Website Improvements

I've upgraded my website hosting recently, so Deserted, the website at www.the-deserters.co.uk, will be getting a bit of an overhaul soon.

I now have more server space and hope to fill it with some sound clips and other goodies...

Owner of a Lonely Horse

Gotta love kids!

The Slydee Returns

One of the self-built instruments used by the Deserters in our earlier days was an electronic gadget called the Slydee. It grew from a physics project about transistors where we had to make a circuit to flick between two bulbs. Lee (Newe) and I figured that if we linked this to a speaker instead of a bulb we would get a tone, and we were right. I then added a fader rescued from some old music system or something similar (Tandy, perhaps?) to give a very basic and almost totally uncontrollable keyboardless synth with a character all of its own.

I was wondering about the possibility of rebuilding it some time ago, as I've no idea what became of it, when I heard a radio programme about the theremin. After a bit of research I came to the conclusion that I deeply want one. No, need one!

Theremins (therema?) are controlled without touch. You move your right hand near its pitch aerial and left hand near the volume aerial to control the sound. It at worst it sounds just like a Slydee - at best it sounds almost like a human voice. Some folk use it for special effects, whilst others like Peter Pringle have gained sufficient mastery of this awkward littlecritter to make some wonderful music. I aim to be somewhere in between.

Reborn....?

Way back in the mists of time we had a concept for a video for the Deserters' "Renaissance" period which we considered, at the time, to be a turning point for the band. The song was to be called "Reborn" and was to feature a video of the band doing various things in time to the music, but backwards - jumping off walls, dropping things, etc. All very Monkees, had it ever come to pass. Now it's my turn...

The last 3 years of my life have been a bit of a musical desert. I've hardly touched an instrument, and most of my music gear has spent its time in boxes. It's been annoying and difficult, but a necessary evil due to various things going on in my work life - i.e. the stuff that pays to keep the wolf from the door, the children fed and the electricity flowing. Well, the time in the wilderness is coming to an end - 2 months to go and I should be back to living a more normal life where I can actually spend some quality time with family instead of having to schedule them in, I can get on with some of the projects that have peaked my interest over the last 3 years and I can live the music once more.

So - what's new?

I'm refreshing all the Deserters material that I have transferred to PC, and will finally be editing and sticking it onto CDs.

I've dug out my bass from storage and am getting back into the swing (I think) - starting to work on some nice new callouses. Next will come the trusty old DX7 and finally I'll fish out the guitar.

I'm getting together with some local musos to do some jam sessions, which may or may not lead to something better - I hope to report on this next week.

I've also got a couple of experimental music things I want to put together - I'll probably start this in the new year - quite a bit of programming will be involved on the ST (old faithful music computer), which I've not really done much of in the past.

Finally, I want to build a new Yobstick - the last one disappeared during a house-move, and I feel somehow incomplete without it. Perhaps I can encourage my yob-luthier to return to the trade!

Exciting times ahead for me - here's hoping we all enjoy the ride!

Short Story Links

For the benefit of new readers, or anybody wishing to return to re-read an old story, here is a list of stories that have been posted on the internet to date.

GH Week 51 "Anthropomorphism"

Gregory and Friends
What can you do to squeeze the last drop of earning potential from something? Anthropomorphise it!

GH Week 52 "It has been a year, what have I done with myself?"

To The Clouds
One man's view of the historic R34 airship crossing of the Atlantic.

GH Week 53 "My mind has been going places without me lately."

Don't Mind Me
The theremin is a mysterious-sounding instrument, but does it affect more than just sound waves?

GH Week 54 "A pound of flesh"

Fido
A touching tale of man's best friend.

GH Week 55 "Robots, they are all robots!"

The Robot Band
If money was no object, what would the band be like?

GH Week 56 "Missing link primate likely to stir debate."

Signal
A tragic loss sends Maart miles from home, but his return years later holds some surprises in store.

GH Week 57 "Running Shoes"

Running Shoes
A seemingly minor change to the law has major implications. A barefoot world.

GH Week 58 "Self Pity"

Alternative Therapy [sos]
An alternative therapist struggles to overcome bereavement.

GH Week 59 "It is verboten"

Kelvin's Last Message [sos]
A UFO spotter loses track of his friend due to a garbled text message.

GH Week 60 "Arriving at the airport"

Dandelions of Memory [sos]
Airports are an assault on the senses.

GH Week 61 "Neither hide nor hair"

The Cave [part1] [sos]
Two colleagues discuss their missing friend and the implications of working with polar bears.

GH Week 62 "Keys"

Take It Away
The world's greatest pianist sits down at the world's worst piano.

GH Week 63 "Silver Bullets: the real reason that some cowboys carried them."

Silver Solves The Dilemma
A new gang rolling into a Western town coincides with a series of disappearances.

GH Week 66 "Wearing sunglasses in the early morning."

Breakfast Hat [sos]
Sometimes people just don't want to be found.

GH Week 67 "A man with a duck-headed cane is at the door."

Hide and Seek [sos]
A detective is sent on a chase that can't end well.

100 Word Stories #161 "Elvis Drives A Bus"

Lonesome
In another reality Elvis lives, but not as we know him.

100 Word Stories #166 "A bucket of Gruel"

Gruel
Some say that 'meat is murder'. What if meat is suicide?

100 Word Stories #168 "Shrouded in mist"

Mist
A coastal mist covers up a crime scene.

100 Word Stories #170 "The games we play"

"Waltzing with Werewolves"
How do you dance when your love might rip out your throat?