Summer Solstice (and Summer Home)

Greetings and happy Summer Solstice!


This is just a quick near re-post - a couple tracks - and then I'm out.


As the story goes..."Summer Home" is one of those rare tracks that has been recorded twice (I think three times actually). It is one of my favorite Rain Station tracks. In the summer of 1992, Hoagie Malone (Jay Moores) began coaxing musicians for his recording project "Equator". These sessions produced 33 tracks. Originally released as "Khaki Circus" by Equator, Hoagie felt that the recordings between he and mopehead (Mark Harvey) were going particularly well, so when mixing time came, the 33 tracks became two separate releases. Rain Station was born with the release "Criminal Goat" and Hoagie released the rest as "Equator". "Summer Home" was one of the tracks on "Criminal Goat". Jay recorded drum tracks in his large Mission Street house. I'd come over and record guitar tracks to his tracks and then he'd flesh out the rest. On the original "Criminal Goat" version of "Summer Home" the bass track was played by Jay's buddy Dave Mintim.


Here's the "Criminal Goat" version of "Summer Home"...

A year or so later I moved out to the Sunset (from the Peninsula) and after a few roommates came and left I convinced Jay to move out of the Mission and out towards the ocean. The place we lived in was fairly large and allowed for setting up and playing (as a band).

Tony Iuppa (my buddy who played bass in The Screaming Paisleys) joined us as did a friend from work, Brian Peet (on drums). Rain Station (the band) was formed and we recorded a three song demo to shop around for gigs. Jay and I also named our home in the Sunset The Rain Station.
"Summer Home" was one of the tracks we recorded for our three song demo - this time on my 4-track. "Summer Home" was added to "Fancy Fancy" as were the other two songs we recorded - "Widdershins" and "Quiet Morning".
Here's the "Fancy Fancy" version of "Summer Home"...

Jay and I have yet to record a version of "Summer Home" on something better than a 4-track. I'm sure someday we will as we both love the tune.

Remember, all of my CDs are available for purchase at Nobody Records.

Be sure and support independent music and purchasing CDs from us!

Mark Harvey

Rain Station's "Empty Home"

Good evening,

Some time has passed since I last blogged so I thought I should break radio silence with a track from Rain Station's "Fancy Fancy" CD - "Empty Home".

This track was recorded at our 45th & Lawton beach home - many years ago.  It has always been a favorite of mine - Jay and I singing - a dreamy kind of track.

Well, that's all I have for you tonight - just a little check in for ya...

Mark Harvey

Stonedozer - Dr. Dre has it, do you?

Since I don't have a "good" version of "The Living Room Sessions" that I can put up on Bandcamp (yet) I figured I'd fast forward chronologically and talk a little about "Stonedozer". As I mentioned during my "Fancy Fancy" post Jay had moved to New York and Brian Peet and I were recording together. With Brian's help I upgraded my studio set up to an E-MU Darwin (a digital 8-track) and a PC that allowed me to use virtual MIDI tracks which expanded the possibilities of over 8 tracks. I recorded mopehead tracks and my first Pumpkinland hauntscape during that time.
In 1999 Jay returned with his wife to the Bay Area. I had recently become a stay-at-home Dad and since Jay moved nearby we decided it was time to start a new Rain Station project. My folks would watch my daughter at least once a week (sometimes more) and Jay would come over to record. With the new gear it was evident that we were going to end up with a pretty good recording. In some cases I recorded after hours - drum programming, bass, guitar and keyboard tracks. In the case of "It Doesn't Show" Jay laid down a guitar track and I recorded instruments around it. Jay and I also talked a lot about keyboard sounds and many of the keyboard tracks were done when we were together. I wrote lyrics for some of the songs and others Jay would come over and write lyrics to. Vocally we'd record once songs got closer to being completed. On some of the tracks we brought in other vocalists - his wife, my sister and a friend of mine named Idia Huntley who worked with me at the good guys. We also brought in Jay's friend Joe to play the guitar solo for "City Girl". We mixed the project down and scheduled a date to master it.
We mastered "Stonedozer" at Fantasy Studios with George Horn. George mastered The Screaming Paisleys "EXIT" LP so it had been some time since I had seen him. His ears are incredible and mastering with him is a joy. What was nice was that he kept asking about my equipment and process. He was amazed that we had done the whole project on a digital 8-track. We talked mics and such and he was generally impressed. It made me feel like the years of recording college (and recording) had paid off. We sent the master of for replication and waited.
On 4/20/2000 Rain Station released "Stonedozer". We sent out tons of press kits to radio (college, mainstream and alternative), websites (for review) and to print publications. The CD was received well and gained some airplay, but failed to conquer the world as we had intended it to.
A couple months later I heard a story from Jay about his brother and our CD. Jay's brother worked for a high end pro audio company in Indianapolis. During the Up In Smoke Tour (formerly called the Chronic 2000 Tour) Jay's brother was working on the stereo system on Dr. Dre's tour bus. To "test" the system his brother dropped "Stonedozer" into the CD player. As Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Ice Cube, Nate Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit and more (possibly) listened on, his brother continued to tweak the system. Dr. Dre asked him, "Who is this" and his brother answered, "My brother's band, Rain Station". Dr. Dre said he wanted the CD and said, "If this is your brother you can get another copy of it". So, on June 30th, 2000 Rain Station's "Stonedozer" became a part of the CD collection on Dr. Dre's tour bus.
Here's a chance to listen to the disc in its entirety via Bandcamp.

Jay likes to listen to the CD starting at track #3. "Rise" and "Stonedozer" are a bit of an abrupt way to start a CD so perhaps heed Jay's advice, start at track 3 and then come back for tracks 1 and 2.

I hope you enjoy the disc...as Charlie Harrelson from EvO:R says..."I have always been a big fan of Rain Station and their lo-fi recording roots but the recording of Stonedozer has elevated them to near major label sound quality"......"This is the BEST Rain Station CD to date"...

Mark Harvey

Fancy this!

Rain Station's "Fancy Fancy" is a combination of tracks written at different times and put together by Jay and I as a sort of compilation CD. The CD features tracks recorded by Jay and I, Brian Peet and I and by Jay, Tony Iuppa, Brian Peet and I. Soon after Jay's recording project gave us "Criminal Goat" I moved to San Francisco with Tony Iuppa and Yun Shin, but after a short while Tony and Yun decided that the commute to the Peninsula was just too tough so they wanted to move out. Jay was living in San Francisco's Mission District, I was in need of some roommates and since Jay's living situation was a bit..let's say, different, I convinced him to move into the house in the Sunset. For a time Jay and I tried to put together a "live" act with Jay on vocals (and sometimes acoustic guitar), Tony Iuppa (The Screaming Paisleys) on bass, Brian Peet on drums and me on guitar. We recorded a three song demo in our Sunset livingroom (re-recording "Summer Home", "Widdershins" and "Quiet Morning") with the hopes of getting some gigs and gaining some momentum, but it didn't pan out as it was really tough to get together and rehearse. Unless you're living together, as Jay and I were, it is nearly impossible.
So since Jay and I were living together we had the ability to create whatever whenever the feeling hit us. The "SOB Puppet Hour" was born out of this living arrangement. Jay and I recorded "Hold The Sky", "Solitude", "More Out Of Life", "Smile Like A Monster", "Empty Home" and "Fancy Fancy" in various rooms of what became The Rain Station.

I got engaged and decided to move in with my fiance, Jay got more roommates and eventually moved to New York (where he met his wife). During that time Brian Peet (here) and I recorded some tracks together - some on his gear - some on my gear (which I upgraded from a 4-track tape machine to a digital 8-track recorder with MIDI capabilities - the same gear I have today). To test out the gear, I recorded "The Place I Once Came From" and "Slice A Piece Of Heaven" with Brian lending vocals on the tracks. We recorded in his (much better studio) some tracks for his Syrinx project. Brian had access to a pro studio and he wanted to try out recording some of my old mopehead tunes so we did "It's A Good Day" there with Brian playing drums and lending backing vocals and me recording guitar, bass as well as singing. "It's A Good Day" is by far the best engineered and sounding track on the CD and it is one of the things that motivates me to get new gear.

Like "Criminal Goat" you may not like some of these tracks, but keep listening as you may find one that you do dig.

Thanks agan for reading,

Mark Harvey

Step by Step Criminal Goat- Summer Home - Track 8

This is a repeated blog entry. Since I already wrote about "Summer Home" I figured I'd get lazy and just repost the entry. Plus this being Easter Sunday there are eggs to hunt...
So...here goes...

"Summer Home" is one of those rare tracks that has been recorded twice (I think three times actually). It is one of my favorite Rain Station tracks. As the story goes...In the summer of 1992, Hoagie Malone (Jay Moores) began coaxing musicians for his recording project "Equator". These sessions produced 33 tracks. Originally released as "Khaki Circus" by Equator, Hoagie felt that the recordings between he and mopehead (Mark Harvey) were going particularly well, so when mixing time came, the 33 tracks became two separate releases. Rain Station was born with the release "Criminal Goat" and Hoagie released the rest as "Equator". "Summer Home" was one of the tracks on "Criminal Goat". Jay recorded drum tracks in his large Mission Street house. I'd come over and record guitar tracks to his tracks and then he'd flesh out the rest. On the original "Criminal Goat" version of "Summer Home" the bass track was played by Jay's buddy Dave Mintim.
I moved out to the Sunset (from the Peninsula) and after a few roommates came and left I convinced Jay to move out of the Mission and out towards the ocean. The place we lived in was fairly large and allowed for setting up and playing (as a band).
Tony Iuppa (my buddy who played bass in The Screaming Paisleys) joined us as did a friend from work, Brian Peet (on drums - pictured left). Rain Station (the band) was formed and we recorded a three song demo to shop around for gigs. Jay and I also named our home in the Sunset The Rain Station.

"Summer Home" was one of the tracks we recorded for our three song demo - this time on my 4-track. "Summer Home" was added to "Fancy Fancy" as were the other two songs we recorded - "Widdershins" and "Quiet Morning".

Jay and I have yet to record a version of "Summer Home" on something better than a 4-track. I'm sure someday we will as we both love the tune.

So...here you'll find the FREE MP3 downloads of "Summer Home".

"Summer Home" by Rain Station found on "Criminal Goat" (here) (link disabled)

"Summer Home" by Rain Station found on "Fancy Fancy" (here) (link disabled)

So this "Criminal Goat" entry comes with the bonus "Fancy Fancy" version.

Enjoy the FREE tracks and please drop me a comment.
Remember, all of my CDs are available for purchase at Nobody Records.
Be sure and support independent music and purchasing CDs from us!

Mark Harvey

Widdershins - FREE MP3

Since Rain Station is back in the studio I thought I would post another Rain Station track from the past. Here is a FREE MP3 download of "Widdershins" (download here) (link disabled) taken from Rain Station's Fancy Fancy CD. "Widdershins" was one of the tracks Jay, Tony, Brian and I recorded on my 4-track for a three song demo we put together to get gigs. Tony Iuppa (my buddy from The Screaming Paisleys days) is on bass, Brian Peet on drums, Jay handles lead vocals and I am playing guitar and handle backing vocals. "Widdershins" was later added to "Fancy Fancy" as were the other two songs we recorded during this session - "Summer Home" and "Quiet Morning". Cover art by Jay Moores.

Check out the progress of the new Rain Station project here. Jay is working on tracks, sending some to Tony (to add his bass prowess) and I'm trying to make it over to Jay's house as often as I can so we can complete the next Rain Station project. I'm really excited about recording music with Jay again!

I plan to add more early Rain Station and mopehead tracks in the coming months. Be sure and check out the new tracks at RainStation.com!

Enjoy!

Mark Harvey

Click here if you can't figure out where you're supposed to click to download the song.

(link disabled)

Fancy Fancy...an end of year FREE MP3

Well...here we are at year end. 2008 was a good year filled with lots of fun and growth in many ways. It is a little tough to think about '08 right now since I have a major cold and am not thinking altogether as clearly as I'd like to. Nonetheless, I hope 2008 was good for you as well and I hope for a fantastic 2009. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to get back into the studio - really get back in - and get some new music recorded to share with you here at Mark Harvey's World. I am also hoping to get back together with my buddy Jay and record some music and possibly play "live" again. +

So to end 2008 here is a FREE MP3 download of Fancy Fancy (here) (link disabled) taken from Rain Station's Fancy Fancy CD. Music on this track is by me and lyrics and vocals by Jay Moores. This song was recorded in SF at the original Rain Station on my old Tascam 4-track.

Cover art by Jay Moores.

There's a definite sadness to this track and it always makes me feel a little uneasy when I hear it. Yet, I keep playing it...over and over. Like this dis-ease is something that I need. Maybe it is because I am close enough to the subject matter to understand it more fully than most. Maybe it is because this track is from a period of my life that I would consider dark. Each time I hear it I can picture myself in the studio at the Rain Station - 45th and Lawton. Musty smell in our converted garage/studio space....black splatter backdrop hanging...work bench holding my 4-track...the feeling of being at the edge of the world...alone...in a fog...in the fog...

Please take a moment and let me know what you think of this track. Creating music is something that I enjoy doing for myself, but knowing that others are enjoying it fuels me and will keep me going in the coming New Year.

Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you will continue to do so as I enjoy sharing Mark Harvey's World with you.

Happy New Year!

Mark Harvey
Click here if you can't figure out where you're supposed to click to download the song. (link disabled)

(these pictures are -by the way- doctored...I have never looked like this or like any of the other doctored pix)

Summer Home - a dual FREE MP3 Experience

Greetings and salutations! As we quickly approach Thanksgiving I wanted to say "THANK YOU" to all of those who've been reading my blog. I hope you've enjoyed the free mp3s I've posted. It is rare when I record a song twice (unless we're talking about a "live" version), but there are some songs that I like so much that they end up recorded again in an effort to make a better quality recording (or better version).

"Summer Home" is one of those rare tracks that has been recorded twice (I think three times actually). It is one of my favorite Rain Station tracks. As the story goes...In the summer of 1992, Hoagie Malone (Jay Moores) began coaxing musicians for his recording project "Equator". These sessions produced 33 tracks. Originally released as "Khaki Circus" by Equator, Hoagie felt that the recordings between he and mopehead (Mark Harvey) were going particularly well, so when mixing time came, the 33 tracks became two separate releases. Rain Station was born with the release "Criminal Goat" and Hoagie released the rest as "Equator". "Summer Home" was one of the tracks on "Criminal Goat". Jay recorded drum tracks in his large Mission Street house. I'd come over and record guitar tracks to his tracks and then he'd flesh out the rest. On the original "Criminal Goat" version of "Summer Home" the bass track was played by Jay's buddy Dave Mintim.

I moved out to the Sunset (from the Peninsula) and after a few roommates came and left I convinced Jay to move out of the Mission and out towards the ocean. The place we lived in was fairly large and allowed for setting up and playing (as a band).

Tony Iuppa (my buddy who played bass in The Screaming Paisleys) joined us as did a friend from work, Brian Peet (on drums - pictured with Jay and I). Rain Station (the band) was formed and we recorded a three song demo to shop around for gigs. Jay and I also named our home in the Sunset The Rain Station. I took a photo of our house last time I was in SF that I've posted.

"Summer Home" was one of the tracks we recorded for our three song demo - this time on my 4-track. "Summer Home" was added to "Fancy Fancy" as were the other two songs we recorded - "Widdershins" and "Quiet Morning".

Jay and I have yet to record a version of "Summer Home" on something better than a 4-track. I'm sure someday we will as we both love the tune.

So...here you'll find the FREE MP3 downloads of "Summer Home".

"Summer Home" by Rain Station found on "Criminal Goat" (here)

"Summer Home" by Rain Station found on "Fancy Fancy" (here) (links disabled)

I plan to add more early Rain Station and mopehead tracks in the coming months.

Enjoy the FREE tracks and please drop me a comment.

Remember, all of my CDs are available for purchase at Nobody Records.

Be sure and support independent music and purchasing CDs from us!

Mark Harvey

Smile Like A Monster - a FREE MP3

In keeping with the Halloween theme here at Mark Harvey World here is a FREE MP3 download of Smile Like A Monster (link disabled) taken from my band Rain Station's CD Fancy Fancy. Music on this track is by me and lyrics and vocals by Jay Moores.

Cover art by Jay Moores.

I plan to add more early Rain Station and mopehead tracks in the coming months. I've been in the studio mixing down tracks that never made it onto a CD so this will be the place to find unreleased lo-fi goodies (if you're into that sort of thing). Please take a moment and let me know what you think of the tracks. Creating music is something that I enjoy doing for myself, but knowing that others are enjoying it fuels me.

Enjoy!

Mark Harvey

Click here if you can't figure out where you're supposed to click to download the song.

(link disabled)