Category: Music

We're still making SB:I, and here's the proof!

We’ve had to take a few weeks off from Spacebase: Infinity for a variety of reasons, but progress is still being made.

We made some decisions on how to create bodies for the characters. After some testing, I think we’ll be modelling a torso out of clay and baking it before adding twisted wire for the arms and legs. In testing, this should give us stability and control without making their movements overly stiff.

We tried making the bodies completely of wire, but found them to be a little too deformable (as evidenced by the Cliff’s Doppleganger murder scene.) We also tried modifying a wooden model we found at Michaels, but the proportions weren’t right.

Next week we’ll hopefully finish the final set and at least a few character bodies. From there it should only be another week or so until we can begin filming the show. Exciting!

In other news, The Name has written and mostly recorded a new track. Add in one more cover in the next month or two, and the set is up to six songs. Time for an open mic?

Until then, mind the heavy drops…


The Name Invades SpaceBase: Infinity's Communications Satellite, I Guess!

There was craziness this weekend as rock/funk/ridiculous duo The Name hijacked SpaceBase: Infinity’s communications system and rocked the house… or the base, as the case may be.  Watch as Stack Dump and Cliff’s doppleganger grapple with a terrifying barrage of self-sampled mayhem!

As you can see, there are tons of mistakes in all areas – planning, photography, sequencing, editing, rendering… you name it, we messed it up.  Things on our to do / remember list:

  • Make sure when starting a new stop motion project, set the camera recording settings to an HD picture quality and aspect ratio.
  • If characters are going to be talking with their backs to the camera, make them move when they are talking rather than jittering randomly.
  • Adjust any sampled (aka YouTubed) footage to the same aspect ratio as the stop motion stills.
  • Try normalizing (?) the color balance and contrast on all stills before constructing the final scene.
  • Find a render setting that won’t screw up the 3d transformations.

That’s it for now!

-Mike

Meat Without Feet WPOP Release!

Meat Without Feet WPOP
Meat Without Feet: WPOP

It’s that time in an EP’s life when I give up trying to improve the vocals and throw my hands up in disgust.  With that in mind, I present to you: Meat Without Feet‘s latest release: WPOP.  It has some of the cleanest singing and production of anything I’ve done so far, even if I’m never actually happy with it.  WPOP, named after the former radio station located in Newington, CT, contains four new MWF tracks for your listening pleasure.  I don’t know which is the single… how about… the last one!?  Enjoy!

Download [Here] or stream each track:

01 – Introduction

02 – Technology Approaches!

03 – While on Top

04 – The Process

-Mike

Postmortem: Vacation

UPDATED 9/20/2011: Bonus unfinished tracks added to the end of the original write-up…

It’s been a month or two since release and close to a year since the last recording for the Vacation EP.  I gave it a listen recently for the first time in months and figured I’d post my impressions of the project now that I’m removed from making it.  Overall, a few things jump out at me as I listen.

Continue reading Postmortem: Vacation

The Name EP Release!

The Name EP

At long last Small Glowing Pig presents The Name EP, a different sound and feel from past projects on the label. On this album, musical duo The Name experiment with sampling their own music and incorporating live performance elements into a very groove-oriented sound.

Check our main website or click here for more info and a link to download the EP. Possible live performances to follow, most likely in the greater Hartford area. Stay tuned!

-Steve

New Website Kickoff

The new Small Glowing Pig website is finally here.  Be sure to update your bookmarks to smallglowingpig.com, as it’ll be our home for the foreseeable future.  On to the celebrations…

First up is a new release from Steve Blonski & the Victor Frankensteins.  It’s the first proper followup to a “Steve Blonski & the” album.  It also marks a return to a band last heard from way back in 2000.  Two tracks from that year’s Not Gonna be Splitting the Atom Any Time Soon are featured on the new release, Antimony.  Enjoy!

Steve Blonski & the Victor Frankensteins: Antimony

Next is the first release from Vacation.  Meant to be a catch all “band” for all the random nonsense I come up with during my breaks from school.  Think Desert Sessions but generally alone and not as interesting.  It was originally intended to have a real “band” feel, so I restricted myself to one acoustic, one electric, drums, bass, and vocals.  I don’t remember if I kept it up throughout the seven tracks, though.  I did, however, only use one microphone for the whole thing – including the drums.  Craziness!

Vacation

We’ll have more news about The Name and about a new project soon.  The 10th Anniversary album seems to be on hold.  It’s already the 11th Anniversary, so what’s another year?

-Mike

SGP TCB

Updates on two bands and miscellaneous other details! Hooray!

First, The Name would like to thank Shake it Twice for letting us rock out at Musky’s with them earlier in the month. Despite technical difficulties and human error, we managed to pull off (if we’re being generous) four songs. Two The Name originals and covers of “Summertime” by The Fresh Prince/DJ Jazzy Jeff and “The Way of the World” by Earth Wind and Fire. Luckily there is no audio from the show.  The next step is recording the originals and hitting the open mics.

In addition to a pending The Name release, Meat Without Feet are inching closer to their second release. Another four track EP, WPOP will likely drop within the next month or so. Recording in nearly complete, with only minor touch-ups and mixing left to do.

Friend of the label, Jefim Piekarz, is also hard at work on The Wayward Solider’s debut, which will feature some drum, bass, and keyboard from SGP members.

Black Velvet’s second disc, Reserved, is also perpetually in progress. Someday!

-Mike

New Blog and New Music…

This is our first blog post for SGP!  Figured a place to keep everyone up to date on the latest SGP projects was in order.

A few things happening…

First, the second SB & the Victor Frankensteins disc is more or less finished.  We’ve decided to delay the release in order to fool around with mixing/master tricks and some new plugins.  All recording is done and at some point we’ll just be satisfied and release it.

Second, the SGP 10th Anniversary album is in the works.  We’re recording one new track, one old unfinished track, and then tacking on some unreleased works from the past.  This will be the first chance to hear some stuff from the abandoned Andre EP, and the rarely talked about Space album.  Thinking about including two “discs” with one greatest hits and one rarities.  The goal is to finish it before the end of 2010 so that it’s still the 10th anniversary…

And finally, The Name is making its debut Wednesday the 25th at an open mic at the Main Pub in Manchester, CT.  Hoping to release a single before or shortly after the performance.