Skies a Vene is Isaac, Griffin, Mark, and Dan. Mixing by Isaac Tayrien. ©Skies a Vene 2012. Audio samples=open source.

I was feeling inspired today after I went to a meditation session at The Amitabha Foundation in Rochester, and this is what happened:

I woke up today feelin’ like a man.

Just like Martin Luther says - I’m chanting yes we can.

And I don’t know the road ahead and I ain’t got no shoes,

But with the Buddha in my heart I trust that I won’t lose.

Like a river I shall run through the sands of time.

Like a lion I will fight to keep what’s mine.

With compassion I ascend; with wisdom I grow higher.

With my trident I defend - I and I can douse the fire.

Yes we can, yes we can: With love and understanding.

Yes we can, yes we can: It’s peace that we’re demanding.

We’re the children of tomorrow, but what about today?

Be the change you wish to see… children that’s the only way.

In case you hadn’t heard, here’s a track off my newly-released-but-only-online-so-far E.P with The Wonderland House Band!  You can hear me on vocals, as well as on acoustic and electric cellos.  I hope you enjoy it muchly.  Check out our facebook page!

Just some disc art I put together during the holidays.  I’ve been experimenting with paint.net which is a free program that’s similar to photoshop.  This might get used for the physical release of The Sanctum of Wisdom with my Canandaigua-based band, The Wonderland House Band.  Or it might be a prototype for something else.  But you, denizens of tumblr and facebook alike, are receiving it first!

Well, folks, the new as-of-yet untitled band is coming along.  It’s more of a collective of folks around my age who live in Canandaigua and like to jam and get funky.  We just straight up did what I call a “brainstorm jam” maybe twenty times to get familiar with everybody’s playing style, and now we’re well into Phase 2: molding the songs into a solidified form.  Don’t worry… We’re still going to play 8-minute songs… We’re still going to play continuous hour-long sets… You’ll still be dancing harder than you would if there were a DJ.

Maybe there will be a track up on a website that does not exist by next week.  That would be cool.  In the meantime, here’s some of the instrumentation we’ve been using:

Isaac: voice (singing, spoken word, beatboxing,) acoustic and electric cellos

Trevor: electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar

Pat: electric guitar

Sean: tenor sax

Cory: bass guitar, electric guitar

Aaron: upright bass, fretless bass guitar

Richie: drums

And there’s so much more.  I’m pumped, so you should be too.  It’s nothin’ but a good time.

Peace,

Isaac

I know it has been quite a time since last I communed with you, my brethren, but fear not; there will be good times to follow.

So I’ve been playing electric cello and singing with a new band of ruffians here in Canandaigua.  Let me tell you… this stuff is be pretty dope.  We’re talking organic and honest down-to-earth space funk.  We’re talking blues in the year 2210.  We’re talking down-south cookin’ that’s so down-south it’s in another hemisphere.  Influences include but are not limited to everything.

We ain’t got recordings for y’all yet.  Ain’t got a name, either.  But what we do got is a room full of drums, basses, guitars, cellos and keyboards.  Plus we got a bunch of sweaty soul brothers tellin’ it like it is with nothing but music. Come one!  Come all!  Bring your father and Uncle Paul!  Sing along and dance your feet.  Then take the gospel to the street.  For it’s through connecting with other people that we find the true meaning of the word wisdom.

Hello friend.

On me you can depend.

With compassion,

I’ll be with you ‘till the end.

And if I’m busy

and don’t pick up the phone.

Then hear this music

and know that you are not alone.

Groove through the pain,

Groove through the sorrow,

Keep on a groovin’ ‘till

The sun brings in tomorrow.

Now groove to the left,

And groove to the right,

And keep on a groovin’ ‘till

you feel alright.

These cats are really worth listening to.  They’re really funky with melodies that drive and rhythms that jive.  But the way they manipulate tone and color in their music is even spicier— at times reminding me of dub bands like Thunderbody.  Here they’re with a DJ (call him what you will but he’s got a turntable.)  Nowadays they’ve added a keyboardist, and a good man with a plan and a kit that won’t quit.  Ain’t nothin’ like some solid old school drumming.  What’s that?  You say the lyrics are in Japanese?  Good… less to distract from the pallet of sonic colors dripping like nectar from the strings of that guitar.  I give Theatre Brook a “Great Job!”

Jeremy Soule did the score for this game with nothing but a high school diploma.  He sent Squaresoft a portfolio out of the blue, and they immediately snatched him up and put him on this project.  He’s done many more prominent soundtracks for bigger games to date, but I’m repeatedly drawn to this one because it’s so ambient.  Soule viewed the constraints of the Super Nintendo as an opportunity to experiment with minimalism and ambient music in the rollplaying genre.  He explores new territory musically as the protagonist hacks and cracks his way through different mystical worlds.  The whole thing achieves an eerie atmosphere that in my opinion is far too uncommon in video games… in 1995, or now.

Hello there, friends!  It’s been a while… but I have a new video for you.  It’s an old song that I’ve arranged for the cello rather than guitar- still with singing.  I hope you can handle the massive amounts of ambient noise…That’s what I get for playing cello in a lagoon.

Here I am in a hotel in Xining, China, feeling somewhat jetlagged and definitely feeling the altitude.  Tomorrow morning I fly further out into the country and higher up into the mountains.  This E.P is being made available bit by bit (as a result of my various travels) but I’d like to inform you all that you can in fact download it from my (new) bandcamp website.  I’ve got my electric cello with me, and after breaking a string I’ve managed to purchase a few extra ones from a little music shop and I’ve already written lyrics to a new song!  Facebook is unavailable in China, so I’ll keep people updated via tumblr as much as I can.  Later :)

P.S: Thanks to Jordan Kinne, Cyprian Tayrien, and whoever else has been maintaining my websites during my travels!  (I don’t even know who any more)