Please check out my new CD!

[Room 34]

As I may have noted a few times before, since I quit playing in bands in 2002, I've been doing solo recordings, basically putting out a new CD every other year (2003, 2005, 2007).

 

I've just finished my latest CD, Highway 34 Revisited. It's 62 minutes of music in a variety of styles: ambient to prog rock to techno to jazz. It's all instrumental and mostly experimental.

 

Full-length streaming versions of all of the tracks are available on my website (along with track-by-track commentary, which I'm still working on):

 

http://room34.com/music/hwy34

 

If you like the music, it's also available on CD for $10.99 in my CafePress shop:

 

http://www.cafepress.com/room34.130539065

 

Please check it out and let me know what you think! (I'm also available to compose music for film soundtracks, if any of you have such an interest or need.)

 

Thanks!

[launchpad67a]

While appreciate your effort, I just have this to say.

 

Upon arriving at your website, I am presented with this ugly, uncalled for message:

 

http://www.mikekreidel.com/temp/images/room34.jpg

 

Your web designer should be fired, then shot in the head. Anyone who designs websites strictly for IE users usually lasts about a week in that industry.

Shame...shame

 

And sorry, but because of that popup, I never went any further.

If your smart, you will call your guy right now and demand he removes that stupid code from your site.

[tangy]

[Room 34]

QUOTE (launchpad67a @ May 16 2007, 08:49 AM)

While appreciate your effort, I just have this to say. Upon arriving at your website, I am presented with this ugly, uncalled for message: ... Your web designer should be fired, then shot in the head. Anyone who designs websites strictly for IE users usually lasts about a week in that industry. Shame...shame  And sorry, but because of that popup, I never went any further. If your smart, you will call your guy right now and demand he removes that stupid code from your site.

 

Well, I designed it, and this is what I've been doing for a living for the past decade.

 

The site actually is NOT designed for IE -- specifically, not for IE 6, which is the reason for the alert. It uses 24-bit alpha channel transparent PNG images, which are supported by Firefox, Safari, and IE 7. So I put in a browser sniff to tell IE 6 users (such as yourself) to get with the program.

 

I'd never put an alert like this on a client's site; but this is my own site, so if I want to get on my soapbox, I will. (In fact there's an entire section of my blog devoted to rants about Microsoft products, and IE in particular.)

 

Thanks for clicking the link though... and for the inflammatory rhetoric.

Edited May 16, 2007 by Room 34

[launchpad67a]

I could write for days about this but instead I'll just say...

I stand by my comments for all the right reasons. There are a billion reasons to never force a user to do anything except "easily browse" your browser compliant website.

If you would never do this to a clients site, then why in the world do it to your own? To make me "get with the program"? What program, the "use IE7 & Vista or die" program?

I was a huge Microsoft fan until their last 2 major releases (7 & vista). If I don't want to use IE7, I shouldn't ever be presented with a popup telling me to "get with the program". It's your responsibility to design the site so it can be viewed on all browsers, no matter what. Imagine if a user has Java disabled, that warning box would never even appear, meaning your website would never show. Think about that!

I value my freedom on my own computer too much to ever use 7 or Vista. (i use IE6 & XP Pro)

What you're doing on your website is just bad web design practice. Period. I rank it right up there with embedding background music in a page.

sorry

Edited May 16, 2007 by launchpad67a

[Rush!]

That sounded really good dude. I like experimental music. Very neat! Edited May 17, 2007 by Rush!

[Room 34]

QUOTE (launchpad67a @ May 16 2007, 04:47 PM)

I could write for days about this but instead I'll just say... I stand by my comments for all the right reasons. There are a billion reasons to never force a user to do anything except "easily browse" your browser compliant website. If you would never do this to a clients site, then why in the world do it to your own? To make me "get with the program"? What program, the "use IE7 & Vista or die" program? I was a huge Microsoft fan until their last 2 major releases (7 & vista). If I don't want to use IE7, I shouldn't ever be presented with a popup telling me to "get with the program". It's your responsibility to design the site so it can be viewed on all browsers, no matter what. Imagine if a user has Java disabled, that warning box would never even appear, meaning your website would never show. Think about that! I value my freedom on my own computer too much to ever use 7 or Vista. (i use IE6 & XP Pro) What you're doing on your website is just bad web design practice. Period. I rank it right up there with embedding background music in a page. sorry

Firefox.

[Room 34]

QUOTE (Rush! @ May 16 2007, 07:20 PM)

That sounded really good dude. I like experimental music. Very neat!

Thanks!

[deadwing2112]

QUOTE (Rush! @ May 16 2007, 08:20 PM)

That sounded really good dude. I like experimental music. Very neat!

That was pretty sweet. 1 question. Do you do everything by yourself?

[TheCameraEye]

i get a rntime error on the site here.

[Room 34]

QUOTE (deadwing2112 @ May 17 2007, 04:13 PM)

QUOTE (Rush! @ May 16 2007, 08:20 PM) That sounded really good dude. I like experimental music. Very neat! That was pretty sweet. 1 question. Do you do everything by yourself? Yep... although some of the stuff is sequenced MIDI (the drums and some of the synth parts).   Some of the other stuff is looped and/or cleaned up a bit with editing. Basically, I am busy with a full-time job and two kids, so I don't get to practice much, and my playing is a bit sloppy. (Plus, I've never been great at guitar anyway.) Most of the bass parts are played straight through, except in cases where I haven't finalized the arrangement yet when I record the bass part. The guitars generally are loops: I'll record myself playing each progression or riff about 15-20 times over and then loop the best 2 or 3 takes.   Keyboard parts are handled mostly like the guitar parts, but they're recorded as MIDI tracks rather than real audio. I generally clean up the rhythm on the loops, but leave the solos alone.   So... I suppose it's true that I'm using the editing software as a crutch. I'd really like to play everything straight through and not have to clean up the individual parts much, but I just don't have the time to practice these days to keep my "chops" in shape. Ultimately I'm more interested in getting my musical ideas recorded than in trying to prove my virtuosity, though, so I'm content with this. Plus, there's more real playing on my CD than on a Justin Timberlake album (for example), so I shouldn't feel TOO guilty about "cheating." At least I'm not making millions of dollars off of it!

Edited May 18, 2007 by Room 34

[mortkort]

sweet!

[Rush!]

QUOTE (Room 34 @ May 18 2007, 08:58 AM)

QUOTE (deadwing2112 @ May 17 2007, 04:13 PM) QUOTE (Rush! @ May 16 2007, 08:20 PM) That sounded really good dude. I like experimental music. Very neat! That was pretty sweet. 1 question. Do you do everything by yourself? Yep... although some of the stuff is sequenced MIDI (the drums and some of the synth parts).   Some of the other stuff is looped and/or cleaned up a bit with editing. Basically, I am busy with a full-time job and two kids, so I don't get to practice much, and my playing is a bit sloppy. (Plus, I've never been great at guitar anyway.) Most of the bass parts are played straight through, except in cases where I haven't finalized the arrangement yet when I record the bass part. The guitars generally are loops: I'll record myself playing each progression or riff about 15-20 times over and then loop the best 2 or 3 takes.   Keyboard parts are handled mostly like the guitar parts, but they're recorded as MIDI tracks rather than real audio. I generally clean up the rhythm on the loops, but leave the solos alone.   So... I suppose it's true that I'm using the editing software as a crutch. I'd really like to play everything straight through and not have to clean up the individual parts much, but I just don't have the time to practice these days to keep my "chops" in shape. Ultimately I'm more interested in getting my musical ideas recorded than in trying to prove my virtuosity, though, so I'm content with this. Plus, there's more real playing on my CD than on a Justin Timberlake album (for example), so I shouldn't feel TOO guilty about "cheating." At least I'm not making millions of dollars off of it! Do you make good money though by being a, I don't want to sound offensive here, an experimental lesser-known musician?

[deadwing2112]

QUOTE (Room 34 @ May 18 2007, 07:58 AM)

QUOTE (deadwing2112 @ May 17 2007, 04:13 PM) QUOTE (Rush! @ May 16 2007, 08:20 PM) That sounded really good dude. I like experimental music. Very neat! That was pretty sweet. 1 question. Do you do everything by yourself? Yep... although some of the stuff is sequenced MIDI (the drums and some of the synth parts).   Some of the other stuff is looped and/or cleaned up a bit with editing. Basically, I am busy with a full-time job and two kids, so I don't get to practice much, and my playing is a bit sloppy. (Plus, I've never been great at guitar anyway.) Most of the bass parts are played straight through, except in cases where I haven't finalized the arrangement yet when I record the bass part. The guitars generally are loops: I'll record myself playing each progression or riff about 15-20 times over and then loop the best 2 or 3 takes.   Keyboard parts are handled mostly like the guitar parts, but they're recorded as MIDI tracks rather than real audio. I generally clean up the rhythm on the loops, but leave the solos alone.   So... I suppose it's true that I'm using the editing software as a crutch. I'd really like to play everything straight through and not have to clean up the individual parts much, but I just don't have the time to practice these days to keep my "chops" in shape. Ultimately I'm more interested in getting my musical ideas recorded than in trying to prove my virtuosity, though, so I'm content with this. Plus, there's more real playing on my CD than on a Justin Timberlake album (for example), so I shouldn't feel TOO guilty about "cheating." At least I'm not making millions of dollars off of it! No prob. Sounds like you have a lot of fun doing it though.

[Room 34]

QUOTE (Rush! @ May 18 2007, 04:01 PM)

Do you make good money though by being a, I don't want to sound offensive here, an experimental lesser-known musician?

 

Good one.

 

Luckily, I am not trying to make a living at this. At least, not right now. I make good money building websites, and it's a lot more reliable than the income I'd get trying to sell my wacko instrumental noodlings.

 

I actually do play some more "mainstream" stuff. I've done a couple of acoustic guitar-driven soundtracks for documentaries my wife and I have done. Again, not a money maker... but my music actually HAS been heard by a larger audience in that context, through the dozen or so public screenings we've had. Oh, and some of my music has actually been incorporated into my company's products! Not that anyone would notice.

 

I'm thinking about trying to pick up some freelance soundtrack work, so if anyone here needs soundtrack music, or knows someone who does, PM me and I can send along some clips of my soundtrack music. (Some clips are also buried on my website, if you care to dig.)

[Part 4 of a Trilogy]

man i was very impressed with the songs.. very good and it is motivationg me to get my keyboard out from collecting dust and start noodling on it again.. good job dude!

[-D-RocK-]

Nice job!!

 

Sounded great from what I heard. Sonically speaking, it's superb.

 

Well done indeed!!

 

 

I really like the track titles too!