music

Into It: The Resurgence Of Records

Andrew Bales — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:30:00 +0000

It seems like every new technology tries its best to kill off the vinyl record.

A Musical Life: Drew Patton

Jedd Beaudoin — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:08:41 +0000

Drew Patton first discovered his passion for music by watching Wichita bands such as Ricky Fitts and Hanoi Chevrolet during his high school years. He began playing music shortly thereafter in a succession of bands including punk, progressive rock (with the band Cosmic Octave) and beyond.

Upon entering college, he discovered an interest in jazz (including greats such as Joe Pass) and quickly became infatuated with writing music "on the page" because he was able to discover new harmonies outside of what he was accustomed to playing on the instrument.

Best In Show: Jedd Plans Your Weekend

Jedd Beaudoin — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:25:08 +0000

Jedd Beaudoin is the go-to source for a lot of things, and one of them is what's good in live, local music. Each week he doesn't rest until he has found you the very best of who and what is playing in the Wichita area. He's done his part, now you do yours.

Go see these things:

Friday, May 3

Musical Space: The Most Culturally Important Instrument Since The Electric Guitar

Mark Foley — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:40:01 +0000

The drum machine is the most culturally important new musical instrument since the electric guitar.

Electronic drums have been around for generations, and the early ones sounded like the cheesy rhythm attachments on home organs.

A Musical Life: Geoffrey Deibel

Jedd Beaudoin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:00:00 +0000

A Washington, D.C., native, Geoffrey Deibel is emerging as an important voice for the saxophone and contemporary music. Geoff's performances as soloist and chamber musician have taken him around the United States and across the globe. Geoff is a member of the critically acclaimed h2 quartet, a first prize winner at the Fischoff Competition and recent recipient of an Aaron Copland Fund Recording Grant.

A Musical Life: Ray Clause

Jedd Beaudoin — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:54:21 +0000

Raymond Clause has performed with the country band Against The Grain as well as with legendary country artists Johnny Lee and Mel Tillis and even jazz great Maynard Ferguson. He is the founder and administrative teacher of the Wichita Music Teachers Group, an organization that offers private music lessons to students of all ages in cities such as Wichita, Wellington, Winfield and Goddard.

Seattle Band Focuses On Sunny Sounds

Jedd Beaudoin — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:16:11 +0000

Seattle musician Tim Wilson formed the band Ivan & Alyosha in 2007 with his friend Ryan Carbary. Since 2009 the group—rounded out by Wilson's brother Pete and guitarist Tim Kim—has recorded and issued a series of mini albums, but February saw the release of the group's first full-length, All The Times We Had.

Wilson says he was confident about the record even during the earliest stages of recording. “It felt pretty special early on,” Wilson recalls. “I remember texting our manager that and he was, like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’”

Musical Space: How John Hammond Shaped American Pop Music

Mark Foley — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:47:51 +0000

You might not have heard of John Hammond, but in terms of cultural significance he was arguably the world’s most influential record producer.
At the beginning of his career in the 1930s, largely because of his deep convictions about racial equality and civil rights, Hammond helped shape the the jazz scene.

Some Rural, Some Urban In The Music Of The Pines

Jedd Beaudoin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:43:57 +0000

The Pines find comfort in rural and urban America.
Iowa natives Benson Ramsey and David Huckfelt formed the band The Pines after a chance meeting in Arizona. The pair quickly relocated to Minneapolis, Minn., where the band is based today.
Ramsey says that he and Huckfelt were first drawn together by a love of regional music and the blues.
“We were obsessed with blues music and folk music,” Ramsey says of his early days with Huckfelt.

Musical Space: The Loudness War

Mark Foley — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:53:27 +0000

Makers of pop music have always engineered their songs to sound big and loud. Motown records, for instance, have a legendary, huge sound. Sometimes, though, loudness can be overdone, and this problem seems to be getting worse.
The technology behind this is a device called a compressor. Its job is to keep a volume level consistent. This is great when you want, say, a vocalist to remain audible above the other instruments.