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Introducing Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts
One of the cool things I got to do in 2006 was help my friend Will with his first full-length album, Visions and Revisions. It was a pretty special project, so I want to share with you both the music and talk a little about how I contributed.
The Music
Will and I played together in the Mosaic, a rock band we started with Nate Rentmeester and Brooke Kutz in Madison, Wis. We disbanded in 2004, and Will started working on material for what would become Visions and Revisions.
Visions and Revisions began as a solo project, but morphed into a group effort as Will solicited contributions from additional musicians. The band adopted the name Will Phalen and the Stereo Addicts, and released the record under that name.
(You can read the entire story at the web site, by the way.)
So what kind of music is it? Ah, the big question. In Will’s words:
The sounds found on Visions & Revisions represent a pastiche of folk guitars, old-timey banjos, psychedelic flashbacks, ambient noise, electronic drones and driving rock ‘n roll rhythms that create the impression that a not-so-distant past may at last be meeting and coexisting with a not-so-distant future.
It’s a fantastic achievement, and great music (and I’m not just saying that because I played on it). It’s hard to imagine the work, passion, and perseverance required to produce something like this.
So take a second and check it out. I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.
How I Helped
My role was pretty insignificant in the grand scheme, but I had the pleasure of assisting Will by:
- Playing drums on four tracks — Thankfully (MP3 download), Book, How I Am, and Some Recompense
- Creating a web site to promote and feature the band and the album,* and
- Designing and print prepping the CD jacket and packaging (this was easy thanks to Brian Besch’s brilliant album art).
As I mentioned, it was a pretty special project and I’m really thankful for the opportunity to help. And if you’re a music lover, take a moment to try Visions and Revisions on for size.
* The web site is powered by Stitch, my nascent mini-framework for simple web sites like Will’s. More on that soon ;-)