http://www.sparkandfizz.com/crashing-yo ... drew-cohenturning everything up alotWords to live by...

Carl wrote:Since it's baseball season, here's a question of little to no interest to Andy and no interest to anyone else. Ever go to a Sox game with Dick Badger when you were in law school?No, don't like baseball. I think I went to one Sox game ever, with FM Tim Midyett and FM Steve Albini. Company was good, don't remember much about the game. I do occasionally go to Wrigley for a work event or whatever, so I will say that I much prefer the Sox ballpark as it is much more spacious for the fans.

Dudley wrote:landspeednyc wrote:An hour of FM Andrew B. Cohen:http://www.sparkandfizz.com/crashing-yo ... drew-cohenJake talks with Andrew Cohen, formerly of Silkworm and Bottomless Pit, about his first release with backing band Light Coma. They also discuss what led him to finding his unique guitar sound.Hey Andrew B Cohen!I enjoyed this, and am very much looking forward to "Unreality".In the interview, you use the expression "can't be arsed" (about Spotify, I think). As a Brit (and a volunteer in the "ass v arse" wars that are ravaging the UK) this made me cheer! Is this a standard US or regional expression? If not, where did you get it from? Do you use it a lot?I think is a British-ism that I like the sound of and started using a long time ago. It is funny, sounds good, "arsed"!

Mason wrote:I really enjoyed that interview. Now I feel like picking up a Pro Jr. and a 2x12. For to Crunch.A part that stood out was the bit where FM Andrew B. Cohen talks about how he never sees guitarists playing in anything like his style, how they think about their playing too much. I kind of smirked when he said (words to the effect) that it's relatively easy to play how he does. That was great to hear. Because so few people play that well or that distinctively, clearly, but at the same time, his playing makes me feel that he's on kind of an emotional autopilot. It's very informed, you can hear the skill and the practice, but it comes across like it's all impulse. So it checks out.Hearing the second song from Unreality this morning got me thinking ”to keep talking like he's not here ”about his lyrics. Which I think of as coming from maybe the opposite of an emotional autopilot. But that could easily be wrong ”the little I've read/heard him talk about lyrics has made them seem pretty impressionistic at times, not always "about" something.I'm not a big "process" dude, but if FM Andrew B. Cohen felt like talking some about his lyrics ”what drives the songwriting, how the ideas come together ”that would be rad.I don't think there is really a pattern to how it comes together for me. It feels like a different "process" (such as it is) for every song.If it is at all helpful, here are a few capsules from latest album: the first song on Unreality ("Repack") is about half edited quotes overheard from kids playing in my backyard, with additional material thrown in by me to fit in. "Sugar puffs," no real concept there, sounded good, liked the idea of living on such a gross, formless substance and added the rest to fill in the gaps. See one of the early Dramarama albums for inspiration (" . . . I've been living on chocolate ice cream.") "Blue Dragon" is a pretty straightforward song about imagining and describing early childhood (sounds pretentious, but there it is). "Unhinged Melody" I think is pretty self-explanatory if you have heard it.Happy to share thoughts on other songs if desired!

benadrian wrote:I loved the podcast. I've only gotten to chat with Andy a couple times (Pit show at PRF BBQ 2010 and Pit show in L.A.), but seeing his playing live made me less self conscious when it came to playing guitar solos. I take a couple on one of my latest releases. Thanks Andy.Also, it made me look at myself and realize that I'm cool with just having a guitar that sounds like a guitar. I was always trying to fuck up and un-guitar my guitar sound. Now I'm cool with guitar right into amp, and I'm always trying to get shit out of my guitar setup. Pro Jr. amps would be so much better with 6V6 tubes. Kinda garbage build quality, too. I encourage everyone to gut their Pro Jr's and build a clone of a Tweed Harvard.Man, I love me some guitar.Thanks Ben Adrian! I have thought here and there about taking my Pro Jr. to a guru dude to have it rebuilt in some way that is good, but then I don't do it. I have played quite a few of them and they are variable in good-soundingness, which I imagine is due to the cheap build, quality control on the amp/tubes, etc. The one I have sounds really good, so I have resisted the aforementioned urge to "fix" it as I don't want it to get worse.

NewDarkAge wrote:Ciao Andy!A friend's grandpa is offering me mate's rates to build a custom amp. The guy has been building amps since the 60s and is a dab hand at it so I'm pretty excited. So far my ideas is "copy of the old AC-30 without a master volume, and no other pointless controls". Can it be so simple? Is there anything else I should be considering? What would your ideal custom amp be?Yes, this sounds very good to me. Don't ignore the cabinet - the Vox cabinets, while an open-back design, are boxier (smaller opening on the back than a typical Fender, for example) and have a vertical piece of wood in front of the speakers that adds to the sound. I like it the boxiness for that amp, although you should make your own decision.

ismaelbelda wrote:Estimado señor Cohen: this is just to say that I love everything about Unreality. Truly beautiful record. I've been a longtime fan of Silkworm and Bottomless Pit, and I think there are new areas of expression here and that as a record it is equal or better than those of the aforementioned bands. As always, I just love the guitar (I remember falling in love when I was nineteen with the bridge&middle-pickups position sound in a Stratocaster, which previosuly I hated, while listening to "There Is a Party in Warsaw Tonight" and the incredible solo in "Don't Make Plans This Friday" “maybe you'll tell me that wasn't a Stratocaster but a Les Paul, hehe, well, it sounded like that to me “), but your voice especially seems to me to have reached a special purity of expression in this record that I hadn't noticed before. So much beauty. Thank you, sir. Any possibility of dates in Europe? This is the first time I participate in this forum. I wrote here something similar a couple of days before but no dice. Best of luck. Saludos desde Madrid.Thanks ismaelbelda, I am glad that Unreality has resonated with you. I am very happy with how it came out, it was pretty effortless, which is often (but not always) a good sign when making a record. I love Spain and we would likely come if the opportunity showed up, but it would take a lot of pesetas (I mean Euros) to break even, so I better increase my marketing efforts to sell some more records!

Thanks, FM Vish!Andrew Cohen discusses Jason Molina of Magnolia Electric Co., Michael Dahlquist of Silkworm, and his new Comedy Minus One release with Light Coma, Unreality.Ep. #369: Andrew Cohen & Light Coma http://vishkhanna.com/2017/12/06/ep-369 ... ight-coma/

bdm wrote:Wow. As a 40ish full time job having dad this interview was kind of inspiring. Just thing I needed to hear coming from somebody I kinda consider a personal hero. Pretty much hits the nail on the head with a lot of things going on in my mind these days.cool, thanks for listening to this.

Hey, Andrew B. Cohen - When are you going to tell us about your Paris - Roubaix bike trip? The whole nine yards - spare no details. I have questions!