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News: May 27, 2011: The band is no more....
After deliberating on it for awhile, i've decided to end High Watt. It's been a great run for all these years, and i've met and talked to many awesome people along the way. Eventually everything must end, and I felt that it had to end at some point when it was still creatively vital. There were some tough times, to be sure--the music's weird, uninviting and often terrifying veneer endeared it to a very, VERY small audience in which the albums lost alot of money to offer 100 percent of a vision--but the music was absolutely uncompromised in the way of getting what was in my head onto the final medium, which involved numerous nervous breakdowns in varying stages of completion and promotion. But when you consider that many bands are convinced by labels, managers or even bandmates to make something that they don't want to, I can tell anyone that I wouldn't have done anything differently.
Well....maybe that's not entirely true, as I don't personally believe that any artist really is completely satisfied with their work, but I think that as long as you're almost all of the way there, that at least the intention is there. There will always be things about ourselves that we don't like, and art is no different--the main thing is that you know that you gave it everything you had. That's why the releases were never put out until they'd endured endless mixing, production and reworking. For better or worse, there wasn't even a second on any of those three records that wasn't laboured or obsessed over, and I figured that anything that still moved me after all of that work, was worth releasing. I certainly wouldn't expect it to be worth an audience's time if it wasn't worth my own.
Even alot of the spontaneous jam type of things like various extended guitar solos weren't necessarily laboured over in the recording process where there was some freeform art noise at times (wherein the recording medium functioned more as a documenting tool, in terms of a particular overall vibe if not necessarily a smaller, specific one), but I can say that it was laboured over in the final mix and editing. If hitting the record button was the inviting allure of night, the playback was the cruel light of day. Some tracks on the records that are three minutes long were originally anywhere from 5-20 minutes long. Some tracks had got re-written because there were parts of longer jams that took on a new direction and life, but didn't necessarily work within the context of those longer songs. There's plenty of High Watt material that didn't make it to the records; some of it I really like but it didn't fit into the album concepts; some other stuff was okay; some stuff had got physically erased off of my harddrive because it was a waste of time in hindsight. Some things seem better in the idea stage, but aren't so great in actuality. We all have limitations, and the key is to find out what makes you push for something that you can tangibly reach, and what you're not cut out to do; a comfortable uncomfort zone.
The personal high for me, probably, was the inclusion on Classic Rock Magazine's Space Rock compilation disc in Dec. of '09, as well as seeing all three of the releases go on to enjoy some good radio airplay on a variety of campus radio stations and shows, where they play music that wouldn't otherwise stand a chance on the mainstream radio airwaves. With very little promotional budgets for the releases that had otherwise consisted pretty much of an industrial strength campus radio promotion (LOTS of envelopes and stamps) and niche magazine/ zine/ blog promotions for each record, coupled with a few well thought out emails to various people, the releases survived solely on what others heard in the music. I don't know that much about being a record label guy (my label really functions more as a way to evade the "independent" tag), but one thing that i'd learned is that the main thing is that you get the music out there to those who you speculate would enjoy it the most. There's some that tell you no, but when i'd found the people that were into the admittedly obscure influences, the door was always open far more than it was closed. "Night Songs", if I recall in tracking back to where and what was played, had all of the songs played somewhere, eventually. For records without singles (and one record in "The Bermuda Triangle" that essentially was a single, albeit a 39 minute one!), it had gone much further in that regard than I could have imagined. I'm truly grateful for that--all the hosts and station directors passing it onto people and getting the music out there.
Ultimately, after creating three albums that I feel were challenging--with none of them sounding a heckuva lot like each other-- I felt that i'd exhausted everything that i'd set out to do with the band, and that new recordings were progressing in a manner where it was no longer the spirit of the original intentions of the band.....which was to provoke somewhat, to have an overall sense of chaos. Maybe that just boils down to getting older, but sometimes one's priorities and goals change in life. I also feel that i've gone as far as I can go with the weird, obscurist psychedelics, as new recordings under a totally separate project are much more pop oriented, although with a space rock friendly aesthetic--somewhat reminiscent of "The Bermuda Triangle", but with lots of three/ four part vocal harmonies and huge choruses and solos and discernable vocals and lyrics. It expands to include many things that i'd reached for and failed at, but fortunately, I feel that's the minority--the mixes and end results have pushed me as a writer and producer to create something that reaches something that I didn't know that I had, that would have otherwise been out of place on a High Watt record.
Plus, I like the idea of finality to a band or project, that the idea that the reactions to the music and art eventually determine the validity of that music over the passing years. As musicians and artists, ultimately we never write the final chapter on the music when it is out there in the public domain, we must let go of our own preconceptions on it and let it survive purely with others. That is perhaps the most difficult thing to accept for any artist--it is most likely the reason why bands put out several (or endless) attempts to re-create what made their classic albums so special, but no matter what a band or artist says, whether the new one is their "best ever" or not, I find a certain solace in that sometimes you just take your chips away from the table and stop playing the game altogether.
Vanity can be a strange and cruel thing, because it's rarely perceived properly by the beholder.
The list of people that deserve thanks is much too long to list, but it's safe to say that if you've played the music or bought it and/ or supported it in some way, that you're in there somewhere. Thank you! It's reached much, much further than i'd ever imagined. As for the records and cds, they won't be re-pressed, so once they're gone, that's it.
-Ry
News Nov. 24, 2010: New Interview, Aural Innovations Show
There's a new interview with The Obelisk regarding "The Bermuda Triangle", and a couple of tracks (including some of "The Bermuda Triangle") were added to a new Aural Innovations show--both well respected psych/ heavy/ experimental/ prog/ ambient taste aficionados. Check it out.
The release was also number 103 for October on Earshot's Canadian Campus Radio Charts for the month of October 2010.
As well, there's a great review of "The Bermuda Triangle" in the upcoming #67 issue of The Big Takeover, as well as a review in the upcoming issue of Progression Magazine.
News Nov. 7, 2010: New Updates In The Press Section
New reviews of "The Bermuda Triangle" from Peacedogman, Babysue, The Uniter, The Sleeping Shaman, and The Obelisk. Plus a new review of "Desert Opuses" at Maelstrom Zine--proving that some promos still get around well after they were initially sent....
News Sept 1, 2010: "The Bermuda Triangle"
Finally it's out! Well, really, it's only been two years since the last record, but for artists, that sometimes feels like an eternity. "Is this thing ever gonna be finished?". It took awhile to put everything up properly on this site--the song samples, the specifics, making it look fancy, you know the drill.
It comes with a limited edition bonus track/ release (download only) that's about 35 minutes long, entitled "Atmospheric Space Blues", a Hendrix meets Spacemen 3 lead guitar based jam. "The Bermuda Triangle" is limited to 500 copies, and individually numbered, and comes with individually painted, improvised one of a kind covers.
This release is much more subdued and more optimistic sounding in nature than the last two releases. It's more Floyd/ Spiritualized/ Love/ Dirty Three sounding, I think, and it's all instrumental--utilizing alot of acoustic guitars, pianos and synth stuff. As the challenge is to always push oneself creatively as well as to push the audiences to grow along with their bands, I think that it's integral to make sure that there's progression over the course of time. If you take alot of the mellow songs from "Night Songs", this sounds quite a bit like those, and though there's some darker songs on the release (moreso mid-way through the album and towards the end, culminating in thunderstorm sounds to close out the cd), it's mostly a fairly calm, inviting sound. The Sabbath thing is still there, though this is more "Orchid", "Solitude", "Fluff" than anything, and I think that there's not the jarringness of the last two records, which was conscious on this one. That was the goal, because though I really still do like the difficult and abrasive nature of the first two records, this one was done almost more as a soundtrack, where one doesn't have to be as versed in the obscurist influences that were all over the first two records in order to enjoy it.
There's still lots of weird, dark and minor key moments, but it's overall a more sunny type of vibe. It makes for good background music, but it's also crafted enough where there's enough smaller details to keep the more discerning listeners interested, I think.
-R.S.
News Mar 7, 2010: Cheaper MP3's and Digital Albums
It
still feels kinda weird writing 2010-- I thought we were all supposed
to be driving around in flying cars by now, but for now, it's still
pretty cool that you can read this directly from anywhere in the world,
ain't it?
I've made the MP3 files 49 cents each for every song on "Desert Opuses" and "Night Songs", and made the digital albums available for $4.00. All digital stock must go! Well, technically there's no limit on digital stock, so really there's no excess surplus, but it sounds real fancy and business-like.
The reason that i've priced them as such, is because the costs of digital files really aren't that much, because you cut out the ink/ pressing/ shipping. I don't see any reason for anyone to be paying 10 bucks for a digital MP3 album, simply because the costs are minimized. Sure, there's the inherent cost of recording and gear and everything that's a part of making the record, but just the ink/ pressing/ shipping alone saves everyone some money.
The tracks are available through Cd Freedom/ Nimbit, ITunes, Napster, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody, EMusic. ITunes still charges 99 cents per track and there's nothing I can do about that, but that's their policy.
-R.S
I've made the MP3 files 49 cents each for every song on "Desert Opuses" and "Night Songs", and made the digital albums available for $4.00. All digital stock must go! Well, technically there's no limit on digital stock, so really there's no excess surplus, but it sounds real fancy and business-like.
The reason that i've priced them as such, is because the costs of digital files really aren't that much, because you cut out the ink/ pressing/ shipping. I don't see any reason for anyone to be paying 10 bucks for a digital MP3 album, simply because the costs are minimized. Sure, there's the inherent cost of recording and gear and everything that's a part of making the record, but just the ink/ pressing/ shipping alone saves everyone some money.
The tracks are available through Cd Freedom/ Nimbit, ITunes, Napster, Amazon MP3, Rhapsody, EMusic. ITunes still charges 99 cents per track and there's nothing I can do about that, but that's their policy.
-R.S
News Feb. 8, 2010: Still Working on New Album.....
I
thought that i'd update the site as it hasn't been updated for a couple
of months. It's definetely not for a lack of activity! "Endorphinated"
has been bumped to the album following
this next one. The next one is called "The Bermuda Triangle", and it's
an entirely instrumental album. The reason for this was because as much
as "Endorphinated" encompasses what I want it to, I felt that there
needed to be a bit of a buffer album in between the heaviosity of
"Desert Opuses", and the change of sonics and moods and textures on
"Endorphinated". It was too drastic of a change, i'd felt. This album,
I feel, is that bridge and transition--it's still pretty far out
sounding and weird and esoteric, but the heavy fuzz is generally scaled
back a bit for synths and other instrumentation. "Endorphinated" makes
alot more sense after this one in terms of the evolution in a band's
catalogue.
It's still pretty heavy in mood at times, though I think that the vibe of terror on past albums has been replaced by more of a haunting vibe, when it does surface. It's generally a fairly optimistic, sunnier sounding type of record.
I had some instrumental songs kicking around, and they didn't quite fit on the last couple of albums, and they also didn't fit on "Endorphinated". They seemed to have their own thing and sort of dictated having their own record, or never seeing the light of day at all. There's alot more lead guitar and solos on this record. Some songs were older, some are brand new. I sort of make it a priority to revisit an older unrecorded or previously demoed song and there's one on here, too. The release will be a limited edition with hand painted artwork, and hopefully finished in the next couple of months.
It's still pretty heavy in mood at times, though I think that the vibe of terror on past albums has been replaced by more of a haunting vibe, when it does surface. It's generally a fairly optimistic, sunnier sounding type of record.
I had some instrumental songs kicking around, and they didn't quite fit on the last couple of albums, and they also didn't fit on "Endorphinated". They seemed to have their own thing and sort of dictated having their own record, or never seeing the light of day at all. There's alot more lead guitar and solos on this record. Some songs were older, some are brand new. I sort of make it a priority to revisit an older unrecorded or previously demoed song and there's one on here, too. The release will be a limited edition with hand painted artwork, and hopefully finished in the next couple of months.
News Nov. 29, 2009: Updates, Press, Interviews, etc
"The
Ruins of the Pyramids" is featured on a Classic Rock Magazine space
rock sampler cd with December 2009's issue--featuring a holographic
Pink Floyd cover and a tribute to Dickie Peterson (Blue Cheer), it fits
right in, I think. Thanks goes out to Sleazegrinder.
"Desert Opuses" was the album of the week at Heavy Planet for Sept. 1. Thanks goes out to Reg.
There's some new reviews and interviews up in the press section--some a few months old that i've been meaning to put up in the meantime. Thanks to all involved for their time and efforts.
Also, much thanks to Tombstone and Spacey Kitty at the Crawlspace/ Melting Space Dreams/ Takilma FM for the excellent support.
Last but not least, the new album coming up next year is quite a change from what I think is expected, but it's needed to continue to push boundaries. You can read more about it here.
There's some new reviews and interviews up in the press section--some a few months old that i've been meaning to put up in the meantime. Thanks to all involved for their time and efforts.
Also, much thanks to Tombstone and Spacey Kitty at the Crawlspace/ Melting Space Dreams/ Takilma FM for the excellent support.
Last but not least, the new album coming up next year is quite a change from what I think is expected, but it's needed to continue to push boundaries. You can read more about it here.
News Aug. 23, 2009: Review of "Desert Opuses" in Deaf Sparrow Zine
News Aug. 9, 2009: New "Desert Opuses" Charts, Reviews, etc.
Thanks to Scott at Lowcut for this
one! Four cuts/ stars.
Jerry Kranitz played "Headphone Opus" on the July 14, 2009 Aural Innovations show, and Aural Innovations is pretty much one of, if not the most well respected psych shows around. Thanks, Jerry!
It's #3 on the loud charts on CFRU Guelph's charts. Thanks goes out to CFRU!
Also, I forgot that there was a HWE track on last year's Bad Acid Tab 7. Apparently, alot of places are sold out (Catacomb records is; StonerRock doesn't seem to have it anymore either). It's a cd/ dvd and PDF magazine multimedia thing that's super cool, it has a bunch of psych/ stoner/ experimental bands, going globally from a vast range of locations. Check it out if you can find it....I think that there's still some available right from Bad Acid's MySpace site.
Jerry Kranitz played "Headphone Opus" on the July 14, 2009 Aural Innovations show, and Aural Innovations is pretty much one of, if not the most well respected psych shows around. Thanks, Jerry!
It's #3 on the loud charts on CFRU Guelph's charts. Thanks goes out to CFRU!
Also, I forgot that there was a HWE track on last year's Bad Acid Tab 7. Apparently, alot of places are sold out (Catacomb records is; StonerRock doesn't seem to have it anymore either). It's a cd/ dvd and PDF magazine multimedia thing that's super cool, it has a bunch of psych/ stoner/ experimental bands, going globally from a vast range of locations. Check it out if you can find it....I think that there's still some available right from Bad Acid's MySpace site.
News Aug. 4, 2009: Reviews, Interviews, Accolades, Deals
I've compiled a bunch of reviews and interviews that i've done or got over the last few months:
Stoner Rock/ The Obelisk review
Stylus Magazine review
Uptown Magazine review
The Obelisk interview
Interview with Uptown Magazine
Interview with The Uniter
Radio charts:
Earshot top 200 campus radio albums for June 2009 (#96)
Earshot top 200 campus radio albums for May 2009 (#93)
Thanks to everyone involved! I would start by name, but i'm gonna forget some key people so you know who you are. If you write somewhere or are interested in a promo for radio on a good show somewhere, don't hesitate to ask for a promo.
News June 23, 2009:
Performance at the Graffiti Gallery in Winnipeg on Friday, June 26. I'll be playing a rare non-HWE gig with The Broken Orchestra of Winnipeg, and it will be improvised stuff. I love the power of improvisation, and despite my inclinations towards guitar, i'll be playing some noise generator stuff on MicroKorg, as well as some percussion, so it should be pretty intense, and I look forward to feeding off of the spontaneous energy of the band members. The band has some really great and far out stuff, as they've been around for awhile.
News
April 8, 2009: "Desert
Opuses" cds have arrived
The cd version has two songs that aren't on the vinyl: "Evilution" and "Stripped Ruins", and there's a few ways that the cd and vinyl version differ--including some different art designs and layout. They're $16 CDN including shipping, worldwide. Purchase the vinyl and cd, and save: $25 CDN, including shipping, worldwide.
Purchase "Desert Opuses" now--vinyl or cd-- and get a limited edition download for a "Mountains Of the Pharoahs" 5 song EP, including one new song, one song dating back to the "Night Songs" sessions roughly from 2004, one atmospheric demo song going back to 1997, and an orchestral remix of "Mountains of the Pharoahs". Also included are photos of scratch lyric sheets and some other information about the songs on how they were written and mixed, as well as some other technical information.
The cd version has two songs that aren't on the vinyl: "Evilution" and "Stripped Ruins", and there's a few ways that the cd and vinyl version differ--including some different art designs and layout. They're $16 CDN including shipping, worldwide. Purchase the vinyl and cd, and save: $25 CDN, including shipping, worldwide.
Purchase "Desert Opuses" now--vinyl or cd-- and get a limited edition download for a "Mountains Of the Pharoahs" 5 song EP, including one new song, one song dating back to the "Night Songs" sessions roughly from 2004, one atmospheric demo song going back to 1997, and an orchestral remix of "Mountains of the Pharoahs". Also included are photos of scratch lyric sheets and some other information about the songs on how they were written and mixed, as well as some other technical information.
News Dec. 21, 2008-- Special Offer
Buy "Desert Opuses" now--either the cd or the vinyl--and get entered into a limited time draw to win a special test pressing of "Desert Opuses", featuring one of a kind freehand custom drawn artwork, as well as custom hand cut lettering on the front jacket. There are only five test pressings, all on black vinyl, and this edition is the only one in existence with this custom drawn artwork, truly making it individualistic.
"The Bermuda Triangle"Released in 2010. 500 copy limited edition.
"Desert
Opuses"
Released in
2008/2009 Released on translucent 140 gram gold vinyl and
limited to 400 copies.
Also available on cd.
Also available on cd.
"Night
Songs"Released
in 2007
Full tracks available at Last Fm
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