Brad Althouse

Set the spin cycle to "Poodle"

2010-03-18T01:04:00.000-07:00

This time "WE" invented it, and are selling it to the Japanese.

I checked out the specs online. Unfortunately the weight limit is 75 lbs. (35 kgs) For a minute I thought I'd finally found the present day equivilant to Corbin Dallas's "Auto-wash." One can only hope!

Piano and Organ

2009-09-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

Performed a piano and organ arrangement of "God of Grace, God of Glory" this morning for early service offertory.

It's been a while since I've done a larger piano work, and even longer since I've done a duet. Overall went fairly well. All except for that one B natural. Trust me, you'll hear it.

I'm in the back behind the piano. Can't see me very well, but I promise I'm there.

Enjoy.

In-line Effects Drumfire

2009-09-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Ever fighting the pack-rat tendencies I was raised with, I've been going through a bit of a purge lately; ridding my apartment of anything and everything that isn't completely essential. The last week has yielded an average of 4-6 craigslist transactions per day, and a lot more closet space.

Owning a home studio and being a pack rat is possibly the worst combination of character flaw and career choice one could have. Over the years I have amassed more recording gear, instruments, effects, and just plain random stuff than some major recording establishments.

The latest of my gear to hit clist is my Drumfire drum synthesizer. A very strange instrument, I picked it up sometime ago at a private music store from an owner who had no idea what it did.
Neither did I at the time, but it looked cool, and I soon found out.

Drumfire is a five channel analog synthesizer, each channel being an independent noise generator. It has a complete in/out matrix, stereo master outs, and is capable of making some very unique noises. It's my understanding that electronic drum pads and triggers of the day actually produced an audible "ping" in order to communicate with their respective brains. This is just that, a very old drum brain.

Each channel having it's own sensitivity setting allows one to trigger different channels with different levels of audio from a single source. The in/out matrix also allows the "chaining" of multiple channels, making a single trigger cause multiple channels to respond. Basically polyphonic drum hits produced by multiple, mono noise generators.

I have a potential new owner for the unit checking it out on Friday, so I decided to give it one last lap around the block. Not very exciting, but some pretty cool sounds.

Andy Warhol joins Althouse Music Studio

2009-07-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what some people throw away.

After receiving a tip from a refuse disposal specialist at the local mall, and an hour of wading through a recycling bin, I was able to secure this 7'x5' poster of Warhol's self portrait with sunglasses.

The poster had been torn to shreds, most likely due to copyright restrictions. After some wallpaper paste and black sharpie to fill in the gaps, I now have one of the largest Warhol prints to be shown in a residential space.

Any suggestions on how to remove it without causing damage to the print? It's entirely way too cool to destroy once I move. I haven't ruled out taking the wall with me.