Web Log 06 (126-150)

Volume 6
Posts 126-150
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
to
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
T U E SD A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 7
This Day in Studio History
This is a Studio History two-fer. . .
The first took place on December 25, 1997. This was a videotaped ORC jam session
with Jason on electric guitar, drum machine, and keyboard and Jimmy on bass
guitar. They played nine songs consisting of five ORC songs, "Contact" by Mune
Mud, "A Dreamworld" by NueroMud, and two R.E.M. covers ("Man on the Moon" and
"Radio Free Europe").
The second took place on December 25, 2002. Jason and Jimmy stole away from
the family Christmas party to record a short 5-song set of Christmas songs. Jason
played the piano and Jimmy sang. You can here one of the songs here.
Posted by - Mune Mud - at 6:14 AM 0 comments

Labels: This Day in History
T U E SD A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 0 7
Just For Fun #4
MERRY CHRISTMAS
From all of us at Metal XOR Studio

Labels: Just for Fun
W E D N E SD A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 0 7
Project Spotlight #18: Early Keyboards
In the year 1986, Harry and Jason went to Brad's house a few times for Pheonix
jam sessions. Harry would take his Korg DW-8000 synthesizer but Jason had no
instrument to take (he only played piano at this point). So he received his birthday
present early that fall, a portable Yamaha keyboard, so he could participate in the
jams.
In addition to Pheonix, he also recorded his own solo music at home with the
keyboard. He hooked a microphone to his stereo and put it next to the keyboard's
speaker and recorded four tapes of songs this way.
The first tape he finished was a collection of Christmas songs called Merry
Christmas to Me. He finished this first because he gave a couple copies out as
Christmas gifts to various family members that year.
He also finished his first tape of non-Christmas songs before November of 1986. It
was called The Deuce (named because it was tape number two). A few of the early
songs on the tape were covers he enjoyed playing out of his piano books, but the
rest were songs he wrote himself.
In 1987 he finished his third tape called Diversity au Troi, part of this title coming
from the French class he took during the 1986-7 school year. These songs were a
little more complicated. He even experimented with some layering by recording
the first "track" on the left channel of the tape and then recording a second "track"
on the right channel. He also experimented with multitrack recording be recording
to one tape, then recording himself playing a second keyboard part while playing
the first tape back on another tape deck.
It was some time in 1987 that he finished his fourth and last keyboard tape. It was
titled Quadraphonic and contained more examples of experimental recording
techniques.
It was in March of 1987 that he also recorded a tape called Songs to Enjoy. These
were cover songs from his piano books including "Moon River", "Alley Cat",
"Somewhere, My Love", and eight more.
In early 1988 Jason borrowed an electric guitar from a friend. Then he

concentrated on guitar which led to the formation of the band The Two-Tones in
early 1988. Thus the early period of keyboards came to an end.

Labels: Project Spotlight
F R I D AY , D E CE M BE R 2 8 , 2 0 0 7
Article: Chimera
The 1997 Mune Mud album Sleep State F came with an information-packed
companion 3.5" floppy disk called "Chimera".
The Main Menu on the disk (shown below) listed six options.
The [A] option opened a screen that listed facts about the album. The facts were:
1. Total running time is 56 minutes and 33 seconds
2. Guest musician: Bill W on "Molybdenum"
3. Metal XOR Catalog Number: MXOR-17 (Lyric code MM06-09)
4. Contains 19 tracks (15 new, 4 remakes)
5. Earliest song recorded on May 13, 1996 "Sleeping with the Fishes"
6. Latest song recorded on September 4, 1997 "Before (Again)"
7. Shortest song is "Overfed" at 1:49
8. Longest song is "Etesian Wind (Denny's Mix)" at 4:00
9. There are 8 instrumentals on the album
10. Official release date was Tuesday, September 23, 1997
11. Songs were recorded at three different locations for the album
12. Only song with non-Studio sample is "Biobot". The background clanging noise
throughout the song came from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
(the Wonkamobile).
13. This album was originally to be called Equation of Time Part II because most of
the songs were outtakes from Equation of Time.
14. The second album title that was dropped was Equitation of Python.
15. The alternate album cover image was a cross-section of the brain
16. A video for "Molybdenum" was produced before the album was released.
17. "Prospecting Saturn" was recorded to be on a celestial album.
The [B] option listed lyrics to all the songs on the album
The [C] option listed lyrics to outtake songs that did not appear on the album
("Atlantis", "Crystal", "Little Germany", "Market Connection", "One Second", "Sepia",
"The End Den", "You Took Me Down", and "Winter Song")
The [D] option was a FAQ about the disk and the album
The [E] option contained contact information
The [X] option exited the program and returned to DOS
Buried within the lyrics directory was a hidden file that contained a message from
the Studio:
Also hidden on the disk was a picture labeled "Metal XOR". Could this actually be a
tie-in to the upcoming project from ORC?...
Posted by - Mune Mud - at 3:32 PM 0 comments
Labels: Article
SA T U R D A Y , D E C E M B E R 2 9 , 2 0 0 7
It was December 29, 2001, when the Mune Mud album Olympus 10th Anniversary
Collection was released.
Olympus was the first album in the "10th Anniversary Collection" series. The series
remastered original Mune Mud albums, including unreleased tracks and demo
versions of songs on the album as bonus tracks, and re-released the album on CD.
The series wrapped up this year with Sleep State F 10th Anniversary Collection.
SU N D A Y , D E C E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 0 7
Album of the Week #19: Pryme Material
Project name: Mune Mud

Album name: Pryme Material
Release date: September 7, 1993
Release format: cassette
Studio name: Circle IX Studio
Tracks:
1. Reality Found Me
2. Four Concepts
3. Clouds Set Free
4. An Urban Theory
5. The Only One
6. Up A Lonely Road
7. Etesian Wind (Ethereal Mix)
8. Turn It Up
9. I Still Know You
10. To My Owl
11. Wait A While
12. SID II
13. Aqua Celeste
14. You Noticed Me
15. Mental Instru
16. I'm Sick
17. UFO
This was the follow-up to 1992's Mune Mud album titled Underwater Problem
Factory. The music on Underwater Problem Factory was really diverting from the
easy-listening pop sound that the previous Mune Mud album Olympus had
introduced. So it was during this Pryme Material "era" that the music was split into
two projects, the original pop music was left as Mune Mud but the weirder heavy
music using many effects was now labeled NueroMorgue.
So with the heavier music filtered out, Mune Mud's sophomoric effort was able to
take shape as a more mature album than the previous two. The story-telling
continued in songs such as "Reality Found Me" and "UFO". A few of the songs
revisited earlier versions. A few of the songs were heavily nature-influenced
(including "To My Owl", "Aqua Celeste", etc). And now the influence of Jason's
favorite band, R.E.M., was starting to come through in some of the guitar work and
arrangements.
The album title came from a game that Jason grew up with, Dungeons & Dragons.
There was a drawing in one of the books that showed all the known planes of
existence. The one we live is called the Prime Material plane. Although other-
worldly sounding at times, the album is based in our world so he chose that plane
as the title but changed the spelling of "Prime" to "Pryme".
For the album cover Jason went back to his Commodore 64, the same one used to
create the Mune Mud debut album cover a few years earlier. It showed a 4th-
dimensional hyper-cube of the Mune Mud symbol.
The Studio was now called Circle IX Studio, a more serious name than the previous
Quintessential Disco-Quest Tapes & Discs. The name change came about when the
Studio received a large equipment upgrade now providing the ability to sequence
songs and offering a much larger sound library with its new sound module and use
of MIDI.
A lyric booklet was created for this album. It was a bit more elaborate that the
one for Underwater Problem Factory. This one had a table of contents, an
introduction by Jason, and an equipment list.
It would be three more years before the next studio album was released from
Mune Mud, but this album held up well and still provides an easy listen to the ears.
Next week's Album of the Week: Devaulted by Mune Mud from 1994.
Labels: Album of the Week
M O N D AY , D E CE M BE R 3 1 , 2 0 0 7
It was December 31, 2002, when the Mune Mud album Underwater Problem
Factory 10th Anniversary Collection was released.
Underwater Problem Factory was the second album in the "10th Anniversary
Collection" series. The series remastered original Mune Mud albums, including
unreleased tracks and demo versions of songs on the album as bonus tracks, and
re-released the album on CD. The series wrapped up this year with Sleep State F
10th Anniversary Collection.
M O N D AY , D E CE M BE R 3 1 , 2 0 0 7
Just For Fun #5
HAPPY NEW YEAR
From all of us at Metal XOR Studio

Labels: Just for Fun
M O N D AY , D E CE M BE R 3 1 , 2 0 0 7
Studio News: ORC Is in the Studio
ORC has returned!
Gargoyle, a member of ORC, just couldn't wait until January 1 to start the new
ORC album. He is seen here just an hour ago in Metal XOR Studio working on a song
called "Silver Sphere."
Stay tuned for more updates on this latest recording endeavor.

Labels: Studio News
T U E SD A Y , J A N U A R Y 1 , 2 0 0 8
State of the Studio #5: January '08
2007 ended with a bang with the release of Paige's first album and the creation of
this blog and its many sister sites. And 2008 looks to be an even more active year
for the Studio.
The biggest news at the moment is the start of the new ORC album. They began
working on new music last nite. Stay tuned for more info on ORC in the upcoming
weeks.
Have you ever wondered what the original hand-written lyric sheets to Metal XOR
Studio songs look like? This year a new series of PDF's will be released showing the
original lyrics sheets as they have been preserved for the past 10, 15, and even 20
years! The first few releases will be from Mune Mud albums, then it will branch off
into other projects. Watch for the first one to be posted soon.
Paige recently had another short recording session, so her second album is still on
track to be released this fall.
Another project has begun in the Studio. Old video tapes and audio tapes of jam
sessions from various projects are being transfered into the computer. Once
everything is digital it will be sorted and organized and a new series of bootleg
albums may be released. This may happen around the middle of this year or later
in the fall. New info about this project will be posted here.
And will 2008 see the return of Isthmus? It was May of 1998 when their last album,
Parabolic Dish Festival, was recorded. Will the ten year anniversary see a new
album? Talks are underway with the original three members (Harry, Jason, and
Jimmy) for a jam session in the first half of the year. Again, any new information
regarding this project will be posted here.
The big question at the moment is: how will this blog hold up for the next couple
of months? With all efforts being thrown at the new ORC album and the ORC blog,
will there be time to maintain this blog? Yes there will. This may be when the daily
posts get reduced to just a few posts per week, but at the same time the ORC blog
will become very active documenting the progress of the new album. So there may
be a period of adjustment in the next couple of weeks until some kind of schedule
is figured out.
And the last item of interest is the new blog feature called Musician Profile. The
preview post in this series was made on December 22 and discussed the Studio
founder Jason W. This will be the new Wednesday feature, replacing the Project
Spotlight.
As previously stated, this looks to be a busy year for the Studio. Stay tuned for
more. . .

Labels: State of the Studio
W E D N E SD A Y , J A N U A R Y 2 , 2 0 0 8
Musician Profile #2: Harry D
Harry's music career began with piano lessons when he was young, the same as
Jason W. Their music would cross paths around 1986 when they began recording
themselves singing ad-libbed lyrics to instrumental music on the radio.
Then Harry got a Korg synthesizer in 1987 and helped form the band Pheonix with
Brad P and Mark A.
This incarnation of Pheonix didn't last too long, but it led to the creation of the
Two-Tones for which Harry played synthesizer and drum machine.
In 1988 Harry was part of a 3-man Christmas show in high school, along with Jason
and their Spanish teacher Mark S. This led to the 50's & 60's band the Traveling
Deengelburys which played on March 31, 1989, at a high school fund-raiser dance.
In the early to mid 90's, Harry, Jason, and Brad P got together as The Spartans. By
now Harry was playing electric guitar and singing. This band only lasted a couple of
years.
Then Harry and Jason went solo once again, playing much of the music The
Spartans had played. This time they were known as The Duke Boys. This bridged
the gap between The Spartans and their next band, Isthmus.
Isthmus was his next band. From 1995 to 1998 he played keyboards, electric
guitar, bass, and drums at various times on the six albums that the band has
released thus far.
He was the drummer for the short-lived band called Muffin Loaf where he and
Jason played with co-workers for a one-night performance in 2003.
He has been in other various Metal XOR Studio projects including Binary Pipedream
and Young Herbage.
The Studio has not heard the last of Harry. He will continue to be on the roster of
musicians as long as the Studio is around.
Next week: Jimmy D

Labels: Musician Profile
F RI DAY , J AN U ARY 4 , 2 0 0 8
Blog News: ORC Blog Closed
With the new ORC album currently being recorded, the question arose as to
whether ORC news should be reported at this main blog site or on the ORC blog
site. If ORC news is posted at the ORC blog site it might slow the posts at this site
to a crawl since ORC will be the Studio's focus for the next few months.
So the decision was made two days ago to close the ORC blog and keep all Metal
XOR Studio projects on this main blog site.
The ORC blog may return in some fashion in the future, but for now all of the ORC
news will still be reported here.

Labels: Blog News
SU N D A Y , J A N U A R Y 6 , 2 0 0 8
Album of the Week #20: Devaulted

Album name: Devaulted
Release date: August 2, 1994
Studio name: Circle IX Studio
Tracks:
1. Decomposition of a Song
2. I'll Be Here
3. Plutonic
4. Suburban 70
5. Tip 26
6. Leaves Fall
7. Eighty-Eight
8. Disco Approve
9. Beautiful Land
The years 1986 to 1990 are rather blurred when it comes to the music and projects
that existed. Jason had started his solo keyboard project, Jason and Harry
recorded their first songs using music from the radio, Jason recorded his own songs
using music from the radio, and he started experimenting with "multi-track"
recording techniques with his own music and lyrics. By 1990 dates started
appearing on lyric sheets and recording notes, so starting in 1990 the records were
better kept.
Although Devaulted was released in 1994, it was an EP that collected various

unused songs from around the year 1990. Some of the songs were outtakes from
the debut Mune Mud album which was finished in 1990, some predate that album
and fall into the gray area between early keyboards and Mune Mud.
While it is obvious why some of these songs were not used on albums, they were
worth hearing in some fashion. So this collection was put together and released in
1994. It had a very limited release though, so many still have not heard these
song.
The album cover was designed in Paint on Jason's first computer. It contains
various hidden messages in the vault door.
Update: Although some of these songs were used for the 2008 Mune Mud
compilation Precursory 33, there are no plans for a re-release of the original
Devaulted album.
Next week's Album of the Week: Monograph by Mune Mud from 1996.
M ON DAY , J AN U ARY 7 , 2 0 0 8
ORC Update: Week 1
This feature will be posted every Monday to document the weekly progress of
the new ORC album at Metal XOR Studio.
The Studio has set a goal: to finish at least one song per week for the next two
months. Depending on the progress of the album the project could extend another
month or two (or however long is needed to complete the follow up to the 1999
album Purging the Great Abyss). This weekly update will chronicle each song that
was worked on during the previous week.
Gargoyle just couldn't wait for 2008. On Monday, December 31, 2007, he was
already in the Metal XOR Studio working on the first song for the new ORC album.
The song was "Silver Sphere".
Song 01 - "Silver Sphere"

There were four sessions last week for this song. The first session was to get the
general idea started. A short demo was recorded and sent to Attic Works Studio for
feedback. With each session the song became more complete. In all there were
four demos recorded to help with the mix and arrangement of the song. With a
little more work the music will be finished.
Song 02 - untitled
This was a short experiment in simplicity. There were two tracks of rhythm
recorded (consisting of drums, scratches, and voice effects) and two tracks of
instruments. This was to see how quickly a song could be "thrown together" to
become a real song. In two sessions the music was complete.
Song 03 - untitled
This will be the song that gets split between the two studios. Attic Works will
record the first half and Metal XOR will record the second half, neither of them
knowing what style or tempo the other is recording. Two versions of this song were
recorded this week. The first version was the neutral version (called "Combo") that
was one instrument playing the chord structure for the verse and chorus and a
second instrument playing the melody/vocal line. It's the base from which both
studios will record their version. The second version of the song recorded is Metal
XOR's version of the song. Attic Works Studio sent their version of the song last nite
to Metal XOR, so now it's a matter of splicing the two together.
Song 04 - an unannounced cover song

Whether this song makes it on the album or not remains to be seen. But in last
nite's recording session the first half of this cover version of a popular song from
1970 was finished. The entire song should be done this week.
Also last week the ORC blog was closed (for now). This will keep all Metal XOR
Studio news on this site.
See you in one week with the next update. . .

Labels: ORC Update
W E D N E SD A Y , J A N U A R Y 9 , 2 0 0 8
Musician Profile #3: Jimmy D
Jimmy began his music career the same as Jason and Harry with piano lessons at a
young age. He then played in his high school band.
It was on October 10, 1993, when he walked into Metal XOR Studio as Jason was
recording the song "Two-Tone Rhythm Kill" (a song appearing on the 1993
NueroMorgue album Devis Tortura). Jason decided to have Jimmy sing the verses
of the song. Thus began a long musical relationship with the Studio.
After that song Jimmy was invited back to sing vocals with Jason on "Pedestal
Song", a NueroMud song that was on the 1994 album ...Libra 971. The song also
appeared on the 1994 album Binary Pipedream.
Jimmy soon became a regular in the Studio, not only recording vocals but
eventually playing bass guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, recorder, and whatever
else was needed for the songs. By now Jason and Jimmy were working on their own
project which they called ORC.
In 1999 ORC released their first album, Purging the Great Abyss. After the album's
release they immediately started work on the next album with several recording
sessions. But Jason got married and there was not as much time for music as
before. So ORC was put on hold.
While in ORC, Jimmy was also a member of Isthmus from 1996-1998, performing on
three of the four Isthmus albums. He was primarily the drummer but also played
some bass and sang when needed.
He has since founded his own studio called Attic Works Studio and has recorded
various songs in the last few years. He has yet to release his first solo album.
As of the writing of this article ORC is back in the studio, finally recording their
second album. While Jason does his recording at Metal XOR Studio, Jimmy does his
recording at Attic Works Studio. Then the two will combine their material in ways
yet unknown to produce an album destined to be greater than the first.
Next week: Nikki W

F RI DAY , J AN U ARY 1 1 , 2 0 0 8
Studio News: New Interview Scheduled
The fictional music magazine Eclectic Musician has contacted the Studio once
again. They want to interview Jason about the recent changes to Metal XOR Studio
and get the latest news on the new ORC album. The interview is scheduled to
happen within the next few weeks. They hope to publish it in their March 2008
issue. The last time they interviewed Jason was for their June 2004 issue.
As soon as the interview is public it will be made available to read right here on
this blog. So watch for it in February or March.

Labels: Studio News
SA T U R D A Y , J A N U A R Y 1 2 , 2 0 0 8
It was Friday, January 12, 1996, that Isthmus had a jam session called Gemini Jay.
For the debut Isthmus album (Electric Field Donut, recorded on February 5, 1995)
the band consisted of just Harry and Jason. The second album (Lambskin Temple,
recorded on September 21, 1996) had Jimmy as a member of the band as the
drummer. And between those two recordings fell the Gemini Jay session.
The Gemini Jay session may have been the first time Jimmy played with Isthmus,
thus securing his position in the band. The name of the session came from the
statement Harry made at the beginning of the session "This is Jim and I, and Jay",
thus the play on words created the title.
Most of the songs played that day were covers, only a few originals were created.
This was recorded in the Metal XOR-A Studio, the same one Electric Field Donut
had been recorded nearly a year earlier.
Although this session never became an official Isthmus album, it was recorded and
a bootleg album was put together called Gemini Jay. The Studio hopes to start
releasing some of the early bootleg recordings this year. If so, this will definitely
be one of the first.

SU N D A Y , J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 0 8
Album of the Week #21: Monograph

Album name: Monograph
Release date: July 16, 1996
Studio name: Metal XOR Studio
Tracks:
1. Etesian Wind
2. Castor & Pollux
3. Believe Me
4. On Good Terms
5. Infernal Tree
6. Essence of Pearl
7. Mystical Dream
8. Clouds Set Free
9. You and Me
10. Moon Mud
11. In the Memory of Man
12. So Many
13. I'm With You
14. Moon Garden
15. SC Paradise
16. Slow It Down
17. Another Troubled Night
18. Telescope
This "live" album was recorded in one day on Saturday, June 15, 1996, and
released one month later. It was "live" because Jason sung all the songs live to the
pre-recorded music in one take. The music was from the original 4-track master
tapes, so the only thing new were the vocals.
There were three types of songs: the first was old Mune Mud songs (mostly from
1991's album Olympus) being re-sung. The second was unreleased Mune Mud songs.
The third was preview songs from the upcoming Equation of Time album (released
in August of that year).
The session was videotaped but the audio level was too quiet on the video tape, so
nothing was ever done with the video.
There were five additional songs recorded that day but not used for various
reasons.
This album had a very limited release and there are no plans to re-release it any
time soon.
Next week's Album of the Week: Equation of Time by Mune Mud from 1996.
M ON DAY , J AN U ARY 1 4 , 2 0 0 8
ORC Update: Week 2
This week saw the completion of the first step for a couple of songs. The first step
is to get the initial sequence finished in the computer. Then the sequence is
recorded. Then it is ready for additional instruments (such as guitar and bass) to
be recorded. And finally vocals can be added. And after the complete song is in
the computer, post-production can begin of adding effects, cleaning up the song,
re-arranging parts, etc. Then, and only then, is the song completely finished and
ready for the album.
Song 03 - untitled
Metal XOR Studio's half of this song was finished this week. Some slight changes
were made and a second demo was recorded. Attic Works Studio's half is also
finished, or near complete. So the task of merging the two halves together is
underway.
Song 04 - an unannounced cover song

The music for this song was finished this week. One demo version was recorded
with guitar. It just needs vocals recorded. This version of the song is almost
identical to the real song. There is talk of doing an ORC version, heavily modified
from the original. That version has not been started yet.
Song 05 - untitled
This was recorded in one session. It started out to be a heavy, fast, guitar song and
ended up the total opposite. It is an atmospheric slow song that threatens to put
the listener to sleep before the first verse is over. A demo of the finished song was
sent to Attic Works Studio. Lyrics still need to be written.
Song 06 - untitled
This is the song Song 05 was supposed to be. It's fast, heavy, loud, and unfinished.
Just the foundation of the song was finished this week and recorded as a demo and
sent to Attic Works Studio.
Song 07 - untitled
If ever there was a pop song, this is it! Just the first verse was finished, then Jason
had to quit working on it to allow the dust of this pop/disco song to settle. It
remains to be seen as to whether anything comes of this dull gem, but the first
demo was recorded and sent to Attic Works Studio this week.
Song 08 - untitled
To get the taste of Song 07 out of its mouth, the Studio recorded this slow, short
song with nothing but a strumming guitar and a violin. It's in a very rudimentary
stage at this point.
See you next week. . .

Labels: ORC Update
W E D N E SD A Y , J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 0 8
Musician Profile #4: Nikki W
Nikki grew up with music. She took piano lessons when she was young, she was in
the school band, she even went to college and got her degree in teaching choir and
band. She has played nearly every band instrument available. But her most
prominent are the saxophone and her voice.
She met Jason in February of 1998. It didn't take long for them to start recording
songs together, usually with Jason writing the music and Nikki writing the lyrics
and providing vocals. In 2001 they released an EP called Love Songs under the
name Nikki and Jason Watson.
They also wrote a couple of songs that Nikki performed at church.
With their busy schedules they have not recorded anything together for quite some
time, but eventually they will create more music together.

F RI DAY , J AN U ARY 1 8 , 2 0 0 8
Article: Project Chronology
This is a complete chronological list of all projects that have been associated
with Metal XOR Studio.
[Harry and Jason] - 1985 to 1987

Pheonix - 1986 to 1988
[early keyboards] - 1986 to 1987
X-Selsior - 1988
The Two-Tones - 1988 to 1990
[Darrin and Jason] - 1988 to 1989
The Traveling Deengelburys - 1989
Mune Mud - 1990 to present
The Spartans - 1991 to 1993
Young Herbage - 1993
NueroMorgue - 1993
The Duke Boys - 1993 to 1995
Binary Pipedream - 1994
ORC - 1994 to present
NueroMud - 1994 to 1995
Isthmus - 1995 to 1998
Nikki and Jason - 1998 to present
Parvo - 2000
Muffin Loaf - 2003
Paige - 2006 to present
More to come . . .

Labels: Article
SA T U R D A Y , J A N U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 0 8
Studio News: ORC session #1
Even though the members of ORC have been working on songs in their own studios
since January 1, today was the first time they came together to work on the
music.
They met at Attic Works Studio this afternoon for three hours. Although no songs
were finished, a couple of them were worked on heavily. Lyrics were written and a
new arrangement was made for "Silver Sphere". They worked on combining two
halves of a song they each worked on independent of each other. And a live song
called "Of Plants and Machinery" was recorded.
The entire session was recorded with a standard cassette recorder to be reviewed
for song ideas and other valuable information. They have plans to have joint
recording sessions every few weeks, usually to record vocals.
At this point it doesn't look like the album will be finished by March, but with
additional sessions such as today's it will turn out to be one great album!!!
Labels: Studio News
SU N D A Y , J A N U A R Y 2 0 , 2 0 0 8
Album of the Week #22: Equation of Time

Album name: Equation of Time
Release date: August 13, 1996
Studio name: Metal XOR Studio
Tracks:
1. Fake Houdini
2. In the Memory of Man
3. Follow the Steps
4. En Crypt
5. Krietner
6. Summer Song
7. Essence of Pearl
8. Bumpy and Jumpy
9. I'm With You (Outcome)
10. Ever Regret
11. One Night (v2.0)
12. Under Venus
13. Before
14. Nightspell
15. On Good Terms
16. One Lunar Minute
17. Deviate
This was the first full-length Mune Mud studio album in three years. The last was
Pryme Material from 1993. Since them there was the debut album re-release, the
EP Devaulted consisting of unused material, and the "live" album Monograph which
was new performances of older songs.
The album title was a revisit to the astronomy theme. When the astronomical
equation of time is zero, it means that when the sun stands at its highest it really
is "high noon". And the graph on the album cover was clip art found on the
Internet.
On the inside of the album cover were the letters NPSYAJBEAEAULLL. This was an
anagram that nobody solved. The answer was 'Japanese Lullaby', which was also
the name of the lyric booklet that was released one week after the album came
out.
Although all of the music for this album was recorded at Metal XOR-B Studio, it
wasn't until the move to Metal XOR-C that the album was mixed-down and
released.
Many of the songs on this album were stories. The story-teller was coming out in
Jason. He told stories of deer, letters written in secret codes, a summer day,
bunny rabbits, and more.
Other than the traditional guitar, keyboards, and drum machine, Jason also played
the recorder on "Nightspell" (which was the name of some incense he used). He
started out strong but by the time he neared the end of the recording, the notes
were sounding rather weak.
This album was re-released in 2006 as Equation of Time 10th Anniversary

Collection, containing outtakes and alternate takes of songs.
Next week's Album of the Week: Sleep State F by Mune Mud from 1997.
M ON DAY , J AN U ARY 2 1 , 2 0 0 8
ORC Update: Week 3
This week had new songs created, lyrics written, and the first joint recording
session for the album. Things are progressing nicely at Metal XOR Studio. There is a
solid foundation of many songs started, now ORC will focus on fine-tuning those
songs and try to complete some within the next few weeks. Meanwhile new ideas
are written down or record almost daily.
Test 05 - untitled
This hasn't become an official song yet, it's still in its raw idea stage. But there
were some lyric ideas written down in case it becomes a song.
Song 02 - untitled
This is the quickly "thrown together" song mentioned in week 1. A demo was
recorded and reviewed at the ORC Session #1. When lyrics are written and
recorded this song will be complete.
Song 07 - "The Moon Balloon"

This is the working title, it may change. Lyrics were started for this song this
week. It's a story that somehow involves Palnashet Rebrakon, a cruise ship captain.
Song 08 - "The Wind in the Barley"

This week the song was named and a demo was recorded for review at the ORC
Session. It's still very short, but it was agreed that it will be worked on further.
Song 09 - "Clunky the Fisherman"

This was formerly Test Song 02, it has now become an official song. A new
arrangement was made for the verse to accommodate the lyrics that were written.
A demo was also recorded of the new version.
Song 10 - "OCD"
The music hasn't been recorded yet, but the lyrics for the song have been written.
There was an additional song recorded at ORC Session #1. It was called "Of Plants
and Machinery" and will be posted on this blog as soon as editing is finished.
See you in seven days. . .

Labels: ORC Update
T U E SD A Y , J A N U A R Y 2 2 , 2 0 0 8
Blog News: 150th Post
This is post 150!!!
Will this ever end? I'm starting to wonder. This blog will be 5 months old tomorrow!
And this is post #150.
In case you hadn't noticed, many of the features have been put on hold. There
have been no Collector's Corner, Listen Online, or A Look Back features for a few
weeks. I knew once January 1 rolled around most of my time would be dedicated
to the new ORC album. I just haven't had the time to post the extras that I had
before this big project began. And it will probably remain this way for a few
months, until the album is complete.
So for now I am just posting the weekly features that appear on their own days:
Album of the Week will continue to be on Sundays, ORC Update on Mondays, and
Musician Profile (which replaced Project Spotlight) will be on Wednesdays. I will
still post the occasional This Day in Studio History or Studio News, but there will
be more quiet days than in previous months.
So now I say to you, it may take slightly longer to reach the next milestone, but I
will see you there at post #200!!!
Labels: Blog News
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Volume 6

This Day in Studio History

This is a Studio History two-fer. . .

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 6:14 AM 0 comments

Just For Fun #4

From all of us at Metal XOR Studio

Project Spotlight #18: Early Keyboards

In early 1988 Jason borrowed an electric guitar from a friend. Then he

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 5:37 AM 0 comments

The [E] option contained contact information

The [X] option exited the program and returned to DOS

This Day in Studio History

Album of the Week #19: Pryme Material

Project name: Mune Mud

This Day in Studio History

Just For Fun #5

HAPPY NEW YEAR

From all of us at Metal XOR Studio

Studio News: ORC Is in the Studio

ORC has returned!

Stay tuned for more updates on this latest recording endeavor.

State of the Studio #5: January '08

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 8:56 PM 0 comments

Musician Profile #2: Harry D

Next week: Jimmy D

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 5:50 AM 0 comments

Blog News: ORC Blog Closed

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 6:00 AM 0 comments

Album of the Week #20: Devaulted

Project name: Mune Mud

Although Devaulted was released in 1994, it was an EP that collected various

ORC Update: Week 1

Song 01 - "Silver Sphere"

Song 04 - an unannounced cover song

See you in one week with the next update. . .

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 7:42 AM 0 comments

Musician Profile #3: Jimmy D

Next week: Nikki W

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 8:19 PM 0 comments

Studio News: New Interview Scheduled

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 5:53 AM 0 comments

This Day in Studio History

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 7:36 AM 0 comments

Album of the Week #21: Monograph

Project name: Mune Mud

ORC Update: Week 2

Song 04 - an unannounced cover song

See you next week. . .

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 5:47 AM 0 comments

Musician Profile #4: Nikki W

They also wrote a couple of songs that Nikki performed at church.

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 7:39 AM 0 comments

Article: Project Chronology

[Harry and Jason] - 1985 to 1987

Posted by - Mune Mud - at 8:06 AM 0 comments

Studio News: ORC session #1

Album of the Week #22: Equation of Time

Project name: Mune Mud

This album was re-released in 2006 as Equation of Time 10th Anniversary

ORC Update: Week 3

Song 07 - "The Moon Balloon"

Song 08 - "The Wind in the Barley"

Song 09 - "Clunky the Fisherman"