I recently played the NES Legend of Zelda games for the first time (they were the only ones in the series that I hadn't beaten) and I really loved the Palace/Temple theme in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. There's something really dark and mysterious about it that made me want to keep playing (and inevitably dying over and over). Here's my live arrangement of the tune, hope you enjoy!
Synths used: Sequential Prophet XL and Pro 3, Studio Electronics Boomstar 4075.
Messing around with the underwater theme from Super Mario Bros using the latest pedal from Chase Bliss Audio - Blooper. Blooper is a looper pedal unlike any other one I've seen, there are so many fun ways to modulate and mangle your loops.
I got this idea because I've been playing some Mario recently and the first thing that popped into my head when I got this pedal is those little squid creatures called Bloopers. Anyway - hope you enjoy!
I collaborated with one of my favorite keyboard players in the world, Nicholas Semrad! If you're unfamiliar with Nick, he performs with Cory Henry, Knower, Mark Guiliana and many others. IMO He's one of the most innovative players of our time.
We worked together on a cover of a video game theme, the Battle Scene from Final Fantasy I. I've never played the game but Nick introduced the tune to me and I loved it.
My wife and I find the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons incredibly relaxing and soothing in these strange times. If you're not familiar with Animal Crossing, it's sort of a life simulator with cute animals and a very positive atmosphere.
I was inspired to improvise on the main theme on my Yamaha CP88, hope you find it calming. Stay safe!
I've been on the road a lot lately so haven't posted much, but that's going to change - lots of new content coming soon!
Here's a compilation of some live clips I made using one of my dearest and most inspiring pieces of gear, the Chase Bliss Audio MOOD pedal. Some of the jams were shot on the road, some back in the studio. Hope you enjoy!
The video was created by John Thompson, we shot it when Todd was on tour in Portland. Countless hours went into the making of this video, hope you enjoy it as much as we had fun shooting it!
I'm proud to share with you this new cover of the Ballad of the Wind Fish from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening featuring Maiah Wynne on vocals and ukulele!
Link's Awakening was the first Zelda game I ever played, I got it when I was 8 and it changed my life, largely because of the incredibly beautiful soundtrack. When I heard that Nintendo was remaking the game for the Switch, the nostalgia poured over me and I knew I HAD to cover this tune.
Maiah Wynne is a musical force to be reckoned with and I think she did an incredible job with this. Not only did she sing and play beautifully but she even created a perfect Marin costume for the video!
I thought it would be cool to show you how the song Unwinder from my debut album Defective Humanity was developed, initially as two separate ideas, then as a solo piano piece and finally as the album version. Which one do you like best? Leave a YouTube comment and let me know.
This album is the product of several years of songwriting and a whole year of production. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into creating this, I really gave it all I had! I hope you gain something from it. HUGE thanks to my Kickstarter supporters, I couldn’t have completed this project without you!
I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that my new single People featuring the legendary musician and producer Todd Rundgren is out now on all music platforms!
My new single People featuring the one and only Todd Rundgren is now premiering on ABC News! It was a HUGE honor having Todd sing and play an awesome guitar solo on this track. The song will officially be out this Friday (July 26th) and my full debut album Defective Humanity will be available on August 2nd. Click the image to listen:
For my next video in my “Gameboy games I grew up on” series, I decided to cover one of my all time favorites: the Plant Castle theme from Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (released on in 1991 by Konami).
All sounds performed live simultaneously on Sequential Prophet XL, Prophet 6, Studio ElectronicsBoomstar 4075 and Arcadia custom controller. Pedals used are Chase Bliss AudioThermae, Cooper FXGeneration Loss, Red PandaTensor. Drum samples are from NI Battery 4. I use a delay on the hi-hat samples and Polyverse Gatekeeper on the bass sound for the rhythmic effects.
NebuLa b, the second single from my upcoming debut album Defective Humanity is now available on all music platforms! Click here to buy / stream.
This tune first appeared as a short idea in my Finger Twisters video. I asked the viewers which of the 10 ideas in the video should be developed into a full track, and NebuLa b received an overwhelming response. It took a while but I’m happy to finally release the full version of this instrumental.
Click the cover (designed by Ted Mineo) to check it out:
I’m extremely excited to share a new video featuring none other than the amazing Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater! Huge thanks to Jordan for contributing such an amazing solo to the tune. The song is called Insomnia and was inspired by many sleepless nights full of racing thoughts.
Leave a comment on YouTube and let us know what you think of our collaboration!
I'm happy to announce that Slow Things Down, the first single from my upcoming debut album Defective Humanity is out now on all music platforms! This song was created almost entirely using the Sequential Prophet 6 synthesizer and is the first I recorded for the album. Click here to stream / buy.
Art by Ted Mineo. The staircase is an optical illusion and looks upright from every angle.
Big thanks to Joe Mengis for the awesome percussion, Tony Lash for the great mix and Kris Crummett for the fantastic mastering. Hope you enjoy!
The first single from my debut album comes out July 21st. Pre-save the song on Spotify or sign up and get it in your inbox, you could also win a T-shirt! Click here: https://show.co/IwZ5Yaa
My debut album will be out this summer and I’ll be playing a few shows on the west coast! If you want to see me play the things I perform in my videos (plus a lot more) in person, this is your only chance in 2019. Presale tickets are only $10! Click here for more info.
