Q. Hi Andy:
Before anything, sorry about my English and now (from coast to coast) the question:
Despite the fact that you can record music more easily nowadays, and spread across the world (i.e.WWW or FFF or whatever) do you feel nostalgic about the old ways (Vinyls, reels to reels, stencils posters?) even to record on a diamond-gramophone direct master.


Do you prefer to work alone at your own way? Because seems difficult share moods and troubles with other people?


Another question: Do you believe that exist a Life Cycle on every new band? (example: noisy hyperkinetic avant garde: first records, jazzy-folky-tonky middle record calm moody down tempo experimental last records). I have a lot of candidates for this life-cycle. Ok that's all, I hope you can answer me.


Saludos ven a vernos!!!!


Santiago de Chile
Ricardo Juarez

A. Hola my little Chile bean. As anyone with an ounce of sense or a pair of ears knows, vinyl sounds much much nicer than any digital format. Smooth continuous analog wave versus chopped up and re-glued steps of sound. The difference between the Mona Lisa and a model of it made in small Lego. So I do think mankind has made a big step backwards preferring quantity over quality. I would personally prefer to work on tape for the sound, but then computers are fast for editing, damnit! What a modern quandary.


Recording direct to disc would be fine for acoustic music, but as soon as you put an electric instrument into the blend relative levels are meaningless.


Working with other people can be a great joy but also the biggest pain in the arse you'll ever experience. It's all down to the mix of personalities. Working alone can be just perfect or crushingly lonely and over methodical, especially if you are the player and the engineer, the arranger and the mixer. Take your pick amigo.


Ricardo,I would say you have the average band lifecycle down perfectly there. If I might refine it further,it usually goes - young gangs become calmer bolder individuals, who later form loose alliances.
Be happy. Andy