I’m back again with another update on what’s going on right now. We just put out the fourth installment of the Safe Mix earlier this month. It’s packed full of the most songs that we’ve ever put into a safe mix, and I think you all will enjoy it. If you haven’t gotten it already, the picture is linked to the soundcloud page for Lazerdisk Party Sex.

In other news, I have started to work at Champlain’s Alumni Office doing some temp work to build up some cash to cover the heap of debt that I have accumulated since graduating from the college that I now work for, only through a temp agency. I am really glad to finally have some work, and hopefully the amount of music that I have been listening to at work will help inspire me for new projects. I’m also currently participating in a study on back posture through the University of Vermont in order to gain some extra fundage for the same reason. I did some rough estimates of how much money I need to break even before I head out on tour this February, and it looks like I’m going to be able get myself in the black, at least until March.

The full lineup for The Snowball has been announced since my last post, and I am so excited to be able to play at this festival. Here’s the full festival lineup:

I don’t know exactly how it’s going down or when we are playing, but we are beginning the trek out west in the last week in February, and we’re scrambling together some funds to rent a car for two months to get there. From February-April, I’m going to go to more states than I have ever been to in my life. I should also probably get some good games for my phone because I’m going to run out of things to do for the ride. Maybe I can make some new tracks on the drive, who knows?

I’m really excited to see where things go in a month from now. Until then, I’m really just trying to generate enough solid income to make sure that I don’t get stranded along the way. I’ll be at Champlain’s Alumni offices manually updating addresses that the computers didn’t update on their own. Stay warm everyone. It’s pretty cold up in Burlington, these days.

I’ve had this big news for awhile, but I have been holding it back until it was officially announced. We are heading to Vail Valley, Colorado to play at The Snow Ball. It’s the festival’s first year, and it’s quickly shaping up to be a major contender in the festival circuit. Nicknamed “Snowchella,” I can really see this festival taking off and just becoming more and more of a musical behemoth. I can’t wait to just go there. I’ve never been to Colorado or a festival, so it’s going to be a slew of new experiences for me.

The story of how we got involved with The Snowball is this: I found out about it sometime around when it was announced. Then, I posted on something on facebook basically saying, “how do I go to this?” It was really just a way to say that this event seemed like it was going to be really rad, and I wanted to go. There was no serious intention of getting there because I really lack the funds. However, through a couple of friends, I was set up with a solid contact for the event. He has been super helpful in communicating with us, and has been helping push for us to come to Colorado. Long story short, we ended up working something out, and now we get to perform at this awesome festival in Colorado. He has helped us a ton, and I’m so pumped to have this opportunity and friends that are willing to help us out. It’s really the best.

The Snowball is an appropriate title for our first festival as LDPS, too. We are traveling west to Colorado with the intention of making as many stops as possible in cities and towns that want us there. We are working on solidifying gigs in the days leading up to the Snowball, and saving our big performance for the festival stage. After the dust settles from the snowball, we have plans to make a trip down south to Florida. I can’t give many specifics because we don’t have anything in stone, but the plan is to remain in Florida for two weeks. After Florida, we are heading back up the east coast with the intention of playing at as many colleges as we possibly can, then we will end up back in the Northeast in mid-April. What started as a shot in the dark on facebook has led to a month-and-a-half long nation-wide tour. I really couldn’t be happier.

The official Snowball Website is here: www.snowballmusicfestival.com. They are announcing new artists daily, and tickets are available on that site. Thanks to everyone at the snowball for letting us play, and a huge thank you to the friends that have helped us get a spot at the show.

Until next time!

]]> http://www.presmusic.com/2011/01/the-snowball-effect/feed/ 0 http://www.presmusic.com/2011/01/new-website-design2010-wrap-up/ http://www.presmusic.com/2011/01/new-website-design2010-wrap-up/#comments Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:31:37 +0000 admin http://www.presmusic.com/?p=587

Well hello there. Here we have the new layout of presmusic.com thanks to none other than, drumroll please, Anthony Libera. This is the third iteration of the site, and each version has been a great improvement on the one preceding. Thanks Tony, you are truly the man.

Many things have happened since the last update, which was in early October. ZJ and I have been very busy producing and performing as Lazerdisk Party Sex, and we have released two more volumes of the Safe Mix series, with another one coming out later this month. You can download them by clicking the thumbnails below. They are quick mixes (around 15 minutes long), but they feature a slew of different artists, and are mixed quite rapidly to ensure that you won’t lose interest, and that we’re packing it full of as much punch as possible. Also, I will be updating the downloads page to include any and all LDPS releases.

December also marked the debut of the first original track by Lazerdisk Party Sex, entitled “Lemonade is Still Popular.” The track was featured on The Get Downnn, a popular blog which is logged by The Hype Machine, and it resulted in about 38,000 listens in 3 days, as well as a number 3 spot on the popular charts. I was really happy with the response that the track has gotten so far, and I’m really excited to release more songs in the not so distant future.

Not only did we release our first original track in December, we took the next step in crafting a bigger LDPS experience with our live performances. On December 9th, we performed at Higher Ground along with DJ LIAM (now L’ometto), The Orator, and Ditto. Our set involved a custom stage, sign, and lightshow, and it was a great time. We are currently moving forward with the live show, and taking it on the road. More details on that soon. Here is a video that Triple Take Media put together for us, and some pictures from the event courtesy of our good friend Josh Franklin who has a brand new website that you should definitely visit.

Lazerdisk Party Sex Promo from Triple Take Media on Vimeo.

Planck development had slowed considerably during the holidays mostly due to everyone finding some sort of seasonal job or just being home and unable to find time for working on the game. However, Planck was featured as an honorable mention for Excellence in Audio in the Independent Game Festival. This is a huge honor for the team and me. The fact that we received that honor with only one level finished is so amazing, and I am really happy that we got that far especially considering the stiff competition. Planck development is now back in action and the next level is sounding pretty ill if you ask me. It’s a marked change from the first level (musically speaking), but the fun and creativity involved with playing the game will still be in full swing. You’ll be able to turn this track up loud and wake your neighbors.

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to make it to New York City to play at the club in The Hotel on Rivington for a Lazerdisk show. We had a great time, hung out with some awesome people who made a completely swagged out breakfast of fried chicken and french toast, and it looks like we just might be returning to the Big Apple in the not so distant future. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, and I’m very glad that I was able to have this opportunity.

I believe that is everything that I had been wanting to post, but I waited until the site redesign was fully complete. More news on where we are taking Lazerdisk Party Sex within the next couple of weeks. It’s official, and I know exactly what I want to tell you right now, but I’m waiting until the announcement. The suspense!

Safe Mix Volume 1 by LAZERDISK PARTY SEX

The first mix put together by Lazerdisk Party Sex is officially out! Seventeen songs in under fifteen minutes, this mix is a powerhouse of some of the tracks that we are really digging, in addition to a sample of our new original track due out October 19th titled “Don’t Touch My Moustache.” HUGE thanks to Josh Franklin who crushed it yet again with the design work. Check out his blog, you won’t be disappointed. All in all, I am really happy with the finished product, and hope you dig the mix as much as we dig the songs we used. Remember to check us out on facebook!

LDPS has a busy weekend coming up. We are playing at The Bunker at Middlebury College on Friday, October 8th, a block party at UNH on Saturday, October 9th, then The Red Square on Sunday, October 10th. This is the start of something beautiful.

Remember kids: Better Safe than Sorry.

TRACKLIST:

Balkan Beat Box – Bulgarian Chicks (LAMBS Remix)
Fake Blood – I Think I Like It (Tommie Sunshine & Figure present EC$TACY Edit)
Lazerdisk Party Sex – Don’t Touch My Moustache
Bob Sinclair – LaLa Song (feat. Sugarhill Gang)
Louis La Roche – Missing You (feat. Ad-Apt)
Kid Gloves – Bare Knuckles
Fake Blood – Fix Your Accent
Duck Sauce – The Motion
Gregor Salto & Mokoomba – Messe Messe (Afro Dub)
Kenny Dope – Lawanda Big Bottom
Neighbour – Starson 45
The Partysquad and DJ Alvaro – Lucky Star
Homework – Trumpet Express
Swivel Hips – Smell My Fingers
Yolanda Be Cool – Gypsy Moves
Louis La Roche – Be Brave
Mr. Oizo – Gay Dentists (YONILLA ICE Rework)

Lazerdisk Party Boat Teaser from Garrett Burns on Vimeo.

The Party Boat was a huge success, and it was really quite the experience for my first time ever performing on a boat. No stranger to LDPS, Josh Franklin was there taking pictures of the event, and they came out great. Here are a few samples of the night:

For more pictures of the night, you can check out his photo set from the night on flickr by clicking HERE.

What’s been going on:

I’ve been staying busy producing for LDPS. Since I last posted, our remix of “Pony” by Ginuwine got to #3 on The Hype Machine, and we entered a remix of Wynter Gordon’s “Dirty Talk” in an official remix competition through Masterbeat. I’m currently working on a new original track that will be featured in a mix that ZJ and I are putting together. All of our production is available through our soundcloud page.

I played at Higher Ground for the first time, back in mid-September when LDPS opened for Ozomatli. It was a lot of fun, especially because I have seen so many shows at Higher Ground, and I was finally allowed to play on stage. It was very cool for me. Here are some shots of the Higher Ground show as well as when we played at The Red Square on Labor Day weekend. Photos courtesy of Josh Franklin:

Planck has been moving along steadily, and there is currently a whole lot of polish going on with the first playtest build.  A new playtest will be available through the Shadegrown Games website within the next couple of weeks. This past weekend we spent a lot of time working out kinks and making it a much more well-rounded product. Planck has been featured on a bunch of different independent game websites and blogs, and it seems like people are digging it. I certainly am, and I’m very excited to see what comes of it.

Coming up:

October and November are both traveling months for LDPS. We have plans to travel every weekend to different venues, cities, and states. If you go to UNH, Middlebury, The University of Maine, Ithaca, or Syracuse, be on the lookout for a Lazerdisk Party Sex show coming to you. We will also be in Portland, ME for the weekend of October 22^nd to DJ an afterparty for a Matchstick Productions movie premiere.

To top off the next two months of playing outside of Vermont, we will make our triumphant return to the Green Mountain State by headlining “The Black Light Black Out” at Higher Ground with help from our friends from I’M PARTYING. We are already planning our lightshow, designing our set, and planning a whole new musical experience for the night. It truly is the next step for Lazerdisk Party Sex, and I hope you can be a part of it.

I have returned from the land of lazy bloggers, and I come bearing gifts for anyone who is still checking up on me despite my less than courteous online presence. I hope I never return to lazy blogger country. I apologize for not paying as much attention to this blog as I probably should have been, but I can honestly say that I am going to be able to keep it more current and exciting, because the gears are moving in all of the right directions to actually post some interesting stuff. I’m going to integrate my tumblelog into this website, at some point, in order to deliver more frequent posts about topics of interest rather than just posting about me, what I’ve made, and what I’m doing.

Songs

I’ve made some music for you and your ears. First off, I posted a new original track. Hope you dig it.

Hi by Pres
Download mp3 (Save As)

“Like a Prayer” remixed by LDPS

Like a Prayer (Lazerdisk Party Sex Remix) by Lazerdisk Party Sex
Download mp3 (Save As)

Here are two mashups, both older, and one unheard. I have been told my a lot of different people that the link to $hwagger Jagger was no good anymore, so I figured I’d repost it.
$hwagger Jagger (Ludacris vs. Ke$ha) by Pres
Download mp3 (Save As)

Cherries Forever (Drake & Eminem vs. Neil Diamond) by Pres
Download mp3 (Save As)

So there you go, one new track, 2 unposted tracks, and another one that people were having a hard time getting to the last time around. I hope you listen to them all and each one becomes a friend to your ears.

Planck v.1

On top of these tracks I’ve been working on a second song/level for the ongoing Planck project. We’ve been entering it in many different independent game competitions, and we’ve gained a lot of insight to guide us along the process more smoothly. It’s been one of the more challenging projects that I’ve been involved with, but it has definitely been rewarding. Last year around this time, we were getting prepared to submit our first iteration of Planck, which has been completely rehauled into what you see below. You can watch the video in the really tiny format posted, listen to the music, or maximize it to see it in its full glory. If you like what you see, please email me for a downloadable playtest demo of the first level.

Lazerdisk Party Sex Tour

Starting August 8th, ZJ and I will embark on the first leg of our Lazerdisk Partysex tour. We’re hitting up places all around Martha’s Vineyard for the second week of August. We’re doing a promotion through foursquare, where if you check into every one of the venues that we’re at, and show us that you’re there, we’ll give you a free T-shirt on Saturday. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and if you are in the area come to the Vineyard because we’re going to rock it upside down and inside out.

Check out Lazerdisk Party Sex’s site at: www.listn.to/LazerdiskPartySex

Until next time. Peace twice!

This past Saturday, April 24th, I teamed up with my friend and owner of The Lab, Zack Johnson to play at UVM’s Springfest. We donned our Stormtrooper helmets and tuxedos and proceeded to rock the denizens of Burlington the right way. All without being able to see or hear much at all. Those helmets don’t allow for much of anything as far as sight and sound go. Props to Josh Franklin on the dope photo.

Since before MSTRKRFT was event confirmed to play at Springfest, an annual one-day music festival event put on by the University of Vermont, we had been putting a bug in the ear of the people putting on the event that we needed to open for this event. Through much hard work and negotiating, we finally got the best slot that was available to us, and so began a new chapter in Springfest’s history. The event was packed full of acts. My friends DJ Dan and DJ cRAIG mITCHELL were both on the bill, and that was a blast. Theophilus London played the set before ZJ and I. After we went on, Ingrid Michaelson played, then MSTRKRFT held down the headline slot.

People have been asking me for the set that we put together for Springfest. Ask and ye shall receive kiddos. More pictures and videos as they come about. Thanks to everyone who came out! This is only the beginning.

Here’s the link to the set: MediaFire | mp3

Setlist:

Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand (O-GOD Remix)

Major Lazer – Pon De Floor (Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix)

Steve Aoki feat. [[[zuper blahq]]] – I’m in the House (Fatman Scoop Disco Fries Remix)

Nick Catchdubs – DRAKEOVER!

Pres – $hwagger Jagger (Ludacris vs. Ke$ha)

Eddie Johns – More Spell on You

Daft Punk – One More Time

Daft Punk – Around the World (Alive Re-Edit)

Duck Sauce – Anyway

Pitbull – Hotel Room Service

LDSP – OMG Money to Blow (Drake vs. Usher and Will.i.am)

Gramophonedzie – Why Don’t You

K’naan – Wavin’ Flag (LDSP Remix)

Harry Belafonte – Jump in the Line

]]> http://www.presmusic.com/2010/04/uvm-springfest-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.presmusic.com/2010/04/get-ready/ http://www.presmusic.com/2010/04/get-ready/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:33:25 +0000 admin http://www.presmusic.com/?p=424

UVM Springfest 2010

Our set is secret. Our set is epic

I’d like to preface this blog post saying that I haven’t been slacking, I swear. I’ve just been really busy. A lot of this said busy-ness is from music, which is a good thing, but with my final year of undergraduate education wrapping up, it has left me little time to update this blog, and for that I deeply apologize.

At the beginning of March, I took a trip to Barcelona with my girlfriend Sarah, and it was a blast. I uploaded some of my pictures from the trip to flickr if there is an interest in the sights that I saw. I also got to see La Sagrada Familia, which I’ve been wanting to see ever since I was 13. That was quite awe-inspiring. Also, the stairs were really cool.

I’ve been DJing a lot in general. I’ve been DJing more for Red Bull, which is always good, and I’ve gotten more gigs through friends of friends and past gigs. This is all really cool for me considering that I only really started DJing around town in March, 2009. I’m really excited for things to continue the way they are going. I also deejayed for The Slam For Sudan for the second year in a row. It was a much better experience this time around, and I’m glad to see that it is continuing as an annual event. It’s always nice to see a good cause continue to do well.

Planck is also blowing my mind. I’m not sure what I can tell you aside from the fact that you should be excited.

I am working on the third installment of the College trilogy, entitled: colllege. I’m doing my best to get it together, but with school and work at The Lab picking up, I am struggling to utilize my free time in order to properly arrange and create the album. Don’t worry though, I’ll get it together and out into the internet.

I’ll try and keep these blog posts shorter and simpler from now on, but we’ll see how that goes.

Oh, and here’s a new track:

$hwagger Jagger (Ludacris vs. Ke$ha)

(right/control-click + Save As)

Enjoy.

Hey everybody. I’m back in the writer’s seat after a holiday break, a birthday, a new year, the last semester of my undergraduate education, and just a ton of tumultuous activity that has had me on my toes for the past month. I hope the new year has found everyone well, and that you haven’t abandoned all hope in my blogging practices. Also, my camera broke, so I don’t have a bunch of good pictures or anything like that. I should invest in one. I don’t even have any on my phone. However, other people have taken some pictures, so I’ll post those.

January was a pretty busy month for me. Some of you may know that I will begin teaching a course that I’ve developed on music production for DJs at The Lab. I’ve officially dropped the “-tern” from my position at The Lab and upgraded it to “-structor.” My boss Zack has been in Thailand for the past month, so little progress has been made as far as incorporating my teaching into The Lab, but when he gets back, expect big moves. More news on that as it comes about.

101 is still continuing at Rasputin’s. 101 started last September, and it’s been successful enough to where the club is staying open on Thursday nights for DJ Dan and my night downtown. I’m pretty proud of that. Whether it’s a testament to Dan’s or my skills as DJs or the fact that it started the 18+ night trend that’s going on in Burlington remains to be said. Regardless, I’m happy with the outcome, although I have been told by the club owner that my music selection doesn’t include enough top 40 tracks, and tends to linger around beats per minute that are a bit too fast for the crowd (Around 120ish). That’s fine though, I’m gonna have to think of something creative so that I can still improve as a DJ and please the crowd because without them, there’s no 101.

One unfortunate thing about this Spring is that I decided not to have a regular show on WRUV, and try to end my senior year of college on an academic high-note. So folks, there’s no more Beat Therapy presented by Pres, but there is still Beat Therapy presented by B-Fish, Conor McKeon, and Ben Hallowell on Champlain Wave Radio. Check it out Thursday’s from 7:30-9:30  http://radio.champlain.edu.

Aside from the many Thursdays that there were at Rasputin’s this past month, there were also a couple of new buddies that I made through old buddies. One of which is the Broke In Burlington team. They promote a bunch of parties and events for people that live in Burlington, VT, but might not necessarily have a ton of money to fully enjoy the town. They originally hired Miles Ewell (of Principal Dean Productions) to DJ the gig, but since he doesn’t DJ, he kindly passed it on to me. As a result of this kind gesture, I had my Nectar’s debut through Broke In Burlington (albeit I was DJ iPod Replacement, but a gig’s a gig). I would go on in between sets, nothing too stressful or huge, but it was still a lot of fun. The Broke in Burlington people are definitely all good in my book, and the showcase event was very cool. The idea was to get a bunch of different acts from the many different aspects of the music scene. The acts that played during the showcase included: Meek Sol, The Fever Breakers, and The Mathematicians. I only really got to hang out with The Mathematicians, but all of the bands were different from each other and are worth checking out.

The day after the Nectar’s gig with Broke In Burlington, I hopped in the car and drove to Maine to DJ The Downtown Showdown for Red Bull. It was in Monument Square, right in the heart of Portland. They built a 30-or-so foot in-ramp, and the skiers and riders could hit one of three different rails or boxes. The event was as big as it was cold, and it was freezing. Regardless of the many layers I was wearing, I was still freezing. Coldness aside, the event was a ton of fun, and everyone who entered the event shredded. It was awesome. After the rail jam, I got to DJ at The Stadium in Portland, which is now owned by Bingas. Bingas has expanded since I moved away. Big ups to them. The space was brand new and I had a great time DJing there. Many thanks to Seth and Stacy from Red Bull for hooking it up. I had a blast. Here’s a video from the event:

In addition to the gigging in and out of town, I have been busy making music for myself and others. I have talked about how I have been producing music for the game Planck for Matthew Burns, and the second version of Planck is underway. With Planck v.1 came some modifications to the team, and with feedback from judges from the various game conferences that it was submitted to, it is turning into something completely new and awesome. We have made changes to the game engine, art direction, musical style, and level design. Everyone is on the same page, and everyone is really excited to get it out and into your hands. The development progress is being documented HERE, and if you have any questions that you’d like to ask the planck development team, you can hit us up on twitter.

My musical focus hasn’t strictly been on videogames, however. DJ cRAIG mITCHELL has asked me to remix the track “I Wanna Live.” I have been working on that for him, and I’m totally pumped to get that out of my computer and onto the dancefloor. It’s shaping up rather nicely, if I do say so myself. I’ll post it as soon as I can.

Last but not least, College III (tentatively titled), is going to start production rather shortly. I am finishing up a video for one of the tracks on College II, and once I make the announcement of the beginning of the end of the College trilogy, I’ll post it up for you all to enjoy. It’s hard to believe that a year has just about gone by since the release of College II.

Time flies.