Mighty Fine 2009!

So it’s the new year, we’re all going to lose weight, drink less, learn a language, start a new hobby & generally be healthier … … … right?

Rehearsing!

Keeping myself busy learning a couple of Jethro Tull tracks for the tour in December, I won’t reveal which they are, but it’ll be a nice treat for the fans. Also check out the sweet new net-link…

- DC

New things!

New dates!

Finally announced the little tour Martin & I are doing. It’s great to have the news out there, I’m really excited about December. We’re been playing Martin’s instrumentals and having fun with the chord sequences in my songs. For example the song Lighter Shade Of Grey has an outro which is a piano facing off with a synth (played awesomely by the inimitable Spencer Cozens) so now it’s Martin facing off with me. Arg! Sometimes I really feel like I should practice more!! The guy’s just such a great guitar player it’s unreal. Also Robin’s got some serious drummage going on while we duel. It makes for really entertaining end to a song which I’m ever more fond of.

I should probably mention that tickets for the tour are available here!

Overall the music is sound great, we’re just tweaking instrumentation for each track. I find myself playing acoustic on mine and electric on Martin’s. I’d like it to be more mixed, maybe even have me playing nothing and just singing? I don’t know. Might make for a neat change in the set. In fact we’re thinking about just John and I performing ‘When You Come Back To Me’ – Available on my debut album ‘Far From Here’ plug plug plug!

Neato. In more casual news I’m playing a new video game called Dead Space and it’s exactly what it says on the tin. Dead & Spacey thingsa goins on. Very cool little game, just tiding me over until Gears Of War 2 comes out.

Also started writing a new song today which I might use as an excuse to video blog. I’ve been meaning to get some more stuff on youtube for ages but I never find the time. I was gonna do a vlog about Mansons Guitar Show ‘cus we played there last Sunday and I didn’t even get to see the show! By the time we were in, set up and sound checked it was time to rip it. Crazy! Although I did get my hands on some posters, wish I’d got to meet Jim Marshall. Dang it!

Ohh one last thing! I’m on the cover mount CD of the next issue of Rock ‘n’ Reel magazine in the UK. Beautiful & Deadly is the track ‘cus it’s becoming pretty popular. It’s also a track which has seen some alterations with Martin and I guitar dueling at the end. Its got a really sweet outro now (although I think the version on the album is still awesome!)

Catch you later!

Saw this…

…and thought of my blog.

I want to get some video content on here soon. I just gave my youtube account a make over and now all it needs is videos. Perhaps this weekend!

Boss DD-7 Delay Pedal

So I recently invested in Boss’s new DD-7 delay pedal and thought I’d write a little something about it here. With a seemingly infinite array of delay pedals available, and given the tastes of each musician, it’s certainly not my place to tell you what pedal to buy. However this particular take on the lead guitarist’s best friend offers some more interesting features under the bonnet.

My previous delay pedal (which will now be temporarily renting a home on eBay) was a Boss DD-20. A brilliant pedal with pretty much every delay flavor available and over 20 seconds of delay time! However I didn’t need all its features and as a result pinned my hopes on the now ‘last week’ DD-6, or its little brother the DD-3.

I found myself once again making the mistake of wandering into a guitar shop. Hoping the DD-6 may be down in price considering the new kid on the block. While I’m all for a good deal I had to see what the new pedal had to offer, and while all fundamental delay duties are covered this is quite a clever little box.

I’d always toyed with the idea of getting one of those loop stations. You know? The boxes which record your playing then you can play over the recorded ‘rhythm’ track or add more loops for a bigger sound. These pedals on their own can cost a lot, but the DD-7 will record up to 40 seconds of audio (20 seconds stereo) when required. While you of course lose the delay in favor of a loop, the fact this pedal is technically two pedals in one is just plain awesome.

I’ve always enjoyed the fact I can get my pedals to do more than they were meant for. My flange pedal works as a subtle chorus and even a tremolo. My overdrive pedal can be used as a simple volume booster, and don’t get me started on what the pitch shifter can do!

Anyway it’s all about value for money, which is what I believe you get with this pedal. Getting back to the delay side of things it has more than enough options time length wise. There’s also a reverse delay, a modulating delay and an analog effect delay. Pretty much every desirable delay ’sound’ lives in there, and while it might seem like overkill at first, once you realise how much it can do it all becomes worth it.

You can also tap tempo and attach an expression pedal or external stomp box (again for tap tempo). Attaching the expression pedal will adjust the volume of your recorded loops, perfect when you want to finish without a clumsy miss-stomp, or you could even fade out slowly like an album recording if you so desire!

As a musician who predominately writes songs on an acoustic guitar, there is always the task of playing songs on my own,. Recently I performed at a great little bar in Hayle, Cornwall called The Salt Bar. With the ability to set up a subtle backing track at the end of a song and perform some Pat Metheny-esk solos it made the night a lot more fun sonically.

Delay always comes in handy for thickening a sound, be it for a solo or just a subtle boost during choruses, but I don’t think I’ll have to buy another delay pedal for a long time after getting this one… unless I dunno, they put lasers on it and it can transform into a car or something. Yeah I’d buy that!

Spore

Hi!

So the Spore Creature Creator has been out for a while. It seems like there’s plenty of people out there doing their best to create the most crazy, weird looking things they can. I’ve tried doing this but every time I finish making something weird I find myself saying “Yep, that’s dumb.” and then delete it!

However the fella above I’m proud of ‘cus he looks kinda normal and cute. Just a typical dragon sorta thing. I’m sure with more parts he could look better, but I’m not paying for the full demo with all the body parts.

I’m morally against paying for demos, they’re meant to get you to buy the full game damn it. I mean sure Spore is coming from Will Wright, who’s skill and legend in the games industry kinda grants Maxis the right to say “come on guys, you know this is gonna be good, show your love with your pennies!” but seriously, demos are a marketing thing. Would you pay 10p a time to watch even the best Guinness commercial?

The counter argument (being on the music side of things) is a music ’single’ kinda does the same thing. It’s a marketing tool to get you to buy the full album. With individual track downloads available online the single is kinda losing its edge, but if the song’s good enough people will pay for it and you can generate interest AND income.

I just hope this doesn’t lead to other games manufacturers thinking their games are better than they are and alienate their product by demanding money for a demo. Perhaps for a game which plain ain’t that good?

Anyway, Spore’s looking great and the creatures nearly always turn out way cuter than you’d think. Even a multi-mouthed, many tentical’d monstrosity can have the cutest laugh and look awesome dancing to beats which I believe are the work of Brian Eno. I read it on the internets so it might be crap, but apparently he’s going to be behind the Spore soundtrack which is just plain awesome.

That’s enough rambling for now, if you want to find out more check out www.spore.com and download the (free!) demo!

New website!

All new Dan Crisp website live and online! Its been a long time since the last post, but new things are moving forward and you can expect more content here soon! In the mean time check out the new official website!

www.dancrispmusic.com

DC