Dream Community Show

As always, I had fun playing, and our set culminated with one of the band's favorite numbers, Nagasaki, with Tim, Will, and Sandy bustin' moves downstage with the crowd. It was a great having Wayne there to help out with our live sound -- it took a lot of stress off the band as far as set-up was concerned, since we were using two large condenser mics for our sound, which can be tricky, especially in larger outdoor spaces. But I think we pulled it off all right -- after the soundcheck earlier in the afternoon, one of the soundcrew told Wayne, "This is how all bands should do it!" With Wayne, it was nice to have a "third" ear as well, a different/critical perspective to keep us honest.

According to the organizers, a good number of people there had never heard of us and were asking a lot of questions. People also asked if we had a CD out -- we're working on that one (see the post below).

Also, saw plenty of familiar faces, lots of Taipei friends, and also Ian from Hsinchu, and another very nice guy also from Hsinchu who saw us at Janis R's Earth Day jam last year. The nice guy (sorry I forgot your name) apologized to me because at the Earth Day show, he went up to my mom (who was visiting Taiwan and watching me perform for the first time ever) and said to her in a drunken glee, "your son's band FUCKIN rocks!", or something to that effect. He seemed a bit sheepish recounting the story to me on Saturday. So, to my Hsinchu friend -- it's all right, dude. It's pretty hard to rile up my mom -- I think she had a fun time at that show. (And thanks for the compliment!)

It was a great day with performances from the artists-in-residence -- three multi-talented circus performers who were just amazing and Gary the samba teacher from San Franscisco, and his students.

The Anglers and the Soundclashes both put on great shows -- the Anglers laid down nice, soothing reggae grooves and the Soundclashes were just the right kind of frantic. Fireflower played before us, and I'm sorry to say that we missed a lot of their set because we were getting ready, but later in the evening, I took part in a great jam with Fireflower's lead singer/guitarist Douglas, Zoe, a banjo player named Charlie, Wesley from the S-clashes and Conor, who was as ebullient as ever. I had completely lost track of time by then.

Thanks to Dory, Yingqi (Inchi), Gordon Tsai and the Dream Community for a nice party.

Recording the Muddy Basin


After almost 4 years and plenty of material in our repetoire, I feel we're ready to put out a CD/album.

I started researching in earnest a few months back about our options for recording -- the obvious, traditional studio route isn't attractive -- there's the pressure of time and cost, and the idea of a padded, airtight room and ultra-clean production techniques doesn't appeal to me, at least for the MBRs.

To me, the essence of our sound is a down-home jam. Be it at my small but cozy apartment on Xinhai Road, the Sandcastle, outdoors in the hills, by the Bitan River, or at an athletic field at a certain university-- our music is made best when we're simply hanging out, relaxed, among friends, and engaging in lots of silly and hilarious banter.

From a technical standpoint, we're not the easiest band in the world to amplify on stage or in the studio, since we use instruments with a wide variety of dynamic ranges (everything from loud brass to the quiet ukulele), and we change instruments for different songs. And, physical presence is an important element-- we're used to hearing each other and playing in a circle, either standing up or sitting down.

What we're aiming for is an 'ambient' recording that balances our overall sound with the right amount of detail.

So, instead of micing each instrument, I decided that we should try some of the standard techniques for recording classical music, which is commonly referred to as stereo recording. Many classical recordings are recorded with a matched stereo pair of microphones that capture the overall sound in a concert hall. With this set-up, ideally, the listener hears what the audience hears with the instruments arranged spatially in a stereo spread..

This approach makes it both easier and more difficult -- easier in the sense that you may have just one pair or several pairs of mics to set up. The hard part is tweaking the position of the mics and musicians so you have a balance of the right "spatial" feel and the right amount of detail. This is where a lot of discussion, debate, and technical theories starts among recording engineers, musicians, etc.

This technique and a portable recording rig (see below) also allows us to record in some ununusal spots -- we've scoped out a few outdoor spaces near Sandy and TC's, and there's a nice wooden pavilion on the Xianji Hiking Trail that I've always wanted to try out as an acoustic space.

So the goal for now is, at the end, for listeners to "hear" the fun we have playing jug band music and feel like they're sitting there with us...


Recording -- Technical stuff


Been reading a lot, filling my head till I'm dizzy with information. For recording techniques, there's a lot on the internet, but I've learned the most by reading articles on stereo microphone and recording techniques by Bruce Bartlett. On the microphone front, we've been using two Rode NT1As, which we often use for stage performances. I've built up a small microphone collection, which includes a pair of Electrovoice 635a mics, commonly used by television reporters in the field with a "nice radio announcer type" sound, which you can hear at this site on broadcast mics; a stereo pair of superlux small diaphragm condensers (living in Taiwan, gotta use something relatively local!); and a cheap ribbon microphone made in China by Apex, which has a nice sound and will be interesting to experiment with.

We're recording to hard disk using an 867mhz 12" Powerbook G4 (which I bought from TC) and a MOTU Traveler firewire interface. So far it's proven to be stable and relatively easy to use. I chose the MOTU Traveler for its portability and solid functionality -- we want to do some recording in outdoor spaces (in the wilderness and perhaps an abandoned temple), and the fact that it was designed for use in the field with a portable battery makes it very appealing. It also has 4 high-quality mic preamps and plenty of inputs which gives us some flexibility. We're using MOTU's bundled software, Audiodesk, a run-of-the-mill DAW more than sufficient for our purposes. To power the MOTU unit and firewire hard drive, I bought a 12v battery used for photography lighting -- it fits in a small shoulder bag and weighs about 4 pounds. I'm looking forward to testing this out.

While I've written about the technical side, it's just one half of the story. We have a bit of work to do musically as far cleaning up and improving our arrangements, but taking on the challenges ahead will also be rewarding and fun.

Global Rhythm Festival 2006

This Saturday, April 22

Here's a map, courtesy of FearsomOrange on Forumosa.

And directions for taking the bus.

Take the MRT to KunYang, then hop the blue 817 or 36 and tell them you want to get off at Hu Qian Jie. Then walk a quick half a block to the community. There is a pay parking lot there if you're driving.

The Muddy Basin Ramblers will be on at approximately 5:45 PM.

When will my Chinese shar-pei lose his first set of teeth?

I can't believe the search items that people feed into google. Even more surprising is that this blog would be listed as a site where you might learn the answer to the question.

The Ramblers had a productive practice at the Sand Castle this last Saturday. I think I remember Dave saying we had sixteen songs recorded on his amazing portable recording rig.

At the back of the studio (S and J's living room), Dave placed a couple of condensor microphones on stands about six feet high. In the middle, he had two "broadcast journalist" microphones--you know, the kind roving reporters stick in the face of some World Bank witchdoctor for a soundbite, but without the fuzzy cap on the end.

The cables from these four microphones, including one we had Zoe pick up on her way down to Bitan, ran into some type of mixer/pre-amp device, and then by firewire into his Apple laptop. If Dave feels like it, maybe he could post one day on what sort of hardware he is working with.


I listened to one song while everyone else was practicing the next song we recorded. The sound was lush, unlike any recording of ours that I have heard in the past. I'm eager to hear what the rest of the night sounded like, and if you are to, check out the basement. If it seems a bit dark, scroll down to find an archive of Muddy Basin Ramblers mp3s.




The talk between songs at the Sand Castle this weekend was varied. Here's a sampling of topics I remember:

1. the rearranged furniture: more like an antique store
2. the need for coasters: you put a ring on it, you buy it
3. where to stand for optimum sound: by the antique cabinet (U break, U buy)
4. our upcoming gig: in Hsichi, at the Dream Community
5. whether we'd be playing at the top of 101: we'd like to
6. how much Sandy reminded me of Freddy Mercury: a lot (I think it was the lean torso and muscle shirt)
7. what color TC's new recumbent bike would be: red
8. how cold my feet got while I was standing in stocking feet by the door: very cold, till Sandy sacrificed his own luxury sandals (yeah, Freddy)
9. who would go to Chris's for late night pasta: everybody but me and Dave?
10. how much our singing on one song sounded like a rope that was fraying at the end: not that much, but it was an interesting image
11. how patient the orange tabby was: very, until Sandy tormented it past normal bounds and it turned into a spitting, hissing feline terror
12. the advantages of being a house band: undecided (What place is cool enough for us to want to play there every month?)

If you're a careful reader, you noticed #4. We're playing this Saturday at the Global Rhythm Fest 2006 at the Dream Community in Hsichi. Ther doesn't seem to be much on that website that has anything to do with this weekend's activity, but I came across this on Forumosa that explains what to expect. I don't know if any of us have been there before, Zoe?, but I reckon we'll find it just the same on Saturday.

As for #5, wouldn't that be fine? I don't know how likely it is, but we are pretty tight with the organizers of the Taipei 101 Climbathon, so I suppose we have a chance. If it comes off, we might be able to claim a record of sorts: the only jug band to have played at the top of the tallest building in the world. I heard on the radio this morning that Jacques and Rick Monday have already climbed it a couple of times in the last week. Rick credited his stairmaster sessions at the local gym to his fine form; I'm not sure to what Jacques ascribes his stamina, probably clean living.

If you haven't seen the video I mentioned in a previous post, here it is. The climb is on May 21st. (Why do I think I have to work that day?) Uh oh.

London Calling

Check out this article from the Daily Mail:
"A mobile phone salesman was hauled off a plane and questioned for three hours as a terror suspect - because he listened to songs by The Clash and Led Zeppelin."

We used to cover "jimmy jazz" in the early days of the MBR -- maybe we should bring it back!

105 Now, 106 Now

The Ramblers gave an unusual performance this past Sunday afternoon.

We found ourselves on the pedestrian overpass at Keelung and Xinyi Roads to film a segment for a promotional video to publicize a charity event sponsored by the Canadian Society in Taiwan.

Dressed in Rambling Wear, we played, posed, and perambulated for the thousands of vehicles passing through this busy eastern Taipei interchange.

Above us soared Taipei 101 in all of its "dildo-like concrete ribbed" glory.

The day started in a local eatery, where a rugby match sparred with the Australian Grand Prix, whilst the sound of silverware scraping buffet plates added to the din. Toastmaster/Bandleader DC and Director Robyn treated the Ramblers to a proper pub brunch prior to our debut on the street.

TC, apparently feeling that only two cameras were not enough, was shadowed by a camera team from Taiwan’s public television station on a mission to document what mischief “typical” foreign residents of Taipei get up to on Sunday.