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Happy Cake Day 3:380:00/3:38
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Supernova Bright 3:490:00/3:49
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Jealousy Road 5:240:00/5:24
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Seven 6:300:00/6:30
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Eons Away (Part II) 3:400:00/3:40
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0:00/9:57
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A Beep In Your Head 4:100:00/4:10
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0:00/8:37
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Can You See Me? 4:470:00/4:47
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Hold Me High 6:060:00/6:06
News
2024
MAy 26 and JUNE 1: AUDITIONS CONTINUE FOR RHYTHM GUITARIST
If you are interested, get in touch via email to arrange a time, and see the auditions page for songs to learn.
APRIL 16: AUDITIONS FOR RHYTHM GUITARIST + KEYBOARDS.
If you are interested, get in touch via email to arrange a time, and see the auditions page for songs to learn.
APRIL 14: New DRUMMER Andres AND NEW BASSIST DAVID!!!!
APRIL 12: AUDITIONS FOR BASS/DRUMS/KEYS
WARNING: I expect you to be able to play your instrument like a motherfucker. Also sing harmonies. And have sufficient time.
Location: Bogota.
Music: Initially 50/50 mix of originals and covers.
If you are interested, get in touch via email to arrange a time, and see the auditions page for songs to learn.
APR 6: NO MORE COSMOSONICOS :-(
I have finished with that project, time to move on. Good luck to all the guys!
Jan 16: Welcome to the band, Beto!
We are currently checking out a new keyboard player, Beto. Let's hope it works out, and he's still with us for Rock al Parque.
Jan 12: Rock al Parque
For those people who don't live here in Bogota, Rock al Parque (Rock at the Park) is the big music festival for the year which happens over a weekend in October. I haven't played there before, but everyone has beem telling me to get off my arse and rehearse a band and play there. The selection process for artists happens in March, and so I have about six weeks to rehearse the boys from Cosmosonicos and get it all videoed and recorded and make the submission for a place at the festival.
Six. Weeks. To. Rehearse. And. Record. And I have laryngitis.
OMG
<PRAY>
Jan 1: Next Album
Over the December break I made the final selection of songs for my next album, titled:
Nyan Cat Went Splat!
And for the Nyan Cat aficionados, yes there will be a video:
Nya Nya Nyannn.
Nya Nya Nya Nyannn.
Nya Nya - Mua-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaa!
2023
Oct 19: Cosmosonicos Halloween Show, Fri 27th
Following the advice of my doctor, we had to cancel this show, or I would lose my voice for long time. WE ARE TOTALLY SORRY ABOUT THIS, We know many of you made plans for the night. Those that bought tickets, you will get a complete refund and the next show you will receive a courtesy ticket.
Peace out, brothers and sisters.
July 9: Updated Where Are You Little Green Man with new masters, and better quality downloads (replaced the mp3 versions with higher quality FLAC). Also updated the artwork.
Finally, after more than a years' work, I present the new album:
Where Are You, Little Green Man?
Feb 8: Art reveals itself in its own time and place.
About 80% of this album was written and recorded in November-December 2021. I really thought that it would be done by Christmas 2021, however it took over a year to finish. As the saying goes: "In any project, the first 90 percent takes 90 percent of the time, and the last ten percent takes the other 90 percent of the time."
Introducing the tracks - “Thinking About Her” and “Absolution”, are acoustic guitar and voice, but "Hey There!" sounds like The Clash. "Blueprints" is a tribute to 90s era Chili Peppers. The title track "Little Green Man (Calling You Out There)" is a ten minute long piece which I describe as "David Bowie singing Flamenco Rock with an orchestra". "Nectar Honey" has a kind of Foo Fighters vibe and a two minute long guitar-hero solo at the end. “Captain Galactic” is a bit of a hommage to Queen's “Flash”. "Waste It All Away" is a cute little pop-rock song, with perhaps a bit of a Weezer influence. The last song I recorded was "Jealousy Road", which I wrote and recorded in the first week of December, and is a kind of Glam Metal track. It has a freaking awesome guitar solo, very happy about that.
However, to be honest, I find that these days it's getting more and more difficult to say "this song sounds like xxx". I really think that with this album, I can finally say: It sounds like Shane Richards.
This was a long journey, I learned a lot along the way, and I really hope you enjoy the album.
2022
New Album, Remastered / Remixed Old Stuff, The Pox, Site Re-design and More
Nov 2: Added new song Captain Galactic to the upcoming album.
Aug 21: Preview of the new album: "Where Are You Little Green Man". Renamed due to a last minute change in concept. Site is being redesigned around the new release. There are two more songs to complete and then I will officially release through all the streaming services. This is turning into an epic!
Jun 30: Now preparing the final mixes for the new album, "The Moment", to be released in August.
Jun 30: I am now taking submissions from musicians for the new band. Note that you have to either live in, or be prepared to move to Bogota, Colombia - at least for now. You also need to be able to sing backing vocals in both English and Spanish. You will also have to be prepared to support yourself financially for approximately 12 months, with a view to taking this act on tour throughout Latin America in Late 2023. This is not for hobbyists. Please see the Contact page in order to register your interest.
Apr 17: Voice is really beginning to return now. WOOHOO! Finishing the new track "Little Green Man". It's about eleven minutes long and is freaking amazing. One more track and the new album, The Moment, will be finished.
Also, I am sitting in a panic as I realised I might have overstayed my visa, depending upon the point of view. This is going to get expensive. I hate visas. I just want to live normally.
Apr 2: Lost my voice again - DAMMIT - this time it was my own fault, I was singing a lot of Jon Anderson (Yes), specifically the classic Owner Of A Lonely Heart, and also working on a ridiculously difficult new original song called Little Green Man, which requires me to sing a whole lot of Flamenco, and way, way, way above my natural range of my chest voice. (This technique is called "belting", and can be quite dangerous - ask Freddie Mercury how that worked out for him). However, this new track is really stretching my upper range, and too much upper range work tends to cause injury. So I have to be a little gentle and patient.
SO... I am using the time to continue working on new material. This week I present See You Round, another acoustic guitar/vocal song from my next album, The Moment. I really like it. Do you? Let me know!
Feb 7: Hey There! Yeah you mate! Oi! ...here's track number two from "The Moment" that I finished a month ago (actually, you never finish a recording, you just give up and say "close enough"). This track is a bit of a homage to The Clash, spiced up with some surprise Indian-inspired music. I have no idea what my brain was doing, but it turned out awesome. I will pop another one up soon, and then one after that etc. Until the album is done.
Jan 26: Uploaded first new track of the year Waste It All Away, from the upcoming album "The Moment" ... which should be ready by the end of March (Most of it's already done, the first 90% takes 90% of the time, but the last 10% takes the other 90% of the time). Nice little stoner song. Peace Out.
Jan 20: Finally getting my voice back to normal! I think another 3 months and I will be ready to put together another show, and start gigging again by mid-year. Dudes and dudettes, this has been a rough ride, which I wouldn't wish on anyone. Tell anyone that reckons this damned pox is "nothing" or "only a small percentage" etc. to shove their opinions up where the sun don't shine. This has set my career back years. It's not just about immediate problems and if you die or not. It's been 8 months of hell. OK, that's off my chest now. EDIT: Turns out it was the damned Moderna that screwed my voice, even moreso than the pox.
The Second Year That Shall Not Be Named
New Album, Remastered / Remixed Old Stuff, The Pox, Site Re-design and More
September 7: Most of this year was also cancelled due to me getting the virus, and this damned thing has had me unable to sing for quite a few months. Well, it seems to be finally disappearing, although everything continues to taste weird and I still have pneumonia, although nowhere near as badly as before.
"OK WE GET IT, WE'VE ALL HAD A CRAP YEAR ... WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE MUSIC?"
Glad you asked! The good news is that, I went back into the studio last week and for the first time in quite a while I was able to get through some vocal activities and even a couple of songs. Recovery means that it takes me about an hour to warm up at the moment - no walking into the studio and just jumping into Bohemian Rhapsody willy-nilly just yet. However, I am a tenacious bugger and hopefully by the end of this month I'll be back to practicing some Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant stuff for my post-pox solo acoustic gigs. I love those guys - the 70s was just the greatest for rock singers. OK, and Chris Cornell. He wasn't from the 70s.
What's this talk of going back into the studio? Well, it means that I now have a new album ready. Definitely some of my best singing yet - check out Hold Me High, Supernova Bright, and my ex-girlfriend reckons the singing on Big Boys is unique. And I must say the guitar solo in the middle section of Big Boys is one of my best ever. I actually re-recorded the entire song twice - the second time, I just kept the solo and recorded the rest around it - which was quite a challenge, given that the tempos were different. My mate Rohan confirmed my suspicions and says that the end of the title track: Last Will And Testament, sounds a little Bon Jovi-ish with the orchestra. This means I may very well have to remix it and remove said orchestra.
Now all that sitting around feeling sorry for myself whilst struck down with the plague meant that I went back and listened to some older material and...what the hell was I thinking? The last couple of albums sounded awful! And so I sat down during August and remixed, remastered and even re-recorded parts of some of the tracks. I have some more vocals I need to redo this Friday in the studio. Then I will be throwing them all over the Net: Spotify, Tidal, iTunes etc.
Of course, the crafty fan can continue to come here and get the mp3 versions for free ;-)
So, whilst I am here crapping on about the website - it is being redesigned. I am unfortunately being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century - apparently nobody listens to albums anymore (thanks Mark "Sparky" Paltridge for waiting until 2010 before telling me this), and by the end of this weekend there will be new sections:
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New releases
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Your top 10
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My Top 10
- My Favourite Guitar Solos (because some of you are so distracted by little fluffy things that you can't be bothered listening to an entire track and so you often miss out on my guitar playing madness).
After that, it will be time to experiment with a complete redesign, and the readdittion of the Spanish language pages.
I shall be back in a few days. In the meantime get into the new stuff. Don't forget to let me know what you think.
The Year That Shall Not Be Named
The Year That Was Cancelled Due To A Lack Of Interest, And A Severe Shortage Of Toilet Paper
June 14: Uploaded some live photos from the old Big Hit List days! Holy-moly, I had more hair than a lion!
March 18: WTF? What's up with Aussies, Americans, Colombians and toilet paper? Weirdos - doesn't matter how much toilet paper you buy, it won't stop a pandemic. Also damn you Mr Virus! I was just about to start gigging with the new show.
2019
November 10: After 3 months of no sleep, and just in time for the New Year, New Album "A Little Piece Of Heaven" is now ready for your listening pleasure! I employed the services of my friend and drummer, José Peña, on two tracks. Some of the other tracks will also feature his drums later on - but I ran out of time to finish the mixes. They will be uploaded as extra bonus tracks when I complete them.
Now, I am putting together a solo show, just me and my guitar and a microphone. The plan is to begin playing live around Bogotá starting in March 2020. The first show is already in the planning stages. Stay tuned.
2018
October 19: Just uploaded remastered version of the album Crust, by The Machine. Originally released in 1996.
Also pulled an old song out and mixed it. Recorded the drums, bass and guitars in Cali in 2013, vocals in Melbourne in 2015, Keyboards in Melbourne in 2017, mixed in Bogotá in 2018.
October 13: Keyboard player just left the band. Two weeks before we were supposed to debut. :-(
October 8: Finished recording demos for Rocket. Getting ready to play live now.
September 7: My new band Rocket is getting ready to play. First show will be The Big Halloween Party. More info soon. Watch this space.
July 22: The Black Cover cassette - remastered is now available to all. Hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane.
July 5: Currently remastering some old Five To Five material. First off the block will be the The Black Cover, from way back in 1993, which I am busy rescuing. As you can imagine, 25 years is a long time for a cassette tape to sit in storage, so a few engineering tricks are needed. Those of you who have early access, please let me know how you think they are coming along. I imagine that I will release these in all their glory to the public around the end of July.
Also, one of my new bands - still not named - is getting close to gigging around Bogotá. It's a Classic Rock covers band, with myself on singing duties, and of course, lead guitar. I'd say around six weeks' and we'll be out there. Lots of 70's goodies (Floyd, Zepplin, Bowie) and some select stuff from other periods - Soda Stereo/Gustavo Cerati, Prince, Hendrix, Audioslave...
April 14: A new version of Gangsta Car. I am finally happy with this version :) Classical-Hip Hop-Rock? I think that's what you would call the style...
Feb 28: I re-rerecorded and remixed Inocente Criminal (with Joana Mos).
Feb 27: The new year is here, so it's time for another album With The Stars In Your Eyes. A bit late this year as I moved continents again, but I finally finished the mastering in my little home studio in Bogota, at 3:43pm on Tuesday 27th February 2018, whilst fighting a horrendous head cold. Things I do for you people...
There's a variety of stuff: from two old songs from about ten years ago that I dug out of the archives, to a bunch of songs from 2015, through to a track I wrote in the last week of November before heading off to Colombia.
Alright, take a deep breath and get prepared for what I am about to say:
"I am actually happy with these recordings." Mostly.
Take a photo of that.
Now, go listen to the new album.
2017
Feb 7: I went into hibernation during 2015-2016 and recorded about fifty or sixty ideas for songs and music.
Eons Away (2017) is the first "album" or "group of songs that I've finished with" from that period.
Eons Away (2017) is the first "album" or "group of songs that I've finished with" from that period.