Inaugural BSV Show

Well last night was the first “advertised” online stream by Blue Sky Void. Things will improve as we get a few more of these performances under out collective belt. This show could have used louder vocals and more compressed bass, but overall you can hear what’s going on. Here is the board I was using for last night’s bass sounds…

SG Pedalboard, 10/25/23

It was the first run for both the Origin BassRig preamp as well as the Walrus Audio Fable. If you missed the live stream- you can conjure the power of the Internet and check it out here:

Cheers! sg

Our Rusty Romance

Here is another Blue Sky Void video I assembled that was inspired by warm thoughts of doing daily things with your partner that, although routine or ordinary, still comprise the compendium of priceless memories that we all carry around. And although things take a bit more effort as you get older- they are still done with grace and enthusiasm. Enjoy! sg

Chunga’s Odyssey

So as I settle in to my new role in the band “Blue Sky Void“, I have been engaged in assembling video content for some of our tunes. This video is the first one (of mine) the band has posted on YouTube. I will continue to produce these videos and, as time permits, will post them here with any extra info about the video.

In this case “Chunga’s Odyssey” is assembled from a combination of stock photos as well as my own B-Roll footage of highway scenes; which I shot in the 2000’s while working/traveling across the country as a Broadcast Engineer. Cheers, sg

Spring Update

Rik Wright came by to add some excellent solos to a couple of tunes on my forthcoming solo album.

On another note- I started playing with an electronic, experimental music group recently: Blue Sky Void …and here’s the pedalboard I am using for this new adventure:


And here are a few sound files…

Cheers, sg

Holiday Madness

Greetings and happy holiday season to you all! I just wrapped up a week of mixing the Aug ’22 recordings and they are online now in the SG projects area for collaboration. I am also gearing up to start producing a YouTube program that covers all areas of music writing and production. Half of my music work tends to be “coaching” friends and current and former clients through the maze of producing music, for a variety of destinations, or purposes; so I am going to just start getting as much as I know out into the universe of talking heads.

On another note- I’d like to extend a huge shout-out to the Fender Mod Shop for this outstanding instrument that has become my main axe as of late. The official color is Jade Pearl Metallic…

Cheers! sg

The Songwriting Rig

Hi All- it’s been a while so just dropping a quick note to let everyone know that I have been somewhat sidetracked while helping my Dad transition from living in his home in Hawaii to a new senior care facility near my home in the SF Bay Area. I am still committing a lot of time to songwriting though; the pic here is my combo Guitar & Bass board that I use every day. I might swap a pedal out every now & then but right now this combo gets me in to quite a few styles and textures.

On another note- I have recently finished rough mixing a handful of songs that Bruce Brophy was kind enough to contribute some lead guitar parts for. So it’s all coming together like a bad plan!

Cheers- sg

Senate Hearing on COVID-19

Fast-forward to 40:00.

A public hearing on information, policy and censorship with regard to the government’s response to the recent pandemic. Whatever you think about the disease itself- Censorship is the end of our country. If you ever find yourself supporting censorship of any kind- you should take a timeout and think about it a bit longer. Every American gets the right to speak; period. If you don’t believe that- then you are really living in the wrong country, and there are about 150 other countries in the world that will offer you a place to live with all of the censorship you can stand. Anyway- a ton of great information in here. Thanks, sg

Summer ’21, Latest PB Revision

For those who are new to this series- these are my studio pedalboards. No- I don’t take them on club gigs. They exist primarily to give me a choice of multiple drive types and drive chain combos. This particular board may not change for a while- I am really making good use of everything here.

Cheers, sg

Been a While

It’s been way too long so here’s a quick update: Still sheddin’ the bass every day. Still recording works for my upcoming solo release; ETA Fall, 2021. Managed to avoid getting the virus. Only wearing a mask when absolutely necessary. I am not partaking in the experimental MRNA gene therapy. I wish all of my friends and followers true peace and happiness. Here’s the latest board…

DAW Drama

So I upgraded my DAW to MAC OS Catalina. Consequently I had to update my DAW I/O device drivers; my primary I/O device was an Antelope Orion Studio. As soon as the driver update was completed- my audio had digital pops & clicks in it. To make a very long story short- I went through the usual work of searching knowledge bases, user forums, etc. for any kind of remedy or recommendation; unfortunately- there were none to be found. All paths led back to installing the latest drivers (which I just did). As it turns out- I had just started a collaboration project and couldn’t waste a lot of time trying to get my rig working. So I pulled out my old UA Apollo Twin. I purchased the Apollo when they first came out, now years ago, and it didn’t survive the first session; both mic preamps overheated and blew out. However the line level in’s & out’s still worked and that is all I needed to get my collaboration rolling.

I knew I was going to need a more complete fix though, as my collaboration was going to require a lot of instrument recording. Hence I started the long journey of digging through storage and resurrecting my studio DAW that used to roll around with me, back when we all used to use recording studios. It’s a little over-sized for my room- but it’s exactly what the doctor ordered and it sounds amazing! This rig uses an RME MADIFace I/O unit, driving a Solid State Logic Alpha-Link MADI-AX. I patch 16 of its MADI channels through a Rupert Neve 5059 Satellite Summing mixer. With all of the I/O channels I have I can also use my 500-series racks for outboard processing. Now we’re cooking with fuel!

Ciao for now- sg

Recent J-Bass Brain Surgery

I recently performed a complete electronics surgery on a Mexican J Bass; opting instead for EMG pickups and electronics. Looking at the pic with the new chrome knobs (from L-R)…

1. Mid cut/boost with sweepable freq.
2. Stacked High & Low cut/boost
3. Neck pickup volume
4. Bridge pickup volume

The previous incarnation sported an active/passive toggle switch; and now the new version has removed that toggle switch and left a hole in the plate (I might bring the switch back). I absolutely love the sound and tone control I am getting from this particular set (EMG “J5 Set”) although, for the unacquainted, it is worth mentioning that these particular EMG’s will take you even farther away, from a “jazz bass” sound, than the previous Fender Noiseless pickup set already had. sg

Current Bass Pedalboard

As of Feb, 2019- this is my current bass pedalboard. The H9 is likeliest to get the axe for my next addition; but for now this will be the rig for next few months of work. I am currently building a separate board for my fretless rig, since that compliment of FX is simpler and the params are adjusted differently.

Ok kids- More info to come. sg

And Still Woodshedding

I know it’s been forever since my last posting.  Same story- woodshedding my a$$ off.  I have achieved a level of competency on the bass that I now feel I can get back to that album I started two years ago.  It’s gonna be pretty lush, with a lot of tonality and rhythm.

What else is new you ask?…

Cheers!  sg

Continued Woodshedding

Greetings all!  I have mainly been woodshedding my bass chops over this Winter. I have been working on specific combinations of different artists’ material to get my head around shifting from one type of chord composition to something totally different. I have found that it is easy to get stuck in a “mindset”, especially when it comes to muscle memory, if you work on too much of the same material all the time.  So my current mixture consists of works by: George Michael, Public Image Ltd and Porcupine Tree. Ok- they are all British- but that’s about where the similarity ends.

Lastly I’ll just note that I was at a fun show last night in Petaluma…

Psychedelic Furs!

Cheers!  sg

Happy New Year!

Happy new year! It’s been forever since my last post- I guess I got a little busy. Long story short- I spent the Summer searching for, and then buying, a new house. This has kept me really busy and past few months have been spent customizing my house to our liking. This Spring I will be starting work on the garage project studio.

For now- here is the latest incarnation of my bass rig’s pedalboard.

Cheers!  sg

A Quick Geo-Political Note

Ok look- this is a music site. I play, record & produce music of all kinds, for all sorts of reasons. Once in a while I MIGHT discuss issues from my tech career, day job.  However the state of our politics and our economy are in such a state that once in a while I might have something to say in reaction to the very unsteady times we live in.

I am not here to vent about one political party vs. another or anything like that.  I am primarily concerned with my (and frankly all of our) financial future which has been getting gloomy-er and gloomy-er every day since the dotcom bust. Whatever your political stance, please remember-  when economies get so weak that they are close to a breaking point- the most historically used tool by all governments is to stir up a war to take everyone’s eye off the ball.  This is exactly the same slight of hand that magicians and three card monty artists use to perform their tricks.

That said- here is a link to Rogue Money’s weekly interview with global intelligence analyst London Paul

Chin’s up everybody.  If all of this turbulence makes you uneasy- write a song about it and share it.   Ciao for now- sg

Still Here

Hi all- just a quick note to let you know that things are still rolling along here at SGU. I have been distracted by house hunting and a lot of work analyzing the crypto markets as we prepare for the upcoming financial changes our country (and frankly the world) are about to undergo. I will post some music info soon. Thanks for checking in, sorry for the long silence!

Ciao for now- sg

Swamped

Yup- “swamped”.  As in- very busy, nearly overwhelmed, barely afloat  …ok you get the idea.  Birthdays, holidays and anniversaries have consumed much of my time in the last few weeks, so not a lot of music news to report; mostly just my daily woodshedding.

I did manage to get out and see this:

I must say that I did not like this film as much as Prometheus. I am hoping a future director’s cut may change my mind. Basically- there was very little character development which killed the eventual, multiple scenes where different characters loose their partner/spouses but have to summon the strength to keep going (noticeably effortlessly).   The redeeming factor (for me) is the storyline and continuing saga of the ever-present Yutani. Worth the price of a matinee.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention seeing an extended preview for the upcoming Blade Runner 2049. Psyched!

Ciao for now. sg

Back in the Rat Race

Greetings- I am back from a one week hiatus. I was out celebrating my wife’s 50TH birthday and enjoying our annual trip to Palm Springs. While down there we also made our, now regular, stop at the Integratron for a sound bath.  So I’m back to work now as I continue to make progress on this year’s solo album as well as a ton of woodshedding on my stringed instruments.

Ciao for now- sg

New Song Player

Hello again- as mentioned earlier I have been experimenting with different audio player formats and finally I have settled on a winner. Not much else to say today so here is an example from the Disjunkt page…

Ciao for now- sg

Checking-In

Howdy folks- sorry for the long pause. I have been as busy as busy gets, but just wanted to drop a quick progress report in here.  I am working on a few site tweaks- new audio players coming soon.  Been very busy making music- solo album is progressing on schedule. I have been woodshedding a lot on bass lately. I find that most of my best songwriting ideas come from being totally consumed by bass, bass lines and everything in the foundation of the song’s rhythm and chord structure. This might seem obvious- but when it comes to writing we all have our preferred tools and sometimes just exploring the bass gives me the best ideas (as much as I love my tele). Ok then- I’ll log something more substantial soon.  Thanks for stopping by!  Ciao for now- sg

Free Jazz Additions

Greetings friends. I have just finished uploading several Disjunkt recordings for your consumption:

In other SG news I am continuing work on my solo album. I am excited to reveal that I have commitments from Rik Wright and Bruce Brophy to perform on some of the tracks. More news to come on this effort as I continue work on this project the all the way through the Fall of ’17.

Lastly- I am still recovering from a fantastic night of (now) old-school rappers featuring Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Method Man and Redman. Fantastic show- catch them on their “Wellness Tour” while you still can- you will be cured of all that ails you for at least an evening.

Ciao for now- sg

Techie Weekend

Greetings- I had a no-music (making) weekend as I spent most of it trying to compile video content for this site. I am thinking my model will be to release full albums for listening, via video; likely through YouTube.  I had so much fun sorting through content and editing video files that I decided to start today by programming MIDI program change settings on my Boss ES-8 so I can remotely change presets on my Eventide H9.  This makes my head hurt; there will be music making tomorrow.  Ciao for now- sg

Transplant Surgery Successful

As mentioned a few days ago- I had to rearrange my pedalboard to make room for my new Eventide H9. The Tech-21 TRI-OD had to go in order to make that room; but I think I have a way to bring it back- fixpedalboards.com  …I’ll add a riser, or two, and then I can re-claim the space consumed by those cable patches on the back-side of my Boss-ES8 switcher. Note the image below- this is the “before” shot; you can still see the TRI-OD on the right edge of the board. A riser will allow me to float more pedal effects above the patch cables you can see in the superimposed red box (that’s a lot of space).

I am not in a hurry to perform this mod- but once I do I will share the results here. ciao for now- sg

Pedalboard Whining

Continuing to work on my slo-blues song; laid down some lead tracks this morning. I’m still working out what I want to say in those lead lines so I’ll give it plenty of time for experimentation before committing to a part.

I’m also currently dealing with space issues on my guitar pedalboard so just venting here a little. I’ve got to ditch my Tech-21 TRI-OD to make space for my new H9. In reality though- I’ll likely just keep them both and get a bigger pedalboard soon. All those years of rolling my eyes as guitar players in my bands talked about stuff like this- ha-ha; now I get to take that journey too. Oh well- we do what we must.

Lastly I have been making a bunch of updates to the pages on this site. Most recently I have updated the Scream Radio page, including a new page dedication to Scar the Shell; with more album-specific pages coming soon (for all bands really). Keep watching here and I will highlight these adds as often as I can.

ciao for now- sg

Clean-Up Your Website!

If you haven’t noticed by now- I have embarked on a complete clean-up of the SimonGrant.com website. Since I have spent the better part of three years converting most of my career’s music into digital format- I now have a ton of media to share so I’m trying to get my delivery system (the site) in order so that it’s not too difficult to sift through the data and media as it accumulates here over time.

In cleaning-up my “Drums” page- I have added a few sound files that illuminate some of my playing. This particular example comes from Disjunkt, and is one idea of what a drummer can do with brushes. Enjoy! sg

Bird of Paradox (Disjunkt)

Slo-Blues

I’ve been working on a slow, dark blues song this week; I’m calling it: “Gardez”.  I have scratch drum and bass tracks as well as different layers of rhythm guitar textures. Next I have to start working out where the lead guitar riffs can go (around the lyrics). More info to come.  ciao for now- sg