Goodbye-hello update for the At-The-Helm podcast series….

is here and now.  I’ve scrapped the final interview show and will leave you instead with some thanks and a word on the next step in” My Life in Sound” , the larger setting for my past, present, and future musical works. For starters I’d like to thank my parents for always having music playing in the house as I grew up, and for being tolerant and kind toward my musical ventures as both a listener and a player. Great thanks are also due to my wife Sarajane for enduring the many years of band practices,the endlessly repetitive nature of loop based music itself, and all the fun that goes along with that and my cheerful being besides. Certainly thanks to all the people I’ve been lucky enough to play music with over the years: Jim Cunningham, Mike Darrah, Rick McCann, Wally Mitchell, Sarajane Helm, Bob Kelley, Marshall Black, Jeff Buffer, Mike Monett, Gerald Nelson, Dave Stafford, Bret Moreland, Mark Hardgrave, and others I’ve jammed with over time. Special thanks to my children Ian and Andrew for keeping me grounded, pushing buttons when asked, and being good kids to boot. Thanks are also in order for those responsible for my involvement with Guitar Craft especially Mr. Robert Fripp whose patience and dedication has been a moving force in many people’s lives both musical and otherwise, including my own.

This series features over 210 individual musical pieces amounting to over 20 hours of original music.Constructing these programs over the past 2 years has made it clear what needs to come next for me…more music So the past has been mined and it’s time to get on with new stuff, which is why this blog will shift it’s focus to notes from the road as I embark on an imaginary world tour with my very real friend Mr. Eddie Ersatz and his orchestra ( or is it a very real tour with my imaginary friend? We’ll let you decide). At any rate I’m packed and ready to go….next stop Paris. Again my sincere thanks to all of you who have taken the time to listen to the music and read the musings, there are more audible treats on the way and maybe a short film if we can swing it , so please stay tuned, and have a good summer. Photo of the recently completed “Zydescopic (formerly diatonic) Accordion” the most recent musical art work from yours truly.

 

Episode 34 of At-The-Helm is now available….

and strangely enough it’s not the final “all talk” episode that was promised.  That show is still in the works, I’ll let you know when it’s finished……in the meanwhile. This show is a live solo “in studio” performance from August 20,1997 of a piece called “Liquid Center”.  Taken from the original master tape, no edits, no MIDI, no “undo” functions, only samples are from the PCM drumbox. This is the third take in it’s entirety, recorded in my home studio. Originally released in 2000  by Studio Seventeen Productions.Performed and recorded by Bryan Helm, all rights reserved by the artist. Thanks to SJ and the boys of summer( including Tom G.) for their inspiration and support. For more info go to at-the-helm.us and click on the icon for “Liquid Center” at the bottom right of the page. Many thanks to those of you who have taken the time to listen to this series, I hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard. FYI this show runs 50 minutes and 44 seconds. As always your comments are welcome,  have a good day.

 

Spring has sprung here….

after a last blast of winter in these parts. Work on Episode 34 of At-The-Helm is almost complete. The first version of the show ran too long and was really boring so I killed it and am now editing the second version, hopefully to better effect. My apologies to those few of you that are awaiting this installment, I’ll give a holler when it’s ready. Meanwhile here are some blossoms from a couple years back, take care and enjoy the season.

 

A Quick Production Update….

as I continue to work on the final episode in this retrospective. I hope to have it wrapped up soon. I’d like to welcome any new readers and listeners and thank you for stopping to check out my work After the final interview show there are still some other surprises to come so please stay tuned and I hope you enjoy what you hear. I’ll leave you for now with a look down the road in winter.

 

Episode 33 of At-The-Helm is now here….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Show #33 in the My Life in Sound series is the next to last in this retrospective. This time the music is again from 2005-6 and was recorded in my home studio in Colorado. Titles and start  times are as follows:

1- Omnistop Intro  00:00
2-  A  Walk Into Town  02:54
3-  April Fools  06:30
4-  Fit To Be Tied  11:54
5-  Todd Is God  15:47
6-  Omnistop Outro  18:06
7-  Roll The Credits  22:26
8-  The Walk Home  26:03  
Performed and recorded by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Tracks 1,2 and 6 contain samples of recorded works by other artists, used here without permission. For more information please visit at-the-helm.us and follow the links. Thanks for listening, next show is all talk and will cover aspects of information from all the music only shows and a couple of other things , so please do tune in. Photo from RMNP looking upstream circa 2006.

 

Musical greetings for this new year have just arrived in the guise of …

Episode 32 of At-The-Helm.This installment in the My Life in Sound series consisits of more solo work from the home studio circa 2005-6. Titles and starting times are as follows:

 1- Intro  00:00
 2- Pieces  1:55
 3- Dad’s Taxi  5:10
 4- After The Saints  08:35
 5- Monkey Slide  10:43
 6- Go Soak Your Head  13:08
 7- Picture Postcards  17:20
 9- Distant Objects  20:26
10- Outro 25:56

Performed and recorded by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Tracks 4 and 7 feature samples of other artists recorded work, used here without their permission, with my apologies and thanks to those musicians.  For more info on this series please visit  www.at-the-helm.us  Thanks for listening! More very soon, meanwhile another photo from the antique farm equipment show of a couple years ago.

 

A Little Something Under The Tree for all…

in the form of At-The-Helm Episode 31.  Show #31 is an all solo adventure showcasing recordings done in my home studio during 2005 and 2006. Tracks and start times are as follows:                                                                                    
1Dustbowlarama 00:00                                                                                                                                                                                                  
2- Do The Wobble  02:55
3- Monkey Shuffle  05:13
4- Never Gonna Happen  09:23
5- The Slow Horizon 14:14
6- In Step Two Step  18:39
7- Long Away and Far Ago  21:25
8- Forest of Jade  27:22

Performed and recorded by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Tracks 4 & 7 feature drum loops built upon samples of existing sound recordings not officially sactioned for such use. My apologetic thanks to any artists whose work I’ve sampled to use in my own recordings. I’ve made an effort to note where and when in my works these elements are present. All other instruments in these “solo” recordings are played entirely by me.  Best wishes to all in this holiday season and a promise of new music in the new year. Thanks for reading and listening. Glass Christmas tree by Mad Margie

 

Episode 30 of At-The-Helm is finally here…

and it’s another collection of tunes from the BrotherSync boys. This show features  studio and live tracks as follows:

1- Wages of  Sync  00:00

2-It’s A Bent World  05:08

3- Noodle Bowl  10:18

4- There’s Bucks in Jingles  12:44

5- Hahalodics  15:17

6- Another Cup of Joe  19:56

7- Good Evening Folks  24:37

 All tracks  performed by Hardgrave, Moreland and Helm except #6 which is Hardgrave and Helm. All rights reserved by the artists.Track #6 features Mark Hardgrave on drums and lead guitar recorded Jan1 2005. Tracks 2,3,4 & 5 recorded live in the stuidio 9-7-04. Track #1 mixed and mastered by Bret Moreland circa 2002. Casino field recording by Bret also.  Photo of BrotherSync at Halloween 2004. Track #5 is for Wally Mitchel. Thanks for listening, more sooner than the last soon, and happy holidays to all.

 

A Quick Production Update…

….on this unseasonably warm day in November. I just wanted to say hello to everyone and let you know that Show #30 in the podcast series is almost ready for relaease. I’m behind schedule what with some technical difficulties and all but still on track to finish it all up soon, so please do stay tuned and thanks for listening.

 

Episode 29 in the At-The-Helm podcast series is now…

..available for your listening pleasure. This show features solo selections recorded live in the studio during 2003 and 2004. Titles and start times are as follows:

 1- Wake Up Call  00:00

 2- Working Title  02:22

 3- Horse Number Five  05:10

 4- Morning Flowers  08:57

 5- Before The Saints  11:08

 6- Slow to a Trot  14:37

 7- Across the Gap  16:32

 8- A Little Foggy  18:57

 9- Bald Spot Sweat  21:24

10- So Long Red  25:36

Arranged, performed and recorded by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Track #10 is dedicated to the late O.J. “Red” Rhodes, perhaps the finest pedal steel guitarist of the 20th century. Photo from a nearby canyon circa 2004. Thanks for stopping in, there’s more coming soon, have a good day!