Background info
when i was younger, my escapism was music. i wrote, recorded and performed music for myself and made little "albums" (tapes) with artwork and quirky songs. each tape had about 30 songs (!), and i've kept them throughout all of these years. the last tape i made was in 1988.
in 2005, i decided to archive these tapes on my computer. during that process, i started to get the itch again to make music. back in the 80s, my only equipment was a casio keyboard and a tape deck. something about that minimalism excited me. so i made the choice to try it again.
i initially wanted to record an album the same way - using the keyboard (which still works) and a tape deck - but i decided against that after some initial attempts. so i went out and bought a a boss dr-202 drum machine, dusted off my old guitar, and downloaded audacity.
using my old recordings as inspiration, i called the project "tape loop" and started recording an album at my home in september of 2005. deep into the recording process, minimalism became the album name and theme - i wanted to make this album much in the same way i recorded those tapes, long ago. using the same keyboard, with no overdubbing at all. i did it all in three weeks.
and here's the logo i did for tape loop. ain't it cool?
Story behind some songs ...
as mentioned before, the overall thread of the songs was a desire to record as i did when i was a kid. that carried over into the randomness of the songs themselves.
humble was the first thing i laid down, and i thought of it as a "humble beginning" - knowing (and hoping) that i would eventually evolve musically. the symphony of streetlights was the name of a poem i was working on at the time, and the original track had lyrics, but i stripped it at the last minute. friendship babies became a funny little ditty for me and my friends. like "pancake mix" from my second album, i recorded it in one take, as an homage to prince's unreleased camille album. hollow star, which i'm still quite proud of, came to me at 3:31 a.m. one morning, and i recorded it with a certain person in mind. i eventually intend to give this song to a friend, because my singing leaves a lot to be desired.