The Scratchrock

Album #: 83

Recording Dates: 1995

Release Date: 2013

Catalog: SMR32

ScratchNotes:

We got together just a few times in late 1995 – drinking, jamming, and recording. Some of this is MX Skroch accompanying Redneck originals. Some of this is just pure improvisation. In early 1996 I joined Redneck onstage at the Double Door in Chicago to play “Space Invaders” and a few others. No one recorded that. But hey, there’s two photos from the show!

Three Track Sampler

Track 01 – Space Invaders (MX Skroch & Redneck Exorcist) – A freaking noise rock epic for your soused soul. A loose framework of a song that allows for some intense delay pedal battles, and philosophizin’ about the end of humanity.  [Scratch on Guitar]

Track 04 – Ram Tough (MX Skroch & Redneck Exorcist) – A dark psychological evaluation of the less fortunate (and proud). Does inbreeding always lead to higher Dodge sales? I take the form of protagonist and make it all up as I tell you what’s what.  [Scratch on Vocals]

Track 11 – I’ll Seize You (MX Skroch & Redneck Exorcist) – I believe this is just some improv from Redneck’s practice spot. A bit of melodic inspiration rears its head as Cary’s menacing threats keep you on edge.  [Scratch on Guitar]

Album #: 82

Recording Dates: 1999

Release Date: 2013

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

Brian Cameron lent me seven tapes recorded between 5/4/1999 and 8/15/1999. Brian moved to San Francisco right around this time, and these tapes never really got much attention. From these tapes I edited, produced and named ten brand new Sheep Fiends tracks, as well as recapturing alternate versions of “The Intrusive Cabbie” and “Waves” which had been released before. Mr. Cameron handled production duties on “Valley of Dark”. I also produced a kind of spoken word track from the sole 1998 tape that I had been provided. This mostly instrumental collection captures a fairly aggressive version of the band as we approached the 21st Century.

Three Track Sampler

Track 03 – Follow the Signs (Sheep Fiends) – Space jazz with a Latin flair? Whatever it is… it is funky and heavy and pulsing with purpose. An analog journey into your inner meaning. A fantastic find from our lost 1999 tapes.  [Scratch on Guitar]

Track 09 – Time Tunnel (Sheep Fiends) – Hip-hop drums join the swirling auditory event. Scratched grooves and sickened guitars yearning for help eventually find their riff.  [Scratch on Guitar]

Track 11 – Slow Down the Future (Sheep Fiends) – Time itself follows no regular schedule as forward thinkers look backward. We grind and scream for answers, but only the explosions of creation await. With resignation we regress back to the starting line.  [Scratch on Guitar]

Album #: 70

Recording Dates: 8/10/1999

Release Date: 2008

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

Another entry in Brian’s series of musical unearthings. His cassette extraction execution. I only play on one track from 1999 here, and the recording is a bit rough to post here.

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No Track Sampler

 

 

Album #: 69

Recording Dates: 1994-1997

Release Date: 2008

Catalog: SMR29

ScratchNotes:

Here is the final release from the “InSkroMental”, “Loophole”, and “Ugly Music for Pretty Girls” trilogy. This collection was created when I decided to digitally remaster & EQ some of my best original material to optimize fidelity.

“Ugly Music for Pretty Girls” is a collection of songs written, performed, recorded and produced by MX Skroch at home during the mid-1990s. This is primarily a song-based rock album which occasionally also ventures toward the unknown.

Lyrical inspiration provided by my friends, my actual ladies, my “wish they were my ladies”, introspection, depression, excess, and my general impression of existence.

 

 

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Five Track Sampler

Track 02 – Monday on the Train Tracks (MX Skroch) – Back before the Internet we did things like walk down the railroad tracks to keep ourselves occupied. This song is kind of about that – but more about yearning. It’s got samples, acoustic bits, crunching riffs, wacky keyboards, and of course my sketchy crooning. A decent representation of the album as a whole.  [Scratch on Vocals, Samples, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, and Drum Machine]

Track 03 – Crusade (MX Skroch)  – Sort of a country-tinged ballad about coming undone. A meditation on motivation and devastation – also one of the slowest songs I ever mixed down to a Maxell cassette.  [Scratch on Vocals, Electric Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, and Drum Machine]

Track 05 – Average (MX Skroch) – Passing judgement on my fellow 20-somethings…I guess some things never change with me. Kind of a singer songwriter track for the disaffected set. Fairly unique here is the lack of electric guitar; but don’t worry – the keyboard picks up the slack.  [Scratch on Vocals, Samples, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, and Drum Pad]

Track 13 – Extra Drunk (MX Skroch) – A heavy rager after all that contemplation. This song describes a typical Saturday night in West Chicago as I experienced it while delivering pizza in the early 1990s. Cars with subwoofers so huge their bumpers dragged on the ground raised the flags of their mother countries high. And drank beer. Lots of beer. It was quite a scene.  [Scratch on Vocals, Electric Guitar, Bass, and Drum Machine]

Track 14 – Settle for Me (MX Skroch) – A good example of why I don’t promote myself as a singer – still I think this track tells a nice story. I enjoy that the bass holds down the melody and that the chorus sticks in my brain like tar.  [Scratch on Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, and Drum Machine]

Album #: 65

Recording Dates: 1992-2000

Release Date: 2007

Catalog: SMR25

ScratchNotes:

Here is the middle release from the “InSkroMental”, “Loophole”, and “Ugly Music for Pretty Girls” trilogy. This collection was created when I decided to digitally remaster & EQ some of my best original material to optimize fidelity.

“Loophole” is primarily focused on experimentation. This is the only album of the three to include other musicians, mostly on one-off performances or looped multi-track creations.

From the 90-second whimsy of “Soundo Effecto” to the brutal cacophony of the 17-minute “Intended Sexual Assault”; “Loophole” throws something completely different and unexpected at you every few minutes. Soundscapes, industrial music, loop built tracks, recordings of pizza delivery interactions…it’s all that and more!

Four samplings from this album can be accessed below. Enjoy!

P.S. You can click the cover image for a larger version.

 

 

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Four Track Sampler

Track 01 – Tingle (MX Skroch) – A spooky cloud moves in from the distance. Your skin begins to crawl. Something is bubbling within. Suddenly it bursts out!  [Scratch on Sequencer]

Track 03 – Sitting Duck (MX Skroch with Suneel V.)  – Piano rock turns into crushing heaviness before bridging into a dance bit that turns into satellite signals reaching out for spiritual assistance when suddenly your messages get a response and a plea as sad orchestral music begins to take shape… Also featuring a rather unique vocal performance as I elucidate the context of modern life.  [Scratch on Bass, Vocals, Drum Beats, Galactus & Space Phone]

Track 08 – Cotton Candy (MX Skroch) – A drum driven, mostly sample based slap across the face. I’d recently taken a liking to obtaining collections of samples to play with. Where they came from wasn’t important – sometimes they came from CDs I bought; boom box recordings of the TV in my living room, or a small pocket tape recorder I kept handy for those special occasions.  [Scratch on Guitar, Drum Beats & Samples]

Track 13 – We Used to Wear Toughskins (MX Skroch) – This time it’s personal as I share recordings of pizza deliveries; answering machine messages from the Chophouse and our landlord trying to throw us out, and commentary about Jeffrey Dahmer. Oh, and I guess I made recordings of my neighbor’s kids in the mid-1980s so I fit that in as well; and some movie samples from 1961. So something for all ages I suppose!  [Scratch on Recorded Pizza Delivery, Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Keyboard, Drum Beats & Samples]

Album #: 62

Recording Dates: 1990-2000

Release Date: 2007

Catalog: SMR24

ScratchNotes:

My computer in 2005 was certainly laughable by today’s standards, but at the time it seemed so powerful that I decided to sort through all my recordings and digitally remaster & EQ some of my best original material. Remasters of the Raging Bellybuttons, IMF, and the Hidden would come later – first I focused on my solo recordings. Looking for themes I came up with a 3 CD set: “InSkroMental”, “Loophole”, and “Ugly Music for Pretty Girls”.

“InSkroMental” features compositions I’ve recorded completely by myself that don’t contain lyrics; newly remastered to optimize fidelity. These tracks were recorded everywhere: my Chicago apartment on Wolcott, then the Leaning House of Trog, then my apartment in Chicago on Larchmont, even at my Mom’s house over many years. Despite a wide range of styles this is the most straightforward approach to music I took during the 1990s.

Since this is a retrospective it features dozens of different instruments and effects I used over the years. The cover captures many of the tools used in the creation of these tracks.

I consider this set one of my more critical releases, so a full five song sampler is provided below. Enjoy!

 

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Five Track Sampler

Track 01 – The Implant (MX Skroch) – This frantic opener was created when I got a new synthesizer/sequencer and tried to figure it out. Of course I went aggressive, dark and dissonant. Wouldn’t you?  [Scratch on Sequencer]

Track 03 – Covered With Blood and Twitching (MX Skroch)  – This is one of the most fully realized tracks I’ve written and recorded over the years – the Hidden even did a version on the “Brave New Failure” album. This mix is mostly instrumental and uses a wide collection of guitars, keyboards, and kazoo to tell the sad, sad story.  [Scratch on Kazoo, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Drum Machine, Samples & Vocals]

Track 06 – Toilet Sonata (MX Skroch) – Sometimes you need your soul to quiet down for a bit. In these times of introspection a piano ballad is often appropriate mood music. Are the sounds of my upstairs bathroom also welcome? Toilet Sonata makes the case that yes they are…yes they are.  [Scratch on Piano & Samples]

Track 12 – Vikings (part 3) (MX Skroch) – A follow up to some instrumental tracks from a few years back, the third incarnation of “Vikings” brings back pounding drums and jazzy horn sounds to accompany this fast paced and ever modulating rocker. I find the use of tension to be particularly effective here.  [Scratch on Guitars, Bass, Keyboards & Drum Programming]

Track 17 – Eyesore (MX Skroch) – Another sequencer creation exploring my twisted vision of chamber music. Or something.  [Scratch on Sequencer]

Album #: 54

Recording Dates: 11/15/1998 & 10/16/2005

Release Date: 2005

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

The Rumpus Room became our new home base around this time. This was Brian M’s posh basement gathering spot with wood as far as the eye could see. While this space would see dramatic change a few years later; during this era we only had access to 2-track straight to tape recording – meaning the mixes on these CDs are as varied as the genres are…

This CD also contains a bonus 20 minute guitar freakout from 1998. You can listen to that one over at sheepfiends.com if the mood strikes ya.

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Two Track Sampler

Track 01 – A Friend Like You (The Sheep Fiends) – Some slide guitar over a rumbling shuffle lays the groundwork for Matt C. to speak his mind and take the role of emcee. If you love off-kilter this is another one for you!  [Scratch on Guitar]

Track 07– Levi’s Gonna Break (The Sheep Fiends) – Sometimes the Sheep Fiends get topical, such as during this bizarre musical reaction to Hurricane Katrina. Robot voices and a Big Black guitar. Tones from the cosmos. Then it somehow devolves into some dumb blues. Then the singers riff on the theme of natural disasters. So it’s definitely the Sheep Fiends!  [Scratch on Vocals]

Album #: 46

Recording Dates: 08/10/1999

Release Date: 2002

Catalog: SF

ScratchNotes:

Another compilation arising from Brian C’s deep dive into unreleased Sheep Fiends material. This album puts together some very different sounds from several eras but I’m only featured on a few tracks of dark melodrama and one about dinner. The best of these tracks is available below.

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One Track Sampler

Track 01 – Fear is Real (Sheep Fiends) – A brooding and sometimes raging stomper featuring the always engaging improvised lyrics and vocals of Brian M. [Scratch on Casio SK-100]