History @ our disposal live @ haileys
9/30/2007
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 30, 2007,
, links to this post
Photos from Exit 6C Performance
9/24/2007
Look Ma, both hands!
Sexy and a little evil...
Uh oh, the bass is too high!
Fiddlin' with virtual synthesis.
Next show: October 12 - headlining OK Electric 2007!
posted by novachild @ Monday, September 24, 2007,
, links to this post
Liz in pink!
9/21/2007
posted by novachild @ Friday, September 21, 2007,
, links to this post
Oh.... My..... Fucking..... GOD
Anal sex according to the word of God!
Don't try this at home, kiddies. LOL
And here's me at 21... with my evil twin Severin, LOL (thx Mariah)
posted by novachild @ Friday, September 21, 2007,
, links to this post
Novachild Interview
9/20/2007
Novachild interviews Novachild at tulsamusicnews.com. Special thanks to IndieFanatic for being such a trooper for the Tulsa Music Scene!
Reposted here:
Novachild: The Future of Electronica?
Novachild (AKA Bruce Rich) tackles his most difficult subject - HIMSELF.
Q: What book do you casually put out on your coffee table to impress visitors?
A: Typically I am the visitor, so I’m not accustomed to having guests. However, I’ve been known to leave Terry Pratchett novels sitting on the coffee table. Once, I remember quite deliberately placing the Tao on my coffee table, but nobody really noticed.
Q: What do you love about music?
A: I love the different textures, the resonance, the dissonance, the way it makes my chest open up and my heart pound when a swelling chord reaches its peak. I love music that I can chew on for hours, music that is more like a painting than a quick doodle.
Q: Tell us the brief history of Novachild.
A: Summer, 1998. I discovered a great piece of software coded by a fellow in Amsterdam named Bram Bos (now a good acquaintance of mine) called Tuareg. It was billed as a ‘Phrase Sampler’ but was much more. I made a hundred songs with it, and when he gave me a license for version 2.5, I made a hundred more. I became involved in a small but passionate community of other aspiring computer musicians and developed some intriguing relationships and collaborations. But it wasn’t until I discovered Ableton Live and VSTi’s (virtual instruments) that I considered live performance.
I self released my first CD, “Micro Cosm,” in 2002. It was very amateurish but contained the seeds of something happening. I followed it up with the “Subliminal Skin” EP in 2003, which consisted of several tracks from a second album I shelved. “Traveller” arrived in 2004 and this began my foray into live performance. My latest release is the “Weary Demons EP,” released in the summer of 2006. I’m working on a full-length at the moment, which should be ready sometime early next year.
Q: Which radio stations do you listen to?
A: If I listen to the radio, I tend to gravitate to NPR, or college radio, and sometimes I get a wild streak and tune into Coast To Coast AM because I enjoy listening to the nutcases and their alien abduction stories at three in the morning. I also enjoy listening to police and emergency scanners, and I miss my Pro97. I even used it in performances, but when my wife and I split up I sold it, along with other priceless items, to raise money for a move to my apartment. I will buy another one eventually!
Q: What specific themes do your songs cover?
A: In generally, my process of writing is so abstract and internalized that I can’t begin to describe my work in terms of a ‘grand theme’ or some authoritative concept. There are exceptions. My 2004 album ‘Traveller is the soundtrack to my life at the time, the weakening of my ‘post-marital bliss’ and many other realizations. It was spawned by my deep-rooted need to experience the road again, to reach out and melt into the awesome sunsets that inspired me in the midst of relationship turmoil.
Lately my material has been mostly inspired by watching human behavior. I often sit at coffeeshops with my laptop and headphones, sipping on my drink, enjoying a scone, and writing the energy that I see around me.
Q: What made you decide to study music?
A: My parents were the main perpetrators of my music bug. When I was very young, they bought me a drum kit and hired our church drummer to teach me how to play. I enjoyed it immensely, but being 7 years old I simply didn’t have the self-motivation to stick with the studies. In Junior High, my parents bought me a trumpet, a decent Yamaha student trumpet that I wish I still owned. I was quite good. However, our family moved to Tulsa, and my new band instructor refused to place me in a chair because I had enrolled late. So I rebelled and walked away from it, never to return. However, I had already caught the guitar bug, and since then I have studied bass, acoustic and electric guitar. I have also incorporated hand percussion, synthesis and computer music into my studies. Piano is hopefully my next adventure!
Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Channa Masala with garlic naan, followed by a cup of chai and a bowl of gulab jaman. I adore Indian cuisine.
Q: What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?
A: Having invested in hardware over the years, I’ve found that traveling light is most inspirational. I also love being the opening act, because that means less gear I have to wrangle into the back of the car. My Novation X-Station has most everything I need to perform – modeling synth, midi controller, inputs and outputs. I can’t recommend it enough, though I am still working out some kinks.
Q: What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?
A: Truthfully, there are a few things biting at my heels at the moment, the first of which has to do with my MacBook and discovering its limitations. I was sold on the Mac hype, but now I have this laptop, which is a wonderful piece of equipment, but it simply doesn’t have the power that was promised. My 4-year-old PC can handle more voices! And as far as Macs never crashing… I have proven that to be a great myth. Still, overall the good outweighs the bad, and occasionally limitations can be a benefit to inspiration.
One other discouraging factor is the ‘home town’ syndrome. Tulsa is home to some amazing talent, but 95% of these talented people have to play cover songs in front of drunken masses to obtain recognition. Tulsa has seen better days in the indie music scene; there used to be much more solidity and stability - room for individuality - but my impression of Tulsa as it stands is that if you don’t play a guitar or scream or do covers, people tend take what you do less seriously. I really hope we can change this.
Q: What do you think about downloading music online?
A: In a world where every radio station plays maybe .05% of the music being produced, there is no better way to discover what other people are doing. The music industry is deliberately dishonest in its portrayal of modern music; like any other industry in America, they would rather squeeze out every last penny from the tired old horse than allow diversity to bloom and musical evolution to take flight. Meanwhile small collectives of musical innovators are not being heard. It’s a shame.
Personally, I support downloading and file sharing, and I release my material under a Creative Commons Sharealike license. If everyone relied on current ‘legal’ methods for obtaining and discovering new music, the evolution of music would continue to be controlled and defined by the industry. It’s much more interesting to have this ‘explosion’ of different sounds than to have music filtered through the money machine before it reaches the listener.
As far as the artists getting paid for their work… I don’t seriously believe that a true fan of music would settle for a 128k compressed mp3. That’s why I think LP’s are still relevant. And playing live is essential.
Q: Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to.
A: I’ll give you a couple. Tortoise is a fantastic instrumental band from Chicago. Their approach to music is nonlinear and methodical. Seeing it happen live is truly the only way to appreciate what they are doing, and I can’t recommend them enough. Especially (the album) TNT. Another great band I’ve been listening to quite a bit lately is Gravenhurst. They’re from Bristol, UK. Each song has a different flavor and yet somehow is pure honey.
What strikes me as funny is how little ‘electronic music’ I have been listening to over the past couple of years. Aside from a few Warp and indie artists I’ve discovered, I haven’t found much electronica to fall in love with since the late ‘90s.
Q: What is the first record that you recall purchasing yourself?
A: Back when you could still buy records at Wal-Mart, I remember begging my mother to buy me the double-vinyl adaptation of Disney's “The Black Hole.” I wish I still owned it.
Last Question: Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
A: I am opening for Tranny this Friday, September 21st. You should be there if you like good independent music, like to have a good time and have an open mind to different styles. Tranny is a straight-up ‘midwestern’ rock band, and they have incredible live energy. ‘Font’ is a producer here in Oklahoma that performs in a similar way as Novachild but has more of a jungle/drum and bass quality. Lastly, it’s my first official Novachild performance since last August, and I would love to see everyone there having a good time.
My next scheduled performance is October 12; I am headlining the first night of the 2-day OK Electric Music Festival - downtown Tulsa @ the Blue Dome. It’s a wonderful event sponsored by Living Arts of Tulsa and maintained by my good friend Jake Thomason. This year will feature workshops, a special video presentation from the inventor of MIDI, and more high-profile regional electronic acts than you can shake a stick at.
I cannot recommend OK Electric enough, and I hope that more music fans will come out and support it this year because it is indeed something different, special, and memorable.
You can find out more about Novachild and the OK Electric Festival at the following websites:
posted by novachild @ Thursday, September 20, 2007,
, links to this post
Nifty Vid of Templ Lounge
9/19/2007
posted by novachild @ Wednesday, September 19, 2007,
, links to this post
Rainless rainbow!
9/18/2007
posted by novachild @ Tuesday, September 18, 2007,
, links to this post
RIP NDN
(image courtesy of Jennifer)I met NDN ages ago at IKON. He was always very nice to me, funny as hell, and lit up the room with smiles every time he walked in. All the girls would hug him and all the guys would shake his hand (but some of us would hug him, too).
My fondest memory of NDN: driving around with my roommate in the rain with NDN in the backseat. We saw the biggest damned Beaver hulking across Memorial. It was surreal and hilarious!
I never got to see him doing his fireplay until the hafla just a couple of weeks ago. We were drumming and there was dancing, and suddenly the parking lot outside was lit up with golden fire. Everybody stopped; I brought my drum out and kept playing while NDN set the night on fire. I believe that is the last time I saw him.
NDN, may your next journey be even more exciting, my friend. All I know is the world won't be the same with you absent from it.
posted by novachild @ Tuesday, September 18, 2007,
, links to this post
Fun Pervy Disney Hack
9/16/2007
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
Mr. Roo
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
Mr. Otter!
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
At the Tulsa zoo
Donkey not too pleased with me.
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
At the Tulsa zoo part ?
Lost count of my posts lol. Monkeys and birds together.
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
At the Tulsa zoo part 4
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
At the Tulsa zoo part 5
Sleeping jaguar. Reminds me of pan... My lazy kitty.
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
At the Tulsa zoo part 3
Poison dart frog up close.
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
At the Tulsa zoo part 2
Big fish! He liked me.
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
At the Tulsa zoo part 1
Rainforest guardian.
posted by novachild @ Sunday, September 16, 2007,
, links to this post
Peppers galore!
9/15/2007
posted by novachild @ Saturday, September 15, 2007,
, links to this post
Farmers market!
Its a beautiful day. A tad chilly but perfect for a hot guy like me lol.
posted by novachild @ Saturday, September 15, 2007,
, links to this post
Novachild MP3s for Sale
9/14/2007
posted by novachild @ Friday, September 14, 2007,
, links to this post
Favorite Movie This Week: Wild Zero
9/11/2007
I just watched the craziest, awesomest and most fun Japanese UFO/Zombie/Rock And Roll movie in history. Wild Zero is a tastful marriage of Ed Wood, George Romero zombies, and Rock and Roll attitude... complete with exploding heads, old-school UFOs, cool japanese punk musicians (a Japanese 'Ramones' esque trio with a guitar that turns into a sword and super cool exploding guitar pick weaponry), blue-skinned zombies, a hot-pants-pill-popping baddie, and transvestite love that will make you smile. I haven't been this excited about a B-Movie since I discovered MST3K in 1993.
If you just can't appreciate a movie unless it stars Gwyneth Paltrow or Orlando Bloom, or if you went to see Titanic more than once at the theater, then this probably isn't the movie for you. Still, I guarantee that if you watch it, especially if you play the drinking game that is included with the DVD, you will have a great fucking time. I am so going to own this one.
posted by novachild @ Tuesday, September 11, 2007,
, links to this post
Tranny CD Release Poster
9/06/2007
posted by novachild @ Thursday, September 06, 2007,
, links to this post
A Couple of Warmup Shows This Weekend
9/05/2007
posted by novachild @ Wednesday, September 05, 2007,
, links to this post
Fireworks!
9/03/2007
Scotts 19th birthday wouldn't have been the same without a few explosions!
posted by novachild @ Monday, September 03, 2007,
, links to this post
