Friday, 4 February 2022

THEATRE MOUSE



I carry on the show
and play my favourite part
but in the silent rows
no crowd will feed my heart

story below



T H E A T R E   M O U S E
volume up/720p













optimized for night vision


a jim lamarche remix
assembled in logic audio & final cut


music composed & performed by
mark clifford


voice: michael kelly

tape restoration: rod phelan












sweet salvation
the story behind theatre mouse
it is with fond remembrance


a 40+ y/o tape
buried in the back of a closet, dusty
longshot; maybe rod can save this
I mean, no one has heard this
in decades

old friends can make things happen 
still passing the torch & hoping for the best
if anyone can salvage it?  It will be rod
a familiar focus, in quiet deliberation 
days later and

ok, holy shit
rod flawlessly snags theatre mouse
just after baking the tape & immediately before 
the crumbling oxide it's on 
disintegrates forever on his revox 
what are the odds? ... and so

here we go










my old friends & 70's musical cohorts
are once again, collaborating
mark & I played in 3 bands together
and recorded stuff when we studied at
music industry arts
in london ontario

rod phelan, a mentor of us both back then
and did the sound for BOND in '79
when mark & I were in it
visionary


in late '77, I talked mark into leaving school early
to join me in major hooples in kitchener
big show - transport, road crew
floyd, supertramp & elp prog covers mostly
a ridiculous production - a blast

.

after a roller coaster year,
he returned to fanshawe to finish his final year 
and recorded this masterpiece
w/vocalist & songwriter extraordinaire - michael kelly
at springfield sound just outside london ontario




T H E A T R E   M O U S E








epilogue


mark finished MIA and then joined BOND
w/me for another year before I shifted
into studio mode; both still here
42 years later
cool

both still w/a fractured appreciation
of magic - recognizing early on
when it's about to arrive, knowing
there's a good chance
of a revisitation
or not

like, if it happens it's because it was meant to
doesn't? wasn't supposed to be
kind of attitude - miss that

.


honesty?
it's even more relevant now
the old man in the empty house
his best performance

theatre mouse







read more of Jim's blog posts here 
see the ONE LIFE album/page here >>>
http://www.jimlamarche.ca/onelife/




see the new TWO LIVES album/page here >>>
http://www.jimlamarche.ca/twolives/




see the new THREE LIVES album/page here >>>



Sunday, 30 January 2022

JOURNEY SONG - DON SPANNER



she had nothing left to offer
but her best
so she summoned 2 great eagles
to take them to the mountain
on their quest




J O U R N E Y  S O N G
volume up, 720p










optimized for night vision


a jim lamarche remix
assembled in logic audio and final cut

recorded in 1976 at Fanshawe College
London Ontario


composed & performed by Don Spanner



the story behind 'journey song'


In 1976 Don Spanner & I were students

 in the Creative Electronics program

Fanshawe College, London Ontario

that April it became M.I.A.

Music Industry Arts


It was a special time

blindfold weekends - 3 hour classes

listening to whales, Walter/Wendy Carlos, John Cage & Tomita

in the dark - experimental listening  

the earliest days of M.I.A. there

a liberal arts recording studio/program

in a community college

in southwestern ontario

dedicated to sound

psycho-acoustics


way cool


later at home

Pink Floyd, Supertramp, 10cc, Jethro Tull

and an endless mix of amazing music

happening then


He was a year ahead of me

3rd year when I was in 2nd and we never really connected

Don was the quiet little guy 

who always carried his special/expensive acoustic guitar w/him


inseparable


A folky.  I was a rock guy so ya  

A quiet smile in the hallway or hearing him play it

in the lounge by himself, later on

strumming & singing

that voice - unique

from a distance


Always thinking ... 'what's really going on there?'  

These 3rd year guys

are mysterious


A month later, I was down in the dark crevices of the studio

I caught this being played the day after it was mixed

The first verse blasting on the studio speakers  

just 3 of us there

peeking in


I was always snooping around

wondering what the 3rd year guys were doing


curious









Journey Song's mastermind

Mike Jackson (about to graduate)

welcomed me in to listen

in the back, in the dark

my jaw slowly dropping

as it played loud


he wanted my honest opinion

who does that anymore?


It changed my life

I was ready to leave Fanshawe after that 2nd year 

(just a few months away)

A lot of unrest in the program/changes

most did leave

  

After hearing this

I walked out of that studio knowing

 I had to finish this program

finish my final year

and graduate


This was the magic I came here for

I'm so glad I did that

Connecting w/Don recently

via Facebook


45 years later - a fond remembrance

of a timeless classic

















see the ONE LIFE album/page here >>>
http://www.jimlamarche.ca/onelife/

see the new TWO LIVES album/page here >>>
see the new THREE LIVES album/page here >>>


read more of Jim's blog posts here 

.

project credits/contributors/links listed below
listen to the youtube album ONE LIFE  >>>  HERE
(play all)


special thanks to GRADO LABS in Brooklyn NY
for understanding how headphones
should be made





.


Thursday, 20 January 2022

IT'S ALL GOOD




life isn't about finding yourself
life is about creating yourself

george bernard shaw



IT'S ALL GOOD
volume up/720p













optimized for night vision


a jim lamarche remix
assembled in logic audio & final cut
featuring the roland system 8



music composed & performed by
damien dempsey
















read more of Jim's blog posts here 
see the ONE LIFE album/page here >>>
http://www.jimlamarche.ca/onelife/




see the new TWO LIVES album/page here >>>
http://www.jimlamarche.ca/twolives/




see the new THREE LIVES album/page here >>>



Thursday, 13 January 2022

LBTA




I wish you were my runaway
 spark in the dark


L B T A
volume up/720p













optimized for night vision


a jim lamarche remix
assembled in logic audio & final cut
featuring the roland system 8


visual - phoria (red)

directed by trewan howard, heb hardwick & thom novi


music composed & performed by
jesse mac cormack















read more of Jim's blog posts here 
see the ONE LIFE album/page here >>>
http://www.jimlamarche.ca/onelife/




see the new TWO LIVES album/page here >>>
http://www.jimlamarche.ca/twolives/




see the new THREE LIVES album/page here >>>



Tuesday, 11 January 2022

WET DREAM




I miss my little girl
it's how I imagine her
in my dream




W E T  D R E A M
volume up, 720p










optimized for night vision



a jim lamarche remix

from the album TWO LIVES
assembled in logic audio and final cut

featuring the roland system 8




source music w/grandyzer















see the ONE LIFE album/page here >>>
http://www.jimlamarche.ca/onelife/

see the new TWO LIVES album/page here >>>
see the new THREE LIVES album/page here >>>


read more of Jim's blog posts here 

.

project credits/contributors/links listed below
listen to the youtube album ONE LIFE  >>>  HERE
(play all)


special thanks to GRADO LABS in Brooklyn NY
for understanding how headphones
should be made





.