Production Notes on a late winter's day…
…..Spring is just a week away. A few odds and ends to talk about: First there has been a change at the My Life in Sound podcast page. I’ve taken 6 of the short musical numbers and relocated them to my MySpace page where they will be available to hear and download for a short while longer. I’m beginning to arrange it so only the At-The-Helm podcast series will be available at that site eventually but to also showcase some shorter/newer works in the process, hence the roatation I have also been asked to post starting times during the episode for the listed tunes since it’s all one big show now with no introductions for each. I’ll do this from here out and also update the info for episodes -17.18 & 19. Hope to have show #20 up in a week or so, meanwhile there’s a St. Patrick’s day musical treat coming later today for all who’d like to listen. Don’t worry no monkeys were harmed in this effort, have a good weekend!
At-The-Helm Episode 19 is available…..
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now for your listening pleasure. This show is a live Bindlestiff concert recorded April 30th 1995 in San Diego CAÂ direct from the mixing board. It features the following tracks:
1- Short Circuit Circus
2- Fantasia
3- The Night Sky
4- Sleep It Off
5- Orbital Noon
6- The Night Sky 2
Thanks to Dave Stafford ( e-bow guitar, loops,effects, original recording engineer). Thanks also to Mr. John Goddard and family for hosting Dave and I for some of our performances during the years 1989-1995. Copyright 2008 Helm/Stafford all rights reserved. This is the last show in this series from the California period and also the last live Bindlestiff concert to date. My thanks again to Dave for his work and to all the folks who came out to see us play live. Next episode it’s off to Colorado so please stay tuned. Featured photo is from the farm equipment show last summer. Thanks again for reading and listening and have a good week
Episode 18 of At-The-Helm (My Life in Sound)….
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….is now yours for the asking. This show is different in this series in that all the tracks are pieces that use earlier recordings of loops as the base for a new recording that adds a live solo overdub alongside that earlier recording, a primitive mutitrack technique of sorts. Anyway mister Dave Stafford also shows up with the midi pedal bubble effect on track 4 and the E-bow lead guitar on track 7 , both lovely to behold. Otherwise all the rest is caused by me:
1- Â Strange News
2- The Rain Returns
3- Â Monsoon
4-Â Sleep It Off
5- Big Saturday
6-Ten Years
7- Musing Moon & Solemn Sun
Recorded in Escondido CA 1995 by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist This Polar image for a bipolar world.
Episode 17 of At-The-Helm is now here……
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an episode that marks a change in format . From now on all episodes will be all music and no talk, I’ll hopefully cover any relevant info here in my blog. My thanks to Glenn for his talents in editing the first 16 shows. This change will allow me to include another 8-10 minutes of music in each podcast, which may prove necessary in the shows to come to try and cover all the materials I’d like to in this series.  The seventeenth show in this series features the following tracks:
1-Â 32 Seconds
2- A Man I Know
3- The Sunday River
4- A Distant Embrace
5-Â Mister Nelson’s Radio
6- My Old Man
It’s an all solo deal with me on drum machine,synthesizer, vocals and loops . This is a rare (no-guitar) episode in the series. The first 2 tracks are from October’94, the last 4 were recorded between 6-19 and 7-4 in 1994. Track #6 is dedicated to my father. Performed and recorded live to tape by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Photo of tree downed by lightning in RMNP Colorado (probably did make a sound).
Episodes 15 and 16 of At-The-Helm now up..
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and available for listening. Sorry for the delay but hopefully a double dose will help, and a matched pair at that.
Both shows feature the work of Bindlestiff. First we’ll hear selections from the CD “Quiet”
in show #15 and then selections from “Loud” in #16.
Show#15
1- Continental Division
2- Spiral Ginger/Descent
3- Signs of Spring
4- Who is Number One?
5- Into Blue
and then #16
1- Suspend Your Disbelief
2-Â Passage by Day
3- Suddenly Nothong Happens
4- Fantasia
5- Thunderous Voice
Selections from both discs recorded in 1994-95 in Escondido CA, at Studio Seventeen. Engineered by Dave Stafford. All titles copyright 2000 (the universe) Helm/Stafford.For more info please visit At-The-Helm.US and click on the specific CD cover icon or go to the Pure Ambient lisiting in the links section for more info still. Thanks for your patience in listening and I hope you enjoy these new selections. The photo is from last summer in RMNP in Colorado, a double bill of it’s own sort. More music soon, have a good day!
What's new indeed…………
should be the title of this post. My apologies to all interested listeners of the At-The-Helm podcast series for the lack of a new episode in some time. As soon as I get shows 15 & 16 back from the editor I’ll most likely post them both. There will be a slight change in format coming with #17 which is also the halfway point in the series, but more about that later. Meanwhile thanks for your patience, more music soon.
A few days into the new year and so far so good.
Though there is a short glitch in the production schedule for the at-the-helm series which will hopefully work itself out this weekend. The next few shows will feature work from the late California period both solo and duet so please do check back. Today’s photo is a view out to sea from atop the bluffs at Torrey Pines State Park near San Diego CA taken around 1995.Â
Hoping that everyone is in good health and spirits for this holiday season.
 With solstice coming this weekend and all the other days of note at years end, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who’ve taken the time to read this blog and listen to the at-the-helm podcast series. With 14 episodes now up we’re at about halfway as best as I can figure. Music for shows 15-18 is ready and I hope to have the first of those programs up for listening come January. Looks like there will be an interview show and also an extended length program featuring a live concert recording coming in the new year so please do check back.For now I’ll leave you with this festive image and best wishes for you and yours in this and the new year.
At-The-Helm Episode 14 is available now….
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Just in time for the holidays it’s show#14 up and running. This program contains five tracks from the CD “Early” by Bindlestiff, some of the earliest works by Dave and I including:
1- Ariel Adrift
2- Parade Rest
3- Dos Vedanya, Tanya
4- Cartesian Dualism
5- More Earth than Sea
It’s all live in the studio with loops, guitars, and synthesizers by Bindlestiff. Engineered by Dave Stafford. For more specific gear info go to at-the-helm.us. The weather has been up and down this week (72 degrees with 75 mph wind gusts on tuesday this week, snow today (fri)) so as a nod to the promise of the future here is a pic from last spring of natures determination to loop itself. Thanks for stopping by, please give a listen and have a good day.
Episode 13 of At-The-Helm is now on-line
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Episode 13 is an all solo outing from the California period featuring me on synthesizer, electric guitar and loops.
Features the following tracks:
1- I Heard That
2- Milk Teeth
3- Lost in Paris
4- Nelson’s Day
5- Questions of Distance
6- A Good Deed Shines
These are solo works done during the same period as The Dozey Lumps’ tenure that feature a more electronic flavor. Production note: I name the device used on track 6 as being a sequencer when in fact it is the arpeggiator on the Korg DW8000 synthesizer that is in use on this piece. In the image department here’s another photo from this past summer taken up near the continental divide in Rocky Mountain National Park. Thanks for stopping in, more music coming soon, have a good day.