Here are some more skins. I’ve allowed Flickr to let people download these, so have at it. These particular skins are designed to match my equipment. Cheers…

I’ve been making some Combinator skins for Propellerheads Reason 4 – mostly because I screwed up my back and have in a horizontal position for WAY too long. I’ll be releasing more soon. Enjoy.

Download the zip here…

I found a WordPress plugin to play MP3′s. This is a test of the song I’m working on “Puddles”. Let me know if you have any issues with the player. Remember to turn your computer volume down to a reasonable level, since this player does not have a volume control.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The song is in E Major and what is on the track is just the intro and chorus. It’s missing the lyrics and a few instruments. Right now I’m working on the verse chord progression. The chorus chords are E, B/D#, A/C#, and B/D# again. I’m working out the rest of it. Most of the lyrics have been written.

Wow. I was purchasing tickets for the Rome in a Day gig at the State Theatre when I found out that Blues Traveler is playing there this month! YAY!

In other news, I’m currently writing and composing my next song on my Erudite album, entitled “Puddles”. I’m trying to find a good way to embed a preview in my blogs. Anybody has an idea, let me know, so I can put it up for you all to hear it. I’m a bit nervous about it, because this is the first song I’m going to attempt to sing. Yes, that’s right. Sing.

I’m creating another album, called “Erudite”. It will have ten tracks, including my new song “Nutjob”. It will also include a longer cut of “Tongue Bath” and a reworked “World Spinner”. Once the album is out, I’ll go back and remaster/re-record my previous album “Suspended Animation”. Here is the pre-release album art:

This, of course, is a test of what I’ve been learning. If it all goes well, and I receive some positive feedback from the songs, I’ll sell the album on iTunes and Amazon.

You can hear the preview of Nutjob over on my artist Myspace page. The crappy side is that Myspace muddies the song (takes out the higher frequencies) and limits the playlist to only six songs. So I might have to find another way of letting people listen to the whole album.

A little inspiration to start off my weekend. I’m currently composing stuff (mostly due to the 500MB instrument library I found free online) and I’ll probably be in front of my piano/guitar/keyboard most of this weekend. I’m mostly working out drum patterns and trying to understand each component of the drum and also how it interacts with the bass line. I’m getting a lot better. I’ve also started to write some music/lyrics that have been rattling around in my head for a few weeks now.

Yes, that’s a Tuvan throat singer. I had this DVD, but the middle-part had a huge gouge in it. Check out Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (or bassist Victor Wooten’s solo stuff) on iTunes, and check out Gengis Blues, the Tuvan throat singer documentary, at Amazon or Netflix.

Laugh along…

A ‘C’, an E-flat, and a ‘G’ go into a bar. The bartender says: “Sorry, but we don’t serve minors.” So, the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished: the G is out flat. An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough.

A D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, “Excuse me. I’ll just be a second.” An A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor. Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims: “Get out now! You’re the seventh minor I’ve found in this bar tonight.”

The E-flat, not easily deflated, comes back to the bar the next night in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender says: “You’re looking sharp tonight, come on in! This could be a major development.” This proves to be the case, as the E-flat takes off the suit, and everything else, and stands there au natural.

Eventually, the C sobers up, and realizes in horror that he’s under a rest. The C is brought to trial, is found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an upscale correctional facility. On appeal, however, the C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.

The bartender decides, however, that since he’s only had tenor so patrons, the soprano out in the bathroom, and everything has become alto much treble, he needs a rest – and closes the bar.

On Monday I went to see my favorite band, The Black Keys, perform at the 9:30 Club in DC. We journeyed in by Metro, stopping first at Chinatown and had dinner at California Tortilla – which has an excellent southwestern salad.

The opening act was Buffalo Killers, which, while I dug the music, the singer was a tad bit shrill. Think Robert Plant, but without the stage presence. I’m going to have to look up one of their albums and give them a second chance.

The show was sold-out and packed to the rafters. We were in the center of the floor, and even I had a hard time seeing the stage with a bunch of tall bastards in front of us.

After a half hour of the opening act, and a half hour setup (which included inflating a giant tire) – The Black Keys finally took the stage.

They opened strong with a bunch of songs from different albums – All of them were great songs. They sound great live, and both guys play hard and with energy. It’s amazing what just a drum and guitar can accomplish.

I’ve just created a musician’s page on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/travisestrella) that has some of my older music on it. Eventually, I’ll start swapping out those with newer songs I’m currently writing. I’m getting a bit better – but head over there and friend me. And if you haven’t friend-ed me on my personal MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/ai_joe) – feel free to do so, just drop me a line first so I know who you are…

I’ve put together this handy PDF of my progression and circle of fifths chart. You’ll need the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print it. I’m putting together more charts like this. It really seems to help me learn.

Chord Progression and Circle of Fifths Chart (169KB pdf)