Albert Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 Tree Wave, a two piece band from Texas that makes pop songs using obsolete computer and video game equipment as instruments, has released their first music CD, Cabana EP+. Paul Slocum, creator of the Atari 2600 Synthcart and Testcart, codes the music primarily on an Atari 2600, Commodore 64, Compaq 286, and Epson dot matrix printer, and Lauren Gray adds lush vocals. You can listen to two of the Cabana EP+ tracks as well as purchase the CD here, and can visit the Tree Wave web site to learn more about the band. If you're in Austin, Texas Sunday night (June 20th), you can see Tree Wave perform at the Spider House Cafe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Monkey Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 Slocum rules! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 I heard one of the tracks and I have to admit that I don't normally listen to this kind of music but I thought it was a very good track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.FoodMonster Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 If you're in Austin, Texas Sunday night (May 20th), you can see Tree Wave perform at the Spider House Cafe. Its still May? Crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 19, 2004 Author Share Posted June 19, 2004 If you're in Austin, Texas Sunday night (May 20th), you can see Tree Wave perform at the Spider House Cafe. Its still May? Crazy! Whoops! Good thing I can still edit messages. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fretwobbler Posted June 19, 2004 Share Posted June 19, 2004 codes the music primarily on an {snip} Epson dot matrix printer, This has me intruiged? Are there samples of a dot matrix printer punching away in the tunes or something? I cant hear one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 19, 2004 Author Share Posted June 19, 2004 codes the music primarily on an {snip} Epson dot matrix printer, This has me intruiged? Are there samples of a dot matrix printer punching away in the tunes or something? I don't think it's used in all the songs, but it is one of the dominant beats in the song Sleep. You can learn more on Paul's Dot Matrix Synth page, along with additional audio samples. It is pretty damn cool. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATARIPITBULL Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 I was listening to the sample, when I looked over at my 1 year old daughter and saw that she was shaking her little booty on the floor, dancing to the song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cootster Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 This owns . . . No cover of "Everybody, Everybody", though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostalgic Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Wow... not only is it impressive from a technical standpoint, but the music's pretty darn good too, at least the two samples on the web site. I'll be picking this one up for sure. Congrats to Paul and Lauren for the release! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SpiceWare Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Good stuff! Will be ordering it next AMEX cycle. Hope they make it to Houston sometime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Hmmm... about 8:30pm? ...and I just finished the 7800 encryption I was working on all weekend. I might just head down there after all. And stop by Half Price Books on my way too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Well, there was certainly a lot of TIA abuse going on. Pretty good stuff. It was worth the trip. And the vegetarian tamales weren't too bad either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Cool, this reminds me of Yaz, which also featured a female singer and a musician working with electronic instruments (in Vince Clarke's case it's synthesizers, in Paul Slocum's case, it's an Atari 2600, a C64, an old laptop, and a dot matrix printer) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacbthPSW Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 And now, a pedantic moment: Does the word "piece" in "two piece band" refer to the number of people, or the number of instruments? I always thought a "three piece band" was talking about drums, bass and guitar, and not the number of musicians, though it's generally the same. Do vocals count as a "piece"? Maybe Treewave could be considered a four or five piece - the Atari 2600, the C64, the "portable computer", the printer, the vocals... BTW, I totally love "Sleep" by Treewave, one of my favourite songs at the moment. Right up there with "Moonglow" by Bud Melvin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Ha, I guess that's true. Although when we play live, as far as what we actually play, on many songs each of us play a Commodore 64 (we have two C64s). So it's kind of accurate. About the printer: 3 of the songs use the printer quite a bit (including Sleep). But they are not printer samples, the printer is actually programmed with sequences which are recorded in realtime. -paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Gill Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 The videos on the cd are outstanding, especially Sleep. The bonus C64 Cynthcart program is pretty cool too. Now I just need to find one of those C64 keyboard overlay things that Paul uses. -Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian M Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 This is wonderful news, but when can we expect the HomestarRunner RPG for the 2600? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 I just DLed the two free tracks this afternoon and this stuff is AMAZING! Very well done Paul!! Gonna have to pick up that CD. :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 22, 2004 Author Share Posted June 22, 2004 This is wonderful news, but when can we expect the HomestarRunner RPG for the 2600? Thread: Homestar run, run, ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian M Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 I just DLed the two free tracks this afternoon and this stuff is AMAZING! Very well done Paul!! Gonna have to pick up that CD. :thumbsup: Yes, I agree. I think I'll get the CD as well. Is the girl who sings Paul's significant other? Thread: Homestar run, run, ..Al Ah yes, sorry about that. Didn't see the thread. Delay or no delay, I look forward to the HSR RPG! Paul, take your time on this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted June 22, 2004 Share Posted June 22, 2004 If you like good stuff made with outdated stuff, consider also Optiganally Yours, made with a bizzare Mattel Optigan organ that takes software discs from the 70s and Rob Crow/Guitar. Check out www.optigan.com Now to get this dang computer at work to download OGG so I can get more from the Observatory site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostalgic Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 I received my copy of Cabana EP+ (and a red Climber 5 ) on Wednesday. I've given the CD a couple of listens, once in my car and once on my computer at work. I do rather like it so far. My only complaint is in the mix - Lauren's voice seems to get swallowed by all the instruments; it's hard to make out what she's saying. All the same, this is quite an achievement. Congrats to Paul, Lauren, and all else who made it happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Slocum Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 I often like the vocals to sit in the mix even with the other instruments, so that the voice becomes like another instrument. Although I think our vocals are actually more intelligable than some of the influences I'm drawing on (like My Bloody Valentine's Loveless). If you want a copy of the lyrics, I can email them to you: paul at treewave dot com -paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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