It was 1971 and the sixties were over. After sleeping my way through the Rolling Stones I finally tied the knot with Mick Jagger and we gave it a good try. The sixties were hard on everyone, but I swear if I ever had to sing “As tears go by” again or even so much as see a bird let alone have to sing my dreary pop hit “little bird” I was going to lose my mind. If the truth be told, I’d been living with Brian in Los Angeles doing bong hits and practicing my bird calls for a few years until Brian died in the pool. Everyone says it was some kind of conspiracy — like Mick was jealous and took our a contract on him, or he owed the hells angels a pile of money and thought he was too huge to have to pay it back, or even that little Charlie thought he deserved a decent shot at some of the song writing and Brian wouldn’t let him anywhere near the microphone — but it’s not true. We’d been up for days sucking on those felt strips soaked in benzedrine that used to come over the counter from the chemist for asthmatics. I was wearing nothing but my Pauline Johnson and Brian was dressed in some poofy purple shoulder pads and we’d been singing “I got you babe” over and over and over with a toy piano and ukelele. It was a fun weekend. I was on the other side of the pool and Brian went into the kitchen to get some more lemonade. On his way back he slipped on the tails of his purple coat and went head first into the water. I laughed and laughed and pounded the keys of the tiny piano, but Brian never came back up out of the water.

Naturally Mick showed up about three minutes later and tried to make it with me. He always wanted to ball when he was sad. That wanker could never hold his own. But I could never resist those huge lips of his (even if he did have the longest fingernails I’d ever seen on a man.) So we tried to make it work, but by the end of 1970 it was over and I was in Paris and Mick was strung out on heroin again.

Sunshine Jones has done a couple of re edits of the Rolling Stones over the years. They’re pretty good. I like the ones where he just re-syncopates the songs so he can mix them in, but I think everyone’s favorite is his re edit of Heaven. It’s an unsung gem and the rework really gives it that Italian space fury that the original song was absolutely missing.

It’s going to be released on vinyl at last and it’s backed with his re edit of Miracles by Starship. Grace Slick is a total bitch. I didn’t like her when we made it in ‘Frisco in the 60′s — back when she was the prettiest thing west of the Mississippi — but when she came to Paris in 71 to “rest” she was bloated and drunk and loud. Nothing worse than that. Washed up at 20, and we had such a long way to go yet…

Anyway, these re edits are going to come out on Whiskey Disco soon. Pre order yours now before they’re all sold out.

To Listen:
At 9pm in San Francisco (which is Midnight in Manhattan, and a sleepy 5 am in London)
you can head over to 90hz.org and click the big play button.

For a little bit more of a sophisticated listening experience you can grab the 90hz IP address
and drop it into iTunes, or WinAmp or WMP or however you listen to inter-web audio
and rock it like that.

Easy.

iPhone and iPad Users:
You can connect with your iPhone from anywhere you have cellular signal.
open Safari and type 216.59.35.35:8084/listen.pls – touch go
No need for an app or anything, it just works.

Community:
We get together in the chat at 90hz. We are a tight group of friends,
we talk seriously, and freely. It’s nice if you’re up for that.
It might be weird if you’re not.

To join in the dialog, sign up for the 90hz forum and then click the “chat” link
from anywhere on 90hz.org and come on in.

Mailing List:
Sign up for the 90hz.org mailing list. We never ever share our email list
with a single solitary soul. You opt in, and you opt out.
It’s up to you completely.

Head over to 90hz.org and make the decision for yourself.

For more about Sunday Soul – here
Read the manifesto – here

Join Us!

Facebook Invite

Saturday 1/21 we welcome back a live performance from Sunshine & Moonbeam –

10pm, $10
Purchase Tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/84813/
*Ages 18-20 entry by advance ticket only

Throughout the 1990s, DUBTRIBE SOUND SYSTEM established a devoted following amongst the west coast house music scene due to their unique live performances, record releases and self-operated label, Imperial Dub Recordings. In 1994 Dubtribe’s debut full-length album, Sound System, launched them into worldwide recognition, and in 1999 the duo achieved crossover success with their album Bryant Street (released via Jive Records). Since their split in 2005, Dubtribe Sound System has performed only twice in Washington, D.C. (2009); this will be their second appearance together at U Hall.

Facebook Invite

Over the years there have been a select number of promoters who have helped shape Baltimore’s nightlife – Fever, Ultraworld, Sonic Soul, and arguably the most debaucherous of all, Family Productions.

Celebrating the past as well as the future E-Villa & the Baltimore Music Collective are proud to present

“FAMILY PRODUCTIONS 15 YEAR REUNION”

Featuring an evening with
SUNSHINE JONES
of DUBTRIBE
(Treehouse Muzique, King Street, Sunday Soul, San Francisco)

with additional appearances by
Datajack, Phil Rigatuso
The Weststeppers & DJ ZVI
Jay Gray and the return of Deviate
Featuring Zak Concannon on Percussion

This event will be held @ E-villa. 917 Cathedral St. in Baltimore, MD
$10 Cover – 9pm until 2am
21+

More info here

To Listen:
At 9pm in San Francisco (which is Midnight in Manhattan, and a sleepy 5 am in London)
you can head over to 90hz.org and click the big play button.

For a little bit more of a sophisticated listening experience you can grab the 90hz IP address
and drop it into iTunes, or WinAmp or WMP or however you listen to inter-web audio
and rock it like that.

Easy.

iPhone and iPad Users:
You can connect with your iPhone from anywhere you have cellular signal.
open Safari and type 216.59.35.35:8084/listen.pls – touch go
No need for an app or anything, it just works.

Community:
We get together in the chat at 90hz. We are a tight group of friends,
we talk seriously, and freely. It’s nice if you’re up for that.
It might be weird if you’re not.

To join in the dialog, sign up for the 90hz forum and then click the “chat” link
from anywhere on 90hz.org and come on in.

Mailing List:
Sign up for the 90hz.org mailing list. We never ever share our email list
with a single solitary soul. You opt in, and you opt out.
It’s up to you completely.

Head over to 90hz.org and make the decision for yourself.

For more about Sunday Soul – here
Read the manifesto – here

Join Us!

To Listen:
At 9pm in San Francisco (which is Midnight in Manhattan, and a sleepy 5 am in London)
you can head over to 90hz.org and click the big play button.

For a little bit more of a sophisticated listening experience you can grab the 90hz IP address
and drop it into iTunes, or WinAmp or WMP or however you listen to inter-web audio
and rock it like that.

Easy.

iPhone and iPad Users:
You can connect with your iPhone from anywhere you have cellular signal.
open Safari and type 216.59.35.35:8084/listen.pls – touch go
No need for an app or anything, it just works.

Community:
We get together in the chat at 90hz. We are a tight group of friends,
we talk seriously, and freely. It’s nice if you’re up for that.
It might be weird if you’re not.

To join in the dialog, sign up for the 90hz forum and then click the “chat” link
from anywhere on 90hz.org and come on in.

Mailing List:
Sign up for the 90hz.org mailing list. We never ever share our email list
with a single solitary soul. You opt in, and you opt out.
It’s up to you completely.

Head over to 90hz.org and make the decision for yourself.

For more about Sunday Soul – here
Read the manifesto – here

Join Us!

To Listen:
At 9pm in San Francisco (which is Midnight in Manhattan, and a sleepy 5 am in London)
you can head over to 90hz.org and click the big play button.

For a little bit more of a sophisticated listening experience you can grab the 90hz IP address
and drop it into iTunes, or WinAmp or WMP or however you listen to inter-web audio
and rock it like that.

Easy.

iPhone and iPad Users:
You can connect with your iPhone from anywhere you have cellular signal.
open Safari and type 216.59.35.35:8084/listen.pls – touch go
No need for an app or anything, it just works.

Community:
We get together in the chat at 90hz. We are a tight group of friends,
we talk seriously, and freely. It’s nice if you’re up for that.
It might be weird if you’re not.

To join in the dialog, sign up for the 90hz forum and then click the “chat” link
from anywhere on 90hz.org and come on in.

Mailing List:
Sign up for the 90hz.org mailing list. We never ever share our email list
with a single solitary soul. You opt in, and you opt out.
It’s up to you completely.

Head over to 90hz.org and make the decision for yourself.

For more about Sunday Soul – here
Read the manifesto – here

Join Us!

It all began with a little application called Sound Designer II. I don’t know if there was a Sound Designer I because it was already called SDII in 1993 when I arrived at the prospect of making music with a computer instead of an elaborate recording studio and/or outboard mixing console and/or sampling live performances with my 2 meg Emax II sampler for re sequencing into my tracks and singing the vocals live into the final mix — believe it or not I made many 12″ singles and two albums using the latter method. Sound Designer II was a miracle application. I could record a song to DAT tape, and then via SPDIF dump it into the macintosh and edit it with SDII. Once it was equalized, and edited to my satisfaction I then dumped it back to DAT tape again and delivered it to the mastering engineer who cut the tracks to a master lacquer for vinyl pressing or made the glass master for CD reproduction. It was extremely time consuming and very expensive.

One day a really fine fellow who worked for Digidesign offered to come over to “check out the studio.” I wasn’t immediately receptive to anyone I didn’t know coming to my completely private recording studio to “check it out.” I’ve never been a “jammer” or much of a lookie-loo, so I was suspicious at first. When he arrived he sat down and listened to some of the early Dubtribe tracks, and we talked about the challenges of moving from an analog studio to a computer based recording system. It turned out to be a very useful and compelling conversation. At the end of the talk the guy pulled a ProTools II box out of his bag and offered it to me as a gift. I was delighted and amazed. We set it up, installed the software and did some recording tests to see what actually sounded better – tape, dat, sampler, or protools. Believe it or not the answer was Protools – hands down. And so I soon saved up my royalties and bought myself a full Protools III system complete with what would eventually include the main card, many DSP farms, a sample cell II card, and an expansion chasis to hold all the dsp farms which no longer fit into my Quadra 950. But let me tell you I was in hog heaven. The tdm plugin scheme was fantastic, it sounded great, and worked beautifully. I have never been so happy with my studio — not before, and not since.

About a year later Digidesign announced that they were changing things. They were no longer going to support the nubus architecture of the old macintosh, but were going to go with the PCI cards that the new Mac G3 computers used. At the time I was both desperate for more processing power, the features of the new software, and a faster computer. In order to make this happen I was going to have to do a number of very expensive things: 1. Upgrade my computer (meaning replace it with a new one.) 2. Upgrade my protools system (meaning buy the new software, and upgrade the main card, the dsp farms, and the expansion chasis) and 3. Upgrade all of my plugins. This worked out to cost something more than $12,000. At that time my rent was $600 a month, and I barely earned that. So this was a substantial investment. But I was ambitious, and excited, and cracked out with full blown upgraditis, and so it had to be done. The trouble is that despite the new 24 bit quality, and all of the additions to the Protools software, this new system didn’t sound as good as the old Protools III rig had sounded. I was disappointed, and the law of diminishing returns had left me with fewer dsp farms, fewer plugins, and no sample cell card anymore. Things got worse, not better.

Regardless of my disappointments I recorded a couple of successful albums with the Protools 24 rig – Dubtribe’s Bryant Street album was recorded at this time and stands today as some of my best work. And then Digidesign announced ProTools HD. Apple launched OS X. The world had suddenly changed, and despite my new Mackie Control and my new studio monitors, the Urei compressors, and the beautiful Neumann microphones, I felt like I was working with a dinosaur now, and would never truly unleash the power of Protools until I could scrape up another $24,000 and not only go Protools HD, but also step up to the new and exciting world of Os X. I fumed about this for a while, and resonated more with the folks who were really capping on digidesign and the “in the box” sound of severely limited, sonically tragic popular music. I agreed mostly because I didn’t actually have $24,000 to spend on the dream system, and the dream macintosh. I had gone over to the dark side – and yet was warmly welcomed as having joined the light. They were confusing times.

Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore. I rallied my resources and priced out what my exchange program credit would get me — digidesign had always offered an “exchange program” for users who wanted to upgrade their systems. You bought the new stuff, and they then asked you to send back your old stuff and would credit you for your registered equipment. It worked out like this: I would have a Mac G4 quad with a huge cinema display, and a Protools HD core card in exchange for my very expensive Protools 24 system and $24,000. I was pissed. I had my darth vader helmet on and kept calculating the figures over and over and looking wildly around the studio for more things to sell in order to come up with more money to at least have one measly DSP farm. I squinted at the fine print and tried to see just how many more plugins I could instance per dsp chip with this new system vs. the old system and how I could feel that I was clean again, free of the old and enraptured by the brand new, and thrive in an endless world of limetless dsp processing on a flat screen display, all delivered beautifully by OS X. Ghaaa. I was so horny I could have sold my soul for this beautifully sexy audio equipment.

And then it occurred to me: What would it cost to get “out of the box?”

I calculated. If I sold my Protools 24 system, each of my plugins, and this whole G3 computer and monitor I would have a very tidy purse to score a sexy new mac, and a completely different audio card. It would be a whole new world. I would be free. Desperate for change, I went through with it. I sold everything and ended up with a first generation MacBook Pro and an Apogee audio interface. I no longer had the ability to use Protools — because the software was hardware dependent — but I didn’t care. I had Logic Audio, Os X, Audio Unit Plugins galore, and life was wonderful. I have been working this way for years now, and often laugh to myself that what once filled two rooms and two closets to create a recording studio is now one two space rack, a laptop, and a small bag with mics and cables in it. I have been absolutely liberated from the world of bulk, weight, and ever increasingly expensive upgrades. I’ve returned to the world of those who make music, actually produce music regularly, and departed the world of arguments regarding the quality of solder used to connect hard wired cables from the snake to the tty patch bay. I no longer care at all. I am liberated, mobile, and productive. What I always wanted to be.

Today I got an email from Avid. Avid is now the company who produce Protools. Digidesign was purchased and absorbed. They do not exist anymore. The email announced Protools 10. For a moment I remembered the joys of a secondary mixing experience. I remembered the pure pleasure of my artistic endeavors being one thing, and my fidelity and precision mixing, tracking, mastering, and editing being another thing entirely separate from my creative process. I sighed lustfully as I read the email. Avid have liberated Protools from the box. One need no longer own a pile of expensive dsp farms to use Protools. One need only shell out the $700 for the software and they can then record, edit, and mix down to their heart’s content. How wonderful!

I lost my head for a minute and went to go look at my last Protools registration information to see what it would cost me to upgrade from whatever version that was to this new version. “Yes!” I thought to myself. “I could totally work that way again. It would be amazing!”

I retrieved my registration information and began what would turn out to be a two hour long odyssey of looking for an email contact form, or link on Avid’s website so that I could ask “What would it cost to upgrade from my version of Protools to this new version?” I never found that link. Instead, I came to my senses and found myself with my face about an inch from the screen, my mouth completely dry, my fingers shaking, my back about to spasm from slouching forward. I saw myself trying desperately to climb back into the box. Thank god I snapped out it. The next thing to do is to return to the original email which I opened when it was light out — it is dark in here now and I have not yet turned on the lights — and go to the bottom of the message and click the blue link which simply says “unsubscribe.”

This is the first cross country collaboration between me and Moonbeam. Eddie Matos asked us to take a crack at remixing their track and we decided it was time for the two of us to take a crack at doing something in the studio despite the 2,800 miles between us. I gave it a try first and cried uncle almost immediately. Moonbeam did a sketch in garage band and then sent me the file. I didn’t know this, but garage band files open right up into Logic Pro. So I listened and then took it a lot further until it was done. Moonbeam has done a lot of production work, is a superb live-on-the-fly mixing engineer, as well as a fantastic vocalist, but this is the first time I can remember where she actually produced the basis of a track. I’ve waited 20 years for this project, and I am so proud of her. That said, of course I tripled up the percussion, completely changed all of her sounds, and took her Murk-esque arrangement and layered it and pulled the ends to try and create a Dubtribe style mixing track that works with force instead of tempo or gimmicks to express itself.

I hope you love it as much as we do.
Enjoy!

Hypnotized – Dubtribe Sound System Open Heart Dub Version – Mateo & Matos by Sunshine Jones