Making a big splash when you are a strangeduck

     The future is bright for independent artists on the internet.  Social media networks have enabled you to do all your own advertising and networking for zero cost, if you put some time and effort into it.  Each site comes with it's own unique way to utilize it and some have options to pay but you don't have to pay to get it set up.  Instant interaction with the fans is now so easy and will be very key to the success of artists in the future.  Now you can even use your entertainment time as marketing time.

This is our newest little flyer.  Just larger than a business card the flip side has all our internet contacts.  We dropped a bunch off while at the Bassgasm show at First Ave in MN.  That's the old way of spreading the word now Turntable.fm is the new way.  You set up your profile on turntable.fm to have all your links (Twitter, FB, Youtube and your own website)  then you hang out in different rooms playing music similar to yours all the while your links are there just like a little business card.  You instantly find people that like music similar to yours and then you can mix your own songs in and then drop a link in the chat.  Just like that you have increased your audience.  You can get live realtime feedback from strangers about your music and make new friends too.  Already I've seen big and small artists utilizing this method.  You were going to listen to music today anyway so now you can work and play at the same time.
  So set up those accounts and link it all together and interact.  You don't have to wait for the fans to find you if you go hunt them down

Canyons, critters and cruising.

 
We just got back from a week vacation at Snowbird in Utah.  It was amazing.  A ski resort in the Little Cottonwood canyon overlooking Salt Lake City.  I grew up at the base of the canyon so going back is always a treat.  It was still winter on the mountain but spring in the valleys.  The resort had just shut down skiing so the place was empty.  We had the place to ourselves with a hot tub on the balcony and a rooftop pool and gym.  All with amazing views of snow covered peaks.  The weather was snowy for a few days then sunny and warm.  Evidence of avalanches were everywhere as spring started to melt it all. 

  With the ski lifts all shut down we rented a car to go to the base of the canyon to hike and to be able to go record shopping and sightseeing.  I did find a comedy record with Piero Umiliani's "mahna mahna" on it at the Deseret Industries.  If you are looking for a store in Salt Lake drive down State street there were lots of Pawn shops and thrift stores and antique stores.  We got a couple of great OZ books and Snoopy's harp.  There was also a random car battery flying across the road which was a little scary.  You can also find the rare and elusive liquor store of Utah on State street.  Very hard to find and expensive to drink in Utah.    
  The drives up and down the canyons were beautiful.  We also took a side trip into Big Cottonwood canyon to see Solitude and Brighton.  The snow was still 10 feet deep but the place was shut down and empty except for some snowmobilers.  The drives were a slice through rock cliffs, waterfalls, pines, aspens and then down to scrub oak and sage.  Breathtaking views of the valley and surrounding mountains were everywhere.
  We took a hike up Bell canyon to a reservoir which reflected the snowy peaks behind.  We then followed a trail that went up through the various layers of the forest following a fresh mountain stream fed by the cold melting snow.  The sound of the water gurgling over the stones as the birds sang just forced you to sit and become part of it for a little while.  This small canyon is just next to the little cottonwood canyon.  There was also a short paved trail the Temple quarry trail which gave you views of huge granite cliffs with mountain goats dancing on the rocky cliffs foraging on all the fresh spring greens. 

  It was very relaxing and tranquil and we can't wait to go back again in any season.  I have made a 3 part music video using footage from the canyon drives.  Itt is called Greeple.  http://www.youtube.com/user/djsparkyandtherandom  The music is live experimental electronic organ music made by Sparky and the random band.  All original and all strange.

The weapons we use to make the strange things happen.

Someone asked me on twitter what DAW I use, after searching to find what he meant (digital audio workstation) I looked at my old Fostex multi-tracker and I had to reply nope I don't use one.  I basically use the multi-tracker as a mixing board for levels and combining the layers live.  Wait what live?  Yes, live session recordings unscripted unplanned live recordings.  It's based on free jazz and beat poetry but made with effects pedals.  We route an old Conn organ, Moog theremin, Alesis drum machine, didjeridoo, guitar, lap guitar, vox and anything else we can mic or plug a cable into through various effects pedals, hit record and start playing around.  We record live straight to cd a minimum of 30 minutes at a time.  Usually there are 2 to 3 tracks that are perfect as is the other stuff is usually layered straight together using Magix music maker 17 so I guess that is kind of a workstation but I don't use it in the traditional sense.  Obviously I am still learning about all my equipment and how to make noise and music but I am just teaching myself as I go.  The video programs I use are windows movie maker and Magix movie edit pro 17.  So we make music, make videos and then post them to the internet for the world to see, sometimes all in one day.  So even we don't know what is going to happen next time we start to make the strange.

How we met

     My wife and I are high school sweethearts who have been together for 16 years but just got married in '09.  Music and radio brought us together.  We saw each other in the hallway for the first time while drawing on our chuck taylors across the hall from each other.  We made an awkward hello and then it was my turn to audition so we did not talk more then.  I saw her after that between classes, I would hold the door open for her (thanks for teaching me good manners mom).  One day after school she just came up to me and said "Do you want to go to the Cranberries concert?"  I replied "Yeah but I don't have money to go."  She said "No, I won some free tickets and I want to take you."  Apparently she liked my beat up old VW bus. (Last time I saw that thing it was a hippie's house in the middle of the desert in Northern AZ.)  So I of course said yes!  She won the tickets from a now defunct alternative station AM 1060 KUKQ out of Phoenix. (That station was amazing and very influential.)  Since then we won free tickets again to see the Cranberries and saw them a 3rd time the day before our 15th anniversary of seeing them the 1st time.  And that is the short version of how we met and we still celebrate our 1st date to the Cranberries.

Putting all the ducks in a row

    All my life I have been active in the arts.  I began drawing and singing as early as I can remember.  I just moved to painting in the last 6 years or so.  I go through bursts of output and dormancy.  One day I decided to fuse various hobbies together.  Making videos using the art I had made as well as footage my wife and I had taken over the years and layering it with my new love experimental music. 
     My brother introduced me to turntables a long time ago.  I learned to play and make didjeridoo's from Bart Bagnall while working at the Renaissance festival.  (I'll share some adventures from that time later).  I learned organ and piano at a very young age.  I should have known I would end up playing experimental music on an organ, I used to sit at my Grandparent's old organ for hours.  The theremin, guitar and percussion I am teaching myself as I go. 
    So this is still strange uncharted territory but I can't wait to see and hear what comes out next. 

You can follow me @strangeduck on twitter 
Keep making the strange things happen (everyday)
Sparky 

Who we are and what we do

We are and a husband and wife who make experimental electronic music in our basement.  Focusing on live instrumentation and the use of effects pedals we are doing things a little differently.   Although we both have listened to a lot of music, other than some piano lessons early on and lots of choir we have no formal training in music, art or video.  From original works of art to nature we use our own video footage to create images to match the music.  So Sparky and the random band is here on this adventure called life and looking at it from a new perspective. 

          It started as an idea for a band that would have random members but grew into a band with random instruments and sounds and just my wife and I making the strange things happen.  I began collecting odd instruments; a theremin, a didjeridoo, a drum machine, a piano, an organ and some other random obscure pieces.  We then set about doing live recording sessions using these instruments experimentally.  For 35 days straight I recorded at least 30 minutes of these sessions and was amazed with the results.  Since then I have made videos for 19 of them and put them up on  http://www.youtube.com/user/djsparkyandtherandom .  I keep making more music and videos all the time and can't wait to see what happens next.