Happy New Year

Happy new year!!!!! Some photos from the last week.... Whats this Mrs S is getting for Christmas? Mrs S made this: She is a woman of many talents! This is our christmas house guest Talker (Kev's cat). Today I met up with Kev and visited Denmark Street: (lovely Gretch Falcon) Wandered around Foyles: and found a Scary book: What kind of a hobby is that!!!!! We made some plans to record some electric noisy versions of the stuff on Echo - Snow, Dolls House, Bandstands, Chasing The Sun and a couple of new songs with a full band. New years eve is a really weird day and the pubs are full of idiots so I think I'll have a night in. Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Bad News

My favourite christmas song is this by Bad News: Genius quote from Bad News: "I could play "Stairway to Heaven" when I was twelve. Jimmy Page didn't actually write it until he was twenty-two. I think that says quite a lot." (Vim) Warriors of Genghis Khan Which sounds worryingly like the first band i was ever in!!! Merry Christmas Matt Stevens

ENO NO NO NO NO

11.29am Hey The Oakley arms boarded up(courtesy Derek ) Really sad photos, I have been talking to Derek who used to play at the Oakley a lot about finding a new venue for live music and hes hopeful for the future and finding an alternative venue. I still want to do a gig in Rushden in the new year. I just uploaded a very short new podcast.

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Heads down towards christmas now - Reading this Eno biog at the moment - interesting guy but i'm not sure he's the genius people say he is(after all he did work with U2!). Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Oakley Arms Rushden Closed

16.36 Sadly the Oakley Arms in Rushden has closed - i saw more gigs there than in anywhere else. Now there is nowhere to play in Rushden where I'm originally from (maybe I could play in Spencer Park?). When i was young growing up there were loads of bands in the Rushden area Draw, Nerve, Dereks Experiment, ASJ, Scavengers Daughter, Fly Agarics - all the bands that inspired me, maybe 20 odd bands. When we got our first band together (Rushden's least successfull Avant Garde Thrash metal beat combo) our main goal was to play upstairs at the Oakley and the second gig I ever played was there and around 100 others afterwards. We took it for granted and now another small venue is gone. I know people are saying its a good time for live music but making money from any business seems to be bloody hard now. And where will I go for a pint in Rushden now? Bugger Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Christmas Tree

9.21 am So we now have the Christmas tree up(decorated by Mrs S not me!): And advent calender: Messing around writing on logic: Programming beats for live/recording next year. Just working out syncing live looping with Logic Drums and Bass. Really into acid synth bass at the moment. Adrian belew really inspired me from when I first heard him playing with King Crimson with Fripp this is a great video but he sounds well out of it/strange. Watch all 6 parts for maximum inspiration! I'm playing here next month: Take it easy Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

My album track by track part 2

All about my album part two...... The Rules: 1 - All sounds to be produced by one acoustic guitar (hitting it, looping it, overdubbing it, volume swells etc) 2 - The songs to be recorded as close as possible to "Live" We did bend these rules as making a good record was the real point of the project (we added a few hand claps and some stomping on one song). I'm really pleased with the finished results. The album was recorded at Pinna Studios (a bloody great studio in East London) and mastered at Livingstone Studios (Wood Green). It was produced by Kevin Feazey and mastered by Sonny Simpson. Airships Another thrash metal/Sepultura inspired song for the chorus meets Friday Night In San Francisco for the verse, I tuned down to drop D for this one. Only played it live once - the rhythmic guitar banging at the start was put together by Kev in the studio. The section in the middle at half time can be done live with the DL4's half time feature and then overdubbed in harmony and then sped back up again. I like the solo at the end. Drama In The Coals The first song in odd timing something i love - inspired by the likes of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Fripp and The Beatles (loads on Strawberry fields). Its in 5/4 and drop d again although I play it in E live. The metal section in the middle reminds me of soungarden and the picking is kind of Radiohead/Crimson maybe? My favourite guitar solos on Echo are the ones on the heavy bit. The title comes from watching an open fire when i was a kid. Have a listen here on the player Thanks Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Faith No More to reform?

20.13 So according to Kerrang Faith No More are in talks to reform next year (nothing confirmed yet by the looks of it)- bloody great band. Went to see them on the Angel Dust tour with L7 - so good, best gig I ever went to and again a few years later. This is from the best movie soundtrack ever - Judgement night Also from the same soundtrack Helmet and House Of Pain - one of the best riffs ever, I love Page Hamiltons guitar playing his interest in Jazz and noise was a real inspiration to me. Love the way it breaks down halfway thru and House Of Pain come in. Take it easy Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

My album out now!!

19.57 Right finally done: Blimey - Echo the album is now out - download via emusic, amazon or napster. Emusic is USA, Canada, Europe only. Napster is USA, Canada, UK and Europe. Amazon is US only as well. Hard to say that without giving it the hard sell(which isn't my intention). It's taken the best part of 2 years to get to this point! Kev Feazey(at Pinna) did a great job on the production and Sonny(at Livingstone) did a cracking job on the mastering. I'm very pleases with it. Itunes (Austrailia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States) and Rhapsody(USA) will be in the next few weeks, If anyone fancies reviewing it that on any of the above that would be awesome - if you enjoy it or hate it let me know - your feedback really means alot to me. If you fancy telling anyone that would be amazing as well. Have a listen for free here on the player on the right of this blog. Thanks Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Sigur Ros Alexander Palace

Mr S an I went to see Sigur Ros on Thursday at Alexander Palace. Great live they had an amazing light show with projections and smoke, rain and snow. Genius. This is the night we went Messing around with Photo Booth on my macbook: Quite Scary?

Toys

22.41 Brought something I shouldn't today - i'm too old to be buying toys: Finally admitted that the Echoplex outboard looper i got a few months back isn't for me - great thou it is. I've connected 2 line 6 dl4's - sounds great and i can do 2 loops at different times like a DJ or apply effects to either loop, brilliant. Nearly finished writing 6-7 new songs for album number 2 today although they still need work I'll play 2 or 3 at the next few gigs. They are Hello Mendoza: Kind of Dead Kennedys meets Flies In The Basement off my first album Blue Filter Portishead/Mahavishnu type thing with John Barry chords & Big Sky Bit Explosions In The Sky/Sigur Ros? Still working on Logic stuff - getting closer all the time... One last vital overdub: Matt

My album track by track

All about my album part one...... The Rules: 1 - All sounds to be produced by one acoustic guitar (hitting it, looping it, overdubbing it, volume swells etc) 2 - The songs to be recorded as close as possible to "Live" We did bend these rules as making a good record was the real point of the project (we added a few hand claps and some stomping on one song). I'm really pleased with the finished results. The album was recorded at Pinna Studios (a bloody great studio in East London) and mastered at Livingstone Studios (Wood Green). It was produced by Kevin Feazey and mastered by Sonny Simpson. Burning Bandstands This is the first song we recorded in early 2007. We recorded the parts piece by piece into Pro Tools then stacked them to simulate how i play them live. For the intro I was thinking of eighties Thrash Metal acts such as Metallica(the middle of One from And Justice For All), Kreator and Sepultura. The end section guitars are 4 parts stacked in harmony based on arpeggios of Bmsus4 and D9 over the Bm/D7/E first Inv/Em first Inv. This song comes from a song i used to play with a band called Trinovantes about 4 years ago and has been played live at every gig I've done. This is Burning Bandstands live at Spratton Gathering: Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Mitch Mitchell

Hendrix Class - sadly Mitch Mitchell passed away yesterday - brilliant drummer, paved the way for Billy Cobham etc I posted my album to listen to on my blog yesterday and got a bloody great reaction. Really means alot after 18 months of work. Your feedback really helps and inspires. Have listen to Echo, my album here on the widget - Tomorrow i'll start writing about where the tracks came from and how they were recorded. Thanks Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Hear my album NOW

My debut album in full all ten tracks to listen to on my site mattstevensguitar it will be available to buy very soon. All sounds produced using only a guitar and 2 pedals. Produced by Kevin Feazey at Pinna Productions. All songs written by M Stevens copyright 2007 Echo is available in a few weeks from, (just join the mailing list to find out when) through: Rhapsody - US Only eMusic - United States, Canada, Europe Amazon - US Only Napster - United States, Canada, United Kingdom, European Union iTunes Worldwide - Austrailia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States Let me know what you think good or bad. All sounds produced by banging, looping, hitting, strumming one (broken) acoustic guitar - no other sounds where used(apart from some hand claps and stomping).

Domino Du

11.36 Spent today watching too much tom baker era Doctor Who - genius and working on a new Song called "Hey Mendoza". I'm planning on getting some vocals on this one(not by me!) Domino art part 1(by Mrs S): Really enjoying this at the moment - I was reading about them online. If you're Husker Du fan these are really impressive - they are from Minneapolis and are big Mould/Hart fans This is Husker Du (america's greatest ever rock band), in case you haven't heard them: I remember hearing them as a teenager and couldn't believe any band could be this good. Bob moulds guitar playing is amazing. Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Fireworks

23.34 Great weekend but a massive hangover - went to Rushden to watch the fireworks and eat bread - I've been off it for 3 weeks(my new Diet). My friend John is making Cider: Went for an impressive curry and listened to loads of old prog. Some fireworks photos: Rushden St Marys Church: Back to London to work on more programmed drum beats for some new songs - Logic is bloody great. Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Squarepusher

23.08 Nice to see the end of the Bush era - looks good for the future of the US. This is great... Very cool bass playing and genius programming. His new album is called Just a Souvenir and Its the second best album of the year after Portishead I reckon. Kind of Jazz/Rock/Prog?Drum and Bass with some really melodic bits and some bits virging on US hardcore with added vocoder. I've spent most of the last week messing around with Logic Audio on my laptop working out beats and synth bass lines for some new songs. Still keeping it fairly minimal I've got about half the second album written now and Echo isn't even out yet (next few weeks via itunes/emusic). I'm probably going to start using the laptop with programmed stuff live next year in addition to the solo guitar stuff and get someone playing live bass. Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

New music on the myspace

21.42 Happy Halloween Posted some new music on myspace www.myspace,com/mattstevensguitar - the song is called Flies In The Basement. When i play live its usually the first song i do - this track features a guest appearance from Kev Feazey on clapping duties. Let us know what you think.... Its from the album Echo out very soon... Mrs S is pretty handy at carving pumpkins.... Take it easy Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Tennant/Led Zep

9.03 So David Tennant has quit as Doctor Who then, he was amazing and its a shame he's going - I think David Morrissey would be good as Doctor number 11 but we'll see. Doctor Who is bloody great, loved it since i was a kid. So this is the guy rumoured to be the new singer in Zep? What next the guy from Nickelback! Not impressed useless grunge/AOR. Take it easy Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Led zepped

8.42 So Led Zeppelin without Plant then? Robert Plant is my least favourite thing about Zeppelin - John Paul Jones/Page/Bonham is where its at for me but is the chemistry there without him? Even the weakest member of a band changes the overall dynamic (RINGO was vital to the beatles and I love his drumming anyway) I'm sure no one wants to see any thing like this - Coverdale/Page(RUBBISH!): If they are going to tour without him I reckon Chris Cornell(Soundgarden) would be a good choice but is it Zeppelin? From what i saw the stuff from the Zep o2 gig was incredible and i would love to see them but will it work?

Sesame Street

20.53 A couple of great videos. Nigel Kennedy - I'm not keen on the cockney geeserizms but the playing and the chord progression on this is bloody brilliant. Very John Luc Ponty era Mahavishnu Suprising indeed( i hate it when it talks thou).! The genius of Seasame Street 123456789101112 - awesome. I'm still looking to do some gigs in Jan - I've had some good offers and it will tie in nicley with the CD coming out. Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Melvins

21.31 I made an imix - as an apple fan i suppose it was inevitable:

Songs that have made want to do music.... Spent the day at Pinna with Kev working on our new rock project (sounds a bit Melvins at the free jazz disco at the moment). Did some guitar and Kaossilator synth therimin overdubs - we didn't have enough time do a new podcast, this is our last one:

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The stuff sounded GREAT - really looking forward to putting some real drums on. Desk at Pinna Kev Vocalist/Guitarist/Engineer and the only person able to play a rhythm part and not turn it into 7/8.(I must stop listening to Prog) Bigsby Glitter Guitar Tasteful sofa at the Fortress Pig on a Shoreditch wall I'm working on some Promo CD's to send out to get some gigs.... Take it easy Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Oakley Arms

22.23 Finally cracked and brought some new trainers - converse again. Oxford Street was crazy busy: Bidding on a leather Biker Jacket on Ebay at the moment and working on some new songs. May I recommend Volcano by Baby Woodrose - the best Monster Magnet tune they never wrote. The Oakley Arms in Rushden is up for sale - the pub where I've played more than anywhere else - I virtually lived there as a teenager and saw some amazing bands. It was a great live venue metal, punk. psyche and DJ stuff often on the same night. I'll be gutted if they turn it into a Restaurant or flats. Surely live music is on the up now? Looks like the album will be out in January now and i'll do some gigs around then - releasing it myself on my own label is a bigger job than i thought, just hope people want it when its done. Hopefully i'll have more time to respond to messages now. Messing around with ww.jitterwall.com - loads of good people on there now. Really want to build a community around there and www.mattstevensguitar.com Take it easy Benny Tottenham Sky Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com mattstevensguitar@btinternet.com

Songs

10 Great Songs In A Row 1 Carcass - Incarnated Solvent Abuse My favourite solo (the second one) 2 Beach Boys - God Only Knows Wonderful Inversions 3 Beatles - You Never Give Me Your Money The strings make me cry!!! 4 The Cure - Just Like Heaven 5 Holiday In Cambodia - The Dead Kennedys Scary and still relevant and I love East Bay Rays guitar playing 6 Red - King Crimson Love that whole tone intro and wonderful guitar sound. Fripp has been trying to repeat it ever since. 7.Peaches En Regalia - Frank Zappa 8.Split - Groundhogs 9.Could You Be The One? - Husker Du Genius Pop 10. Impossible Germany - WIlco Still getting my CD ready for release everything else has been a bit mad recently but i'm still hoping to get the CD out before christmas

Improvised

x
Find more music like this on JITTERwall
Another live loop improvisation for Jagmaster, Whammy Pedal, Looper and Alesis Performance Pad. I was playing guitar with one hand and hitting drums with the other!

Eclectic Electric

Visuals courtesy nightlab.com from archive.org used by creatve commons. Live looped using a Jagmaster Kaossilator a DL4, an Echoplex EDP, and a Whammy Pedal. Voice by Allen JM Smith - a legend this is an edit of a 19 minute track!!! Full version one day.... In February I asked people to answer 4 questions via my website - this is where the spoken word stuff comes from. Normal acoustic service resumed soon - the last time I posted none acoustic stuff I enjoyed a flurry of abuse - bring it on!!! Still working on the album artwork, soon.....

Shopping

I'm on the its a frogs life acoustic podcast more info here - Grahams a top bloke: http://graham.itsafrogslife.net/ If you live in norwich UK check this out This is rushden - where i'm from Spent the last few days wandering around charity shops buying cheap records Working on album artwork soon: MS

Get it free

Mrs S made a wonderful Lasagne: Sonny from Pinna is mastering the album today, finally it will be done. It will be a bit of relief to be honest - I'll be glad to move on to another project(not that I'm not happy with the album, I am). Took the WAVs down to Livingstone Studios in Wood Green yesterday(Pinna have got Seb Roach in this week): Also working on album artwork - heres a preview - FEEDBACK PLEASE!!! Autumn in North London You can get the podcast via itunes - subscribe it make me happy. Thanks to everyone who sent messages saying they enjoyed it. Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Pure Acoustic???

18.00 Mrs S and I are both feeling better again - should be back to normal within a couple of days and its been a great opportunity to cultivate a beard. This from the message board on my myspace: "Matt!! I can't believe you used 2 pedals...aaaaaargh!!! I used to have a 1-2 pedal... you kick it and it goes "check... 1 - 2" And I also had a '4-track Digital Hassler' I never used them live though, they were too hard to work with and they hated each other! But if you used 2 pedals did that mean when you pressed down on them that the songs went a little faster? I thought you were pure acoustic too :( Aw well... i'll see you over in afc sometime soon where I will elaborate on the evils of effects pedals and the effects they may have on acoustic instruments and how that in turn affects the acoustic artists effectiveness. See... it's happening already! I can feel the compression as i write this. Anyway." I couldn't care less about being "pure acoustic" even less than being pure electric. There is no other way to make music like this without pedals. Sod that - I don't want to be pure anything - i want to make MUSIC and i'll use whatever tools required to get the correct sounds. I've just started using 2 more pedals(and this encourages me even more). My rig is now: Ibanez Guitar(broken with hole in it) + LR Baggs M1 Pickup - Volume Pedal - Whammy Pedal(set to 1 octave up/1octave down) - Line 6 DL4 set to multiple Delays/Reverse delay - Echoplex Digital Pro Looper - Apple Mac Book running Gearbox with Toneport UX2 Interface Should be fun next time i play live although i will need to re-jig the set to use some of the new sound options - it sounds the same just BIGGER - more beats more harmony parts. I've written a few new songs already using the above set up, i was working on it pre food poisoning. I'll post a video Thanks for all the really nice comments!!!! Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Getting Better All The Time

11.30 The last couple of days haven't been a lot of fun - I hate pulling out of gigs at the last minute but there was really no choice(without being too graphic) due to sickness. I did get some really nice messages about my health though, peoples kindness continues to surprise me. Mrs S has been looking after me(even though she has been ill herself). Feeling much better - not 100% as I've just spent 2 days in bed and my head is still throbbing but its good to be up and around, Sonny from Pinna is mastering Echo(my album) next week and I'm trying to learn how to design album artwork overnight (well within a week). If anyone has any tips let me know. Also can I recommend this JITTERWALL. Its the new version of the London Recording social networking site and its got a fantastic community of musicians/fans and producers. Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

Not playing tonight

I won't be playing tonight in Finsbury park due to food poisoning Bugger

Pinna Podcast

21.06 pm ANOTHER busy couple of days - we've invested in a record player!!! Can't wait to play my collection of bad 80's heavy metal records. We've done a new podcast (me and Kev from Pinna who produced my album - have a listen here) it features moog guitars, recording, mic technique, Stevie Wonder and toilets. Music from Barry Cleaveland http://www.barrycleveland.com , Simon Little http://www.reverbnation.com/simonlittle and Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com

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This is Pinna and this is Kev: Thanks Matt Stevens www.mattstevensguitar.com