themixtape.net
HI.
updated
August 26th, 2008
Welcome to themixtape.net. My name is Chris Caulder. I created
this site as an archive for all the music I've done in the past,
and also a home for my current music projects and bands. You can
purchase all of my music directly from my record label Ousted Records
(part of Ousted
Productions). And if you like, you can download
nearly 60 free MP3s of my music. Just click that link.
I appreciate you taking the time to explore this site. There is a shitload of music here. I am an extremely humble but passionate musician and songwriter. I write anything that fits my mood. I hope you like at least .01% of my music.
please
support independent music
BUY
MY CDs! (they're only $6 or less!)
all music on this site is copyright ©1995-2070. all rights reserved.
F.A.Q.
You've
described yourself as a "genre-hopping multi-instrumentalist."
What the hell does that mean?
It means I record various styles of music, without sticking to one
sound or category. I have recorded full albums of experimental hip-hop,
sugary pop, noisy hardcore, dreamy "shoegaze", techno,
ambient instrumental, aggressive metal/rock, 80s-influenced new
wave, and many more, all of which I played all instruments on. I
love all styles of music, and hop from genre to genre, style to
style, without a care in the world other than I hope the songs are
cool when they're done. :)
If
all instruments in your CDs are credited to you, how do you play
them all at once in the recordings?
I don't. That is the magic of computers. :) A long time ago, a man
by the name of Les Paul invented a device called a multi-track tape
recorder. This allowed a musician to record each part of his/her
song one at a time, until all parts were completed and layered on
top of each other. It was a breakthrough for musicians who preferred
to work alone instead of hiring studio musicians to learn and play
parts, which was not only time consuming but also costly. Fast forward
40+ years, and we have computers which allow us to do the same thing,
but with better sound quality.
What
is your songwriting process? How do you go from a blank slate to
a full song?
Oftentimes I fool around with a bunch of keyboard sounds, find an
idea I'm happy with, and record it to a click-track, and then build
on it, usually adding drums immediately after the initial idea.
Sometimes the drum stuff comes last. I just go with whatever I'm
feeling... sometimes it's a guitar idea, with more guitars layered
upon that initial guitar idea, and other times it starts with a
beat and builds on that (that's usually when I'm writing hip-hop
stuff). I usually write vocals/lyrics last, but sometimes some of
the coolest ideas are started with a vocal melody, with the music
added to it after the initial singing is recorded. Songs come together
in countless ways, and it doesn't matter to me how they come about,
as long as I'm happy with the end result.
Is
this what you do for a living?
Unfortunately no. Not yet, anyway. But this is my life, and what
I live for every day, so I hope to have it be my full-time job in
the near future. Technically, music is my full-time job, as I teach
instrumentation and theory both privately and at the Paul Green
School of Rock in suburban Philly. I've gotten paid for various
music projects, and I've sold hundreds of CDs before this site even
came about, and I hope to sell hundreds (and thousands) more in
the future. I'll never be a rockstar, and fuck that, anyway. I just
love recording and playing music; it is truly my life.
What
inspires you the most?
Life. Music. Films. Books. Nature. I love everything, basically.
I find inspiration in everything I see, smell, taste, hear, etc.
Did
you ever take music lessons?
Not exactly. I'm completely self-taught with all instruments except
drums. In 6th grade, I learned drum basics at my elementary school,
taught by the orchestra leader who also happened to be a pretty
damn good drummer. The cool thing about it all was that the lessons
were free and part of being in the school orchestra. I learned how
to play guitar, bass and piano by ear, years later. A cool kid named
Steve taught me how to scratch records in 2001, and I learned how
to produce music with computers by trial and error, and reading
various books and websites. Lastly, I taught myself to sing back
in the early 90s by singing along to Nirvana and other radio bands
at the time. I'm not a great singer by any means, but I know how
to stay on pitch, which helps. :)
Don't
you think a website featuring only your music is a bit arrogant?
Hell no. People do it all the time on myspace and websites in general.
I love to share my music with people, and getting paid for making
art is also a huge plus. Musicians (especially myself) need to eat.
Also, I teach music privately part-time, and I am always happy to
help any aspiring songwriters or beginners with advice on how to
get started or further their knowledge on songcraft. I'm all about
spreading the knowledge. I'd say that's far from being arrogant.
:)
What
gear/equipment/setup do you use?
The range is very broad, but I'll try to break it down by instrument:
Drums
(what I've been playing the longest):
Tama Starclassic Performer (birch shells, emerald green).
I play a 4-piece acoustic kit (without the 12" mid-tom). 10"
and 14" toms, 16X22 kick (Mapex M Birch snare instead of the
Tama)
Zildjian Avedis 14" New Beat hi-hats
Sabian AAX 16" Dark Crash
Zildjian A. Custom 16" Fast Crash
various rides (I buy and sell them, always trying to find the "perfect"
one)
Evans heads (G1 on toms, EQ3 on kick, HD Dry on snare)
Yamaha hardware
Remo-s dampening rings (depends on the setting)
PDP throne
additional drums:
Roland TD-12 custom v-drum kit (5-piece). Three crashes, ride
PD-120 for snare drum, PD-80R and PD-85 for the toms, KD-8 for the
kick, and FD-7 for the hi-hat controller
Guitars:
Fender left-handed Standard Stratocaster, sunburst
Agile Dauntless left-handed Les Paul
Yamaha left-handed acoustic/electric
Fender left-handed Standard Jazz Bass, arctic white
Keyboards/Piano/MIDI controllers:
Yamaha P60 88-key digital piano
E-mu Xboard49 MIDI controller
M-Audio KeyRig 25 MIDI controller
Korg padKONTROL MIDI controller
Microphones:
CAD DMP-T7 drum mic pack (for recording live drums)
AKG C2000B condenser mic (for recording all vocals, and various
other live instruments)
Processors:
Alesis MIDIVERB II
Line6 Gearbox Gold Bundle w/ Toneport DI
Line6 Pod X3 Live
Korg AX3000G multi-effects and modeling pedalboard
Misc:
Roland Cube 30 guitar amp
Fostex X-34 multitrack tape recorder
Behringer MX2004A 12-channel mixing board
Pioneer CDJ-800 digital turntable
Numark Matrix 3 scratch mixer
Digitech Genesis 3 guitar effects unit
M-Audio USB Midisport 4x4 MIDI interface
various
freeware virtual instruments and VST effects including (but
not limited to):
Helix, Mr. Ray, Mr. Tramp, Triangle II, Minimogue VA, Lalapalooza
Lite, Superwave P8, etc.
various sequencing software including (but not limited to):
Cockos REAPER, Cakewalk Sonar Home Studio 6, Ableton Live, FL Studio,
etc.
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