CD Launch Reflections - Ian

Firstly, thanks to a great turnout we played to a packed house - a great feeling.
Pretty much everything went to plan, we had a couple amusing incidents during the performance but overall very positive feedback. Thanks for that!

Tony "Brew", "Brewski", "Brewmeister" ... Brewin lead the performance with great style although I sensed he felt a little let down by no one from the audience taking up his offer for a HUG.

The room sounded great thanks to the marvellous PA from Edmund and some diligent mixing during the performance.

I think a special mention goes to Chris for the "tasteful" feedback, neck-scapes and general Hendrix noises at the end of his solo in Lonely Life... Just as I was resetting the mood with some moody piano :)

We all agreed that next time we play "Still Got the Blues" we'll all pick the same key - especially that bloke on the strings (mea culpa)

Tony got them up dancing for the final numbers and we rocked out in style.

Overall - Wow. Can't wait for the next one.

CD Launch Photos

Here's the first batch of photos from the CD Launch gig at Club Kilsyth on Sunday Nov. 13th

Thanks Lesley: Launch Photos

If you have some to share please email them.

CD Launch Party - Details

Now the footy season is done we need some cultural pursuits for the weekend - how about a rock band?

We've had the CD for a couple of months now, but we really wanted to put on a show in a venue we control - this is it. See the details below and hope to see you there.

details on the web site www.mu-theory.com or download the invitation http://goo.gl/liUFl

CD Launch Party

The date has been set Sunday November 13th - put it in your calendar and watch for more details

iTunes & Amazon

Until We Lose It is now available on iTunes and for MP3 download load on Amazon. For those holding out for digital downloads check it out. You can buy as a download from CD Baby, Facebook, iTunes and Amazon for $0.99 per track.

Covers

Mu-Theory focus on original music, but we've had a little fun recently in preparing for our live shows and put together a few cover songs in our style. We spent saturday at Tony's polishing things up and got some recordings too, sounding OK. Can't wait for the CD launch party!

Oxfam gig

Counting down the hours until our slot at the Oxfam gig in Box Hill today. Currently in the Sydney Qantas lounge after an early start to avoid traffic. Check the Mu-Theory web site for details if you haven't already.

Ian


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Lyrics Booklet

Tony & Ian have collated, cajoled, corrected and creatively constructed all the lyrics to the "Until We Lose It" album into a glorious, but not glossy booklet that is now available for download on the web site.  It's been cunningly hidden under the menu item LYRICS.

Digital downloads are here

Mu-Theory have joined the digital age (of course). After a snail mail journey to the USA our CD has been lovingly scanned and ripped by the folks at CD Baby and is available for digital download as MP3s. Single tracks or the whole album - your choice.

Mu-Theory | Until We Lose It | CD Baby

The one day (and a bit) album

Well - our album was a quick record to make.  This was out of necessity for a couple of reasons: budget and work commitments.  Nevertheless - it was fun (though a bit stressful).  Basically we had 4 hours of set up - followed by 6 hours of crazy recording (tracking in music jargon) which also included a lunch break.  We recorded 10 songs - though one of them wasn't up to scratch up on later scrutiny.  


I recall the last song to be recorded - Praying for the future.  We did one version and it was okay - though not quite cooking.  We were tired and hungry and needed a beer or two.  Anyway - I instructed the lads to dig deep (in my best Allan Jeans oratory) and proceeded to undo the buttons on my shirt to provide an apparently tough image.  Though doubtful this display was particularly effective (probably more in spite of)  - the lads worked considerable angst into the song as was required!


My highlights were:  Birchy's high wire act in doing his solo's live to hard disk - (Praying, New Place and of course the 5 minute jam at the end of Miracles) - what a nut!  Most lead guitarists would spend upwards of a week in a studio perfecting their solos - no not Chris.


Well if it was good enough for Birchy it was good enough for the ego driven lead vocalist - yes I managed to record lead vocals live to hard disk too.


Of course the engine room was fantastic as usual.  Ivan's bass playing is to die for and is a real highlight through out the CD (my favourite bit being the end of the 2nd chorus of Lonely Life when the bass (to me) appears to imitate a cello).  I also love Stu's amazing ability to rock on with the best of them (note Praying and Miracles) and then to hit a groove (title track) and use jazzy touch and feel  - great drumming.


Finally Ian's beautiful piano in Lonely Life is fantastic as is the cheeky synth solo in Ten a Penny and the twinkling ivories in Ode to Richie.


Thanks also need to go to past muso's who helped to get Mu-Theory off the ground - in particular Anthony Cohen - a wonderful musician.


I also have to acknowledge the wonderful engineering, mixing and mastering of Jarrad Gilson of Oaklands Studio - Jarrad was an absolute pleasure to work with and I highly recommend him and his studio to all muso's out there.


Cheers,

Tony  
             

CD Art

Here's the artwork from the CD Booklet and Tray.

From Ivan - Bass Man

Wow! What a journey this has been so far.  There are some really great moments on this CD.  Chris's sensational guitar solo at the end of New Place, Stu's explosive drumming as the instrumentation builds in Miracles, Ian's beautiful piano playing in Lonely Life, and Tony's awesome vocals throughout.  What a pleasure it is playing bass in this band.  I get to kick back and just take it all in.

And for those gear heads out there, I used two basses on this recording.  The Xotic XJ-1T 5 string was used on most of the numbers with Fender Precision used on Praying, Cold Dark Lonely Night, and Lonely Life.  The bass went through a Radial JDV DI box and a second line was taking by placing a mic in front of a TecAmp L212 cab powered by a TecAmp Puma 1000.  1000 watts into 8 Ohms......sweet!

We Didn't Lose It.....Quite - Some useless information from Chris

Having played in cover bands all my life, playing in an original band is a new experience for me and I'm loving it! I have creative license to play my own guitar solos ( thanks to the very tolerant Brewmeister ) rather than someone else's. Being a recording studio virgin I found the experience a little strange at first, but we'd rehearsed the material pretty solidly for a few months, so it came together pretty well. I did have a few pedantique moments during the solo sessions but thanks to Jarrad, our very patient engineer, I managed to get most things down with some semblance of what I originally envisaged.

In regard to equipment, I used a '75 Fender Stratocaster on most tracks, and a quite recently made ( '08 or '09 ) Gibson SG on a couple of others, running through a Digitech GNX3 into a Fender Bassman 50 head coupled with a 2/12 cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's. That's about as technical I can get! Looking forward to getting out there and playing some live gigs!

From Stu Drummer !

I didn't say this was the first time I have ever 'blogged' ...
Anyway, the experience of recording with the band was - if anything - a tad more casual
than I was expecting: amongst other surprises, no "baffling" of instruments, unlike a couple
of previous experiences in other situations. In addition, being 'video'-recorded at times during
the session was new for me, but also a great visual record from the occasion.
I was using, in the main, my original Boston drum kit from teenage years, slightly modified and
added to over ensuing years; the rest was all smoke and mirrors ...
To the boys, from Stuart Naylor.

Recording at Oaklands - Ian's thoughts

What an amazing experience! We'd rehearsed pretty hard but I really didn't know what was going to happen once the pressure to get it absolutely right hit. Our first track went down very well and from there confidence kicked in. Day one got the backing tracks down and we left feeling good.

Returning on day 2 for solos and other over dubs. My synth solo on Ten a Penny came up trumps on the first go but Don't You Every Say Goodbye was problematic. Tony was up in the control room coaching like Laurie Lawrence and after a time, well a few times (like 10) we got there.

Playing a nice grand piano in a beautiful studio - you can't beat that!

Backing vocals - the less said the better for me. All my life I believed I couldn't sing. Yep, I was right. Just keys from me.

My gear for the recording was a Yamaha 7' grand from the studio, my lovely red Korg Vintage for the electric piano, an awesome Roland vintage organ (VR-760) and my Roland Gaia for synths. Boys and their toys.

I can't wait for the next time.

Ian

Mu-Theory the name

After about a billion suggestions exchanged via email over months and months we finally agreed on a suitable name. Mu-Theory.

How to say it:
Mu as in the Greek letter, generally pronounced "mew" but some go for "moo". If you hear us play live, Stu has an excellent moo, I think it's next to his cow bell ;)

What does it mean:
Maths, lost continents, jazz chords, cows? Take your pick.

Ian

In the beginning ...

Back in 2008 Tony turned up at a jam with some jazz mates of mine. Later we talked about starting our own band but that didn't happen for another year. In 2009 Tony and I played as a duo at the Basin Music Festival doing 4 sets and agreeing that this was a good thing. Tony introduced Stu after the last set and shortly after we had a drummer.

Next to join was Birchy (Chris), another mate, Anthony, had been sitting in on guitar but had other plans. After a day of lead guitar auditions Birchy had secured the role by impressing all with blinding speed and tasty playing.

Last to join was Ivan on bass. Hilton had got us started, then Ken had kicked us up a gear with some lively playing but finally it was Ivan who grabbed the ball and ran with us all the way to the recording studio.

Ian (keys)