess either rewrote or made changed to the way the drivers were listed.

And finally there’s the Mixer/Control Panel software. The front page is basic and just has the available channels and next page is where all the routing is supposed to happen but every conceivable routing option did not work for me, and the last page is the system setup where you can change latency. I found their mixer to be completely worthless and pining to return to M-Audio’s control panel.

But regardless it really boils down to latency and I’ve found this device to be an extremely poor performer and very frustrating. The hardware itself is very nice I found the front panel to extremely useful for playing on the road. But I cannot recommend this product to anybody and it’s going to back today for a M-Audio 410. My two other cards are M-Audio and despite their cheap construction these days for me it’s all about the software. And while it’s a clunker it’s own right at least when I make a change to the input and output settings I can tell. Also it will allow me to turn my Delta 44 into a external effects processor mixer so I can take advantage of Sonar 7’s new external fx features which in which I can use the effects in the Ensoniq ASR-10 and Yamaha FX500 along with my array of VST Effects.

Maybe I’ll post about my experiences with M-Audio 410 in the next couple of weeks.

*Edit - This post was written last year during the elections*

So now that we’re knee deep in this year’s election and after countless debates with a multitude of choice phrases from all candidates, I’ve been thinking that what we need is EBN a performance group that was ten years too early.

EBN or Emergency Broadcast Network was one of the most unique bands I have ever listened to and seen in concert. The first time I ever heard of them, some friends and I went to a now defunct night club in downtown DC called The State of the Union and EBN was performing there for it’s Halloween party. There was a massive video wall on stage with a mock presidential podium which had arms attached to the sides and when the show started a man in a suit and a megaphone (EBN ringleader Josh Pearson) stepped up to the podium and their started set.

It was a relentless cycle of video clips and loops perfectly synced to music and Pearson would occasionally add his own words to the performance via a megaphone. It was the most brilliant thing I have ever seen as George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Dan Quayle, Dan Rather, and countless others were the real singers of this band. But then at the end of the show the two arms attached to the podium raised and at the end of these arms were the tips of fake missiles and then the missile heads popped off streams of confetti shot out and the show was over. Following that performance I heard that they were invited to produce video and open for U2 during the Zoo TV tour and also they provided video for Lalaplooza via their custom built Mobile Distribution Vehicle.

After years searching I finally got my hands on Commercial Entertainment Product VHS (1992) which was in effect their first album. It’s very entertaining and the highlight is of course their rendition of “We Will Rock You” but clearly video was their strong suit as the music was just times just generic techno. Then in 1995 they followed with a proper CD Telecommunication Breakdown unfortunately the amount of videos was limited to just 3 songs, but the music was a lot better and the production much more dense as they enlisted Jack Dangers (aka Meat Beat Manifesto) to helm the music side of the record.

Alas EBN had to call it quits as the cost of live performances far exceeded the price bookers wanted to pay and also with the amount of equipment they brought with them, they also had strict stage requirements which made booking that much more difficult. To make matters worse they were also unfortunately signed to TVT Records, one the worst run record labels I ever seen. They did serve a role in the blurring of lines between music and video as a performance as they introduced technology to trigger video through VHS players via MIDI.

We Will Rock You - Commercial Entertainment Product

Electronic Behavior Control System - Telecommunication Breakdown

Psychoactive Drugs - Commercial Entertainment Product

Watch Television - Commercial Entertainment Product

Syncopated Ordinance Demonstration #1 - Commercial Entertainment Product

Documercial - Commercial Entertainment Product

UPDATE: The trial against the girl ended in a mistrial again and prosocuters are not going to seek another trial, not that it should of gone to trial in the first place. You know I think elections are coming up really soon so anybody who lives in Galveston County don’t re-elect Veronique Cantrell-Avloes, Ella Anderson and Joel Bennett, DA’s responsible for this debacle.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/galveston/stories/khou090210_tnt_prostitute-cop-case.eda927.html

So while the country is in rapture over Anne (the Praying Mantis) Curry (Tony Kornheiser’s words not mine) interview of some freakin’ retard who had 8 eight kids while down in Galveston we have the Galveston (short bus) Police not only mistakenly arrest a 12 year old girl for being a hooker, they beat her, hospitalize her and now are trying her for assault. The story states that the 4 that’s FOUR officers reported that they were assaulted by the 12 year old while she was calling out for her father when they were arresting her and that beating and hospitalizing her was following proper protocol.

You are you god damn kidding me?!?!?

Oh, wait I forgot the news only talks about Galveston when it gets hit by a hurricane, some idiot stands in 90 - 120 mph winds telling us viewers “it’s really windy here”, cover the damage, and then move on.

But when just another suburbia freaka-mom pops out 8 kids cause she just wanted more and now wants to get her masters degree (I guessing Strayer or DeVrey - if she’s going to a real school that’s some balls - oh wait, do test tubes count) then we have to talk it about weeks - I bet you a month from now the news will still be talking about her.

So as it stands right now, the trial against the girl is in it’s final arguments and here’s kicker……IT”S THE SECOND TRIAL…..that’s right. The first ended in a mistrial….(hmmmm….one twelve year old versus 4 cops equals I guess mistrial). But the cops actually convinced another judge to try her again. I may be out on a limb but if you beat a child unconscious, chances are there wasn’t a lot of assault coming from the child….could be me…I don’t know.

Anyway here’s a bunch links about the story. I’m not sure what can be done other than to write to representatives and what not.

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/09/final-arguments-in-t.html

http://boingboing.hexten.net/2008/12/18/plainclothes-police.html

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/02/final_arguments_expected_in_tr.php

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou090207_mp_police-thought-girl-was-a-hooker.2bbb0691.html

http://www.theagitator.com/2008/12/18/another-isolated-incident-26/

You know I have yet to visit Galveston and I’m no hurry to go…

Artist: Schlong

Album: Tumours

Label: Very Small Records

Year: 1995?

This week I present you with the hard find and quite excellent Tumours 7″ by Schlong, a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours in it’s entirety. It was released around 1995 on the long defunct Very Small Records.

I remember seeing these guys around that time in Albuquerque and the talent of these guys very impressive and a lot of fun as well. They also played a short set as their bluegrass punk alter ego 3 Finger Spread and did an awesome version of Slayer’s Epidemic complete with a ukulele and a bango.

What set this record a part from most cover albums is that even though they were slightly mocking Fleetwood Mac, it sounds like they painstakingly listened to the original album over and over to make sure they got it right and that every song was recognizable. There are way too bands who do sloppy covers because either they need a filler or they think with their egos and try to make it their own.

Sadly Schlong broke up many years ago and most of their catalog is now long out of print. Except for Punk Side Story, an awesome punk version of West Side Story.

Schlong - Tumours

I did a little mastering to the files because it’s from the 7″ and I played it a lot over the years, but I tried leave it as close to the original sound as possible.

**UPDATE** The guy that ran Very Small Records is posting all the records released including the 3 Finger Spread songs. Head over to http://k9pho.blogspot.com/ and enjoy!

History is brought to life in Jucifer’s new release L’Autrichienne. Instead sticking to same sound and concepts of their past two releases If Thine Enemy Hunger and I Name You Destroyer, Jucifer unveils their interpretation of the fall of Marie Antoinette. On top of this concept album, the duo Amber Valentine and Edgar Livengood also employ playing more instruments than their basic drum and guitar setup. In what would be enough instruments for 12 piece band to play, Guitarist/Bassist/Singer Valentine is credited with playing timpani, piano, Hammond, violin, cello, mellotron, and knife sharpener. While Drummer Livengood also played piano, trumpet, trombone, and flute. This also marks a release where instead of recording and sequencing with Pro Tools, they instead record drums, bass, guitar, banjo, and vocals live to 2″ tape. The result of this does seem to add a bit more spontaneity and warmth to the music. Finally in a brilliant move, in place of the lyrics Jucifer opts to describe the historical context about what each song is about.

L’Autrichienne tells the story of Marie Antoinette in first person interpretation and opens with “Gunpowder,” an strong indie rocker about the King and Queen’s attempt to escape capture and begins the Queen’s descent that would ultimately lead her to the guillotine. Genre-wise Jucifer is like no other band in defying the genre that’s always been labeled to them. Without effort they go from indie (Gunpowder, Behind Every Great Man, Window - Where the Sea Falls Forever), bone crushing sludge metal and hardcore (Deficit, The Mountain, Procession a la Guillotine, Traitors, Armada) to ballads of betrayal and innocence (To the End, L’Autrichienne, Noyade).

Performance wise this is probably Jucifer’s most brilliant record yet in their career dating back to 1994. Amber Valentine once again shows total command of the guitar and renews my belief that she is her own peer (I absolutely think there’s no contest that she is a much better player than the one trick pony guitar playing of Jack White). Vocally, Valentine’s ability to transform from the sweet, sugary innocence of a young girl who happens to be a Queen and not fully understanding her current surroundings to the angry, bitter and spiteful mob that in the end calls for her head is just as seamless as the music, to make these interpretation even more poignant a handful of these songs are sung in French. Edgar Livengood is I believe the live embodiment of John Bonham as I have not heard or seen any one hit the drums as hard as Bonham does until I got I Name You Destroyer and saw them later on that tour. Also I enjoy listening to the rhythm of Livengood’s drums as specifically on the slower song it reminds me of the classic Swans albums Cop/Young God and Greed/Holy Money.

The only downside to this record is the hardcore influenced songs and this really just my one over problem with their albums in general. I have never like Valentine’s voice when playing hardcore as it just seems like a little too forced to go that deep and also Livengood’s drums are so heavy that they tend to dominate the mix and it gives the illusion that the two are out of sync. But other that this absolutely the most original work they’ve done yet and also that I’ve listen to in years. It reminds of when I was in high school, I had to do a presentation on Samuel Taylor Coolridge and chose Rush’s Xanadu based off the same poem. So if your kid needs a presentation aid just get this CD and they’ll have both a great CD and something useful for history class. Now my interested in how they translate this to live performance as if you have not seen them live, you have not really seen Jucifer.

What do you get when you have a psychobilly band of Danes with a penchant of Misfits-like macabre, a dash of crime noir and a lot of hate for Brett Michaels…

Rockabilly and it cousin psychobilly (a mix of punk and rockabilly) has been a lull over past couple of years. Few bands have been able to put consistent good output with the exception of The Reverend Horton Heat, Southern Culture on the Skids, and The Legendary Shack Shakers. Of late though, there does seem to be a couple of new bands ready to bring the scene back from the dead and this time they are led by women. One band is Devil Doll, led by Colleen Duffy, which crossovers rockabilly and swing, has been gaining momentum over the years in critical acclaim and a strong growing fan base. And the other and the focus of this review is Horrorpops, led by Patricia Day, who has taken psychobilly scene by storm and just released their third album, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill.

Formed in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1998, Horropops combined elements of The Misfits, The Cramps, the classic rockabilly sounds of the 50’s and 60’s, and made it something uniquely their own. The core members of the group consist of bassist/vocalist Patricia Day, whose prowess on the upright bass I believe rivals that of Horton Heat’s Jimbo Wallace and strong female-oriented lyrics and vocals remind me of Blondie and The Pretenders. Day’s co-founder and guitarist Kim Nekroman is no stranger to the rockabilly scene himself with his own band Nekromantix (founded in 1989 and put out a new record in 2007, Life is a Grave & I Dig It), and his guitar style harkens back to the orginal rockabilly guitarists of Carl Perkins, Bill Haley, and Link Wray. Finally drummer Niedermeier rounds out as the final core member of band and seamlessly plays off of Day’s riff’s where that at times the rhythm section reminds of again the classic Horton Heat line up of Wallace and Taz Bentley. On their first two records Hell Yeah and Bring It On!, they added a second guitarist (different one each release) and as result the band’s sound was firmly planted in the punk side of psychobilly.

However, with Kiss Kiss Kill Kill we see the Horrorpops down to it’s original trio and as result there is a sense of maturity to their song writing and exploring themes that they only flirted with on their previous releases. While they still bring their punk influences to the mix and lack of the wall of guitar actually adds more to their sound as it allows room for Nekroman to lay down catchy leads and twangs, Day’s riffs and triplets, and surprising additions such as string and horn arrangements. Kiss Kiss Kill Kill’s high points though make this probably their strongest album yet with tracks as the ska-influenced “MissFit”, Day’s shout out to women that it’s worth being a female and having an opinion:

I don’t always tread, dont always tread careful \ Yeah \ Most of the time I’m quite annoying \ I don’t \ Watch my mouth \ Don’t find an out in a fight! \ I can scream and shout and be a loud mouth! \ And I, I’m from the wrong side of the town \ Now proud \ On top of that I’m female! \ Nothing, nothing I say is adequate \ According to you I’m a MissFit! \ What made you my judge and juror?

“Thelma and Louise” opens the album with Nekroman’s catchy guitar riff and Day’s undertoned vocals about how life should be lived just like the movie it’s named after. Which also introduces one of strongest elements of the album, the maturity of the lyrics and the infusion of crime noir themes such as “Highway 55″, “Kiss Kiss Kill Kill” and the aptly titled “Hitchcock Starlet.” You get the sense that they spent six months reading and watching crime noir stories to get the mood and the sense of danger lurking around every corner. And while as they it put themselves on the cover Kiss Kiss Kill Kill is “Twelve Tales About Love and Murder,” they still have fun as in the excellent track “Heading for the Disco” it’s light-hearted, the lyrics full of seething sarcasm, and something everyone can relate to as that we all have that one friend who still thinks 80’s cock rock still lives forever.

However this new stripped down sound does have its skippable moments such as “Boot2Boot”, which is back to pure punk fury but it seems rather flat and generic, and also “Everything Everything”, a ballad but one that never really develops into anything. The last couple tracks on the record are pretty much middle of road they don’t bring anything new to the table but they are catchy.

This is overall an outstanding record and it is easy to see they are clearly looking ahead and adding more to their already full sonic palette. I would recommend buying the CD over downloading as the cover artwork is a fantastic compliment to the theme of record itself. And trust me you’ll be buying Hell Yeah! and Bring It On! soon after getting this one.

Hopefully they be coming back to DC soon as I missed them they last time they came through with Horton Heat (I know, I know but hey I like them a lot too). Patricia Day VS Jimbo Wallace upright bass showdown - that would be well worth the price of admission.