Weekend Cat Blogging: Rest and Play

Well, the shows are now behind us. And so before the busy work week starts up again, we at CatSynth take a moment to relax:

and to play:

Weekend Cat Blogging is hosted this week by Niko and Cloud of The Cats in Maryland.

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is hosted by Diamond Emerald Eyes – you can’t go wrong with an event hosted by a black cat with emerald eyes.

The Carnival of the Cats goes up today at Life from a Cats Perspective.

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Don’t forget, the Hallowe’en Edition of Weekend Cat Blogging will be hosted right here at CatSynth!







Upcoming shows: the details

For those of you in the Bay Area, here are the details the shows this week.

Things are looking up today. The program for the 16th is finally coming together – even the temperamental Mr. Echo is purring like a kitten. Fortunately, the computer has a minimal role in this, so I am OK without the MacBook. And I have the program for the Looping Festival on the PC laptop.

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October 16, 8PM

Luggage Store Gallery
1007 Market St.
@ 6th Street
San Francisco, California
Admission $6-10 sliding scale.

I will be performing a new solo electronic set, combining custom software with hardware analog and digital synthesizers.
Dark and playful, combining noise, rich harmonies, strange rhythms and of course a sense of humor.

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October 18, 4:30PM

Y2K8 International Live Looping Festival.
Pearl Alley Studios
120 Pearl Alley
Santa Cruz, California

In live looping, a musician records his/her live performance and plays it back while playing or recording new material on top of it, thus a single performer can create complex, layered music. I will be looping various electronic and folk instruments.

Preparing for performances next week.

With two performances coming up, next Thursday and Saturday, we at CatSynth are very busy preparing. Actually, it’s more crisis management. Luna’s serene appearance belies the fact that we at CatSynth are dealing with serious equipment failures. First, the Mr Echo pedal has been having its problems. It was mostly an issue with the power jack, which I was able to repair. But after an evening of fantastic practice and experimentation, it stopped working again. This time the power appears to be fine, but now there is no sound.

In the middle of all of this, our MacBook had a serious hard drive failure – or least that what it appears to be. One moment, we’re happily web browsing, the next a spinning pinwheel of death (SWOD), and after a forced reboot it simply will not come up.

I am of course doing my best to continue preparing for the show. I am shifting the focus to other pieces of equipment, and using the old PC laptop. Although now the PC, which is old and slow under the best circumstances, appears to also have some hard-drive issues.

Oh yeah, and I hear the entire world was having some financial difficulties last week.

It’s a good thing Luna is here for comfort and stability, We will also try and visit Weekend Cat Blogging with Salome and Astrid. And the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos with Sammy and Miles Meezer. And the Carnival of the Cats at My Big Fat Orange Cat.

Meanwhile, I’m on my way to a local music store, and probably the Apple Store as well, for a little help.

UPDATE: As of Monday evening, the pedal is working again. But the MacBook is out for repair.













Cat-Guitar pic with Luna

Cables have an annoying tendency to multiply. Luna seems oblivious to them.

Something that a few of our friends (including Mr Echo) might appreciate: the red pedal in front is an SIB Mr Echo.

I am planning to use analog effects pedals in my upcoming performances this month. And I am using some extended-techniques on the guitar as sound material (I don’t plan to play it live).



Weekend Cat Blogging: Triste

There is often a bit of sadness and melancholy in the air. Sad news from friends, anxious news in the world. And the first showers of the season add to the effect.

And that happens to be the theme of this week’s Photo Hunt, and the subject of our Weekend Cat Blogging.

It’s a good time to cheer up with a walk, even in the rain.

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted by the Cats in Maryland. It is their first time hosting, so please give them a warm welcome.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up on Sunday at the Catboys Realm with Kashim, Othello and Salome.

And of course the the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

We at CatSynth are sending thoughts this weekend to our friend Breadchick of the Sour Dough. We also sending thoughts for Janice of the Criz Cats.